Original Yu-Gi-Oh Series
Parallel
Chapter 034
Originally Written: Thursday, April 14, 2022 1212PM to 137PM
. . . . .
Seto ignored his brother, Mokuba, staring at him. At least he finally stopped with the puppy dog eyes and pouting lips. He flipped another page in his book. It was starting to get to the good part.
Roland, a tall man with teal hair, stood next to him, arms folded behind his back, and his eyes kept forward. Trained like a good wage slave of his stepfather Gozaburo. So well, that even when Gozaburo gave him to Noah, and Seto took him from Noah, he still kept that training up.
Naturally, Seto had been first to arrive. An individual named Namu with sandy blond hair and tan skin arrived next. Most would assume he was a nobody, except Seto saw him arrive with Marik's personal assistant, and break away from him. Marik's assistant introduced himself as Odion. Considering the audience, there was no need for him to act.
Currently, Roland was going over their locator cards. "Everything checks out. Congratulations. You have qualified for the Battle City Finals."
"Where are they?" Mai asked.
She, Bakura, Duke and Mokuba arrived next. Bakura and Mai qualified. Of course, Marik introduced himself as Namu. He almost passed for the nobody he was going for once more, except he was most certainly an unhinged individual. He turned around after introducing himself and went right back to whispering to himself.
"They'll be here. Seto wouldn't even let the finals go through if not even Yugi showed up." Bakura consoled her.
"Yes!" Joey ran into the arena, cheering a little while later, "Made it! Ain't nobody telling me nothin'!"
"With like five minutes to spare." Tea responded with a smile. Yugi and Tristan were with them as well.
"There you are!" Mai waved. She high fived with Joey, as he was getting his locator cards examined.
"Congratulations." Roland told both Joey and Yugi. "Please be patient for two more minutes, as that's how much time is left for the qualifying rounds. One more thing." Roland turned to Tristan. "We have reviewed recent security footage, and have seen you have a weapon on you. In order to continue, it must be confiscated."
Tristan took off his coat. "Gun? What gun?" There was no sign he had a gun on him at all. Not even the holster. "I picked that up off a rare hunter when he tried to shoot me."
Roland sighed. "You're one of those."
"I got him." Another Kaiba Corporation employee with short brown hair said. He pulled Tristan off to the side.
Mai whispered something to Bakura. Bakura replied, and she seemed to relax.
Ishizu Ishtar walked in around the one minute mark, dressed in skimpy jean shorts, a light top and her trademark shawl. Her heels clicked against the cement floor.
Seto sighed, 'Why is she dressed like that again? This is a formal dueling tournament. The finals will take place on a blimp flying hundreds of miles up in the air. She's going to get a cold.'
'Oh please. You're just upset you can't make out that ass underneath that shirt. 'I agree. What's the point of it covering up the shorts?'
Seto looked over and pinched the bridge of his nose. An apparition of him wearing a white and red Kaiba Corporation trench coat, tacky belts on his arms, black steel toed boots, and a black turtleneck and pants set stood next to him.
He waved his book at it, shooing it away. 'The things my mind comes up with when I'm stressed.' He wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything that said Kaiba Corporation on it as long as Gozaburo was controlling the company.
"See? I told you it was her." Yugi rolled her eyes. "Hanging out and scoping out the competition, before she entered herself."
Joey sputtered and pointed a finger at her dramatically. "It's you! Why didn't you just walk in with us!? And ya ain't allowed to say dramatics!"
Ishizu chuckled as Roland looked over her locator cards. "For the thrill, of course."
Joey blinked. He leaned over and whispered to Tea.
Tea sighed, but smiled, "Yes, it does."
Joey turned back to Ishizu. "Don't bullshit me! That means the same thing!"
"Nothing gets past you. Good," Ishizu pointed a finger to him, "You'll need to stay on your toes in this tournament if Marik is your target as I've heard through the grapevine."
Joey clenched a fist, suddenly solemn. He nodded, "He's mine."