Well, looks like I only have one or 2 readers right now. -_- dissapointing,
but I'm having enough fun with the story that it won't stop me. I already
have another 2 months worth of story written and much more planned, so
it'll keep on going till it's done!
Anywho, enjoy!
*** "But *why*?"
"I don't know . . . I don't think I've ever seen her before yesterday . . ."
"Yugi, there's got to be some reason she's after you. Everyone else had a reason."
"Wow Duke, that's very reassuring." Yugi sighed. He, Tristan, Joey and Tea had just finished recounting the last night's events to Duke and Ryou. They were sitting together after class, while all the other students were leaving.
Tea picked up her bookbag and stood. "Guys, don't you think we should get home? I mean, we can go back to the game shop and talk about it, but here with no one else . . . maybe it's not the best place to be the day after an attack."
"Are you NUTS Tea? I'm not goin' out there now!" Joey put his head in his arms, resting them on his desk.
"Tea's right Joey," Yugi stood up, too. "Waiting around here is no good. We won't get anything done anyway."
"No way . . ."
"Oh, is the puppy dog scared?" Tristan was almost instantly sorry he'd said anything, as Joey leaped up and put him in a headlock."
"I . . . AM . . . NO . . . PUPPY . . ."
"Then come on Wheeler, and let's get home." Tea was at the door to the classroom with Yugi, Ryou and Duke. Tristan and Joey looked at each other, then scrambled to the door so they wouldn't be left behind.
The friends continued to discuss this new threat as they walked to the Kame game shop.
"Are you sure you've never met her before? Maybe you hurt someone and she wants revenge for them."
"Duke, I think you don't know Yugi very well if you think that . . ."
"I've never seen her before! She just came after me out of nowhere!"
"Yugi, calm down. We believe ya."
"It does sound odd though," said Ryou. He looked up at the sky as he was thinking. "Why would a perfect stranger jump out and try to kill you? And more importantly, why *didn't* she?"
"What do you mean Bakura?" Tea asked, surprised.
"From what Yugi's told me, that girl, Korimo, was it? She could have killed all of you last night if she wanted to. But she let you live at least one more day, and allowed you a chance to organize and get help. She's giving you an opportunity to prepare for her next attack."
"That . . . that makes perfect sense, actually," Yugi agreed. "But WHY?"
"I think that's the least of your worries," Ryou said ominously. "If she's giving you time to prepare, I think you'd better take it, because the next attack will be worse than the first."
All the way back to the game shop, they talked over pretty much these same points. None of them noticed that all the way, they were being followed by a little orange alley cat, who was hanging on to every word they said.
***
The top floor of the tallest building in Domino was a penthouse, every room connected. Only the wealthy and important were able to rent it out. Korimo may not have been important, but she had ways of getting the money she needed. The biggest room on the floor was in the middle, with no windows or any other connection to the world outside. She sat comfortably in her chair, facing a bank of monitors set up on the wall. She was curled catlike against the cushions, not at all unlike the little black cat in his own bed in the corner. The collective light from the screens flickered coldly, inconsistently illuminating her pretty features. Several of the screens were hooked up to the internet, showing Battle City profiles of Yugi and Joey, maps of Domino and articles about the Duelist Kingdom tournament that had occurred a while ago. On the biggest screen was a cat's- eye-view of the streets of Domino. A smaller screen was playing back the conversation between Yugi and his friends that had taken place a short time ago. The cat's-eye-view was slinking back to the tall building, switching to that of a sparrow as it got there.
Korimo stood and stepped lightly out of the room, her bare feet sinking into the thick black carpet. The tapping of a sparrow's beak on the window was persistent and rhythmic. Korimo went into the kitchen and opened the window, and the little bird flew in, immediately becoming a bat and flying into the dark room. Korimo allowed a small chuckle to pass her lips, and followed the bat back into her room.
"I suppose you saw what I did milady?" the bat flew around her head, speaking in a deep, quiet voice.
Korimo waved a hand around the air, shooing away as she sat back down. "Of course Fukamito. The spell is still in effect."
"I'll have you know that it is a major violation of my privacy to have you seeing whatever I do."
Korimo swiveled her chair around, glaring icily at the bat. "good." She turned back around, half listening to Ryou's logical thoughts. "I'll have YOU know that this is just one more way I can be sure of your loyalty. You don't really think I'll just trust you to keep your word, do you?"
"But milady, there's no reason to doubt my word. After all, I'm not a demon, now am I?"
Korimo smiled, enjoying the chance for an intelligent exchange with her servant. "Blood is thicker than water, Fukamito. You are a demon by birth, if not one in practice. But just being kicked out of your clan doesn't change the fact that you were once part of them."
"Fine, you win. Besides, if I weren't a demon, I couldn't do this." He became a mosquito, and buzzed directly toward Korimo's head. She closed her eyes and muttered something. She opened them again as Fukamito flew at her head, sending a wave of magic around him and freezing him where he was. The spell held for a few minutes, while Korimo rewound the scene she was watching. She didn't get much of a visual element, since Fukamito had been following the teenagers with his head near the ground, but the conversation was the important part, and the audio was perfectly intact.
"If she's giving you time to prepare, I think you'd better take it, because the next attack will be worse than the first."
"Hm, so we have a smart one to work with." She turned to the mosquito, which had fallen to the ground and became the orange tabby again. "What do you think, should we give them what they asked for?"
The cat licked its paw. "I would wait a few days. Let them get nervous before you hit again."
"Oh, that's no fun." She froze the picture on the back of Yugi's tricolor hair. "But I need time to gather information of my own."
"I'm off to work again? Without even a glass of milk?" the tabby looked up at his master with lonely eyes.
"Yes." Korimo replied emotionlessly. "Your job is to seek out the information I need."
"What do you need, milady?"
"I need their secrets." Korimo paid close attention to the tape of the school day. "But I want to do this the fun way. Find me someone who knows them inside and out, and follow them until you find their secret. Then let me take it from there." Korimo smiled devilishly, and Fukamito bowed and became a sparrow again. He flew out the open window, and Korimo closed it behind him.
She stretched out in her chair, turning to face the cat in the corner. The black cat picked up his head, and stalked over to her, rubbing against her legs. Korimo picked him up, placing the purring kitten on her lap.
"On the hunt again, Yume. First we stalk them, then hunt them down. Of course, there's no fun in brute force. Fukamito is already out on the hunt for information. We'll find out what makes them tick, and what will bring them down. There's one weak link in everyone's chain; all I have to do is find that link and make it bear all the weight." Korimo began to chuckle, escalating into a sinister laugh that echoed all around the huge room.
Anywho, enjoy!
*** "But *why*?"
"I don't know . . . I don't think I've ever seen her before yesterday . . ."
"Yugi, there's got to be some reason she's after you. Everyone else had a reason."
"Wow Duke, that's very reassuring." Yugi sighed. He, Tristan, Joey and Tea had just finished recounting the last night's events to Duke and Ryou. They were sitting together after class, while all the other students were leaving.
Tea picked up her bookbag and stood. "Guys, don't you think we should get home? I mean, we can go back to the game shop and talk about it, but here with no one else . . . maybe it's not the best place to be the day after an attack."
"Are you NUTS Tea? I'm not goin' out there now!" Joey put his head in his arms, resting them on his desk.
"Tea's right Joey," Yugi stood up, too. "Waiting around here is no good. We won't get anything done anyway."
"No way . . ."
"Oh, is the puppy dog scared?" Tristan was almost instantly sorry he'd said anything, as Joey leaped up and put him in a headlock."
"I . . . AM . . . NO . . . PUPPY . . ."
"Then come on Wheeler, and let's get home." Tea was at the door to the classroom with Yugi, Ryou and Duke. Tristan and Joey looked at each other, then scrambled to the door so they wouldn't be left behind.
The friends continued to discuss this new threat as they walked to the Kame game shop.
"Are you sure you've never met her before? Maybe you hurt someone and she wants revenge for them."
"Duke, I think you don't know Yugi very well if you think that . . ."
"I've never seen her before! She just came after me out of nowhere!"
"Yugi, calm down. We believe ya."
"It does sound odd though," said Ryou. He looked up at the sky as he was thinking. "Why would a perfect stranger jump out and try to kill you? And more importantly, why *didn't* she?"
"What do you mean Bakura?" Tea asked, surprised.
"From what Yugi's told me, that girl, Korimo, was it? She could have killed all of you last night if she wanted to. But she let you live at least one more day, and allowed you a chance to organize and get help. She's giving you an opportunity to prepare for her next attack."
"That . . . that makes perfect sense, actually," Yugi agreed. "But WHY?"
"I think that's the least of your worries," Ryou said ominously. "If she's giving you time to prepare, I think you'd better take it, because the next attack will be worse than the first."
All the way back to the game shop, they talked over pretty much these same points. None of them noticed that all the way, they were being followed by a little orange alley cat, who was hanging on to every word they said.
***
The top floor of the tallest building in Domino was a penthouse, every room connected. Only the wealthy and important were able to rent it out. Korimo may not have been important, but she had ways of getting the money she needed. The biggest room on the floor was in the middle, with no windows or any other connection to the world outside. She sat comfortably in her chair, facing a bank of monitors set up on the wall. She was curled catlike against the cushions, not at all unlike the little black cat in his own bed in the corner. The collective light from the screens flickered coldly, inconsistently illuminating her pretty features. Several of the screens were hooked up to the internet, showing Battle City profiles of Yugi and Joey, maps of Domino and articles about the Duelist Kingdom tournament that had occurred a while ago. On the biggest screen was a cat's- eye-view of the streets of Domino. A smaller screen was playing back the conversation between Yugi and his friends that had taken place a short time ago. The cat's-eye-view was slinking back to the tall building, switching to that of a sparrow as it got there.
Korimo stood and stepped lightly out of the room, her bare feet sinking into the thick black carpet. The tapping of a sparrow's beak on the window was persistent and rhythmic. Korimo went into the kitchen and opened the window, and the little bird flew in, immediately becoming a bat and flying into the dark room. Korimo allowed a small chuckle to pass her lips, and followed the bat back into her room.
"I suppose you saw what I did milady?" the bat flew around her head, speaking in a deep, quiet voice.
Korimo waved a hand around the air, shooing away as she sat back down. "Of course Fukamito. The spell is still in effect."
"I'll have you know that it is a major violation of my privacy to have you seeing whatever I do."
Korimo swiveled her chair around, glaring icily at the bat. "good." She turned back around, half listening to Ryou's logical thoughts. "I'll have YOU know that this is just one more way I can be sure of your loyalty. You don't really think I'll just trust you to keep your word, do you?"
"But milady, there's no reason to doubt my word. After all, I'm not a demon, now am I?"
Korimo smiled, enjoying the chance for an intelligent exchange with her servant. "Blood is thicker than water, Fukamito. You are a demon by birth, if not one in practice. But just being kicked out of your clan doesn't change the fact that you were once part of them."
"Fine, you win. Besides, if I weren't a demon, I couldn't do this." He became a mosquito, and buzzed directly toward Korimo's head. She closed her eyes and muttered something. She opened them again as Fukamito flew at her head, sending a wave of magic around him and freezing him where he was. The spell held for a few minutes, while Korimo rewound the scene she was watching. She didn't get much of a visual element, since Fukamito had been following the teenagers with his head near the ground, but the conversation was the important part, and the audio was perfectly intact.
"If she's giving you time to prepare, I think you'd better take it, because the next attack will be worse than the first."
"Hm, so we have a smart one to work with." She turned to the mosquito, which had fallen to the ground and became the orange tabby again. "What do you think, should we give them what they asked for?"
The cat licked its paw. "I would wait a few days. Let them get nervous before you hit again."
"Oh, that's no fun." She froze the picture on the back of Yugi's tricolor hair. "But I need time to gather information of my own."
"I'm off to work again? Without even a glass of milk?" the tabby looked up at his master with lonely eyes.
"Yes." Korimo replied emotionlessly. "Your job is to seek out the information I need."
"What do you need, milady?"
"I need their secrets." Korimo paid close attention to the tape of the school day. "But I want to do this the fun way. Find me someone who knows them inside and out, and follow them until you find their secret. Then let me take it from there." Korimo smiled devilishly, and Fukamito bowed and became a sparrow again. He flew out the open window, and Korimo closed it behind him.
She stretched out in her chair, turning to face the cat in the corner. The black cat picked up his head, and stalked over to her, rubbing against her legs. Korimo picked him up, placing the purring kitten on her lap.
"On the hunt again, Yume. First we stalk them, then hunt them down. Of course, there's no fun in brute force. Fukamito is already out on the hunt for information. We'll find out what makes them tick, and what will bring them down. There's one weak link in everyone's chain; all I have to do is find that link and make it bear all the weight." Korimo began to chuckle, escalating into a sinister laugh that echoed all around the huge room.
