Kaiba regained her composure long enough to rejoin the rest of the group to watch Yugi face Marik in the finals. Although it stung that Yugi had taken her spot in the finals, she also knew that Yugi had earned his victory and no amount of sulking was going to change that fact. Best case scenario, she'd get a chance to duel him again in some other future competition. Worst case... hopefully Kaiba Corporation wouldn't fall into another stock market crash from having lost at her own tournament. Things weren't so precarious now, so it didn't seem likely.
Kaiba did not need her board trying to fire her again...
What came as an absolute shock, though, was that Yugi managed to beat Marik using the card she'd given him before the start of the finals. She didn't like admitting to herself that Ishizu managed to get under her skin, but so many bizarre things had happened to her since the tournament started. Kaiba did not want Marik to win. If that meant extending the proverbial olive branch to give Yugi a chance, well, she knew she'd just have to suck it up and do it.
Maybe all of Ishizu's nonsense about an Egyptian past was real. None of that meant she needed to change who she was now just because of who she might have been some thousands of years before, though. Kaiba settled in her mind that she'd play her part in this final battle, but no more. She would be treading on her own path after the tournament was over.
"The Duel Tower you built is the crossing of souls, a sanctuary you build with your own soul."
What a ridiculous idea.
Ishizu didn't know what she was talking about when she said that. The Duel Tower had always been a symbol of her hatred towards Gozaburo. Nothing Ishizu said would change her mind, and Kaiba was ready to continue forward with her plan now that Yugi had managed to secure his victory.
Their paths would probably never cross again, if Kaiba could help it.
"As the organizer of the Battle City Tournament, I congratulate the winner. Yugi, you've won the title of Battle City Duel King. As the host of this tournament, I praise you for this proud honor," Kaiba declared. She could feel everyone's eyes peering at her and brushing the feeling of being judged off her shoulders, she resumed speaking.
"You can now take Marik's rarest card."
Yugi was smiling. Kaiba betrayed no emotion, taking her place back on the sidelines with her arms crossed against her chest before glancing Marik's way. He seemed happy to give up his god card, and scowling slightly, Kaiba realized that Yugi wouldn't have been able to win the duel if she hadn't given him her Fiend's Sanctuary card. Did that make Ishizu's nonsense about Yugi needing her power to win right?
Eh. She didn't want to entertain that thought.
He'd been able to summon Obelisk to secure his win, and as much as it pained Kaiba to watch Yugi use a card that used to be hers, she was also glad to see it out of her deck. Her mind felt clear again. Now she could only hear her own thoughts.
She could also see Jonouchi from across the dueling arena congratulating Yugi with a massive bear hug, followed by all the rest of the geek squad following suit. He was thankfully too distracted to notice Kaiba's eyes on him, and she wondered if she should even bother to speak to him again before following through with the next stage of her plan.
Leaving for America. Starting the next branch of Kaiba Corporation. It would be better to leave and try rebuilding something important than return home to Japan defeated.
But Jonouchi's actions had muddled everything up. It didn't feel right to just leave without trying to speak to him again, even if Kaiba didn't want anything to happen between them.
Nothing ever could happen between them. The idea of them together was laughable.
"This victory celebration had gone on long enough," Kaiba interrupted in a hurried tone. She glared at Yugi for half a second before adjusting her face, "The Battle City Tournament is over, and if you are planning on a free ride back home, you better board the aircraft immediately. I won't be responsible for your safety if you don't. In one hour," Kaiba explained with a slight twinge of delight, "This island will be detonated.
"Yugi, the title and pride of Duel King is yours for now."
Yugi nodded his head in approval. Not wanting to stick around any longer than necessary, Kaiba departed from the group, Mokuba following closely behind her. She had plans to act out, since she had no intention to leave back to Japan with the rest of the finalists. No, she and her Mokuba would be making a new path on their own.
"Can you believe that sore loser?"
Jonouchi whipped his head around, looking at Honda, who was appearing to be in a panic. The words that came out of his mouth sounded like something Jonouchi might have thought to say, if he didn't already know better. Blowing up the tower probably held a deeper meaning for Kaiba, even if he didn't know what it was. She wouldn't blow up the place just for losing to Yugi, would she?
"Kaiba loses the tournament, so she decides to trash the place!" whined Honda hysterically. "Tell me again Yugi, why do we all try being her friend when she's around?"
"Since when have you ever tried, Honda?" snapped Jonouchi and Honda noticeably pouted as Yugi just smiled.
"We should get going. If Marik lost the duel, Mai should be alright!"
He needed to see her. They had parted on bad terms, and Jonouchi had felt helpless to save her when Marik... the darker Marik... banished her mind away. He'd been afraid that he'd never see her awake again, and it was a kind of panicked feeling he never wanted to experience again.
Breaking into a jog, he left the group and hurried to the blimp. Honda caught up, and they all went down as a group in the elevator, but once they reached the base level of Duel Tower, Jonouchi took off in a sprint, his breath starting to catch from being out of shape before he finally reached the step ladders to get inside.
He needed to see Kaiba again too, in case she decided to make some grand disappearing act like she had after Duelist Kingdom.
It wasn't even a disappearing act. He'd seen her plenty then, especially while in class, up until graduation. Really, he feared that if he didn't find her quickly and apologize to her for running away after his stunt, Kaiba might continue ignoring his existence.
Jonouchi didn't think he could bear that another time. Not after everything that had happened to them, between them. He knew how he felt about her, and Jonouchi was sure now that Kaiba felt something similar towards him too. She'd kissed him back, after all. And she'd saved his life.
But first, his responsibility to Mai was more important. She was one of his closest friends, and he didn't want her waking up alone and confused.
When he reached the medical room, he noticed that Shizuka was sitting by the bed where Mai laid, her face in her hands. He could feel his heart drop, and looking at Mai's face, Jonouchi realized that she wasn't even moving.
"What happened?" he asked frantically, "Why hasn't she woken up?"
"I don't know," Shizuka cried, "I thought the duel was over, but she hasn't moved at all!"
He immediately sat down on the bed, and pulled Mai's body closer to him, trying to check her pulse. She still had a heartbeat, so what was stopping her from waking up? Didn't magic work like that? When Yugi beat Pegasus, everyone returned to normal. This wasn't possible.
"What's going on," asked Anzu, and Jonouchi saw everyone quietly file into the room, exchanging worried glances at each other before Anzu spoke up again. "She's okay, isn't she?"
Mai's eyes suddenly opened and Jonouchi gasped before she started laughing at him, Shizuka breaking into a fit of laughter in unison. Face burning and irritation rising, Jonouchi tried jumping off the sick bed, but Mai grabbed his arm, pulling him back close to her.
"That's what you get for what you did to me before Marik's duel," she declared, and Jonouchi immediately wanted to argue but then Mai grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and closing his eyes out of instinct, he prepared himself to get smacked before suddenly realizing that Mai was kissing him.
He could hear Honda making a sharp whistle of approval and Otogi joining in before Anzu started yelling at them to hush up.
Jonouchi tried to pull away, but Mai had a grip. She didn't let go until she had him breathless, and she was still laughing as he looked at her with a stunned expression.
"You tried to save me," she explained, "I can't hate you forever."
"I tried because you are my friend," Jonouchi muttered in a low voice, but it was downed out behind the sounds of everyone else in the room laughing and cheering. What the hell was going on? When he looked behind him, Honda gave him a pair of thumbs up as Anzu just smiled and even Otogi appeared approving. Only Yugi looked unsure, as if he could read inside Jonouchi's confused head.
"So, I'm going to forgive you for upsetting me before," Mai continued, "Why do you look so surprised?"
"I wasn't expecting you to kiss me," Jonouchi answered in a low, hushed tone. And where did she get the awful idea of pretending to still be comatose? He glanced at Shizuka, unable to keep his facial features from slightly glaring at her before turning his attention back at Mai.
"And I don't really like you making it a point to laugh at me because I care about you," Jonouchi argued a tad louder. "I was afraid you died, Mai, and I tried everything in my power to save you. Even if I didn't beat Marik, I tried to and almost won for you."
'But not just for her', his brain reminded him. He hadn't dueled Marik solely for Mai's sake...
"That's really messed up that you'd prank me for having feelings."
Honda laughed nervously, reaching over to slap Jonouchi on the back.
"You're being such a killjoy, Jonouchi," he snickered, and Jonouchi just shrugged him off.
Mai huffed. "I was just trying to surprise you, Jonouchi. It's not like you were about to cry for me, right? Besides, I was scared, too. Marik almost killed me."
'Marik actually did kill me', thought Jonouchi internally, but he didn't need to tell Mai that.
"And I'm just so happy that you're here," Mai continued, and she grabbed Jonouchi into a choking hug while he felt the life nearly get squeezed out of his body. He couldn't even enjoy the feeling of her body against him because he was so aggravated, but Jonouchi reasoned that maybe he was just being too overly sensitive. Mai didn't mean anything by messing with him, and she seemed unable to let him go, either.
"I thought I'd never see you again," she declared.
Softening up, Jonouchi reluctantly hugged her back before his emotions got the best of him and it became a real hug. His face rested on her shoulder and his nose was tickled by her long, thick bottle-blond hair. He was so happy she was alive, even if she pissed him off majorly.
He didn't let go until Yugi spoke up.
"The island is going to explode soon," he reminded all of them, "We have to get ready."
Get ready? How?
Jonouchi pulled away, and he sat there for a moment thinking as Mai continued staring up at him with a smile on her face until he realized that he still needed to find out where Kaiba was.
Was she even on the blimp?
"I'm sorry Mai," he said suddenly, getting up from the bed and practically running out the door, "There's something I need to do!"
Kaiba had her exit prepared but she still felt a tad guilty about leaving Jonouchi behind without saying anything to him. It wasn't like she owed him any kind of explanation, but still, she felt like maybe she shouldn't just leave without saying goodbye. They probably wouldn't be seeing each other for a while, since Kaiba planned on working overseas for the next few years. She didn't want to go back to Japan and she had no desire to duel again competitively for a while.
Kaiba was also aware of Jonouchi's financial situation. It would be a bad idea to entertain any kind of thoughts of them having a relationship, even a platonic one, once they'd both returned home.
Relationships always slowed people down. Hosting Battle City had been tough but starting a new branch of Kaiba Corporation in a foreign country would be even harder. Kaiba had early mornings, late evenings, and sleepless nights to look forward to, at least for the first year. She couldn't allow any kind of relationship to distract her from her goals, least of all, a romantic one.
She knew from the time she was a young teenager what her life would entail. A lot of loneliness, a lot of solitude, sitting on the top of the world alone. It wasn't so bad when she was distracted by meaningful work. Dating and love was what normal people got to experience in their early years, and Kaiba wasn't normal. She didn't have the luxury of enjoying a typical young adult life.
Besides, it was probably for the best that she let Jonouchi go. Nothing good would ever come of it.
Kaiba hurried to the blimp to speak to the captain and Isono to let them know her final plans. They had already been briefed on the possibility of Kaiba leaving on her own; she'd made visits to the island previously and had prepared a jet for departure. It had a few unique alterations on it, with an elaborate decal that made it appear like a Blue Eyes White Dragon from afar. Kaiba always loved flying, and it was even more fun when she could do it in front of a captive audience.
The jet was ready. Mokuba was waiting for her, already prepared to go. He had the codes to be able to control the detonation of the island; it wouldn't go off until both aircraft were safely far away from the island in case of debris. Kaiba liked to freak people out with her declarations but she had no intention of getting anyone hurt.
After finishing up with her staff, she wasn't sure where she would find Jonouchi. His room was empty, so Kaiba strolled to the medical ward, where Mai and Bakura had been recovering. Hopefully they would both wake up and have no serious injuries; she didn't need the bad press or potential legal trouble. Bakura seemed too meek to be of any kind of concern but Mai was assertive, and she had resources.
When Kaiba reached the door, however, she was shocked to find everyone surrounding Mai, who was sitting up on her bed with Jonouchi. When she looked past Honda's head, she saw Mai aggressively kissing Jonouchi right on the mouth, who looked so stunned he seemed unable to move away. Honda was whistling loudly and Otogi was laughing; Kaiba could feel her stomach drop down to her feet and although she knew Jonouchi wasn't into it, she still felt extremely uncomfortable. Silently, she turned around and quickly got out of the airship before she could be noticed.
Kaiba quickly reached the control room inside the Dueling Tower. Mokuba was already there, his face appearing excited before he decided to speak.
"Are we really going to just leave now?" he asked. "There's no one you'd want to say goodbye to?"
"Why would I want to say goodbye?" Kaiba asked in a slightly mocking tone. "I'm not friends with any of them. The tournament is done. There's no reason to hang out pretending to like a bunch of people I greatly despise."
"You can't actually mean that," Mokuba sighed a tad dramatically. "Yugi has gone out of his way to help you many times, and so has Jonouchi. They might become upset to find out that you just left without saying goodbye."
"Why would I care if they got upset?" laughed Kaiba. She looked away from Mokuba for a second, closing her eyes. "It's time to move on with our lives."
When Kaiba glanced back to look at Mokuba, she caught him rolling his eyes at her. She wanted to argue with him, but they'd reached the bottom of the tower and needed to get the detonation sequence started. She walked quickly, almost fast enough that Mokuba had trouble keeping up, and using her pass code. Kaiba got entrance inside the room and sat down at one of the keyboards before bringing up the program.
This was the only site left of Gozaburo's original Kaiba Corporation empire besides the Domino City Kaiba Corporation building itself. Every other location had been destroyed sometime after Gozaburo's suicide. Weapons stockpiles were quickly disposed of and despite some backlash from the old blood that had been dedicated to Gozaburo's late business, Kaiba had efficiently changed the entire corporation seemingly overnight.
She'd left this last island of misery as a token reminder, but now even that was no longer necessary to hold onto.
"Are you ready for what comes next, Mokuba?" asked Kaiba after she'd completed the command codes.
Mokuba nodded his head, a smile returned to his face.
"Of course, Nee-sama," he answered, "I'm always on your side."
Jonouchi raced around the airship, trying to find Kaiba and Mokuba. He went back to Kaiba's private room, using the retinal scanner that she'd told him about last night; the room was empty, and the bed was made up like it had always been unoccupied. Kaiba hadn't left so much as a note behind, and Jonouchi could feel himself freaking out a little before he tried turning towards the quarter deck. The captain of the air ship had to know what was going on, but when he reached just outside of the area, one of the Kaiba Corporation henchmen Jonouchi didn't know stopped him.
He was completely uncooperative. Jonouchi tried arguing with the guy, but he quickly felt like it was a waste of time, and the clock was ticking. The guy was not willing to give out any information about where Kaiba had gone, and he was rude to boot. Jonouchi wanted to act out and hit him out of frustration, but he knew that was a very, very bad idea.
Turning around, he tried going outside and calling Kaiba's name.
There was no answer.
Within minutes, Honda, Anzu and Yugi showed up, looking at him strangely before they began to realize the two people who were missing.
"Have any of you seen Kaiba or Mokuba around?"
"Not since we left the Duel Tower," spoke up Anzu, "What about you, Yugi?"
"I didn't see them."
"I bet Kaiba's hiding in her room," Honda snorted, "What are you worried about, Jonouchi? Think she's gonna leave herself on the island to blow up?"
"I checked her room and she's not there."
Honda looked confused at that but Jonouchi did not explain. He considered running back to the Duel Tower, but Honda grabbed him forcibly before he could try making a break for it. Then Otogi showed up, and Jonouchi found himself overpowered as they both dragged him back on board the ship.
"I'm telling you guys, she's not here!"
"That's not exactly our problem right now, pal," said Honda through gritted teeth. Jonouchi was trying to still worm away but Honda had a strong grip.
"Maybe she has another way of leaving the island."
"How? We got here on the airship," argued Jonouchi. "What do you think, she's hiding a rocket someplace to go shoot out from?"
"Maybe, knowing her."
"She wouldn't let Mokuba get hurt, Jonouchi," reasoned Yugi, "Please calm down. I'll go ask the crew what happened with her."
"I tried to ask before and they wouldn't let me go near the captain."
"Let me try," Yugi pressed, "Maybe they'll listen to me."
Jonouchi frowned. He waited anxiously with Honda, Otogi and Anzu, who were all looking at him uncomfortably. They were probably baffled by Jonouchi's sudden, intense concern for the Kaiba siblings. Sure, he always cared about their safety and he'd jumped into harm's way to protect them both in the past, but he probably seemed even more distressed than before. He couldn't help but feel frantic. After running away from Kaiba, he needed to find her as soon as possible before she might change her mind about him.
He had to find her, and soon.
When Yugi returned, Jonouchi looked up quickly and found him smiling. So Kaiba was alright? That was a relief, but where was she exactly?
"Kaiba and Mokuba made secret plans to leave the island on their own," Yugi explained, "It took some convincing for the captain to tell me, but I guess Kaiba didn't want word to get out. She wanted to make a dramatic exit."
"You gotta be fucking kidding me..."
Slumping against the wall, Jonouchi just fell down and sat on the floor, putting both of his hands into his hair. He'd missed his chance. Kaiba was probably long gone, crossing the ocean back home on a helicopter or something. He shouldn't have been so hopeful that one kiss would have changed her typical behavior. She wasn't sentimental. They might have had a few tense moments together during the competition, but Jonouchi was foolish for thinking she might have actually liked him...
"Bad luck, Jonouchi," snickered Otogi. "I guess your princess is in another castle."
To Jonouchi's surprise, Honda punched Otogi hard in the arm. Otogi immediately hissed in response and sulked away, Anzu shaking her head at him. Jonouchi was glad no one laughed at his joke. He already felt stupid enough without Otogi making it worse.
"We've all had a really stressful few days," Yugi said.
He was clearly trying to break the tension.
"You should be so proud of yourself, Jonouchi. You really became an incredible duelist during the Battle City tournament. I hope you feel proud of yourself."
"I do feel proud of myself," Jonouchi answered. He tried to make himself smile, even though he still felt out of it.
"I want us to duel against each other again soon. I want to get my Red Eyes Black Dragon from you, fair and square."
"Okay," agreed Yugi. "Let's do that then. When we get back home."
Yugi offered his hand, and taking it, Jonouchi lifted himself off from the ground. When he did, he could feel his legs shake as the whole blimp began to lift off from the ground. There was a brief moment when it dipped before it righted itself, and Jonouchi tried to force his way towards the observation area while getting control over his balance.
Most of everyone else was there also. Marik was missing, thankfully, but Ishizu, Rishid, Ryou, and Mai were all there. Jonouchi did his best to avoid looking Mai in the eyes; he took a place near the back of the room, watching down at Alcatraz Island as the blimp floated farther and farther away from it. He barely noticed when his sister came to his side; he was still annoyed with her, but he couldn't really stay angry with her for long.
As soon as they returned home, he knew Shizuka would probably be taking the first train ride back home. Their mother might finally allow her to visit once in a blue moon, but Jonouchi knew the woman would never like him. Or trust him with his sister. It was undeserved hatred but there was nothing he could do about it and Shizuka was still a minor.
Yugi came over to him, too, with Anzu, Honda, and Otogi. Suddenly a countdown was announced over the intercom system. Jonouchi could feel his stomach tying up in knots as he held onto the railing in front of him. When he glanced at Shizuka, she looked extremely nervous but was managing to hold it together. Honda was on her other side, holding one thumb up.
The countdown ended. A second or two passed, and still nothing happened.
"Do you think maybe Kaiba was just pulling a prank?" asked Jonouchi.
Yugi was about to reply, but the blimp lurched, tilting down again as Anzu screamed and Honda fell to the ground. Jonouchi caught himself and looked out a window; the island was detonating as several explosions went off, one by one until there was nothing of the Duel Tower standing left. Blinking, Jonouchi looked out, trying to see if he could find where Kaiba could have gone.
He'd seen her operate a helicopter before. Did she have one stashed away someplace on the island.
Before he knew it though, everyone gasped. A modified F-15 fighter jet rose from the smoke of Alcatraz, flying parallel to the blimp. It had war paint on it reminiscent of a Blue Eyes White Dragon, and it took Jonouchi a second too long to realize that Kaiba was sitting in the front cockpit, driving the damn thing by herself. Mokuba was in the back, waving at him as Jonouchi stood there slack jawed and stupefied.
"She has a jet?!" yelled out Honda. "Jeez, no wonder she didn't get on the blimp like the rest of us."
"I wonder where she was hiding it," Anzu marveled, "You think maybe it was underground?"
Jonouchi didn't know what to say. He just stood there and stared; he noticed Kaiba turning her head to look at him, and she raised her hand for a moment as if to acknowledge him for maybe the first time, before the jet suddenly titled and the entire aircraft turned the opposite direction from the path of the blimp. Straining to see it, Jonouchi won't look away even after it had disappeared into the horizon. He knew what would come next. Kaiba was not returning to Japan.
He had no idea if he'd ever see her in person again.