The Evening of the Seventh

The seventh day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar was a date that, for an incredibly long time, served for an important festival to Japan and China both. It was the day when above in the sky, two of the brightest stars in the sky would be said to meet, their identities synonymous with a pair of separated lovers. In the past and present both the event was one to be celebrated in the evening... And though many areas had moved the day one month ahead of July the seventh, or simply to another date within that month, the district of Domino had decided to leave the date as it was.

The fact was, summer in Tokyo was more often than not one of the hottest moments of the year, even before the peak point in August. Cicada would cling to the trees and the sides of various buildings, fans would roar in all rooms of the home as the windows were held open, and pools would be filled to the brim. It was either that, or areas of the ocean that were available and clean enough to stand to say the least... And if it was particularly hot, the cicada would be more apt to cling to the open windows, with those who would normally flock to the pools settling for an ice cold shower.

Now that he thought about it Katsuya decided as he scratched his head, this was probably why most people at festivals that weren't wearing shorts and a t-shirt were wearing yukata... Anything else and you were probably from Okinawa. Though he had to say...

For everyone but Honda to wear a yukata was fairly amusing to say the least. "Wow," he muttered, staring at the group as he received a series of blank stares. "It was one thing when I was on the bus with Otogi but..."

Bakura smiled somewhat nervously, shrugging as they stood in the center of the closed off street. "...But?"

He shook his head, sighing. "Well now I just feel like an ass..."

The others smirked somewhat, Katsuya grinning as he crossed his arms. "I'll bet... But at least y' don' have a two year old clingin' to yah like las' time," he added, the grin widening. Of course, last time was... The year before last. Either way, the two weren't likely to forget carrying Jouji around that day. ...At all.

Honda snorted, frowning. "Yea yea... Barely dodged that one," he added darkly, before looking at the blond. "And since when did you wear yukata..?"

Hn? "Me," he asked, blinking a few times. ...Since he had one? "Tch... I didn' wan' Mokuba t' feel left out," he said somewhat angrily, ignoring the raised eyebrow that Mokuba gave him in response.

The group sighed, Otogi shaking his head and turning back to Honda. "I did tell you," he said somewhat plainly, the teen's hair currently tied in a low ponytail as opposed to the usual 'high' one. "But you just wouldn't listen... 'There's no way everyone will wear the same thing'..." At this Honda merely frowned, listening as Otogi continued on and shook his head. "Besides," the teen added, smirking. "Yukata are a great way to attract the attention of certain young women," he whispered, his friend merely groaning.

"Auuuugh... Between you and Bakura I'll be dateless for all eternity," he moaned, slumping somewhat as Bakura blinked from the side.

"It... It can't be that bad can it," he asked, laughing somewhat nervously.

Again the others shook their head, Katsuya smirking. "What made y' decide not t' wear one in th' first place?" Hell, he thought he had one...

The teen frowned, looking over with raised eyebrows. "Besides the fact that I like pants for a reason," he said dryly, The others raised their eyebrows, and Honda shrugged. "Just didn't feel like it," he decided, shaking his head. "...And at least I don't look like I'm going to a funeral," he added somewhat louder, looking over at Bakura as the teen flushed somewhat.

"I know it's not a festive colour," the albino muttered, skin standing out against the yukata in stark contrast, "But I really like black..."

Yea, well it was scaring the crap out of him Katsuya thought to himself, the others shaking their heads at the feeble excuse. Not that they were complaining really; Bakura was Bakura... Despite being every bit as creepy as he was nice. The blond sighed, scratching his head and watching as Mokuba looked around at the various stalls curiously. "It's a lot less crowded than Osaka," the boy muttered, staring out as people passed them by. "I get that it's cloudy today but..."

At this Katsuya looked up, shrugging. With the sky as dark as it was it felt more like late afternoon than just plain 'noon'... "What can I say," he said with another shrug, crossing his arms. "Domino's more 'f a game area than a festival one..." Particularly within the last year...

"Not to mention," Anzu added, shaking her head and smiling, "The next district over has fireworks, a cloudless sky, and it's only eleven o'clock." Uhhh... There was that too. The boys coughed somewhat, shifting as the woman crossed her arms and went on. "In any case," she muttered, turning to Mokuba. "It's your birthday right? Well... What do you want to do first," she asked, the smile widening.

Mokuba blinked a few times, looking back around at the stalls. Mask stalls, games, food, souvenirs... "Ahh..." He looked over at one of the 'game' stalls frowning. "Hn..." Hahaha, yea... Just as stuck as he wa- "Oh..." The boy turned, walking over to the side. "What's that one?"

The others turned as well, Honda staring a few moments before following after the boy with the group. "That one," he asked, blinking.

As Mokuba nodded Otogi shrugged, crossing his arms. "That's a carving stall..."

They walked over, Mokuba taking a seat on one of the stools as Honda explained the stand's 'purpose'. "Basically," he began, watching as the boy looked over the varied baskets of wooden slats, "You use the sticks here to trace and carve out a small wooden key-chain... No refund if you break it by the way," he added, the boy nodding as Katsuya looked over the stand as well.

"Hnn... There's lots here," the blond muttered, taking a seat beside his friend. "At leas' twice 's many as th' last stand I saw...

Mokuba merely 'hnn'ed at that, staring at the piles. "Wonder how I'll do..."

The others rolled their eyes somewhat amusedly, watching as the two both handed over five hundred yen and grabbed a small piece of semi-carved wood. Ok, lets get going... Yugi looked over their shoulder's watching the two carve away at the bits of wood for a few moments before jumping somewhat. "Is that one a kuriboh," he asked, blinking as Mokuba looked over his own.

"Huh..." The boy stared, before nodding at the somewhat evident 2-D 'fuzz-ball' that was being carved out. "I guess it is," he said, pausing in his carving to cross his arms. "That's new..."

"Well," Bakura said with a slight cough, looking at the banner at the side and laughing quietly, "The stand does advertise Industrial Illusions... I suppose it's only natural..."

I... I2 huh... At this the others traded blank stares, before turning back to the carvings with equally vacant expressions. "...I think I'm done here," Katsuya said with a cough, looking back at his 'scapegoat' carving before pocketing it.

"Yea, me too..."

"Well," Otogi said with raised eyebrows, arms still crossed as the group scooted away from the stand "For someone into duel monsters that was fairly quick..." Not quick enough.

"You probably shouldn't ask," Honda muttered, stretching somewhat as they made their way down the street. "Oh hey, masks!" They blinked, watching as the teen ran off to a separate stand with a smirk. It was indeed a mask stand... Or at least a souvenir stand with a stacked tower of masks on either side. "Oi Otogi," Honda shouted with a laugh, the teen raising his eyebrows as their friend held up a mask. "You should get the carp," he continued, grinning. "It looks like you!"

Otogi snorted, rolling his eyes and looking over the masks for a moment rather than busying himself with glaring at the one his friend had. "I might be a 'carp' Honda," he said rather nonchalantly, "But at least that means I get to be a dragon some day... Unlike you," he continued, smirking as he grabbed another mask and held it forward. "Who look more like this one."

The others blinked, staring at the green turtle-like mask their friend held. A... A kappa..? Honda tensed, growling as he put the mask back. "O-Otogi..."

"Hey," he said with a smirk, spinning the mask in his hands before putting it back. "I'm only being honest..."

"Katsuya-nii," Mokuba said, looking over the masks himself as the others argued. "Do you think we should get nii-sama a mask like we did last year..?"

Another mask? Ehhh... "Unless y' want he- him t' know we came," the blond muttered, before the others turned to the pair.

"You guys got Kaiba a mask," Anzu asked somewhat incredulously, eyebrows raised.

There was a short span of silence as the boys nodded, before one of the others sighed. "You got a dragon didn't you," Honda asked with a blank look, the teen receiving another similar stare from Mokuba in response.

"You know," Mokuba decided, crossing his arms as he changed the subject, "Just because it's my birthday you don't all have to follow me around all day..."

There was another round of silence before Anzu nodded at this, sharing a short look with Yug before speakingi. "He has a good point," she said with a slight cough, continuing on. "Why don't we all meet back at the center of the street in a few hours for lunch," the woman decided, shrugging somewhat. "Maybe... Two o'clock..?"

Most of the boys shrugged in response, Otogi nodding. "That sounds like a plan," he said, turning to look at one of the neighbouring stands before heading over with another nod. "I'll be over there if anyone needs me..."

Honda and Bakura as well turned, blinking as the teen made his way over to what looked to be a stand involving dice games. Haha, it really figured... "Hey wait for us," the former said loudly, chasing after as Bakura looked from the two to the others. "Hey!"

"Erm..." The albino looked again, before sighing and shaking his head. "I'll see you all at two o'clock then," he finally said with a slight laugh, running off. "Good-bye!"

"Ah, see yah then," Katsuya called out, looking back to Anzu and Yugi before blinking. "...So..." A short span of silence came through the air, the blond coughing. "You guy's got any plans or..."

"Hey, goldfish scooping!" The three jumped slightly as Mokuba ran off with a shout, the others following after the boy only to laugh as he stopped and frowned. The stand looked the same as most 'goldfish scooping' ones. Save for one thing that was standing out in the tank. "...Turtles?"

"Oh..." The others watched the tiny green turtles swim around, Mokuba still raising an eyebrow. "They have turtle catching this year," Yugi said with a smile, his other appearing beside him with raised eyebrows.

'...Turtles,' he repeated, hovering over the tank with a blank frown.

Yugi nodded, Anzu and Mokuba both raising their eyebrows while Katsuya watched the two 'Yugis' turn to each other. "Yea," he continued, the others quickly catching on to what was going on. "Turtle catching. It's like goldfish scooping," the boy explained, "But since the turtles are heavier, it's a lot harder than with fish..."

The other Yugi continued to stare, appearing to hover rather close to the tub of baby turtles while Yugi laughed somewhat quietly. "Er... Do you want to give it a shot," he asked, scratching his head.

The spirit turned rather quickly, Katsuya flinching somewhat before shaking himself off as the two Yugis continued to speak among themselves. "...Who is this boy talking to," the stand manager asked quietly, Anzu merely frowning and responding with a somewhat dangerous look that sent the manager back with a bowed head. "F-forgive me for intruding..." Yea he better be sorry-

Katsuya turned back to look at Yugi, watching as he nodded and gripped his puzzle. "Alright then," he said with a smile. The boy closed his eyes, the familiar gust of 'wind' passing through as his other self vanished from sight. Just seconds later and it was the 'other' Yugi in the body, with the lighter self hovering beside him in the after effects of the wind.

Anzu and Mokuba both blinked, staring for a few moments. "...Yugi," the woman asked hesitantly, watching as the teen pulled out 500 yen and handed it forward with a fairly determined expression in place.

"One round," he said clearly, watching as the money was taken.

The man nodded, pocketing the cash and grabbing a few things from the side. "You have until the pon breaks," the manager explained, handing the teen a small dish with the net. "Good luck!"

Yugi quickly nodded, the others watching with mild amusement as he stared almost calculatingly at the tub. For a moment, his lighter self appeared to say something, mouth moving somewhat as the spirit at the side waited for his other to make his move. But in the end, he decided to turn to Katsuya instead it seemed, the boy sighing somewhat as he smiled. 'There's a part of me that knows he'll catch it but...' The two looked back, watching as the Other Yugi continued to stare at the tub. ...Yea... The rest was left unsaid really...

"Hey kid," the manager muttered after another span of silence, 'Yugi' still in the same position as he had been to start. "Are you going to actually play any time soon..?"

The others continued to stare as well, similar reactions in place before jumping as the teen abruptly swiped at the water. About a millisecond later and there was a turtle in the dish, an alarmed looking Yugi shoved back into his body as a smug looking 'other' appeared at the side in ghostly form. 'Hah.'

"N... No one said you wouldn't make it," Yugi said with a quiet laugh, the others shaking their heads at the visible or assumed smirk on the teen's face. Yugi turned back to the stand manager with the still functioning 'pon' and dish in hand, preparing to pass it forward before freezing and turning back to his other self.

For the moment, it looked as though he was asking what Yugi was doing with the turtle, the spirit having tapped his lighter half on the shoulder and frowned. A few seconds later, and the theory was proven. "...I'm giving it back," the boy said with a somewhat plain tone, shrugging. "I wasn't going to-" The spirit blinked a few times, looking back at the turtle and again saying something that Katsuya failed to hear. For a moment, the two 'Yugi's merely stared at each other... But in the end the boy sighed, shaking his head. "...We could keep it I guess..."

At this Mokuba blinked, staring. "Wait... The other Yugi wants to keep it..?"

"Can you look after a turtle Yugi..? I heard they were expensive..."

"Hey, if th' other Yugi's for it..."

The two Yugis continued to stare at each other, before the 'solid' one sighed and smiled. "Hah..." He turned to the manager again, still smiling despite the evident confusion the man held. "I'm keeping the turtle, okay?"

The man blinked a few times, looking somewhat oddly at the group before taking the dish and pon back with a nod. "Alright then... Here," he added, carefully putting the turtle in a bag before holding it out with a slip of paper. "Coupon for the tank."

At this Katsuya glanced at the stand's 'flag', mentally laughing. Hahaha... The same pet store on the coupon... Why was it only now that he noticed all the sponsors..? "Thank you," Yugi said in response, giving his 'other' an amused look and shaking his head as the spirit stared at the turtle. "You realize that you're looking after this guy right," he asked, laughing somewhat as the others looked at the turtle as well.

The 'Other' merely ignored the boy for the moment, continuing to look at his new pet. '...I'm going to name it Sheta...'

Okay, Katsuya decided with a somewhat incredulous smile, so no one was going to be getting through to this guy for the next hour most likely then... Given that the spirit was now having a staring contest with a turtle that was holding a permanent squint... The others shook their heads, sighing and chuckling at the look on their friend's face. For the most part, it was as a result of Yugi's own reaction... Though had they been paying attention, Mokuba and Anzu would probably have realized that Katsuya reacted before the boy, shaking his head and laughing at the sight.

Thankfully for him though... They weren't.

By the time two o'clock had rolled around, most of the group had managed to migrate back to the center of the street festival. After a while, visiting game stands and souvenir stands lost its appeal, even for the resident 'king of games' hovering at Yugi's side. By the time they found the others again after wandering the streets for their remaining time, it looked as though Bakura was attempting to break up another argument between Otogi and Honda concerning masks (again)... Which was conveniently stopped by the boys spotting Yugi's new turtle, each of them staring at the small 'bowl' he was carrying.

"You got a turtle Yugi-kun," Bakura asked, blinking as the others came over.

The boy nodded, holding the bowl up and letting the others look inside. "Yep... The other me won it in the turtle scooping game," he explained, smiling as his 'other' merely smirked. "Not sure why he called it 'sheta' though," he added, frowning.

And given the look on his 'other's face, neither did the one who came up with it in the first place... Which was really expected by this point, with all the things that he simply 'knew' about himself. "'Sheta'," Otogi repeated, the others turning to him as the teen spun a rabbit mask on his fingers. The teen blinked, spinning halting for a moment as he idly passed a small bit of money over to the stand owner. "...I think that means 'Turtle' in hieratic..."

Errr... What? Katsuya blinked, staring. "'Hieratic'..?"

Otogi nodded, holding the mask firm as they began to walk down the street. "Technically Egyptian," he said with a shrug before again spinning the mask on his fingers, "But yea; I can't read it completely of course," the teen added with a slight laugh, "But my dad taught me a few things..." He fell silent for a moment at that, looking away briefly. Yea... His dad... That was kind of a rough subject, if they were putting things lightly. Again the spinning stopped, before continuing as it's owner as well pulled himself back into the conversation. "It's a cursive writing system that was developed along side the hieroglyphs in ancient Egypt," Otogi explained, looking to the others seriously. "It was used specifically by those of high rank, Pharaohs, priests, scribes..." So all the rich guys then, Katsuya thought mentally.

"Being a written language," the teen added with a shrug, again holding the mask firmly in his hands, "It obviously doesn't mean that the word would be pronounced any differently in the other forms of writing though... Not until it evolved into demotic I mean," he continued with a cough, shaking his head. "But that's the first one that came to mind really..." The teen shook his head, continuing on as he idly tossed the mask up and down in his hands. "I guess the closest thing you could compare it to is hiragana; scribes used hieratic to write things down quicker, whereas hieroglyphs, like kanji, more often than not refer a certain thing."

At this the others looked back at Yugi, who looked at his 'other' somewhat blankly. Egypt huh...

That just kept coming back to them didn't it... ...Speaking of Egypt though...

"...Otogi-kun," Bakura asked blankly, the others again turning to the teen as he returned the blank stare. "H... How many languages do you know..?"

Y-Yea, what he said... "How many," he repeated, blinking as the others nodded somewhat nervously. Otogi blinked again, frowning. "...Hnn..." The teen crossed his arms, closing his eyes in thought for a moment, "Lets see... Spoken, I have English and Japanese for obvious reasons..." Obvious meaning 'official language and language that will likely save your ass in another foreign country'... That or 'company' things. Which was how Mokuba phrased it in his own defense apparently. "...I know a bit of Arabic," he continued offhandedly, waving the mask somewhat like a fan, "But not enough to pass as anything more than an asshole tourist..." That was always good to know. At least he'd never be lost? Otogi rubbed the back of his neck, continuing on with a grimace. "Ah... As for the written languages..." Wait, there was more? The others blinked, staring with wide eyes and listening as the teen spoke "I can somewhat read hieratic and hieroglyphs... Not completely though," he added with a sudden frown, giving a somewhat dangerous look to his friends, "So don't pull me off to the museum as a test." At this the others laughed somewhat nervously, before Otogi continued. "I can actually read Enochian as well but..." The teen coughed, frowning as the others continued to stare. "You know what," he decided, most of the others simply wondering what 'enochian' was, "I think I'll just stop sharing how many dead languages I know... I prefer being the 'game inventor' over the 'language geek'," he added darkly, frowning.

No one was calling him that... ...(Though that was a hell of a lot of dead languages there...) "Ah... Right..." The others blinked, coughing somewhat awkwardly for a few moments before watching as Anzu moved off to the side with a smile. "...H-Hey," she said, changing the subject with a slight laugh. "Look- They have a play going!"

A play? The boys turned, before sharing a series of winces as Anzu continued to make her way over. Ok... There were masks, and... Auuuuugh... Noh play... They reluctantly followed behind Anzu, watching as the woman peered over the small crowd that gathered.

"This isn't going to be like the one we saw in Osaka is it," Mokuba asked with a groan, ducking somewhat as Anzu muttered a 'shush!' in response

"Why," Bakura asked, keeping his voice down as he turned to the boy curiously. "What was that one?"

There was a short silence, Katsuya and Mokuba trading awkward glances. The one they saw..? Eh... "...Boton Dourou..."

Bakura brightened, smiling as he recognized the name. "Really?" Erm... Yes, and they really didn't- "Was it any good," the albino continued with a grin, continuing to beam at the idea of the play, "I was hoping to see it sometime-"

"Erm..." The boys paled somewhat, before jumping as Anzu moved past. Hey, opportunity for a subject change! "Ah, Anzu-"

"They're just doing the same one they do every year," she muttered, sighing as the others blinked in confusion. ...Kay... "Though I probably should have guessed," she continued with a frown, shaking her head. The others stared somewhat as the woman continued to walk off, shrugging to each other as Anzu continued. "Oh well..."

Okay... Um... "Maybe we should just have lunch," Otogi decided, the others turning as their friend pointed off to a yakitori stand. "Wouldn't you say?"

At this, there was a somewhat loud 'grumbling' noise, a few of the boys flushing somewhat before nodding. Well... It was after two... "Eh... Sounds good t' me," Katsuya said with a laugh, scratching his head and walking toward the stand in question. Now what to eat... There was the stuff here...

"I wonder if there's a takoyaki stand around here," Yugi muttered idly, wandering away as his 'other' followed behind him with a slight frown.

'I don't like takoyaki...'

Hahahaha... Katsuya sighed, mentally shaking his head. The things everyone else didn't hear... The blond decided to ignore the less than private conversations going on, instead looking over the food at the stand while the others wandered off to find their own food. Smelled good enough... "I'll take four," he after a few moments, handing over a handful of coins for the skewered chicken with a grin. "Mokuba," he asked, turning to the boy with a grin, "How many do you want?"

Mokuba blinked, shrugging as he looked the food over. "I'll take two for now," he decided, nodding to himself and looking up at the blond. "...Wait..." He turned, frowning. "Where did everyone else go?"

Eh? Katsuya also turned, gripping the numerous kebabs in his hands and blinking. "Ah..." He stared, looking around before simply shrugging it off. "...Guess they went t' get somethin' else to eat..." Not everyone liked yakitori right..? (And Yugi did say he was getting takoyaki...) Anyways, c'mon," he decided, handing Mokuba his yakitori as they continued. "We c'n go sit by the pier," Katsuya decided, looking down at the boy as he ate through his chicken, "That's where th' bamboo an' papers are."

"Bamboo?" The boy stared for a short moment, turning from his food before blinking. "Ah- right... You're supposed to write down a wish and hang it on bamboo right," he asked, before taking a large bite out of his chicken.

Katsuya nodded, taking a bite out of one of his skewers before explaining. "Yep- an' then later in th' evening," the blond went on with a grin, "They set 'm on fire an' send 'm out t' sea. We won' be here for that 'f course but..." Well... He shrugged, continuing on nonetheless. "We'd probably get stuck in th' crowd anyways..." Given that more people were already beginning to gather...

The boy nodded in response, going back to his yakitori for a moment before turning back to his friend. "Right... ...So..." He fell silent for a brief moment, Katsuya blinking at the expression Mokuba held as the boy spoke up again. "If 'tanabata' is the 'evening of the seventh'," he asked, the frown deepening with confusion, "Then why didn't this happen last year..?"

Er... The teen coughed somewhat, flushing at that. "Ah... Hah! Good question..." Very good question, and he'd kinda hoped the boy had forgotten... He coughed again as he was met with a questioning and unimpressed frown, before shaking himself. "Ah... Well, fact is," he admitted, rubbing his head with his free hand and wincing, "When y' said th' seventh, most 'f us assumed y' knew..." And looking back... That was probably a pretty stupid idea. Still. "An' I know Shizuka asked about going to a tanabata festival for yer birthday," he added, shrugging as Mokuba raised his eyebrows, "But in th' end, Mom said it w's that 'r th' Bon festival we went t'..." Couldn't afford to go to both with everything else that was going on really... The blond shook his head, frowning somewhat as he looked down at the boy. "I guess it jus' never came t' mind..."

Something that really didn't seem to be sitting to well with the kid... "...Right..." Mokuba nodded, turning away for a moment as the pair fell silent. "...Hey, Katsuya-nii," he asked, turning to the blond after a few minutes. "For the 'wishes'... Does anyone expect them to come true..?"

...Honestly, it was times like this that made him remember just why Mokuba got along so well with his classmates as opposed to those in the boy's middle school class... "Eh... W-What," he asked, choking somewhat as he looked down. Even so, the question was a little... Jarring. The two stared for a moment, before the taller shrugged. "...Who knows," he said with a sigh, smirking. "I mean... I could make a thous'nd strips 'f paper an' ask f'r good grades," he muttered, shaking his head, "But I know I ain't gettin' it! I think th' point is t' wish f'r something more..." Ahh... "'Bscure," the blond finally said, waving his hand a bit as he looked for the word. Yea something like that. Uh... "Somethin' that's more focused on what happens rather th'n what y' want, y' know?"

The boy tilted his head somewhat, before nodding as Katsuya held his oddly steady gaze on the topic.. "I... Think so," Mokuba decided, pausing somewhat as he wrapped his head around the words. "Ah... Oh, hey," he shouted, stopping for a moment as they turned the corner before grinning. "Hey! Guys," he continued, running down the street with a grin.

Katsuya watched as Mokuba ran off, hurriedly charging after the boy as they spotted the others. "O-Oi," he yelled, continuing on. "Mokuba!"

"Guys," Mokuba continued shouting, ignoring the blond for a moment as he slowed down. "Where did you all go?"

The others turned from where they were standing at the pier, blinking as the others came closer. "Hah... Jonouchi-kun, Mokuba-kun..." Yugi smiled, stepping back from where the others had been crowding around a spread blanket. Briefly, he looked back, a nervous look on his face as he gave a laugh. "Ta-dah~" Yea, there went that surprise...

Mokuba blinked, walking over and looking at the 'cake' the others were sitting around. "Eh..? What..."

"Red bean cake," Honda said with a grin, laughing somewhat as the others took a seat. "Was going to be a surprise," he continued with a shrug, "But... You can guess how that turned out..."

At this the boy merely blinked, turning as Bakura continued on. "We grabbed a bunch of papers as well," he stated, holding a few out with some pens, "Since we're right by the stand..."

Again the two blinked, looking to the side at the stand momentarily before turning back. "Hah... I didn't realize we were already this close to the pier," Mokuba muttered, looking back at the group before grinning. "...So this is red bean cake then," he asked, gesturing to the large reddish-brown pastry.

They nodded, watching as Otogi struck a match off the concrete at the side before carefully lighting a thin wire standing atop the cake. "Yep! ...Stand back," he warned, the others doing so as sparks abruptly fired from it, the teen waving the match through the air to put it out as the wire glowed under the clouded sky.

The boys tensed somewhat, pulling back. "H-Heh!" Didn't see the wire there before..!

Bakura smiled, laughing somewhat as Mokuba stared at the sparkler. "I had a few sparklers left over from new-years eve," he said calmly, watching as the sparks traveled down the wire before continuing. "I thought they would make good 'candles'..." The albino's smile widened, Bakura turning back to Mokuba. "Do you like it Mokuba-kun?"

The boy quickly nodded, continuing to watch as the sparks ran through the air. "O-Of course," he said rather quickly, turning to the others. "It's great, I mean..."

Katsuya shook his head, tugging the wire out of the cake as the final sparks died. Screw words, birthday cake time! "Anyone got a knife," he asked, only to blink as Yugi pulled a square from the side and stared. ..Eh...

"Um..." He swallowed, giving another shrug as the others stared. "...It's pre-cut Jonouchi-kun..."

"...Oh." Of course...

"Hey, this is pretty good!" The boys turned as Mokuba chewed through a piece of cake, Anzu shaking her head as she looked up from where she was writing something on a pad. Well, cutting issues aside, time to dig in then... Mokuba looked back at the pastry, crossing his arms somewhat as he took another bite of his piece. "I should save a piece for nii-sama..."

"Well, it's cut into eight," Otogi said with a shrug as he grabbed himself a piece as well, "And there are only seven of us..."

"Hey Anzu," Honda asked, attempting to look over the woman's shoulder as he ate his own share. "What are you writing down for your wish..?"

The woman turned, blinking before making a move to hide the paper in question. "Hn..? Oh... It's... It's nothing really," she said with a cough, blushing somewhat as she laughed, "You already know-"

"Eh, this about yer dance dream Anzu," Katsuya asked, idly getting the feeling that it wasn't just that.

Anzu frowned somewhat, turning with raised eyebrows before nodding. "Yes..."

"Hn..? You dance," Otogi repeated, blinking as the woman slowly nodded in response. "...I never knew that..." Well, given that there weren't any clubs or classes involving it at the school that would allow Anzu to indirectly say otherwise...

Yugi nodded, smiling. "Yep- Anzu plans on going to New York to dance on Broadway shows someday," he explained, the woman beside him flushing somewhat as she coughed.

"Ah..." Anzu turned, blinking as the boy beside her paused in his eating to frown. "That could be a bit..." Mokuba coughed as he received a fairly stiff frown, hurriedly correcting himself as he choked. "Erm, good luck?" Yea... Nice save. "Ahhhh... Y-Yugi," he said quickly, turning to the boy with a nervous laugh, "What are you going to wish for?"

The boy blinked, looking up from where he'd grabbed a piece of paper to write on before answering. "Me? Ahh..." Yugi turned back to his paper, biting his lip for a moment. "...I haven't actually decided yet," he admitted, laughing before he looked back at the boy. "...You?"

"Ehh..." He bowed his head, flushing. "...I don't know either..."

"Well... I know what I'm wishing for," Honda said with a grin, waving a blank sheet of paper for a few seconds before grabbing a pen. The others looked up, blinking as their friend quickly began scribbling a series of kanji and kana on the sheet.

Eh..? "Y' do," Katsuya asked, blinking as his friend merely nodded. "What is it?"

"Not saying," he said rather quickly, ignoring the fact that Otogi was currently looking over the teen's shoulder with somewhat narrowed eyes.

"Eh? How come," the blond asked, swallowing down a bite of bean cake.

Honda merely shrugged, crossing his arms and going back to his paper. "I'm just not saying."

"C'mon," Katsuya said with a laugh, "It'd have to be insanely embarrassing for y' to not say anything..!" ...Which made it all the more worth finding out, hehehe...

At this his friend merely scowled, gritting his teeth. "I'm not saying anything Jonouchi!"

Otogi glanced at the slip of paper as the two argued, frowning as he looked at his friend. "Why would you need 20,000 yen..?"

20,000 yen? Funny the blond thought, that was just enough for a train trip to and from-... ...Wait. A. Second. "O-OI," he shouted, quickly putting the two things together. "HONDAAAAA," Katsuya shouted as the teen hurriedly fled to hang his 'wish' on the bamboo at the side, "I told you to stay away from my sister!"

"Hnnn..." Otogi smirked, grabbing a slip of paper and scribbling something down himself.

Katsuya quickly turned back to the teen, growling as he pointed to him accusingly. "...An' that includes you too Otogi..."

The teen merely shrugged, holding his hands up in 'defeat'. "I know... I know..."

...He was still writing that down, somehow he knew this...

"Hey, Bakura," Yugi asked, turning to the albino as their friend started on his own wish. "What are you writing down," he continued, opting to ignore the arguing going on behind him.

Bakura blinked, looking back at his paper. "Oh... Nothing much," the teen admitted quietly, keeping a small smile in place. "I'd rather not say though," he continued, bowing his head somewhat. "It's probably a bit superstitious," Bakura added with a slight shrug, smiling wryly, "But the fact is, I'm not sure the wish will actually go through if I share it..."

At this Mokuba blinked, looking up from his own with wide eyes. "R-Really..?"

The albino nodded, smiling. "Of course... Moreover," he explained, the smile becoming somewhat larger, "I'd rather believe that my wish comes true because of what I do to achieve it... Things have a way of working out like that after all," he said with a nod, before leaving to hang up his paper.

Mokuba continued to stare, eyes somewhat wide. "Ahh..."

"What about you Jonouchi-kun," someone asked from the side, the blond jumping somewhat as he looked up from his own sheet.

"Eh..." He turned, blinking. "What?"

"Your wish," Yugi asked, laughing quietly as his friend sat back down. "What are you wishing for," he continued, smiling.

Huh... His wish... Katsuya looked back at his paper, before turning staring at the others briefly. "My wish..." That would be... "...That none 'f this has t' change," he decided, smirking rather softly compared to his usual look. Just constant 'normalcy' with a bit of 'other Yugi' mixed in, he added mentally, the others merely smiling as they continued with what they were doing.

No weird crap...

"You two are very lucky," Kyouko hissed when the two boys came back an hour or so later, Katsuya and Mokuba trading nervous glances in response. It was bad enough that they'd literally run all the way back after noticing the time when they finished at the tanabata festival.

But coming inside to find an enraged maid was not something they had been looking forward to.

"Er... Lucky," Katsuya asked, laughing nervously as Kyouko continued to stare them down.

The maid scowled, crossing her arms as the door was slammed shut. "Seto-sama called only ten minutes ago asking if everything for Mokuba-sama's birthday was ready," the woman stated, eyes narrowed. "She also asked if you two were ready," she continued, "And I barely made it through the phone call with 'they're almost ready'!" Yea 'almost' didn't tend to cut it with-

Wait... Riiiiiight... He had work today... Katsuya coughed, flushing somewhat as the maid continued to shake her head. "Er... But it's alrigh' now... Righ'," the blond asked, laughing nervously.

The scowl remained set, Kyouko tapping her foot as the boys swallowed. "Provided you're in 'normal' clothes before the next five minutes pass," she muttered, glare set in place. "Yes."

Uh... F-Five minutes! The two bolted, the sound of thundering footsteps coming through the air as both boys headed to their rooms. "Shit shit shit shit shit!" Katsuya's room door slammed behind him, the blond scrambling to grab his shirt and jeans from the floor as he pulled off his yukata. "Aaaaaaahhhh..."

Wait, why the hell was he rushing? The blond blinked, pausing as he pulled his pants on before frowning. His shift didn't start for another ten minutes Katsuya thought with a frown, so what...

-kots-kots-

"Eh?" Katsuya turned as knocking came from the side, opening his door for a moment and blinking. "Ah- Seto-ch-" The woman before him narrowed her eyes, Katsuya hurriedly coughing as he gripped his t-shirt. "Er... K-Kaiba..."

"I was told you would be ready by this point," Seto said rather plainly, the woman crossing her arms as Katsuya stared. Uhhh... Y-Yea... He looked back at the t-shirt, flushing somewhat as he pulled it on. There was a small bit of silence as the blond did this, Seto merely turning away to head down the hall. "What ever," the woman muttered, shaking her head. "We're going to KaibaLand," she continued, Katsuya poking his head out into the hall as the woman said this.

Kay... Um... "Er... How long 'r you an' Mokuba gonna be," he asked, blinking. He kinda had a present for the kid so... Be nice if he could give it to him before the day ended.

Seto turned, raising her eyebrows as she looked at the blond with narrowed eyes. "We will be spending most of the evening there," she stated, crossing her arms as Katsuya stepped out into the hall. "Whatever moronic plans you have for the evening can wait Mutt. It's my brother's birthday," she continued with a frown before moving back, "And if you think you're going to skip out on that," the woman muttered dangerously, trailing off as she glared at the blond.

H-Hang on... W-Wait... "Wait," Katsuya muttered, shaking himself. "I'm comin' too?" There was a blank look in response, a grin slowly forming on the blond's face as he stood there. He... He was coming wi- Haha... Hahahahaha... "YEA," he shouted, pumping his fist in the air with a cheer, "YEAAAA-"

"Keep shouting," Seto growled angrily, "And you're not, idiot."

"Eh... Righ'... Hahaha..." The blond coughed, scratching his head before turning back to his room. "Ah... ...I'll go grab Mokuba's present then..."

Hopefully the clay was dry by now...

To say that inviting the 'mutt' was mostly to humor her brother would be a rather obvious statement. The fact was, she had planned on going alone, just the two of them... But after overhearing the two plan out a 'secret' celebration behind her back, deciding on the times that would be best to evade her notice she decided against it. It was pointless to fight it really... If Mokuba was set on something he wouldn't turn away. There was no denying it.

Her brother liked the idiot, and as long as she didn't (or at least proved the fact), she and Mokuba would not be telling each other everything... Let alone what he was doing with the blond and his friends... Mokuba's 'friends' she supposed. Secrets were expected of course... Hell, there was a lot, as wince-inducing the thought was, that she didn't know about him, something she was personally trying to get better at now that she had the chance. But it was nice to know where he was at least... In case something...

Either way... For now she would bring the blond along to things like this, for her brother's sake. Bring the 'dog' along with them to the roller coasters, to the arcade games... Personally, she wasn't sure what to feel after the 'party' was over. Happy that her brother had been grinning the entire time, running back and forth with Jonouchi, dragging her around the amusement park to ride after ride after ride...

Or disappointed that she hadn't gotten that kind of reaction. True, Mokuba had been smiling, and laughing during the time that they'd had the day to their-selves, with no one in the building save them but... She supposed that Jonouchi added more energy to the situation really. An energy she didn't. Just a general 'excitement' that came with the blond's idiocy.

She wasn't being 'replaced', she told herself plainly; that would be impossible for one, and unthinkable for another. But again she would have to accept that the blond 'dog' was 'there'. And he wasn't leaving, despite her... Momentary wishes.

...But what would happen if he did? Seto frowned as the question came to mind that evening, the woman leaning against the pillows of her bed as a small breeze came through the open window. The 'birthday' was long since over, power at the building shut down and presents given... The 'secret' that was the boy's tanabata escapade was, for now, a secret. But despite the somewhat relaxed feeling that came with the drive home the question still gnawed at the back of her mind. How would Mokuba react if Jonouchi was suddenly gone, vanished completely? According to Kyouko, to the rest of the staff, her own 'absence' had hit hard. But according to them...

The only thing that kept the boy from completely losing it in all of that was the combined fact that she would somehow come back... And the fact that Jonouchi and his 'friends' were there. There to distract him from any more depressing moments, to cheer him up. But if they were gone... If they were gone...

"...Tch..." The thought continued to badger her, with other muddled facts from upcoming events coming to mind. Battle City would start in twelve days, announced in ten in front of the Domino Museum, the latter of which had been a request from Ishizu that she would keep despite personal opinion of the woman. On the eighteenth the duel disks would be released to the public, and only those with a certain skill level recorded in the database she'd built would be given a disk with a locator card in it... With the number of 'high level' duelists, there would be slightly more than enough locator cards for eight finalists. She'd had the 'final location' decided in May, tasked Isono with the actual location that the cards would point out...

But she had no doubt the ghouls would swarm this city come that day. That was the purpose of the tournament after all... Lure them out, get the God cards, and she was not about to go back on that. If Yugi competed... Then that would be fine. She would have her fight with him then, something she was personally looking forward to. As it was the woman decided, from what Mokuba told her she would have better luck challenging him up front; evidentally tournaments, particularly 'ante' tournaments, 'weren't his thing'.

And even with that, Yugi had his 'Other', the one she wanted to fight, should the Ghouls target him... Well. There was no doubt that they would in the end, and that, in the end, they would more than likely suffer for it. The further into the finals anyone got, the more at risk someone would be, that was for certain. There were more cards than just the Gods after all... As it was, the only reason she was so certain they would come, outside the prospect of Obelisk, was the very 'Ante' rule that this tournament would have.

A rule that also, according to Mokuba, would quite likely keep Yugi out of the tournament. (Well, as long as they had the match...)

The Ghouls... Seto bit her lip, frown deepening as she sat in her bed. Bodies followed that gang, misfortune, death...

What would happen if...

"Tch!" She shook herself, gritting her teeth. "I don't have time to think about this," the woman muttered, lying back down on her bed with a growl. It was time to sleep... Tomorrow she would be going through the 'rankings' system to filter out who would and wouldn't be allowed in the tournament, along with going through the last few 'check ups' on the air-ship built for the tournament and she could deal with anything concerning the rankings then. She needed sleep... She'd certainly gone through enough trouble making sure Mokuba had his cake and ice-cream at an hour that wouldn't affect his sleep patterns...

Mind as well make an effort of stabilizing her own...

Sleep, she told herself, closing her eyes.

Sleep...

But as her senses began returning to her, it became rather apparent that 'sleep' was not on her subconscious' schedule. If anything, it felt more like sending her into an oddly realistic dream was-

...

...God damn it not again.

Seto groaned, eyes opening to meet with hard stone coated with sand that was almost identical in colour. It was night time from what she could tell, given the poor lighting... And in all honesty, when she'd failed to have another dream after Hanami, she'd gotten fairly confident in the fact that it wouldn't happen again...

Obviously she was wrong, and personally, she blamed her earlier phone call to Ishizu, a call that had formerly been made nothing more than a past annoyance by news of things like the airship being completed, the ranking system being almost complete... Somehow, Seto told herself grimly, that woman was the cause of this... "Tch..." She shook herself, attempting to stand only to frown'. What the...

She couldn't move... Not her face, not her hands... Nothing.

Outside her own control she felt her body pull itself upward despite those thoughts, heaving and coughing as a result of some foreign feeling of exhaustion that was over coming her. Fatigue washed over her and settled hard as she felt her own subconscious actions mirroring that of the 'body' she was in, groaning. Something heavy on her head was adjusted... A helm of sorts, she told herself, an odd feeling coming again as she attempted to narrow her eyes only for nothing to happen. "Ung..."

There was her voice again... But she wasn't speaking the woman noted, so how the he- Seto tensed, watching as tanned hands pushed her up from the ground before pulling out a sword of sorts from in front of her despite the weakness. Tan... Though her gaze lingered on her hands only briefly before fixing themselves on the ground from weakness a mere glimpse had been enough. Tan... She wasn't tanned...

Nor did she wear robes... God... Damn it all... Seto 'grit' her teeth, a low growl forming but nonetheless proving to refuse to come out as her body continued to move on its own. This... This was the 'Priest'! The robes, the helm, the skin... The same man... Woman, if the voice was any sign, that showed up in the same damn dream three weeks in a row! "Aggggghhh..." Alright... So she couldn't move, she was in the 'dream'...

...This... The woman's gaze moved upward somewhat, slow blinks closing over her vision as she looked around. The area she was in looked nothing like the last place her 'dream' took place in, with the ruined buildings amongst the desert... In fact, it didn't look like it at all. If anything, it looked more like a courtyard to a palace, or a temple, or... The woman's body tensed, shaking somewhat as she righted herself and turned to the side. "...Akhenaden," the Priest muttered, voice as well disguised as her own would have been for most of the day. The body shook with laboured breathing, Seto forced to stare forward at a pair of figures some distance across from her with narrowed eyes. A pair of figures that momentarily had Seto stunned.

The first thing that caught her attention from the figures was the eye that the smaller bore, an eye which was locked in place by a mask that spawned a wig of flaming red hair. Gold... In the mask, there was... The woman 'swallowed', ignoring the steady silence that was being held between the two in the dream. The Millennium Ey-

"My dear Set..." The woman frowned, both mentally and physically at the comment as the figure across from them addressed 'her'. "You were my greatest student you know," the 'man' stated, white mask and gleaming gold eye staring forward from a grotesquely armored form. The 'Priest' shuddered in response, saying nothing as the red-maned being continued speaking, a flaming monster of almost crocodilian appearance standing loyally at its side... Snaking around the man with all the flexibility of a vile and endless serpent. "Such a pity that it came to this," 'Akhenaden' continued, shaking his head and gesturing forward. "We could have ruled all of the world together, under the power of this darkness... We would have run things as they should... Made things perfect..." Darkness...

Ignoring the clearly faulty attempts to convince this 'Priest' to what was likely a darker path... Briefly their eyes drifted upward, narrowing further at the slight gold ring around a perfect orb of blackness. Well... Power of 'darkness'... That was a solar eclipse up there... So apparently, it wasn't evening as she had thought. Huh. The woman felt her mouth move, words coming out yet again in the language that she both knew and didn't know. "Tch... And just what use is a world of darkness," she asked, a low growl forming in her throat. "A world where all the people inhabiting it are either dead or dying, where no plants grow and the Ra's light never shines?" The 'Priest' and Seto both stumbled, weakly holding the sword forward as they struggled for air in a weak attempt at a fighting stance. "I may not have the power to face you with a monster from within another's soul," the 'Priest' continued, tightening her grip on the blade and reminding Seto even more just how much her body was no longer her own, "But believe me when I say this 'Shadowed One'... I will fight until my last breath..."

Silence filled the air, along with a blast of ominous wind. "To hear that from the one I would have been proud to call a 'son' if ever I had one," the being muttered, sky appearing to almost darken further as he spoke. "Hmph. ...So be it," the monster spat, flaming servant charging forward. "This is the end...!"

"Gh..." They rolled off to the side, ducking under a blast of flames that singed the edge of the cloak on their shoulders. This wasn't real, Seto told herself repeatedly despite the heat that she felt against her arms. This wasn't her body she continued with a mental growl, this wasn't... "HRAAAAAHHH!" The Priest charged forward with the sword, metal clashing against fire only for the woman to pull back under the blaze. Flames surrounded their vision, burning their skin and with a swift and painful strike she was thrown back, body striking one of the pillars to the side. "GHAK!" Gh-...

"SET," a voice called, tone higher and more panicked than the woman's own under normal circumstance. The woman struggled to stand, tongue bitten in shock as blood began to pool in her mouth. Coppery taste, a disgusting, vomit inducing feeling and this wasn't REAL! "SET!"

Still the woman struggled to stand, before across the air a 'ripple' seemed to pass... "GROOAAAAAAAAAOOOOO!"

And suddenly instead of flames, her weakened and closing eyes could make out white scales... And the massive form of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, hovering protectively before her as she leaned against the pillar and chocked on her own blood. But how, she thought, the feeling shared by the memory as well. How...

"SET," the voice continued to cry, Blue-Eyes charging a white hot blast of sparking flames as its opponent roared in aggravation. "SEEEEEEE-T!"

Suddenly...

The dream was over.

AN: Wuaaaaaah, but what happens neeeeext!

Silly. You know what happens next. In any case, this chapter is somewhat shorter than the norm, mostly because any 'filler' portions of the next one are really kind of important in making that chapter flow properly. As it is, the next chapter takes us back into Canon, so lets cheer for that then!

As it is, the chapter also has a heavily dialogue based path again... And you know me... I don't do the 'purple prose' thing, if something is a takoyaki stand, it's a takoyaki stand. That's all there is to it... (So not too much description basically.)

Ooooon the other hand... Despite being shorter than the norm, this chapter actually touches on a lot of serious crap. I like to do that. I really do...

I guess that's one of the many ways I show my mean streak~ Now then.

News on 'Kul Elna'... I think I'll go with Hebrew. Mostly because of this irony; 'na' means to pray or beg... With the order that 'El' (God) and 'Na' are in, Kul Elna would effectively translate to 'The family God prays for.' A little bit of a bad omen there ah?

On to the next point!

Poll results! Deciding on whether I should put more dreams in the fanfic or make a separate one entirely to 'explain' the past... We have...

Dreams – 1 (Anonymous)

Fanfic - 0

Anonymous Review Responses

Hey there fsdfsdfsd! ...You're definitely excited! As you can see, your poll has been recorded above! Keep in mind that it's not just Kaiba's dreams though... A lot of them are also Jonouchi's.

I don't think she can help it Iona; it's kind of like having someone repeat something over and over, until finally it's so annoying that you cut them off yelling 'YES, I KNOW. Such and such did this!'

When you think of it like that, as rude as she is, she's actually taking things quite well… And true, it IS Kaiba…

And don't worry! Jou won't make it too much of a habit; unlike Ishizu's constant onslaught of visions, Jounouchi only gets those flashes occasionally… And most of the time they don't have words in them. …In fact, in the last chapter, that conversation with his dad was actually a spur of the moment; a 'flash' directly before what happened so to speak… Basically, it was something so quick and seamless in terms of what was happening that he just knew. Like Otogi's cards in an earlier chapter…

He just knew which ones they got. As for how he takes it, hehehehe... Neither of the above? Thankfully, people will realize in the end that something's not right with the duels that Jou is having, so he'll have more than just 'himself' to talk to about this.

...That came out wrong.

Polite Kaiba? WHERE. -shot- Hahaha, now that I think about it, it's probably not that uncommon; it's just that most of the people we see Kaiba interact with are either a) 'normal' and not people he likes or b) being annoying (Ishizu). Though one can never, never deny the fact that Kaiba is still more often than not a jerk. That much can be said.

It's always fun to do in-between-bits… Certain things like coming a little hard to type (This chapter is a BIG example actually…), but in the end, it's the in-betweens that make the major points tie in together.

As for what will shape up… Hehehehehehe… Like I said last chapter, many things will be happening with our return to Canon; personally, I can't wait to see the flying guesses as a result. Enjoy the chapter!

Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner

The section that can't decide which is better... Pets or manga?

Today's chapter comes from the translation of Tanabata; the kanji that spell it ('nana' and 'yuu' respectively) mean seven and evening. They're also pronounced very differently, and only when read as 'Tanabata'... The other readings for 'seven' are 'shichi' or 'nano', whereas evening gets 'seki

'.

Oddly enough, a lot of Tanabata Festivals, rather a lot of LARGE ones are moved to a later point in the month so that school isn't interrupted. But our friends in Domino went to a smaller, local one, so... Yea.

When Otogi states that being a 'carp' means he'll become a 'dragon', he references an old tale in Japanese legend that a powerful carp who swims up a waterfall becomes a dragon.

This is actually why Pokemon has Magicarp and Gyarados; the weak, piece of crap fish becomes (essentially) a giant water-breathing dragon of mass destruction. Oddly enough, when you think about it, Otogi's name 'Ryuji' essentially means 'dragon child' so...

What's a Kappa you ask? It's a turtle-like monster in Japanese folklore with a parrot's beak, and is very popular. Also not much to look at, which is more what Otogi was getting at. In myth, they were said to eat human entrails and blood... But they were very polite. If you encountered one, and you bowed, they would bow very low in return. To escape the kappa, you had to do this until all the water that they held in their domed heads spilt out through their nose as they bowed actually... By doing that, they would be forced to return to the rivers that they resided in. (Don't try fighting them, they're rather good at it.)

Alternatively you could just give them a cucumber with your name carved in it, as cucumbers are their favourite food, ehehehe.

Turtle scooping may or may not be done using a 'pan' as opposed to the typical paper net occasionally; I believe that the use of the pan is made difficult because, depending on how you catch the turtle in it, it'll fall off… Or something like that. (You can find out by watching Keroro Gunso, where they actually do this.)

Turtle scooping can still be done with the pon though, so I opted to go with that. After all, they're only baby turtles.

A lot of turtle scooping games have you trade in the turtles back for a prize of sorts, as otherwise, some people would leave with like... Ten, fifteen baby turtles. This probably happens with fish too...

As for what turtles are used specifically, it's probably the Red-Eared Slider, which are a water turtle that are fairly popular as pets in Japan… Not to mention 'small', given that they're about a foot large at the most. ...It's certainly the turtle I used here.

And yes, Yugi's going to have his work cut out for him with a turtle, but the fact is, it's a pet that will most assuredly live as long as he does and more importantly serves as another point of the 'Other' Yugi's personal being… It's a weird point (kinda like the mustard. And more recently the takoyaki.), but a point nonetheless.

Turtles, early on in Egyptian myth, never really had a purpose. They weren't remarkable or notable in any way… And then later on, due to being water creatures they were linked to the Underworld. In addition, they were linked to Set, and the night… And later on, they were linked to evil and darkness because of that association. Poor guys. Weird thing is that it was also associated with fighting Ra but… If they're associated with Set, who protects Ra during the evening, then wh-

Oh wait, Set was downsized to the Ancient Egyptian equivalent of Satan after a bit of a falling out of belief. … Poor guy.

In any case, early early early on turtles had a completely different role, and were seen as magical creatures that warded off evil, with turtle shell amulets prolonging the bearer's life and health. Much more fitting wouldn't you say? (Then they took the path you see above; 'pointless, dark, evil'. Hn.)

Turtle in Ancient Egyptian (Specifically when written in Hieratic and Hieroglyphics.) is 'Shetyw', 'Shetw', 'Sheta', or 'Shtyw'. (The Egyptian language doesn't really have any vowels… You can find proof of this in the fact that 'Set' can also be read as 'Sutekh', among many other things.)

I picked Sheta. Because it can actually be written in Japanese. Well, written much easier at least.

Why does Otogi know all those languages? If his Dad forced him to learn as much about the Puzzle as he did, along with the games, the myths behind it, and etc… He probably had him learn a few other things as well. Namely the languages that are tied to it. (The enochian is another plot hint, one that probably makes '10,000 years' from the cursed game's description earlier make a lot of sense.) This will actually help a lot during Doma, hehehehe.

In any case, when Otogi says he knows certain 'written' languages, this means that he can read and write them about as well as he says… But if anyone were to suddenly speak one of those thousands of years gone languages, it would take a fair bit for him to actually catch that they were… Well… Speaking in a foreign language that he somewhat knew.

This also means that asking him to help translating the hieratic text on the Ra card will get you NO WHERE. He'll probably get like... Three words out of 20, and that's it.

Enochian is an occult language that came around in the late 16th century, but in the anime, it's also the language used for the text on the Orichalcos cards. That's mostly the reason why Otogi actually goes on about this language with a straight face up there; the language, in the world of the fanfic, has been found a few times on other devices, so it's not considered 'occult'.

Yakitori are basically chicken skewers; you can essentially get any part of the chicken too, depending on what you order. (There's heart, liver, small intestine, etc… And then of course, the 'normal' meat.)

You know, when I think about it, so many countries out there actually bother finishing the entire chicken… We have pretty picky tongues.

On the other hand, takoyaki are essentially balls of batter wrapped around either chopped or baby octopus. Hence 'tako' in the name; it means 'octopus

'.

'Mizuyokan', 'Red Bean Cake', is a sort of cake from China and Japan, though both countries cook it differently. I was going for something that they would actually likely find at a festival really…

By the way, if you're wondering what Jou made Mokuba out of clay, it was his three goldfish, all swimming around a pearl-ball thing. Which are actually quite big now, and very nice to look at... Also, the pearl-ball thing is... Actually a ball that they mess around with. Isn't it great to learn about the silly things that happen in fanfic land that I never talk about?

...Yes, there's a picture of this below.

The flamey beast that replaced the weird demon-like one from the anime is not based on Ammit… It's actually based on Apep, who, besides being represented by an 'endless' serpent half the time, was occasionally depicted as a crocodile as well... And is also the embodiment of evil itself. Even later on, a few appearances had a dragon, which was… Weird.

Either way, went with the crocodile since Bakura's Diabound already has the snake.

FanArt and My Art Section

Time to paste the link and remove the spaces!

There's a lot of concept here, but not so much that it's too spoiler inducing. More 'mass guessing inducing'. Hehehe. Not to mention a bunch of designs for what happened above!

Spoilers- Concept- CRACKDoodles – Costume Fun – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ CostumeFun. jpg - In which many many designs are made, and whether or not the faces and hands look good is debatable. (But since it's design... I'm.. Not going back. They're called sketches for a reason neh?) Most of these are from the same arc, and if you look at the similarities between Kaiba and Yugi's outfits compared to a certain other arc, you'll probably guess when we'll see these.

Now... If you full view, you'll see that as I was doing all this, I started doodling multiple chibi's in the blue 'sketch' layer. This is what happens when you plan really far ahead in an arc... Needless to say, some of the chibi's are just as spoiler-y... And yet about 5-75% of the chibi's are just crazy little doodles that have nothing to do with the plot. (Mai-Zilla comes to mind...) In any case, enjoy!

Yukata Parade + 1 - http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ YukataParade. jpg - Mrrrrr, Honda you're so out of place. *frown* Either way, lots of awesome here! Most of the design was more 'what colour fits with whom', though I had fun putting Anzu's hair up/back for once. And moving Otogi's ponytail which I've wanted to do for a very long time. (Hehehehe.) ...And yes, this is also on the 'Costume Fun' picture.

Fish-Turtles-Presents – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ Fishnturtle. jpg - Hey look! We have the three (much bigger) fish, along with Sheta the turtle. (It's technically pronounced 'shiita' by the way. And not like the curse.) Da-da-daaaaa~ (As you can see, the sketch isn't finished. This is because I didn't want this chapter to be waiting on a sketch, ahahaha.)