Following Isono's announcement, the machine Kaiba had devised for randomizing the matches slowly lost momentum, and finally stopped. It dispensed two balls with the names of the chosen contestants printed on them, and Isono retrieved them as the rest of them waited tensely. Nervously, in Jonouchi's case.
"Bakura Ryou will be facing... Mutou Yugi!" He announced rather loudly for the silence of the room, but that certainly left no margin for error. The names continued, and finally Isono's announcements ended. Jonouchi was awash with guilt at his immediate relief. He was glad he wouldn't be facing Kaiba, especially so early into the tournament, but that thought fled his mind as he concentrated on the upcoming match.
Yugi looked serious, if good-humored, but Bakura's reaction was odd. Rather than being shy, or perhaps wishing Yugi luck, he looked strangely smug. Jonouchi wasn't sure what to think about it. It upset him, but his thoughts were on the announcements that had followed. The final match would be Kaiba against Ishizu, meaning Jonouchi definitely wouldn't have to face Kaiba tonight. Even now he was deliberately avoiding turning his head toward the splash of white in his peripherals.
That said, he didn't have much time to feel lucky about it because he knew he'd be facing Marik. He didn't know if he should be anxious, or eager. Nothing would bring him more pleasure than smashing Marik into the ground, and their duel would be the perfect opportunity. But at the same time, the mere thought of facing the man across the banquet hall made his skin crawl.
Jonouchi would proudly proclaim to anyone listening that he wasn't smart enough to be afraid of most things, and it was still true in this case. He wasn't afraid of Marik per se. He was afraid of what Marik could make him do and think. More than that, he was afraid of the possibility that the things he'd done hadn't been all Marik's idea. Jonouchi clung to the thought that wrecking Marik would make those thoughts-or the potential to have those thoughts-go away. But he also knew that was cowardly. He wasn't prepared to take responsibility for the things that had crossed his mind during his time on the docks...
Maybe it really had been all Marik's influence, and the only reason Jonouchi was unsure was because it wasn't beyond him to want Yugi out of the way. Somehow that seemed even worse. Wouldn't that mean he'd been resentful all along, and he'd just been hiding it from himself?
Jonouchi grit his teeth and forced himself to think about something else.
They all headed up together into the top of the blimp before being greeted by the brisk cold that was Domino City at night. Standing above everything else was the dueling platform, and Jonouchi swore that someone was going to risk being blown right off of it, especially considering the gales that were sweeping across and right through him.
"Kaiba's insane, does she want someone to fall off this thing?" accused Honda.
Well, they were at least on the same page about this, thought Jonouchi. Finally.
"I think she's just trying to test our limits," advised Yugi, "that's all. You have to be a real duelist to play like this!"
He smiled sheepishly at Jonouchi, but Jonouchi could not quite copy that same look of enthusiasm.
"With that big coat of Kaiba's, she's gonna risk being blown off like a kite if the wind picks up anymore than this," laughed Honda.
Anzu made a face before slapping Honda upside the head, "Don't say stuff like that, it isn't funny."
Jonouchi watched the exchange, his eyes a little wider. At least he was growing wiser in regards to what he said around other people. His life might be in shambles thanks to Kaiba's near constant rejection of him and the threat of rogue duelists, but Anzu hadn't smacked him around all that much as of late...
Marik was alone without a group, hiding in the back corner. His face was stern and dark, covered in some sort of tribal-like tattoos and clocked in purple.
"Where does he even get off showing his face here," mumbled Jonouchi under his breath. "Looking like some criminal. Well, he is one, anyways."
Ghouls stole cards, and Marik was their leader. Like a card gang mafia. So, the tattoos made sense in that regard.
Jonouchi's skin prickled when he realized that he was being stared back at, so he shifted his feet and moved until he was standing next to Mai, who was too busy talking to one of Kaiba's henchmen to pay much attention to him.
Ah well.
How much had Marik seen when he had been inside Jonouchi's mind? How was he even able to speak into Jonouchi's thoughts? Or control his actions? Had to be the magical items Yugi spoke about before, when they first went against Pegasus. Just like Pegasus had read Kaiba's mind to know her hand while dueling, Marik must have used his item to use Jonouchi to duel against Yugi.
It made Jonouchi's stomach lurch. Someone could just crawl into his head and bring up so many negative thoughts and there was nothing he could do to stop it? Why did these cursed items exist in the first place? If Marik had used Jonouchi's jealousy to fuel the duel against Yugi, then that meant that Marik knew about Jonouchi's feelings for Kaiba. What would stop him from exploiting them again? Everyone could find out, and then what? Be shamed forever, not only in front of Kaiba, but Jonouchi's sister and all his friends. Would Marik be so cruel as to do something like that given the chance?
Hell, Marik definitely knew about Jonouchi's resentment towards Yugi. He'd used it as a weapon before, which meant nothing would stop him from doing it again. The last thing Jonouchi wanted was to be used as a way to tear his best friend apart, the one who had protected him and refused to do him harm back on the pier. Yugi had rather die than win that duel, and Jonouchi never wanted to fight like that against him again. Not over anybody or anything.
But until Jonouchi understood Marik's powers, he knew he wouldn't feel safe from being violated again.
Did Anzu feel the same way? Looking at her, she didn't seem half as effected. Jonouchi frowned. Maybe Marik hadn't even made himself so known to her.
"Don't freak out, Jonouchi, but you know Ryou favors occult cards in his deck, right?" teased Otogi as he strode by.
Jonouchi didn't reply. He schooled his reactions the best he could, not wanting to give the dice dick any kind of opening to mess with him.
"Aren't you glad Yugi's up there instead of you?"
"Doesn't really matter to me," Jonouchi answered briskly, "I've fought duelists like him before. No big deal."
"Yeah, like who?" Otogi baited. "Kids wearing face paint don't count."
Jonouchi wanted to punch in his smug pretty face. "Bonz, during Duelist Kingdom. You weren't there, though, so I guess you missed all of that..."
"Must have been quite the duel," Otogi mumbled. "You didn't shit your pants, did you? I heard he uses all zombie cards in his deck."
"No, I won."
Otogi made a smug grin before walking away to bother someone else.
"Why didn't you hit him, Jonouchi," Honda asked. Wow, had he been there the entire time? Jonouchi couldn't help but glare at Honda when their eyes met, and Honda seemed taken aback.
"And get kicked off this blimp for starting a fight? I'm not that stupid, Honda," Jonouchi spat. "And besides, you could have bothered to defend me since you decided to stand there and listen in."
"You sounded like you didn't need the help," reasoned Honda. He grinned dumbly as Jonouchi shook his head from annoyance.
"Whateva. I'm gonna watch this duel and cheer Yugi on, since he's my FRIEND and that's what FRIENDS do for each other."
Honda just snorted.
Yugi's duel with Bakura was tense from the start, not because of the game, but because the dark spirit they'd thought was gone forever proved to be plaguing their friend again. The realization fell quickly over those who knew Bakura, but there wasn't much they could do but watch from the sidelines.
What made the duel itself tense was Bakura's strategy. At a turning point in the match, he placed a rare card into play, one that gave Yugi five turns to win-or he would lose automatically. If Jonouchi hadn't already had his nerves shot by the freaky atmosphere created by Bakura's field spell and his undead-themed deck, he was definitely starting to cringe at the sudden death playstyle. He wondered, for a moment, if cards like that were even legal, but then he felt stupid when he remembered Yugi was packing a literal god card.
Speaking of which, Osiris couldn't have reached Yugi's hand sooner. At the last minute, Yugi was able to summon the god, which was so immense that Kaiba's visual system could barely sustain it. The dragon coiled itself around the airship, lightning splitting the sky around them as he reared his two-mawed head and roared over the rolling thunder. Jonouchi felt something tingle in his gut, like he was about to fight someone he knew would beat his ass. Was this fear? Reverence? He wasn't well acquainted with either.
Glancing around, he saw that the others were similarly affected. A strange atmosphere had fallen, something that thickened the air with a mighty presence. Kaiba's VR system was advanced to be sure, but it couldn't do this. Jonouchi was on the border of real concern as he wrapped his mind around the impossibility of it, but all thought fled his mind when Osiris's jaws opened. His razor-sharp rows of teeth parted, a glistening tongue pressing flat against its wide mouth as a distinct white glow rose from his long throat.
Bakura was screaming, not exactly in terror-maybe rage, tinged with a hint of fear. Then the blast came, and when the force of it reached the surface of the duel arena, those looking on from the side were caught in the fallout. Jonouchi felt a thrill in his chest for a moment, fearing that the wind would actually throw him off his feet, but there was a weight to the tide of energy that almost magnetized him to the metal roof of the airship.
When the light finally faded, Jonouchi lowered the arm he'd been using to shield himself and looked up at the duel field. Yugi was standing, his expression stern but his brow creased with worry. Jonouchi's eyes followed his friend's gaze across the field as Osiris's form faded, until they rested on Bakura's unconscious body. He had collapsed face-down, and while Jonouchi immediately knew it was because of Osiris's power, he couldn't reasonably explain why he knew that.
The duel was over, and Isono and his intern immediately ran to tend to Bakura while Mokuba called their on board medics. Jonouchi was paralyzed where he stood for a moment, only vaguely observing the words and motion of those around him until his wandering gaze fell on Kaiba.
She was staring out at nothing in particular, a large, fierce grin on her face. It was one of the rare occasions that Jonouchi saw her deadpan expression give way to the dark thrill that seized her when she dueled. Evidently, the appearance of the god card had been exciting for her. Maybe too exciting-he thought he saw color in her face, her eyes wide but strangely darkened with a kind of emotion he didn't feel quite comfortable naming.
Jonouchi shook himself. Why would he even think that? He had to be imagining it. It wouldn't be the first time he skewed Kaiba's actions to suit his fancy. Luckily, his embarrassment snapped him out of his shock, and he moved in time to join the others as they ran to Yugi's side. There was a crowd gathering around Bakura, but by the time Jonouchi got there, they were being snappily dispersed by two medics with a stretcher.
"The next duel shall commence in twenty minutes."
Twenty minutes!?
Bakura was being hauled down the elevator, presumably for care. The rest of the gang had rushed after the gurney, so apprehensively, Jonouchi followed after. Even though he didn't exactly like Bakura, Jonouchi still considered him apart of his friendship circle.
Although, he may or may not have been involved with Marik having kidnapped him and Anzu.
He wasn't quite sure what to think of that, and brushing those thoughts out of his mind, he followed Yugi, Anzu, and the others down to the main lobby and into the hospital room.
He hadn't counted on Kaiba being there, standing in the corner of the room while the doctor evaluated Bakura and the medics began putting him on oxygen. The medical staff was in a frenzy, yet Kaiba remained still and somewhat unfeeling, her eyes not giving away an ounce of emotion. Jonouchi frowned, turning his gaze away before she could catch his eyes; her countenance was downright frigid.
"I knew you were going to win," announced Mokuba loudly, his grin somewhat inappropriate given the circumstances. "You get to move on to the finals now, Yugi."
"Oh thanks," Yugi answered, appearing embarrassed, his eyes going back and forth between Mokuba's grin and Bakura's figure laying on top of the white hospital bed. "I didn't want to win like this, though."
The doctor turned to glare at them all, his face all scrunched up.
"How about you all carry on this conversation somewhere else," he snapped hastily, "this isn't the place."
Kaiba rolled her eyes, her being the first to walk out of the room nonchalantly, followed by an irate Mokuba. Yugi bowed before leaving too, and quietly, Jonouchi followed after. He was relieved to see that the Kaiba siblings had left to presumably go back up to the top of the airship, and he leaned against the hallway wall as Honda began to speak.
"You know, someone should talk to Kaiba about getting Bakura to a hospital," he started, "I mean, I know there's a doctor here, but this is insane. Bakura could have been killed."
"Yes, but I doubt Kaiba would be willing to do it," Otogi countered. "She's on the warpath."
"Bakura's health is more important."
The gang got into a debate over it, and Jonouchi tuned them out for a while before Yugi finally spoke up over the crowd.
"His ring is gone."
"His ring?" Honda asked. "You mean the one that possessed him?"
"It was missing when I looked at him in the room," Yugi replied, "and I didn't see the medical staff with it."
Jonouchi shivered. That creepy accursed thing was always moving around and somehow managed to find its way back to Bakura Ryou no matter what any of them did. "At least it's gone for now," he spoke up, crossing his arms against his chest, "Good riddance, I say."
"Yeah, Jonouchi's right," agreed Honda, "at least it's gone for now. Maybe it finally just blew away."
The muffled sound of Isono's voice echoed through the hallway, Jonouchi nearly jumping out of his skin at the sound of his name being announced.
"Ah shit, I need to go!" he yelled out, begin to run towards the general direction of the elevator. "I have a duel to get to! You all can check on Bakura after I get done!"
"I'm going to stay behind," said Anzu. "Yugi, go cheer Jonouchi on for me."
Anzu went back into the room, but the rest of the gang followed Jonouchi back up to the dueling platform, where all the other contestants had settled to watch. Even Kaiba was now looking at him, although it seemed through a filtered gaze, as if she didn't recognize him as a person she knew but just another competitor to watch. He frowned at her and she only just minutely twitched the corners of her lips before finding something else to look upon.
Typical.
"Before we get up there though, someone needs to talk to Kaiba about getting Bakura some help! He should be at a hospital," complained Honda, "Yugi, can't you say something?"
"Well, I could-" Yugi started, but Jonouchi cut him off, grabbing Honda forcibly by the shoulder.
"Seriously? There's a doctor on the airship. My duel starts in almost ten minutes, and talking to Kaiba isn't going to do nothing-"
"-Jonouchi, you're being selfish!" Honda argued.
"No, I'm being realistic. You think going into her room and demanding we land the blimp is going to make her actually do it?"
Yugi coughed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Well Jonouchi-kun, it's worth a shot. We should try for our friend, shouldn't we?"
Jonouchi could feel himself becoming embarrassed. His face colored as his cheeks began to burn, and he just folded his arms across his chest before frowning deeply.
"Let's go see if she'll listen," Yugi suggested. "I'll make sure you don't get in trouble for being late."
Yugi seemed determined. They were all heading toward an area that appeared to be 'restricted' from all the signage, and Jonouchi was half waiting for someone like Isono to pop up and stop them, but instead they were greeted by a rather irritated looking Mokuba.
"You guys shouldn't be back here. This is a staff only area."
"We're looking for Kaiba," Yugi began in his typical friendly yet somewhat authoritative voice, "Do you know where we can find her?"
"Her room is number one, but she's not available for taking visitors," said Mokuba as he physically moved to block the door. "I'm pretty sure she's too busy to talk to either of you right now."
"I'm sure she could manage to make an exception for us just this once," Jonouchi snapped. He felt bad for doing it, but he stood in front of Mokuba as intimidatingly as he could before seeing if the kid would budge. Mokuba usually wasn't a pushover, but surprisingly, Mokuba actually took a step back and moved out of the way, apparently unwilling to play chicken.
"She's going to be pissed off, Jonouchi!" Mokuba argued, "You know she doesn't like you!"
Jonouchi put Mokuba's words to the back of his mind as he began pounding on the door loudly. Yugi's eyes were big and even Honda looked unsure of what was going on until the door slide open and Kaiba's piercing glare stopped Jonouchi mid-strike from almost hitting her in the chest with his fists.
"Took you long enough to open the door," began Jonouchi spitefully. Was he trying to save a little face? Yes. He didn't want to appear afraid of her anymore. "We need to talk to you about Bakura. He needs to go to a hospital."
"He needs to go to a hospital?" echoed Kaiba, her mouth slowly turning into an amused smirk. "I don't see how that's my problem exactly. He knew the risks when he decided to take part in the tournament. This blimp has a set course and it will not be altered for anyone.
"If you were smart, Jonouchi, you'd be planning for your own duel instead of wasting time here over somebody else. You don't have many more minutes left before your own performance."
"I'm not worried about me," lied Jonouchi. "I'm more concerned about Bakura."
Kaiba's face turned sour before she rolled her eyes.
"Bakura has a trauma-specialist doctor, an ER nurse, and two highly trained paramedics to assist him in case he has any complications," added Mokuba. "They are a far better medical team than whoever let him out of the hospital yesterday. He was still wearing his bracelet from last night."
"Exactly." Kaiba shrugged her shoulders before snorting. "It's his own fault for showing up when he was unfit to perform. No one's problem but his own."
"You can't possibly believe something like that," Jonouchi mumbled. He felt too frustrated with her to continue arguing over it. It was like he'd said before, there was no convincing Kaiba of anything once she'd made up her mind to do or not do something. Honda was foolish to think that talking to her would somehow change her mind.
"I told you both going to her about Bakura would solve nothing," Jonouchi voice stressed, his eyes flashing at Honda and Yugi before his feet took a step back. Glancing back at Kaiba, Jonouchi started up again, "I just hope you have a plan, Kaiba, for the moment someone in this tournament actually does die because of your lack of compassion. Apparently you only care about a person if they are actively dying in front of you or some shit... It's a miracle you even bothered to save my life-."
Jonouchi shut his mouth quickly, deciding not to betray himself anymore. Kaiba appeared disgruntled and looked like she was about to argue some more, but Jonouchi turned heel and stomped off before she could. He didn't want to talk to her anymore. Preferably not even see her for the rest of the night, either.
What a waste of time. Jonouchi wasn't even sure who exactly he was mad at that moment but he definitely knew he was angry. Kaiba was just being Kaiba; her shitty behavior wasn't even shocking anymore. It was sad that the only thing that could surprise him was when she actually acted halfway normal, and when she did, he couldn't help but obsess over it.
Honda should have known better. Yugi, too.
He headed back up towards the dueling arena where he was due to compete. The PTA system was calling a warning for the next pair of semi-finalists to be ready, so Jonouchi quickly settled into a sprint, running to the elevator before reaching the top of the blimp and managing to get up to the platform on time.
Yugi appeared first, followed by Kaiba and Mokuba but neither Honda nor Otogi were up in attendance. Nor was Anzu, which was a downer. Jonouchi liked to say he didn't need a cheer squad to put in a good dueling performance, but at the same time, he was dueling Marik. The guy was unnerving.
They met at the middle, Isono instructing them both to shuffle each other's cards. Grinding his teeth, Jonouchi did as told before shoving them back into Marik's hand and snatching his own. He could still hear that alien yet familiar voice in his head, whispering in his ear and tugging at his heart strings. Marik had played him like a marionette, and although Jonouchi knew seeking revenge was generally a very bad idea, he wanted his. Somehow, some way.
Jonouchi's thoughts about his friends, Kaiba, and everything else extraneous faded and were gone as he glared down the field at Marik, his fingers itching to pull his first card. He did so in one smooth, eager motion. He felt more of a thrill every second, his body nearly tingling with anticipation as the thought that he could finally rub Marik's face in the dirt solidified in his mind.
"Listen up!" He shouted at Marik, the impulse not to do so too late and unwanted to be noticed. He grinned wildly as he made deliberate eye contact, his creeping fear of Marik's voice seizing his thoughts momentarily absent. "You probably think you're hot stuff with all your rare cards, but nothing beats skill! I can promise you right now that I'm going to beat you in eleven turns-so you better hope you pull your god card before then!"
Jonouchi had no idea where he had pulled the figure of eleven from. It wasn't one of his lucky numbers, had no real significance to him, and in general wasn't very catchy. But it seemed like a reasonable length to him. It allowed for more wiggle room than ten but wasn't an unreasonably large number like fifteen. Eleven was good. He meant it, too-he'd watched enough championship games to know how fast a true champion could win, and he was there to be a champion.
Marik only continued to stare back at him with unpredictable eyes and the most intense resting bitch face Jonouchi had ever seen in his life. If the creep had any opinion on Jonouchi's outburst, he wasn't voicing it. Jonouchi huffed and turned his full attention to the cards in his hand, knowing now that he had extra pressure to pull off a good first move.
Jonouchi became continually more exhilarated as the match progressed. He managed to play significantly better (or at least more aggressive) turns than Marik for the first three turns, and executed them so optimally that he already had enough monsters on the field to destroy Marik's defenses and life points. The only thing standing in his way was Marik's trap cards. But, true to his usual luck, Jonouchi drew his Giant Trunade card at the perfect time.
He set the spell card in play with the intention of returning the spells and traps to Marik's hand and complete his coup de gras. The dueling field swelled with the force of Giant Trunade's effect, and for a few seconds, nothing was clear. But when the dust settled and the storm died down, Jonouchi saw that Marik's magic cards were still on the field, intact.
That was the point when Jonouchi began to lose his footing. His failure to end the duel in a quick burst gave Marik time to play out his own strategy and put Jonouchi on the defensive. As turns ticked by, Jonouchi continued angrily searching for a way to regain the upper hand. He had no doubt in his mind that he would win the duel, god card or no-he only had to find the way to do it.
Jonouchi was nearing the eleven turn limit he had imposed on himself by the time Ra finally came into play. By now, he had a nagging feeling that this 'Marik' in front of him was not the man who was fucking with his head. Despite his scary looks and imposing figure, he played the match fairly. There wasn't anything dirty about his dueling style and Jonouchi could feel his anger and hatred dissipating with every move.
Then Ra was summoned. As intimidating as it was, and as much as Jonouchi should have been in a state of fear or despair, for whatever reason, the first thing to run across his mind was Kaiba's face when Osiris was summoned. Then he felt the fear and despair.
That didn't last for long. Ra's summoning filled the air with a mighty sickness, very unlike Osiris. The sky darkened, and rolling thunder sounded almost instantly. Jonouchi felt his stomach lurch, and everyone below was unsettled. Except Kaiba, but she was too excited about the god card to take note of much else. Jonouchi was trying to recover from the shock of the situation, and the immense rage he felt emanating from the allegedly holographic beast, when a bolt of lightning split the sky.
Jonouchi only saw the flash and felt his hair stand on end with static, but in the time it took him to blink, Marik had collapsed face-first on the ground. His Millennium Rod was scattered across the metal around him, destroyed by the force of the lightning. Jonouchi couldn't explain to himself why he was overtaken by concern for the man, who he should have been happy to see half-dead on the ground. Somehow, it didn't register. He wasn't thinking about his opponent as being Marik, at least not at that second. It was a reticent stranger suffering from electrocution.
He didn't have the opportunity to figure out what to do next. The lightning came again, which he knew not because he saw it, but because his whole body tingled horribly and heavily, and then everything went black.
When Jonouchi lifted his head, he felt drool stick to his hand. Jerking his head up quickly, he realized where he was: homeroom at Domino High School. Glancing around, the room was mostly empty except for Yugi, who was sitting right across from him.
"Jonouchi, what are you doing?" he began, getting up from his seat as he carefully set his books into his backpack. "You have a tournament after school today, remember? It's your very first one!"
"What?" Jonouchi exclaimed, looking quickly from one face to another. A tournament seemed like something he should have remembered. He sure as hell wouldn't be sleeping if he knew there was anything that exciting happening after class. "A tournament? Are you guys messing with me right now?"
"No, Jonouchi, I'm completely serious. Don't you remember signing up with me and Ojii-san? We gotta get going!"
"Shit!" Jonouchi exclaimed, grabbing his stuff from his desk in a heap as he tried to stand. In his haste, he ended up dropping everything (of course), and as he was rolling his eyes in dissatisfaction, he saw none other than Kaiba Seto standing near the classroom doorway. He froze in place, his mind boggled by the fact that she was in school, and even more so by the fact that she was wearing the school-issued uniform-with a skirt that the hall monitors would probably have something to say about.
"K-Kaiba?" He addressed her, immediately smacking himself internally for stammering. He forced himself to recover, trying to play it at least halfway cool, and he smirked at her. "Don't tell me you suddenly took an interest in your education again."
There was a noticeable snort as Kaiba flipped her hair and rolled her eyes. "I don't see why you bother participating in these duels when you're still such a mediocre duelist. Yugi's good intentions aren't going to carry you through forever."
She smirked before putting her arms on her hips, "Maybe if you tell me where you'll be playing, I'll hang around to watch you fail. I know you'd enjoy that."
Laughing, she kicked a fallen book back at Jonouchi's direction before parading right out of the classroom door. Jonouchi grit his teeth and growled before he could stop himself, his chest burning with indignation. Part of him wanted to run after her and argue, but he convinced himself not to make a fool of himself. What had Kaiba wanted to do in their homeroom, anyway? Nothing important, if she was content to throw snide comments at him and leave.
He felt a strange, sobering feeling of loss beneath his anger. Kaiba had been at the school possibly all day for once in a blue moon, and possibly the only time for quite a while. It might have been an opportunity to talk to her candidly. But of course instead he slept through the day and woke up just in time to embarrass himself in front of her.
"Don't let her get you down."
Anzu appeared, her smile sincere as she put a hand on Jonouchi's shoulder. "You need to get up. You have a duel to win."
Jonouchi blinked at her, still registering the situation as he was drawn from his thoughts. Anzu's eyes had a spark in them that he rarely saw, since most of the time she was telling him off. He couldn't help the tingle of happiness that spread through him, and he grinned back at her broadly.
"Thanks," he replied in a genuine tone as Anzu's hand left his shoulder. "I'm gonna wreck this tournament for sure. Who cares what Kaiba thinks?"
I care. I care what she thinks, his own voice asserted against his will. Jonouchi's eye twitched so slightly that his friends may not have noticed. He laughed nervously.
"Well then, get off the ground already!" Mai's shrill voice managed to echo shrilly despite the low acoustics of the room. "Are you going to let that hussy get the best of you? Get up off the ground and beat that duel! The Jonouchi I know wouldn't take that kind of talk from anyone."
"Mai…?" Jonouchi muttered. Why would the school have let an obviously grown-ass woman walk onto the property? She didn't look old enough to be a teenager's mom, either. His vision blurred for a moment, and his mind went blank. He rubbed his forehead and shut his eyes, but when he opened them everything was fine. He smiled at Mai despite his surprise.
"I'm not real, silly!" Mai laughed, her hair bouncing around her face. "You're actually at the Battle City Semi-finals, but you won't win if you don't get up! Everyone important to you is watching right now."
"Yeah, Jonouchi-kun." Yugi nodded his head. "You have to get up or Marik will win."
"Marik…" Jonouchi muttered, his thoughts operating at a chug as he slowly pieced together the distinction between his memory and his dream. "Oh shit, I remember! I got struck by lightning!"
Honestly, he was lucky just to be alive at this point, but he wasn't enough of a bum to stop there. If he could pick his electrocuted ass up off the ground, there was a chance he could beat Marik. And in a true display of superiority, to boot.
"All right!" He pumped his fist in the air in excitement. "No way am I gonna tap out now. After all, it's my eleventh turn, isn't it?"
Despite how much he was looking forward to waking himself up, forcing his body (which he knew but didn't care would be wracked with pain) off of the ground, and being declared the winner, he found he couldn't stand when he tried.
"Uh…" he grunted, looking nervously at his friends. "This is embarrassing, but...I really feel like I can't move. My body is just so heavy…"
He blinked, and his vision swam. He felt dizzy, and despite being in a dream he had the powerful urge to sleep. His exhaustion was rapidly becoming painful.
"Wow, guys, I'm so tired," he announced, his statement punctuated by a yawn, "But I have to win the duel."
"Take our hands!" Yugi offered his first, and then Anzu, Honda, Mai, and even Otogi. Jonouchi wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he wasn't going to blow off some help.
"We got you, Jonouchi!"
When he awoke, he found himself standing, just barely, in front of the collapsed body of 'Marik'. His friends were at the sidelines, astonished but cheering nonetheless. Jonouchi knew what had happened, but it felt like he had been asleep for days. Had it really only been a few minutes? If that long?
His body was heavy, and every inch of him wanted to lie back down as Isono declared him the winner of the match, but his legs didn't give out under him. He stood firmly, if dazed, and turned his gaze from Marik to the gathered spectators as the duel field descended. His friends were already running to the edge to meet him, but his eyes traveled past them vacantly until they came to rest on Kaiba.
Kaiba was, understandably, so astonished that her mouth was slightly agape. Her eyes were narrowed, brows low as she visibly seethed. It was a stark contrast to the support and relief coming from everyone around her, but it wasn't a surprise. It still bothered him, of course. It would be bad enough for a stranger to be unhappy he survived being struck by lightning. Kaiba begrudging the fact that he'd survived electrocution and won his duel was just excessive.
He deliberately looked away from her and concentrated his energy on not falling over as his friends collided with him, particularly Honda, who had never completely understood that a six foot tall man couldn't charge headfirst into things and people and expect them not to give under the force. Shizuka managed to wedge herself between him and everyone else, hugging him tightly with her head nestled against his chest. Jonouchi was still extremely phased, but he felt a moment of clarity when her eyes turned up to meet his. They were clear and focused; not squinted with effort, or distant with incomprehension.
Jonouchi was jarred from his moment of celebration when a pained, frustrated scream echoed across the surface of the airship and off into the sky. His eyes snapped to Namu, who was standing near the guard rails, his hands clutching his face violently as he hunched. His body shook as he growled and cried out. It was only after Jonouchi recovered from the shock of what was happening that he saw the Millennium Rod in Namu's far hand. He had forgotten somewhere between electrocution and waking up that his opponent, the alleged Marik, had his rod shattered by the lightning. It was a fake. Marik was a fake. And Namu was a fake.
Jonouchi had never been so unhappy about being right.
The man they'd been calling Namu continued stumbling, shaking his head violently as if to free it from someone's grip, babbling to himself in Arabic with the occasional English profanity sprinkled in. Nobody wanted to approach him, even Isono, who moved slowly closer to the side of the Kaibas in response to the threat. His hand was hovering near his waist. Was he carrying?
Jonouchi didn't know what to do or think as Namu continued to break down in front of them. It felt like a long time before his body stiffened, his face turned toward the sky as one final, pained scream left his throat. He stopped abruptly, still looking up, unnaturally still but suddenly far more relaxed. His shoulders dropped, his posture unclenched.
After the few seconds of silence that passed while he caught his breath, he started quietly chuckling, the sound escalating into a cackle as he finally turned his gaze on those assembled.
"You all are such fools!" Marik's face spun around, looking at the crowd with the wide, intense eyes of a wild animal, only instead of fear behind them there was hatred and violence. "I am the real Marik, the one who has been hiding the entire time. The one who isn't afraid of the Darkness.
"I am the darkness."
Usually Jonouchi would have thought that silly, but at that moment, he couldn't help but clutch his sister a tad closer. The man sounded deathly serious. He was grinning like an idiot and looked like something out of a mad house. It didn't matter if they believed what he was saying-he certainly did.
"My sweet sister and her pet, Rishid, tried keeping me at bay, but as you can see, that plan didn't work out so well for them."
Rishid was still collapsed on the ground. Marik walked over and kicked a piece of the broken rod, still chuckling darkly to himself.
"I am the real owner of the millennium rod, and I will destroy you, Yugi, when I battle you."
Doesn't he have to battle against Mai first to do that? Suddenly Jonouchi had a really bad feeling about what was happening.
"Where Rishid failed, I will be victorious. Only a blessed few can use the Millennium items... that includes you, Kaiba!"
Jonouchi twisted his head to look at Kaiba, who looked scandalized from being called out. Was she brave or just too bitchy to really feel fear?
"Yes, I know about you and Ishizu and your meeting at the museum. I know what she told you, but the rod belongs to me! I deserve it! Only the one who holds the millennium items can wield a god card, and I will snatch Obelisk from your grasp."
"Try my cold, dead hands," fired Kaiba back, "because that's the only way you'll take my god card from me. You'll have to duel me and kill me first."
"Oh sweet heart, that can be arranged."
Marik grinned again, his teeth shining in the moonlight. Jonouchi felt goosebumps prickling on his neck, shoulders, and arms, and he involuntarily shuttered before looking at Kaiba. She seemed unphased still, but Mokuba did not. He looked thoroughly disturbed.
"Enough Marik!"
It was Yugi's voice. The stronger voice.
"You will not harm any of my friends and if you think-"
Jonouchi could see that Kaiba looked almost offended at being called Yugi's friend. Was she mad? Or just that petty?
"We'll meet in a battlefield of blood soon, Pharaoh."
Marik stuck out his tongue and pulled down an eyelid before breaking into a ear shattering fit of laughter. Jonouchi's eyes never left as he walked down by himself alone, going back down into the blimp to go do god knew what...
"Onii-chan, are you afraid?"
Shizuka was looking up at him, her eyes wide and heavy from unshed tears. Jonouchi tried chuckling, touching the top of Shizuka's head before shaking his.
"Hell no, I'm not scared of that punk," he lied, "and neither should you. Just stay with me and Honda, and you'll be fine."
"Yeah, you're safe with us, Shizuka!" Honda added, his smile fake yet Shizuka appeared somewhat reassured.
Jonouchi looked back down at Rishid, who was finally being picked up by the medics. What the fuck kind of monster did I just manage to wake up here?
They followed the paramedics to Rishid's room. Jonouchi was strangely numb as the lot of them stood there, watching his unconscious body. How was it they had both been struck by lightning, but Jonouchi was walking around with a bit of a headache and Rishid was down for the count?
Was it because he disrespected Ra?
Ishizu was seated at the far side of Rishid's bed, gazing down at him sorrowfully. The rest of them waited expectantly. Someone had to explain what the hell was going on, and neither Marik nor Rishid were going to be great resources.
As Ishizu tried to make sense (relatively) of what had happened in a surprisingly level voice, Jonouchi was only half listening. He could be forgiven, right? To be honest, he didn't care a whole lot what Marik had done or why. He just knew what had happened to him and his friends, and the others-including Marik's own family-that had been collateral damage. Besides, it had been a long day. He was struck by lightning for god's sake. Not to mention, now he had to have eyes in the back of his head in case the homicidal maniac Kaiba refused to eject from the closed space they were floating ten thousand feet above the ground in decided to shank him with a priceless artifact.
Kaiba certainly didn't seem worried. Jonouchi had dealt with some shit growing up poor in the city, but even he knew well enough not to mess with crazy people. Kaiba, on the other hand, was no more intimidated by the unpredictable nature of a schizophrenic than she was by anything else. He wondered for a very small fraction of a second if she was too self-absorbed, too self-important, or too sheltered to take the threat of a murderous psycho seriously. It could be all three. It could be none. Maybe she actually was concerned, or frightened. She may even be taking her own precautions behind the scenes. She never revealed her hand.
Maybe she was actually just crazy, too. But the kind of crazy that functions in public. Jonouchi had read somewhere that there was a higher population of psychopaths among CEOs than any other group.
The worst part about that thought wasn't that it was halfway possible, it was that it still didn't make him any less invested in her. He couldn't say for sure if Kaiba was crazy, but he sure as hell was. Crazy enough to keep playing along in the tournament despite all the obvious threats. But unlike Kaiba, he knew he was ready to do anything and everything to protect his friends and his sister. He wasn't sure she necessarily cared if any of them made it out alive and unhurt. If they started dropping like teens in a horror film, would she just see it as a time saver? Fewer stops on her train to dueling Yugi?
What if Marik did lay hands on Yugi? It would never happen, since too many people wanted him safe-even Marik, who needed him alive to defeat him. But if it did? If Yugi was gone, would Kaiba just...disintegrate? Jonouchi had been entertaining the thought because it was funny, but the more he pondered it, the more he realized she would probably have a complete meltdown if beating Yugi was off the table. She was even willing to endure the threat of Marik as long as her goal was in sight.
That was a problem. Marik had beef with Kaiba too, but unlike with Yugi, he didn't deem her necessary. If she ended up in his way, or caught him in a bad mood, what would happen? She acted like she didn't even have the sense to be afraid. She had bodyguards on board, but they didn't exactly stand outside her room all night. Hell, she spent most of her time deliberately alone. And given her behavior when they all left the roof, it looked like she planned to keep on as normal despite everything she'd seen.
Jonouchi felt his heart racing. He thought, dryly, that he probably should have felt his pulse increase when Marik was losing his mind or maybe at the thought of being shanked. But no, it was the idea of his friends, Shizuka, or Kaiba who minutes before had been disappointed to see him alive being harmed that got to him. He scarcely wanted to take his eyes off of Shizuka. He would never forgive himself if she was hurt and he wasn't there. This situation was the only upside to Honda following her around aggressively. Otogi too, but he couldn't really fight and he wasn't as brave as Honda...maybe he'd at least be a good distraction.
Kaiba didn't have anybody to watch her, and she definitely didn't have anybody to talk some sense into her. Mokuba might be too respectful of her to try very hard, and nobody who worked for her was going to do anything that implied she was wrong. But Jonouchi was locally renowned for his utter lack of manners and respect. And what did he have to lose? Could Kaiba like him less? Recent evidence said no. Maybe she'd be pissed if he confronted her with the facts, but he half thought it was worth it and half didn't care. She had wanted to see him where Rishid was right now. She could stay mad.
Jonouchi was forced from his stewing when he heard his name being called.
"Jonouchi! What are you doing up and around, shouldn't you be asleep in bed? Did you even get looked at by a doctor?" Mai tsked at him, wagging her finger before messing with his hair. "I was so worried about you when you fell on the stage. What a crazy turn of events this tournament is becoming, am I right?"
"You're probably right, I should get my head checked out, you know," Jonouchi joked. For more reasons than one. "I feel alright, though. I mean, I don't think I'm gonna die anytime soon."
"Well, if you change your mind, you could always just stop by my room. I might not know much about medicine, but I know how to make a man feel right after a bad day."
Mai winked and Jonouchi could feel his face burning despite himself. Shit, why was she good at that sort of thing? He didn't think she could elicit a reaction like that out of him, but he was so wrong.
Anzu came over, sliding up besides Mai before Yugi gathered too.
"How did you manage to get up during the duel?" Anzu asked, "I thought you were dead! I was crying and everything."
"Oh?" Jonouchi laughed nervously. "Well, actually, I dreamed about you guys helping me up."
"You dreamed about us?" Yugi asked. He was smiling brightly and Jonouchi couldn't help but smile back.
"Yeah, we were back at school and you guys showed up-"
"Even me?" Mai blinked before flapping her eyelashes. "I didn't know you liked dreaming me up in your alone time."
"Well, I wasn't really alone," Jonouchi said. He could feel his face turning warm again, but he fought against the sensation of feeling embarrassed. "I didn't see you there, anyways," he lied, "I mean, why would I see you at my school? You're an old lady."
Mai's face went sour and she tossed her head just as Anzu's hand collided with the side of Jonouchi's head.
"Oww, what the fuck?"
He only half paid attention to Anzu's ranting and raving as Mai walked away angrily. Women. It wasn't like he was wrong. Mai was too old to be at his school, and she didn't need to make those kinds of jokes in front of his friends. He wasn't even that into her, all things considered. Yeah, she was hot but... Jonouchi didn't really like thinking about her in sexy situations anymore.
Maybe something was wrong with him. He didn't want to think over it further.
"You know, you could have killed me, Anzu. I could have a brain injury right now, and you just killed me," Jonouchi stressed before deciding to give up. His head hurt too much. Mai's duel with Marik was going to start soon, and before it was time, he wanted to at least shut his eyes and actually make sure he was alright.
Last thing he wanted right now was the possibility of dying in his sleep. Might make Kaiba too pleased with him if that happened...