[KO: Hiya, minna-san! KO here with chappy 5 of FEEF! {taped fanfare}
Sybil: .............{punches KO in the head anime-style}
KO: . Oww, what was that for?!
Sybil: {walks off}
KO: {has REBDs circling head} Wow, pretty dragons....{shakes head} Hey, what'd I do?!
Terri: You let her get told off last chapter--which you don't do with Sybil; you should know, you created her--, and you made her mope.
KO: Now, that last part's not true; she wasn't moping! She was more...reeling from the shock of what she'd heard!
Terri: Yeah, whatever.
KO: Wah! I didn't get any reviews, so on with the fic!]
Chapter 5 - Search and Rescue?
"It was your pigheadedness, Sybil. Try thinking about that for awhile...." Iris's harsh words still rang in Sybil's mind, taunting her.
"Sybil?" a voice said, snapping her out of her daze. She blinked and saw Yugi and Yami standing in front of her. "Are you okay?"
"Hai, I'm fine, Yugi," she paltered.
"I'm not sure I believe you; you were just standing there staring off into space."
"I was trying to contact Terri, but the link was closed," she replied smoothly, once again lying through her teeth. (A/N: Hey, she was a teenager once; why wouldn't she be able to lie easily?)
"If you say so," he replied uncertainly.
Yami watched him walk off, then said, "All right, Sybil, Yugi may have let you off easily, but I won't. What's wrong?"
"Nani mo! Must I repeat myself?!" she cried in vexation, which only increased when she tried to walk out, only to have her brother quickly position himself between her and the door, crossing his arms. She narrowed her eyes, which were slowly reddening. "You're making me lose my patience, Yami."
"Likewise."
"We always did have a talent for that," she said with a chuckle.
"Don't change the subject, Sybil," he retorted quickly, bringing a frown to her lips. "Now, I asked you a question, and I expect it answered."
"You do remember that I hate being spoken to as if I'm a subordinate, nē?" she shot back, narrowing her eyes further.
"I'm not speaking to you as a subordinate, but I do want an answer to my question. What's bothering you so much, Sybil? Just tell somebody," he urged. "Does it have something to do with Iris? She looked absolutely livid when she left." She flinched, and he knew he was on the right track. He narrowed his eyes in determination, pressing on. "Now that you've given that much away, care to fill in the blanks for me?"
"I'd actually rather not," she responded, looking away.
"Well, you don't have a choice. Pardon the comparison, but you're acting like a whipped dog. What. Happened?"
"I've just had my own idiocy thrown into my face, if you must know!" she shouted angrily, flinging her gaze to the floor. "How would you like it if you found out you had caused this degree of misery to Yugi, or a feud of this magnitude between him and Jonouchi?" she finished, lowering her voice, but withholding none of her previous venom from it.
"So that's what this is about? The battle against Millennia?" he asked, quickly putting two and two together. Noting her silence, he pressed on. "What did she say, Sybil?"
"Nothing I didn't fully deserve."
"You're avoiding my question again."
"Hai, I am," she said calmly, not bothering to lie again.
"The longer you dodge the issue, the worse it becomes for you, Sybil."
Flashback
"Of course, Majesty. If you had been able to suck it up and get it through your thick skull that Terri doesn't always think before she shoots her mouth off, you may have realized that she didn't want you to abandon her just before the toughest fight of her life, that, you should know, nearly killed her, and I wouldn't have had to tell her to quit trying to kill herself and get over it, then she wouldn't have punched me! That's what started this, it was your pigheadedness, Sybil. Try thinking about that for awhile."
Real world
"She said that I abandoned Terri right before the most difficult battle of her life, that I should have been able to, quote, 'suck it up and it through my thick skull,' that she doesn't always think her words through, and that if I had, in essence, ignored her when she told me to leave, she would never have become suicidal and punched Iris for getting angry out of concern. According to her, it was my own pigheadedness that started this feud."
"And you honestly believe that? She's grasping at straws for an outlet for her anger."
"She seems to honestly blame me for--"
"Sybil, you can read minds!" he exclaimed in frustration. "Surely you didn't blindly believe every word she said!"
"I did read her mind! She sincerely believes that I'm to blame for this," she shot back, her voice abruptly softening.
"Again, surely you don't blindly believe every bit of nonsense you hear."
"What nonsense?" she almost whispered, biting her lip. "You can't deny it, she was right!" she continued with renewed vigor.
"She was not! This came about because of two hot-tempered teenage girls; you aren't to blame for any of it!"
"Fine," she relented, not sounding convinced at all. I wish I could be as confident as you that I'm not to blame for this, though, she added silently.
Nagano, a few weeks later
"Shimatta!" Terri exclaimed, stumbling out of her apartment. "Two weeks on the job and I'm already gonna be late! How do I end up in these situations?!" Trying to pull on her shoes and jacket without dropping her cell phone, she looked rather comical, staggering down the street swearing. Finally managing to pull her shoes on, she tripped and fell headlong into a street thug, mumbled a "Gomen!" and ran on, only to be grabbed by the arm. Irritated, she whirled to face her aggressor. "Miru, I said I was sorry, now will you let me go?!"
"That ain't good enough, girly," he sneered.
"'Girly?!'" she shrieked. "I'll have you know, I'm seventeen years old! Now, kindly let me go so I can get to work!"
"Damare!" he growled, twisting her arm behind her back. To her surprise and chagrin, everyone that saw simply backed away from the group. "C'mere," he muttered, dragging her into an alley. "I think I'll have some courtesy and save everyone the sight of what I'm gonna do to you."
Her eyes widened in shock and disgust. "I hope you mean fighting me," she hissed, narrowing them again.
"Won't be no fight, girly; we're gonna knock you clean into next week."
"You sure about that? Back in the States I was known for my fights."
"You ain't never fought no one like the Akuma Batsu, girly."
"Awful early to be drunk, isn't it?" she muttered, noticing the stench of alcohol on his breath and wincing as he yanked her arm up sharply, the height difference making it quite painful. "Chikushō, will you let me go?! And quit calling me 'girly,' or you'll regret it!"
"Damare!" he snarled again, motioning to one of his cohorts, who kneed her in the side, causing her to gasp in pain. The supposed leader smirked in sick satisfaction and shoved her roughly into a brick wall, stunning her for a moment. The entire group surrounded her, leaving no possible room for escape. "Now, girly, you're gonna find out the hard way why no one screws around with the Akuma Batsu and lives to tell about it," he grinned, cracking his knuckles.
Quickly getting to her feet, she thought, "Lives?" Okay, this is bad. One, two, three, four...six of them, one of me. This is really, really bad. Why'd I have to pick today to sleep in?! Why couldn't I have been on time?! Oh, Kami, someone help me.... Then the brawl began. At first she tried to dodge and weave her way out, throwing a punch or an elbow here and there, but that soon proved futile, as she took easily twice as many hits as she landed. Chikushō! If I wasn't in a skirt I'd have no problem kicking my way out, but I had to get a formal job.... She threw a few more punches, but a sudden punch to her stomach combined with an intense pain in her lower thigh, just above the knee, crumpled her. She noticed a deep, bleeding gash in her leg, and looked up to see the "leader" holding a bloody switchblade. Almost in spite of herself, she felt herself go pale as her breathing quickened. This is it, I'm gonna die at age seventeen! How was I supposed to start a new life if it's gonna end now?! Gomen nasai, Sybil, I know you don't wanna be sealed back into that Tiara. In response to her accelerating pulse, her wound began to bleed copiously, and she vaguely heard an indistinct yell before blacking out. Her rescuer scooped her up, ripped a sleeve off of his jacket and tied it tightly around her leg before draping the rest of it around her in an attempt to shield her from the January wind, shivering when a gust blew up as if on cue.
"This just gives me better motivation to find out where she lives," he muttered, running off down the street.
A few hours later
"Am I dead yet...?" Terri wondered vaguely, her vision beginning to focus.
"You've been worse," a familiar voice said casually, followed by a yawn. She blinked in shock.
"Jou?!"
"In the flesh," he said, grinning broadly at her.
"What are you doing here?!"
Facevaulting, he asked, "That's all I get for saving you, is 'What are you doing here?!' Jeez, you'd think I'd get--"
"Sybil sent you, didn't she?!" she cut in, fixing her intense stare on him, which threatened to intensify into an all-out glare.
"Huh? Iie, I--"
"Tawagoto! I know she sent you! She couldn't just leave me alone, could she?! Why's she always got to be so worried about me? I'm not a kid! She--"
"Terri!" This time it was his turn to cut in. "I didn't need any encouraging; she actually tried to talk me out of it."
"She--she did?"
"Un. She said she respected you, so she wasn't gonna follow you, but I would, so here I am."
"Okay, fine," she relented. "What was that yell just before I passed out?"
"That was Sybil's training put to use."
"'Training?'" she repeated quizzically, raising an eyebrow.
"Ano, un. She figured it'd be dangerous to be traveling alone, so she taught me how to summon monsters and use magic and traps. She also gave me this," he said, pulling out a strange--to Terri--black orb.
"And this is...?" she prompted.
"Sybil called it a Kage no Suishō; said it was formed from her Shadow magic to amplify mine and make summoning easier. She worries too much, though."
"Well, I hugely appreciate you saving my life and everything, but I'd better leave now and maybe my boss won't chew me out too bad for being this late."
"What're you doing?!" he demanded as she attempted to get off the couch, wincing as pressure was applied to her leg.
"I'm trying, Jou, to go to work, if you don't mind."
"You just passed out from blood loss!" he yelled, facevaulting again.
"Iie, I just woke up after passing out from blood loss, actually. Besides, the guy I work for could care less, as long as I get to work!"
"I'm not that bad, am I, Allen?" a third voice said, feigning hurt.
"Jou, don't tell me Kaiba's in my apartment."
"...." He didn't answer.
"It's not bad enough I gotta lower myself to workin' for you, you gotta come to my apartment too?!" she snapped, turning to face him. "Didn't I deal with you enough in Domino City?!"
"Would you rather he ran around without finding where you lived until you both froze to death?"
Her right eye twitched, but she remained silent.
"I meant to ask, Kaiba, why are you in Nagano?" Jou asked before things could get ugly.
"Preparing my Duel Tower tournament," he replied simply.
"Un, I remember working on that a little bit," Terri added, calming down. "Invitation only, wasn't it?" Before he could respond, she proceeded, "Matsu, before you answer that, what are you doing in my apartment?"
"Jonouchi asked me where you lived, so I showed him here, and I wanted to make sure you were all right."
She blinked, then deadpanned, "Who are you and what have you done with Kaiba?"
"You seem disturbed, even more so than usual."
"Never mind, your insults are enough proof," she said, sweatdropping but not changing her tone from its previous monotone. "So, the thing is invitation only, right?"
"Hai. You should know; you did, as you said, work on it."
"That may be, but I never really got the specs on it; all I know is it's mostly Battle City rules, but with 6000 Life Points and no restrictions on Special Summons. Are we (A/N: "We" being KaibaCorp, since she works there now! {snicker}) still doin' the card ante and Deck Master system?" (A/N: I don't know all the Deck Master abilities, so forgive me if I make some up!)
"Hai; it's also single-elimination."
"Oh, interesting. I'll give you one thing, you can throw a tournament, if nothing else." The last part was muttered under her breath.
"I heard that, Allen."
Putting a hand to her mouth in mock surprise, she said, "Dear me, can't have that, can we?" Smirking, she continued, "You were meant to hear it."
"You do realize I hold your job in my hands, don't you?"
"True, but if you fired me, you wouldn't be able to humiliate me anymore, so my job's pretty much safe," she retorted, nonplussed.
"Still, if I remember correctly, you came to KaibaCorp as a last resort because you couldn't find work anywhere else, so that'd be sufficient compensation."
"Hmph."
"So when's this tournament?" Jou asked, once again trying to keep the peace.
"A week from tomorrow. The rest of the rules will be explained then."
"All right, now that we've been sufficiently graced with your presence, will you get out my apartment?" Terri asked, once again in a completely flat tone.
"Fine. I trust you'll see fit to come in to work tomorrow?"
"Kaiba, you baka, she just got stabbed in the leg!" Jou yelled.
"I'll be in," Terri interjected, giving him an amused look.
"What do you plan on doing, healing overnight?!"
"I don't plan on taking that long." She limped over to an end table and started flipping through her deck. "Here we go...Dian Keto the Cure Master!" The healer appeared and threw a shimmering globe over her, healing the wound in her leg. "Dōmo," she said as he bowed and vanished. "So, what brings you to Nagano?"
"I came to find you."
She blinked, then shook her head and looked away. "Gomen nasai."
"Dōshite?"
"Because you're wasting your time. As long as Iris lives in Domino City, I'm not going back."
"You sure? Sybil really misses you, and since you told her not to follow her...." He trailed off, having already made his point.
She thought for a moment, then pulled Harpie's Brother out of her deck and summoned him. "I want you to fly to Domino City and give a message to Sybil, understand?" He nodded. "Good. I want you to tell her my request not to come after me no longer stands, as long as she doesn't try and convince me to come back." He bowed and flew out the window. "There, problem solved. Any other reasons?"
"Well, there's taking the easy way out," he said, sweatdropping. "Besides, the rest of us miss you too, and we can't exactly take off school to visit."
"What do you call what you're doing?" she returned with a raised eyebrow.
"That's different!"
"How so?"
"'Cause I didn't come just to visit!"
"Well, like I said, you're wasting your time. I'm not going back to Domino City unless Iris leaves."
Pausing, he shrugged and said, "Okay, how're apartment rates here?"
"Why do you ask?"
"'Cause, like you said, you're not leaving, so I figure I might as well stay too, since I'm not leaving without you."
"N-nani?" she asked as the blood rushed to her face.
"You heard me, I leave with you or not at all."
She gave him a devilish smirk, thinking, Gonna be stubborn, I see. Well, two can play at that game.... "Welcome to Nagano."
[KO: Hark, I come bearing plot! Ha, and you thought there weren't gonna be any duels....
Terri: I know of exactly 2 stories of yours that don't have duels--
KO: And this isn't one of 'em!
Terri: However, in your defense....{blinks} Did I just say that? {shakes head} Anyway, in your defense, it did have a plot before you added the tournament.
KO: Yeah, I just thought a tournament would make it more interesting.
Translations from Japanese
Nani mo - Nothing
Nē - [used for emphasis, i.e. "right?" or "huh?"]
Shimatta - Damn
Miru - Look
Damare - Shut up
Akuma Batsu - Demon Clan
Chikushō - Damn it
Kami - God
Tawagoto - B.S.
Matsu - Wait
Nani - What]