Settling Back Down
There weren't too many words to describe what happened during the next few days. After Katsuya finished his 'story' so to speak, everyone had fallen silent. They were tired after all... By the time the helicopter left it was late into the afternoon, so at the moment it was well into the evening. By the time they got back to Tokyo, only Bakura was still awake, lightly shaking the others awake as they landed at the hangar for the helicopter itself. Listening as the copter powered down, they'd watched as Mai picked up her things and left the copter, hopping out to head to a subway station and later take a train home. 'Tell your friend I appreciated the lift,' she had said with a smile, before disappearing just as Seto herself came through the door. By the time one had left, the other was busy herding them off the copter... And although Mai somewhat escaped the glare and questioning, they didn't, given that it was fairly evident that someone had stowed away on board the copter. Mokuba however, thankfully acted as buffer for the angered comments as the others were sent home... Kinda.
While he liked avoiding any questioning, the fact that it was stopped by Mokuba insisting on a hospital call wasn't really something he enjoyed. The others headed home rather soon of course, fairly confident in the fact that if he was still there they could visit but... He could handle himself damn it! He was alive now, six hours after getting shot at, he wasn't about to die after that, right? Apparently not; and it was likely his annoyance on the matter that had Seto herself calling up the one remaining chauffeur she knew on the 'new staff' to get him to the place. Or maybe it was for Mokuba... Or even Mokuba's words from many months before. 'I take care of my employees,' he'd said back then, and again when handing him a shoebox later that day. 'Just like my big sister does.' He couldn't get mad about that honestly... He really couldn't, not after all that had gone on. The blond groaned, giving a yawn as he walked to the school the next morning. Even so... These shoes were pretty damn uncomfortable, compared to his well worn 'Air Muscles'. So what if they had a hole in the front, he liked those shoes... Not to say he wasn't grateful or anything, but even so... He winced as they squeaked along the ground, tapping his toe against the front steps before switching them out for the familiar slippers that everyone else in the building wore. Alright... That was a bit better...
"Ah, Jonouchi-kun!" The blond turned, grinning as Yugi walked over from where he'd switched his own shoes out. "I thought Mokuba sent you to the hospital..."
He snorted, a grin still on his face as they walked toward their classroom. Yea he'd been in there but... That was yesterday! He was fine now, and had been fine the day before... "Hah! Like I'd be stuck there!" He stretched somewhat, bag held over his shoulder as they continued walking down the hall. Missed two more days of school, probably wasn't much of a problem though... Right... He pushed the thoughts back, instead continuing the conversation with a grin. "Sides, not like there was much t' do... Just a small cut, didn' even hit anythin' big!"
Yugi bit his lip, looking up at the still bandaged area in question as they entered the classroom. It was still healing of course; his feet were in similar condition, which was probably part of the reason why his shoes were so uncomfortable. The bandages in question, weren't nearly as thick as the night before though- Though it still made for one obvious injury. Ah well, he'd have a cool scar right? ... Hidden by his hair... Damn it. Despite that glaring fact, his friend was still very much worried about just what could have (And possibly had) happened. "Erm..." The boy nodded slowly, still not quite believing the words. "If you say so... There was a lot of blood though..."
The blond shrugged, moving over to take his seat. Yea, but that was nothing... Washed out easy enough hadn't it? His green jacket was forever stained of course but hey, nothing too bad. (Course this was a little more than the standard...) "Eh, it's fine..." Katsuya dropped his bag on the ground, watching as the others in the class slowly came into the room. It was all slightly surreal, spending the last three days on an island with next to nothing no matter what the surroundings only to be going back to school. The blond leaned back on his seat, before blinking as he spotted one of the others they'd stayed with on that island in question. "Oiii!" The teen at the door turned, blinking. "Honda!" Yugi turned as well as his friend shouted, Honda in question waving from the door as he came over.
"Hey..." He grinned, leaning against a nearby desk as Anzu joined from the door as well. "Looks like you escaped the hospital!"
He snorted, crossing his arms. "'S one way 't put it... 'Sides, not like me missin' two days 'f school is that big a deal!"
"It was still creepy," Honda added seriously as they recalled the few days he'd skipped, Anzu rolling her eyes from the side as they were joined by Bakura.
The albino in question frowned, putting his backpack by his desk and looking at the others in confusion. "What was creepy," he asked, blinking. Oh right, he wouldn't know about that...
Honda shrugged, shaking his head at the question. Looked like he was going to remain out of the loop too. "Eh... Nothing much really," he said, bag dropping to the ground. "So," he asked, changing the subject fairly quickly. "How's your sister Jonouchi?" His si- Damn it Honda.
He held back a frown, the grin dying for a moment before answering the question. Honda was not coming anywhere near his sister, no where near... And thankfully, he reassured himself, there was a 10,000 yen train ticket in the way of that happening should he miraculously get her address. Which she couldn't. Back to the matter at hand... "I talked t' her las' night," he said with a slight nod, recalling the conversation he'd had. 'You can get yer eyes fixed,' he'd said with an unseen grin while on the phone, the girl on the other end balking in surprise. 'There's still a chance, trust me!' It took a bit to convince her that he hadn't done something stupid to get 16 and a half million yen in the end; apparently the fact that he'd come in 'second' in a gathering of top duelists at a tournament was hard to swallow, but even so... Helicopter had gotten back early the morning before, so in the end he'd called Shizuka the first shot he had getting out of the hospital. With some help, he'd had the money sent over to his mom's account, and everything was set up... "She's goin' int' surgery on th' 20th," he continued with a smile, the expression growing into a relieved grin when he thought back to the elated shouts from his sister when the fact that she could have the surgery had finally hit her. "Next Wednesday."
"The 20th..." The others turned as Bakura frowned, a hand on his chin for a moment. "For something as delicate as her eyes, that would mean recovery will take weeks..." Yea. He knew that. The frown deepened, the teen continuing on as the others grins faded into more blank expressions. "Even if it wasn't that long, that extends far beyond the holidays..." Yea. Exactly.
The blond shrugged, a wry smile in place. "Well... Not like I got t' spend too many Christmases with her anyways..." He'd kinda gotten used to it. Though he didn't even have his dad for this year... The thought was pushed out of mind again and he coughed, before turning to the others and replacing the smile with a more honest grin. "So! Speakin' 'f Christmas, what are you guys doin'?"
There was a small silence as the others shared glances, Honda speaking first. "Just the usual for me," he said, glancing at the clock before continuing. They'd managed to get into the building a little earlier than the norm; there was still a good ten minutes before class would start. "Christmas with my sister, her fiancee, and my nephew, nothing new really." Fiancee? So the guy who helped spawn the kid was marrying Honda's sister then? Abruptly, Honda frowned, biting his lip as a sudden thought came to mind. "Damn," he muttered, wincing. "What the hell do I give a kid who watches porn all day..."
No answer was given to that particular question of course; because honestly, why the hell would they know the answer to that? Honda appeared to shake it off after a few seconds however, and ended up turning to Bakura. "How about you Bakura," he asked, the others nodding. "You live on your own right?" Oh yea... Didn't his dad live in the Bunkyou district..? Not exactly walking distance. Of course, Bakura's dad was apparently constantly out of the country for a dig anyways...
Nonetheless Bakura nodded in response, a small smile in place. "Yes... Well... My father says he'll be in the area for the holidays, so we made plans to catch up on things... He's the new curator of the museum you know," he said somewhat offhandedly, a glimmer of the closest thing one could call pride by Bakura's standards visible to them. Oh? So did that mean he wasn't going to randomly disappear all the time? "He's actually considering extending the Egyptian display," the teen continued with evident excitement, Katsuya recalling his fairly excessive interest in the false millennium eye with the thought. "Would you like me to let you know how that goes..?" Eh? About the Egypt display..?
While Yugi nodded eagerly, the others gave a small and nervous shrug. "It's up to you," Anzu said calmly, leaning forward on the desk. "What sorts of things would be there? I know they already have a lot at the museum..." Enough to get that creepy Egyptian guy on their tail for the scariest damn night of their lives...
Bakura blinked, disappearing into thought for a moment. "That's a good question," he muttered, frowning slightly before turning back with a smile. "I'll be sure to ask him though!" Hahaha, that didn't change much of what they knew. "In any case... If you don't mind my asking, what do you have planned for the holidays?"
Another blink, this time on Anzu's part as the others all turned on her. "...Me," she asked, before receiving a nod in response. "Actually, I'm going to be in Kyoto for the winter break..." Kyoto? "You probably won't believe this," she said with a slight laugh, shaking her head as the others listened in, "But while we were on the subway, Mai invited me to her house there..." Wait Mai? Mai invited her over?
"Mai lives in Kyoto," Honda asked quickly, the others shaking their heads or something close to it at the reaction. That sounded a little less like disbelief and more... The teen coughed, shaking himself before continuing. "...Where?"
Anzu frowned, crossing her arms. "Believe me when I say, I'm not telling you if it costs me my life Honda..." Rolling her eyes as Honda groaned in response, she turned a much softer expression to Yugi. "What about you Yugi," she asked with a smile, ignoring Honda's mutterings of 'temple city, who would have thought...'. "Do you have any plans for the holidays?"
He shrugged, shaking his head. "No more than usual," he admitted, a somewhat sad expression on his face. Hn? What was the usual then? "I know that my mom will be there, and hopefully Grandpa will be out of the hospital soon..."
That was right, Sugoroku's body had been hospitalized soon after his soul flew off... But after Pegasus was dealt with... "Oh yea..." Katsuya turned to the boy, leaning on his arm. "How is your grandpa anyways, I mean... I know he got 's soul back but..." Well, the fact was, he was already having heart troubles...
His friend nodded, eyes wide with slight worry. "He's definitely back," he stated confidently, hands resting on his puzzle. "I'm just a little worried... When I was talking to him yesterday, he said that he thought he saw Grandma before he came back..."
His grandma? Wait... Sugoroku saw his dead wife? He held back a shudder, falling silent for a moment. Hihhhhh... Ghosts. Nonetheless, he quickly jumped on the change in subject when Honda turned the Christmas question on him. "Hey, plans aside," he said, leaning back on his arms with a shrug, "What do you think Kaiba's going to do for the holidays?" As the others remained silent at that, he glanced at the clock again before continuing. Five minutes left. "I mean... He's not exactly the kind of guy to do anything like that, but do you think with Mokuba... Kid seemed pretty gung-ho about it last time I checked."
"Hnnn..." Katsuya shrugged, leaning in his chair with a frown. It was a good question... Seto sure as hell didn't seem to be one to get into holidays, but like Honda said... "Sh- He'll probably get somethin' f'r Mokuba at least," he decided, giving another shrug to the subject. "Not really sure abou' anythin' else though..."
Honda shrugged as well, taking his seat as the others continued to listen. "Well, give the kid holiday greetings for me will you," he asked, Katsuya nodding in response.
"Got it," he said with a smirk, before blinking as a slight humming noise entered his ears. Eh... What was that... He turned to the source, watching as Yugi appeared to stare off for a few moments before turning. Alright... He wasn't the one humming so where...
Yugi blinked, still holding his puzzle as he replaced his blank expression with a smile. "Ah... By the way," he asked, leaning against his seat. "The other Yugi want's to know... Jonouchi-kun, what are you going to do for Christmas presents? I know you got one for your sister but..."
The others turned, before looking back at Jonouchi. "Presents," Bakura repeated with slight surprise, blinking. "Didn't you say you already bought something for Mokuba-kun, Jonouchi-kun?" Yes... He did. Kinda. Um...
Katsuya scratched his head, inwardly wincing as Yugi as well realized just what the conversation had possibly wrought. "Yea," Anzu muttered, frowning as the two shared a nervous glance. "You did..." The woman's expression suddenly lit up with surprise, Anzu almost pausing over her words for a moment. "Wait... Are you dating someone," she asked, eyes slightly wider than the norm.
Honda as well blinked at that, looking at his friend somewhat incredulously. The silence was really all he needed to know for that one...
"Errr..." He coughed, laughing somewhat nervously as he turned back to Yugi. "Y-Y'know what, I could ask th' same thing t' you Yugi..." Get this subject off him now... Please...
Yugi instantly blushed at the comment of course, turning awkwardly away from Anzu before coughing. "E-Erm... I... I don't think I'll have any problems..." Oh. He blinked, quickly remembering Anzu's earlier mention of her own plans. Right... Yugi's chances of a date were now spending that time in Kyoto. Whoops... The boy looked back up, glancing at the clock as it ticked down to three minutes before the bell. "Um... So, holidays aside," he asked, swallowing back his nervousness. "Does anyone want to come with me to Burger World on Friday?"
Friday? Damn it. Katsuya bit his lip, frowning. "I got work... Sorry man..." Yugi nodded, turning to the others as they as well gave less than hoped for answers.
Honda was next to speak, frowning slightly and shaking his head with a sigh. "I would if I could man... But my sister signed me up for a bunch of after school Christmas deals..." He scratched his head, biting his lip. "Never should have said I was free after school damn it..." The others looked at him somewhat sympathetically, before Bakura turned to him with a small smile.
"Erm... You know," he asked politely, bowing his head as the teen turned to him. "If you like, I could probably help..."
The teen gave Bakura an odd look in response, an almost suspicious glint in his eye. In fact, it almost looked like the kind of stare he only saw way back in middle school... When Hirutani was involved. This was Bakura though... Why would he get that look around Bakura? "That's fine," Honda muttered with a cough, the look vanishing quickly. "I'll be alright..."
Bakura nodded, frowning slightly in response. "Well... If you say so. I could always-"
-Brrrrrrrnnng!-
The group turned as the bell rang over Bakura's next words, the albino in question moving to take his seat next to Jonouchi as Anzu as well moved. Well, probably wasn't too bad... "Oh..." He turned to Yugi as the teacher walked in, voice lowering to a whisper as he remembered what he had originally planned on asking earlier. "Ah.. Yugi?" The boy as well turned, blinking as his friend continued. "I gotta pick up my stuff from yer house after school t'morrow... That alrigh'?" He'd do it today but... Well, he kinda wanted to make sure Seto didn't manage to kick him out first
He quickly nodded, smiling. "Of course! Not a problem... Mokuba fixed things with the papers then?"
Provided Seto didn't say anything... "Yep!" He grinned, crossing his arms over on the desk. "Still working th' usual days though, the weekends and-"
"Jonouchi-kun," came the teacher at the front, both teens jumping and turning to the front with a jolt. "Mutou-kun... If you could pay attention..."
"R-Right, sorry Sensei!" "Sorry..." Class time... Right.
...He hated math.
Needless to say, the topic of Christmas was still fairly inescapable after school ended, not to mention during the lunch break... Of both that day and the day after. With only one week, and a few days or so away, there was nothing but talk of parties, vacations... Hell, with the way everyone was going on about it, he'd have thought they had more than a few days off for the holidays!
It was still something to talk about though, even after he and Yugi had headed off on their own down the street. Honda and Bakura had headed off in their usual directions, and even though Anzu's regular route would normally take her down the road with Yugi she as well was missing. Something about a new job down town at... An engraving store? (Good luck with that he supposed.) Still, given that he was used to walking alone thanks to the 'off map' route that he had to take to get to the house, even just walking with Yugi was a welcome chance. "So... Jonouchi-kun," Yugi asked, continuing the conversation that had been cut short that morning. Katsuya turned to the boy as they continued down the street, Yugi still staring curiously as he repeated his question. "...Are you doing anything for Kaiba-san? For Christmas I mean?"
Christmas? Right. Presents. Um... He coughed, biting his lip. Truth be told... No. "I want to," he began, frowning as he adjusted his bag. "But... Well, I don't really know what the hell t' get her." As Yugi blinked, the blond continued, shrugging. "Fact is, th' only things she really openly likes that I know of are her brother an' those dragons of hers... I don't think there's anythin' I can give her. Not in terms 'f somethin' she doesn' already have at least..." Which sucked really bad... Really, really really- Damn it, why the hell did he have to think about these things now? So much simpler when he was squinting at pixels on a screen... So much simpler...
Yugi merely smiled, shaking his head. "Well, there's still time left..." He gave a reassuring smile, still looking up as he somehow maneuvered his way around other passing people. "I'm sure you'll find something Jonouchi-kun!"
The blond nodded, before frowning as they turned the corner. 'Kame Game' was clearly in sight now, the oddly built store and home standing out among the usually uniform buildings fairly easily. However, for all that stood out, there was on thing in particular that caught his eye for the moment. "Hey... Yugi," he asked, stopping for a moment as he looked at the boy's driveway. "Whose car 's that?"
"Hn? Car..?" Yugi slowly looked back at the driveway himself, before stopping as well. It was just a normal, slightly out-dated car really... Maybe a scratch on the side from a car door scraping into it, but otherwise just a normal car. Apparently this 'normal car' more than caught Yugi's attention however, as the next few moments were silent. "That's..." Yugi stared, before suddenly bolting for the shop door and pulling it open.
"O-Oi, Yugi," he shouted, charging after the boy. W-What the hell? What was so important about the car? He ran into the shop, door shutting loudly behind him as he followed after his friend. The shop was of course 'closed'... Lights off, door only unlocked for the convenience of those living there... "Yugi, what's goin-" He stopped, watching as Yugi stared at a middle aged man standing in the store in shock. Um... Who the hell? "Ah..."
The man turned from where he had apparently been looking over some papers, blinking before adjusting his glasses at the sight of the boy. "Ah- Yugi," he said, slightly shocked expression replaced with a soft smile. "I was just- Goh!" He winced, suddenly thrown back slightly as the boy just about tackled him around his waist.
Dad!" Yugi grinned, before pulling from the hug as his father ruffled his hair. "Haha... I thought you were going to be out of the country..."
Wait, what? Katsuya stared, taking a hesitant step forward as he registered what was going on. This... This was Yugi's dad? He blinked, before noting that despite the lack of blond, the man's hair was indeed tipped with red... Really damn short, which was probably a good thing for a guy that looked like he was in business... But still tipped with red. The man in front of him laughed, scratching his head and looking down at his son with a large smile. "Well, I could hardly just ignore the holidays... I managed to get the next few two weeks off of work, for the holidays." As Yugi continued to grin at the fact, his father's smile faded slightly, confusion replacing it as he noticed Katsuya's presence. "Oh," he began, blinking as he looked back at his son. "And who is this..?"
Yugi turned, before smiling and gesturing over to Katsuya. "Ah... This is Jonouchi-kun," he said, the blond in question coming over with a nod. "He's my friend from school!"
Katsuya smirked, bowing his head as he looked over the just barely taller man before him. "Er... Nice t' meetcha Mutou... san." Wow... Never thought he'd see anyone in Yugi's family taller than him... The man before him bowed his head in response to the greeting, also smiling.
"Very nice to meet you," he repeated hands folded in front of him. "It's good to see that Yugi is making friends," he continued, smiling. "I was a little worried that he would end up caught up in some game that my father showed him," he added with a small laugh, Yugi flushing slightly in response. He kind of had after all... Eight years on a puzzle being the most obvious example. "Now then..." He turned to the boy, still smiling. "I need to talk to your mother for a moment, but I'll be right upstairs alright?" Yugi nodded, watching as his dad vanished up the stairs before the room fell silent.
Huh... "So..." Katsuya looked down, blinking as the boy turned back to him. "That's yer dad huh?" He could... Kind of see the resemblance. Kind of.
Yugi nodded, still grinning as he moved further into the house to help Kastuya grab his things. "Yea... I didn't think he'd be here," he said with clear excitement, pulling the long since prepared suitcase out from where it had sat in the hall. "He normally has to work over Christmas, or something comes up... This is great! I mean, getting to spend time with my Dad like this is-" He quickly stopped himself, expression fading. Apparently, he'd just realized how awkward the conversation could be for someone who didn't quite have the chance himself. "Erm..." He coughed, holding the suitcase over. Anyways... Here's your suitcase, Jonouchi-kun... Tell Mokuba and Kaiba-san I said 'hi', alright?"
Hahaha, because that would work well in the case of the latter right? He took the suitcase, smiling wryly as he turned toward the door. "Will do- Thanks Yug'," he said with a nod, the boy giving a similar nod in response.
"No problem! I'll see you tomorrow alright?" Another nod, Katsuya pushing the door open and walking outside. Yep... School tomorrow, and for another few days... What was it, thursday? So he had work tomorrow night then...
The door clacked shut behind him, Katsuya slowly making his way back to the house with his suitcase in hand. Yea... Anyways. He stretched, looking back at the game shot for a moment before smiling again. Well... Looked like Yugi was getting his entire family together for Christmas then. He never knew the guy's dad was working out of the country... Huh. Seemed everyone was getting together with their families really... It was nice...
...How was his dad doing..? Katsuya frowned, stopping for a moment as the thought came to mind. He hadn't visited him since he heard about his arrest... Inconsiderate yea, but the fact was they were putting him through rehab from what he'd found out. He wasn't supposed to go see him, not for a while at least. It had to be alright now though right? Hell... There was no way he couldn't go see him sometime before the holidays rolled around, right?
There was a loud beep from the side, the blond jumping as Kaiba's car came up beside him. What the hell? What was the car doing out in this direction? "...Eh..?" The driver's window rolled down, the surprise continuing as Isono's face became visible. "I..Isono?" What..?
The man popped the trunk, gesturing to the car as the engine quietly hummed. "Not to be too blunt," he said with a small and humored smile, "But it looks as though you could use a lift." As Katsuya stared for a few moments, Isono gave him a wave, still smiling. "Go on," he said the blond in front of him still staring. "I can only wait so long, I'm picking up Seto-sama soon." Eh? So then KaibaCorp was this way? ...Huh. That was interesting.
Katsuya nodded, pulling his stuff over to the trunk and dumping it in before closing the trunk with a clack. Well, this sure as hell made things easier. "R-Right..." He pulled the side door open and hopped in, laughing somewhat. "Er... Thanks f'r th' ride?" As Isono nodded, driving off with a smile, the blond frowned. "...Wait..." He shook himself, frowning. Isono was Seto's assistant, why was he... "...Why're you drivin'?"
The man at the front gave a small shrug, pausing at a stop sign before continuing through the street. "The regular chauffeur broke his leg unfortunately," Isono stated, turning the corner slowly before adjusting his sunglasses. "Apparently safety ladders aren't as safe as they seem, nor should three year olds be trusted with remote control planes."
There was a bit of silence, Katsuya blinking as the driver slowed to another stop in Kaiba-Corp's parking lot. "...Oh. Er..." So then... What, he'd been trying to get something on the roof? "That sucks..."
Isono chuckled, shaking his head with a small smile. "That's one way to put it," he said with a small laugh, pulling the keys from the ignition. "I can handle taking his place until the rest of the positions Seto-sama cleared are done though," he continued, looking at Katsuya through the rear view mirror as he spoke. "Interesting thing preventing him from being replaced by another chauffeur however... But shortly after she left for the Duelist Kingdom, a large number of requests to resign came in..."
The blond snorted, shaking his head. "Yea... I c'n guess..." Wonder how long it would be before any remaining were completely screwed over? He laughed at the thought, before moving to the side as a familiar figure came walking steadily through the main doors. "Ah... Here she is..." The blond clicked his seat belt in place, watching as the woman came closer to the car and Isono started the engine again. Huh. She didn't look too happy... The door was pulled open, Seto shutting the door beside her and not even sparing the blond a glance as she fixed a glare at the back of the seat in front of her.
"Domino Elementary," she said curtly, the briefcase sitting beside her as she crossed her legs. Huh... Really... Unhappy. Hell, it looked like she didn't even know he was there! (...That was new.)
...What the hell happened?
What happened, to say the least, was something that was a little difficult to really describe. There were very few things outside the obvious that actually angered Seto to that point after all; and for the most part, anything concerning KaibaCorp wasn't one of them. Work was not something that Seto Kaiba actively avoided after all... Indeed, it was quite likely that due to preferences in solitude it was something she preferred. Her brother certainly noticed that, and had voiced at some time during their flight back to Tokyo, the question of her even returning to Highschool at all for that reason. 'Maybe I was a little too fixated,' he had said with a shrug, staring out the window as they flew back. 'I mean... About the whole 'normal life' thing... Us going to school like normal kids...' She had remained silent as he spoke, focusing on both staying awake for the flight and on the words that her brother was giving her. 'But you know,' the boy had continued, smiling, 'Maybe, even though it's not really 'normal', we can just go with what comes in life... ...Besides,' he had added with a laugh.
'You still want to look after KaibaCorp, right? To make 'Kaibaland', like we dreamed before...' Yes... She did. Seto leaned back in her chair at the thought, rubbing her head before thinking back to when she landed the helicopter. A calm and well placed landing on a well lit landing pad, the boy beside her giving a small thumbs up as he unbuckled his seat belt... Of course, shortly after that she found out they had a stowaway; it certainly explained the sudden 'jolt' they'd had while leaving the island, though she would have much rather be told when her helicopter was holding dangerously large numbers of people compared to the safe amount... At least the woman hadn't overstayed her 'welcome', having left the moment the helicopter had landed safely at the hangar though. Things after that had been dealt with swiftly, with Mokuba coming with her to first get the blond moron the boy hired into a hospital, and then when storming her company building to set things straight. Papers were filled, forms were signed... She liked her job, she really did. But why, of all the damn issues to come up before she went back home to get her brother from school, did this have to happen? "Damn lawyers..." It figured that her 'legal advisor' from the board of directors would put his skills to use and just manage to get these papers to her before she threw them out of the building... Papers detailing a fairly annoying and completely flawless clause that just had her recalling quite grimly why Oka had been one of the few to keep relatively the same job style as he had under Gozaburo's hire. He was a legal advisor for a reason; and while she had ordinarily gone with her own judgement, he was still damn good at paper work...
And it showed. How the hell he made a loophole that prevented his own boss (Namely herself) from interfering she had no clue... ...Rather, she didn't want to particularly go into the details for the moment. It would probably save her the headache honestly... Even so. She slammed the papers back on her desk, gritting her teeth as the neatly typed words pounded against her skull. 'In the event that termination of employment occurs, the following members of project 'VR-18' must receive the approval of the current CEO for the product under development in the aforementioned project for release, prior the notice of termination...' And so on, and so on, and damn it the only 'members' mentioned just happened to be those five! Who just so happened to be getting their hands 'dirty' for once, as apparently they had insisted on doing the project themselves! And of course... 'Due to the current progress of project 'VR-18', any and all attempts to alter staffing in the aforementioned project will be rejected...' In the words of a certain 'dog'; 'FUCK'. She stowed the papers in her desk drawer, locking it securely before grabbing her suitcase to leave the building. The work day was over; while she normally had a bad habit of staying there far beyond the 'limit', the fact was there was nothing much else she could really focus on for the moment. Now she couldn't fire the bastards until they finished programing whatever virtual reality program they were developing, she couldn't go in and ask what the hell it was supposed to be, couldn't simply switch the workload around and be rid of them that way... And of course, until they actually had the devices set for the program done, she couldn't well test it either...
And of course, with that in mind the stupid forms specifically said that it wasn't a matter of glitches, it was a matter of the entire thing being trash or not, which meant she legitimately had to go through this with a fine-tooth comb when she did get to it rather than calling them out on a computer error! "Ghhh..." Lights were turned off in the office, and a curt nod was given to the secretary in her lobby. Few things had remained untouched in her absence... Thankfully, a small number of her staff were in that group. Seto waited somewhat calmly for the elevator, walking in and watching as the doors shut with a silent click. This was complete bullshit... Complete... Aggggh... It really did figure that this would happen... The elevator hummed to a smooth stop at the ground floor, Seto making her way through the main building's lobby and pushing the door open to spot the familiar shape of the rolls she'd come in. Well. At least someone was on time... Not that it helped her mood much.
She walked over to the car with a silent growl, opening the door and hopping in as the sound of the engine starting met her ears. Slamming the door beside her shut as the briefcase was put to the side, she simply muttered 'Domino Elementary' before leaning back in her seat with narrowed eyes. Time to pick up Mokuba... Hopefully he didn't catch her mood, not that that was likely. Damn it... The woman rubbed her head for a moment, silently groaning as she mentally went over the legal documents in a still failing attempt to find a loophole. "Why can't the Board just roll over and die already," she muttered under her breath, before an answer from the side jolted her from her thoughts.
"I dunno," a familiar blond muttered, the teen giving a dismissive shrug as the woman beside him turned to stare. "Personally, I would kinda expect 'm t' be dicks about gettin' fired..." He turned, blinking before hesitantly continuing. "Er... That's what this 's abou' righ'?"
Seto merely glared, arms still in the same partially crossed position they'd been in when she got in the car. Ignoring the fact that he was dead-on with the likely reason... "What are you doing in my car," she growled, changing the subject over as Jonouchi gave another shrug.
"Eh..." He leaned back against the seat, smirking. "Not my fault he d'cided t' pick me up..."
'He'? Seto raised an eyebrow at that, bringing her arms down to her sides. Why the hell would her chauffeur, any of her chauffeurs, bother with picking up this moron? Isono's voice came from the front with that thought, the second eyebrow raising to join the first one in mild surprise. "I trust the day went relatively well Seto-sama," he asked, the woman behind him merely blinking. Now hold on, since when was the man that worked in an office beside her own sitting in a car when he should have been-
"Isono," she asked, frowning as she shook the surprise off. "Why are you driving?"
The man sighed, before waving his hand. "Ah... Yes well. In your attempt to filter out all employees," he began the two in the back listening quietly, "You managed to fire off all but one of your chauffeurs from those who bothered to stay behind once you woke up. This normally wouldn't be a problem," he added in the mentioned chauffeur's defense, "But you see..."
Jonouchi coughed, Seto turning to him with a blank stare as the blond finished for her assistant. "Ah... He kinda broke his leg," he started with a frown, scratching his head. "W's tryin t'... Get somethin' off th' roof," he added lamely, the woman beside him frowning.
"...What was he trying to get off my roof," she asked, the frown deepening slightly. One of her few employees were injured and she hadn't been told about this? ...On her roof? (Why the hell was he even on her roof in the first place...)
At the front, Isono shook his head. "You misunderstand," he stated with a short cough, Seto turning her attention back to the front. "This only happened early this afternoon- I believe he was trying to get his son's plane off his garage..?" Which would explain why he broke his leg and not his neck...
Jonouchi shrugged, shaking his head. "Ehh... Don' ask me," he said plainly, leaning against his seat. "You're th' one that told me..." He coughed, before turning to Seto with raised eyebrows. "Nyh... Anyways. Why you heading t' Mokuba's school, he forget something there?"
Hnn? Seto frowned, looking back at the blond. What did he mean 'forget something', Mokuba finished school in ten minutes... "You don't think I should be picking up my brother," she asked incredulously, expression still set in a small glare.
The blond blinked, also frowning. "Wait... He didn' tell y," he asked, scratching his head. At the blank expression he got in response, Isono chose to explain from the front.
"Mokuba-sama returned from school over two hours ago," the man stated with a cough, having evidently forgotten to mention this glaring fact. Seto's eyebrows rose slightly in response, the woman turning her attention to the rear view mirror. "I believe his exact words were 'I won't miss anything for the next two weeks, and I would like to catch up with my older 'brother''." There was some audible 'quotation' around that last word so to speak she noticed... Probably exact words to the teacher, but even so...
He wanted to spend time with her that badly..? But she had work, and- Jonouchi smirked from beside her, Seto frowning in response. Alright, what the hell were they plotting... "Oh yea," he said with a grin, leaning slightly on his school bag as the glare Seto held intensified. "R'minds me... Mokuba told me t' tell yah that you've got th' next two weeks off f'r th' most part..." What. "Said t' check on things on th' 24th, but otherwise yer on 'house arrest'! Hehehehe..."
She stared, narrowing her eyes as she registered those words. House a- "I'm being forced into my own house..?" Again... What? Really... What was...
There was a nod, Jonouchi's grin still in place despite the mood the woman beside him currently held. "Yep! Chrismas is comin' up after all," he added, looking out the window briefly as they came up to the house. Yes, in a few days... The number of flyers concerning 'Omisoka' were begining to get a little too much on her nerves in fact, and it was only a slight comfort that they'd be gone in just another week or so. "Y' outta relax," Jonouchi was continuing somewhat dismissively, opening his door as the sound of the trunk popping open came over the air. "Not like th' company's goin' anywhere righ' now..."
Haha, how cute. It was certainly going nowhere save 'up' now that she was awake at least... All rather interesting how Pegasus had magically disappeared once she'd officially gotten off her 'sick leave' and made to call the moron, but it seemed that combined with that, her return had at least resulted in the stock going back up again. Funny that... Even so, she'd rather not leave the company in the hands of the damn board! ...Though now that they were preoccupied with what was likely to shape into an obvious act to delay the inevitable...
...Well... She sighed, deciding not to answer to that particular comment on her company and instead getting out of the car as Jonouchi pulled his things from the trunk and slammed it shut. It could be worse... And besides, didn't the 'mutt' himself say it months before? Loathe as she was to admit, he had a point... 'Always time for family'. She owed at least that much to Mokuba after all. Seto walked over to the door, Jonouchi following behind her as she opened it wide. 'Tadaima,' the blond behind her shouted as they came into the foyer, Seto wincing slightly before fixing him with a glare. Loud enough...
"Eh..." The blond shrugged, grinning somewhat sheepishly. "Sorry abou' that Seto-ch-" AH.
"Don't finish that sentence," she stated dangerously, Jonouchi nodding as he bit his lip. The glare remained fixed for a few moments, before she turned away. She swore it, if he came close to calling her that again...
"Nee-sama," a voice called from the side, pulling her attention to the front stairs. Ah- "Katsuya-nii!" She winced momentarily, before walking in to put the briefcase down as Mokuba ran down the stairs. The 'nii'... She had yet to ask about that. She should probably do that soon...
The boy ran over, Seto giving him a light hug before grabbing her briefcase again. "Obviously I don't have to pick you up from school," she muttered somewhat dryly, briefly turning as Jonouchi disappeared to the coatroom. She turned back, looking down at her brother somewhat blankly. "...You pulled yourself out of classes..?"
Mokuba gave a dismissive shrug, still smiling at the question. "Eh..." He put his hands in his pockets, walking beside his sister as she as well made toward the coat room. "I already knew the stuff in that unit anyways..." Oh did he now? As Seto raised an eyebrow, the boy beside her merely smirking. "Hehehe... I got bored and read ahead... I'll be fine, trust me!" Hnn... That expression was almost similar to someone else she knew...
Damn it. "Alright..." Well, it was only one week at least... The briefcase was again placed on the ground as she took her coat off, hanging it up and turning back to the boy. "So," she continued with crossed arms, ignoring the fact that Jonouchi was quite obviously only there to listen now. "What exactly do you have planned now that you've pulled me out of my job..." Let him listen, not like this was anything private... She did send him a glare though. Regardless of anything that happened, she would still treat the moron as deserved. And given that he was, as she said, a moron...
Her brother's grin grew, the boy just about humming with excitement at her question. "Well, I was thinking since Christmas was coming, we could celebrate," Shit. "And maybe before then just play games together like we used to, and go to the park, or maybe just go around the back yard and-" Oh wow he... Really planned this. Though aside from Christmas this wasn't anything terribly upsetting really... ...She could... Live with Christmas if it was a nice quiet dinner she supposed... She blinked, listening as the boy continued before chuckling came from the side. Tch. Laugh at her did he... As she narrowed her eyes however, the glare quickly fell. "That reminds me," Mokuba had said, turning to the blond once he had started laughing. "Katsuya-nii, do you think that you could leave us alone for the next bit?" Hn? He was being kicked out of things? Now that was something she wouldn't argue with... As Jonouchi stared, the boy continued. "Nothing personal, I just want to catch up you know..?"
Instantly the grin returned, Jonouchi moving to leave the room at that moment. Wait, he was- "No problem," he said, giving a small wave as he carried his school bag off with him. "Brother sister time righ'?" Something like that... (Leave already.) He laughed again, before continuing off up the stairs. "Eh, I got homework anyways..." And since when did he care about that sort of thing? ...Since when did he agree with this kind of stuff anyways? "See yah later Mokuba, Seto-chan..." A- Seto-chan!
"Gh-" Seto narrowed her eyes, turning as the blond continued to disappear. "What did I just say about-"
"Hahahaha... N-Nee-sama..." The woman turned, holding her tongue as Mokuba rubbed his head. "Can't we talk to him about that later..?" Would it even be reversible after that..?
Hahhhh, fine... She sighed, eyes closed briefly before watching as her brother grabbed the briefcase off the ground. "Alright," she muttered, tone softening. "So," she asked calmly, walking off with her brother to put the case in its place. "What do you want to do first?"
She supposed in the end, that bearing with the 'seto-chan' business was worth the smile on her brother's face all the same really.
The next day had passed fairly quickly to say the least, similar to how the day before had gone by really. And the day before that, and the day before that...It seemed to be happening a lot really... Though that was probably just because of the usual issue of him just not liking school... When Yugi mentioned his father, the topic went fairly hot of course; Honda in particular was a little surprised when the man was described as 'a little taller than Jonouchi', given the size of Sugoroku and Yugi himself. A number of other questions had come up as well; what did he do, why wasn't he ever at home, etc.. etc... (Businessman, travels for work, etc etc.)
By the end of it, he was walking back home on his own, putting his things away back at the house, and before he knew it he was going through his once more camera-oriented security shift. Nothing much on the screens as usual... Seto had of course taken down any and all cameras in her room after getting back, replacing the lost feed with the formerly missing hallway and window camera. Friday night had passed with no event, the Kaiba siblings both having disappeared to the same rec-room he himself had spent a fair amount of time with Mokuba in. Watching the two for a moment before looking over the other screens he had to smile really. Aw... They were just so... Erm... Damn, he couldn't use brotherly, Seto was a girl, but sisterly obviously didn't apply for the reverse reasons...
He shook it off, leaning back on the chair and pushing the renewed ponderings on the 'right word' to the back of his mind again. Eh, whatever, he'd always know what he was talking about at least. Saturday had passed without incident as well of course; it was his double shift day, the afternoon first and the night shift after. Seto and Mokuba were both out of the house- same with Sunday, his current shift. As to where they were, who knew really. Came back late Saturday, Mokuba going straight to bed while Seto seemed to hover between leaving for her study (from what he got while glancing at the hallway feed) and just turning in herself... She ended up disappearing off screen to her room at the end of things, which was something that had him sighing in relief to say the least. While he hadn't given it much thought before, when he was on camera duty and Seto was busy with what was probably Death-T, she'd spent hours in the study room... Probably falling asleep in there even, though generally Hobson would show up at the door and shortly after watch a slightly half-asleep Seto go back to her room.
All in all, not too bad a weekend he'd decided as he headed to his room with the end of the shift. Actually got some homework done too! ...He just hoped his mom didn't see any of the marks that came back with that. Hihhhhh... No way he'd ever get what the hell English class meant.
Nonetheless, Monday came with pretty much the same thing that Friday and Thursday had come with. Class was boring, and Christmas was on everyone's mind... Bakura had apparently gotten Honda to let him in on the 'voluntary' toy drive, having offered to make a number of figurines for the effort; an effort that had him more than occupied for the moment, and would probably have him occupied for the days before the holidays really. Anzu in the meantime was staring at a google-maps printout she'd gotten from a net-cafe; apparently she was meeting Mai at the woman's house rather than at the station, but given Anzu's expression, wherever the house was in Kyoto it was obviously some place unexpected. Not that he'd gotten a look- pretty much anyone who came near had quickly earned a warning glare as the papers were stowed away out of sight. And of course, Yugi was as happy as ever, and needless to say they were occupying enough time just talking about whatever came to mind.
Now that he was walking back home however, 'whatever came to mind' ended up being the same thing he'd wondered the week before really. He hadn't given it much thought after Isono picked him up the other day. He'd kinda been distracted by trying and failing to think of a present for Seto really; and it looked an awful lot like he really would fail at that... His dad... It was monday now, he didn't have work; hell, the only reason he wasn't with the others was because Anzu did have work, Honda and Bakura were doing the voluntary toy-drive (Or whatever else Honda had been signed up for), and Yugi was helping his Grandpa get out of the hospital. So... What if he could visit his dad now? He had enough change for a subway now... Despite not having much more money on hand than before, he sure as hell had more than when every cent went into paying off his dad's bills! ...Not to mention when there'd been a break between loan-shark runs, though that in itself had been rare... Even so, despite all that...
"...Hn..." He missed his dad... Well, 'not-drunk' dad at least. Those times had gotten fewer and fewer as time went on, that was for sure but... Back when he was a kid, and when that was all he ever was... A smile came over his face, Katsuya staring at the ground at the thought. Those were good times... The kind of times he'd wanted to have by paying off his dad's debts, getting rid of the source of the 'problem', the thing that had the man reaching for the bottle... Debts were paid off now. But his Dad... The blond nodded to himself, fishing out some change before changing his course for the nearest subway. Alright... He would visit him! After all... If his dad was really a dick, he wouldn't have stayed where he was for all those years right? And his dad wouldn't have been with his mom for too long...
The man never drank that much until after the divorce after all... It was just those few times that had pushed the envelope, and in the end it all snowballed from there. Nights outside the apartment increased, along with the bag of cans on the side- his dad never did too much harm to him until the end really... Broken arm was the most serious it had ever gotten and he'd still been weak from the night at the one professor's house with Shadi. Falling over the edge of the stair railing, that sure as hell wasn't intentional; he'd just been avoiding a hit... And gravity took over. And the fights had increased, and the defenses rose high... He wouldn't need those anymore though. Katsuya found a free ticket booth, punching his change in and moving through to the station itself with a determined nod. He was completely different... Just give it time, and things would get better. The blond sighed as he crammed his way into the subway, grabbing a nearby pole and waiting for the right stop as a number of people were crammed in around him and the vehicle started moving. Two years- that was how long he was going to be in there, from what he'd been told. By that time, he'd be seven-teen, and it'd make no sense to move back in with him...
Didn't mean he couldn't say hi though. Or visit, spend holidays together... The subway moved quickly through the city, the scenes of the tunnels or buildings around blurring through the window as he kept an ear open for the right stop. It didn't take long for him to reach it really. The subway doors clicked open with a short 'hiss', a swarm of people making their way in and out as with all other stops before it. Worming his way through the crowd and out of the station, he shifted his hold on his bag before shaking himself. Man... He was never getting over how damn cramped the subway was, seriously. Anyways... The detention center was just a bit north then wasn't it? He swallowed, scratching his head as he looked at the street he was on. Right so... It was a bit of a ways to walk but... Eh. He'd gone further. (Much further really...)
Regardless of what the distance was though he took off, hands in his pockets as he thought back to the reason why he was doing this in the first place. Not like turning back would do anything but waste his money after all. He had to wonder though... Was his dad alright in there..? Hell, he hadn't even said 'hello', what the hell kind of jerk did that make him? The blond bit his lip, shaking his head. Whatever... He couldn't think about that. Point was that he was on his way now, and he was going to see how he was.
And now that the detention center was in view... He let out the breath he'd been holding, moving forward after a moment. Here went nothing...
If there was one thing he could find solace in from that visit, it was this. "Ahhhhh, Katsuyaaa!" His dad had not changed one bit for the worse, if he had changed at all. Katsuya smiled somewhat sadly as the man on the other side of the glass grinned, holding the phone up to his ear. The guard at the side said ten minutes... But even so, it was obvious that even ten minutes was worth it to his old man after over half a year of nothing. "Oh..." The man brought a hand to his head, before gesturing through the glass. "What happened to your head," he asked, shaking his head as the teen brought a hand lightly to the injury in question. "This isn't my fault is it..? Ohhh..." W-Wait, he thought he did this?
He laughed slightly, scratching the side opposite his injury with a grin before shaking his head. "It's nothing dad..." Really, this... This wasn't his doing by a long shot. "An' it ain't yer fault, trust me!"
The man nodded as his son reassured him of this, his frown softening into a more worried expression. "I can't tell you know," he muttered sadly, the teen across from him frowning in response. "I did lots of things, horrible things to you Katsuya; it's good your friend moved you out, it really is..." Aww dad... It really wasn't...
Katsuya attempted to smile, shaking his head. "Ferget about it Dad... It's nothin', honest! Sides," he said with a somewhat forced laugh, the smile growing slightly. "All yer debts are paid off, an' when y' get outta here, you'll be clean righ'?" The smile grew more honest with those thoughts, the blond adjusting his seat with a grin. "Y' won't ever have t' worry about it again! Thing's 'll be like they used t' be!"
Another nod, the man giving a few eager nods before smiling. "That's right," he said, grinning and laughing somewhat hoarsely at the reminder. "That's very right... Never again!" The chuckling faded, and he continued on. "...Katsuya," he asked, leaning forward with a slight grunt. "Katsuya, I need to know... Did you see your sister? Is she alright? Is she..."
He blinked, recalling the same words he'd heard on the phone a while before. 'Don't tell otou-san that I called, alright Katsuya-niisan? I just... Well...' Well... There was a reason why Mom had left after all. The blond swallowed, before nodding with a slightly forced smile. "Y-Yea," he said, nodding as he held true to his words to the girl. "She's... She's doin' fine!" He just couldn't mention the phone call, that was all... He could at least tell the guy that she was alive and well right?
The man across from him sighed in relief, shaking his head with the 'news'. "I'm glad to hear that," he said with a smile, the words being all he needed to hear. "She has your mother's eyes that girl, I'm sure she'll be a real knock-out when she's older! Hahaha..." Loud and cheerful laughter faded out just as quickly as it had come, and he again sighed. "You take good care of her understand Katsuya," he said seriously, tone jumping from nostalgic to humored to severe within a few instants. "She's a good girl," the man continued, "You take care of her!"
He nodded, biting the inside of his cheek. He did the best he could but... She kinda lived in Osaka... Even so, these weren't words that he'd just push to the side. "No worries dad," he said with an honest smile, nodding as he matched his father's determined and serious stare. "I'll take good care 'f her... That's a promise!"
Again, his father nodded, a look of relief over his face as he sank into a slouch on his stool. "That's good," he muttered with a sigh, smiling. "That's good..." He drifted off, before grinning as his eyes drifted past a small charm on the wall behind his son. "Oh! I almost forgot," the man stated, leaning forward on his partially crossed arms. "Katsuya," he said with a cough, a serious expression fairly similar to Honda's own 'wise man' look coming over his face. "As you know, it's almost Christmas..." Yeaaaa... Yea it was... "And even though I'm not there, it's still a very special holiday..." Kay... Where was he going with this... "So, I expect you to find yourself a nice young woman and-" PBBBBTT WAIT.
"Awwww Dad..." Katsuya held his face, going beet red. Not saying anything, not saying anything... Damn it it really was easier when he was just trading tapes with the guys! "D-don't you think that's a little bit... I mean hell," he said with a cough, "I'm living in the same house as an eleven year old kid!"
The man shook his head, arms crossed as the expression merely deepened into a frown of sorts. "That's no reason... No reason at all," he 'protested', the teen across from him biting his lip. "Christmas is a time for people like you to have fun, and find someone they care about... And I want you to do the same, understand?"
He groaned, shaking his head. "Daaaad..." 'Care' was one thing, 'fun' was... Ahhhhhhggg don't think about that... Just don't let those thoughts meet... "Dad, I'm fifteen..."
"Ahhh, but that's almost sixteen," he said with wide eyes, before grinning oddly. "And not only that," he continued with a laugh, "But that is already a full two years ahead of the age... Hnhnhnhnhn..."
His hand connected with his forehead rather soundly, another groan coming through the air. "Mnnnnnnnggghhhh..." Damn it, his face was about as hot as a pot of boiling water right now... And probably just as red..! "Daaaaad... There's no way anyone my age would agree w' that, let alone S-" He coughed, hurriedly cutting himself off as his father continued to laugh. Damn it. Much as he wanted to believe the old man hadn't heard that last part, there was no way he-
"Hahahahaha... HAHAHA!" His father howled, clapping his hands before pointing somewhat accusingly at the bot with a grin. "Ahhh, so you do have someone then? That's good! That's wonderful!" Yes it was but damn it dad, please shut up now... The man continued to laugh at the teen's reaction, nodding his head before continuing still on with the subject. "Well, if you're spending Christmas with a woman, you're going to get her a present then right? Take her to a nice dinner, have a good time..." He trailed off, Katsuya growing redder and redder with embarrassment as he groaned. Because hey, even if that had a snowball's chance in hell of working he'd be able to afford a 'fancy dinner'. "You have to tell me though," he said as he lowered his voice, grin fading to a somewhat serious expression. "You have to tell me, what are you getting her..?"
He blinked, coughing. Oh... Uh... He still didn't know... Damn it, why did the question have to keep coming up, he had like... Five days left now. "Er..." He coughed again, frowning. "I... I actually don' know yet..." Shiiiiit.
His dad nodded 'knowingly', sighing as the 'wise' expression again. "Hnnn... I had the same problem..." Er... He did? Katsuya blinked, watching as his father continued to nod across from him. "When I was younger," he stated 'knowingly', "I could never figure out what to get your mother, never... In the end," he said with a shrug, staring at the ground for a small moment in thought. "I would take her out for dinner, where we would have some wine, some steak, and later we would take a nice picture to remember everything..." The man trailed off, gaining a somewhat misty eyed look at those words while his son merely stared.
Dinner huh... Explained why he was so set on him taking someone to dinner he guessed. Even so. "Hahaha... Eh..." Something told him that would fail, horribly. Pictures though... ...Yea that probably wouldn't work either. Probably wouldn't get within two feet of her with a camera. And then there was the smile that would never happen...
"So Katsuya," his dad asked, leaning in and pulling the blond from his thoughts. "Katsuya," he asked, the teen somehow knowing just what the next question was. "Just who is this wonderful young woman any-"
"Times up!" The two turned, an officer tapping Katsuya's shoulder as the statement came over the air. "You've had your ten minutes," she said plainly, the man across from them both sighing in response.
"Ohh," he said with a groan, pointing at the phone. "I can't just ask this question..?"
The cop shook her head, and Katsuya nodded as the woman beside him fixed a stern frown. No arguing that he supposed... "It'll be fine dad... I'll see yah soon, alrigh'?" The man nodded, and Katsuya gave a wry smile as he stood up from his seat. "Bye Dad... An'... Merry Christmas, alrigh'?"
His dad nodded furiously, shouting through the phone as his son moved to hang up on his end. "Of course.. Merry Christmas, Katsuya!" With a quick click the two were both cut off, nothing but muffled sounds coming through the glass as they were led away. One to his cell for the next year or so, and the other to the exit and the road outside. Yea... Merry Christmas...
Walking back to the subway in silence, Katsuya stared at the sky for a few moments as a few snowflakes started to fall. It was a relief really... Even with all that was going on, his dad hadn't changed... He was alright, and he hadn't changed. He'd get better too. He'd get through this, and get out, and he knew it! And then maybe they could meet up with Shizuka and his mom, get a family picture together again like the ones in his-
The blond paused at that thought, looking back down in front of him. "...Huh..." Speaking of pictures... Did Seto have any pictures of her own family? Like... Before Gozaburo, with her dad? Mokuba said he never knew their mom but there had to be pictures somewhere right? He frowned, free hand stowed in his pocket as he thought that over. Yea... She had to. Maybe not with her at the moment but... Yea... He smirked, nodding to himself as he continued. If she didn't have it, there was no way that the relatives she still had would have gotten rid of the pictures right? All he needed was the address of her last family..! And all he needed for that was her old last name! Hah! That would be- ...Um.
...Shit. He started walking again, mentally rubbing his head. He needed her last name... But what the hell was her last name? Seto sure as hell wouldn't tell him, and even if she would, she'd sure as hell want to know why. The frown returned as he came into the subway station, walking over to the nearest machine and pushed some more of his change in. From what Mokuba said, they didn't end up with a real listed last name at the orphanage... They were just dumped there, so it wasn't even bothered with. So how the hell would he find it then?
Hnnn... Damn it. The subway slide into the station, Katsuya pushing his way through to a safe spot to stand and watching as the doors shut. Damn it... Needed to figure out what that last name was... He could probably ask Mokuba of course... But... He'd already said pretty clearly that he couldn't remember much from back then. Hell the closest thing he'd gotten when he had asked, out of curiosity, was that it had the 'ryuu' kanji in it, and how many had that in it? 'Ryuzaki' and 'Ryusaki' were both pretty damn common, and they both had 'Ryuu' there at the start.
Wait... The frown lightened, and as his stop came he stumbled out to the side through the sea of people before grinning. Most names had the kanji at the start of the name but... Mokuba said it was the second kanji. And while he didn't pay much attention to this kind of thing, even he knew that not many last names had that style of kanji in the last half of the name! The grin grew, Katsuya pumping a fist as he moved to leave the station. "YES!" Yes! This was great! Now all he had to do was figure out the first one and find the name in the phone book before... Ah... Huh.
Right. ...Damn it. He didn't even know if the relatives Seto and Mokuba lived with for a while had the same last name... So it could end up being a complete waste of time in the end. Shit. "Ahhhh damn it..." He groaned, leaning against a wall at the side of the downtown street he'd come out on before shaking his head. Come to think, didn't Mokuba say they were related through their aunt? What were his chances of finding the same last name if it was through the aunt, who had probably taken her husband's name?
Man... "Agghhh..." He crossed his arms awkwardly, bag hanging loosely in one of his hands as he rubbed his head with the other. He had to think, there had to be some way around this... Yea they stayed with their aunt, but there was no way that he needed to look up that name right? There had to be something tying the two families together, some way to figure this out... (Damn it, he wasn't good at this kind of crap.) He continued running the kanji through his head, biting his lip. 'Ryuu', 'Ryuu'... Man, he was going to have his head stuck in the phonebook for days... And damn it, that neon sign behind him was starting to grate his nerves, buzzing like tha-
He blinked, turning as he noted what building the neon sign in question was advertising. '24 Hour Private Internet-' Oh. ...A net cafe then. Hnn... Katsuya stared, a small idea coming to mind. You could search for phone numbers and addresses online right? So maybe he could try that as well then... The blond searched his pockets, frowning slightly as the idea formed somewhat. Net cafe wasn't something he'd ever been to, but hey, Anzu got her maps of Kyoto from one right? So it couldn't be too bad then, could it? Now... He had to at least have enough for half an hour in here... He looked at the sign for a moment, an odd frown on his face as he counted over the change in his hand. Man... Never thought he'd be standing outside one of these... Weird coincidence that. Well... He coughed, looking at the few coins in his pocket again. Not like he had a computer himself so...
"Hundr'd, two hundr'd, three hundr'd..." Plus four hundred and... Two fifty yen coins. Huh. Five hundred yen. With that, he walked into the cafe, nodding to himself. Five hundred...
...He had fifteen minutes. Two of which were spent actually finding a computer and logging on; though he had to say, the whole floor-to-ceiling cubicle effect was definitely helping with the 'privacy' claim. Still. Besides the computers at school... Damn, when was the last time he had the chance to actually really do anything on these? "Ehhh..." He frowned, pulling up the net browser and scratching his head. Whatever... Not like he really did much when he was signed into one anyways. Alright... So. He needed to find Seto's cousins (who were apparently assholes), but first he needed her last name... Rather, he was going to have to cross his fingers and pray that the last name still had a tie of sorts to those cousins. He bit his lip, trying the first thing that came to mind and typing it in. 'Seri' and... 'Ryuu'. Traditional stroke use. He paused for a moment, before adding in a date as well. Err... Seto was 8 when she lived with her aunt right? Yeaaa... Enter in the year she was seven though, just to be safe.
And with all that entered in, just hit 'Search' and... He blinked, eyes widening as the page loaded. Oh hey... He... He actually got a result! Only one result granted, from the 'city' newspaper but... Hey! It was a result! He clicked the one available link with a grin, before reading over what had appeared as the expression faded. Oh... Shit. This was... Katsuya swallowed, looking over the small page of newspaper with a wince. He hadn't expected much but... The blond looked over the picture above it, frowning. So that was... Seto's dad. Well... He winced, skimming the 'article' itself. He knew her last name now... 'Souryuu'. Kinda fitting in a weird way really; Blue dragon... Heh. He'd almost laugh if this wasn't so... ...Man... He shook his head, hand dropping from the mouse as he looked over the article. Of all the things he could get though... Why the hell did he have to find an obituary..?
Killed December 24th, hit head on by a semi-truck... Dead on impact. And that was how Seto ended up... ...Shit, he didn't want to read this kind of thing... "Ah..." He looked near the bottom, blinking as he got over the initial shock of the find. Bottom half of the obit, was that... '...survived by his two children, Seri and Mokuba, his older sister 'Yamada Anne'...' Older s- The aunt! Huh... Yamada then. Hah! So that was the name! He closed the window, grinning despite the source of the information. Computer was closed down, school bag gathered up... Man... Why the hell was it so easy to find that kind of crap? Hell, if he'd found all that, what would happen if anyone actually bothered looking into Seto herself?
The grin faded at that thought, the blond leaving the net cafe with both those thoughts and the last name in mind. Huh... Well... Most people didn't know that she was a girl right? He adjusted his grip on his bag, shouldering it as he made his way down the street. Heck it wasn't even 'most' it was like... 'All but three or so'. So there was no way that she'd be found out like that, right? He nodded, reassuring himself of that fact before looking for a pay phone. Yea... No way! The blond made his way into a nearby booth, pulling up the phonebook and flipping through. "Kay... Yamada, yamada..." Couldn't be too many here right? The name wasn't... that common after all... Pages were flipped down to the 'Ya' section of Domino's pages, before Katsuya groaned."Ah... Damn it." Three choices on... Three opposite sides of the area. Er... He scratched his head, looking over the initials. Alright, no big deal... Just pick them off with this then! Ehh... One was single... That probably wasn't it. Annnd... Oh. He brought his finger along the page, skimming it over. Katakana, there... And the one beneath it was completely kanji! Hah! "Thank...god..." Who ever was up there... Was giving him the best damn luck ever. Alright so where was the a-
The address. Katsuya slammed his head against the book, groaning again as he looked over the street number. It was on the exact other side of Domino. Why the hell did his luck have to run out now? "Ghnnn..." He looked over at the clock on the payphone mentally gauging the distance he had to make. Alright... It was only five in the afternoon, he still had time right? Maybe half an hour to get to the address from there... Yea, he definitely had time!
...Who the hell was he kidding, if he didn't get back to that house Mokuba was going to be a pain... Be at least an hour and a half before he got back if he did that... Well... He tore the page from the book, stuffing it in his pocket before closing it over and leaving the booth. He could do this tomorrow at least, couldn't he? Maybe figure out what the hell he was going to say when he got there; sure as hell wasn't going to go asking about Seto Kaiba while he was there. Heck, he didn't even know if the aunt was pretending she had two nephews or not, and that would be weird... The blond rubbed his head, slowly making his way back to the house and rubbing his arms somewhat awkwardly. Man... It was cold... Kinda figured it would be, since it was December.
No snow though. Well... Not much anyways, given the light dusting that was beginning to gather on the sides as the snow fell. He shoved his free hand in his pocket, looking around the now glowing Christmas lights decorating the streets. They would probably get a little bit more by the time Christmas came around at least... He kicked a can nearby, continuing on his way with a shrug as the lights around continued to come to life in the now setting sun. Anyways... Well... Hopefully no one was wondering where he was... He snorted at the thought, shaking his head.
Yea, the hell that would happen, he thought as he broke into a run. Mokuba was going to be in his face so bad...
As it turned out, supper had been delayed that evening; something about an accident in the kitchen involving an oddly strong crab that refused to be boiled alive. He sure as hell wasn't complaining though, given that this was another stroke of bizarre luck for him. And honestly, between seeing his dad in jail and going into a net cafe he had been pretty much done for the evening; no homework was done that night, that was for sure. (Did it ever really get done, he wondered...)
Of course... With all that luck, which included the teachers apparently forgetting to assign anything from the classes, he still had to actually get inside the house that he was now walking towards in front of at four in the afternoon. Not to mention convince whoever was there to cough up whatever the Kaiba siblings had been forced to leave behind... Hell, he didn't even know what kind of stuff Mokuba and Seto had left behind, would they even want it? ...Or would it still even be there? He was aiming for an album but... What if they didn't even keep one? Where the hell would that leave him then...
He groaned, rubbing his head as he walked down the street with his bag again held hover his shoulder. School passed by pretty quick, not that the others hadn't noticed this particular distraction... Honda had jokingly asked about whether or not he really was dating, which he of course shouted 'no' to before ending up in a scuffle with the guy. Bakura had wisely just stood on the sidelines for that particular moment of course, and ended up talking to Anzu about what sorts of things she should see in Kyoto; apparently he'd been there with his dad a few years before. Yugi in the meantime seemed particularly sympathetic of the odd silence that his friend held during most of the school day; whether or not it was because he knew about the present issue or just because that was how he was, who knew. But in the end, it meant Yugi wishing him luck as the others shrugged it off, Katsuya himself heading off with a nod and a grin.
Which brought him here. The 'Yamada' family, listed under 'Yamada Gi – A' with the last character in katakana, weren't quite as far from the school as they were from the Kaiba home. In fact, he could probably argue that the school was some sort of 'half-way point' between the two, albeit on a weird angle. The fact was, it was pure coincidence that they were in the same district of Tokyo at all; from what little Mokuba had remembered, the orphanage he and Seto had stayed at was well over in a separate end of Tokyo's special wards. Why they bothered driving off to the exact opposite end who knew really. Relatives probably wanted them as far out of their hair as possible...
Not that it did much for them in the end he figured, adjusting the grip on his school bag. Katsuya stood in front of the small, average sized house as he double checked the phonebook page in his hands, clouded sky occasionally spitting out a few snowflakes to add to the dusted sidewalk and pavement around him. All luck... He'd probably gotten here on nothing but luck, like some twisted testament to the Duelist Kingdom. A wry grin was on his face as he stood there, squinting against the sunlight glaring from the windows. There was only one thing he really didn't like about all this really, and that was how damn easy it had been to find these people. Not to mention that he knew nothing about said people aside from the fact that they were apparently pricks when it came to relatives... What the hell was he supposed to do, nail them or just sit tight like he had when talking to Tanaka?
Well whatever. He cracked his knuckles, stowing the phonebook page back in his pocket before going up to the door with a swallow. Well. Here went nothing. Few knocks on the door... And now he waited. Katsuya stuffed his hand back in his pocket, looking around at the house for a bit as the sound of muffled footsteps came from the other side of the door. Looked like every other house on the street... Two stories, and a small thin block with a garage. Almost like Honda's house too actually, which was interesting to say the least. Though at least Honda's place had a bit more 'character' to it than a cookie-cutter- He turned as the door opened, a middle aged and slightly gray haired woman answering the door and cutting his thoughts short. "Hello," she asked hesitantly, grey eyes narrowed in a soon failed attempt to recognize the blond on her step. The woman held a neutral stare on her face, standing only an inch shorter than the teen before her. "...Is there something I can help you with..?"
He nodded, swallowing. Alright, lets do this. "Eh... Yea," he said coughing somewhat as he shifted his school bag again. "Ah... 'M a friend 'f Se-... 'F Souryuu's, I was wonderin' if y' knew th'm at all..." Sheesh... It was one thing to avoid mentioning that Seto was a woman, it was an entirely new thing to hide the gender all together! Even so, would probably keep this lady from either connecting some awkward dots or throwing him out the door... Hopefully.
Maybe not. The woman at the door tensed, briefly setting off alarm bells in the blond's head before she nodded slowly. "...I do," she said curtly, not even a trace of an accent in her voice despite her clearly foreign features. "Please, come in," she continued, standing to the side of the door before turning back with somewhat narrowed eyes. "What's your name?"
Huh. Didn't expect that. Katsuya walked in, watching the door close behind him before shrugging and taking off his shoes. "Jonouchi Katsuya," he said with a nod, putting his bag down at the side and sticking his hands in his pockets. "So... Y' know 'm both then?"
Another nod, the woman gesturing to the side of the hall as she walked into the house. "I should think so... The Souryuu's were my nephews," she stated, eyes flicking back for a moment in an attempt to tell if the term still 'applied'. No reaction was given from both side, Katsuya merely following the woman into a small living room of sorts. Alright, so no change then... Refer to Seto as 'male'. "I didn't expect someone to come to my home asking about them," the woman said almost suspiciously. "Just what do you need to talk to me about," 'Anne' asked, lips pursed as she gestured to the couch. Er... Was this some twisted way of getting mad at him, she could always have kicked him out...
He mentally shrugged, taking a seat across from the woman regardless. "Nothin' much," he said, scratching his head. "Jus' wonderin' about their things... Se- Souryuu didn' say much abou' you guys," the blond said with a shrug, eyes drifting around the fairly plain room, "But he- But 's brother said that they only went through adoption w' one suitcase, so I w's wonderin' if they left anythin' here..."
Anne continued to give the blond her subtle glare, crossing her legs as she adjusted her seat on the couch. "If they left anything... Well," she muttered somewhat offhandedly, "There might be a few things..." As she said this, Anne's tone remained just as cold and neutral as it had been with the mention of her relatives, glare seemingly intensifying as Katsuya swallowed. Wow this seemed eerily familiar... Just a glare, no other resemblance but... Damn this was creepy. "However, I don't believe you have any right to those 'things'," she continued, somehow giving the impression that she was far taller than she actually was. "And if your friends truly needed them," Anne added, "Then perhaps they should have taken them with them."
Yea, but see something told him that wasn't really their choice, was it. "Look lady," he muttered with a growl, "I ain't tryin' t' intrude or anythin... All I wanna know is if there's anythin' like a family picture 'r somethin," he continued, gripping the insides of his pockets tightly. "Like an album 'r something. I figure it's somethin' they outta hav-"
"I think you've stayed long enough," Anne said calmly, cutting the blond off as she stood. Hang on what? The blond narrowed his eyes as the woman stared down at him, her arms loosely crossed. "Forgive me for pulling you in for what I thought would be a meaningful conversation," she continued with a noted trace of sarcasm, "But if this is all you came for, I'm going to have to ask you to leave..." Tch... Katsuya stood, glaring but nodding nonetheless and heading for the door. Lousy little- "By the way," the woman continued, following after the teen as he grabbed his bag. "If you even think of attempting to disturb other members of my family with this pointless and long dead topic, I'll be calling the police to charge you with trespassing."
Wait what? Katsuya's eyes widened, the blond turning for a moment from where he'd been putting on his shoes. This lady was going to charge him with... He continued to stare, moving aside as Anne opened the door and allowed him out of the house. "You understand what that means of course," she asked coldly, Katsuya merely standing on the steps a few moments with wide and clearly angered eyes. "...Good," Anne said with a 'smile'. "I trust this is the last time we'll see each other then."
And with that the door was slammed shut, leaving Katsuya to stare almost bewilderingly at the door. 'Trespassing'? What the... Was she serious about that? It was their stuff, she should be... The blond shook his head, turning away from the house and walking off with his free hand in his pocket. Seriously, what was that... What the hell was that..?
Knowing his luck Seto would actually have to get involved to find a way around that... Her stuff in there, not his; he didn't have any real defense in this situation. But there was no way in hell that she would do that, and even if she had been willing to do so it would involve 'Seto Kaiba' meeting with old relatives... And that probably wouldn't work out too well, given that the damn 'Aunt' would probably mention that she had a 'niece' not a 'nephew'... "Agggghh..." There was obviously something in there though, the fact that the lady clammed up like that was obvious enough, but damn it he was no where near getting anything... Again!
And the fact was, as he walked back, he didn't think there was really much else he could do about it. He could take out four plus guys out in a fist fight within one round, out run a few trained mooks with guns, even stand against a full gang beating him with yo-yos of all things, but he couldn't fucking get a photo album from a middle-aged house wife that was shorter than him! Either he was loosing his touch or... Well.
Damn. That stubborn streak had to be hereditary...
AN: Did anyone expect me to pull in relatives? I'm guessing no. No worries guys, the Kaiba siblings won't actually end up having to deal with their aunt's family again... (That would suck.) Even so. If you can accurately guess what's going to happen next, you're probably amazing. (Or maybe you just are amazing.)
LONG chapter though, sorry about that... Probably mostly due to the extent that I put notes in here...
Annnnd Christmas starts! It's coming closer... Updates might be fast, might be slow, not sure right now... Sort of in that hole where you've applied everywhere and end up sitting by the phone, so really it's a matter of time now. Christmas will take three chapters, maybe four depending on conversational length at some point, so keep an eye out! Expect a lot of interesting things to happen here...
Also, a sort of secondary challenge here, see what kind of 'shadow games' you can come up with. And I mean old school shadow games, like the knife and money one from the first chapter, or the 'two paint cans one rope' deal from 'Get the Million'... Or maybe even like that certain exploding ice-hockey game...
And in other news!
Poll Results
We've got some more! Decide the identity of Seto Kaiba's past self... And we have...
Female Crossdressing Set - 11 (Three Anonymous)
Obviously Female Priestess Set - 6 (Three Anonymous)
Canon; Male Set - 2
You have until Battle City is officially underway to decide guys! Take your time!
Anonymous Review Responses
Two reviews this time around! First off, , your vote is recorded up above! As for Pegasus... I'm pretty sure he's the same age anime wise. Even if the dub changed that, I stick to the Japanese copy anyways, and they don't mess with things like that from what I've seen.
And next we have Iona! I think you said it... Three times before you asked, which demands just as many thank-yous. Thank you, thank you, thank-you for being such a faithful reviewer Iona... And I'm very glad, and personally honored that you loved the arc so much! As for Fluffy the eye-licker... There'll be a hint in maybe the next chapter or so, trust me on that. It is hard to sympathize for the villain after he's done all that crap. And I would never have guessed your love for hygiene, never. (Bahahahaa, it's amazing what sorts of things are suddenly highlighted when thought is given...)
Seto does remember 'everything' so to speak, but not from inside the soul-room. Anything from in there is very, very faded... So thankfully (Or unfortunately), the 'kiss' is not remembered. Might be something in her subconscious dealing with that, but nothing else. Much safer for Jonouchi though, that's for sure.
As for dealing with the Big Five... Just take a look above. Boy it sucks when one of the five is a lawyer! This will make later actions in the Legendary Heroes arc make a lot of sense though... It's also more logical for the five, as hey... They want to live! As for the helicopter, no worries; if Kaiba started nodding off, Mokuba was there to take the wheel! (Believe it or not, he can pilot a helicopter to some extent.) Wouldn't be the best ride... But thankfully Kaiba was able to drive the entire time, and very well. Most likely because Soulless-Kaiba was given something to eat at some point...
Your demands for a doctor have been answered! A big deal indeed... Lucky for him, it missed some very vital points, so he didn't end up bleeding out more than he did. Yay~ The panda powers appear to have been directed toward an alternate target however...
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section that would wish you Happy Holidays, but it's only the start of November!
I don't know about you but... I find that the title of this chapter pretty much speaks for itself eh?
A note on time... When Mokuba and Jonouchi were walking home during 'the week before December', they weren't walking around seven days prior; they were literally at the last leg of the week before December started. Specifically, it was the last day of November, and a Thursday. Mokuba was taken that Friday, on the first of December... And the following week, on the ninth, the Duelist Kingdom started.
The eleventh was when the Duelist Kingdom ended, and when everyone returned home... However, they didn't actually land in Tokyo until early in the morning on the twelfth, Tuesday. In other words, the first day back was the thirteenth, Wednesday... Yugi's Dad showed up on the fourteenth, and due to work related things, Jonouchi ended up putting off visiting his dad the day after (He works Friday evenings) that until Monday... So he visited his dad on the 18th of December, and showed up at the Yamada house on the 19th. Phew! Time's running short Jonouchi, hurry, hurry!
AIR MUSCLE. Silly name, but that's what they were called in the manga, and I'm leaving it as so. Early in the series, Jonouchi passed a 'challenge' set by a shoe store owner to prove he was 'worthy' of buying some very high end running shoes... They were listed as being worth '100,000 Yen' in the manga, making it about twelve hundred dollars. The challenge was to put his foot in while the owner's pet scorpion was there... If he did it and lived, then he'd get the shoes half price. Jonouchi of course, being Jonouchi, agreed to it. And lived. Because he's lucky like that. Had to trade in his old shoes along with what he had for this, in order to cover the price though... So he probably coughed up about 50,000 yen, or 500-550 dollars. WAIT WHAT. J-Jonouchi, no wonder you're always fighting off your dad's bills and debts! (He must have been in a calm period.)
In any case, later on he and Yugi were mugged for the shoes, and Yami Yugi paid a visit to the shoe store... Finding out that the owner had paid for the mugging to get them back. They played a game involving pulling coins from the shoe, with the scorpion inside. The owner however, decided against letting his pet live, and just stabbed the toe... Only to get his hand stuck in the shoe, where his still living scorpion nailed him soundly on the hand. (He didn't die though, just got hospitalized.) Jonouchi got his shoes back as a result, and just called the hole a 'battle scar'.
Seriously though, why the hell was he buying those shoes...
In Japan, it's pretty much a requirement to remove your shoes and put on slippers when you enter a house… (Very rude not to!) And it's definitely required in schools. Entering the building, you take off your shoes, put them in a small shoe locker, and put on slippers in exchange. This keeps the floors clean hn? Which is good, since the students are the ones who clean it... Either certain students will be assigned for clean up the one day, or everyone will get together and... Clean.
And yes, Mokuba bought Jonouchi new shoes. Of course, this means that they're far cry from the simple, worn down sneakers the blond had… So they're very hard to get used to, as you can bet that he didn't skimp on it. I doubt his older sister would complain about it either, given the condition of Jonouchi's feet, and why. (If anything, it'll just give Kaiba an excuse to continue messing with Jonouchi.)
Now, something you should realize about the 'Districts', or 'Special Wards' of Tokyo Japan... Each one has its own mayor, and is generally treated by the rest of the world as its own 'city'. That's how the otherwise mammoth city of Tokyo doesn't fall to shit. In any case, I just wanted to let you all know that, in case you notice this and say 'why does Usagi call them districts..?'... They really are called 'districts'; just that technically they aren't districts so much as mini-cities.
In any case, Bunkyou is a bit of an education center in Tokyo, and is home to the University of Tokyo as well. Would make sense for Bakura's dad to live there, particularly since the commute isn't nearly as horrendous as many others who work somewhere in Tokyo while living outside the city.
Why is it so hard to believe Mai is from Kyoto? (She's probably not by the way; this was only made for the purposes of the fanfic. Mai's living spaces are never actually made apparent, and as the only times we see her are at gatherings of top duelists from all over Japan unless you count Doma...) Because comparing the busty blond's fairly forward ways to one of the most well preserved and cultural centers in Japan is just that interesting. (Honestly I just said 'Kyoto' because the city is beautiful; fitting for the one with 'Peahen' for a last name.) On Kyoto itself, as said before, it's quite the cultural center, and was specifically avoided during the fire-bombing of Japan during the second world war. It's home to around 2,000 shrines and temples...
(It's also home to Nintendo, hehehe.)
In Japan, exchanging presents goes a little different than in the 'west' (Northa America, Europe...) so to speak. Within families, it's obviously the kids get presents from santa deal, or from their parents/parental guardian… Parents of course don't get anything. (And of course, if the kids don't believe it's still 'Present time!' ) However, in addition to this, it's very, very common for presents to be considered something to exchange among couples. Christmas you see, is considered a very 'romantic' holiday over there, and generally it's a rough subject among single women if they don't have a guy to spend the holiday with...
In any case, this is why the topic of dating sprung up so quickly when Yugi asked what Jonouchi was going to do about presents; if Shizuka and Mokuba are already covered, then… Who the hell else is he giving presents to?
An amusing note concerning Christmas, or... Almost at least, given that it's 'in name only'. The term 'Christmas Cake' was (Not so common now) often applied to women over 25 who hadn't gotten married; due to the tradition that once Christmas was over, the cakes meant for the holiday were good as useless, old, and unwanted. Owch. Of course, this term is a little outdated now, since people are marrying older than that a lot more than they used to. Even so... Does this make Mai a Christmas Cake? Hnn...
When Bakura says his Dad is the new curator of the museum, he references the old one; way way back during the 'Man from Egypt Arc', the Egyptian Display was put together by 'Professor Kanekura', the current curator. When Shadi showed up, he methodically 'judged' all those involved in either the display of the things from the tomb on display (Curator), or in the dig itself (Sugoroku's friend, Professor Yoshimori, who unlike the Curator had innocent intentions.). He judged Kanekura using the scales, asking him questions that would test his character; or rather, if he was a selfish prick (He was) or if he was a decent person... And each time he lied, the scales tipped against him, until finally the illusion of Ammit, the Egyptian monster who devours the hearts of the sinful/unworthy, appeared behind him... And locked his jaws tight on Kanekura's head. Nom nom nom...
Needless to say, that was plenty enough to throw the guy into a heart attack, leaving the position of 'Curator' freed up. And since in the Millennium world, Yami Bakura says 'his' father is the curator...
The conversation around the end of the 'Christmas' talk during their first day back to school hints at Honda's very evident suspicion about Bakura. See, though Honda chucks the ring as far as possible in the anime, and therefore doesn't really guess that it came back, this scene doesn't happen in the manga; Bakura did his thing before springing Honda out of a cell, and the only thing that happened after that was Honda noting some very un-Bakura like words… Such as before Yugi's duel, where Bakura says 'Kill him Yugi! For Kaiba!' (Way to cover yourself there Yami Bakura...)... And of course, Honda's thinking '…Dude, am I the only one hearing this?' Now Honda. Now you know how Jonouchi feels half the time in this fanfic.
Something that I decided I should put here, since we're seeing these guys in school a little more than the anime but lack the obvious visual aid, a quick thing on their seating arrangements... (Which I'll re-post when we hit the Dungeon Dice Monsters' part, as they end up in grade eleven at that point)
Using Jonouchi as the center here, and with 'north' refering to the chalkboard... Yugi is to Jonouchi's 'north east' side, setting them on a perfect diagonal. Makes it a bit hard to keep conversations quiet. Honda on the other hand, (Who was ironically a bit more of a jerk than Jonouchi when he was introduced...) is 'south east', also on a perfect diagonal. From when Bakura was introduced, we know that he sits directly beside Jonouchi, on the blond's left. (West!) Obviously because of that, he can't continue his conversation with Honda.
And here's where we hit a bit of a problem... See, Takahashi... Isn't always too concrete with the seating arrangement; case in point, the same chapter Bakura is introduced, we see a decent portion of the class; where Honda usually sits, there's a young woman. Granted, the seating arrangement might have been switched around, but it's still a little weird. In any case, I actually don't know where Anzu sits. My guess would be that it's not particularly close to the others though... Given that most of the others end up standing during lunch, or in the morning when they're talking. (Ironically, they tend to converge around Jonouchi's desk just as often as they do Yugi's.)
Though we never see Yugi's dad, I'm fairly certain that not only is Yugi and his grandfather's current height an issue of age (As young Sugoroku is quite a bit taller than he is now.), but that the hair colour is very much parental, particularly since when we see 'Young Sugoroku' in full, he has blond bangs, and red tipped black hair... Hohhh. Pretty cool. Probably not the best thing for a businessman though, which is what Takahashi said Yugi's father was. Specifically, he's a travelling businessman, which means that he's likely out of the country a lot.
Now, Jonouchi is stated as not using honorifics, but I think we can break that for now, as with when 'Tanaka-san' was around. See… Whereas with Tanaka it was more out of paranoia (He didn't want to get kicked out of the building or anything, so he played it awkwardly safe on his part.), in this case it's purely to avoid being really awkward. After all, it's Yugi's dad… So the last names are obviously the same. So just calling the guy 'mutou' in front of Yugi would be just a little… Weird. Kind of like fanfictions where Yami Bakura is called 'Bakura'... By Bakura's dad. And then everyone else is calling the normal Bakura 'Ryou'? HUH.
Originally for the Legendary Heroes, Kaiba's dealings with the Big 5 consist of him going in, demanding that they clear their desk (not even a two weeks notice. Hihh.), only for them to claim they did what they had to, and had also developed a VR program… Heeeeeyyy, why not take a look, maybe reconsider? It'll just require him to sit in a capsule and let the program do whatever...
And then Kaiba agrees..? Instead of just… Firing them anyways and testing it SAFELY?
Needless to say, I figured that the team with a lawyer who could turn an aqua-phobe into a boat thief would proooobably find a way to avoid getting his ass kicked by Kaiba for at least a little bit. So what's he do? He finds a way to not only avoid her, but makes it so that the only way that they can be fired is after the product has been tested and approved for release by the company's current CEO. Which practically guarantees that they can kill her off. YAYYYYYYY. Of course, they have to finish the damn thing first, and they're putting that off as much as they can without getting their asses dealt with, so really all Kaiba can do is sit and glare. A lot.
Speaking of the legal jargon above, I probably worded it really badly, and really oddly in my attempts to mimic it... But the fact was, I wanted to make sure that the guy creating the loophole didn't end up leaving a hole open for Kaiba. Tsk tsk tsk... As for how the legal fun started in the first place, Kaiba didn't technically re-claim her role as CEO until after getting to the building from the helicopter... Which meant that there was plenty of time after she woke up for Oka, the legal advisor, to create a backup plan... Not to mention put it in action the moment Pegasus lost to Yugi. D'OH.
Omisoka is the 'Forget the Year' party that happens on New-Year's eve... In fact, it is new-years eve. The parties are very big at companies, and basically go on about putting the past behind them to welcome in the coming year's successes... At midnight, a gong is rung 108 times on Omisoka (Once for each of the 'earthly desires' that cause human suffering), like how fireworks and such are released for new-years, but with a heck of a lot more meaning than just to celebrate and look pretty. (Of course, there are likely going to be fireworks and such in addition to this...) It's the second most important holiday for this reason, and there's often big and thorough house cleaning around this time, same with on the last day of school in terms of desks for a similar 'clear out' of the past year. The biggest meal of the year is around now as well, with a specific type of noodle often served for the occasion (Omisoka noodles!), though not too many people know the traditions behind the noodles, or how to really make them... In any case, though New Years tends to be a fairly quiet occasion over there compared to in 'The West', the parties that go on in companies are not. Compare it to the standard drunk fest you have in North America and you have a businessman's Omisoka party. Expect people to be hammered!
On a side note for the event, even Japan itself isn't completely sure as to what Omisoka means; 'O' of course is from 'Dai', or 'Big', and 'ka' comes from 'nichi', or day... And then there's 'Miso', rather 'Mi' (Form of 3, or San) and 'So' (A form of 'Ten', Jyuu), as the reading means '30'; the kanji itself refers to the last day of the month. Most likely, with the added 'Big' or 'Great' there, 'Omisoka' means the 'last day of the last day' so to speak... Which makes sense, since it is. (Or maybe even just 'THE last day'.)
Anyways, not to say that Kaiba's being a stick in the mud, but why the hell would she, someone who is under the legal drinking age and probably wouldn't drink outside offered wine at a fancy fancy meeting/dinner (If the host had the gall to do so in the first place, as it's quite rude to do that when the subject isn't supposed to drink, despite it being polite otherwise.), want to go to a loud and very much alcoholic party? Even without the alcohol, it's doubtful that she'd really want to be at something that would seem so damn informal really.
'Tadaima' is a phrase a whole lot of you subbed anime watchers should recognize; it's a phrase commonly stated upon returning to the home, and means 'I'm home' and alternatively 'I'm here!'
It's a little difficult to really gauge the relationship between Kaiba and Jonouchi at the moment. On the one hand, she knows damn well that he's ready and willing to keep her brother (and apparently her) safe, given the bullet issue and such… Which brings a grudging respect, particularly when combined with her own way of using duelling as a partial way to judge skill. Despite an obvious disadvantage in terms of experience and deck, Jonouchi did, after all, technically gain the rank of 'Runner Up' in the Duelist Kingdom, which makes him one of the top players in Japan… (Just wait until you see how this is countered for the 'rating system' in Duelist Kingdom, OHHHHH.) And of course, he's managed to prove capable in terms of the whole 'chase after the kidnappers' deal.
On the other hand, the blond is loud, and overall, really annoying… Not to mention (In her opinion) a not so good influence on her brother. She knows damn well what kind of mouth he's got, not to mention his reputation for injury, the house he was pulled out of… Basically, conflicting opinions that, in the end, involve her continuing to 'hate' Jonouchi to a slight level. It's far lighter than in the anime and manga though, though that was likely a little obvious given that she didn't boot the blond out of her car the instant she saw him there, and instead went on with the standard conversation.
Interesting thing; the whole gap between 'drunk guy' and 'sober guy' tends to be believed to a very high extent for a number of people in Japan, rather, the fact that when a person is drunk, they're a completely different guy... Words spoken by 'Drunk' were not spoken by 'Sober'. Now this doesn't change the fact that some will still be disgusted when they see someone passed out on the train, but even so… The fact is, add a few beers in, and you can get people acting really, really weird. Like... Really weird. It wouldn't surprise me of Jonouchi's dad wasn't so much of an angry drunk as a depressed and violent drunk… Which just hammers on even more guilt by the end of it, brining in more alcohol and…
Well, you can see where this is going. Good thing he's in rehab... (Japan's very good at putting the prisoners through this. They only have 62 prisoners per 100,000... Compare that to the 756 per 100,000 that the USA has. Course, with how populated Japan is...)
For some reason, when I picture Jou's dad, I hear him speaking with the typical accent of the old war veterans you see on tv… The foreign ones in particular, from the second world war. Or even just the general speech pattern of all the typically portrayed veterans, the whole 'bouncy', 'broken' form of speaking. His appearance obviously isn't nearly as aged though; in my head, he's the typically 'older than he looks' middle aged man, though with slightly darkened skin and blond hair. Oddly enough, the blond isn't a foreign trait in my opinion... But oh well.
The real irony of this accent? Also comes off as the 'drunk man's accent. D'OH.
It really is upsetting, that Shizuka says what she did up there... But she really did say it! In the manga, at the end of her video-letter to Jonouchi, she says 'don't let dad see this' before ending the message. Poor guy… Granted, it's quite likely that Jonouchi's dad doesn't get off quite as easily in reality (-coughprobablyajerkcough-) as he did in this fanfic… I just didn't want to just say 'THEN HE WAS ARRESTED, THE END'. Seems like a cop out to me. (And then I did the address search... Mrnggg... Need to work on my cop-outs.)
Mokuba's age (unfortunately) directly conflicts with the one earlier stated... This is because, after realizing that the age-cutoff for school in Japan was in April, I was stuck making Kaiba a year younger than in the prologue... And as Mokuba is five years younger, something that I had written with Kaiba's initial age in mind... (Rather, with the idea that Kaiba was turning 17, not 16 this year) ...Well, he was written as turning twelve, when, given the 'accurate ages' (Kaiba is only recently 16, Jonouchi is actually still 15) would be wrong; Mokuba should be eleven, though ironically he's still right about the middle school; with the cut-off in April, he's still going into grade seven. Yay uniforms! (Interesting how in the anime, we never see Mokuba in one... Despite the fact that his age should say otherwise...)
Yea guys. The legal age of consent in Japan is thirteen. Might be fourteen now, not sure. Even so. WHAT. You're not legally an adult there until 20, 21 in terms of drinking, but once you're 13-14 sex is ok? HUH. I've said it before, and I'll say it again; OH Japan...
The reason why Jonouchi can easily say that the name is going to be much easier to find than it would normally be is that for one, he's right about this kanji being very rare at the end of a name. Normally it's only at the beginning… If it's at the end, that's a fairly uncommon name you've found! (And Jonouchi is looking in Tokyo only, so even with the daunting number of people...) In addition, Mokuba told Jonouchi that it was written traditionally; normally, the kanji for dragon is a little less complex to write, but what with it being Chinese in origin, it can alternately be written in the Chinese fashion. (Hence the term 'traditional'.) Of course, most people don't stick with the traditional form unless it's specific to the name, or reading...
Ironically, it still works for finding the Yamada's, even though there's otherwise nothing else to link the families, so good on that!
Net cafes are so 'house-y' that there's a term called 'net cafe refugee' over there! It costs less to spend a night or so over there than it does to rent an apartment… Pity that. Even so, just getting the computer part isn't too hard out there, and you normally get a free drink... Jonouchi's just there for fifteen minutes (He's lucky he got that, they normally go by either the hour or by 'session') though, so all he gets is the computer. Much easier than going for a library actually... Net Cafe computers are fairly private, whereas in a library it's not likely that the computers are really kept separate from the others.
As said above, 'Souryuu' means 'Blue Dragon'; 'Sou' is an alternate pronunciation of 'Aoi', 'Blue', whereas 'Ryuu' obviously means 'Dragon'. I was originally gonna have Dragon first and blue second (A lot of names 'don't make sense' like that), but that sounded really... Awkward.
Obituaries… Harsh stuff. Not sure how common it is in Japan; ran a search, they're definitely done, but it doesn't actually matter too much there because the aunt wrote it… And the aunt is quite used to obituaries being relatively common as a way to send out regards to the dead. (Obits are more of an 'English language' thing... In fact, one of Britain's newspapers highly encourages it.) Oddly enough, despite the fact that she pretty much milked the inherited cash dry, she didn't actually get much from the Kaiba's original family from what would be likely with the FanFic dad; more likely that the two were dumped out of necessity than pure hate. ...Still doesn't excuse them though.
So why hasn't anyone connected the dots with that obituary there? Because the idea that Seto Kaiba is a woman is just too outlandish, not to mention the fact that most people don't… Really bother with things like that unless they really want to know. Annnnd… Thankfully, most of those people don't know about the original last name, which makes it even more difficult to find that ovit. Bad enough that it uses the traditional kanji, but when the only result is an obituary for a seemingly unrelated man... (Seto doesn't really take after her fanfic parents as much as she does her dead grandparents, and the eye colour is more from her mom... Who Mokuba very visibly takes after.) Yea.
More irony for you; somehow, I ended up making 'Anne' a little more similar to Seto than intended... In terms of stubbornness and the 'glare' at least. Thankfully, there's no other resemblance. (Phew!)
Japan, or at least the Tokyo area and south of that, doesn't tend to get much snow… They get it though, most definitely! You just won't get as much. (Unless you get to northern Japan, like Sendai. Expect to get meters of it after that.) In any case, there's snow hanging around in the fanfic now, but it's only like… five millimetres.
Speaking of snow, a somewhat unrelated note involving Canada and snow... YOU! Americans. Stop coming to Southern Ontario with skiis in the middle of July. (That actually happened. Many times.) Amusing as it is, it... It just makes us shake our head, because quite frankly we have really hot summers around here. (And it's getting worse...) And don't get me started on BC; Vancouver Island, save the mountain tops, get about as much if not less snow than the aforementioned Tokyo. And when they do get snow, it lasts for like... A day. An idea of how 'snowy and cold' Canada is? I have yet to have snow on my birthday. Which, by the way, is December the sixth. (It's a dream of mine, a dream I tell you...)
'Anne' is a pun by the way. Though obviously written in katakana, what with her being British, (Katakana is used for words not of Japanese origin.) a resident reading it could read it as 'Ah-Ne'… Or 'ane', which means 'older sister'. Guess how Anne is related to Seto's dad in this fanfic. Last name however is just a somewhat common last name; 'Yama' means mountain, and 'Da' is from 'Daru', 'to come out', 'to participate', and as most likely the case in this point 'origin'. So yea, no special meaning there. That would be kinda silly. (The name is more often a 'place name' than a 'last name' though.)
Oh. As for why both of the Brits have Japanese names... Kaiba's Dad took his wife's last name to sort of fit in a bit more- a strange Japanese name tends to get through a bit more than a strange foreign name, and it certainly prevented any teasing on tiny 5-6 year old Seto's part. Anne, of course, just took her husband's name out of tradition...
Don't expect these relatives to last more than a bit into the next chapter by the way, not only am I not too fond of them, but pulling them into things would just complicate matters a lot.
If you're wondering why Jonouchi is always holding the bag over his shoulder, think for a moment; when was the last time you saw an anime where the highschool students used 'normal' bags? The bags over there resemble briefcases, or folder cases if anything, and can only really be held by a handle... Hence the over-the-shoulder method that is constantly mentioned.
Does the last half, with Jonouchi finding the old last name and such seem a little too easy to you? There's actually a reason for it. A creepy reason. But a reason nonetheless. Not giving any hints save the fact that the Kaiba siblings are most assuredly not involved.
Well, we'll see! Just wait for the next chapter guys, which will cover more events before Christmas is underway!