Veershipping (Bandit Keith x Ishizu)
(gah...another character that I hate...not Ishizu, obviously, I meant Keith. And he's drunk. Again. Anyway, this takes place about three months before Duelist Kingdom, in Chicago. And a warning: Keith has no filter. I am not responsible for his language.)
Late summer nights are surprisingly cold in the American Midwest. Despite the sweltering, almost desert-level heat of the day, once the sun goes down it's as though fall is creeping in summer's wake.
Ishizu Ishtar is not used to the cold. She hugs her shawl tighter around her thin shoulders, head bent against the wind. At least she had had the foresight to bring the shawl with her to the meeting with museum curator, despite the weather forecasts.
People hurry past her with heads bent downwards, some simply staring at their feet, others staring at the glowing screens of cellphones, and still others simply trying to avoid making eye contact with the other passengers of the sidewalk. Ishizu feels the familiar pang of loneliness. It is certainly possible to be alone in a crowd.
The meeting with the Natural History Museum had gone quite well. Her ancient Egyptian exhibit will be transferred here next. She fingers the cold metal jewelry around her neck, a golden eye in the likeness of Horus. It has told her what will come. Only a few months now, until she will finally meet the reincarnation of the pharaoh, and her daily nightmare will – hopefully – finally end.
Movement catches her eye in an alleyway. Though she knows it might not be safe, she pauses in spite of herself. A figure sprawls against the wall, the remains of a broken bottle neck hanging from limp fingers. At first, Ishizu thinks that he is dead. Then he shifts, and groans.
"Cut me off, will ya," he mutters. "Who needsh your beer anyway."
The stench of alcohol is almost too much. But Ishizu lingers anyway. Her fingers have not moved from her necklace, and it warms in anticipation. She is supposed to stay. One hesitant step follows another, and she arrives at the man's side, still cautious of the shifting shadows at the end of the alley.
"Sir," she says softly, in careful English. "Are you all right? Do you need assistance?"
"Don't need no asshitanshe from a whore," he says.
Ishizu stiffens at this.
"Well, then, please excuse my offers of goodwill," she says. "Unless, of course, the alcohol is talking, and not yourself."
"Beer and I get along just fine," the man says, attempting to take a drink from the broken bottle neck in his hand, and swearing softly when he realizes that nothing is actually there.
"I cannot assume that this is healthy. Or safe," Ishizu says. "You're sprawled in an alley, for heaven's sake. Perhaps you do not care for your own safety?"
"Who cares, who cares, who cares about nothing," he said, attempting to create a little song that sounds nothing like music to a sober pair of ears.
Ishizu's necklace warms softly, and the vision trails across her mind.
"Keith Howard," she says, the name drawn from the vision.
"You're headed to your own death. I hope you know that."
"I'll get 'im," Keith says. "I get back at him, one way or t'other. Won't die before then."
Ishizu sighs, and draws back, back towards the cold, Chicago street.
"You're right," she says, wondering if he's even listening. "You won't die...unless you believe in the illusion. That is the nature of the Penalty Game that will take your life."
As she walks away, she hears him attempt to sing another song, and she can't even understand the lyrics, much less pick out a tune. It's sad...so sad to see people waste away without even caring. It's a fate that Ishizu would never wish upon even her worst enemy.
She shivers, and walks on.
A/N: Hate this pairing. Okay, so since Velcroshipping, I've started to grudgingly respect Haga, but I really don't think I can ever, ever like Keith. He's obnoxious, depressing, has no filter and no respect, cares about nothing about being the absolute best, and if he can't be that, he doesn't care about living...I could go on. He just annoys me. Ishizu is too nice, stopping to try and warn him about his future. Keith is too stupid (I'd use another word, but unlike Keith, I have a filter) and Ishizu is too nice. They would never, ever work as a couple. Okay, now that I've got that rant over with, the next shipping will be Vaseshipping (Atem x Mana). YEEEES! :D
