Dimensional Warrior Girl: The Winter Tournament
Author: Chaos Valkyrie
First Conceptualized: October, 2003
Posted Chapter 12: April 9, 2004
Updated: December 22, 2005
Disclaimer: Like I said, Red Eyes Rocks. If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh, I'd have my own mansion like Kaiba, with a big Red-Eyes statue in the front yard. But no such luck.
Author Notes: Ooooo, Second Chapter… I know I'm proud of me! And if you read any of the others, go check them out – they all have Two NEW Chapters too!
Chapter Twelve: Keeping Secrets
Jenni swiftly climbed down the ladder that Mokuba had found, then turned and asked the group, "Where's Mai and the others?"
"Joey and Serenity took her back to her apartment," Mokuba replied as he hugged Jenni. Fenris jumped up, licking his master's face. Jenni laughed.
"So why did that guy challenge you?" Seto asked, his arms folded as he regarded her sternly.
"I'm not quite sure," she told them. "Come on, let's get out of here. I want to go check on Mai," Jenni said, walking towards the stairs. She could see the others looking at her, especially Seto, with disbelief, but she wasn't ready to tell them the truth. It felt almost as if Slifer didn't want them to know about him yet.
The group rode in silence to Jenni's building. Jenni unlocked the door and took the stairs, two at a time, walking swiftly down the hall to knock gently on Mai's door. Serenity opened the door, softly. She shut it and came out into the hallway, smiling at the group waiting there.
"Mai woke up a short while ago. She told us that the guy caught her not long after she left Jenni at Perks. She doesn't remember much beyond that," Serenity told them. Everyone looked at Jenni, who was quietly edging towards her apartment with Fenris.
Jenni sighed. "I don't know any more than you all do," she told them. She turned to unlock her door. An arm grabbed hers, and she looked up into Seto's eyes, annoyed.
"Look, this guy was willing to kill Mai to duel you, and you know why. So tell us," Seto gritted, his eyes boring into her defiant brown ones.
"Please, Jenni, tell us," Mokuba begged her. She looked at him, and the others, and sighed.
"All right, come in," she told them. She finished unlocking her door, and first walked over to feed Fenris while the others came in behind her. She then grabbed a frozen rice bowl from the freezer and put it in the microwave.
"I'm going to go change," she announced. "Make yourselves at home," she sighed, shutting her bedroom door. Inside, she quickly changed into some yoga pants and a clean shirt. She quickly hid Slifer with the sword in the closet while she heard the others outside.
Yugi, Duke, Tristan, Bakura and Téa made themselves at home in the living area while Mokuba walked over to pet Fenris. Seto leaned against the island counter, looking as disdainful as usual. Mokuba looked up from petting Fenris and gasped. "Hey Seto, look at this," he said, walking into the art room. Seto followed Mokuba inside, his eyes widening at the canvas before him.
On the easel sat an unfinished painting of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. A napkin from Perks was tacked above it on the easel. "She must've sketched that while I dueled earlier," Kaiba whispered. They heard a door open and quickly walked into the hallway before Jenni noticed.
The group turned as Jenni pulled her dinner from the microwave and sat on a stool at the counter.
"So," Mokuba prompted. Jenni sighed. She didn't want to tell them about Slifer, but she hated lying to them as well.
"Well, a few days ago, after I moved in here, I received a mysterious package. It had a duel disk and an entry form for this tournament. I've dueled somewhat before," Jenni said, lying through her teeth, "but not seriously, and certainly not enough to qualify for tournament play. I'm not sure why someone wants me in this tournament, but they seem to want something." Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Are you sure its me they want? One of you had some items stolen from you – Mai told me that much. What if they're using me to get to you," she finished sternly, inwardly smiling. She was trying to turn the tables, forcing the subject back into their court, and get some answers of her own in the process.
The others looked at each other, startled. "It wouldn't be the first time," Yugi muttered thoughtfully.
"So, your turn to spill. What was stolen from you?" Jenni pressed. The other's eyes glanced at each other, but she could see Seto eyeing her with suspicion. She could tell that he hadn't entirely fallen for her change of topic strategy.
"We can't tell you," Yugi began, uselessly waving his hands. "We don't want to get you involved in this."
"That man tonight was willing to kill me and Mai. I'm involved," she gritted at him, smacking her hand on the counter. Yugi flushed. "Now, what's going on?" she asked pointedly.
"You still haven't told us what the man wanted from you, so why should we tell you what was stolen?" Seto asked her icily. She glared at him, and then counted to ten before walking to the door.
"Fine then. You keep your secrets, I'll keep mine," Jenni bit out, opening the door and waving one hand towards the hallway. "Now, since I'm the one who risked my life tonight to save your friend, I'm rather tired," she sneered, looking up into their startled faces. "So, please leave my apartment. Now," she stated, making the last word a command.
One by one, the group left the apartment. Seto turned to say something as he entered the hallway, only to have the door slammed in his face.
End Notes: Short, but to the point. Jenni's getting a bit short-tempered with this whole deal, not that I blame her – it would suck to be a pawn in a situation you know nothing about, and have your "allies" refuse to tell you what's going on! Anywho, look for new allies in the future chapters, more conflict, and more dueling! sigh See ya next week!