A/N: Arrk! Okay, I know this horribly late, but given the length of it and all the other stuff I'm had happening (This household is chaotic as always, oh, and school is so annoying at getting in the way, plus the average teenage social life… you know how it gets) perhaps it's excusable… But sorry for the wait anyways!
Review Responses:
Willowwind: The Plot dragons weren't the problem! (mutters darkly about baths and English coursework)
Dragonlady222: I'm glad you liked the chapter! As for the grandma... well, no-one's ALL bad, right?
Disclaimer: Nopety nope.
Notes: Slight swearing in this chapter, and THE FRIENDSHIP MARKER OF DOOM! Ahhhh! I think that's it… Oh, wait, I… took some liberties on the pasts of Joey, Seto, and particuallary Ryou. But then, given as no-one seems to KNOW for sure what happened to him, I think it's excusable! Anyways, at last, the chapter! Oiy, it took so long to write…
Nineteen: Runaway
July
Clash. Bang. A scrape of steel on steel. A melee of sounds that merged into one cacophony of metal.
Throughout the hall, the clinks and crashes and scrapes sounded, but nowhere, eerily, was there any human voice or sound- the slight gasps or heavy breathing that may have escaped from the masked figures swallowed totally by the sounds of the fights going on all around. No-one knew who they were fighting, or, in all honesty, why, but they fought on. And enjoyed it.
Today was their fencing final. After this lesson, they would be moving onto the next activity in their PE lessons. The training was done. Now it was time to fight, or fail.
This instructor was even more eccentric then the others. In a fight, he explained, you were not likely to have spent weeks watching your opponent fight. You would not know them, you wouldn't know their style, their technique. You would have to learn to detach from any personal feelings if you were to fight your best. You did not think about the person beneath the mask. If you did, you wouldn't kill him. And that could cost your life.
By this point, the students had been giving each other uneasy looks. Azreal couldn't help but comment quietly that you weren't exactly likely to be carrying a sword around either, but it didn't matter. Fencing had certainly proved popular, and when the command came to suit up and grab a foil, it was done quickly and eagerly, with some surprise when they saw their teacher was so adamant to make sure you couldn't tell who was under the suit that he had even brought out masks with a back, that would cover hair and necks. They could just about see through the front, but there was no way to see who you were fighting. You were supposed to remain silent, so your voice did not give you away.
The only thing the students, and the instructor as he paired them randomly, had to go on was heights and stance. Witch meant Yugi was at a disadvantage, as Ryou knew exactly who he was, and that Yugi was far better at parrying then actual, as Azreal called it, 'poking'. He would need to surprise him…
Ryou was not the only one to know exactly who and what he was up against. You can't be as close as they were without instinctively knowing the second they walked in. Seto and Azreal were well aware they were fighting each other, but it did not deter them for a second. In fact, if anything, they were more determined then ever to beat each other- first to five hits won. And they were not being strictly orthodox, both using moves that, weren't exactly on the curriculum.
"Where did you learn to fence?" Seto asked, as Azreal came close to him, sweeping his foil up to meet hers with a mighty clash.
"Inspiring people wasn't all rainbows and sunshine, you know." Azreal replied calmly, hopping back, slowly moving around him on the small foam mat that was their entire world to attempt to try and catch him off guard. But Seto knew her well, and knowing she was deliberately delaying another attempt to attack, he took the opportunity to thrust at her.
With a swish, she lowered the specialist sword slightly, knocking his away. But she didn't ask him the question back. She knew better then that. And he didn't question in what situation she'd need to be able to fence in. He knew better.
"Oh, I wanted to ask you something…" Seto began, as she spun past him, dodging another well-aimed but sadly unsuccessful joust with his compliments. "I've been invited to another one of these things."
"First, that isn't a question." She replied calmly, aiming for his chest. At the last moment, Seto pulled his own sword up in front of him, managing to block just in time. He needed to concentrate. But she was already continuing what was almost a normal conversation, but with swords, a lot more pauses, and a little more breathlessly. "And secondly," She panted, detangling her sword and taking a step back. "What thing?"
"Business thing." Seto turned his failed jab into a shrug, twisted as she rotated behind him. "You know. What they do when they want good relations with other businesses. Invite them to some sort of party, and do all the small talk that may or may not lead to favours and deals. I believe this one is a wedding."
"Doesn't seem to be your kind of thing." Azreal replied, regaining her balance as he smoothly dodged her over-enthusiastic pounce. "Man, would you just keep still!"
Seto chuckled, jabbing quickly and causing her to leap back, narrowly avoiding the tip of his foil. "I could say the same to you. But no, they are not my thing. That's why I never host them. But…" He pushed towards her.
"But?" She asked, as she stepped forward to meet him, swords coming together with a clash.
"It's good to show your face at these… things…" He sighed, practically bending over backwards to avoid her attack. He moved sideways, out from under her sword, but almost overbalanced. Before Azreal could react to his second of weakness, he had half-rolled, half-walked out of range and sprung back to his feet, breathing heavily. She swung at him, and he just knew that under the mask she was smiling. "These… balls, I suppose… I don't think so." He parried her smartly, pushing her off easily. She may have an equal grace and skill to him, but in pure strength, she couldn't hold up for long. It was the fact that they were so evenly matched that this was taking so long. He doubted either of them would take so much time, win or lose, against somebody else. "Why don't you just give it up, Az?"
"No way, you pog." She replied, matching his parry with one of his own as he attempted to hit her. "So, you're going to attend this ball, then?" She jabbed at him.
Seto changed his block into an attack. Still recovering from her own attack, she was surprised, and stopped him less then a centimetre away. They froze for a second.
"Yes." Seto replied, as he tried to free the foil and drive it home. "And I was wondering if you'd like to come with me."
"Seems a strange proposal to make, given our current circumstances." She grunted, holding him off but unable to push him away. "But, you know, balls… all the posh people… it would be all full of old people and be all la-di-da. I wouldn't fit in. I wouldn't want to try, honestly. A boring situation with a bunch of people I don't know. No thank you!"
Finally, Seto swept his sword away. Even if he had managed to get in and finally poke her, he the attack would have lost all force. He would have had to almost re-charge the attack before it even reached her.
"It's just-" He continued, as they moved up and down in a barrage of attacks and blocks that you couldn't tell which was which anymore. He paused as they circled around, putting all his focus into the movement of his sword. By now, everyone else had finished and was watching them, agape, wondering who the two were, but unable to hear the conversation over the clash of foils. "I'm sick of going alone. There are rumours that I'm privately… twisted." He admitted.
Azreal laughed slightly, as Seto forced her foil to the side. She took a step to, in order to regain her balance. Taking advantage of her slight stumble, Seto went to jab, but she only leapt backwards. And the chain of blocks and attacks began again.
"In this day and age, I don't think that's any serious problem." She commented, side-stepping out of the way. He attempted to swing the attack round and change direction, but she swept her foil up and blocked it easily.
"Oh, but they think I am ashamed to admit it, so those who…really are, dislike me as much as the others."
"That's never bothered you before." She gasped, shooting forward, but to no avail as she was blocked again. "People not liking you."
"It does when it means they won't deal with me." Seto answered, twisting to free his blocked attack and backed off to try again. When he was close again, he continued. "I would be really gratefully if you came…"
"That's emotional blackmail." Azreal grumbled. They were circling now, close together, but not quite within reach. Partly to judge an appropriate time, and partly to regain their breath. "I never realised there was so much politics in running a company…"
"It's all politics. Is that a yes?" Seto demanded, advancing, but keeping his foil steady. Azreal did the same.
"…I suppose…" She sighed as once again, she was parried. "At least you'll have to dance with me."
"Is that not what we are doing?" Seto asked mockingly. "I needed to ask in advance. I don't suppose you'll have any plans for September yet?"
"September…?" Azreal echoed. No, she had made a point not to make any plans further ahead then next month because- Seto leapt forward suddenly, knocking her foil with such ferocity that, surprised by the suddenness and strength of the attack, she dropped it. It clattered to the floor, and she was effectively disarmed.
Uh-oh…
Seto calmly held his sword out to the side, blocking her from reclaiming her foil. He began to slowly advance on her as she hastily tried to avoid him.
"It would appear the game is up." Seto smirked verbally. He took his time, toying with her, letting her circle slowly, but always remaining between her right, sword hand, and the foil itself, lying despondently on the floor. Eventually, she stopped.
Seto slowly held the tip of the foil only a centimetre from her chest, fully enjoying watching her stand, motionless, waiting for the attack. The Sword was on her left. By the time she had picked it up and transferred it to her right hand, he could have hit her five times and maybe even disarmed her again. He was in no rush, had no worries, as he waited for her to just try it. "I believe I've won."
It was just a pity there was one thing he didn't know about Azreal.
She may have favoured her right hand, more to fit in then anything else, but that didn't mean she couldn't use her left.
As Seto would shortly discover, all Muses were born ambidextrous.
Quick as a flash, she bent slightly, and grabbed her foil in her left hand, automatically changing to the left grip and stance. Before Seto even had time to realise what he had done, she was holding her foil just a centimetre before his chest.
Seto gasped slightly, but his own foil did not waver. It was just matter of who struck first now.
"No, I believe that we have a stalemate." She replied.
"T…Time!" The instructor bellowed, disbelievingly. It really was time. In five minutes, school would let out for the day, and they still needed to pack up… "Disengage!"
Regretfully, Seto and Azreal each took a large step back, and away from each other.
"Salute!"
Breathing heavily, suddenly realising how hot they were in the heavy gear, the two brought the swords up almost mechanically before sweeping it down in the traditional salute they had been shown.
The instructor walked closer. "Foils."
They handed them over to him, and he stashed them with the others, before yelling the final instruction back at them. "And, bow."
They both inclined themselves forward, removing the masks as they went. By the time they straightened up, Azreal with the heavy mask under her arm, and Seto with the strap wound round his fingers, everyone had realised who they were. And as the recognitions echoed around, they smiled at each other, slightly red in the face, knackered, but also rather happy.
That had been quite enjoyable. And rather memorable. Carrying a fluent conversation in a sword fight had to be a first.
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However, Seto was not the only one with a proposition that day. About half way back to the mansion that night, as she and Mokuba walked along, Anna breached the subject.
"Camping?" Mokuba repeated, sounding slightly confused.
"Uh-huh." Anna nodded, "Ever been?"
"Um…" Mokuba frowned, half trying to remember, half wondering why she asked. He thought hard, going as far back as his memory would allow. It was hard. So hard, he often wondered if he had had any birth parents at all. It wasn't like he knew anything about them.
But he did have a few memories, that mainly returned in dreams. A feeling of being held, being safe, like nothing could ever go wrong again. And then he knew they had existed.
He could vaguely remember their old house. There were photos everywhere. Including one of him, no more then perhaps two, his brother, looking completely different while he wore an honest smile, and his mother, standing before a tent.
"I think so…" He replied eventually. "I think my parents must have taken us… I don't remember, but there was a photo…"
Anna frowned now. She didn't remember seeing any photos at all around their home… so what had happened to them all…?
Mokuba was just wondering the same thing. But only one person knew the answer, and it was the one person they wouldn't risk asking.
"Why do you ask?" Mokuba asked, curiously.
She shrugged. "I just wondered what you and Seto did for a holiday."
Mokuba looked down. The truth was, he had never been. Sure, there had been the odd morning, afternoon, occasionally even whole day out, when Seto hadn't been able to take the guilt of never seeing him, but it had never been so much as overnight. It couldn't be- Seto hadn't the time. "…It depends." He answered eventually.
"Oh." Anna replied. "Well, I've never been camping either."
"Oh."
"But…" She continued, and Mokuba looked up, growing suspicious at the gleam in her eyes.
"But…?" He prompted.
"But we're going the first week of the summer, and you and Seto are invited!" She finished cheerily.
Mokuba choked, stumbling. Then he stopped dead, staring at her in horror.
Anna threw her hands up in order to pacify him. "Hey, hey, if was just an idea… If you don't want to…"
"Have you asked Seto?" Mokuba demanded, sounding strangled.
"Well, no…" Anna said. "I'm gonna try, but I figured if I couldn't convince him you could… but y'know, it's not, like, obligatory or anything. You don't have to come." She continued to walk down the road, hiding her disappointment.
Mokuba practically rugby tackled her from behind. "OF COURSE I'M COMING!" He yelled, enthusiastically. "And so is Seto!" He nodded determinedly, before breaking into a huge grin. "Uh, that is, I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Anna grinned to as they went on their way.
"Hey, what's it like sleeping in a tent?" Mokuba asked excitedly.
"I don't know, I've never slept in one." Anna replied, tolerantly.
The questions continued all the way down the road, as Mokuba seemed unable, in his excitement, to comprehend the fact that she didn't know. Or maybe it was the questions, not the answers that were important, exciting, to him. Anna couldn't help but laugh as he got totally hyper over it. She'd have to convince Seto now. Perhaps even implement a guilt trip…
She was just as excited, though. Camping… it would certainly be an experience, with or without the Kaiba Brothers.
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"…And… 2 makes 7.091, with the point-3r, that's… uh…" Her mobile began to ring on the shelf. With some relief, Azreal abandoned the maths for a second to answer it.
"Yello?" She asked, slouching back down into her chair and glaring at the open maths book. Perhaps if it burst into flame she could get away with not doing it… It wasn't like she hadn't been trying all night… Azreal's biggest flaw, though she was blind to it, was that she was never willing to ask for help when she needed it. Namely, when dealing with mathematics.
"What have you done?" Seto asked, wearily.
"Oh, I love you to." Azreal spat, sarcastically. "What do you want?"
Slightly taken aback by her bad mood, Seto deliberately spoke in a lighter tone to try and pacify her. "Hey, hey… It's just I've just got in from work to find Mokuba jumping around like some kind of deranged Kuriboh and bellowing something I can't follow but that seems to involve you. So, I'd appreciate being let into the loop, as it were."
Azreal said nothing, just giggled uncertainly. "Uh…"
Seto groaned. "Oh no…"
"What?" She asked, suppressing a snort.
"I just realised what I said to calm him down…" Seto said.
"And that was?" She prompted.
"Well, I said… 'Yes, yes…'" Seto informed her, mimicking his pacifying tone.
There was a slight pause at the other end of the line, followed by raucous laughter. "Well, I guess that makes my job easier…" Azreal spluttered.
"What have I just sold my soul to?" Seto demanded. She laughed all the harder. "Az! What did I just say?"
"Congratulations…" Azreal said, gasping for breath and imitating a low voice. "You have just won an all-exclusive, all-inclusive, camping holiday for you and your brother with my family and I!"
"…What!" Seto yelled.
"Well, don't sound so happy." Azreal laughed. "It's a great site, honestly. He only lets it out to one group at a time, and it's next to this huge lake and surrounded by woods- I've seen pictures- and-"
"No." Seto said, flatly.
"Heh." Azreal snorted. "Do you really think Mokuba'll let you out of it?"
"You had no right to ask him before me anyway!" Seto flared up. "I don't have time for holidays, it's called running a company!"
"No need to yell." She replied, sounding hurt. He deflated a little.
"Well, what did you think you were playing at?" He asked, exasperated. "What made you think I had the time?"
Azreal laughed bitterly. "Honestly, I don't think there's a CEO in the world who works as hard as you do! You're supposed to allocate work, not do it all yourself!"
"I'll take that as a compliment." Seto replied, icily.
"You do that." She answered, sounding annoyed. "But, you know, it's not like you're going to go bankrupt if you take a week off, Seth."
"You haven't seen the idiots I work with." Seto dismissed, snorting. "I still haven't fathomed out how half of them came into my employment, actually…"
Azreal paused for a moment. "Seto, if you don't want to come…" She said, reigning in her rage. He was just making excuses now.
"Don't you think I want to come?" Seto demanded, laughing at the absurdity of it all. "You think that's all there is to it! I would love to come, Az, but-"
"See!" She pointed out, gently. "That 'but' again. Responsibility is all well and good, Seth, but you know as well as I do that you could take the week off if you wanted to. I mean, you weren't exactly working in Battle City, were you?"
"That's not-"
"Don't lie to me!" Azreal interrupted. "If you don't want to come, fine. Just don't lie to me about it! And don't lie to yourself, either." She took a deep breath, calming down. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I asked, alright? I'm sorry Mokuba is going to get disappointed, and I'm sorry it was apparently such a stupid idea. Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't realise that you buried yourself in work so much that you've lost yourself along the way, and I'm sorry that I don't know what it is you're trying to hide from!"
There was dead silence. The statement had not exactly been fair, however true it was, but it had been said, and could not be taken back, nor, judging by the silence, denied.
Azreal calmed herself again. "Okay… okay… look, Seth… I shouldn't have said that. But the fact still remains… I know life is hard for you, but I just thought that maybe it'd be nice for Mokuba to have a holiday. I mean, how has it been since you've taken- um, since he's been away? I just thought it'd be a bit of fun for the dude."
"Then why not just take Mokuba?" Seto asked, not sounding angry at her, just a little… pensive. But, also, she could practically hear his resolve weakening. She decided to take the chance and worm into the cracks.
"Because I invited both of you." She said, softly. "It wouldn't just be good for him, you know… How long has it been since you thought of anything other then work? It'd be a change of pace. It might even be fun, Seto! I mean, I've never met anyone who needs a bit of unlimited fun then you! I really think it'd be good for you."
Seto made no response to her impassioned words, but she could practically hear him wavering.
"And good for us." She added, hastily.
Seto sighed deeply. "Why do I get the feeling that I've just been subjected to emotional blackmail?"
"Because you just have." Azreal grinned. "Just like you did to me earlier, ne? So…" She teased. "Is that a yes?"
"I suppose…" Seto sighed ruefully again. "That was a very underhand tactic."
Azreal laughed. "Oh, you cheer me up…" Then she glanced down, seeing her math book still there, and groaned. She had almost forgot.
Seto laughed; or, at least, she assumed the deep rumbling noise he made was a laugh. "Judging by that noise, you have just remembered your maths homework."
"Don't remind me anymore…" She moaned. "I've been trying all night…"
"I still have to do mine…" Seto replied, and she heard the rustling of textbooks. "Okay, what did you get for number one?"
"It's wrong…" She warned.
"No, don't worry, it's foolproof- you won't be far off…" He encouraged. "What did you get?"
"Okay…" She repeated doubtfully, finding the answer on the page. "One-point-three-seven."
"Well, you're only seven-point-zero-zero-two out…" Seto tried. Azreal sighed.
"So it's… um… give me a minute… Eight-point-three-seven-two, right?"
A slight pause. "Close, but… the other way. Negative numbers…"
Azreal groaned. "Then how did I get one and thirty seven!"
"I don't know." Seto laughed. "But I can tell you how to get minus-five-point-six-three-two."
"Good, because I won't even be able to write that."
"Aw, don't be grumpy…" Seto wheedled. She snorted.
"Look who's talking."
"Just let me help you, Az…"
"Fine. As long as you return the favour."
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Azreal, for once, left the house early that Sunday morning. She was supposed to be meeting Kaho in The Milk Bar a little later on, but she was way too early. So instead, she went for a little walk, not really knowing or caring, as usual, where she was going, singing a little song as she thought.
"...I'm tired of the city, all the dirt and the noise, why don't we run away- to a place where the sun still shines? And in the green, green, grass, it'll come to pass, we'll start a new life…"
She wasn't paying attention, so she didn't really notice the grass verges merging into concrete slabs, the neatly mown lawns changing into scruffy tufts grass determinedly growing up through cracks, and the houses being replaced by tower blocks that were nowhere near as posh as the ones that Ryou lived in. When she eventually noticed, Azreal looked around in despair at the overturned bins, and graffiti. Even the air seemed cooler here, and she wished she'd brought some sort of a jacket after all. She had most defiantly managed to wander into the 'bad' area of town, but she wondered vaguely what made it bad- who did it? Who would mess up their own place to live? One thing was certain, though- no-one lived here by choice.
She ploughed on regardless, her song stilled. It was a test of courage. She'd like to think that she wasn't one to judge on appearance, and she was determined to find one redeeming feature of this place, trying to convince herself she wasn't so prejudice that she would assume anyone who lived here would bash her head in. And if she could walk all the way through, back into 'nice' areas, without quickening her pace or running back, then she would have proved she was above that. But, try as she might, she could not bring the song back. The entire estate was overlooked by tower blocks, and the one part that wasn't just gave a clearer view of the hill, with a warehouse perched on top. It made the back of Azreal's neck tingle, intuition starting up. There was something happening- or had happened, or would happen- in that place, but there was nothing to be done. She just walked faster.
It was to her great surprise that she came to walk past a small Church, sandwiched between a Chinese take-away and a convince store, grills still down. It seemed so out of place here, where even the heat of the sun had abandoned the area. The Church itself looked even more out of place, a small Graveyard attached to the side, the stark white or grey stone contrasting to the green grass that stood out a mile in this sea of concrete. It was really quite beautiful, and seemed to radiate calm. There was even a small thicket of trees- she could just see a row of trees looping behind the Church. She wondered if it was some sort of communal garden, and without thinking, headed towards it. Something about that tiny wood…
Azreal had to fight hard to resist the impulse to run straight towards the wood. Something was defiantly setting her Muse senses right off, senses of something amazing, and she was sure it was coming from that wood… But she forced herself to walk slowly- it was a graveyard, after all. As she looked at the names, she wondered vaguely who they had all been. It was an odd feeling. Once upon a time, all these stones had been living, breathing people, with hopes and dreams, and likes and dislikes, and she wondered about them. Had they had loved ones, or were they lonely? Did they love and laugh and dream? Or were they as cold as the stone?
"Good morning."
Azreal spun round, surprised by the sudden cheery voice. "Uh… Morning…"
The guy, no more then a year older then her smiled. "Well, I have to say, it's unusual to see anyone new around here! Not that I'm complaining, mind you- Well, the majority of the Church is so old, we need some more youth!"
"Oh, no, no-" Azreal tried hastily. "I just-"
"Oh, sorry!" He apologised, suddenly looking embarrassed. "I didn't realise… so sorry… well… I didn't mean to disturb you if you're…well…" He gestured at the grave she was standing in front of.
"No, I didn't know her." Azreal replied, embarrassed now. "I was just…"
"Oh, well!" He continued, grinning again. You could just tell this guy was never seen without a smile. "Well, then I'm sorry for embarrassing you! Well, I'm going in, so, well, goodbye!" He started walking towards the main door of the Church, where a few more teens were waving at him. "Unless, of course, well, you're coming in…?"
Azreal wanted to say no, but he was looking at her so hopefully…
"Uh, sure." She replied, mentally yelling at her brain for saying stupid things.
"Well, excellent!" He cheered, then gestured at her. "Well, come on then! Oh, and by the way, they call me Well on account of, well, my tendency to say 'Well' a lot!"
Azreal followed 'Well' over to the group of teens, who all proved to be as hyper as he was, and wondered what she had gotten herself into.
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Seto was working from home. The reason was the new apprentice his secretary had hired. He knew it had been a mistake to give his secretary the authority to do that- he'd thought it would save him the trouble of finding an assistant, but it had only caused more bother.
Seto had always made a point to hire male secretaries, just in case. His secretary, however, had no such qualms, and hired a very well qualified, very hard working, very polite assistant to help him in the day to day tasks. And Seto could find no reason to fire her without being accused of unfair dismissal.
But the way she kept trying to flirt with him, and the way her skirts and tops kept becoming shorter defiantly unnerved him. So today he was hiding in the mansion. It was a Sunday, so most of the departments would be shut anyway.
A quiet knock came at the door, and on Seto's answer, Mokuba's head appeared around the door.
"Seto?" He asked, biting his lip but eyes shining with a hopeful excitement.
"I've already said yes." Seto replied, tolerantly. Mokuba certainly wanted the assurance that they were defiantly going on this blasted trip… Which he was secretly looking forward to.
"No, not that!" Mokuba replied. "It's just… there's a woman who wants to see you. She said… she said she's mom's sister, Seto! She says she's our Aunt!"
Seto looked up sharply. "What? And you let her in the house without telling me!"
"No…" Mokuba replied, backing off slightly. "Ms Portly did… But Seto, can you imagine? A family!"
"Send her in…" Seto replied gruffly, frowning. He didn't remember his mother ever having a sister, but then, his memory from that time was rarely reliable. But if life had taught him anything, it was that everything was too good too hope for.
A moment later, Mokuba entered the room with a tall, slim woman, with hair the same colour as his own. He recognised her instantly.
"Get out!" He growled, trying to keep his voice flat.
The woman looked down at Mokuba, and shrugged before gesturing at the door. Mokuba threw a confused look at Seto before scurrying out. Seto waited till he'd gone.
"You know full well I meant you." He glared. "Now get out."
"Seth, just hear me out…" She pleaded.
Seto's fist inadvertedly curled into a fist. "You have no right to call me that."
She laughed. "I see you still hate me, then, Seto."
"What do you want?" Seto demanded. He thought he had seen the back of this woman many years ago.
"Would you believe I felt bad leaving you?" She asked.
"No, I would not."
"Seto, please…" She tried. "I know you don't like me, but please, give me a chance! I can look after you, and Mokuba to-"
"You didn't care about him then, and you don't now! You lied to him, and I bet you would've lied to me if I didn't recognise you! Aunt, indeed!" Seto stood up, hatred pouring out of him. All of those years ago, at the orphanage, she had only chosen him to begin with because he looked enough like her to pass as her son, and, apparently, the resemblance was still enough for Mokuba to believe her lie. Imagine her delight when he had turned out to be a bright, happy, polite little boy to boot. She hadn't been nearly so thrilled to meet Mokuba. She had nearly adopted them regardless. Nearly. She never turned up to sign the final adoption papers. Later, she had tried to tell Seto it was because she didn't have room for two, but he knew that wasn't the case. She didn't want Mokuba, who, at that point, was just an easily scared little kid, not quite able what had happened to his family. And now here she was, back, trying to tell him she felt guilty about leaving them!
"Seto, please don't bear a grudge…" She said quietly. "Don't you think it bothers me that I just left you? I was young and shallow… I wasn't ready. But now I really think I…" She trailed off. Seto was meeting her eyes without remorse, and it was rather unnerving her.
Seto knew what she was thinking. He couldn't read minds, but he could read body language. Looks. This woman was about as sincere as the time he'd told Joey he wanted to be friends. She wasn't plagued by guilt, she didn't love him as her own child. Which meant she could only be after one thing-
His success.
Seto's glare was turned up a notch. He hated people like this. He had succeeded, on his own, he hadn't needed anyone to help him. And he defied anyone who said he did.
But then… a family. He remembered Mokuba's eyes, shining hopefully. This woman would most defiantly go through the motions of caring, if it would get her money. Could he possibly agree? Practically pay someone who couldn't care less about Mokuba to care? And sometimes, he just wasn't around. Mokuba needed to know-think- that there was someone else who cared about him, maybe…
Then Seto noticed the picture on his desk. He didn't look at it often, but it was a nice photograph, taken that Christmas Eve. Him and Az, looking up in surprise at the Mistletoe above their heads. Mokuba in the background, holding the stick, giggling. Yugi had actually taken the photo, but had given Azreal a copy. And she had given it to Seto. But he had to admit, he looked a lot happier there. That had been a fun day, for all of them. Including his younger brother. And that had been when it was just the two of them, there had been no family, no 'Aunts' back then. And they had still been happy.
So, did he accept this woman as family?
Everything was not okay.
But they were alright.
A few minutes later, she had been kicked out the house, and Mokuba tentatively walked back inside the room.
"Seto?"
"Mokuba…"
He gnawed on his lip. "She wasn't real, was she?"
"No." Seto replied.
Mokuba's eyes could not hide his disappointment, but he smiled anyway. "Oh well. We don't need anyone else anyway! We have everything we need!"
Seto allowed himself a rare smile. "Exactly. I'll be back in one second…" He stood, intending to follow her and made sure she left. He was expecting trouble, and paranoid or not, the fact remained that trouble usually came.
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Azreal slipped out of the service just before the end, during the closing prayer. Her head was buzzing, reeling, and whatever was in the wood was still tugging on her senses. She really needed to get out of here and clear her head, and she didn't want to stay and face Well and the others.
She dithered at the gate into the Church yard, wondering weather to go and investigate the woods, or to just get out of there. Her instincts were colliding in a very annoying way. The human side was demanding that she flee, but the Muse side was trying to convince her that the woods was the way to go. It was such a strong pull, even to her weak senses. And, somewhere, in the very corner of her mind, a daring hope was rising that perhaps something in that wood could save her…
"Anna?" Ryou was standing at the outside the low fence, Cassie present as ever at his feet. The boy and his dog might as well have been one entity.
What was he doing here?
Problem solved, she bolted down the path to find out.
"Isn't it obvious?" He asked in response to her unspoken question as they walked along in no particular direction. "But, I'm walking Cassie."
"I didn't know you walked her all the way out here…"
Ryou shrugged non-committaly. "Variety, you know… But what about you? I didn't know you were religious." He nodded back in the direction they had come.
"Oh, I'm not… exactly…" She replied, thoughtfully. "I just kind of ended up in there. I'll tell you one thing though…" She stretched, cupping her hands behind her neck as she looked up at the clear summer sky. "They're defiantly onto something, these religious types. I mean, they defiantly have some purpose in their lives, don't you think? Hoping for something, you know?" She shrugged, shaking her head as she lowered her arms. "I don't know what it is exactly, but it's there. They have…something."
Ryou laughed slightly bitterly. "Well, if you ever figure it out, make sure you let me know. If you ever know what 'it' is, feel free to divulge knowledge to the rest of us." He gave that bitter laugh again, quietly, then abruptly changed the subject to the ins and outs of how one would go about making a guitar, if it possible, or just a pleasantly futile task.
Azreal knew perfectly well he was deliberately stopping her from commenting on the pain in his eyes, the withdrawn look, and the heaviness in his steps. It was his way of asking her not to ask him. So she didn't, and the conversation continued in a pleasantly idle fashion until they found a small field of patchy grass and tarmac that passed as the estate's park, and came upon Joey, sitting alone, and bleeding from the corner of his mouth.
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Kaho looked at her watch and couldn't help but let out a little sigh. Anna was not the most punctual of people, but she had never been this late, not without phoning full of curses and apologies. She had never blown Kaho off like this before.
Oh well. She'd been sitting here long enough. She'd give Anna five more minutes, then she'd go back to her empty home and… do homework. Yeah. She had some Art she needed to be getting on with…
She sighed again, and as it so often did, her mind wandered back to Somewhere and what would have happened if she hadn't had left. Somewhere was the smallest of the five cities, and really made it's money from being a pit stop. Nothing exciting ever happened there. No-one important ever came from there. It just went along at it's dreary little pace, never dreaming of anything more.
But Kaho had dreamed of more. She had wanted to learn, to be as educated as possible. She didn't want to go to work as soon as possible, like most. They were all NIPs, anyway, working the docks of things being sent down to the Muses in the field, and brought up to the cities. And she hadn't wanted to go there. But no-one from her town became a Muse. There was hardly even a point in applying.
She had meant to, but she never made it to the entrance exam for the school in Wherever. It was so unfair. Just because she was from a minor city, she had to fight for a place. But she had never gone. She hadn't been able to raise the teleport fare to get there. Her parents didn't help, they thought it was a silly phase. But it didn't matter. She wouldn't have got in anyway.
By the time her parents realised it wasn't just a phase, and were ready to help, she had already arranged her immigration to Earth.
So here she was. In a small bar, in a small suburb of a large city on a small island. Finally daring to have a life other then her studies. She had been happy enough just furthering her education, but she had wanted friends. And she thought she had found that in Anna. She was a good friend, trying to help her figure out what to do after school. She said that if Kaho didn't get a good life for herself, she would personally come back and haunt her till she got herself in gear.
But today, she wasn't here. Kaho took one last look around at the students mingling around her. This was a favourite weekend hangout. The only free seat was really the one she'd been saving for Anna, on their small, two seater table by the window. Kaho glanced out the window, but there was no sign of her. Time to leave…
"Can I sit here?" Some random guy asked.
"Sure." She replied, used to being kicked off tables for people with groups of friends. She stood up to leave.
"Hey, hey, what's the rush?" He asked, grabbing her arm. "I'm not that bad, am I?"
She looked up for the first time and saw who it was. Anna had vaguely introduced her to them all, but she couldn't for the life of her remember his name.
"Oh! It's… Kaho Bijou, right?" He asked, smiling. He never forgot girl's names. He knew them all.
"That's right." She smiled, sitting down. "And you're… um…"
"Allow me to reintroduce myself." He grinned, reaching out to shake her hand. "My name is Duke. As in Devlin."
"Hi." She answered. He considered her in a way that made her feel slightly uncomfortable. "What?"
"I just wondered if you were feeling ill." He said, innocently.
"No, no, I'm fine…" She said, confused.
"Because you're talking to Doctor Love!" He persisted.
"What?" Kaho blinked.
"No?" He asked, nodding. "Okay… How about… Are you are a parking ticket?"
"No." Kaho replied, thoroughly bewildered.
"'Cause you've got fine written all over you!"
"Pardon?" Kaho screeched, flustered. "What are you talking about?"
"You must be tired." He replied.
"Not really, no…"
"Because you've been walking through my mind all day!"
"How?" Kaho asked, completely lost. "We've only really just met."
"Oh, but I feel like I've known you all my life." He answered, smiling.
"Uh…" Kaho stammered. "Look, I'm flattered, but if you listen a minute-"
"How can I listen when I can't hear over the beating of my heart?" He asked.
Kaho said nothing, dithering between running away or just jumping through the window.
He groaned, slumping down and resting his head on his arms. "I must be losing my touch. I can't even pull you." He looked up, meeting her eye. "Uh, no offence."
"Um, none… none taken…" Kaho stammered. "But what do you mean, losing your touch?"
He rocked his head to the side, indicating the direction of the counter. "See her?" He asked, nodding at one of the girls on the bar stools. "The blond one?"
"She's pretty…" Kaho agreed.
"She's gorgeous." Duke bemoaned. "And she won't even look twice at me."
Kaho blinked in surprise, then understanding. This had been a fairly bewildering conversation so far. "Please, tell me those were not pick-up lines before."
"Yeah." Duke affirmed.
"Well…" Kaho sweat-dropped. "That might be the problem. Try talking to her as a person before you treat her as an object of affection."
Duke considered her. "You think that would work?"
"Sure." She nodded. "Go for it." And get out of here…
He gave a small, nervous smile that didn't suit him, nodded, and made his way over. Kaho watched as he struck up a conversation with the blond girl, hopefully without using a pick-up line.
What a weirdo.
Neither of them knew it, but Duke would call on Kaho quite often over the months that passed, seeking help as he managed to get to know the blond- who turned out to be called Sakura- and as they began dating. No more did they know that during these exchanges, they would gradually get to know each other, and become close friends. And Duke did not know that Sakura would eventually dump him with 'I really like you, Duke, but… I don't think you even know it, but there's someone else you like.'
And then, she would go on to explain that the one he liked had been under his nose all along, but he had never even considered her because of her quiet, studious, nature. At first, Duke did not believe it, but eventually came to realise that it was true. How odd, him, with someone who could be his pole oppisite. But then, Fate had a habit of playing silly buggers with human (and Muse) kind quite often.
However, that was all in the future. Right now, Kaho watched as Duke was invited to sit down next to the blond, and wished him all the luck in the world as she quietly slipped out of the café and headed back to her empty maisonette. Not everyone was as lucky as Azreal- rarely was anyone right first time.
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
They came to a dead stop for a moment. Joey hadn't noticed them yet.
"My goodness…" Ryou muttered under his breath, and Azreal nodded in agreement.
"I didn't realise Joey lived around here…" She whispered, mouth dry as she began to walk over to him.
"Ann, wait!" Ryou begged, but she didn't stop. "Ann! He won't want us to see him like that…"
But it was too late. She was already one her way. So Ryou followed.
Joey was sitting on a bench, staring down at the ground, scuffing it with his feet. He became vaguely aware that there was some legs in front of him. He looked up, seeing Ryou's dog before coming face to face with the guy himself and Anna, both of whom were looking at him in horror.
"It looks worse then it is." He promised, ignoring the way the side of his face and mouth throbbed when he spoke.
"Man, Joey…" Anna said, slumping down on the non-broken part of the bench, and examining his face. "Who?" She asked quietly.
Joey said nothing for a moment, then grinned as best he could with half his face swelling up. "Don't worry. I gave him a black eye." Unfortunately, he added mentally He chucked me out the house for it. Oh well. He'd just have to go back in the morning- his dad wouldn't remember a thing.
"Your dad." Ryou stated, not sitting down. "Joey… You can't live like this."
"Yeah, well, I don't have a choice, do I?" He demanded. "Besides, stop fussing. I've had a lot worse."
"You shouldn't have to have anything!" Anna yelled, upset. Joey stood, angry.
"Yeah, well, the world doesn't work like that." Joey paused to spit some blood out onto the ground, feeling weird about swallowing his own blood. "I don't live in your happy little existence, Anna! In my world, things don't always work out as I want them to! I didn't want my dad to start drinking, and I didn't want my mom to leave, and I didn't want to stay and look after him, but that's what life gave me and that's all I've got!" During this, Anna stood up slowly. She felt too intimidated, sitting down.
"That's not true." Ryou said, calmly, and Joey turned to face him instead. "You can have more then that, if you go out and look. And, by the way, scaring Anna isn't going to help."
"…Ah, what do you know!" Joey yelled at him. "What do you know about dealing with stuff!"
"Hold her." Ryou muttered to Anna, shoving Cassie's lead into her hands.
"But…"
"Just do it!"
"I'm not scaring her!" Joey was continuing. "I'm just telling her the truth! I'm telling her reality!"
"But maybe it's not the truth…" Ryou tried. "You can change your reality, if you want to. Suffering hurts, but you don't have to let it run the show."
"Shut up!" Joey screamed at him. "Just shut up! Who are you to talk about changing what you have to face! About 'Suffering'! You don't deal with half the stuff we do! While we're all off with Yugi, fighting for the world-not to mention our lives- what are you doing! You just lie there and… and sleep! Or you're the one trying to kill us! So don't you dare talk to me about 'suffering'! You don't know what you're talking about!"
"Guys…" Anna said, uncertainly, as she saw anger flare up in Ryou's eyes. She'd never seen him mad before… he'd always seemed so mellow…
"I'll forget that comment." Ryou ground out, eventually. "You're just angry. You don't mean that."
Joey growled. "How the hell do you know what I mean and what I don't!" Ryou turned away, but it only made Joey madder. "Don't walk away from me, dammit!" He swung a punch wildly at the back of Ryou's head. Before Azreal could even comprehend this turn of events and yell a warning, Ryou had whirled around and caught Joey's flailing fist easily in his own, cold rage lending him a co-ordination, strength and speed he usually lacked.
"You don't want to fight me, Joey." He said, coldly, as Joey struggled against him, and Anna looked on in horror. "Do you? You're angry. You just want to lash out at the world, don't you, Joey!"
"Ryou, let go and fight me, dammit!" Joey yelled, struggling- but Ryou did not let go, and all Joey succeeded in doing was getting himself pinned, arm behind his back. "Let go of me!"
"I didn't do this." Ryou replied. "You did this to yourself, Joey. I just held on. And that's the problem. You get angry, but your rage is blind. You just want to hurt the nearest person. But if you let it take over, you're not going to get anywhere. You're just going to end up pinned by someone weaker then you."
"What do you know…?" Joey snarled, struggling again. Ryou tightened his grip. "What do you… what do you know…?" The blind rage was fading into a void of emotion.
Ryou laughed. "What do I know? Don't you think I know? Don't you think I understand! You have no idea, do you? Ever been to the Shadow Realm, Joey? It's not fun, I can tell you. Ever been trapped in Limbo, knowing that your other self is trying to kill your friends, but being unable to stop it? Don't you think that hurts! Don't you think it makes me angry that on this day a few years ago, a police man turned up at my door telling me my mother and sister were dead! I can't even go and see the graves, Joey, because I came here to look for my father, and I never found him! Don't you think I get mad?"
Azreal gasped. That was why he had seemed so sad today. She hadn't known… how could she have?
"Ryou, you're hurting him!" Azreal yelled, as Joey tried to pull away again, wincing when Ryou's grip held him firm and wouldn't let him go any further.
"He's hurting himself." Ryou replied, laughing bitterly. "Are you beginning to get it, Joey? Blind rage will get you nowhere! We all get angry, we all get hurt- but you can't let it beat you! There's good times to! So you have to fight it, because it'll only hurt you more!" He seemed sadder then ever, even as he seemed so angry. "I hurt just like you do! But I have to keep smiling anyway! If your friends are the only good thing in your life, don't take the bad stuff out on them! You feel like letting go, but you just have to hold on! I know! I've been there!"
Gradually, Joey stopped struggling and stood still, breathing deeply. "Okay. You can let go now."
"You're not going to turn straight around and punch me in the face?" Ryou checked.
"No. No, I'm not."
"You're back in control?" Ryou demanded. "You're not going to take it out on us?"
"No."
Slowly, Ryou released him and took a step back.
Joey rubbed his wrist. "That's quite a grip." He gave a laugh that wasn't really a laugh.
"It comes from playing the guitar." Ryou replied, wordlessly taking the lead from Anna, who was watching them in horror. "I'm sorry I hurt you."
Joey shook his head. "No, you're right." He sunk back down onto the bench. "Oh, man, Ryou, I'm sorry… You haven't done anything."
Ryou shrugged. "You're hurting."
Joey said nothing for a moment. "It just seems… you know. Why should I complain about my home life, when Yugi… and you, I guess… is going through so much junk everyday?"
"Pain is still painful." Anna piped up. "Weather it's a paper cut or your head dropping off, it's still going to hurt."
They stayed in silence for a while.
"I'm just going to finish school." Joey muttered. "Then… I'm going to go to my mom's. I'm sick of him."
Azreal privately thought that that wasn't soon enough, but didn't try to tell him that. For some reason, she was stupidly thirsty. What she wouldn't give for a drink…
"Kaho!" She yelled suddenly, erupting from the bench and running in the vague direction of the Milk Bar. As they followed, Joey turned to Ryou.
"Look, Ryou…" He said, embarrassed. "I just wanted to say… thanks. I mean, I needed that."
Ryou laughed. "I get the feeling I over-reacted somewhat, and I'm sorry." He looked sad. "You could say you chose a bad day to cross me."
"The day your mom and sis… died, right?"
"Yes." Ryou nodded.
"Man…" Joey muttered. "That's some serious turd, if you'll excuse the imagery."
"Not at all." Ryou laughed. "That's actually quite an accurate way of putting it."
"If Serenity died, I would've gone crazy." Joey confessed. "I mean, look what I was like when it was just her eyes…!"
"Yeah, well…" Ryou shrugged awkwardly. "I came here a little while after. I wanted to find my dad, you see. I mean, I'd never really seen much of him, he was always away on digs, but… Well, he was my only family, and he sent me this-" he tapped the Ring now. "And I half-hoped that he'd know how to stop all the strange stuff it did. He used to own the museum, I think, but I never found him." He laughed bitterly. "Of course, at the time I didn't know what Shadi did to those who disturbed the Items…"
An awkward silence fell.
"So…" Ryou finished. "I built a life here." What Joey didn't know, of course, was that he would be leaving in just over a week, and he couldn't bring himself to tell him. So instead they talked about the fruitlessness of trying to build one's own guitar.
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Unsurprisingly, as she was almost three hours late, Kaho was no longer there when Azreal and the other two arrived. She tried to ring her, but Kaho's mobile was turned off, so she sent a text instead. That done, she, Joey, and Ryou slipped onto one of the tables along the walls of the building, each set of sets separated by a pane of stencilled glass, in the design of flowers or birds. Anna and Ryou just got milkshakes. Joey got ice-cream, presumably to soothe his sore face.
Or maybe he just liked ice-cream.
As they talked, Ryou became gradually aware that Azreal was very quiet, not even slurping her milkshake like she normally did. Joey picked up on it to, and then, in the silence, they became aware of what was bothering her. She was sitting in front of a partition with lilies stencilled on it, and voices were gradually floating over. It appeared they were talking about Seto, and they didn't have anything nice to say.
"…pathetically obsessed with that gremlin kid!" One girl was saying. "And, yeah, don't even get me started on that cow he drags around with him!"
Azreal finished her drink, and clenched the glass hard in her hand, not looking up.
"I'm just surprised that Mr Better-then-Thou got his head out of his backside long enough to think anyone was good enough for him, let alone that freak of a girlfriend!"
"Maybe she has her head up there instead!" One girl suggested spitefully, and they all laughed hysterically.
Her face was looking down, but it was fairly obvious the emotion of the day had gotten to her and she was crying silently.
"Right…" Joey growled, standing up. It was one thing to insult Kaiba, but another entirely to talk about his friends like that.
"Wait." Ryou said, placing a hand on his arm and walking off himself. "I'll go."
"Ryou, no, it's not worth the bother." Anna hissed at him, tears of embarrassment and hurt still in her eyes as the laughter continued behind her and the statements got even more insulting.
"Don't worry." Ryou gave a happy little wave as he stood up fully, picking up his glass. "I'll be nice. Let's just say I've met this lot before. May I sit here?" He asked whoever was behind her. Azreal resisted the urge to watch over the partition, but she listened anyway, wiping the wetness off her face, and trying not to sniff too loudly. Joey sat, blinking, wondering what on Earth Ryou was going to pull.
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Sonomi couldn't believe it when Ryou, the object of her affections for so long, walked over to them, carrying a drink.
"May I sit here?" He asked, smiling politely at her. "All the other seats are full…"
Sonomi stared blankly. This couldn't be real. No way could this be real…
"Sure, go ahead." Her friend, Christina, said from across the way, saving her. Sonomi composed herself, but didn't know what to say, so she just nodded, unable to speak.
He sat down next to her, sipping from his drink.
When he realised no-one was saying anything, he smiled round at them. "Oh, sorry. Don't mind me, just continue with your conversation as though I wasn't here." He sipped at his drink again, but still no-one spoke.
"Um, we were just talking about…" Minako cast around for something that wouldn't make them look bad. "The other day when… um…"
Ryou smiled. "I believe, if I heard correctly, you were insulting Seto Kaiba."
They gawped at him. Inside, Sonomi wept. Ryou was so nice to everyone, he was surely going to hate her now…
He laughed quietly. "By all means, continue. As for Mr. Kaiba… I shall decline to comment."
They looked at him in surprise. They had thought Ryou could like anyone. But, naturally, he hadn't finished yet.
"After all, if I do comment, I may inadvertedly insult one of my friends." He pointed over his shoulder. "I mean, Joey refuses to hear that Kaiba had any redeeming features."
"What about your other friends?" Sonomi asked, curious. She hoped he didn't have a girl. She knew his old girlfriend dumped him a while back, but had he got another one yet…?
"Oh, I think at least one of them rather likes him." Ryou replied, innocently. "I mean, she's dating the guy."
The colour drained from all the faces around the table.
"I believe you know Anna Mitsan." He continued, with something that could almost be called a smirk. "The one allegedly spending time with her head in places I doubt she'd want it."
"Bakura, I'm sorry, I didn't realise-" Sonomi began.
"Oh, that's perfectly fine." Ryou waved it away. "I mean, they have names for people like you. I choose not to use them in public, but rest assured they are more then sufficient." He swallowed the last of his drink and stood up. For the first time, traces of anger crept into his voice. "Well, my friends and I have things to do. Goodbye!"
He began to walk off, and, taking the hint, Joey and Anna hurried after him, waving at the table as they passed it.
Outside, Ryou was patiently waiting for them, Cassie's lead back at home in his hand. She wagged her tail enthusiastically on sight of them.
"You're a great guy, you know that?" Anna smiled, though her eyes still looked sad.
"People don't deserve your tears." Ryou replied shortly. "Those who do wouldn't make you cry."
Azreal nodded. "I guess you're right…"
Suddenly, Joey grabbed the slightly shorter boy round the neck, while Azreal watched in bewilderment. "Ah, Ryou, you better not be making moves on Kaiba's girlfriend!" He laughed.
Ryou chocked, and not just because of the arm round his neck.
"I'm just kidding." Joey laughed. "Honestly, man, you are kicking some butt today! I didn't understand half the words you used, but it sounded cool! And it worked! So kudos- you're on fire today!"
"Well…" Ryou replied, pulling away and massaging his neck. "I guess it's just that kind of day. No-one's themselves."
"What, a hot and sunny one?" Joey asked.
"No." Anna shook her head. "I think he means days where the air is humid and heavy, weighing down on heart and mind."
"Um… exactly…" Ryou blinked.
"Right." Joey responded. "Let's just pretend I understood that and be on our way."
"Well, I'm gonna head up to Seto's…" Anna said when they got a little further away.
"Will the workaholic be there?" Joey asked. She shrugged.
"Probably not." She smiled. "But the PS2 will be, and seeing as I haven't gotten around to buying Soul Calibre for my Gamecube yet…"
"Ah, I see." Ryou laughed. "In that case, Joey and I will go and bother Yugi!"
"Why Yugi?" Anna asked.
"Because he lives nearest and is also most likely to have a functioning freezer." Ryou rolled his eyes, pointing at Joey's swelling face.
So, they parted laughing- as much as you can with one cheek slowly becoming the size of a tennis ball.
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Kaho added the final dab of paint, and, sighing happily as she admired her work, rubbed her forehead. Standing up, she caught sight of herself in the mirror, and saw what a mess she was, paint everywhere- all over her arms and forehead. So she went to wash up, both the paint pots and herself.
Walking back into her room, drying her hands on a towel, she went to turn her phone back on. After all, she hadn't wanted it to interrupt her during her work. She was popular today, with two new messages. One was an apology from Azreal, saying it was too complicated to explain in a text and that she'd tell her tomorrow, and the other was Duke, telling her he had successfully asked Sakura- who she assumed to be the blond- out, and did she have any ideas on where he should take her?
Kaho blinked at the message. How on Earth and in The Floating Cities had he got her number…?
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Azreal arrived at the Kaiba Mansion, just in time to smack into a woman walking away.
"Oh, sorry…" Azreal began, looking up to see who she had bumped into. It was an adult woman, glaring down at her. She had to be at least twice her age, but she was still pretty, with long brown hair, a colour that reminded her of something she couldn't place, and ice blue eyes, glaring down at her without kindness. With a jolt, Azreal realised she had been on the end of a very similar look before, more then once, when she had first met Seto… That look of disgust, just from seeing her…
"What are you staring at?" The woman demanded. "You better not try anything, because I am not in the mood!"
Azreal blinked at the sneer in her voice, that had once been so familiar to her…
"And you'd better not try anything!" Seto yelled from the front steps. "Get out of here, and don't darken my doorway again!"
The woman huffed, flipped the finger at Seto, cursed, and stormed off.
Azreal looked at Seto, raising her eyebrows.
Seto shrugged, but he wasn't glaring at her, he was smiling, and when he spoke, it was with a bizarre kind of twisted laughter, not a sneer.
"Long story."
Azreal walked up to him, and he used his foot to hold the door open for her. As she walked past him to go into the mansion, however, he grabbed her hand.
"What?" She asked, unable to stop herself smiling.
"Nothing." He smirked.
"Are you going to let me into the house then?" She tried.
"Um…" He pretended to consider. "No. Think I'll leave you to rot out here." The smirk widened.
Azreal rolled her eyes. She didn't know who that woman was, but one thing was certain: There was only one Seto.
"You'll have to let go of my arm, then, or you'll have to rot with me." She pointed out, trying to pull away, but failing miserably.
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"Seth…!" She growled, and, at last, he laughed and released her, going into the house.
"You always cheer me up." He commented.
"It's not on purpose, I assure you." Azreal replied, grumpily. "You deserve to rot."
"You say that," Seto said, in a mock-wise tone. "But you'd miss me if I was gone. What would you do if I was knocked down by a car, eh?"
"Reverse." Azreal shot back, laughing.
Seto snorted. "I give up. I try to be romantic and you…"
"Oh shush." Azreal interrupted, tiredly, coming close. "Of course I'm going to miss you."
After that, Seto was a little too… distracted… to be paying attention to grammar. Later her use of 'going to' would bother him, but it would be sufficiently later for him to simply believe that he had misheard.
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
"When do you leave?"
"Tomorrow morning. Although, saying that, it's sufficiently early in the morning to make me leave for the airport tonight."
"Oh."
G&T class still seemed oddly quiet without the band 'jamming' in the corner, and she was still almost surprised when Ryou slumped down next to her, like he had at first. But, naturally, this would be the last time. It was the last day of school before summer, and, coincidently, Ryou's last day in Domino. So far, Azreal had managed to keep her promise and not tell the others, but it was really getting hard…
"When are you going to tell them?" She demanded. "Ryou, you can't leave without saying goodbye!"
Ryou shrugged, and didn't speak for a moment. When he did, it wasn't what Azreal wanted to hear. "Look, Ann, I appreciate you're trying to help- but I don't want to make a big thing about leaving."
"Yes, but, you should tell them, or they'll be upset…" She pleaded.
"I'll send them all an E-mail or something to explain." He promised. "But, look, just don't worry about it. You just get up tomorrow, go on holiday, and have fun. By the time you get back, it'll all be sorted. You won't have to do anything." She looked down. "Anna, please. I know you don't agree, but it's my decision." He gave a lop-sided smile. "So no arguing! Please, respect that."
"Mmm…" She sighed.
He nodded. "Thanks."
She straightened up, knowing it was useless to argue. "At any rate, I assume you've come to some sort of decision. What are you going to do?"
"Like we discussed." Ryou replied, sounding definite. "Ollie and Seb are waiting for me, and once I've landed at Heathrow I'll take the Tube up to Stoke and I'll go and stay with them. You know, till I'm sorted. I've already applied at a college, and I'll start there in September." He half-shrugged. "And that's about the grand plan. Except tonight… well, I'll go back to the flat, get Cassie, and take her on a long walk. I want to around town one more time before I leave. Then I guess I'll send that E-mail, lock up, and leave."
Anna nodded, though inside she was upset. Ryou may not have known it, but by the time he came back, she'd be gone. And she'd miss Ryou just as much as all the others- if it was possible to miss someone from beyond the grave. But it just melted her brain to think about it. So she dragged it back to the present, and what Ryou was trying to say to her.
"…of Cassie," He said. "I wanted to ask you… a favour."
"Huh?" Anna blinked intelligently. "What about her?"
"It's just…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I was going to take her with me, but- well, it's cruel. She's old, I don't know if she'd survive the flight."
"I thought you didn't have the heart to take her back to the dog home." Anna still wasn't cottoning on.
"I don't." Ryou sighed. "And even if I did, I wouldn't have time to take her tonight. That's what I'm asking you, Anna. She loves you, and I just wondered if you'd take care of her."
Anna blinked in surprise, and he continued hastily.
"No, no, I don't mean permanently, of course, I just wondered if you could keep her tonight… I mean, I know I shouldn't dump this on you so suddenly, but really, I know you'd see to it she found a good home!"
Anna hesitated, but then, nodded as the bell rang.
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"We know you know something!" Téa yelled, as they backed Azreal up against the janitor's shed after school that day. "I'll ask you one more time… What is up with Ryou!"
"…And I'll tell you one more time!" Anna shot back. "Nothing! Geez!"
"You have been whispering with him an awful lot recently, Ann…" Yugi pointed out. Azreal blanched. Of course she had, she'd been helping him make decisions all the time!
"And that means that either something's bothering him…" Joey added, sneakily. He knew how to get an answer out of her. "Or that you're two-timing Seto. Which is it!"
She hesitated, and then glared. "That's blackmail, and you know it. Now I need to confess to one or the other!"
"Then do it." Tristan smirked. "Which one is it?"
For a moment, Anna just glared, then her resolve broke, and she slumped against the shed.
"He made me promise not to tell you?" She tried, weakly.
"Aha!" Duke yelled. "So something really is bothering him!"
"Yes…" Anna got a funny look in her eye. "And I'd really love to tell you, but, as I say, he made me promise not to say anything about him moving back to England tonight."
They stared at her in horror, and she smiled, half-laughing, half bitterly. "Oops-a-daisy. Freudian slip, you know."
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Ryou slid his key into the lock for what could be a final time. Even Cassie seemed more subdued tonight. Perhaps it was just because of the long walk- to all his favourite places, to everywhere that provoked memories- but somehow, he thought it was more then that. Perhaps she picked up on his mood…
As he entered, he slowly, listlessly, walked into the small front room. It didn't look too much different, as most of his furniture and general utensils were being left behind. After all, Olivia and Seb would have everything he'd need in their house, and it would cheaper just to buy new stuff then to pay to have it shipped out anyway. The flat looked pretty much like it's normal self, enough so to convince himself that perhaps he was not leaving at all.
But he was leaving, and no matter how much he'd miss the place, and his friends, it was time to go. He'd come here, looking for his father, and acceptance. He had found it. Now it was time to go back and find what he'd lost along the way.
The first thing to do, however, was to send that E-mail. He'd invested in a Laptop not long ago, when he'd known this was coming. He'd sold his desktop to pay for half of the ticket to England. Air fare was getting cheap nowadays…
His luggage was sitting in the hall, along with his hand baggage, guitar case, and the laptop. He picked it up, walked into the main room, and sunk down into the sofa.
He wasn't expecting it to say 'Ow' in a decidedly female voice.
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They had heard Ryou approaching the flat, and had all grabbed hiding places. He was going to regret ever telling Azreal where he kept his spare keys. At any rate, he was a little earlier then expected, and there was a mad rush for all the best hiding places. At the sound of the key in the lock, Azreal found herself still standing in full view in the middle of the floor, with nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide.
Except, maybe…
Praying that her Musing powers hadn't given out just yet, Azreal leapt under the sofa.
Unfortunately, when Ryou sat down on what was effectively her head, she couldn't help but let out a small 'Ow'.
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Ryou leapt off his suddenly possessed sofa in alarm. Predictably enough, a moment later, Azreal slid out of the gap that was much too small for her, between the sofa and the floor, grinning sheepishly.
"Um… Surprise?" She tried.
On this que, rolling their eyes, the others appeared. Joey fell out of a cupboard, a mound a brightly coloured balloons tumbling out with him. Téa and Duke appeared from the direction of the kitchen, with trays piled high with hastily donated food. Yugi popped up from behind the sofa Azreal had hidden underneath, bending down slightly to touch a switch. Instantly, the room was filled with the soft glow of multi-coloured fairy lights. Tristan came out from behind the drawn curtains, laughing- how Ryou had failed to notice that, he didn't know- revealing the streamers they'd hung at the windows. Finally, from the stark room that used to house Ryou's bedroom, all his ex-band members trooped in, grinning. Ryou noted that the base guitar was also present, and Matt had swiped his guitar somewhere along the way, and, smiling, held it out to him.
Oh, no.
"Wha… What?" Ryou asked weakly, sinking cautiously back into the sofa. When it didn't yell at him again, he sat down fully.
"I think it's fairly obvious that it's goodbye party." Téa rolled her eyes, and waved a finger at him. "Not that you deserve one! Fancy not planning on telling us!"
Ryou shot Azreal a look.
"I'm sorry!" Azreal tried. "I didn't mean to! They cornered me, and…" She grabbed a random dish of the table and waved. "Look! I brought cheese puffs!"
Ryou tried, he really, really, did, but he couldn't help but laugh. Taking advantage of this 'blessing', Téa hit play on the CD player she had brought- Ryou's was packed up- and instantly, music blared.
Ryou shook his head. "How did I ever think I could get away unnoticed…?" He wondered. "I am going to miss you all, but… I have to go, I think."
"That's okay." Yugi put in. "We're not going to try and change your decision. Okay, so we don't really know the reasoning- but…"
"But," Téa continued, "If that's what you want, we're behind you all the way!"
"…Thanks, you guys."
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Some time later, but all too soon, not only had the party ended, it had been tidied up, and everyone was trooping out for the last time for a while.
"Well, I guess this is it." Greg smiled, shaking his hand. "You make sure you get another band, okay!"
"I'll try." Ryou promised, as the ex-band left.
"It's been real!" Craig yelled over his shoulder.
Matt, never being one of very many words, simply waved and stalked off down the stairs, leaving only Ryou's 'original' friends, and Azreal.
Téa looked at her watch. "Are you sure you don't want us to come to the airport?" She checked. Ryou shook his head.
"No, it's alright. You'll be out even later then it is now. Besides, no need to prolong goodbyes."
"I guess…" She replied, hugging him. When she pulled away, she had an odd smile on her face. "Put your hand out."
Shaking his head in exasperation, Ryou did so. At a look from Téa, and with some over-exaggerated sighs, Tristan, Duke, Joey, and Yugi all put their hands in to. Azreal gawped at them.
"You to, Anna!" Téa yelled cheerfully, grabbing her hand and putting it with the others. "Or the circle will be incomplete!" She pulled a marker out of her pocket.
"Whoa, whoa!" Azreal yelled as the pen made it's way round the circle, coming ever closer to her. "What is this?"
Téa just laughed, and hugged Ryou again. "On that note, I guess it's time to say goodbye…" She said, sadly. "Bye, Ryou! Don't forget us!"
"How could I?" Ryou teased. "That ink never comes off…"
Laughing, Téa waved and left, Yugi with her.
Awkwardly, Tristan and Duke said their goodbyes, and left to.
"What is the significance of this?" Anna asked, examining the pen on her hand.
"It's a friendship symbol." Joey laughed. "You know. An Unbreakable bond, ect. ect. All that stuff that's purely 'Téa'."
"Geez…" Anna sighed. "This better come off. My dad's going to think I joined a cult or something…Well," She said awkwardly. She was not a hugging person like Téa. "I guess I'll see you around."
"Count on it." Ryou replied mechanically, waving as she left to.
As soon as she was gone, Joey folded his arms.
"You wanted to talk to me?" He asked.
"Yes." Ryou nodded, holding something out him.
"What's this…?" Joey asked, looking down at the set of keys.
"The keys to my flat." Ryou replied. Joey looked at his quizzically. "I had spent pretty much my entire inheritance on it, and it seemed a shame to sell it."
"What are you trying to tell me?" Joey asked, eyes narrowed.
"Take it." Ryou shrugged. "It's not much, but it's gotta be better then where you live at the moment. Don't tell anyone, just stay there till you finish school, and then stick to your original plan and go back to your family, okay?"
Joey considered it for a moment, then held the keys back out to Ryou. "I can look after myself." He snorted, annoyed. "I'm no charity case."
"And neither am I." Ryou pointed out. "Look, I'm more the aware that you can look after yourself. But you shouldn't have to look after him. So just do yourself a favour, and clear out. Changing your luck, remember?"
Joey stared down at the keys, thinking it through. This is what Ryou had been worried about- his pride getting in the way of what he wanted deep down.
Eventually, after an extremely long wait, Joey curled his hand round the keys. "Okay." He said, simply.
"Good." Ryou smiled, picking up his cases. They began to walk towards the stairs.
"Anna was right." Joey laughed. "You really are a nice person, aren't you?"
"That's what they tell me." Ryou smirked.
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A/N: (Brain melts) That was 23 and a half pages long, people! Maybe that's why it took so long… I think the most interesting part was Duke and Kaho:D Anyways, join me next time- it's the camping trip, and there's more fluff then you can shake a stick at!
