THE ENCOUNTER OF LOST SOULS
Chapter Three: Countdown to the Big Night
One week and six days before the concert
The following day after Sugoroku gave Yugi the concert tickets, the gang went to the game shop to help Yugi sort out inventory. Before starting the work, Yugi told them about Sugoroku's treat for everyone.
The gang was stunned. Yugi smiled from ear to ear and relished being the harbinger of good news.
Jonouchi Katsuya was the first one to regain his composure. However, being cautious from reveling in sheer excitement over nothing, he added, "You better not be kidding us around here, Yugi, especially when it comes to something like this."
"Wait here." Yugi dashed upstairs to his bedroom. A minute later, he returned to the game shop and presented the concert tickets to Jonouchi. "These will do the talking for me."
The gang huddled together, seeing if Yugi's news was the real deal. Everyone took turns examining the concert tickets and became giddy with exhilaration.
Mazaki Anzu enthusiastically said while absentmindedly handing back the tickets and backstage passes to Yugi, "We're going to see Alexa!"
"It's too bad that Shizuka, Mai, and Otogi aren't here with us," Yugi lamented.
Honda Hiroto nodded and sighed. "Yeah... I miss them."
"Isn't it weird that we're going back to the place where the Battle City finals started?" Jonouchi asked.
Bakura Ryou rubbed his chin as his eyes narrowed. "It will be, in a way. However, the construction wasn't done when we were last there."
"Kaiba will be raking tons of money with this concert. After all, his company owns Domino Arena. Alexa's concert has also been sold out months ago," interjected Honda.
Their chat was interrupted when the game store's door opened and its bell rang.
The new arrival was slightly taller than Anzu and looked like she was about the gang's age. She wore an ankle-length black leather jacket, a tucked-in dark brown t-shirt, low-waist black jeans, and black boots. A conservative hair-clip secured her long black hair. Although she wore light-framed clear glasses, the spectacles suited her heart-shaped face. She hardly had any makeup on.
"Welcome to the Kame Game Shop," greeted a smiling Yugi behind the store counter. "How can we help you?"
Once the young customer reached the store's display counter, she replied, "I'm looking for duel monster cards. I'd like to see what you have." As she scanned the top counter shelf for single cards, she glanced upward.
For a split second, Yugi's eyes locked with hers. He noticed her hazel-brown eyes.
Then, for some unknown reason, Yugi's Millennium Puzzle reacted as if it was trying to make outside contact. A couple of seconds later, the connection stopped.
In the meantime, the gang stood a couple of feet away from the counter.
Anzu, seeing Honda and Jonouchi's reactions, shook her head. She would even expect that drooling reaction from Bakura, even though he was mostly a well-behaved young man. As much as she hated to admit it, an unexplainable tinge of jealousy overcame her when she saw Yugi looking at his customer.
"How about this one?" the young customer asked while pointing at the Maiden of the Aqua card.
"Oh, this one..." Yugi pulled out the Maiden of the Aqua and presented it to her for inspection. "So, do you duel, too?"
She smiled. "I duel whenever time permits."
Jonouchi eagerly interjected, "That's great! I duel, too. I was second at Duelist Kingdom and a finalist at Battle City."
She stopped for a second. As a light of recognition and excitement shimmered in her eyes, she said, "Wait a minute – if you are who you say you are, then that makes you Jonouchi Katsuya!"
Jonouchi gave her his winner grin and extended his hand. "In the flesh…call me Jonouchi."
"I'm pleased to meet you..." the young customer shook the blonde duelist's hand.
The sapphire-eyed young woman approached the customer. "I'm Anzu, and these are our friends – Honda and Bakura."
The customer smiled and shook everyone's hand. "I'm pleased to meet all of you. My name's Emrys."
Emrys then diverted her attention to Yugi and handed him the Maiden of the Aqua card. "I'd like to buy her." Reaching inside her leather jacket, she took her wallet and paid for her purchase.
Yugi rang up the order, removed the card from its hard plastic protector, placed the card inside a hard plastic sleeve, and gave it to her along with her change.
"Your name is?" Emrys asked after he handed her purchase.
The young man sheepishly extended a handshake. "Mutou Yugi. Just call me Yugi."
Emrys smiled back. "It's nice to meet you, Yugi."
"Hope to see you again soon," said the younger Mutou.
Emrys inserted her purchase inside her jacket and waved goodbye to everyone.
The bell rang once more as the store door opened and closed. Seeing that the coast was clear, all the young men relaxed and were eager to share their opinion about Yugi's customer.
Yugi, however, kept his reactions to himself. He anticipated Anzu to give everyone the third degree with her usual typical male reaction quips any moment now. His prediction was right.
"Well, if you hormonally-charged males are done ogling," an annoyed Anzu said, "we need to help Yugi with the store."
Two more mundane, ordinary days had passed after Yugi gave the big news to the gang
Yugi and Sugoroku were sweating from the work they were doing since morning. After dusting and refilling the shelves, they were emptying boxes of merchandise that arrived the day before.
Once the store door opened, a deliveryman hollered, "Package for Mutou Yugi."
"Here," Yugi responded from behind the store counter. He excused himself, approached the deliveryman, signed the clipboard, and received the envelope.
"Who's it from?" asked the elderly man when Yugi returned.
Yugi looked at the envelope. "It doesn't say, Jii-chan." Inside the package he opened was a white envelope. His eyes widened as he ripped the second envelope's side and discovered its contents.
"Is everything okay?" inquired Sugoroku.
A breath-taken Yugi muttered, "Somebody sent me six invitations to Alexa's after-party." He then looked at his grandfather and asked, "Did you get these for us?"
Sugoroku shook his head from behind the counter. "No, I didn't. In fact, I don't know how you managed to get those."
Frowning, Yugi found a note with the invitations and backstage passes.
The note only bore a one-worded message written with a burgundy calligraphy pen: Enjoy.
"Somebody aside from me is looking out for you," the elderly man lightheartedly said before resuming his work. "You should be happy since those are hard to get."
Yugi ran upstairs to his bedroom. Still shaking his head in disbelief, he placed the envelope's contents with the other tickets and passes. He then ran downstairs and helped his grandfather. As he worked throughout the day, he contemplated about the unexpected surprise.
Three more hours before Alexa performs live at Domino Arena
Yugi, as usual, was having trouble choosing an outfit.
His other self offered to help, pointing out, "Why don't you wear this long-sleeved black shirt with that beige sleeveless jacket? Then, match them with those black pants and boots."
Yugi agreed with his other self, recalling the outfit from his Dungeon Dice Monsters duel against Otogi. "Oh, yeah…. I like that combination. I remember the last time that we wore this."
The other Yugi chuckled. "You still owe me from that time you set me up on a date with Anzu."
As the young spirit vessel returned the clothes he did not need in the closet, he remarked, "Let me know when payback would be."
"Oh, I will –" the other Yugi smirked. "By the way, don't forget to bring your scrapbook and the flowers."
Thirty minutes before concert time
Sugoroku, Yugi, Anzu, Honda, Jonouchi, and Bakura secured their front-row seats. They were still at awe with how close they were from the stage as well as the arena's size and the unique setup.
Heavy burgundy silk covered the octagon-shaped stage's perimeter as well as the pathway going towards the stage. A metal disk, which served as the lid covering the view from the top, was shrouded with burgundy silk.
The arena was already jammed packed. The air was filled with anticipation and excitement coming from eager fans.
Noting the curtains covering the stage and the pathway, Yugi pondered, "They're really keeping everything a secret until the very last second."
Honda rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "This is so cool! We'll see Alexa perform real close from here."
Bakura then thought aloud, "With all the secrecy, I wonder if she looks as good as she sounds in her songs."
Honda and Jonouchi thought about Bakura's question. They then frowned at the possibility that Alexa might be ugly. After shaking off some of his negative thoughts, Jonouchi replied, "We'll be getting the answer to that question a couple of minutes from now. If we get lucky, maybe she'll pull us out from the crowd."
Anzu, unable to resist, teased her blonde friend, "If she's looking for a dork, then you'll be a shoe-in."
The rest started laughing.
"You really have a natural knack for being mean, don't you?" Jonouchi complained while rubbing the back of his neck. Eventually, he shook his head and laughed along with them.
The gang's banter was interrupted once the bleachers dimmed, the electric guitar blared, and the stage's lid covering rose. Some of the heavy silk curtains dropped, forming into an octagon-shaped burgundy heap surrounding the elevated stage and giving the multi-colored lights another dimensional effect.
The audience clapped and welcomed the opening act.
The first act, an alternative all-male band, did its job in preparing the multitude for the main event. The band, after their performance, then took a gracious bow and exited. A new group of musicians took their place.
The new drummer hit the snare and the other musicians joined in with their respective instruments, altogether playing the intro to one of Alexa's fast-beat songs.
"Good evening, Domino! Are you ready for me?" asked the owner of the feminine voice, addressing the crowd in Japanese.
The masses cheered and went wild as they happily assumed the identity behind the energetic feminine voice echoing throughout the arena.
The curtains covering the trail towards the stage dropped, forming into a burgundy pathway. A circular hole formed in the middle of the stage as the disk lowered itself. A lovely and shapely young woman then slowly surfaced as the circle re-emerged to close the gaping hole.
Finally, Alexa was onstage.
Alexa wore an all-burgundy leather outfit consisting of a lace-up bustier, cropped jacket, low-rider pants, and high-heeled boots. Her thick black hair draped on her shoulders and back. She started singing and dancing to a techno number from her CD while some members of the crowd clapped along and danced in their respective seats.
Jonouchi, Honda, Bakura, Anzu, and Yugi sat in their respective seats in stupefied astonishment. Sugoroku wondered why his young companions looked more stunned than pleased this very moment.
The other Yugi, witnessing everything, was more shocked than the rest of them.
Alexa – the one performing in front of an ocean of screaming fans and the faceless woman who had been in the other Yugi's mind – was none other than Emrys herself.
End of Chapter Three
Normal Disclaimer
Yu-Gi-Oh is the copyrighted property of Kazuki Takahashi. Alexandra Emrys, as well as this fan fiction, is the property of the author. This fan fiction is written for entertainment purposes only – thereby releasing the author from any liabilities.