Letting out a groan, Reika threw her arm over her eyes and rolled over onto her stomach when she felt the sunlight streaming in her window. The action caused a twinge in her back, and she winced in pain against her pillow. Not waking up to the sound of someone shooting at the place she was sleeping was nice she had to admit, and the proper bed was an added bonus to Domino.
But the sweetest part of being back in Domino was not having to report back to anyone unless she got called in to work. Which, as it happens, she hadn't been yet, so there was no point in her being awake. Her body though, having adjusted to the tension of pirate life, usually awoke quickly and she was up for the rest of the day. Which meant, as much as she hated to think it, she was not going back to sleep right now.
She sighed and sat up, rubbing at her eyes and looked over at the clock. Nine in the morning. Just yesterday she'd have been up for hours already, possibly in some sort of fight, and certainly up with her friends already. It felt odd to not constantly be on guard for Marines.
Yawning, Reika stretched carefully before making her way downstairs, where she saw the familiar head of her aunt in the kitchen. "Aunt Kumi?"
"Reika! Oh sweetheart I'm so glad you're home," her aunt squealed, pulling her into a hug. "We missed you so much."
Reika's jaw clenched when her aunt's had accidentally smacked against her back just a little too hard. "I missed you too," she said, masking the pain. "Is there any update on grandpa's condition?"
"Not that I have heard… why don't you go down to the hospital and visit him today? I'll stay here and watch the shop."
"Alright. Yeah, I'd like to see him. Who knows? Maybe me being home is just what he needs to wake up," she said with a small smile. She knew, of course, that wasn't the case, but she didn't know how much her aunt knew of the true reason behind Solomon Mutou's coma.
"Could be," her aunt chuckled. "Why don't you take a shower? I'll get breakfast started for you."
Letting out a sigh as she tried to look at herself in the fairly-fogged mirror, Reika noted her skin looking more clear and clean than it had before she got home. She supposed being able to take her time in a shower would do that to a girl. She certainly wasn't complaining over how much better she looked, and after finding a spare toothbrush still wrapped in plastic, she glanced back up into the mirror, and gasped when she saw her face dressed in ancient clothing staring back at her.
"Hello Reika," it said with a smile, as if it was totally normal to appear in mirrors.
"What the – who the - ?" she started, before hearing a knock on the door.
"Reika? Are you okay?" her aunt called from the other side. "Breakfast is ready!"
"I – I'm okay Aunt Kumi. I just slipped on some water. I'll be down in a moment," she replied, staring at the reflection that was still smiling serenely at her. She faintly heard her aunt's footsteps retreating back into the kitchen.
"My name is Azila," the reflection finally said. "I'm the original owner of the bracelet."
Considering the things she'd seen in her life, this shouldn't startle her, but as she stared at the ancient face, she felt incredibly weirded out.
She began brushing her teeth in the hopes of a distraction. "Okay…"
"My powers aren't that strong yet, so I'm stuck speaking to you in a reflective surface. You must keep the Millennium Puzzle safe. No matter the cost, as I did in my life."
She rinsed her mouth out and looked at Azila. "Considering it's owned by my cousin, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to that."
"I knew I could trust you. This bracelet holds powers that will keep you safe in your battles," Azila said, fading from the mirror as Reika shook her head in disbelief when her own reflection finally returned.
What the hell was that?
She tried not to dwell on the strange thing in the mirror as she finished her morning routine and ate breakfast, before making her way to the hospital with a sense of dread settling firmly in her stomach.
"Can I help you?" the woman at the desk asked with a kind smile.
"I'm looking for my grandfather, Solomon Mutou. I heard that he was here."
"Room 218. Just go up the stairs and it'll be on the left."
She nodded stiffly, ignoring the woman's slightly surprised look as she moved.
"Oh Grandpa," she whispered, her eyes growing wide as she took a seat at his bedside and took his limp hand in hers. "I don't know why this happened, but I promise, Yugi's going to find a way to get you back… and I'm going to be here with you." Taking his hand, she let out a sigh. "I promise not to leave again until you wake up. I'll stay in Domino as long as you want me to. Just… please wake up. Please."
There was no response, of course, and Reika sighed and rested her forehead against the back of his hand, as if willing him to wake up. She didn't like the feeling of being here. It felt sterile (well, it was, for obvious reasons), almost hopeless, even though there was the steady beeping of the heart monitor.
He looked so pale, so dead, and she felt the knife twist further in her chest.
"I already lost mom and dad. I can't lose you too," she said softly, closing her eyes as tears threatened to fall, and she let them, her shoulders shaking as the dam finally broke.
Her focus on finding out what had happened to her parents had been sharp, so crying over them hadn't been something she'd done in a long time, but now with her grandfather so close to being another loss for her, it was just too much to bear.
She wasn't sure how long she stayed resting against her grandfather's arm and listening to the steady beeping of his monitors but before long, her phone began to buzz.
"Hello?" she asked, flicking her gaze to the doorway just in case anyone was nearby and listening in.
"Reika, have you found out what happened to your grandfather?" Kenji's voice asked.
"Yes. Yugi explained it to me yesterday," she replied, rubbing at her wet cheeks. "I'll be there soon."
She snapped her phone closed and shook her head, going over to the sink and splashed cold water on her face to help get rid of the hints she was crying, and smoothed her tri-colored hair back into place. Unlike the males in her family, her hair was not spiked, but the colors remained the same.
"Why, Miss Mutou. At long last… the rumors of your return are true."
She tensed, whipping her head toward the doorway where she spotted a vaguely familiar face, but she was unable to place the name. "I had no idea my coming home from school would cause the rumor mill to begin turning. My apologies sir," she said, tilting her head, "but could you remind me of your name?"
"My name is Leichter. I'm the assistant to Seto Kaiba. Your mother was my secretary before her tragic disappearance," the man explained, stepping into the room. "On behalf of the Kaiba Corporation, allow me to extend our sincerest condolences for your grandfather's injury."
Ah, yes. Leichter. She recognized him now. Her mother had worked for Kaiba Corp as a cover for T.A.I.D.R. It was how she'd originally met Seto and Mokuba before they'd assumed control of the company.
Quite frankly, she hadn't been fond of the man even as a child.
"Mr. Leichter. My apologies for not recognizing you right away," she said, bowing a little to him. "It's been a long time. Though I admit I'm surprised that you're still keeping tabs on me considering it's been so long since you bothered to speak with me." Surprised and slightly suspicious of the it, frankly.
Leichter gave her a smile she didn't fully trust. "Well, your mother was one of my best secretaries, I do apologize for being absent in your life in recent years. And… since young Seto met with your grandfather a couple months ago, we were surprised to hear he ended up back in the hospital."
"Back in the hospital? I'm afraid I don't know what you mean." Quite honestly, she wasn't sure she wanted to know what he meant.
Genuine surprise seemed to appear on his face. "Oh – my apologies Miss Mutou. I thought your family would have told you about what happened. Your grandfather and Mr. Kaiba had a duel and, well… the technology that Mr. Kaiba developed gave him quite a shock."
She shook her head, shock flooding her system. "No sir, I got in so late last night that I didn't have much time to speak with Aunt Kumi and Yugi before I went to bed. But I appreciate you telling me, and I assure you that whatever happened to my grandfather is no fault of Kaiba Corp."
"Well that is a relief as a high ranking of Kaiba Corp, but I am sorry that you're going through this, as an old friend of your mother," Leichter said. His face was unreadable, but Reika didn't believe that he was sorry, just glad that they weren't going to sue Kaiba Corp.
She gave him a weak smile. "I have faith that everything will be fine. My grandfather is a fighter. He'll come out of this."
He looked at her with a barely concealed smirk. "For your sake, Miss Mutou, I hope so."
She stiffened at the subtle threat, nodding only slightly as he made his way out of the room. When he was gone, she exhaled in relief. Why was today turning into one of the weirdest days of her life? First the woman in the mirror and now this. Leichter hadn't been her favorite person when her mother had worked there but now she knew there was something dark about him.
Anxiously fidgeting with her bracelet, she looked in the mirror, seeing a brief flash of Azila looking back at her. Maybe going back to headquarters would help her relax. If she could focus her mind on something other than… well, everything, it would help her.
Glancing over at the Kaiba Corp headquarters building, she smiled slightly before pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialing a familiar number.
"Yes?" came Kaiba's voice from the other end.
"You want to tell me what the hell you did to my grandfather?"
"Reika?" his tone had changed. Instead of the gruff, tired voice of an overworked CEO, came a more vulnerable tone that he only used around she and Mokuba. "You haven't called in weeks."
"I know," she said as she paused at a red light, "and I'm sorry. There was – there was a lot going on, and a friend of mine was in a lot of trouble so…"
She heard a faint chuckle on the other end of the line. "You never could turn down a call for help."
"He could have died, Seto. He almost did a couple of times. It was more than a call for help." It wasn't exactly a lie – there had been a near-death experience when it came to Luffy. Multiple, but Seto didn't need to know about that.
Seto was quiet for a moment. "Oh. That's bad. Is he okay now?"
"He was in the hospital when I got the call about grandpa, but the doctor said he'll be fine. But… enough about me. Why did Lector tell me that you dueled my grandfather and put him in the hospital?"
"I did. He didn't handle it well. That was my fault."
Reika rolled her eyes. "Clearly. But why did you do that?"
"He had a Blue-Eyes that I wanted."
She nearly dropped her key-card to get into T.A.I.D.R's building in shock of the ridiculousness of the answer. "You did this over a trading card? What the hell, Seto?"
"It's not my proudest moment."
She groaned and rubbed her eyes. "Seto, you know how hard it's been lying to my family about us dating and now if the news comes out..."
"I know, I know. I'm sorry Reika. I wasn't thinking."
"You weren't. So when can I see you? I know you're probably busy with work but – "
"I can't, Reika. I'm dealing with some things with Kaiba Corp. And I can't show my face in Domino until it's perfected to make up for my loss to your cousin."
"You're being ridiculous."
He grunted on the other end of the line, and she heard something clatter to what she could only presume was the floor. "This will be worth it. I promise."
"I guess," she said with an exhale as she made her way into the briefing room. "Look, I gotta go. Call me when you're free to go out, okay?"
"I – okay. I'm sorry."
"I know you are. I'll talk to you later."
Shaking her head, she snapped the phone closed and took a seat at the table, gazing around as other agents joined her in the room. When the talking had ceased, she spoke.
"Yugi was… fairly vague on the details on what happened but he confirmed Maximillion Pegasus having the ability to call shadow games. Yugi was blackmailed into attending the Duelist Kingdom tournament in order to get my grandfather's soul back," she explained. "So he's leaving tonight for the tournament."
"It's where the top duelists in the world are going to compete. Your cousin was invited because he beat Seto Kaiba. Still not sure how that one happened considering…" Kenji said with a frown. "But why would he need to call a shadow game for that?"
Reika looked over at him. "I'll go find out. I'll sneak on board the ship. I can have a bag packed and ready to go in half an hour."
"Absolutely not. You're too close to this, Reika. Especially since it appears that you too own a Millennium item…" his eyes darted to the bracelet on her wrist, and he looked at her with suspicion. "One wrong move, and your grandfather could be killed. And you know as well as I do that there's no coming back from that."
Reika sighed and nodded. "Fine. That's all I know about Pegasus and my grandfather so… am I dismissed?"
"You are dismissed. I'll call you again if you need you."
She pressed her lips together as she left the room, her mind still spinning between the conversations she'd had with Lector and Seto. Something was wrong, and she needed to get to the bottom of it before anyone else got hurt.
By this point, the sun was beginning to set on the city, with the sky a faint pinkish-orange, a haze of inky black creeping up in the distance. If she was lucky, she could grab something for dinner and then make it to the pier to see Yugi off before it was too late.
She shivered at a brisk breeze that suddenly swept up and pulled her jacket tighter around her before she heard someone calling out to her, a younger man stopping in front of her and looking worried. "Excuse me, could you help me find my way to the pier? My friend is leaving to go to Duelist Kingdom and I'm completely turned around."
"Oh – of course. It's just down that way. Make a left when you get to the intersection and – "
But before Reika could finish, there was a searing pain in her head, and the world went black.
The man that had asked for directions smirked as his associate lifted the girl into their car that was parked in the nearby alleyway.
"Master Pegasus, we have Miss Mutou. We'll be back on the Island shortly."