Chapter 8

"So," Yuna said while wiping down the coffee bar and glancing up at the darkening sky out the window, "if my tarot cards were so wrong the other day, what were your brother and Katsuya-kun making in the kitchen?"

Mokuba's eyes bugged at the question. He didn't really want to answer that one. He just shrugged and took a bite of his dark chocolate almond biscotti.

"This is really good," he mumbled between crunches. It made Yuna cock her head to one side—watching him impishly.

The bell over the glass door chimed when Yugi and Anzu entered.

"Welcome," Yuna said to them both in her usual, serene way. Yuna was dressed in a navy blue cotton dress tonight with a black and yellow coffee shop apron on. She wore the baseball cap, which was part of her work uniform, backwards just like Jounouchi—which suited her mood and aura, but annoyed her father for being too 'boyish' for his 'pretty little girl.' Then again, he was upstairs right now, watching television, and what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Hi," Yugi said as he approached the counter, "we need two ice coffees." Yugi and Anzu were still on their date. They'd bought matching T-shirts at the park concert and were wearing them over their street clothes. A Japanese instrumental rock band called The Black Mages was in town—playing dramatic, cutting edge music that would end up on a video game soundtrack someday. Since their live performances were rare, Yugi just had to get tickets for the two of them.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" came the soft voice.

"No thanks," Anzu smiled back.

Yuna nodded and walked toward the cups.

"Mokuba, hi!" Anzu said, suddenly noticing him. Mokuba nodded back with a mouth full of biscotti, crumbs trailing down his chin. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, leaving a dark mark.

This might be a chance to get some information, Yugi thought.

"Ummm…Mokuba….We keep seeing your brother at school," Yugi said, "but we've got review tests all week, and we haven't had a chance to talk to him."

Mokuba's eyes grew suspicious.

"Yes," Anzu said, "just curious…has he spoken to…Pegasus recently?"

"Why would he?"

"Well, we've been trying to contact Pegasus. But he's on vacation. At least, that's what his people say," Yugi continued.

Mokuba shrugged. "I'm sure Mr. Fancy Pants would probably do that. He's probably trying to forget the last time we met up with him---which was…what…? Five or six weeks ago?" He thought back to how wrecked the Crawford Mansion was when they left, and he laughed to himself openly. Then, he noticed the frown on Yugi's face. "Why ask anyway? Is it a big deal?"

"Well, actually…," Anzu began.

"It's no big deal," Yugi interrupted with an arm around Anzu. With a fake smile, he gave a quick shake of the head "no" to her, and she understood right away. Kaiba-kun would probably hate us for saying too much and upsetting his little brother.

Mokuba noticed the sudden arm around Anzu and smiled evilly.

Thanks, Mokuba! Now Yugi will be embarrassed, and he'll take his arm back. Anzu tried to look calm but continued to fume inwardly.

Yugi's violet eyes danced between the two of them. Anzu worries too much, Yugi thought to himself. With a sincere smile this time, he looked Mokuba in the eye…and hugged Anzu a little tighter.

"Your drinks," Yuna said, putting the two milky iced beverages on the counter.

Yugi gave her the money, and she stepped lightly over to the register. On the way back with his change, Yuna thought she saw something moving outside the picture window and a brief, yellow glow that quickly faded away to nothingness. Slightly distracted, she handed the change over, but kept watching.

"Is there a problem?" Anzu asked, glancing behind her.

"No," Yuna said quietly. Her eyes got a little crafty, which Mokuba immediately noticed, "I just realized I forgot to take the trash out." Her gaze turned to Mokuba. "Could you watch things for me?"

"I can take the trash for you, Yuna-chan," he said—which made Yugi and Anzu stare at him. The Mokuba that they knew would never offer to do such a thing.

"I can do it," she said with a calm smile. "It's behind our building." Her long, black braid swung heavily when she tilted her head.

Yuna went to the little white trashcan that she kept under the coffee bar and pulled out the clear, plastic sack full of empty soda cans.

The bell chimed at the door and Yuna stopped, putting the plastic sack back. Her plan to see what was going on outside didn't work. Maybe, it still wasn't too late-- if she could get rid of these customers soon enough. She looked up to see two men in business suits entering.

"Welcome," Yuna said quietly.

Both men stopped directly in front of the coffee bar. One of them was high school age and had his hands in his pockets. The suit looked good on him and emphasized his long brown hair and brown eyes. The other, in his late 20's, had a tired expression, a wide nose, dull black hair cropped back, and muddy colored eyes. He was already thumbing through his wallet.

"Two dark coffees." A stubby cigarette between his fingers, the man pulled out a large bill and stared directly into her chocolate eyes.

Mouth open slightly, Yuna just blinked at him for a second. Her eyes were drawn to the cigarette. Was that what I saw out the window? That glow? But, why…?

"Yuna" Mokuba said in a "snap out of it" tone , bringing her attention back just as Anzu took a sip and dribbled some of her drink down the side of her cup. She watched Yugi walk down to the end of the bar to fetch some napkins.

Yuna's attention was locked on her two customers. She nodded at them shakily and whispered a soft "sorry" with her head down and got to work. The men stood there and looked the place over—casting casual glances at Yugi, Anzu, and Mokuba. The macho stance didn't bother Mokuba in the slightest. He was used to people like that—from his brother's 'men in black' to the execs at Kaiba Corp. It was just an act to impress. But, from watching Yuna's face, though, Mokuba guessed that it bothered her. He folded his arms and glared back at them.

They'd better not cause trouble, he thought.

"Your drinks," Yuna said, forcing the lids on in front of them.

A rough, scarred hand offered the bill. Cautiously, Yuna took it and made herself look up at the two of them. The younger one, enjoying this, smiled toothily at her. He seemed to have a little fang in one corner of his mouth. His companion glared at him with a pinched-looking face. He was in no mood for head games.

Yuna left them and came back as quickly as she could with the change. She put it on the counter and pushed it in their direction.

"Oi," the older one said, glaring directly into Yuna's face, "is that any way to treat your customers?" The angry growl got the attention of Yugi and Anzu.

"Should we help her?" Yugi whispered.

"Let's see if she needs us," Anzu said.

This time, Yuna's eyes took on a soft glow. She lifted her chin and looked deeply into him. And, there was the hint of a smile on her lips now. The younger man, watching this, seemed taken aback. Her demeanor had changed radically in only a few seconds. She dropped her voice to barely above a whisper. "The message that you couldn't read," she said, "was a lie. You are watching the wrong persons for the wrong reasons."

"You're crazy," he muttered.

"If you go back to the beginning of the end, you'll see that she is the one."

"Stupid," the man said, taking his change and coffee.

"You have a full body tattoo of a four toed dragon on your back and a mole under your right arm. Now, who's stupid?" she whispered even lower.

The man gaped at her. "Do I know you?" He pulled his long sleeves a little lower to hide the inked skin that was peeking out at the wrists.

"A metal building will be your cage. Just like your soul, empty and cold."

"We're leaving," the man said and glared—but he glanced back to see Yuna's face change back. Out of nervousness, she straightened her cap to give herself something to do.

The man's younger companion followed. "I heard what she said," he mumbled as they went out the door. "But, she's right. You do have a dragon tattoo. You love to show it off every time we play cards." He turned his head and winked at Yuna as they left. Yuna's face flushed and Mokuba glared darkly.

"Jerks!" Mokuba said, standing up and leaning against the coffee bar with arms folded. Now that they were gone, he was feeling brave again.

Anzu's face drained of color slightly but forced herself to recover. "Well, you handled them well," Anzu said, trying to sound encouraging. "I've had problem customers before, too. I worked at Burger World for a time."

"Thank you," Yuna said with a smile. "I did my best." But I think I said too much. I'm worried now. But, I always feel that way after telling the complete truth as I see it.

Anzu tugged at Yugi's sleeve and stared at him with worried eyes.

"Did you hear their voices?" she said in low tones so that Yuna and Mokuba wouldn't notice.

"Um, well…"

"They're the same ones from the park. Well, not all of them because we saw four men walking away. But those two were definitely in the group of men we heard talking on the other side of the tree."

"Yes, you're right!" Yugi said. "Now, we know what two of them look like."

"Oh, the trash," she said. Yuna made a second attempt—going over and pulling out the plastic sack. That glow was definitely a cigarette. I wonder if it was the same man…?

She took two strides when she felt a presence behind her. Jounouchi stepped out of the door leading to the back rooms.

"Katsuya-kun," Yuna said peacefully, not turning around just yet. There was a smile coming to her face. She "felt" him more than "saw" him these days.

"Hey, Yugi. Anzu." He gave them a short, friendly wave.

"Jounouchi? There's something that we've been meaning to talk to you about," Yugi said but noticed Mokuba's intense interest. "But, it's no big deal, and we can talk to you about it later over lunch, or I'll give you a call or something."

Anzu nodded.

"Okay," Jou said with a wink. "Well, my shift is over for another day, and I'm off," he said enthusiastically. The blond was dressed in a crisp, white button down shirt with long sleeves and pair of jeans. He smiled at Yuna boyishly. "Thanks for letting me change here. I've got a dat- …uh…late…I mean…I've got something to do tonight, and I don't want to be late." His hazel eyes were full of mischief.

Ha! Mokuba thought to himself with a wicked grin. You mean, you've got a late date with my big brother, and you're trying to keep it quiet.

Mokuba and Jou shared a knowing glance.

"So, see ya!"

When Jounouchi started to leave Yuna said, "Wait, please" and put down the trash at her feet. Jou turned, surprised at her. She approached him, stood on tiptoe, and fixed his collar—turning it down properly and straightening it in the front. Jou noticed for the first time that her hands were small and gentle. Her face had a kind of heart shaped quality to it, too. Usually, she never got this close to him. For a brief second, the shape of her eyes reminded him of his sister.

"Now, you're perfect. Enjoy your movie," she said softly.

"How did you know that?" Jounouchi asked, head cocked to one side.

Yuna suddenly stared down at her feet, her face draining of color. Oh, no! That just popped out. She forced her tone to be even and said quietly, "I guessed." She shrugged and walked over to the door, holding it open for him. "You're going to be late, though. And be careful."

Jou blinked at her.

Oh, no! I did it again! Her face flushed. "It's pretty dark outside," she added, pretending that the sky interested her. "Lovely moon."

Jou gave her a puzzled look as he walked out the door.

Be careful? Where did that come from? I'm saying all kinds of strange things tonight. She sighed inwardly. Possibly, her chi was unbalanced. She could feng shui her bedroom again, maybe—and the closet, too.

Leaning against the open glass door, Yuna watched him leave. He hadn't taken more than three steps away from the coffee shop before he had forgotten the whole thing and his mind was on his date. She watched Jou get into the back of a black limo that was parked at the corner—the same one that Mokuba was always disappearing into. The driver saw her looking and tipped his hat to her. She nodded in return.

There was a nagging part of Yuna that kept saying "protect," but she saw no real need for that. Sometimes, my radar is totally off. I'll have to ignore it for now. Then, her eyes caught something—the same something as before—shadows in the dark. Yuna was never afraid of shadows, curious maybe, but never afraid of them. But, this time, now that she was closer, she had a different feeling entirely. Her eyes couldn't tell if it was one shadow or more than one. The shifting shapes were coming from the alley between her building and the next. There was a scraping sound on gravel—feet, maybe.

"Mokuba-kun?" Yuna said, not looking behind her. "I'm feeling a little nervous about going to the recycle bin by myself. I'm such a coward," she said it a little louder than usual—as her instincts told her to do—but, at the same time, trying not to get an edge of real fear in her voice. "I think I'll take the trash out later. I just feel like…"

"I told you. I'll do it for you," Mokuba said and picked up the small bag from the floor. "Honestly, it's no big deal."

Yuna was about to say something else, but he cut her off with a dramatic wave of his hand. He took steps forward with the trash. Then, Mokuba cut his eyes back at her. Her face was pale in the moonlight. She seemed worried about him, and he liked her concern. It fed his ego. He felt like a hero. Maybe, she'd kiss him again if he was really lucky.

Yuna-chan can be difficult sometimes, he thought with a wry smile.

In two large strides, he was outside.

"If you're worried, just stand there. I'll be right back, Yuna-chan," he called over his shoulder. As Mokuba approached, totally clueless of his surroundings, the shifting shadows retreated.

Yuna watched it all from the front door, biting the tip end of her index finger. I don't think I agree with you, Mokuba-kun. Something feels like a big deal. I just don't know what—right now. She sensed someone behind her and saw that Yugi and Anzu were trying to leave the shop with their drinks, but she was blocking the doorway.

"So sorry," Yuna said keeping the door open for them. "And please come again." She bowed to them as they left.