A/N: Arrk! So sorry! I couldn't help missing an update! I went camping! And then my dad is still doing this room up so I can't get in as much as I'd like and then when I could I had a ton of homework and… Yeah, I'll get on with it…
Review Response:
Dragonlady222: Aww, don't be sad... I updated! Does that make you happy?
Disclaimer: Phfft. Same old, same old.
NOTE: There's a lot to explain this chapter… Oiy. In order then, here goes…
Top Trumps- If there's a person out there EXCEPT me who doesn't know how to play, my friend tells me that you split the deck of cards in half, and then each player draws a card. Whoever won the last time chooses a stat- there are 5, scored out of 100- on each card, and the highest score wins the other card. The winner of the game is the one who gets all the cards.
Port-a-Kitchen- Y'know. Those little caravan type things that food vendors have with the kitchens in them… that's what they have.
Cornish Pasties- Different fillings wrapped in pastry. I won't bore you with the entire history. (Shifty eyes)
The Ashes- A cricket series made of Five tests (matches). I may have mentioned it before… just once. Us Vs. Australia. Well, we WON! WHEEEE! And this is my little tribute to the rebirth, after 16 years, of English cricket.
Bento Boxes- Yesh. Boxed Lunches. They come ready made, and are usually taken to school for lunches. Come in all shapes and sizes and varieties.
Thunderbirds- Can I make it very clear, right now, that I am NOT taking about the film. I mean the original, Gerry Anderson, British-made, starring-puppets, series. For those who aren't familiar with it, it was about a family who had these great machines, vehicles, whatever, called the Thunderbirds and they went and saved people. I've watched it since I was a kid, even though it's more of a boy's programme… Meh.
Annnnd now… Another chapter! And this one has Darth Vader, Buffy, Acting skills, stupidly large teddy bears, the beginning of Mokuba/Serenity, glomping and the reason why you should never get between Ryou and cricket!
Seventeen: Thunderbirds are Go!
June
"…Strategy."
"Weevil. Sixty-Two."
"Mai Valentine, Seventy-Six! Hand it over!"
Seto did so, sighing. "How did you get to be so good at this game, anyway?" He grumbled.
"Since I've been under house arrest for a month." Azreal replied happily, adding Weevil to her pile, already towering over Seto's.
Now, what could two (reasonably) healthy teenagers be doing inside on a lovely sunny day in June?
Playing the Duellists version of Top Trumps, naturally.
"Az…" Seto said warningly. "You know it's for-"
"My own good, yeah." Azreal sighed, rolling her eyes. "And if anyone else tells me that, I'm going to scream!"
Having not been able to figure out why she had collapsed, the doctors had done the only thing they could think of- Prescribe one month of complete rest, and then come back for a check up. Unfortunately for Azreal, both Doug and Ruby had taken this very seriously indeed. She hadn't seen her friends for almost four weeks, although they had phoned or spoken online quite often. Seto she had spoken to everyday. But still, no-one had accepted she was absolutely fine- bar the severe boredom that came from not leaving the house or doing anything for weeks. She hadn't seen anyone either- Doug hadn't let anyone visit, and she got the feeling her friends wouldn't have anyway. They would have been scared of her 'over doing it', probably. In fact, she was certain the only reason Seto had been allowed to come today- and the only reason he had agreed- was because Ruby's mother was apparently 'ill', again, and had made Ruby feel so guilty about 'abandoning her' that they had had to go and visit today.
So there they were. She was sure Seto just hadn't wanted to leave her on her own, but he had been there all day. He must have given himself the day off from work. Now, that made you feel special. Even if he must have played truant from school to.
They were sprawled on the living room floor. Azreal lay on her stomach, legs kicking idly in the air as she considered her next card, trying to decide on which stat to choose. Oppisite, Seto sat propped up against the sofa, also looking at his card in a kind of detached interest. By far the oddest thing about this game was that they knew most of the people featured on the cards. Grinning, Azreal looked up.
"Now, ready to lose? Again?" She grinned.
Seto rolled his eyes. "There's no skill involved in this game. It's all luck."
"Then I guess my luck must be better then yours." Azreal replied, poking her tongue out at him as she gestured at her huge pile compared to his tiny one. "Anyways, Charisma."
Seto sighed, slightly in disbelief, and also with a slight smirk. "Sixteen." He said, already holding the card out to her.
"Ninety four." Azreal smiled, taking Joey's card version off Seto, and showing him her card- Ryou Bakura. "Check it out. Ryou's a pretty good card. I guess Joey is to, most of his stats beat Ryou's, but charisma wise…"
"Just get on with it." Seto told her tolerantly, drawing his next card from his much-depleted pile. "I haven't got many left…" he mourned.
"It'll be less soon." Azreal teased, drawing hers. Espa Roba. A fairly good card, but could it beat Seto's…?
She looked up, trying to tell whether his card was good or bad by the look on his face. Normally, it was a futile gesture- Seto kept his emotions guarded as always- but at this precise second, he looked thoroughly baffled, confused, lost… and more then a little disbelieving. But he looked so relaxed…
Impulsively, Azreal half-rolled across the room, and hugged him.
"That's cheating." Seto reprimanded lightly, trying to move his arm from the uncomfortable position it was pinned in. "You're not supposed to look at my card." He felt her shift as she shook slightly with laughter.
"Oh, Seth…" She sighed a mixed sigh of exasperation and amusement. "Forget about the game for a minute, would you? You're being glomped." None the less, she twisted slightly, so only her head rested on his chest. "Sorry. Couldn't help it… you just looked so lost and… bewildered… cute…Meh." She shifted her head slightly, so he could see his hand. "What card did you have, anyway?"
Seto raised it to show her the card version of himself.
Seto Kaiba
Charisma: 0
Loyalty: 0
Unpredictability: 04
Strategy: 100
Power: 99
"Oh…" Azreal trailed off. "Well, that's full marks in Strategy, at least… Nearly in Power, to…"
"Still," Seto pointed out. "That's zero in everything else, nearly. Face it, in this game you need good all rounders. The fact is, my card sucks. I mean, come on, I'll admit to the first two, maybe, but am I so predictable that I only deserve a four! Even Mai had more then four, and she uses the same cards every single time…"
"Well…" Azreal began carefully. "You do kinda-mmumph!"
Seto had decided to pull her trick from Christmas. Not that she was complaining.
"What was that for?" She smiled as he pulled away ever so slightly.
"Just proving how unpredictable I can be." He smirked. She laughed, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Think I prefer the real thing." She commented, tugging the card gently out of his hand and tossing it into a random corner of the room. "…Seth?" he looked down at her. "What are you going to do? What do you have planned?"
He sighed in exasperation. "It's the summer festival tomorrow. All the local schools and businesses are doing entertainment or food or exhibits, including Kaiba Corp, who, according to the Union, are having a day trip out, which, incidentally, I'm paying for. As for school, if I don't attend, they'll keep me back a year. They know I'd love to be kicked out, so they threaten to keep me longer. Anyway, our class is supposed to be doing some completely improvised drama thing- no-one knows what it is yet. And while I'm doing this, my employees will be running around and I'd really rather not talk about it."
Azreal blinked. That had been rather a long speech. "Okay… I'm guessing you needed to rant about that. But actually, I meant more… long term."
Now it was Seto's turn to blink. "What…?"
"I mean," She shuffled slightly, turning her face to look at him. "Y'know. The future. You must have ambitions, dreams, right?"
Seto averted his gaze. "I think it's fairly obvious what 'I'm going to be when I grow up', Az. I think it's been fairly obvious since I was adopted."
"I know." She sighed. "I know, but… Sometimes, it just doesn't seem like you enjoy what you do much. So… you know you don't have to, right?"
Seto picked at some fluff on the carpet. "'What we call the future is the shadow which the past throws in front of us.'" He replied blandly, almost bitterly.
Azreal straightened up, pulling his hand from the carpet and cradling it in her own. Then she pulled his face up so he was looking right into her eyes.
"Who would say something like that?" She asked quietly, searching in his eyes. It couldn't have been something that Seto had made up, it couldn't be, it would be so sad…
"A man called Marcel Proust." Seto said mechanically, looking away again, unable to hold her gaze.
"Well…" She said softly. "Marcel Proust, with respect, was talking out of his rear end." She leant down, smiling as she forced herself back into his eye line. "The future can be whatever you want it to be, you just have to run and run till you leave the past- and it's shadow- way behind. So if you don't want KC, don't sit there and take it. You can be whatever you want to be- heck, it can be anything you want it to be. Do you get what I'm saying here?"
"…Yes." Seto said uncertainly. "I'll take that into account. But I don't see why you bring it up now…"
She looked at him sideways, sitting back on her heels. "I just… want you to be happy for the rest of your life."
Seto laughed. "I'll do my best. But, you know, the way you're talking… It's not like you won't ever see me again."
She looked a little saddened. Even as she smiled, he could see it in the corner of her eyes.
"Az, I'm not going anywhere." He reassured her.
"I know." She said, still with that same, odd smile.
Awkwardly, he stood. "Well… I should be going home, but you know what I mean."
"Of course." She sighed. "So, you be happy the rest of your life, 'kay?" She grinned. "And then I'll be to!"
"Deal." Seto said, shaking her hand jokingly. Then he picked up an imaginary drink, and raised it. "Well then…To Life, Love and Happiness." He mocked.
Her smile widened, but, he noticed, the sadness in her eyes grew. Why was she so sad? And why wasn't anything he did helping…?
"Yes." She agreed quietly, resting her chin in a hand. "Life, Love and happiness."
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After Seto had left, Azreal knew exactly what she wanted to do, and she did it. Almost an hour later, after a very long soak in the bath, she searched around in her room for the hairdryer. It was rather unpleasant to have water dripping down the back of your pyjamas. She moved around listlessly, water dripping to the floor.
I am happy. She decided, smiling a little. So… why am I still crying?
No answer came as tears continued to fall to the carpet.
She wiped her eyes determinedly, locating the elusive hairdryer. She would phone her dad, she decided, and go to the summer festival tomorrow. And she wouldn't be sad. She would be smiling and having fun and laughing again.
It was about time she stopped crying.
She switched the hairdryer on and took the wet away.
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"…I don't know, Ann…" Doug said doubtfully.
"Dad…" She pleaded. "Come on! The doctors said a month and it's been a month and you know I'm fine and it's been so boring…"
"No, the doctors said one month and then back for a check-up." He replied stubbornly.
"Dad!" She said in exasperation. "I'm fine! You know I am! Please…?"
He sighed. "Let me see what Ruby thinks."
"Okay." She replied.
Doug placed the phone face down on the desk carefully and turned to his wife.
"She wants to go to the Summer Festival tomorrow."
Ruby shrugged. "Than let her go."
"But…" Doug began. She placed a hand over his.
"Doug. Don't worry so much. She's going to need a good day before tomorrow night…" She shook her head. "Have you dropped that little bombshell yet? You can bet she won't be happy…"
"No." Doug shook his head. "I haven't been able to get a word in."
Ruby half-laughed. "You'd better hurry up, then, before the phone bill gets run up to much, or worse, my mother finds you using a mobile."
Doug sighed. "Fine." He picked up the phone. "Ann? You can go- No, no, calm down, wait a minute- you take care of yourself, you hear? Well, I hope you do! But, Ann, listen… I have some bad news…"
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Of course, as Seto had neglected to tell her any details, the next morning, Azreal walked out of her front door, back in her school uniform, with no real idea where she was supposed to go and at what time. But, given the throng of people moving towards the town centre, it wasn't hard to figure out.
Azreal strolled along in the crowds wake, in no rush as people ran past, overtaking her and in an excited hurry. It was nice to just feel the air moving again in the light breeze. It had been a while.
As she passed the park within the mass of moving people, she noticed a group standing around outside the gates. In other words, Téa, Yugi, Duke and Tristan. Grinning, she decided to go and reintroduce herself, and sauntered over as well as she could.
"Morning." She said cheerfully.
They looked at her in shock. And then the smiles broke out.
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The Domino Summer Festival was a bit of a silly name, really. In fact, it was only held in Domino once every five years. Sure, it had begun there, but it was on a cycle.
It had begun with Domino High, it was sure. They networked with other schools in the other suburbs of Tokyo, three of them. Then, they linked to other school networks- abroad. The upshot of it all was, the host countries constantly tried to outdo the other countries with holding some awesome festival. Then local businesses had got in on it, until they involved entire communities. It was supposed to give the schools chances to experience other cultures and give a bit of healthy competition. Of course, you had to be a model student or close to if you were going to be flown out abroad, to one of the other cities as an 'Ambassador for the school." Last year, the festival had apparently been held in Longbridge, a Suburb of Birmingham in England. The year before that a part of Alberta, Canada. And before that, Boncossa in Italy and Brooklyn in the US. It was very much an international thing.
"Okay, now I get why there's people in weird school uniforms and speaking different languages running around." Azreal said as they stood there, apparently waiting for Joey to show. "But, I assume, as we are the host this year, we're supposed to be doing something."
"Yeah." Téa said. "The schools are handling the food side of things…" She looked around them, then sighed. "C'mon. It doesn't look like Joey's going to turn up any time soon and we're supposed to be helping Ryou out this morning… apparently, he got talked into running a food stall…"
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"How are we going to find him in this place?" Azreal wailed after they had confirmed their attendance, and that they would be participating in the improvised drama later on. She stared around at the teeming mass of people. This was a major event.
"Well," Yugi said. "This entire park's been given over to the food places, so if we wander around for long enough…"
As it turned out, they didn't have to wander around for long at all. Just a few moments into the crowd, they spotted Ryou amongst the group of people around his stand. He looked completely at home, hair hygienically tied back, in a green apron. He waved a spatula at them happily as they weaved between the tables that had been laid out on the grass and came over to the small Port-a-kitchen that the school had hired for all the catering.
As Téa had said earlier, the schools were taking care of the food. The older students were cooking, in all the port-a-kitchens arranged around a central seating area, full of people. The younger students were doing the serving and waiting- in costume. They were all cosplaying as Anime or game characters.
Watching as a particularly accurate Sailor Moon ran past with a tray of drinks, Azreal was not paying full attention to where she was going. She brushed against a small blond boy dressed up as Link from the Legend of Zelda games. Luckily, his hands had been empty. Murmuring an apology, she continued past, until Link called out to her.
"Anna!" He yelled. "Hey, what are you doing here!"
She turned, and blinked as she recognised that, below the green hat and blond hair, it was Mokuba. "Mokuba!" She yelped in alarm. "…Since when have you been blond?!"
Laughing, he removed the hat, and his hair tumbled out. Azreal breathed a sigh of relief as, not only was it still it's usual length just crammed up inside the hat, he'd only dyed a small part- just the parts that would be seen when he was wearing the hat- blond. The rest was as dark as ever.
"Hey, Mokuba!" A mini-Zidane yelled dashing past with a plate of ramen. "There's an order ready over there, at the Donburi stand! You mind taking it?"
"Okie Dokie." Mokuba shrugged, forcing his hair back inside the small green hat. "I have to go…" he mourned. "But… meet us under the oak tree behind the school for lunch, yeah? And bring the others!"
He ran off, and, as she made her way over to Ryou's stand, she couldn't help but wonder who the 'we' was…
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Ryou's Cornish pasty stand seemed to be quite an attraction, with one or two standing around it, trying to pick a variety. Or, in fact, four girls, one slightly younger then the other three. She, and two of the older ones, were in what was presumably their school uniform, ties and trousers, with a jumper around her waist. The other two held blazers, also black, over their arms. The third girl was watching them as they debated, not in a uniform, and looking slightly bewildered.
"So…" Azreal said to Ryou, after she had donned an apron and caught up a little with him. Yugi, Téa, Tristan and Duke were already busy in the kitchen behind the counter, where a digital radio was chattering on, tuned to some English sport event. "What do you want me to do here?"
"Well… uh… you could take the orders." Ryou smiled. "And then we'll make them, and then one of the cosplayers will take it to the table."
"Fair enough." Azreal shrugged. "So, what do we have to offer?"
"Um…" Ryou turned around to where some recipes were pinned up on the wall for reference. He gestured at each one with the spatula as he spoke. "Traditional, which is beef and swede and onion and potato; Chicken Tikka Masala, which is fairly self explanatory; Vegetable, which has onion and swede and potato and carrot and parsnip and leek; Steak, which, again, is obvious; and then there's cheese and bacon."
"Did you just say cheese and bacon!" One of the girls screamed in English. "Man, you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a cheese and bacon nowadays!" Then she stuttered, and began to repeat herself in rusty Japanese. "Oh, that is… um… could we please have-"
"It's alright." Azreal laughed. "I understand you. So, three cheese and bacon then?"
"Yup!" She grinned happily.
"Actually," The girl her age said, "I think I'll just stick to a Traditional, thanks."
"Oh, sorry!" The first girl said, half turning to the fourth girl who hadn't been previously been involved in the conversation, the one not in their school uniform. "Not to leave you out! And another cheese and bacon for the Canadian girl!" She declared.
The girl in question looked up sharply. "No, no, it's alright!"
"I insist!" The British one insisted. "You'll never have had one before, right?"
The Canadian girl looked at Ryou's carefully made 'display pasties', poking one suspiciously. "You eat these? I mean, I didn't come to Japan to eat crazy British food, no offence…"
"Yes you eat them! What do you suggest you do with them!"
"Hey, I've never seen one before…"
"Yes, but still! The Cornish Pasty was developed for a reason, you know! You see, back in Cornwall's mining days…"
She seemed intent on informing the hapless Canadian of the entire history of the Cornish pasty. Bewildered, Azreal turned to the third older girl. "So…" She said. "Three Cheese and Bacon and one Traditional?"
"Ssh!" Ryou yelled suddenly from somewhere behind her, turning up the radio. "Ssh a minute!"
Azreal turned around, baffled, as behind her, the British girl continued to prattle on about tin mines.
"…All over, with a spectacular victory, England get off to a good start at the Ashes with one victory already… Now, as they leave, in triumph, we have to wonder if they can keep it up at Edgbaston…" A posh voice was saying on the radio.
"Yes!" Ryou yelled, grinning happily. He threw up his arms in triumph, and Yugi ducked as his rolling pin flew across the small room, watching Ryou with rather scared eyes. "Yes! We won! WE WON! HA! And it won't be the last time neither! AND I DON'T GIVE A TOSS ABOUT GRAMMER! WE WON THE RIGHT TO ABUSE IT! BECAUSE WE WON! YES!"
Azreal blinked. "What?"
The British girl had ceased in her rant about the tin mines, looking up sharply. The Canadian girl took advantage of the distraction to sneak away.
"Did you just say we won!" She demanded.
"I did indeed!" Ryou confirmed happily. "We did it! We won the first test!"
"Yes!" She punched the air as the other two cheered behind her. "Oh, that's great! One down, four to go! This year, we'll reclaim the Ashes, I know it! Now… onto Edgbastooooooooooooooon!"
"YEAH!" Ryou and the younger girl agreed enthusiastically. The remaining girl smacked them round the heads in annoyance, mumbling that it was only a game and did they have to be so embarrassing?
"…What?" Azreal repeated.
"Cricket." Ryou shrugged, retrieving his rolling pin and going back to his pastry.
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Azreal took so many orders that morning that she didn't know what to do with them all. Well, she did- she gave them to Ryou and the others in the kitchen. And as soon as they were done, she'd yell at a Cosplayer to come and take them to a table. She was almost glad her throat was going hoarse because it showed how popular they'd been. Not that the other stalls weren't doing just as well, but it still made her feel proud of Ryou and the others. Even if Joey still hadn't turned up.
"Hey!" She yelled out. "Do we have someone who can take these to table six? How about you, Goku?" The kid began to walk over to her, but before he got there he was snagged by a stall with cakes, from a rival school. Azreal frowned at them, and they smirked. They'd been in competition all day, for the most customers and the best waiters and waitresses. Azreal scanned the crowd, eventually picking out a brunette girl that was probably just a year or two older then Mokuba, in an easily recognisable outfit. "Alright! Aeris! Get over here and do me a favour, would ya?"
She nodded, smiling, and headed over. When the cake stall gestured at her, she shook her head, pointing to Ryou's stall. Azreal smiled. Ah, surely, this had to be another Domino-ian, probably from Mokuba's school.
Even when the girl came up, Azreal knew she looked familiar, but couldn't place her face.
"Hey." Azreal said, passing the plate of pasties down to her. She was just about as tall as Azreal, though surely younger. How unfair. " Can I just say, I LOVE that costume!"
She smiled. "Ah, a gamer. See, only a few people recognised it."
"Yeah, well." Azreal smiled. "Those who did must have seen it's worth! Annnnnyway… You mind taking these over to table six for me?"
She shrugged, accepting the plate. "That's what I'm here for. Mmm, these smell great… I shall have to come back and get one later!"
"Oh, I think Ryou made those ones…" Azreal replied thoughtfully. "I'll tell him you liked the smell of them!"
"Ryou?" She blinked. "I didn't know he was doing a stand."
Azreal joined in the blinking. "You know him?"
Just then, the guy in question appeared to find out what was going on and why he heard his name. He spotted Aeris and smiled.
"Hi, Serenity." He said. "I love the costume!"
"Thanks." She laughed. "I like it to!"
Azreal looked between them in confusion as the others appeared and started talking to the girl quite happily.
"Uh…" She said sheepishly, pressing her fingers together. "Who?"
"Oh!" Téa cried. "I forgot you two hadn't met! Anna, this is Joey's sister!"
"Ooh…" Anna said in realisation. "And Duke and Tristan…?"
"Don't realise how pointless it is, no." Téa sighed in exasperation as Serenity continued to talk to them. "I have a feeling Serenity likes someone else…" She began giggling. Anna looked at her in confusion, then shrugged before turning to Serenity.
"So… you're Serenity." She smiled. "Are you in town for the festival?"
"That's right." She nodded. Then she yelped. "Oh! I'd better take these before they go cold!" She waved with her free hand and began to move off.
"Hey!" Yugi called after her. "Have you seen Joey?"
"Isn't he here yet?" Serenity frowned, stopping and turning around. She exchanged uncomfortable looks with the others. "Well… he did say something about a costume… I wonder if that's it."
"Knowing Joey, it probably is." Téa said, laughing and waving her off. As soon as she was out of sight though, she began to bite her lip.
"Do you think…?" Yugi began.
"It's possible." Tristan said, looking at Duke. "Look, we'll go round and see if he's okay. You guys just stay here and… do your thing. We'll be back in a minute." They threw off their aprons and began to walk off.
The remaining four continued silently with their work. Azreal knew why Tristan and Duke had volunteered to go. Without being sexist, she and Téa weren't all that great if it came to a fight, and Yugi was too small- unless Yami came out and smooshed everyone. And Ryou needed to stay here to run the stall. They dreaded what would happen when Tristan, Duke, and possibly Joey came back- if they came back.
As it was, they needn't have worried.
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A few minutes after the two guys had left, they were approached by their weirdest customer yet. Azreal couldn't help backing away a little as none other then Darth Vader came and stood before her.
"Um… Hi." Azreal offered. She knew that if you came in costume, you could get food and attractions for free, but so far she hadn't met anyone who had done it. So it was rather odd to see him (Or her, who could tell) standing before her. "What can I do for you?"
Vader stood before her, breathing heavily.
"Uh…" Azreal wasn't sure what to say. So she waited as Vader continued to breathe heavily. For an excessive amount of time. "Um… Are you having an Asthma attack? Oh, wait, hold on, I'll help!"
"No…" He panted, reaching up and pulling the helmet off. Azreal blinked as Joey emerged, flopping down on the counter. "It's hot in there…" He whined. Azreal stared at him. Then she thought of something.
Oh man!
"Duke and Tristan!" She yelled.
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As it had a habit of doing, everything turned out okay in the end. They managed to phone Duke and Tristan moments before they reached Joey's house, and they returned rather sheepishly to the festival. At one o'clock, all the caters and cosplayers were relieved by the afternoon shift, and they promptly headed out of the park, through a few blocks, admiring displays and noting places they wanted to revisit later, until they reached Mokuba's proposed location, under the old oak tree.
He was already there, looking odd in his bright green outfit with half blond and half black hair, deep in conversation with Serenity, who it looked would be joining them for lunch. They descended upon them, pulling out Bento Boxes or food they'd brought on the way, settling down for a good lunch.
"Let's eat!" They chorused, chattering and munching happily in the shade of the tree.
"Hey…" Azreal said, a moment or two later, as she swallowed the last of a sandwich of the jam variety. "Mokuba, don't you have anything?"
"Well…" He looked around. "Seto's supposed to be bringing it when he comes this afternoon, but… Oh! Wait, there he is…Seto!" He waved to attract his older brother. Seto's face remained smoothly expressionless as he looked at his brother's companions with a barley masked distaste.
Then he spotted Azreal, and… smiled.
"Good afternoon, everyone…" He said mildly, passing a Bento Box over to Mokuba, scanning over his semi-blond hair and deciding not to ask. Then he turned to Azreal as he slowly sat down on the grass with the rest of them, looking uncertain.
"Hi." She grinned.
"Hi." He replied, looking surprised. The others relaxed, knowing that Seto wasn't going to deliberately cause trouble just yet- although he looked like he'd prefer not to have their company. "I wasn't expecting you to be here, Az."
"How could I miss it after you seemed so… enthusiastic?" She giggled, resisting the impulse to kiss him. It was a good job that she had seen him yesterday. She got the feeling that if she hadn't seen him at all within the last month, she wouldn't have been able to stop herself.
Seto laughed quietly, and whispered in her ear: "You know… I think I can put up with these guys for now if you're here to…"
"Just behave." She whispered back before deliberately pulling him into a conversation, hoping he wouldn't realise she was trying to distract him.
She hadn't failed to notice that Mokuba and Serenity were having a quiet conversation slightly turned away from the rest of the group. And, finally, she thought she knew what Téa had meant earlier.
"Mai!" Téa yelled suddenly, waving at the blond in question. "Come join us!"
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Although not in school, Mai had turned up to. And she was also in costume.
As Buffy- Yes, the Vampire Slayer.
"Hey, Mai…" Joey said, with an odd look on his face and a sneaky undertone to his voice. "Wanna take a look at my lightsaber?" He took the item in question out.
"Oh, yes!" She said, smiling brightly. "And then I can ram my stake through it!" She proffered the wooden item, and the two laughed loudly as the others looked on indcredously.
"He's so embarrassing…" Serenity muttered quietly. Mokuba was the only one to hear.
"Yeah, but he loves you." He whispered, shrugging. "Anyway, it can't be as bad as Seto… Joey may be overly friendly, but Seto's stupidly cold. And…" He lowered his voice even more. "He just won't accept that Yugi beats him fairly."
Serenity giggled uncertainly. "Hey…" She said. "Is that a Thunderbirds Bento Box?"
Mokuba looked down in embarrassment. Hey, it was very old… although, Mokuba didn't normally want to change it… He rather liked Thunderbirds… "Oh! It's… Um… James'! Yeah! I, uh, didn't have one, so Ann leant me one and it's James'! It's not mine! It's James'!"
"Pity…" Serenity said seriously, looking at him sideways with eyes that were laughing. "Because I was going to ask if you knew where I could get one."
Mokuba looked surprised, then grinned back. "Or, I could just be pulling your leg…"
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At two o'clock precisely, they were due in the school hall to arrange their completely improvised drama piece. At five to, with some trepidation, they waved Mokuba and Serenity goodbye- and they, with nothing else to do all day- seemed perfectly cheerful- and headed in. Others from their class were already milling around, whispering angrily. With even more caution, and more then a little suspicion, they headed up to the board to find out what they were going to be 'acting' as.
They regrouped a moment later, in surprise and disbelief.
"What'd you get?" Azreal asked Seto curiously.
"A tree." He said, not sounding impressed. "And you?"
"Second rock from the right!" She replied, doing the victory sign. She seemed to find the whole thing stupidly amusing.
Yugi had been cast as a bush.
Joey was a pinecone.
Téa was a leaf.
Tristan was a blade of grass.
Duke was the wind.
Ryou… was a squirrel.
"Right!" The drama teacher bellowed, appearing suddenly and clapping his hands together. "Does everyone know their parts! Good! Bravo! Marrrvelous! We are going to do a completely still picture, showing nature in all it's wonder- with no props or costumes! It's a hard job, but I'm sure you're all up to it, my darlings, if you just let your part into your soul! Everybody ready! Good! Bravo! Marrrvelous! The doors open in two minutes! Get to it!"
The cast looked at each other in complete disbelief. Surely, this had to be a joke…
Shrugging, Azreal slowly bent down, curling up on the floor.
"…You don't look much like a rock, Ann…" Yugi said.
"I am a rock!" She declared, giggling. "I am so a rock! I am one with the rock! The rock and I share a soul! I am a rock! Look at me in all my rocky rockiness…!"
She noticed the others were trying to smother their laughs and wondered why, and then she heard the drama teacher's voice.
"Good! Bravo! Marrrvelous!" He declared, sniffing. "Bravo, Miss Mitsan! Here," He shouted to the rest of the room. "Is one that truly understands the essence of this work! A very moving performance! Now, come on the rest of you, into position!" The others shuffled around. "Good!" He yelled. "Bravo! Marrrvelous…"
He wandered off.
His arms raised at his sides, trying his best to look like a tree, Seto wondered if he'd finally gone insane and this was all some demented nightmare. Just then, Téa ran over to him.
"Kaiba!" She yelled, clinging onto his arm and counter balancing off him. "You're a tree and I'm a leaf so wouldn't it be great if we teamed up and…" She trailed off.
Seto looked at her.
"Just a suggestion…" She defended, letting go. Then she lay down between where Ryou was bent down on his haunches in a crude impersonation of a squirrel, and where Joey was wondering if he looked like a pinecone, to be a fallen leaf instead.
"Ready!" The Drama teacher yelled, his hands on the door. "Good! Bravo! Marrvelous!" He pulled on the doors, and they slowly swung open…
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"…Can you even see where you're going…?" Serenity asked, giggling.
"Nope." Mokuba grunted from somewhere behind the huge teddy he'd inadvertedly won.
"Heh… Oh, wow!"
"What?" Mokuba asked, turning around to where her voice came from, but his view was still obscured by a large mass of brown fur.
"Wait here!" Serenity called, her voice already more distant.
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Mokuba had put the teddy bear down, but he still couldn't see where she had disappeared to. He hoped she'd come back. He had been working up to giving her the bear, but he didn't want to make it seem like he just didn't want to carry the thing…
"Mokuba!" She called happily from behind him a second later. "Look what I just won on the coconut shy!" She held up a large, stupidly cool, replica sword.
"Wow!" Mokuba replied. "Do you mind if I have a look?"
"Not at all." She laughed, handing it to him and watching as he examined it. He held it out to give it back, but she shook her head. "No, keep it." She smiled, pushing it back towards him. "After all, you're not much of a Link without the Master Sword, are you?"
"But…" Mokuba began, before seeing his opportunity. "I tell you what. If I'm having your sword, you can have my bear."
"Thank you…" Serenity laughed, picking up the bear and hugging it. Then she grinned at him. "You know, I think I'll call him Link!"
Mokuba was suddenly glad his hair was so long. He could hide a blush behind it.
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Three hours after the doors had opened, they were closed again.
"Well done everyone!" The teacher declared, clapping, almost in tears. "A very moving performance, all of you! I really felt nature in this room! Good! Bravo! Marrrvelous! You may now… move!"
Sighing in relief, Seto lowered his arms. They were really hurting badly. Around him, he heard the others moaning and groaning. They weren't going to live this down any time fast.
Ryou finally toppled over, unable to hold his balance any longer. Groaning, he clambered to his feet, giving Téa a hand up. Azreal still hadn't moved, still curled up. Seto went over to her.
"You can move now, Az." he told her. She didn't reply. Slightly concerned now, Seto bent down. "Az?" Frowning, he rolled her over. But she was alright.
She had just fallen asleep.
Quashing the smile that always spread over his face when she was sleeping, Seto formed a stony look and shook her gently with his stiff arms. "Az. Az! Wake up…"
She opened her eyes, sat up, and glanced around.
"Oh, is it over?" She asked, stretching her arms. Seto nodded. "What time is it?" She asked the room at large.
"Five past five." Yugi informed her. "They'll be starting the fireworks down at the Night Market soon!"
People cheered up at that. Not many new about those on bonfire night, and the fireworks over the water were really something special.
Seto took Azreal's hand and pulled her up as people began to head out.
"Shall we?" He asked, brightening at the thought of taking Az up onto the cliff again to watch some fireworks.
"Oh, Seto, I can't…" She sighed.
"Why not?" Joey asked, seemingly oblivious to Seto's dirty looks at his entering the conversation.
"Because I have to go to my Grandmother's!" Azreal wailed.
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A/N: There. I ish tired after all that… Join me next week, in witch we have a cunning plan, a daring escape, an invitation some more acting and another little bombshell!
