A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! Keep enjoying!
The Kame Game Shop had closed for the night by the time that Yuugi and her friends got there. Considering that it was after dark on a school night, Yuugi wasn't really all that surprised. She unlocked the door and stepped aside to let Malik, Ryou and Jou in before entering herself. She swept an experienced eye over the shop as she closed and locked the door behind them, noting that while everything was dusted and swept not all of the new stock had been put out. That was unusual for Sugoroku, who always liked to finish a job before retiring for the night. Something must have disturbed him before he could finish, and she didn't have to think too hard to figure out what that something was.
"They must be in the back," she said, shoving her keys in her pockets. Her grandfather usually liked it when she used the back entrance when the shop was closed, but in this case she was making an exception. She nodded towards the doorway, and Malik squared her shoulders and marched through like she was planning to go to war. Jou and Ryou followed right behind her, with Yuugi bringing up the rear.
Isis and Sugoroku were together, just as Malik had predicted. Both of them were seated at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in front of them. Judging by the empty crumb covered plates, they had been there for some time. Yuugi was struck by how old her grandfather looked when she caught sight of him, before he realized that they were in the room. Sugoroku was sitting with his head bowed, hands clasped firmly n the table before him, and she'd never seen him look that way before. Like the weight of the world had come down on his shoulders, and he couldn't bring himself to straighten up under the pressure of it. Isis, on the other hand, was sipping calmly from her tea.
"Nee-chan," Malik said, and Yuugi was gratified to see Isis jump. Apparently there were some things Isis didn't know.
"Malik. You're here," Isis said, turning towards them. The light glittered off of something gold, and Yuugi's eyes widened. Isis was wearing the Millennium Tawk around her neck. The eye was tucked snugly against her throat and almost seemed to be mocking them.
"I didn't really have a choice," Malik pointed out. "What are you doing here?"
"I needed to speak to Mutou-san about something very important," said Isis, gently setting her cup of tea down on the table.
"Jii-chan?" Yuugi asked.
Sugoroku looked up at her and tried to smile. "It's alright, Yuugi. Why don't you and your friends sit down, and we'll explain as much as we can? I'll get some tea."
"We'll do it," Ryou said before he could stand up. Yuugi shot her a grateful look. Sugoroku didn't look capable of doing anything at the moment, though he never would have willingly admitted defeat. If Yuugi had offered he would've insisted on doing the chore himself, but now that Ryou had offered he would feel compelled to take her up on it. Ryou winked back at her - she knew Sugoroku as well as Yuugi did after all these years - and walked over to the counter. She knew the Mutou's kitchen well, and within five minutes everyone had been served with a fresh cup of tea.
"You met your yami's tonight," Isis said without waiting for anyone else to begin.
Yuugi nearly choked on her tea. "How did you -" she began before shutting up. The Millennium Tawk. Right. She'd known about the Item, but she'd never really seen Isis put her power into practice before. It was eerie. No wonder it bothered Malik as much as it did.
Isis shot her a superior smile. "As I explained to Malik, the future I foresaw is now coming to pass. I knew that you were going to meet your other half's tonight, that all of you would." Her glance included Jou, who frowned. "It was just a matter of waiting for the right moment. Now that it has happened, we can finally proceed with the next part of the plan. You have to become closer to your other half's, gain their trust, and there is only one way for you to do that."
"And what would that be?" Yuugi inquired warily. If it was really true, and she was the pharaoh's hikari and Yami was that pharaoh, then she could see a whole host of problems with that. Gozaburo kept his adopted son on an extremely short leash, and if Yami - and Bakura, for that matter - were also under his control then that meant they were likely kept under close watch too. It would be nearly impossible to get close to Yami or Bakura without Gozaburo noticing and paying a lot more attention than was safe.
"Do you remember when I told you that, if you solved the Millennium Puzzle, I would find a way for you to attend Central Academy?" Sugoroku asked.
She paused at that. Of course she remembered. Central Academy was the best school in the country. Regardless of whether people went there to be duelists, or just to gain a better understanding of their partner monsters and the shadow realm from where they came, it had always produced the best of the elite. Graduating from Central Academy was almost a guarantee of an exceptional life. However, it was also a boys only school. No girls allowed. Girls who were deemed to be good enough were sent to Central Academia instead, but it was common knowledge that all of the best and brightest resources were spent on Central Academy first.
Yuugi had been dreaming of going to Central Academy since she was a child. She adored dueling, and it was one of the few areas of her life where she excelled. She had yet to find someone who could beat her, and that included Sugoroku and Jou, both of whom were good duelists in their own right. But she had also grown up with the knowledge that she would never get the chance to go there regardless of what Puzzles she solved, and she'd dismissed his promise as a flight of fancy.
"Yes," she said finally, realizing that he was still looking at her expectantly. "I do remember that. Of course I do. But Jii-chan, I never actually expected you to follow through on that. I mean, it's Central Academy. Only boys can go there."
"Exactly," said Isis with a nod, like Yuugi had just divined some incredible secret. "As of six months ago, the newest student list of Central Academy includes Kaiba Seto, Tenno Yami, Takahashi Bakura, and the name of your yami." She glanced at Malik, who made a face.
"Let me guess, you know his name but you can't share," Malik said, rolling her eyes.
"There are some things you need to find out on your own," Isis said diplomatically. "Central Academy is the one place where Gozaburo won't be able to keep such a close eye on the boys."
"That doesn't make any sense," said Ryou. She looked uncomfortable. "I mean, Kaiba Corp founded Central Academy. Most of their graduates go on to be hired by Kaiba Corp. That's why so many people want their kids to end up there."
"That's true. But Gozaburo spends most of his time dealing with Kaiba Corp itself. He leaves the care of the school to one of its shareholders," Isis explained. She glanced at Malik, who shrugged and looked away. "I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not, but our father is the headmaster at Central Academy."
"What?" Yuugi said, stunned. Out of all the years she'd been friends with Malik, she'd never heard about that before. Malik didn't talk much about her parents. Yuugi knew her mother had died when they were younger, but her father was more of a mystery. All Malik had ever been willing to divulge was that she and Isis did not live with the man, but she had strongly implied that her father wasn't even in Japan. To hear that he was and had such an important job with Kaiba Corp was shocking.
"Malik, why didn't you tell us?" Ryou asked.
"Because it doesn't matter," Malik snapped. "Hafiz is an old bastard who deserves to rot in hell for everything that he has ever done. He fits in at Kaiba Corp perfectly. I haven't seen him in years, and I don't really have any intention of seeing him now." She glared at Isis. "I can tell where you're going with this. I know what you're thinking. And the answer is no. If it's really so important for us to spend time with our yamis, then we'll find some other way to do it. But I am not infiltrating Central Academy!"
"You couldn't do it that anyway," Yuugi pointed out. "You're a girl."
"There are ways to cover that up," Isis said before Malik could respond. "If you wanted to - you could disguise yourselves as boys."
The idea was ludicrous. It was only good manners that stopped Yuugi from saying that. Jou, however, had no such problem. "That's crazy," Jou said, sitting back and folding her arms. "First of all, do you really expect me to believe that someone like Kaiba Seto could be my soul mate? There's no way that jackass could ever be anything to me except for a punching bag. And second of all, even if Yuugi, Ryou and Malik did believe you and decided to go along with it, they've got tests for that kind of thing. They'd be caught out in no time - and even if they weren't, at some point someone would notice the their marks."
Isis was nodding. "I appreciate all of your concerns, Jou, but this really is the only way. Regardless of whether you're willing to accept it or not, the Tawk has shown me proof that Kaiba Seto is your mate. Furthermore, there is written proof in Kaiba Corp's records that Tenno Yami is the pharaoh and Takahashi Bakura is the thief king, which makes them your yamis." She glanced at Yuugi and Ryou respectively. "We have devised a fool proof method of getting you into the school, and then all you'll need to do is keep your heads down and avoid attracting Hafiz's attention while you spend time with them. Once you feel you've gained their trust, you can tell them the truth about who you are and what you have."
Yuugi's head was spinning. This was a lot to take in all at once. The only thing she could think of to say was, "Who's we?"
"A select group of individuals with an interest in taking Kaiba Corp down, including your grandfather and some members of the Resistance."
"Jii-chan?" Yuugi stared at her grandfather. He'd been silent this whole time, fixating on the table through Jou's outburst. Now he looked up, clearly reluctant to meet her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Yuugi. I've wanted to explain things to you for quite some time now, but I knew it was important that you solve the Puzzle first. You had to prove that you really were the pharaoh's hikari," he said quietly. "I know that this might seem like a frightening idea, but it's for the best. You and the pharaoh could change the whole world."
"I'm not doing it," Malik said flatly. She stood up and stormed out.
"Me either," said Jou. "I refuse to believe that bastard could be my soul mate. There is just no way." She screwed her face up. "And if he was, I'd rather go my whole life without having a duel monster than accept him as part of the deal!" She got up and followed Malik. Ryou paused, clearly uncertain, before she stood up.
"Ryou-chan," Isis said, and Ryou hesitated. "You know that this is the only way."
Ryou's face changed, becoming colder. "Apparently I don't know anything," she said pointedly, glaring at Isis. "And it seems like I have you and your select group of individuals to thank for that." She picked up her purse and Malik's messenger bag and left.
It was kind of nice, Yuugi mused, to see Isis looking so surprised. She cleared her throat, and Isis looked at her. Yuugi said gently, "Isis-san, I appreciate that you've put so much work into trying to take down Kaiba Corp. I know that they don't really want what's best for Domino, and I'm sure the Resistance appreciates everything you're trying to do. But what you're asking of us... it's really a lot, not to mention that it's dangerous. What if we got caught? I know you say we won't, but what if we did?"
"I would never allow that to happen," Isis said firmly. "My Tawk -"
"Forget your Tawk," Yuugi interrupted her, exasperated. Was this what came from having a Millennium Item? Isis was depending so heavily on the visions given to her by the Tawk. It didn't seem like she was thinking rationally about any of this. "Just please try to understand what you're asking us to do."
Isis scowled. "I understand that I'm asking you to help change the world for the better by making a small sacrifice," she said haughtily. "And that you are refusing to do it out of the slight possibility of personal danger. I thought I knew the four of you better than that, but I must have been wrong."
Yuugi winced. Malik had always said that Isis was a master when it came to the guilt trip, and clearly she was right. "It's not like you want us to just keep the Millennium Items safe! You're asking us to go undercover as boys right under the nose of Kaiba Corp. And you're asking Malik to do it under the nose of her father!"
"It's the only way for you to get close to your other halves!" Isis retorted. "I have friends who work for Kaiba Corp, Yuugi. Gozaburo has been getting suspicious about how Seto spends his free time. That's part of the reason he enrolled Seto into Central Academy in the first place, to make sure that Seto has less of it. You really think that Gozaburo doesn't do a background check on anyone who regularly spends time with Seto, Yami or Bakura? At least in a school you will just be one student of many."
Okay, Yuugi thought a little hysterically, Isis should not have been able to make this sound as reasonable as she was. "But what if we get caught?"
"You won't. We have falsified records set up for you, and no one will ever know that you are girls. The day for the standard examination is at least six months away." Isis folded her arms. "As long as you keep your marks hidden until then, it shouldn't be an issue. As for my father, I doubt he ever paid enough attention to Malik to be able to recognize her on a busy street. But there will be extra caution taken with her, don't worry."
It was impossible not to worry. What Isis was saying made a weird sort of sense, but Yuugi just wasn't sure she wanted to do something so potentially dangerous. It was one thing to make a quick trip to a Resistance meeting, but it was something else entirely to agree to this. It would mean becoming an entirely different person for god knew how long. It would mean deceiving the man who could possibly be her other half, her partner. It would meant accepting she was the pharaoh's hikari.
"Isis, I think you should go now," said Sugoroku, glancing over at his frozen granddaughter. He could tell that Yuugi had had enough, and he held up a hand when Isis tried to protest. "You've told them what you want them to do, now give them a little space to think about it. Tomorrow we can talk about the plan in more detail, but for now it's time for you to leave."
There was no question that Isis was reluctant to leave, but she seemed to realize that Sugoroku was serious. "Think about what I've said, Yuugi," she said as she walked to the door. "You and your friends could end up changing the world."
"Yuugi?" Sugoroku said once she was gone.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me," Yuugi said quietly.
"I wanted to, Yuugi, but I-"
"It's fine." It wasn't fine. But she could tell that Sugoroku felt guilty, and that was the last thing she wanted. Getting angry with him, especially after he'd asked Isis to leave, wouldn't help. Yuugi took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm going to go upstairs. Unless you need some help with the shop?"
Sugoroku watched her for a moment, his eyebrows creased with concern, before he responded. "No, I think I'll be alright. There's not really that much left to do. I've got a little bit of stock left to put out, but it won't take me that long."
"Okay." She stood up and went to the stairs. She didn't say good-night.
Please review!
