Okay...so, first off...I am very sorry it took this long to get this up.
RL went batshit insane for a while and work stress got me sick on and off.
I hope to get back to this with something resembling a regular update schedule.
Mako smiled to himself as he made his way down the sidewalk, doing his level best to ignore the people who stopped and stared or merely turned their heads to follow him as he walked. A small frown formed on his face as he glanced down at himself-he didn't look that weird or out of place, did he?
Sure, he was wearing his favorite headband, a pair of black flip-flops, and a faded pair of cutoff jeans-in all honesty, he was at least eighty-five percent certain that these jeans were the same ones that he'd worn in Duelist Kingdom-but he'd made certain to cover up with an off-white tank top-the only one that he'd found in his footlocker of clothing that was, thankfully, missing any conspicuous stains or discolorations that came from wearing white and being out on the open sea for any length of time-and an aqua-colored sleeveless Hawaiian shirt.
The pattern-thin white lines creating the look of rippling water-on the open shirt wasn't even anything worth noting, was it?
The fisherman chewed on the inside of his lower lip thoughtfully-if they were staring at his hair or his scar, then people really did have some odd problems, didn't they?
"Hm?" Mako said, turning to look behind him when a young man walking passed him ended up running into a lightpole because he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going. The nineteen-year-old blinked, then shrugged and kept walking, deciding that he had no time to feel self-conscious. He had a personal mission today.
His mission? Have a certain blond duelist introduce him to an arcade.
The ravenette chuckled a bit to himself-his usual easy-going smile sliding onto his face and replacing the frown that had been there prior.
His morning and early afternoon of fishing had yielded a truly unexpected boon in the form of all of his nets becoming so overladen with fish that he'd had no choice but to radio another ship to come to assist him. While normally it would have galled his pride to admit that he required help from any of the older fishermen-there were more than enough who would have taken advantage of his circumstances for themselves-he knew that if he had not called, that the entire catch would be lost.
Thankfully, the sea gave him an even greater fortune in that the ship that answered his request, was captained by one of his father's oldest friends who had no issues with aiding the ravenette and fairly splitting the sea's bounty.
The end result of returning by noon with such a magnificent haul for himself? His quota for the entire day was more than filled and he had made enough money to cover his dock fees for the month as well as purchase a few basic upgrades for his vessel. Even after taking out what he would need to spend to pay for new nets and a few other basic necessities that he required, the ravenette was still left with quite the tidy sum of pocket money.
After putting some aside for savings-one could never predict when an emergency might arise-the nineteen-year-old had decided to indulge in inviting Joey Wheeler to show him an arcade and then treating the blond to a meal at one of his favorite ramen stands.
Mako thought on that-admittedly, he worried a great deal for his friend, especially after what had happened two nights ago when he'd gotten out of his bed to find the younger teen on his knees and practically in the throes of a panic attack against the railing of the ship. He didn't know what all that his friend had gone through that had left him so traumatized, but the fisherman was determined to help however he could.
As Mako neared the walls surrounding Domino High School, he was pulled from his thoughts by a particularly irate, and familiar, voice practically screaming "YA DIDN'T JUST GO DER, YA RICH BASTARD!"
The ravenette frowned and jogged up to the open gate to see Joey being restrained by Tristan and some other teen with long black hair, while Yugi-who looked far angrier than Mako could ever recall seeing him-was standing between the furious blond and a tall, smug-looking brunette who was speaking quietly, but was clearly egging the blond on even more, as if he found the sixteen-year-old's rage amusing.
Mako took in the scene, spying Tea-who was at Joey's side-spouting off a few choice insults at the brunette teen who shot her a dark look...but the girl refused to back down as she told him off in a way that made Mako wonder if the girl had sailors in her family because some of those swears and insults were fairly impressive. A slender, white-haired teen moved to assist Tristan and the other ravenette in holding the blond back, but it was clear as day that the three teenagers were fighting a losing battle.
The fisherman looked at the brunette and couldn't stop himself from narrowing his eyes when he noticed that the tall teen had now focused back on Joey in a way that made the ravenette want to protect his friend at any cost-he couldn't truly explain it beyond something that felt primal, instinctual...and he moved forward, getting directly between the blond and the brunette-stormy eyes narrowed. "Is there a problem here."
"Mako?"
If asked, Mako couldn't say who had said his name-Joey, Yugi, Tristan, Tea, the white-haired boy...or all of them at once-but he knew that Joey's struggles for freedom had stopped behind him. "I said, is there a problem because how it looks to me is that you are harassing my friends."
"And who exactly are you and why should I care?" The brunette scoffed-earning a growled "Kaiba" from the blond-but Mako chose to ignore the issue to focus on, in his eyes, his latest opponent.
Seto Kaiba...CEO, multi-billionaire, owner of three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, expert duelist...and one of the biggest sore losers in existence from the many rumors that the fisherman had heard on the dueling circuit. One of the rumors that infuriated him? The one where the teen had supposedly torn up the fourth Blue-Eyes just to make sure no one else had one that could be used against him.
Mako stood firm-the blue-eyed teen may be a dragon ruling the land...but how would he fair against a dragon of the sea?
"I am Joey's friend and I do not like seeing someone who is beneath him, trying to harass him."
Somewhere behind Mako, he heard a quiet "holy shit" and a faint click sound...but all that he could focus on was the white hot rage that he saw come across the brunette's face, replacing the smug expression. The fisherman squared his shoulders, fists clenching at his sides-if this devolved into a fistfight, he was certain that he could take the brunette.
The legal issues after? Maybe not so much.
"That worthless, third-rate mutt is above no one, especially me."
"Third place is still better than last no matter how you slice it." Mako said firmly-feeling a hand coming to rest on his back between his shoulder blades. "And, considering everything that I've heard for years on the dueling circuits about you, he is far more honorable than you could ever hope to be. At least he never tore up a card just so that he could have the only ones left in existence."
Another 'click' and muttered "wait, what?" followed by a "who is this guy? Tristan, introduce me now" from an unfamiliar voice-probably that green-eyed teen with all of the eye make-up-followed the fisherman's words. Kaiba's expression darkened as blue eyes narrowed into a scowl...but the fisherman simply stood his ground in the face of this storm. "Now, if you're done acting as if you have a right to treat one of my friends like trash when you do not even deserve the privilege of being around him, we'll be leaving."
With that, Mako felt Joey slide his own wrist into the fisherman's calloused grip and the nineteen-year-old started walking, keeping himself between the blond and the brunette until they got passed the gate...leaving the CEO seething in fury behind them in the school yard.
Once they got to the corner, Mako turned to look at Joey. "I...am sorry for intruding-"
He stopped short when Joey held up a hand. "Ya don't need to apologize, Mako. He...he was crossin' lines dis time. Brought up my sista and...bastard's got a little brotha-he'd kill someone for mouthin' off 'bout Mokuba. Ain't got no right bringin' Serenity into dis."
The fisherman frowned but nodded, pulling the blond into a one-armed hug. "You are right, my friend. He had no right to bring her into whatever problems that he has with you."
The quiet that seemed to surround them, practically crashed into a brick wall when Yugi's voice reached them. "I can't believe him. Joey...everything he said...Kaiba had no right to say all of that."
The diminutive duelist wasn't alone as Tea-who was practically growling a few choice insults about the billionaire and calling into question if the brunette was even human or if he was some kind of "shitty android programmed only to be an asshole"-was right behind him, as was Tristan-who was equally furious at the brunette CEO-and the other two teens. Mako did not remove his arm from Joey's shoulders, and the blond didn't even make an attempt to leave the raventte's side-if anything, he almost seemed to push himself further into the fisherman's space.
"I...I know, Yug. Just...ya know how I get when it's 'bout Serenity." The blond muttered-still angry, but more hurt than anything by the verbal low blows that the brunette had dealt out.
An awkward silence fell over the group before they all began to walk down the sidewalk. After a moment, Tea spoke up. "It's good to see you, Mako...though, well, not the circumstances of course, but yeah."
"It is good to see you as well, my friends. I apologize that I did not inform you that I was still in Domino after Battle City, but...well, work and such." Mako offered with a half smile-grateful that the girl had broken the tension in the air. Yugi grinned up at him. "It's fine, Mako. It is good to see you."
"Definitely man. What've you been up to?" Tristan asked, before giving a long-suffering sigh and an annoyed glare at the ravenette who was glaring at him as if his refusal to do what the green-eyed teen was demanding of him, was offending the Dungeon Dice Monsters creator on a personal level. "Duke Devlin, Mako Tsunami. Mako, meet the biggest pain in the ass since long division."
A solid punch to the ribs was the brunette's reward for his snark.
"I swear." Tea and Yugi muttered at the same time, rolling their eyes to the heavens in unison, as the group stopped to watch the now-arguing duo. Mako looked at Joey who merely gave a small shrug. "Yeah...dis' normal."
The white-haired teen sighed softly and, taking advantage of the distraction that would probably be drawing attention from the general populace soon enough, spoke up. "Hello Mako. I'm Ryou Bakura. I admit, I'm not certain if we've met before, but it is nice to meet you and see you."
Mako nodded, shaking the offered pale hand. "Likewise."
The blond duelist blinked and looked back at the fisherman. "Uh...outta curiosity, what're ya doin' 'ere anyway? I thought ya'd be fishin' 'til nightfall and all."
"Ahh. Yes." Mako said-almost embarrassed that he had forgotten why he was here in the wake of seeing the tailend of the debacle at the schoolyard. "Well, my friends, the sea granted me a most wonderful boon this morning and, as such, I now have the rest of the day and tonight free. I was hoping that you would be willing to introduce me to an arcade and that I could repay you by treating you to a meal at a ramen stand, Joey."
The blond blinked...then laughed. "Alright. Can do, buddy."
Not wanting to get rid of the lightened mood, Mako looked at the group. "Perhaps all of us can go? After all. I imagine that 'the more the merrier' applies to this situation?"
"Works for me." Yugi said with a small laugh as the group headed on towards the arcade. After a moment, Tristan spoke up. "So...you've never been to an arcade, Mako?"
"Not really. Well...a few of the usual watering holes my father went to, and brought me along for, and places that I've gone on my own, have had pinball machines and Pacman-maybe the odd Pachinko machine-but that would be the limit of my arcade experience." The fisherman said with a small shrug, only to earn a half-smile from Joey and seemingly eager grins from everyone else in the group.
"Well that just won't do." Tea said with a smile as she pushed the door open. "Gentlemen, I think we need to educate our friend."
Stepping through the glass doors and into the noisy, neon-lit building, Mako could only wonder what exactly he had signed up for...but a reassuring one-armed hug around his middle from a certain blond was all the final encouragement that he needed as the door shut behind them.
What arcade games do YOU think the gang will introduce our favorite fisherman to?
(DDR from Tea's a given, let's be real.)
Also...I'm going to avoid any Tea bashing in this story since I'm in my "the speeches get repetitive and annoying but she's okay as a character" phase, so, let's be adults in the comments about the subject, k?