Silent Conversation
The sunset was a wonderful sight to see, from the balconies of his castle. The ocean would be dyed a deep violet, with streams of pink and pale orange lining the red-tinted sky. Pegasus however, was not looking at the magnificent sight as he sat in his chair, back turned to a window that was closed shut with elaborately designed curtains. Instead he leaned against his chair, flipping through a pile of cards with a calm smile across his face.
Such marvellous cards these were... So special that he simply did not release them to the public in the end. A few made it of course... But for his personal ones, his favourite ones, they would never be shown to the public world eye. Pegasus sorted through the cards, quietly humming to himself as silence sat around the room. Mokuba had of course been moved from the cells after the 'reveal' to dear Seto... There was no sense in using unnecessary means to keep an eye on him after all. He had to say though... The woman's more prominent thoughts had been interesting to say the least, and at the memory his eye narrowed slightly in mirth.
"Hnhnhn... Dear dear Kaiba," he muttered, pausing in his card sorting to sigh. An intense worry for Mokuba that he hadn't seen in anyone for a long time... More so than when he'd spoken to the 'Dog' that the siblings had for security even, though between siblings he supposed it was expected. To think though, the woman assumed he had a weapon aimed at her brother! Really!
He'd already done all he 'could' to remove any possible problems the boy would pose... Weapons would be useless! Pointless! And messy... He would rather not have blood on his floors, even the stone ones. He gave another sigh, still smiling. So interesting though... She'd guessed instantly what it was he knew, and had created all those things to get around revealing more... And it would all be for naught, he added with a smile. All for nothing...
Pegasus' thoughts were cut short as the phone to the side buzzed. "Hnn..?" The smile faded, and he placed his cards on the table to turn on the speaker. This phone would only receive numbers from his hired hands... Which meant... "Yes," he asked as he picked up the phone, listening for whoever was on the other end. Good news perhaps..?
"Mr. Pegasus," stated Saruwatari, accented English coming through the other end. Aha... Very good news! "The match between Yugi Mutou and Seto Kaiba has just ended." There was a pause, as though Saruwatari himself was unsure of what had happened. "...The winner," he finally stated with a slight cough, Pegasus holding back from his intended statement of 'go on...',"Is Seto Kaiba." There was more silence for a moment, Pegasus merely smiling with a narrowed eye. Kaiba-dear... Well, wasn't that interesting. "...Shall I let him into the castle," he asked, his employer smirking in response.
"But of course~," he stated with a smile, leaning back in his chair. Hands folded in his lap and the man crossed his legs, giving a mock sigh. "My... What a turn of events..! I wouldn't miss it," he stated with a shout, grinning. "Bring him in immediately," Pegasus continued, not even skipping a beat when it came to cloaking Kaiba's gender. It was so much more fun after all, when there were mind games involved... Much more fun, to watch and see how a paranoid 'Kaiba-dear' would act. The eye narrowed further, his smile darkening into an almost villainous smirk. "Be sure to show him directly to the duel arena... Understand," he added lowly, nothing but silence on the other end. "We can't keep our Dear Seto Kaiba waiting after all..."
He assumed there was a nod on the other end with Saruwatari's next words, the man completely missing the implications with the word 'dear'. "Yes sir," he stated seriously, sounds of footsteps dimly audible over the phone. "Right away sir!" With a sharp click the phone disconnected, Pegasus clicking the switch controlling the speaker before leaning back in his chair.
"Hnhnhnhnhn... My my..." The man turned to the side, looking towards where his 'guest' had been standing for the last hour or so. The boy merely stared blankly, not responding to the words he spoke... Merely standing in the same position he had been left in. "It looks as though your dear sister has gotten her wish, 'Mokuba-boy'..." The man continued to chuckle as he gathered his cards, millennium eye seeming to react to the upcoming duel. A pulsing energy shuddered through the room... Cards gathered, he continued to speak. "Her next opponent will indeed be me..."
On his terms though, he mentally added with a smirk. These 'dueldisks' would simply not do! "Don't worry 'Mokuba-boy'," Pegasus continued, standing up to leave the room with the cards. "Soon enough you'll be able to see your dear sister again..."
In the card prison he had created that was... "Hnhnhnhnhn... Come," he 'ordered', the boy blinking in response. Walking past the boy, he opened the door to leave, knowing that Mokuba was listening despite lack of response. "We're going to meet with your sister..."
The response was nothing but silent footsteps behind him as he moved down the hall, but then, that had been expected. The smirk continued to play across his face as he moved to set up his duel, eye glinting coldly in the hall light. Time to play a Shadow Game... 'Kaiba-dear'...
The wind had been pressuring at the wall of that tower. Far softer than before, during the duel itself, but still enough that she was hardly believing the fact that she hadn't been blown down before Yugi made his move. And his move, his decision was... 'I'll do it,' her opponent had shouted, expression set with the decision and making no move to betray his actions. Show no mercy then... Do it... Do it..! 'Elven Knight,' he had continued loudly. 'ATTA- Gkhk!'
She had only stood there for moments waiting for the strike that never came. Across from her, Yugi collapsed, as though fighting off an intense wave of pain. Grabbing his head, tensing on the ground... The woman narrowed her eyes as the boy continued to stare at the ground, almost shivering. What was he doing..? Where was the attack?
"Tch..." Soft, almost inaudible sounds came over the field, her eyes narrowing further. Crying? That was what it sounded like at least... But crying! Her opponent was crying now? Time passed... Seconds, minutes, and finally it came to her turn. "Blue-Eyes," she commanded, eyes narrowed as the win came into view. She couldn't feel excited about this... All she felt was a cold detachment from the battle itself, a desire to put this as far behind her as possible. This fight wasn't for her... It was never for her, and as such it was little more than an obstacle to cross to find and Mokuba. And as such, she would end it now!
It was never a duel. Never... "BURST STREAM!" Her dragon reared the third repaired head, blast of energy gathering in its mouth. White light had filled the arena... Spouting forward to an almost blinding extent in the now night sky. Yugi's lifepoints dropped to zero and her dueldisk clicked off with a loud 'beep'. Seto pulled the disk back, removing it from her wrist silently as a blank frown came over her face. Pathetic... Pathetic... She tried to convince herself that this was what Yugi was, that this was the reason... But why... Why?
Why the hell had he stopped that attack! One step and she was back on the tower and out of danger. A few more steps and she was picking her briefcase up off the ground and opening it up with a loud click. The disk was packed back into the briefcase that sat along the sides as the winds died down, and in a single motion she had the cards from the deck holder, disk, and ground. Gathering them back into a deck, her cards sat in her jacket's breast pocket once again, and as the case before her was clicked shut she turned briefly on the group before her.
Tears, nothing but tears... Why... 'Kaiba-san could have died,' the boy was crying, Seto's eyes narrowing as the honorific was noted. Sometime's 'san' other times not... Tch... What was this then, a case of some stupid personality take over? She didn't know what Yugi's issue was... Maybe he had a mental disorder, something, some kind of problem that had him do one thing than then say another... But there were definitely 'two' people in there so to speak. This Yugi, the one huddled on the ground in pieces...
And the one who, without a doubt, would have attacked her. Killed her without remorse and moved ahead regardless of the words of the others. Picking up the starchips on the ground with a grimace, she didn't know which fact she detested more; that her fight had effectively been interrupted in the only legal way possible, or that it had taken that interruption to change the course of the duel. Yugi's eyes with those words... Vicious, with the strong desire to win... Eyes that she'd found familiar to her own... Familiar enough that, she realized with a silent growl, it appeared that he had done exactly what she would have 'as predicted', rather than proving her wrong as he always would... Exactly what she had predicted...
A prediction that, she recalled with a jolt, had involved actions that ended up with her almost killing her own brother. Seto turned to face the group with a glare, pocketing the starchips and scowling. Death-T... "You showed weakness in the end," she stated with disgust, fists clenched as the group looked at her with mixed expressions.
For the most part there were frowns... Even the blond had one, though that in itself made her feel a little more detached from the annoyance that resurfaced with his presence; she still didn't know who he was... Couldn't remember what he meant to her, whether he was worth anything or not. At least this way however, it mattered only little, if at all. Yugi's face was still twisted with grief however, and as she continued to stare the boy down her eyes narrowed further regardless of that slight relief.
He showed weakness... Interfering on his own duel, collapsing into tears, and yet that wasn't why she felt angry. The real reason... The main reason... If she could even pin it down... She grit her teeth, continuing. "It cost you your win... If you'd had the resolve to push me over the edge Yugi, you would have won." Seto's gaze remained relatively unchanged as she continued, looking at the boy's eyes without a speck of remorse. Pathetic... He should have just let her die, maybe give him something to really cry about. Rather than reminding her of that hated day months before. Rather than sitting there and crying like a child, making it even more difficult to believe in his age. At least she wouldn't have had to watch him curl in on himself.
Of course, she added as an afterthought before speaking, who would be there to cry at any funeral she had given the current situation if she had died..? Who... "You would have moved on to that castle with no problems," Seto stated, Yugi still staring back with tears streaming down the sides of his face. Instead of moving ahead however, he'd pulled himself back... Pulled himself far back and now the moron would have nothing to show for it, nothing but tears and whatever the hell kind of memory it was that Yugi was apparently fighting for this time. He always had something after all... ...Pathetic. "Caring about the enemy's safety is the most moronic thing you can do in this situation," she decided, turning away slightly. "Let that be a lesson to you." Don't play games that weren't intended to be won no matter what. This wasn't some manga where 'defeat' was synonymous with 'friendship' or some other crap; this was real life, and it just so happened that real life had decided to give them nothing but bullshit. This was a time where the goal had to remain in sight no matter what...
And this... This was not the place for someone like Yugi. Not the place for someone who switched persona at the drop of a hat and contradicted themselves just as quickly. "S... Kaiba," Jonouchi shouted from behind, the woman turning slightly in response. Hn..? Now what did the mutt want... She turned on him completely, staring as the blond's face grew red. "This is a GAME," he shouted, eyes narrowing. How often had she heard those words... "It ain't about murder!" Her eyes narrowed slightly; she never said it was... Honestly, what kind of bullshit did he think she was trying to pull... "I get that Mokuba's in there," the blond continued, Seto's expression betraying the slight pang of guilt she felt with that particular reminder, "And I'll do whatever it takes t' get him outta there as well... But that doesn't mean you drag this kind of bullshit into the match," he roared, Seto merely staring in response. "You don't need t' go an' diss the guy who saved your ass for it!"
For a moment, she said nothing, merely staring and taking in the information. Finally however, she snorted. Idiot... 'Just a game'? Don't make her laugh. He completely missed the point... "Moron," she muttered, eyes narrowed. "Games mean 'conflict', 'combat between enemies'," Seto stated with a mild glare. "They're all the same... Cards, chess... And the blood soaked wars that go on around the world as we know it..." She took a few steps forward, staring the 'mutt' down and continuing with a dangerously low tone. "They're all just different kinds of games, and you know what..? When this world was created, each person was given one thing, just one thing to play these games... A single chip called 'Life'. And when I threw that chip on the board," she spat, growling as she continued. "Your friend exposed all weaknesses he had in his own and lost pathetically..."
More silence. She wasn't sure why she was still standing there rather than leaving for the castle, leaving for her brother. She needed to move... Get him out of there... In the end, the blond before her spoke up again, catching her attention once more. "Is that so," he said, sending back a dull and neutral frown. "You're th' one who lost th' duel... You got that right," Jonouchi continued, muttering as he moved over to Yugi's side. "But it wasn't just this duel..." What..? Jonouchi helped his friend up, before turning back to face her with the same narrowed and neutral gaze, Seto merely staring back. "If life's a game, then you've got all th' rules messed up S... Kaiba. You said you have t'know yourself..?" Yes.. She did... "Then y' have t' face yourself too," the blond continued, his subject merely staring in response. ...What. "Stand up an' fight, no matter how tough things get... No matter what happens."
Stand up and- Oh please, don't start trying to teach her this bullshit now... She was hardly in the mood. Listening to those words gained a mixed response of annoyance and confusion really; the 'mutt' was obviously trying to say something, just what the hell was it though, she pondered with a mental growl. Her thoughts were stopped when, in the silent gap created with the last few words, the others decided to continue where he left off. "You bet your chip as if it meant nothing," Anzu spat out from her side, Seto turning to fix the woman with steady glare. Excus- What did she say! "You lost to yourself," she was continuing, apparently uncaring of the fury that Seto herself was now in. "When you realized you were going to lose, you decided to just end it all right there!" Nothing..? NOTHING? She was there for one purpose and one purpose only- if she could not fulfil that purpose... Then her chip really was worth nothing... How dare she twist this into some pathetic tantrum over a duel! These weren't even her preferred conditions... If it had been that, she wouldn't have given the option at all, and would have tried again to rub the moron's nose in defeat for once!
Winning by circumstance was one thing, she thought with a growl. But winning because of circumstance she created for the sake of her brother... If there was one thing she wanted never to do again, it was to be forced into such a situation yet again. She did what she had to... It wasn't her fault that someone couldn't make up his mind about that. Still fixing Anzu with a glare, Seto watched as the woman's harsh tone suddenly quieted slightly, the gaze softening. "Listen," she stated, eyes narrowed. "Real courage... It isn't pushing someone off a cliff if it benefits you... It's protecting what it is that's been given to you, no matter what!" Except she hadn't been fighting 'this' Yugi, she'd been fighting the 'other' Yugi, making the entire point completely moot! Protecting that chip...
If she couldn't protect her brother's life... Even that wasn't as bad as simply disregarding it and having someone else step in to stop it. And even that... Even that wasn't the reason... "The moment you give up," Anzu was continuing across from her, those around giving a nod in response as Seto's train of thought was lost once more. "That's when you really lose!"
Tch... Oh, how touching. Still. Moot. Growling, she watched as the tallest of the group (Honda was it?) moved forward, with a considerably less angered expression. "Don't forget Kaiba," the teen was stating, Seto fixing a dull glare his way in response. "If it wasn't for Yugi, that 'chip' of yours would be over the side of the cliff... And I doubt," he stated, the woman merely holding her tongue in response, "That even if you had lost this duel, your brother would want that." Shut up... Shut up shut up shut up!
If she lost the duel, her brother would be out of her reach completely, and Pegasus would likely gun her down as it was. Mokuba would be locked in a cell for all his life, and likely made to watch as she died... Better to die by her own hands than by- Oh that wasn't even the point! Why... Why did she feel so damn guilted about this? How was it that, in addition to already detesting the conditions she'd ended this duel with, she still felt like complete crap? Not the point, she tried to tell herself. It wasn't the point... The point was that this moron in front of her had just changed his mind half way through... Changed his mind from killing her to letting her live, when there was no reason for it. Weak... He was weak, and that was all- he couldn't stomach the possibility of getting his hands dirty, and it made him weak... That was all... She narrowed her eyes, watching as Jonouchi stood with the second dueldisk. "Tch... Say what you want," she spat out with a growl, turning to give a demanding glare to Jonouchi for the moment. There was a nod, and the dueldisk was tossed over. With one swift motion she was on the ground opening her briefcase to re-package the device. "Nothing changes the fact that they're the cries of a loser," she continued, closing the briefcase off and storming down the tower steps. "I'm leaving," Seto shouted, wanting nothing more than to get her brother, get out of there, and just get this all over with. Her coat flapped behind her as she moved, locket thumping against her front with each step. "And when you morons get to the castle," she added with a snarl, "I'll leave the remains of Pegasus for you to deal with!"
Time to get this over with... Over and done and in the past... Shoes clacked against hard cold stone as she moved past the stairs, walking toward the tunnel and attempting to clear her mind. She was there.. She was almost there, and Pegasus was next... Calm down, she told herself with narrowed eyes. Calm- She tensed, frown returning as a shadow stepped from in front of her. Oh great... A small and clearly sarcastic form of applause was coming from the shadow, and not even two feet ahead of her she stopped in her tracks. For the love of... Was everyone trying to keep her away from Mokuba? Really? She grit her teeth, narrowing her eyes as the man before her spoke in an accented and almost slurred form of Japanese. "Good show," the man before her stated, her eyes narrowing further as she recognised the voice. "You kicked that midget's sorry little ass! Hehehehe..." Now what could he be doing here...
"Mm.." She stared, her own voice laced with clearly evident dismissal as she answered the American. He was completely butchering the language... What the hell was he saying? "Well," she began, completely ignoring the comment on her 'play'. Honestly, it wasn't a win if she wasn't going 'all out' without the kind of crap she'd been forced to pull out there... That kind of duel was making even her feel nauseous. As for the one watching her... "I didn't know a prize hunting hyena like yourself could find their way to an island this far from the USA... Interesting choice of languages," she continued, slipping into fairly clear English with a dull expression. "But what are you doing here, 'Bandit Keith'?"
Keith merely smirked in response, apparently amused by the fact that he wasn't limited to Japanese for the moment. "Hehehe... Didn't guess? You were there too, weren't you?" The man continued to laugh, Seto's own expression held relatively neutral as the man continued. Great. Somehow, regardless of it being his native language, he was doing worse... "Let me tell you something, you rich bastard," the man stated with a crazed and almost frightening grin. She'd seen worse honestly... And 'bastard'? Not new, she decided as Keith continued. "I'm taking that prize... And Pegasus' head... For myself..."
She remained silent, the comment leaving little effect. Psh... Such a heavily slurred tone even in English... This moron was either drunk or hungover...
Not to mention loose a good number of screws she decided, only barely listening as Keith muttered something about 'rich kids not caring about prizes'. (Though it was true, she could really care less about the prize...) "Hey," the blond asked, a dark grin in place as he spoke again. "What you said out there, 'we're all given a chip called 'life'..." He snorted, wheezing laughter echoing around the tunnel for a number of moments before he continued. "This chip worth the same for everyone? For the poor and the rich both? Or is it just something you pulled out of your ass for the situation?"
As Keith continued to laugh, Seto merely smirked. Moron... She couldn't even be too bothered by his insults he was so pathetic... Hahhhhh... Mind as well get going then if he was going to be talking about that... "Mm... I thought that distinction was for you 'hyenas' to sniff out," she stated calmly, smirking and walking off with those words. "While you hunt for your next pile of scraps..."
"Gh..!" She rolled her eyes as the man muttered a few curses to her under his breath, walking through the courtyard to reach the door. "Well," he was muttering as she took out the chips from her jacket, ignoring the muttered conversation Saruwatari was having over the phone beside her. "Mind as well head inside the castle too..."
Hn! The smirk grew minutely, and she continued to fish out the ten starchips. By the time she was through, this tournament wouldn't even be able to run... Seto placed each starchip within the door lock with a click, watching as the lock clacked open and 'swallowed' the chips in an aperture-like fashion. Spaces now cleared for the next contestant, the lock turned swiftly in a full circle. "Lock Activated," the device stated with a computerized monotone, before the door itself swung open with an echoing bang. "Enter."
She would... Taking no time to pause at the entrance, she stormed through the foyer of the castle, all anger from the previous 'duel' doubled. Pegasus... She was coming for him now, and he had better hope he was prepared... Walking through the foyer however, she paused. Someone was watching her... Who...
"Excuse me," a man asked from the side, Seto's eyes widening from their near slit-like state slightly in response. Hn... What now... "Kaiba-san," he asked, the woman turning to face him completely, expression kept almost professionally neutral. "Pegasus-sama will meet with you momentarily for your duel," he stated calmly, hands gesturing to the side. "Please, follow me."
Ah... So this was an escort then... Seto nodded curtly, mood remaining relatively unchanged. Her rival was either literally two-faced even by normal standards or simply unable to fight... Her brother had been kidnapped by a man who could read minds, and that same person now had her own personal secrets dangling on a thread. Not to mention the aggravating comparisons that he was daring to assume... Needless to say. Not in the mood... Not in the mood at all. The walk passed in silence, and she was led to a single door labeled 'arena'. A few chairs sat at the side, as did a vase or two filled with foxglove... Hn... So Pegasus had built himself an arena then had he...
It figured. She crossed her arms, watching as the escort left with a muttered 'the door will open when the duel arena is prepared. Please wait here'. Tch... More waiting... Shouldn't this have been ready to start? The briefcase was placed at the side, and as she took a seat she found herself staring at the wall in well hidden annoyance. Pegasus' tournament... That was probably what was delaying this 'duel' really... According to the rules she skimmed while waiting all those hours before, there would be four finalists allowed into the castle. Keith was apparently one... And given the glove, so was the Mutt. Two more spots were freed... Make that one, she mentally corrected. After all.
She had no doubt that Yugi would regain the missing five starchips. No doubts what so ever. The only question was she decided, turning as the door to her side clicked open, was whether or not it would the a case of her 'rival' getting over himself and accepting the reality that was bloodied hands in a situation such as this... Or if he'd simply tagged along with the mutt, like a lost puppy. Or maybe even something else...
The door was open now, and the platform bridge to the center arena was now beginning to move forward. Seto walked out onto the platform that jutted from the entry, walking across as it moved to lock into the side of the arena. This device... Identical in every way to the 'arena' she'd built for Death-T... Seto narrowed her eyes at the reminder, grip on her briefcase tightening. Obviously Pegasus had found something in her mind that last time she came. The woman shook it off, frowning. Forget it... Forget it..! All that was left was Pegasus...
And that was all that mattered! Staring forward, her free hand fingered the locket around her neck, scowl fading. Hold on... Just a little longer... Hold on, and she swore it, she would defeat Pegasus and get him back... Mokuba... Her fist tightened around the pendant, before dropping it back down to sit around her neck. She would win... No matter what.
And if he didn't show up soon... Eyes traveled to the sides of the room, narrowed as she waited for Pegasus to appear. Watched... She felt like she was being watched, and not just by Keith; the moron was standing at the side, leaning against a railing from a hall above them. Staring down with a leering grin and an appropriately hyena-like chuckle while spinning something around in his hands. A balcony... It figured that Pegasus would have made room for private audience. There was someone else though... Someone else was watching, where...
Ahead of her, the door slammed open, three men stepping out and cutting her thoughts considerably short. Those on the sides merely stood behind the third impassively, one holding a case of sorts and the other with his hands behind his back. As Pegasus stepped forward from the door, only the guard with the case walked forward however, the second remaining stiff at the door.
Pegasus... She grit her teeth, ignoring the oddities of the guards and focusing on the man before her. This man... "Ahhh welcome~," he said with an apparently genuine smile, Seto making no attempt to hide any thoughts of loathing toward the man. Reading her mind? Have fun with that! Regardless of whatever he 'saw' as he came toward her, Pegasus merely continued with a laugh. "Welcome to my castle! So good to see you again Kaiba-dear~" Tch... As she clenched her fists at the 'dear' once again, the woman opted let Pegasus continue. Live with it... Not long now... Not long and Mokuba would be back, safe and sound... And with that done, she would fix everything... She would fix this all even if it took years... "I've been waiting for the day when I could battle a proud duellist such as yourself," Pegasus was saying, his smile abruptly shifting into a more sinister expression. "Right here in my own duellist kingdom..." He chuckled, and from behind the man's hair she could make out a gleaming golden eye. And eye that send a cold chill down her spine before she reigned in her fear and cast it aside for the moment yet again. Tch... Bastard... Stop talking and give her brother back! "Hnhnhnhn... No need to worry Kaiba-dear," the man stated with a smirk. No need to- Of course... He'd read her thoughts and knew what she wanted already then... Spit it out, she mentally muttered, Pegasus merely chuckling in response. Get this over with... "Once our duel is safely over, I'll give back your wonderful little brother..." And if he didn't, then 'safely' would have to factor out of the situation, she thought wryly. Again, Pegasus chuckled, before gesturing to the arena around them. "Now now Kaiba-dear," he said with a smile, eye narrowing with cruel mirth. Well, someone was enjoying this... What she wouldn't give to just wipe that smirk off his face... "Let's just enjoy the duel shall we..?"
"Tch..." Enough with the 'thought speak'! 'Enjoy'? The only part she would enjoy was smashing the bastard's head in with her briefcase after the match! "Let's go Pegasus," she snarled, watching as her opponent's smile darkened even further. "You've wasted enough time!"
Before Pegasus spoke, distant shouts could be heard from the side. Seto's eyes widened just slightly as she made out a few words, the woman frowning in response. Hn..? "Ahhhh," Pegasus said with a smile, turning to look at the balcony to the side. "It looks as though the four official finalists have been gathered to watch... Such a large audience, wouldn't you say..?" What..?
She turned, blinking with slight surprise as the shouts from the side cleared up. 'Kaiba-san,' Yugi was shouting, Jonouchi and the others right at his side and staring down with encouraging stares. The blond was shouting as well... All of them were looking down with... "Yugi..!" Why were all of them..? She stared, motionless for a few seconds as she rephrased the question to herself. How the hell did they get in? Nonetheless, turning back, she had to smile. She knew it... She knew he would be there. And if the look in his eyes was any given, he'd neither simply 'tagged along' nor lost whatever it was that made him stop that last duel.
Somehow, as she turned back to Pegasus with a frown, that didn't bug her. It wouldn't be 'Yugi' if he'd done that... Wouldn't be the same person she wanted to face in a true duel, the one who had beaten her twice before and would someday be repaid that 'debt'. "Now then," Pegasus was stating, cruel smile still in place as he stared the woman down. "Let's start our little game, shall we?"
She nodded, grip on her briefcase tightening. 'Little'? Tch... "Before that Pegasus," she snarled, watching as the single guard at the back adjusted something behind him. Odd... But for the moment she cared less. "Tell me- Where. Is. My. Brother?"
Pegasus merely chuckled, giving a dismissive wave. Ghn... Don't treat this lightly..! "Now now... Don't you worry Kaiba-dear... You'll be allowed to see him soon..." She narrowed her eyes, biting her tongue. Why didn't she like the sound of that... Gh... "Now," the man continued, eyes briefly passing over the briefcase. "About the means of our duel... I have a feeling you've brought an interesting contraption with you," he stated, Seto mentally rolling her eyes. Of course he had a feeling; he knew what she was thinking... As to how he knew that when she hadn't given that a thought for the moment... Tch. "Something called a duel disk...?"
By this point she had already placed the briefcase flat on the ground, opening it up to pull out one of the duel disks. "Hn! That's right," she stated, handing it over to the man and watching as he looked it over. She decided against taking out her own for now, instead watching Pegasus with a scowl. "We fight with this disk," she stated, "Or I don't fight at all!"
It was a weak threat, she knew that... Pegasus had her brother after all, and he could easily use that against her. Could easily threaten something against him should she not fight... Nonetheless... "Hnnn..." She continued to watch as Pegasus 'inspected' the device with an apparently curious eye. "Ahhhh!" Seto blinked, eyebrows raised as the man attempted a throw of sorts with an expression of apparent revelation. "Hup! ...Do I throw it like that?" She stared. Was... Was he serious... What was... She mentally shook it off, resuming her glare. Whatever... She already knew Pegasus was a few screws loose... "Hah... It looks exhausting," Pegasus muttered, wiping a fake bead of sweat from his brow. "I'm not very good at physical sports..." ...Many. Screws loose. Many many many- "How about this," Pegasus asked, his former expression of faux-worry changing to a significantly more severe smirk that stopped her thoughts instantly. "I'll fight you with the duel disk," he began, Seto's attention pulled to the guard behind him with a frown. He shifted with those words... Why... "But I'll use a... 'Proxy' of sorts to wield it for me..."
WHAT? A proxy? A stand in? Her eyes narrowed, but before she could even voice her complaints Pegasus smirked. "Now now," he said with a smirk, Seto merely bristling even more at the expression. "I'll be using the cards myself! It doesn't change the fact that I'm your opponent you know..." Yes... Yes it damn well did!
She grit her teeth, fists clenched as she left the second duel disk in the box. "No," she shouted, standing confidently despite the clear advantage her opponent had over her. "You'll use the disk yourself Pegasus, and face me one on one! NOW!" She would not be refused... She would not...
He was chuckling. Pegasus stood to the side, gesturing toward the door and shaking his head. "No no no... You see, I already told you I'm no good at that... Here," he continued with an eerie smile, Seto's eyes widening considerably as the guard to the back began to walk forward. A chain was gripped tightly in his hands, the 'leash' in question disappearing around the corner. 'Follow me,' the guard stated with an underlying tone of anxiety, the chain slackening as dull footsteps padded across the ground. The guard continued forward, position blocking the other side of the chain for a moment. "As promised... I'll let you see sweet little 'Mokuba-Boy'..."
Mokuba... The boy walked around the guard at that, eyes staring listlessly forward. What... What... "Mokuba," she shouted, charging forward only for the guard to block her way with a grin. Not even a response... Not even... Why wasn't he saying something... Anything..! She looked around the guard at her brother with wide eyes, before turning on Pegasus with a snarl. "PEGASUS," she roared, ignoring additionally enraged shouts from the side. "What did you do to my brother?"
"Hnhnhnhnhn..." A card was pulled from the man's breast pocket, and as he held it forward she felt herself grow weak yet again. What was this... What was he doing... "His body can't speak to you," the man stated, Seto gritting her teeth in response. "In fact, he won't even respond... You see Kaiba-dear," he said with a reptilian smile, the woman staring as Pegasus flipped the card around to reveal its front. "I sealed his soul in this card..."
What... What... Mokuba's screaming image could be seen clearly across the card's surface, panicked face staring outward with wide eyes. His hands gripped the bars of his paper prison, and staring at it with wide and horrified eyes Seto couldn't even move. Sealed inside a card... What the hell was this..? It was impossible, it had to be, and yet beyond all that she had proof right before her... There was... Nothing...
And he was still talking... The bastard who did this still dared to speak... Holding her brother's body and soul, separate even... "The Mokuba before you is a mere shell," he stated, smirking as he handed the disk to the boy. "But there's enough of him in there to listen when given an order by me," Pegasus continued, emphasizing that last word with dark humour. "Now my dear... If you can defeat me, I'll free his soul from the card." Would he really? Just what proof did she have that he was anything more than an invasive, gall-less... "And then you and he will be free to go..." he trailed off, Seto continuing to seethe on the spot, shaking and biting her tongue to prevent from worsening the situation any more than it could. Curse him... Curse him... Mokuba didn't deserve that... He didn't...
Leave him out of this!
"Hnhnhnhn... That brings us back to our match," Pegasus stated, motioning the boy forward and placing a hand on his shoulder. Don't touch him... Don't even think of- "If you insist on challenging me with the duel disk," the man continued, handing his disk to her brother with a grin, "I nominate Mokuba-boy to throw the disk in my place~! A wonderful idea, wouldn't you say... Kaiba-dear..?"
No... She swallowed, staring at her brother's soulless eyes (Damn it, it was literal.. It was...) and suppressing a shudder. Damn it all... What was he doing? Asking her to fight Mokuba, her brother... After all that she'd done... After all that she'd... Her eyes narrowed as the man before her continued to smirk, having obviously gleaned those thoughts from her mind as well. Bastard... Bastard... That thing... That was the one thing she could never do!
And the man continued to chuckle, shouts from the side drowned out as he placed Mokuba's card back in his pocket. "Of course," he was saying with a low voice, the woman before him wishing she could simply push him off the side of the arena right now (8 or so meters, that had to do it right..?). "If you don't like that idea, we can go back to my original plan and duel 'my way'..." Ghck... And of course, by his way, he would mean table-top duelling...
A sure-fire way to lose, but she had to try! She had to... For her brother's sake... "Pegasus, she growled, stepping back from the panels in the arena with her hastily closed briefcase. "I'll accept your conditions... But it is I who will win!"
The arena was cleared, the table and chairs appearing from within as her opponent merely chuckled darkly... And moments after, the game began.
Merely moments before, the situation he'd seen in the arena was definitely not something he could see happening. Far from it, in fact... He'd expected foul play, some kind of mind-fuck maybe, given who it was... Hell, the worst he had imagined it getting was Pegasus possibly yelling to the world 'Hey guess what, Seto Kaiba's female!', but when he thought about it, Pegasus would probably just hang that over her head and taunt her with it... Nonetheless, his mood had been far from expectant of what was soon to come. "Alright," he had said, grinning as the group headed toward the door for the castle. Saruwatari was only just closing the doors up ahead, the only one remaining in the courtyard between the hectic events of the day. "Time to show Pegasus a thing or two!"
There had been no answer to that other than nods and grins, the door standing mere feet away from them at the moment. "I'll go first," Mai had decided turning to give the group a wink. "Knock 'em dead boys," she said with an almost alluring smile, before turning back to the door and continuing. "I'll see you inside..."
The woman was stopped at the gate, along with everyone else, by the annoyingly familiar turn-coat-guard. "You again," he stated, arms crossed as he looked over the woman. He ignored the group only momentarily, but in the end apparently opted to address them as a whole. "You have all your starchips," he asked, Katsuya nodding in response.
"Yea," he stated, watching as Mai stepped forward. As the man warned them about only three more people being allowed inside, he turned to Yugi. "Listen Yug'... You go next, alrigh'?"
Yugi in question turned, before nodding at the request. "Alright," he said with a smile, turning back to watch Mai place her ten chips in the lock. The device spun completely, computerized voice confirming the chips and allowing Mai to push past the door. Following after, Yugi walked forward, holding his glove up for Saruwatari to see. "...I'm next," he stated somewhat confidently, chips giving off a dull glow in the lamplight. "Here... Ten starchips!"
The reaction was fairly expected... "W-What!" Saruwatari frowned, grabbing the boy's wrist and looking over the glove with a slight cough. The man hurriedly turned the glove over, ignoring glares from the others before dropping the boy's hand. "Tch... So you do..." He stood up, shaking his head and apparently banishing the thoughts from mind. Win some lose some really... "Alright then... Go right ahead!" With that Yugi again nodded, walking past and through the door with a nervous smile.
With those words, Katsuya came up toward the man, a steady frown in place. "My turn," he stated, holding up his fist. "Here yah go; ten starchps!" Saruwatari nodded, and as Katsuya walked toward the door he dropped the frown and smiled. "Alright," he said with a stretch, waving back to them as he walked inside. "Later then-"
"Hey, hold on," the guard shouted, Katsuya turning around to stop in response. Saruwatari pointed almost accusingly at the three others who were about to walk in, each of them turning to laugh nervously in at the glare recieved. "Just where do you three think you're going?"
Ahh hell, not this time. He scowled, walking back toward the door as Honda merely mocked the guard in response. 'You say something,' the teen was muttering, Anzu herself nervously saying 'Er... Cheering section?' Bakura nervously shrank back against the glare in the meantime, visibly biting his cheek. 'FORGET IT,' Saruwatari was shouting at the excuses, Honda rubbing his head and ear with annoyance at the outburst. 'ONLY COMPETITORS CAN ENTER!'
"Oh yea," Katsuya stated with a frown, tapping the man on the shoulder. As Saruwatari turned, the blond gave a dark scowl. "How about you shut up and deal with it for once!" A resounding crack came through the air as his fist slammed into the guard's nose, throwing the man back a few steps as he stumbled off the doorsteps. Taking advantage of the split second break, he took a more prepared stance. "Go on in guys," he muttered, ignoring Honda's mutterings of 'I can deal with it just as well as you can...'. "Somethin' tells me Pegasus' isn' gonna disqualify me f'r this if he let a scumbag like Keith in..."
Before Honda could say anything, the teen's mouth was covered by a frowning and clearly nervous Bakura, who nodded in response. "Got it," he said, pushing him inside while Anzu took off after them. "Please hurry though, Jonouchi-kun!"
As the three rushed in past the open door, Saruwatari turned around with a livid scowl across his face. Broken sunglasses clattered to the ground as the man lightly felt his now shattered nose, blood staining his face and tie. "You..." Well... Someone wasn't too happy about that. Was it too much to have hoped the punch would knock him out?
Katsuya merely smirked darkly, dropping his bag to the ground as he stared the man down. He probably should have guessed really. "Yea," he said with a shrug, shaking his hands off before curling them back into fists. "Figured I mind as well kill two birds with one stone, y'know?"
The man merely growled, reaching into his pocket for something. Something black and... He tensed, watching as the guard fumbled over a radio. Ack! Shit not that! The blond charged, forcing Saruwatari to throw up a hurried block for the strike aimed toward his neck. The radio clattered to the ground harmlessly, its owner far less than pleased. "Gh- Jonouchi," he growled, aiming a kick at the blond only for Katsuya to grab his shoulder for an easy flip to his back side and out of range. "Trust me when I say 'disqualification' would be mercy by this point!" Oh, like he wanted mercy from this guy!
He merely snorted, dodging the punch the man sent his way when turning around and slamming a kick into his side in retaliation. "Kinda figured," he shouted, grabbing the block Saruwatari threw again for his feint to land an uppercut beneath it. God, for all that this guy showed him up with in gunplay... His hand-to-hand sucked. "But y'know what," he added, grunting sharply as a hit landed across his face. Ow ow ow... Teeth... He forced his knee into the man's gut, watching as the guard stumbled back in pain. Kay, shouldn't think before the battle's over... Spitting a bit of blood on the ground and wiping his cheek on his sleeve, Katsuya narrowed his eyes. "Honestly, I don' care... I've been waitin' t' do this f'r a while since that stunt you pulled back at th' duel box..."
As Saruwatari looked up and attempted to regain his stance, Katsuya didn't even give him the time to react. Two hands balled into a 'volley ball' spike, slamming into the back of the man's skull as he continued to stumble backwards. Hah... No backup, Katsuya noted with narrowed eyes, grunting as he nailed the man in the gut to force him back again. Too bad nh? Finally, as the man angrily charged him in a last attempt, the blond gave one last, sound kick to the man's face and watched him collapse to the ground with a groan. Face first he fell to the ground, remaining motionless save for breathing as he lay there.
Katsuya stood there for a few seconds... A few minutes... There was nothing but silence in response, and only after he was certain the man wasn't moving he sighed. "Hah..." Man... That felt pretty good... All the same though... He walked over, putting a hand on the guy's neck just to make sure. Didn't want to kill anyone after all... Annnnd yep, there was a pulse! He shook his head, giving a smirk as he stood and turned back to the still open door. Alrighty then! He grabbed his bag off the ground, chuckling to himself as he headed toward the entrance and disappeared inside. "Heh... Haven't done that in a while! You can count th' stars around yer head Saruwatari," he muttered with a grin, before closing it behind him with a resounding gong-like sound. "Maybe if yer smart, you won't not be such a jack-ass next time!"
Mannnnn... Letting off that steam made him feel a lot better he decided. Though he had to say, if... That was what a 'trained guard' did... "Man," he muttered under his breath, walking through the foyer to find the others. "No wonder Mokuba was so quick t' hire me..." Coming up to the others with a grin, he waved, putting the thoughts out of mind. "Oiii! How you doing?"
The others turned, at the shouts, Mai smiling as she looked them over. Ignoring the question, she gave a curt nod before looking toward the far end of the hall. "Alright... Everybody made it then..."
He grinned, nodding furiously as Anzu eyed the slightly bloodied glove with a sigh. "Yep! Just as planned," he said, a few of the others staring incredulously in response.
"We had a 'plan'," Anzu asked with a deadpan, Honda coming up and clapping her shoulder.
"You know," he said with a 'matter-of-fact' shrug, moving forward. "I kinda learned to not ask..."
The woman looked at him with a glance that mirrored her incredulous stare, silent for a few moments. "Hah... Yea," she said with fairly evident sarcasm. "I guessed!" There was another sigh, before Anzu sent the thought to the back of her mind and turned back to the others. "Right! So," she said, following after Mai and Honda. "How about we move on then?"
Yugi nodded, turning to face the main hallway. "Yea," he echoed, before taking off down the hall at full tilt. "Let's go!" Hey! Wait for him! Taking off after the boy, the footsteps from the other soon came from behind, and before long the entire group was running at top speed to their destination.
All other doors and such were sealed off completely far as he could tell. Despite this, Katsuya noted, Yugi had a fairly clear idea of where to go. Coming down the hall took them to a wide and open set of twin staircases leading to a single hall upper foyer and floor. Charging up these stairs and through the only open door to the right however, took them to a hall with nothing but a single open entrance at the end. Walking through that particular path revealed a wide balcony of sorts rather than a hall or a 'room' however, the balcony itself facing an empty and expansive room. And waiting at the railing... "T-That's... That's Bandit Keith," Yugi shouted, the American in question turning to smirk.
"Hah! Well what a damn surprise," he drawled, chuckling as he continued to lean against the railing. "So you morons made it to the castle?"
Katsuya growled, holding his tongue for a second before letting it loose anyways. "Yea Keith, we did... Thanks f'r nothing with th' cave asshole!" As Mai merely raised her eyebrows ('What's this about,' she was muttering), he continued to stalk toward the man with narrowed eyes. His good mood... Was completely trashed yet again... Damn it..."I'm gonna rip out your god-damned throat you-"
"Oh keep your pants on why don't you!" He scowled as the American waved him off, continuing. "Fuck... Show's about to start, you can whine later!" Show? He frowned, stopping in his tracks a mere few feet away from the man. What show... Keith turned back to the room below the balcony, continuing. "Take a look," he said with a grin. "Rich-guy's about to get his ass handed to him!"
Wait what. He looked over the railing, eyes widening as he looked over the empty room. The floor sunk at least ten meters below the tower and platform in the center, the only ways out to it a pair of 'bridges' that were currently non-existent. This was... As the others came near the railing as well to look over, he swallowed. That arena... It was... "Damn," he muttered under his breath, watching as two 'bridges' began to move from either side of the room. "That thing's th' exact same as..."
"Death-T..." Yugi stared, before his eyes widened further. Identical in almost every way, all they were missing was the crowd of not so bright hundreds. "Ah-... Jonouchi-kun," he said, leaning over the railing slightly. "Look..!"
The boy didn't need to tell him twice, Katsuya's eyes already trained on the left bridge. Yea... He saw... The blond stared, watching as Seto steadily made her way across the still moving bridge before reaching the end just as it locked into the arena. The woman stood there, narrowing her eyes and staring at the door across from her in silence. He had a fairly good idea who she was waiting for. "You're just in time," Keith was saying with a grin, turning to the group with another harsh chuckle. The others paid him no mind, regardless of how loud he was. "We get to watch a duel between Pegasus and Kaiba! Hehehehe..."
Shit... So Seto had gone against Yugi... Only to end up in another all or nothing match? What the hell was the point of that besides exhausting her even more? ...Don't answer that. A voice came from the side, and they turned as another of Pegasus' hired hands came forward. The man had a thick patch of gauze on the left side of his face, but regardless of injury seemed to act as though everything was fine. As to where the injury was from... Not a clue. "That's right," he stated with a smile, coming up and addressing the group. "It's good to see that all of the contestants are here in one group! Welcome to Pegasus Castle!" Still smiling, he briefly looked over the others with his hands folded behind his back. "And it looks as though we have a few uninvited guests here as well," he began, Katsuya and the others tensing at those words. Shit, don't tell him that they'd be kicked out now... It was one thing with Saruwatari, but he couldn't just pummel mooks all day! The smile remained in place however, the man merely giving a slight nod. "Well," he stated calmly, "I suppose we can prepare extra rooms and meals!"
They stared, eyes wide. S...Seriously..? They were allowed... The man gestured off to the side, back at the arena before continuing. "In any case, we present you this special match! A welcome and a... 'Preview' of sorts from Pegasus-sama," he stated calmly, the others following his gesture to look back down below. "For you proud gamers who survived the Duelist Kingdom... And for those who followed along as well."
At the man's words, Pegasus appeared on the arena below, flanked for a moment by two men before walking forward with only one. The same man who greeted them was now leaving the room to some other task, but watching the exchange below he couldn't be bothered by that. "Damn it..." He narrowed his eyes, watching as the woman grew steadily angrier in whatever conversation she was having with the man. "There's gotta be a catch... There's no way Pegasus is just gonna agree to use th' disk system, it'd kill his entire strategy..."
Yugi turned, frowning. "You mean... Kaiba-san's disk system really will work..?" He kept his voice down, the others merely looking down at the arena in curiosity. "I know that Kaiba-san built it for this reason," he continued with a light frown, "But that it would be able to work around the Millennium Eye is..."
He nodded, also frowning slightly. "Yea well... Back when I got th' tape from Pegasus," he began, swallowing nervously, "Soon as he mentioned th' key, I put as much distance b'tween me an' th' screen. It seemed t' work," the blond continued, eyes narrowing as he thought back. "I can't be too sure but... He definitely seemed annoyed enough by it. An' he didn' figure out where th' key was, jus' that I had it..." Katsuya turned to Yugi with those words, watching as the boy blinked again and smiled.
"Don't worry," he whispered reassuringly, giving a small nod. "It's safe." Alright... He as well nodded, sighing in relief. That was all he needed to know really... Looking back down at the arena as Pegasus turned their way, Katsuya put up a determined and encouraging smirk. He didn't know if Seto would really appreciate it but... "Kaiba-san," Yugi shouted, a similar expression on his face as he leaned over the railing. "Go for it! For Mokuba-kun!"
Katsuya as well gave a shout, nodding in agreement with his friend as his encouraging grin grew further. "Don't wait any longer, S- KAIBA! He's waiting for yah!" Though the woman did not nod or give any distinct sign of listening, Katsuya had to stare; she... Did she smile..? ...Nah... Couldn't have...
He stopped blinking, watching as the exchange between Pegasus and Seto both continued. Pegasus' 'issues' with the duel disk could almost be humorous really... Almost. He grit his teeth, watching as the exchange continued on before tensing as the guard from inside Pegasus' door came out. "Oh my god," Anzu muttered from the side, the others following her gaze. "Oh my god it's the same as..."
The blond stared, shouts in the distance fading as he moved past the others to get a better look over the railing. Keith's damn body was in the way, but as soon as he was around it and beside the others... "No..." He... It couldn't be, he was just... Just tired right? He wasn't...
Katsuya grew pale, sounds and sights blurring into a slowed freeze-frame as the nightmare from the night before beat its way to his mind yet again. 'Where is he I wonder,' Pegasus was saying again, regardless of the fact that he was right in front of them now.
'Try looking in your deck...'
Pegasus was pulling something out of his pocket... A card... A...
'Or are you scared..?'
The expression on Seto's face was all he needed for time to snap back into reality along with his thoughts. Held back only by the well played foresight of both Honda and Bakura, he struggled, hands gripping the railing as he went red with rage. That... That monster... Screwing with his head and it turns out that... "PEGASUS!" His voice echoed around the room as he was pulled from the railing, attempts to charge it barely stopped by Honda's grip as Bakura nervously attempted to hold onto his own. "YOU BASTAAAARD! I'M MAKE YOU FGnhH! MGGGGMN!" Honda's hand clapped firmly over his mouth, the blond uncaring about the stunned stare that Mai was giving, the cruel and wheezing chuckle that Keith had for the situation. He struggled against Honda's hold as he was pulled back, back past the vases that lined the second entrance to the room, far back into an unlit hall and far from the events in the arena.
"DAMN IT JONOUCHI," Honda hissed, slamming the blond against the wall. He struggled against the hold, pushing forward only to be slammed back yet again in retaliation. Again he attempted to push against Honda's hold, struggling to find some way to get down there to just smash Pegasus' face into the nearest wall as many times as he possibly could, before being thrown back yet again. "Pipe down and calm down," the teen continued, finally pinning the blond with his arm by the throat with heavy and struggled breaths. "Calm down before you get everyone killed!"
The blond breathed deeply, eyes flicking off to the door. "Honda," he stated with an eerily calm tone, staring at his friend with wide and incensed eyes. "Let me go- GHN!" Again he was slammed against the wall, shaking his head and wincing. "HONDA," he said again, raising his voice before his head met the wall yet again. "ACCGH! God damn it Honda, stop that!"
"No! I won't," his friend hissed under his breath, leaning in slightly. "If you didn't guess you moron, Pegasus did that to get on both yours and Kaiba's nerves, and at this point going after him and proving he succeeded will do nothing but make things worse!" Before the blond could respond to that, Honda continued, lowering his voice from the hissed and whispering shout to a more composed point. "Listen," he stated, not easing his hold on Katsuya. "I know you're pissed; hell so am I! I owe that kid my life, and you know it! And after how I acted at Bakura's place," he continued, both teens thinking back to the 'monster world' events with a mental shudder, "I owe him more than anything... He did real good back then... A lot better than I did, that's for sure. But the fact is, if we act now," Honda said with a worried frown, shaking his head. "If we try anything even remotely similar to our normal tactics... Jonouchi, we're screwed. Plain and simple."
Katsuya stared, silent for a moment before Honda continued yet again. "Look," he whispered, lowering his voice even more than it already was. "You and I both know that Pegasus will do all it takes to keep us from getting to him. And," he continued, moving his headband out of his eyes and taking a nervous glance down the hall, "We also know that his eye does the same thing as, maybe even more, than Bakura's ring... Which means he could probably take our souls any time he wants!"
He growled, pushing against Honda's arm with narrowed eyes. "I got that," he muttered, struggling again. What did he think happened to Mokuba? And when he got through with the bastard he would make him regret every damn thing! "But that doesn't mean I can't go down there and-"
"Yes it does, now shut up for a second and listen!" Katsuya bit his tongue, doing just that as Honda slowly removed his arm from the blond's neck. "Look," he said, face barely visible in the dark hall. "You can't forget that he has the body and soul in a different place... That's how he got us here isn't it?" Before Katsuya could say anything to that, the teen clarified. "He took Sugoroku-jii's soul, and took Mokuba completely... But," he continued, narrowing his eyes "He 'apparently' offered them back, should either you or Yugi win... If you do anything now," Honda stated with a steady frown, "He'll probably call you on it and take you out right off the bat- he wants your key, but he doesn't necessarily have to beat you in a duel to get it!"
Another growl, and Katsuya rubbed his head. "Yea, I got that, but it's like y' said, he could do it anytime he wants right?"
Honda nodded, frowning. "Yea... But this way he can mess with your head... So he's not touching you until he absolutely has to," he continued, crossing his arms. "And if that's really the case, it means that if you play along through the duels, there's a chance you can avoid getting both the key and your soul snatched. Not to mention," he added dryly, smacking the blond upside the head. "EVERYONE ELSE!"
"Ow, fuck! I got it!" He growled again, before sighing and rubbing his head. "Shit... I just... I..." He swallowed, shaking himself and looking toward the hall. "He's right there... Chained up, with Pegasus using him like a living doll... It... It's just... Worse than even Bakura's you know..."
Another nod from the side, Honda's own sour expression falling. "Yea... Listen," he said, turning to the blond with a determined stare. "You and Yugi handle the souls; I don't know how we'll get around this whole 'mind-reading' deal, but the fact is, you both have the best shot. So focus on the duels, and stay out of everything else until the time is right. Me on the other hand," he continued, his friend blinking in response. "I'm gonna look for where he's keeping Mokuba's body first chance I get tonight."
The blond stared momentarily, before nodding. "Got it... Honda..."
His friend merely smirked. "Hey," he said, hands in his pockets. "I have a nephew you know... Might not be quite the same as a brother or a 'mostly brother'," he added with a raised eyebrow, "But it's close. I don't know how pissed you are," the teen continued, turning to look at the door a moment. "But all the same, no matter what, we've got to keep a cool head on this. Not to mention a clear one," he added with a wink, before a resigned Katsuya followed him toward the hall exit. Hahaha, 'clear head'... He'd almost laugh at that...
"Yea yea..." He rolled his eyes, attempting to inwardly calm down more than just what he appeared to have done. (Damned Pegasus... Gonna wring his pasty neck, he swore it...) "Jesus Honda, you're worse than Anzu..."
He snorted, giving a shrug in response. "Hah! You leave me to deal with her long enough," Honda said with a smirk, turning to face the hall exit. "You can blame yourself for that! Any ways... Any ideas on how to get around 'mind reading'," he asked offhandedly, raising his eyebrows.
Katsuya shrugged, smirking as he decided not to put much thought into it for the moment. More thought into beating the crap out of Pegasus... Those were good thoughts... "Eh," he decided with a shrug. "I dunno..."
"How about 'don't think'?"
AN: Whoooo~ Two chapters in one day? What is this madness? Well, I'm in the process of a move guys... It involves my mom and I driving across the country in a few days, which means that, as a result, I have copious amounts of typing time.
However, it also means that my internet is limited, and had I had more than an hour to edit the last chapter yesterday, it would have been posted then. As it is, though I prefer editing in FF, I'm currently using Microsoft Word... So you've probably noticed an increase in 'ou's, as the spellcheck actually works with Canadian settings in Word, and given that I'm Canadian...
Now then! Poll results, as per usual! (Even though there's no change.)
Crossdressing, Female Set - 9 (Two Anonymous Polls)
Obviously Female Set - 5 (Two Anonymous Polls. I got an e-mail...)
Male Set – 2
Also a very special note... As you know, I'm not focusing specifically on relationship so much as story... Extensive story. Because of this, we get a shot at any other relationships going on... Now obviously we've got Peachshipping here; that's Yugi and Anzu by the way, though why it's called peach when Anzu means 'Apricot' is beyond me. But there's also a matter of Shizuka...
Now... Here's the interesting thing about this. What with Shizuka and Ryuzaki both living in Osaka rather than Tokyo and Yokohama (For some reason, even though Ryuzaki was named as 'from the west' in the manga, he lives in Yokohama and speaks with that accent in the anime. Also, despite claims of living far away, Shizuka shows up fairly often after the surgery. HEH?), there's actually three options here... Keep in mind that Ryuzaki's character is quite different from the anime, as it's based solidly on the manga.
Effectively making Ryuzaki a loud, but still otherwise down-to-earth kind of guy. Now... I went over these with a few people (I'm not making another poll; as I'm finding with the above one, my gut feeling is starting to revolt against the results.), and the general standing decision was actually Ryuzaki.
Now, before I get belted in the head with tomatoes, This idea is actually fairly sweet; Ryuzaki is listed as a year younger than the others in the manga... In addition, since Shizuka is fourteen in the fanfic, that puts them in the same level of schooling... Highschool more often than not starts in grade 10 in Japan. If I go with this option, the ages will be stretched to their very limit; Ryuzaki will either be one of the oldest in the class for that year, or Shizuka the youngest... The relationship would be a 'We're not dating' sort of deal, which tends to involve lots of subtle bickering or otherwise. (This would also explain why Shizuka came across as a slight bit louder than normal, 'in character' Shizuka... I'm fixing that for next time by the way.)
Continuing on Ryuzaki (As this really changes things.), not only would this obviously pull him in slightly more (Not for Battle City or Noa though, that would be silly. Unless you all say otherwise of course, and I end up deciding it works.), but it would bring mass hilarities when Ryuzaki encounters Jonouchi in Battle City; if we go with this shipping (Which... Apparently has no name...), Ryuzaki's original intent would have been semi-identical to manga Jonouchi's reasoning in entering the Duellist Kingdom. Not only was the prize looking fairly good at the time, but as it turns out the 'one who harped at him in class all the time' was about to go completely blind and hey... If he wins, there should be more than enough to fix that right? (This ends up causing a separate branch of amusement when Shizuka finds out...) A sort of 'I'm not doing this for you' kind of deal when she's around. Otherwise, it turns into a 'Yeaaaa... She's pretty cool actually.' Of course, for maximum lul, Jonouchi will be completely oblivious to this for the first few minutes of conversation on this topic...
Basically, while talking, Jonouchi would be drawing parallels between 'the classmate' (As Ryuzaki calls her at the time) and 'Shizuka'... Before a name is finally mentioned, and the blond remembers that the two live in the same district of Osaka. OH BOY. FUN STUFF.
Now here's what I want you to do. Ryuzaki has no official first name, and if I go through with the above, I'm going to need one really really fast.
I have a few options in mind, but I can't quite decide. Most of them draw, to an extended point, from Ryuzaki's last name; 'Dragon' (Ryuu) 'Point' (Zaki. This is point as in landmass by the way.). The word for 'dinosaur', when not counting the one in katakana (Dainosoa) is 'Kyouryuu', or 'Feared Dragon'. Kyou specifically comes from 'kowaii', and can alternatively mean 'awe'...
At which point the real fun begins. Kyou has two kanji when used to mean 'Awe', and the second one has to do with benevolence and honor... In other words, the kind of name that would be very likely to be given to a Japanese son. There are a number of readings for this... But here's my question for you! Should I use that definition? Or should I find something else? The alternate reading that caught my eye was 'Kei'. (Ryuuzaki Kei... Doesn't sound too bad actually.)
Send in your comments, be it on the name or even on how terrible this idea will be... Personally this will add a fair amount of variance to the Doma Arc, and not the bad kind either...
Annnnnd on to other news... I probably should have mentioned this a while ago, but I have a FlipNotes account over on Hatena. Now... before you all decide that the fact that I don't do animation in 2D should stop you, I'll tell you this; I use FlipNotes for concept art. In other words, the notes will have a series of thumbnail images detailing possible 'full scale' art. In addition, one of the flipnotes is completely made up of profile shots... Granted those ones don't really look as good, but ohhhh well.
To the reviews! ... Which were answered last chapter!
NEXT.
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The guide that should really stop confusing you. It's mean.
Obvvvviously Pegasus didn't have Mokuba with him in the manga or anime... But you gotta remember, I've increased the creepy-meter by a fair bit in this fanfic... So yea.
It's even more creepy if you think about toon-shipping... (Pegasus and Kaiba...) HIHHHHHHH. Why does changing the gender change everything!
Phone scene was obviously lengthened a fair bit. Mostly for creepy, also so that I could still put the scene in; originally, it only took one page of the manga really... But at the same time... PEGASUS.
There's some flower symbolism in there! Foxgloves can be seen as a bit of a 'deception' type flower, as while they represent healing due to their use for medicine, they're also seen as a flower of death and danger... Foxgloves are 'digitalis', and have been known by many names with many stories behind them to keep children from eating them; even drinking the water from a vase of foxgloves can be fatal for a small child.
In any case. Yessssss... I used foxgloves as a slight bonus foreshadowing to the fact that Kaiba was effectively screwed. Just wait until later...
Interesting thing I noted while typing this chapter... Crush Card means you send all the monsters above 1500 attack to the graveyard, but with the current duel disk, there isn't one. So... Did Yugi just drop his cards on the ground or what..?
I had a really, REALLY hard time nailing the exact reason why Kaiba was so pissed with Yugi by the end of this. In the end, it boils down to a bit of a mixing pot... Most of the anger is actually really, really intense guilt (Ignored. Guilt. ); Yugi saved Kaiba's ass guys, meaning that she can move on to Pegasus and get her brother back (Or at least try). Then, she tells Yugi that she'd push him off the cliff first chance she got if the roles were reversed...
But Yugi doesn't kill her, or at least, the 'normal' one doesn't. This just packs the guilt on, and she does not want that. So she tries to convince herself that it's nothing but weakness. Yugi's crying at her feet, and she neither wants the blame for that nor wants to accept that her rival has effectively turned into a pile of mush (Albeit for good reasons)... She also can't accept that Yugi's turning into mush about possibly killing her. FOREIGN SUBJECT to her. Note that it's in caps.
In the end, her head comes up with these two options; one is that the two persona's just can't make up their mind, and that one is acting as a dark dark reminder of herself during Death-T; as she said herself in her head. After all... She would have pushed Yugi off the side without a thought, and the fact that Yami Yugi would have done that kinda says something about parallel personality traits. Of ick. Hence the 'weakness' of personality; either Yugi can't make up his damn mind, or worse, Yugi's falling into the same pitfall she did, from what she can see. This obviously isn't the case... (That would be terrible.) Though you can see how Yami Yugi's disproportionate retribution in early manga can transfer to those thoughts in Kaiba's mind, given that she doesn't know the reasoning behind the punishment. Not to mention she doesn't know about all the other penalty games outside her own and Mokuba's... Also keep in mind that this time around, that last 'not move' was driven by Yami's pure drive to win, and it was fairly obvious too. And... That was what fuelled Kaiba's insane obsession with Yugi in the first place, and still does, to some extent.
YIKES.
Of course, you can take the 'third option', which appears more prevalent near the end, in that the weakness of Yugi's apparent 'indecisiveness' is just that he isn't willing to do things like that to move for the goal. Unlike Kaiba who... Viced a guy's head in a briefcase. This option ended up winning out mostly, since it's likely rather similar (If not THE reason) to the 'whys' in the manga.
Personally, I'll leave it up to you as to what the 'main' reason aside from copious amounts of 'Damn it, why did he do that' guilt. Because trust me when I say, Kaiba is confused as hell as to why Yugi did that.
Course... Depending on the reasoning you decide on, both speeches used against Kaiba can either be right or wrong... Which makes for an interesting show of how so much of everything is situational.
And it's true! The point is partially moot when you consider the fact that technically the results were skewed; Kaiba should have died up there, meaning that technically the 'chip' wasn't being protected... Someone interfered, making the argument 'void' in Kaiba's mind. Or is that guilt making the decisions again..? Hard to tell at this point, as it's... Really hard to tell anything about Kaiba in that situation. Gotta remember, just two chapters ago she was laughing like a maniac.
Honestly, do you really think Kaiba would have considered that fight a 'real duel'? The win was completely unrelated to the fight in that it was basically 'forfeit your turn or forfeit your life'! Not exactly a fair battle, which is what Kaiba wants to beat Yugi with.
Fun fact for you 'dub' go-ers... If you didn't guess already, Keith kinda got a liiiiiiittle alcoholic over his loss to Pegasus... Not to mention crazy. Spinoff manga made him get a little better from his apparent death later on though. (He was still crazy.)
Language bonus was one part boredom, one part Kaiba figuring out if Keith was just really bad with Japanese (Saving her the troubles of trying to figure out what the hell he was saying, given that she was bothering), and a few other parts spicing the scene up. Because really, that scene felt so random in the manga, I don't even...
Kaiba's paranoid feelings are brought to you by reality! During the battle between himself and Kaiba, Pegasus has the Big Five sitting in their own private room, hidden by a two way mirror. It's directly across from the 'real balcony', and we see them (kind of) after Kaiba first walks into the room.
Oddly enough, despite the apparent hate, the smile Kaiba gives in the manga when he see's Yugi in the stands seems more genuine than smug. Yea, the eyes are narrowed slightly, but the smile is... Wow. Not fake, I can tell you that. (Maybe he was glad he came? HMM.)
That part with Mokuba on an arm leash... I didn't make that up. (End of story) On another note, not only did a majority of the conversation between Pegasus seem largely to be made up of 'mind-scan and respond' on Pegasus' part, but... Did anyone else notice the fun I had with him ignoring insults?
In any case; a 'proxy' is a 'stand in'. Ever heard of 'marriage by proxy'? Means that either the bride or groom couldn't make it, but they're still legally married even though someone else 'took their place'. Technically Mokuba isn't offered up as a proxy so much as a 'tool' though, given that Pegasus will still be doing the duelling himself... Just with Mokuba throwing the disk.
Or he would have if that hadn't been a dick move and Kaiba chose option 'Original'.
AT LAST. Saruwatari got what was his! Katsuya's flip-out isn't so much of a 'flip-out' as a 'You know what. You've ticked me off one too many times, and I owe you for kidnapping and manhandling Mokuba.' Those things tend to spark a beating by Katsuya in the manga, at least they used to. After a while it seems to become 'duel' instead of 'beat the crap out of'. (Not so much in the manga though...)
This scene partially came about from what occurred in the original manga; Jonouchi lands one blow from behind, knocking Saruwatari down face first... But his sunglasses are sitting at the side, which would mean they'd have to be knocked off from the front. In any case, as Jonouchi says 'you can count the stars in your head!' (Saruwatari originally said 'one person per ten chips'), Anzu says 'Is this ok..?'
Quoth fanfic Honda: 'I've learned not to ask questions'.
Crocketts! You're baaaack~ Guess he didn't have a concussion. (Ahahaha.) Oddly enough, it seems I was wrong in assuming the injuries 'didn't exist' in the manga; though you didn't see bleeding when he was taken hostage, the moment Crocketts' makes his reappearance, you can see a thick patch of gauze on the side of his face where Kaiba hit him.
That man loves his job, I have to say.
As to why his demeanour magically changed between the group above and with Kaiba... One, he knows Kaiba's screwed as hell, and is probably quite happy about that. Two, he figures Yugi and Co. legitimately are Pegasus' expected guests, knows what the tournament and such are about, and also knows that they're not 'really' fighting against anything... So he's treating them as a proper host should. Since they'll be screwed in the end.
Gotta remember though, Crocketts has nothing against anyone save (for obvious reasons...) Kaiba. So... That's another verrrry big factor into this.
The scene in the dark hallway was inspired by the 'dinner conversation' that takes place in the chapter 'the eve of the battle'; Honda calls Jonouchi out on being horribly hypocritical when the blond asshole-ishly says that Mokuba and Kaiba both 'had it coming' in regards to their souls being snatched. Honda then compares the situation to Shizuka, and mentions his own nephew (This part was used in an earlier chapter), and then asks Yugi to save the brother's souls. Yugi agrees, but mentions that their bodies might be imprisoned...
At which point Honda mentally states/monologues/somethings that he'll handle that part.
In any case, the scene took a surprisingly weird tone, involving Honda's interestingly cunning side coming into play; if you look in the manga, he not only does a fairly good job of sneaking around the castle, but in coming up with a plan to get past the guards on the fly. Too bad he didn't think about them possibly coming back before he was done... Not to mention that he was kinda shouting for Mokuba to wake up... (At least he knows that the... soul... is gone.) (Though Dark Bakura helped him out there. Hihhh.)
In any case, for a guy who not only never duels but is apparently crap at it, he's fairly strategic. Remember, he came up with the tactic in Death-T's 'shoot out' level to get rid of two guys with one gun right off the bat in the manga. Also, he tends to be right there whenever Katsuya flips out... So it's fairly likely that not only would he put one and one together when it comes to the millennium items, but also be... Right there... When it comes to Jonouchi spotting poor soulless Mokuba.
As to why Seto didn't hear that, she was kinda busy dealing with her own inner 'Blue Screen of Death' with regards to the sight of her brother... Soulless... Chained to a guard with his image on a prison card.
Also yes, this does mean that Jonouchi missed the entire Kaiba duel. As for that duel, it takes place next chapter, so have fun guys!
Until next chapter!