Aoi: For those of you who are familiar with the title, welcome back! For those of you who find this title new and strange, allow me (the author) to explain.
As you can probably guess by the title, this is a part two. Part one, "The Dragon Tamer and the Goddess" can be found on my FanFiction profile. I highly suggest you read it first, just so you will be able to understand this story…
But as for you people who DO know the story, I hope you will enjoy this second half.
Enough rambling! On with the story!
"Upon Pompey's return to Egypt," Dr. Huga lectured to his students, one of them being Eiko. "He was decapitated. Just a few kilometers away from the Egyptian shore," he explained. Many of the students grimaced at the idea of the Roman general Pompey being decapitated oh his way to vist the Philopator family.
"Harsh," Eiko's classmate, Karu, whispered. Eiko covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.
Dr. Huga looked up at the clock. "Well I think I've rambled on enough," he said, walking over to his desk. He quickly sat down in his chair; he took one last look at his students. "Tomorrow we will continue our talk about Egypt's relations with Rome; the same empire which, ironically, would make Egypt part of its empire some twenty years after this occurrence. Run along now."
Eiko picked her bag up from off the ground and began to leave. Karu followed.
"Poor Pompey, so young…." He said with false admiration. Eiko laughed as the two walked out of the stuffy lecture hall and into the brisk outdoors. Trees starting to lose their plumage lined the walkways as they headed for lunch.
"Hey, think about it this way, at least we get to learn about Cleopatra. The last queen of Egypt," Eiko said.
"I think that whole, 'Last queen of Egypt' thing is kind of a rip. She wasn't even Egyptian! She was Greek for crying out—" a student ran passed Karu, bumping him in the shoulder and making him drop his books.
"Watch it, would you!" he called after the boy. The boy kept running, not even noticing Karu. "The nerve of some people," he mumbled.
Eiko watched as the boy ran off. "I wonder what has him in such a hurry," she wondered aloud.
"He's a business major," Karu explained. "You know how they are."
Unfortunately Eiko did. The saying 'time is money' seemed to be their moral code. They were always rushing to their next class and never taking the time to have an actual conversation with anyone. That is, unless it was about stocks or some new investments… truth be told, Eiko really wasn't quite sure what they talked about. Even though she had been spending quite a bit of time with Seto, she wasn't very business savvy. She didn't fully understand what it meant to hold stock in a company and what exactly it entailed; she didn't understand copyrights… heck even taxes were confusing! (She had actually asked Seto to help her out with that; though she still didn't understand how to do them herself.)
Just as Karu finished stacking up his books, another student bumped into him, causing him to drop them yet again. Karu looked down at his pile of books and tugged at his spiked grey hair.
"What is this, I don't even—Hey!" he shouted at the student, who this time turned back at him.
"Oh, sorry!" he said genuinely. "I didn't see you there. Here, let me help." He leaned down to pick up the books. Eiko watched as the two boys piled up the books.
"What's the deal? This is the second time today I've gotten bumped into," Karu asked the student.
He looked up at him. "You haven't heard? There's a rumor going around that Seto Kaiba is on the campus!" the student said excitedly.
Eiko stiffened. She hadn't exactly told most of her college friends about Seto. She had just said that she had a boyfriend in a high position of power and authority.
"Huh, wonder why he would come here," Karu said aloud.
"Oh!" Eiko said a bit too loud.
"What's up?" Karu asked, looking up at Eiko.
"I forgot one of my books in the lecture hall! I'll be right back!" She ran off before Karu could say anything else.
She probably should have asked the student where the rumor stated Seto was… Eiko ran quickly across the campus trying to find her boyfriend. Eventually, she got tired and had to take a break. She steadied herself against a tree, gasping for air. "Man, I'm out of shape…" she huffed. Suddenly, her phone made a ringing sound. She pulled it out of her pocket to see Seto calling. She slapped her hand against her face. 'Calling him. That never crossed my mind…' she thought in angst.
She flipped open her phone and placed the receiver over her ear. "Hello?" she said into the phone.
"Eiko, where the hell are you?" Seto asked in an annoyed tone. "I've been looking all over the campus for you!"
"So I've heard…" Eiko mumbled.
"What?"
"Nothing," she chimed back.
"Where are you?" Seto asked.
Eiko looked around. "I'm by the Psychology building," she explained.
"Eiko, I don't know where that is."
"Just look for a really big, plain, ugly building, okay?" Eiko explained further.
Within a few minutes, Seto arrived. He walked up to Eiko, who was still standing by the tree.
"What's up?" she asked, confused by his presence.
Seto shrugged. "Decided to get some air," he said simply. "You hungry?" he asked.
Eiko nodded. The two walked across the campus to a nearby ramen shop. They sat at a table near the back of the shop. They talked quietly before they were given a menu. Seto looked over the menu with a face of distraught.
"Are you sure you want to eat here?" Eiko asked. Seto said it was fine before a waiter walked up. "I'll have tonkotsu with pork and nori," Eiko said to the server.
Seto looked at the menu for a few more seconds. He looked back at the waiter. "Same for me," he said.
The two handed the waiter their menus. Eiko looked back at Seto.
"So, slow day at work, or…?" Eiko questioned.
"Hm, not really, why do you ask?" Seto replied, confused.
"I don't know, just always seems like you don't have a lot of free time," Eiko pointed out.
Seto shrugged. "I always take off for lunch," he explained. The waiter returned with their bowls of Ramen. Eiko gave a quick thanks to their server and began to eat. "After all, I wanted to hear in detail about your duel last night."
Eiko stopped eating."W-what?" Seto looked at her, his eyes serious. "H-how did you…?"
"You think I don't know what happens on my own property? Eiko, I have security guards, cameras; I've even asked Mallory to train some German Shepherds for me," Seto explained.
Eiko looked down at her ramen. Her reflection wavered in the murky broth."There really isn't much to talk about… Leud came, he asked me to duel, I accepted—"
"How did you win?" Seto interrupted.
Eiko's head shot up. "I-I…" Eiko stuttered, trying to think of a good strategy. "I… just played 'Mystical Elf' and 'Occult Attack'. Nothing new."
Seto stared her down. "You're lying." He said bluntly.
Eiko looked at him shocked. "W-what makes you say that?" she said, offended.
"Eiko, I can tell when you're lying. You stutter, it takes you forever to reply to simple questions, you have this scared look on your face—"
"M-maybe I was just freaked out, alright?" she yelled across the table. "Y-you weren't there!" Eiko looked down at her hands. "Do you know how scared I was… L-Lued… he's not a normal duelist…" Eiko said quietly.
Seto crossed his arms. "Do you really believe in that whole 'Shadow Game' thing?"he asked skeptically.
"… Yes." Eiko said, her head still down. She looked up at Seto, "Yes, I do."
Seto grimaced. "Well, I don't. I don't believe in any of that crap. Magic, fate; none of it's real."
Eiko looked at him, her face solemn. She pushed her bowl away from her and got up from her seat. "Where are you—?"
"I have a class soon," Eiko interrupted. "I want to try to be on time today," she explained. She pulled her wallet out of her bag.
"I'll pay for it," Seto said. Eiko ignored him and placed some yen onto the table. She then left without saying a word. Seto looked down at the ramen angrily.
"Would you like me to pack that up for you?" Seto looked up to see their waiter.
"I hate tonkotsu," he said. He then stood up—leaving behind the rest of the payment—and left.
Blue sat at the kitchen table, drinking tea as usual. She was about read to take another sip when the door swung open.
"Ah, hello Ei—" The door slammed before she could finish her sentence. Eiko stomped over to her desk; she dropped her bag down on the floor with a thug. "I'm guessing today was not a good one?" Blue questioned.
Eiko let her body drop into her seat."It's nothing… Seto and I..."
"Yes?" Blue asked. "You and Seto…?"
"Got into a fight, I suppose…" Eiko murmured. She rested her head against the hard wood desk.
"A fight?"
"More like a disagreement…" Eiko said quietly.
Blue set her cup down lightly onto the table. She stood up and walked over to Eiko. She lightly placed her hands on her shoulders.
"A heated one I see," she said softly. "Well, as Shakespeare once wrote, 'my only love sprung from my only hate.'" Blue smiled softly.
Eiko just looked glumly at the wooden pattern. Blue noticed her unhappy look; she backed away from the desk and walked towards the kitchen. When she came back, she had a phone in her hands. She placed it near Eiko's face. "Shakespeare also once said,'Screw your courage to the sticking place, and we'll not fail.'"
Eiko looked up at Blue, confused by her words. "Why don't you call him," Blue offered.
"Call him?" Eiko questioned.
Blue proceeded back to the kitchen to drink her tea. "While I'm more a fan of face-to-face and letters, a phone conversation can be quite effective at times."
Eiko looked back at the phone. She picked it up and walked over to her room. She made sure to close the door behind her. Eiko dialed Seto's office number. The phone rang twice before Akina picked up.
"Hello?" Akina said with false enthusiasm.
"Akina, its Eiko." Akina perked up immediately.
"Oh, hi, Eiko! How was your lunch, romantic?" Eiko was quiet on the other end. Akina waited for a moment. "I'm guessing you want to talk to Seto now. Alrighty then, you two love birds, but I want to be filled in on the details later!" the line cut off as she waited for Seto to pick up.
"Hello?" a voice on the other line said.
"Seto, hi," Eiko said in an ambivalent tone.
"Eiko?" Seto said. Before he could say anything else, Eiko spoke.
"I felt like we should talk. You know, after that incident at the ramen shop."
"Oh… you're still thinking about that?" Seto replied.
Eiko stood speechless. "Well, yeah… you're not?" she asked.
"Please, it was nothing. I don't know why you got so worked up about it," Seto said.
"Well, I guess I didn't like the fact that you accused me of lying…" Eiko murmured.
"You were lying." Seto said bluntly. "And I would still like to know who you beat Leud."
"I told you," Eiko began angrily, "I just used 'Mystical Elf' and 'Occult Attack.'"
"And I told you, I know when you're lying."
Eiko gritted her teeth. "You said you have security, cameras, and vicious guard dogs. and yet you don't know how I won the duel?"
"First off, the guard dogs are still a work in progress," Seto corrected. "And that's none of your business."
"It is too my business! It's about me! That makes it my business!"
"Look, Eiko—"
"No, you look," Eiko said, interrupting. "I don't care if you think you know me, or you think you can tell me when I'm lying. Because you don't! You don't know anything!" Eiko yelled into the phone.
"What the hell makes you say that?" Seto asked. "Eiko, I've known you for years."
"No. You've known me for a few years. You didn't know me in middle school; you didn't know me in high school. You barely know me." Seto was quiet on the other end.
Eiko heard him sigh on the other end. "What?" Eiko asked.
"Nothing… just…" he was quiet again. "It's obvious you don't want to talk to me. I'll just go." Seto hung up.
His last words ringed in Eiko's ears like a familiar tune. Eiko fell to the ground, her eyes started to glisten with tears. She laid her face on her futon, he tears merged with the soft bedding.
"Eiko?" Blue said entering her room. She walked over, getting down on her knees. "What's wrong?"
Eiko looked up for a second. "Things without all remedy should be without regard: what's done, is done." she then buried her head into the sheets and began weeping again.
In the darkness of the night, Red stomped up the walkway to the Kaiba mansion. She cussed and growled as she walked, making her seem like some sort of rabid animal. Once she reached the top of the stairs, she attempted to kick down the door. "Ow! Son of a—" she cussed under her breath. Red decided to go for the less awesome route and just open the door.
"Oh, hello, Miss Tsubaki," a Kaiba Corp maid who happened to be passing by said. "May I help you?"
"Kaiba is here, right?" Red said, trying not to growl at the maid. She nodded and pointed her towards the study. Red nodded a 'thanks' at the woman and ran up the stairs. While she was walking through the halls, she ran into Mokuba.
"Red? Hey, what's—" Red brushed Mokuba to the side.
"Not now, Mokuba. Auntie Red has some business to take care of," she said. Mokuba just watched as she walked away in an anger-fueled hurry. After what seemed like hours Red finally reached the study. She studied the door. It seemed to be made out of a thinner wood that the one outside. She then noticed a small sliver of light, peeking out from the edge of the door. Red let out a small battle cry before she kicked the door open.
Seto turned around in his chair, a shocked look on his face. "What the—" His shocked look changed to annoyance when he saw Red as she walked up to his desk.
"What do you want you—" the back of Red's hand cut Kaiba's sentence short.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled as Kaiba rubbed where he had been slapped. Red then took some papers off of Kaiba's desk. "Work? You're doing work?"
Kaiba attempted to snatch the papers from Red's hands. She retaliated by turning her back to him quicker than he could grab. "You should be apologizing to Eiko," Red said matter-of-factly.
"Me? Why should I be apologizing?" Seto said, getting out of his chair.
"Because," Red then quickly moved a step back, preventing Kaiba from, once again, grabbing his work papers, "you were a jerk!"
"I was the jerk?" Kaiba lunged forward again. Red sidestepped to avoid his advance. "If anything, Eiko's being the jerk!"
"Eiko?" Kaiba tried to swipe the papers again, this time just missing them by just a few centimeters. "Since when is Eiko the jerk?"
"Not telling me how her duel ended for no reason," Seto explained.
"You're not respecting her personal secrets," Red retaliated.
"Treating me like a fool."
"Calling her like a liar!"
As they exchanged words, they continued their little dance. Seto would lunge; Red would dodge. There were some close calls but Seto's precious papers were still in Red's hands.
"Pretending like I don't know her!" Seto yelled.
"You don't know her!" Red yelled back. Suddenly, she rammed into the back of a bookcase, causing a small cascade of books to fall on top of her. Seto took this as a chance to steal back the papers. He looked at Red, his face ripe with anger and annoyance.
"Get out," Seto said. "I don't like you and you don't like me. I don't care if you think I'm wrong or a jerk because I'm sure as hell not admitting it! And I don't know where you and Eiko even get the idea that I don't know her. I'm her freaken boyfriend for crying out loud! And I've known her longer than anyone out of her school or that pack of dorks at the Game shop. So just leave before I call security to haul you out!"
Red stared back at Seto. Her eyes were still, as if she was unsure what to do next. She turned her body towards the door. She turned her head so she could look at Seto in the eye. "Burn in hell-fire." She said before punching the bookcase, causing the rest of the books to fall from the shelf. She then left without saying a word, slamming the door behind her. Seto stood alone in his study, his work papers in his hands and a pile of books on the ground.
Aoi: the author's note shall be put in the form of letters.
Dear mom, I'm sorry I made fun of your profession's lecture halls. But come on, you've seen them too.
Dear Stacy Schiff, that you for inspiring Dr. Huga's lecture, considering I didn't feel like googling one. I shall attempt to finish your book as soon as possible. ATTEMPT. I make no promises.So. Many. Words!
Dear 8thgrade English teacher, thanks for getting me addicted to Shakespeare quotes -_-
Dear readers, I hope you will wait for my next chapter. I feel very confident about this second half, mainly because we get to some of my favorite parts in the story arc. The first few chapters will be a lot more serious than some my previous ones, but I hope you're willing to read on.
Dear Carl, I WANT MY RECORDS BACK!;_;