Tin-Can Telephones
"Everything is clear; you may proceed to the phone room." That was what he expected to hear and did hear at the gates he was passing through that day really. The fact was, he'd have been surprised if he wasn't allowed in, despite the fact that it was only his second time coming through. Even so...
Katsuya silently nodded as he left his things at the 'front' with the police in the jailhouse, moving through the hall to the large open room with a series of glass booths. A number of cops stood in the room, ready for if anything were to happen, be it an attempt to attack, pass information... But given that there were only two other people there besides himself, the cops, and his father in that room at the moment, it was more than likely that nothing would end up occurring.
Either way, he was long overdue for a visit with it already being the end of May, which was why he was here... To at least say 'hi'. "Ahhhhh! Katsuyaaa!" The blond grinned somewhat as he picked up the phone, his father smiling widely as the teen sat down. For a guy that was stuck in a cell for most of the day, he was pretty cheery... Not that he minded really. "It's been a long time," the man said with a slight frown, "A very long time, I never got to find out if you got a woman on Christmas!"
Gh- The blond flushed, tensing. H-Hang on... How many months and that was the first thing he asked! ...Wait, he thought with a mental sigh, rubbing his head. This was his dad... Of course it was. "D-Dad," he groaned, free hand mostly serving to hold his head as he leaned on his arms. "I didn' do anythin' like that! I got 'er a present," he continued rather insistently, "An' tha's it! There w's no... 'Getting'. Nothing, alrigh'?"
"Ohhhh," the man said with a grin, leaning forward. "So you did meet someone! Wonderful!" Damn it. He slipped up there. "How did she like it," his father pressed, acting somewhat like a five year old as he bounced somewhat on his seat. "What was it? Did you take my advice on the dinner?"
Aaaaaaauuughhhh... The blond sighed, sitting up again and shaking his head. "...Dad..."
"Did she give you that..?" The blond tensed, looking down at his dog-tags before hurriedly stowing them in his shirt with a red face.
"Gh-" Damn it, not again! He'd already had to make excuses for everyone else..! ...And his Dad would probably see right through that when he thought about it. "That's not the point," he shouted angrily, face going rather red.
There was a short span of silence, the man slowly chuckling as his son flustered. "Hahahahaha! Ahhh Katsuya, Katsuya," his father said with a laugh, waving the conversation away. "I'm pulling your leg, give your old man a break ah? This is the most excitement I've heard of since Christmas you know," he continued, sighing somewhat. "It's boring in here... And I still have another year to go you know, before I can get back to 'life'..."
Katsuya blinked, before nodding at that. Yea... Yea he did... As to what would even happen after that... He swallowed, shaking his head. "...Yea... Tha's righ'..." Who knew. "...Hey... How you doin' Dad," the blond asked, attempting to smile. "I know it's been a while but... You've been holdin' up righ'? Hangin' in there?"
His father shrugged, smirking. "Well, the food isn't much," he trailed off, leaning on one arm before shifting his expression to a more lecherous grin. "But you should see some of the pin-ups that my inmate has, hehehehehe..."
"Gh-" Again the blond flushed, frowning. "Dad!" It was one thing to talk about this among friends, among parents it was just weird! ...Also, didn't they sometimes record these conversations..?
"One of them looks almost like your mother at that age," the man continued, smiling as his son stared. Ah... His mom..? "When she had her hair long, and would wear it down... She cut it shortly after you were born," he said with a slight nod, chuckling, "You kept pulling at it..." He bowed his head, sighing as Katsuya continued to look at his father in silence. "I wonder what she looks like now... What Shizuka looks like... You saw them in the summer right Katsuya," he asked, swallowing. "How is she, Akie? Is she alright..? Is she looking well..?"
The blond stared, leaning forward somewhat on his arms. Hnn... Mom and Shizuka didn't want to even mention Dad... At the same time though, he had a right to know that they were at least healthy didn't he? "She's alright," he finally admitted, nodding his head with a small smile. Got a few gray hairs thanks t' Shizuka's surgery," he added with a short laugh, shaking his head, "But she's al'-"
"Surgery..?" Oh shit, he wasn't supposed to mention that..! Katsuya coughed, watching as the man behind the glass paled and swallowed before quietly repeating his words. "Shizuka had... Surgery..? But why..."
"Ah... It... It was jus' for her eyes," Katsuya said with another cough, hurriedly trying and failing to fill up the hole he was digging, "They're completely healed now! She's fine!"
"Her eyes..?" The man continued to pale, shaking his head and looking down as he wiped his brow. "I..." He swallowed, shaking himself. "I didn't know... I never knew she was having problems with her eyes... She was always so... 'Aware', always reading... I would never have thought..."
Awww man... "...Dad..." Katsuya sighed, biting his lip. Seeing his old man like this was never... ...Had they been in the apartment, there would be a case of beer in his hands by now, that was for sure. Seeing his dad like this... "Dad... It's fine alrigh'," he assured the man, swallowing. "You wouldn't 've known, it didn't happen until after th' divorce anyway... It ain't yer fault," he continued, frowning. It was no one's fault, just please cheer up... "...Why don' we talk about somethin' else alrigh'," he said with a forced smile, his father nodding in response. "...Did I ever tell yah about 'duel monsters'," the blond asked, 'grinning'. "I made runner up in all Japan with that game!"
The man blinked, quickly shifting his mood over as he stared. "Ah... That card game they're talking about," he asked, again blinking with slight confusion. Katsuya nodded, grinning as his father did the same. "Ahhh! That's wonderful! Wonderful! In that case..." The man rummaged around in his pocket, before holding a card to the glass. "Ta-daaaaah~ Happy Late Birthday Katsuya~"
"A-" He blinked, looking at the glass. "... A card?" Katsuya stared, before shaking himself. "Dad, how did you get a card in here... ...Wait," he corrected, frowning, "Where did you even get a duel monster's card..."
His father merely continued to grin, laughing as he held the card. "Hahaha... That inmate I mentioned thought I should have a Christmas present... They let him bring his deck in when he came in," he continued, "But in the end, I don't play so..." The man trailed off, shaking his head and shrugging. "So I think you should have this ah," he stated, tossing it over the side of the glass. "Could be useful right?"
Katsuya fumbled somewhat as he caught it, hurriedly looking back as one of the policemen raised their eyebrows. A-Ahahaha... Nothing bad going on here... Well, they were giving him the shrug so... He looked over the card, blinking. Huh... This was a pretty shiny version of a card, that was for sure... "Panther Warrior..." Hoh... He continued to look it over, blinking. This looked like a pretty good card! The blond grinned, looking back at his dad. "Heh... Thanks!"
"Ohh, it's nothing!" The man waved it off, shaking his head. "But Katsuya," he continued, frowning as he looked up at the clock. "Visiting time isn't that long, you should-"
"Get ready t' go, I know," Katsuya said, nodding as he smiled. "I'll make sure t' tell Shizuka an' Mom you said 'Hi' by th' way... An' that they 'look like each other' or somethin' like that..." Whatever one of those his dad had been going on about. He shook his head, before frowning. Wait, was his dad going on about that...
Another nod, the man smiling brightly and apparently missing the frown on his son's face. "Thank you... Thank you," he repeated, smiling. "Ah... Before you go," he said somewhat hurriedly, pointing toward his son before the blond could hang up, "I have to tell you, about that 'pin up'... I was just joking around it's-"
"Not a pin-up," Katsuya said, cutting in, "It's a picture 'f th' guy's wife from college... I kn-" The blond froze, paling as he realized what he was saying. ...Wait.
How... How did he know that? Katsuya's father stared, blinking a few times. "You took the words right out of my mouth," he muttered, staring and shaking his head. "How did you know it was..." The blond swallowed, paling as his father frowned for a few moments before grinning. "Hahahahaha... Aahhhh, great minds think alike hnnn?" He continued to laugh, Katsuya doing the same at a much more uneasy level.
Err... "Hah... Yea! S-Somethin' like that," he muttered, coughing. "Eh... S-See yah dad," he said quickly, his father muttering the same as the phones were hung up. "Bye..."
Sometimes, he told himself with shaking breaths, he really hated this weird 'flash forward' thing. It was finding an awful lot of new ways to bug him.
Though if there was one thing he could count on, it was forgetting about all of that in lieu of the pool opening up for the summer at school. Particularly since that same pool was one of the few that was open on the weekends. So of course, what else was he going to do with a sunday afternoon off besides take advantage of that? "ALRIGH'," the blond shouted, charging down the pool deck toward the deep end. "CANNON BALL!"
"AAACK! JONOUCHI," Honda roared, ducking as his friend landed a few centimetres away from him. "WATCH IT!"
Mokuba as well ducked away, only a short distance further away from the two. "K-KATSUYA-NII!"
Water was everywhere with the first 'pool weekend' of the year, the first week of June having flown by almost as quickly as the entire month of May had. Heck, anything between that moment and the Golden Week was pretty much done with in a single moment. Thinking of the Golden Week though... When he thought about it, Yugi never did tell them what happened on the third... But given that even his 'other' was relatively alright the next time he saw him, he'd assumed it was nothing too serious.
Though the fact that neither of them said anything kinda felt weird... Especially since Bakura didn't say anything either... The blond shook it off, swimming to the surface of the pool and shaking the hair out of his eyes. Less thinking more swimming; didn't he run this through his head the first day back in school at the end of the week anyways? He wiped a bit of water from his eyes, turning as Mokuba coughed somewhat from the side. "Gh- Katsuya-nii," the boy grumbled, his friend merely smiling somewhat sheepishly. "Watch where you're jumping!"
"Ahahaha..." Katsuya coughed, shrugging. "Sorry abou' that Mokuba..." Not to say that wasn't fun anyways though.
The boy shrugged, pulling himself out to sit on the side of the pool before shaking his hair semi-dry. "It's alright... I can deal with it," he added with a grin, Katsuya frowning. Wait a second...
He knew that look... "O-Oi," he muttered, Honda as well turning while Mokuba grinned, "What 're you up to..?"
The boy at the side merely continued to grin, shaking his head as he went to grab his towel from the side. "Nothing~ Nothing at all," he continued, pulling the towel around his shoulders as he sat on the side.
Honda narrowed his eyes, swimming over to the edge and leaning over. "My nephew lies better than you," he muttered, gaining a somewhat unimpressed look from the boy
"That's because I'm not trying."
"Yeaaaaa," Katsuya muttered, swimming over to the edge himself. "We kinda guessed..."
"Hi everyone!" The others turned, blinking as Yugi walked over alongside Anzu. Yugi of course was in swim shorts, like everyone else... Anzu however was wearing a bikini that had Yugi flushing a beet red everytime he looked to the right of him. Anzu continued to wave somewhat, smiling. "We aren't too late are we?" Nope... Nope... The boys stared somewhat, watching as the two dropped their towels at the side as they shook their heads.
"Naw, you're good... Pools open another hour 'r so," Katsuya said with a shrug, before pulling himself out of the pool to sit. "Hey Yugi," he added, grinning as the boy gave a 'hey!' in response.
"Nice timing you two," Honda added, coming out to sit as well. "Right when we're trying to squeeze information out of this guy..."
The others turned to Mokuba at that, staring as the boy frowned and remained silent. "...Wait... Hang on," he muttered, the four having only a slight idea as to what the boy was talking about. "What..."
The others blinked as Mokuba frowned, the boy running over to stand next to Yugi a moment. Kay... What was he- Honda and Katsuya both blinked as they looked carefully at the two, grins slowly coming over their faces. OhHOH! Granted, Yugi was probably more in an awkward place than a 'triumphant' one for the moment, given his expression. "Erm... Mokuba... What are you doing..."
The boy continued to frown, slowly bringing his hand up and moving it from his head toward Yugi's. Where it stopped at the boy's nose. A fact that very quickly had Mokuba bringing his hand back and gaping. "You... You're taller than me!"
Yugi blinked, nodding slowly as the others stiffled grins at the fact. Now this was interesting... Recently, Mokuba had been staying at his school during lunches to help with his upcoming school festival... Conveniently enough though, that was about when Yugi managed to shoot up about ten centimetres in a few weeks. Which surprised most of them to say the least. But he hadn't really thought about what would happen when the two saw each other again...
Of course... Since Mokuba had only been say... A centimetre or so taller before that point... Katsuya grinned, continuing to watch. This was probably the most amusing thing to happen for a while. A long while. Mokuba looked at the others somewhat incredulously, pointing back at Yugi and ignoring the teen's slight discomfort. "When did this even happen," he 'asked', eyes still wide with surprise.
"Um... Over the last few weeks," Yugi answered, coughing. "...I was surprised too but... It's... It's not really that much," he muttered, rubbing his head as Mokuba continued to stare.
Katsuya shook his head, laughing. Ahhhh... This was great... This was- "Hey, where's Bakura," he asked, frowning. "I thought he was coming..." He knew that Otogi was dealing with his Dad, since the guy was getting discharged soon... But Bakura didn't say anything about any recent 'problems'...
Yugi shook his head, shrugging at the question. "He couldn't come," he explained, fingering his puzzle. "Apparently something went wrong with his computer, so he had to take it in to get it repaired."
"Ah, really," Mokuba asked, blinking. Yugi nodded, the boy beside him shaking his head in response. "I could have done it for him I bet..." Little late for that though, so whatever really... "Alright then... In any case," he continued with a smirk, crossing his arms and gaining a fairly competitive look, "Sooner or later, I'm going catch up to you again, got it? You won't be taller for long!"
Yugi laughed, shaking his head. "Hahaha, alright..." Honestly, that was probably very likely thinking about the size of Yugi's dad compared to the size of Mokuba's sister...
"Ah, that reminds me," the boy added, moving to grab his bag from the side to pull something out. The others turned, watching as he rooted around in it for a few moments "Rebecca sent me an e-mail earlier today- she's graduating this month," he continued, looking up briefly, "And she wanted to ask everyone their opinion on something..."
Eh..? Katsuya blinked, standing up and walking over as the others moved toward Mokuba as well. "Rebecca," he asked, frowning somewhat. They hadn't heard anything from her for a while really... Heck, besides the occasional comment from Mokuba's e-mails, they hadn't heard anything since March...
Mokuba nodded, smiling before looking back in the bag. "Yep; mostly," he explained with a shrug, "I just get e-mails about her classes and what makes them 'boring'..." Something only Rebecca could possibly get away with saying given her age and what her classes were... "Sometimes we talk about Duel Monsters too," he added rather plainly, "But since I don't play, we don't really talk about much there..." He laughed, before holding out a picture and smirking. "Anyways-"
"Wait..." The others turned, blinking as Katsuya frowned. "Doesn't the summer start in July," he asked, shaking his head. He got that the states started the school year in September but...
Anzu shook her head, frowning. "That's for Japan Jonouchi, the US ends their year and starts summer in June... "
...Right. "Oh..."
Again Mokuba shook his head, the others turning to look at the picture he was holding as the boy coughed. It was obviously of Rebecca but... "Wow," Honda muttered, blinking a few times as he looked at it. "She's really dressed up..."
The others nodded, Anzu blinking a few times. "She looks about two years older in that dress..."
"Yea... Ah, anyways!" The boy shook himself, before explaining. "Rebecca said that her 'Prom' is coming," he stated, looking back at the picture. "Apparently, there's more of a party and dance for graduation over there than a ceremony... And... She wanted to know if she looked good?" He shrugged, the others raising their eyebrows at the statement as he looked at them. "I told her she looked fine," he said with a frown, "But she kept asking about Yugi's opinion..."
...Awww shit, please tell him that didn't mean- At that, Anzu frowned, crossing her arms while Katsuya shook his head. "She remembers how old we are right," she asked somewhat dangerously, Yugi coughing fairly awkwardly.
"A-Anzu," he said nervously, flushing somewhat, "It's fine... Really..." Shit. It did mean that.
Oh boy, this was a fight he wouldn't want to see... "Er..." Mokuba put the picture back in the bag, staring. "So I'll tell her you agreed then?"
Yugi merely nodded, rubbing his head as Anzu looked at the boy somewhat oddly. A look that had the 'Other' Yugi materialize at the side, biting his lip.
'Oooooh dear...'
Katsuya coughed, a muttered 'not now' under his breath as both he and Yugi looked at the boy's 'other' for a brief moment. Not good... Ahhh... "H-hah... Hey," the blond shouted, laughing somewhat, "Aren't we s'pposed t' be swimmin' righ' now?"
The others turned, Mokuba tossing his bag to the side before sitting on the chair at the side. "That's why I came," he said with a shrug, frowning somewhat. The expression quickly fell however, the boy blinking a few times before turning to the group. "Ah... But before that..."
Yugi turned from where he'd been about to hop in the pool as his 'other' vanished, the rest of his friends staring as well. "Er... What is it?"
The boy quickly grinned, an odd look on his face as he leaned back on his seat. "I found out what Nii-sama's working on..."
"AH-" Katsuya grinned, moving from where he'd been heading to the pools edge as the expression grew. "Really," he asked, blinking a bit of remaining water from his eyes. "What is it?"
Mokuba continued to grin, saying nothing for a few moments as he shook his head. "Not telling~"
Whaaaat? "S-Seriously," he muttered, frowning somewhat. "Are you serious..!"
Yugi blinked, his own expression mirroring that of the blonds. "Why not..?"
The boy shrugged, shaking his head as his grin was momentarily replaced with a frown. "Sorry... I would say something," he continued, trailing off for a moment, "But every time I think of one way to say it..." He laughed, flushing with excitement as he shook his head again. "It's big" he said with a grin, eyes wide. "That's all I can say about it, it's so incredibly huge..!"
Well that didn't tell them a damn thing!
"It has to do with the duel disks though," he continued, Yugi and Katsuya both turning at that as their fallen grins began to return.
"The duel disks," Yugi repeated, Anzu and Honda shaking their heads at the mention of yet another duel-monster's related subject. "You mean Kaiba-san finished..."
Mokuba again nodded, smirking as he explained. "Right! Nii-sama just needs to work out a few more kinks in the system and it's ready to go!"
Alright! Katsuya grinned, pumping a fist as Yugi stared off somewhat. "HAHA! I can't wait," he cheered, the boys friends once again shaking their heads. "I'll finally get t' see what th' hell s..." Someday he would stop tripping over that... "What he's workin' on!"
"I wonder how the game will work on the new systems," Yugi muttered, still staring off as he held his puzzle.
"Aaaaaaauuugh, talk about something other than card games," Honda groaned, falling back in the pool from the edge to float on his back. The others turned, watching as the teen moved out a few feet from the pool's edge and continued. "I mean come on! What happened to talking about arcade games... And swimming," he added with a splash, the others ducking under the oddly large wave of water that headed their way.
Dodging however, did nothing for those by the edge, Katsuya quickly sputtering and spitting out a mouthful of water before turning on the teen. "Gh! HONDA!" Another loud splash came through the air, Honda laughing as he ducked a swipe from his friend.
"Alright," he said with a grin, swimming away from the blond with a laugh. "Now that's more like it!"
More like what! "Get over here!"
"Hey," Honda continued as he dodged another swipe, "You're supposed to close your eyes and yell 'Marco'!"
"I'LL SHOW YOU 'MARCO'!"
As to when everyone else started playing along, he had no idea, but he'd managed to make sure that Honda was 'it' ('OW! I'm joking around you ass!') before wondering what it was about Mokuba's 'secret' that was so 'big'. As to when he'd find out the answer to that...
Who knew in the end.
One thing was for certain though; Mokuba's definition of 'big' was far from appropriate. Mammoth would probably be closer. Or maybe 'titanic'. Or perhaps... 'Planetary'? 'All encompassing'? Well... Maybe that one was too big, given the size of the room that the 'secret' was revealed in.
Either way, there was no surprise that the 'secret' was one that Seto wanted kept quiet... Particularly after what happened concerning it. The 'Research and Development' branch of KaibaCorp had undergone many changes in the past few years, compared to the number that it had been in existence. In the past, it was mostly a somewhat large room filled with computers and varied devices to develop and test, at a small scale, advanced weaponry. Other rooms beside it were used to test more 'full scale' versions, and when things got too big... Well, that was what the ocean space that KaibaCorp owned was for. After Seto had taken over however, the room was completely remodelled, along with the rest of the company.
Initially, it was just computers as before, devices for which to develop and test the various game software that the company would now focus on. Rooms formerly intended to literally drop a bomb within were reformed for the numerous ideas she'd been building over the years, from virtual reality to amusement park models... After her first 'game' against Yugi, the game that 'wasn't a game' thinking back, it had turned its focus completely to holographic software... Most other things had been set to the side, with all other challenges more or less 'rushed' in comparison. The fact was, she wouldn't doubt it if she'd been compared to a 'man possessed' at the time.
But now the 'rush' was a little less 'pressed'. Things could flow properly, thoughts were cleared, along with a majority of the cluttered cables remaining from those days. In addition to that, a large portion of the room had been rendered empty of all desks and furniture, remodelled for what she was testing just right now. Namely the duel disk... 'Version 2'... The device that was held somewhat tightly on her side and more or less built into the device standing a fair distance away from her.
And in addition to that, once the system was ready and the card was re-logged into the database online, her god card would be put to the test as well. For the moment however... She was waiting for that to finish. She was probably clearly impatient about that given the rushing her employees were doing in the 'control room', 'safe room' as it was called at the side, but for the most part it wasn't enough to warrant too much annoyance. At least not visibly, given that her expression wasn't showing any more aggravation than her standard, 'default' level.
Though if there was anything helping to keep her mood down, this coat certainly helped... It was a nice coat really... But back to business now. The woman let out a somewhat impatient sigh, clicking the new proto-type duel disk on her arm. If this test went well then all they would need to focus on for the next bit was production and logging all existing cards into the new system, recently released cards included.
Because hey, that would be fun. (Good thing she wasn't doing it all...) At least all of the monsters could essentially be grouped into certain animation s-
"Seto-sama," a voice called, the woman's eyes not even moving as one of the men on the development team spoke through the intercom. Ah, took long enough... ...Though it was Saturday she supposed. "The main system has been activated," the voice continued, Seto nodding her head slightly in response. Good.
"Nii-sama," Mokuba continued, taking the mike from the man beside him and looking through the glass at his sister. "We're ready over here; we can start the test as soon as you want," he added with a grin, a thumbs up slightly visible from the corner of her eye. "Just give the word and we'll start!"
Alright then... Another nod, and her deck was loaded into the device. The final test! The woman held her disk forward as the mechanized 'duelist' across from her began to whirr and click into motion. Her deck was being shuffled... As was her 'opponents'. As for the disk itself, the woman watched as it was activated with a single motion, clicking and unfolding together into a long blade-like form. Initial assembly worked well enough of course, followed by the small sealers jumping out from the sides, latching on about fifteen feet feet from either side of her. These holograms would dwarf the 'table' versions completely... The sealer's range created an 'arena' of almost twenty feet in either direction, the height somewhat larger in limit.
Heh... She smirked, drawing her hand as the counter on her disk flashed. Soon... Very soon the woman told herself, and she would face her rival with this device... Monsters of 'life sized scale' would clash, and this time she would win! That tablet... The woman frowned as it came back to mind, immense stone carving practically replacing her vision for a few moments before it was mentally shaken out of view. Who cared if it was real or not she told herself, grinding her teeth as the 'robot' across her drew its hand of cards. Old stones and carvings, ancient relics of the past...
This... This was her time, she told herself with a mental growl, her era! And the only thing that she was interested in was the one in front of her, the one who would be in front of her... So what was the 'Other Yugi', she briefly wondered, frown fading. Some embodiment of an ancient grudge? A spirit that sought lost 'honor' from the past? Seto snorted quietly, looking over her hand. Heh... Well... Regardless of what he was, she would win the next time they fought!
And that glory would be taken to the future...
Lights flashing from the machine across from her took her attention back into the duel. Tactics set to maximum... Her own deck loaded in there... Her dragons would be fighting against her this time, but only this time Seto thought to herself. So... How would a 'God' fare, against the perfect monster? "Let's go," the woman shouted, narrowing her eyes as the systems were made completely ready. "Duel start!"
The computerized duelist across from her 'blinked', lights flashing as cards were 'placed' on the disk it held. With Seto's words it had 'come to its senses', 'eyes' spinning as the lenses looked over the cards. "MACHINE'S TURN," it stated monotonously, voice echoing around the large and almost hangar sized room. "SET CARD IN ATTACK MODE... BLUE-EYES WHITE DRAGON." From the holographic sealers at the sides white scales instantly shimmered into existence, a petrifying roar coming through the air. Wings beat at the air, a wind almost coming from the beast as a result while Seto momentarily narrowed her eyes.
Well... That was certainly quick... "It... It summoned Blue-Eyes already," Mokuba was shouting, older sister momentarily looking toward the glass 'safe room' that the boy and developers both were sitting in. "N-Nii-sama," he shouted, expression set with worry, "Be careful!"
The woman snorted quietly, mentally shaking her head. Hn! Of course she would be careful! It was using the deck she'd spent years developing, even she knew that wouldn't be going down easily! "I'm fine," Seto shouted, looking over her hand. She was fine... Not much she could try using what she had in her hand right now but... Hnnn... She drew her next card, frowning before placing it on the disk. "I play Invitation to a Dark Sleep, defense mode," she announced, narrowing her eyes as the fully cloaked wizard appeared on the field, cross-legged above the ground. Well, when there wasn't much to do... She took another from her hand, slipping it into the trap/spell card slot. "I also set another card face down... End turn!"
The computer bleeped, lenses honing in on the monster and card across from it a few times. "THREAT ASSESSED," it stated clearly, opponent snorting. Hah! If it could be called that... "MACHINE'S TURN. SUMMON LORD OF DRAGON." Hn..? Seto frowned, watching as the dragon-themed warrior appeared on the field to stand at attention. One second... Two... Three...
Seto frowned, staring. Turn over... It didn't attack with Blue-Eyes. The woman glanced at her face down card, expression blank as she mentally snorted. Huh... The computer was playing cautiously...
Her turn then. So long as 'Lord of D' was on the field, nothing would affect dragon monsters... No spells, traps, monster effects... She would have to count on Obelisk then, if she was going to get anywhere near Blue-Eyes... Hn!
As if she'd expected anything else! If Blue-Eyes had attacked though, she thought with a growl, it would have made things much easier... And had 'Lord of D.' not been summoned her monster would have rendered Blue-Eyes 'asleep'... Unable to attack, unable to change position... "Tch." Fine then! There was no use in complaining about what could have and didn't happen! The next draw then, she told herself, before frowning as she looked over the card. Tch... ...Nothing. "Hn... Steel Ogre Grotto," she called out, the decent sized ogre appearing beside her wizard at a crouch. "Defense mode!" Defense, defense, defense... She frowned, holding a relatively neutral frown in place. So much for getting the first hit in right off the bat...
The computer across from her showed no response, merely whirring as a new card appeared in its hand. "MACHINE'S TURN." Yes, she knew. "ACTIVATE SPELL- FLUTE OF DRAGON SUMMONING." Gh-! Seto tensed, eyes widening as the flute appeared in the Lord of Dragon's hand. Oh shit... Not this combo. "SUMMON TWO DRAGONS FROM HAND," the computer announced, a loud 'trumpet' coming out from the flute before it vanished from the field. "BLUE-EYES WHITE DRAGON... BLUE-EYES WHITE DRAGON..." Ear-splitting roars filled the room as the first dragon was flanked by two others, wings held at their sides lest the beasts fill their entire side of the field.
Three Blue-Eyes White Dragons... The woman swallowed, eyes widening for a moment as she looked at the beasts. All three of her perfect dragons staring her down right at this moment... Staring with eyes that almost appeared real, more so than even the holograms had been able to replicate with any other monster. It was enough to unnerve even her to say the least, almost as much as against...
...As against him. Seto steeled herself, hand moving toward her deck as she narrowed her eyes. Yugi... When she fought against him with the three dragons at her side he faced them without fear... When she faced him with the ultimate combination of the trio, the Ultimate Dragon, he again faced it without fear. Complete and total faith in his strategies, in his cards... The woman bit her lip, narrowing her eyes somewhat more and staring at her deck. He took each challenge with courage... And won, each and every time. He'd cast his fear aside...
Mankind's greatest enemy, nothing less than the monster called 'fear' inside their own hearts... Not an easy thing to abandon. Seto swallowed, taking in a deep breath as she drew her card and looked it over. Tch... This one wasn't it... But she still had her face down. She still had a chance... The rules the disks were playing by were 'traditional', no tributes to summon, and only one target for an entire attack... There was still a fair shot, if she made that draw. "End turn," she stated clearly, watching the robot ahead of her whirr and click as it made its move. Now then...
"MACHINE'S TURN," the device called clearly, the dragons before it roaring angrily. "INITIATE ATTACK PHASE; BLUE-EYES WHITE DRAGONS ALL ATTACK." Another series of growls filled the air, a 'wind' created by the force. Across from her the beams that they would fire were charging, growing, merging in the middle of the field... And stone was filling her vision... Tch! Again the woman shook herself, eyes clearing. The past was useless. Fear was useless. She would win... The future was hers to decide on, and she would win the next time she faced him..!
"Activate the trap," Seto shouted, "Negate Attack!" In an instant the holographic card flipped over, card's image facing the attack to reveal a series of spiralling vortexes to swallow the blast. Only seconds later the field was 'clear', three dragons still angrily hissing from across from her. "Now it's my turn," she continued, looking to her deck. This card... She would bet everything on this card..! She ...The woman looked it over only briefly after drawing it, nodding to herself. Hnhnhnhnhn... And there it was... "God Soldier of the Obelisk," she shouted as she set the card, the hologram coming to life as an ominous and groaning roar came from behind her. A gust of wind seemed to blast from behind the woman, and a mere glance upward from the corner of her eye told her that she had barely contained the hologram in the limit of the room. Standing... No, merely kneeling it 'brushed' the edges of the ceiling, eyeless sockets staring forward in a permanent scowl. It was huge... It was powerful...
And it was more than she had even expected, despite the hologram's programming supposedly being limited to the size of 'Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon'. "Hn!" The woman smirked, crossing her arms as she stared across the field. "I sacrifice the two monsters I have on the field," Seto shouted, ignoring the calls from inside the 'safe room' as worried cries about 'overloading' came through, "Activating Obelisk's effect... He takes their power and adds it to his own," she stated, the 'God' behind her moving to an awkward attack position from his kneeling pose. "Now! OBELISK," the woman ordered, pointing toward the computer as a command entered her mind. "ATTACK! GOD HAND CRUSHER!"
Within an instant the dragons were subject to its destruction, Obelisk merely swinging his fist toward the beasts before they vanished into dust. The Lord of Dragon's as well vanished from sight completely, the lifepoints for the computer system falling and dropping in mere seconds. Sparks began to emit from the device, lights flashing erratically... "The main computer's going haywire," the developers in the control room were shouting, Seto merely crossing her arms and watching the machine destroy itself. "The machine can't handle this kind of calculation," they wailed, "It's burning up!" So they'd have to fix it then... She had her information, it was no probl-
"THIS IS SO AWESOME!" And that would be Mokuba...
Seto grinned darkly as she continued to watch the machine spark and crack before her, chuckling as the hologram of Obelisk knelt beneath the room's ceiling behind her. Only two cards left... Only two, she told herself as the holograms completely dissipated, the systems turning off. And if this was the power of the first, than the possibilities of what could happen with all three... "Hnhnhnhnhn..." No matter what... No matter what stood in her way she would find those cards and make them hers! And when that happened... When that day came...
She would face Yugi again, becoming the 'King of Games' herself!
"Kaiba-sama," a calm voice stated from the phone, Seto looking to it as she tapped the 'speaker' button. "You have a call from Mayor Yuta-san."
It wasn't everyday that the secretary patched a call through with those words, to say the least. Though given that for the past week and a half, Seto had been pushing to gain one day of the roads being closed off in the entirety of the Domino district, it was likely a matter of time before the person in control of this actually made contact with something other than paper. And what timing she apparently had, given that it had only been a few weeks. "Patch her through," Seto stated calmly, leaning back on her chair with the phone by her ear.
"Of course." There was a short click, the voice quickly replaced by that of the current mayor for the district.
"Kaiba-san," the woman asked, voice just slightly laced with hesitation.
Seto nodded shortly, crossing her legs as she held the phone. "That is correct," she stated, eyes drifting over her recent e-mail from the construction team in the US. Hnn, KaibaLand-US was coming along nicely... "May I ask why you are calling 'Yuta-san'," the woman asked, continuing to skim the mail for a moment before turning her full attention to the Mayor.
There was a short span of silence, the woman on the other end coming to her reason for calling fairly quickly now that she was speaking to her 'targeted audience'. "I'm calling concerning your request to close off all streets within the Domino district from any form of motor traffic for one single day," she explained clearly, "For the use of a city wide tournament. After examining the matter further," the woman continued, Seto briefly raising her eyebrows, "Both the committee and myself are considering the approval of this request, with one condition."
One condition... "Of course," Seto stated calmly, again nodding despite there being no one in the room. Well if that was all... "...Continue."
"We request that you abstain from holding this 'tournament' of yours until after Marine Day, on the 17th of July, so as to prevent any schools in the area from being disrupted by this event." July... Seto stared at her desk for a moment, briefly looking over the calendar. "Is this acceptable, Kaiba-san?"
So then within the first week of the summer holidays, if she expected to keep anything else on track... Hn! This simply made things easier, most of the high ranking duelists in Japan were of High-school and Middle-school level! "Very," Seto stated calmly, smirking as the plan formulated in her mind. "As a matter of fact, this is perfect..." Alright... After Marine Day, so... "In that case," Seto decided, closing her eyes for a moment, "If I could request the complete shut down of motor traffic on the 19th of July for a full twenty four hours starting from six PM the day prior until the same time on the 19th..."
There was a short pause, before Yuta again spoke. "That is acceptable," she said somewhat plainly, likely nodding on the other end. "I will present this to the rest of the committee, but you can consider it done." Good. "I hope your competition is successful, Kaiba-san... Goodbye."
"Good-bye," the woman repeated, listening as the line went dead. Slowly she placed the phone back on the hook, leaning back in her seat as a small grin came into place. The date was set... Time to send out the 'notice'...
...And make a single phone call...
It was, rather it would be, nine o'clock at night would be when she got the call. As she had foreseen days before, and again just moments ago.
The date was, would be, June the 18th when it happened. Also as she had foreseen. There was very little that could be kept hidden from her to put it frankly it would seem. Besides only two people so far, one of which had no reasoning behind it, all 'minds' were left open to her, if she could call it such a thing. It made it difficult not to finish people's sentences for them, for the sake of keeping herself from suffering from constant repetition really. And it made her miss the times when things were simple...
When she lived with her family beneath the cold ground, away from the harsh sun of the Egyptian desert... Taking part in ancient rites that were lost to time, so much so that there were literally moments when she wanted to rip her hair out and correct archaeological guesses made about various traditions from the past. She missed those days... When she was younger, with her older 'brother' Rishid, and her younger brother... The days before her younger brother had...
The woman winced at the thought of the 'boy', now a teen she reminded herself, hand flying to her tauk almost subconsciously. Slowly her fingers brushed against the cold gold, the woman taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. "...Malik..." She bit her lip, shaking her head. After that... After that day... That was when she took up the tauk as her own. When it's 'gift' of prophecy took hold. Where it more or less started... It started small... Dreams where she would enact entire days before they happened, mixed in with the same bizarreness of 'true dreams'. Then there were the 'flashes', along with small lines of dialogue from these same 'true dreams' that would reappear in an alternate situation. And following that, flashes of reality... Flashes of other people when contact was made, telling her what would happen...
Until finally she realized what the tauk needed of her, after placing her hand on the tablet her family had guarded for so long. Taking it's gift completely... And accepting it. She moved her hand to the side,t he phone ringing right on 'cue' beside her hotel bed as she grabbed it. "...Moshi moshi," she said calmly, head bowed somewhat as she stood from the side of the bed.
"Ishizu," a familiar voice stated, again as predicted. Such an aggravated tone, albeit well hidden... And as for the message... "You'll be happy to know that-"
"That the tournament will proceed as planned," she stated, not bothering to hold her tongue, "With the city closed down for a full twenty four hours starting at six PM in exactly one month's time... In addition," she continued, pulling the curtains from the window back and looking out at the clouded night sky, "The preliminary rounds will end with the city's re-opening, with final rounds held in a separate location."
There was silence on the other end, the young man likely growling in aggravation from his office at that moment. "That's correct," Seto stated, Ishizu's expression remaining completely calm. She knew that this man was annoyed... Very annoyed... She could never see too far into the future concerning most facts about people though, so this was all she knew... That and when the call would end. But in all honesty, the tauk was not needed to discern this annoyance. "Though I'm beginning to wonder why I even bother speaking to you, given that you clearly know so much," the man spat, Ishizu sighing and shaking her head from the other end. While it was 'nice' to be able to finish the sentences to get them out of the way... There was always this. "Keep an eye on the news feeds," Seto continued, tone dark as the woman he was speaking to stared through the window. "You'll find out when I get the other two god cards faster that way."
Somehow she doubted this... Both concerning the news and the tournament itself. Nonetheless... "Of course," she stated, continuing to stare through the window as the moonlight peeked through the clouds. "Though I doubt this will be the last time we see each other," she continued, closing her eyes before turning back to the room.
Three... Two... One... "...Good bye Ishizu," Seto said bluntly. With a single click Ishizu was left with a dial tone, the woman turning the phone off and taking a seat in the chair by the window.
"Hah..." Things used to be so much easier, she Back then... The woman bowed her head, shaking somewhat as the phone slipped from her fingers to fall to the ground. When there was nothing but the world below and the moonlight from the wellspring and ceremony room's open and gaping cavern mouth... Their former sole tie to the modern world, the outside world. That room where they would secretly play... It was so much easier...
But fate...
Was never unavoidable...
Or was it, she thought with a jolt, staring at the wall in her room. That blond, she reminded herself with a frown, the one who had acted as Seto's second guard... She'd attempted to glean his soon to come future as she passed, both times in fact after the first 'shot' had failed, but for some reason... For some bizarre reason that was completely beyond her there was...
Nothing. Nothing but darkness, nothing but a 'void', and emptiness, as though he was either guarded or completely immune to what fate decided. It wasn't even like the nameless king, the Pharaoh, whose past was simply devoid of reference to name, whose future was 'vague', but at least there...
But he was just one single exception among millions, Ishizu reminded herself, again rubbing her tauk. One single exception...
And she was not him. Which left her own fate quite real, and more than open to the tauk's eye...
More than... ...
...She could remember watching as her father beat Rishid that day, quite clearly despite her desire to forget it... Watching her brother take the Millennium Rod from the side, while she stood frozen in the hall... Watching as he ran his finger across the razor sharp edge, his hair standing on end... She could remember shutting her eyes, trying to drown out the sight and screams, opening her eyes only to see Rishid holding the boy away from the sight of him... Of their father... She could remember Rishid holding Malik away from the bloodied corpse at the side where the blood stained the wall in a single wide line, the patch of skin that sat behind Rishid's own bloody back, the entirety of the initiation carving staring up at the ceiling in the torch light... And not all the blood on Rishid's back was his...
Not all of it...
They were free after that. True, Malik was traumatized, clinging to the rod as though it were a security blanket as she and Rishid kept their father's death, the source, hidden from him... But they were free to leave the tombs... Free to explore the world... And to be taken hold of by the modern world, taken in by the government of the country they were in... And times had changed since Ancient Egypt, since the laws of the world that they were raised in. Times had changed... Cities filled with buildings and devices that seemed impossible were what met their eyes. And when it looked as though Rishid and herself would be unable to look after Malik... When it looked like all three of them would be separated, due to the lack of knowledge any of them had in the matters of the real world...
It suddenly appeared that the two had vanished completely, leaving her alone. Both of them... Her brothers... Her family...
Gone within a single night as she was pulled away, tauk around her neck...
And then when she had finally settled in, caught up with the ways of the world the Ghouls had appeared... And her necklace granted her one wish, her one wish, just to see them again... To see them just once...
And they were wearing black cloaks with the eye of wdjat drawn across the hood... Her little brother sitting on a 'throne', the Millennium Rod in hand...
Whispering... Whispering...
'You're next, Sister.'
"Gh... N..." Tears slowly trailed the sides of her face, smudging the mascara she'd taken to wearing in the recent times. Why... Why... WHY... "Nhn... ...Malik..."
"Nihan," someone asked for the third time during that phone call. "Are you alright?"
Katsuya shook his head as he leaned back in the 'breakfast room' against the wall, groaning. Besides the fact that he'd had enough of this conversation given that he could do nothing about it? Yeaaa... "'M fine Shizuka," he muttered, shaking his head and frowning. "Jus'... Aaaagh..." He continued to shake himself, looking at the phone for a moment as though his expression would be seen on the other end. "Let's talk about somethin' other than 'Keiichi', alrigh'?"
His sister was likely shrugging at that request, but thankfully she was doing just that... Personally, he'd had enough of the boy he had yet to meet, despite all mentions of 'oh, we're just friends.'. "Alright," she said, before continuing. "I'll talk about something else then... How is school for you Nihan," she asked, her brother coughing. D-Damn it, that wasn't what he was hoping for..! "Mom says your grades are low..." Ehhhhhhh... That tone was getting dangerous... "You're studying for the exams though right..?" There was a pause, and the girl continued. "RIGHT..?"
He continued to cough, going somewhat red as he leaned over the counter he was sitting at. "Ahhhh... C-C'mon Shizuka," he protested, scratching his head, "Exams aren't for another week at least..!"
Evidentally, this wasn't enough for his sister. At all. "Nihan," she growled, brother coughing on the other end once more. D-Damn it, nice one minute, and suddenly... "You need to start as soon as possible to get good grades," she muttered, her brother continuing to choke on his words He'd do it, he would..! "Honestly," the girl continued, likely rolling her eyes. "You can be such an ahou sometimes... You're even worse than Keichi-kun! At least he still gets good marks!" Him again? Katsuya quickly stopped coughing, instead glaring at the phone. "I don't know how he does it," Shizuka rambled on, muttering off. "Wasting all that time in class playing duel monsters... And he still-"
Auuuughh topic change, NOW. Please... "Hey, Shizuka... Speakin' of school," he said somewhat sarcastically, "How're you doin' for studying?" Since she was so certain that studying needed to happen right now...
There was a slight pause, the girl on the other end apparently caught off guard by the question.
Errr... ...Please tell him that wasn't bad... "...Shizuka?"
"Ah... Sorry," she said quickly, laughing on the other end. "I got distracted!" Ah, okay then... "And I'm fine! Unlike you," the girl continued rather bluntly, "I'm passing with full marks in my classes nihan... So catch up!" Awwww, come on, it wasn't that bad... "Trust me," Shizuka continued, tone softening, "I'm perfectly fine... The bandages came off, and everything's fixed! Nothing's wrong..."
Why was she reassuring him of that..? She'd told him last time he called that the bandages were off, so why... The blond shook himself, smiling. "Well, if you say so..." It was nothing, nothing... "Maybe Mokuba an' I can come visit yah again... Or you could come here," he added with a grin, looking at the phone somewhat with the thought. Now that would be fun! "Domino's changed a lot since yah left Shizuka, there's a lot I could show you, an-"
"Oh, that reminds me..." Katsuya tensed somewhat, blinking. Please tell him this wasn't honing back on- "Nihan, after Marine Day, Keichi-kun should be vacationing in Domino for a few days..." Auuuugh, why? Why was it always going back to this guy! "He said something about visiting with a friend of his... Maybe you two could meet each other!" Hah, NO. "I could give him your number, or-"
"THAT'S... Fine," he said hurriedly, coughing. No no no, not doing it... "Really," he continued, shaking himself, "You don' need t' do that..."
"Really..?" There was a short pause, before the girl continued. "Alright then," Shizuka said somewhat confusedly, likely frowning. "Well, it's getting late... I'm going to go to bed, alright nihan?"
The blond nodded, currently gritting his teeth as the topic of 'Keiichi' hovered in the back of his mind. He managed to shake it off for a moment though, rubbing his head. "Yea... See yah Shizuka!" There was a short pause, dial tone coming before the blond looked at the phone in his hand and growled. "Gh... ...If I see that guy I'm sending him straight t' HELL..."
"Erm... What?"
Katsuya jumped, turning as Kyouko walked in, the maid notably confused. "Gh-" He shook himself, putting the phone back before frowning. "...What is it with you an' Mokuba comin' in on th' end of my conversations?"
The woman shrugged, shaking her head. "Don't ask me," she said with a sigh, moving past the blond toward the kitchen. "I was just coming in for a snack myself..."
Katsuya shook his head at that, leaning back against the counter as his phone conversation again came to mind. "Aggggh... I swear it..."
"...Who exactly are you 'sending to hell'," the maid asked, raising an eyebrow as she paused by the kitchen door.
The blond turned, before shaking it off and sighing. "Nothin'... It's nothin'," he muttered, "I jus'..." He frowned, staring at the woman a moment and tilting his head. What the... "...Why're you wearin' a suit..?"
"Hn?" Kyouko blinked a few times, looking over herself and smirking. "Oh... Nothing," she said with smile, moving toward the kitchen again and winking. "You'll probably find out soon..." With that the woman vanished past the door, leaving Katsuya to stare a few moments.
"...E-Eh..?"
What the hell..?
"So that's it," Honda asked the next day, shaking his head as his friend recounted the 'story'. "She just said 'nothing' and walked away..?"
Katsuya shrugged, leaning back on his chair as the others pulled out their lunches. Otogi was off avoiding his 'fanclub' while attempting to get himself some food from vending machines at the moment... Bakura was in the classroom, also fending off a fanclub... The blond snapped his chopsticks apart, shaking his head. "Weird, I know..." It was mostly common knowledge by this point that Seto had a maid named 'Kyouko', or at least, it was common knowledge among 'the group'. It made it easier to talk about her, that was for sure. In any case... "You know what's weirder though is that she looks 'nough like Anzu that I've got this image 'f her wearin' a suit now..."
His friend blinked, tilting his head a moment at that. Also common knowledge was the fairly eerie resemblance between the two women (who were related in no way)... Even so... "What the hell does that have to do with- ...AHHH damn it," Honda groaned, scowling at the blond. "Now I've got that in my head, thanks a lot you bastard!"
Katsuya grinned, laughing as Otogi came back into the room only to be (again) swamped by fangirls. "Hahaha! I was waitin' f'r that t' happen..." Both the swarming and the 'groan', hehehehe...
"Well," a somewhat 'yawning' voice muttered, "It's a good thing you guys are happy..." The others turned, blinking as Mokuba sighed and took a seat on one of the desks after coming in.
Oddly enough, Bakura was probably the first to speak, given that he'd managed to get rid of the 'horde' and come over just behind the boy. "Is something wrong Mokuba-kun," he asked, blinking.
The boy merely sighed, slumping forward somewhat as the others remained silent in the face of a redundant question. "Hnnnng... I hate exams..!" AH. That was it. "How do you guys stand it," he asked, pulling at his hair. "All I hear about for every class is 'make sure you study for this,' and 'remember, this will probably be on the test'..! Aaaaaauuughh..."
The first two shrugged, Bakura merely sighing as the question was answered by Otogi... Who had also barely ditched the 'swarm'. "That's easy," he said with a smirk. "They don't. Which is probably why they're lucky to still be in this class," the teen added, grinning somewhat darkly as the others growled.
"Oi oi," Katsuya muttered, frowning.
"Hey, remember who's living in whose house," Honda added, narrowing his eyes. Though that threat would only hold for about... One more week really...
Otogi shook his head, merely smirking. "Yea yea... At the end of the day," he continued, crossing his arms smugly, "I'm the one with at least a 90% average at the lowest." Gh... Damn it allllll..!
"Hrnnnnn..."
The others turned as Mokuba again groaned, Katsuya scratching his head. "Er... Wish I could help with th' study problem but..."
There was a somewhat long pause, before they sighed. "Yeaaaaa, we're pretty much a lost cause," Honda said with a cough, turning away somewhat awkwardly.
Mokuba frowned, glaring at the group. "Thanks..."
The boys shrugged, before watching as Anzu and Yugi came back in. "So Anzu," Yugi was saying quietly, "On tanabata..." He turned, blinking as the others waved from the desks. "Ah, hey!"
Katsuya smirked, leaning back on his chair. "Manage t' get lunch?" Yugi merely nodded, holding up a small bag before looking at Mokuba somewhat worriedly.
"Ahhh..." He blinked, Anzu as well following his gaze. "...Are you alright..?"
Mokuba shrugged, pulling a face somewhat. "Yea, I guess..." The boy continued to wince, before abruptly dropping the expression. "Oh..." He turned, looking at the others with a frown. "You were talking about Tanabata right?"
Er... Tanabata..? Yea, that was in a few- ...OHHHHH crap. Katsuya coughed, the others ignoring him for the moment to watch as Yugi nodded. "Ah... Yea," he said somewhat confusedly, "That's right..." Ohhhhh craaap...
"Yugi was just asking if I was free for it," Anzu continued with a smile, leaning back on one of the desks as she continued. "They'll be having a festival after all..." The woman flushed somewhat, the smile growing. "I even bought myself a new yukata!"
At this the 'other' Yugi blinked, hovering at the side and nodding somewhat as a look of realization came over him. "So that's why we were-"
"Not now," Yugi muttered, looking at his other before shaking himself. The others more or less ignored it, rather used to the 'onesided' conversations by this point... Not to mention thankfully unaware of the fact that Katsuya could listen in on that as well. "Mokuba-kun," the boy added, smiling, "If you want, you could come as well... Unless you were already doing something," he continued, shrugging.
Errrrr... Mokuba shook his head, frowning while Katsuya continued to cough at the side. "Actually," he said, also shrugging, "I've been meaning to ask... When is it?"
Damn it, he should have known... Honda choked somewhat, as did Otogi while Katsuya mentally groaned. "You... You don't know when tanabata is," Honda asked, staring.
"Is the Kaiba family that closed off..?"
"Oi oi," Katsuya growled, looking at the two with a frown. "Lay off... S- Kaiba probably just didn' want it t' overshadow he-" Damn it, stop slipping. "His brother's birthday..."
That got a reaction. "It's on my birthday," Mokuba shouted incredulously, a few people behind him jumping before going back to what they were doing.
"Your birthday is on Tanabata!"
"Well... That should be interesting," Bakura muttered, staring for a few moments as the others gaped. "If your birthday is on the same day," he continued with a smile, "That would mean more chance for celebration I would think..."
Mokuba merely pulled a face, crossing his arms as he leaned back on his seat. "Hnnng... I guess but... From what I heard about 'tanabata'," he continued, looking back at the others with a frown, "I don't think nii-sama would really go for it..."
"I think that's somethin' we can all agree on," Katsuya muttered, a number of the other boys nodding in agreement. No arguments there...
"I still want to go though," the boy added quickly, looking over to Yugi with a grin. "My yukata from last year still fits," he continued, "And I could always go with Katsuya-nii..."
The others turned to the blond, Katsuya nodding in response. "Heh... 'F course!" He continued to grin, before the look fell to be replaced by another frown. "...Er... Don't y' think tha' S... Tha' Kaiba might've planned something though," he asked, shaking his head.
Mokuba shrugged, shaking his head. "Probably..." Okay, so what exactly were they mi- "But Nii-sama's apparently doing some more tests on saturday," the boy explained, smirking. "So all the plans are in the evening..."
At this, the others grinned, a few of them chuckling. "So we could just do something earlier then," Anzu said with a smirk, the expression growing into a grin. "It isn't as though the festival is only held in the evening..."
The boy blinked, coughing somewhat. "Well, I guess we could do that..." Aaaaaalright! The others continued to grin, ignoring the fact that Mokuba was currently going red in the face. "But... Ah..."
"If this is your first tanabata," Bakura asked politely, "Does this make it your first festival Mokuba-kun?"
"Er... No," he said, shaking his head. "I went to another one in Osaka with Katsuya-nii and his sister but-"
"Sister," Otogi asked, Katsuya smacking his hand against his forehead as the teen looked over with raised eyebrows.
"Oh yea, you didn't know," asked Honda, grinning. "Jonouchi's sister in Osaka, just a little younger than us... Trust me," he continued, the grin widening as Katsuya growled, "She's way, way..."
"Hondaaaaaaa," the blond growled, Otogi ignoring the blond as he looked at the teen.
"Way way what," he pressed, Honda currently coughing as Katsuya continued to growl.
"SAY ANYTHING AND I SWEAR IT HONDA-"
When the hell they ever got the plan for tanabata made out who knew in the end...
But at least Mokuba was happy right?
AN: Only two chapters left until Battle City guys... One if you think about the arc rather than the tournament. But wait..!
THERE'S A CANNON IN MY FILLER! That's right guys; I put Kaiba's 'testing Obelisk' scene in this chapter. Mostly because, the testing would have had to obviously happen before the tournament... Also because I don't think Kaiba would have wanted to wait to test that card for too long.
At all.
In any case, besides the expected filler we have next for 'July Seventh' (Tanabataaaaa! That's right, we have another festival. This time with MANY PEOPLE. Expect fan art, even though a few characters won't be wearing yukata.), the chapter after will by all definitions kick off Battle City... Which means I won't be telling you which chapter comes next and how many are left any more, since Battle City is a long, long arc... And not something I want to put a chapter number on, since there's just... So much that's going on in there!
In any case...
So far, due to me being an idiot and forgetting to put up the poll, there aren't any results at the moment. For those wondering, it's to decide on whether or not the events of the Millennium World as it happened the first time (when our dear Pharaoh locked himself in a puzzle with no memories) will be revealed through only dreams (Which means I add a few here and there throughout the fanfic) or through a side-story fanfic that would then be written shortly before the 'Ceremonial Battle'. In other words, the end of this fanfic.
Up to you! Now then...
Some more news on the definition hunt for 'Kul Elna'... Fun fact; was doing some browsing, and realized, I never searched for Eluna.
Guess what. It's Arabic for Ego. And 'Kul', in the same language, is 'all', 'whole', 'every'...
Hnnn...
Anonymous Review Responses
Hey there Iona! And I have to agree with you, Kaiba needs some sun... Though at least there'll be more of it during Battle City right? (Though I'm not sure how much of her mood really came from being inside all day...)
And yes, yes he is. That kid will be a bishie when he's older, that is for sure. As for the smiling... Hehehe, we'll probably get more reactions on similar subjects in the future to say the least!
Hope your holidays went well too! Enjoy the chapter!
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section that's celebrating summer holidays... IN DECEMBER.
Today's chapter title comes from the numerous phone conversations we have here... And really, prison phones could be compared to the tin-can version.
Another reason for the title is actually a nod to the number of switching scenes we had here; there's quite a few, it's probably as choppy as a conversation on one of those things!
Oh hey, an update from Rebecca...
Will this mean any thing later? You'll have to see I guess... (There's a quick quick sketch of her dress below actually...)
Originally in the manga, the 'duel disk test' was conducted similarly to the duel that Kaiba and Yugi both had using the initial disks... Namely that the 'hand' was on the field. I found this rather silly given that the disk not only has specific slots for 'magic' cards (Spells and traps) and monster cards, in addition to an extra slot for 'Field Spells', but also that this... Obviously isn't how the game is played during battle city.
So why the hell would Kaiba test it using the old rules, when Yugi already clearly demonstrated the new ones? Though in this case, it's obviously done for speed... (Which is also why the 'holographic hand' deal was cut.)
In the manga, Mokuba explains (Yay exposition) through 'thinking out loud' the full effect of Obelisk; namely that by sacrificing two monsters on your side of the field, you not only destroy all of your opponent's monsters, you eliminate all their lifepoints. (Evidentally something that the compy can't handle.)
In addition to explaining this, you see a tiny little speech balloon that reads 'My brother's so awesome!' Yes Mokuba. Yes he/she is. (Hence the loud 'THIS IS SO COOL' that you see up there. And lets face it, as one of the first few to see the life-sized holograms, it's understandable.)
The last panel of that chapter has Kaiba grinning… With his mouth open, like he's saying something.
But he's not… In any case, this is why the dark chuckle didn't extend into all out mad cackling, like it normally does with Kaiba. You could actually take it as a bit of character development; the cackling is a surefire sign of mental instability. Losing the cackle shows that Kaiba's getting better.
There will still be scenes of crazy grinning/laughing on her part though, concerning these cards… What can I say, it's Canon.
Here's an interesting fact; there are three different terms for the mayor depending on what the Mayor is the mayor of. There's 'shichou' for heads of cities, 'sonchou' for villages, 'chouchou' for towns, and for the special wards (or 'districts') of Tokyo, we have 'kuchou'. The head of the Tokyo prefecture itself is the Governor, the 'Chiji'.
Mayors are elected every four years, and hold quite a bit of executive power in terms of local politics… They'll be the ones preparing budgets, new acts… And they have a bit of veto power as well, unless the assembly (Whose number is varied depending on the city/town/district/village obviously) overpowers them by over two thirds.
Female mayors aren't common, but they sure as hell happen in Japan. I checked. …Just making sure you know this. As for the name it was mostly picked at random... ...Mehehehe.
By the way, while Kaiba isn't too polite, there's obviously a limit to snark. The notable lack of snark in the conversation with the mayor is because… Well, it's the mayor. You don't get things from the mayor using snark. Also, this phone call was kinda important… Besides, Kaiba was given no reason to get all peeved. Whereas conversations with Ishizu were loaded with more than annoying mentionings of yet to come, this is just a normal conversation really...
WHAT. Ishizu's point of view?
This won't happen too often… In fact, this might be the only time it does happen, depending on how I feel. It was still pretty fun though. Keep in mind that whenever it's the point of view of someone who doesn't know Kaiba's secret, Kaiba is referred to as a male. Because for all they know, she is.
Interesting point, but Ishizu doesn't wear kohl on her eyes. Rishid (Dub name being Odion) and Malik wear it. But she doesn't. If anything, she's probably wearing mascara… Which makes sense really.
On a more 'backstory' related point, we never find out what happened between Malik killing his father and Battle City. Now… Malik is apparently the same age as everyone else (16-17), slightly older maybe, while his sister, Ishizu, is 20. So she's 3-4 years older than him.
Looking back at the 'initiation', I've come to assume Malik was twelve at the time, as that's the age that boys were considered 'of age' in Ancient Egypt. (The traditions which the Ishtar's live by. …Ironically, Ishtar is… Not… Egyptian in origin, it's Babylonian.) This means that he was 13 when he killed his father… So there's four years unaccounted for! (Well, four at the most really…) Anyways, as far as things go, the rest is history really… Rishid's age isn't listed, but given his general size compared to Ishizu when Malik was born, I'm going to say he's between 23 and 25… So yea. Whoo! In any case, going by this…
At the time that 'Mr. Ishtar' died, Ishizu would have been 15 or 16 years old, with Rishid being anywhere from 18 to 20.
Speaking of the Ishtar's, have some naming fun! Ishizu is thought to have come from the romanization of 'Isis', which is 'Aishisu'. And it probably did. ...Interesting point though, but Ishizu is also a Japanese surname... Huh.
Malik has many meanings, depending on how it's written in Arabic, either being King, or Owner.
Rishid on the other hand comes from 'Rashid', another Arabic name that means 'Rightly Guided'. Hnnn...
Ishtar in the meantime is the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, war, love and sex. She's represented by a lion and an eight pointed star... (Now go compare Yami no Malik's hair to a lion's mane. And an eight pointed star.)
Oh boy Shizuka, keeping secrets is hard huh… (It'll be ruined terribly some time soon, and you can probably guess who does it if you look carefully.) As to why she hasn't said anything, can you blame her? After all the hell that Jonouchi went through to get the surgery paid for, do you think she's going to flat out say 'by the way, I haven't taken the bandages off, so I don't know if it worked...' Not to mention the terrifying 50/50 that stands there as it is.
Mokuba doesn't know about Tanabata? BUT USAGI, HE'S JAPANESE. The fact is, it's not the event he's clueless about, it's the date, mostly due to being in the Kaiba household from five years old up. The date is something fairly obvious, something even Katsuya assumed he knew, despite it being on his birthday you see... Because the date is something everyone is assumed to know about by that point, Mokuba's literally been going the 'smile and nod' route, picking up everything listening in on conversations. But he never got the date. Besides that, some festivals celebrate the event in August rather than July... So it never came up, and Mokuba never asked.
July 7th (Tanabata) falls on a saturday in the fanfic's year. That is another holiday landing on exactly the day I need it to.
AM I AWESOME OR WHAT.
FanArt and My Art Section
Remove the spaces, paste the link... We're all set here!
Now before I get any questions on this WIP piece here (This WIP that will, combined with continual job hunts, take away from the time I have to type this fanfic by a lot), wait for the next chapter. And then you can spam me with questions, complaints... Etc!
See while I was on my usual 'poster design spree', I started painting this one up... But certain things about the guy at the bottom hide many MANY spoilers, suffice to say.
Not to mention this uncoloured sketch I have for you...
So yea. SPOILERS HOH! (At least one of them isn't too bad...)
WIP-SPOILER- Dreams and Dragons – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ SideStoryPoster-2. jpg - In which we have Red-Eyes being awesome, among other large profile shots and things... This is another of my 'movie poster designs' (Which I really get a kick out of making, if you haven't guessed.), and I've actually already started painting it; look closely (I know, the picture is HUGE, but trust me) at the very top, at the dragon's head (And body)...
SPOILER-Concept- Brothers – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ Brothers. jpg - As to whether it's by blood or not, I don't really know. I didn't really think to go into detail with Past!Jonouchi's family, as shepherds and goatherds are generally nomadic and very much on their own. ...Try and hold your guesses on their identities until after the next chapter though, ehehehe... Also, I need to go fix their anatomy. *Dadada..!*
Spoiler-Concept – Everything Is Better With Leather – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ MaiDoma. jpg - Mai in PANTS Usagi? I know, incredible. (They're leather by the way.) So I was looking back at what Mai wore during the Doma Arc (You know... When she was 'evil'?)... And I realized that as 'Mai' as it was (Given that all that really happened was that her white corset was suddenly black and likely leather), she was riding around on a bike all the time. ... In a skirt. As someone who knows a thing or two about bikes, I can safely say that this is very painful. She might be wearing awesome long boots while she's riding, but... Yea. Anyways, who knows, she might still be in a skirt during that arc for the fanfic, but I still had fun with this design.
Rebecca's Dress – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ BeccaProm. jpg - Exactly as it says, this is a quick, quick sketch of what dear Becca's dress likely looks like. I say quick because one... It was. And two... Something seems off, as you can see by my little note there...
Well, that's all for now... Updates will be slow now, just so you know... Once a week (if I'm lucky). In any case, enjoy!