The soft breeze blows gently on her face as she meditates in the backyard. Her aquamarine eyes are covered by her closed lids and she remains perfectly still. The bright sun that beams down on her doesn't faze her one bit while she centers her mind. It's a routine that Mana does when she begins to feel overwhelmed by life in general.
Firstly, Atem has been dealing with his issues regarding the puzzle. His more recent outbursts have been very concerning and she wishes he would let her help him. Secondly, she can't seem to pinpoint why Téa has been ignoring her lately. Her lack of responses to her text messages and being sent to voicemail, has Mana totally stumped as to why Téa is doing this. Lastly, Cairo has been going through her own struggles at school and now there seems to be a possibility of an even bigger problem on the horizon.
"And then I have to smile and act like everything is okay at this event tonight," Mana groans with a weary expression.
"Is everything okay?" a deep voice asks, causing her heart to jump and her eyes to snap open. Looking to her left, she watches as Atem takes a seat next to her, stretching out one leg and bending the other with his arm resting on his knee.
Chuckling nervously, Mana grins. "Who said things weren't okay?"
"It was heavily implied," he replies, returning her gaze.
"I'm fine!" she assures him before sighing. "I think I'm just dreading this event tonight…"
"You and me, both."
There is a brief pause in their interaction before Mana opens up her mouth to speak, this time in her usual upbeat tone. "So, have you decided to let me help you?" she asks somewhat jokingly, already knowing that he will decline.
"I have," he replies vaguely.
"You have…? As in…?"
"As in I'll accept your assistance. Seeing as how I can't seem to keep my own abilities under wraps, I figured I'd see what you have to offer."
Mana blinks rapidly, surprised at what he just said. She definitely wasn't expecting that answer.
Noticing her silence, he looks at her questionably. "What?"
"I'm pretty shocked," she says, rubbing the back of her head.
"To be perfectly honest, so am I. Especially since I fail to see how you can help."
"As I've said before, keeping your powers under wraps, no matter regular magic or shadow magic, has a similar concept as far as training goes," Mana explains. "The more you use the abilities that give you anxiety, the more comfortable you become."
"I don't know…" Atem says, having a hint of doubt in his voice.
Mana folds her arms with a serious expression that even catches Atem off guard. "I'm not sure where this doubt is coming from, but you need to break out of that mindset."
"How can I when—?"
"Your mishaps are a direct result of you doubting yourself Atem. And it's also in addition to you not honing your skills due to fear. You can't keep running away."
Atem lowers his eyes in thought. She definitely makes a good point. He doesn't use the power of the Millennium Puzzle often because it makes him anxious. But then he can't get better as using it if he doesn't break out of his comfort zone. And when he uses it while having these feelings of doubt and fear, the powers go haywire, thus starting the cycle all over again.
"Do you finally see where I'm getting at?" Mana asks.
He lifts his eyes to look at her and nods. "I do. I just…" He sighs.
"If you continue to doubt yourself, I'll have no choice but to take drastic measures. I'll tackle you."
A pearl of sweat goes down the side of his head. He already can imagine how this training is going to go. Mana has an odd way of getting things done. She always has. But clearly it works. Not only is she the strongest magician he knows, but Cairo is also well on her way under her mother's guidance.
She places a hand on top of his and smiles. "Do you trust me?"
"Well…OOF!" He grunts as he feels his back hit the grass and the weight of Mana on top of him as she pins him down. "Mana!" he protests. "In no way did I show any hint of doubt just then! You didn't even let me finish!"
"The answer should have been a straight yes," she replies with an intense stare. "I'm offended that you seemingly had to think about it."
"You just wanted a reason to be on top of me," he counters, smirking suddenly.
Mana blushes madly. "Really?!" She attempts to move, but he holds her in place, his expression becoming more serious.
"I trust you," he says, bringing her previous squirming to a halt.
Gazing down at him, she crosses her arms. "Do you really?"
"Yes. I do."
She smiles, leaning down to wrap her arms around his neck. Her lips press into his cheek briefly before he moves his head to capture her lips. For a moment, they stay like that. It feels good knowing that Atem trusts her and maybe they can finally head in the right direction to Atem fully mastering the puzzle.
Feeling a third presence around them and seeing a smaller shadow, they break for air. Standing above theme is Cairo with her lip turned up with disgust. Atem gently throws Mana off him and he scrambles to his feet with his back turned toward them, hiding his red cheeks of embarrassment.
Mana chuckles lightly. How awkward is it that their daughter has caught them in that position? "H-Hey Cairo! W-We were just uh…training!" Mana stammers.
A more puzzled look appears on Cairo's face. "Quite eccentric if you ask me."
"How does a girl your age know so many big words?" Mana mutters, dimming her eyes. "What are you doing home from school early anyway?"
"They let us out early," Cairo replies before whispering. "There was an incident."
"An incident?" her mother whispers back. "It wasn't involving you, was it? And why are we whispering?"
"Not me. However, there were several cases of people falling into a coma on the street without explanation around the same neighborhood of the school. They made us travel home in groups."
Mana's eyes go big. "Hold on…that sounds familiar. Didn't that happen at the…?"
"Uh-huh," Cairo nods her head, bringing her voice to an even softer whisper. "Are we still not telling dad?"
"Not telling me what?" Atem asks, looking at them from over his shoulder. Cairo and Mana jump simultaneously and exchange glances as Atem stands in front of the both of them now. "What are you two hiding?"
"Nothing!" Mana waves her hands frantically.
"I'm finding that hard to believe. Both of you have the tendency to hide things or try to deal with things on your own."
"And you don't?" Mana counters, smirking and he folds his arms, grunting.
"In my defense, you two are to blame for that personality trait," Cairo says staring ahead as her parents both give her the side eye.
"Just to confirm…you two aren't hiding anything from me?" Atem asks, looking at them suspiciously.
"All is well!" Mana exclaims.
"That…doesn't really answer my question…"
"But it was a response nonetheless! Time to get ready! Let's go Cairo!" She grabs Cairo's arm, quickly levitating into the air into an open window of their house as Atem shakes his head, still holding his suspicions that something is being hidden from him.
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The blue carpet is filled with various celebrities and duelists taking pictures by the paparazzi who snap away enthusiastically, calling their names. Mai brings her hand underneath her long flowing hair, fluffing it out before placing a hand on her hip and posing while Joey takes a different approach, getting up and close with the cameras, grinning confidently. With her eyebrow twitching, Mai grabs him by his collar and drags him away as he protests, claiming the cameras were loving him.
Yugi catches a glimpse of this and scratches his chin anxiously. "Come on Joey, play it cool," he mutters, knowing this is Joey's opportunity to make a good impression.
Seeing other well known duelists getting cocky, Téa only rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "This is gonna be a circus. I should have stayed home with Yufi," she complains. Her daughter was originally supposed to be here, but came down with a minor cold and is staying home with her grandfather.
Standing alongside Atem as pictures are being taken, Mana leans forward, seeing Téa not too far from them. "Hey Téa!" she calls out. But telling how she and Yugi are walking away, it doesn't look like she heard her. Mana frowns with disappointment. "She didn't hear me."
Atem glances over at his wife. "Maybe she didn't hear you," he assumes as looking down to Cairo who stands calmly with her arms at her sides and her expression as stoic as ever, despite the paparazzi calling for her to smile. But as he studies her closer, he can see her right eye beginning to twitch with agitation. "I suppose we should find out where we're sitting."
As they head to the banquet area, a familiar figure turns around, just as they get to the double entrance doors. Instead of his regular red suit and matching hat, Arcana wears a blue suit instead, since the dress code is any shade of blue. His hair is slicked back into a low ponytail and he has a matching mask covering his eyes.
"Why hello my dear companions," he greets with a graceful bow.
"You actually went by the dress code. I don't think I've ever seen you in anything other than that red suit," Mana replies with a giggle.
"Perhaps you should come to more of my shows then. I have been known to wear white on occasion."
"Can we go now?" a boy's voice asks from behind Arcana and he steps out to reveal himself. It is a boy that appears to be a little older than Cairo, with oddly shaped light green hair reaching his shoulders. He is tall and although he holds some poise, he also appears to be impatient. Just as his eyes land on Cairo, she simultaneously gazes his way with her arms folded.
"Espa Roba, it is rude to interrupt," Arcana lightly scolds. But instead he steps up to the girl in front of him. The two of them have practically grown up together with their parents being friends, although most of their time is spent virtually in a video game.
"GameTime000," Espa refers to her.
"JinzoR0X," she says back in a monotone voice.
"You have some nerve showing your face."
"Still bent out of shape over your recent loss?"
"You may have won that time, but next time, I'll reign supreme!"
Mana and Arcana both blink in confusion. "Uh…What is happening right now?" Mana asks.
"Yes, what are you two going on about?" Arcana adds in, scratching his head.
"Telling by the names they referred to each other by, I'd assume it has to do something with the game Cairo is constantly playing," Atem guesses, just as Cairo and Espa both whip out their handhelds. He dims his eyes. "Must you do that now?"
"Put that away," Arcana says between gritted teeth with his hand fully covering his masked face.
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A man with orange hair makes his way down the long entrance that will get himself inside the doors of Kaiba Corp. At the two glass doors, a woman wearing a blue skirt and white top stands behind a podium with a list of guests' names.
"Hello! May I have your name please?" she greets politely with a friendly smile.
"Jiro," he says, his voice low and raspy.
She skims down the list, lifting the top paper to see if his name appears. When she comes empty handed, she frowns. "I'm sorry. I don't see your name here."
"That's alright. I'll just find myself an open seat." He walks to move past her, but she quickly intervenes, standing in front of him so that he cannot get through.
"Sir, you cannot enter without being on the list."
"Move."
"Sir I—" The sound of her voice goes to a complete stop when she feels her very life force being sucked out her. Shaking in fear, she slowly looks down, seeing the man's hand seemingly go through her chest. When he extracts a ball of light and allows the object around his neck to absorb it, she collapses, catching bystanders' attention.
"It's still much too weak. You'd have to absorb thousands in order for me to be revived."
"What do you mean by revive? What are you anyway?" Jiro asks the voice coming from the object around his neck.
"That is none of your concern."
The man gazes inside the glass windows where there are a number of attendees and grins. "Suit yourself. However, what about me? I want my money. It's the least you can do since I'm doing your dirty work."
"I am certain whatever lies inside will grant you what you seek."
Jiro looks to a large poster with Seto Kaiba wearing a duel disk and his grin goes bigger. "Yeah. I think you're right."
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The lavish event features a live band, entertainment, delicious food and the typical dramatics for a Kaiba event. In pure over the top, Kaiba-fashion, he came whooshing in on a jetpack, much to the delight of his fans and to the annoyance of Yugi and the others, who are used to the theatrics over the years. Kisara sits with her husband at the front of the hall, while Atem, Yugi, Joey and their significant others sit at the closest table toward the platform. At another table close by sits Arcana and other top duelists. And underneath that same table sits Cairo and Espa, who both play their handheld games.
Joey belches loudly, earning a shoulder bump from Mai. "Seriously? Behave yourself."
"I can't help it," he drools over the mouthwatering food. "It's. So. GOOD!"
Mana gulps down her own food with a smile. "Agreed! I wonder if we can have seconds."
Joey grins. "Kaiba's rolling in dough. I'm sure he—"
Mai bops him on the head. "Don't even think about it." She looks over at Téa who has noticeably been silent. "You alright over there?"
"I'm fine," she replies before slurping some of her hot soup.
"You sure?" Mana asks, sitting across from her at the circular table. "You've been ignoring my text messages and my phone calls since that incident at the convenience store."
Yugi tilts his head slightly. "Hm? What incident?" he asks.
"I don't wanna talk about it," Téa grumbles before taking another slurp.
"So when are you gonna talk about it?" Mana rolls her eyes, leaning forward and placing her chin on her hand.
Téa looks away with an annoyed expression, refusing to answer any further. But Mana clearly isn't done. Snapping her fingers, she magically switches places with Yugi, sitting next to Téa now. "Seriously?!" Téa scoffs while Yugi looks confused for a moment.
Atem let's out an exasperated sigh. "This is going well," he says sarcastically.
"You can't keep ignoring me," Mana presses on. "So talk."
Téa throws down her spoon and turns her chair to face Mana. "You want me to talk? Fine."
"Hey ladies!" Kisara greets, walking over to their table. But she immediately regrets that decision when she sees Mana and Téa's intense stares. "What did I just walk into?"
"Perfect timing!" Mana exclaims with a forced smile. "Téa was just about to explain why she has been ignoring us."
Joey tugs his collar feeling uncomfortable. "Should we butt in?"
Yugi rubs the back of his head. "It's best to just let them hash it out." Thankfully the loud music will be able to mostly drown out their bickering.
"You two can be some of the most inconsiderate 'friends' ever!" Téa starts off, blowing everyone away. "We can never go on a normal outing!"
"What do you mean, normal outing?" Mana asks. "We do those all the time!"
"Hardly. And then next thing I know, you guys are either being competitive with each other or running off to spar or end up in something dangerous! We can't ever just have fun and do typical things. And it seems like you hardly even care how that might make me feel!"
Kisara tilts her head. "I don't get it. What's the big deal?"
"Yeah, you've never had a problem with that before."
Téa slams her fist on the table, causing everyone to flinch as she stands up. "That's the point! You don't get it!" She storms off, leaving the others shocked by her outburst. Mana and Kisara are especially dumbfounded. All this time they thought she was okay or even used to what seems like their 'routine.' But the fact that she has had this outburst tells them otherwise.
Yugi gets up as well. "I better go check on her," he says and Atem nods his head in agreement.
Mana slouches back in her seat, sighing heavily. "I'm so confused. Téa's never mentioned any of that to us before. She's always gone along with it."
"Well you all have been friends for quite some time right?" Mai asks before taking a sip of her wine. "I can only imagine how exhausting it can be to have two super-powered friends. No offense."
Mana cuts her eyes at her. "Offense is very much taken."
"Yeah, what are you getting at?" Kisara questions.
"It's as Téa said," Atem says, sitting with his arms crossed and one leg over the other. "Have you ever thought about how Téa might have felt all those occurrences where you two deviated from an outing that all of you can do, just to do one that only you and Kisara can do, such as sparring? And think about all of the dangerous situations she's been caught in the middle of. Multiple times at that."
"Some normal…or semi-normal human beings like myself or Joey or Atem, may have a high tolerance for that," Mai chimes in. "But it's clear she doesn't and it's starting to get to her."
"Precisely."
Kisara lowers her eyes. "I see…"
Téa makes her way toward the lobby to have a moment to catch her breath and to get herself together. She didn't mean to snap like that, but how else was she going to get her point across? She has a feeling they wouldn't have taken her as seriously had she not gone off.
She is only briefly able to lean on the wall behind her before she hears the sound of glass shattering, sending her into an upward position immediately. Going toward the sound of the glass breaking, she peaks around a corner that leads to the entrance of the building and gasps, seeing multiple bodies lying on the floor.
As she slowly backs up, a large masculine hand clasps over her mouth and panic sets in.
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AN: Sorry for the long update! I was on a week vacation and away from the computer. More drama and action to come at Kaiba's event, so stay tuned. It's only the beginning of the chaos!