Hey, everyone. Here's Chapter 4 for you all. Things are really starting to heat up now, huh? Well, it'll only get worse from here, we're afraid. Anyway, enjoy :)
~Dawn Stone Slifer~
The Battle City Finals were not what they expected. Crowds of spectators, big lights, a fancy dueling arena, not to mention welcoming staff who were happy to help. That was exactly what the duelists didn't find when they entered the Kaiba battle dome. Instead, they got a big empty stadium, a worn patch of grassland occupying the arena, with Kaiba standing in the center, arms folded and a foul look on his face. Mokuba stood next to his brother, a happy smile on his face as he watched the group enter the arena.
"Welcome. Present your Locator Cards," a familiar voice said, causing Elise to glance upwards. In front of the Kaiba brothers, was a middle-aged man with dark green hair. She knew him well. She nodded to him slightly, watching as Kaiba's right-hand man acknowledged her as well.
"Here are your tournament IDs. Congratulations; you three are now officially Battle City Finalists," Roland said, looking away from Elise to Yugi, Joey and Mai.
Elise's gaze moved from Kaiba's employee, to the man himself, and she couldn't help but flinch as she saw the man glaring at her. Sure, she hadn't made the finals, but she didn't think it was that big of a deal. Besides, with the way she was feeling right now, she didn't even want to think about dueling.
But, that still didn't give him the right to treat her the way he had been. They hadn't seen each other in months, and she figured that he'd be a little more...pleased to see her. Then again, happiness was an emotion that Kaiba seemed to struggle with.
Even so, the fact that she had received an invite to the tournament in the first place, meant that he'd at least thought about her. That thought was comforting enough, she guessed.
That being said, she still wished he would stop glaring at her like that. She hadn't done anything wrong, last time she'd checked.
A sharp gust of wind snapped her out of her thoughts, and she glanced up, to see a figure walking through the entrance they had walked through moments ago.
She watched as the figure came into view; he was a young man around her age, with platinum blonde hair and tanned skin. She felt a chill run down her spine as she met his light purple gaze, and she looked away, feeling a wave of unease sweep over her. She put it down to her frame of mind however; she'd been through enough today, and meeting new people wasn't the most appealing thought to her in that moment. She'd made enough new 'friends' to last a lifetime.
She'd briefly conversed with Mai's group - she'd call them that, although by the way things looked, the group seemed to centre around Yugi Muto - and had come to the conclusion that they were all nice people. They were a little full on at times, especially Joey and his friend Tristan, but they weren't bad. They reminded her of her friends back at home.
That's probably why they seemed to tire her out so much.
"Hey! That's Bakura!"
Her eyes widened as she heard the familiar name being mentioned, and she glanced towards the entrance, failing to conceal a gasp as the young white-haired man staggered towards them, his eyes hidden. Her eyes locked on the Duel Disk that was attached to his arm, before glancing higher, noticing the bandage wrapped tightly around his upper forearm.
She didn't even need to think. She saw the blood seeping through his bandage, and she felt her legs moving on their own.
"Bakura!" she yelped out as the young man slowed to a stop, wobbling terribly. She saw his body begin to lean forwards, and she reached for him, managing to steady him as he all but collapsed in her arms. She winced as she felt his body brush against her hip, but ignored it for the time being; Bakura was injured, and right now he was her top priority.
"Bakura! Bakura!" she called out, shaking him slightly as Yugi and Joey ran to meet her. Joey helped lift the exhausted boy off of her, and she sent him a thankful glance.
"You should be back at the hospital!"
"Hospital?" Elise whispered, glancing at the man who was beginning to come around, "what do you mean? Why were you in the hospital?"
"He was attacked. Namu found him in an alleyway a few hours ago," Tea said as she joined the group, motioning to the tanned man behind them. Elise glanced back, her uneasiness growing. Something about that guy just didn't seem right to her...
"...I'm fine..." he murmured softly, looking up at everyone. Elise could see the exhaustion in his eyes, mixed with the pain, and she had half a mind to send him straight back to the hospital.
"Wait, what are you doing wearing a Duel Disk?" Yugi asked, a questioning look on his face.
"How else could I have won six Locators Cards, and entered the Finals?"
Elise's eyes widened, and she couldn't stop the grin from forming on her face.
"I told you you could do it, Bakura!" she said with a smile, and he nodded, smiling back at her.
"Well, after our little chat earlier, I felt inspired by you. And now, well, here I am!"
She couldn't stop the pride that swelled within her as he said those words. She was glad that she could inspire someone so much.
"But...shouldn't you be in the hospital, though? I mean, you're injured..." she said, eyeing his wound.
"Oh, it's just a scratch! Really, I'm fine!" he said, letting out a nervous laugh. She gave him a skeptical look, but let it go for the time being. She'd get him alone later and question him more.
"You two know each other?" Yugi's voice piped up, and Bakura nodded.
"We met earlier today, actually. She's a really talented duelist, Yugi. You should look forward to dueling her in the Finals," he said, and she cringed a little. She didn't like to be reminded of the fact that she wasn't going to be competing.
"Er..." Yugi began, before he was silenced by Elise's hand pretty much slapping his face.
"Oh, l-look! There's another Finalist!" she said, pointing towards the opposite entrance.
Yugi's head turned, and once she was sure he was successfully distracted, she tugged Bakura out of Joey's grip, and away from the group slightly.
"Bakura, what happened to you?" she asked, her face serious as she looked him in the eye. He gulped a little, before looking away.
"I'm...I'm not really sure. One minute I was walking down the street, and the next, I was being jumped by...someone."
"You didn't see their face?" She said, gritting her teeth. If she'd gotten a description, she would've been on the lookout...it's not like she'd go looking for trouble, but she sure as hell wouldn't stand there if Bakura's attacker was standing right in front of her...
"Look, Elise...I...I want to apologise...for earlier..."
Bakura's timid voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she raised an eyebrow at him in confusion.
"For earlier?"
"I...I upset you...back at the cafe..."
Her eyes widened as she remembered the conversation they'd had earlier in the day, and her shoulders hunched.
"No, it...it's okay, you didn't...I just...it was a pretty stupid subject to get excited over, really, so..."
"But it wasn't stupid, though. I enjoyed listening to you, hearing your thoughts and opinions. And when you started to ramble, well...it was nice-"
"-Listen, Bakura," Elise cut him off, her jaw tight as she looked him straight in the eye, "it may have been 'nice' and all, but I shouldn't...I can't let myself do that. If I ramble...I end up regretting things. Things that I've done in my past, and how it's made me who I am today because of it. You understand why I don't like remembering...don't you?"
Bakura, at a loss for words at her long-winded explanation, simply nodded. He honestly had no idea why she didn't want to remember, but he understood enough to know that him talking about it would only makes things tougher for her.
"...I understand. I promise not to bring it up any more," he murmured softly, and she sent him a grateful smile.
"Thanks...but hey, enough with all the serious stuff. Congratulations are in order! You got to the Finals!"
"Oh, yes, well...I'm afraid I'm a little nervous...I mean, look at all these duelists! Yugi, Kaiba and you are all extremely talented duelists, and I have no idea about the others. I mean...it's all a bit...intimidating..." he shuddered slightly, before continuing.
"But, if it means I get to duel you again, then I'll gladly enter, Elise!"
"Uh, yeah...about that..." she sighed, shaking her head slowly.
"I'm...not actually in the Finals..."
Bakura's eyes widened, and he gaped at her as she gave him a nervous laugh.
"H-Hey, you can't win them all, right?"
"But...but you...I..." Bakura stared at her, his mouth wide open as he tried to form a coherent sentence.
"I...I just figured that I would...take an audience look at these Finals...I don't really want to duel any more, anyway..."
"Oh? And why's that?" he asked, finally able to speak. His eyes still portrayed the shock he felt, and she shrugged, frowning a little.
"Well...ever since this morning, I've had this-"
"-Alright! Can I have your attention, please?"
Elise paused as she heard Kaiba's henchman yell out, and she turned, watching as he stepped forwards.
"Seven out of eight of you are here. So now it's time to announce, that although your Locator Cards have led you here, this is not the site of the Battle City Finals."
"The actual tournament arena should be arriving here any second now, folks."
Little less than a minute later, and a large shadow fell over the arena. Elise looked up, and her eyes widened as she saw what would be hosting the next series of duels.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," she muttered under her breath as she saw the huge blimp - the one she'd spotted earlier - descending towards the group.
This isn't even funny... she thought to herself as her and Bakura began to walk towards the steps that led them onto the flying vehicle.
"Excuse me, but I'm afraid you five will have to wait here. You don't have the necessary IDs."
She felt herself being pulled back, and she yelped a little as someone's fingers brushed against her hip, their fingers touching the mark that she had found earlier.
She tugged herself out of Kaiba's security's grasp, glowering at them.
"What the fuck?!" she hissed, "why can't we get on?!"
"I'm sorry, Miss Griffin, but you haven't qualified as a Battle City Finalist. That means, no entry."
"The hell it does!" she snapped, quickly losing her patience. She wasn't too keen on going into the massive blimp that loomed above her, but she sure as hell wasn't going to miss Bakura duelling. She'd grown quite fond of the white-haired boy.
"Please, sir," piped up a timid voice, and Elise turned her head, to see a young girl with strawberry blonde hair - Serenity Wheeler, Joey's younger sister - stepping forwards, "I really want to be there and see my big brother duel...this will be the first time ever..."
"C'mon, man! You can't say no to that!" Tristan yelled, placing his arm around Serenity's shoulder.
"Well...it is against the rules..."
"It's fine, Roland. You can bend the rules for them!"
Elise's eyes widened as she heard a familiar voice, and she turned, her face brightening when she spotted the owner of the voice.
"B-But, sir-"
"It doesn't matter! I mean, I'm not a Finalist and I don't have an ID card, but I'm still allowed on!"
"Mokuba's right!" Elise stepped in, walking over to the young boy and placing her hand on his head, ruffling his hair gently.
"...Fine," Roland finally gave in, noting to himself to take up the young woman's behaviour with Kaiba later.
Even after all this time, she was still intent on rule-breaking.
The others boarded the blimp, with Elise and Mokuba lagging behind.
"Thanks, Mokie," she whispered, patting his head gently. He laughed, swatting her hands away.
"No problem. We're all friends here, right?" he responded, "besides, I don't think Seto would be too happy if you didn't come. He's pretty mad about you not making the Finals..."
"Yeah, well, Kaiba can shove it. He's lucky I even turned up to Domino in the first place. I mean, no calls, no emails? And then, just out of the blue, this invitation shows up? Your brother sure has a way with...being an ass.."
She covered his ears, causing him to laugh and swat at her hands again.
"Like I haven't heard worse before. We used to hang out a lot until...well, y'know..."
"That's in the past, Mokie...I know things were left bad, but...you knew as well as I did that it wasn't...going to end any better if I had stayed...besides, it's better this way."
"...Yeah, I guess..." Mokuba murmured, going silent.
"Hey...c'mon now, don't go all serious on me! You're starting to look just like your brother, with that grumpy face of yours!" she laughed a little, tugging on his cheek. He smiled a little, but his eyes were soft, sad.
"...Would that be such a bad thing, though? I mean...I love Seto...just like-"
"-Hey, Elise!"
Elise's head shot up, and she raised an eyebrow as Joey motioned to her.
"We're all going to pick out rooms before the blimp lifts off. You wanna come with?"
She nodded slowly, wanting to at least sit down before the blimp ascended. She had a feeling that her mood was going to decline rapidly once they were in the air.
"Sure."
She glanced down at Mokuba, slowly detaching herself from his cheek.
"Go see your brother, Mokie. And tell him I said hi, okay?"
"But...don't you need someone with-"
"I said go see your brother, Mokie," her voice rose, knowing what he was going to say. She didn't want to hear it. Not from him.
He nodded quickly, wasting no time in dashing away from her and past Joey and the others.
"...The kid looked terrified, hun. What did you do to him?" Mai asked, raising an eyebrow as Elise joined the group, a scowl now plastered on her face.
"Nothing. He just reminded me of something that I'd rather forget..."