It was one week later that the group had gotten together. Yugi carried
nothing on him but his clothes and his backpack, which he had stowed a few
boxes of extras and his own deck as well as his troop of Egyptian
treasures. Jounouchi lugged a duffle bag, but the way it rattled, Yugi
could definitely hear the sound of cards in boxes. Honda had driven them
to the airport and was away parking the car, Anzu was with him. So that
left Yugi and Jounouchi sitting in the airport terminal.
"Jounouchi. . ." He rose stretched out his arms, wearing the dress shirt again from last week that he washed. Doing so caused the sleeves to fall slightly, but he adjusted them and then went to search his bag and pulled out a small black box. He shook it toyingly, the sound familiar to the two of cards trapped within.
"Do I wanna' play?" Jounouchi responded such shaking in response a box he retrieved from the top of his duffle bag, zipping it back up and setting the bag aside.
The two sat down amidst the bustling traffic of the airport shuffling their cards, then presented the decks to each other smiling. They hadn't played in quite a while, and usually there was so much stress on the line when they did. Now they could just enjoy a casual game, but it flew so quickly!
"Summon Beta!" "Now I'll attack with Jinzo!" "Search out from my Apprentice Magician the Magician Of Faith!" "Trap Hole ya' Dark Magician!" "Monster Reborn!" "Imperial Ordah'." "Set a monster in defense. . ." "Seven Tools Of Da' Bandit!" "Flip over Cyber Jar!" "Torrential Tribute, buddy!" "Horn Of Heaven, offering my Witch Of The Black Forest to kill your D.D. Warrior Lady." "Whatcha' gonna' get?" "Breaker the Magical Warrior." "Summon Marauding Captain to bring out... Maraudin' Captain!" "Dark Hole!" "Oh come on, that was cheap. . ." "Well I won fair and square." "Offering monsters from Magical Scientist to launch for Catapult Turtle is NOT a victory. That's like. . ." "That's like, overkill?" "Whateva'. You're lucky that this wasn't more heated." "Well it was nothing notable, next time we'll pay a lot more closer attention to how we play, then we'll see if you can beat me, Jou'"
The two just had a friendly game, with Yugi victorious. There was nothing notable about it. It wasn't heated, it wasn't important, it was just playing for the fun of it. After the shakes had gone from the lack of danger involved, they were able to play casual as the friends of many years that they were. Doing so, they wasted enough time for Anzu to arrive with Honda in tow.
"I see you guys are certainly making an embarrassing scene." Honda laughed, shaking his head. He was the oldest of the group, certainly not a gamer. Hanging around with Yugi and the others, he always seemed to laugh off the weight of the game they played. Yugi smiled at this, the fact that Honda could somehow always keep a level head. Anzu seemed to be smiling as well. Everything seemed to really be working out.
"What exactly are you slackers doing here?"
---
It was all four members of the 'Trouble Brigade' right before him. The occassional guests that they brought along were missing, but the blonde, the girl, the strong man, and Yugi himself all lined up at the same gate he was supposed to depart from. Seto had recieved a letter from Pegasus J. Crawford requesting the attendance of the president of the Kaiba Corporation for an unveiling of a new line of Duel Monster cards. Industrial Light and Magic Inc. was a large partner and trustee with the Kaiba Corporation, so he accepted the invitation. The fact that it was personally signed by Pegasus unnerved him.
Pegasus must have woken from his coma. Over the past few years, the timeless man had lay in a hospital bed after what the wild card youth known as Ryou Bakura had done to him. Yugi had never really gone over the specifics, but apparently his love for the Millenium item had driven him mad during the separation. He didn't really care about anything, he was indifferent to any sort of tales of magic or mystery after all this.
Still, the curt executive had taken a liking to the golden object strapped at his belt. Constantly, it was questioned by various security administrations when he attended corporate meetings and soirees, but his value in the business community allowed him to override any investigations. He felt that there was some value to the Millenium Rod, simply that it was an heirloom from his ancestors. While he was of Aryan coloring, more and more was Seto starting to recognize his roots. But he felt bound by no chains to them, so he simply carried it in the best esteem he could.
But still, after palming at the object on his belt in thought, he mulled over the real matter at hand. Yugi and his company were also invited to this unveiling, which means it must have been some publicity stunt rather than anything of value. He dismissed any thought of being surprised, and continued to scowl down at the foursome before him.
"Hi Kaiba!" Yugi was being formal, calling him by his last name, which did make Seto smile. At least there was some respect from that small figure, although he could tell that there was a lack of weight in Yugi's voice, therefore he was dealing with the youth alone.
"Kaiba got invited, too?" Jounouchi had exclaimed the obvious, as he usually did. The consistancy of annoyance that the blonde was probably the only thing Seto could place money on him for. Time after time, Jounouchi had always shown up as a dark horse favorite in many famous tournaments until eventually he found a place in the sun unto himself. Annoying, but somehow skilled at being annoying.
"Of course, this event is brought in part to you by my own corporation. It's our partnership with Industrial Light and Magic that brings such success to Duel Monsters." Seto nodded to himself. The dying breath of Duel Monsters was saved when his company invested heavily and was able to steer the company clear of bankruptcy after Pegasus had gone out of commission. To see him back in action would certainly be interesting, but it was eventual, as the company was never seized from the sleeping soul's possession.
"Yeah, whateva'. Don't think you own dis' game jes' because you make a buncha' holo-projectahs' and what-not." Jounouchi shook a fist, which ironically held a deck box in it. At least the vigor of the lesser duelist was constant. Kaiba still attended National tournaments often, recognized for his talent he was allowed to join at will. He had actually been delivered a loss or two, but often came out on top. He blamed it on the nature of things. What goes up must eventually descend down.
"Think whatever you will, but this plane is boarding." With that, Seto walked off without paying a second glance. He felt a slight tension as he passed Yugi, and when he turned his eyes over to the younger male he noticed the darkness in his eyes. He wasn't staring at a timid housecat anymore, but directly into the face of a lion.
---
Anzu slouched back in the coach seating. It was going to be a long flight since they were crossing the Pacific Ocean. Luckily, Pegasus's company was directly on the Pacific Coast in the American 'state' of California. She always thought of America as being divided into provinces, so she had to make sure she said 'state' in her mind. Luckily, she spoke well off English as she'd been practicing for when she would ride off into the sunset to New York City for dance and the big time.
She and her friends weren't stationed too far back, and she could actually see Seto in first class working on something on his personal computer if she leaned in, but that would require leaning over too much against Yugi who was quietly sleeping. He talked sometimes in his sleep, but she assumed it was just he conversing with the other half. Trying to relax, she placed on headphones and tried to fumble with the in-plane radio setup.
As Anzu finally found a good station, she felt her hand clutched tightly. She was shocked, and nearly jerked back until she turned over to realize it was Yugi. He looked more worn, darker in nature, and she could tell it was Him; Atem. But he was still asleep, and perhaps the change happened in his sleep on a normal basis. She had no way of knowing, she tried to stray from odd things like watching him sleep.
"Herald. . . Of the Beginning?" She focused on his words now, her headset had come unplugged when she jerked back, so amidst the sound of rising air currents she could hear him. Was it a strange dream? It sounded like such if he were to utter a phrase like that. It could even be a card that she didn't know about with the thought trains that his mind followed.
"But the world is okay. . . The way it is. There's no reason to start over." Anzu leaned in closer, the concern in his brow really made her infatuated with his words. What was he saying. . . There's no reason to start over? What an eerie phrase that loomed of reckoning or something. Her family was Christian, like a great deal of Japan had turned, and she was reminded of phrases from the Bible the way he spoke.
"No! You don't get it! There's no reason to start over!" With these words he tightened his grasp on her hand and snapped awake. He looked disoriented, as if he had come in from a bright day into a dark room and couldn't see because of the lingering of light. Finally, his eyes focused on her and he trailed his gaze from her face to their interlocked hands. He began to try to form a sentence, but just stuttered inaudibly.
"Don't worry about it, it was just a bad dream." She comforted him, pulling her hand free and playfully messing with one of the large spikes his hair seemed to keep in. She smiled, and it seemed to ease him as he nodded to her words in such a way that the notion of it being a dream had never crossed his mind. Yugi stared out into space, turning away from her, nodding still.
"A dream. . . A dream . . ." And he slowly eased back in his chair, and faded back to sleep. While there was daylight outside, it was night-time in Japan. She excused him from passing out so quickly, but something did eat at her. The way he was so shocked in his wording when he was asleep seemed to be important. Important things happened to Yugi, he was a special boy. He was two special people, in the truth of it all.
She turned to the window, but watching Jounouchi snore wasn't of much interest. Anzu replaced her headphones and fit the tip back into the opening on the armrest. Finding a station, she tried to drift back to sleep, repeating Yugi's words quietly to herself to try to figure them out.
"There's no reason to start over. . . Huh. . . "
"Jounouchi. . ." He rose stretched out his arms, wearing the dress shirt again from last week that he washed. Doing so caused the sleeves to fall slightly, but he adjusted them and then went to search his bag and pulled out a small black box. He shook it toyingly, the sound familiar to the two of cards trapped within.
"Do I wanna' play?" Jounouchi responded such shaking in response a box he retrieved from the top of his duffle bag, zipping it back up and setting the bag aside.
The two sat down amidst the bustling traffic of the airport shuffling their cards, then presented the decks to each other smiling. They hadn't played in quite a while, and usually there was so much stress on the line when they did. Now they could just enjoy a casual game, but it flew so quickly!
"Summon Beta!" "Now I'll attack with Jinzo!" "Search out from my Apprentice Magician the Magician Of Faith!" "Trap Hole ya' Dark Magician!" "Monster Reborn!" "Imperial Ordah'." "Set a monster in defense. . ." "Seven Tools Of Da' Bandit!" "Flip over Cyber Jar!" "Torrential Tribute, buddy!" "Horn Of Heaven, offering my Witch Of The Black Forest to kill your D.D. Warrior Lady." "Whatcha' gonna' get?" "Breaker the Magical Warrior." "Summon Marauding Captain to bring out... Maraudin' Captain!" "Dark Hole!" "Oh come on, that was cheap. . ." "Well I won fair and square." "Offering monsters from Magical Scientist to launch for Catapult Turtle is NOT a victory. That's like. . ." "That's like, overkill?" "Whateva'. You're lucky that this wasn't more heated." "Well it was nothing notable, next time we'll pay a lot more closer attention to how we play, then we'll see if you can beat me, Jou'"
The two just had a friendly game, with Yugi victorious. There was nothing notable about it. It wasn't heated, it wasn't important, it was just playing for the fun of it. After the shakes had gone from the lack of danger involved, they were able to play casual as the friends of many years that they were. Doing so, they wasted enough time for Anzu to arrive with Honda in tow.
"I see you guys are certainly making an embarrassing scene." Honda laughed, shaking his head. He was the oldest of the group, certainly not a gamer. Hanging around with Yugi and the others, he always seemed to laugh off the weight of the game they played. Yugi smiled at this, the fact that Honda could somehow always keep a level head. Anzu seemed to be smiling as well. Everything seemed to really be working out.
"What exactly are you slackers doing here?"
---
It was all four members of the 'Trouble Brigade' right before him. The occassional guests that they brought along were missing, but the blonde, the girl, the strong man, and Yugi himself all lined up at the same gate he was supposed to depart from. Seto had recieved a letter from Pegasus J. Crawford requesting the attendance of the president of the Kaiba Corporation for an unveiling of a new line of Duel Monster cards. Industrial Light and Magic Inc. was a large partner and trustee with the Kaiba Corporation, so he accepted the invitation. The fact that it was personally signed by Pegasus unnerved him.
Pegasus must have woken from his coma. Over the past few years, the timeless man had lay in a hospital bed after what the wild card youth known as Ryou Bakura had done to him. Yugi had never really gone over the specifics, but apparently his love for the Millenium item had driven him mad during the separation. He didn't really care about anything, he was indifferent to any sort of tales of magic or mystery after all this.
Still, the curt executive had taken a liking to the golden object strapped at his belt. Constantly, it was questioned by various security administrations when he attended corporate meetings and soirees, but his value in the business community allowed him to override any investigations. He felt that there was some value to the Millenium Rod, simply that it was an heirloom from his ancestors. While he was of Aryan coloring, more and more was Seto starting to recognize his roots. But he felt bound by no chains to them, so he simply carried it in the best esteem he could.
But still, after palming at the object on his belt in thought, he mulled over the real matter at hand. Yugi and his company were also invited to this unveiling, which means it must have been some publicity stunt rather than anything of value. He dismissed any thought of being surprised, and continued to scowl down at the foursome before him.
"Hi Kaiba!" Yugi was being formal, calling him by his last name, which did make Seto smile. At least there was some respect from that small figure, although he could tell that there was a lack of weight in Yugi's voice, therefore he was dealing with the youth alone.
"Kaiba got invited, too?" Jounouchi had exclaimed the obvious, as he usually did. The consistancy of annoyance that the blonde was probably the only thing Seto could place money on him for. Time after time, Jounouchi had always shown up as a dark horse favorite in many famous tournaments until eventually he found a place in the sun unto himself. Annoying, but somehow skilled at being annoying.
"Of course, this event is brought in part to you by my own corporation. It's our partnership with Industrial Light and Magic that brings such success to Duel Monsters." Seto nodded to himself. The dying breath of Duel Monsters was saved when his company invested heavily and was able to steer the company clear of bankruptcy after Pegasus had gone out of commission. To see him back in action would certainly be interesting, but it was eventual, as the company was never seized from the sleeping soul's possession.
"Yeah, whateva'. Don't think you own dis' game jes' because you make a buncha' holo-projectahs' and what-not." Jounouchi shook a fist, which ironically held a deck box in it. At least the vigor of the lesser duelist was constant. Kaiba still attended National tournaments often, recognized for his talent he was allowed to join at will. He had actually been delivered a loss or two, but often came out on top. He blamed it on the nature of things. What goes up must eventually descend down.
"Think whatever you will, but this plane is boarding." With that, Seto walked off without paying a second glance. He felt a slight tension as he passed Yugi, and when he turned his eyes over to the younger male he noticed the darkness in his eyes. He wasn't staring at a timid housecat anymore, but directly into the face of a lion.
---
Anzu slouched back in the coach seating. It was going to be a long flight since they were crossing the Pacific Ocean. Luckily, Pegasus's company was directly on the Pacific Coast in the American 'state' of California. She always thought of America as being divided into provinces, so she had to make sure she said 'state' in her mind. Luckily, she spoke well off English as she'd been practicing for when she would ride off into the sunset to New York City for dance and the big time.
She and her friends weren't stationed too far back, and she could actually see Seto in first class working on something on his personal computer if she leaned in, but that would require leaning over too much against Yugi who was quietly sleeping. He talked sometimes in his sleep, but she assumed it was just he conversing with the other half. Trying to relax, she placed on headphones and tried to fumble with the in-plane radio setup.
As Anzu finally found a good station, she felt her hand clutched tightly. She was shocked, and nearly jerked back until she turned over to realize it was Yugi. He looked more worn, darker in nature, and she could tell it was Him; Atem. But he was still asleep, and perhaps the change happened in his sleep on a normal basis. She had no way of knowing, she tried to stray from odd things like watching him sleep.
"Herald. . . Of the Beginning?" She focused on his words now, her headset had come unplugged when she jerked back, so amidst the sound of rising air currents she could hear him. Was it a strange dream? It sounded like such if he were to utter a phrase like that. It could even be a card that she didn't know about with the thought trains that his mind followed.
"But the world is okay. . . The way it is. There's no reason to start over." Anzu leaned in closer, the concern in his brow really made her infatuated with his words. What was he saying. . . There's no reason to start over? What an eerie phrase that loomed of reckoning or something. Her family was Christian, like a great deal of Japan had turned, and she was reminded of phrases from the Bible the way he spoke.
"No! You don't get it! There's no reason to start over!" With these words he tightened his grasp on her hand and snapped awake. He looked disoriented, as if he had come in from a bright day into a dark room and couldn't see because of the lingering of light. Finally, his eyes focused on her and he trailed his gaze from her face to their interlocked hands. He began to try to form a sentence, but just stuttered inaudibly.
"Don't worry about it, it was just a bad dream." She comforted him, pulling her hand free and playfully messing with one of the large spikes his hair seemed to keep in. She smiled, and it seemed to ease him as he nodded to her words in such a way that the notion of it being a dream had never crossed his mind. Yugi stared out into space, turning away from her, nodding still.
"A dream. . . A dream . . ." And he slowly eased back in his chair, and faded back to sleep. While there was daylight outside, it was night-time in Japan. She excused him from passing out so quickly, but something did eat at her. The way he was so shocked in his wording when he was asleep seemed to be important. Important things happened to Yugi, he was a special boy. He was two special people, in the truth of it all.
She turned to the window, but watching Jounouchi snore wasn't of much interest. Anzu replaced her headphones and fit the tip back into the opening on the armrest. Finding a station, she tried to drift back to sleep, repeating Yugi's words quietly to herself to try to figure them out.
"There's no reason to start over. . . Huh. . . "