As the digital numbers on the wall clock switched from 5:59 to 6:00 AM, a ghostly pale figure entered the Mutous' kitchen. She turned on the overhead ceiling light and checked the rice cooker to ensure that its auto-steam function had worked correctly. It had, and she took a moment to inhale the subtle, comforting scent of fresh cooked grains before closing the machine's lid.
After retrieving a tub of Omocha's home-cooked miso soup and a package of salmon from the refrigerator, Aoi poured some of the soup into a pot, which she set on the gas cooktop to warm. She pressed and turned a knob to preheat the shoebox-sized broiler oven beneath the stove. From the oven, she removed the interior metal grill and the tray on which the grill sat. Then she cut the salmon fillet into four thin pieces, laid them on the grill, and slid the whole thing back into the broiler to cook.
"You're starting breakfast already?"
Aoi jumped, but she turned to regard the speaker with relative calm. "Yugi-kun. Good morning."
"Good mo-" Yugi interrupted himself with a jaw-cracking yawn. "Sorry. Good morning, Shirogane-san."
"I haven't made any coffee yet..."
"That's all right, I'll do it."
The girl nodded and moved out of the way so Yugi could access the cabinets and counter. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he poured water to heat in the family kettle. Yugi was a puzzle to her: by turns guileless and cunning, energetic and somber, he clearly harbored a complex inner life. Sugoroku had intimated to Aoi that Yugi had recently suffered a difficult personal loss that cast a pall over his meteoric rise in the gaming world. Aoi's heart went out to him, and while curiosity nagged at her, she'd long since resolved not to pick at that particular wound. She liked Yugi very much, though she'd spent the least amount of time with him out of all the Mutous; he had a way of putting people around him at ease which Aoi appreciated. She never felt uncomfortable with simply being quiet in his presence, though he readily chatted with her if she initiated conversation.
"Yugi-kun, how much does going to an arcade cost?" she blurted after spending a few moments gathering her courage.
"It's up to you! I mean, it depends on what kind of games you play and how many. Most cost 100 yen a go. Nowadays, some of the games require that you buy a memory card for storing your results on, but those are only about 300 yen apiece. There's no charge just to get into the arcade, if that's what you mean."
"I see."
"It'll be easier to budget once you actually get to the arcade and figure out the kind of games you like best. We all have our favorites: Shizuka likes the claw-grabber games; Anzu liked the rhythm games best; Jounouchi prefers the coin-pushers and the other gambling simulators, and he and Honda like the fighting games, too. Otogi enjoys the strategy games and Ryou likes the RPGs, though they both prefer the tabletop kind..."
"I didn't realize how many different types there are."
Yugi nodded. "There's something for everyone. This place has darts, pool, and karaoke, too. It's a pretty big building-five stories."
"And your friends really don't mind my tagging along?"
"Of course we don't! The more the merrier. It'll be especially nice for Shizuka. She's been kind of outnumbered since Anzu went overseas."
"Kawai-san is Katsuya-san's sister," recalled Aoi.
"Yep, though they aren't much alike."
Sugoroku wandered into the kitchen rubbing his eyes then.
"Do I smell salmon?" he asked happily.
Aoi hastily checked the oven and was relieved to find the fish hadn't burnt. She'd singed more than her share of food over the course of her stay at the Mutou residence. "It'll be ready shortly," she said, turning off the burners; the salmon would finish cooking in the leftover heat.
"Morning, jii-chan. Is Mom up?"
"I am indeed," said Omocha, entering the room. Both Yugi and Aoi's eyes widened to see her dressed in far more stylish clothes than she typically wore around the shop; she even had on earrings and makeup.
"Omocha-san, you look..."
"Especially dressed-up," finished Yugi, an unspoken question in his tone.
"Why, thank you, Yugi," cooed Omocha. She said no more about it until after Aoi had plated their soup, rice, and salmon, and they'd all seated themselves at the kitchen table for breakfast.
"Yugi-kun, since you don't have class on weekends, I'm giving myself and Aoi this morning off. You can help your grandfather at the shop while she and I run a few errands."
"Uh, okay," said Yugi. Normally he would have protested: the store would be packed full of people who'd heard about his impromptu signing the previous day, and in such situations Yugi generally made himself scarce so as not to encourage the gawkers. But Omocha, knowing this, had made the decision to ask Yugi for help anyway, so whatever task she had to complete was evidently important enough to warrant it.
"I don't mind staying at the store," said Aoi.
"That's very kind of you," Sugoroku said, "but Yugi-kun and I can manage. Omocha needs your help more than we do."
The whole thing reeked of conspiracy to Yugi, but again he hid his skepticism, sipping mildly from his soup bowl as Aoi assured Omocha she was at her disposal.
Aoi failed to suspect what Yugi had guessed from the beginning until, about an hour after breakfast, she and Omocha disembarked from the city bus in an unfamiliar part of town. In hindsight, the fact that they took a bus in the first place should have tipped her off: Omocha usually visited stores within walking distance when she shopped for groceries or ran other day-to-day errands. A quick glance about the area confirmed that theirs was no ordinary expedition: the shops lining the street all displayed clothes, shoes, and accessories rather than groceries, appliances, or other practical goods.
"The errand you need me for is...clothes-shopping?" Aoi asked Omocha.
Mrs. Mutou beamed. "That's right! It's been ages since I've gotten anything for myself, and you need some clothes as well."
She had a point. Besides the outfit Aoi had worn the day she came to Domino City-a navy jumper-dress over a light blue blouse-the girl owned only a pair of black pants, a white shirt, and some underthings. Omocha had graciously lent her a few additional articles of clothing from her own closet, but after a week, the shortcomings in Aoi's wardrobe were growing more apparent. Aoi had been planning to save every yen she'd earned in order to move out of the Mutous' house as soon as possible, but Omocha was clearly set on her buying a few items.
I don't want to embarrass her by wearing the same clothes over and over when I work in the game shop, Aoi reasoned as Omocha led her into the first store. Conscious of her budget, the girl stuck to the basics as she browsed, selecting socks, underwear, simple layering camisoles, and a couple work-appropriate shirts and slacks. She thought Omocha would approve, but the woman frowned when Aoi showed her what she'd found a few minutes later.
"Don't you want to get some fun things as well?" Omocha asked.
"Fun?" Aoi echoed.
"Of course! Fashion is supposed to be fun, a way to express yourself. You should choose some clothes you like as well as things you need."
"I'm honestly not sure what I like," Aoi hedged. If she'd wanted to discourage Yugi's mother, that was the wrong move; Omocha's eyes brightened, and she exclaimed,
"Well, then we'll just have to try a bit of everything!"
She took charge of the expedition after that, eventually leading Aoi back to the store's dressing rooms with a veritable armload of clothes. She encouraged the girl to model each piece for her in turn, which made Aoi feel a bit shy.
"Didn't you want to pick out some things, too, Mutou-san?" she asked a couple outfits into the impromptu fashion show.
The woman shook her head, holding out a shirt for Aoi to try on next. "This is much more fun than just shopping for myself. I've always wanted a daughter or a niece I could play dress-up with," she said wistfully.
"Oh," breathed Aoi. She accepted the shirt and darted back into the changing stall so Omocha couldn't see how deeply touched she was.
Armed with the knowledge that Omocha was enjoying the process, Aoi allowed herself to enjoy it, too. The more she tried on, the better sense she acquired for what she preferred; Omocha eventually declared that Aoi favored "classic silhouettes and romantic details." Aoi had no idea what she meant, but she largely approved of the items Omocha found for her after reaching that conclusion.
"This last one is a bit plain, but I thought it would look nice on you," said Omocha, passing Aoi a final garment about a half-hour later. Aoi tried it on in the changing stall. A wide-necked shift that finished above her knees, the tan dress came with a thin belt around the waist. Its roomy sleeves belled slightly at Aoi's wrists after she donned it. Meaning to straighten the dress before going out to show Omocha, Aoi checked in the stall's full length mirror, but her reflection stopped her cold.
She had never seen herself-or, rather, Kisara-in her dreams. The strange visions played themselves out through Kisara's eyes, and because Kisara didn't have access to a mirror or any other adequately reflective surface, Aoi had gleaned only bits and pieces of her overall appearance. Still, Aoi's mirror-image struck a chord of recognition in the girl, if only because the dress's general shape and color matched the one Kisara wore in her dreams exactly. In that moment, gazing into the dressing room mirror, it was as though Kisara was staring back at her.
Aoi could not avert her eyes. Nor could she say when her reflection actually began to diverge from what she knew to be herself; however, the more Aoi looked, the more differences she picked out between her and the woman reflected in the mirror. Their faces and body shapes remained identical, but the mirror-woman's skin and hair had an almost luminous quality despite being dirtier and less cared-for than Aoi's own. Her eyes were more vivid than Aoi's, a deep sapphire made more striking by the whiteness of the lashes and brows that framed them. Aoi's own eyes were a nondescript gray-blue, her eyelashes and eyebrows dark and ordinary. The woman in the mirror looked just as confused as Aoi felt, but calmer and more determined in spite of it. She harbored a general air of sorrow and mystery that Aoi had never observed in herself.
Unable to look away, Aoi covered her mouth with one hand. Her reflection did not do the same, but mouthed a single word-or, rather, a name-before Aoi shut out the vision entirely by squeezing her eyelids closed. When she opened them again, her own fearful countenance stared back at her. Aoi nevertheless whirled from the mirror and scrambled to disrobe. She all but tore the dress in her haste to remove it from her body, after which she left it lying crumpled on the floor, as threatening as a coiled snake. She backed away from it until her shoulderblades hit a far wall of the changing room.
Omocha called from the other side of the stall door, "Aoi-chan? Is it not working out?"
Aoi felt sick and light-headed. She took a few deep breaths and forced her emotions to calm.
"I'm fine, Mutou-san," she called back as evenly as she could. "The dress just...wasn't me."
Despite her encounter in the dressing room, Aoi managed to enjoy the rest of her shopping trip with Omocha. Yugi's mother insisted on paying for half of Aoi's purchases, claiming that it constituted payment for Aoi's help around the house. Aoi lacked the will to argue very fiercely with her, and so from the inexpensive and secondhand stores they visited, she accumulated a healthy selection of skirts, tops, and even a couple pairs of shoes appropriate for both work and leisure. She changed into her favorite piece-a short-sleeved indigo dress patterned all over with strawberries-as soon as she returned to the Mutou residence. When she descended to Kame Game Shop to take over for Yugi, Sugoroku noticed what she was wearing and chortled,
"I see that cake made an impression!"
Aoi smiled at him, recalling the first meal they had ever shared-a memory more precious for being all her own, unhaunted by Kisara. "Strawberries are my favorite food now," she told Mr. Mutou.
She worked in the game store for the rest of the day, anticipating that evening's trip to the arcade as a means of distracting herself from what she'd seen in the mirror. Yugi, who had spent his afternoon working on various university assignments, came down from his room shortly before the shop closed.
"Ready to go?" he asked Aoi.
The girl glanced at Sugoroku, who laughed and made an encouraging motion. "I'm fine here; Omocha will help me close. Go have fun!"
Aoi hurried upstairs in order to wash up. She changed her shoes, put on a cardigan, and slipped what remained of her money into her dress pocket. She was surprised to find Jounouchi and Shizuka waiting in the shop when she returned a few minutes. Both spoke animatedly to Yugi's family members. They all looked so close that Aoi felt shy about intruding, but Yugi brightened when he saw Aoi and drew her easily into the conversation. After introducing the siblings to Aoi, he announced they were leaving. Sugoroku and Omocha waved at them as they departed for the bus stop.
Even in the relatively quiet borough the Mutous called home, the streets of Domino bustled with excitement that Saturday night. Jounouchi and Yugi took point as they walked, chatting with and teasing one another; Aoi spent a moment feeling thankful that Yugi was closer to her and Shizuka in height, as otherwise the boys might have left them behind in their eagerness to get to their destination. As it stood, Jounouchi modulated his long strides with the ease of habit, keeping abreast of his friend. Occasionally Shizuka offerred her input to their conversation, but for the most part, she stayed as quiet as Aoi. Only when they reached the bus did Shizuka lean over to Aoi and whisper,
"I love your dress."
"Oh, thank you," stammered Aoi. "I love your jacket."
Shizuka's outermost layer was a green knit button-up embroidered with white flowers. She thanked Aoi with heartfelt delight, the extent of which puzzled the other girl until Jounouchi explained,
"She made it herself, so she's happy you noticed it."
"Onii-san," Shizuka chided, blushing.
Aoi's eyes widened. "You made that jacket? By hand?"
"Yes, but it's nothing special."
Aoi shook her head. "It's amazing," she said, and Shizuka blushed even redder, if possible.
On the bus ride and subsequent walk to the arcade, Shizuka spoke shyly about her desire to become a professional clothing designer. "Omocha-san has taught me a lot about it," she said, flashing Yugi a thankful smile.
"My mom wanted to be a fashion designer, too, when she was Shizuka's age," Yugi explained. "She actually worked at a clothing company in Tokyo for a while."
Omocha's ability to assess and characterize Aoi's personal style suddenly made more sense. "You enjoy fashion, then, Kawai-san?" She winced inwardly at the obviousness of her comment, but she'd felt the need to say something and hadn't been able to come up with anything more interesting.
"I do love it! That's not the only reason I want to become a designer, though." Jounouchi's sister fiddled with the cuff of her jacket, self-conscious, but she went on determinedly, "When I was younger, I had some problems with my vision, and they reached a point where I had trouble picking out clothes for myself. I only wore pajamas for the longest time. I got better," Here she shared a grin with Jounouchi, "but my experience made me think about all the people in the world who have health problems or disabilities that limit what they can wear. I want to make clothes for those people-fashion that's beautiful and accessible."
Aoi stared at her, lost for words.
"She'll manage it, too!" Jounouchi piped up, clapping Shizuka on the shoulder. "My little sister can do anything she sets her mind to." He sounded as proud as if she had reached her goal already.
Shizuka flushed again, groaning, "Onii-san..."
"I think that's a beautiful dream," Aoi said, so gravely that Shizuka, Jounouchi, and Yugi all blinked at her in surprise, "and I think you'll definitely achieve it, Kawai-san."
"...Thank you," said the other girl, "and please, call me Shizuka!"
Sandwiched between an office building and a laundromat, the Bright Star Arcade was a tall, thin structure that shone with neon and LED lights. Besides the multicolored sign bearing its name, glimmering stars festooned the arcade's exterior. The building itself looked rather old, but Aoi was impressed all the same when she saw it.
"Whoa, this place really hasn't changed at all!" laughed Jounouchi, rubbing his hands together mischievously. "Wonder if any of my old tricks still work..."
"Games aren't any fun if you cheat at them!" Yugi sounded more offended than Aoi had ever heard him, but Jounouchi just laughed,
"It's not cheating, it's evening the odds!"
"Shizuka-chan!" The chorused cry came from underneath the building's front awning, where two lanky individuals waved at the group-or at Shizuka, at least.
"Honda-kun and Otogi-kun," Yugi told Aoi quietly, first indicating the serious-looking young man with an undercut, then the man with sly green eyes and a ponytail. "They both like Shizuka-chan very much."
"I see," whispered Aoi. She felt a bit out of her depth-the only love triangles she had any experience with were the ones that occurred on Omocha's favorite soap opera, and those generally lead nowhere good for the characters involved. Both Honda and Otogi seemed like nice people, however. They introduced themselves without being prompted, greeted Aoi courteously, and didn't ask her too many questions.
If Aoi had thought the exterior of Bright Star was attention-grabbing, it was nothing compared to the sheer sensory overload of its interior. A riot of color, light, and noise greeted the group when they entered the building. Aoi jumped and might have scuttled back if she hadn't had people behind her to consider. Glancing over her shoulder, she found Yugi and Jounouchi's eyes shining with childlike glee.
"Didn't the first floor used to have all the crane games and picture booths?" asked Honda.
Otogi glanced around, taking in the lay of the land. "I think they moved the vintage games to the first floor, and the claw-grabbers down to the basement."
"Vintage? I played these all the time as a kid!"
"Like I said," smirked Otogi, who was nine months younger than Honda and never let him forget it.
"Oh, man, they still have the Zombire fighting game!" shrieked Jounouchi suddenly. He took off running without another word.
"What? Really?!" Honda followed close at his heels.
As they left, Otogi leaned over to Shizuka. "Seems we're free to make our own way," he said to her huskily, but then Honda reappeared, grabbed the back of Otogi's shirt, and dragged him off in the direction Jounouchi had gone. "Hey!"
"Well, we've lost them for the next forty-five minutes," sighed Yugi as he watched them leave. "Shizuka-chan, was there anything you wanted to do?"
"Umm, well, I wanted to win a plush toy, but I should probably save that for later so I don't have to carry it around all night. What about you, Shirogane-chan?"
"I really don't know," replied Aoi, hoping that she didn't look or sound as panicked as she felt. Bad enough that she practically had to shout over the game music. "There are so many!"
Like his mother in the clothing store, Yugi took charge: "Well, let's just try some out! We'll start with a classic." He led Aoi and Shizuka over to one of the oldest-looking game cabinets on the floor. "Ms. Pac Man!"
He slid a 100-yen coin into the machine's payment slot. "By moving the joystick to direct the circle-shaped character, you try to eat up all the pellets in the maze without letting any of the ghosts touch you. You have a certain number of chances, so it's fine if you mess up once or twice," he explained.
"What do the little fruits do?"
"You get extra points if you eat them," Shizuka said.
Yugi nodded. "And if you eat one of these power pellets, the ghosts change for a limited time, and you can eat them for bonus points."
He demonstrated. He made it all look quite easy, thought Aoi, her gaze shifting from Yugi's hands to the 8-bit graphics screen and back again. The King of Games didn't need any extra lives in order to complete the first level, after which he stepped to the side.
"You try now," he said to Aoi.
"B-But I'll mess up your game!"
"It's fine! Hurry, it's starting!"
Aoi dove for the joystick. "Um, okay-aah, they're everywhere!" she yelped, frantically trying to maneuver Ms. Pac Man around the screen. She didn't even care about eating the dots; she just wanted to get away from the ghosts. Nevertheless, one of them soon caught up, costing her a life. Aoi cringed. "I'm no good at this..."
"No one is at first. Keep going!" urged Yugi.
"Go, Shirogane-chan! Oh, watch out for the blue one," Shizuka cried.
Aoi gave a prolonged squeak of anguish. She jerked the controller. "No, no! Not that way!" she cried as another ghost changed direction and Ms. Pac Man ran right into it. She glanced at Yugi. "I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize. Just try to have fun."
"It looked a lot simpler when you were playing," said Aoi.
"With Yugi-kun, most games do," giggled Shizuka.
Aoi played until she'd lost all of her remaining lives.
"How is that so difficult?" she panted, hanging her head.
"You were really into it, Shirogane-chan."
"Is that...bad?"
"No, no," Shizuka assured her, "I had fun just watching you! Did you enjoy it?"
"I'm not sure. I don't think I like games where you get chased."
Yugi beamed, not disappointed in the least. "Luckily, there are plenty of others to choose from."
They tried Mario Brothers next. While the controls were more complicated than those of Ms. Pac Man, Aoi liked Mario better, if only because she could more easily dictate the pace of the game. Shizuka turned out to be almost as skilled as Yugi at it.
"Onii-san had this on his Game Boy when we were young, and I would steal it from him constantly. It was the one thing we fought over," she laughed as she jumped on a Goomba, squashing it flat. "The arcade version's controls are different, but I guess I still remember how to play."
After that, Shizuka, Yugi, and Aoi went up to the second floor, which was dedicated to rhythm games. If possible, these were louder and even more obnoxious than the games on the first floor, but Aoi had gotten used to the noise. She enjoyed playing the rhythm games much more than the classic ones, though she had even less talent for them. In that, at least, she wasn't alone: she and Shizuka and Yugi stumbled their way through a three-player version of Dance Dance Revolution, and were almost crying with laughter by the end of the song.
"Anzu-chan would be so disappointed in us." Yugi leaned heavily against the railing behind his game pad. "Oof, my back."
"You sound like your grandfather, Yugi-san," Aoi giggled.
"No-o-o," groaned the youngest Mutou, and they all fell to laughing again. It was the most perfect moment of happiness Aoi had ever known. She wished it could go on forever.
The other three members of their group joined them shortly after that. No one needed to ask how their impromptu Zombire tournament had unfolded: Jounouchi had scratch marks along his jawline, Otogi's ponytail looked less than artfully disheveled, and the sunglasses Honda kept in his front jacket pocket had lost a lens. Yugi was just grateful none of them had gotten kicked out for fighting. Shizuka sent the three troublemakers a sharp, knowing look that she'd picked up from Anzu. Coming from her, it had a more profound effect-all three of them shrank a little under her displeasure. Then just as quickly she smiled and suggested,
"Taiko Master?"
The boys took out what remained of their frustrations on the drumming game. After that, Shizuka said she wanted to see what kind of prizes were available from the claw-grabbers. Otogi and Honda both leapt at the opportunity to accompany Shizuka and possibly win her a present. Knowing better than to leave them to their own devices, the others decided to visit the basement as well. It was much quieter there than in the rest of the arcade. Crane games dominated the middle of the vast floor, while bordering them were a number of brightly hued, closet-like structures.
"What are those kiosks near the walls?" Aoi asked Yugi.
"They're purikura-photo booths. You go in and take pictures, either by yourself or with other people, and you can add all kinds of effects to them afterwards. They're just a way to remember fun times."
Surprising herself with her own boldness, Aoi said, "Do you think the others would mind if we all took some photos together? After we finish with everything else, I mean."
"I'm sure they'd be happy to. In fact, let's do that right now."
Jounouchi grumbled a little at being forced to participate in the "girly" activity, but Anzu had press-ganged him into impromptu photo sessions frequently enough that he didn't really put up a fight. The greatest challenge consisted of squeezing all six them into one booth, the largest of which was designed to contain four people at maximum. The resulting pictures were therefore a bit crowded and chaotic, but Aoi liked the way a few of them turned out; with Shizuka's help, she spent a long time touching them up, and couldn't stop staring at the copies she eventually printed out for herself.
Aoi wanted to watch Shizuka play the claw-grabber games, but prior to that, she had to pay a visit to the restrooms on the first floor. She avoided looking at the mirror above the sink as she washed her hands afterwards; she kept her eyes on the counter, and whenever she felt the urge to see herself, she looked at her smiling face in the purikura photos instead. Aoi couldn't help but smile back, remembering how Shizuka had rested her chin on Aoi's shoulder and how Yugi had threaded one of his arms through hers in order to shift over a precious few millimeters.
Everyone looks so happy. I look happy, she reflected, studying the picture. I'm here, and I'm happy. These photos will prove it even if I forget.
She held the photos against her chest as she left the restroom. Her small smile faded as an unfamiliar man approached her on her way to the basement staircase.
"Excuse me, miss," he said, so politely that Aoi paused, blinking up at him. He wore a very fashionable, close-tailored suit jacket a round pair of pince-nez glasses tinted a smoky gray shade. His shoes were made of snakeskin, and he seemed only a little older than she. "I'm sorry to bother you..."
An expectant silence ensued. "Th-That's all right," said Aoi before it could stretch on too long; she sensed that this was how the stranger wanted her to respond, and didn't want to disappoint him.
The man beamed. "I just couldn't help but notice your look," he continued.
"My...?"
"Your coloration is very striking," explained the stranger. "I haven't seen anything like it outside of Harakjuku."
Aoi didn't know what Harajuku was, but she blushed uncomfortably at the compliment. "Oh, um, thank you," she said, glancing around for her friends, but seeing no one.
"More importantly, you have a certain air about you-a certain wide-eyed innocence-it's very compelling! Models tend to cultivate a more remote, jaded attitude nowadays."
"I'm not a model," Aoi told him.
The man's eyes widened deliberately behind his glasses, and Aoi realized then that he'd known what she would say-had counted on it, even. "Really? But you'd make a wonderful one! I work in the industry, and I'd love to feature someone like you in a photoshoot."
What industry? wondered Aoi. Even to her, the man's word choice sounded suspiciously vague. "That's very kind of you, sir, but I don't think that sort of work would suit me."
"Don't be ridiculous! All girls want to be models."
"No, they don't," said Aoi, so bluntly that it brought the strange man up short. She hastened to explain, "That is, my friend Shizuka wants to design clothes, not to model them."
"But I'm talking about you. I'd like to employ you as a model. Or are you trying to say that you already work for this designer friend of yours, this Shizuka?"
"No, I was only..."
"Trying to drive up your value? Perhaps you're more cunning than you look."
"That's not it at all," said Aoi, anxious sweat prickling her skin. "I only meant-"
"Go away."
Aoi's heart rate, which had already increased a good deal over the course of the conversation, spiked when a new voice interrupted her. New, but not unfamiliar; she knew that authoritative inflection from both within her dreams and without.
"She meant 'go away.' She's just too polite to say it, or maybe too intimidated," continued Seto Kaiba from behind Aoi. A note of scorn in the last word made Aoi drop her gaze ashamedly, but Kaiba added in a more measured tone, "Not that I can blame her for being wary of a random stranger trying to accost her."
The man's eyes widened behind his pince nez glasses. "Accost...? You have me all wrong, Kaiba-sama, sir!" He whipped a business card out from an inner pocket of his blazer and bowed as he offered it to the CEO.
Aoi finally dared to face Kaiba herself. He looked more like a company president than a world-champion duelist today: he'd shed his coat and boots in favor of a three-piece suit and loafers, all pale tailored silk and supple black leather. His face was just as cold and impassive as she remembered it, though for some reason, Aoi thought he looked wearier now than he had at the hospital. His bodyguards had long since established a perimeter around the three of them, though they kept close watch on the man who had been speaking to Aoi.
"Yukimura Daisuke, photographer and designer," the oblivious man introduced himself.
"Freelance, I assume," said Kaiba as he accepted the business card.
"Well, yes..."
In one smooth motion, without even glancing at the text printed on it, Kaiba flicked the business card over his shoulder. It fluttered to the arcade's worn, somewhat stained carpet.
"I assume," Kaiba repeated, "because a professional employed at a legitimate modeling agency or photography studio would know better than to scout for talent at this understaffed hole of an entertainment center, which mostly caters to junior high and high-school aged boys."
By now, a small, curious crowd had gathered at the periphery maintained by Kaiba's bodyguards. Aoi noticed a few people attempting to take photos of the scene with their smartphones, only to frown at their devices-something was interfering with the cameras' operation, it seemed.
Meanwhile, Yukimura Daisuke's mouth opened and closed as he tried and failed to come up with a response. Kaiba turned to Aoi without even bothering to dismiss him.
"Come with me," he said to her lowly. "We need to talk."
