"I remember when we broke up, the first time!" Maria sang happily as their car raced along the road.
Kisara, smiled. She glanced into the mirror to look at her brothers. Kevin had his headphones plugged in, the volume probably at maximum, and was playing on his phone. Kenny was busy huffing at the glass, drawing pictures on the window. Kisara resumed her position of gazing out at the passing scenery, her head resting in her hand. It had been a few hours now that they started their journey, and it would be a few more hours to go. Maria changed the radio station, not content with the current song. Kisara glanced into the cars they passed, looked like there wore more business looking people than families on vacation. Kisara wondered if people looked into their car as well and what they would think. Their first thought would probably be "why are they speeding"? Kisara turned to Maria.
"Why are we going so fast?"
"The future waits for no one!" She smiled.
"Whoa! Cows!" Kenny cried.
Kisara looked over in his direction. She'd never seen a farm in real life before, only in videos and pictures. She made a mental note to treat her brothers to a trip there one day. That was, if Mr. Hales would allow it. She chuckled, turning back in her seat as she remembered convincing her grandfather to let her take the boys along.
"But...you're sure?" Grandpa sighed.
Kisara sat with her legs crossed, holding her left knee as she nodded. Grandpa scratched his head, giving up. Kisara had come out of her room to speak about looking for a way to the future in Domino with Maria. He wasn't thrilled but would support her and agreed. Then she asked if it'd be ok for Kenny and Kevin to come along if they would like. Grandpa nearly jumped out of his seat in worry. It'd been so long since she was the one to look after them, didn't see want to just spend this time worrying about herself, would Maria be fine with it?
"Yes, yes. It'll be during the summer. We'll go when the boys don't have school, look around, judge the city and stuff. Then I can return in the fall if anything's to my liking. How's that?"
"I suppose it sounds good...I don't know how to argue with that. Ok. If the boys are ok with it then I don't see why not."
"Thank you! I'll go ask them!" Kisara smiled, getting up.
"Oh but what is an old man to do? All alone here for 2 months with no one to speak to? It'd be a shame if I up and died, all alone."
Kisara paused and looked back at her Grandpa. She giggled and pointed across the room.
"There's Pokey. Pokey will keep you company and so will Mits."
Pokey and Mits flicked their tails at being disturbed. They were two fat orange tabby cats. Kenny had shown up with them one day, and they never left. They loved Grandpa, hated the kids though. Grandpa laughed, his guilt trip clearly failed. Kisara wandered into the dining room where the boys were glued to the TV. Kevin had changed his hair, it was now a type style that hugged his head with a single lock laying on his nose. He'd wanted to get his ears pierced but Grandpa forbade it. The 15 year old sulked and sulked for months until Mr. Hales threatened to put as many holes as Kevin would like in his head himself. His latest obsession was being allowed to go on dates without Mr. Hales chaperoning. Kisara smirked, Kenny was 11 years old and still as sweet as when he was born. He had long white hair that curled slightly at its ends, growing long and always in his face. She was happy he was himself and not mimicking Kevin like she had feared. They were sprawled on the sofa, watching their show with an intense focus. Kevin's leg was thrown in an arch above Kenny, his foot comfortably resting on the back of the sofa. Kenny was upside down, his legs propped up against the wall, his head dangling above the floor. Kids sure would get into odd positions to be relaxed. Kisara mustered up her question, ready to disturb her brothers.
"So, who wants to go with me to Domino City?"
Kisara became alarmed when the two rushed towards her, tripping and pushing and falling all over themselves. They seemed to almost spring out of the weird positions they had been in. There was something about this Domino City that had their interest, apparently this city had many things for many people. They panted, babbling and making random noises in their excitement and determination to say something.
"Oh my God of course I want to go!" Kevin declared.
"It's Domino City Kisara! How could we not go, I mean that's like, not eating your ice cream and throwing it away! It's Domino City!" Kenny cheered.
"I get it...but what's up? Why're you two so excited?"
Kisara regretted the question as the two soon jumped around, closing in on her personal space. They were stunned, how could she ask that?
"Look! This is why! Just look!" Kenny pleaded, shoving his hand into his pocket.
He presented to her a rather large deck of cards, shoving his hair from his round little face. Kisara stared at the brown and black design, still not seeing it. Kisara wasn't one to keep up with the times at all. She had no idea which new product was trending, what latest game or fashion was out. Kisara read books, and when she was done those, she read more. She jogged, she played in the garden, she made pathetic attempts to befriend their cats. She hadn't touched her facebook page in over 3 years, let alone the internet beyond what she had to do for school. When asked if she had the latest phone, people were in awe and horror to see she still had a clunky, chunky, flip phone. The last she'd ever heard of any sort of cards her little brothers would like were...
"Pokemon cards?"
Yet again, they jumped around shocked at her ignorance. They nearly seemed offended too. Clearly these cards were special. Their blue eyes bore into their older sister, shocked at how shut in she seemed to be.
"They're duel cards! Spells, traps! Monster cards! For Dueling!?" They exclaimed.
Kenny flipped his deck over and spread the cards out like a fan, displaying for his big sister the pretty pictures and messages.
"I've got a lot of the Cyber Jar cards but I figure someone's got to want them. I keep them so when I meet someone that does, I can trade or sell them. Oh look, I've got Dark Magician Girl?!"
Kisraa stared, confused still. She gently and slowly plucked that specific card from Kenny's fanned out display.
"You can keep it. She doesn't fit my deck."
"What deck? You've just got a bunch of random cards together. No focus on type or anything." Kevin teased.
Kisara stared at the illustration of the card. This girl look exactly, well, nearly identical to Maria. She stared at it for awhile, looking into the green eyes of the character. She smiled, wouldn't Maria be surprised when she saw this! Almost like those people who somehow look just like celebrities, this was neat.
"How do you not know Kisara? It's all we watch!" Kevin huffed, waving his hand to the TV.
Kisara frowned at her brother, he was always watching TV and Kisara didn't watch him watch it. She looked to the television, but did show genuine interest when she saw a monster shatter into a million little pieces. It sounded a little like glass. The short boy had some strange hair, spikey and multicolored. Kisara stepped forward as the screen panned to people floating above the ground.
"Maria!?" She gasped.
"That's the Dark Magician Girl, huh, it does look like her a little. There, that purple guy, that's the Dark Magician." Kevin paused the TV.
"What are those people doing?"
"Dueling. Those are holographic images! That Dark Magician Girl really does sort of look like Maria. How cool! Think she's copying how the Dark magician Girl looks? Oh there's the Queen's Knight, she's the opponent's monster. She sort of looks like you Kisara."
Kisara threw a strange glance to her brother. She looked nothing like the bulky duel monster with its angry eyes. She continued to watch as the two yelled out commands for their monsters, it was like a giant game of virtual reality chess in a way. More monsters appeared, more cards were drawn, some of the monsters were destroyed, others injured, some sacrificed. Kenny shoved himself in front of Kisara, eagerly pointing at a very tall man in a strange gravity defying coat.
"That's Seto Kaiba! Mr. Kaiba's hosting this tournament! He lives in Domino and his company's there. Kevin!"
Kenny grasped the end of his brother's shirt, yanking it for support. The older brother placed an understanding hand onto Kenny's head, nodding with each yank. Confused and slightly worried, Kisara looked back at the screen.
"He's our idol and role model Kisara. He's so young yet in charge of a huge company. Wikipedia tells me it used to create things for war and violence, but now look. It's a huge influence in dueling, it brings everyone from everywhere of any kind all together. It's the love of the cards! I even styled my hair in honor of him." Kevin sniffed.
"It's something we can love no matter what! There's a KaibaLand near there too somewhere. I heard orphans get in free! We're going with you!" Kenny decided.
"But we're not orphans..." Kisara gently reminded her brother.
Kisara looked past her brother and back toSeto Kaiba on the screen. He seemed rather...pissed off and serious. She noticed him throw his nose in the air ever so slightly as he turned to walk away, a small boy with busy black hair at his heels. That guy was their idol? Even Kent had been more friendly to would be muggers. Unimpressed, she put her hands on their shoulders.
"Alright then. We'll be leaving when you boys get on summer break."
She left as they bounced around in their wild excitement.
"Is this too much?" Grandpa fussed.
He'd packed Kisara two emergency bags, and an emergency carry on bag. Kisara stared at the piles of medical supplied. Six different types of anti-biotic creams, and gels and sprays. A vast variety of bandage sizes and medical wrap. There were 3 pay as you go cell phones, and 3 without batteries. He told her they needed nothing but a good place and she'd be able to call 911, nothing else needed but the shell of the phone. There were flares, emergency chocolates, random winter clothing. There was a knife kit, a kit to sterilize water, even an inflatable raft. He also took the time to show Kisara the random amount of money hidden in various places in the bag $900 to be exact. She sighed. He was in such a worry for their safety, she said nothing at all but thank you and assured him it was enough. They boys groaned as they all worked to drag the bags into the trunk of Maria's car. Grandpa had trapped Maria and was taking down every bit of information. Her license, where she'd bought the car from, the information from the car, and bumper-stickers and any other trinkets inside of the vehicle.
They all waved, after he checked their seat-belts, saying their good-byes. They worried for a moment that he had died from a heart-attack once Maria drove off like a speed-demon stomping on the gas pedal.
"Ah he's calling me!" Kenny said as he opened his phone.
"What in the blazes was that!?"
Kisara turned, giving a worried look to her friend. Maria just hummed and continued driving at her ridiculous speed.
"If that's how she drives, will you three be all right?!"
"Aw come on it's not bad Grandpa. We'll be fine. You packed us a ton of stuff too!"
"Does she obey stop signs and pull over when an emergency vehicle's coming? Oh my, what of the red lights?"
"Uh, well..." Kenny trailed off.
Maria reached her right hand behind her seat, grasping for the phone. Kenny obliged and placed the phone into Maria's waiting hand.
"Hello?" She chirped.
"Kisara?
"Nah! It's Maria!"
"But you're driving...you're driving! Get off this cell-phone at once! Focus on the road and do not be distracted!"
"We'll be just fine sir! Don't you worry! See ya!"
Maria ended the call and flipped the phone behind her, luckily Kenny caught it. Kisara stared, dumbfounded at her friend. She wondered if Grandpa was ok now, what he was doing or thinking. They boys didn't seem as disturbed as Kisara. Maria sneezed and turned the radio on, the awkward silence was soon gone.
It was night time now and the little car was still going strong. The boys were fast asleep and Kisara amused herself watching their heads roll with every turn and bump.
"What's that?" Kisara asked, fighting sleep.
"Hm?"
Off in the distance was a slightly pale figure. As they got closer, the lights showed it was a woman with long red hair. She waved at them and, much to Kisara's fright, Maria slowed down and began to pull over.
"What're you doing!? Don't stop!"
"But she's waving."
"I don't care don't stop! She could kill us or steal the car! She could be a fugitive!" Kisara began to panic and cling to her seat as they came closer.
"But Kisara! It's the middle of the night and she's totally alone! A woman in the night all alone? It's too dangerous, if I hear a woman's been missing or found dead in this area I could never sleep with myself knowing I passed her by!"
"No! No! She's a stranger, she could be dangerous! Don't stop, not with my brothers here!"
"Kisara, I'm saddened now. You could've been just as dangerous but Mr. Hales took you all into his house and adopted you. You should know how scary it is to be alone and what the kindness of strangers can do!"
The car stopped and the woman began to walk to the driver window. Not caring if Maria thought she was a hypocrite for being wary, Kisara quickly undid her seat-belt and flung herself into the back seats. She landed between her still sleeping brothers, frantically reaching past them to lock their doors. Thinking quickly, she reached into the front and locked the passenger door too. The woman was now peeking through Maria's window, watching Kisara. Maria shook her head and rolled her window down.
"Need help?"
"Just a ride into Domino."
Her voice was soothing, there was something to it. This was the type of voice you could use to seduce a man away from his wife, it was the type of voice that could make a baby fall asleep instantly. It was gentle, flowing, calming and yet could be used to make any man love her. Kisara blushed at herself, thinking of the possible professions a woman with her voice could have.
"Oh wow! We're going there too! Hope in."
"I will but uh...your friend seems to have locked the car up?"
Kisara sat in the middle of the back seat, staring at this woman. The woman smiled at her and then began walking in front of their car. She stopped and stood in the bright head lights. She removed her heavy coat and tossed it to the ground, spinning around. She was in a tight purple cocktail dress. Maria whistled, Kisara's eyes must have bulged. This woman had a tiny, perfectly curved waist. Her hips were round, those hips that told you she would be great for child-bearing. Her butt was plump and also round, and it was very well toned as it lead the way down to her perfectly shaped legs. Her breasts were perky and perfect mounds, despite how large they were. Maria glanced at Kisara in the mirror, both thinking the same thought, this woman was her own garden of Eden.
"There's nothing on me! I've only this dress and these painful heels."
Snapping out of jealous admiration, Maria unlocked the door and the stranger got in, thanking both her and Kisara. They drove off again, now with a new passenger. The woman smelled of cigarettes and violets. She must've felt Kisara watching her, because she turned around and met her eyes directly. She had sharp green eyes and perfectly shaped red lips to go along with the rest of her body. Her red hair was long, her bangs framed her face. She was without a doubt very beautiful.
"My name is Airo."