Battle City
Kari sat crying and she just couldn't stop. It took a lot to make her behave this way, but after the day's duels… She could no longer hold back. All the fear, stress, anger, and confusion – it was all too much to bear. So Kari sat in the chair next to the hospital bed, hunched over with her head on her arms, which rested a top the mattress, and wept.
"Oh Mai! Why did it have to be you?" Kari cried unaware that the door of the medical room slowly opened.
"Kari?"
The blonde sat up at the familiar voice and turned to look at Mokuba. He looked deeply concerned as he warily approached the bed. "Are you okay?"
Kari didn't like showing weakness, especially in front of this child who looked up to her. But she couldn't stop sniffing and her heart tightened each and every time she thought of Mai. Kari had learned so many cruel things today, but Seto had appeared to remain unphased by it all. How could he not realize, after being transported to another realm as well, that there was not something very evil going on right now?
"No Mokuba, I'm not." Kari admitted as she looked shamefully down at Mai's unconscious but still beautiful face. She looked so peaceful, but Kari knew the truth. Her soul wasn't in her body right now, she was long gone and there was no telling if they could ever get her to return. Her one and only friend that had stuck by her, who understood everything she had gone through in her life, was currently gone. Her boyfriend didn't understand where she was coming from, and Yugi was off limits. So, Kari was definitely not okay. She was as far from okay as she thought she could get.
But… she couldn't rant to a little boy like Mokuba. No matter that he seemed to be wiser than his years on most days. His small hand reached out and the light touch to her shoulder caused her to break down all over again. Mokuba let his friend cry some before he became worried that little bit more. No one should ever have to cry so much.
"Should I get Seto?" He asked. Kari was like an older sister to him and he knew that she made Seto very happy. So he hated seeing her this way, but he knew there was nothing he could do to help her. Something had obviously happened to her friend, and Kari was understandably distraught over it.
"N-no," Kari protested as her tearful eyes widened. "He's busy looking up information on the god cards. Leave him be."
"But don't you think that he should be comforting you to make you feel better about your friend?" Mokuba asked with a tilt of his head, his eyes wondering from Mai back to Kari.
"It's alright Mokuba. I promise. I just need to let it out, and then I will be okay. Promise." She tried to summon a smile to her face to reassure the boy. However it didn't work. Mokuba respected her attempt and nodded anyways. He was quiet a moment before he asked instead,
"Can I get you anything?"
Kari couldn't help the real smile that broke across her face this time. Not as bright as her usual smile, but it was still a smile.
"No Mokuba, thank you though. You're very sweet, just like your brother can be."
A light shone brightly in Mokuba's heart at the comparison to his elder brother, and he could not stop himself from hugging Kari tightly afterwards.
"Alright, just tell me if you need anything. I'll be helping Seto!" He called the last part over his shoulder as he ran out the door happily. It took so little to make him happy, Kari thought with a small wry smile.
It wasn't long after the boy had left that Kari's gaze fell once more onto Mai's lifeless body and she took a deep breath in an attempt to stop the broken sobs from erupting again. She needed to pull herself together. She wasn't going to be helping Mai by sitting beside her corpse and crying her eyes out. Mai would most likely kick her for doing something like this anyways. Kari just needed to figure out how she could help, and the only way for her to do that was to get in touch with the people who knew about the Shadow Realm.
Kari stood with a renewed sense of determination and started to leave the room. She paused briefly at the threshold to look back at Mai and whispered her conviction to her unconscious friend.
"Don't worry Mai. I will help save you."
A knock on Joey's door brought the blonde haired boy forth from his own depressing thoughts. He slowly rose up on numb legs and answered, astounded to see the small blonde girl. His brown eyes reflexed his confusion as he simply asked,
"Kari?" She looked like a mess, but she didn't look half as bad as she felt when she smiled. Even Joey felt the room brighten as she smiled.
"Hi Joey. I know we haven't talked much, but I was really wondering if I could ask you a few questions." Joey stared at her for a moment, considering if this was some sort of trick. He leaned forward and poked her forehead. Her eyes widened and Kari looked at him like he had suddenly gone crazy.
"You're not pulling my leg are ya? 'Cause I have had enough of those evil guys."
Kari gaped at his absorbed accusation before busting into actual laughter.
"Me? An evil guy? Puh-lease," she chuckled before smiling again, and her head tilted in amusement. It felt good to laugh after so much crying. "So can I come in?"
"You can't be too careful nowadays ya know." Joey explained with a blush to his cheeks as he moved out of the way to let the girl in. As she walked past him, Joey eyed her with a new interest and closed the door. "Not ta sound like I don't want'cha here, but aren't you better friends with Yug?"
Kari took a seat at the table in front of Joey's bed and looked up at him.
"Yugi? Oh, um, we are having some… differences at the moment…" She lied. Well, it wasn't really a lie but it wasn't the way she had wanted to make it sound. Joey grew suspicious but decided not to question her about it as he too sat down, taking the seat directly across from her. Kari was well aware that Seto could see her in the room with Joey at any given moment, but it wasn't exactly cause for worry. With everything that was currently going on, an angry boyfriend didn't exactly rate high on the scale.
"Okay than. What'cha want to ask me?" Joey's hand fidgeted on the table top and Kari watched his fingers thoughtfully before clearing her throat.
"Well, I need you to tell me everything you know about the Shadow Realm."
Joey looked about ready to fall out of his seat at the mention of that place. Especially after what they had all gone through today, and then throw in the fact that they had lost Mai… he felt tears prick the back of his eyes, but he held them back. He didn't need to cry in front of Kari.
As he looked closer at her, Joey realized she had been staring observantly at him all this time and he blushed. He pressed his palms into his eyes to forcibly hold his emotions in check.
"It's okay Joey. I lost her too." Kari said softly as she reached across the table to touch his arm. He tensed beneath her hand but refused to remove his hands.
He. Would. Not. Cry. Not in front of a girl!
"Look, if it's too painful to talk about I understand. I'm having a hard time with it myself, but I need to know everything I can about it so I can help get her back."
Joey gritted his teeth. Then he slowly removed his hands to reveal slightly red eyes caused by the pressure of his hands against his skin. He wiped shamefully at his eyes before leaning back in his chair.
"I dunno much really. I've only witnessed it a few times before. It's like this place, where evil souls go when they are banished there or something. If you are challenged to a duel while you are in the realm, then whoever loses, their soul is kept there forever… that's… what happened to Mai," his voice cracked and he refused to look in Kari's direction. She sat motionless in her own chair as she listened to what Joey told her.
"Wait. Are you saying we can't get her back then? That her soul is lost forever?" Kari asked with fear high in her voice at the prospect. No. There was no way that could be true. Mai couldn't be lost so quickly.
"I honestly don't know Kari." Joey admitted. His voice sounded so full of pain that Kari's heart could not help but go out to him. Realization hit her hard.
"Joey… was there something… between the two of you?" Kari's voice was meek as she asked, not wanting to step on any potential cracks that could hurt Joey more right now.
However, his head snapped up and he was ready to deny any and all feelings he had for the unconscious woman.
"She –" Joey's shoulders slumped when he realized that Kari wouldn't say anything. She was too good of a person and she had been good friends with Mai during their short time together. "No, there wasn't. But, I guess the feelings I have for her… I just wish she could have returned them. I thought, maybe she did at one point, but I screwed it up. And now… now she's gone."
Kari came around the table and embraced Joey; his body had automatically tensed at first before he relaxed. Kari is a very sweet person, Joey thought as he wrapped his arms around her small body to return the hug before she pulled away.
"Don't worry Joey; somehow I'm going to help you get her back." She walked towards the door and left a baffled Joey standing there.
"What's going on between you and Yugi?" He couldn't help but ask, his curiosity was definitely killing the cat with this one.
Kari unwillingly blushed and turned back to catch the suspicion laced eyes of Joey Wheeler.
"Nothing. Not even friends anymore. It's complicated," she relented with a sigh. Kari ran a hand through her tangled hair and suddenly wished she could say more.
"Ya know you can tell me. Me and Yug, we've been friend for years. Anyone who is friends with him is friends with me." Joey's mouth turned up on one side to give a goofy grin. Kari bit at her lip in an attempt to hold back the grateful grin which was threatening but to no avail.
"Thank you Joey." Kari's smile broke through, and so did her hope. Perhaps with friends on her side, Mai could still be saved and that evil bastard Marik could be destroyed once and for all.
"Where have you been?" Kari ignored her boyfriend's voice, finding it more of a nuisance at the moment, and headed straight for their en suite bathroom. The sensual moment they had had the day before was long gone from her mind and left only a feeling of emptiness in the Seto side of her world for the first time ever.
The sound of heavy footsteps making their way towards her told her that Seto had followed. She tried not to let that irritate her. Kari turned on the sink and splashed water onto her face, wanting to rid it of all remnants of her crying before Seto could notice. When she rose, Kari groped for a towel and dried her face before the realization that Seto had to have handed her the towel hit her. Catching his narrowed and suspicious cobalt blue eyes, Kari tore her gaze away and focused on brushing her hair.
"Mokuba said that you were in the medical room with Mai. When I went to look for you, you weren't there so I got worried." Seto explained though Kari had not asked neither a question nor for an explanation on his actions.
She stared at her reflection, working the knots out of her hair, without saying a word. A few silent minutes passed as she did nothing but brush her hair and Seto stared at her. He was leaning up against the door frame of the bathroom. She knew he was going to be interrogated but wished he would simply come out and say it.
"You're friends with Wheeler now too?" He finally accused, disdain heavy in his tone.
"Yes." Was Kari's flat reply, which caught the young CEO off guard. Seto had never heard the usually melodic voice of his girlfriend sound so plain.
Something was wrong.
He narrowed his eyes and stopped Kari from brushing her hair by grabbing her wrist and forcibly turned her body so she looked at him. He saw that the sparkle he yearned to see in her eyes every time she saw him was no longer there. It had been that sparkle which had caused the usually stoic Seto Kaiba to fall in love with her in the beginning.
"What did he do to you?" Seto demanded as Kari still stared back at him. There was finally a flicker of emotion in her eyes; anger.
"He didn't do anything to me Seto," she snapped, making Seto take a step backwards with his own eyes wide. She'd never sounded so mad before, not with him. "If you had been paying attention today, besides the attention you give to those stupid god cards that you don't even have yet, you would have realized that I lost my best friend."
Seto was quiet after her outburst, staring with realization at his oversight. Of course, Mai Valentine had been her companion throughout this tournament, bonding over the fact that they were the only girls to make it into the finals. And she was the only friend Seto was okay with Kari having… because she was female.
During that duel, Seto hadn't been focusing on anything except the god card that Marik Ishtar held in his deck. How he summoned it; what were the incantations; and if it was possible for someone other than Marik to say such words? Of course, after vigorous research Seto was able to find out that it was possible.
He had wanted to tell Kari first, but she was nowhere to be found. Yes, he had known about Mai being hospitalized, but the way Kari spoke about her… it was as if Mai was dead or the like. His doctors had pronounced her still alive. Had something changed while he was in his lab?
"She's… alive right?" Seto asked as he looked in her eyes trying to find the truth. Had he been so blind to overlook something like this because of the god cards?
Kari pushed him away distastefully, turning her back as her arms came up to fold across her chest.
"Yes she is still alive, for now. But the matter of her waking up is another matter entirely."
"What are you talking about Kari?" Seto frowned in concentrated confusion.
Kari took a deep breath to calm herself, knowing she was losing control of her temper but also knowing that she shouldn't lose control. Her emotions were just so jumbled.
"From what I understand of it," she started with a softer tone, "Mai is in some sort of coma. Her soul, it's… well, it's no longer within her body." Kari felt Seto's gaze burning into her back, so she looked down in feigned interest to the tiled flooring to avoid catching his eyes. "That's what I was talking with Joey about. I wanted to understand a bit more about what had happened to her during her duel. You and I both know that a regular duel, simulation or not, doesn't render someone collapsing into a coma."
Seto did not speak for some time and Kari finally collected the nerve to turn to see his reaction. His face was expressionless and she wished she could tell what he was thinking. Kari sighed and wrapped her arms around his middle to press her ear against his chest.
Seto tensed beneath her touch and his action caused Kari to stare up at him with worry. He was just looking directly ahead.
"Seto?"
"I need to go to my lab," seemed to be his only answer before untangling himself from her arms and abruptly leaving the room.
Kari frowned after him in confusion and only reacted once she heard the bedroom door loudly slam shut. If that was how he was going to act then fine. She'd just go to someone who understood and who wanted to help!
Kari groaned and swiftly changed her clothes, so she was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a red tank top, before leaving the room herself. Only, she was leaving out of spite at Seto.
Knocking hard on the door, she never realized how much power she was truly using until Yugi opened the door with extremely wide, stunned eyes.
"Kari! What's wrong?"
Kari said nothing as she pushed her way into Yugi's bedroom. Her silence only held out briefly before the rant spilled from her lips and her legs restlessly paced the floor.
"He's a stupid jerk who only thinks of those stupid cards and locks himself up in the lab. I hate those cards. They're stupid and I wish they were never created. And he can't see what's clearly in front of him because if them! And it's breaking my heart-"
Yugi half listened to Kari's words as he slowly closed the door without taking his eyes from her. She was obviously upset, and it was overwhelming to say the least for the small boy. He had never seen Kari like this before. Something had to have happened to really set her off like this, especially to have her standing in his bedroom again after they had broken their not-even-begun friendship.
Yugi took a deep breath and approached Kari's pacing form. He caught her by the wrist and forced her to a halt. Her voice had trailed off because of his action and she looked at Yugi, almost as if seeing him for the first time. He blinked and she looked down shamefully.
"Are you alright Kari?" Yugi asked with concern lacing his voice.
Running a hand through her hair, causing it to mess up again, Kari relaxed a little.
"Seto has crossed the line Yugi. He won't see that something is going on! He can't seem to stop obsessing over those stupid god cards and I can't get him to listen to a word I say. I don't understand him. And now with Mai…" her voice broke and Kari swallowed down tears while Yugi watched through furrowed features. "He has no compassion Yugi, he didn't even care that I was upset."
He was taken aback by the statement. From before he had found out about Kari's relationship with the CEO he had always seen Seto as an emotionless man who was far too wrapped up in his business to care for anyone but himself. The only exception had seemed to be Mokuba, but even that only went so far. However, since finding out that someone as heartless as Seto seemed able to be swept up by a sweet girl like Kari, Yugi was beginning to wonder if he had been wrong about the other teen.
"I'm sure that wasn't the case Kari… Seto was probably just busy with something or other." Yugi comforted, feeling a little wrong for making excuses for Seto. But he wanted to see Kari smile again. He couldn't wipe the look of pure horror on her face after Mai was taken down by Marik during the duel from his memory.
"No, Yugi, you didn't see him. I hugged him and he stiffened up like he didn't even want me around. And then he left for his lab. He… I…" Words escaped her and she simply threw herself at Yugi. His eyes shot wide open and a soft blush brightened his cheeks. Kari buried her face into his neck, wrapped her arms around his middle to keep him close as she lost control of her emotions for the second time that day. It was currently night and she was still crying. What a loser, Kari thought bitterly to herself.
Once he realized she was sobbing on him, and not showing signs of letting go anytime soon, Yugi hesitantly wrapped his own arms around her slim body to hold her. She needed the physical comfort. If anyone was going to give her this, he was happy that it was him.
In the beginning the embrace had been awkward, but soon enough Yugi felt himself pet her hair and stroke her back. A few minutes of this and Kari's sobs subdued themselves so she pulled away with a brilliant red face. Her eyes were bloodshot from the long periods of hard crying and it added a wild look; her blue irises standing out brightly from the red of her whites. Yugi swallowed back the emotions he felt for her and lifted her chin with a finger, so she had no choice but to look at him.
"He's probably just stressed Kari, like we all are. Things in his tournament are not happening like he had originally planned. You must be patient with him. For now, you just need friends," Yugi explained softly, his lips curving upwards in an attempt to reassure her.
Staring back at him for a minute, Kari felt her lips part slightly as she breathed rapidly, a remnant from her crying. Suddenly she leaned forward and Yugi felt his breath completely leave him. But, instead of kissing him like he had originally foreseen a split second before, Kari just leaned her forehead against his shoulder and inhaled deeply.
"Yeah, you're right Yugi. I know you told me not to be friends with you, but I don't have anyone else on the blimp anymore. With Mai gone, Seto in his lab, and Mokuba too young to understand, I needed you."
Yugi visibly blushed once more and felt Kari's body shudder against his, he looked down curiously. She was hurting, and he knew how she felt. Yugi remembered how his friends had been mind-slaves. His grandpa had been taken from him once, and all that he had rendered safe was now once more in danger.
All thoughts of keeping his distance was becoming a distant memory, Kari needed someone. Kari needed him.
Sorry Yami, but I can't deny her.
And the ancient pharaoh watched through narrowed eyes as Yugi wrapped his arms back around the girl to comfort her. Nothing good was going to come of this. He just knew it.
