Rating: K+

#16 Invincible

Shizuka walked through the town of her childhood beside her brother as the last glow of twilight faded and streetlights winked on around them. It was so good to be back in Domino after everything that had happened on the air ship and on Kaiba's island fortress. She wished she could stay, but the sun had already been setting when they'd landed at the pier and her mother—their mother—was staying in a hotel near the hospital out of town. They were headed for the train station and Katsuya was going to take the train back with her to drop her off. He and his friends had school in the morning, so she felt bad for keeping him out so late, but she hoped to convince her mother to let her stay through Sunday instead of returning to Tokyo right away. Anzu had offered to show her around Domino so she could see how it had changed since she moved away seven years ago.

When they reached the train station, she realized that her brother was being rather quiet. She was about to tell him that he didn't have to take the train all the way out with her and all the way back, that seeing her to the station was good enough, when he suddenly turned to her, his head hung low, shaggy hair shielding his eyes from her view.

"Shizuka, I… I'm so sorry."

She frowned, her nose wrinkling. "Sorry? What for?"

He looked up and she could see in his eyes that he was surprised she had to ask. "Whaddaya mean 'what for?' Sis… I… everything… and you coulda been… I shoulda never let you on that air ship. Anything coulda happened."

She smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You have nothing to apologize for, Big Brother. Don't you understand what a gift you've given me?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, you got your eyesight back, but fat lotta good it woulda done if you'd wound up….'

She shook her head. "I don't mean that, although you know how grateful I am. You let me see, Big Brother. And then, you let me really see. I thought… this thing you do… this game… I thought it was just a game. I thought you liked being a champion and everything, and I know you went to Duelist Kingdom to get the money for my operation, but now I know how much more to it there is, and…." She blinked, fighting back tears. "I had no idea."

"I know, and it shoulda stayed that way," he bit out, angry at himself again. "It was crazy to bring you along just 'cause I wanted you to see me duel. I knew it could be like this. I knew, and I let you come. I'm a horrible brother."

"You're missing the whole point," she said, folding her arms, "so would you just shut up and listen?" Her scolding surprised him and his mouth snapped closed.

"You've always been my hero, you know that? You've always watched out for me. You kept me safe from Dad. You made me laugh. You even took me to the beach just because I wanted to see the ocean. So, you know, as surprised as I was when you called and said you'd won the money, in a way, I wasn't really surprised at all. I think… I think a part of me always knew you would come through for me because you always do. You've always been there for me, even when we were apart."

"I wish that were—"

"I'm not finished!" she snapped, and his mouth clicked shut again. "What I didn't know, though, was that you're not just my hero; you're a hero. Everything you did… everything you do…." She blinked again. "Jounouchi Katsuya, I am so proud to be your sister. You… you…." She couldn't say more but instead threw her arms around his neck.

It took him a moment to react, and then he hesitantly put his arms around her. "I lost," he said into her hair, his voice thick. "I tried, Shizuka, I tried to make it right, but I lost. It was Yugi. It's always Yugi. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud to be his friend. But he's the hero, not me. I'm a loser."

She pulled back from him, shaking her head enough that strands of reddish-brown hair flew into her eyes. For a moment it distracted her—she could actually see the individual strands!—but then she focused on her brother. "No, you're wrong. It doesn't matter who beat Marik. It doesn't matter the final score. You never gave up. Not for a second. And not just for me or for Mai or for Yugi or any of your friends, but because that guy was bad news and he needed to be stopped. And you never gave up. You're not a loser, Big Brother. With your heart, bigger than I ever imagined, you're invincible."

A train whistled in the distance and the public address system announced it as hers. Before he could deny it again, she said quickly, "Here comes my train. You don't have to come with me, I know you have school in the morning."

"I'm not letting you ride back all alone."

"But—"

"But nothing. What kind of hero would I be, letting my baby sister ride a train in a strange town after dark?"

She cocked her head to the side and studied him as he gave her a crooked grin, but his eyes were wide and serious, touched by her words.

"Okay," she relented. "Maybe you can even stay a bit, talk to Mom—"

"I don't think so," he said quickly. "I'll take you to your hotel and then I have to be right back. I have something to do before school. There's one more duel left for me."

She frowned as the train pulled in, whipping up a wind that tugged at her hair. "More danger?"

"What? No," he said, then broke into a real grin. "No. Yugi and I… we promised we'd duel after Battle City. I have to earn back my Red-Eyes."

"And you have to do this before school?"

He nodded. "It's my real Battle City final. But anyway, here's the train."

She let him take her arm and lead her from the platform onto the train. As they took their seats, she impetuously leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"What's that for?" he blushed, and she smiled to see enough of the old Katsuya who was embarrassed by attention from his little sister.

"A hero always gets a kiss before he goes into battle. Okay, usually it's from a fair maiden and not his own sister, but since Mai isn't here—" she smirked when his blush deepened "—this will have to do." She sat back in her seat. "You're going to win, you know."

He snorted. "Yeah, right. You have seen Yugi play, right?"

"It doesn't matter," she said firmly. "You'll win. I can feel it."

He raised his eyes skyward. "From your lips…" Then he looked down at her again. "Thanks, Sis. You have no idea how much you…." He stopped and looked away, embarrassed once more, then mumbled at the window. "Because of you, I am invincible."