"I have a bad feeling about this," Kaito muttered as soon as the hologram of the Kaiba Corp Stadium dispersed as he disengaged his duel disk. "It might be better if I don't even go at all."
This tournament wasn't turning out anywhere near as fun as he thought it would have been. He'd missed the Duelist Kingdom invitation, and this seemed as if it would be bigger, at first. He liked high stakes wagers, and putting up his Rainbow Dragon in exchange for a Locator card and his opponent's rare card, or whatever form of wager they decided on, that suited him just fine.
He wasn't super reliant on his Rainbow Dragon even if he lost, but Kaito had a knack with his cards.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason he was interested in the tournament. They'd all heard the rumors and then witnessed the God cards rise, Osiris, Obelisk, and Ra reigning over Domino City. And his father pressed a card into his hand, gripped his arm tight, and made him swear to deliver it to the rightful king of games.
So here Kaito was, standing in front of an empty stadium and incredibly reluctant to go ahead.
"You're not going to be worth it, not by half," he said, resting a hand over the card nestled in his chest pocket. "I'm going to regret every minute of this."
The back of his neck prickled, and he shivered, eyes darting around himself anxiously.
Someone was watching him.
"I'd hurry. Kaiba-san won't hold the tournament just for us," a soft voice called to him.
He stared at the woman in a full white dress and genuine gold jewelry with the duel disk attached to her arm. Only her eyes were visible.
"Another finalist?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Are you waiting for someone?" She pressed a hand to the neck, hidden under the cloth that covered the lower portion of her face. "Or is someone waiting for you?"
"I think someone is waiting for both of us," he said, taking a deep breath and walking to her side. "Are you ready?"
"After you, Kuroba-san."
"I like Kid, if you please."
"Ishizu, then. I'm sure this will be rewarding. For both of us."
There was a crowd at the entrance of the stadium, with several bodyguards blocking the entrance. At the head of the crowd was someone Kaito recognized by sight alone and he felt his stomach drop.
Of course.
"You can't impede a homicide investigation! This is illegal!" Hattori Heiji, duelist prodigy and detective, stood at the head of the crowd with his very recognizable friends around him. "I have the locator cards, if you want those!"
"And we will let you in, but without a warrant, we will not allow unstructured access to your friends." The bodyguard took the locator cards and verified their authenticity, but the other two just loomed menacingly, sharp and slick and stupid as only Kaiba Corp had to offer.
"I'm sure Kaiba-san wouldn't mind holding his tournament until the participants could be cleared from the murder suspect list," Toyama Kazuha said, chin tilted up as she stared the large men down. "It would be a terrible way to begin with a murderer using his tournament to hide."
"And I'm sure that this gives me enough clearance to be here to investigate, regardless of what you think it means," Kudou Shinichi said from her other side. His detective badge was held like a threat between the two groups.
"Not to mention we were personally requested by Crawford-san to represent his involvement here," Mouri Ran said, an invitation from the creator of Duel Monsters held high in her hand.
All they needed was Hakuba and Kaito would turn around and never look back once, forgetting about handing over Holactie the Creator of Light without a single regret.
"I think we're just in time," Ishizu said.
The bodyguards were looking more distressed by the minute, one disengaging from the group to hurriedly speak over his headpiece. The rest looked over at Kaito and Ishizu as they approached, the recognition on their faces growing as Kaito pasted his classic Kid smirk on his face.
"You have got to be kidding me," Hattori muttered, nose scrunching and mouth twisting into a sneer. "Don't tell me you're one of the contestants, too."
"And I would guess you're lucky number ten," Kaito grinned even meaner. "Ally of Justice Decisive Armor would be a very nice card to have."
"I'd like to see you try," Hattori snarled, hand twitching over his duel disk. "Still using sleight of hand to tip the duel your way?"
"Still speaking with your temper before your brains," Kaito snarled back, hand going to his own deck.
They could settle their dispute here and now. Kaito didn't care a lick about the stupid tournament.
"Gentlemen! That is enough. We don't have time for this," Ishizu interrupted, "Kid and myself are also contestants in the Battle City tournament. Here are my locator cards."
She handed hers over and gave Kaito a look.
He exhaled and did the same. Ignoring Hattori and his entire entourage was the best option to get through this.
"Fine," the main bodyguard barked out, "Everyone may proceed. Kaiba-san is ready to begin and will not wait for you. So I suggest you all hurry."
The bodyguards stepped aside and Hattori and company were running past immediately. Ishizu jerked her chin and Kaito heeled her obediently, steps wavering slightly as the large airship came into sight. No one stopped them as they made their way inside, and Kaito's stomach and inner ear protested as they immediately began to ascend.
He glanced around to get his bearings, marveling a little at the view of Domino City. He recognized a few of the others on the aircraft, Motou Yugi, Jounouchi Katsuya, Kujaku Mai, Otogi Ryuji, and the Kaiba brothers. The others... He didn't know them by sight. Ishizu who offered no last name, a man in a cloak, another in a purple sleeveless hoodie, and another with white hair and a blue stripped shirt.
"Excuse me, but aren't you Kid the magician?"
He turned, smiling automatically at the girl with reddish hair.
"I am indeed." He bowed and offered a white rose. "And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"
"Kawai Shizuka." She took the flower from him. "That was amazing!"
"That was a small trick. A better one would be like this." He snapped his fingers and the rose curled on itself and became a dove in her hands, flexing its wings and cooing at her.
"What are you doing? Hey! Get away from her, creep." Jounouchi Katsyu elbowed in front of the girl, scaring the dove back to Kaito.
He held his hands up, taking a step back. "It's just a bit of magic. Sorry."
"Katsuya! I asked him to show me. That's Kid." She moved around him. "Sorry about my brother. He worries about me."
"It's fine. I'm Kid. Nice to meet you," he said, offering his hand.
"Uh. Yeah. Sorry, too, I guess. Jounouchi Katsuya." He shook Kaito's hand, looking a bit sheepish. "Can't say I've heard of you before."
"I was a regional champion in my division. I was almost the one who would have been challenging Kaiba for his Duel Monsters Champion title. Something came up, and then I missed my invite to Duelist Kingdom. But I heard you were there."
"We were all there," Kujaku Mai said from somewhere behind him. "Nice to see you haven't lost your charm, Kid."
"Still as lovely as ever, psychic-san," he said, leaning over and kissing the hand she offered to him. She giggled and flicked her hair back over her shoulder. "I hope we have a chance of facing off once again."
"I'll beat you this time. I've perfected my card reading abilities since we last faced off," she said, winking at him. "My harpy's dragon will eat your little crystal beasts right up."
"Wait! Wait! Wait! You know this guy Mai?" Jounouchi demanded.
"He took one of my titles. And he was such a charmer about it," she said, tilting her head to look at something past the group. "Unlike your friend there. I didn't know Hattori-kun was going to be joining us."
"Me neither," Kaito said, watching Hattori's group mingle in with the other people with Motou. "I think he's still very bitter to come out third."
"He did seem to get a bit cheated," Mai whispered, "Not all of us are blessed with luck."
"Not all of us hold such a deep grudge," Kaito muttered back.
Apparently feeling their eyes, Kudou looked back at them, but he didn't seem all too pleased at what he was looking at. Kaito shifted closer to Mai, and she draped an arm on his shoulders, fingers briefly scraping the back of his neck.
"I, uh, didn't realize you, and uh," Jounouchi started, clearly uncomfortable about something.
Mai burst out laughing. She leaned on Kaito heavily and he caught Kawai's eye for some sympathy, but she was laughing too, just nicer about it and hiding it behind her hand.
"Relax, tiger, Kid here's sweet, but a bit of an avowed bachelor." She all but invaded his space, but she wasn't nearly half as bothersome as she liked to pretend.
"Thanks Mai." Kaito shifted away from her, but he didn't travel very far. Kaiba Mokuba joined them, face set far more seriously than a boy his age should look, but he was also vice president to one of the biggest up and coming corporations, so allowances could be made.
"You're Kid. My brother hates you." He smiled like this was the best thing he'd ever heard. "Did you really pull a blue eyes card out of a random deck of cards and refuse to sell it to him?"
"You didn't?" Mai gasped. Even Jounouchi looked approving.
"Okay, first, I didn't pull it out of a random deck. It was a deck that was part of an auction that supposedly had very rare cards within it. Second, your brother did not offer me money. He offered to not ruin my life if I gave the card over. I did not like how he phrased that. I gave him some time to cool his head and then sold it to him when he asked later."
"Still. He really doesn't like you. But he probably likes you more than he likes Yugi," Mokuba commented.
"Great," Kaito said back, "I'm sure that won't result in some dire consequences later."
"Could be worse." Mai shrugged when he looked at her. "He could actually like you. Aren't blue eyes your favorite?"
"Shut up," he said, blushing a bit as his eyes flicked over the elder Kaiba before unhesitatingly landing on Kudou.
He really did like blue eyes.
"My brother will be fair." Mokuba started to frown, as if Kaito was implying something.
"I'm sure he will," Jounouchi muttered, then flinched as his sister nudged him. "When are we getting started with this?"
"We're going to hand out room keys in a minute, give everyone a chance to get a little settled, and then do the lottery for the bracket. I'll see you later." Mokuba nodded to the group and took off to his brother's side.
"I didn't expect to see you here," Mouri Ran said as she approached the group. "Where's you usual partner?"
"Aoko couldn't be here," he said, chest tight as he looked at Mouri Ran. She looked so similar to Aoko in some ways, and the fact that Aoko couldn't be here was going to make him panic at some point.
"You're here alone?"
"Kid here's got a few fans on board, it looks like. So I wouldn't be too worried about him," Mai said, replacing her arm around his shoulders.
Thank goodness for Mai.
"I didn't mean anything by it," Mouri said, shoulders drawing back as she squared herself. "No one should be here alone."
"Because you're investigating something, isn't that right," Kaito said, "That's what I heard earlier."
"Crawford-san requested that Shinichi come along on this trip. And we have very good reason to believe that someone on this aircraft was responsible for all those attacks in Domino City. It isn't safe to be by yourself here."
"He asked Kudou to be here," Kaito repeated.
"That's right. Family favor." Ran nodded at him once and then walked off. Right back to Kudou where she leaned close and started whispering to him.
"Family? I didn't know they were related." Mai rubbed his arm once and he leaned into her.
"Kudou's mother and Crawford's wife were cousins. It's distant, but I guess it's close enough for him to call for favors." Kaito remembered pictures from his mother's childhood, and three women closely linked together, a smiling blond between his mother and Kudou's.
They flinched as a group as Kaiba spoke, his voice carrying easily over the soft chatter of the crowd.
"We're handing out room keys now. Everyone needs to be back here for the lottery to determine your first duel in fifteen minutes. No exceptions."
"C'mon. You can get the room next to me," Mai said, leading him over to the two Kaiba Corp guards in suits handing out room keys.
When he was finally alone, he sat down on the edge of the bed and stared out at Domino City drifting by below. He pulled the card out of his pocket, staring at the impassive face of Holactie under her golden helm.
He didn't know how his father came to have her, but somehow he was responsible for making sure she arrived in the hands of the person who would be the only one to use her. Someone who may have been responsible for all those people being attacked, leaving at least three people dead.
The door opening made him jump, and then he stilled mid-motion. Because that was Kudou barging his way in.
"We have to double up rooms since Kaiba-san didn't expect so many extra passengers," he said, either oblivious to Kaito's anxiety or purposefully ignoring it. "I thought you would prefer for me to stay here over Hattori sharing your room."
"That's fine," Kaito said, passing Holactie between hands and hiding her away again. "Not like you can run out when we're a few thousand feet up."
Kudou clearly swallowed some retort, Kaito could read that much off his face, and then he'd turned away, leaving Kaito to stare at his back.
"I'm sure we can avoid each other enough that it won't be a problem," Kudou said, "I have several other people on this ship to question, and I know I don't have to ask you."
"Maybe you do," Kaito shot back, clenching down hard on the edge of the bed. "I spent just as much time running around this city, going down back alleys, into abandoned buildings, doing all sort of questionable things just to get a locator card."
"That's not fair." Kudou turned but didn't stalk over like Kaito thought he would.
"You weren't fair. I had to be investigated by the Gaming Commission, and I was banned from tournament play for months." Kaito dropped his eyes to the floor, staring at the carpet instead of Kudou's broad back. "I lost a lot of sponsorship because of you. That's why my 'Assistant' can't be here."
"I didn't know that."
"What do you think happens when you accuse someone of cheating?"
"I retracted everything. I thought it would be fine."
"A lot of people remember. And my father is a magician."
"I made a mistake about you." It sounded like it was pulled out of Kudou's throat with force. "I'm sorry."
Kaito sighed. "Did you explain to Hattori, too? Because if I have to spend this whole tournament defending myself from someone responsible for all those attacks in Domino City and your kendo-obsesssed detective friend, I won't be held responsible for turning this place into my private lair and kicking you out."
"I told him I made a mistake. I just don't think he believes it. Are we going to have a problem?"
"Just keep your friends off my case, and I'll stay out of your way, too." Kaito pushed himself off the bed and walked towards the door, stilling as Kudou grabbed his wrist.
"Please don't do anything rash," Kudou said, "I'm not trying to antagonize you."
"That's a nice sentiment." Kaito jerked his arm out of Kudou's grip, twisting slightly to edge out of Kudou's reach. He rubbed at his wrist briefly, staring just off to the left of Kudou's blue eyes. "Maybe this time try not to take advantage when someone shows a little interest in you. Makes it easier to keep things straight."
"It wasn't personal. You have to know it wasn't about you."
"Hard not to take something like betrayal personally. I'll try to keep my tragic backstory to myself instead of sharing it with someone who I thought was interested in me. Not that I think anyone here is any more interested than you were," Kaito said, staring at the door and keeping his back angled to Kudou. "Someone on here's probably worse off anyway."
"Kaito-"
Kaito ignored him. "But hey, maybe Kaiba would be interested. You know how much I like blue eyes."
