Disclaimer: As if anyone is paying attention to me anymore… She doesn't own either show, okay?
A/N: Ever have the feeling that something is wrong, but you don't know what? That's how I feel about this chapter. I fixed Rebecca's part and Miho's speech pattern. Please let me know of any gripping mistakes I may have missed.
PS: A/N: I've started a C2 dedicated to the ladies of Yu-Gi-Oh! If you can recommend any quality genfic that focuses positively on at least one female character, please let me know. I'm especially after stories on Cyndia, Vivian and/ or the Ancient Egypt women because there isn't much of them period.
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The group turned in surprise at the sound of the voice. Standing before them was a little girl with blonde hair and glasses.
"Rebecca!" Anzu exclaimed in shock. "What are you doing here?"
"Wait, is that Rebecca Hopkins?" Shizuka asked. "Katsuya mentioned her to me before."
"You mean that American duelist prodigy?" Mai quirked an eyebrow whilst looking the child over incredulously.
"She's also written several brilliant papers on archeology," Isis nodded, recognizing her from a photograph she'd seen in a newspaper.
"What are you four talking about suppliers?" Rebecca asked suspiciously, ignoring Anzu's question. "Are you part of a drug ring or something?"
"No, Rebecca, we're not part of a drug ring," Anzu rolled her eyes. Then, attempting to get Rebecca off the subject, she asked, "Now, what are you doing here?"
"If you're not talking about a drug ring supply, then what are you doing?" Rebecca was eyeing them all carefully now should they have any cocaine or any other drug stashed on them. "I don't want my darling mixed up with the wrong kind of people."
"The 'wrong kind of people'?" Anzu ground out, clenching her fists and teeth. Rebecca had never even blinked an eye about Honda or Jounouchi, but Anzu and the others were the 'wrong kind of people'?
"'Darling'?" Mai inquired quietly of Anzu.
"She's got a little puppy crush on Yugi," explained Anzu, also whispering.
"What are you whispering out?" Rebecca demanded, stepping closer. "You're hiding something. What is it?"
"If we told you, there wouldn't be any point in hiding it, would there," Mai said in response, getting tired of being grilled by a kid.
Rebecca glared at Mai and opened her mouth to answer back. Anzu, knowing that this could go on for some time, looked around for a distraction. Not finding one, she decided to wing it and hope for the best.
"Whoa! Aren't those the Care Bears?" Anzu yelled suddenly, pointing urgently behind Rebecca.
Rebecca spun around and looked around frantically, an almost hungry look in her eyes. Realizing suddenly that she'd been tricked, she turned back to face the older girls. All she found herself facing, though, was the wall of the building opposite. The four young ladies in question were gone. Rebecca's eyes narrowed dangerously.
Something fishy's going on, and I'm gonna find out what. Nothing will stop me from getting to the bottom of this, she thought determinedly to herself.
Just then, a bus went by with a flashy Duel Monsters advertisement. In the center of the poster was the Black Magician in all his glory. Seeing the Black Magician reminded her…
I'll figure them out after I go see Darling!
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"Okay, that was close," Anzu stated the obvious. She and the other three girls had hightailed it as soon as Rebecca looked away.
"Yeah," Shizuka agreed with her. "We need to be more careful. But anyway, who did you get to supply us, Anzu?"
"Supply you with what?" questioned a curious female voice.
"Miho!" exclaimed Anzu, recognizing the voice. She, as well as the others, spun to face the girl.
"Miho?" Shizuka asked, peering at her closely. This girl looked familiar to her, but… "Oh! You're one of Katsuya's friends!"
"Yep, and you're his sister!" Miho's eyes lit up with recognition. "Anzu! Miho hasn't seen you much lately, ever since we stopped having classes together almost. Miho knows Shizuka, but who're the other two? Friends of yours?"
"This is Mai," Anzu pointed to her, "and this is Isis."
"Ishtar?" Miho gasped. "From the museum? About a year ago?"
"Yes, Miho," Anzu smiled, glad to have diverted Miho's attention. "That's her. Mai is a famous duelist."
"Wow!" Miho looked at them both in awe. Then she snapped out of it. "Wait a second! What were you guys talking about before about suppliers? You're not all druggies or anything are you?" she questioned with wide eyes.
"No, Ribbon, none of us are druggies," Anzu sighed. She was certain that the word had had more than one meaning once upon a time.
"But then what are you talking about?" Miho persisted stubbornly, hands on hips. She faced the others evenly, averting her eyes only for a second to watch the fleeting figure of a hot guy.
Anzu sighed and glanced at the others. If she knew Miho, and she did, Miho would wind up asking the guys what was up. When the guys found out something was going on that they didn't know about, they'd never get peace. If they let Miho in, she'd have to keep quiet about it.
After a quick, silent agreement, Anzu relayed the plan to Miho, who listened intently. By the time Anzu had finished, Miho's eyes had taken on the size and shape of dinner plates and sparkles danced around within.
"Can Miho help?" she asked eagerly, clasping her hands. "Please? Miho promises that Miho would do a good job, really. Like, a bad guy would show up and Miho would be all like ya! (here she demonstrated a punch) Ha! (an elbow jab) and Hi-ya- Ahh!"
The last part came from the high kick she was showing off landing her foot in the face of an unsuspecting passer-by. Miho was bubbling out an apology when Mai grabbed her arm and dragged her off down the street where the other three were already turning the corner.
The girls didn't stop to catch their breath when they were sure that they were far enough away. Miho smiled sheepishly and played with her fingers. Clearing her throat a bit for attention, she decided to once more lay her "offer" on the table.
"So," she began carefully. "What do you say? Can Miho join up with you? No more hurting civilians- promise."
The others looked at her carefully, then exchanged glances. After a serene nod from Isis, Anzu smiled brightly at Miho.
"Crime-fighting is a bit of a hassle for only four people," she said. "And if you can handle bad guys as well as passing civilian men…"
Miho winced and pouted for a moment. Then, catching the underlying meaning in Anzu's words, her eyes lit up and she grinned widely.
"Does that mean..?"
"Yup," Mai conceded, smiling at the look of utter joy etched across Miho's face. "It sure does."
Miho was quiet for precisely one thirty-seventh of a second.
"Whoopee! Miho's in, Miho's in! Yes! Yes! Yay for Miho!" she shouted joyfully while she bounced around like a small child that had just been given a fully stocked candy store. The others watched her with large sweat drops rolling down the sides of their heads.
"Uh, yeah. Yay and all that for you, Ribbon," Anzu said, checking her watch. "But we really need to work out a plan for meeting my weapon supplier."
At this, Miho promptly stopped jumping around and came to attention. It would have been perfect if she hadn't been bouncing on the souls of her feet.
"You never did tell us who was supplying us," Isis turned to Anzu curiously.
Anzu grinned and explained her call. Mai rolled her eyes when she heard, Isis raised her eyebrows and Shizuka and Miho giggled a little.
Next there was the slight problem of who was going to make the pick-up. Miho hadn't had a chance to do anything and wanted to make up for just jumping into it. Shizuka insisted that she would be best for the job. Anzu was less sure of the idea. Mai and Isis were both unsure of any of the younger girls going, let alone Shizuka.
"It's right in my neighborhood. Besides, it'll be just Katsuya and me at home tonight," Shizuka told them. "Just a sleeping Katsuya and me."
The others all opened their mouths to protest before promptly shutting them. There was no way to argue with that.
Before splitting up and going home, our heroines had a few things to pick up. The first stop was a hardware store from which they acquired a long rope and thick metal hook. The second store they visited was to gather what Anzu had agreed to trade for the use of the weapons.
"Well, it's been fun," Mai told them when the errands were done. "I'm gonna go shopping. Anyone wanna come along?"
Isis, Shizuka, and Anzu all suddenly remembered places to be and things to be done. Isis had had all the shopping she could take for a good few years, and Mai was too hardcore for Anzu and Shizuka, who didn't shop much anyway. Miho, on the other hand, had no previous knowledge of Mai's shopping habits and readily agreed to the idea.
"All right. I saw the most adorable outfit the other day that would be just perfect on you, hon. Bye, girls," Mai called as she and Miho walked back in the direction of Pizza Palace to get Mai's convertible.
"That poor girl," Isis intoned sadly as she shook her head regretfully.
Anzu and Shizuka giggled. After that, the three remaining girls said their good-byes and left. With her, Shizuka had the metal hook and a very full paper bag.
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Shizuka glanced at her digital clock later that night and saw that it was bout time for her to leave. She made her way over to her bureau and got out the outfit she'd designated earlier: black sweatpants, black sweatshirt, black socks, and a large black bandana.
Shizuka quickly donned the clothing and got her dark blue (the closest to black she had) sneakers from the closet. She piled her hair onto her head in a bun (using a black hair band, of course) and tied the bandana around her head over it. Studying herself in a mirror, she had a thought. Reaching into another drawer, she pulled out her small cosmetic kit. With great care, she colored thick lines across her cheekbones.
Before slipping out of her room, she stuck the hook into her pocket and got the paper bag from earlier out from beneath her bed. After thinking on it for a couple of seconds, she grabbed a black bag from her closet and slipped the paper one within it.
Shizuka didn't bother trying to be careful as she walked down the hall and got a flashlight from the closet. She even laughed openly as she remembered the movie night at Anzu's. She had nothing to worry about, after all. Jounouchi had been sleeping for at least two hours already.
It wasn't until she had to go outside that she grew cautious. Taking the back way out, she slipped out quickly and quietly. Her destination was several blocks away, and between there and her current location were at least a dozen street lights that she'd have to avoid.
Moving swiftly and hugging the shadows, Shizuka made her way to the afore decided meeting place. She hadn't gone more than a block and a half when a car came rolling down the street. Looking around frantically for a place to hide, Shizuka spotted and leapt behind a large shrub seconds before the headlights would have found her. She stayed there, stock still, until she could no longer hear the vehicle.
Sighing with relief and making a mental note to be more careful, Shizuka crept out of the bush and continued on her way.
Some time later found Shizuka looking uneasily down an alley. She suddenly wasn't so sure she should have taken this job after all, even though she was in a pretty good neighborhood. There was only one light in the alley and it revealed no one, both calming and confusing her. Where was the boy she was supposed to meet?
"Hey," rasped a voice from within the confines of the back street. Shizuka jumped in fear and surprise before catching sight of its source.
There, slightly blocked from her view by a large dumpster, was the boy she'd come to see. He wore an oversized beige trench coat and a hat as if he were playing in a gangster movie or. A large bead of sweat dropped down the side of Shizuka's head as she looked at him in bemusement. What was it with the trench coats anyway?
"Hey," he repeated. "Don't just stand there. Someone will see."
Realizing that she was indeed still standing out on the dimly lighted sidewalk, Shizuka quickly made her way into the dark alley. Stopping some feet from where her business partner stood, Shizuka suddenly found herself whispering, "Did you bring the goods?"
The young man standing opposite her looked surprised and then grinned before replying, "Did you?"
Resisting the urge to shift her eyes in every which way, Shizuka pulled the paper bag from the depths of her larger black bag and held it up for him to see. Nodding shortly, he responded by holding up one large, black briefcase, then a smaller one. Shizuka nodded as he had done.
There was a short standoff before a silent arrangement was made. Both cases were laid on the ground, the smaller case atop the larger. Meanwhile, Shizuka carefully judged the distance between the two of them. Both participants looked up at each other and the trench coat clad boy counted down from three with his fingers. When he got to one, Shizuka tossed the bag through the air while her associate gave the briefcases a good kick to send them her way. Both parties received what they'd come for at precisely the same time.
Kneeling down and examining the cases briefly, Shizuka found both locked, a small silver key tied to either handle. She looked up to find the boy checking out the contents of the bag she'd tossed him. He looked up at her as well and they nodded to each other once more. This being done, Shizuka stood from her observation and turned to leave while slightly shaking her head at the event.
The boy had exited through the other end of the alley and helped himself to a few sweet morsels from the paper bag. Smiling to himself and looking over the coat he wore, he decided that the night had gone well. He had actually hoped to see Anzu, but she was less likely to have played his game as Shizuka had. And, with any luck, Seto wouldn't even realize that his old novelty coat had left the safety of its corner in the closet.
After treading a few more blocks (which seemed like much more with two heavy cases, thank you), Shizuka looked up at Mai's large apartment complex with relief. She had had to dodge the notice of five cars on the way, and it hadn't been fun. But luckily she was now where she needed to be. It was all downhill from here. She pulled out her flashlight and aimed for the window she judged to be Mai's.
For her part, Mai was sitting in her darkened room and forcing her eyes open for what had to be the million and first time. She was beginning to worry about Shizuka when something flashed in front of her eyes. Mai blinked and looked around. The light appeared again and blinked rapidly. Mai jumped out of her chair and, grabbing a flashlight, hurried to the window to signal Shizuka back.
Outside, Serenity was beginning to wonder if maybe Mai had dozed off. The thought worried her: what was she supposed to do with her new loads? Relief flooded through her as the light of a flashlight shone on and off from above her. Giving the single return flash they'd agreed on, Shizuka stepped back a bit and got the cases ready. She wondered if there was some way she could warn Mai of the weight that she'd soon have to take on, but of course there was not.
Quite suddenly, a rope dangled before her face and brought her back to a more important line of thought. Mai would find out about the weight soon enough. The girls had decided earlier that they didn't want Mai's neighbors to be suspicious about late night visitors. Since most would be sleeping at this time, it was unlikely that any of them would notice large cases going past their windows.
Shizuka retrieved the hook from her pocket and efficiently knotted the rope around it. When she felt confident that there would be no slippage, she hooked on the larger case and gave the rope a tug. It took a few seconds for Mai to get accustomed to the weight, but the rope eventually moved evenly upward. A few minutes later, it had disappeared through her window. Shizuka aimed her flashlight once more and blinked it on and off a few times. Understanding, Mai tossed the line back down for the second case. It wasn't long before the case had joined Mai and its brother through the window.
Getting no word from the younger girl that there was more, Mai shone her light down to say that all was well. Shizuka returned the message with a single quick flash and headed off for home.
Meanwhile, Mai was eyeing the cases before her almost hungrily. Knowing that she wasn't supposed to open them until the next meeting, but bursting with curiosity (or jus plain nosiness), Mai moved to open the cases. However, she of course found them to be locked. Confused, Mai looked more closely at what was before her and dropped her mouth open with surprise. Her mouth then closed to grind her teeth together awhile her eyes narrowed.
"Shizuka!" she yelled at the walls from frustration.
Shizuka, as mentioned, was currently making her way home. She fancied that she heard her name and smirked just a bit. She decided that she must not be as far from Mai's as she'd thought. Happily fingering the two keys in her pocket, she smiled to herself. Her small victory was cut short a second later when she had to jump behind a trashcan to avoid notice by a passing truck.
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Dustbunny: I just recently realized how full of dialogue my other chapters have been, how lacking in description. Hopefully this one is a little better
Mokuba: A little… Sort of… Not really
Anzu: Hey, now, that's not nice. Although…
Dustbunny: Oh, thanks everyone. I feel the love. Really. --
Marshmallow: Probably because you're in denial! Chao for now, everyone, and don't forget to review!