A Storm in the Kingdom
Many hours now had passed since the announcement of the tournament start. Though those remaining did not know the specific number of duelists remaining in the competition, there were certainly those who did. And those 'certain people' currently stood, or in one of the cases, sat, inside the lavish castle at that very moment. It was an odd scene; to those first coming in, one would think that Pegasus was entertaining a sole guest, a young boy with a meal, or at least a 'midnight snack'. However, upon closer a closer look, one could see that this was not the case. There was only one person eating at the moment, and that was the middle-aged man sitting at the end of the table. He held a wine glass lightly with one hand, the other flipping pages to a comic book as he laughed. "Ahahahhaaa! Ohhh, my dear Funny Rabbit," he cried, apparently to himself. The boy to the side gave no answer after all, merely staring listlessly at the wall across from him. Pegasus placed his wine glass on the table, wiping his eyes slightly. "Oh... How droll and witty can you be?"
Still no answer, and yet this seemed to have little effect on the man. He took a sip of the wine, leaning back on his chair with a content sigh. "The finest Amarone wine... Well-aged Gorgonzola cheese..." The man continued to chuckle, taking another light sip of his wine as footsteps as he spoke. "And the worlds best comic from my homeland, 'Funny Rabbit!' Truly I am blessed among men... Wouldn't you say Crocketts," he added, turning as his assistant coughed from behind.
"Indeed Pegasus-sama," he said curtly. From behind the shades, it was impossible to see what he was looking at; with the Millennium Eye however, Pegasus could tell that he was taking glances at the boy beside him. It was unnerving, or so the aged man thought behind that impassive and 'professional' expression. That a young boy who by all definitions seemed so 'dead' after the trouble from earlier.
Pegasus turned back to his book, taking a small bite of cheese before he spoke. "I'm glad that you agree... But I must ask, why do you feel the need to interrupt such a peaceful moment for me?" The book was placed on the table, and he continued. "These moments are rather personal, or have you forgotten that?" The tone of his voice at the last comment seemed cold, almost unforgiving. In response to it, Crocketts visibly paled, bowing his head.
"Of course, Pegasus-sama... Please, forgive me."
The man smiled, shaking his head. "It's fine..." He stood, turning to the assistant with a slight smile. "Now, just what is the problem?"
Although he was able to tell a split second before the man told him, the words were still rather upsetting. "We received a message from the Kaiba residence," Crocketts began nervously. "From the maid we had posted in the building. Though she was unable to get too far into the circle of employees to dabble in Seto Kaiba's more... Personal affairs," he continued, hesitating slightly for just a moment, "She was close enough to feed us information from those who were however. She sent us a message a few hours ago, Pegasus-sama..."
He frowned, still holding his glass of wine and swirling it absently. "Then the reports are true..."
A nod. "Correct. Seto Kaiba it would seem, has woken up... He is coming to this island as we speak."
"Oh no!~~" The glass was placed on the table, Pegasus putting a hand to his forehead dramatically. "It can't be..!" He turned to him, eye narrowed slightly. "And what of his transport? We've done something about that haven't we..?"
They had. Crocketts gave a stiff nod, but it was in vain. A simple glance at his thoughts told him that there was still a chance... "We have two men 'accompanying' him by helicopter. However," the man continued with a nervous cough, "We lost contact a few minutes ago... Currently, as a storm was reported not far from their location, we are safely able to come to the conclusion that we're merely running into interference over the radios... However, the men found it prudent to bring this to your attention."
Interference... Pegasus nodded, turning back to the table for his wine. "I see... And what of the tournament," he asked with a more calm tone, taking his seat again to resume reading his comics. "What is the status of the duels?"
Crocketts pulled out a remote of sorts, activating a hidden projection board in the ceiling. The screen rolled down, before a map of the island came into view. "Currently," he began, text appearing on the screen, "It has been just over 14 hours since tournament start." A chart of sorts appeared at the side, and he continued. "Out of the 40 total participants, only 12 remain... However," he added, a slight expression of discomfort on his face, "Two of the 'Player Killers' hired, 'Darkness' and 'Death', have both been found dead."
Pegasus' eyebrows raised, but the man did not turn from where he sat. "Killed," he asked, voice devoid of the usual camp and playful tone it ordinarily held. "How so?"
"Both player killers were last challenged by competitor Mutou Yugi," Crocketts stated, clicking a button on the remote. "The first to be found, 'Death', was alive for two hours after defeat. He was taken back to the castle to await medical attention. However," he continued, grimacing despite himself. "Regardless of any anesthetics given, heart rate continued to increase, eventually dropping to a complete stop." He had been there when it happened, from what Pegasus' eye could tell him. And even this chilled him; the image of the Ventriloquist's screams came into his mind, the man clearly horrified as he attempted to escape something... His heart rate had jacked up to impossible numbers before finally giving in, flat-lining and giving the man the escape he needed.
That was the first then... And if his suspicions were correct, it meant that the host of the Millennium Puzzle, that 'dear' Yugi-boy, had far more control over its power than he thought. "And what of 'Darkness'," he asked, head turned so that his golden eye might pick up on any thoughts hidden from him.
His assistant stared, swallowing nervously before continuing. "His body was found ten minutes ago in the second of the Forest Duel-Boxes- His neck was snapped, however, according to medics on staff this was not the cause of death. Rather," he stated, forcing himself to keep professional about things, "After the neck was snapped he suffocated for reasons currently unavailable to us."
The CEO's eye narrowed, and he nodded before turning away. "I see... Such a pity..." There was more that his assistant had not said however- thoughts that the man hoped to bring up in the morning, after a good night's rest. A pity indeed, that he would find out that five of his tournament participants had lost their lives from strangulation as well, each of them having dueled against the player killer, a now literal term it would seem, before hand. "...What is the status of our dear 'Yugi-boy'," Pegasus finally said after a few moments of silence. "He simply must make it to the finals so he can get to my castle after all!"
There was another click from the remote behind him, the teen's photo and personal information appearing. The information scrolled across the side of the screen, Crocketts speaking as it moved. "Mutou Yugi has so far collected six starchips," he stated, regaining his professional composure. "He is currently still located in the Forest-Lake area, along with two other participating people and three others accompanying him."
Six starchips... He smiled. "Ahhh! Wonderful!" The news clearly cheered Pegasus, and as the American took another sip of wine, he smiled. "Be sure to keep a close eye on him, at all times, understand~ We need to make sure he makes it to this castle!" The smile grew, and Pegasus took another bite of cheese. "The participants accompanying him..." He turned back slightly to Crocketts, continuing. "Is one of them 'Jonouchi Katsuya' by any chance..?"
Upon the screen, Yugi's information vanished to be replaced with an employee file from KaibaCorp; Yugi's information had come from the highschool, and the photos had been slightly out-dated... The file however, was updated regularly, and had proven to be more informational than that of Jonouchi's school records. The image of the blond in partial 'uniform' for the security staff appeared, along with another scrolling wall of informational text. Ahh... And here was his 'key bearer'... The suit didn't quite fit him properly, Pegasus decided. Nonetheless. "Jonouchi Katsuya," Crocketts stated, "Has collected 4 starchips, having dueled twice so far."
"Only four?" Pegasus gave a false pout, shaking his head. "Oohhh... Terrible... If he isn't careful, he won't make it here..." The man smiled again, a dangerous glint appearing in his narrowed eye as he looked toward the soulless shell of Mokuba at his side. "Why, if he doesn't make it, just what will happen to Mokuba-boy..?" There was no answer, and from behind, Crocketts moved to send the projector back into the ceiling. "Oh well," Pegasus sighed. "I suppose that if that happens, we'll just have to find some other reason to keep him here..."
No sooner were these words spoken than a buzzing came through the air. Pegasus stood up, watching as a 'loading' screen came before him on the board to herald a web-cam call. "Crocketts," he stated dismissively, standing up yet again to greet whoever was calling. "I believe it's time to take Mokuba to his room, wouldn't you say..?" The man gave a nervous nod, and Pegasus smiled. "Wonderful! Mokuba-boy," he stated, turning his eye on the soulless body. To Crocketts silent shock, the boy answered, turning his head with the same blank and empty stare. "Follow Crocketts and do as he says, understand..?" The boy merely stared, before moving from his chair to walk towards Crocketts. Pegasus looked to his assistant as the words 'Establishing Connection' appeared behind him on the screen. "Make sure he gets right to bed, understand~ Tomorrow is a special day after all..." His tone grew rather dangerous at the end again, and Crocketts nodded. As the two left rather quickly, the image of five men, all seated at a single table appeared in the background. "Now then," Pegasus stated, swirling his wine glass again before turning to face KaibaCorp's board of directors.
"Pegasus-san," the one in the center stated, the CEO recognizing him as the late Gozaburo's assistant Daimon. "Good to see we didn't have to wake you up."
Beside him, another of the board frowned, expression mirrored by those around the table. "I assume you heard about Seto Kaiba's recovery," Ootaki stated roughly, watching as Pegasus returned the statement with a narrowed eye.
"I have," Pegasus answered, watching as the board muttered amongst themselves.
"If this recovery is truly not a hoax," Ooka was muttering, "Then the plan will need to be revised..."
Across from him, Oshita shook his head. "No," he stated with a scowl. "There is no turning back now... We've dug ourselves in too deep to even think of fooling that insolent child..."
The fifth of the group, Ota, crossed his arms as his scowl deepened. "Shit," he muttered under his breath. "That Seto just won't die..!"
"Gentlemen~," Pegasus stated calmly, interrupting the group's mutterings. "'Big 5'... There is absolutely nothing to worry about!" At the questioning stares from the board, he continued. "There won't be any problems... After all, the second I defeat Yugi, our contract will be fulfilled... Kaiba Corporation will become 'ours'," the man stated with a smile. "After all... He will never make it to this island... Something has already been done about that!"
As Pegasus chuckled, the board members stared. Eventually, Daimon also began to join the man in his laugh, before speaking. "Heh eh heh... I see," he muttered, nodding. "You had better succeed with whatever it is being done Pegasus-san! After all," he began, the others gaining grim expressions in response. "So long as that boy lives our lives are at risk... All of us," he added, emphasizing the 'all'. Watching as Pegasus merely stared at the screen, he continued. "We will speak with you again Pegasus-san..." With that, the screen blacked out, leaving the CEO to frown.
"Hn..." Seto Kaiba... Alive, really... The man walked out to one of the many balconies in his castle, still sipping his wine. "Seto Kaiba," he muttered, eyes narrowed. "Go back to Hell where you belong..."
"AAAAUUGGH!"
Katsuya jumped as a scream pierced the air beside him, rubbing his head with a growl. "Agggghh..." The sky of course, was just as black and empty as before, save the millions of stars twinkling above. Such a view would never be visible from the homes in Tokyo... But right now, he just wasn't in the mood to think of that. He turned on the source of the scream, who was currently shouting with enough volume to wake up the dead... Or possibly the comatose. "Damn it Honda!" He scowled as the others woke up as well, a bleary 'It's only 11:30...' coming from Bakura. "What's wrong with you!" With luck, the girls wouldn't wake up either...
The teen in question was currently shuffling as far away from a serpentine looking object on the ground, his face pale as he shouted. "Hihhh! S-S-SNAKE!"
Beside the him, Yugi jumped as well. "E-EH! Snake!" Oh come on, were they honestly that...
Honda gave a shuddered nod, clutching the trunk of one of the trees near by. It was kind of weird, seeing Honda like this... This was really the first time he'd seen him so worked up about something normal as opposed to completely bizarre. Like say being turned into a figurine (He thought that would count.). Instead... "Hahhhh...!" He gave another shudder, while Yugi and Katsuya both moved over to see the long object on the ground. "I hate snakes... And reptiles... And anything else with slippery skin!" Remind him not to take the guy to an aquarium then... That or bring him there blindfolded and drop him in the whale-shark tank.
Picking up the object in question, Yugi raised an eyebrow. "Erm... Honda-kun," he began, holding the vine in the teen's face. "Is this the snake you're talking about?"
"Sheesh..." Katsuya snorted, moving back to where he'd been laying down. Honestly, getting all worked up for nothing... He'd be rubbing this in his face tomorrow, that was for sure... "It's just a vine from a tree, what's th' matter with you..."
Honda blinked, turning to Yugi with a blank expression on his face. "...Eh... a vine..?" As he was reassured by Yugi that yes, it was indeed a vine, Katsuya growled.
Man, he'd just gotten to sleep and everything... "Agggghh... Wimp, screaming just because of a vine, honestly..." He leaned back against his jacket, grumbling as he made himself comfortable... Rolling over with the scowl still set in place, he gave a mock wave. "NIGHT!" Who cared if that came out in a way that put Seto to shame, he wanted sleep! ...Needed sleep too!
And sleep he did... For about half an hour at least. "W-WUAAAAH!"
"AAAAUGH!" He jumped up, Yugi blinking in shock from beside him as Honda grumbled. "WHAT IS IT THIS TIME!"
Ignoring the more volatile emotions running through his friend right now, Honda merely yawned and turned to the source of the scream; namely Bakura. "What's wrong Bakura," he asked, watching as the teen turned his head from his bag.
"W-Well," he began, turning towards them, bag in hand as he coughed. "It's my ring, it's-"
"AAAAUUGH!"
"THE MILLENNIUM RING!" The three jumped back, ignoring Bakura's blank and slightly worried stare. "Why th' hell did you bring it to th' island," Katsuya shouted, eyes wide. That thing! He brought that thing here!
Bakura blinked, still holding the device in one hand. Apparently the fact that he was holding a lethal weapon of soul-stealing destruction in his hands wasn't disturbing him. "Ah... It was still in my bag so..." He coughed, frowning slightly. "That isn't the point..." Looking back at the ring, the others followed his gaze with a blank stares. Oh... One of the needles was... Wait, how was it doing that?
"Ah..." Yugi blinked as he realized the prong in the middle held itself up on its own, pointing outward. Now that he thought about it, there was a slight glow there as well... Though he had a feeling the others didn't see it. "The needle is..."
There was a nod from Bakura, and the air seemed to become tense. Thick, heavy almost, as though the sky was silently rumbling in displeasure with them all. Katsuya swallowed as they stared at the ring, before its owner finally spoke, putting the grumbling noises he heard in the back of his mind. "I wonder what this means," he muttered, frowning just slightly. "I had a nervous feeling... So I looked into the bag to check on it." He swallowed, looking towards where it was pointing. "And then it did this... For some reason, it's pointing at Pegasus' castle..."
The three leaned over to look closer at the ring, Katsuya frowning. Now that was interesting... And creepy. More the latter really... "Huh... It is..." He looked over at the castle in question, before turning back to Bakura as the teen continued.
"That's not all," he stated with the same light frown from before. The ring seemed to shake slightly in his grip, the teen ignoring the odd 'behavior' for the moment. "This isn't the first time it's done this. It happened once before," Bakura continued, turning to Yugi. "The day I transferred to Domino High, when I saw the puzzle!" Alright. That was just a little weird. Hang on, if it was doing that, why didn't they notice it at school...
Yugi blinked at that, while Katsuya frowned, pushing the thoughts back. There were five needles so... Really, one of them should still be pointing if it did it before... "Nh... But it ain't doing anything right now..."
He laughed lightly, nodding. "Well, it doesn't react any more..." Oh. Well that made sense he guessed.
"Hnn..." Yugi frowned crossing his arms at that with a sigh. "Then maybe... The millennium ring is like a dowsing rod..." A dowsing rod eh... Well, if it was meant to point out the unknown location of things...
Katsuya continued to stare, scratching his head with a sigh. "Man," he muttered under his breath. "Things get weirder an' weirder..."
"I don't get it," Honda was muttering with a frown. No one really cared to answer that however, and instead Bakura nodded in response to Yugi's statement.
"I think it's reacting to Pegasus' eye," he began with a slight frown. "But I can't be sure myself... Listen, Yugi," he stated, the boy blinking in response. "I came to this island to help you and Jonouchi, but I had another reason as well." Katsuya stared, watching as the teen continued. "Somewhere on this island," he stated, a glint of determination clearly visible in his eyes, "Are clues to the mystery of the Millennium Items... Pegasus must know the secret! He has the millennium eye after all!"
They stared, Yugi muttering something under his breath as their stares moved towards the castle in the distance. It was just barely visible, thanks to the light of the full moon. Even at the distance they were at, it was a sight to behold with wonder and possibly fear. Not to mention hate a lot.
In the end, Yugi ended up turning to Bakura with a worried smile. "Well... In any case, whatever you do, don't put that ring on, ok?" Bakura nodded in response, stowing the ring back in his bag.
"Don't worry," he said with a smile. "I won't; it would be dangerous otherwise!" Katsuya scratched his head as the conversation continued, moving to go back to sleep.
Sheeesh... This occult stuff was giving him the creeps, how the hell was he going to sleep with that ring here? He'd thought it was back in Bakura's house, or (He wished) maybe in a trash can. "Umm..." He attempted to shake this off in order to calm down, visibly put off by the eeriness of seeing the ring again. I'm gonna go back t' sleep now..." Somehow at least... Maybe he could just pretend the conversation never happened (Good luck with that...)
From beside Bakura, Yugi nodded. "Right," he said with a smile. "We all need to rest up for tomorrow, even if we don't duel!" Or end up possibly soul-snatched by whatever was in that ring. Again. As Bakura said this, Honda looked over to spot the rather unnerved expression on Katsuya's face.
And apparently, revenge was a sweet drink after the issue of the 'vine-snake'. "Heheheee..." Honda smirked as his friend tried to get comfortable behind a tree, as far from Bakura's bag as possible. "Oi, Jonouchi... Want me to tell you a horror story before you sleep..? Or will you get nightmares?"
As his friend laughed, Katsuya merely growled and went red. "Tch... Shut up! I ain't scared!" Mostly.
Honda merely continued to laugh, before collapsing back on the ground. "What ever you say..."
"I'm serious! Honda!" He growled at the teen, before something hit him in the head from behind. "OW! What the-"
He turned, frowning as he picked up what looked to be a box labeled 'Unicharm'. Err what..? He frowned, trying to remember where he'd seen this before. Unicharm... It was next to the shampoo in the drug store, wasn't that like... Something girls used or... Or... Oh... He flushed, dropping the box. Ohhhhh shit. Looking at where it came from, he paled, Anzu clearly visible and not pleased. Fuck.
"I don't know about you guys," she began with a growl, Mai looking just as happy, "But we're TRYING to sleep over here!" As Mai gave them all a look and returned to the tent, the woman continued. "So pipe down, honestly!" Oh boy... At least the 'harpy' hadn't shouted either...
Sheesh... He rubbed his head as the girls vanished back to their tent, before frowning. Not his fault, he wanted to sleep too... Though after all that, it took a bit. Particularly with the glare-battle going on between he and Honda for a short bit. In the end however, they were both just too tired to keep the 'battle' going, caving and rolling over in a 'tie'. Katsuya leaned back on the ground, blearily staring at the sky before yawning. The box had been wrapped up in his jacket, what with its contents adding to a 'slightly less than rock hard pillow feel'... He'd give it back in the morning he guessed. Not like they were using it if they threw it at him. Ah well... Regardless of what was going on, if the ring was zipped up in that bag it couldn't actually do anything right..? Though... You never knew really... (That ring. Was Satan in gold form.)
He closed his eyes, sighing contentedly. So nice and peaceful... Just sleep... Everything would be alright, if he just got some sleep... "Hwaaaahh..." Sleep...
-whp whp whp whp- Ignore the sounds of what was probably a bug... And sleep...
-whp whp whp whp whp- His eye twitched, a slight frown coming over his face. Alright, that bug was getting a bit loud, but nothing he couldn't ignore right? Kinda rumbly too... Had the wind picked up? Whatever, he decided as he shuffled to the side. Sleeeeep... Sleep. Just... Ignore the noise and-
-WHP WHP WHP WHP WHP- GOD DAMN IT! "AAAAUGGH!" Katsuya jumped up, eyes wide and expression livid as he jammed his fingers in his ears. "WHOEVER'S MAKING THAT NOISE CUT IT OUT! AAAUGH!" As the noise persisted, increasing in volume if that was possible, he continued to growl. To the side, the girls had woken up again, though without the rage from before as they looked up at the sky. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!"
Yugi in the meantime was staring upwards, eyes wide. "A-Ahh! It... It's a helicopter!"
He didn't care what it was, it was loud! "JUST MAKE THE NOISE STOP," he shouted, looking around in the sky to see the vehicle as it flew over head. Helicopters... Arrrrrgh! It was too dark to see a logo or anything to discern where the copter came from at the moment; as it was, the only reason they could see it was because it was a rather bright shade of white against the black sky, not to mention the spotlight from underneath it. Either way... As the helicopter began to lower itself a short distance away, he was still shouting at it, face bright red. "HEY! YOU," he shouted as they began heading towards the spot. "WHAT TIME DO YOU THINK IT IS, ASSHOLE!"
As they moved through the woods, coming to a fairly large clearing, Katsuya finally tore the fingers from his ears. No sense covering what was already blindingly loud! Sheesh! "There," Yugi was shouting over the sound of the blades, wind pushing them back as the helicopter landed. "But why is it landing here!"
"The hell if I know," Katsuya found himself growling rather loudly. Three times. THREE TIMES he'd been woken up, not counting the weird nightmare he'd been jostled out of before! What the hell was wrong with this island! And whoever was in the copter! "I swear it, whoever 's in there is getting a punch in the fucking face!" As he clenched his fist, bundled jacket gripped in his other arm, he continued to scowl. "Damn it... We gotta duel tomorrow, who the hell comes to an island like this in the middle of the night!"
As if to answer their questions, the whipping sounds of the helicopter died, blades slowing to a stop while the vehicle came to a perfect landing. The windows were tinted, so they couldn't tell who was inside... But as Katsuya stared at the side of the helicopter door, he found himself staring with wide eyes. 'KC'... That was... That was the logo for...
The door clicked open, and within a few seconds, they knew exactly why a helicopter had bothered landing in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night.
"S-Seto-ch..." He shook himself off, glad that the shock of the situation had everyone else paying more attention to Kaiba (who was now fixing them all with a blank if not narrowed stare), rather than what he was saying. He didn't catch the frown from Mai behind him of course. Nor the slight, wry smile that Yugi gave for just a moment, instead staring forward as the woman came into clear view. Though there was no longer any wind, the coat seemed to billow just slightly as she moved, and for a brief moment, he remembered his earlier predictions on when she was to wake up. Haha... He was a week off... "...Kaiba..."
She was awake... She was... Back.
And as the dream from last night came to mind, he realized now just what kind of hell he was going to be paying up to the woman.
Landing a helicopter was never too difficult, in her opinion. After all, she certainly knew how to take off and fly one.
Finding a place within decent range of the castle to land however, was not nearly as easy. The area had to be clear of trees, people, and relatively flat... Something that Pegasus seemed to have purposely avoided when building his castle, given he surrounded it with mountain's, a volcano, and a forest. (Really, a volcano? Please...) She'd managed of course though; nothing was stopping her from getting to her brother and the assholes holding him, and if she had to she'd have landed beside the damned volcano. As it was however, it took a small bit of self control not to react, when upon killing the engine of the copter she saw him of all people. "Hn..." Seto narrowed her eyes as she stepped out of the seat, grabbing her briefcase from the ground and stowing the gun away in her coat. Yugi... "Figures I'd still be tied to you," she muttered under her breath, flicking off the lights in the vehicle with a slight scowl. And of course the rest of his 'crew' was there... There were two she didn't recognise however, and another which had her frowning. 'Kujaku Mai'... She was one of the regional champions last she checked. Granted, in half a year who knew what had happened, but all things aside, what was she doing with them?
And the white haired teen... There was an odd feeling there, like they'd met at least in passing, if only just for one moment. It was only that however. She moved to the door, frowning as she pushed the thoughts back. So she didn't know who he was either, big deal; it was obvious they hadn't met, after all, she had no memories of him! The blond however... 'Jonouchi', as he was apparently called. And even then, she had no way of telling that this was his actual name. Well, she decided, opening the door of the helicopter. She supposed that he hadn't done too bad a job at chasing after her brother's captors after all, if he was here. Perhaps he was worth giving a slight bit of respect but... Nonetheless, she decided as she stepped out, ignoring the shouts from a fair number of the group. She wasn't going to simply place her trust blindly in his arms. No... After all, regardless of what Mokuba had apparently decided while she was 'gone', there was always a risk... Always.
'Is that who I think it is..?' She turned her head as the gasps filled the air, looking over the crowd with a dull stare. 'It's Kaiba,' they were saying, 'He came out of his coma!' Hn! So they knew about that then... Well, after so long, she supposed it figured. Not to mention that they had, for the most part, witnessed that final battle between herself and Yugi. That was probably where it happened really... Nonetheless. Across from her, Yugi seemed slightly frozen, as did the blond beside him. They both stared a few moments, before the shorter of the two broke into a grin and spoke. "Kaiba-san!" She blinked, raising her eyebrows just slightly as Yugi charged forwards. The others around him also seemed surprised, save for the blond it would appear... Said blond appeared to be staying put, instead staring from a distance with a numb and almost blank look on his face.
Seto waited for the boy to stop a few feet away, before giving a slight nod in response. 'San'? Now why had he used that honorific? From what she recalled, he always used the honorific 'kun'... Now what brought this change? Well... Regardless, it was more confusing that he'd run over... "...We meet again, Yugi," she said with a fairly neutral tone, confusion kept within her mind as she held her equally blank expression in place.
The boy nodded in response to the comment, before reaching into his pockets for something. The sound of rustling cloth filled the air in addition to his muttering, and she watched as Yugi pulled out a deck of cards. Cards? She blinked as she recalled the 'dust shadow' she'd seen on the table beside her. There had obviously been a deck there, and given that Mokuba knew which cards she used... These were probably... "Here," Yugi said, holding them out. "There was a guy who had your cards," he continued, Seto picking them up with a blank expression. "I got them back for you."
Her cards... She nodded, placing them in the breast pocket of her jacket. So Pegasus had stolen these as well... Well, hopefully if Yugi's actions at her own matches against him were any consideration, the one who had dared to use her cards was dealt a similar if not worse fate. "In that case, I'll thank you for now," Seto said calmly, before moving to turn. It was a genuine 'thank you'... But outside of that, outside of her grudging respect for this teen, there would be no peace between them. Not for a while... "Don't be mistaken however... I'm not the kind of man who'll lose a fight and walk away with my tail between my legs." She leveled a light glare at the boy, before continuing. "I'll defeat you, sooner or later..." Preferably sooner...
Yugi scratched his head, laughing nervously at the comment. He had probably been expecting it... Good. "Ahaha... Anyways... Kaiba-san... You're here because of Mokuba-kun right?" She blinked, eyes widening just barely. Mokuba... So then Yugi knew as well! Now that she thought about it, there had been a picture with Mokuba and Yugi there... Not to mention the rest of his 'posse'... "I was thinking... Since we're all trying to get to Pegasus, maybe we could team-" No.
She frowned, clenching her fists as she cut the boy off. 'Team up'? Not likely! "Don't bother finishing that sentence," she said coldly, Yugi visibly tensing slightly at the words. "It's me who will defeat Pegasus... And I don't need the help of you, nor anyone else to do so," she added, eyes briefly going over the blond across from her. His expression seemed just a little odd... Confused perhaps? Or something else? Seto threw the thoughts from her mind, turning around and looking toward the castle in the distance. That castle... That was where her brother was... "I'll to protect my company and my brother with my own hands, understand?"
There was silence as she began to walk away, nothing but the wind and the sound of muttering. Good... No complaints or angered retorts, not that she would have listened. Abruptly however, a single voice cut through the air that had her stop. A voice she didn't know, that seemed familiar somehow, enough that she was frowning in response. The blond... "Oi, Se... Kaiba," the teen shouted, Seto's eyes narrowing slightly at the presumed slip between names. She wasn't on a first name basis with anyone outside of her brother, home-based employees not included. So why was this person... She turned, watching the blond step forwards for a moment, something in his hands. Now what was this about... If she could remember who this person was, it would at least make her feel more comfortable about knowing that this person as well as supposedly fighting to go after Mokuba. Even so... "Looking pretty good for a coma-victim," the teen continued, Seto's eyes narrowing slightly. Well wasn't that a 'nice' compliment? Hn! What was he up to now? "Let's see your reflexes! CATCH!" He tossed something, the woman paying no mind to it as she grabbed it from the air with ease.
"Hn!" An easy toss to catch; it was more reflex that had her bother really. She looked over the crowd, frowning slightly as she noted the rather horrified expressions on all but the blond's faces. Odd... The woman brought her arm down, turning the box over. Now why were they- She tensed, looking at the box that he'd thrown. Thi.. This was! A visible glint of anger entered her eyes, the woman dropping the box the moment she caught the 'Unicharm' label on it. He'd thrown a box of these at him! "Gh..." What a moron... He dared to even joke at a time like this! It had to be a joke after all... Those who knew of her identity were made to keep it strictly under-wraps, and regardless of all she didn't know this moron would have nothing to gain by attempting to spoil such a secret! "You..." Tch... Screw what Mokuba thought of this moron, the first thing she was doing when she got the boy back was making sure this idiot went through hell! Starting with a meat grinder... And his scrotum! "Of all times..."
'Jonouchi' merely smirked, watching as Seto sent a glare worthy of death itself in the blond's direction. Apparently this blond had a death wish... Even the people behind him knew that!"Heh... No way I'm lettin' yah go just yet... Heck, one week ago you weren't movin' an inch! How do I know you won't keel over any second?"
Tch! She gripped her briefcase, jaw clenched before she answered. After all, she might have felt a little drowsy, but that could wait... This moron looked as though he'd been hit by a truck. He had nothing on her... Regardless of any medical knowledge that would say otherwise. "Hn! Interesting words coming from someone who resembles a flea-bitten mutt."
Oh... That hit a nerve, she thought with a slight smirk, watching as the 'Mutt' visibly growled for a moment. Good... Maybe he would shut up. At that same instant, it looked as though Yugi and one of the others (Honda was it?) would attempt to hold him back... However, she noted with a light look of confusion, the blond didn't move an inch. Instead he dropped the scowl for a smirk, almost laughing. Hn... Now what was that about... "You don' change yer insults that often, do yah s... Kaiba?" Again with the pause... Interesting... As her eyes narrowed with minor suspicion, the teen continued. "'Mutt', 'Mutt', 'Mutt'... Be creative already!" At these words, those behind him seemed to frown, the reaction apparently coming off as a surprise to them. Hn...
Seto snorted, her smirk remaining in place. She wasn't about to fall behind in this 'verbal battle'... "Try being something other than a dog then, 'Mutt'." As a few of the others in the clearing rolled their eyes at this, she continued to leave a narrowed stare at Jonouchi. Who was this idiot... He was most definitely the one who was with Mokuba in those photos, but how did such a complete moron even manage that? To gain her brother's trust, the trust of her other employees, and still be... This? Mokuba... The smirk vanished, and she moved to turn again. "If you excuse me," she muttered, a frown once more in place as the reason she had come came back to the front of her mind, "I'll be on my way..."
"How long you been awake anyways, s-'Kaiba'?" She paused again, turning her head to level an annoyed stare at Jonouchi. Honestly, why was he bothering with all of these questions! It didn't matter to him, and it certainly didn't matter to anyone else in the area just what kind of condition she was in! "Can't be that long right? Yah sure didn't look like you'd be getting up when I left, I can tell yah that!" Hn! As if she cared about that... Besides, how was she to know when he'd last seen her? "Why don' we make a bet?" Her eyebrows raised, and she turned her full attention to the blond. A 'bet'? Her brother was in danger, he knew this, and he wanted to make a bet? "It's like Yugi said after all, we're after th' same thing right?"
She frowned suspiciously, the smirk and frown both now gone. She had no time for bets, nor games... "Regardless of the reason you're here 'Mutt', I can guarantee that what you consider the 'same thing' and what I consider as such are two very different things..." The blond's expression didn't change, and she momentarily thought of turning around again. At least until she spotted the box around the mutt's neck...
As Seto's eyes widened just slightly at the image of her private safe key on the box, Jonouchi spoke one more. "Don't act like you know what it is I'm talking about," he said as the smirk faded, crossing his arms. "You know damn well that we're here for th' same thing! I'm askin' you t' give me one shot at this, got it?" She stared, listening as the now frowning blond continued to speak. "You an' me Se-.. Kaiba! Duel! If I win, you have t' stick with us!" At those words, Honda and a few of the others frowned, looking at the teen incredulously. Seto herself found herself looking at him with narrowed eyes as well, jaw clenched tightly in her annoyance. What the hell was he up to..? A duel? Hah! If his cards were anything like his appearance, this would be a joke...
So why was it that this look seemed familiar only now... The woman scoffed, a smirk coming to her face. "A duel..? I don't think you even realize what you're saying," the woman asked with a dismissive stare. Hnn... She needed to test her duel disk at some point really; who knew what the months had done to it, even from inside a locked case. One shot... Seto stared at the teen across from her before nodding curtly. "Very well then," she continued with a smirk, watching as Jonouchi's expression of oddly calm anger shifted into a smirk. It was her only shot at getting around whatever tricks Pegasus would have set up after all... So what better way to test it than to get out of here? "Someone needs to show you your proper place after all... However," she continued, watching as Yugi turned from where he was trying to convince his friend not to duel, "When I win, I'm leaving, with no questions asked. If a single one of you even attempts to stall me, you will pay."
While the others drew back slightly at this, Jonouchi merely nodded. Hn... Interesting... This 'mutt' wasn't backing down either; obviously more than just a pathetic bluff. Perhaps this would be more than a test for the duel-disks, she decided with a frown. Mokuba had picked this moron for a reason after all... So perhaps he would prove himself at least slightly competent in this duel, enough that she wouldn't have too many doubts about why this moron had been hired. Strategy was applied to more than just cards after all. "Alright then," he said with a nod, moving off to the side. Hn? Now where was he going? "Come with me! There's a duel box over here!" Ah, that was where...
"No," she said with a neutral tone, watching as the blond turned with a frown. "Let's fight right here..." Jonouchi appeared to fix her with an almost incredulous stare, and she placed her briefcase on the ground. Watching the teen's neutral expression as she opened the case, she smirked. Here it was... She pulled the round devices out, tossing one over to Jonouchi with a blank stare. "Put this on," she told him, just a slight commanding tone to her voice. "It's a 'Duel Disk'... A new piece of hardware I developed around the same time as 'Death-T'," she continued, watching as her current opponent clicked the deck holder around his wrist with slight difficulty. "This is a prototype... But it's a good opportunity to test it I would think..." As Jonouchi turned to face her with an almost joking smirk, she gritted her teeth. What the hell was with that expression..? How was it that he could turn all of this into such a joke! Nonetheless, she focused on explaining. "The rules are 'mostly' the standard... However, the concept of the field is a little different," Seto explained, attaching the second duel disk to her own wrist before grabbing her deck. "I'll leave it at that... It shouldn't be too difficult, even for a dog like you, to figure things out. Put your cards in the deck holder," she stated, inwardly smirking at the slight twitch she got from the blond at the 'dog' comment. Interesting... They seemed to really get to him... She would enjoy this.
Seto stepped back a fair number of feet, gripping the disk in her left hand as she continued on. "Before we start, we need to be at least five meters apart," the woman stated with an again neutral expression. Lest she end up beaned in the head by this idiot... She watched as Jonouchi put his cards in the holder, gripping his own deck and staring her down with a smile. Tch... Don't take her lightly... If the others She narrowed her eyes, shaking it off for the moment. "Alright... If you're ready, then it's 'Game Start'! I'll go first," she began, drawing her cards. "Draw five cards from the deck," the woman continued, "And place your monster in one of the spaces on the disk... And when you've made your move," she continued, "Throw it into the field!"
The disk was tossed almost like a frisbee, device buzzing as it shot towards the half-way point on the field between herself and Jonouchi. The blond tensed as the device glowed, and Seto smirked widely. "W-What the," the teen was muttering, watching as wisps of light swirled from the device. "A monster's comin' out of th' disk!" Well, at least his reaction was partially amusing...
She chuckled, more than glad to see that there were no problems with the device thus far. "The graphic data in the card is processed at high speed using the hyper-3D engine built into the disk," Seto explained with a grin, eyes narrowed in her mirth. She doubted that the blond had a clue what she was saying, but nonetheless... Maybe if he was still able to stand after his loss, his 'friends' could explain it to him. "It creates a 'solid vision' of the monster, using the same emulator utilized in my Duel Boxes!" Still grinning, she watched as those around them stared at the devices with wide eyes. It had been a while since she'd dueled... Her grin shrank back into a smirk, and she watched as her opponent made his move. It was almost invigorating... Just the thing to get her warmed up for Pegasus.
Well, she hadn't fallen over yet... That was always good. Katsuya blinked at the monster before him, briefly wondering if maybe the doctors had been wrong. Heck, given how fast she'd gotten here, it was obvious that the woman had woken up recently... They'd said she'd be out for more than just a few hours after waking up, possibly a few weeks even... But how the heck was she still standing then!
Nonetheless, he'd taken this bet, and he intended to win it. Regardless of the fact that Seto had her old cards back in hand. Cards in a spinning disk... Sheesh, it was like 'fighting-instant-cup-ramen! Watching as the woman before him smirked, he nodded to himself. Alright... He could do this... And if he didn't then maybe it would be better for Mokuba in the end. Hell, not like he was really going to accomplish much until the morning, so if Kaiba managed to- Agh! He mentally shook himself, looking at his deck. God, he needed to focus! Draw five cards, pick a monster and... Lesse, it looked like the duel disks focused on some kind of weird one-on-one battle system... And...
He bit his lip, frowning. Bad draw, bad bad draw... He didn't have any monsters that could take the attack of the Battle Ox Seto just summoned! He grabbed one of his monsters, looking across. Alright... He didn't know how the defense mode really worked on this thing... All the panels were were large squares that the cards clicked into really. Battle Ox fought with an axe though... So maybe if he was lucky... "Alright," he shouted, putting his monster on the disk. "I'll play this card!" He tossed the disk, watching as the light burst from the middle to reveal a tall, almost skeletal 'lizard' of sorts. The humanoid lizard screeched, and Katsuya grinned. "Don't let me down Armored Lizard," he shouted, watching as the monster growled at his opponent. "LET'S GO!"
Armored Lizard? She snorted as Jonouchi leveled a determined stare towards her. 200 points below her Battle Ox... Seto ignored the shouts from the 'peanut gallery' to the side, instead smirking as she looked over the monster. And intentionally summoned too it looked like... If he'd set a trap or spell she might have been a slight bit worried, but as she could clearly see that wasn't the case. Pathetic... "Hnhnhnhnhn... You don't have a clue what you're doing, do you 'Mutt'?" Watching as the blond grit his teeth at that, she merely continued to smirk. This duel disk... So far it was working alright, which was good for her; monsters were summoned perfectly, and If Pegasus could truly 'read minds' as it would seem, then there was only one way to counter it; stay out of range with this machine!
She watched as Jonouchi frowned, shrugging slightly. "Trust me," he said with narrowed eyes. "I got a clue... Get him Armored Lizard," he shouted, the metallic beast charging forward with a screech. If he had a clue, why did he bother sending out a weaker monster?
"Hnhnhnhn..." Seto merely smirked as the lizard came forwards, before gesturing her snorting battle ox forward. "Battle Ox," she shouted, the monster heaving his weapon up on his shoulder with a growl. "DISEMBOWEL HIM!" The axe swung into the monster's neck with a thunk, becoming stuck half way. "AXE CRUSHER!"
Across from her, Jonouchi grinned. "Alright! It got hit, but it's still alive!" The teen smirked, Kaiba idly wondering just how long it would take for the Battle Ox to force the axe through. "You can't cut through the armor scales," he was continuing, both watching as the Lizard attempted to pull the axe from its neck. "Your axe won't work!"
Please... So that was it then? He was comparing the rules of the duel-disk to Pegasus' bastardized tournament 'advantages'... Somehow under the impression that armor would beat the axe! "Hmph!" The woman snorted, arms crossed. She wouldn't be pulling back the disk any time soon... After all, if these were the tactics he was using, she wouldn't be replacing the oxe anytime soon. "Fool! Things like that don't matter when the Battle Ox has more attack points!" Her grin shifted slightly, Seto watching as Battle Ox slammed the lizard to the ground. "TAKE HIM DOWN," she commanded, and with those very words the axe cut clean through Armored Lizard's neck.
There was a loud 'thunk' through the air, and Jonouchi tensed as the monster dissolved into nothingness. Now then...
What would he do next, she wondered idly...
Shit... There went that option. Katsuya gritted his teeth as his lifepoints went down, looking at the deck holder on his wrist as the numbers beeped at him. From two thousand to eighteen hundred... "Aww man... My lizard..." Still... It was only 200 points, so he had a fair shot yet..
As the monster's image dissolved, Yugi watched worriedly from behind him. "Ah... Jonouchi-kun," he shouted, the blond jumping as he followed his friend's gaze. "Look!" As he said this, the card he'd placed on the disk was violently spat off to the side, Katsuya paling. Shit! He'd paid a fair amount of money for that...
"Ack! My card!" It vanished into the woods, blending in with the rest of the foliage rather easily in the darkness. Ack...
Before he moved to chase after it ('Pick it up later Jonouchi-kun,' Yugi was shouting.) Seto's voice caught his attention again, the teen turning to pay attention. "When the monster loses," she was saying, gesturing to her deck holder. "And your card is lost, pull the wire of the duel disk toward yourself and pull back!" Well, that was straight forward...
He frowned slightly, before nodding. Alright then... "Like this," he asked, giving the cord a tug. He jumped as the disk abruptly snapped up, shooting towards him with enough force to make him stumble. "WOAH!" Not expected! He shook slightly, regaining his balance. Yikes... This disk... He held it with a frown, before mentally nodding. Alright then... This thing was essentially a giant yo-yo... Not bad taste, he told himself. Not bad at all. He was good with yo-yos...
Across from him, Seto was still grinning. Well, at least someone was happy... Though that was debatable at times really, given her reasons for smiling in most of those cases. "Now," she shouted, Katsuya looking forwards. "It's your turn; set a new card and throw the disk!"
He nodded, grinning. "Alright then," he said, drawing. Lets see what he got... Katsuya looked down at the card, smirking. Battle Ox had 1700 points? Well this card had 1800! Heh... A good start in his opinion! "Okay," he shouted, placing his card on the disk. It locked with a click, a small light glowing behind it in response. "Here's my next one! The Flame Swordsman!" Battle Ox was going down! "TAKE THIS!" He tossed the disk, smirking. 'Jonouchi,' they were saying, Honda grinning to the side. 'Yes... That could win..!' Pointing the warrior forward, he continued to grin. "Alright... This match is mine! Toki En Zan Ken!" The sword clased against the Ox's axe, the weapons scrapping against each other and sparking fiercely but nonetheless holding firm. He smirked, before frowning. Hang on... Something wasn't right, wasn't there something about the Battle Ox and..
"J-Jonouchi-kun," Yugi shouted, Katsuya's thoughts hitting him rather quickly at his next words. Ohhhh shit, why did this come to mind just now? "Battle Ox has a resistance to fire!" God fucking damn it.
Seto merely smirked in response to his groan, the woman's arms crossed. "Iron Arm Axe," she shouted, her monster's weapon throwing Flame Swordsman off balance. Battle Ox grinned madly before cutting him clean in two with the blade, returning to its master's side with a chuckling growl. "The swordsman is killed!"
Gh...! He watched his points drop another two hundred points, wincing. Not a good start... The blond mentally groaned as Honda loudly wondered if there was any way he would win, rubbing his head. Not helping...
"Hnhnhnhnhn... The world's worst duelist, I presume," Seto said from across him, the blond growling in response. Eggh... He knew she'd probably be just as smug as before, but he really needed to better prepare himself for this kind of thing... Because if she kept it up, he was going to have to apologize to her brother for punching Seto in the face. (Provided he got over there before she bolted.) "This duel is almost like an exhibition match," the woman continued, smirk growing. "And if you still think there's a chance of turning this around 'Mutt', think again! I'll shatter your glass confidence until nothing remains!"
Glass! He grit his teeth, frowning as he looked at the woman's face. Something about the way she was looking him over... It was freaking him out, like something was wrong... And what was with all the dog comments? He'd think that she'd call him by his name at least once! And yet...
He clenched his fist, steeling himself. He'd figure this out... He'd get through this and figure it out, one way or another!
It was really beginning to bug her, the woman decided. Watching as the 'mutt' growled at her, she strained her thoughts in an attempt to place at least one memory to the face only to find nothing. Tch... It figured... She didn't let her annoyance show however, instead continuing the duel. She had to admit, Flame Swordsman wasn't that bad... Nor would the earlier planning have been a problem if the rules Pegasus had made were in place. However, Seto mentally continued, it was still on par with an amateur play. Not to mention Pegasus' rules were completely ridiculous at the moment. "Hnhnhnhnhn..." She chuckled, pulling her duel disk back after drawing a card. Looking over it, she knew just what she could do to make this go quicker... It would test the spell-card compatibility as well... "This is getting boring," she said dismissively, gripping the disk as she grabbed two of her cards. "I'll play two new cards this turn; and by powering up the Battle Ox, I'll show you just how great the difference in skill is between us!"
Across from her, Jonouchi said nothing in response. Instead, he merely stared forwards with narrowed and determined eyes. Well... At least he was keeping somewhat quiet then... Though it seemed rather out of place for some reason. She studied the teens face a few more moments, before continuing. "They're both from Greek Myths after all," she muttered, placing 'Polymerization' on one slot and 'Mystic Horseman' on the other. "So if I combine a minotaur with a centaur," she shouted, tossing the wheel forward, "I get this! Rabid Horseman!" A... Mino-centaur? Good thing she hadn't said that out loud...
The light swirled around her Battle ox, hiding it from form. It became blinding almost, Seto squinting in the glare before it cleared to reveal it's new fused form. The body of a horse, the torso and arms of a man, and the head of an ox... The beast pawed at the ground, and Seto crossed her arms. Of course, as a fusion monster, she couldn't have it attack on the first turn... Nonetheless... 'Lets see how you counter this, Mutt...' Perhaps he would prove himself slightly competent in creating a defense against it.
Shiiiiiiit... He swallowed, frowning slightly as he pulled the duel disk back to his arm. "Tch... Damn it..." This wasn't good... He continued to stare at the woman, as if doing so long enough would tell him what was going on. All the same though...
She definitely wasn't collapsing anytime soon! He drew a card, frowning again. Nothing with a decent amount of attack power... And he still couldn't figure out how the damn defense mode would work! God, this was complete bullshit! "So you got a new monster," he grit out, going slightly red as he attempted to focus on the duel. He'd noticed just now but... This was the first time he'd seen the woman without something on her neck. Even her pajamas's had the collar done up to the top, but at the moment...
Well, he was wondering how she made it so that the binding wasn't visible, seriously, with that shirt... Left partially unbuttoned, he could rather clearly see the woman's slim neck and- he coughed, before tossing the duel disk back out with his next monster. He'd put it out sideways, hoping it would at least pull out a defense position as in the standard table-top duels... If it didn't work of course, it obviously wasn't enough to face the Horseman. As it was though, it was better than a direct strike! "That doesn't mean I'll stop fighting!" The blinding light erupted from the duel disk, Kastuya idly wondering if there were any other duelists on the island watching at the moment. Well, if they were...
He sure as hell hoped he didn't end up making a fool out of himself... "Swamp Battle Guard!"
Seto smirked slightly as the monster came to the field. Well... At least he wasn't so pathetic that he would give up the instant he was about to lose... Though pretty soon she'd have to ask if the moron knew the meaning of the words 'defense mode'. Constantly putting out attack mode monsters with low attack power... True, she was winning, and would certainly continue to win. However, this was getting rather tedious! Not to mention repetitive. "Hmph," she muttered with a snort, barely giving the summoned monster notice. An easy kill! "Go, Rabid Horseman!"
A piercing wail sounded through the air as the horseman charged, axe cutting through Jonouchi's monster easily. The blond across from her visibly faltered slightly, and as he made his next move he appeared to grimace. Hn... Not joking much now, was he? "Ghn..." The teen placed a card in, clearly not pleased with whatever move he made. Tossing the wheel out, he nonetheless forced a determined frown on his face. "Then how about this! AXE RAIDER!"
She kept a partially disappointed frown from her face, outward expression appearing as nothing more than a smirk. Tch... This one was stronger than the last, but only by 100 points! What was this moron playing at..? Another attack mode monster to whittle away at the teen's lifepoints! "As if that will do you any good, moron!" Seto smirked as her monster pawed the ground, turn coming to hers. At least he had the sense to not attack with these monsters... However why was he bothering then? She banished the thoughts from her mind, instead focusing on winning the match. "You can't even scratch my monsters if these are the only cards you have!" Again, Rabid Horseman charged, Jonouchi's points dropping yet again. Lets see... After the last few attacks that brought him to 1100 didn't it? Hn! And she hadn't even taken a scratch, and he was only a hundred points from half dead!
The woman watched, eyes narrowed as her opponent stumbled again only to look up with those same determined eyes. Tch... Now what was he up to..? Didn't he know he'd lost yet? "Scratch," he said, pulling the disk in. "We'll see about that, y' overgrown Sea Horse!" Wait... What!
She blinked, watching as the teen summoned yet another weaker-than-needed monster and shook it off. How was that even an insult? ...Why did it bug her if it wasn't a good insult! Either way... If he was going to try a verbal battle, he would be a loser on all fronts! "Hah!" Seto smirked as 'Battle Steer' appeared, a monster that while another 100 points more powerful was still not enough to handle the Rabid Horseman. "If you're going to spout insults, try coming up with something more creative Mutt- not to mention less pathetic! Rabid Horseman," she shouted, the mino-centaur snorting in response to her command. "Cut him to pieces!"
Rabid Horseman did so with mindless pleasure, axe plowing through the bovine opponent not once but twice before it vanished into the light. The monster's squeals were lost to the air, and the card was flicked off to join the others on the side. "Tch..." Again, Jonouchi winced, drawing his next card and speaking. "Heh! Says th' one who's been calling me nothin' but 'Mutt' all night," he countered, tossing the ring out as a monster equal in power to the last appeared. "Why don't you practice what y' preach?"
Seto snorted, watching as the monster known as 'Garoozis' stood before her. "Quite honestly /Mutt/," she emphasized, "All other insults would probably be lost on you." In all actuality, she just didn't know enough about the moron to say anything else... Either way. "Tell me, do you even know what the word 'defense mode' means? Because this became boring a long time ago," she finished with a growl. "Rabid Horseman! Go!"
Again, the axe was swung, another 200 lifepoints dropping from Jonouchi's counter. The blond however, still didn't falter; if anything, he was looking at the woman with a fairly grim scowl. "Hn! Regardless 'f how stupid y' think I am se- Kaiba," he began, Seto's eyes narrowing slightly as she caught the slip yet again. "I know damn well how to play Duel Monsters! It's yer own fault that defense mode isn't workin on th' thing!" As he said this, he tossed out another monster, Seto looking down at it before raising her eyebrows. Defense mode wasn't working? She wouldn't know going through attack the entire time, but she was fairly sure that the button to turn on that mode was obvious... "RUDE KAISER!"
Sideways... Each monster he'd been sending out had been set sideways, in the proper position for a defense mode monster. However, she noted, he also wasn't pushing the button. She smirked, before fixing a blank stare at her opponent. Honestly, it wasn't that hard to figure out... "Did you try pushing the button on the side, Mutt, or are you blind too? RABID HORSEMAN," she shouted, her monster having not even bothered to leave the center of the field. The beast nodded, raising his weapon with a large and wicked grin.
As the axe swung down through the next monster, Jonouchi visibly went pale. Regardless of the now pitiful number of lifepoints he had however, he managed to keep a blank face as he continued. "Pfh... Thanks f'r tellin' me on my last leg jerk!" Regardless of the comment however, the blond managed to smirk. It seemed a little fake... Not hiding anger she noted with narrowed eyes, but possible sadness... Now that was odd... "Right," he shouted, pulling the disk back and drawing a card. "Ogre Rock in defense mode then!" The disk was thrown to the field again, large stone golem appearing in a protective position. "Just wait s- Kaiba," the teen continued, faltering yet again Seto noted with a blank stare. "I'll do a lot more than just give you a scratch!"
More than a scratch? Seto snorted, putting up a smirk despite her annoyances. Well... She would see about that... She would see...
AN: Whew! BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE. It's hard for me to tell if Kaiba is OOC or not with the interactions she's having with Jonouchi...
See... First she was possibly respecting him for going after her brother (It's her brother, while she's not voicing the respect she's thinking it.), then there was just the anger... And and... Anyways, let me know if there's even something a slight bit off here, as I'm going off a literal 'first impressions' deal; Kaiba at the moment remembers nothing of Jonouchi after all... So anything he says and does is completely new to her. (Which is why I'm so nervous.)
You may have noticed that I split the chapter in two, even though there wasn't much left to Jonouchi and Kaiba's duel.
That's because of the word count. In any case, here's a question to you; those who know what happens know that there isn't much more to the duel after this, but there is a fair amount of explaination... Flashback... Stuff. (IE, Kaiba's memory of the duel that wasn't really a duel because Pegasus screwed Bandit Keith over. AHAHA.)
So here's the question; do you think that'll be PLENTY to handle for the next chapter? Or do you want me to draw out the duel just a little more for optimal 'Married Couple' arguing fun?
(Believe me when I tell you, one of the women is already on to connecting the names here because of it.)
As it is, the details of the duel (as you can see) have been altered slightly... Details below.
Anonymous Review Responses
Hey again Iona! Trippy dreams indeed... I would almost whip out a book to describe what the dreams mean but I think I'll leave that as an 'If you want me to' sort of thing.
And... And... ... I can't say enough how much I love your reviews Iona... Really, these words mean a lot to me..! (I just wish I could express it with as many words as you do...) As for Mai... Well... Lets just say one more person will be in on things by the end of Duelist Kingdom. I wonder if I shouldn't have her actually question Jonouchi on that second assumption though... I can see it now...
'Are you gay?' 'WHAT?' 'You heard me.' '...WHAT?'
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section that's so hard working, it's gathered over a thousand words for you to talk about! ...Wait, what do you mean it's been doing that for a while?
Yes, I did just take the two Pegasus scenes, cram them into one, and make them a million times more creepy by tossing Mokuba in there. But honestly, what's the kid going to do without a soul? Besides; it's stated rather clearly by the big five that they want that kid alive. Why?
Because 'Kaiba'Corp implies that a 'Kaiba' is running it; and while they've obviously kissed their chances with the elder goodbye, given that she entered a coma, they still want a figurehead. And Mokuba, being (To them at least) a 'young and impressionable child' fits the bill... Fact is, even if Pegasus bought the company out, I wouldn't put it past him- to the outside world, had the elder of the Kaiba's been dead, it would be seen as some weird adoption practice, and possibly boost sales.
Pegasus effectively infiltrated most of Kaiba's staff... But if he got maids right into that circle, I'm pretty sure something would have slipped into the headlines. Something... Scandalous. Ohohohoho~ Right, anyways. Given the obvious bad result that would bring, you can guess why that comment on being unable to get right in there was made. EVERYTHING IS FINE... Not really.
As a more factual note that has little to do with the manga or Japan, the wine and cheese that Pegasus is eating/drinking here is a legitimate 'pair'. (There are certain cheeses and wines that you serve together.) In the manga, he never names the wine, but he mentions he's eating Gorgonzola cheese. Amarone is a wine that is meant to be served with Gorgonzola among others. The other wine that works well with this cheese is 'Port'. Amarone seems more 'Pegasus'; it's an Italian wine made of partially dried grapes. Port, on the other hand, is a Portugal wine that is more of a 'dessert' drink.
I just killed the ventriloquist ('Death', if you didn't guess. From 'The Ventriloquist of Death'), but that was mostly because, as I was typing the scene, I realized that the ventriloquist was... Old. Like really, /really/ old. How long do you honestly expect him to hold out against that illusion Yami set on him!
Also, I decided to be a jerk to 'Darkness' (Player Killer of Darkness ohohoho~)... And went all out on the illusion of a hanging. Including strangulation... Mehehehehe...
Also, two words. Gratuitous. English.
WANDAFUOOOO~~ (What Pegasus says when he tries to say Wonderful in the Japanese version. It's more amusing when you couple that with his adding 'DES' ('Desu'. It acts as a spoken 'period' at the end of most sentences, and the 'u' in it is often silent. Some people don't even bother with the 'des'. Pegasus REALLY emphasizes it though...) to the end of most his sentences, and the fact that he's supposed to be American. AHAHA.)
Honda's afraid of reptiles it seems. Possibly worms too, given that he says anything with 'slippery skin'. Not to mention fish... And in other news, For some reason it takes a bit for the fully awake Yugi to notice that Bakura's holding his ring. Or at least, long enough that they have to ask what's going on. (When there's a glowing ring to be seen, it tends to make the situation rather obvious, or at least upsetting enough to disregard questions and shout loudly.)
Whale-sharks, mentioned by Katsuya in a reference to the aquarium he and Mokuba (And Shizuka) saw a while off, are the largest fish in the world, but, as their name implies... They don't eat anything that big. Rather, they only eat plankton. In fact, there's an attraction somewhere in the world where you can ride a whale shark. Wow. (I'm completely serious. ...I wanna do this... )
When Bakura mentions that the Millennium Ring pointed to the Puzzle at one point, I had to frown... There's a slight plot hole here, as the ring didn't do anything like this from what we saw. Maybe it was doing that outside? But Bakura had the ring hidden under his uniform the entire time, so it would have stretched the fabric, or even punctured it! In fact, we don't see the ring until he goes to the washroom, takes it out and mutters how similar the ring looks to Yugi's puzzle. This is obviously for dramatic effect but... Still!
The dialogue for the Millennium Ring scene has been 'switched' slightly. Not from character to character as would normally happen though; rather this time, it's the order. Originally, after being asked why he brought the ring to the island, Bakura simply jumps right into his 'I wonder what this means..?' speech, with Yugi noticing just after that that one of the needles is pointing upwards. Apparently, everyone has delayed reactions to that device... *points up*
'Unicharm' is the only company in Japan that makes tampons at the moment (Japan seems to prefer pads); they're also called 'charm'. You can bet that Mai has some on hand though. ...Yes, Jonouchi used the box of tampons as part of a pillow. It's a point towards his somewhat lazy side; why bother returning the box when he's been woken up three times already and wants to sleep? (Shouldn't have thrown it at Kaiba though. That was a big NO.)
When Kaiba's helicopter lands, the words 'there it is' are repeated about... Five times between conversation. As in, someone says something else, and then another says 'There it is!' Guys, you can all see it, you don't need to say that... On another note of 'silly people', when Kaiba steps out, someone says 'But why is he here!' ...Well. I know he didn't treat his brother well last time you saw, but... It IS his brother, and you SAW him getting kidnapped... Soooo...Yea. You should have guessed.
Kaiba in the fanfic = Woman scorned. In fact, he's labeled as a 'Papa Wolf' due to his intense protection of Mokuba. (Papa Bear would be the opposite of protection, as those guys are known for infantcide to get the Mama sexually active. Meaning that after Mama has babies, the dad will EAT THE CHILDREN. Not a good comparison for obvious reasons.) When you throw in the reputation that angry women get to the mix however, Mama Bear can seem a thousand times more frightening... Heck, even though I originally wrote the volcano comment as a joke, I'm still not sure that she wouldn't have done it! (Kaiba is certainly cool enough to get away with it...)
When Kaiba says 'it figures I'd still be tied to you', she references an actual line her Season 0 (Otherwise known as the first Yugioh series) counterpart; Yugi gets hit by one of the CEO's employee's cars, and for some reason, while he's unharmed, the employee ends up hospitalized... Upon seeing Yugi in the hospital as he visits his employee, Kaiba says this:
'Looks like we really are connected by the thread of destiny. Try to cut it, but it cannot be broken...A thread that entangles us.'
...Red string of fate? Oh my.
The conversation in this scene is both very different and not different at all. Obviously things like 'I'm not the kind of man who' were taking by-script, and unchanged for appearances sake. After all, Kaiba is pretending to be a guy, has been for a few years, and is therefore more than comfortable about saying anything that refers to herself as male. In any case, here's a comparison of events for the Jou VS Kaiba duel.
In the dub, which is obviously quite different from the manga and original version, Yugi gives Kaiba his deck and then asks if he'll join them, what with them all going after Pegasus. Kaiba of course says 'no', stating that he'll get his brother himself, but what with Kaiba being a complete jerk about it, Jonouchi grabs him by the front of the shirt and demands he apologize, as 'he's not the only one with something to fight for'. Kaiba simply grabs Jonouchi and throws him to the ground after this, at which point the duel challenge is issued.
Original Japanese anime and the manga are both rather similar. In the anime, the only real difference is that rather than Jonouchi chasing after Kaiba because of his grudge over 'Death-T', he's simply pissed off about Kaiba's attitude. Also, rather than being thumped physically by Kaiba, Jonouchi is instead pulled back by Honda and Yugi both, saving him the pain of getting flipped over by his arm. (Trust me when I say, that hurts.)
In this case however... Well, obviously Jonouchi knows just what Kaiba's after, and he kinda figured that Kaiba would be a jerk about it. The thing that really stands out however, is that unlike in the manga where he didn't know Kaiba at all, he's spent the last few months getting attached to her. (Though he's having trouble not lashing out with his words by the end, if it wasn't clear. Granted, it isn't really lashing but... Whatever. Get's more 'normal' as we go!) Most of all however, is that he knows what Kaiba should be doing right now. Namely sleeping. See... Coma victims and Vegetative State victims both don't really just wake up and end up 'all better'. The fact is, you're lucky if they're awake for a full hour when that happens, because they're completely exhausted at the time. Speaking in real-world terms, Kaiba should be bed-ridden for at least a week more, catching some natural sleep as opposed to 'soul-crushed' induced variants. Though for all we know, that's part of the reason why she's awake and doing fine right now... After all, 'Mind Crush' is hardly a medical problem now is it?
If you don't know what a scrotum is, and haven't guessed from the fact that Kaiba is female in the fanfic and isn't above doing terrible things to her opponents, it's part of the male anatomy. Not the testicles mind, but... It's still in that area. Hey, the lady isn't above killing, she's gonna have these kind of thoughts when someone appears to be messing around with the knowledge of certain things at a time like this. (Ironically, he was probably just throwing the closest thing in an attempt to grab her attention. D'OH)
Why did Jonouchi, having beaten Mai and Ryuzaki suddenly fail SO BADLY against Kaiba? In both the manga and anime! It's like 'Jou! GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF.'. I took a guess by taking advantage of the fact that Kaiba didn't explain which 'slight changes' in the rules existed. He never really says how you're supposed to put the cards in defense mode (Keep in mind that it's not exactly labeled.), not to mention the fact that from a first glance, it really looks like you're only allowed to use one monster at a time... And nothing else. In fact, until Kaiba uses 'polymerization', I was wondering how it worked. It doesn't really help that the number of magic cards in Jonouchi's deck at the time isn't that large compared to his monsters... (Not to mention that very little in his deck would help him at the end of it.) Either way, the way he was spitting out monsters, he was either pissed (Canon), or... He just did not realize that the damn thing would let him take the defensive.
Or one could pretend he didn't care, but that certainly isn't it. (Though it certainly looks that way to Kaiba with all the smirks he was giving as he lost...)
Further defense on this lack of knowledge is that aside from the middle, the four ports around that spot only hold the cards in one position. Not only that, but it looks as though it's where the spell cards go, as Kaiba only puts Mystic Horseman in one of those ports to fuse it with Battle Ox. BAWWWW.
And yet Yugi can magically use it perfectly well when it comes to his turn. HUH.
Kaiba explains the background of the duel disk... Twice in the manga. Understandable given that this is once in one chapter and once again in a sort of re-cap, but nonetheless. Why twice..?
'Toki En Zan Ken' is translated out to 'Fighting Spirit Flame Slash Sword' going by literal definition. It sounds cool in Japanese really. So does 'Mino-Centaur', as for Japan, anything foreign sounds cool really.
Lots and lots of switching from Jonouchi's point of view to Kaiba's up there, sorry about that. The fact was, it was originally only supposed to be from one or the other's point of view... However, in the end, it became both, as both people had scenes and thoughts that I wanted broadcasted. And I wasn't about to just do one chapter for one person and one the other! The reason why each part is divided is because while normally one can tell who's thinking by the dialogue, there were entire paragraphs dedicated to thought. Which meant that there would have to be some other way of telling the paragraphs apart without having to read, double take, and then say 'Ohhhh it's Jonouchi now...'
Somehow, a majority of this chapter turned into a giant test from both sides. Which is amusing, but nonetheless had me re-reading this through my edit going 'Wait what!' Had Kaiba retained memories of Jonouchi, this would obviously be silly, as Kaiba would already assume 'Jou is a moron, I will beat him and leave. And insult him. Many times. ' but... At the moment, she hasn't. So all she really has to go on is the fact that for some reason (Can't possibly fathom why!), Mokuba and her two most trusted employees put their trust in the guy.
So she of course wants to know why, given that he's already killed the initial 'meeting' by throwing tampons at her. (Smooth...) So... While she's trying to figure out if he's even capable of getting to the castle after she leaves (In the off chance she fails. Her key word is 'off'. Mostly, she wants to make sure there's someone left if it comes to that.), Katsuya's just making sure she's not going to end up temporarily narcoleptic.
Narcolepsy is a condition that involves you randomly falling asleep by the way. There's no control over it at all, not without meds. (It's a chronic sleep disorder.)
Interesting fact; a lot of people always mention how Kaiba always covers up... Everything (Neck and arms in particular). They seem to magically forget that for the entirety of the Duelist Kingdom arc, he wears a dress shirt with a raised and open collar. And the buttons aren't all done up either; he's left the upper ones open, which allows you to see about five inches past his collarbone. Obviously I did up a few of those buttons in the fanfic's case (It's only two for femKaiba), given that the binding would be clearly visible otherwise, but either way. Kaiba! Kaiba if you're not careful, they'll notice you don't have an adam's apple!
Or at least they would if not for this interesting note: what with the 'Adam's Apple' being the cartilage protecting the thyroid area of the throat, if one has a skinny enough neck, then someone without one can appear to have one. How do I know this?
It happens to me... Though it certainly doesn't help that I wear a t-shirt and jeans most of the time. I look like a guy until I actually bother speaking or wearing something non-unisex! Either way, given that Kaiba's actually cross-dressing, she can probably get away with the 'fake apple' here being skinny as she is. Not to mention, whose gonna get close enough to inspect her neck? ... Bad thoughts.
Sea Horse! SEA HORSE! Usagi where did that come from! Well... 'Kaiba' means sea horse guys. In fact, it was most assuredly intentional when Kaiba was designed from what I can tell, as in Japan, the sea horse is considered a juvenile dragon. To be specific 'Kai' is how the Japanese word for ocean is pronoucned when 'compounded'. (In otherwords, combined with another word.) Otherwise it's pronounced Umi. 'Ba', of course, is the compounded form of 'Uma', or horse.
Interesting fact though; 'Baka' is used with 'Ba' from horse and 'Ka' from deer. So 'Baka' taken literally could be misread by an absent minded person as 'Horse-Deer'. WOW. HMMM... Anyways. You can bet that when 'Sea horse' came out of Jonouchi's mouth, it was pronounced awkwardly enough to emphasize the fact that it was meant to be an insult.
There's a flaw in the battle the anime depicts! After Jonouchi's Garoozis is destroyed, his life points come down to 700. However, before he pulls out 'Rude Kaiser' to lose 200 more (Bringing him to the 500 he has when summoning Red-Eyes), he summons 'Rock Ogre Grotto'... In attack mode. It only has 800 attack.
Rabid Horseman has 2000 attack points; that would mean Jonouchi should have taken 1200 points of damage. More than enough to kill him. So why did they bother putting the monster in..? Probably to emphasize him being trumped. In the end, I using it as his first defense monster on the damn disk. It should have been Rude Kaiser. But the above speaks for itself.
In any case, that's all for today guys!
See you next chapter!