Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh...nope, I don't!
The legend of the three souls
Chapter II – The discovery
-by Alena S. Anigor
Tea was looking trough the window of the hotel, enjoying the view from the fifth floor. The street seemed like it was flowing, and people coursing trough it seemed like little busy ants to her. She took a deep breath, inhaling the air, but then frowned a bit, noticing that the air was different here in the center of the city. She liked the air at the airport much more – it was more Egypt like.
She heard the sound of the electric fan from the bathroom, and then snapped out of her sight seeing, deciding to unpack. She looked at the clock, and then grimaced, noticing how time passed quickly. She made a mental note to herself to adjust to the time zone here, and grabbing her bag, she opened the zipper and started stuffing things out onto the bed.
Mai was drying her hair with a fan, dragging fingers trough her blond locks to shape them. It took her a while, and then she stepped out, seeing Tea unpacking.
"Oh, shit," she spat, catching Tea's attention, and then hurried to her own bed, putting her bag up, and tumbling trough it.
"We don't have much time, so you better hurry," Tea notified, and Mai threw her an exasperated look, desperately searching something decent to wear for the convention.
"Don't you think I know that?" She chided, on the verge of frustration. There was a knock on the door, and Mai, being only in a towel, stopped breathing, quickly disappearing into the bathroom again, grabbing the first two pieces of cloth that came to her hands.
Tea shook her head, grinning slightly and went to the doors.
"Hi, Miss Tea Gardener, are you ready?" Joey asked her politely, and Tea smiled a bit, looking around the pretty much messy room. Joey took a quick glance, too, and came to the conclusion that they weren't ready yet. He shrugged a bit then smiled at the slightly baffled look on the brown – haired girl's face.
"We'll be leaving in fifteen minutes, just to notify you," he said, and Tea nodded. Joey turned to leave, before Tea stopped him.
"Joey?" She asked, and he turned around, looking at her expectantly, "Just call me Tea, okay?" she added, and he nodded, smiling a bit, then left down the corridor.
Tea closed the doors in a hurry, to meet Mai coming out of the bathroom in her standard style – a navy blue mini skirt, and a teal tank top. Tea whistled a bit, and Mai rolled her eyes.
"It was the only thing I managed to grab before you skidded off to open those damn doors," she replied hastily, and went to her bed in a search of other things.
Tea only giggled, before telling her that they should be done in fifteen minutes.
Solomon was sorting his papers, fidgeting with various notes, some of them older than five years. Yuugi cocked his eyebrows, observing the funny looking thing on one of the already pale papers, and then almost flinched when his grandfather grabbed the paper from his hands, putting it back into the pile in his small and strange leather briefcase. Yuugi shrugged and then headed towards the doors, already prepared to open them for the famous archeologist who was indeed in a great hurry. He noticed that his grandfather, as much as he was old and eccentric sometimes, was definitely very concentrated and composed when it came to his profession.
Solomon was mumbling something, obviously counting the number of folders in his briefcase, before nodding sharply, and then turning his head to the young man in front of him, smiled brightly.
"We're ready to go, my boy!" He announced, and Yuugi opened the door with courtesy, making his grandfather pat him on the head affectionately. Yuugi let out an exasperated sigh, before stumbling out after his grandpa, and locking the doors behind them. He put the key in the pocket of his jeans, and then followed his grandfather to the next room, which belonged to the two girls.
Solomon knocked once, and they heard a slight commotion in the room. He turned his head to look at his grandson who only shrugged innocently.
"Women..." He muttered, shaking his head, and then quickly plastering a smile on his face when Tea opened the door with a swooshing sound and stepped out, Mai following behind with a different outfit. She was wearing more decent clothes now, although her face didn't seem very content with the fact of wearing Tea's shorts and a sleeveless shirt.
"This is so not my style, you know," she muttered to her friend, and Tea sighed only, heading after the Mutous.
Mai grumbled a bit, then straightening her beige shorts, started walking after them, with a look of discomfort on her face.
Joey and Tristan were leaned on the reception, talking with the receptionist in their language, before Tristan spotted the little group of people walking down the carpet - covered stairs. He nudged Joey slightly, and he turned around, too, straightening in his pose and greeting them with a smile.
"Are you ready?" He asked the oldest member and Solomon nodded, Yuugi and the girls confirming his question with a 'yes'.
"Let us go then," Tristan added, turning towards the glass doors in front of them, "I called two taxis, it takes a while to get to the museum." He added, and Solomon went after him, his steps hurried as usual. Joey said something to the receptionist on which he smiled, and then letting the younger members of the group go first, headed after them, putting his hands in his pockets.
Two yellow taxis were parked in front of the hotel, and Solomon stepped with his Yuugi and Tristan into the first one, while the girls, together with Joey, squeezed into the other one.
Joey said something to the taxi driver, pointing to the car parked in front of them and he nodded, straightening the little mirror to see the two girls better. He smiled, and almost grinned, spotting Mai and Tea, and while Tea smiled uneasily, Mai only managed to cock her eyebrows, and place a look of sheer ignorance on her face.
The taxi driver; an older man with mustaches and a little red cap on his head, turned his radio on, and the gipsy like music filled the interior of the car, making the both girls flinch and grit their teeth. Joey tapped him on the shoulder, saying something to him that girls didn't understand, and the driver fidgeted a bit on the radio, the volume of the music falling down slightly.
"Oh, thank you so much," Mai muttered to Joey, who was sitting next to her, and he only grinned, already well accustomed to the way strangers reacted to that kind of music.
The taxi shifted a bit, followed by a loud roar of the engine, and Tea closed her eyes for a second, afraid that the taxi might fall apart in the end. When the tires started moving and the taxi driver was already on the road, the girls sighed in relief. Joey only smirked, already used to that kind of transportation. After all, they weren't in Japan, and they couldn't expect anything more.
The Museum of the ancient artifacts was bustling with people walking around and looking at various objects exhibited in windows, under each one of them a little tag with description of the artifact.
The main hall was already crowded with people taking their seats. Ishizu smiled politely to Mr. Hawkins who was chatting with an older man in a dark suit sitting next to him. She scanned the hall one more time, a bit disappointed when she didn't see Solomon Mutou anywhere. She clutched the little piece of paper in her hand, her speech ready for the presentation.
Rashid came from behind, startling her a bit when he coughed slightly to get her attention. She raised a pair of questioning eyes to him and he turned his head aside, directing her gaze towards the crowd of photographers and journalists, all of them crowded around a young boy with black messy hair, who was currently trying to avoid any questions directed to him.
"Isn't that...?" Ishizu whispered to him, and he nodded, looking at the smaller boy with interest.
"Mokuba Kaiba," he affirmed, and Ishizu stared for a moment at the smaller boy who managed to step out of the crowd of annoying journalists, accompanied by his bodyguards.
"That means that Seto Kaiba is here, as well," Ishizu commented and Rashid nodded, his face slightly darkening. He crossed his arms on his chest, eying the smaller boy with a mixture of wariness and interest. A small smile appeared on Ishizu's face; apparently, she managed to organize an interesting convention, since even Seto Kaiba decided to come. She was slightly puzzled, though; she couldn't imagine what intentions did he have that he wanted to come here in the first place. As much as she knew, he was a very rich businessman, leading a software corporation, with a few branches in Egypt. She had no idea why would he be interested in old artifacts, and that made her slightly apprehensive. Seto Kaiba was definitely a very respected, but also a very feared young man; already owning more companies than only his own, and buying new ones in a matter of minutes...could it be that he had intentions of dealing with her museum?
"Ishizu?" Rashid tapped her on the shoulder, and she jumped slightly, lost in her thoughts. She looked at her coworker with a worried expression, but that expression subsided and she smiled at him.
"I'm fine," she reassured him, and Rashid nodded, leaving her to once again stare at the back of the dark – haired boy, followed by a bunch of taller and muscular men.
"Odd," she whispered when something seemed to shift inside of her as she was looking at the younger Kaiba sibling.
"We're here!" Tristan exclaimed, jumping out of the taxi and opening the doors for the famous archeologist. Solomon stepped out, straightening his suit, and Yuugi practically stormed out, having enough of the gipsy music and the taxi driver, who was obviously a chain smoker. The taxi left, and Yuugi finally breathed in some fresh air, waving his hand in front of his nose and coughing occasionally.
"I'm sorry, young man," Tristan said sheepishly, "I should have called another one." He added, but Yuugi waved his other hand at him so he looked like one of those policemen in the middle of the street. Solomon was eyeing the tall building, the structure still the same as he remembered it when he was here a few years ago.
Yuugi turned around to see if the girls were there, and his eyes widened when he saw taxis everywhere and no Tea and Mai in sight. Tristan got the picture, and ordered them to stay where they were while he went to see where the rest of them got stuck.
"I hope they're still alive," Yuugi said, slightly concerned about his friends. Solomon paid no attention to his words, he was eager to enter the building. He looked at his watch and let out a yelp, seeing that the convention would start in 10 minutes.
"Yuugi, where are they?" He turned to his grandson, who was trying to stand on his tiptoes and see if he could find any of them in the crowd of people. He spotted Joey with Tristan behind him, dragging two girls trough the sea of people, and sighed in relief.
"They're coming," he replied to his grandpa, and Solomon nodded, once again straightening his suit, averting his gaze towards the large double doors at the top of the stone stairs. Tea and Mai were panting; their breaths ragged from the mingling trough the crowd. Joey and Tristan were certainly a big help, but they still weren't used to so many people stepping on their feet, and being totally rude not to let them pass.
They were once again complete and Joey and Tristan were now leading them trough the doors, and down the marble – covered corridor to the right.
"I thought the hall was on the left," Solomon commented thoughtfully, confusion written on his face. Joey and Tristan grinned, leading them down the almost empty corridor, until they reached the doors with letters written in Arabian.
"It is, but we want you to meet our friend before it all starts," Joey smiled and entered, Tristan following behind. Yuugi and the girls exchanged meaningful glances, before they were being pulled trough the doors.
Dozens of people were running around them, in full contrast to their relaxed walk trough the large room with requisites and various masks, sculptures and artifacts. Joey pulled the red curtain a bit and spotting a dark – haired woman in front of him, smiled.
"Hey, Ishizu!" He exclaimed, earning himself a bump on the head from Tristan. He mumbled something again on their language, and the blond Egyptian grinned sheepishly.
Ishizu approached them, looking at them in surprise and astonishment.
"Joey, Tristan, what are you doing here? The convention will start any minute now!" It wasn't until she noticed one familiar face behind them that she stopped scolding them. Her eyes widened slightly, and she almost hugged the old man, but she grabbed his hands in hers, bowing respectfully in front of him.
"Mr. Mutou, I'm so glad you managed to arrive," she said, eyes full of joy and astonishment. Solomon smiled at the taller woman, while Yuugi and the girls were left with their mouth agape. Solomon scratched the back of his head in that characteristic manner, and then decided to introduce his friends to her.
Ishizu wanted to bow, finally meeting the younger Mutou, his grandfather was talking about so much, but Yuugi stopped her from bowing, and shook her hand instead.
"Yuugi Mutou, nice to meet you," he said, and Ishizu nodded respectfully.
"The pleasure is mine, too," she replied, and then shook her hands with Mai and Tea, who were absolutely stunned with the amount of jewelry on the young woman. Mai decided to take a quick photo of them all together, before placing the camera back into her shirt.
Ishizu lost the track of time, talking to her friends, and it was Joey who reminded her of the convention. She gasped, clasping the hand on her mouth, and stood up quickly.
"By Horus, you're right!" She said, and then ushering them out of the smaller office they were all in, they headed back trough that same corridor, only to meet another commotion, when a ton of people were crowded around someone, cameras clicking, flashing around the corridor. Joey and Tristan raised their eyebrows, while Ishizu frowned slightly.
Tall men in dark suits managed to push all the journalists and photographers away to reveal a tall young man in the dark trench coat, holding the silver metallic briefcase in his hands.
His face was serious, almost expressionless, and he was holding his brother's hand, making his way down the corridor. He stepped accidentally on Joey's foot, and he yelped, spitting curses at him in Arabian, which he simply ignored, continuing to walk towards the big hall.
"That arrogant little-" He was cut off when Ishizu clasped his mouth and pushed him towards the hall. She turned around to look at the rest of them.
"You go and take a seat, the convention will start soon, and I still have some things to do. I will see you in there."
"But what are you going to show us?" Solomon asked, trying to decipher her mysterious behavior. Ishizu turned around and smiled mischievously at them.
"You'll see," she replied enigmatically.
With that she left again, disappearing behind the corner, and Tea and Yuugi looked at each other questioningly. Mai put her fingers on her chin, thinking about the man they just saw and about the fact that she saw him somewhere before.
"Hmm..." She was staring at the marble floor, making Tea and Yuugi look at her in wonder, "I've seen that guy already...somewhere..." she half – whispered and Tea smacked her forehead. Yuugi and the rest of them looked at her awkwardly.
"Of course! You're right! That guy is-"
"Seto Kaiba," Joey interrupted her, saying the name trough gritted teeth, the stinging pain in his toes still evident, "the bastard that owns a multimillionaire company here." He added, glaring daggers after the herd of bodyguards, shielding his view at the powerful CEO.
Yuugi and Solomon's eyes widened slightly. "The Seto Kaiba?" Yuugi asked perplexed, and Tea nodded, hey eyes following the men in suits.
"Seems like every CEO I know – cold, arrogant and filthy rich," Mai pointed out, unconsciously gripping her camera around her neck, "Maybe I should interview him later."
"If you get close enough to survive," Joey spat out, obviously already holding a grudge against the enigmatic young man. Mai only chuckled, slightly amused with his behavior.
"Maybe we should go now?" Tristan broke the discussion and the group of people looked at him. Yuugi blinked for a moment, realizing that his grandfather was gone. He looked around, but couldn't find him anywhere.
"Where is my gra-" then he halted, seeing Tristan pointing to the hall. "Oh..."
"Shall we go?" Tristan said again, leading the way trough the corridor. The small group of people followed; Mai already preparing the list of questions she would direct to the rich CEO, Tea wanting to see what the convention was all about, Yuugi being slightly irritated with his grandfather's disappearance just like that, and Joey still raging inside, wrinkling his toes to see if they weren't broken. When he first saw Kaiba on TV, he didn't like him, and now he was definitely sure he hated him. He remembered how he almost fell off his chair when his sister commented how cute Kaiba looked like.
He shook his head, deciding to take the seat next to Mai, who was checking on her camera.
The hall was full, people whispering to each other, waiting impatiently for the convention to start. Yuugi was scolding his grandfather for his disappearance, while Tea and Mai turned around to see Seto Kaiba sitting in the farthest corner of the hall, surrounded with his bodyguards. Mokuba was tapping his foot against the marble floor, his face revealing sheer boredom.
Yuugi noticed the way his face was serious, and almost flinched when the young man looked at him, piercing blue eyes revealing something he didn't like very much. He averted his gaze away quickly, feeling as if that look was boring a hole in his soul.
Joey and Tristan's attention was on the small stage when one of the men they used to see working with Ishizu, stepped on it, and the whispering and shushing died down in the large hall.
The man started speaking, his English sounding a bit strange, but understandable. He announced the newest discovery of the museum, and let the young woman take the stage instead of him. The sound of hands clapping filled the hall, and Ishizu stood proudly in front of the well - respected people, smiling warmly at them. She scanned the room quickly, smiling at the faces of her friends, and then averting her gaze to Seto Kaiba who was looking at her intently, not bothering to clap. She almost frowned, traces of suspicion coming back, but she suppressed her frown, nodding at everyone. Her breath got caught in her throat slightly when she noticed a glimpse of sandy hair crossing down the corridor.
'Could it be?' She thought, searching for any sign of the person whom she thought she had seen. Seeing no one, she sighed inwardly, telling herself that her mind was playing tricks on her due to the excitement. She coughed once, and the clapping stopped. She started speaking, greeting everyone and introducing herself.
After a brief introduction, she let Rashid bring the bust to the presentation table, and put it down. The bust was, however covered with the red cloth and no one could see what was hidden beneath it.
"And now," she started, finished with her speech, "the moment you've been all waiting for, and the reason why we all gathered here." She said, watching faces of everyone looking at her in anticipation.
"May I present you," she said proudly, taking the cloth of the bust, "the Second soul!"
Gasps and whispers filled the hall now, faces of everyone expressing the shock and disbelief. Ishizu smiled slightly, noticing how Solomon Mutou's mouth hung open, and even Seto Kaiba's eyes widened slightly.
"That's impossible!" An older man spoke from the crowd, "The Souls don't exist! It's a mere legend!" he shouted, other voices agreeing with him, demanding an explanation. Ishizu sighed, already well prepared for that kind of outcome.
She took the bust in her hand, now fully cleaned and brushed, looking graceful. She smiled at the older man, and put the bust in front of her.
"I assure you, the bust exists, and if anyone doubts the bust is fake, should come here and see for himself." She cut the other man's protest and another set of whispers filled the hall. That was, no doubt the most controversial convention she had, in her opinion.
"So, that is what she discovered," Solomon smiled smugly, smoothing his beard, and making Yuugi look at him in wonder.
"What is that? I've never heard of those souls..." Tea asked, looking at the bust in Ishizu's hands with confusion. Solomon smirked, while Mai took the chance to take a picture.
"A statue of a guy with a giant bug on his head...very impressive," she commented, words full of sarcasm.
"That's because it was just a mere legend, nobody ever thought of trying to find it. I'll tell you later about the legend," Solomon said, trying to make himself heard trough other voices around them.
Lots of men gathered around the table, eyeing the bust with disbelief and astonishment. Ishizu was almost glowing in satisfaction; her hard work has finally paid off.
Seto Kaiba stood up, saying something to Mokuba and he gingerly ran out of the hall, his older brother leaving after him with his bodyguards. Joey snorted after seeing the CEO leave, and Mai yelled in desperation for not managing to get an interview.
"Darn!" The blond journalist spat, crossing her hands angrily across her chest. She decided to take some pictures of the bust instead, and shoving her way trough the old men in front of the table, she took her camera and started taking photos.
Rashid smiled at Ishizu and she nodded, leaving him to take care of the bust, while she strolled down the stairs to approach her friends.
Solomon smiled in triumph, hugging her happily, and making everyone else stare at them in wonder.
"Congratulations, you've finally made it," Solomon said, and Ishizu beamed at him, her hand on his shoulder. Tea and Yuugi exchanged awkward glances.
"You think your grandpa has something to do with all this?" Tea leaned to her friend, putting her hand aside and whispering to his ear. Yuugi was speechless for a while, until he shook his head.
"I wouldn't be surprised," he replied, whispering back.
"Well then, this calls for a celebration!" Solomon shouted, making Ishizu laugh. She shook her finger at him.
"Not yet," she replied, turning her head to the table behind her, "first they all have to be convinced that the bust is real and authentic..." she frowned slightly. "Although I have no doubts some will still claim that the busts can't exist."
"There are more of them?" Tea asked, becoming interested in the legend, and Ishizu nodded.
"Well, I still insist we go and celebrate this!" Solomon suggested again, and Yuugi sweatdropped. Ishizu nodded, and smiled. She averted her eyes to the seat where Seto Kaiba was sitting and found it empty. It still puzzled her; why would the great Seto Kaiba be interested in ancient artifacts?
Solomon nudged his grandson and offered everyone to pay a dinner at a restaurant on which they all agreed, although Ishizu was slightly reluctant to let him pay for dinner.
She winked to Rashid to take care of the bust and he nodded, letting the men around the bust to discuss about it for a while, until interrupting them with the news about the banquet.
Mai approached the group, still pouting for missing the chance to interview Seto Kaiba. Joey notified her about the dinner, and her eyes brightened immediately.
"Great! I'm hungry!" She exclaimed, earning herself a laugh from everyone.
Ishizu excused herself, saying that she should stay for a while because of the banquet, but promised to meet them later at the hotel. She went to Rashid and waved at them.
Joey sighed, and Solomon tapped him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, boy, just take us back to the hotel now."
Joey and Tristan nodded, and leaving the hall, waved one last time to Ishizu.
Seto Kaiba walked ceremoniously down the corridors, having Mokuba asking questions about their arrival home. He replied something absentmindedly, before falling into silence once again. One of his bodyguards bumped into someone and Kaiba could only hear a 'sorry' from the person before it vanished behind the corner. He frowned; the bust was certainly something worth having, although he didn't know why...either way, it will belong to him. After all, any price was never too high for him.
The person who bumped into one of Kaiba's bodyguards cursed inwardly when passing them by. He wasn't supposed to be seen, but what the heck; it's not like anyone would find a normal janitor suspicious. Turning to the left corridor, he opened the doors and stepped inside, closing them behind with a key.
"And?" The other person asked, looking at him expectantly, his hair covered with a cap, although a few whitish bangs were noticeable.
"It's all set," the person in front of him said, and the other one smirked slightly, a pair of brown orbs glistening in the dark.
"Good," he replied, leaning on the wall of the small room meant for brooms and cleaning supplies.
"Bakura?" The other person asked him, and he raised his head, white bangs covering his eyes slightly.
"What?"
"You really think that bust is worth something?" The sandy – haired boy asked, tilting his head aside a bit. The young man named Bakura chuckled in amusement.
"If I say it is, then it is," he replied, smoothly crossing his hands over his chest, and the other young man in front of him nodded, smirking.
"You're the boss," he replied coolly, and both of them smiled almost sardonically before exiting the room, each of them holding a mop in their hands, heading towards the other corridor where the hall was.
