Day 20

February 2, 2013

In the Long Run... Return of the Kaiser

12:00AM - Jim's house

"No... This can't be right...", Judai whined.

Then the phone rang.

"Hello?"

It was Mokuba, and he was furious.

"You tricked me!"

"Huh?"

"This isn't J Sawaragi I captured!"

Judai then heard Sho's voice.

"Well, it should have been obvious by now!", Sho hissed.

"Sho! Why did you..."

"I didn't mean to be a decoy for Mokuba! I was only going to get a glass of water! Jeez! Don't people know that usually after showers your hair flattens a little bit?"

"Sho..."

"Just... Meet me at the Harbor...", Mokuba hissed.

12:30AM - Darwin Harbor

"We're here. Where's Sho?"

Mokuba grinned.

"Under one condition... Tell me where Toppa and J are?"

"Well, you obviously found them. They're with me!", Asuka glared.

Mokuba smirked, "And where in Jim's house are they?"

"Like I'll tell you. Why don't you leave us alone? Don't you have bigger fish to fry?", Asuka asked.

"Like what?"

"Yugi Mutou. He's in the YuGiOh! Tournament."

"Oh yeah... My, you're one clever girl..."

"Just leave us alone!"

"Fine then... Seeing Australia isn't my turf, you can let your little Battle Spirits players play. Under the condition that you pay me something in return..."

"And what's that?", Jim asked disgusted.

"You guys pay me money for my return to Japan."

"Aren't you loaded with money, already?", Judai hissed, "And Where's Sho."

Sho was pushed out of Mokuba's car.

"So you won't do the favors on helping me save my allowance? What a shame!"

"How old are you supposed to be? You should get a job!", Asuka hissed.

"But I already do... As the true head of the Kaiba Corporations."

"Then you should pay for your own damn flight, right?"

"Fine. A condition I also have to replace it is... You never return to Japan EVER again."

Asuka and Judai laughed.

"What's so funny?"

Asuka looked at Mokuba, "We were prepared for that one. We even said our farewells!"

"...A condition to replace THAT condition I made to replace that other request is that you... Show me a dirty picture, Ms. Tenjouin."

Just when Asuka was about to throw a punch, Richard did the honors for her.

"Sorry, Ms. Tenjouin, but as your bodyguard, I don't want your hands tainted by that lecher's."

"Okay... Fine then! No conditions! Screw you guys, I'm out of here!"

Mokuba then ran into his car as they drove to the airport.

Asuka shook her head. That was a weird morning. Waking up at one in the morning just to rescue Sho was something she wasn't prepared for. In fact, she was driving around wearing a nightgown. Mokuba though, proved to be even more childish than she thought. Still though... Why was he so absorbed in his search for Toppa and J?

6:00AM - Manjyome's Office

"Well, the tournament took a stranger route than expected.", Manjyome noted pointing at the contestant known as Ryou Bakura.

Bakura defeated an innocent little boy, but something was off; The boy started to foam in the mouth just spontaneously and Bakura had the eyes of a madman, just standing there, laughing. Tyranno shook his head as the medics came in, as he also noticed the kids eyes lost the vivid spark that they used to have prior to the duel, as he closed his eyes as if to fall unconscious... or dead.

"What is going on? How are these events happening?! I thought the Millenium Ring was exterminated!", Manjyome hissed.

"And unlike with the events of Yugi Mutou, he chose a victim that did nothing wrong.", Misawa noted.

"Oh yeah... Yugi went after the boy named Smile because of rumors that Smile tried to rape J Sawaragi. Have we found another strange occurrence?"

"If that's the case, then we should probably visit Pegasus' castle.", Tyranno noted.

"Poor kid; I don't know how this could happen, but something is not right. None of the other duelists had this reaction towards anyone else and the boy was known for being a healthy kid just about to head off into middle school. He could have been another great duelist.", Manjyome sighed.

8:00AM - Pegasus's Castle

"Ah... Duelists... I wasn't expecting any guests, let alone anyone that wanted to challenge me to a card game.", Pegasus smiled.

A silver haired Japanese boy with bright blue eyes was driving the wheelchair of a man with dark blue hair and light blue eyes. Next to him was a male brown-haired boy, with amber eyes. Also following him was an African American man wearing black military gear, a red shirt, and a golden ankh.

"Well, we're not here to duel per se...", the silver haired boy smiled.

"We're here to investigate to see if you have the Millenium Eye again. Something is off, and it's the men known as Yugi Mutou and Ryou Bakura."

Pegasus was in shock. He shook his head.

"That's not right... I thought they returned the items, never to use them again, sealed away... I actually don't have my eye right now.", Pegasus noted, revealing the other half of his face. Where his Millenium Eye once was, now was a small hole, showing bits and pieces of his brain. The male duelists were in shock and awe.

"I could be wrong but... shouldn't you have surgery to fix that?", the man in the wheelchair asked.

Pegasus nodded, "I may be rich, but the problem is, I think that this is fine the way it is. Besides, nobody would believe me if I told them I have one eye now."

"Speaking of one eyed men, I wonder how Jim is doing...", the brown haired man muttered.

"Jim Crocodile Cook? Well, let's worry about him another time. For now... We have to keep an eye on how to keep every non-Duelist safe from the strange-ness that is the Millenium Items that have just so recently appeared.", the Afro-Caribbean noted.

"Strange is right... Even I'm confused!", Pegasus sighed dramatically.

"Whelp! Let's investigate, gang!", the brown haired man smiled.

They all nodded, revealing themselves to be Edo Phoenix, Ryo Marufuji, Fubuki Tenjouin and Austin O'Brien. Their identities were revealed when they finally stepped out of the doorway to Pegasus' duel room.

"Isn't it great when we can all come together for a good cause?", Pegasus smiled.

9:00AM - Jim's House

"So... Um... Toppa..."

"Yes?"

"Is it true you guys are a couple?"

"J and I? A couple?"

"Yeah..."

Sho started a conversation asking Toppa such a personal question. Toppa sat there speechless and disgruntled by the fact Sho attacked their relationship head on. Then again, he openly stated it to help Judai understand why he and J were so irritated that he assumed they were Asuka's kids.

"Yeah. Have any problems with that?", Toppa asked.

"No... It's more like it explains everything to us."

"Well, you've been hanging out under our roof for a long while now. I thought you would have figured it out by now when we were on the couch."

"Oh yeah... Sorry; I never really paid much attention to your interactions."

"It's fine. You only hang out with us when you were available.", Toppa smiled nervously.

"Still, isn't it ridiculous that you guys really don't do much around me?", Sho asked.

Toppa then thought about it and realized they weren't that fond of public displays of affection (at least, not J, of course.) Of course they were no hints of romance aside from just kissing. Also, they were teens, and even though they knew about the birds and the bees, they never really thought about doing that because J's father was a firm believer of abstinence, and with Toppa? Well, he didn't like being like his parents, always smothering each other in long hugs and firm kisses and then separating from each other for a long while. He also worried about the possibility of that same thing happening between him and J if he decided to go against the wishes of J's father.

"Grown ups are weird.", Toppa then sighed, confused as to why Sho even cared.

"I'm sorry... I never met a homosexual before. And... Well..."

"The stuff you see in yaoi manga and TV usually is a stereotype. Sure, the stuff about them feeling uncomfortable about talking about it with their parents is true, but then you get the whole 'girl' and 'man' of the relationship. I don't think it works like that. J and I both believe we're guys. We don't like it that they try to brand us with the sexist stereotypes seen on TV when we just interact."

"You're more observant on those stereotypes, then."

"Yeah, but I'm just wondering why we can't marry in Japan even when we haven't even graduated high school yet. But right now, Battle Spirits being banned is more baffling than that."

"Hey guys! I got a phone call from my friend, Austin. He's flying from the Duelist Kingdom with Pegasus, right now!"

Jim waltzed in before Sho had anything else to say to Toppa.

"Pegasus? Wait... Why would he bringing a winged horse, here? Isn't the horse going to be scared of being noticed by everyone because he can fly?", Toppa asked, first excited but then confused on why nobody is as excited as he thought.

"No... Not the Greco-Roman mythological beast... Pegasus!"

"Wait... Who is Pegasus, anyway?", Toppa thought, now even more confused than before.

Jim looked at Sho.

"Pegasus J. Crawford is the creator of Duel Monsters! He usually is at Duelist Kingdom with a team of artists for new ideas on cards to introduce into the game. But... Why is he coming over with Austin to Australia, Jim?", Sho asked.

Jim replied, "I am not sure... Austin didn't give me any full details... but we should probably clean the house for the both of them. I don't think Pegasus is a fan of clutter."

Toppa and Sho looked around. There were DVDs just sitting on the coffee table in a horrendous pile rather than an organized stack. The floor was covered in bits and pieces of old popcorn and chips that God only knows how long it was there. The place didn't smell bad, but disorganized would be an understatement for the house ever since everyone else moved in.

Karen, Jim's pet crocodile, then actually started to whisper something.

"Huh?"

"What's wrong, Toppa?", Jim asked.

Karen was only growling.

"Oh, nothing. It sounded like Karen was trying to talk to us."

"She's probably telling us to 'Clean!'"

Jim took out cleaning supplies.

"Awww man!", Toppa groaned.

"C'mon... Seeing there's strength in numbers, maybe this will be a doozy!", Jim smiled as he began by organizing the DVDs in two separate piles. Toppa nodded as he picked up the vacuum to clean up the mess on the floor. Karen hissed but only because alligators were not used to seeing vacuums very often. Sho picked up the rag used for dusting and swept the dust off the TV slowly with it.

10:30AM - Manjyome's Office

"We should visit Asuka. I wonder how she's doing...", Manjyome muttered.

"Well, with the economy in the dumps, we'll have to keep on wondering.", Misawa replied.

"Aren't you supposed to be teaching a class?", Tyranno asked.

"It's Saturday! We left early!", Misawa snarked.

"That's no excuse. Don't you usually let off at noon?"

Misawa groaned.

"That's not the point. The point is, I want to tag along with you guys on your solving the mystery of Yugi Mutou!"

"We should also figure out a way to overthrow Mokuba...", Manjyome muttered.

"MANJYOME!", Tyranno hissed.

"Well, who else finds that guy ridiculous! I mean seriously!"

"But you're supposed to be the cop supporting him!"

"Even cops hold reservations agains their leaders. Besides? How did a brat like him get to be leading Japan's prohibition rules?", Manjyome asked.

"He's only the same age as Ryo and Fubuki, you know. He isn't a little kid anymore."

"Ryo... Fubuki... Huh? It's been a while since we said their names...", Tyranno thought to himself.

"I know... Why did we mention them, I wonder...", Manjyome blinked.

2:00PM - Jim's House

"Well done, everyone!", Jim smiled.

The room now sparkled. Sure, the furniture was over-greased and the floor now looks like it was torn up by a cat, but now it looked a lot better than before. In fact, even Toppa and Sho were awestruck that they actually cleaned the house.

Toppa though, passed out on the couch. Good news was, Jim didn't tie plastic on the couch, because he didn't want to feel the artificial stickiness it leaves on him after a while. Sho just muttered, "When are Asuka and J coming back from the grocery store? And when will Judai get back from getting an autograph from Yugi Mutou?"

The doorbell rang.

"That must be them.", Jim smiled.

He opened the door. It was Asuka and J, carrying a knocked unconscious Judai.

"What happened?!", Jim gasped.

"Ryou Bakura tried to challenge Judai to a duel; Judai refused.", J murmured.

"What else happened...", Toppa asked worried.

"Judai got crowded by a bunch of kids, both from the tournament and just from the city of Darwin in general.", Asuka smiled.

"Oh... For a second there, I thought Bakura got violent.", Sho sighed with relief.

"Bakura? Violent? Not if I can help it. If Bakura laid a finger on Asuka or any of her allies, then I will go at them, riding a skateboard in a Maleficent costume and hit them over the head with a golf club!", Richard grinned devilishly.

"Well, that's random and creepy...", Toppa shivered.

"And why are you all staring at me for my comment? Surely, you know I'm only joking on the matter of doing those things... but it's obvious that it's not going to be pretty if Ms. Tenjouin is hurt.", Richard then huffed.

Jim then remembered Richard had this odd fixation on getting Ryo Marufuji hitched.

"Hey Richard! Guess who's coming over to visit?", Jim smiled.

"Who?"

"Kaiser!"

Richard felt ecstatic! He didn't jump up and down like a little kid finding out they were going to Disney World, but he was about to get to that point.

"I'm so excited! Will they actually plan the wedding?"

"What wedding?", Asuka and J growled. Richard looked at the two.

"Oh yeah... You're never really going to marry Kaiser Ryo, will you?"

Asuka nodded.

"Darn..."

6:00PM - The Airport

"Well... Shall we call them about getting a hotel? I'm tired...", Pegasus moaned.

"Sure... I guess we'll do that just for you, Mr. Pampered.", Austin smirked.

Ryo made the call while Pegasus and Austin began to argue. Edo broke the two up and fixed the problem.

"Hey! You're here to watch the tournament?"

Fubuki and Ryo recognized the voice as one of Asuka's friends, Momoe Hamaguchi. Austin blushed. She was wearing a pink sweater over a yellow dress. A yellow beret sat on her head.

"Why of course, Momoe...", Fubuki smirked with the playboy attitude.

"It's Fubuki! And he remembered my name!", Momoe swooned. Austin caught her fall. Both Austin and Ryo looked mad.

"I have to remember my sister's friends! Otherwise, my sister will think I'm a prick!", Fubuki whispered in Ryo's ear.

"Understood... but what's SHE doing here?"

"I don't know... but I think this'll prevent this group from being a total sausage fest."

"Who cares if we are an all-male group?!", Ryo growled.

"Okay, if you two won't stop fighting, Momoe won't really care. Besides, I've heard rumors Jim is letting Battle Spirits players live under his roof while Mokuba is reigning still. We can visit them and probably see if they're okay. We can also investigate more on the Millenium Items being revived.", Edo then declared.

They nodded.

"Seeing Bakura's also in this tournament, though... I think we should worry more about him...", Pegasus shivered, now remembering that Bakura stole his Millenium Eye, and its now the reason he has a hole in the head where his right eye should be.

"You're right. The news said an innocent child was hospitalized after he dueled him.", Austin remembered.

10:00PM - Jim's House

Toppa laid on the bed next to J. He gulped.

"J... Are you still awake?", he asked, whispering to the white haired boy.

"Yeah... What's the matter?", J replied.

Toppa got out of his bed and into his.

"Toppa! What are you d-"

Toppa interrupted him with a kiss. J couldn't believe this! He was trying to make out with him.

"Toppa! Wait a moment! We're not even married!", J gasped in shock.

"How would your father know we did it?", Toppa whispered in his ear as he slowly unbuttoned his blue pajama shirt.

"S-stop it...", J began to moan as Toppa started to nibble on his neck.

"If it makes you feel better, I was only going to go second base with you.", Toppa smiled as he began to rub his left hand over J's chest.

Toppa used his free hand to get them under the covers.

"Toppa...", J muttered. His voice began to get mumbled by Toppa's tongue as they resumed to make out.

At the other end of the door, Sho just walked over near their room, and heard them. He walked briskly away from the door after realizing what was happened.

Meanwhile, in Asuka's room, she thought about Judai.

Judai... I'm surprised you are taking being with me so well. I love you, Judai. I'm sorry I haven't talked to you in a while..., Asuka thought to herself on the bed.

She was too busy thinking to know what Toppa was doing with J next door over. She was wondering how she was going to tell Judai again. She remembered she tried to once, but she lost the courage after Judai asked her to repeat what she said. Admitting her love for him again would be a little bit harder.

She closed her eyes, trying to dream about something else, aside from Judai.

TO BE CONTINUED...