FINALLY an update~ Whee. There were several punctuation and such mistakes in my last one, I'll try to fix it ASAP. Enjoy! Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Yu Gi Oh! of any of its affiliates. Though I wish I did. If I did, Atem wouldn't have left ... I've changed my writing style every so often. Rate me on that?
My school bag was slung over my back carelessly, resembling Jonouchi more than my usual neat and tidy self. However, I was not about to choose appearances over comfort. I checked the horizon (I had forgot to bring a watch. Oh well) for signs of daybreak, but not even a tinge of the usual blood-red clouds were there. I thought about what had happened after I ate breakfast and moved on to lunch ...
Flashback:
My grandpa was hobbling over to the breakfast table, a steaming plate in his hands. He looked at me quizzically, as if to ponder the fact of why I was there. Quickly catching on, I said hastily, since a knife was in his fragile old hands (knife+old man with severe brain damage+bad hearing=mahem), "Uh, grandpa, there's no school today since it's Saturday. WE DON'T GO TO SCHOOL ON SATURDAY, SUNDAY, AND HOLIDAYS." I said, in a louder tone - just in case.
"I heard you the first time," Grumbled Grandpa. He set the plate down. It was the frozen fish I recognized several hours ago. Just before I was about to dig in, my cell phone rang. I groaned, choosing my rumbling and protesting belly over some 'urgent message'. I checked the caller ID; Jonouchi, as usual. I'll call him back. Plus, the noise was making my grandpa's face break into a painful grimace. Never a good sign.
I quickly turned it off and shut off my cellphone. It gave one last, feeble beep as if that would make me change my mind, but, unfazed, I help my thumb on the red phone icon and it relucantly gave way to 'manpower'.
After a nice lunch of steaming hot fish, I rushed upstairs and turned my cell phone on. There were quite a lot of unread text messages and calls from you-know-who (no, not Voldemort)
Sighing, I was just about to call Jonouchi back when I eyed the mountain of homework that my devious teachers had left for me over the weekend. Cursing, I hesitated before shutting the phone back off - the power was quite low - and then sat down on my desk. I waited the usual wait for Atem to appear and assist, but then the horrible truth haunted me and I broke down crying.
A few minutes later, I wiped the fresh tears from my face and began my homework. I only took a break for dinner, and when it was time for bed, I only had a paragraph left for my English assignment. Making ugly oaths under my breath including my English teacher, a gulliotine, sharp things, and an especially pissed off Bakura, I could only smile in what my brain was producing for me. A beautiful, horrendous image popped up and it was with only a tremendous amount of willpower that I was able to push the image out of my mind and concentrate. Come on, I urged myself. I can do this.
At last, I was done and, too tired to respond to any of the messages on my cell phone, I brushed my teeth and plopped down on the bed, sighing in pleasure as the soft blankets and pillow enfolded me, urging me to go to dreamland ...
End flashback
Now, I was walking down a pavement that was slightly damp (it rained yesterday night) after leaving a note to grandpa. Honda would be coming over sometime soon, seeing the other note tacked to the front door of the Game Shop. He'll understand. He always did.
I had forgotten to charge my cell phone's battery, but I thought that Kaiba probably had the correct materials to assist with that. If he really was in a hurry, maybe he'll get me a new phone, even. With a little whining and persuasion, he might even get me that iPhone ... or should I get a Blackberry...? Sidekick...?
Immersed in my thoughts, I didn't notice the vibration of my actual cell phone until the third one. I had turned the volume down to Vibrate, to save power, but I kept the phone one just in case Jonouchi wanted to call. And speak of the devil.
"Hey, Yug'!"
"Oh, hi, J-J-J-Jonouchi," I said, failing to stifle a huge yawn. Dang.
"You won't believe it!"
"I won't believe what?"
"You know, that story you told me yesterday - " At this I had to bite back a sharp retort. Who said it was a 'story'? - "well, I got one of those packetmagiggies too! I've been trying to contact you all this time but you're either wasting your time talking to some other dude for six straight hours, or your phone was shut off."
My jaw dropped open. What? How did JONOUCHI get invited? Kaiba hated him! "Uh, that's great, Jonouchi." I said tactfully. "But I'm pretty sure that Kaiba Corporation mailed it to the wrong address and - "
"Nope, Yug'! There was a very short note in there that Kaiba typed up, personally, to me. Though that scumbag kept acting as if I was retarded or something. Hey, I passed Language Arts, didn't I?"
I wanted very badly at the point to tell him that a 'D-' was just scraping by, but I didn't want to burst his bubble.
"Wow." I said. "Just - wow."
"I know, right? Oops. That was Shizuka. She just woke up."
"Oh, by the way, Jonouchi - why are you awake?" I asked. This was strange, now that I thought about it. If I remembered correctly, the alarm clock I had set to 1:30 A.M. was correct, and this was roughly around 1:45 A.M.
"Er ... to tell you the truth ..." Jonouchi's voice had dropped to an embarrassed whisper. "I was lookin' at sum good stuff on the VCR the other day, and after pranking that damned TV station they sumhow got that TV to go off at one! I'm freaking serious! You could hear the passionate moans if you were on the other side of - "
"Whoa, whoa." I said hurriedly. "I don't need the details, Jonouchi."
"Uh, ok. Well, I better eject that tape before Shizuka finds it." Jonouchi chuckles. "Heh, I'd like to see the look on her face, though..."
"Jonouchi!" I scolded him.
"Fine, fine ... oh shit!" He swore suddenly. "Shit, I don't believe it! I don't freaking believe it! Gotta go, Yug'. SHIZUKA! DON'T TURN ON THAT TV!" And those were the last words I heard from Jonouchi before he hung up.
Shrugging, after turning the phone off, I stuffed it in my jeans pocket and then something stopped me cold.
I didn't know WHERE we were meeting. It was probably a bad idea to call Jonouchi right now, and doubted that any of my other friends were 'invited'. The only option was to call Kaiba, but he'd probably be working on some important manuscript or other. "Shit." I said aloud. I wasn't one to swear outside my mind, but I've become ... feral, let's put it, in the last few days. If I could see my mind room, I bet it was one heck of a bloody mess. Literally. Strewn with my teachers's remnants, guts, innards ...
Then I heard a familiar chopping noise.
A helicopter? I wondered. I looked up. There was a small speck in the sky, no doubt Kaiba's latest kind since the noise it made was helicopter, yet the figure looked strangely ... dragonlike.
And then I realised that it was the Blue Eyes White Dragon Jet. What was Kaiba doing? And why was he here?
I watched silently as the jet landed. Ther was, instead of the normal rockets under its wings, propellors that had made the noise on its wings, giving more stable flight and a larger cabin. The Blue Eyes looked like a supernerd due to its large forehead. An overweight supernerd - I noticed that its belly (the 'cabin') was at least several times larger than normal. Kaiba's smirk visible even in the dim lighting.
The cockpit open and Kaiba jumped out, gravity-defying coat and all, and, with a flourish, Mokuba followed suit. That was why the head was larger.
"Hi, Yugi!" Mokuba exclaimed. The last thing I saw was the flash of a yellow vest and the little terror was cluthing me around my waist, his head just a little below mine due to my shortness. "Hi!" I said, a bit surprised. Then the full meaning of their visit kicked in. After Mokuba relinquished his grasp, leaving me practically gasping for air, Kaiba coughed slightly. I looked up.
"Yugi, I assume that you have gotten the package that Kaiba Corp sent over?" He asked. Now that I looked closer, I saw that there were dark circles under his eyes.
"Kaiba, have you been sleeping?"
Kaiba interrupted, flicking his wrist as if whacking away an irritating fly.
"No matter. Get into the cabin, we have places to go and people to meet." Kaiba opened the cockpit and pressed a small green button on a dashboard I hadn't noticed. A door on the jet's side materialized seemingly out of nowhere. A lavish cabin was revealed. Without any further ado, and energy suddenly flooding my veins, I practically skipped inside and seated myself. I could almost see Kaiba's one-eyebrow-lift in front of me, but there was solid wood - wood? - blocking the brothers and I from sight.
The door closed and the jet soared up, up ... I heard the steady drumming of the propellors and I slowly drifted off to sleep, the adreline that pervaded my body just a moment ago fading away as quickly as it came ...
I was jolted awake a little while later, when the dragon landed in front of a familiar house. There were airplane-like windows on the sides, and I noticed a certain blonde yelling up at the dragon, but due to Kaiba's careful soundproof walls, none of it got through to us. He was making a rather rude gesture consisting of one finger up at us, though. Shizuka, looking from the threshold of the house, seemed quite terrified.
The cockpit opened once more and I watched interestedly as the two exchanged heated glares and in the end, when Jonouchi was practically slamming his fist on Kaiba's chest in frustration, I decided to intervene. Mokuba had stayed behind, and assuming that there was a hidden microphone.
"Er, Mokuba? I think I should stop this before Jonnouchi challenges Kaiba to a duel. Again."
A moment of silence, then the side door opened. Both fell silent as I walked out, the reputation of a peacemaker already taking effect. Jonouchi gaped at me - I saw that he had a rather large bad slung over his shoulder as well, where the tip of a Duel Disk was evident. Kaiba wore a smug smirk on his face.
"So, the mutt's friend has come to help. Care to give him a bone and shut him up?" Kaiba asked brashly. Frowning and silently hating the fact that I had intervened, I cast Jonouchi a quick glance to make sure he didn't explode.
"Come on guys, let's go without wasting any more time. Kaiba, I thought you knew better than to use up valuable time by arguing?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow in the way Kaiba did. Scowling, Kaiba didn't say anything apart from, "I'll expect that you and the Golden Retriever will be in the cabin before I fly this thing."
Jonouchi shouted such a nasty string of swears after that in the cabin that I was sure a certain Pope would have looked up from his coffee after a sharp sting on his arm. I tried to calm him down, but to no avail. He was still fuming as the jet landed once again, in front of someone's unfamiliar house. Curious now, Jonouchi leaned across my lap to see whoever it was. It was an uncomfortable position, as he was sitting next to me, and how he was of the same sex as me didn't help that much. Shifting sheepishly, I asked him to kindly get up. He obeyed, subdued.
The jet landed and someone stepped out of the front door, which was a black color. The first rays of the sun were peeping over, and the newcomer's face was washed in light as if he was a god or something.
It was a boy.
He was as tall as Tristan, and that's pretty tall. His untidy uniform, which belonged to our school, I noticed, was unzipped, revealing a rather shriveled gray t-shirt that showed some skin and his toned abs. He wore pants that were too baggy for my taste, and normal white sneakers. His face wasn't ugly; in fact, with some tanning, he would actually count as 'handsome'. But who am I to judge? I'm not a girl, after all.
His hair was hidden by a jet-black baseball cap, which was worn backwards for taste. There was a skull and crossbones on the 'back' of the cap, so I thought that the manufacturers must be some kind of crazy to promote this overrated way of wearing caps. In his left hand the Duel Disk was already strapped to it, deck and all, and in his right he held a single briefcase that, though nowhere as tough as Kaiba's, was quite formidable and large.
Kaiba did the usual introductions, and judging from Kaiba's expression when he returned to the cockpit, this boy's behavior had not displeased him. The boy waited impatiently as the side door opened, and his expression brightened as he stepped in and saw me. There were two rows of seats, with two chairs in each row. Tables seperated the pairs of chairs from each other, as if it was a mini-theatre and instead of aisles seperating the chairs it was tables. Antique tables. With red wine and other stuff on it, now that I examined them carefully. And a cigar pack. The other boy smiled in a way that resembled a shark and set his briefcase carefully down at his feet, as if it contained jewels or something. His grin was directed at me.
"So this is the great Yugi Motou everyone's been talking about," He said. His voice was deep and slightly scratchy, like sandpaper.
"I'm Jared Shuar Jivaro, call me Jay."
He stuck out a hand, which Jonouchi shook happily without his consent. Finally, 'Jay' looked at Jonouchi with an expression that clearly meant that he had not seen him there, and just noticed him. His face expressed surprise, but not distaste. "And who might this be? Duelist Kingdom Jonouchi Katsuya, of course, second place after Yugi Motou!" He said. "Wow, it's like killing two - no, three - birds with one stone! It's a pleasure to meet you." Jonouchi frowned a bit at the bird comment, as if he'd rather be a dog, then seemed to brush it off.
"Nice to meetcha, Jay."
There was an uncomfortable silence as I mused why Jay had used that expression.
"So, Jay," Said Jonouchi unexpectedly. "What do you do ... as a hobby? Apart from the obvious I mean," He chuckled, waving a careless hand at his Duel Disk. Jay's eyes suddenly clouded over.
"I collect shrunken heads," He said straightfowardly.
"What?" I sputtered, unable to contain myself. Jonouchi's mouth was open and he looked retarded. Like Kaiba had called him.
"Authentic ones, too. Not the fake ones Americans make," Jay said, a scowl evident on hs face. He opened the briefcase. "Here, let me show you."
Sickened but curiosity getting the better of us, Jonouchi and I crowded around the briefcase. All I could catch, however, was a large nose before the jet landed roughly. Jay immediately slammed the briefcase shut to prevent harm coming from his shrunken heads. I looked out.
It was another unfamiliar house. The house was quaint, near the suburbs (we had surburbs?) but not quite. I was surprised at how fast this jet had traveled. Almost immediately, a figure opened the lime-green door and someone stepped out. The sun was rising fast, so it was easy to make out the distinctive features of a female.
She was not pretty, nor ugly, nor anywhere in between. I take that back - she's leaning towards the pretty side, but not quite. My brain struggles with this for a moment then I realize that there are olive-colored streaks down her face, flowing from her equally-green colored eyes, as if she was crying but the tears were green and stuck there. (1)
Most possibly and obsessed cosplayer or some person who like paints - a lot. Her hair wasn't pulled up into a ponytail or anything, and it was grayish in color and went down to her shoulders. Instead of being all over the place, however, it looked well-groomed. There was a faded black beanie with a green print on it that rested on top of her head (what is with her and green?) She was dressed in a most peculiar shirt, that stretched tightly though wasn't exactly skintight.
The same print was at the bottom-left corner of her shirt, which was completely blue apart from the print, which was dark gray. She only had one sleeve, on her right arm, which was gray and no sleeve at all on the other arm. They both had white gloves on them, though. A see-through 'X' crossed over her entire body, looking extremely weird. Where the lines met in the middle, a green diamond formed. There were two cloth-like belts around her waist, forming a fat, squatted 'X' there and a green butterfly clip was strapped securely to her right hip. Tight bicycle shorts she wore (gray. I was getting sick of all this blue-green-gray-whiteness. The blue was light, too, which didn't help a smidgeon), and to top it all off, she had these long, elegant boots with a green band strapped around it to bind the foot to the boot.
I stared at her, exasperated. Why the strange get-up? Upon even closer squinting and much shoving due to Jonouchi and Jay, who had come over to look, I saw a small butterfly clip that was small enough to clip her hair with that was clipped on her neck. The shirt she wore was a turtleneck, but not a sweater. I wondered how long she would last in winter.
Seto, unfazed by her strange appearance (perhaps he had seen so much of himself in a mirror with his coat and all, that he grew used to these oddities. I wasn't about to complain either - my hair was an explanation for everything I had kept to myself. Didn't want to be a hypocrite), approached her and they began to talk. Not a minute later, she headed towards the slowly opening side door. I noticed that the door opened upwards, but why I took this small matter in I don't know.
This girl, I noticed, had a large green fanny pack strapped at the back of her cloth-like belts. It was bulging. Seriously. I wondered how she kept it on. I was pretty sure the Duel Disk was in there.
The jet started up again, and Mimi sat in the window seat behind Jay. Her eyes scanned the rooms quickly, taking everything in, and then she crossed her arms over herself and her eyes closed, seemingly asleep. Jay propped himself up so he was looking at her, with his knees on the seat and arms on the top of it, turned around, and said loudly, "Hey, what's your name?"
Immediately the girl reacted and before we knew it, the suitcase (2) was in her hands. We were so surprised that she had accomplished such a feat that everything was quiet for about a minute. Then, with a war-worthy cry, Jay leapt up and tried grabbing the suitcase from her. His precious collection of shrunken heads was probably his most prizes possession, I thought, apart from his cards obviously.
The girl just smirked and jerked the case away from him, and with expert skills she unhinged the briefcase, easily cracking a code that was clasping it shut and that I had never noticed. Jonouchi and I were both staring. Finally, after examining the contents and snorting, the girl tossed the briefcase to the ground. Before she did, though, I noticed that her hand went to her fanny pack with expert speed before appearing. I wondered if she had stolen a shrunken head. Jay looked immensely relieved as he caught he briefcase. He glared daggers at the girl.
"What the (CENSORED, though they will not be in the near future) was that for?" Jay shouted, his mouth spewing curses that only Jonouchi could have rivaled. The girl looked up, seemed to consider us for a brief moment of time, then said, "My name is Mimi." in a calm tone. However, her voice seemed to me to be mysterious, like a stalker's. I shook myself mentally. Of course she wasn't a stalker. Was she?
Then 'Mimi' went to sleep.
Jay was still fuming and Jonouchi and I still befuddled. I noticed that there was a small plastic rectangle on the side opposite of the green butterfly on her hip. It was filled with Duel Monsters cards. I smiled. We were all duelists, after all.
Seto's voice, distorted through the mechanism, spoke out of nowhere from a hidden speaker.
"We shall be reaching our next destination in several hours. Just seat yourself and make yourself comfortable, just don't go ape shit all over the wine."
Then the intercom clicked off. I thought about grandpa, and Jay, and the stalker Mimi, and Jonouchi and Seto and Mokuba and Anzu and Bakura and finally of what lie ahead of us. Then I drifted off to sleep.
The end.
NO JUST KIDDING HA.
Several hours later ---
The jet landed softly, waking the four people within. Mimi was the first to wake up, and she made a deal about it, too. "Wake up, we've landed." She said with a hint of a growl. Jay shuddered and clutched his briefcase, which he was holding dearly during the flight, ever the more closer.
The side door opened once more, and before I could look out the window, glaring sunlight flooded the cabin. The 'inhabitants' within groaned and moaned and stretched their muscles, apart from Mimi, who was already up and headed out. Jonouchi sniffed.
I waited until Jay had gotten out until Jonouchi and I followed. My foot sunk deep into sand. Crying out loud, I looked up and realized that we had flown all the way to a familiar place. Egypt!
Surpsied, I asked Jonouchi what the time was. He checked his watch - it was ten in the morning. We had traveled for roughly eight hours instead of the 'several' that Seto had promised. The four teenagers trudged sleepily after Seto and Mokuba, who had both taken the initiative and were speed-walking towards a large, professional-looking building. I saw that it was a smaller replica of the amazing KC building in Domino City. There was a large pyramid behind it, about a mile or two away, I calculated.
As the revolving doors were put into motion by a sensor as we neared it, I saw that Jay, Jonouchi, and Mimi were all looking skywards. I looked up, too, and gasped.
There was a man. He was on top of the building and jumping. Was this a suicide we were witnessing?
Seto just watched calmly as the man reached an unseen ledge near the top, then jumped his way down. There was an air of satisfication that I loathed around the man. Upon closer looks, the man was a ... a ...
"Ninja," whispered Jonouchi.
"Shadow, you are to be watching these kids during the ... mission." Seto said, jerking a thumb dismissively at us. Growling, I had to hold back Jonouchi as he lunged at Seto. Jay helped when it was fruitless, and Mimi (to our surprise) helped too, though all she did was grab and arm and began to ruthlessly tear at it again and again. Only when Jonouchi's arm dislodged did she stop, though Jonouchi was howling in pain.
The ninja went into action. He delivered a blow to his arm, jarring it back into the socket and Jonouchi began to breathe easier after a sharp yelp as the ball went into the socket. He made an ugly, spiteful face at Mimi, who equalled it with her own. At least Jonouchi wasn't getting beaten to a pulp by Seto ... Seto seemed not to notice that his 'life' was 'threatened' just a moment ago. On the contrary, he was already heading inside, the ninja at his heels. We followed him...
at the top floor, there was a copy of Seto's desk. He sat down on the large chair behind it, and there were wooden chairs for us to sit on. The ninja stood. This 'ninja' was dressed in faded yellow, I noticed. Like Naruto or something, though not as glaring and sharp and a pain in the butt. It wasn't one-piece, either, though skintight.
"Eh ... so, Kaiba," I state simply. There is an awkward silence as Kaiba shuffled some papers on his desk. Then his neck snapped up with so much ferocity I was surprised it didn't snap. His piercing blue eyes looked at me for a second, lingering, then surveyed the rest with less ... hunger?
"What?" He then said, the faintest hint of a snarl. The ninja shivered.
"What?" I said, in sudden outrage. "What..? Kaiba, explain yourself!" I shouted. I was standing up.
Kaiba looked haggard, tired, more tired than I have ever seen him. I was instantly sorry for my outburst. I sat down, shame-faced. Kaiba stood up, and began to speak.
"Fine, I shall do so. I suppose you do deserve an explanation, after all." A sigh. "It all began when a pyramid was found ... it was built near the end of the Old Kingdom, near the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, so there were not as much pyramids built then. This one was made against a certain pharaoh's will. That pharaoh was the pharaoh that followed Aba, the one we know so little about, almost nothing.
"It was revealed later on that the pyramid, as a tomb, held a wealth of gold and jewels, as usual. Tomb robbers raided it, as usual, but for some reason less and less tomb robbers began to attack it until the notion ceased. There were death omens and the such engraved on and around the mouth of the pyramid, and from the hieroglyphics from the hallway inside, something about the number thirteen. Some archaeologists entered, but ... never ... returned." Seto said, ending it with a grinding of his teeth. I supposed that he still hated anything remotely related to magic. "Thirteen was everywhere. The pictures on there showed thirteen escapees, though we don't know from where; it showed thirteen bats; it showed thirteen foes; it showed thirteen ... people; it showed thirteen deaths; thirteen souls, even; and, the strangest of all, something not related to thirteen at all. It showed one more man being killed, and four or so others being severely wounded.
"Anyway, some officials began to get interested, and after making a pact with the people in charge of tours, the government, and the such - your pea-brains wouldn't understand - Kaiba Corp was dragged in. We sent a team consisting of thirteen, but so far none of them have reported back."
"How long ago was that?" Mimi interrupted. Kaiba cast her a glance, then replied promptly, "six months."
There was a gasp from Jonouchi, and Jay actually looked up from his briefcase, startled. Mimi raised her eyebrows and unclipped the butterfly at her hip, while I just stared at him, flabbergasted.
"What about - what if they're dead?" I asked. Jonouchi cringed at my straightforwardness. "Shouldn't their families be informed?"
Seto's gaze was cold, as usual. "They signed an agreement against any action against Kaiba Corporation. In other words, their family or friends cannot sue or attempt o sabotage the company or its affiliates in any way. They put themselves to risk. Most of them were lifeless losers, wanting a share of the gold within the pyramid. It's amazing how even the most professional archaeologists have not suceeded."
"Then why do you need us?" Asked a voice. I turned around. Jay was the asker, his voice higher than his usual low drum.
"That will be explained shortly," Said Seto.
"And why do we need these Duel Disks?" Mimi.
"And why ... us? You could have chosen others!" Jonouchi.
"What is a ninja doing here?" Me.
"Are we going to be escorted?" Jay.
And so on.
Seto listened to our complaints until he raised a hand. We fell silent. The room dimmed and curtains were pulled to cast the room into darkness. There was a bright spot on the curtains. I realised that it was from an overhead-like machine. It was attached to Seto's computer. Seto lifted up a remote control that he had in his hands all alone, and clicked a button on it. The machine clicked and whirred, and an image appeared on the screen.
It was Mimi's turn to gasp now, Jonouchi fainted, Jay slumped and turned even paler - and I screamed.
The picture showed a dead man, with an arrow through his head and bits of gray flesh everywhere. I counted the arrows. Thirteen in all.
WHEW!~ Finished. Finally! That took several hours. XP Well, the next chapter will have the very first duel, I promise. :) Please R&R and I thank a certain someone for subscribing!
(1) Taken from Galbinus with permission. To see the actual art, go to galbinus (dot) deviantart (dot) com and browse through her gallery. Click on the 'original pics' icon. You should be able to find it from there. ;)