Shadows Tailing Shadows
The fact that Tanabata and Mokuba's birthday were both over and done with was probably a thing that made the nearness of 'exams' far more evident than it had been before, particularly after Sunday had been pushed out of the way. In a mere instant Shizuka's annoyed shouts of 'study nihan!' became a fairly haunting reminder, as the fact was, with Tanabata out of the way...
There had only been one week of school left. Four days of which had been exams, and the last of which became the day for 'score card bingo'... In other words, the day when the marks of every student in the school would literally be posted for all to see in the hallway... Names included. All in all, after an already hair-wrenching and aggravating experience with trying and failing to remember what the hell kind of equation applied to the math exam and anything else that had to do with his other classes, Katsuya was personally trying to pay more attention to 'score card bingo'... Rather than what sort of phone call he would have to expect from his mother once she got wind of his marks.
Because while he would admit that they were slightly higher than the year before, when he'd effectively placed dead last out of his grade... He was definitely not in the 'average' range, and the fact was, Honda and Yugi still both beat him, with all three of them sitting somewhere in the three-hundred range. Again. On the other hand...
"Okay," the boy beside him muttered, looking over his card before glancing back up at the top fifty on the mark postings. "I got numbers 50, 32 for 'girl'..."
Mokuba was sure having fun kicking his ass at this game. "Man..." The blond laughed somewhat as he rubbed his head, looking at the boy's card. "I've got th' worst luck w' this, honestly," Katsuya muttered with a nervous laugh, rubbing his head as he looked over his card. Marking off each number as 'girl' or 'boy', from start to finish with his numbers...
He got two lines. Both diagonal. The others however... Katsuya looked at the other two, watching as Honda shook his head and held his own up with a shrug. "Three..."
Bakura as well nodded, blinking. He'd decided to join in earlier after Yugi asked him about it... And he was probably the only one besides Mokuba in the group that wouldn't get the comment of 'CLASS NOT GAMES' as a result. "The same here," he said quietly, before turning to the others.
"Hahaha!" The others turned as there was a slight rustling, Mokuba stowing his pens in his pockets before holding his own card up. "I got four," the boy said with a grin, laughing. "Beat that!"
At this Yugi looked over, his other hovering beside him with raised eyebrows. "Ah, you got four," he asked, looking over the card before glancing back at his. "Then... Hah! That means we tied," he said with a laugh, eyes wide. "Wow!"
W-W-W-Wait, what? Someone managed to- "T-Tied," Honda repeated, blinking. "Can that even happen," he continued, Mokuba and Yugi both opting to ignore the sputtering as they compared cards.
"You know," Anzu said with a grimace, standing behind the boys as they looked over their cards and tapping her foot somewhat impatiently. "I don't know about what was 'at stake' for this round of bingo," the woman said with a shrug, "But... You should probably look at your own scores... Bakura is probably okay," she added, gesturing to the 'top 100' at the side, "But..." The rest was left unsaid.
The three Anzu referred to in question winced, Katsuya shaking his head as he paled. "'D rather not," he said with a grimace, rubbing the back of his neck as Shizuka's shouts of 'study!' came back to mind again. "Really would rather not..."
"Yea," Mokuba muttered, looking back at the board nervously. "I don't think even I want to tell your mom what your score was Katsuya-nii..." Gee. Gee thanks...
"I'm sure you'll do better next time right," Bakura asked, attempting to console the three 'dead-lasts' as they flushed. A short silence came as a result, grimaces still in place. Not... Likely.
Honda shook his head, edging his way back through the crowd as the silence continued to persist. "In any case," he decided, opting to break it before it got too awkward, "How about we get out of the swarm, seeing how schools pretty much out for the summer?" Good plan! The others nodded in response, slowly shoving their way through the crowd and into the next hall as their friend continued. "Any ideas on what to do next," he asked, turning to the others momentarily as he tossed his bingo card into the trash. "Maybe Burger World..?"
The others shared looks at that, likely considering their options before Katsuya shook his head. "Sorry man," he said with a wince, the group coming to a slight stop as they turned the corner. "Startin' t'day I'm on summer hours; it's night shifts 'till th' end 'f August fr'm now on, an' Burger World's in th' opposite direction..." Which really sucked, but damn if having lunch for breakfast wasn't fun sometimes.
While Mokuba nodded the 'affirmative' on that, Honda sighed, pulling a face as he crossed his arms. "Sheesh," he muttered, shaking his head. "How tied down to that job are you..."
"Well... Kaiba-kun does provide him with housing," Bakura stated calmly, arms held somewhat loosely around his front as he frowned. This tended to be the 'default' pose for him recently to say the least, and he personally had a nasty feeling he knew why... Either way. "From what I can tell," the albino continued, pulling the blond beside him from his thoughts, "Despite the large number of hours it isn't actually that bad... Wouldn't the school have normally refused his continued studies here otherwise," he asked, turning to Mokuba with the remark.
Mokuba again nodded, smirking as he adjusted the bag he'd been carrying. "Hehehe... Yep! Nii-sama made sure that wouldn't happen," he explained with a somewhat dark grin, "Trust me on that..."
"Er..." Honda blinked, raising his eyebrows and turning to Katsuya. "Kaiba did that?" Yea yea, so it was weird...
Katsuya shrugged, waving the topic off and stowing his hands in his pockets. "Eh... 'S prolly b'cause I don' get as much pay," he muttered, again shrugging it off.
"That would explain it I suppose," Bakura continued, nodding shortly. The boys paused for a moment as they fell silent again, before turning to look around rather blankly at the hall. "Ah..."
"Hey, where did Yugi go," Honda muttered, looking up and down the hall in an attempt to locate both the boy and Anzu as well.
They continued to look around, frowning somewhat before watching as Mokuba poked his head around the corner. "Over here," he whispered, waving them over and turning back. The teens followed, blinking as they spotted their friends standing some distance away. They were obviously talking about something... But just what was it about... The others moved somewhat closer to the corner, narrowing their eyes in an attempt to listen in on the couple.
"What'r they talkin' abou-"
"Shh," Mokuba hissed under his breath, the other two as well giving Katsuya a short 'look'.
The blond ducked somewhat, shaking himself as he continued to listen in. Sheesh, just asking... "Anyways," Anzu was saying, grabbing a few things from her locker and occasionally turning to Yugi as she spoke, "Mai mentioned that she would be coming by sometime this summer," the woman stated calmly, "So we should probably keep an eye out..." Mai was coming? Huh... Guess she had another job...
"R-Right," Yugi said in response, nodding as he looked up somewhat at his friend. Briefly, it looked as though the boy's 'other' would be taking part in this conversation as well, with the spirit misting into existence at the boy's side as his lighter half continued muttering away. However, after a few less than successful attempts by the spirit to instil conversation Katsuya noted, he opted to hover back by the others instead.
"Wait," he muttered, frowning as he turned back from the three in front of him. Briefly Bakura moved, apparently considering turning around, but in the end opted to merely continue listening in. "You c'n move tha' far from 'im," the blond continued with raised eyebrows, voice held as low as possible.
The spirit merely shrugged, shaking his head. 'He's blocked me,' the other Yugi said rather plainly, blinking. 'I tried to get in,' he continued with a slight frown, 'But whatever it is he's talking about he won't tell me what it is...' What..? The blond again frowned, blinking. Was that even possible..?
"So later on Marine Day," Yugi was continuing in the hall, Katsuya and the other Yugi both turning their attentions to the conversation. "Are you free around ten," he asked, the eavesdroppers in question raising their eyebrows at the words.
"Ten," Anzu repeated, blinking. For a moment she frowned, before smiling and giving an affirmed nod. "I'd say so..."
Yugi instantly beamed, grinning. "Great," he shouted, before running off down toward the school's entrance. "I'll see you at the bus stop then, alright?"
At this Anzu balked, turning to chase after the boy with wide eyes. "E-Eh..? Wait, Yugi..!"
Oooookay... "What on earth are they going to do," Honda muttered as they moved from the corner, Katsuya turning to look at the other 'Yugi' with raised eyebrows.
'I... I think he finally took my advice,' he muttered with a grin, before laughing 'loudly' and looking back down the hall. 'Ahaha! He finally d-' There was a sudden 'cut off' as the spirit 'vanished' unceremoniously, Katsuya jumping somewhat as he was met with empty space. Hang on, where... ...Woah...
Guess distance was something they were working on, if the other Yugi was being pulled back like that... "This should be good huh," Honda said with a grin, the three turning to Katsuya as the blond looked back and quickly mirrored the expression. "Ten on Marine Day..."
Hell, disappearing spirits aside... Yes, yes it would be. "Hehehe... Damn straight," he said with a laugh, stretching his arms out somewhat as an idea formed. "Looks like Yugi's finally goin' out on a date..!"
"O-Oi, Katsuya-nii," Mokuba said with a slight laugh, looking at the blond. "You aren't seriously thinking of following them are you..?"
There was no answer as Honda and Katsuya traded smirks, Bakura sighing. "I really don't think this is a good idea," he said with a frown, the other two merely ignoring him as they continued on.
"Ten o clock at the bus stop eh..?" Hehehe, that's what they said... "Which one you think," Honda asked, still grinning.
"Knowin' Yugi," Katsuya asked, also still grinning despite the looks on Bakura and Mokuba's faces, "I'd say th' Domino Mall stop downtown; it's th' half way point be'tween his an' Anzu's stops," he continued, the grin somehow widening as he went on.
"Are you two even listening," Bakura asked incredulously, staring at the two with mild shock.
Mokuba merely sighed, shaking his head and crossing his arms. "What ever," he muttered, giving the two an unimpressed look before rolling his eyes. "I'm going to be with Seto-niisama on Marine Day anyways," he muttered darkly, "It's not my fault if you two are caught..."
Bakura as well sighed, biting his lip as the other two turned toward them with blank looks in place. "I think I'll sit out as well," he admitted, before turning to leave with a nervous frown. "I hope you both don't end up in trouble though," the albino continued, bowing his head somewhat at the thought. "I don't think Anzu's the most 'merciful' concerning stalkers..."
Katsuya shuddered at that, swallowing as he recalled the 'inspiration' to that comment. Hihhhh... Given what happened at the one amusement park... Yeaaa... Definitely not... "Oh hey..." The others turned, blinking as Otogi came from up the hall and adjusted his bag. "I was looking for you guys... Wanted to ask you something actually," he continued, before blinking as Mokuba approached him. "Ah... Mokuba?"
"Hah... Just in time," he said with a grin, the others raising their eyebrows.
"...Just in time," the teen repeated, frowning.
"Monday, ten o 'clock at the downtown mall bus stop," Mokuba said, pointing at Katsuya and Honda both. "Please make sure they don't do something stupid," the boy added, laughing nervously as the two teens in question reeled on him.
"S-Stupid," Honda asked incredulously, face going somewhat red.
"Oi oi, what do you take us for..?"
Otogi as well shook himself, frowning for a completely different reason. "Ah... What?"
"You'll understand in the end," Mokuba said with a shrug, before running off with a wave. "See you! And don't get caught Katsuya-nii!"
"O-Oii," the blond shouted loudly, turning to look down the hall as the boy fled. "If you're so worried, how come you ain't comin'!"
"What's going on," Otogi asked with a blank frown, looking at Katsuya with narrowed eyes.
Bakura sighed, biting his lip as he looked at the teen. "It's probably best not to ask Otogi-kun..."
"N-No seriously," he said with a slight laugh, "What the hell is..."
In the end, they probably shouldn't have been too surprised when Otogi was just as on board with the idea as they were, though he did seem particularly ticked that they hadn't just told him to begin with.
Marine day brought a few things for everyone to think about to say the least that day, but to start it all off, getting to the bus stop was fairly easy. Avoiding the attention of Yugi and Anzu, who were meeting at the stop ahead of theirs was another thing... But even so, they'd managed. "Alrigh'," Katsuya said with a grin, looking around the corner of the mall as he spotted Anzu greeting Yugi. "They're meetin' up..." Couldn't tell what they were talking about, but they were meeting up, with Yugi (as usual) wearing his school uniform jacket... (At least he'd stopped wearing the entire thing all the time...)
"Hey how come you get to be the 'one in front'," Honda muttered somewhat annoyedly, only to be shushed by Otogi.
Katsuya rolled his eyes, turning back to the two for a moment. "B'cause you were in front las' time, alrigh'," the blond muttered, shaking his head. "Now..." He tensed, stiffening as a sudden and violent rush of wind and energy passed by from where Yugi was standing, only for the blond to watch as the 'Other Yugi' rather angrily started shouting at the puzzle a number of feet away. "...Uhhhhhh..."
"What," Honda asked, pushing against the blond's back somewhat, "What's going on?"
"...He jus' switched out."
"What?" The blond was quickly pushed down further as the other two looked over, eyes wide as 'Yugi' and his 'date' continued on some sort of unheard conversation. "...Why the hell would Yugi set up a date between Anzu and his other," Honda asked incredulously, staring. "I mean... Yugi's been after Anzu since..." Since before they even knew him, that was for sure!
"Well," Otogi said with a shrug, the others momentarily turning their attention to the teen. "You have to admit, he hasn't been out that much unless you count Tanabata..." Given that they had no clue about the spirit thing of course... Because the other Yugi was all over that, not to mention any other time he'd seen him. "Not to mention," he trailed off, frowning. "He's actually been looking a little depressed..."
Depressed? How was he..? Katsuya blinked confusedly at that, before turning to look at their 'targets' and tensing as the couple they were watching began moving their way. Ohhhh shit! "Gh-! Quick, hide," he hissed, the three ducking away into a series of bushes as Anzu and Yugi both passed by. A few short rustling noises hit the air as they poked through the leaves, a few holding their breath lest one of the two spot them. Okay... One second... Two... Three... Katsuya looked out from the leaves, letting out a long and relieved sigh. "Phew..." Alright, the blond mentally muttered, shaking himself, deal with the depression later... For now... "Alrigh', time t' follow them," he whispered, slowly skipping ahead while keeping a fair distance between them.
"Right... It looks like they're just heading into the starbucks across the street," Otogi said somewhat quietly, the three teens carefully keeping to the crowds as they avoided the couple's sight. They watched as the couple took a seat near the window, silent for a few moments before Otogi turned back. "...You're oddly good at tailing people," he stated, eyebrows raised. Briefly, Honda and Katsuya exchanged looks at that, their friend merely shaking his head rather than waiting for an answer. "...Something tells me this is another thing that I'm 'better off no knowing'..."
"Y-Yea," Katsuya muttered with a cough, shaking his head. "Something like that..." Lots of things really...
"You know," Honda muttered, the trio slowly making their way closer to the cafe, "I didn't notice with Yugi's uniform jacket on earlier..." But..? The teen shook himself as they looked through the window of the Starbucks from behind another bush and pillar before continuing with raised eyebrows, "But he's wearing a lot of chains..."
"Well, besides what I saw when he came to... My store," Otogi said after a short awkward pause, shrugging the point off fairly easily, "We don't really know what sort of fashion sense he has..."
Huh... Supposed so... Katsuya tilted his head somewhat, squinting as they looked through the window. "...Looks kinda weird on 'm act'lly..."
"You think," Otogi asked, blinking. He turned back, eyebrows raised as he again shrugged. "Personally," he muttered offhandedly, "It seems fairly fitting..." ...Kay... Um...
"Damn it, what the hell are they saying," Honda muttered, narrowing his eyes as the two beside him turned from their conversation. Heh?
Katsuya looked back in the window, squinting somewhat as he studied the couple. Honda had a point, what were they s-
'He's worried about you,' he could hear Anzu saying, despite the fact that her mouth wasn't moving. Katsuya grew tense, stiffening just briefly before attempting to calm himself even as he heard the woman's voice in his mind.
'About me,' the Other Yugi responded, despite Anzu's own mouth moving at the time. The blond momentarily ignored his friend's mutterings of not hearing anything, swallowing back a slight shout as the 'conversation' continued. 'When he hides things like this under a uniform jacket,' he asked, gesturing to his outfit only in the blond's mind and not in reality. '...We both have a long road ahead of us,' he continued, Anzu again stopping her mouth from moving as Katsuya frowned. Now his friend was gesturing to his outfit... But why... 'We both need to figure out who we are,' the teen continued rather seriously, 'And what we're going to do...'
What... What was this... The blond shook himself, staring as the two before him continued to talk, words again 'hidden' from him. Alright, so he couldn't hear anything again but... What were they talking about... Hell, he thought with a fairly cold feeling, did he even hear that or...
He continued to pale, biting his lip. Flashes of what was going to happen was all he ever had, something he'd mostly gotten used to in the end... So how...
"Hey, I think they're moving," Otogi muttered, jarring Katsuya back to reality as the blond swallowed. Moving again... "Come on," he added with a slightly louder tone, moving from the bushes as the couple they were following walked out of the building. "Let's go! It looks like they're cutting through the park..!" A-Ah!
"Right," Katsuya said with another nod, the three hurriedly following after as they pushed through the crowd. "Right..." Probably be best to just forget about 'weird crap' for today...
"Hey, is Anzu holding a bagel," Honda muttered, the trio continuing toward the park. Katsuya blinked, looking forward the the small bit of food in Anzu's hand. Hang on... A bagel..?
'Hey,' a voice muttered in his mind, the blond instantly recognizing it as Anzu's. 'Let's try feeding some pidgeons...'
Yugi 'turned' at that, nodding despite his real counterpart doing no such thing. 'Erm... Okay...'
'It's easy,' Anzu continued, ripping the bagel in half, 'Just take some bits of bagel...'
Hang on, they were both going to turn around before th- Oh shit. "Gh- stop moving, stop moving," the blond hissed, pulling the two beside him into a bush as Anzu and Yugi both abruptly came to a stop. The couple before them paused for a moment at the edge of the small park, turning as the loud rustling came from behind before coming to an abrupt stop. Nothing, it was nothing...
"Ow!"
"Oi, Jonouchi," Honda hissed, only to get a finger in his face.
"Shhh!"
The teens glared at each other, before Otogi shook himself and looked out through the bushes to see if they would be caught or not. So far nothing... "Sheesh," Honda muttered, following his friend's gaze and scowling. "No need to be that rough..."
Katsuya rolled his eyes, merely looking around the tree amid the bushes and swallowing fairly nervously as the two before him began repeating the very lines he'd already heard. Again and again... Hell if he wanted he could mouth each word perfectly right now. Even so... "Well," he muttered, swallowing back another slight panic attack, "It w's either that 'r get caught..." There was no answer to that, Katsuya not moving his eyes from the two before them as they fell silent.
Speaking of caught... The blond blinked, stiffling a laugh as Yugi abruptly started waving off a few approaching birds. "A-Ah, they... Really like you Yugi," Anzu said with a somewhat nervous smile, the teen in question still holding the bagel as the numerous pigeons began flocking toward him. Yugi for his part was trying and failing (badly) at keeping his composure under the assault... This quickly degraded into frantic waving however, with Anzu looking over rather nervously. "Ah... Are you..."
"Gh-" The teen continued to ignore Anzu, instead tossing the bagel away as birds continued to heckle him. "Wh-What's with these birds..!" Who knew, but Anzu was certainly right.
They loved him. "Oh this is good," Otogi whispered with a laugh, staring with a dumbfounded grin in place.
"Is..." Honda choked, shaking himself as he watched the pigeons swarm their friend. "...Are some of those things sitting on his hair..?"
"Gh... Hahaha..." Katsuya hurriedly turned back from the sight and bit his tongue, ducking down in the bush lest they get caught. "Aw man... I c'n only guess a' Yug's expression fr'm inside that puzzle..." He sighed, still grinning before turning to Otogi with a frown as he watched the teen dig around in his pockets for something. "...Oi," he muttered, "What're y' doin..?"
He turned, pulling out his phone and carefully aiming it through the bush without looking back at the others. "What does it look like," he whispered, Honda and Katsuya both staring at him blankly for a few moments.
"Hey, you aren't planning on..."
"Lets see," Otogi muttered, looking at the screen. "Video... Reco-"
"Oi!" The teen was quickly tackled to the ground, birds abruptly fleeing the scene as shouts filled the air. Ignoring the coughing that Honda was doing as he tackled the other in the group of three, Katsuya reached forward in an attempt to grab the device from Otogi as the teen held it as far out as possible. "G-Gimme th' phone!"
"What th-" The teen struggled, attempting to worm his way out with a scowl. "Get off me!"
"Ahhhh... Guys," Honda muttered, the teen looking over the bushes before turning back.
The others continued to ignore him, Katsuya continuing to struggle at snatching the phone from the one beneath him. "Give it, give it!"
"What? No! No way-"
"Guys!" The two turned, watching as Honda hurriedly fled across the number of bushes at the side before sharing fearful glances. Alright if Honda ran off at that speed...
Shit. "Gh... Go go go go go," Katsuya hissed rather loudly, scrambling up from the ground before diving under a nearby bench as the two that they were following walked over. A few moments passed, the sound of bushes being stepped over and birds settling down meeting their ears as Katsuya spotted his best friend's legs pass by the bench.
"...What was that," Yugi muttered, looking around with a frown as the others held their breath. The teen continued to walk closer, Katsuya biting his lip as he edged back. "I could have sworn I heard someone..."
"It was probably just a few kids playing around," Anzu said with a shrug, shaking her head as she moved past the bench. "It's nothing..." Exactly... Nothing... So please don't look under the bench... Her friend nodded somewhat hesitantly, before turning as the woman pointed off to a row of streets beyond the small park. "Come on," she said with a laugh, pulling Yugi over. "Let's hit the town! Maybe you'll find something you like!"
There was a short pause, an uncomfortable silence filling the air before their friend nodded and moved past the bench again. "...Right... Lets go."
As the two slowly made their way off, Katsuya had to let out a long sigh of relief. "Hahhhh... Damn that w's close," he muttered, collapsing to the ground as Otogi looked over his phone.
"...Damn," he muttered, folding it back over and stowing it in his pocket. "Nothing..."
The other two shook their heads, small grins coming in place now that the situation was over and done with. Hahaha...
Good.
After the close call at the park, things had progressed far more safely to say the least of things, with Katsuya and the others keeping at least twenty feet or so between themselves and their 'targets'. As Anzu had said, she and Yugi did indeed hit the town... Or at least attempted to really, given that so far each store they went to was only 'browsed' a few moments before moving on to the next one. So far, not counting any glances at windows before heading for the next crosswalk, they'd gone into a CD store... And bought nothing.
Then they went to a few clothing stores, likely at Anzu's request, all of which were actually tuned fairly closely to whatever interests tied into Yugi's current outfit... And bought nothing. They even went into a theatre at one point, Anzu having pointed at the main movie advertised and gleefully pulling Yugi in...
Only to walk out two minutes later with a bored looking expression on Yugi's face, and an exasperated one on Anzu's. It didn't take a genius to realize that in the end... They bought nothing.
Until now. At a card store. Which Yugi had (with a barely hidden smirk to top it off) apparently not seen before and so... 'I wonder what's inside... We should go look!' Ahahaha... "Man," Otogi muttered, the three teens sitting on a bench a short distance away from the store. It was probably only the fact that Otogi 'happened' to decide to bring food along with him that either of them were still there actually... Though the fact was, now that the food was gone... "They've been in there for at least two hours..."
"Aghhh... Should have brought my psp," Honda groaned under his breath, yawning somewhat as he slumped forward. Food was gone. Time to complain.
Katsuya shrugged, leaning against the bench arm with a bored expression in place as he looked across the street. "It... Can't be tha' much longer righ..?"
The other two turned, staring somewhat incredulously in response. "It's Yugi... The 'other Yugi'," Otogi clarified with a frown as he pointed. "In a card shop."
"Which really figures," Honda muttered quickly, gaining a look from Katsuya in response. "What?"
"Oiii," he grumbled, sitting up with a frown. "What's wrong with cards..."
"Nothing," he said flippantly, shrugging as he crossed his arms. "I just find it's all you and Yugi ever talk about..." H-Heh!
He paled, gritting his teeth as he protested. "Th-That ain't true!"
"Oh yea," Honda challenged, eyebrows raised. "Name one time in the last week that you talked about something other than-"
"Hey!" The pair turned as Otogi moved from the bench, jerking his head to the side as he continued moving down the street. "They're moving again." E-Eh! They blinked, before catching a glimpse of the two in question crossing the road ahead to turn down another.
Shit! "Ri-Right..!" The others stood and took off behind the 'targets', Katsuya again taking the lead as they continued to follow Anzu and Yugi downtown. Lets see... It looked like Anzu had effectively given up on taking Yugi to any other stores, given that she wasn't even looking... And given how long they were in the last one, she was likely avoiding any game and card stores...
"Hey, isn't that the arcade," Honda whispered, the trio looking around a pillar as the couple entered the open building.
"Yea, it is," Katsuya muttered. The blond frowned somewhat, moving around the pillar in question after a few moments when he was sure no one was leaving. "When was th' las' time Anzu went to an' arcade though..?"
Otogi shrugged, before crossing his arms and leaning against the pillar. "Don't ask me," he muttered, "I've only known you lot for a few months..."
"Didn't she constantly turn us down for her job," Honda added, the teens recalling the last time they'd offered an 'invitation' to the arcade.
"Yea," Katsuya said in response, "How'd that las' one end again..?"
The teen shrugged, shaking his head. "I think she's still working at that engraving store actually..."
"Come to think," Otogi muttered, eyes trained on the arcade, "I did see her there when I went to get a new earring..."
The other two turned to look at Otogi as the teen said this, both blinking. "Oh yea... Never noticed that y' had a new one 'f those..." He knew he had that die but this one looked more like...
A different die?
Otogi rolled his eyes, smirking as he turned back from the arcade briefly. "That's because 'earrings' are on the list of things against school protocol... Now..." They looked back at the building, only to hurriedly duck back behind the pillar as Anzu skipped out with a loud shout with Yugi behind her.
"WHOO! Man! That was FUN," the woman shouted cheerfully, her partner merely looking at the woman with a somewhat dumbfounded smile. "Let's go to..." ...And there went the volume. But wowwww... Loud enough..?
The three turned around the pillar, looking at the couple before trading looks in the resulting silence. "Does... Anyone else feel like we missed something," Otogi asked after a few moments, looking back at the other two as they continued to disappear down the street.
Katsuya shrugged, shaking his head. "Er..."
"YES," Honda said flatly, rubbing his head as well.
Right... Katsuya coughed, before looking back around the building and charging ahead. "Oi, we need t' move if we wanna keep up wi' these guys..." The other two nodded, quickly joining with their friend as the blond took off down the street. Despite the crowd that was building, it was fairly easy to tell where the two were at the moment... "Look's like Anzu's sick 'f down town fun," he noted, watching as the couple crossed another street before turning onto a more 'empty' one.
"Or something," Honda muttered, looking around his friend at the 'targets'. "...Hey," he continued, frowning as they continued down the road, "Does this street seem familiar..?"
"It's the route the bus would normally take to the museum," Otogi muttered, also frowning as he glanced back behind them. "...I thought Anzu and lived on the other end of the city though..."
Honda nodded, the three teens slowly following behind their friends as the buildings continued to 'thin out'. "Yea, just a few blocks away from my house actually," he muttered, a frown coming over his own face. "So why..."
The museum... The blond tensed somewhat as their friends again turned the corner, staring. "O-Oi," he muttered, eyes wide. "They're going into the museum..!"
"Eh?" The others turned, following Katsuya's gaze as they spotted the couple walk into the immense building that stood across the street from them. Now why... "Oh come on," Honda moaned, leaning back against the wall at the side. "The museum doesn't close for another four hours, they'll be in there until the last minute..!"
"Wait... Anzu's into ancient history," Otogi asked with raised eyebrows, looking at the others blankly.
"Naw, but Yugi is," Katsuya answered, before moving toward the museum.
Honda blinked, turning as the blond moved forward. "H-Hey, where the hell are you going," he 'shouted', somehow keeping his voice down enough in case their 'targets' hadn't yet gone inside.
The blond smirked, turning to the two behind him with a grin. "What does it look like," he answered with a laugh, "I'm followin' them! It ain't like th' arcade, there's plenty 'f space t' put b'tween 's in there!" Hell, it was probably as big as the school really...
At this the others traded looks, before Otogi gave a somewhat relaxed shrug and followed along. "Well," he muttered calmly, shaking his head, "It's better than waiting outside..."
"Gh- If we get caught..."
"Then it'll probably be your own fault," the teen countered, looking back at Honda with a smirk, "You're the one shouting."
"Otogi..."
Katsuya sighed, shaking his head as they went over to the front desk in the lobby. "By th' way, I ain't payin' for you guys," he said with a grin, stopping behind another pillar to wait for their 'targets' to get their own passes and move on. "So if y' didn' bring anythin', y' mind as well find a spot outside!"
Honda blinked, tensing somewhat. "Wait... What..!"
"Well," the one beside him muttered, pulling out his wallet, "I have enough for myself..."
"Gh- Otogi!"
The teen turned, staring at his friend rather unimpressively. "It's 1000 yen," he muttered, "You can afford that..."
Honda flushed, digging his hands in his pockets before turning away. "I would if I'd brought my wallet..."
Huh... At this the others blinked, trading glances before Otogi sighed. "Fine," he growled, pulling another handful of cash from the wallet. "You're paying me back when we get back home though..."
"Yea, yea..."
Wait, they were still in the same house? Katsuya turned from where he was still watching Yugi and Anzu, momentarily glancing back to spot the two vanish off into the museum. Waiting a few more moments before he and the others moved over to enter the line, the blond turned back, frowning. "I thought you were movin' back with yer dad once he was discharged from th' hospital," the blond muttered, staring at Otogi somewhat blankly as the teen shifted somewhat.
"Yea... About that," Honda said with a cough, also shifting uncomfortably with the topic.
There was a long wave of silence, Otogi turning away with a somewhat distant look before answering. "Dad was determined... 'Unfit for care'," the teen said somewhat quietly, the tone greatly contrasting from his usual confident air. Another awkward silence settled over the group, their friend shifting again as he continued. "I'm looking for an apartment for now..."
"...Oh..."
"Yea..."
"Eh... ...Right... Ah..." Katsuya turned, coughing as the line moved. Awkward, awkward... "Sorry abou'..."
"Just change the subject," Otogi muttered darkly, twirling a set of dice in his fingers as he moved past the others. Where did he- "A pass for my friend and myself please," the teen continued as he handed his money to the front, gesturing for Honda to join him and grab their museum passes.
Honestly, changing the subject and putting it as far back behind them as possible was probably the better of ideas for now. "Ah, an' one f'r me," Katsuya added as he came to the front himself, mentally shaking himself again as he handed over his own money.
"Alright," the sales person stated politely, handing them each a ticket before bowing her head politely. "Enjoy your visit!"
And they were off... "Okay," Honda said with a stretch, sending his ticket through the machine as the others followed behind into the museum's main exhibit hall. "So where do you think they headed first..?"
Otogi smirked, already walking ahead of his friends as they left the 'main entrance'. "Ancient Egypt," he said with a shrug, briefly turning to the others as they walked behind him. "Where else?"
"Now that I think about it," Katsuya muttered, hands stowed in his jacket pockets as they started off down the artifact lined hall, "Yugi's been going on an' off abou' th' exhibit ever since it showed up in th' paper..."
"Yea... But didn't he tell Bakura he wouldn't go until whatever he was working on was done," Honda muttered, turning to the others.
The two shrugged, shaking their heads in response. "I don't know... What was it that Bakura was working on exactly," Otogi whispered, the three coming to a stop outside the Egyptian exhibit lest they run into Anzu and Yugi.
"Ehh... Some sort 'f display t' go with th' rest 'f the tablets an' stuff," Katsuya answered, momentarily wondering just what it was exactly.
"Maybe a scale model of something," Honda added, leaning against a blank space in the wall. "I don't know..."
"Hello."
"HAHH!" The teens jumped as a woman approached them from the exhibit room, Katsuya momentarily growing pale as he recognized the woman Seto had met a few months prior. What was her name, Ishizu..? Y-Yea... That was it... "A-Ahh... You..."
"You... Aren't you the woman from the paper," Honda muttered, Otogi as well staring as he nodded an affirmative to himself.
"You're... The Secretary General of..."
All at once, whatever the two beside him were saying was drowned out by the sound of his own pulse, blood rushing through his ears as he swallowed back his panic. As Ishizu looked forward at them it appeared that two hands came from the necklace around her throat, two flat and freakishly mutated hands resembling fragments of galaxies, empty space... With the eyes on the palms facing forward, hair thin limbs reached toward them...
With fingers as long as an unsharpened pencil diving directly into the foreheads of the two beside him mere seconds later. Katsuya grew pale, swallowing back a shout as he looked at the two from the corner of his eye, the both of them merely staring forward at Ishizu in confusion. No reaction... There was no reaction there were hands with eyes on them in their heads doing god knew what and yet...
The hands retreated. Sound returned despite his panic, leaving a rush of cold in its place and the woman before him continued to stare at them in silence. A frown... Briefly she looked at him with a frown, before averting her gaze and speaking. "...You two," she said calmly, eyes moving from Honda to Otogi and not once stopping to pause on the blond between them. "...If I were you," she finally said after a moment, ignoring the pale and fearful expressions of the three, "I would leave before your friends catch you..."
"W-what..." The teens watched as the woman moved away without another word, before slowly turning back to Katsuya. "J-Jonouchi," Honda muttered, voice trembling as he struggled to keep the tone down, "She was definitely looking at me and Otogi... Why the hell wasn't she talking to you..?"
"H-How th' fuck would I know," the blond muttered in a panic, swallowing again as he looked at the others. Damn it damn it damn it, this wasn't... It wasn't... "I ain't her!"
"Maybe so," Otogi said calmly, somehow managing to keep his composure despite the situation, "But didn't you say that Kaiba had a meeting with that same woman..?" Well, he did say 'secretary general' but... Um... He'd never said...
"So that tablet," they abruptly heard from the room at the side, footsteps echoing through the halls.
"Shit," Honda muttered before Katsuya could answer, looking around the pillar with wide eyes. "They're coming this way..!"
"There's no room behind this pillar," Otogi hissed, stumbling back with a swallow. "Run, run..!" Honda nodded hurriedly with the suggestion, barreling down the hall behind the pillars with Otogi just a hair ahead of him.
"O-OI," Katsuya hissed, reaching out as he tripped back from the side of the pillar, "Wait f-" The blond tensed, hurriedly pulling himself back behind the pillar as Anzu and Yugi's footsteps came closer. Sh-Shit, not time to hide..! This pillar was barely as wide as he was, it-
Wait... The blond paled, eyes widening again as he stared at the wall.
...It was only big enough for him to hide behind. If Honda and Otogi hadn't run off... Katsuya stared at the wall for a moment longer, before looking off to the side as Anzu and Yugi both vanished down the hall. Alright... Two seconds... Three... Four...
Five...
Why didn't Ishizu give him the same warning, Katsuya wondered, slowly stepping out from behind the pillar. The blond swallowed, looking out down the hall with a confused frown. Why...
For some reason, the first thing that came to mind was that stupid dream, with the creature that bore the same arms he'd seen mere moments before... 'I can't discern your future,' it had said, the voice hovering clearly in the back of his mind. '...Or your past.'
That... "Th' tauk..." Again he swallowed, before slowly turning to look at the room that both Ishizu's meeting and Yugi's 'date' took place in. There it was, open to the public and yet void of any other people. So just what was it in there that was so important..? He walked forward somewhat hesitantly, looking back briefly before turning back to the room once again with a frown. What was it... That had Seto storm out of the room in as aggravated a mood, while leaving Yugi completely calm... Possibly relieved, coming out? That was the air he got at least...
Katsuya slowly walked into the room, looking around a brief moment as he frowned. There was almost nothing in this room he noted, glancing at the walls around him. A roped off door to the side, and at the end... Two tablets, sealed off by glass. The blond moved closer, blinking a few times as he looked over the first. Huh... "'Xodia," he muttered, looking at the top of the carved tablet with mild surprise. Each limb carefully carved in the stone pentacle, unreadable hieroglyphs at the side... With countless other monsters carved beneath, the blond noted, staring. "Skull demon, feral imp..." A bunch more that he couldn't recognise completely...
Wow. It was one thing to hear the whole thing about monsters coming from tablets from Sugoroku but it was another to see it really... Hell, he knew about the whole 'inspired by Egypt' deal with the cards but... Now that they were right there... Well... Damn.
The blond turned to the next tablet, briefly wondering what other monsters he would find only to freeze the moment he glanced over it. W-Wait... That was- "Y-Yugi..!" Hair and all... And across from him was... Seto..? He crouched down somewhat, moving closer to the glass as he stared with wide eyes. Hard to tell with the 'hat' that the one carving was wearing but... There was no doubt about it. "It's Yugi... An' Seto-chan," he muttered, standing up and shaking himself as he looked over the robed figures. He shook himself, eyes passing over over a small label at the bottom.
'This tablet, dated to 3000 B.C. in approximation,' it began, 'Depicts a never before seen depiction of three of Egypt's most well known gods, as well as a Pharaoh and his Priest wielding monsters of some kind...' Katsuya paused for a moment, looking back near the top of the tablet and blinking. Three gods..? His eyes glanced over the three 'cards', before dropping back to the plaque with a mental shrug. Eh... Not like he knew their names...
'Whether or not the two depicted are fighting alongside or against each other is unknown, but the Pharaoh shown is as of yet the only king of the eighteenth dynasty without a name. Curiously,' it continued, the blond blinking a few times as he read the next part, 'The Priest as well is unknown at this point, having disappeared shortly after the reign of the pharaoh was succeeded by (for the first time in a number of years) a queen by the name of...' Wait...
A queen..? Katsuya frowned, tilting his head as he looked at the clearly defaced 'cartouche' on the tablet. Well, what ever... Still, it was weird... But it felt like he should know what was there... Not understand it but just know...
"Kuri..?"
"N-Nyhhh!" The blond jumped, stumbling back as he turned to the side and gaped. Okay... Okay there were somethings he was used to by this point, but this was not it! "E-Ehh..! K-Kuri..." He choked, blood draining from his face as he rubbed his eyes. "Kuriboh!"
The small fuzzball blinked, Katsuya looking from the monster to the hall outside the room, and back to the monster. Of all things... His 'wish' for Tanabata was being completely screwed with wasn't it! "Kuriiii~" Katsuya continued to stare at the creature, coughing somewhat as it blinked back. Duel monsters... He was... Seeing duel monsters... Outside a game... (Bad enough on a table damn it and-) Wait... The blond frowned, watching as the monster bobbed up and down mid-air. This... This wasn't kuriboh, it was...
"...A winged kuriboh..?" And it was black too, not brown, what was with that... The kuriboh blinked a few times as it ignored the blond's confusion, continuing to 'purr' little 'kuri' sounds before it floated over to the roped off door at the side.
"Kuri-kuriii," it hummed, closing its eyes over for a moment. Yeaaaaa...
Oh hell, he must have finally lost it but... "Ahhh... You... Wan' me t' follow yah," he asked hesitantly, taking a few steps toward the door and looking back around the room. Okay... At the risk of looking like a complete moron... There were a few cameras but none facing the door so... The blond looked back at the kuriboh, watching as it bobbed up and down before vanishing into the dark room with a shout.
"Kurii!"
"Hahhh..." Okay, here he went... Katsuya stepped over the rope, looking around the room and squinting as his eyes adjusted to the dark. "Alrigh' then," he muttered, eyes drifting up to the ceiling before turning back to his 'guide'. "So what is it that y' wan-" He froze, stiffening as the small kuriboh vanished from sight with as much warning as the 'Other Yugi' earlier on. "Gh... What th' hell..!" G-Gone..! He stumbled back somewhat, before jumping as he bumped into a large stand. "Gha! Shit!"
What what what... He turned, blinking a few times as he made out the object in the dark. Okay... It was... A set of swords? "Heh..?" The blond continued to blink, looking at the tag below the glass encased blades. "A pair 'f 'scimitar' likely used by th' soldiers 'f Egypt 3000 t' 5000 y'rs 'B.C.'," he read off under his breath, "Found buried b'neath th' sands north 'f what was formerly a capital 'f Egypt..." O...Kay..? ...Why north of the capital and not in the capital though?
Katsuya frowned, shaking himself as he looked around the exhibit. Alright, so that was weird, but to the more important point... Why was all of this roped off exactly..? There was more in here than in the last room, possibly triple, that was for sure... A few weapons, what looked like pots and things... A few pictures of carvings too, which was interesting he supposed. This was more Yugi's angle... (And yet here he was...) The blond made his way toward the middle, frowning somewhat as he looked at a large picture standing around a 'pillar'. Okay... That was a little weirder... "What th' hell..." Dark... He could barely see what it was, but- "G- Ghahh!"
He stumbled backward, breathing heavily as he shook the image of the picture from his mind. Damn it why did things like this have to happen when he got too close..? Mummies... All stacked and wrapped around each other in some kind of pile, like... Like... Hihhh!
A large plaque beneath the pillar/photo caught his eye, the blond swallowing back his already constant shudders as he attempted to read what it said through the dark. "Th... Th' massacre," he began reading, biting his lip as his eyes glanced over the picture again. "Th' massacre 'f..."
'The Massacre of 'Kul Elna' (English+Hebrew; The Ones God Prayed [for]), named by Egyptian archaeologists due to its apparent ties to Hebrew language is a ruinous site recently discovered in the middle of the desert wastes north west of Cairo Egypt. Though the massacre was originally thought to have been the result of a mass suicide due to the location of a full 99 corpses in what appeared to be an underground temple, it was recently affirmed by the presence of foreign weaponry that it was in fact a mass-slaughter.
Whether or not the execution of an entire village was for just or murderous causes is unknown,' the plaque went on to read, Katsuya going fairly green at the thought, 'But researchers are considering the find of Kul Elna a 'rare gem', due to the extremely well preserved state of the corpses found. The corpses, which were found buried beneath both temple ruins and what appeared to be a large statue of a sarcophagus, were compressed and left sheltered from wind and heat, preserved so well that the hair colour and facial features of each mummy has been left in tact...' Which... He could see very, very well, and did they have to have pictures!
'At this time,' the blond continued to read, despite mental cries of 'get out of here NOW!', 'It is unknown what caused the execution of the villagers of 'Kul Elna', but evidence shows that in addition to adult women and men there are children ranging from infancy to adulthood in the pile, with all injuries having apparently been inflicted with a knife rather than a sword, leading experts to believe that the slaughter was done in the act of a ritual sacrifice of sorts...' Okay... Screw curiosity he...
...He couldn't read any more, if he wanted to keep anyone from knowing he was there by not throwing up right now. If he wanted to keep himself from losing the little sleep he got from his summer work schedule especially... And..."Gh... Mng..." His vision had adjusted completely by now... The picture before him has more than just faces now... A pile of corpses, limbs locked around the others by the weight of the bodies on top... To preserve the bodies archaeologists had dug around and to the bottom rather than attempting to move the corpses, something he wasn't sure how he knew but... Almost a hundred faces held in permanent expressions of fear, distorted by time, weight... "This..."
"What are you doing here."
"H-Haaah!" Katsuya turned, swallowing back a panicked shout and brushing back the hair that was stuck to his now sweaty forehead before drawing further back. "B... Bakura..!" Right there...
And the ring..! Bakura narrowed his eyes, stepping forward into the dark as his hair stood on end. "Again," he muttered, standing by the doorway as Katsuya grew even paler than his near white panicked complexion. Despite the lack of lighting in the room the golden ring around Bakura's neck could be seen clearly, reminding the blond just how dangerously he and the others... Bakura included, were playing... The gold gleamed in some invisible light, the eye staring forward... "What do you think you're doing here Jonouchi," Bakura pressed, pulling Katsuya's attention forward.
The blond swallowed, slowly attempting to regain his breath as he moved away from the 'stand' behind him. "I... I... I w's jus'... Jus' leavin' Bakura," he muttered, still holding back shudders as the picture behind him stood clearly in his mind.
"Yes, you were weren't you," the albino stated coldly, crossing his arms as Katsuya continued to move around him. "But what brought you here," he continued to ask, eyes narrowed darkly, "When the room is clearly off limits?"
Nothing but a vanishing kuriboh that kept on reminding him just how over the edge he really was... "Nothin'," he muttered, eyes drifting back into the room despite all reason. Face after face after face after- "I..."
Bakura narrowed his eyes further, stepping to the side to allow Katsuya to slowly move around him. "Never mind it," he muttered, frowning as he looked at the blond oddly. "Just leave..." Um... Okay..?
...Why wasn't he sealing his soul in a figurine or something..? There was... There was no way that Yugi was right about this guy right..?
...Right..? "Y-Yea," he finally muttered, stepping back into the other room as he narrowly avoided tripping over the rope. "...Will do," he continued nervously. And slowly, slowly he stepped further out, eyes fixed on Bakura as the albino turned toward the darkness of the room he'd just been in... Watching as Bakura made no move to turn back, to add anything, to do anything...
And finally he bolted out to the halls, barrelling past the statues, the tablets and anything even remotely Egyptian in theme, eyes wide and skin pale as he attempted to contain his panic and failed. What was all this, he thought as he left the museum, the sky still almost as bright as it had been a few hours prior. An idling crowd appeared to be wandering around outside, paying the blond no mind as he moved, stumbling over his own feet in an attempt to outrun his own thoughts. What was this..?
Katsuya collapsed somewhat against a building's support beam as he stopped for breath, willing himself to not look back at the museum as he held his head. God damn it... Bakura had left him alone completely, hadn't even turned around to make sure he was leaving... Just stared into the room... And just thinking back brought that picture to mind... It was one thing when he'd just thought it was a pile of mummies, but the more he thought about it, and the plaque that went with it, he...
"...Mrnnnn..?"
"H-Hah!" The blond jumped again, a few people turning momentarily but nonetheless brushing it off as Katsuya calmed himself down. Okay... Okay, what... What the... "...Oh hell," he muttered, watching as a small dinosaur looking thing stared up. What... What was it, a raptor, or... The two stared for a few long moments more before the creature hopped off with a 'shrug', charging through two or three people before vanishing from sight to leave Katsuya burying his head in his hands with a groan. God damn all of this..! "Aaaaaaaaauuuuuuugggghhhhh..."
Why did normalcy hate him so much!
Settling into bed the next morning after a good long security 'night shift', he really did try to forget most of what happened the day before. Getting back for dinner that evening, most conversation was turned to things that both had little to do with what Mokuba knew he'd done (namely stalk Yugi and Anzu all day) and with whatever was likely to get a comment from Seto... Namely cards. And while he was thankful for the fact that he'd had an excuse to not attempt to talk his way around what he'd done, well...
In the end, he had to admit, doing that made for a fairly empty conversation, especially since when he asked Mokuba what happened that day he'd gotten more of an... 'Eh'. An 'eh' that came with a largely excited expression that was quickly replaced by an 'eh' expression... Well, given that Seto had a fairly interesting look on her own face that he couldn't quite find a word to describe, he had a feeling that he was missing something really really big there.
Well, either way. Thinking back to what happened earlier was not something he was enjoying, piles of mummies and weird little ghosts resembling duel monster cards especially.
Also that weird thing with Ishizu's necklace. He was having trouble getting that out of his head, even with hours and hours of security feeds playing in front of him through the evening before his shift ended in the semi-early hours of the morning to allow him sleep. He'd mostly got over it... But...
Either way... Compared to all that happened earlier the day before, 'waking up' in the usual black space where the particularly weird dreams would go on was... Not... Fun... "Damn it," Katsuya muttered, narrowing his eyes as he continued to lay back on the ground. He'd had what... 7, 8 hours of 'peace' just watching security feeds? Why now? "This just isn' my day..." Both of them...
Really not his- 'Who has to die this time,' someone whispered in his ear, the blond's eyes widening as he sat up. W-What..? The woman's voice echoed through his ears, angered and confused, accusing even as it rasped around him. 'Who has to die, answer me!'
There was nothing to be seen around him though, nothing but darkness as a woman shouted... Only to be answered with a voice that both was an wasn't his, a voice that had the blood draining from his face instantly.
'Everyone.'
And the screams began, first as a mutter and then as a loud and wailing series of cries that were literally beside him in all but physical form. Flames arose in his vision, blinding Katsuya as the teen jumped back, arm thrown up to shield his eyes. "G-Gh... What th-"
'AAAAUUUHHH!' Who was screaming..? 'No... No don't do this please..!' Who... Was that a child? 'WHY! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US?'
Shadows rose in the flames with each cry, Katsuya staring in horrified silence as the event played out before him. The blinding light from the flames was nothing, not even something to blink at as the shadows one by one vanished into ashes. Mothers crying for their children... Children crying for their friends and families and men angrily vowing vengeance from the grave... One after another after another after...
'HELP US,' the woman from before cried, Katsuya's eyes widening just briefly as he swallowed. 'HELP US SOMEONE PLEASE!'
Why was all of this... Why... A sudden wave of cold passed behind the blond and slowly he turned around with wide eyes, frozen in place as he looked forward. "H-Hah... Hahhh..." Teeth the size of his entire arm met his gaze, set in a draconic maw with eyes resembling burning coals... Scales blended into the darkness completely on a 'face' that was easily the size of his bedroom, low growling coming from the monster's throat. "Hah..."
'Hehehehehehehe...' Not screaming... This thing was not screaming and- With a jolt the blond fell forward, screams caught in his throat as the world abruptly spun. Wind rushed past his face and stung his eyes, flames vanishing as he began a free-fall toward a wide open mouth that he'd been face to face with moments before. And it continued to laugh. 'HAHAHAHAHA! A HUNDRED SOULS IS ALL I NEED,' it roared, opening its mouth wide and licking the sides of its teeth as the blond continued to fall. 'AND AGAIN THIS WORLD IS MINE TO ROAM!'
Wake up wake up wake up...! The eyes were coming closer, light from an unseen source gleaming off the beast's blackened teeth... Wake up wake up wake up... And still he couldn't move, couldn't scream, only listening with horror as the monster before him cackled maliciously, every detail of its mouth coming into his vision. 'HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!' Oh god please wake up wake up wake up wake...
Up.
"Hah!" Katsuya's eyes flung open to meet with the ceiling above him as he struggled to breathe, choking with each intake of air. Thick, heated air hung around the room, making it even more difficult to breathe as he looked to the clock at the side. 12... N-Noon... It was... "Hah... Hah... Hah..." Why... The blond swallowed, shaking his head again as he attempted to push the nightmare from his mind. Why why why why why did he have to have scary ass dreams like THAT! "Gh... Khah..." He shook his head, collapsing back on the pillow as he bit his lip. Noon... No sense going back to bed now with the sun shining and the cicada's making their damn annoying 'nrrrrr' sounds... Alright then... That was it.
Next time this shit happened he was... He was... ...God damn it, he muttered mentally, closing his eyes and opening them again to stare at the sun-lit ceiling.
What the hell was he supposed to do about this kind of crap?
AN: What, you're asking me Jou?
...Personally, you should tell someone. But I already know that you're not doing that willingly.
Don't worry about his sanity guys, he'll pull through! Mostly because... Well... Jonouchi just does not like loading his friends with crap like this. At all. Probably why Honda had to go out and find him and beat the shit out of him after the idiot vanished off somewhere during Battle City. You know... The part they cut from the dub?
Which made it look more like Honda just blasted past the guy on his bike saying 'HI, BYE!'?
Yeaaaaa... In any case, now you can start shouting either your complaints or your guesses or your cheers. WHOO! (You can probably guess, by the re-emergence of my paranoid side, that I'm very, very nervous about this.)
In any case, Battle City! In the manga, school was still going on, or at least it was for the day before the tournament... In this case things will be revealed differently, which you'll see next chapter. Lets get moving!
Poll Results! So far, it's looking one-sided already! And by the way; this vote isn't something that will 'close' necessarily. Rather, it affects the fanfic as it's being written. This is because I obviously can't just put the fanfic on hold until I decide 'Alright, that's enough votes...'. It's actually affected this chapter somewhat; originally, the dream sequence was only slated to have flames and screams.
Dreams – 2 (One Anonymous)
Fanfic – 0
Now straight to business...
Anonymous Review Responses
Awww indeed, Iona! Yugi and his turtle… Or is it Yami with his pet turtle?
It'd be hard to find an instance where Jonouchi's excitement isn't amusing really… The fact is, I feel kind of guilty about doing 'this' (-points up-) to him right after the fact, hahahaha…
Yeeeeeesss, those darn Egypt dreams… They're about to get worse. As for foreshadowing, yes and no. It certainly plays into the next chapter though…
So I hope you enjoy it!
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section that's on the edge of its seat for this arc! (And the next one, and the next...)
And another chapter title filled with pun! To 'shadow' is another way of saying 'to stalk' 'to follow', etc, etc... And of course, the other, 'Yami Yugi' is considered a shadow in his own right; either simply due to his ties to more darker things, or literally, as he pretty much is a great big shadow of his former pharaoh self.
The 'score card bingo' game by the way, works like this. Since most names are either obviously male or obviously female due to kanji usage, looking at the charts tends to give you a good idea of who got which 'rank'. Basically you take a grid of 5x5 (so 25 squares) and fill it with numbers from anywhere between 1 and 50. Then, using the 'scoreboard' as a reference, mark each number as either 'girl' or 'boy, depending on which person got which ranking number on the grid. Whoever has the most lines wins! (Including diagonals.)
Originally, Anzu and Yugi meet up outside a train station rather than a bus stop, but I figured that a bus stop would make far more sense for a 'meet' point given how crowded things are. Alternatively, it could have been a subway point as well...
Who knows really.
Despite the first series largely not holding a part in this, Jonouchi is still referencing (to some extent) a scene inspired by an episode from that series. During the 'clock solitaire' episode, which was replaced with some sort of balloon game, Anzu was trying to get the 'other Yugi' to appear… She ended up getting Jonouchi in some serious trouble when she thought someone was stalking her though. (In her defines, he really was following her and Yugi around though.)
In the manga, 'Yami' doesn't do the shouting thing at the puzzle… He's actually quite composed, if not oddly stony about everything. (He just says 'yo!', hehehe.) Also, Yugi tells Anzu before hand that his 'other' isn't feeling that well, and that he wants him to cheer up using this 'date'…
Though he is the one who suggests going to a coffee shop… AFTER Anzu says '…We could get a drink..?'
Anyways, teeeeechnically, Yugi still explained to Anzu that this was the intent of the date when talking to her; he just threw the date on her really quickly, hehehe.
Obviously, a lot of the 'date' comes from the anime (subs not dubs~) rather than the chapter, but this is mostly to add material. Yay~ Ironically, by adding material, there's not much to make note of here. HAHA. Hah... Ahhhh...
Yes this chapter is filled with shameless product placement. But the fact is, it's downtown 'Tokyo' (rather a downtown area of it) in Japan. You… You're gonna find product placement. Heck, in the anime, the coffee cups that the two use have logos that even look like Starbucks, despite the fact that the sign said 'Domino Coffee'. Hahahahaha…
For some reason, after they leave the arcade, Yugi and Anzu end up at another pier… And then they head to the museum. I guess it makes for a better scene to have their next conversation, despite the fact that Anzu would probably have cheered much much sooner about her win rather than later.
The black winged kuriboh is actually a shout out to the GX manga; in it, the winged kuriboh was a monster used to help judge the hearts of the living, and actually completely white to begin with. However, when Tragoedia, a man originally from Kul Elna that was the current palace astronomer was brought in for judgement (As they kinda found out that he'd been stewing over the recently discovered slaughter of his entire village and family)… Little Winged Kuriboh was dyed black by the guy's heart.
Hell, when he went to sit on the scale, it plummeted, and left a CRATER in the stone!
In any case, though the GX manga has Winged Kuriboh in a card given to Judai by another character who got it as a prize in a tournament from Pegasus, the spirit itself wasn't in the card until much later… So I can arguably get away with this. (Ahahaha. )
Now, a bit of a rant here. In the manga, we see the bodies actually go into a vat of molten gold, later on getting a nice shot of that same vat, which is probably the size of two big 'garage freezers' pouring said gold out. Now given the fact that the gold isn't flawed in any way, I'd argue that there was a lot more gold than human flesh in there… Now normally, I'd keep this. It's creepy, mind-screwing, and largely traumatizing, which is right up my alley. (Don't you all wonder what you've gotten yourself into now...)
But if they put 99 people in there, just because they melt, doesn't mean that the matter doesn't take up space! There's this thing called volume… And liquids more often than not taking only slightly less room than a solid, rather than a lot…
To put 99 corpses in a big ol' pot of gold… Well. You would NOT be able to get away with using only that pot! Personally, my theory is that they were sacrificed, with the gold melted down and forged in the same room, but not using the corpses as fuel. One of my ideas for this was actually to have the fire that melted the gold coming from the corpses…
But due to the fact that it obviously takes more to melt gold than it does bone, and I needed some mummies… Yea.
Yes I just gave Jonouchi a lot to panic about. And yes, this was arguably the worst possible thing to load on him after his nice little 'flash' deal got an unwanted upgrade. However, this will arguably save his ass later on sooooooo...
...Besides all that, it at least steers him closer to actually spitting out all this nonsense to someone he trusts. Not that this is happening too soon.
Are those duel monster spirits floating around pointless? Actually no. One could be considered a haunt (Winged Kuriboh) and the other… You'll actually see him again. He's technically a plot hook.
He's also not very size accurate, but with dinosaurs that's to be expected. It's an 'Uraby' by the way... 'Wild Raptor' in Japanese. (Don't... Ask where the English name is from.)
I've probably given away my plot hook with that...
Well, that's all for now! Hopefully this mind-screw won't deter anyone, as it'll actually be largely explained by the end of Battle City...
Well... Key word being 'largely', as there will still be lots of things that don't make sense, but OH WELL... Enjoy, and I'll see you next chapter!