Chapter Sixteen
Meeting Mokuba
When Roux walked back from the hotel with one of her bags full of clothes and things she would need for a few days staying with the Wheelers, she was feeling rather proud of herself of what she had done earlier to Seto Kaiba. She couldn't wait until she could tell Joey. She was sure he'd think it was hilarious.
He deserved it too, she thought bitterly as she walked briskly towards the Wheeler apartment. She couldn't believe he would just openly insult her like that, and then insult Joey like that, right under her nose. He was such a prick; there was no denying it whatsoever. She was rather glad that she had run into him. She felt not a bit of guilt. Had it been anyone else and she would have felt guiltier than ever.
She swung her suitcase along side with her. When she had arrived at the hotel the man at the desk didn't ask where she had been for the whole night, but only gave her a smile and hoped she was well. When she came back from gathering her things she told him that she would be out for a few days and to hold her room for her.
Even though everything about Kale's death and the ring was going on, she was still taking part in the Battle City Tournament, and she was looking forward to that more than anything else. It would go on for a long time too, so if there were someone after her, perhaps she'd have a chance to duel him or her extensively, to take back what they had taken from her.
Suddenly she was all excited about it as she climbed up the steps that led to the Wheeler's front door, carrying her bag with her. She remembered that she had locked the door before she had left that morning, so she dug around in her pocket for the key that Serenity had given her the night before. She found it and went to put it in the lock, when-
The door swung wide open, and Joey was standing there. He looked positively pale, like he had the plague or something, and he looked very panicky. Roux blinked obsessively when she saw him. She's never seen him like this. "Joey!"
His eyes were blank. "Joey? Joey? Where the HELL have you been?" he shouted at her.
Roux was taken aback, and then she remembered wondering if she should have returned to the Wheeler apartment and gone to get her things later. She bit her lip. She knew she was in for it now.
Joey brought her inside. Luckily Serenity was still asleep. Roux wouldn't want to wake her up on account of something like this. They went into the kitchen and Joey closed the door to insure their privacy. He then gave Roux a look that made her think he would pull his hair out.
"Where have ya been, huh?" Joey asked, scowling at her deeply. "Don't cha remember what Pegasus said? It's dangerous for you to go out there by yourself! He told you that right to your face and you promised him you wouldn't!" he told her, making strange gestures with his hands.
Roux slumped her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Joey."
"Sorry is not good enough!" he declared. "Do you know how worried I've been? You were gone, the door was locked, there was no note, no indication of where you were, nothing!"
Roux bit her lip. She should have left a note for them. She couldn't believe she forgot something like that. It was really irresponsible. She should have woken him up, or just gone later. Why couldn't she have just gone later?
"Well what do ya have to say for yourself, huh?" Joey asked, putting a fist on his side and leaning on the kitchen counter. It seemed as though he was a father lecturing his teenage daughter about something forbidding.
Roux gritted her teeth nervously, and she studied her fingernails. What could she say to Joey to make him calm down? She sighed deeply, and then she remembered the coffee incident with Kaiba earlier that day. Her mind screamed at her. Of course, that would lighten him up.
She looked up at him, and Joey raised an eyebrow as he was expecting the answer to his question. "Well?"
Her lips shook for a moment, and she said very quickly. "I walked into Kaiba this morning and spilled coffee all over him."
Joey stood there and looked alarmed. He gave her a blank stare, one she couldn't draw a conclusion of. He blinked a few times, studying her. Roux bit down on her lip. He wouldn't buy it. He would still be mad. She sighed and prepared for the worst.
But instead, to her surprise, Joey let out a huge laugh, and he held his stomach as he bent over and laughed. From where Roux was standing it looked as though he was throwing up all over the kitchen floor. Roux gave a rather repulsed look, but she was at least happy he was laughing and not yelling at her some more.
"You did what?" he was still laughing when he looked up at her, his eyes were full of tears. He was still holding his stomach and smacking the countertop. It was as if he had just heard the funniest thing in his life.
"And then we kinda got in an argument.and I threw the rest of the coffee in his face." She said a little nervously, but smiled when she saw the result. Joey had fallen onto the floor and was rolling around, clutching his stomach and laughing nonstop.
In a moment Serenity came in, and she was rubbing her eyes and looking sleepy. She looked over at Roux, and then down at Joey. "Joey, you're making so much noise. What's so funny?" she asked sweetly.
When Joey had fully settled down, they all sat around the table drinking coffee that Serenity quickly made and Roux told the story about how she had run into Kaiba with her coffee on the way to the hotel, and how they had had an argument and she threw the rest of the coffee into his smug face and stormed off without saying another word.
Again Joey went into a laughing fit. He always did that when someone made fun of Kaiba. It was clear to Roux now that Joey and Kaiba were mortal enemies, especially in the world of Duel Monsters.
Roux apologized to Joey for leaving without permission and certainly without leaving a note or anything, and he told her it was okay but that he'd have to keep a very special eye on her now that she had broken the rules. Then when everyone had settled down Serenity and Roux made some breakfast and they all sat down to eat.
"Joey, go slow on the eggs." Roux said, putting her hand gently to his arm. She had just witnessed Joey stuffing three sunny-side up eggs into his mouth at once, along with a strip of bacon and a gulp of orange juice. It was true; his appetite had not changed a little bit since she had known him as a child.
"Why?" he asked, helping himself to a piece of toast.
"Well cause of cholesterol. It's really bad if you eat too much of something with a lot of cholesterol in it." Roux said and smiled at him, handing him a ripe, healthy pear.
Joey looked at the fruit and gave her an odd look. "How do you know so much about this health food stuff?"
She smiled sweetly. "Joey when you're a model for some of the most famous magazines in Japan and the world, you do get to learn some of these things. Believe me, I've talked with so many health food experts, it's not even funny." She said, and then lifted a spoonful of oatmeal to her lips.
At that moment the doorbell rang, and they looked up in question. Joey got up right away. "Oh, that'd be Yug." He said and headed towards the front door. "I told him to head on over when I realized you were gone, Roux." He said, and disappeared behind the door to the kitchen.
Serenity stared at the door for a moment, and then she looked over at Roux, wide-eyed and she gave a sweet smile. "How was your sleep, Roux?" she asked.
Roux grinned. "It was great, thanks. I think it was your pajamas that did the trick."
"You really think so?" Serenity asked, batting her eyelashes.
In a moment Joey and Yugi came into the kitchen, and Roux was rather surprised to see Yugi. "Yugi!" she said, rather startled.
Last night she noticed that Yugi was different. He was taller, sterner, and his voice was much deeper. Roux wondered if she had been imagining it all, if the shock from Kale's death had been changing her thought patterns and made her see differently. Now he was the same Yugi that she remembered, the short cute one.
"Roux, thank goodness you're here." He said, and sat down at the table. "Joey called me not long ago and said that you had disappeared!"
The guilt came back to her and she blushed softly. "I'm sorry Yugi. I only went to my hotel to get some clothes and things."
"Hey Yug, wait till Roux tells ya the story about what happened to Kaiba." Joey started his laughing fit again. "I laughed so hard, it's so hilarious!"
But Joey observed that Roux hadn't finished her breakfast, so he decided to take a chance and try to tell Yugi about what had happened. Roux and Serenity listened as Joey told the story with great detail. There was no doubt; nothing gave Joey more pride than hearing Kaiba being embarrassed or humiliated publicly.
Yugi managed a laugh in the end when he heard Roux had thrown the rest of the coffee into his face, but instantly his sweet conscience broke in and he looked over at Roux with his big eyes full of question. "The coffee wasn't still hot, was it?" he asked.
"No." Roux shook her head. "By that time it was cold and unappetizing. I don't think it would have hurt him. It just would have made his hair smell different, that's all."
They all laughed again, deeply, and then after breakfast was finished and the dishes were cleared, Joey and Serenity left to the get dressed for the day, leaving Roux and Yugi in the kitchen alone at the table to talk.
"I was really worried when I heard you were missing," Yugi pressed on her, unintentionally. He just wanted her to know that he cared. "I mean, I did promise Pegasus that I'd help keep you safe."
Roux nodded. So it had been Yugi last night. She wondered if perhaps they were two different people altogether, or if it was Yugi and something made her eyes see him differently. She tapped her fingernails on the surface of the table, and a silence fell over them.
Before Joey and Serenity could come back, Roux decided to ask. "So Yugi.who was that last night?"
Yugi gave her a questioning look. "Who?"
"That boy who-" she didn't know how to describe him really. If she had been imagining it, Yugi would think she was crazy. "The boy who looked a lot like you.but I'm almost certain it wasn't you.Pegasus called you Yugi and I wasn't too sure if-"
"Oh!" Yugi laughed softly. "I know what you mean. Yeah I'm sorry, last night that was my Yami."
Roux, who had been in show business for a long time, and had no clue what a yami was, thinking maybe it was a code word for 'invisible person' or something like that. She bit her lip. She didn't want to humiliate Yugi. So she carefully asked. "Oh. What's a yami?"
Again the gentle laugh and Roux was glad that she hadn't insulted him. Then she noticed that he tapped the puzzle that was around his neck, and he smiled at her. "I'll tell you when we have a chance, it's a very long story."
Roux nodded, and wondered if her curiosity would last that long. She wanted to know what on earth Yugi was talking about, but she could wait obviously until he was comfortable enough to tell her.
Joey and Serenity appeared in no time, and they all sat around the table again just talking for a little while. They talked some more about some of the childhood mishaps the Wheelers had had when Roux was their friend, and they spent a few hours laughing until Joey's stomach was grumbling. He patted his stomach.
"Wow, time just flew by, didn't it?" he looked up at the clock on the wall. "We should go get some burgers or something right about now."
Roux's eyes widened. "Joey, we had breakfast three hours ago! How could you still be hungry?" then she thought. "No wait, there's the bottomless stomach that I so faintly remember from the days of my childhood." She let out a small giggle.
Joey's stomach complained again. "Awright, I hear ya." He said to his stomach and stood up. "Well I'm gonna get some lunch. Anyone willing to come, can come."
They all stood up and shuffled into the living room to get ready to go out. There hadn't been too much discussion about what had happened the night before or anything. It seemed as though Kale's death had never happened. The good thing was that Roux's mind was clear of the whole idea. She had her friends to thank for that.
"Tristan and Duke are gonna meet us down at the burger joint in fifteen minutes." Joey said, putting on his jacket after he had just gotten off the phone. "So we should get going."
"Right." Yugi said.
But before any of them had a chance to say anything more prior to what Joey had just said, there was a knock at the Wheeler's front door. They all looked over in surprise, wondering who it could have been. Joey scowled tightly. "Hey! I told em down at the joint, not here! Those knuckleheads are so thick!" he said.
Serenity reached for the knob and opened the door. They all looked at the passerby. It was a little boy who stood almost at Yugi's shoulder height. He had big gray eyes and long black hair. He looked rather stunned to be standing there, but he saw Yugi and smiled. "Oh! Hi Yugi! Hi Joey!"
"Hey Mokuba." Joey said, scratching the back of his head. "We weren't expecting ya."
"I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?" he asked, look from Yugi to Joey, and glancing at Roux before blushing and turning his eyes away.
"Nah, we was just going out to get some lunch." Joey said. "You can come with us if ya want, or would it be okay with your brother?"
Mokuba shook his head to the side. "Thanks but no thanks Joey. I'm looking for a Miss. Roux Matuko." He said, and Roux tilted her head to the side looking at the kid. Why would a kid know who she was, and why would he be looking for her. She noticed a piece of paper in his hand.
"Thanks me, sweetie." Roux said, and the little boy blushed even harder. "But how do you know my name?"
"Well," Mokuba looked very nervous. "I went to the hotel to see you, and they told me you weren't there and that I could be reached here at the Wheeler residence, so I came here. I'm glad I caught you in time before you left."
"So what's the scoop, Mokuba?" Joey asked, coming in closer. "Something wrong?"
Mokuba shrugged. He wouldn't say. "I have a message for Roux Matuko from my brother." He said, and unfolded the piece of paper.
Alarmed and quickly Joey and Yugi exchanged desperate looks, and then they both listened intently as Mokuba read what was on the piece of paper. Mokuba blinked and then looked at it closely, and then read it aloud. "It's from my brother. He writes. 'Miss Matuko, you've been disqualified from the Battle City Tournament'." He paused. " 'I told you you'd regret what you had done'."
Meeting Mokuba
When Roux walked back from the hotel with one of her bags full of clothes and things she would need for a few days staying with the Wheelers, she was feeling rather proud of herself of what she had done earlier to Seto Kaiba. She couldn't wait until she could tell Joey. She was sure he'd think it was hilarious.
He deserved it too, she thought bitterly as she walked briskly towards the Wheeler apartment. She couldn't believe he would just openly insult her like that, and then insult Joey like that, right under her nose. He was such a prick; there was no denying it whatsoever. She was rather glad that she had run into him. She felt not a bit of guilt. Had it been anyone else and she would have felt guiltier than ever.
She swung her suitcase along side with her. When she had arrived at the hotel the man at the desk didn't ask where she had been for the whole night, but only gave her a smile and hoped she was well. When she came back from gathering her things she told him that she would be out for a few days and to hold her room for her.
Even though everything about Kale's death and the ring was going on, she was still taking part in the Battle City Tournament, and she was looking forward to that more than anything else. It would go on for a long time too, so if there were someone after her, perhaps she'd have a chance to duel him or her extensively, to take back what they had taken from her.
Suddenly she was all excited about it as she climbed up the steps that led to the Wheeler's front door, carrying her bag with her. She remembered that she had locked the door before she had left that morning, so she dug around in her pocket for the key that Serenity had given her the night before. She found it and went to put it in the lock, when-
The door swung wide open, and Joey was standing there. He looked positively pale, like he had the plague or something, and he looked very panicky. Roux blinked obsessively when she saw him. She's never seen him like this. "Joey!"
His eyes were blank. "Joey? Joey? Where the HELL have you been?" he shouted at her.
Roux was taken aback, and then she remembered wondering if she should have returned to the Wheeler apartment and gone to get her things later. She bit her lip. She knew she was in for it now.
Joey brought her inside. Luckily Serenity was still asleep. Roux wouldn't want to wake her up on account of something like this. They went into the kitchen and Joey closed the door to insure their privacy. He then gave Roux a look that made her think he would pull his hair out.
"Where have ya been, huh?" Joey asked, scowling at her deeply. "Don't cha remember what Pegasus said? It's dangerous for you to go out there by yourself! He told you that right to your face and you promised him you wouldn't!" he told her, making strange gestures with his hands.
Roux slumped her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Joey."
"Sorry is not good enough!" he declared. "Do you know how worried I've been? You were gone, the door was locked, there was no note, no indication of where you were, nothing!"
Roux bit her lip. She should have left a note for them. She couldn't believe she forgot something like that. It was really irresponsible. She should have woken him up, or just gone later. Why couldn't she have just gone later?
"Well what do ya have to say for yourself, huh?" Joey asked, putting a fist on his side and leaning on the kitchen counter. It seemed as though he was a father lecturing his teenage daughter about something forbidding.
Roux gritted her teeth nervously, and she studied her fingernails. What could she say to Joey to make him calm down? She sighed deeply, and then she remembered the coffee incident with Kaiba earlier that day. Her mind screamed at her. Of course, that would lighten him up.
She looked up at him, and Joey raised an eyebrow as he was expecting the answer to his question. "Well?"
Her lips shook for a moment, and she said very quickly. "I walked into Kaiba this morning and spilled coffee all over him."
Joey stood there and looked alarmed. He gave her a blank stare, one she couldn't draw a conclusion of. He blinked a few times, studying her. Roux bit down on her lip. He wouldn't buy it. He would still be mad. She sighed and prepared for the worst.
But instead, to her surprise, Joey let out a huge laugh, and he held his stomach as he bent over and laughed. From where Roux was standing it looked as though he was throwing up all over the kitchen floor. Roux gave a rather repulsed look, but she was at least happy he was laughing and not yelling at her some more.
"You did what?" he was still laughing when he looked up at her, his eyes were full of tears. He was still holding his stomach and smacking the countertop. It was as if he had just heard the funniest thing in his life.
"And then we kinda got in an argument.and I threw the rest of the coffee in his face." She said a little nervously, but smiled when she saw the result. Joey had fallen onto the floor and was rolling around, clutching his stomach and laughing nonstop.
In a moment Serenity came in, and she was rubbing her eyes and looking sleepy. She looked over at Roux, and then down at Joey. "Joey, you're making so much noise. What's so funny?" she asked sweetly.
When Joey had fully settled down, they all sat around the table drinking coffee that Serenity quickly made and Roux told the story about how she had run into Kaiba with her coffee on the way to the hotel, and how they had had an argument and she threw the rest of the coffee into his smug face and stormed off without saying another word.
Again Joey went into a laughing fit. He always did that when someone made fun of Kaiba. It was clear to Roux now that Joey and Kaiba were mortal enemies, especially in the world of Duel Monsters.
Roux apologized to Joey for leaving without permission and certainly without leaving a note or anything, and he told her it was okay but that he'd have to keep a very special eye on her now that she had broken the rules. Then when everyone had settled down Serenity and Roux made some breakfast and they all sat down to eat.
"Joey, go slow on the eggs." Roux said, putting her hand gently to his arm. She had just witnessed Joey stuffing three sunny-side up eggs into his mouth at once, along with a strip of bacon and a gulp of orange juice. It was true; his appetite had not changed a little bit since she had known him as a child.
"Why?" he asked, helping himself to a piece of toast.
"Well cause of cholesterol. It's really bad if you eat too much of something with a lot of cholesterol in it." Roux said and smiled at him, handing him a ripe, healthy pear.
Joey looked at the fruit and gave her an odd look. "How do you know so much about this health food stuff?"
She smiled sweetly. "Joey when you're a model for some of the most famous magazines in Japan and the world, you do get to learn some of these things. Believe me, I've talked with so many health food experts, it's not even funny." She said, and then lifted a spoonful of oatmeal to her lips.
At that moment the doorbell rang, and they looked up in question. Joey got up right away. "Oh, that'd be Yug." He said and headed towards the front door. "I told him to head on over when I realized you were gone, Roux." He said, and disappeared behind the door to the kitchen.
Serenity stared at the door for a moment, and then she looked over at Roux, wide-eyed and she gave a sweet smile. "How was your sleep, Roux?" she asked.
Roux grinned. "It was great, thanks. I think it was your pajamas that did the trick."
"You really think so?" Serenity asked, batting her eyelashes.
In a moment Joey and Yugi came into the kitchen, and Roux was rather surprised to see Yugi. "Yugi!" she said, rather startled.
Last night she noticed that Yugi was different. He was taller, sterner, and his voice was much deeper. Roux wondered if she had been imagining it all, if the shock from Kale's death had been changing her thought patterns and made her see differently. Now he was the same Yugi that she remembered, the short cute one.
"Roux, thank goodness you're here." He said, and sat down at the table. "Joey called me not long ago and said that you had disappeared!"
The guilt came back to her and she blushed softly. "I'm sorry Yugi. I only went to my hotel to get some clothes and things."
"Hey Yug, wait till Roux tells ya the story about what happened to Kaiba." Joey started his laughing fit again. "I laughed so hard, it's so hilarious!"
But Joey observed that Roux hadn't finished her breakfast, so he decided to take a chance and try to tell Yugi about what had happened. Roux and Serenity listened as Joey told the story with great detail. There was no doubt; nothing gave Joey more pride than hearing Kaiba being embarrassed or humiliated publicly.
Yugi managed a laugh in the end when he heard Roux had thrown the rest of the coffee into his face, but instantly his sweet conscience broke in and he looked over at Roux with his big eyes full of question. "The coffee wasn't still hot, was it?" he asked.
"No." Roux shook her head. "By that time it was cold and unappetizing. I don't think it would have hurt him. It just would have made his hair smell different, that's all."
They all laughed again, deeply, and then after breakfast was finished and the dishes were cleared, Joey and Serenity left to the get dressed for the day, leaving Roux and Yugi in the kitchen alone at the table to talk.
"I was really worried when I heard you were missing," Yugi pressed on her, unintentionally. He just wanted her to know that he cared. "I mean, I did promise Pegasus that I'd help keep you safe."
Roux nodded. So it had been Yugi last night. She wondered if perhaps they were two different people altogether, or if it was Yugi and something made her eyes see him differently. She tapped her fingernails on the surface of the table, and a silence fell over them.
Before Joey and Serenity could come back, Roux decided to ask. "So Yugi.who was that last night?"
Yugi gave her a questioning look. "Who?"
"That boy who-" she didn't know how to describe him really. If she had been imagining it, Yugi would think she was crazy. "The boy who looked a lot like you.but I'm almost certain it wasn't you.Pegasus called you Yugi and I wasn't too sure if-"
"Oh!" Yugi laughed softly. "I know what you mean. Yeah I'm sorry, last night that was my Yami."
Roux, who had been in show business for a long time, and had no clue what a yami was, thinking maybe it was a code word for 'invisible person' or something like that. She bit her lip. She didn't want to humiliate Yugi. So she carefully asked. "Oh. What's a yami?"
Again the gentle laugh and Roux was glad that she hadn't insulted him. Then she noticed that he tapped the puzzle that was around his neck, and he smiled at her. "I'll tell you when we have a chance, it's a very long story."
Roux nodded, and wondered if her curiosity would last that long. She wanted to know what on earth Yugi was talking about, but she could wait obviously until he was comfortable enough to tell her.
Joey and Serenity appeared in no time, and they all sat around the table again just talking for a little while. They talked some more about some of the childhood mishaps the Wheelers had had when Roux was their friend, and they spent a few hours laughing until Joey's stomach was grumbling. He patted his stomach.
"Wow, time just flew by, didn't it?" he looked up at the clock on the wall. "We should go get some burgers or something right about now."
Roux's eyes widened. "Joey, we had breakfast three hours ago! How could you still be hungry?" then she thought. "No wait, there's the bottomless stomach that I so faintly remember from the days of my childhood." She let out a small giggle.
Joey's stomach complained again. "Awright, I hear ya." He said to his stomach and stood up. "Well I'm gonna get some lunch. Anyone willing to come, can come."
They all stood up and shuffled into the living room to get ready to go out. There hadn't been too much discussion about what had happened the night before or anything. It seemed as though Kale's death had never happened. The good thing was that Roux's mind was clear of the whole idea. She had her friends to thank for that.
"Tristan and Duke are gonna meet us down at the burger joint in fifteen minutes." Joey said, putting on his jacket after he had just gotten off the phone. "So we should get going."
"Right." Yugi said.
But before any of them had a chance to say anything more prior to what Joey had just said, there was a knock at the Wheeler's front door. They all looked over in surprise, wondering who it could have been. Joey scowled tightly. "Hey! I told em down at the joint, not here! Those knuckleheads are so thick!" he said.
Serenity reached for the knob and opened the door. They all looked at the passerby. It was a little boy who stood almost at Yugi's shoulder height. He had big gray eyes and long black hair. He looked rather stunned to be standing there, but he saw Yugi and smiled. "Oh! Hi Yugi! Hi Joey!"
"Hey Mokuba." Joey said, scratching the back of his head. "We weren't expecting ya."
"I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?" he asked, look from Yugi to Joey, and glancing at Roux before blushing and turning his eyes away.
"Nah, we was just going out to get some lunch." Joey said. "You can come with us if ya want, or would it be okay with your brother?"
Mokuba shook his head to the side. "Thanks but no thanks Joey. I'm looking for a Miss. Roux Matuko." He said, and Roux tilted her head to the side looking at the kid. Why would a kid know who she was, and why would he be looking for her. She noticed a piece of paper in his hand.
"Thanks me, sweetie." Roux said, and the little boy blushed even harder. "But how do you know my name?"
"Well," Mokuba looked very nervous. "I went to the hotel to see you, and they told me you weren't there and that I could be reached here at the Wheeler residence, so I came here. I'm glad I caught you in time before you left."
"So what's the scoop, Mokuba?" Joey asked, coming in closer. "Something wrong?"
Mokuba shrugged. He wouldn't say. "I have a message for Roux Matuko from my brother." He said, and unfolded the piece of paper.
Alarmed and quickly Joey and Yugi exchanged desperate looks, and then they both listened intently as Mokuba read what was on the piece of paper. Mokuba blinked and then looked at it closely, and then read it aloud. "It's from my brother. He writes. 'Miss Matuko, you've been disqualified from the Battle City Tournament'." He paused. " 'I told you you'd regret what you had done'."