The Terror That Is Pegasus
Stars filled the night sky only to be blotted out by the light of a solid hologram. What was a quiet peaceful evening had been broken by the growls and snarls of monsters that for all appearances could have been as real as the people behind him at that moment. Katsuya swallowed as he held the cards in his hand, attempting to steel himself. Now that he saw the button here, he felt pretty moronic to tell the truth. Hell, with the way Seto had been talking it felt more like when he was doing homework and had to ask Mokuba of all people for help. Only this time instead of 'did you try 'insert apparently obvious answer here', it was 'Did you try hitting the BUTTON'? No. No he didn't and oh for fuck's sake... Was it really as obvious as she was making it out to be? Nonetheless, with a fairly easy click, he had himself a temporary wall. And thankfully, what with his hand being full of monsters, he would probably be able to put off another strike until he thought of some way around that Rabid Horseman...
Nonetheless, when he had summoned said monster and watched it bite the dust, he had to clench his jaw. There went wall number one... And... Here went number two... While it felt a little like the insults had died down, something seemed terribly off. Yea, she was still calling him 'mutt' and 'moron'... But it felt weird. Like there was a larger gap between the two than even before, if that was even possible; he sure as hell didn't think it was until now. But something was missing... Forgotten even, or at least it felt that way. But that couldn't be right, he told himself with a mental smack to the back of the head. It couldn't... Could it?
Across from him, Seto was laughing. A loud and deep laugh that was coming through a voice she'd been practicing for years. And to accompany the laugh, there was a smile. It was a twisted grin on her face, only 'half true'; yea, she was obviously enjoying the fact that she was winning... By a long shot. There was something else though. Something in there that had him narrowing his eyes in response."AHAHA... AHAHAHA!" Her laugh was loud and almost mocking really- it was hard to remember, after spending half a year in silence with the woman, that she never actually used her real voice. Never spoke with the voice that he'd been mentally hearing through those months. The laugh was different than what he had heard at Death-T though. Very different... Katsuya couldn't tell if it was real or fake though; couldn't tell if anything was real or fake, it wasn't like Seto had ever even thought for a second to do that! She'd never given an honest laugh... Never honestly smiled from what he had seen, not even to her brother in the more recent moments... Though maybe now, he decided, that would change. "You might have a wall there mutt," the woman was saying with a smirk. "But at the rate you're going you mind as well give up!" Again with the mutt... He grit his teeth, before steeling himself. Come on... He could do this... Give up? Pah!
Might not win... But he was sure as hell trying! 'Don't give up,' they were shouting behind him. His 'Glassman' was scattered to the winds across his face after being dealt the same fate as Ogre Rock, and the blond fell to his knees against the blast. Sheesh... For a hologram, he decided as shouts blurred into a single 'voice', these were pretty damn painful... 'Hang in there!' He grunted, pulling himself back to his feet and ignoring the slight sting of the 'road rash'. 'Come on, Jonouchi-kun,' Yugi was shouting in the background, before his voice as well. Katsuya took a few ragged breaths, wiping his face before pulling the wheel back. "Heh... You think I'm gonna give up Set... Kaiba?" Stop stumbling, he told himself as he bit his tongue. Stop stumbling over the name... He drew a card, still frowning. Shoot... Also not good. Placing it in defense and clicking the button, he tossed the wheel out. "Think again!"
Light shot from the wheel again, the monster appearing in its defensive stance. Even in that position however, it appeared to shuffle back from its opponent. Across from him, Kaiba seemed to still be looking down at him with the same degrading glare as from the moment she'd left the helicopter. Maybe there was suspicion there... He didn't know. Right now he didn't know if he cared really... The woman remained silent for only a split second before snorting in response to his last words however. "I don't think I will... The faster this 'joke' is over, the faster I can leave!" Joke? Figured she'd call it that... "Rabid Horseman, attack!"
Again he was blown back, the force of the strike being surprisingly realistic. Huh... Just... Just a little tiring wasn't it! Katsuya continued to bite his tongue as he attempted to pull himself up, only for the disk to respond to his moving arm. There was a snap of wire, and before he knew it- "Goh!" The disk slammed into his stomach, falling to the ground with a thud and knocking him down once more. "Ah..Ow..." Shit... He groaned again, not moving much more outside of that. That was gonna bruise... A lot...
Behind him, he could hear the shouts of the others again. For some reason, he noted as he lay there, wincing in pain, there was an added one. "JONOUCHI," came Mai's screeching voice, eliciting another wince from the teen. Damn it what did she want right now? She'd been watching, didn't she think that maybe this wasn't the time..? "Didn't you say you weren't done!" Yes... Yes he did, and right now his head was pounding... "Then stand up and FIGHT! You said there were lives on the line, didn't you," the woman continued. Katsuya found himself frowning as she spoke, before biting his lip. Yea... Yea he had... "Then pull yourself together and fight for them!"
Alright... He groaned, ignoring the light frown and raised eyebrow Mai got from Kaiba. Yea, she'd be wondering for a while just what the other was talking about... But for now... "Tch..." Pulling himself up and drawing a card, he scowled. His back was burning right now... Right now was really not the best time to be telling him to suck it up... "Shut up," he shouted with a glare, rubbing his stomach for a second before continuing. "I don't need t' get that from you, Kujaku Mai!" The teen grabbed his disk from the ground, shaking himself off with another hoarse breath. Man... This was a real pain, that was for sure... "'S gonna take more than getting beaned in the stomach t' stop me," he added with a growl, watching as Seto merely stood there and watched. Katsuya drew his card, still looking across. This time... This would finish it. "Battle ain't over yet! And for my next card..."
This was it. He set the card on the disk, tossing it out with a glare that was far more determined than angered at the moment. "IS THIS!"
"RED EYES BLACK DRAGON!" A thundering roar came through the air, and the light burst from the disk in an eruption of flames. Red eyes glowed as the dragon appeared, black scales shimmering in the moonlight. The dragon flexed its wings as it came to rest on the battle field, her own monster stepping back under it's stare. In response to the visible fear of it's opponent, Red-Eyes snorted, rearing back on its skeletal legs to its full height. It was an impressive sight... Not the most impressive of course, but nonetheless.
The black dragon..? Seto's eyes widened just slightly at the sight of it, and for a brief moment she had to lighten her gaze on her opponent. "Ah..." For someone who looked like they had come off the street, that wasn't too bad... In fact, she thought as the 'peanut gallery' continued their shouts of encouragement, it wasn't bad at all... It wasn't nearly as good as her Blue-Eyes, true, but even so... To think he would have a card of that rarity in his deck was fairly astounding to say the least.
"Here I come," the mutt was shouting, dragon screeching in agreement. "Attack! BLACK FIRE BULLET!" Flames gathered in the black dragon's maw, licking the sides of its scales before finally being released with an earsplitting roar. In a wave of heat the blast was shot, fires encompassing the Rabid Horseman completely. Across from her, Jonouchi was grinning, his dragon appearing to share in the cheer just as much. "Take that, you ox-centaur thing!" Alright... That comment was a little on the pathetic side, that was for sure, but nonetheless. She gave a small smile, mentally chuckling even as her life points dropped by four hundred. Well... That counted as a 'scratch' she supposed... A well placed hit even.
The crowd continued to cheer, though for a moment she wondered if Jonouchi had seen that smile. The blond was looking at her with a blank look of surprise, and she quickly replaced the smile with an equally blank stare. "Hnn..." It would do no good whatsoever to have this moron think that she was easing up on him... Let alone possibly supporting the move. He'd probably seen it already though...
Though if he had, he wasn't showing it. In fact, Jonouchi appeared to hide his own confusion just as fast as she had caught it, crossing his arms with a grin. "How do y' like that Kaiba," he was shouting. His dragon seemed to nod in response to that, head bowed in a mock chuckle. "Not bad for a 'stray dog', wouldn't y' say?"
She smirked, pulling the duel disk back. "Hmph!" A good move, that was true... However, it was only one. In his words, not bad for a 'stray dog'... For now however, there was no place for such thoughts. "So happy that you won a single battle this turn... If that's all it takes to make you happy then you really are the world's weakest duelist!" Time to finish this, Seto decided with a smirk. The battle had been drawn on long enough... She'd 'reward' this dog with the sight of her re-claimed dragons. He had worked hard enough after all... And it was time for her to leave. As Jonouchi merely stared back with a frown, her smirk grew. "I've been saving a card that could beat yours anytime," the woman began, placing the card in the slot. "The card your friend Yugi got back for me!"
And the expressions of all those in front of her dropped instantly. Wonderful how that worked out... She chuckled as her opponent tensed, before throwing the wheel out to the field. "Prepare yourself, 'Mutt'! For Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" In a blinding stream of light it appeared, the majestic white dragon whose scales contrasted that of Red-Eyes' completely. Blue-Eyes appeared to look down at the other in disappointment, as though Red-Eyes had 'failed' at some unseen task. Much like his monster, the blond before her drew back slightly, eyes wide as a ball of energy began to build in blue-eyes' mouth. That's right... And with only 500 life points left, this would finish it. "GO! BURST STREAM OF DESTRUCTION!" The blast filled the entire area with light, Jonouchi's shout of shock and pain barely audible in the blast. Red Eyes was eradicated completely, along with the rest of the teen's lifepoints... Squinting into the light, she could see Jonouchi being thrown back violently by the attack, skidding rather painfully against the ground as the light faded. Watching as the mutt's friend's gathered around Jonouchi's fallen form, she snorted. A few mutterings from the blond told her that the moron was fine really, so at the moment she could care less how he felt... 'Jonouchi', they were shouting, 'jonouchi jonouchi', well at least she knew the dog's name.
Not that she'd use it if she didn't have to really. "Crap," Jonouchi was muttering from the ground, Seto paying the others no mind. "I lost..." Of course he did! What, did he actually think he would win? She mentally shook her head at the thought, a small smirk playing on her face. HAH! What a joke... Then again, that was the main reason he'd challenged her wasn't it? Oh well... The woman's eyes narrowed as Yugi sent an odd look her way, and she had to smirk in response to the partial glare. Really, was he upset over that? It was a fair fight after all...
"Now do you see, Yugi?" she stated calmly, her Blue Eyes hovering around and behind her. The dragon appeared to almost be standing there protectively as she spoke, Yugi merely staring in silence along with most of the others listening. "I'm the one who will defeat Pegasus... And no one else!" The disk before her continued to whir, the crowd falling relatively silent as she spoke. Most were staring with narrowed eyes... It was to be expected she supposed. Regardless of a fair fight with a clear outcome a group like that was bound to turn on the opponent... But the one who had actually lost... He was staring back with an oddly neutral stare, neither angered nor loathing visible in anyway. True, there was obvious disappointment, but there was also something else... Relief maybe? Or even something else... Her eyes narrowed, and she decided to simply move on with the reason she was there. "Return, Blue-Eyes," she commanded, the disk powering its light off in response. Blue-Eyes vanished into thin air at that, the disk shuddering while she moved to grab the Battle Ox card it had spat out before. She pulled the device back, removing her cards and turning her attention back to the crowd again as she packed up.
Currently, Jonouchi was unclipping the duel disk from his wrist, placing it on the ground in silence before the others helped him up. He looked forward, expression still that same blank look of mixed gloom and relief. The teen stumbled as his friends attempted to pull him up, gritting his teeth; apparently the force of being thrown back by Blue-Eyes attack had rebounded on his already self-inflicted injuries... He'd probably feel that tomorrow, but really, he was the one who pulled back on the cord sitting up she told herself.
Moron... "Hnhnhnhn..." Seto chuckled, arms still crossed as she looked over the blond with a smirk. He seemed fine other than that... Maybe next time he wouldn't make pointless bets that would result in him being thrown against the ground on an endless basis. "Was it educational 'Mutt'?" There was a short bit of silence, the teen looking up with narrowed eyes in response to the 'nickname'. "Maybe it was luck... Or perhaps the aid of your 'friends'," she began, removing her duel disk as she continued, "Regardless, you managed to win a few matches despite obvious incompetence, I admit. But in the end, it's all just an illusion... You," she began, watching as the blond continued to grit his teeth. Her expression wasn't mocking, or joking in anyway; these words were dead serious. If this was all it took to knock him down after all... If it was easy for even a holographic attack to send him flying... "It suits you to crawl on the ground! You're-'"
"'Too much of a loser to stand on his own two legs'." What... Her eyes widened as the words were literally taken out of her own mouth, watching as Jonouchi lightly refused his friend's help. He pulled himself up, shaking even as he stumbled a few steps forward. Jonouchi wiped a bit of dust from his face as he straightened, before finally looking the woman in the eye. How... How did he know what she was going to say..! "I don't know if you r'member my promise, S...Kaiba," he forced out, appearing oddly calm compared to what was probably the norm. "Hell, th' way you're going, I don't even think you r'member my name!" Jonouchi coughed, his target rendered silent from the brief shock of being interrupted with her own words. She really had forgotten his name too... How... How did he know that...? "But I'll tell y' this," the blond continued on, "I don't care what you think or say about it..." Seto watched as the teen picked up his duel disk, before throwing it over to her. Catching the disk in her free hand, the woman listened with blank and almost wide eyes. "I don't intend t' break that promise... Even if I have t' die for it!" Promise... What promise! She knew there was a promise but what was it!
She stared, eyes narrowing somewhat as those behind Jonouchi nodded in response. How did this moron manage to, in a few seconds... "That's right," Anzu was saying angrily, the woman stepping forward with an intense glare. "Don't think you know anything about what Jonouchi has been going through... Mokuba might be your brother," she spat, rendering the Seto silent yet again at the mention of the boy, "But I don't recall Jonouchi trying to kill him!" Kill... As Seto barely managed to hold the false image of apathy, the woman across from her continued on. "You weren't there when his life was at stake," Anzu bit out, Honda nodding in agreement from the side. "Jonouchi was! And we saw that! So don't think you can just run your mouth and get away with it..."
"That's right," another of the group said, Mai coming up to Anzu's side with a frown in the meantime. The white haired teen seemed rather confused at the mention of Mokuba's possible death, but even so he moved to speak. "After all, Jonouchi is-"
"Stop." Seto's eyes narrowed slightly, her exhaustion from before seeming all to real again. She felt dizzy... Almost dead on her feet. Memories from before hit her mind with Anzu's words, stabbing at her brain and playing with the holes in her memory. Death-T... After Yugi defeated Mokuba, she had initiated the penalty... "That's enough," Jonouchi was saying, the woman only dimly hearing those words. "Sh... He doesn' need t' have that thrown on top 'f everything else righ' now..." Mokuba...
No... No she didn't. Seto grit her teeth as she pulled herself back into reality, before walking back over to the still open briefcase to pack up her duel disks. This wasn't the time... This wasn't the time to think of the past! "Gch," she muttered with a growl, refusing to look at either of them for the moment. That woman... To even suggest that Jonouchi was more of a sibling... She... She wouldn't be replaced... She would save Mokuba... She would make it up to him, somehow, some way... Even if she didn't deserve it... "So what," she bit out, Jonouchi tensing in response. If Mokuba really did choose a mutt over her... Then so be it! It... It was her brother's choice, and she wouldn't blame him for it... But there would be hell if she simply sat by and leave her brother to die! "Everyone has some reason to fight, something to believe in... But it doesn't change how strong you are! The only thing that matters," she continued to force out, closing the briefcase with a click, "Is whether you allow yourself to be crushed... Or if you continue to fight and protect those 'things'..." One chance... If Mokuba could give her one chance... She would not throw that chance away, not as she had those years ago. Seto's eyes grew dim as she looked to the crowd yet again, frowning once more. Before her, Jonouchi was staring with a blank expression, as though fighting to say something. Yugi was sending a partial glare instead of his usual wide eyed stare, an odd thing to see... And behind him, she was greeted with nothing but scowling faces. Hn... As though she expected anything else...
The blond's name... If she had it right from the people calling him, and from the papers... "Jonouchi," she shouted, the teen in question jumping as Seto continued. Even the crowd seemed surprised at her use of the name after all the insults she'd thrown. Personally she was surprised she was using it, but really... He'd stopped the talking. "You'll regret battling me... Regardless of whether or not you say 'afraid' to fight, your eyes say otherwise... In fact, I'm surprised you'll be able to stand up as a duelist..." She clutched her briefcase, turning away from the endless glares to head for the castle. That castle... That was her destination, and nothing else... "Do yourself a favor and remember that!"
"You..." It shouldn't have been surprising that Jonouchi was not the one to respond, but for some reason it was. Ignoring the sound of Yugi's voice, Seto continued to walk away, the woman attempting to steel herself once more in her resolve. Mokuba... She had to get to him, get him away from this place... And no matter what, she would be the one to do it! She had to! To at least atone for what she'd done to him... "Kaiba!" The woman ground her teeth as Yugi continued to shout, finally stopping at his next words. "You're just the same as before," the boy was muttering, his expression unseen to her from behind. "Haven't you changed at all?"
Tch... Changed? There was a limit to the word. "Yugi," she growled, turning just slightly with narrowed eyes. And if he hadn't seen where that limit was, obviously he wasn't the person that even she thought he was. "Do you expect me to forget the past, grin like an idiot and join forces with you?" All this talk... Just let her do what she had come to accomplish! They'd made a deal, and she expected them to honor at least that! If he thought that his 'friendship' would overpower that... "Don't make me laugh," she bit out, before turning on them completely. Pathetic... Pathetic! That's what it was! "To this day, your so called friendship disgusts me!"
At this, Yugi had nothing to say in response. No one did really- after all, she'd made it clear she wasn't listening, hadn't she? Still not another word... And it would be better off that way! The woman turned her attention back to the castle, eyes narrowed. She had no time for this... Pegasus was the target, the only target! She would get her brother back and send Pegasus through hell for all that he had done.
Regardless of what anyone else had to say in the matter...
There was something to be said about just how messed up the world had gotten, particularly with those few moments alone. Six months ago, he thought, Mokuba wouldn't have factored into things, would he? Instead, they'd have probably missed the danger completely, much as he hated to say it... The fact was, had all this happened and he wasn't as close to the kid... He'd have probably been more concerned with how bitchy Kaiba was acting rather than with how believable her actions were. Katsuya bit back a grunt of pain as he held his bruising stomach, instead focusing on moving toward where Yugi was standing. "Yugi," he muttered quietly, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. The boy turned to him, and he continued. "Don't try t' convince he... Him otherwise, alright?" At the slight stare he got in response, he gave a weak smile. Yea... Yugi still wanted the lady to stick with them... "S... Kaiba won th' bet, alright? An' we promised..." They had promised they'd let her leave no questions asked- and after pulling up memories of Death-T after she'd woken up just hours before, they owed it to her.
Seto appeared to have no intentions of leaving just at that moment however, and instead the group stood there in an awkward silence for a few moments. The wind blew through the trees and the crickets slowly began chirping again. Looking to the side briefly, Katsuya could spot his fallen cards in the moonlight now... He could grab them later he decided. It was Seto who spoke first oddly enough. Katsuya supposed it was better that then anyone questioning Anzu on mutterings of attempted fratricide, which, given Bakura and Mai's expressions, looked to be something they were wondering about. "Yugi," she said, addressing the boy yet again. Said boy blinked, turning to look at the woman's back with slight confusion. "...And Jonouchi," she added with seeming hesitance, to the likely surprise of the others. "Look over at that castle," she stated without turning, not even bothering to see if they were listening.
They were of course. At least, he knew that he and Yugi were... Couldn't say if the others were listening really, though they probably were. That castle... That was where Pegasus was. Katsuya found himself swallowing as Seto continued speaking, thoughts on the American CEO vanishing for the moment. "On this island, duelists collect star chips to reach that castle... But they won't win," the woman stated with a slight growl, fists visibly clenching. "All they're doing is playing in the hands of the Duel Monster's 'God'!" Katsuya narrowed his eyes at that, frowning as Seto continued still onward. "Yugi... Even with your skill, you can't hope to defeat Pegasus. I've seen him duel once before in the past... And only once."
Given the tone that Kaiba was using now... Once was more than enough. He blinked at the snort Seto gave with those words, the woman shaking her head as she stared at the castle. "If one could even call it that... As I assume you know, Duel Monsters was an instant success in the United States; multiple tournaments are held annually in that country, and the number of people involved are estimated to be around 20 million total..." 20 mill- Holy crap... Katsuya blinked, shaking his head. That was... Wow. What did that have to do with all this though? Sure, Pegasus was American but... "Among these players are a group of the country's top 13 duelists, known as the 'Card Professors'. Back then," the woman continued, expression still hidden from view, "The top of that group was a man named 'Keith Howard'... Nicknamed 'Bandit Keith' for the number of prizes he'd 'taken'," Seto added with a fairly dismissive and sarcastic tone. Clearly this 'Bandit Keith' wasn't worth much in her eyes... Still, top player in all of the USA... Wow.
Nonetheless, the woman went on, regardless of any commentary from behind. "Bandit Keith had issued a challenge to Pegasus... While he hadn't been interested initially, he abruptly changed his mind within seconds of announcing this, accepting the challenge under two conditions. First," Seto began, a foggy memory of some past event coming to Katsuya's mind with the words, "The prize for the match would be a million dollars. The second was that it would be held in a stadium of 50,000 people, and broadcasted nation-wide, with the earnings split among sponsors and TV stations involved." Ok... So that was the huge tournament in the states that Sugoroku mentioned at one time, but what was so important about that? ...Wait, wasn't a million dollars something like... 10,000,000 yen! Holy shit...
"I was invited as a guest," Seto was telling them, still staring at the castle with her backs to the group. "From the front row, I watched as Pegasus took the time before the match to gather children from the audience and teach them to play the game..."
She could remember the match clearly at that moment. Cheers had filled the seemingly endless room, and the lights from above had almost been blinding as she sat at the sides with her arms crossed. An entire crowd of kids had been pulled down into the arena, and at the time she had thought nothing of it, beliving it to be no more than a publicity stunt. Pegasus had been giving endless words of encouragement to one boy in particular, who had commented on enjoying the game but not having any money to buy the cards with... "Pegasus seemed attached to, in particular, one boy from that group," the woman continued, partially speaking to herself at this point. Genuinely attached, but then again, Pegasus had been credited with a mass donation to orphanages many times before, even adopting a large number of children at that time. "He gave that kid a deck, and shortly afterward the duel began..."
And of course there had been a fair amount of snark from Keith at the begining. Fair being the loosest of terms, given that all Pegasus had done was stare as Keith muttered on and on. A comment on the man's hair, sexual preferences, and standings all in one... Personally, she'd just wanted the moron to prove his words on game skills true at the moment, as he was really getting on her nerves. "Keith shuffled and cut his deck, drawing cards to start the game... However, in response, Pegasus did nothing. Instead, he began writing on a piece of paper..." Her eyes narrowed as she continued to stare at the castle in the distance. Regardless of what was real and what wasn't, there was one thing that had been proven to her that day... "In the next moment, he did something completely unbelievable- he called down the boy he had given a deck of cards, handing him the sheet of paper..." Keith had protested of course... Hell, the kid had protested! But Pegasus had reassured the boy that if he followed the instructions on the paper, he would win. No matter what happened. "He told him to follow the directions and duel in his place... Before taking a seat beside me at the sidelines."
If what happened next had not proved it, what happened in the audience was enough to spark suspicion. More than enough in fact, she decided as she continued to recall the event. 'Hello Kaiba-boy!,' the man had said upon sitting down. She'd stared with a slight bit of shock of course- he'd just abandoned his duel and left it with a begginer, what else was she supposed to think? And then he'd turned, that wide smile still in place... 'Oh by the way, I took a look at your proposal,' he'd said all too cheerily. This had gotten a fairly deep frown, not to mention confusion from her; she hadn't sent the proposal to the company yet after all. In fact, she hadn't sent any proposals... The only one she was even considering was only half typed in the office. However, Pegasus had pressed on, quickly proving that this wasn't a problem. 'Duel Monster Simulation Boxes,' he'd started with a grin. 'What a great idea! I would love for my company and KaibaCorp to develop it together! Let's make it a reality!'
How the hell that man had known, she couldn't have guessed at the time. It took all she could to keep from fearing for herself after she did find out though. "Within one move, by simply following what was on that sheet, that small boy defeated Keith Howard- every strategy that he had thought of was on the sheet, and Pegasus managed to turn the entire duel into a joke and a commercial!" It was probably just her shock of the duel that saved her ironically... Thanks to that, she'd probably avoided whatever mind-reading abilities Pegasus appearently had. Unbelievable yes... Impossible... Apparently not.
She had a solution though. "I don't know what kind of trick he used across that table..." Not to mention at the seats... And possibly every other time they'd met... "But... There's a possibility to win if I challenge him with this duel disk!" She had to win! If she didn't... "Yugi," she shouted, moving to follow what appeared to be a partially made path to the castle. "I'm leaving, to take back what I lost! And I will be the one to fight!" If she didn't win... No one could.
As she walked, the response was nearly instant- for a brief moment, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, the wind seeming to blow behind her as a familiar tone of Yugi's voice came to her ears. "Kaiba," the other Yugi called, the woman turning with hidden surprise at the appearance. The one who had faced her those times before..! Her breath was caught in her throat as she listened, regaining her composure as quickly as it had threatened to fail her. "Just like you," the teen began, eyes narrowed "We too have precious things that we can't lose! And we will protect them!" As she looked at the determined expression on both Yugi's and Jonouchi's faces as well, the woman's eyes softened just slightly. This was the one who had put her into that coma... And he was also the reason why she was here now, rather than ignoring her brother's danger. Yugi's expression... Why did she feel she knew that look... "I'm going to beat Pegasus," Yugi shouted, and in response, as she turned away, she had to smile.
"In that case," she decided as she walked off, managing to find herself oddly calm for at least a few minutes with those words, "Let me put it another way... I'm going to Pegasus' castle before you!" And with not a word more, the woman disappeared into the trees and out of sight. No more distractions...
This would end now!
And there she went... Katsuya stared as Seto disappeared into the distance, before turning to his friend at the side. He hadn't expected the 'other' one to appear really... But in the end, from what he'd seen (or thought he'd seen at least), it was probably for the best. Yugi as well turned, giving the blond a slight smile before closing his eyes. A split second later... And the eyes opened again, seemingly wider as a more innocent smile came into place. As quickly as the 'Other Yugi' had appeared, he was gone. "Jonouchi-kun," Yugi began, the rest of his words going unsaid. The smile faded out with worry, and he lowered his voice to a whisper. Behind him, Katsuya could hear Mai asking the others questions about the earlier conversation... Namely on the talk of brothers killing brothers, but either way... Ignoring that for now... "Are you..."
He smirked, shaking his head. Was he alright? Physically no. He probably had enough road-rash on his back to keep him sleeping on his front for a month. Nothing he couldn't handle though, so taking his current mood into opinion... "'M fine... Hell," he muttered as he rubbed his head, turning to look at the others. "I'm just surprised she isn't collapsing on the spot... 'S what th' doctors said she'd do at least..."
Yugi nodded, frowning slightly. He was probably running over those last words right now, wondering if that wouldn't end up happening. "If you say so... But... After all that she said... I mean, you spent all that time with Mokuba and-"
"An' she was sleeping through it all... Hate t' say it but... She kinda has a point I mean..." He bit his lip, trying to find the right words to say. Man... He wasn't the one to talk about this kind of thing... At the same time though... "I don't like her attitude either but Mokuba's in there and..." Katsuya frowned, staring at the ground for a few moments to gather his words before continuing. "Well, that was probably th' first thing she found out about waking up. If I woke up t' find out my little sister was taken, I'd probably be just as pissed..." And it wouldn't be fair to say more or less to that. The blond stratched his head, looking at the others again. Mostly they were talking amongst themselves... Rather Honda and Anzu were trying to fill Bakura and Mai in on what the hell was going on. Bakura in question looked paler than he had before, while Mai was visibly green in the face. "She's bitchy, I'll give y' that but... Fact is, there's still a line... I just didn' wanna cross it really." At the stare he got from Yugi, he shrugged. "Hey- we did promise right? An' She won..." As he said this, Katsuya's expression fell to a slight scowl. It really figured too... Stupid Blue-Eyes. If he'd gotten his metal claw card out, he'd have won too! "But hey! We're still gonna get there! Regardless of what that idiot thinks!" Or wants, he mentally added. Fact was, he was helping her if she liked it or not.
Another nod, though Yugi's mood seemed to pick up quite a bit with those words. Well... At least Katsuya's head was clear at the moment. "Of course!" At least he wasn't too upset about it..? The boy turned back to face the others, walking over as he continued. "So..."
As they came over, the others turned to look at them as well. For the most part, the expressions were similar. Honda and Anzu seemed a little relieved more or less that he'd managed to survive not getting the snot beaten out of him for throwing a box of pads at Seto... They probably thought it was an add on to the joke at Death-T all that time ago. Bakura seemed a little like he had shortly after the whole 'Monster World' fiasco, not that he blamed him... As for Mai... For a brief moment, Katsuya thought he saw something in Mai's expression when the woman spared him a glance... But just as fast as he'd seen it, it was gone, the woman simply giving a light yawn before turning away. "Well... I think we've had enough excitement tonight, don't you think?" Er... Ok? He agreed of course but... Katsuya blinked, watching as Mai continued to walk off. "It's late- we need sleep..."
Well, anything to get off the current topic he supposed... Much as he'd expected Seto to say all that earlier, it did still sting a bit. And having an equal if not doubled amount of 'sting' thrown back at the woman wasn't sitting well on his conscience. "Nyh... Right..." The others walked off as well, Yugi giving one last smile before heading off.
"Jonouchi-kun," he said before he left. "...I..." The boy shook his head, laughing quietly. "Nevermind."
Er... What? Katsuya scratched his head, frowning slightly. Man, what was that about... The teen shook it off, sighing. Probably Yugi being Yugi really... If something didn't seem right to say, he wouldn't say it after all. As for the others... Well... He figured the other guys would be giving him weird looks... Hell, he'd probably be looking back at all this in the morning and give himself a weird look... How the fuck did he manage to keep a cool head the entire time?
How was he keeping a cool head now! "Man..." Moving off to the side to gather his fallen cards, he found himself looking back at the castle for a moment. Before she left... And when he'd summoned Red-Eyes, for a brief moment he'd thought he'd seen something... Something that forced his decision to play though and just let her walk off to the forefront. Thinking back now, he thought as he gathered up the cards, reaching the last one only to pause, it was hard to believe... But he could swear that she'd smiled.
Katsuya sighed again, grabbing his Red-Eyes Black Dragon before turning back to return to their 'campsite'. He needed to sleep this off, get his head clear for tomorrow... Things were just too damn confusing now, all this mind-reading Pegasus company take-over crap going on... Way too confusing.
In the end, he decided, staring at the starry night sky a few minutes later as the others slept, it would all calm down if he just got some sleep. It had to really, he told himself, ignoring the sting against his back as he continued to lie on the ground. While he was sleeping... Seto would be storming the castle wouldn't she? Hell, of course she would... She'd come in the middle of the night on a helicopter hadn't she? It was good... Not good that Mokuba was in this situation of course but... At least he could safely say the kid got his sister back. Maybe if they were lucky, all this would be fixed in the morning...
"Good luck, Seto-chan," he found himself whispering to the sky with a scarcely audible voice. Maybe... Just maybe... And a few minutes later, all that could be heard in the clearing was the sound of crickets and a calm breeze.
For a building so close to her landing site, it took far more time than she'd liked to get there. Maybe that 'path' had something to do with it... She'd had to walk around a lake after all. Or perhaps it was just all in the 'perspective' of things, or in the fact that rather than taking the wide 'road' from Pegasus' private docks, she was taking the wooded trail. Either way, she was here now. And that was all that mattered. Seto walked up the immense stone steps before her with a determined glare across her face, watch on her wrist reading '2:30 AM'. Pegasus' castle... She continued up the steps in silence, eyes taking constant glances to the side. She was being watched... From where she could not tell but she was definitely being watched. Not that she really cared for the moment, given that she would be doing this the 'direct' way...
Regardless of the guards up by the sides of the doors, she continued forwards. She recognised one of them... The woman's jaw tightened as she spotted the man she'd hired for Mokuba's care, but regardless of the moron's stuttering she made herself clear nonetheless. "Get Pegasus," she commanded rather bluntly, watching the two guards as they continued to stutter. "Tell him that Seto Kaiba is here to see him!"
Before either guard could say a thing, the immense steel door before them opened inward. There was nothing but darkness on the other side, the walls of the castle creating an endless shadow over the garden and courtyard within. From behind the door, a grey haired, well dressed man walked through, clapping as he smirked. Hn... Pegasus' assistant... Seto narrowed her eyes as the man came forward, gritting her teeth as the clapping stopped. "Well well well," the man began, bringing his hands to the side. "Kaiba-san! This is a surprise," he muttered with a chuckle. "We weren't expecting you this late after all!"
Bullshit, she thought mentally, leaving her expression blank. Two in the morning, they didn't have people like Crocketts come to the door the instant someone arrived. Hell, they shouldn't have been 'expecting' her at all, she certainly didn't make any contact... Though given the state of things at the house... "Hmph," she muttered, barely keeping a growl out of her voice. It was expected after all, that information of her recovery leaked out already. "I'm so sorry your spies didn't kill me as expected..."
Crocketts showed no visible reaction to those words, but she knew they'd made their mark. She knew damn well what was going on after all... And he'd do well to realize that. The man gestured to the door, bowing his head before speaking. "Please... Come in," he requested. Giving a curt nod, Seto did just that, the doors closing behind herself and Crocketts with a 'clang'. Pegasus' garden courtyard... A door to each side, covered by an arch way, and a larger door at the end of the garden, leading to Pegasus' main quarters. "Now then, this is your second time on the island isn't it," the man muttered as they walked, apparently attempting to start a conversation. "That's right, I remember now... You were invited here for the celebration held for the completion of the Battle Simulation Box!" He chuckled, the woman beside him simply gritting her teeth. "My, come to think of it you shared little more than perhaps two words with Pegasus-sama, that was very rude..."
Tch! "Enough chit-chat," Kaiba bit out with narrowed eyes. No time for this bullshit... She needed to get straight to the point! "I know you kidnapped Mokuba; now where is he?"
"What?" The old man merely held a cold smirk, chuckling. If he did that much longer she swore it, she would rip his god-damned teeth from his mouth right there... "Mokuba... Oh that's right, that's right... Your little brother..." Crocketts gave Seto an even darker smirk, adjusting his glasses as Seto seethed beside him. The briefcase in her hand was shaking just slightly under the tightened grip, and it was looking more and more like the man was digging his own grave. "'Kidnapped'... Please, why on earth would we do that? We have nothing to gain from doing such a thing! My my my..."
Her fists tightened, nails threatening to dig into her palms until they bled. In fact, if the slight dampness on her left hand was any sign, she was cutting into her palms already. "Stop wasting my time," she roared, watching as Crocketts merely walked a few paces ahead with that same moronic smirk in place. "And let me talk to Pegasus!"
Crocketts sighed mockingly, shaking his head. "Oh no no... I'm afraid that's quite impossible. Why," he stated almost jokingly as he held a watch out, either unaware of just how damned he was at the moment or simply confident in whatever protection he had. "It's almost 3 in the morning, Pegasus-sama is in bed... How about this," he asked, folding his hands over at his front. "I'll get a room for you... You can rest tonight, and then in the morning you can- GCKH!"
Seto snarled, grabbing the shirt of the man before her and cutting him off. He was pulled forward, eyes growing wide for a split second while Seto's own narrowed into mere slits. "I said I want to see him NOW," she muttered dangerously, grip tightening on the man's shirt. "I expect you to listen."
"Heh heh heh..." Even held by his shirt the man was still chuckling... Seto's jaw was clamped tightly, the woman ignoring Crockett's own struggling grip on her wrist. Moron... He had no idea just what kind of person he was dealing with, did he now? "I understand sir," he stated with a laugh, apparently immune to the woman's gaze. "I'll tell you where he is... Pegasus-sama is right behind the next gate... You can go on through any time you like..." There was a catch here... Crockett's was confident enough in his life to ignore any threats, there was a catch... "If you can open it..."
The woman narrowed her eyes, turning to look at the gate behind Crocketts. A padlock... She could easily get through th- She frowned, dropping Crocketts rather roughly before walking forward to inspect it. Her fingers brushed against the shadowed lock for a brief moment, the woman squinting before the lock's shape became evident. This lock... "What in the hell..." What the hell kind of padlock was this! Ten star shaped holes lined the sides, and with grim realization her fists tightened. Of course... "The tournament..." That bastard had installed a padlock centered around... Augh!
"That's right," Crocketts stated from behind, arms crossed as he chuckled. If he kept going... "The only way to open this gate is to put ten starchips in the mechanisim. In otherwords," he continued, Seto forcing herself to not simply crack her briefcase over his skull right that moment, "Only the chosen few who survive the duels are allowed to pass beyond this point... You and I," the man continued, narrowed eyes barely visible behind his shades, "Are no exception." This man... She grit her teeth as Crocketts gave a seemingly mocking bow, gesturing to a door at the side. "Now if you don't mind Kaiba-san, there's a room for you in the annex..."
Gh...
"Please, step this way..."
Where he was standing was not the forest. It was not the fields he'd dueled in earlier, nor the coast line that he'd eaten fish with Ryota on. It was not even the rooms of Kaiba's mansion, a building that he had as of late become rather familiar with. Katsuya opened his eyes only to frown as his body moved forward on it's own volition, the teen unable to move even slightly with his own will. "What th' hell..." His voice echoed around the hall he was walking, and Katsuya's eyes narrowed at the sight and sound both.
Where was this place... Photos hung on the wall, but their images were faded and unclear, merely smudges of washed colour on a framed canvas. The walls were painted a rich creamy white, and the floors seemed just as blinding in colour, blood red carpets seeming to mold around his bare feet as he walked. "Where is this?" His body was walking and he couldn't stop it... Doors passed by, every single one of them closed firmly shut, and not a single window could be seen. Occasionally he would pass a pedestal of sorts, a vase of flowers held in it. There was a pattern to these, he could tell- the first hall had hydrangeas, the second had mixed flowers including roses and snap dragons. The one he walked through now had tulips of every colour, and as his body turned the corner he was greeted with vases filled with roses. "Where the hell is this," he shouted, already frightened enough by the ghost-like feeling he had.
It was like he was an intruder in his own body... Watching it move before him and leave the 'real one' behind. Colours were beginning to fade into blacks and whites, and the time seemed to drag on and on as he walked. The lights in the halls were dimming, becoming dark, as though they hadn't been there begin with. To the side he could make out a niche of sorts in the walls, a hair-thin line between the panels of the walls... His 'body' moved forward, opening a door from the crack and moving down through a small hole that had been revealed in its place. He had to duck to enter it... But once he had, he'd been able to stand instantly, passing through and down into the stairway below.
"What..." Katsuya's frown deepened as he looked around the hall. It was dark, made of stone and pounded dirt. The stairs looked as though they'd been carved from the rocks themselves, and torches rather than lamps hung from the sides of the walls. It was cold in here... Damp, and musky, with the scent of moist earth hanging in the air. As a series of barred doors came into view, he had to shake his head. Where was this... Where... It was like a dungeon, from those old time fairy-tales, with chains and shackles hanging from the walls... And yet...
His body stopped infront of an empty cell, the door hanging open. A small bit of light came down through the barred window in the room, but he paid it no mind, a feeling of paranoia coming over him for the moment.
He'd learned not to ignore this feeling...
Someone was behind him. "Who the hell-" He tensed, instantly turning to deliver a chop to the unseen person behind him. Whoever he met would be greeted with a hand across the tender areas of the throat, and would likely be on the ground gasping for air..! But there was no one there. Not a soul, nothing but the air... "What the..."
"Hello Doggy-boy~" Katsuya whirled, jumping back as the form of Pegasus stood before him. The man had is arms behind his back, a frightening smile on his face. The stuff of nightmares, that was for sure... Something to keep him up all night, so why wasn't he waking up... "Oh don't worry... I'm not real," he said with a chuckle, hair pulled back to reveal that gleaming golden eye. "Or am I," he asked with a chuckle, the blond across from him gritting his teeth. "Hard to tell, isn't it Doggy-boy?"
Again with the dogs... Though his body refused to respond, he would have been grinding his teeth if he could. "Gh... Don't fuck with me," he muttered, shaking his head. "This is a dream! Of course you aren't real!" Right?
The man smirked, still chuckling. "Of course I am... Of course... Tell me, 'Doggy'," he said with another laugh as Katsuya's body refused to respond. Pegasus seemed particularly creepy at the moment, more than he had in the video really... Why was that... "How's your sister?" Shizuka-! "...And your 'brother'," he continued, the teen across from him growling. Mokuba... "What about...Your 'girlfriend'..?"
His eyes widened, and abrubtly, all control returned to his body. Katsuya's teeth were ground in rage, and with nothing to hold him back anymore he charged forward to pin Pegasus against the wall. "You shut the fuck up," he roared, not caring that Pegasus was showing no signs of resistance. "You shut up! We ain't in any kind of relationship, and I'm no replacement for Mokuba's older sister! He's a friend... Not a brother, got that! The only sibling he has is on her way to pick him up right now, and you aren't stopping her... You leave that kind of crap out of this, you got that you sick fuck?"
Pegasus merely chuckled, apparently not caring that he was currently pinned against the wall by his neck. Not caring that at the moment, this 'dream' was acting as a fairly handy outlet for any pent up frustrations toward the man and simply staring at the blond with that same smirk. "Hnhnhnhnhn... Really... You shouldn't get so worked up 'doggy-boy'... It's only a dream after all.. Gh!" The man's throat was pushed tighter against the wall, Katsuya's eyes narrowed dangerously. And still, Pegasus laughed, voice somehow coming through even with his throat crushed against the cold stone behind him. "Hahahaha... I wonder just what your 'friend' would say now... You wouldn't kill a figment of your imagination would you? I doubt even that would go over w-gk!"
"Where's Mokuba," the blond ground out, ignoring the words Pegasus was saying now. Screw all this, screw all the dream crap, the dueling, the star chips... "TELL ME WHERE HE IS!"
The laughter continued, accompanied by a low growl on the blond's part. "Where is he...? I wonder myself..." Pegasus' single eye narrowed with cruel mirth, and to Katsuya's shock and rage he began to fade out of existance. "Did you check your deck maybe..?" As his eyes narrowed in response, Pegasus merely continued, smirk growing even colder as his body vanished to leave a single golden eye behind. "Or are you too afraid..?"
"Katsuya-nii," came a faded voice, the blond turning to look at the ground with wide eyes. The golden Millennium Eye was staring down at him as he did this, and while it would ordinarily have scared him to the point of passing out he couldn't bring himself to bother. A card... There was a card there, and he could hear... "Katsuya-nii..."
Numbly, he picked it up, the image of steel bars gripped by a childs hands coming into view. The light through the window brightened just slightly, and as colours returned to the room, he could see the familiar black mop of hair he'd grown used to seeing by his side for the last few months. "N-n..."
"Katsuya-nii," Mokuba whispered, the image on the card unchanging. "It hurts..."
"N-N... AAAAUUUGH!"
"HAH!" Eyes snapped open to a clear blue sky, and as Katsuya sat up he found it hard to breath. In the distance, birds chirped to welcome the morning, the sounds of snoring reverberating in the air at his side. "Hah... hah... hah..." Just a dream... It was all just a dream...
The blond leaned against the tree he'd slept by, one hand on his chest as he calmed himself down. Just a dream... That was it, it was just a dream... Nothing more, nothing less, nothing had happened... 'Did you check your deck,' came Pegasus' haunting voice, chuckling filling his thoughts. N... Mokuba... Kastuya gripped the pendant around his neck, pulling himself up to look at the small key-shaped indent on the lid. 'Or are you too afraid!'
"Gh..." He took a few deep breaths, shaking it off. His skin was all cold and damp... Clammy was the word for that right, he got it from when 'training' moved to 'first aid'... The blond found himself looking over the others as they slept, eyes landing on Yugi. "..." Looking at him, no one could guess all the crap they'd been going through... That Yugi had been going through really. A calm smile, hands holding the puzzle even in his sleep... Nothing but an innocent (mostly he supposed, recalling a few 'penalty games') kid who had been pulled into a large amount of crap. He couldn't be scared, he told himself with a small smile. He couldn't! If Yugi could unflinchingly go through battle after battle, when he was just a tiny little guy... He could too! He had to, he decided as he pulled away from the trees to look up at the early morning sky. For Mokuba's sake... And if things ended up going awry, then for Seto-chan too, no matter what she said...
He wasn't going to lose... No matter what!
AN: Can you tell I enjoy screwing with Jonouchi's head? Oddly enough, that dream was completely spur of the moment. I was just sitting here, thinking 'Hnnn... What can I use to fill in a bit more time between now and the next duel...' To which Pegasus said 'Well, I haven't been creepy for a while~'. And of course, my response was 'What the hell are you talking about, you were creepy just last chapter.' 'Yes, but I wasn't creepy to Doggy-boy~~'
To which I decided I should get more sleep, because having conversations with Pegasus in your own head is NEVER A GOOD SIGN.
And on a side note, I'm thinking of sketching each 'version' of Kaiba that Yugi would have seen way back when she showed up during his duel against the Ventriloquist.
Like... Every single one.
Think I should do that? Let me know!
And now for the Poll results! I forgot to put these up last time, I'm sorry about that... In the end it's ok though, because there's no change. Poll is still on people, and I know that more than four of you read this! As of now we have 3 for a cross-dressing Priest Set (Technically Priestess), and 1 for a Priestess Set who doesn't need to bother with crossdressing and does just fine without it.
And now for...
Anonymous Review Responses
Technically, there's only one... However, recently there was a comment over on the Yugioh Abridged Forum that concerned the fanfic, and in my opinion it counts as a review. Because it sure felt like one to me! I don't know if you have an account here Silent Cinderella, but nonetheless! Setting it in Japan, I know.. It's DANGEROUS. It's good to see that my manga/Japan guide at the bottom is good for something! With each person who tells me Kaiba's still in character, I find myself giving off a long loud sigh of relief. Because trust me when I say, it's hard to make sure that she's still acting properly and still develop a slightly romantic relationship between her and Jonouchi. Obviously a little easier than if they were both guys and Jonouchi never ended up breaking into the house... But nonetheless.
Here's a secret; the reason why Mokuba hired Jonouchi was for match-making purposes. Little conniver... And hey! So the scene with Kaiba jumping out of the soul room is your favorite? Wow... That's the one scene I was most worried about in terms of negative reception... Guess that fixes things!
You can indeed call me Usagi-chan! It's a common nickname of mine actually (I used to wear a pilot hat with rabbit ears on it all the time. Usagi means rabbit sooooo...)...
Hello hello again Iona! If you thought he was a jerk last chapter, just take a look at his disembodied floating gold dream eye. Never invite him for dinner, it'll be RUINED. Anyways. On the conversation between Jonouchi and Kaiba... Oddly enough, it's not so much Kaiba watching her tongue so much as her simply having nothing to base an insult off of; she'd say something worse, but if it's inaccurate it'll feel awkward. (Otherwise... Well, I point you to the 'meat-grinder + scrotum' threat that she kept locked in her skull.) Oddly enough, we won't see any insults shot out around the topic of Jonouchi and Mokuba for a while... Not until she remembers anything at least. Because then she'll have no doubts that he's a moron and therefore unworthy of her brother's attention, see? Kaiba's head works weird... But the fact is, if she thought that the subject of Mokuba's care legitimately deserved the attention, she'd be upset... But she wouldn't argue against it. Because after all, Mokuba is the thing that matters.
But as you said with the BEWD in the anime... Yea. It'll be like that once the memories come back. Probably would have been like that had Jonouchi not done what he did up in this chapter actually- fact is though, after he did that, he probably gained a slight sliver of respect. Enough to save his body parts from being turned into hamburger meat at least.
Ahahahah~ Yep~ It wouldn't be Jonouchi if he wasn't at least slightly impulsive really... As much as he's changed in the fanfic, he's still him after all. Thankfully his impulsiveness will probably save his ass as much as it pulls him into trouble. (As to which one happens more... One can probably guess.) And actually, the next person to find out (Whom most have likely guessed by now), will be the last one to know until Battle City... And even then, the only reason anyone else is going to find out there is because they cheat with objects made of gold...
I can see it now... 'If you can see the future, then what am I thinking in a few minutes?' 'You're going to summon this. And then you're going to blame all of your troubles on your peri- Wait... ...' 'Well? I'm waiting...' That will be fun.
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section so sneaky, if you look you'll find spoilers for at least ten other chapters! It also lies a lot in the first sentence. Did you guess?
The title of this chapter is brought to you by the title of the chapter Kaiba comes into the castle at; technically, it was 'The Terror of Pegasus'. I like mine better though, because I'm that full of myself. AHAHA. *coughcough*
Continuing from where we left off! When Mai does her 'shout out' in the manga, it's because Jonouchi is having another 'I'm losing nooooo' moment. He's on his knees about to give up... And then Mai shouts that she 'doesn't want to see him like this', blushes, cuts herself off, and turns away while Jonouchi comments that he'd rather not hear that from Mai. (And then turning back to fight.) So hey! We just turned the scene that makes Mai's crush apparent into something... Else.
This scene was really hard to get in there; it wasn't until I noticed that people were actually being tossed around by the holograms (Though it makes sense given the amount of 'solid' going into the 'solid vision') that I got the idea. Because really, that looks painful. I was happy I could do that though, because in all honesty I liked the scene.
Somehow, it turned into more of a failed-encouragment speech than a touching one though. BWAH?
For some reason, everytime Jonouchi refers to Mai, he calls her by her full name. It seems a little redundant, but I left it in, because in some ways it emphasizes the fact that he really does want nothing to do with her at the moment.
Also for some reason, Kaiba had Blue Eyes in his hand the entire time in the manga. He just didn't summon it. Most would think he would, what with his love for the card, but then I realized... He probably didn't think that Jonouchi was worth even that! In the fanfic's case, it's... Similar I suppose. More that it's not a 'real' battle in her eyes, and that's really not something that Blue Eyes should be bothered with. Or maybe it was because of the last chapter's goals- both people were simultaneously testing the other after all! ...
Or something. On a more nit-picky artist note, when Kaiba crosses his arms in that panel, his fists are clenched and under each elbow. For some reason, I couldn't stop staring at that. It was one of those things that made me say 'Well...If... If that's comfortable I guess...'
Another interesting note, technically Blue-Eyes' attack isn't called 'Burst Stream of Destruction', it's simply called 'Burst Stream'.
For some reason, after the duel, Kaiba speaks to Yugi about defeating Pegasus. Whether or not this is based on earlier questioning or not is a little out there, but it's one of those things where it's like 'why aren't you telling Jonouchi that...?' Then again, Kaiba doesn't even see Jonouchi as a person persay in the manga... Possibly the anime as well...
Also, if you had doubts about Kaiba being a complete douche-bag, be reassured! Holding Blue-Eyes the entire time... Man... Way to kill the mood. Course, in the end, someone else managed to take that title... (And it makes me feel really bad, because I like that character. I should not be pulling them down to douche-bag-dom.)
Jonouchi's amazing theft of speech is brought to you by his dream; as the dream was using dialogue from a battle that already happened, the fanfic's version ended up doing the reverse. So Jonouchi decided to take it as a sign and just remind Kaiba of the reason he was there. Also, I was being silly at the time, but you didn't really need to know that.
Lots and lots of dialogue changes here! In the manga for example, Jonouchi obviously doesn't complete Kaiba's sentence. (Which was originally 'you're too much of a loser to even stand'.) Rather, Jonouchi completely deflates, Yugi quietly asks 'Why?' (Well Yugi, he tried to kill you once...)... And Anzu comes over and starts reaming Kaiba out.
Kaiba ignores her of course. But he doesn't interrupt her either, which is fairly interesting given that Kaiba has a habit of cutting off everyone but the female cast. To sum up Anzu's amazing speech, she says 'Who cares what you think? What do you know?' and then after saying he doesn't know what Jonouchi's going through (In the manga, this made me laugh actually, as while yes, Jonouchi goes through some terrible crap, Kaiba's brother is literally between life and death on this. Shizuka... Not so much, asshole-ish as that sounds.), tells him to stop saying whatever the heck he wants. (IE, 'STFU, KAIBA'.)
But in this case, Jonouchi took the 'I don't care' line. Which is obviously a lie on his part, given that Jonouchi does indeed care about what's being said but at the same time, since he wasn't dueling for outright vengeance as in the manga and anime, he's not feeling as completely shot down. And the fact is, they are fighting for the same thing right now, so really, he can't just blame Kaiba for wanting to go right off the bat- not when he's thinking clearly enough to realize all that at least. (Not to mention that Kaiba's general mood was partially expected on his part, and now that he's got a clear enough head to know that...)
In the end, Anzu still gets her speech in a way. But it stings, it REALLY stings; this is Kaiba's brother guys. Kaiba puts that kid on a damn pedestal, you take Mokuba away and... Well, things get messy. To even suggest that Seto is less of a sibling than someone who is, at least in her eyes at the moment, a mutt that was pulled in off the streets is... Unthinkable. And shocking enough that Kaiba doesn't even have a response to it... Because the fact is, there's no defense for it at that moment, and she knows that. Hell, she almost killed Mokuba with that penalty game, something that would have rendered him clinically insane in the best case scenario, so regardless of what she remembers of Jonouchi, she remembers what she did to Mokuba before her coma.
And it doesn't make for a good defense when coupled with the pictures that were placed on the side table. Instead, it's something that's more likely to scare Kaiba... Not something to tick Kaiba off. After all, she really can't honestly tell herself that she's the better because in her mind... She isn't. Not after all she remembers doing, that's for sure. It's actually why she doesn't make any comments on it for the moment- after all, who is she to doubt her brother after all the crap she put him through? And before you ask if Anzu would actually sink that low... Yea. Yea she would- because the fact is, not a single person outside Yugi actually forgave Kaiba for the events of Death-T until after they saw the guy face Pegasus off. And get his soul snatched. Didn't even come to mind actually... So... Death/Soul-abduction equates to forgiveness then? Huh.
Fratricide, mentioned above, is the murder of one's own brother if one didn't guess. And as a matter of fact, yes, this is actually the thing that clues Mai into Seto and Kaiba being one and the same... It helps that she's questioning people who are innocently spouting information that when pieced together. (So she's gathering facts such as Kaiba being 'Seto Kaiba', Mokuba being one of the lives Katsuya's aiming to save, etc... Doesn't really hit just yet though.)
You'll notice that for the explaination of Pegasus, a good part of it isn't from Kaiba's point of view. Originally, it was going to be... But the fact was, all of Kaiba's thoughts were things that couldn't be left out of the explaination for anyone to understand what was going on! So in the end, it made more sense to have Kaiba monologing the first half oddly enough.
Card Professors? As in YuGiOh R? That's right... That's probably where the term in YuGiOh R came from actually. In fact, I'm fairly certain that it is.
An intersting note; when Pegasus tells Kaiba that he'd be more than glad to work with him on the Duel Boxes in the manga (Not sure about the anime), he says that he took a look at a proposal... But after saying that he'd want to do it, Kaiba has a look of sheer horror on his face. It heavily implies that, unlike what Pegasus said, there was no proposal... However, Kaiba can't well say that outloud in front of an audience, can he?
Oddly enough, in one of the panels, Kaiba's expression of sheer shock and horror looks more like a look of sheer 'DO NOT WANT'. (Though at the same time, I wouldn't blame him.) In addition, his more human side is fairly evident when commenting on the entire thing having been turned into a comercial, as there's a sweatdrop right there as Kaiba stares in silence... You can practically hear him muttering 'Wait... what..?'.
It's hard to write a scene right after people's characters have effectively been flipped; after all, Jonouchi was absolutely livid by the end of that duel... Not to mention legitimately paranoid about his own ability. And of course, it's not likely that anyone caught the smile that Kaiba gave... And that smile exists; it's actually the only thing that made me dead set on putting it there. (Until I checked that part over, I was wondering if I should do something small like that. Apparently the manga beat me to it. Shoot!)
Back to the MANGA. When Kaiba tells the guards to call Pegasus, I left it as 'Seto Kaiba' rather than 'Kaiba Seto'... But trust me, in reality, it was the latter that was said. On a more written note, you can practically feel the rage seeping out from the manga at that time- even if the amazing scene was cut in two.
That's right- that scene with Kaiba was cut clean across Jonouchi and Ghost Kotsuzuka (Bonz)'s duel... And across the two-on-two match against the Meikyuu brothers as well! I left it as is though; because in all honesty, it does make for a decent amount of time away from the action... Plus, I'd rather not end a chapter with a show of gun-play (And those who know what 'invisible guns' mean in the dub will know that there was gunplay there as well. More epic in the manga though.), and at the same time, putting two big duels in one chapter is just silly. Even if the one at the top was the bottom half of it. (That's why this chapter is slightly shorter than the norm. But honestly 10,000 words per is insane anyways, so I shouldn't whine to myself.)
Instead we see people talking... As a side note, I can't tell if Jonouchi is OOC or not in this chapter... While all of the reasons for him to be perfectly calm in the duel make sense, I still can't help but feel paranoid; most likely because all the reasons he's doing stuff right now have effectively been switched around... So I have next to nothing to base his mood on! AHAHA...
I really liked typing out that second dream; see if you can guess what sorts of things it's foreshadowing... Also, the reasoning behind the dream even being there... Well, aside from reasons concerning what it foreshadows, I needed to put just a smidge of fear into place. Or at least have Jonouchi going 'SCREW FEAR I HAVE A JOB TO DO'. Something like that. He seems to fluctuate back and forth between the two. A lot. While it seems like something that would make for convinient plot issues, it's actually fairly common in real life. Think on it; when was the last time you went through something without thinking in the back of your mind 'absolutely nothing will go wrong'. Heck, I'm writing this now thinking 'Oh god. Oh god what if I royally screw this up?' And then I get your beautiful reviews... And everything is made ok~
That's another chapter done! Hope you enjoy it, and for the next one, expect to see some zombie fighting! (Sadly, Kaiba won't be anywhere to be seen for a small bit...)
And on a side note, I'm thinking of
sketching each 'version' of Kaiba that Yugi
would have seen way back when she showed up
during his duel against the Ventriloquist.
Like... Every single one.