White Rain
After the events of 'the dream' so to speak, Katsuya had more or less fallen into an awkward 'base' reaction pattern. This tended to happen whenever he got paranoid about something of course, so really, it was probably to be expected. Particularly after getting another dream where he managed to yet again force himself to bite his tongue before he finished someone's sentence for them.
Personally, if this sort of thing happened concerning homework, he'd be much happier... Either way, he was fairly on edge, and noticeable so. Given his usual actions, consisting of either acting too happy or simply staring off out the window more often than normal... Though for the most part this was attributed to Mokuba's news of the 'bodyguard night'. Which had gotten a fair number of questions from everyone to say the least... Though in the end, Mokuba got less out of Katsuya than he got from his sister on the event, so that really didn't do anything for the others either. ...Though Bakura had an oddly happy look when it came to the Egypt display...
What Mokuba did manage to do however was probably the only reason why, only a week after the 'Tauk's visit, Katsuya was back to 'normal' so to speak. As to what the reason was... Yugi didn't know at all, having been left to get all of his information from everyone visiting.
Though the fact was, he would likely find out quite soon, given that he was standing outside the gate to the Kaiba mansion on the 29th of April, the first day of the Golden Week.
The day he was supposed to get discharged... Exactly as planned a week prior. All Yugi knew was that Mokuba and Katsuya wanted him at the house that day, and were planning to pick him up... After getting discharged early however, he'd called and said he would meet them at the gate.
To say that Yugi was probably surprised when the gate opened before he pushed the 'intercom' button at the front would be putting it lightly. Though the shock was quickly pushed aside with the obvious fact that he was in plain sight at the gate, and he was probably spotted. To say he was even more surprised when a car came over, briefly stopping as someone hurriedly grabbed him and tossed him into the car however was...
Well that was obvious to say the least. The sound of a door closing over met the boys ears, along with muttered curses of surprise from his other. "W-Wh-What..?" Yugi shook himself as the car hurriedly drove off, looking up to be meet with a pair of grins on Mokuba and Katsuya's faces. "What's going on..!"
Mokuba was the first to answer, grinning from his seat by the window as his friend pulled himself into a seat. "Hehehe... We're going flower viewing Yugi!"
"HAAAAANAMIIIIIII!~"
"Sorry we didn't say anything," the boy added with a shrug, Yugi merely blinking at the overly eager shout that Katsuya let out. "But if we were going to get there without nee-sama knowing..."
Yugi stared, buckling his seat belt before shaking his head at the last few words. "Er..." The boy blinked, frowning as he looked around Katsuya at the younger of his friends. "What..."
"Unfortunately," a voice said from the front, Kyouko looking around the seat, as the boy turned from the others, "These two didn't make the best impression when asking Seto-sama if she was willing to come along..." Oi, neither did anyone else... "...So we had to put something else together to pull it off."
And it would definitely work. Yugi blinked a few times, staring before he turned back to the others. "W... Who is..." Oh, right-! Yugi didn't know any of the staff...
The woman smiled, shaking her head before bowing somewhat as she as well realized the problem. "Kyouko," she said with a smile, giving a mock salute as she looked the boy over with a wink. "I'm the maid."
"A-Ahhh... I see" The boy continued to stare however, apparently not believing his own words before finally turning to the others. "So... We're going flower viewing," he asked, blinking a few times. The other two nodded, their friend frowning in response. "Why so late in the year though..?"
Katsuya shrugged, shaking his head and leaning back on his seat. "Well," he began fairly plainly, "Like Kyouko said... We were gonna go earlier, but things happened..." Things like Seto turning it down really fast... And the Black Clown fire.
"And besides," Mokuba added, changing the subject somewhat as he looked to his friend, "We wanted you to come too. Nee-sama might not like it," the boy continued, crossing his arms with a smirk, "But it isn't like there's no room in the field to avoid each other right..?"
Yugi nodded, still blinking a few times. If he was confused, he didn't blame him... Though for his part, the boy was hiding it fairly well if he was. "I guess not," he eventually admitted, agreeing with Mokuba. "...But how is Kaiba-san coming if she doesn't even want to go?"
The other two boys shared a glance, before giving Yugi an odd smile as the car fell strangely silent. "Oh... Well... We found a way..."
The windows of all of the vehicles that the Kaiba family owned were more often than not tinted completely on the sides. This was fairly standard, as for that reason, no one could really see what was happening inside the car. Privacy was important, after all, if not one of the more important aspects of the drive to and from work. Needless to say, Seto was perfectly content with what was simply 'standard procedure' for that reason.
Though... Sharing the car with a pair of the security guards was a little less than 'standard'. All the same though, it wasn't anything that would really spring alarm bells or annoyances. The fact was, they had more than reasonable points in why they were coming- Namely that, since they had been required to take double shifts at both the mansion and the company building, they didn't have a ride. And so they were there... In the end she supposed, it was hardly that much of an inconvenience when the fact was that the chauffeur involved wasn't technically supposed to be driving her around on a Sunday. So she now had two guards on either side... ...Well, at least everyone was doing their job.
Regardless of jobs however, she still expected to get to the destination she asked to travel to. So when the car turned in the exact opposite direction and made for the highway, rather than driving toward the Kaiba Corp building, and neither of the guards beside her reacted, there was really only one logical thing to do.
Or at least there was, as she had decided while narrowing her eyes and looking at one of the guards while planning an escape, until simply looking at the side to the guards she assumed were completely trustworthy resulted in her being tackled to the side. "GH!" The woman snarled, arms quickly held behind her back as she pulled against the grip they were held in. "YOU-"
"Hahhh... Seto-sama," Odoru said with a slight grunt and sigh, adjusting his grip on the woman's arms while avoiding her head. "I've worked for you for how long? I think by now," he continued somewhat gruffly, his boss barely pinned to the seat in the car by the combined efforts of the two guards, "I know the 'look' that you get when you realize something's up."
"Nnnggh..." Bastards, bastards, bastards! These two... She'd trusted these two! "You're both fired," the woman growled, blowing a bit of hair from her face as she attempted to kick her way out of 'Taijin', the second guard's grip. "Not to mention dead, if you're lucky!"
Odoru sighed, shaking his head. "Yea... We kinda figured you would say that," he muttered, shrugging as best he could while holding his grip.
"Good job realizing it this quick though," Taijin muttered, the guard's sunglasses falling to the ground as their 'hostage' attempted to worm her way out of the grip. One holding her arms the other her legs... Oh great, wasn't this just lovely... "I owe Odoru here 2000 yen for that..."
"Gh-" The woman tensed, looking at the man behind her incredulously. "You morons were betting on this?" Of all the nerve... Besides an apparent abduction they were taking bets on how long it took! The two men merely shrugged, Seto growling as she narrowed her eyes. Alright... Since she was obviously in a nice tight spot here... Her expression shifted, still clearly dark as she attempted to figure out a way out. If she moved her hands right, she should be able to disa- The woman froze as her hands brushed over the gun holster behind her, only to find it empty. "...You aren't armed?"
Two more shrugs, Odoru smirking as his boss continued to growl. "What," he said with a laugh, shaking his head. "You thought we'd give you that kind of advantage? Disarming us is the first thing you would try in this situation, we know that!"
"We learned from the best," his partner chorused, their boss gritting her teeth further. These... Damn... Morons...
Damn it if she wasn't already ticked... "You're both more than fired, got it," she spat, pulling fruitlessly against the guard's hold as they sighed. "Consider your pink slips a death certificate," she continued with a roar, Taijin narrowly avoiding a kick from the woman. "And you as well," she added, turning to the front. Given that the chauffeur was obviously participating...
"Really," a familiar voice asked, turning from the front.
The woman grew pale as her assistant turned around, the man's eyebrows raised in slight humor. "I-Isono!"
There was a short span of silence, the woman slowly turning a narrowed glare up at the guards as the men coughed. This... Was not a 'normal' kidnapping... Her eyes narrowed further, suspicion raising as she looked over them. "...It was Mokuba," Taijin abruptly shouted, ducking his head as the glare was turned on him with. "He put us up to it!" The woman continued to glare, eyes narrowing as Odoru cursed behind her. Mokuba? Set all this up? While obviously not out of the intelligence range, just why would he do this? Someone else... Seto continued to glare at the guard before her, clenching her jaw as the man before him attempted to keep his mouth shut. But in the end... "...Alright," Taijin sighed, bowing his head. Hn! She always won these sorts of things... "Jonouchi helped..."
"I am going to kill that dog," Seto growled, narrowing her eyes as Odoru frowned behind her.
"Er... It was still Mokuba-sama's idea," he said with a cough, before jumping back as the woman in his grip continued to seethe.
"The blond is DEAD!"
The man sighed, shaking his head. "Aaaaaahhh..."
"You know," Isono said from the front, coughing as the others turned their heads, "You can probably let her go now..." Yes, that would be very much preferable..!
The guards blinked, slowly looking back at their 'boss'. "Ahh... So," Odoru asked with a small grin, loosening his grip somewhat. "...We still fired," he continued, gaining a largely unimpressed scowl in response to the question.
The answer to that one? Well, seeing how they'd apparently been put up to it by her brother and were likely doing this to avoid getting their asses kicked before she took over the car... "You will be if you hold on any longer," she muttered dangerously, glaring back at Odoru as the man against coughed.
The two guards hurriedly relinquished their hold on her arms and legs, returning to their seats as Seto righted herself and leaned back on the seat.
"Good... Now," she said with a growl, crossing her arms and looking toward the front. "Just what is it that my brother planned with that mutt?"
The guards both blinked, mouths hanging open somewhat as they turned to the front for the answer. "That," Isono began, turning back to the highway after looking to the others for a moment. "Is a bit of a surprise..." Ohhhhh great.
That was always fun. Seto continued to scowl, gritting her teeth. "A 'surprise'," she asked incredulously, crossing her legs as well. "I'm heading to an unknown location on the first day of the Golden Week... And you tell me it's a surprise?" Give her answers... NOW...
Odoru and Taijin both coughed awkwardly as the woman continued to growl, the men turning away before abruptly reaching out as their 'boss' pulled out her cellphone. "AAH," the shouted, their boss growling as she held her phone out of reach. "Wait wait wait-!"
"I'm calling my brother," she snarled, eyes wide with annoyance as she attempted to make a call.
"NO! No," they protested loudly, "He'll... ...Ahhhhh..." The two drew back as they were met with a glare, holding their breaths as Seto pushed the first number on her speed dial. Now then...
"..."
"..."
Dial tone. Seto closed the phone over, glaring at the device rather angrilly as she clenched her jaw. "He turned off his PHONE!"
"Er..." Taijin coughed, shrugging fairly nervously as he laughed. "...We'll be there in around an hour?"
The phone was merely returned to the woman's pockets, Seto glaring through the front window in silence for a few moments. An hour... Tch... "We'll be where, in 'about an hour'," she asked, turning to Taijin with a fairly murderous look.
The man swallowed, coughing as he pulled back. "Ahhhhhh..."
It was likely a common thought among all the men in that car that 'about an hour' was really far too long to pull this off. Really.
"HaHAAAAH!" Tinted windows were not very useful when the windows were rolled down, but in the car ahead of Seto's, no one really seemed to particularly care about that. "YEA," Katsuya shouted, grinning as a few sakura petals were caught in the window. "We're here!" While 'sixty minutes later' was likely not coming soon enough for those in the second car, those in the first car found it coming just soon enough. The moment they stopped the doors were opened, the boys in the back seat for the most part grinning as they made to leave. Katsuya laughed as he hopped out of the car, running out into the somewhat large field of sakura trees. "Alright! An' we've got this place all to ourselves," the blond asked, turning as the others left the car.
Mokuba nodded, grinning as Yugi looked around behind him. "Yep! We didn't take too much space," he explained, gesturing to the fence around the area, "And since it's so late in the year, it wasn't actually that hard... The 'forecast' for the blossoms ended up really off this year," the boy continued with a shrug, scratching his head, "So most people have already stopped by..." Which meant that 'renting' a space in a field of trees was actually possible. Yesssss...
The others nodded with the explanation, Yugi turning as the second car pulled up behind them. "Ah- ...Do you think this is alright," he asked, watching as the car went to park before turning back to the others. "Me being here I mean?" Ahhh... Ohhhh... They didn't really think of that, since they figured the answer wouldn't be that great... Ehhh... "I don't think Kaiba-san would really want-"
"What is he doing here..?" Ohhp. Katsuya coughed as the voice came over the air, shaking himself as he mentally smacked his head. Too late. The boys turned as Seto looked over the car door, eyes narrowed as the two guards she'd come with stood somewhat awkwardly behind her. The woman was clearly not pleased with being 'kidnapped' into this... And as she moved from around the car door, the loud 'slam' it gave off when closing made that all too clear.
Mokuba and Katsuya both went pale, the former hurriedly coughing and running over to explain where the others likely couldn't. "A-Aaaaaahhh... Well, see... Katsuya-nii was telling me about Hanami," he explained somewhat nervously, "And Kyouko mentioned this place, and I thought that maybe Yugi would want to come and-"
Er... Why was he talking so fast..? The two older boys watched with mild confusion as Mokuba's sister looked down, expression currently about as annoyed as it was when Seto was merely standing in Yugi's presence. The look itself was enough to cut the boy off... Though in Mokuba's defense, the boy was still looking with an expression that said 'By the way, I'm not budging on this.' "Alright," she muttered somewhat testily, frowning somewhat, "I won't blame Jonouchi..."
The boy immediately grinned, pumping his fist as he turned to the others. "YEEEESSSSS!"
"W-Wait," Katsuya said with a frown, shaking his head. "That's what this was about!" He thought that she was asking about Yugi! ...Though at least there was no comment on that.
Yugi laughed somewhat nervously, scratching his head as the two siblings came over. For the moment, it looked as though he was avoiding the sour fate of being the 'negative' topic... In fact, the woman appeared to be purposefully avoiding eye contact with Yugi, instead turning to look at the field beside them. "I do want to know why I'm being dragged off to a field of Sakura trees though," Seto said somewhat darkly, briefcase gripped tightly in one hand as she turned back to Mokuba and Katsuya. "Seeing how I told you I wasn't interested in 'hanami' a fair number of times..." All politely when it came to Mokuba of course. (He himself had only asked once... For good reasons.)
The woman's brother merely coughed at that statement, before shrugging it off nervously. "Eh... Yea but... Well, it's Sunday," he protested, frowning as he looked up at his sister, "And it's the Golden Week... You've been working on the stuff in that briefcase for almost the entire month," the boy continued, gesturing to the case in question, "And you won't even tell me what's in it..."
"Wait," Katsuya said with a slight jump, turning to the boy. "Y' mean you don' know either?" And here he'd thought that the kid was just pulling his leg...
Mokuba sighed, shaking his head as the others beside them merely stared. "This isn't the time Katsuya-nii..."
"..." Alright, that look was telling him the same thing...
The boy sighed, turning back to his sister and continuing on. "Look... You can... You can work on whatever it is in there," he said, smiling somewhat nervously as he again gestured to the briefcase. "I mean... Whatever it is is obviously important," Mokuba continued, frowning. "I just think you should relax, alright nee-sama?"
Seto merely continued to look at her brother somewhat blankly, before a voice from the side pulled their thoughts forward again. "That's the main reason why all of us bothered doing this," Kyouko said from the car, stepping out with a bag and slamming the door shut. The others turned toward Seto again, remaining largely silent as they waited for the response before the taller of the group finally sighed in 'defeat'.
Okay... Did... Did they win..? "...Alright," Seto decided, facing her brother in another 'attempt' to ignore the others that were there. "I suppose a change in scenery is alright..." AH. They did it! Yes! YES! ...Granted all they really did was tell her that her 'office' for the day was a bunch of cherry trees... But it worked! "However," the woman added, cutting Katsuya's mental celebration short, "If you expect me to 'relax', I suggest you keep those two out of sight," she stated, walking off to find a place to sit by one of the trees after gesturing to the two beside her brother.
"O-Oi," Katsuya said with a frown, shaking his head. "What's that s'pposed t' mean..."
Yugi shrugged, looking up at the blond as his 'other' misted into appearance to study the trees with curiosity. "I have a feeling we'll be better off just not knowing really," he said with a laugh.
"Probably," Mokuba added with a grin, putting his hands behind his head as he looked at the two. "But we got her out of the building didn't we?" There was a round of nods, before Mokuba looked out at the numerous trees. Yep, they'd definitely managed that... "So," he continued, turning back to them with a slight frown. "What normally happens at Hanami anyways..?" On Hanami..?
The others blinked, sharing a short look before looking back. "Er..." Katsuya coughed, shaking his head. "Mostly... You look at the flower blossoms..."
There was another span of silence, both the Other Yugi and Mokuba blinking a few times before frowning. "...That's it," the boy asked, expression shifting to evident confusion as the 'ghost' at the side as well appeared to mutter something along those lines. "But why do so many people..."
Kyouko shook her head, sighing as she came over with her large bag. "It's a relaxing event," she emphasized, frowning. "Looking at the blossoms reminds people how fragile life is, and how much they need to appreciate it... It's not supposed to be some 'giant party'! It's a quiet time, for picnics, relaxing..."
"An' yet..." Katsuya quickly received a dangerous look from the woman, ducking somewhat at the look. "H-Hey," he muttered nervously, scratching his head. "I'm jus' sayin'..." If they hadn't have 'rented out' this space, it would have been a lot more crowded and a lot louder...
Un... Like... Now... Ehhhhhh... "...What do you think Kaiba-san is working on," Yugi eventually said after an awkward silence fell over the group, turning to Mokuba in an attempt to change the subject. Both his other and Katsuya as well turned to the boy at that, sharing short glances.
Oh hey that was... A good question. Almost as good as the reason why they were there now that the blond thought about it...
Didn't... Didn't they have Sakura trees in their backyard? Katsuya frowned, running the thoughts through his head before jumping as Mokuba barrelled past him through a pile of petals on the ground. "O-O-OI," he shouted, watching as the boy grinned back at them, "What'r you-"
"Just because I'm supposed to just watch flowers doesn't mean I will! Come on Katsuya-nii," he shouted, charging off past the trees with a laugh, "Catch me if you can!"
The blond tensed, before charging after. "Oooooiii!" It was on damn it! Like hell the eleven year old was out running him!
"Jonouchi-kun," Yugi shouted, "Wait up!"
'I can't float that fast!'
"Gh- Other me, you're still a lot faster than I am!"
'...Really?' Given he could float, sit, talk and do whatever while moving...
Haha! Like they were going to spend Hanami looking at flowers...
...Though by the time it was lunch, it looked like the afternoon was going to be spent doing just that after all.
"Hah... hah... Hahh... Katsuya-nii," Mokuba said through somewhat laboured breaths, shaking his head as the group came to a stop. "Did you have to chase me up that tree..."
"What..." The blond shook himself, frowning. "I thought that was yer idea..." What with how there were a few meters between them... And... Mokuba was probably the only one who could safely get away with climbing the tree, not that he hadn't tried...
Yugi as well shook his head, watching the exchange with slight incredulity. "Ha-haaaaaaahhhh..."
The three boys collapsed under one of the many blossoming trees in the area, having long since exhausted themselves running around the field. For the most part, the morning had been spent alternating between this. Running, stopping for breath, running, stopping for breath...
Kinda figured it would eventually catch up really. "Man," Katsuya said with a slight laugh, shaking his head before thumping it back against the tree trunk. "That was pretty insane..."
Yugi nodded, weakly grinning as he laughed. "Hahaha... Yea," he said somewhat quietly, brushing a bit of hair from his face with bandaged hands. "I don't think I was supposed to be running around like that right after leaving the hospital, hahaha..." The others blinked, turning at that as Yugi merely continued to smile. "I'm fine," he said loudly, waving his hands in emphasis. "Really, don't worry! I just don't think I'll be moving around much anymore today..."
"Heh! You ain't th' only one," Katsuya muttered, shaking his head and looking across the field. Lots of trees for such a small sp- "Oh hey," he muttered, pulling himself up as he looked off past the sakura petals that were falling. "Seto-chan..."
The boys blinked, following the blond's gaze and staring. "Ah..." They squinted, before looking somewhat incredulously at where the woman was currently typing away on her laptop. "She... She's smiling," Mokuba shouted, shaking himself.
Honestly it really said something when her own brother was commenting on that but... Yugi shook his head, still staring at where the woman was working in silence. "...It doesn't look anything like when she smiled at school..." What, way back when she was trying to get Sugoroku's Blue-Eyes card?
The blond snorted, shaking his head. "That was because back then she was a bitch in sheep's cl- OW!" He rubbed his shoulder, turning as Mokuba crossed his arms with a scowl.
"That's my sister you're talking about, Katsuya-nii..."
"Owww..." He continued rubbing it, shaking his head. "But it's true... She ain't like that now, but back then..."
The other Yugi as well nodded, crossing his arms from where he was sitting among the three. 'He has a point...'
"He also can't hear you," Yugi muttered under his breath, Mokuba turning with raised eyebrows.
"Eh," he asked, blinking a few times. "What did you say?"
The boy smiled, shaking his head and laughing somewhat. "Ah... Nothing... Nothing," he said with a cough, his 'other' merely leaning back on the tree. "...What time is it?"
The others blinked, the younger pulling his sleeve back to look at a watch. "One thirty," Mokuba muttered, before rolling his sleeve back down. "We should probably eat now..."
Good idea... Given minor growls his stomach was now giving off. "We should probably get Seto-chan t' eat too," the blond added, scratching his head. "I don' think she's gettin up any time soon," he continued, looking back at where the woman was still calmly (And possibly happily, dare he say it) typing away. Wouldn't he bet that she had no idea they were watching... Hahhh... "I mean, if it's anythin' like when she's in 'er study..."
Yugi blinked, turning as the three stood up and began slowly heading back to where they were parked. "Her study," he asked, frowning somewhat.
The others nodded, Mokuba pulling a face at the mention before answering. "Yea... Half the time when Nee-sama comes back from work," he explained with a wince, "She'll go bury herself in her study because she's on a 'roll'..." The boy sighed, shaking his head as they continued walking past the trees. "I have to go in there to remind her it's supper time whenever that happens..."
"Hey," Katsuya grumbled somewhat darkly, "At least you ain't th' one stuck dealin' with tellin' her how late it is..." The others turned with raised eyebrows, Katsuya merely shrugging in response as he clarified. "Hey," he said plainly, looking at Mokuba, "You can't tell me that when someone disappears int' the room and comes out runnin' that somethin' ain't goin' on in there!" Though at least he'd been spared the 'opportunity' that one other time, as when his own shift had finished and she was still in there, she'd managed to fall asleep. She'd likely been fairly uncomfortable the next morning but... At least she got some sleep.
And there was a saying about sleeping dogs to say the least on why he hadn't just told her to go to her bed and collapse there. If sleeping dogs were bad... Well... Sleeping dragons would probably be worse. Nonetheless, the boys decided to keep silent on that topic and stop pressing about it, merely looking toward the parking lot where the guards, Isono, and Kyouko had all effectively taken up residence in for the day. Lets see, the guards had a deck of cards, Isono had a book... "Ahaaaaah," Kyouko said with a smile, standing up from the bench at the side as the boys came over. "I was wondering when you would all get hungry," she said with a smirk, putting her phone to the side. The woman pulled up a large bag from the side, carefully pulling out a series of boxes and placing them on the table.
The three shrugged, Mokuba running forward to grab some of the boxes as the others looked them over. All wrapped up in a square of cloth... Kinda reminded him of when his mom made his lunches back in elementary really. "Did you make all 'f these Kyouko," Katsuya asked, watching as Mokuba piled a second one on top of his before handing another to Yugi.
Kyouko shook her head, putting her own empty box back in the bag from where it had been sitting at the table. "Sort of... ...I had a little help," she said with a wink, gaze moving down to Mokuba as she said this. The others turned, blinking at that a few times.
He'd put them together..? The boy flushed, face going somewhat red as he gripped the two boxes in his hands before handing a third one to Katsuya. "Gh- I wanted to make something for Seto-neesama for once!"
"Wait," Katsuya muttered, shaking his head as he grabbed his box, "So she really is th' one making yer lunch..?"
Yugi turned, giving the blond a look that almost said 'you didn't know?' before looking back at Mokuba. "Er... If it's just lunch," he said fairly plainly, frowning a little, "Then why are you so flustered..."
At this Kyouko immediately beamed, the boy in front of her currently going even more red as the woman explained. "Aaaah- that would be because we went a little further than just 'making' bento... Take a look," she continued, "I think you'll like it!
Er... Further? The two older boys shared awkward glances, before turning as Mokuba finally adjusted his hold on the boxes with a slight grimace. "Gh- I'm going to go give nee-sama her lunch," he said quickly, running off as Yugi and Katsuya both stared. "I'll be back!"
"H-Hey, wait up," the blond shouted, running after as they took off at a relatively quick walk behind the boy. The boy as well slowed down somewhat, still gripping the boxes as the other two stared. "It's jus' bento right..?"
Mokuba remained fairly quiet, coughing somewhat awkwardly as they went toward the tree Seto sat at. "Erm... I guess..." Yeaaaa...
"Hey," he continued, untying the cloth around his own box, "What's in these anyways..?"
"Ahh..."
The boys stopped momentarily, Mokuba again going red as he watched Katsuya and Yugi both open the tops of their bento boxes. Silence, for the most part, was what met the air in the seconds that followed that... Mostly because of just what 'a little further' was. Ehhhh... "...An... How much 'f this did Kyouko make," Katsuya asked, looking at the petal shaped slices of carrot sitting among the rest of the similarly shaped foods.
"She cooked the food," the boy admitted, bowing his head somewhat as he continued to flush, "But... After the first box was done, I organized the other ones..." So... Mokuba was the source of the petal carrots...
There was more silence, before a voice from behind yanked their attention forward and further into what was becoming a fairly awkward situation. "...You did a good job," Seto said calmly, a fairly neutral expression in place as she stood behind them with crossed arms. The others swallowed as an odd and almost angry glare was turned on them, Mokuba merely fiddling with the boxes in his arms. "...Wouldn't you two say so," she added somewhat dangerously, looking at the two older boys.
"E-Ehh... Y-Yea," Katsuya said with a cough, an honest (if not nervous) smile on his face. "Definitely," he continued, "I wasn' thinkin' anythin' else..!"
"That's right," Yugi said with a nod, also smiling despite his 'other' currently staring confusedly at the bento box. "You did a good job Mokuba-kun!"
'...Why does the onigiri look like flowers...'
"Not now," Yugi muttered under his breath, Katsuya deciding to momentarily ignore the mutterings coming from the spirit beside him as the awkward situation persisted.
Seto held her neutral stare, taking the box Mokuba held out to her and stowing it under her arm. "I thought so," she said with a smirk, walking back to her laptop and briefcase.
Errr... K-Kay... Well, when he thought about it, food was food right..? At least Seto was eating right? The blond looked back at the bento, grabbing one of the oddly shaped riceballs and taking a bite out of it.
...
"...Hey," he said as he swallowed the bite, "This 's pretty good..."
He probably should have expected the glare he received in response for that one.
To say that time passed relatively quickly after that would be putting it lightly. After the somewhat tense moment that came from going from holding back comments on food to breaking an awkward silence with it, the four had ended up settling in and around one of the trees to dig into the bento. It was truly amazing how much time had passed just eating the food, not to mention the time it took bringing the boxes back to the parking lot, going back to the tree they'd been sitting at... ...Deciding not to sit at that tree thanks to the now uncomfortable piles of squished flower petals beneath it...
In the end, after sitting on the receiving end of a fairly suspicious look from Seto, their next 'tree' turned out to be 'the one beside the CEO's'. And shortly thereafter, the 'space right beside the CEO's tree, because the last tree was shedding petals in their eyes'. By the time six o clock had rolled around, the majority of them were just as quiet as Seto likely hoped thankfully enough though. Mostly due to having spent almost the entire day running around (or watching other people running around before either joining in or catching their breath), the rest of the evening was mostly filled with just doing as was intended for 'Hanami'.
Namely sitting, relaxing, and staring out at the field of endless cherry blossoms, because they were too tired to do anything else. The blond stretched somewhat, holding back a yawn as the four (five counting the other Yugi, who was floating above in the tree) sat in the disappearing sunlight. Looking at the enormous field of pink had been enough to catch all of the boys off guard while they ran early that morning for a few moments to say the least... The intense blanket that covered the trees, coupled by the rain of petals coming with the now falling blossoms... The figurative sea of petals that sat before them made it easy to forget that the field wasn't actually as big as it seemed, that it was actually fairly hard to avoid 'Seto's tree'...
Hell, the other Yugi had found himself running through a tree at one point thanks to the distraction, gaining a more than uncomfortable expression after the fact. Not to mention odd grins and silent laughs from those who saw, while Mokuba stared in confusion and the other Yugi sulked...
In any case, the flowers... Were just as stunning if not more in the sunset. Pure white and off pink blossoms were died an orange and red as the sun vanished in the distance, a steady light 'rain' falling down. The sky as well was bathed in the light, creating a soft glow across the entire field. Over all, it was completely silent, save for the occasional clacking of keys on the keyboard, or scribbling on paper or... ...Anything Seto was doing...
"Nnnn... Nee-sama," Mokuba finally asked after about an hour of this, looking at the woman from where he was sitting beside Katsuya, "It's long after you would normally come home from work... Can't you put everything down, just for a while..?"
The others nodded, Katsuya frowning somewhat as Seto momentarily stopped to look at the three blankly. "Yea! I get that y' like yer job but..." He shook his head, attempting to catch a glimpse of what was on the notepad. The woman in turn frowned, moving it out of sight as the blond coughed. "Eh... What are you workin' on anyways..?"
She looked back at the notebook, tapping her pencil against it a few times before snorting. "Hn! ...Nothing you'll be finding out anytime soon Mutt," she muttered, closing the book over as she looked to Mokuba. "Though I suppose this can wait until I get home now..."
Someday, he was going to find out what the hell Mokuba was doing that he wasn't damn it... (It was probably a sibling thing...) Either way. Seto was not working any more! Hah! "Heh..." The blond grinned, laughing despite the fact that the woman beside him was a little less than amused. "Tha's th' spirit!"
"Don't push it," she growled flatly, crossing her arms as the blond drew back.
"N-Nyhhhh..."
The others sighed, shaking their heads as the sun continued to vanish, the sky quickly darkening. Within seconds what was coated with a soft golden glow was blending into the rest of the night sky. "Hnn... We should start heading back huh," Mokuba muttered, staring for a moment before looking at the others. "It's getting da-" The boy froze, turning as light abruptly came into his vision. "...Ahhhh..."
The others as well turned, reactions more or less similar across the board in the case of the boys as they looked out at the field. "Woah..."
'This is...'
"Hahhh..."
Numerous lanterns lit up far in the distance, leaving a gleaming, golden glow across the sakura before them. Whereas the sunset had left a pale and almost uniform pallet of colour, before them each and every one of the petals on the trees were now glimmering with candle-lit highlights. "Yozakura," Katsuya muttered, staring with wide eyes. "Woah..."
"The lanterns must be from the other areas of the park," Yugi added, staring with the others as the lanterns continued to light up far off from them, bathing the neighbouring fields in a similar light. "They probably have one lantern at least on each tree..."
Again... Wow... The lights in the distance looked more like small flickering candles if anything, leaving the entire field a-glow across from them. For a fair number of minutes, there was nothing but silence, awe...
Katsuya smiled, slouching over somewhat from where he was sitting beneath the tree. Heh... At the risk of sounding like a complete pansy within his head... This was... Beautiful. The trees, the blossoms, the lights... He turned, looking as Seto herself held a somewhat less obvious, but nonetheless similar expression on her face, the woman leaning back against the tree and staring at the lanterns. Briefly, she turned, the smile still there as she held her eyes closed...
For about .2 seconds. Then she opened them... And noticed that the blond beside her had stopped staring. "Gh-" The woman tensed, abruptly frowning and grabbing her things as the blond beside her broke into a grin and laughed at the action. "MORON!"
"AHAHAHAH!" The others jumped at the shouts, turning as their friend continued to laugh. "Ahahahahahhahaha!"
Seto grabbed the rest of her things and stormed off, Katsuya falling back on the ground as Mokuba and Yugi looked over from the side. "H-Heh... What was that," Mokuba asked, shaking himself.
"Ahaha... Ahhhh..."
'...This...' Katsuya's laughs slowly faded as he watched Yugi's 'other' drift down from the tree, the spirit watching Seto leave with a somewhat dumbfounded expression. '...I can't even think of anything that applies to this...'
The boy shook his head, scratching it as he sighed. "Just roll with it other me..."
"Eeh, Yugi," Mokuba said somewhat nervously, "Who are you talking to..."
Yugi blinked, coughing somewhat awkwardly before he was spared answering the fairly awkward question by Katsuya.
"Hahaha... Ahhhhh..." The blond stared up at the sky for a moment, looking at the mostly 'star-less' sky before slowly pulling himself off and shaking his head. Well... Seeing how Seto was gone... He stretched out, shaking his head again before turning to the others. "C'mon guys," he said with a grin, brushing a number of sakura petals from his hair before turning to head back. "Lets get home..."
The 'three' stared, the two Yugi's both giving each other a shrug to go with their traded glances while Mokuba nodded. "Hah... Yea," he said, taking a few steps forward. "Good idea... Race you to the cars," the boy added with a shout, abruptly taking off in a run as the others stared.
"O-OI, OI!" The blond tensed, hurriedly taking off at the black 'blur' in the distance. "No fair, you got a head start!"
"J-Jonouchi-kun, Mokuba-kun, wait up," Yugi cried, taking off behind them as his 'other' followed as well.
'Hey! We just got out of a hospital!'
All in all... Definitely the best 'Hanami' he'd personally had since he could remember.
The drive back to the mansion was likely a little quicker for the Kaiba siblings than it was for the car carrying the guards, Yugi, and Katsuya. Before leaving the parking lot, the 'window' in the first car had been closed over for even more privacy in the back seat, with seating arrangements turned around so that while their car was full, both Seto and Mokuba would have the back seat of their car to themselves.
Not that he really minded to say the least, despite the fact that this meant he and Yugi were sharing the backseat with one of the guards while another sat in the front. Evidentally, Kyouko drew the short straw for sitting in the front of Kaiba's car... Or so it seemed until she handily closed the 'privacy window', something that had both of the guards smacking their heads in their hands. Katsuya yawned, stretching somewhat from where he sat in the middle of the car seat on the way back, shaking his head. "Hwaaaaah... Man," he said somewhat tiredly, looking at the clock in the front as he blearily made out a '7:04' on it. To think it was only seven... "Never thought goin' 'Flower viewing' would be so tirin'..."
"We've been out all day," his friend said from the side, also stretching somewhat. "I suppose it's only natural..." Yugi as well gave a yawn, shaking his head as he leaned back against the car seat and continued. "Thanks for inviting me to come along Jonouchi-kun," the boy added with a smile, hands in their usual unconscious position on the puzzle. "Make sure you thank Mokuba-kun and Kaiba-san as well when we get back alright..?"
The blond nodded, stretching again as he rubbed his neck. "Will do..." No problem! ...Save getting in close enough proximity to tell Seto that Yugi was thanking her for something she had been completely against. That would be a little... Aw what the heck, subject change! "...Hey, you got any other plans f'r th' Golden Week," he said, turning to Yugi with a somewhat blank expression.
Yugi blinked, briefly looking at where his 'other' was somehow sitting on the armrest between the front seats. For a moment, he looked almost nervous about whatever it was he was going to say. His answer however, was only a shrug... For a moment in any case. "Well," he began, scratching his head as he deliberately made to avoid his 'other's' eyes, "I was planning on meeting with Bakura-kun on the third..."
Katsuya instantly jumped, choking as he shook himself. Alright... H-Hang on! "B-Bakura..!"
'WHAT.' Real intelligent there, 'other Yugi'...
"If he was going to do something, he'd have done it by now wouldn't he," Yugi said with a shrug, keeping his voice down lest the guard beside Katsuya say anything. The words appeared to have little effect on his 'other' however, the spirit currently looking at the boy as though he'd just pulled himself out of a mud puddle. "Besides," the boy continued, frowning slightly, "It wouldn't be fair to just avoid him because of the ring! Bakura-kun is our friend after all..."
Eh... That was true but... Try explaining that to the other Yugi... ...Hahhh... Katsuya sighed, shaking his head despite the fairly unwelcome news. Alright... Seeing how he still had a point... "Yea... I guess yer righ'," the blond muttered, shrugging. "Still... What were y' gonna do?" Yugi blinked, listening as his friend continued. "I thought Bakura was busy figuring out 'Monster World Online'..." Not to mention gushing over being able to play the game without worrying about... Other things.
Again the boy shrugged, his other pulling a face at the action. "I'm not really sure," he admitted, crossing his arms in thought. "I don't want to go to the museum yet, since he said he was still working on something there, but at the same time," he continued with a frown, "Bakura-kun isn't really much for the arcade..."
"Hnnn... That's true..." More of a 'table-top' guy, Bakura... So... There were really no ideas on what to do about that...
"I'll think of something," Yugi decided, shaking his head with a small smile as he pushed the subject aside. "In any case... What about you?"
Katsuya blinked, staring somewhat blankly in response. "Nhy?"
"Golden Week; what are you and the others doing," the boy asked, leaning against the car door and continuing. "I know that Anzu and Honda-kun are going on vacation with their families for the week, and Otogi-kun is staying with his dad until he recovers in the hospital... But what about you," he repeated, frowning somewhat.
Oooh... That was a good question... The blond shrugged, shaking his head and looking at the boy. "Eh... Probably jus' gonna go to th' arcade, call my sister..." And visit his dad too, he hadn't done that in a while... Speaking of Golden Week though... "That r'minds me..." Katsuya turned to the side, Odoru blinking as the two boys beside him abruptly moved to address him. "Seto-chan puttin' up carp streamers," he asked, the guard staring for a moment.
Odoru blinked a few times in apparent shocked silence, before stiffling a laugh and he turning away with a grin. "Gh- I didn't expect that one..!"
Taijin as well turned, eyebrows raised as he looked around the seat from the front. "Did you just ask about streamers?"
Yugi and Katsuya both frowned, the blond scowling as he went red in the face. "Tch... It's an honest question!"
"And do we really need to answer," Odoru asked, coughing somewhat as he continued to grin.
...Now that he thought about it... Katsuya blinked, frowning again and crossing his arms. "Huh... Tha's a good point..."
'What,' the 'other' Yugi asked, frowning, 'What's a good point?'
Yugi blinked, silent for a few moments before staring at the puzzle in thought. "Now that I think about it..." His 'other' blinked, leaning 'against' one of the front seats as he listened. "Would Kaiba-san put up a streamer for herself and Mokuba-kun if she celebrated," he wondered aloud, "Or would she only put one up for Mokuba-kun..?"
"Or two, for me and Mokuba," Katsuya added, looking up at the car roof somewhat blankly. What kind of strange questions would this bring...
The boy beside him shrugged, pulling a face at that. "Erm..." ...Untouchable questions. That was the answer.
Hahaha... Katsuya laughed somewhat quietly, nodding as he scratched his head. "Right... ...Huh..." Probably time to change the subject. "Good question though..." He turned to look at Odoru, the guard merely staring at them with a slight grin on his face.
"Ah... Ahahaha..." The man shook his head, waving the two off somewhat as he chuckled. "I don't think I'm going to even try thinking about this one..."
'My head hurts just thinking about it,' 'Yugi' muttered, a muffled groan coming from behind his hands.
"But I'm the one with a physical body right now," Yugi muttered, frowning. Needless to say, he was ignored on that one.
Well, carp streamers aside... "Guess I'm gonna find out when we get home," the blond decided, shaking his head. "Maybe Mokuba can ask..."
"Haaah," Yugi nodded, shrugging as he leaned back on the seat. "I guess so..."
Yep... Though he sure as hell wasn't asking about it.
Driving back to the mansion was a long ride to say the least, if not mostly silent as a whole. It was not an awkward silence of course, not by a long shot... Those sorts of silences tended to require some sort of conversation to start them, and in this case, there hadn't even been that. But it was silent nonetheless, considering that the only two in the back seat were a woman with a preference in a feeling of quiet and a considerably exhausted (and likely dozing) young boy. For the most part, the two were looking out the windows, locked in their own 'worlds' and thoughts so to speak... Though by the end of it, the younger of the two had slumped to the side after fallen asleep, head winding up on his older sister's lap when she moved her arm from under his head.
The woman grimaced somewhat, arms above her head as she looked down at the boy a moment. Ahhhh this wasn't... ...Oh whatever, she decided, bringing her arms back down, let him sleep. The woman smiled somewhat, shaking her head and looking back out of the window as her brother quietly slept away what was going to be another hour of driving. Hn... All in all... The day hadn't gone too badly, to say the least. A lot better than the rest of the month, she thought somewhat bitterly, that was for sure. Lets see... In summary, starting at the beginning there was the fire. Initial symptoms of heart attack had likely resulted from the slight chance that Mokuba had been involved. After that it was mostly rage... Partially for the fact that the two idiots in the car behind this one had her brother worried, and partially because of the two being morons and getting in a fire in the first place.
She had calmed down from that somewhat thanks to the completion of her jet of course (That was... There were no words for it really.)... And then the rest of the month happened.
First, there was that 'meeting' with Ishizu at the museum. As teeth grinding as it was, it had been more than made up for by the knowledge (and possession) of the God Cards... At least until that revelation had been immediately followed up by the strangest if not the most aggravating dream she'd ever had. Certainly not a nightmare, but hell would freeze over before she considered it a 'dream'...
Thankfully, the aggravation had been made better by the thought of 'testing' Obelisk in a computerized duel. The duel disks weren't ready of course but the table had to be able to handle it right? RIGHT..?
Oh she was wrong. She was very wrong, to put it extremely lightly. The moment she'd drawn the card and successfully summoned it in a 'test duel' on that table, the entire board went completely dead, before system itself managed to fry itself completely. It was nothing that couldn't be fixed, thanks to the device being built with a fail-safe program but... She wasn't in the best of moods to say the least. Particularly since that meant 'no testing' the card.
So... She took Mokuba out in the plane. Made use of the 'second seat' in the jet, took off and hit 'mach 2' as fast as safely possible. And while the constant shouts of 'THIS IS AWESOME' did start to grate her nerves after the fifth round in the sky, the fact was, the entire event was all too fulfilling to get upset about. The plane was great, the ride was great, her brother was happy, which honestly made her at least somewhat happy... And with all that in mind planning for the tournament started going underway shortly after that, her mood having been 'repaired'. General 'set up' was decided, with approximate 'field sizes' being made, the number of people to have participating going up on the 'debate' board in her mind, the prizes, the 'bait'...
And then the next friday came. And she had that damn dream again, souring the mood that had slowly been rising back to normal levels. The exact same dream at that, complete with any silence being completely 'lip-read' proof, as though her own mind had suddenly lost any traces of an already basic ability. God... Damn it...
Needless to say, she'd woken up more than ticked that morning, heading straight from breakfast to the study and locking the door to do some work to take her mind off things. ...Perhaps turn them toward the tournament that would have to (sooner rather than later) be put into place. So far, it was fairly clear that Ishizu's statement of 'city wide' as a description was unfortunately... Very very necessary.
VERY. Necessary. There was certainly not going to be a building in all of Tokyo large enough for everyone to battle 'Swiss format' using duel disks, even with the smallest amount of people that would attract enough attention from the 'Ghouls'. And if she wanted to use the God cards... Hell, with the progress the duel disk was having in terms of testing and production, not using the disks would be absolutely unthinkable!
So she was going to have to (somehow) close off the entire district of Domino. Which meant that this would need to progress fast enough to be over within one day at the most, a fact that had the woman again narrowing her eyes. After all; to shut down a city for one day was already pushing it... More than that? HAH.
Of course, the same day she'd come to that conclusion, she'd been hammered with that god damned dream again... The dream that had decided to change the ending, stripping away the last bit of unconscious debate against any plausibility in it. It wasn't real. It couldn't be! And god damn it, knowing her luck she was going to end up with that dream this friday as well! ...Though it could always be worse, she told herself with a slight shudder, recalling the last 'recurring dream' she had. The one that entered a class of it's own, a category of nightmare with no true name... It could have been far worse...
Far... Far worse...
The woman shook that off, instead lightly laying her hand on her brother's shoulder and staring out the window in an attempt to calm herself down. Honestly... Enough about dreams. Despite all the annoyances they'd been giving her, she'd gotten a fair amount of the tournament planned out today, and if she let god damned hallucinations based on a stupid tablet distract her from that she wouldn't get anything done. She'd accomplished a fair bit to say the least... For the preliminaries in any case. The finals would have to be held the day after the preliminaries, perhaps a few matches on the evening of at the best... But there was no way that would happen on some random corner of the street, regardless of time limits!
"...Nn..." Seto blinked, pulling her hand up for a moment as her brother stirred. Ah... Don't wake up just yet... Not yet... "..." The boy remained silent, his older sister letting out a calm sigh in response.
...Hah... The woman shook her head as Mokuba continued to sleep, smirking somewhat before looking back out the window. In all honesty, despite all that still needed to be fixed, she had to say... Today was nice...
Quiet, 'successful', dare she say it enjoyable despite the presence of certain others... It was nice... With those words in mind, her eyes closed over, the woman's head leaning somewhat against the car seat as they continued to drive back home through the heavy 'Golden Week' traffic. More planning tomorrow... But for now...
It was nice, celebrating Hanami again.
AN: Awwwww... Hanami fluff... It's blink and you'll miss it, but it's fluffy enough to confuse Yami Yugi, so that's always good!
And if you haven't noticed, this is one of those tiny little things that Fem!Kaiba has in her persona to seriously set her apart from the Canon; namely that weak, spring season point. Yeaaaaa, the sakura legitimately made her melt! ...Kinda. Mostly it's just a calming effect that just speeds the work along.
Hell's gonna freeze over completely before she ever admits to enjoying hanami though, trust me on that. I'm probably pushing it with that as it is. In any case...
There's still one more breather chapter after this, before we officially start the 'Battle City Arc'! Though depending on how long the chapter gets, it might have to be split in two... Hopefully it won't though, since the next breather is very, very quick in terms of progression. It's like the standard breather, except... More jumping through time, as Battle City isn't until the very end of July, and while there is a 'standard breather' in July... ...Well...
You see... I got the summer break WRONG; in Japan, the summer break is only one month; August. It starts on 'Marine Day', the third monday of July. Which certainly explains all the school stuff going on around then... (I really should have caught this!)
So yea. We have (Unlike what was implied with the earlier Summer chapter), since this chapter ended on what is effectively the beginning of May, almost three months to skip past. As opposed to the one month that we dealt with in the Valentines-White Day chapter.
You know what's scarier about this though? Because Battle City is actually only a few days, we still have the summer after that.
But that's besides the point. In summary... Breather chapter, Breather chapter if the last one is too long, Breather Chapter of plot related proportion (Compared to the norm I mean. Because really, look up; not much in terms of the 'card game' plot.)... And Battle City. YAYYYYY.
In other news!
Thanks to a recent review, we have another (if not better) option for what 'Kul Elna' means...
MaggieMay mentioned that while it's not the exact same word, it's quite likely that Elna came from a more vague reference... Specifically a Hebrew one. She offered the word... Rather name, 'Elna'athan', which means 'God has given' in Hebrew. (The 'El' is one of many ways to refer to God, whereas 'Nathan' means 'to give'.)
In any case, though the entire series of referencing was obscure, not only was a King ('Elna'athan' was both a grandfather to one and the son of another.), but there was someone named 'Sennen' (Which is Japanese for 'Millennium'), and also 'land running red'... Though that's due to the reddish sandstone in the area. (The area/kingdom was called 'Edom, or Red. Naaaaaah~)
Anyways. See if you can find anything in another language though, because if I go with this, natural logic will insist that the denizens of Kul Elna were all speaking that same language, and while not all Hebrew speaking people are/were (speaking historically) religious, there's still a good deal of... Unfortunate... Implications in pitting a village of Hebrew speaking people against Egyptians.
*coughMosescough*
Well, back to business now... As you can see, I managed to squeeze in another chapter during the holidays! So you can be happy about that~ (Me, I'm running around patching up the mistakes I made thanks to the Summer chapter; July the 7th, Mokuba's birthday, is Tanabata, a major festival and holiday!)
But whatever! (That was one long note...)
New Poll!
For the 'side story'... Basically what portions of Kaiba's dreams cover, only a small bit will be revealed. Because it's... Kaiba's dreams, which only covers the visions from Canon. Obviously there are tweaks (the visions from the anime were all battles that happened while fleeing Zorc in the fanfic), but for the most part... A lot will still be unknown.
This is where the 'side story' comes in. Do you want me to type this? Or try my hand at including more dream sequences? Let me know, I'm setting up the poll on my author's page now!
Option One: Type it on the side (Seperate Fanfic)
Option Two: Type it here (More dreams, more 'piece it together'-ness.)
Anonymous Review Responses
Hey there Maggiemay! You're right in that it's a bit convoluted, wowwwww... Not to sure if this is where 'Elna' came from, but if it is, then I can definitely see why! Thanks for the contribution Maggiemay! It sounds like it was fun!
And hey again Iona!
And ooooh boy, if you think that was an acid trip... It gets weirder. In any case, it's good to hear that you think this about where the plot is going!
Hehehe... Ahhh, but where would we be without Kaiba denying everything? Though at least Kaiba kinda accepts the weird crap as we go along... Thankfully. It's so much fun to type Kaiba, it really is..
Ah? You like my art? Sweet! As for Critias... ...Hoh... I'll have to check again. Screen issues does indeed make for these kind of problems after all (Heck, I had an entire note on Rebecca's hair thanks to it.), and I did use a screen cap for my reference on the picture... And given that they all wear helmets, it's hard to tell exactly what colour their hair is from a standard size, 'full body in view' screencap. Oh well~
In any case, enjoy the chapter!
Cynical Gamer! Yep! …Well, mostly unexpected. In one way it's not, but in another… Heh… VERY unexpected, I can guarantee that. *nudgenudge* (Hey you started it with the winking.)
Did you know that one version had it that they were tomb-builders turned robbers? That makes even less sense, they should definitely have been caught and dealt with if THAT were the case! (Tomb raiding is serious business after all.)
Ironically, I think I'm going to be twisting the convenience of that cavern they were all killed in through that… 'Quick, to the- …Shit.'
Yep, one thread dealt with… On to the next one!
I REFUSE TO FEAR THE SQUIGGLY WHEN IT HAS BROUGHT SO MUCH GOOD.
Heheeee~~
It is a shame really… But hey, we'll get there some day… (Ironically, someone else mentioned, while doing intense astrology fun with these guys that Jonouchi's character actually makes him perfect for organizing things like tournaments… Hehehe…)
Dang straight 'rule of cool'. Among other awesome things. (WHOOO!)
It does, it does… One of those things where you realize just how little time you have… Among other things. (Hehehehe.)
Actually, Takahashi tends to be very good about using proper physics and logic… In fact, Yugi's in the hospital the chapter after the D-D-D arc ends, and we never do find out how long it took him to get out…
Hahaha, good, I've done my job then! (-has fun making mindscrews-) As for the 'no fate', it's more like his fate is completely out of reach; the only one with access to it is (ironically) himself, given that he has a few dreams centred around what he'll eventually do anyways. But in his case, that's not something controllable, like with the Tauk. So very good and very bad is… Well, right. What does it mean?
YOU'LL FIND OUT. (Sooner or later. Before Battle City ends, guarantee it.)
And hehehe, yep! And to be specific, Seto gave Jonouchi a dope-slap… So not so much a hit as a (to quote NCIS) 'wake up call'. And it does show some sort of attachment… Kinda. (She would have done the same thing to Yugi had it not been for the fact that while Jonouchi was just sort of held in the hospital, Yugi went to ICU…)
In any case, enjoy!
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Section
The section that wonders... ...Do people like breather chapters?
Today's chapter title refers to the colour of Sakura petals; namely white. Of course, some petals are pink, but the fact is, a lot of them are a white/pale pink in colour rather than a blinding shade of pink.
In any case, it would be absolutely ridiculous to think that everyone caught the 'Peak Blossom' of the season, so a large amount of petals are already falling from the trees... Hence the rain.
By the way, did you know that the petals fall at a rate of 5 centimeters per minute? (This was me, making a terrible reference to another anime. Yaaaaay~ It is true though.)
Ordinarily, the 29th is 'Shouwa Day' (Used to be called 'Greenery Day', but that was moved) in Japan, celebrating that era and the emperor of that time. So… You could compare it to Victoria Day for us Canadians! Except it's probably not… At all the same. (This is where experience overtakes research; all the guide books in the world cannot tell me what the holidays are like in Japan.)
It lands on Sunday in fanfic-land's year, but in Japan, when the holiday lands on a Sunday, they make the next day a holiday too. Isn't that nice? But since the entire week is off anyways, that won't happen this year for them. Oh well~
Hanami, or 'Flower Viewing' ('Hana' is 'Flower', 'Mi' is from 'Miru', 'To see')is a common event in Japan that more often than not occurs in late march and early April… However, It does stretch right along to the end of April as well… As long as the sakura petals are still in bloom basically. (Most people go during the 'peak blossom', normally in early April.)
And yes, the event is centred around looking at the pretty pink flowering trees and having picnics under them. But the fact is, it is a sight to behold… (Particularly at night, with the 'yo-zakura', or 'night sakura'.)
By the way, though 'sakura' are 'cherry blossoms', the sakura trees themselves never actually bear fruit in the 'edible cherry' sense... Well, one does but those are used in tea...
The reason why so many points of Yami Yugi throwing his 'two cents in' is audible to Jonouchi (If it wasn't, I wouldn't have typed it after all...) is because Yami isn't making an effort to really make what he's saying 'private'; in other words, he's treating his statements as an open source so to speak, neither targeting Jonouchi nor blocking him from the conversation... In addition, he's not specifically talking to Yugi, which basically means it's a free for all for anyone with access.
Which is really just those two, but oh well.
Bento, (Bentou, Japanese Box-lunch in otherwords) is often times made to look as good as it is to eat… However, this is something that Kaiba likely never bothers with (At least no further than 'it looks healthy and organized')… So Mokuba is understandably more than a little embarrassed about modelling flower shaped onigiri for Hanami. Mostly because... Well. Flowers. (But really, what else would you bring to flower viewing?)
At the same time though, despite seeing no point in that, Kaiba's not about to berate her brother for going an extra mile to make the food look cool! That's cruel. It's like (In 'Kaiba-speak') dinging someone for making a presentation actually look appealing! But unfortunately, the other two boys (who probably don't get those kind of lunches themselves) are a little torn about Mokuba doing something that's considered a little… 'Girly'. (Though Yami Yugi's just confused period, for obvious reasons.)
'Onigiri' are 'Riceballs', and are essentially rice wrapped around some sort of food... Sometimes there's seaweed wrapped around it. The rice in Japan is much stickier than most rice that we get, so it clumps together rather well... Hence the reason why you can actually eat it with chopsticks.
Interestingly enough, the ri is in hiragana, the o is an honorific, and the giri doesn't mean rice, it means bribe, grip, hold... And... 'mould sushi'. (Eh?) So confused...
Hey, you know what the best part is about having a set 'year' is? It means I have set sunrise and sunset times as well. And April the 29th's time is around six thirty.
Hey, she smiled… And then lost it when she realized someone was watching. You know those moments where you unconsciously smile, for no apparent reason?
Kaiba just had one. Possibly because doing work in a large airy and calm environment without being bothered by phone calls has a relaxing effect on her… See, Mokuba knows what he's doing! Just take the work out of the work! (Wait what?) In any case, as soon as she noticed that Jonouchi had a weird smile on his face (he as well was 'unconsciously smiling', though for a completely different reason...), she realized fairly quickly that something was 'wrong'. Or assumed it at least. Hehehehe.
'Boys Day', or rather 'Children's Day' as it's called now is May the 5th (Oddly enough the last day of the Golden Week in Fanfic land, as that's Saturday there), and is the day where, besides celebrating children and happiness and giving a reason for the kids to have the day off and not the teens if your school is particularly mean, (FOILED!) where all those carp streamers come from; families hang out as many as there are for the boys in the house outside.
In the end, you can bet that Kaiba isn't celebrating anyways, so the question in the car is completely pointless… Though the fact is, lots of people put as many streamers out for the number of children in the family rather than the number of sons now.
In any case, it's important to note that while a lot of people take the entire week off, not all of the Golden Week is a holiday; in fact, between the 29th and the third, those days are just as special as most other days of the year… It's just that the holidays are so close together, the schools and a number of businesses shut down anyways.
Kaiba will probably keep people coming in for work on Tuesday and Wednesday, the two days without a holiday though, and even if it's a few days off for those employee's, she'll still be going in herself. Monday is off thanks to the 'sunday' rule though...
Speaking of Boys Day, a good number of you Japan-savvy people have probably noticed that there was no mention of Girls Day (March 3) at all. This is because a) The 'main female' in this fanfic is crossdressing and very much non-feminine in action, and b) the other 'main female' (Anzu) is a tomboy, so she's probably not going to be setting out a seven tier doll set to ward off spirits/late marriage.
And if she (Anzu) did, you can bet she's not going to be talking to a group of guys about it! Either way, it would be absolutely ridiculous to even bring up the subject around those two, particularly since it's not really a 'talking about what we're doing' sort of holiday in the first place.
The third of May is 'Constitution Memorial Day', and is considered a day to reflect on democracy and such, as it's in celebration of the promulgation of the 1947 Constitution of Japan.
But really, it's a holiday so… …Yea.
The same treatment goes, though much more so for 'Greenery Day', on the 4th, which is supposed to be an 'Earth Day' like holiday in name, but is generally just considered another day off in the week.
Due to the 'calendar' we have for the fanfic, Kaiba had that wonderful dream three times in a row, each time on Friday. The first time was right after the meeting with Ishizu, the next one was obviously the week after (the 20th), and finally the version that we saw last chapter happened on the 27th… A day or so before she was dragged off for Hanami.
That flower viewing was ironically the best thing for her to have after that actually, whether she admits it or not. (More likely not.)
The 'worse' situation Kaiba references is the nightmares that plagued her after her first duel against Yugi. You know, the one that persisted every night until Death-T? After which she was comatose? YEEEEAAAAAAA…
By the way, the last time Kaiba probably did anything remotely similar to Hanami was likely in the orphanage. So about six years prior. YAYYYYYYYYY~ (Oddly enough, the same could possibly apply to Jonouchi, if not for the fact that schools often partake in it since the season is so close to graduation/the end of the school year.)
FanArt and My Art Section
Remove spaces, paste the link! Easy!
We've got a doodle comic for you... Yay~
Doodle Comic: May the Third – http : / / i5. photobucket. com /albums /y153 /natasha_unos_1 /YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin /DoodleWar. jpg – In which we get to see how 'May the Third' with Bakura went. I told you that Bakura would regret 'playing nice'! Though be sure to keep an eye on that knife he's got... You'll see it again. By the way, be sure to full view this picture if you expect to read anything.
Happy New Years everyone!
And yes, I posted on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve tends to only last a few hours in terms of the traditional 'open presents have dinner together' deal really.