Penalty Game

It was December the 22nd now, and over the main and largest island of Japan a number of things were happening. A large number of things that mattered only to a handful of people in their own right, things that those around them could likely care less about. In a hospital in Osaka a young girl was beginning a slow recovery from a possibly dangerous if not only half as likely to have succeeded surgery, accompanied by her mother and a close friend. Bandages were wrapped firmly around the upper portion of her face, but despite the fact that she was unable to see the two at her bedside she was very much awake... And praying.

Only a few hours away in Kyoto, a young woman dressed far differently than what most who knew her would expect calmly walked back to her home from a corner-store with a bag of noodles, eggs, and assorted vegetables for the next nights dinner, while glancing at a clock to the side. It was only a matter of time before the train left Tokyo, and she needed to set up the spare room for the next few days.

Even further from there was Tokyo, and while two siblings both spent well needed and well missed time together, one keeping the enjoyment of the situation buried as the other eagerly led the first through whatever was planned for the 'together time'. Not much further from the siblings, within the same city, a close group of friends sat at a decently empty fast-food restaurant to talk about the holidays. The days for which each plan that these people had would roll into motion was drawing closer and closer after all; and it was only right that they spend the last few days before that moment celebrating themselves, before the holidays closed in completely.

And just how would they do that for the moment? By splitting an order of burgers and fries, what else? Idle chatter filled the air as they sat, a young uniformed woman coming over to the table as the teens at the booth looked through the menu. Most already knew what they were ordering of course; despite the 'Prisoner 777' incident, Burger World had long since become a regular place to sit and chat. Why bother doing that at a restaurant if they didn't eat? Favorites had long since been decided on really, and as the waitress stopped by their table the group turned. "Have you decided on your order," she asked, holding a small notepad in hand and looking the group over. "Just so you know, for the holidays all drinks come with free refills."

The news didn't seem to phase the group, most of them just folding up their menus if they had opened them at all. "Yeea," Honda said first, leaning against the window he was at and handing his menu to the woman. Somehow, through some miracle of the gods, he had managed to escape his 'voluntary Christmas fun' for the evening. It was almost similar to how Katsuya had managed to avoid working for the evening really but... Given the fact that he openly detested the 'Christmas fun', Honda seemed more than pleased about the fact in comparison to the 'around average' cheer that Katsuya held. "I'll just have a coke and a cheeseburger..."

"Same for me," Yugi said with a nod, smiling. "But I'll have milk with mine," he added, handing his menu to the waitress as she nodded.

She moved to scribble a few things on his notepad, before looking at the one between the two boys. "And you?"

Bakura blinked, before handing over his menu with a smile. "I'll have some milk as well," he said quietly, bowing his head and looking to the side a moment. "Though I think I'll just have a basket of fries, with some gravy..."

There was another nod from the waitress, before she looked across the table to the last two members of the group. "Hmm... I think I'll take the fries too," Anzu decided, bowing her head politely. "A glass of coke for me."

The waitress nodded, before turning to Katsuya expectantly. "And for you sir," she asked, folding her hands over in wait.

The blond blinked, before looking up from where he'd been staring out the window. Been lost in thought... Wait him? "E-Eh?" He swallowed, shaking his head before leaning back on the booth seat with a grin. "Oh righ'... Iced tea an' a cheeseburger f'r me," he said with a nod, watching the waitress scribble this down.

"Alright," she said, bowing slightly before looking over the group. "I'll be back with your meals soon enough." With that the woman left, leaving conversation to settle over the table once again.

"Sooooo," Honda asked, turning to Katsuya with raised eyebrows and an odd grin. "How goes the 'present hunt' for this mysterious 'not date'?"

Besides not well? Katsuya groaned, before glaring at the teen in question with a sour look on his face. "Seriously man, don't even talk about that..." At all. Since he'd been iron-walled from the 'Yamada' house, he'd tried running over a number of possible Christmas ideas really. Breaking in had all but been locked out of mind given that Anne was quite clearly a stay-at-home mom... And he had no doubts she really would have him arrested. He'd tried a few things... The first thought had been making an 'upgraded' clay Blue-Eyes, with the added detail of the 'Ultimate Dragon'- however, anytime he thought back to the beast there were too many details to possibly recreate properly with nothing but clay. Not after what he saw in the Duelist Kingdom really... And it was probably better that way. All other thoughts after that point had just as quickly gone down the drain, varying from either something that would get his throat slit... (Blue Eyes... Plushie?) ...To something that would likely be thrown in the trash first chance that came up. (Maybe he could help cook the Christmas dinner, a sort of compromise from his Dad's suggestion! ...Yea no.) He rubbed his head, leaning back on the seat as those thoughts continued to run through his head.

Yugi in the meantime blinked at the news of continual failure, apparently genuinely surprised given the lack of news on the topic since that day. "Oh..." He stared, leaning over the table slightly. "...You're still not having any luck then?" There was nothing but a nod in response, and the boy frowned before turning away in thought. "Hn... There has to be something you can do then..."

Beside the blond, Anzu merely shook her head, an odd look on her face as she turned to him. "No offense... But I'm still trying to get over you dating someone let alone going all out for Christmas myself..."

"Gh-" He glared, turning on the woman with a scowl. "I told you, I ain't datin' anyone! I'm jus' stuck on presents f'r someone!"

The others laughed at the paper thin defense, Anzu merely holding her hands up in mock defeat as she smiled. "Alright, alright," she said, before crossing her arms. "It would be nice to know who you're talking about though..."

Bakura nodded in agreement, shifting in his seat as the waitress came by with their food and drinks miraculously balanced on one tray. "That's right," he said as he grabbed his glass of milk, taking a small sip while the fries and gravy were placed in front of him. "It's rather confusing when you refuse to say anything. In fact," he continued, grabbing a few fries with the fork provided, "It's really only natural to assume you are dating someone... Ahahaha..."

The blond groaned again, before grabbing some ketchup to put on his burger. "Tch... Whatever," he muttered, leaning forward as he put the bun on top and started eating it. Drop the subject, drop the subject and- "Hey what abou' you Anzu," he said with a renewed smirk as an idea came to mind. "Y' seem pretty surprised about wherever it is you're goin f'r Christmas..." The grin grew, Anzu herself blinking from where she'd taken a few bites of her ketchup slathered fries. "Why don't ya share?"

The woman tensed, gritting her teeth before dropping the fry she'd been holding. "I think I have your point now," she muttered, taking an angry sip of her coke. "If you want to know so badly," she continued, turning back to her meal, "You should probably ask Mai yourself!"

Katsuya gave a 'defeated' shrug, still smirking as he continued on what was already the second half of his burger. "Heh, maybe I will," he said with a laugh, before taking another large bite of the burger.

Honda also grinned, his own burger already well close to being done if not mostly devoured. "Not before I do," he said with a laugh, the woman across from him merely shaking her head exasperatingly.

"Ahhhhhggg... What is wrong with you two!" Wh-What? Oh come on, it wasn't like that...

Though it was still fun to mess with Anzu. The grins grew, Bakura and Yugi both laughing quietly as they watched the 'argument' continue between bites. The laughing was quickly cut off on Yugi's part however when the boy turned to ask his friend something. Staring at the already empty platter that was now nothing but smeared gravy, he gaped as Bakura quickly downed the rest of his milk with a large smile. "B-Bakura-kun," he sputtered, looking back at his own barely half-done burger for a moment. Katsuya and Honda were one thing, given their normally large appetite but... "You already finished your food!" Apparently, his was just as large then.

The albino turned, blinking. "Erm... Yes... Well..." He laughed nervously, rubbing his head as the others turned to stare at the platter themselves. "I tend to eat rather quickly, it's a habit of mine... Hahaha..." Yea... That platter was about the size of three burgers, so 'quickly' was definitely one way to describe things.

Yugi merely continued staring at the platter with those words, before Anzu finally broke the silence. "Well," she said with a cough, waving a near-by waitress down. The woman came over, nodding as Anzu turned to her. "I'm... Going to need to take these fries to go," she admitted, grabbing a large number of bags that she'd taken with her as the waitress took off with a nod.

The others turned, Honda leaning on his arm with raised eyebrows. "Hn... You're already leaving Anzu?"

She nodded, the waitress quickly returning with a styrofoam box for her. "Yea," Anzu said with a small laugh, carefully stowing the fries in the box before wiping her fingers off on a napkin and packing the box itself in one of her bags. She pulled out some change from her purse, putting it on the table to cover her meal. "I'm sorry guys, but I can't miss the train, it was hard enough to get a seat before hand with the holidays..." Oh right, she was heading to Kyoto today... They nodded, watching as the woman gathered up her bags and glanced at her watch. "I'll see you later though, alright?" A slightly longer look was given to Yugi with those words as she gave a quick wave, before leaving with a smile. "Merry Christmas everyone!"

The boys blinked as Anzu disappeared through the door, before turning on Yugi with a mix of smirks and a soft smile on Bakura's part. The boy was fairly red for the moment... Possibly more so than the ketchup on his burger actually, and there was no difficulty in guessing what the cause was. "Heyyyy, Yugi," Honda said with a grin, tapping the boy's shoulder as his friend coughed and continued staring at the table. "Hey Yugi, you alright in there?"

There was no answer save a slight change of energy in the air, Honda pulling back as the familiar 'switch' between persona appeared. Hair rose on end, and with a few blinks a rather startled looking 'Other Yugi' appeared, eyes wide with slight confusion for the moment. The boy looked around, blinking a few times before turning to them with raised eyebrows and an odd frown. "...Just what did you all do to him," he asked somewhat incredulously, the blush from his 'other' quickly fading with his presence. "He won't say a thing to me!"

Katsuya sniggered, shaking his head. 'Conversation' between the 'two Yugis' had become fairly common since the end of the Duelist kingdom, and though it had only been about a week they were all more than used to it by now. "I think y' wanna ask Anzu that," he said with a grin, laughing as Honda joined in the laughs with him. "After th' holidays at least... Hahah... Ahhh..."

"I think you're going to be out here for a while," Bakura added, scratching his cheek with a slightly sympathetic smile. "By the looks of Yugi-kun's face, I don't think he wants to really talk about too much right now... Actually," he continued with a cough, "I'm not even completely sure he can say anything right now..."

The 'other' Yugi nodded with the words, blinking as he looked down at the puzzle with an apparently unimpressed stare. "I can tell," he said as he crossed his arms, before sighing grabbing the burger in front of him. He looked at it for a moment, nibbling the far end of it before dropping it on the plate with a small gagging noise. "Ghk... I don't think I'll be finishing his food for him though..." Hn? Katsuya blinked at the comment, before holding back another laugh as the boy stared almost disdainfully at the large amount of mustard on the burger. Hahaha, and thus the argument between the two went on... Yugi looked at the mostly full glass beside him as well, frowning. "...Or his milk..."

"Oh..." Bakura reached beside him, bowing his head hesitantly as his friend turned at the gesture. "Could I have the milk then..?" As Yugi gave a nod, the albino took the glass and switched straws, taking a few quiet sips with a smile before bowing his head again. "Thank-you."

Yugi merely nodded again, crossing his arms. "Not a problem... I-"

"Oh shiiiit..." The three turned as Honda interrupted the boy, all blinking as a rather angry looking young woman began rapping on the window. Messy brown hair was topped with a knit hat, but despite the otherwise 'calm' wear the woman was in it was more than evident that she was out for figurative blood. "Oh shit, my sister..."

Katsuya stared, eyebrows raised as the woman was joined by an apparently equally unimpressed young man carrying Honda's nephew. There was Johji, still in his trademark duck kigurumi... And looking oddly pleased about the mood his parents were in. "She doesn't look too happy with y' Honda..." The blond turned to his friend, blinking. "What th' hell did you do?"

The teen coughed, lightly shoving past Yugi and Bakura with a red face and grabbing his school bag. "Er... I... Might have skipped out on some Christmas stuff to come out here..." There was a hurried cough as he grabbed his coat off the bench, pulling it on while muffled shouts came from outside the glass.

"You skipped," Bakura repeated, frowning as he downed the rest of his milk. "But I thought you said you had today off..."

Honda merely groaned, the others jumping slightly as his sister began rapping on the window with a glare. 'Get OUT HERE,' she was shouting through the glass, the others looking at their clearly doomed friend with raised eyebrows. "Yeaaaaaa... Might have lied about that one... Just a little." A little? That was one way to put it.

The others continued looking out the window, Yugi blinking owlishly at the sight. "You should probably hurry," he said rather plainly, leaning on his arm and taking a bite of the fries still on his plate. "I don't think they'll stay outside much longer..."

"Man..." Honda again groaned, holding his head as he shouldered his bag. "I really don't want to go out there right now..."

Katsuya snickered again, turning to his friend as the rapping continued with apparent vigor. "Hehehe, and in a few moments," he added with a smirk, "Y' won' wanna be in here! Better move it Honda..."

The teen continued to groan, Bakura standing up with a small smile as he grabbed his own coat. "Ah... If you like, I could act as moral support..."

He shook his head, still more groans coming from the teen. "I don't think that'll work," he muttered, holding his head in his hand, "But you know what, it'll probably keep them from murdering me so... Lets go." With that, the two made, Yugi and Katsuya watching as the teen's sister quickly moved from the window toward the front door with her fiancee and son. "Happy holidays guys," Honda shouted with a wave, voice laced with a small bit of dread in regards of what was to come.

The two nodded, sending their own holiday wishes back. "Merry Christmas!" The large spinning glass door swung, the two quickly disappearing into the now dark outside as Yugi turned back to Kastuya. "Man," the blond muttered, shaking his head before taking a sip of his iced tea. "Y' think he'll live through th' holidays?"

Yugi merely shook his head expression held in a perfect deadpan as he answered. "Personally, I wonder that every day with you, living in Kaiba's house." Hahahaha, very funny... He'd live. The boy shifted closer to the window, looking outside at the already windy and snow filled sky for a moment. "Speaking of Kaiba," he added, looking back to his friend with a small frown. "You seem more than just pressed for time with this..."

The blond shrugged, rubbing his head in agitation. "Well I only have two days left," he muttered, biting his lip as he looked up in thought. "One if y' count th' fact that most stores 'r closed t'morrow..." He sighed, slumping in his seat as the scowl on his face fell short. "I was this close though," he muttered, staring at the table with a more depressed frown. "Thought I had somethin'... Maybe it jus' wasn' th' right idea t' act on..."

"...What sort of idea was it," Yugi asked, the boy trying and failing to hide what curiosity he had. (Probably not trying actually...) "What were you going to get?"

Another shrug, followed by a sigh. Briefly, the blond looked around, checking with now almost ingrained paranoia to make sure no one was listening. "Found 'r las' name," he muttered, turning back to his friend. "'Souryuu.' Found 'r relatives too," he added, leaning over the table as the remaining food there lay forgotten. "Th' ones she stayed with b'fore she an' Mokuba went t' the orphanage... I'd figured," he continued, Yugi listening intently, "That since there was no pictures 'f their parents, since Mokuba never got t' see what 'is mom looked like, they should have something... And I figured," the blond whispered, voice low as a waitress passed to take the clear plates from the table, "That since they left a bunch of things b'hind at that place, maybe one of them was an album 'r somethin..."

His friend nodded, arms still crossed. "I take it they didn't then?"

Katsuya shook his head, a scowl appearing on his face. "Nah, they had one..." Yugi's eyebrows went up in an evident 'oh really?' sort of look, letting his friend go on. "Pretty sure 'f that at least. Th' problem is that as soon as I mentioned th' las' name the aunt said she'd sooner charge me wi' trespassin' than give me th' stuff." He shook his head, letting out a long sighing breath. "An I thought Seto-chan could be a bitch... Sheesh..."

Yugi appeared to almost be caught off guard by the reference to his rival, staring for a few moments before shaking his head. Probably still used to her being 'Kaiba' due to the presence of others... Even so, this didn't stop him from addressing the actual problem. "I see," the boy muttered, closing his eyes a moment in thought. "Hn..." He stared at the ground for a few seconds, before smirking. "So they turned you away then did they... Well. How about I give it a shot," he asked, the smirk growing. Katsuya stared, the boy across from him continuing with an almost frightening gleam in his eyes. "Where do they live exactly, I'm sure I could convince them..." Well, if he was so sure...

The blond shrugged, pulling out the phonebook page and handing it over. "Second 'Yamada' on th' list," he said with a mutter, taking care to avoid sticking the paper in the ketchup covered fries he had. "It's on the other side 'f Domi-" He tensed, watching as Yugi took the page and looked it over before pocketing it. "Wait..." Katsuya coughed, watching as the boy pulled out some change to cover the rest of the bill before grabbing another fry. "Waiiit hang on... W... What are y' gonna do t' them..?"

He shrugged, moving out of the booth as Katsuya followed behind him. "Oh... Nothing much," he said dismissively, looking up at his friend with a smirk. Though the response was a blank, somewhat dumbfounded expression, he still continued. "Just going to talk to them really... Anyways. Are you free at any point tomorrow, Jonouchi?"

"...Yea..." He frowned, nodding. "I got th' weekend off, same as t'day, so I'm free..." They continued toward the door, Katsuya trying to think about something other than the many possible 'penalty games' that would possibly end up going on soon enough. "Seriously though, what-"

Yugi gave a wave, still smirking as he moved to go back to his house through the miniature blizzard that was currently developing. "You'll see," he said, snowflakes slowly creating a thin layer of ice on both boy's coats and pants. "How about we meet here again tomorrow," the boy continued, zipping up the coat he was wearing and carefully hanging the puzzle just under his scarf. "Same time as today."

He blinked, before grinning. Well... In the end, Yugi was Yugi right? He was getting a... A little better with the penalty use right? "Heh.. Yea," he said with a nod, waving as he turned toward his own route back. "Will do... See yah Yugi!" With that, the two took their separate ways, snowflakes continuing to fall to the ground in their wake. He needed to calm down! Not like he was going to do anything in cold blood after all right? The games were all a fair chance after all, from what 'normal' Yugi had said at least... (He didn't really feel comfortable asking the other Yugi at the time...) Everything would be fine...

And with those thoughts in mind, he went back to the house feeling more relaxed than he had since he started the whole Christmas mess to begin with.

While conversations on the holidays went underway, much quieter times could be seen between Mokuba and Seto throughout the same week that had caused so much grief for the youngest member of their staff. As Seto's brother had 'planned', something which had quickly been revealed as a list of things to do with no real set date, work was something that was for once pushed to the back of her mind. If only for Mokuba's sake at least. 'Lets play capmon', was the first thing the boy shouted, an expected thing really. Down in the large rec room that she'd hardly been in since first coming to the house, a board was pulled out and a basket held before her. Pieces were picked from a scrambled number of pieces from the basket and though she personally didn't see much in the already dying game it was more than clear that Mokuba was enjoying this. With that game out of the way, the next thing Mokuba had decided on was a game she hadn't actually heard of herself. 'And Monster Fighter,' Mokuba had shouted, pulling out two gun-like objects and a small collection of figurines. 'That's pretty fun too!' Not something she knew at all, but fairly easy to figure out... Almost point and click really- (Wait, did she just lose?)

It was almost surreal, how happy he was as the time passed. After all that had happened before, and with Gozaburo... With herself, a thought that made her sick to her stomach. And still, the days flew quickly, for only positive reasons. 'Lets go to the arcade,' her brother said with a grin, 'It's been a while since we went there! And I want you to have a burger with me,' he continued, laughing at the raised eyebrows the request had received. 'There's a place that I got to go to a few times... I think it's called...' They went to Burger World of all places... A few times he said? Didn't take much to guess who took him there... (Though she supposed the fries were alright...)

During the drive back, she'd finally asked about this 'Katsuya-nii' business. He didn't really have an answer for when that happened- it was gradual, according to him. Something that he'd done himself, the boy had hurriedly added in the blond's defense, Jonouchi had nothing to do with it. ...He told her about the summer after that, about his trip to Osaka... How he'd given the key to Jonouchi (Who had apparently given it to Yugi in an attempt to hide it from Pegasus, given the quick conversation they'd had at the helicopter hangar...)... About the festival, the fish... It certainly explained the well cared for tank in her brother's room, with the three idiotically happy goldfish swimming around. 'We'll all go together sometime, right Nee-sama?' What else could she say to that? Festivals weren't particularly something she was interested in but... 'We'll see,' she told him honestly, the boy's grin widening in response. 'We'll see...'

She'd missed a lot, too much really. Pictures made sense now, along with dull, numb feelings she could recall having while she 'slept'. Souvenirs that had gathered along the side-table still cluttered it neatly, a permanent reminder of the fact that she didn't want to get rid of this time. Fall had come to an end before she woke up in her opinion, despite the fact that only now, on the 23rd, had Winter officially lasted more than a day. She'd skipped over half a year, skipped over her sixteenth birthday of all things! And after an 'interesting' mini-celebration which consisted of her brother and herself sharing a small dinner and Mokuba handing her a booster pack of cards he wanted her to have, the boy had 'run out of ideas'. She didn't though. And despite the fact that it was a 'national holiday', there were still a number of things still open and running. This would be no exception... To an extent. The car had been prepared, windows tinted to further hide the surprise as the vehicle moved... "Alright," she said quietly, hands over her brother's eyes as they left the car. "No peeking, alright..?"

The boy nodded, slowly being led onto a sidewalk as cold snowflakes fell from the morning sky. "I won't," he shouted, attempting to nod despite the hold on his head. "I promise!" She smirked, continuing to lead the boy through the doors of the building he couldn't see. "Where are we," he asked, listening as his older sister muttered something to someone, pushing a second door open to fully escape the cold winter air. Silence filled the room, save for a few footsteps. "It's pretty quiet in here..." It should be; it was almost completely empty in here. A small click, and the first few lights were on... "Really quiet, are you sure we're-"

The words were quickly proven wrong as loud theme park sounds suddenly sounded through the air, the secondary lights whirring to life as various park rides began to move through their tracks. The boy remained shocked silent, Seto smirking lightly at the slight jump he'd given in response to the sounds. "Alright," she said as she uncovered the boy's face, stepping to the side somewhat. "Open your eyes..."

Mokuba stared, looking around as the rides of his sister's enormous indoor theme park started up. Roller coasters shot around at top speed on their tracks, other, slower rides merely running through the motions pre-programmed into them. "We..." The boy blinked, attempting to find the right words. "We're at... Kaiba-land..?" He looked around as a few members of staff passed by, the boy turning to look up at Seto. No one but staff... Where were the usual crowds of people playing at the park? "Where is everyone..?"

The woman smirked, arms crossed as she turned to one of the staff members. "No one," she stated plainly, giving a dismissive nod to the staff member on the side as the man in question closed up the main power controls. "Just the park staff, along with you..." She knelt down, a small smile on her face as she looked at her brother. "And me." Mokuba continued to stare, Seto continuing with a rare, honest smile that would quite likely never make it outside the building. "We have the entire park to ourselves," she continued, "For the entire day."

He blinked, eyes wide. "The entire day?"

She nodded, before standing up to take off her coat. Was it that hard to believe? "The entire day..." She folded the coat over her arm, looking at her brother. "So," she asked, arms crossed with the bulky coat over top them. "Where do you want to go first?"

"I..." He blinked, before his face broke into a wide grin as he ran off. "Roller coaster! Lets go on the roller coaster!" He quickly charged down the center hall, older sister staring off before belting after him after a few moments.

"G- Mokuba!" Now wait a moment, they had to put their coats away, and- ...Hahh... She continued after her brother, a small smirk on her face as the boy eagerly started a small conversation with the woman heading the coaster controls. Well, she decided as she slowed to a walk. She could deal with carrying her coat for a day really.

It'd be worth the time.

The house of the Yamada family was straight, clean, and uniform. White plaster walls, a neat front yard that was little more than a meter in length, and a garage with the door closed over. It was something he'd expected, that was to be sure. Personally, he didn't know what sort of 'conversation' he would end up having with this 'Yamada Anne' though. Was she legitimately cruel, and someone to be 'dealt with'? Or merely afraid of the past, and hiding behind idle threats?

He wasn't sure, but whatever the reason he would help his friend. Yugi, the 'original Yugi', stood before the same door Jonouchi had, large and innocent eyes staring as he waited for his knocks to be answered. Despite any growth he'd made throughout the current year, he was still fairly short... As it was, he was more than embarrassed to admit that the door knob was still a fair number of inches above where his puzzle sat. Ignoring height however... 'Other me,' he called mentally, the familiar form of his friend misting in the back of his mind. He could either see his other self, or the world around him, not both... For now however, he focused on the sights of the 'real world'. 'Remember, don't do anything drastic alright?'

There was an odd sensation, his other self nodding in agreement. It was strange, talking to 'thin air', particularly when he couldn't see the one speaking... But maybe sometime, they could find a way to change that, so that they didn't have to choose between one or the other. 'Alright partner,' his other self said, arms likely crossed in the depths of the puzzle. 'But if we get the same reaction that Jonouchi did,' he warned, the sound of light footsteps coming from the other side of the door.

The door opened, the grey-haired woman from before looking down with raised eyebrows as Yugi gave his last answer. 'We have to at least try,' he said quietly, watching as the woman stared down at him with a frown. 'At least that much...' "Ah... Sorry to disturb you," Yugi said politely, as the woman eyed him skeptically. He bowed his head, continuing. "I was just wondering... I came from K-" He coughed, hurriedly correcting himself with the name Jonouchi had used before. "Erm... From Souryuu-kun's school and-"

"If you have anything to do with that blond hooligan that came to my house yesterday," the woman stated dangerously, "Then you will make it as far as the hall step..."

Erm... What? The boy stared, before pulling himself together. "A-Ah... Again, I'm sorry to disturb you..." He coughed, flushing red as he turned away somewhat. "I just wanted to know something about them... I'll leave as soon as I know..."

Anne's eyes narrowed dangerously, but she moved away from the door to let him in anyways. "I'll assume for a moment that you truly are sorry then," the woman muttered, standing to the side. "Please," she continued, allowing Yugi to come in and take off his shoes. "Come in." The boy nodded at the request, putting his shoes away and turning as the woman motioned for him to follow into a kitchen. It was a narrow hall... And the kitchen was about as roomy as that, with a small table and four chairs standing in the center of a cabniet-ed kitchen. "Take a seat," she stated, pointing at the table and clearing a worn leather covered book from it. Besides the book there was only a medium sized bell of sorts, with two mallets hanging on either side. "You're lucky my husband isn't home right now," Anne muttered with a small shrug, placing the book on the side counter before turning to her guest. "Otherwise you wouldn't have even had the chance to speak..."

Another nod, Yugi taking a seat on the chair and looking around the room. It was almost dark in there, despite the sun coming through the window. The room was bathed in a dull grey light, shadows clinging to every corner. It was mostly plain the room, but while there were standard new-years decorations on the table to make up for this fact, there was a cross on the side wall... A crucifix, he noted in silence, before turning back to Anne once more. "Thanks for letting me in Yamada-san," he said quietly, the woman merely nodding her head.

"Not a problem," she muttered, continuing to stand against the counter. "Now what do you want from me, concerning the Souryuu's?"

The boy swallowed, a feeling of reassurance coming from his other half. He was in here, and he needed to ask just one thing... Here went nothing. "I was wondering," he began quietly, the reassurance continuing to buzz from the back of his mind. "Mokuba-kun doesn't know what his mother looks like and... I wanted to know if you maybe had a picture, or an album with her in it..."

Anne's eyes narrowed, the woman crossing her legs as a sour expression came over her face. "So this is about that then," she muttered, gritting her teeth. E-Erm... What? All he was asking for was a picture..! "Unfortunately, as I told the one I can only assume is your 'friend', you have no right to such things." Hah..? "If your friends so want their possessions back," the woman continued with a glare, "Then they will have to come themselves! Besides," she added with a snort. "I don't have any albums with such photos in them... What do you take me for boy, a sentimentalist?" Certainly not, that was for sure... But something seemed off here.

He winced, before his eyes drifted over to the book on the side. "Hn..." Hang on... Those kanji were- "Wait..." The boy swallowed, turning back to the woman. "If you don't have a picture of her, then do you at least have one of their father? In that book there?" He pointed over to the leather bound book, Anne tensing as she looked toward it. "It has their name on it after all... You shouldn't keep something like that from them," he continued as the woman's expression soured even further. "That's theirs, they have a right to it."

The woman quickly grabbed the book, moving from the counter and toward the door. "I think I'll be putting this back now," she stated with narrowed eyes, "So if you could excuse me..!"

Yugi moved from his chair, frowning. "Hold on... You asked me why I was here, and I told you," he said, expression growing more severe. "If that's K- If that's Souryuu-kun's book, then why didn't you let them leave with it to begin with?" Even if he couldn't get the book for overly legal reasons, he could at least find out that much! But the woman merely stood there in silence at the question, and his serious expression faded into a sad frown.

...There wasn't a reason, was there... "...It..." The woman turned, eyes narrowed and cold. "As I said- you have no right to this book! Now," she continued, tossing the book to the table and moving for the phone at the other side of the room. "I gave your friend fair warning, and I'm more than certain he would have relayed the message!" H-Hang on, what? "I'm calling the police," she snarled, voice almost frantic, "And hopefully your arrest will serve as a larger warning to your 'friends' to leave me alone!"

Arrest? But he hadn't even done anything, he- A rush of energy filled him, the boy's hair standing on end as the feeling intensified. 'That's my cue,' his other half said, the original mentally nodding as he stepped forward in their mind. 'I'll handle this now.'

'...Alright.' Another nod, and within a few seconds he was watching from an almost ghostly plane... And 'Yugi' was now 'Dark Yugi'. "I know what you did eight years ago," the boy abruptly said, voice low and confident as the woman across from them halted in her reach for the phone numbers. Anne slowly turned with narrowed eyes, 'Yugi' continuing on with an eerie red glow to his eyes. "When you left those two in an orphanage... You left no ties, and I can guess that it was only your fear that kept you from saying otherwise... If they found out you lied about something so important after all..."

The woman turned completely, eyes wide as she dropped the phone. "What are you saying," she asked, voice almost nothing but a hiss. "What are you implying..!"

Yugi merely smirked, arms crossed with a level of confidence rarely ever exhibited by his 'lighter' half. "Implying? Nothing... All I'm saying is that we both have something against the other, something that we need... With that in mind," he continued darkly, the smirk growing as a dark energy appeared to seep from where he stood in the room. "How about we play a game..? If you win," the boy explained, eyes narrowing. "Then I'll leave, and you'll never have to deal with your 'nephews' again... More importantly," he added, "Your secret from those years ago will remain as such..." Not that he had any intentions of spilling those particular beans... Even so, she didn't know that, did she. And quite frankly, if that was what she was assuming than that was just fine. No harm done... Right?

Across from him Anne was swallowing, slowly walking forward to take a seat at the table as her 'guest' returned to his own. "...And what if you win," she continued with a nervous growl, hand coming to rest on the tabletop as it shook.

The smirk grew still darker, an energy seeming to radiate around the room instead of just himself as he spoke. "I get that book," he stated, "No questions asked... Keep in mind of course, that this will be a shadow game." The woman across him frowned, and Yugi himself crossed his arms and continued to explain. "What this means is that, in addition to these conditions, the loser will face a penalty game," he added, an odd glint appearing in his eyes with the words. As for the penalty... Let the games decide. "But I'm sure you expected some sort of 'punishment', didn't you," he asked, watching as Anne continued to tense before him. The energies and shadows continued to radiate around the room, seeping up the walls, blocking the windows and doors... "So what do you say, Yamada-san," he asked with a wicked grin, the millennium puzzle appearing to glow around his neck. "Would you care to play a game..?"

Anne swallowed audibly, but it would seem that despite the numerous differences there was at least one thing she held in common with her niece; she was not one to back down from a challenge so easily. And despite any fears she obviously had as the shadows continued to whirl about the room, she managed to steel her gaze and tone both. "...I accept," she muttered stiffly, hands folded in front of her as she looked down upon her opponent. Instantly the shadows converged, and soon enough there was nothing but the woman, Yugi, and the table. "What sort of game is this?"

Yugi's smirk grew into a grin, and he gestured toward the small bell that sat on the table. The bell itself seemed to glow ominously as it stood there, stock still as Yugi grabbed one of the small mallets from beside it. "A simple game really," he said with an odd smile, twirling the mallet in his hand. "Using this bell you've left out for Omisoka..."

The woman's eyes narrowed, her arms crossed. "I didn't set it there," she stated with narrowed eyes, evidently insulted by the assumption. "That was my husband, and my son; I don't see too much point in those sorts of holidays... Their beliefs are not mine. However," she continued with a small sigh, moving over to grab the second mallet, "We made an agreement- if I decorate for my holidays, he decorates for his... My cross, my prayers... His bells and shrines and rice-paper charms." Hn... Was that so?

He nodded, smile vanishing for the moment as the rules of the game formed in his mind. The best way to do this... "Alright then," Yugi decided, arms crossed. "If that's the case," he continued, "You should know of the worlds most cardinal sins, shouldn't you?" The woman across from him nodded, and he went on. "We will each take turns striking the bell," he explained, looking at the bell once more. "The one to strike it last, for the final 'sin', wins the game... You're first," he continued, gesturing to the bell with a neutral expression in the place of his eerie grin. "Go!"

Anne swallowed, before nodding as the energy in the room appeared to change. "Alright then," she said, swinging the small mallet along the side. A loud and thundering peal, a noise seemingly impossible to make from the bell at that size echoed around the room. Even so, the woman appeared to pay it no mind, merely staring across to her opponent with cold eyes. "The first one... Your turn."

The boy nodded, calmly leaning over the table and tapping the side of the bell. "Second peal," he stated, the same thick and pressuring energies from before seeming to close in as another roaring chime came through the air. "Go ahead."

A strong clanging noise came through the air, followed by Anne's voice. "Third strike," she said coldly, the turn moving to her opponent as darkness licked the edge of the table.

Shadows seemed to swirl at the sides, the room appearing darker than it actually was... Another peal echoed about them, the bell before them reverberating in place. "Fourth," Yugi stated plainly, expression calm and neutral as the darkness thickened.

"Fifth," Anne continued, the sound of the bell's gong piercing through the air.

"Sixth," echoed Yugi, crossing his arms and leaning back with the same neutral expression.

The woman before him stared at the bell, suddenly tensing. Her eyes narrowed and widened once again, her entire body growing stiff. "Gh... This is rigged," she hissed, clenching her fists. "The last person to ring this bell wins," she screeched, volume raising in her anger. "Then it's impossible for me to win," she shouted, eyes narrowed with rage. "You've set me up... It's either the ten bonds, the 98 proclivities or the one-hundred eight earthly desires, and each and every one of them end on your turn!" Yugi merely watched as the woman before him shook, shadows appearing to close right in on them both as they hid the rest of the kitchen from sight. The woman's fists clenched tighter, cracks appearing on the wood in her hands before she finally flung the mallet across the room with a roar. "I refuse to play this game," she shouted, teeth grinding. "A little cheat like yourself... How dare you!"

Yugi merely sat there, a few moments of silence passing before he shook his head. "Well," he began, a smirk beginning to appear on his face. "If you insist... It's still my turn though," he stated, a dark grin on his face as he continued to speak. "A pity you threw your chance away Yamada-san! Hnhnhnhnhn..." Darkness continued to close in on the two, and on the side of the wall the shadows cleared to reveal Anne's crucifix in an almost villainous light. "You assumed I was referring to the vices of Buddhism," he stated, the woman across from him frozen in silent shock. "Your paranoia was so strong that you didn't recognize your own win- for in the Christian religion you hold faith in, there is an odd number of vices... The cardinal sins, and of the six that we've rung this bell for there is only one more!" Anne's frown quickly turned into a look of unbridled horror, the boy in front of her slamming the mallet against the bell to release an echoing peal far louder than that of those before it. Shadows whirled on the one who had lost, seemingly crumbling around them as the woman's eyes suddenly cleared to see what had been there all along. Shadows, clinging, gripping, faceless spirits appearing from the smoke and wrapping around her...

"What is this," she muttered, eyes wide as she turned to look at Yugi with terror. "What... What are you!"

He merely stood there, shrugging at the question. "'What am I'," he repeated, arms crossed. Now... He'd gotten questions quite close to that one, but never quite like that... Hm. "A good question," he decided. "One that neither of us have the answer to. You should have gone with your instincts instead of your fears Yamada-san..." Shadows continued to wrap tightly around the woman, leaving nothing but her wide and terrified eyes visible. "Even when loss appears imminent," he continued, "There is always a chance to make a comeback." Anne took shuddering breaths as the boy continued, his eyes narrowed into slits. "Your pride and your petty fears have led to your downfall... And now! For your PENALTY GAME!"

A rush of energy filled the room, and the shadows that had wrapped tightly around their victim began seeping into her skin. The shuddering breaths increased, echoed voices whispering in her ears as sounds became drowned out. 'This is the Meaning of Fear... Invidia!' And with a final, split second series of terrored breaths the shadows were gone, vanished from Yugi's sight. The room fell silent for a moment... The kitchen was as it had been at game start, albeit with a small mallet on the floor and the other calmly placed on the table beside the bell. Just pale grey light coming through the air, accompanied by the soft ticking of a formerly unseen clock on the side. And then, there was a soft sound that was not at all what he expected from the visions the 'penalty' granted. Screams were typical. In some cases mad laughter depending on the illusions invoked. But this was different.

This was crying. Yugi frowned, looking at the woman as she curled in on herself in tears, soft cries slowly echoing around the room. 'I'm sorry,' she repeated to herself in English, over and over and over as she trembled. 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...' Now why would she say that..? The frown deepened, before he moved to grab the book from the table. He couldn't think about that... It was quite likely he wouldn't find out. Taking the book from where it had fallen, open and cover side up, he slowly flipped it over, dim light illuminating the glossy pages before him. Along the side there was a cloth ribbon marker, almost glued to the page from constant pressure under closed pages. The pictures weren't too special really... Just a western style wedding between two people, along with a picture from what was likely the reception. A young woman with pure white hair, a man with sandy brown hair... Ah... He blinked, looking over the page as the woman on the floor continued to sob quietly. This was the wedding of Kaiba's parents then... So the man there was this woman's brother... There was a picture near the bottom from what was likely the reception; the same couple, accompanied by a few other people, one of them recognizable as a younger version of the person on the floor.

The woman whose mantra continued to fill the air. 'I'm sorry...' Yugi traced his fingers over the page, the frown deepening. Some sort of void on the page... What was it? It was a rough, splattered patch, accompanied by a small number of others...

'Other me,' his lighter half whispered, Yugi pausing in his examination of the book as the presence in his mind addressed him. 'I think those are... Tear stains...'

The book was closed over with those words, and he nodded. "I see..." He shifted his grip on the book, leaving the kitchen with a blank expression on his face. "...Lets go meet with Jonouchi now, partner."

With nothing but the sensation of a nod in the back of his mind the two did just that, leaving nothing but a dark house and a crying woman behind them.

It was probably around lunchtime that Mokuba started getting a little tuckered out really. Ride after ride after ride, with numerous repeats, tended to do that it seemed. For the moment, they were 'resting' on one of the quieter rides, a drink in each ones' hand. Rather, they were sitting on the bench, while the ride itself had been turned off. They were quiet for the most part, as they sat there. Coats were hanging on the side of the bench, and both Seto and Mokuba were merely sitting there with nothing to say. In the end however, it seemed the silence needed to be broken. "..Nee-sama," the younger finally said, the two currently quite alone and away from any possible eavesdroppers. "...Thanks for doing this, Nee-sama."

The woman turned, blinking before putting her drink to the side. "You don't need to thank me for this," she muttered, arms crossed. "I just thought you'd like this..." It was the sort of thing he liked really, what most kids his age liked. Besides all that, it was... Kind of fun, she'd admit. She wasn't much for rides, but Mokuba certainly seemed to be enjoying it... And since she really had no real dislike for the amusement park (She was the one who built it...), that 'not much' didn't really matter for the moment.

Mokuba in question was just smiling, leaning back on his seat as he sipped his own drink. "I do, really," he shouted, as though to reassure his sister of the fact. "It's even better than over the summer, with Shizuka-chan and Katsuya-nii..!"

Again with the nii... It wasn't likely to change but even so she winced slightly at the words before turning to the boy. "That reminds me," she stated, frowning somewhat as a still unanswered question came to mind. "...You told me what happened over the summer, and while I was 'gone'... But from what I can tell, you left something out." As the boy stared, she turned her eyes back to the wall across from them, still frowning. "The figurine on my side table," she continued, recalling the avian figure. About 4 or 5 inches tall, with widespread wings... But unlike everything else on the table, she hadn't gotten a 'story' for it. "Where did it come from? ...Actually," she decided, correcting the question as the conversation she had at the Duelist Kingdom came to mind. "...What happened?"

The boy blinked, before turning away. "Nn... I..." He swallowed, putting his drink down. "I don't want to say," he finally whispered, frowning.

He didn't want to? Her gaze lightened somewhat, the woman keeping her own voice down in response. "...Why?"

Mokuba continued to frown, swinging his legs from the bench as he attempted to find the words to say. "...Because," he said quietly, hands at his sides as he continued to look away. "At the time, with Yugi and the others... ...I just don't want you to get mad at them," he finally said, turning to look at his sister. "I know you don't like them... And I don't expect you to but I don't want you to blame them for what happened, or judge them wrongly because of it..."

...Alright, now she definitely had to know what happened. This could only mean something bad, only- She narrowed her eyes fro a moment, looking at the expression on her brother's face. ...Damn it. "...If I promise," she emphasized, not completely believing her own words but speaking them nonetheless. "Not to 'judge them' about what happened... Will you tell me what happened?"

The boy stared at her with a fairly unimpressed look. "No."

What? She wouldn't do anything (most likely), so... Aggh... "..Why..."

He smirked, crossing his arms with a somewhat smug expression on his face. "Because you'd still do it!"

Damn. She sighed, mentally groaning at the words. Obviously someone knew her better than she thought. ...Hn... "...Could you please... Just... Tell me what happened then?" If he had been in any danger... Any at all...

Mokuba frowned again, turning away. He could probably guess what she was thinking... "I ...I don't..."

The woman gave an exasperated sigh, holding her head for a moment. Alright. Mokuba wasn't afraid of whoever caused this most likely, just afraid of what she'd do to anyone else involved... Just this once then, she wouldn't come down on those idiots. Just this once... "The only reason you would need to worry about those morons," she decided, lowering her hand, "Is if they did something more idiotic than normal..." A highly unlikely is- Oh shit, unlikely true, but not impossible! She tensed, before turning to her brother with narrowed eyes. "...That had better not be the problem..."

The boy jumped, shaking his head rapidly. "N-No! No, that's not it!" He laughed nervously, rubbing his head. "It's definitely not it... Trust me..." He sighed, staring at the ground again. For a moment, she thought she wouldn't be getting an answer. Abruptly however, just as she was about to ask if Mokuba was ready to go on some other ride, the boy began speaking again. "...That day," he said, before shaking himself and saying something else. "...You know how Yugi... How there's two of him," he asked, Seto nodding somewhat as the boy continued. "It's because of the puzzle he has, the big gold pyramid he wears..." Alright... Sounded more like object attributed 'DID', but given all that had happened as of late she'd accept that for now. But where was he going with this..? "There are other things like it too. Pegasus had that eye," he explained, Seto recalling the similar Egyptian eye depicted on both gold pieces with a mental growl. "And Yugi and the others met someone named 'Shaadi' with two items like it... But Bakura... He used to wear one too!"

Bakura? She blinked, eyebrows raised slightly. The albino? Her expression was apparently all the boy needed to continue on, as Mokuba nodded. "We didn't know about it," he continued, turning away. "He was really quiet, and nervous when we met him... So when we went to his house to play 'Monster World'-" Monster World? They were playing a table-top RPG? "-Well... It turned out, that there were two Bakura's as well... The real one had tried to warn us not to come, because he finally found out what was happening... He'd had to move away from his family, to protect them, but even with that" he continued, Seto's eyes widening as the boy went on, "The other him took over, taking his place. We didn't know obviously, and for a while the game seemed normal so we just assumed we didn't know him well enough..." He took a shuddering breath, still staring at the ground before continuing on. "Whenever there was a super-critical attack from Bakura, who was acting as the dungeon master... Or when one of us rolled a fumble..." The boy swallowed, shaking slightly before changing tangents yet again. "Everything was going fine until the boss monster appeared... It got a free attack, and rolled double zeroes... And suddenly, Bakura pointed at me, shouting something... And the next thing I knew, everyone was screaming, and I couldn't see anything, and when I opened my eyes again," he said, voice somehow little more than a whisper, "...I was in my figurine..."

In the... In the figur-... What... WHAT? "Katsuya-nii went ballistic," he continued, trembling words pulling Seto's attention back to the story itself. "All I could hear were his shouts as that 'Other Bakura' spoke, telling everyone that to save me they had to win... And after that, I heard the dice clattering on the board... And then Bakura told Katsuya-nii he'd rolled out of turn, shouting the same thing he did to me, but instead of Katsuya-nii being next... Anzu took the hit... And her figurine started to move too." Seto stared, silent as the boy continued still on. She wanted to go deal with this 'other Bakura' right now... Bury him a thousand feet below the ground, but Mokuba was still talking. Let him finish... Let him finish... Interrupting now would just make things worse, she knew that somehow...

"...It was for nothing though," he said quietly, recalling the events vividly. "Katsuya-nii, he rolled a fumble, so he ended up a figurine... And then after him, Honda was trapped in his figurine too, when 'Zorc' attacked him..." Zorc... That must have been the 'boss monster' then... "But before Yugi made his move, he told the Dark Bakura to put his soul in his figurine... So that all of us could fight, while the other Yugi rolled the dice..." He shuffled over, leaning against Seto as he continued on. The woman tensed for a moment, before quietly putting an arm over the boy in an attempt to comfort him, listening as he continued onward. "We continued to play along with the game, like Dark Bakura said... If we wanted to get out, we had to win, but if we lost our hit-points, and died as figurines, we'd all die... It wasn't fair," he shouted, his sister jumping slightly at the sudden change in volume. "My figurine could move outside of my turn, so I couldn't be attacked like they could... While they were stuck standing in place with each attack, I was able to move... When we made it all the way to the final dungeon, and suddenly everyone was trapped in a spike pit, everyone but me... And all I could do was watch, when 'Zorc' appeared and attacked everyone while they couldn't move! I couldn't do anything... I..."

He sniffed, pulling closer to the woman beside him as he spoke. "And then... We all died..." What... Seto tensed with the words, unconsciously gripping the boy tighter than before. Dead..? But he was right here, how- "They got out of the spike trap, but Zorc was too strong... He rolled a super critical hit, and blasted us all away... But something happened," Mokuba continued, eyes seeming faded as he spoke. "For some reason, the attack didn't work... Everything went black, but when we woke up..." The boy looked up, swallowing. "Nee-sama... I don't know how it happened, but... Not only did the good Bakura, not only did he take back control of his hand for a moment, the figurine on your sidetable... That's where it came from... We woke up, and we heard Dark Bakura shouting, and there it was... It shot down Zorc's eye, and fought with us while the Other Yugi pointed it forward... Nee-sama," he said again, still looking up with wide eyes. "I know you probably don't believe me but... I think you saved us all from that attack... And again too... Later," he explained, choking slightly on his words, "When Zorc made his final attack... Before we defeated him, there was another super critical... Bakura, the good Bakura," he clarified, "He managed to appear with us on the board to help us, and block most of the attack with a shield... But your figurine, it stood in front of Katsuya-nii, while Katsuya-nii stood in front of me, blocking the attack... Without that, we would have died nee-sama!"

H-Hang on... She looked down at the boy, an odd expression on her face. Some figurine counterpart of herself appeared on the board and... What? This was... Dim shouts could be recalled in the back of her mind, but besides a wash of heat there was nothing. Impossible, completely impossible... So much that it could only be true. "...Well." She shook her head, still holding the boy close as she attempted to wrap her head around what he'd told her. "...I can see why you didn't want to tell me this," she finally muttered, pulling the boy closer before looking down at Mokuba with a small frown. "...I assume Yugi dealt with this 'Dark Bakura' accordingly..." An odd glint appeared in her eyes with that, her brother nodding furiously in response.

"Definitely," he said with a nod, pulling from the hug. "We got rid of him completely when we won the game, and everyone who had been trapped in a figurine returned to their bodies! Bakura doesn't have the ring around his neck any more either, so even if 'Dark Bakura' still exists, he's long gone!" He laughed nervously, shaking his head at the thought before continuing. "Everything's fine now! Really nee-sama, it is..." The boy turned away, hopping off the bench. "So... There's no problem, alright?"

Of course there was a problem! He'd had his soul snatched out and had been likely to die within a few hours after! The only thing giving her even a sliver of comfort on the topic was the apparent lack of the 'ring', which had apparently caused all this! And it all happened while she was-

...Gone. 'That's right,' the albino had shouted after her match between herself in the mutt, 'After all, Jonouchi is-' The one who was there that day, as opposed to herself? Or even the reason why he was still alive and here with her? She narrowed her eyes, silent for a moment before standing up with a nod. "No," she finally said, grabbing the coats as they moved to whatever ride was next on Mokuba's 'list'. Everything made sense now... A part of her didn't want it to make sense but... She held her tongue, looking down at her brother for a moment before pulling him close as they walked toward whatever ride or event would be next for the day. "...No there isn't..."

She hadn't saved her brother. While she had known and accepted that when they left the Duelist Kingdom, distracted by the annoyance of ferrying Yugi and his 'friends' back to Tokyo and by the overall hidden elation of seeing her brother alive and well, she was still running that thought through her head as she sat at her desk on Christmas Eve. Against Pegasus she had at least tried, tried and failed and accepted death in a grim attempt to at least make up for her failure. She hadn't known about that other time though. She didn't do anything, not that she knew of, to keep her brother safe those times before, despite what her brother believed. If she couldn't recall it, then she hadn't done it. She wanted to remember but... Someone else had saved her brother, that was for sure. He'd had his soul stolen not once but twice, and in both cases... Even though she herself wasn't in any way available in this newly discovered case, that did not change the obvious fact.

'Katsuya-nii' as the boy would call him, had jumped after the source of both cases of 'spiritual kidnapping', not to mention the more obviously dangerous physical form, pulling his friends with him. And the 'other' Yugi joined in, bringing with him his absolutely moronic luck when it came to winning. Something she had counted on, she admitted to herself, something that she had believed, when coupled with his skill, would at least spare her brother from an ill-deserved fate. But for all his skill, there was always a weak point. Same with the luck... And she'd find it, sooner or later. Seto sighed, leaning back against her seat and putting down the sketch pad she'd been working on. The design, something that had originally started out as a small mistakenly placed line on the page labeled 'Duel Disk V2', was far smoother than the prototype, in her opinion. New designs for the dueldisk... She wasn't quite sure where the inspiration was coming from, but so far it looked rather practical really. It would fold to the side when not in use, and latch tightly around the arm... When it was in use, it would resemble a blade of sorts, lining the side of the arm and extending past the hand. It would need something to display the holograms though she decided, perhaps something could attach on the sides or...

The woman looked over at the clock, sighing as she noted the time. Well... The rest of the designs would have to wait she supposed... In all honesty, given how slow the work day was, she could probably have this under development within a month as it was. (It was nice to get things done quickly...) She closed up the sketchbook, slipping it into her briefcase before getting up to lock up the building. Christmas eve... She had a nasty feeling she knew why her brother had decided on that particular day for her to do her last work-day before the new year, but all in all she would take what she got this time. Better than sitting across from the board and listening to them whine about how much longer it would be before she could fire the- Erm... 'Test their product'. (And then fire their asses.)

She grabbed her coat from the side, pulling it on before heading off to the elevator. 'Merry Christmas Kaiba-sama,' the secretary to the side said with a smile, Seto herself giving nothing more than her usual 'nod'. Watching as the doors to the elevator hissed open she stepped inside, pushing the 'G' button and dimly watching the doors close before going down. In any case... Much as she had planned to draw out her 'one day of work' as much as she could to ensure she didn't miss any details in all that had happened, anyone available to drive the car was 'preoccupied' with something that was apparently far more important. And as much as she didn't want to say it, there were things far more important than not having to walk back to the house...

Things like her brother for one, she told herself as she left the elevator to head out of the building. If there was even the risk of something happening to him, then she would give up anything to fix that problem. Anything. Though she doubted that those reasons were applying in this situation, she wasn't in the mood to argue with her company assistant. Snow and wind struck her face as she came out of the large glass door, the woman wincing briefly at the sudden temperature drop before shrugging it off with a neutral and blank expression. Tch... Well, a scarf and a coat would be enough for now. Now then... It was likely about a forty-five minute walk from the building to the house, so she had better move...

Seto gripped her briefcase, making her way down to the crosswalk in silence as the wind continued to howl. Clouds above more or less obscured the now moonlit sky, most stars above her clouded from existence by the thick and heavy air above the city. She blinked as a few clumps of snow blew into her face, again paying it no mind as she walked. Hn... For a 'quiet, peaceful' time of year it was getting awful stormy... She shrugged it off, continuing along the sidewalk in silence as she somewhat pushed her way through the crowded streets. Music was dimly audible from numerous stores, mostly playing romantic songs about the holidays or English carols, as had been going on since likely early November. 'Christmas'... Such were the consequences of the holidays... By the looks of things, Mokuba was getting incredibly excited about the idea, despite the thin veil of 'reason' being clearly unable to cover the intense commercialism behind it. She'd never really bothered with it herself... Not after Gozaburo... Nor after that other day, she thought to herself. She continued walking, expression still notably blank save a slight and seemingly permanent glare. Didn't see the point, or was it something else? ...Maybe it was just knowing that the point of the holiday was to roll in double the average profit Japan received. Even so, with Christmas around the corner, and her brother likely flying around the house in some sort of holiday panic... She still didn't know what to give her brother.

The woman stopped for a moment, frowning at that thought. And how many people ever said that, really? 'I don't do Christmas, even for my younger brother'? Just repeating it like that in her mind sounded worse than it should have been. Damn it... She had to do something. Something more than just playing along with his recent requests, because the fact was that while she could have just refused the 'two weeks off' among other things... Just playing along was...

She sighed, gritting her teeth as snow started to gather on her hair. How could she not know what to get him? There had to be something, anything... Wouldn't she bet that the Mutt, who only knew her brother for less than a year already had a present? The thought bit hard, Seto holding back a growl at the idea. Damn it... She couldn't just go with some half-baked, last minute plan either, that would be even worse... Tch. The woman looked beside her, eyes drifting over the store she was standing outside of. Something worth- She blinked, looking over the display for a moment. Hn. An engraving store...

...She hadn't ever bothered with Christmas, not for a while... And thinking back, she could remember Mokuba giving more than one sad smile around the time when the subject was rejected. Year after year, the first time with herself, and all those afterward with no support at all when facing down Gozaburo with the question. And by the time Gozaburo was gone, well... Her brother hadn't even bothered bringing it up the year before... So perhaps this year...

She turned to look over the store window, before making her decision. This wouldn't just be something to make up for it all she decided, stepping into the store and paying the now melting snow on her coat no mind. It wasn't some pitiful attempt to make amends, or to pretend nothing had changed from when they were younger. This...

This was something she wanted to do this time around.

AN: Merry Christmas... IN NOVEMBER! Bahahahaha... See? I can tie up loose ends in a mean way too. Course, there's a big difference in tolerance between Seto's bitchy Aunt and Jonouchi's awesome but not completely there dad...

Annnnd it's another long one! I have a feeling this is going to be a trend... Doesn't seem to be something to be alarming though, given that it's only a difference of a few words from what I can tell... I'll let you decide on that though. Man! I managed to hop right from the Halloween mood to the Christmas mood just like that though! Whoo! You might be wondering what I mean by long though; the fact is, the note down here is only about half the length of its normal run so... Yea. Takes a large chunk off the length.

Not much else to say on everything else that isn't said below... So with that, we'll jump right to the next point!

Poll results are...

Unchanged. So take a look at the last chapter for the current results guys!

And now...

Anonymous Review Responses

Hey there Iona! On the first point... Yay~! It's fun to provide entertainment you know. I'll keep it up then!

And yessss, yes she is a bitch, that mean old aunt. You are right in saying that Jou could potentially put a large kink in her life, but that isn't actually the reason why she flipped out on Jonouchi. Yes, she's paranoid about that fact (Once the pictures come out, it's fairly obvious after all), but she isn't afraid of him spilling that otherwise.

Yugi on the other hand… Well, when one bluffs, it's hard to tell with him. (After all, the thing that would put a kink in 'Aunt Anne's life would put a fairly large one in Seto's as well.) And hahaha! You're right, I didn't go that route with the baby panda power! Of course, Yugi did try to be nice to start… Unfortunately though, it just doesn't work all the time…

Awkward conversation between Jou and Kaiba? Oh lord yes! Awkward interactions are what those two practically thrive on right now! Between grudging respect and intense annoyance, plus the desire to keep Mokuba as 'her brother' instead of 'his brother' (in the sense of words obviously, not actual blood relation), it's really interesting how things pan out… And of course, Jou has that crush that keeps him from going tooooo far over the line unless he doesn't intend it, which helps with the balance of things. (He's also testing the waters, which is always... Fun... )

It's not so much that Yugi's dad was on business that long, as it was that when he was home, it was probably a one night shot; it's similar to Hanasaki's own father in the manga, who ironically has the same position in a way. Hanasaki however, sees him far more often, as the man just sort of does his thing in the states and then returns… I have a feeling that in the case of Yugi's father it's fairly similar, just that 'Mr. Mutou' has less free time. The traveling/commuting businessman in Japan really does travel a lot…

And ooh boy, you just wait! It'll be incredible! (-I got really into some of this-) Keep a wide eye out for hints at later arcs while you're at it though… The Christmas arc will be loaded with either foreshadowing, or seemingly menial points that will become key in later arcs. Not to mention hefty character development and assumption for those I'm having fun with (Though you likely guessed that.).

Speaking of menial points... Take a look at the first paragraph.

To the next point!

Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner

The section that warns you for copious non-manga related things in this section as we move on. Enjoy the ride!

This chapter's title? Because that's what happens. (Whoooo!)

Have fun interpreting the events going on in Osaka and Kyoto guys~ You've probably guessed already though, you all tend to be good at that.

Bakura's practically inhaled french fries references a scene in one of the later episodes in the anime, near the end of the entire series itself. After waking up from who knows how many hours of unconsciousness due to Yami Bakura's 'Millennium Game', he mentions (very LOUDLY) that he's hungry… And for a brief moment of time when everyone is preparing for the ceremonial game between Yugi and Yami Yugi, we see an enormous selection of food in front of the guy… And he just downs bowl after bowl of this stuff without a care within those few seconds!

I don't know about you, but I think that even an Egyptian Pharaoh with no memories would have differing tastes compared to his 'host', particularly since as unconscious as it is, that is one huge culture jump. In any case, I added in the 'mustard' in reference to Yugi's most disliked food; the 'shallot', a sort of sweet onion.

On a more important note now… When Yugi says that time is running out, he's obviously not lying... But there's a further extent of this you should know. In Japan, the 23rd is a National Holiday, as it's the current Emperor's birthday… So… Shopping at stores is probably either a bad idea, or the stores are closed. Kind of an unknown, though I'm going to say it's like most 'basic' holidays and just say it's a bad idea to try it. (Kaiba of course doesn't really care about it, so closing down the amusement park for a day with her brother isn't exactly hard to do... Same with shopping on Christmas eve.)

It's also a great opportunity for Yami Yugi to screw around it would seem. Hoooo boy.

Interesting thing on the 'partner' deal. There are two seperate 'spellings' for the word 'Aibou', which is what Yami Yugi refers to Yugi as. The first one, which only means 'companion', uses the kanji 'a' from 'au' or 'ai' (meaning 'to come together', 'to merge', 'to unite', 'to match', etc.), as well as the kanji 'bou'... Which... On it's own, means 'pole' (Best not to ask.). The two kanji are linked with the hiragana character 'i'... But that's because 'au' and 'ai' are the kanji with the hiragana characters 'u' or 'i', so the 'i' is still part of the first character technically.

The second one, which I think is the correct term (I would need a RAW scan to check this), uses two kanji, and means 'partner', or 'accomplice'. The first kanji, 'ai', means 'together', or 'fellow'. The second, 'bou' is the same as above. It means pole. (What's with the pole...) In any case, for simplicity's sake, we're sticking with 'partner'.

Cardinal means 'important', or 'prime'. So when Yugi says 'cardinal', though he refers to the seven deadly sins (Also known as the cardinal sins), Anne just thinks he means the most important ones. And of course, in Japan, where Christianity is like... Half of one percent as opposed to the vast majority of Buddhism participants... Well, take a look down there.

Always sucks when you realize that the religion your 'punisher' is referring to is completely different from the one you thought eh? The one Anne was thinking of was Buddhism. The '108' earthly desires all come from this handy formula here… The six senses of the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, skin, and mind, multiplied by the three aspects of time, the past, the present, and the future. (18)

This is then multiplied by the two characteristics of the heart; pure and impure, good or evil, based on one's karma. So far we have 36 now… Multiply that by the three preferences a person may have- like, dislike, and indifference- in regards to those six senses. We now have 108.

Anyways, these are all divided into 98 proclivities, and 10 bonds, the 'biggest issues' so to speak. Those are what Anne thinks Yugi is referring to, hence why once she hit six she was all 'You're a dick, you know that?'

At which point Yugi said 'Actually, I noticed you had a cross on the side there and decided that the seven deadly sins would be better'. ENVYYYYY-GONGGGGGG.

On a translation note, 'Invidia' is the latin word for 'Envy'; now envy and jealousy are technically two different things. Jealousy is technically the fear of losing something one possesses to another person (So paranoia over losing your stuff basically.). Envy on the other hand is the pain and frustration caused by wanting something, be it material or otherwise, that another person has, that they themselves lack. If you didn't put it together... (Not to surprising if that's the case though...) ...So technically we're looking at Jealousy here, but whatever.

So why did Yugi play this game knowing he was rigged to lose? Because he had that much confidence in the woman flipping out on him. OH YAMI YUGI. YOU WILL NEVER LEARN.

I checked and double checked, and I'm pretty sure that no penalty game inflicted by Yami Yugi has ever ended in tears as opposed to screams, death, and crazed laughing/mutterings. Tends to come off as a bit of a surprise for that reason.

Interestingly enough, this scene wasn't even supposed to be written. Instead, there was a much lighter, and actually quite humerous 're-cap' of sorts, with Yami Yugi just rattling off dismissively what he'd done and giving Jonouchi the album… With both Jonouchi and the normal Yugi in question coughing somewhat awkwardly as a result. In the end however, I ended up fleshing out the penalty game completely, as really… Most of them do involve a lot of psychological manipulation to an almost frightening level! Of course, sometimes Yugi's so subtle about these things that his opponent doesn't realize just what kind of crap they're in until its too late…

OH GOD THAT SCENE. The one with Mokuba and Seto… It was hard, but I really wanted to type it. It's a love hate deal I suppose. In any case, rather than argue out of character tendencies, think about what kind of news the kid just floored his sister with. Think about it… You're spending the day at the themepark, and suddenly 'Soooo… Bakura has an evil half that sealed my soul and the souls of the others in figurines with a life-or-death shot, you showed up, but it wasn't really you, saved all of us, and then we won and everything was ok.' It's bad enough that Kaiba's only just starting to wrap her head around this soul-stealing business… But when you throw all that in, with a fairly bizarre tale of living figurines, it kinda… Renders one silent. Just a little.

And then there's the added realization that 'damn it, I wasn't there, it took my rival and a mutt to save him'. Ouch…

Oh Mokuba... You do not want to know how wrong you are Mokuba...

When you think about it, the only person available to drive is Isono at the moment. Kaiba won't be able to apply for the liscence to drive a car for another two years really, and given how often she actually drives, it's not really worth the time to force a law through... In fact, I'm almost certain that the only reason why we see Kaiba driving a car in the doma arc even though he wouldn't have been legally allowed to is because... Well... He didn't care at the time, and honestly he'd more than certainly be able to pay whatever ticket flew his way in the blink of an eye. (It's just troublesome to have that sort of thing on record.)

Back to Isono, in addition to being the only one who can drive at the moment, he's pretty much the 'go-to-guy' running the house when you don't factor the actual home owner (-coughSetocough-) into the equation… So really, he's probably the only one aside from Jonouchi, who can actually watch Mokuba when Kaiba isn't there.

A note on Kaiba walking... Not too 'rare' actually. For one, during most of Battle City he's... Walking. And for another, when we first see Kaiba in the manga he's... Walking. From school to the game shop I might add. Now, I should probably keep in mind that plot holes have a bad habit of coming into this series, and when Kaiba first appeared he was only supposed to appear once... So it's quite likely he wasn't the super-rich owner of Kaiba Corp at the time. So really, who knows... Personally, I don't think walking would be that much of a big deal for Kaiba...

Present time~~ And next chapter, we'll come somewhat close to it! More likely there will be two more chapters, as opposed to one… This one was longer than intended as well after all, and the fact is, there was a lot more I wanted to put in here that I didn't end up doing. (It meshes in quite well with the next chapter you see.)

In any case... See you later!