"Please, make yourself comfortable." Akana said while disappearing into a small kitchen.
As Nataki looked around at the apartment, she realized how simplistic it was. And while she wasn't one to engage in extensive interior decorating herself, Nataki couldn't help feeling that Akana's apartment contained nothing beyond the bare necessities – no "personality," per say. It was like looking at the skeleton of an apartment rather than one that was being lived in. Which seemed even more peculiar considering Akana was a model and likely made a decent salary. As she began to wonder how much time Akana actually spent in the apartment, she saw her return from the kitchen with what smelt like a citrus-based tea.
"I was in the middle of brewing some Yuzu tea when I noticed you standing outside." Setting down a saucer with a cup of tea onto the table she added, "Care to join me?"
"Sure." Nataki could smell the strong citrus scent as the steam rose up from the cup. Sitting down on one end of the couch she followed with a brief "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Akana replied while leaving for the kitchen once more only to return with her own cup of tea. She slowly seated herself at the opposite end of the couch, as if sensing Nataki's desire for some space between the two of them.
A brief silence filled the air that was momentarily broken by Akana sipping at her tea. She seemed to be waiting for Nataki to make the first move. Still somewhat shaken up by what had happened hours earlier, Nataki didn't know where to start, but she decided to take a shot in the dark.
"About what happened at the museum . . ."
Akana's gold eyes narrowed a bit as they focused on Nataki's face.
"You know something, don't you?"
Pursing her lips thoughtfully, Akana seemed to be debating how to answer her question. "Yes."
Nataki's eyes widened a bit. "I thought so." Standing up from her seat, Nataki began to pace back and forth, quickly becoming restless. "Well, spill then – what do you know?"
Akana raised an eyebrow. "You're going to have to be a bit more specific, Nataki-san."
Coming to a stop in front of Akana she clenched her fists as if bracing herself for the impact of what Akana was going to say. "Okay. What do you know about the mural?"
"Everything Ishtar-san told us . . ." Sipping at her tea once more she continued, "And a bit more."
"Meaning what, exactly?"
Akana crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Well, I knew that it had something to do with us. Which is why I wanted to look at it more closely."
Nataki was starting to sense the roundabout nature of the exchange and began to lose her patience. "But how did you know that? And what, exactly, does it have to do with us?" Slamming her hands on the table, causing the tea cups to tremble a bit on their saucers she added, "Is it connected in any way to what happened at the museum?"
"Absolutely." Then in slight irritation she proceeded to say, "And please refrain from such . . . over the top gestures. I wouldn't want this tea to spill or the cups to break."
Nataki's face wore a delicate blush. "S-Sorry." Then, returning to her train of thought continued, "But please, tell me what happened back there . . ."
She leaned forward so that she was eye to eye with Akana, who seemed ambivalent to answer.
"I felt something . . . horrible." Nataki continued. "Another pulse or something . . . a really strong one, but it wasn't mine." Staring at Akana, hoping to see some trace of understanding she inquired, "Did you feel something like that, too?"
Akana bit her lip and hesitantly replied "Yes, I did." Then, curling her fingers around her cup, she began to gaze into the orange tea inside it. "A very strong pulse, indeed."
"Do you know where it came from?" Nataki gasped. I feel like we're getting somewhere . . . but now the question is 'Do I want to know where 'somewhere' is?
"I have an idea." She stated flatly, still staring down at her tea, "But it may sound unbelievable to you."
"Try me." At that moment, Nataki swore she was having an out-of'-body experience, as if she was watching herself have this conversation with Akana from a distance, almost unable to believe how forward she was being.
Akana sighed, her heart clearly heavy by what she was about to say. "The Egyptian God Monsters."
"What?" Nataki blinked, as if uncomprehending.
"The Egyptian God Monsters." Akana repeated. "The man who called himself the 'other Yugi' was holding them in front of us when I felt the pulse."
Nataki's face wore a mixture of shock and fear. "B-But they're just cards!" She exclaimed. "Just like the rest of the Duel Monsters cards made by Pegasus-san!"
Akana's eyes seemed to darken as she continued to speak. "But the cards are based off real monsters." She said as if reminding Nataki of the previous conversations they had shared. "And the Egyptian God Monsters are no exception."
Sinking to her knees, Nataki looked like she had the wind knocked out of her. Akana proceeded to gently slide the saucer with Nataki's untouched tea over toward her, as if gesturing for her to take a break and regain her composure.
"It's getting cold." She advised softly.
Staring at the tea with disinterest, but yearning for a brief moment to process what Akana had just told her, Nataki acquiesced and brought the cup of tea to her lips. The citrus flavor tasted refreshing and soothing as it coated her throat and warmed her from the inside. Smiling briefly, she couldn't help thinking how comforting tea was. Returning her attention to the conversation, Nataki began once more. "Okay, so I guess my next question would be why did the cards give off a pulse in the first place?"
Akana stared at Nataki with some hesitation, but she replied. "My understanding is that, after three millennia of slumber, they've finally been reawakened."
Nataki's eyes stared at Akana with disbelief. Three millennia? Reawakened? What the heck is she talking about?
A slight flicker of amusement shone in her eyes now as she looked at Nataki sitting idle, unsure of how to proceed. "Is this . . . too much for you, Nataki-san?"
"No." She replied almost immediately, dismissing any trepidation in her demeanor. I need to know what's going on . . . no matter how terrifying and unbelievable it all seems. I just have to.
"Are you certain? Because we don't have to-"
"I'm sure." Nataki breathed. "So, when you say 'reawakened' . . .?"
Akana clasped her hands on her lap. "I mean, they have regained their consciousness."
Consciousness? Nataki grimaced. "Okay, but that still doesn't explain why we felt it."
Staring up at the ceiling momentarily as if trying to delay as much as possible, Akana finally said "Because the ka of the Egyptian God Monsters reside inside of us."
At that moment it seemed that time itself had come to a standstill, and the smallest of sounds struck Nataki with acute clarity – the ticking of the wall clock, dripping of the faucet, Akana tapping her finger nails against the porcelain tea cups . . .
What?
"Nataki-san?" Akana asked, her tone inflecting a bit out of concern. "Are you alright?"
"Uh-huh." The words came out, but in a disjointed manner "When you say 'inside us,' do you mean . . . literally inside us?"
"Yes." Placing her hand in front of her chest she continued, "The ka, or spiritual entities of the God Monsters dwell inside the same space within us occupied by our spiritual entities, or ba."
Suddenly, Nataki began to feel cold, as if the blood in her body was recoiling deeper into her, leaving her hands and feet clammy and trembling. "Oh."
Reaching out to place her arms upon Nataki's shoulders, Akana tried to contain the wave of horror clearly washing over her. "I know this sounds very . . . grave, but I promise you that everything will be alright." Bringing her into her arms more fully, Akana held Nataki's somewhat limp form against her in a comforting manner. "I promise."
The words Akana spoke seemed heavy with resolve and truth, but also with an ominous foreboding of something to come. "How can you promise something like that?" Nataki wondered aloud, her mind a centrifuge as it tried to separate everything in ways that made sense to her.
Pushing Nataki away so that she could look at her as she spoke, Akana shot her the most empathetic expression she had ever seen. "Because I've never let you down before, and I don't plan to now."
Akana-san . . .
Then, something she said resonated inside Nataki. "Wait, what do you mean . . . 'before?'" Pulling away from Akana's embrace she found herself eyeing the girl with scrutiny. "We haven't met previously . . ." Then, remembering how Akana had stared at her so intensely the first day she met her at school she added, ". . . have we?"
Akana tilted her head slightly and shot Nataki a smile that seemed to be masking a sudden spell of sadness. "No, we haven't met previously in this lifetime."
Nataki swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat upon hearing the way Akana had emphasized those two words purposefully, but what purpose Nataki hadn't the slightest clue.
"But that is something . . . for another time." She continued while seeming to circle back to her original thought. "As I said, I will help you in any way that I can, so don't worry." Running her fingers through a few of Nataki's stray raven strands she seemed to exude utmost certainty in her ability to follow through with her words – to 'put her money where her mouth was,' so to speak. And for some reason she couldn't quite comprehend, Nataki believed her.
"Especially since this time . . . they're involved." She muttered.
She must mean Yugi-kun and Kaiba-san. Nataki thought while remembering the carvings of the two men on the mural connected to the two of them in some way.
"How are they involved?" Nataki managed to ask. "With whatever is happening to us, I mean."
Akana pursed her lips thoughtfully and then grimaced. "You will see soon enough." Was all she offered Nataki before standing up with her cup of tea and retreating to the kitchen for a moment.
Feeling light headed all of the sudden, Nataki reached for her cup of tea on the table only to find herself struggling to clutch it with her fingers. When she finally did secure it in her hands, she noticed that it was shaking a bit. Akana noticed this as she made her way back into the living room and suggested "Why don't you lay down for a bit?" When Nataki shot her a look of surprise she added, "Surely today has been extremely . . . exhausting – we can talk more about all of this tomorrow."
Nataki nodded reluctantly, lacking the mental fortitude to turn down the offer to shut off the world that seemed to be falling apart and crumbling to pieces around her. As Akana pulled out the couch, making it into a small bed, Nataki began to wonder if anything would ever go back to the way it had been before – a much simpler time.
Once she had placed a pillow underneath Nataki's head and covered her with a blanket – trying to create a somewhat comfortable makeshift bed for the tired and terrified girl, Akana smiled faintly. "Rest here, tonight."
"But . . ." Nataki remembered she had work in the morning. Kaiba-san . . . The memory of his piercing cobalt eyes, which had watched her and Akana react to the God Monsters with noticeable curiosity at the museum, suddenly came to mind and sent a chill through her. I really don't want to go into work tomorrow, but . . .
"I insist." She countered. "Besides, I hardly think it wise to send you home now."
"But, I have work in the morning . . ." Nataki managed to say before bringing her hand to her forehead as if trying to stop the tension headache quickly forming there. "Kaiba-san will be upset if I'm late."
"I'll deal with Kaiba." She could hear Akana say with reassurance, and also a bit of loathing in her tone of voice, before adding "Now, rest." in a much gentler voice. Leaving no room for argument, Akana disappeared into her bedroom down the hall, leaving Nataki reluctant to fall asleep, but helpless to fight against the weight of reality bearing down on her any longer.
A/N: A trivial, but fun fact about Akana: she really enjoys citrus flavor, and Yuzu tea is made from a citrus fruit called Yuzu that grows in Eastern Asia. :) Also we see a different side to Akana than previously shown . . . and a major detail of the plot as it involves her and Nataki.
As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
