Original Yu-Gi-Oh Series
Parallel
Chapter 021
Originally Written: Sunday, April 10, 2022 735AM to 808AM
. . . . .
Shadi with his turban was very weird, Yugi decided. Came along, decided to look through his brain like Professor X, and left without even an apology. Even worse, since he ambushed them, he intrigued the voice's curiosity and concern over his missing memory. Yugi had to admit, the blank spots in his memory were not spots. They were gaping chasms, and that was concerning.
Between the voice, a very upset Mokuba, and a confused Duke, Yugi was quite busy. A few days after Yugi gave the gang much of his winnings, Seto decided to leave Mokuba in Duke's care. Duke swore he would never ever piss off a Kaiba, so he was keeping the details of the situation close to the belt. That only served to pique Yugi's suspicions of Kaiba Corporation.
The only thing he learned was that Duke informed him of why he insisted on calling Seto a Kaiba and not a Mitsura. He also insisted on treating Seto like a Kaiba in public, just out of respect, not fear.
"Kaiba is his legal name, not Mitsura. That name comes with power and responsibility, and the backlog of whatever crap daddy dearest and Noah did before he arrived. Whether or not he wants the baggage, it's his to carry. The earlier he accepts that, the stronger he'll be to carry the load."
The voice said Duke didn't mention it, but the politics of it as well meant that if Duke got far enough into the Kaiba Corporation dynamics, he would be safer. No one would want to cooperate with a company known for the frequent disposing of their allies. And as Duke's only in was through Seto, due to his previous alliance with Pegasus, Duke got something from looking after Mokuba as well.
The whole thing made Yugi's head spin. So he left it for Voice to deal with. He also left Tea for Voice to deal with as well. He dropped him off in front of the arcade and told him to "Have fun."
'Yugi!' Voice called to him, 'Tea wants me to dance! Dance!'
'Just use my memories, Voice.' He snickered. 'Muscle memory, right?'
'That's not the same!'
Tea blinked, "Are you having a mental conversation?"
Voice's eyes shifted, as he flushed. "Perhaps."
"You're 'Voice', right? Do you want to?" Tea shifted her purse. "We can do something else, if you want. I figured that you might like to try something new."
Voice steeled his nerves, because he didn't want to be rude. He told some peon to hold his jacket, and he swore that that was Yugi coming through because he never considered anyone to be a peon. The boy was apparently a duelist because he was just glad enough to be holding the Yugi Moto's clothes.
"Look at Yugi Moto!" someone shouted, "Getting down on that dance floor with his girlfriend Tea Gardner!"
Soon enough a crowd formed around the DDR platforms.
"I've never seen someone break dance on a DDR machine. He's just small enough to make it work." A man with dreads wearing a red button up dress shirt watched on in the crowd, both impressed with 'Yugi's' skill and disappointed that Tea was already taken.
"Anyone else would have smacked into the railings, right?" A woman standing next to him asked.
"Uh huh. Or worse. Hmph, they know each other and the songs too well. This match is a tie."
After two matches where Tea and Voice tied, the man introduced himself as Johnny Steps. "You ever dance before, Mr. Moto?"
Voice scratched his temple. "Um, not on DDR."
"I could tell. Your technique is sound, but needs some work. Here's my card, if you're looking for a real workout." He waved. "See ya."
Both Tea and Voice looked at the business cards Johnny gave them. "I wonder what a 'real workout' is." Voice asked, wiping the sweat off his brow with his jacket.
Yugi wasn't too happy to see his face plastered on the news that night, but Voice was glad he went out. Tea took him to the museum after lunch, to see the new Egyptian Exhibit. 'Nameless Pharaoh' wasn't much of a name, but he and Yugi still couldn't decide between 'Yami' and 'Hikari', and it certainly beat 'Voice'.