Judgement of the World

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By: Me!

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To: Lord Kaiba

From: Izayoi, Aki

I apologize for using this particular email account to reach you. I am aware that this is a privately used account. However; even being a Senators' daughter does not guarantee direct communication with the head of Kaiba Corporation. As such I humbly beg your forgiveness for potentially over stepping my boundaries by using this method.

As you made it clear you wished that Yusei would refrain from attempting to hack into your computer system. And I have conveyed your wishes to him, and hope that you forgive his actions. As it stands he was attempting to do research on the strange effect that a series of cards has on a particular person we are friends with.

Given that the person is a child, it was motivation enough to make him attempt to hack your companies data files. We apologize for that, had it been for someone older or he was not restricted to living on Satellite while the bridge is constructed, I'm sure he would have used other means.

Signed,

Izayoi, Aki

"Since when were 'you' humble?" Witch asked, hovering behind Aki and staring at the letter with fully armed snark. There were a couple of chuckles as a few others among Aki's deck, and a periscope from one of Yusei's deck, rumbled the air behind her.

Aki shook her head lightly as she checked over the email one more time to make sure it was formal and presentable. With that she hit the 'send' button and turned to address her plant based audience with a raised eyebrow. "There's a saying about honey and vinegar you know," she pointed out properly as she returned to her computer to begin the shut down function.

One such plant tilted itself over as though to express curiosity and its shadow caught Aki's attention as she began to get up from her desk. "There's a saying that goes 'you attract more flies with honey than with vinegar'."

"Have you tried Apple Cider Vinegar? If you're not too picky on the type of 'fly', that stuff will bring ALL the fruit flies to your house," Witch of the Black Rose replied with the corner of her mouth going up. Which looked all the more amusing because she had snatched up a pair of sunglasses that Aki had, and was wearing it.

"Guys I need to get ready for school... Shoo," Aki made a small gesture with her hands and watched as her deck retreated away as quickly and neatly as they had arrived.

It was something that gave her pause, to realize how in these past months she had grown comfortable with having her Duel Spirits around, interacting in the world around her. The feeling of solitude was completely gone from her. Now that she could just summon up her Witch or any number of her Spirits to keep her company. The camaraderie that had grown was amazing, and the thought that she 'allowed' Divine to just see them and herself as a tool for war felt like a crime.

Though if she voiced her thoughts she could imagine the twins cheering, and at this point she couldn't see fault in their joy. It put a smile to her own lips as she thought about the friends she made, both human and Duel Spirit. The mark on her arm no longer caused her pain and only the occasional askance look from strangers if she didn't wear her elbow long gloves.

In fact she kinda wished it was more decorative than it was, at least then it would be easier to pull off as symbolic. Rather than just this clawed foot on her arm that looked like she just copied a basic design from some tribal area. How far indeed, as she reached up and began unbuttoning her top, realizing she had gone from hating the Mark, to wishing it looked more stylish! She turned towards where her school uniform hung and saw the same periscope from before. Still there...

With her shirt unbuttoned to the navel and the smile on her face turned into a straight face, though not angry or a frown just neutral lips. Because... well...

"OUT!" She ordered as she grabbed this lovely decorative pillow that normally rested on a trunk in her room and sent it flying across the room at the peeping Spirit.

Yusei might not be able to 'see' spirits, but they certainly could be nosy on his behalf!

She watched as the stubby limbed yellow Tuner spirit panic and disappear, while clutching her top closed. Yes, her life was changing quickly into a type of 'normal' that she never thought she would get to experience. Really this was like a dream for her.

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A dream that Aki woke up from in the back of the limo as she was riding to school. Patty was walking along towards the railway she would use to get to school and Aki was already on her way to pick up the twins. Normally just stopping to give someone a ride wasn't approved of due to her status as a senators' daughter. However; Patty looked disheveled in a way that Aki never saw before.

The thick bushy blond hair that Aki had seen in pigtails was messy, and Hanawata was following along, lower in the air than normal. But from the side there was no way to get a view of the Spirits' face.

Aki pressed the button that got her in contact directly with the driver, as she turned to keep an eye on the girl. "Pull over for a moment!"

The driver didn't answer with words, rather he began smoothly drifting the limo to the side of the road. Thankful that they weren't on the highway so it would be easy enough to decelerate down and park the limo on the side of the road.

Allowing Aki to open the door and stick her head out, "Patty? Patty come on!" she waved and watched as the little blond girl look up startled. A flash of embarrassment crossed Patty's face and she seemed to look around for a place to hide. Before she bundled up her courage, gave a big smile and ran up to the limo her book bag bouncing off her shoulders as she did.

As the girl ran closer, Aki's concern grew, it wasn't just the hair, or the uniform, Patty looked upset about something. It was just in the way her face looked pinched and her eyes glistened with tears that she quickly wiped away.

"Come on get in, I'm on my way to pick up the twins so climb in," Aki extended the invitation as she moved further into the limo for Patty.

"Hi Big Sister..." Patty began as she reached the door, but she didn't automatically climb into the shadowy interior of the limo. Instead she admired its clean, sleek, deep azure interior while Hanawata floated straight in.

Hanawata was chirping out 'grandma' repeatedly its voice distressed and pleading as its awareness that Aki could see it seemed to encourage its voice.

And maybe Patty picked up on it as she saw Aki's gaze suddenly shift a hard right to a space above Patty's right side. She tightened her lips, after all Aki was Ruka's big sister and it 'would' be easier to get to school if she didn't have to walk... Climbing in she sat down where Aki directed her with a pat of the hand.

"Thank you for the ride, normally I'd already be gone and meeting up with the gang..." Patty began, but the rest of the sentence wouldn't come out. Instead she pulled off her book bag and put it next to her feet before looking for the seat belt. Meanwhile the driver caught sight of the door shutting and began to smoothly accelerate the limo, bringing it back into morning traffic.

"Did something happen to your grandma?" Aki asked tentatively, and watched as Patty froze for a moment.

The young girl wiped her hand across her eyes quickly before she snatched at the first seatbelt she could find. Then in a choked voice that was trying far too hard to be strong, "I found my grandma on the kitchen floor this morning. I called 119 and they sent an ambulance, so she's at the hospital, my folks figured it'd be better if I went to school. So I don't worry..."

And Aki could see how well 'that' was working out for the girl as she reached over and grabbed the correct seat belt. She clipped Patty in, and with that bit of knowledge figured it was the reason why Patty looked a little messed up. She was probably in shock and really should have skipped school all together. The only problem was that while Aki could help with the uniform, she was at a complete loss with the hair.

Aki felt awkward about asking Patty to take it down so she could fix it. Mostly because she wasn't sure 'how' to fix it. The kid always wore it in a pair of pigtails, but it was kinky and Aki was afraid of making it worse if she tried. If not for the driver, she would have just allowed Hanawata to materialize properly so Patty could have someone she trusted to hold on to. Leaving Aki only able to hover around Patty like the poor girl was trapped in a bubble.

In the end all she could do was hold the small girls' hand as she cried, pulling out a hankie from her bag and wiping away tears. But if anyone knew...

"Wow... I think I'll warn Ruka about this. Hold the fort Aki!" Witch murmured, only her verdant green glass colored eyes could be seen peering out of the shadows. Even as Aki's eyes went to the roof of the limo all she caught was the last quick flash of light before her Duel Spirit disappeared.

Aki didn't know Patty all that well, she was used to seeing Patty hanging out with the group, and knew that Ruka considered Patty her best friend. In fact, as she dug through her thoughts a bit more, she recalled that it was 'Ruka' who acted protective of 'Patty'. Despite her demure personality, allowing Rua to be assertive it was the twins as a 'pair' that actively supported Patty.

"So your grandma lives with all of you?" Aki asked, trying to get Patty to open up a little, while her thumb rubbed against the back of Patty's hand.

"No..." Patty answered in quiet misery, before taking a sniff. "I live with my Grandma during the week, and we're all together on the weekends. After Gramps died, Grandma didn't have anyone else but me with her back in America. So my parents had us move here. She doesn't speak Japanese, so my parents or I do it for her. She lives next door, it gives her a place of her own with us near by," Patty explained quietly her fingers almost claw like on their grip of her knees.

"I see..." Aki answered as she gently reached over and pulled Patty closer. The girl reached around and began hugging Aki's waist as she sat there. And despite how awkward Aki felt, she felt better feeling the girl hold on rather than sit alone. While up ahead she saw the towering condominium that the twins lived at. Ensuring that the twins would be at the base waiting for her to pick them up, and probably have Witch with them.

And she was proven right, though Witch was missing, Ruka and Rua were literally standing on the curb leaning out looking at Aki's direction. Even from a distance Aki could see the twins agitation with just the way their expressions read. The limo couldn't be parked fast enough before the twins grabbed the door handle and opened it, rushing into the vehicle with cries of Patty's name.

"Witch told us and went to the hospital to see if she could get any more information for us!" was the first thing Ruka said, as though she was trying to get every word out all at once.

"Yeah! And we called Tenpei and Bob, so they're going to let the Ms. Bartlet know, just in case," Rua added as the pair scrabbled into the seat.

They were doing their best to bracket Patty and their presence got Patty to let go of Aki and sit up between the pair. Pushing Aki out of her seat, that she gave up willingly so that she could sit to the side of the limo. While the twins, with no thought to Aki, settled down beside Patty.

Without asking, Ruka grabbed Patty's bag and dug out a brush, while Rua readily pulled Patty's hair free. And with surprisingly patient, skilled hands, Aki watched as the twins set to work brushing out Patty's amazingly thick hair. Deftly working to put it up in a neat pair of pigtails. Ruka finishing her side before handing the brush over to Rua. The boy following suit and soon had the other half of Patty's hair properly brushed and was putting it up into a matching pigtail. No mirrors, or observations, the pair were so good at pigtails and ponytails they had her hair up and neat in record time. At least compared to what Aki could have done on her own.

"Thanks..." Patty reached up and fiddled with the ends of her pigtails for a moment before lowering her hands back to her lap.

"I know its hard Patty, but Witch of the Black Rose said she would find out what she could! So we won't be in the dark for long," Ruka offered taking Patty's right hand and gave it a friendly squeeze.

"And we have Big Sister Aki with us, so its not just us kids," Rua added, with Patty's left hand in his.

"Thanks you guys! I'm glad this isn't like back in America..." Patty answered with a painfully brave smile for someone who found their grandmother on the floor.

Aki's questioning head tilt was missed by Ruka, since Aki was sitting on Ruka's right on the side of the limo. But it wasn't lost on Rua, who realized that Aki probably never heard since it wasn't talked about in school.

"Patty's from America, her whole family is, but they work here. At first Patty lived with her grandparents in America cuz, you know, learning Japanese. But when her grandpa died, her parents brought Patty and her grandma here."

"Ohhh I see..." And that painted the picture that Patty had only been able to sketch out before. Explaining more in depth for Aki about how Patty moved to Neo Domino, because as cheerful and friendly as Patty 'was'. Well, the only other person that Aki knew who was Black was Martha and she came from America. In fact Patty's blond hair always confused her, since the girl had natural blond hair color while equally kinky like Martha's.

"We all lived together in a small apartment for a time, until the neighbors moved and my parents got grandma that apartment. So she could have her independence and all, and its not bad really, I live with her during the week so Grandma has someone who can translate all the Japanese for her. While we all live with my parents on the weekends, its not bad at all... I like it actually!" With that Patty bent down and dug out her phone and began flipping looking through something on its screen.

Aki realizing that Patty was looking at pictures when the twins began making comments about some of the pictures they saw.

"Here! The neighbor took this shortly after we arrived in Japan." Patty held out the phone and Aki took it politely.

The picture was a group photo of Patty's parents, her grandma and herself, with a tiny Patty in the front clearly modeling a lovely light pink cherry blossom printed yukata. "Oh what a cute yukata!" Aki noted aloud, not wanting to draw attention to the lost look in the old woman's eyes. How the camera snapped as the old woman hand reached as though seeking a hand to hold that was no longer there. It also showed exactly which parent gave with trait to Patty, as her dad was clearly the blond haired American and it was her mother, and grandmother that she got her African roots from.

"Yeah, Mrs. Koma got it for me as a welcome gift! I kept it, I'm not sure if that's ok, but its super special to me," Patty beamed and her smile was actually a happy one. The first happy smile to break past her gloom since Aki saw her that morning.

Aki only had enough time to hand the phone back to Patty before the gates of the school moved past her vision. Showing that the limo had reached the school grounds and there was a small group waiting at the front for them. She could see Asuka and her school friends, but also Tenpei and Bob were waiting with them with anxious expressions.

But there was no Witch, and Aki was starting to worry about what was delaying her Spirit. Not that anyone could see her Spirit, and the only thing that came to mind was that her poor Spirit was now in a hospital. Did the Witch of the Black Rose even 'know' medical terms? Did she know which room to go straight to, or was she checking room after room looking for Patty's grandma... Wait... did Witch even 'know' what Patty's grandma looked like?

What if she came back and reported that Patty's grandma was dead because she found a corpse in the morgue?! OH NOOOOOOOOO!