Chapter Four
"Miss Meiko already told you the details of our standard contract, I presume?" Mr. Sonjun said between two bites of his dinner.
Both Yuito and Keiji we're glad that he was mainly being the one talking, giving them all the more time to eat. Mr. Sonjun had taken them to a Diner and allowed them to order anything on his bill.
"Yes, yes. Free housing, free food and a small income in exchange for me dueling for you," Yuito replied before continuing to stuff his face with food.
"Well, yes, that about covers it," Mr. Sonjun said, "I should rethink about taking you to all you can eat, however."
While Alessias face turned beat red, the boys didn't pay a heed to the quip. It felt like forever when they were invited to dinner the last time, so they decided to make the best of it.
"Anyway, I might already have a first engagement for you. Miss Meiko, remind me again, when was the tournament in Dynasty Hall?"
"In three days from now. You really want Yuitos first duels to be in a full blown tournament? Wouldn't a single one be more suitable?"
"Yes, that might be, but the duelist we had booked for Dynasty Hall fell ill."
"Fell ill?" Alessia said, "how unfortunate for him. Yet fortunate for Yuito."
"Yes, fell ill. A very spontaneous, but severe case of being pushed down a flight of stairs. The police is looking for the culprit."
"That's… really unfortunate."
"Don't be sorry, he would've lost anyway. So who cares."
"That's disrespectful, Mr. Sonjun."
"A disrespectful truth."
Alessia didn't want to dive deeper into that topic, so she returned to the one at hand: "So Yuito is gonna represent our agency instead?"
"That's what I've been thinking."
"How would that work out?" Yuito threw in between two bites, "I mean, how often would I have to play and stuff."
"It's a tournament with a group phase, followed by a final round," Alessia explained, "You're randomly put into a group of three, the one with the best win-loose ratio advances to the final round. In case of a tie, the sum of the Life Points kept at the end of the duel decides and in case of a tie even after that, the direct confrontation counts."
"So I duel twice and if I win both times, I get to play the finale."
"Final round doesn't mean finale. You'll advance into the quarter finals, alongside the winners of the other six groups and one secret special guest. You'll be randomly matched and just butch it out in a knock-out system."
"Mystery guest, huh?" Keiji threw in, "you guys already know who it is?"
"Sadly no, so we cannot prepare," Alessia answered, "my guess is on Ever White though, they've been wherever you can find a camera lately."
"Ever White?" Yuito asked, "is that some sort of stage name?"
"You haven't heard of Ever White?" Alessia asked bewildered, "Don't you pay attention to the Combat Dueling scene?"
"Of course we do," Keiji answered, "we've got a TV right next to the fridge."
"Well then why haven't you..." It took Alessia a few moments to process what the boy had just said, "Oh. Right. Sorry."
"Nevermind," Yuito waved her off, "Now, who's Ever White?"
"Ever White is a Top 500 Combat Duelist who always wears an elaborate white disguise and a mask during the game. They are very extravagant, you know like, dancing during the duel, charging for attacks along with their monsters, and so on," Alessia explained, "Their agency is really milking the whole 'mysterious' approach. They even hired someone to explain moves and card effects to the opponent so Ever White doesn't have to talk during the game."
"Nobody knows who that guy is?" Keiji threw in.
"We don't even know if its a guy," was Alessias cocky reply, "but yeah I believe Ever White is the secret duelist that joins the quarter finals, as I said, they've been holding their mask into every camera available."
"Are they good?" Yuito asked.
"They're Top 500," Mr. Sonjun raised his voice, "of course they're good. That brings me to it, we should rank you in so we can sign you up."
With these words he got up, signalling the waitress to put the whole table on his Agencies bill.
"Would you mind following me?" he asked Yuito, "Miss Seiko will show your friend your apartment."
Keiji seemed a little disappointed as he was about to order another dish, but complied.
Mr. Sonjun and Yuito took a cab back to the Agency building, where he led the boy to a small conference room which was separated from the rest of the agency by simple glass panels. There were some cookies and different bottled fruit juices on the table, next to a tablet pc and a huge screen on the wall that was neither glass nor windows.
"This is where we read out the data from your Duel Disk," Mr. Sonjun explained, "The duel logs your Duel Disk has kept since you've activated it are analysed and will calculate your Ranking."
"What's the worst I could get?"
"Not really keeping track of that. The lowest ranking is the current number of Combat Duelists in the system and that ones fluctuating daily. The ranks are recalculated every minute."
Yuito handed his soon-to-be boss his Duel Disk, who then plugged it to the machine. He pressed a few more buttons and entered two different passwords, before a bunch of data flashed on screen.
"So, let's see. You beat Carter, ranked 8746 and Miss Saiko, currently unranked and… oh wait."
Yuito somehow had a thought of what the man had spotted and wasn't sure on how to explain the whole thing to him when he hasn't even told Keiji about it yet.
"There seems to be a second duel, right between the two, but..." the man continued, "the log is corrupted, so the program cannot read the data. What happened there?"
"After I got it, I pressed a few buttons to see how it worked," Yuito brought up the first thing that came to his head, "maybe that's the issue?"
"Less likely than simply dueling someone whose Duel Disk jams the log, but I think it'd work out too. Not that it would matter."
"How so?"
"Well, only the finished duels count for your ranking. It simply skips error files, although they still show up on the Duel Disks storage, so they're slightly annoying. But that's it."
Mr. Sonjun hit a few more keys and a program started to run some calculations.
"We'll have a few minutes now before this one finishes," the man said, before he reached into his suitcase and pulled out a stack of paper, "this is a standard contract we usually use for first timers."
He moved next to Yuito and showed him the contract in detail: "It mandates you to take part in any Combat Duels we book you for as long as you are in the physical condition to do so. In return we take care of your living, meaning, we provide housing as well as food for you. You'll also get payment, which you can see here. It's not much but considering the other conditions for you, its appropriate."
Yuito didn't know what was considered appropriate in business terms, so he simply nodded.
"The contract has a standard running time for three months after which it automatically ends. If you do well enough, we can renegotiate it to make a few concessions to you. Of course, the contract can be cancelled if either of us feels the other doesn't fulfil their side of the agreement."
Even though the man said that rather calm, Yuito wasn't sure whether it was a subtle threat or if he was just paranoid.
"Now we just need your signature then we can get started," Mr. Sonjun finished his speech, passing the contract and a pen to Yuito.
Seeing as he wasn't in a position to make demands in this, Yuito just put his name on the bottom of the last page, after which Mr. Sonjun put his next to it.
"As you probably know," Mr. Sonjun continued, "You'll be dueling in front of an audience very soon and such an audience will want to know your backstory. You know, where you come from, how you got where you are now and all of that kinda stuff."
"Well, I've been living on the streets," Yuito recalled the events of the past few days, "After beating a guy in a duel, Alessia saw a video of me doing it and offered me a contract."
"While that is indeed where you come from, I've been thinking of something farther back."
"There's nothing interesting any further back, sorry."
"Why don't you start with how you ended up on the streets? Mind telling me?"
Of course Yuito minded. The man was a total stranger, so why should he tell him.
"Please," Mr. Sonjun asked again, "to be able to promote you we need to know as much as possible about you."
"My mom died when I was very young. Maybe even at my birth but I do not remember," Yuito explained, trying to get the story through with as little details as possible, "I've been living with my father ever since. One day I came home from school and Dad wasn't there. I thought maybe he was just late so I just went on with my day, but he didn't return. Few days later two cops came up to me and told me that my father had died."
"How old were you?" Mr. Sonjun asked.
"Ten? Eleven? Something around that for all I care."
"So, they took you to an orphanage then?"
"What?" Yuito answered, "No. I would've kept living in our apartment but I couldn't pay the rent so I got kicked out. I've been living on the street ever since."
"How about your friend?"
"If I told you his story he'd kill me, if not worse."
"It'd be really helpful for us to know the details."
"Forget it."
"Well, I think he's not that important for now," Mr. Sonjun said, "but it's important that we know your story. You can be as good as a duelist as you want to, but if no one wants to see you, nobody cares for it."
"I don't have anything interesting to tell," Yuito replied, "all days were pretty much the same."
"I sincerely doubt that, but we'll eventually get back to that."
It just took a few more moments for the PC to finish their calculations.
"Let's see," Mr. Sonjun focused on the screen, "according to this analysis, you're a mostly aggressive player with little defensive outlets. But of course that's not accurate, it only analysed two of your duels."
"Hits close to home," Yuito said.
"Also, you're gonna be ranked in at Rank 9716."
"Pretty low, is it?"
"Well, yes, but not unexpected. I'm certain it will gradually increase."
"It will when I win, so it'll be better if it does."
"You caught it pretty much," Mr. Sonjun said, "but lets call it a day here. We've got three more days until the tournament starts and we still have some paperwork to do, but I assume there has already been a lot going on today which you'll need to process. So I'll leave you be for now, you can go to your apartment. Your friend should already be there, let me just call you a cab."
"You're always hitting the rotting apples while talent scouting, it seems," Keiji tried to start a conversation, after his and Alessias car ride had been unpleasantly silent so far.
"I've had some bad luck sometimes," she retorted, "not always."
"It's what I caught on to."
"Well you're wrong."
"How many duelists are you currently managing, by the way?" Keiji asked.
"Can we change the subject?" Alessia evaded the question.
"No more questions," Keiji chuckled, ending the short conversation.
After a few more minutes of awkward silence, Alessia decided to try picking up a topic: "How did you two meet? Yuito and you?"
"We met on the streets," Keiji replied.
"Oh great idea, god forbid we're actually talking about something."
"Behind a pizza hub. Someone left a slice of theirs uneaten and it got thrown into the trash. To this day Yuito claims he had his hands on it first, but he's lying. Anyway, we were fighting about the slice."
"And then you shared it?"
"We beat the living shit out of each other. Little critter punched out two of my teeth," Keiji pulled his lip back a little to show Alessia where he was missing two molar teeth, "but after none of us backed down we eventually shared it."
"What a… touching… story."
"I know, right. Well, we've been following around eachother after that incident. Somehow we stuck together this long."
The pair of them stayed silent for the remainder of their trip, which didn't take a lot longer as they soon arrived at a twenty stories apartment building, which, from the outside, looked just like a concrete block with a few windows in it.
"I know its not really high class housing, but then again its definitely an upgrade from your current situation," Alessia said as Keiji eyed his new surroundings.
"As long as it has a door and running water," Keiji replied, "a cardboard box would've been an upgrade. This is a quantum leap."
"Nice you think that way."
"Hey, you're making Itos dream come true, so I gotta be nice."
"Excuse me if I laugh a little to that statement," Alessia replied, while she and Keiji walked up the staircase.
"I said nice," he retorted, "not retarded. Which floor do we have to go to?"
"Eighteen."
"And which one are we in?"
"Two."
"And there's no elevator?"
"Do you think I'd walk into second floor when there was an elevator?"
"Good point."
Eventually they both arrived at the higher floors and Alessia pulled out two keys one of which she handed over to Keiji: "This ones yours, your friend also has one, and the agency keeps one for emergency reasons."
"So we can lock the door? Praise," Keiji said, gently shoving Alessia aside to unlock the door.
The apartment – the term 'room' would've been more accurate – was in fact really small. There was a bed by window opposite of the door, a couch with a small table and an old fashioned TV, a cramped kitchenette effectively consisting of a stove, a sink, a cabinet, a fridge and a washing machine. There was also a cupboard and a door leading to what Keiji believed was a bathroom.
"Impressive."
"You don't sound impressed."
"But I am. I mean come on," Keiji said, "we were living on the streets just this morning. I'm so thankful you're doing this for us."
"We're expecting a lot from your friend, don't forget that."
"I don't doubt he'll live up to that."
"He better does, because I'm not quite sure I'm gonna keep my job if that's not the case."
"Regret bringing us in?"
"Not really. Could've hit worse," Alessia said and before Keiji could retort, she continued, "anyway, this is your apartment. Its basically what you see here, the shower and the toilet are right behind that door. We'll take care of groceries for you, can you cook?"
"I can not burn the house down, if that's what you mean."
"Should suffice. The fridge contains some stuff, if you have any extra wishes, let us know so we can check if its in the budget. You're gonna do the laundry yourself too, but in that shelf over there is a supply of clothes, underwear and towels. Now that we've reached that topic, you should probably change and take a shower before your friend arrives."
"Is that the polite way of saying that I smell like shit?"
"Yes. Also, that shirt looks awful. How long have you been wearing that?"
"What day is it?"
"Tuesday."
"Four months."
"Go take a shower," Alessia said, "We're gonna pick you up tomorrow at 8 AM, be sure you're ready then. Well, not necessarily you, Yuito mostly."
The cab driver dropped Yuito off at an apartment building in midtown and after climbing the stairs to eighteenth floor, he quickly located the apartment number that Mr. Sonjun had told him about.
Upon entering, he was greeted with one of the strangest sights he ever laid his eyes on: Keiji wearing an apron in front of the stove, dancing to music from a radio somewhere.
"Yuito! I found the radio!" Keiji screamed over the music.
"I hear it," Yuito replied, "Seems like you already settled it."
"I'm making pancakes," he said, allowing Yuito to look past him to a pan on the stove and a bunch of finished pancakes on a plate next to it.
"Didn't know you can cook."
"It's like riding a bike. I guess. I hope," he reasoned for a few seconds before adding: "worked fine so far."
"The asshole taught you how to ride a bike?"
"As if," Keiji replied, "but hey, we've got a roof above our heads, I'm so proud of you! Come on you little critter, dance with me."
Before Yuito could react, Keiji grapped his arm and swung him around the small space they had without risking to knock anything over. After a few moments however, he hastened back to his pan as a small black rinse of smoke caught his attention.
"Whew, that was close," he said, after flipping the pancake over.
Yuito took himself a seat on the couch, before he continued: "Iji, did you drink something?"
"You should always drink at least two liters per day, its just good health."
"You know what I mean."
"Well maybe a little. It's not like there's plenty at this place," Keiji said, before grabbing a nearly empty bottle of cough syrup from the counter and throwing it to Yuito. It was even a good brand, one that actually tasted like something else than medicine.
He took the last few chucks out of the bottle, mainly so Keiji didn't get anything more but maybe to calm himself down a little as well.
"Ey!" came the immediate reaction from the counter, "don't drink your friends booze."
"It's technically my booze."
"These are all technically your yellow shorts and your blue shirt, but no matter how much you want me to, I'm not gonna strip for you."
"You're a jerk."
"I love you too, you little critter," he said, "by the way, this whole thing is gonna take a few more minutes, and, I've had an epiphany today."
"I'm glad I drank your booze."
"No, even before that. Buddy, we reek. Go take a shower and get rid of those clothes."
"Who's talking about stripping now?"
"You're a jerk. And go brush your teeth."
"You brushed your teeth?"
"Even with mouth wash," Keiji said, but to a questioning look from Yuito he added, "Okay, I thought there was alcohol in it."
"I'm gonna take a shower. Be a good wifey and prepare me dinner," Yuito said before grapping a blue hoodie and dark blue shorts from the cupboard.
"I'm not seeing a ring on this finger yet," Keiji replied, giving Yuito the middle finger.
"I love you too mate."
Yuito didn't remember when he last took a shower, it was probably the one winter where him and Keiji broke into some guys apartment and stayed there while he was on holiday. It was a nice feeling to get the worn-out clothes off and the sweat and stench alongside it.
Once he had finished he was greeted with the smell of pancakes from the table.
"Some are a little burned, but I'm kinda out of practice."
"It's alright, I've been eating out of garbage cans for the last years. I'd enjoy them if they were lumps of coal," Yuito said before taking the first bite out of his pancake, which was delicious.
"Now that that's settled," Keiji picked up, "let's get to the real topic. This morning you left without your Duel Disk but came back with it. Wanna tell me what happened?"
"Well I was walking home and there was this guy waiting for me," Yuito retold the story to his friend, "He had my Duel Disk and challenged me to a duel, which I lost."
"Why did you agree on that?"
"Well he had my Duel Disk and… well. He said he knows my father."
"'Knows'? Present tense?" Keiji asked bewildered, "You said your father is dead."
"My father is dead."
"Then how can he 'know' your father?"
"I have no fucking idea, god damn!" Yuito bursted out towards Keiji, before adding: "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"No hard feelings."
"I just don't know what to think of this. I mean, what would you do if your dad suddenly reached out to you?"
"I'd politely tell him to fuck himself."
"Sorry for bringing him up."
"Look buddy, I know this is really rough for you. But have you ever considered that guy might just be lying for whatever reason?"
"It occurred to me. It's just… I firmly believed dad was dead. But what if he really was alive?"
"That would raise the question what he has been doing the past year. Did that guy give you any incentive that he does actually know your father, or did he just claim so?"
"He just said 'I know your father'. So yes, I'm sure he was just lying. But again, why?"
"Do I look like I knew?"
"You generally don't look like you don't know anything."
After this they moved away from that topic and finished their dinner. It was surprising for Yuito, but Keiji did actually cook very well. But right now, Yuito was just excited to sleep in a bed again after what could've been ages.
"I saw an additional pillow and a blanket in the closet," Yuito said, as he moved on the bed, "you can use that for the couch."
The bed felt amazing. Granted, the mattress was rough and it was just a thin blanket, but for someone who was used to sleeping on a piece of cardboard, it was definitely an improvement.
"Good night Keiji," Yuito said snuggling into the pillow, before he was pushed to the side of the bed as Keiji was making his way in.
"Move over, buddy. And don't hog all the covers."
Yuito almost wanted to push him back out, but then let him be. It would've only been an argument he knew he would lose, the bed was big enough for the two of them and on top of all that, Yuito was far too tired to continue ranting. It didn't take him long either, to drift of to sleep, in his new home, with his best friend by his side and his dream job no longer being just a fantasy.