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I hope that you enjoy this little interlude between the duels. There is one more non-dueling chapter that will be posted next Sunday or Monday and then we will go to the finals and then we'll go into the darker half of Chained.
I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are always appreciated.
4
The Banquet
Dawn after the final duel of the semifinals came and Jaden was the only one who was asleep. Everyone else had been awakened as they had decided the day before they would be going to the Diamond Head State Monument and decided to leave early.
Raiden smirked as he walked into the room, holding a bucket filled with cold water before he tossed the water on Jaden, causing his younger brother to yelp and sit up sharply, glaring at him.
"Wake up, sleepyhead," Raiden said brightly.
Jaden yawned. "Did you have to nearly drown me, Rai?" he asked.
"Maybe." Raiden ducked the wet pillow Jaden tossed at him. "C'mon, Dad's taking us to Diamond Head State Monument and we decided it'd be best to leave early before it gets too hot."
Jaden yawned again before turning onto his side to look at the clock and blinking. "It's 6:30 in the morning," he groaned.
Raiden shrugged. "Yeah, so?" He knew his brother knew that they were going to leave early.
Jaden glared at him. "How come you aren't tired? You're not that big of a morning person, Rai."
"I've wanted to visit Diamond Head ever since Dad told us about it when we were younger."
"When did this happen?"
Raiden rolled his eyes. "C'mon, get up," he said. "Dad's already up."
Jaden yawned again. "Fine. I'm getting up," he mumbled.
Raiden nodded and walked away, disappearing into the bathroom as Yubel materialized at the foot of Jaden's bed.
'Are you okay, Judai?' Yubel asked.
"I'm okay, Yubel. Just a long night," Jaden said. His sleep had, again, been filled with nightmares; they had lessened somewhat after Jaden told Raiden everything but, ever since he arrived in Honolulu, they were starting to occur every night like they used to before. Jaden didn't know why.
"I just don't know why they started occurring constantly again, Yubel. I mean, they stopped happening every night after I told Raiden, but…" Jaden shrugged, covering his mouth as he yawned again.
Yubel looked confused. 'Telling Raiden certainly did help with them but I don't know why they are occurring every night again,' she said. 'Maybe something triggered them.'
"But what?" Jaden asked, frustrated. "What could have triggered them again?"
'I don't know.'
. . .
The hike to the Diamond Head was rather steep. There were a lot stairs and many uneven portions of the path, but it wasn't that hard. However, Jaden couldn't remember the last time he had hiked anywhere and so he started getting winded by the time they reached the first tunnel.
"Can we take a break?" Jaden asked breathlessly.
'We really need to work on your endurance,' Yubel mused.
Kaede glanced at his son before looking at Matt and Emily who had decided to go along with them. Alexis, Atticus, Kyle, Keith, Chazz and Arina had also come just to see the crater, though why, Jaden didn't know. They also appeared to be a little winded, except for Arina who was sipping at her water bottle sporadically and didn't look the less bit winded.
"Why don't we take a few minutes to rest?" Kaede suggested.
Matt nodded and the two moved away from the path to avoid blocking the others on the path.
"I'm not used to this," Raiden admitted.
"Well, we don't go hiking often," Kasumi said, taking a drink of her water.
"Have you ever gone hiking before, Chazz?" Arina asked.
Chazz shook his head, breathless. "Not that I can remember, anyway," he said.
"When was the last time we've gone hiking, anyway?" Jaden asked curiously as he sipped at his water.
Raiden shrugged. "I don't remember. I think it was the same year Dad adopted Kasumi," he said.
"Yeah, I remember that," Kasumi said thoughtfully. "I specifically remembered a certain someone tripping and falling into a river." She looked at Jaden, who muttered under his breath.
Raiden snickered. "I remember that," he said.
Jaden glowered. "I also remember a certain someone dropping their tent on the campfire," he said.
"That wouldn't have happened if I wasn't startled!"
"It was a squirrel!"
While those two bickered about the last hiking/camping trip they had been on, Alexis sweat-dropped before looking at Arina. "What about you, Arina? Have you ever gone hiking?" she asked.
"A few times, whenever my family and I had time, that is," Arina replied.
"Oh, cool."
About five minutes later, Jaden and Raiden had stopped bickering, more because they had forgotten what they were bickering about, anyway, much to Kasumi's amusement, and the gang started up the trail again. They headed into the tunnel and Jaden gently took Alexis's hand in his as they walked.
When they came out of the tunnel, though, they spotted several steep steps and Jaden groaned.
"More stairs?" he complained.
"There's more stairs at the top, too," Kaede said.
"Wonderful."
Kasumi chuckled. "You should work on your endurance, Jay," she said.
"That'd require working," Raiden teased.
Jaden smacked his brother in the shoulder for that.
They started up the stairs, having to stop several times for Jaden and the others to rest. It wasn't that it was difficult but the stairs were steep, tiring everyone out quicker, unless they were used to it. By the time they reached the tunnel at the top, they had to stop again to catch their breaths and take drinks from their water bottles.
They walked through the stone tunnel that was lit at regular intervals. As the tunnel was very narrow, the group had to walk single file with Kaede leading and Atticus bringing up the rear of the group, though that could be because there were a few pretty hikers behind him that he started chatting with. Raiden, who was walking in front of him, just shook his head in amusement and then in annoyance when Atticus happily began telling the hikers that both he and Raiden were single.
"Atticus!" Raiden growled, glaring at Atticus, who smirked.
"What?" he asked innocently.
"I'm still wondering how your brother and my brother became friends," Alexis commented.
"Raiden's usually good at becoming friends with anyone," Jaden said with a dismissive shrug.
"Ah. The same can be said about you, huh?"
Jaden shrugged again. "Now, anyway," he said softly and quickened his pace to catch up with Kasumi, who was several feet ahead of him.
Alexis followed, frowning at those words, but then she remembered that Jaden had admitted to being bullied when he was younger and wondered if that was why he wasn't good at making friends back then. She considered asking him, but decided against it. It was obvious Jaden's past wasn't something he liked talking about. He told them about Haou, but he only did so because, as he said, he didn't want them to jump to their own conclusions.
The trip to the tunnel wasn't that long and, before long, they exited to reveal a spiral staircase in front of them.
The trip up the staircase was slow-going but, eventually, they managed to make it to the Observation Bunker, which allowed for a beautiful panoramic view of the seemingly endless Pacific Ocean; on top of the bunker gave the gang a breathtaking view of the island as well as Waikiki down below.
"Well, this is a beautiful view," Alexis said.
Jaden nodded in agreement as he took a long drink from his water bottle.
Arina was snapping a few pictures of the crater. "This is a nice view," she said.
Chazz shrugged as he took a drink of water.
"You've been pretty quiet, Chazz," Arina commented, looking at Chazz who was sitting on the bunker.
Chazz shrugged. "Nothing to talk about," he said.
Arina sat down beside him but said nothing.
"Okay, we'll rest here before we head back down," Kaede said also taking a seat. "So what do you want to do next?"
"Go back to the hotel and sleep the rest of the day," Jaden muttered. "I'm beginning to see why Chumley hates hiking."
Alexis chuckled. "You didn't complain this much when we went to those ruins back at Academy Island," she said.
"There weren't any stairs there."
Kyle wandered away from the group to look at the island from all sides. It was a nice view, he admitted, and he did enjoy the walk. He had done some hikes when he was younger with his family, but not many, but he did enjoy them, especially since it got him outside.
"Fancy meeting you here."
Kyle jumped and turned to find a certain white-haired girl standing a few feet away from him, looking amused at his reaction. "Celina, what are you doing here?" Kyle asked.
Celina shrugged. "I needed some time to myself. Slade and Jagger are really starting to annoy me with their constant 'you've gotta win your upcoming duel' lectures," she said. "Thankfully, they said that I could do what I wanted today, so here I am. Nice view, huh?"
Kyle smiled a little. "Yeah, it is," he said timidly as he looked toward the view. "I've never been here."
"Neither have I," Celina admitted. "So are you a duelist like your brother?"
Kyle nodded, glancing at the whitenette. "Yeah, I'm going to Duel Academy," he said.
"You are? Cool. What kinda deck do you use?"
"Umm, it's a Burn deck," Kyle said.
"Ah. That sounds cool. My first deck was a Dragon deck before I got the Ally of Justice cards," Celina said. "I liked 'em. Light and Darkness Dragon is my favorite, though I've always liked Machines, too."
Kyle smiled. "I like my Horus cards," he admitted.
"You have Horus cards, too?"
"Yeah, Keith gave me his copies."
"Ah." Celina was silent for a moment, then: "So, are you going to the banquet on Wednesday?"
"Banquet? What banquet?"
"It's one that Pegasus decided to include. It'll be a charity banquet and all semifinalists are required to attend. They can bring their families, though. Kaiba, Yugi, Marik, Bakura, and Joey are going to be there as well," she explained.
"Oh. I dunno if we're gonna go or not. I'd like to, though."
Celina smiled at him. "Well, if you do, I'll see you there, then," she said.
Kyle smiled a little. "Yeah, okay," he said.
"I'm gonna head back down now. I'm gonna visit the Iolani Palace and the tour I'm on starts in two hours. See you later, Kyle," Celina said before she walked away.
"Yeah, see ya," Kyle murmured as he watched her go, a faint blush on his cheeks.
"Hey, little bro, what's up?" Keith said brightly as he appeared at Kyle's side before he followed his gaze and smirked. "Ran into Celina again, huh?"
Kyle's blushed at the memory.
Keith chuckled. "I think my little bro has a crush," he said.
Kyle shook his head to clear it before glancing at his brother. "So what's this about a banquet on Wednesday?" he said.
"It's just to raise money for various charities. I've already told Mom and Dad and they said that you, Lexi, and Atticus can come if you want. They're already donating money to the charities, anyway, so they'll be attending it," Keith said. "I think they're going to tell the others about it either later today or tomorrow."
"I think I'll go," Kyle said.
"You just wanna see that pretty whitenette again, eh?"
Kyle blushed again and his older brother laughed.
. . .
Kasumi plopped onto her bed. "Everything aches," she groaned.
Alexis chuckled as she sat down. "Yeah, I'm tired, too. That was a tiring hike," she said.
"It was fun, though, and that was an amazing view," Arina said, plopping down in an armchair before placing her camera on the nightstand. "Wonder what we're gonna do later?"
"I wanna just lie here and do nothing," Kasumi said.
Arina chuckled. "Well, I think I'm gonna go check on Chazz," she said, getting to her feet before she walked out of the room.
"How is she not tired?" Kasumi wondered.
"She's been in a traveling circus for most of her life. She probably built up a lot of endurance doing all of those performances," Alexis said.
"Probably. I'm gonna take a nap now."
Alexis raised an eyebrow at Kasumi, who was lying with half her body hanging off the bed. "Like that?"
"Well, I am kinda comfortable."
"Okay then."
. . .
"Hey, dear. How was the hike to Diamond Head?" Izumi asked. Her voice was soft as if she had just woken up. Considering it was late at night, Kaede figured he accidentally woke her up.
"Did I wake you up?" he asked.
"Nah, I've been awake. Can't get to sleep," Izumi replied. "So how was it?"
"I enjoyed the hike and got some good pictures that I'll show you when we get back," Kaede said, leaning against the railing as he gazed down at the pool where his children and the others had gathered after resting for a few hours.
"I look forward to seeing them."
"So, are there any leads on who attacked you?"
Izumi was silent for a moment. "They haven't been able to find any evidence and they don't believe me when I tell them who it was," she said.
Kaede didn't respond.
"Dear, you believe me, right? You believe that it was him, right?"
Kaede sighed. "I don't want to say that I don't believe you, sweetheart, but it's pretty far-fetched. If it really is him, why would he warn you?" he said.
Izumi sighed. "I don't know, but I'm sure it is him. I mean, the attack was so…precise, as if he had been targeting me and I don't know of anyone else who would have a personal vendetta against me," she said.
"How do we even know it was a man? And if it was him, how did he know you were in Florence?"
Izumi sighed again. "I guess you're right, but I'm still worried. He did warn me," she said.
"I know. That is why I'm keeping an eye on the kids, but I don't think you have to worry about it. Now, why don't you try and get some sleep? We can talk more tomorrow."
"Yeah, I think I could use some sleep. I had a busy day today, trying to reschedule some things that I needed to take care of the days I was in the hospital. At least everyone's been kind enough to let me reschedule. I'll talk to you later, Kaede. I love you. Tell Raiden, Jaden, and Kasumi that I love them, too."
"I will." Kaede closed his phone before putting it into his pocket before he turned and left the room, deciding to join the others at the pool. He had nothing better to do after all and, besides, he was on vacation.
. . .
Jaden relaxed on the beach towel, watching his brother who was attempting to learn how to surf. Kyle had decided to try to help Atticus teach Raiden as he had told them that he liked surfing, but hadn't been able to get a surfboard until then. The gang was currently at the beach; it was Tuesday, the day before the charity banquet that Matt and Emily had told the gang about during dinner the night before. Kaede said that he was going to be making a donation anyway so that Jaden, Raiden and Kasumi could go if they wanted and, since the Battle City finalists—most of them, anyway—were going to be there and Alexis, Atticus and Kyle were also going, the three of them decided that they would go.
"Is Chazz going to the banquet?' Jaden asked, turning his gaze away from his brother's most recent wipeout to his girlfriend.
Alexis shrugged. "I have no idea. I don't even know if Arina's going," she said.
"I'm considering it," Arina said, sitting down on a beach towel on Alexis's other side. "Chazz doesn't want to since Celina has to be there and since Celina's there, his brothers are likely gonna be there."
"Damn, I was hoping I wouldn't have to see those assholes on this trip," Jaden muttered.
Alexis took his hand and squeezed. "Don't worry about it, Jaden. I'm sure you won't even see them," she said.
"I hope not." He turned his gaze back to the ocean, just in time to see Raiden wipeout again and he snickered.
Meanwhile, in the ocean, Raiden swam toward the beach, glowering at Atticus and Kyle, who made surfing look easy.
"It just takes practice, Rai, lots of practice," Atticus said brightly.
"And balance," Kyle said. "Believe me, I wiped out quite a bit when I was learning how to surf when I was younger. Keith did, too, and he still wipes out every now and then."
"So, wanna try again?" Atticus asked.
Raiden thought about it and then shrugged. "All right," he said.
Kasumi was relaxing on a beach towel a few yards away from her brother and his girlfriend, sunglasses over her eyes and sunscreen covering her body. She was considering just taking a nap but decided that she would probably get sunburned if she did that. So she just studied the clouds above, pointing out in her mind what they looked like; a dog, a cat, a bowl of noodles.
Shire appeared, floating above Kasumi's shoulder. 'Hi Kasumi,' she said brightly.
Kasumi turned her gaze to Shire. "Hey, Shire, where've you been?" she asked.
'Bothering Yubel, but I got bored,' Shire said.
Kasumi raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you didn't just come here because Yubel threatened to rip your wings off again?" she asked. Shire had a habit of annoying Yubel to the point that she actually had threatened to do that to the fairy before.
Shire looked affronted. 'You make it sound like I didn't learn my lesson the last three times she did that,' she said.
"Well, she did threaten that three times," Kasumi pointed out.
'But she never did it, y'know,' Shire pointed out.
"That's only 'cause Jaden wouldn't let her."
'I like Jaden. How does he put up with Yubel?'
"No idea."
Shire looked up before frowning. 'Some guy is coming over,' she warned.
Kasumi sighed, wondering if she was about to be hit on by another guy. It would be the fifth time that has happened since they arrived in Honolulu. "I hope not," she muttered.
'Hope not what?'
"That this guy doesn't try flirting with me. It's annoying," Kasumi said with a shake of her head as she sat up.
"Hey there, cutie," the boy said, sitting down beside Kasumi.
Kasumi took off her sunglasses with a sigh. "You're sitting a bit too close to me, y'know?" she said warningly.
"You're so cute," the boy said, oblivious to her warning tone. "Hey, are ya single?"
"What's it to you?"
"How 'bout a date?"
"You don't know me."
"So? That's what the date will be about."
Kasumi rolled his eyes. "Sorry, but no," she said.
The boy looked surprised. "How can you say no to me?"
"Like this, no," Kasumi said, irritated, getting to her feet and picking up her beach towel.
The boy also stood up. "Ah, c'mon, we'd make a cute couple."
"I don't even know your name."
"It's Rick."
"And I don't care." Kasumi walked away, wrapping the beach towel around her as she walked.
"Hey, you can't walk away from me like that," Rick snapped, walking after her and grabbing her arm.
"Don't touch me," Kasumi snapped, jerking her arm out of the boy's grasp. "I don't care who you are. I've already told you that I won't go on a date with you. Now leave me alone." She started to walk off, only to be stopped once again by Rick grasping her arm tightly.
"No, I want to know why you don't want to go on a date with me," he said firmly.
Kasumi, irritated, turned, yanked her arm free from Rick's grasp and then stalked off, muttering curses under her breath, to rejoin her brother and her friends.
Jaden raised an eyebrow at the stormy look on Kasumi's face and the way she was clenching her hands so tightly, he was surprised her powers didn't act up and they didn't burst into flames. "Wow, you look about ready to spit fire. What happened?" he asked.
"Damn idiot boys," Kasumi growled.
"What happened?" Alexis asked.
"That idiot was persistent," Kasumi said after she explained to Alexis what had happened. "He could've backed off after I told him 'no' the first time, but noooo!"
"Why're you so mad, Little Mist?" Raiden asked. He had given up learning how to surf for now and was walking over to join the four of them on the beach.
"A boy asked her on a date, she said no, he wouldn't stop bothering her and grabbed her arm when she tried to leave and she got mad," Jaden explained.
Raiden shook his head. "Some guys can be idiots," he admitted.
"By the way, has anyone seen Chazz?" Arina said, looking around. "He went to get some snacks a while ago and I haven't seen him since."
"Maybe he got lost," Jaden suggested.
"The snack bar's right over there, Jay," Kasumi said, pointing. "I'm positive even Raiden can't get lost going to the snack bar." She paused then added, "On second thought, yeah, he probably could."
"Hey!" Raiden protested. "So could Judai." He was rewarded with a smack and a glower from Jaden.
"Maybe he just went to the bathroom," Kyle suggested as he joined them and overheard what Kasumi said.
"Maybe," Arina said.
Near the snack bar, Chazz had just left the bathroom when he spotted the familiar white-haired semifinalist that his brothers had taken under their wing. He wondered why she was there. She was talking on her phone nearby as she walked but stopped when she spotted him. She said something into the phone and then walked over to join Chazz.
"Hey, you're Slade and Jagger's little brother, aren't you?" she said.
"Yeah, what's it to you?" Chazz grunted.
"Well, there's no need to be rude," Celina said with a frown.
Chazz scoffed. "What are you doing here, anyway?" he asked.
"Just hanging out. Is that a crime?"
"No." Chazz walked over to the snack bar to order some snacks for himself and his girlfriend.
Celina followed him. "You don't seem to like your brothers very much," she said.
"Gee, what was your first clue?"
"There's no need to be so mean. I was just asking. Your brothers won't talk about you much. Slade just said you were estranged," she said.
"You're nosy," Chazz grunted as he paid for the snacks and then grabbed them off the counter. "I don't want to talk about it." Without another word, he walked away from the whitenette and over to join his girlfriend.
. . .
The banquet that night wasn't a formal affair but it was recommended that the people attending dress nicely. As a result, almost everyone dressed casually but nicely. Most of them were ready to go within an hour of the start of the banquet. Keith had already left while the others were just waiting for Emily to finish getting ready.
"Your mother says hi," Kaede said, turning to Jaden, Raiden and Kasumi.
"How's she doing?" Jaden asked.
"Still a bit paranoid, but she's fine."
"What happened?" Alexis asked.
"Someone attacked Mom while she was in Florence," Jaden explained. "She's all right, but no one can find out who attacked her or why."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm glad she's all right, though," Alexis said.
"Yeah, me, too."
Emily walked into the lobby of the hotel. "All right, everyone ready to go?" she asked.
"We've just been waiting for you, dear," Matt said, walking over to his wife.
The gang and the adults with them left the hotel before heading toward the hall in which the banquet was being held. They had learned that the banquet also included a dance and a speech from Pegasus as well as, possibly, some duels, though that was unlikely. Jaden and Raiden both looked eager at that, much to Alexis's and Kasumi's amusement.
"We don't know if that'll happen, though," Arina pointed out.
"I hope so. That'd be so sweet!" Jaden said.
"Hell yeah, it would," Raiden agreed.
Once they reached the banquet hall, they walked inside. The hall was already filled with people all dressed nicely, some were a bit more formal than others, and talking with each other. There was a table piled with food resting against the wall across from the door while a stage had been erected to the right of where the gang stood. It was currently empty. There were also tables placed in one half of the hall farthest from the stage while the other half between those tables and the stage was empty, likely the dance floor.
"Hey, guys," Keith greeted them as he walked over to join them.
"Hey, Keith," Kyle said, scanning the area.
Keith grinned. "Looking for a certain white-haired girl?" he asked.
Kyle blushed. "No," he said a bit too quickly.
Keith chuckled, clapping a hand on Kyle's shoulder before pointing toward one of the tables where said white-haired girl was seated. "She's over there if ya wanna go talk to her," he said.
Kyle's blush deepened, but he did walk over to the table. "Hey," he said nervously.
Celina looked up and smiled. "Hi, Kyle. Glad ya could make it," she said.
Kyle shyly smiled back. "Can I…sit here?"
"Of course."
The brunette sat down beside the white-haired girl. "So…" he trailed off, unsure of what to talk about.
"What's it like at Duel Academy?" Celina asked.
"Well, I rather like it. The teachers are okay, though Professor Stein is boring," Kyle admitted quietly. "I started part way through the year, though, but I've had fun since then." He decided not to mention the incident with the Shadow Riders or the Sacred Beasts.
"Cool."
"Yeah."
The two fell into silence again, then: "I wish I could go to Duel Academy. It sounds cool," Celina said wistfully.
"Why can't you?"
She shrugged. "Slade and Jagger don't think I need it," she said. "Besides, I'm not sure if I could get in."
"I've seen you duel. I'm sure you'd get in easily," Kyle said.
Celina picked up her glass of water but didn't drink from it; instead, she just stared at it. "I'm not worried about the entrance exam," she said.
Kyle frowned. "Then what?"
Celina looked down.
Kyle realized he was being rather invasive and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry. I'm being nosy," he said.
"It's okay," Celina said. "I just…don't like talking about it. Okay?"
"I get it." He thought about what to say to change the subject and asked, "So, do you have a favorite duelist?"
Celina looked at him. "Actually, I do. I like Bakura," she said. "His deck is creepy, but it's still cool and he's gotten pretty good since Battle City. What about you?"
"Honestly, I can't decide. Yugi is definitely among my favorites, of course."
"Yeah, who doesn't like the King of Games?"
"Kaiba."
Celina laughed and Kyle joined in, though his laugh was much quieter.
"Celina," Slade said, walking forward and sitting down across from her, not acknowledging Kyle's presence.
Celina, her laughter dying down into snickers, glanced at him. "Yeah?"
"We're not staying here long," Slade said. "How are you coming on your strategy to beat Keith?"
"It's coming along, but he's gonna be a difficult opponent."
"Hopefully not too difficult for you," Slade said coolly. "Just remember what we've done for you, and don't lose. Also, we've gotten you some new cards to add to your deck to assure that you do win."
Celina frowned. "I'm fine with my deck as it is," she said.
"Don't make the same mistake as my foolish little brother, Celina, and just take them," Slade said.
Kyle glowered. "Chazz is many things, but foolish is not one of them," he snapped. He saw Chazz as somewhat of a friend and he didn't think Chazz was foolish to want to try to win the School Duel with his own deck and under his own rules.
Slade glared at him. "Was I talking to you?" he retorted. "Who are you, anyway?"
"This is Kyle, Keith's brother," Celina said.
"Ah, you don't look like much. Bu then, your brother isn't that great of a duelist, anyway," Slade said with a shrug.
Kyle bit his lip before saying, "He's been U.S. Champion for two years now, y'know."
"Yes, because he's never faced any strong duelists," Slade said. "He won't last long against Celina, because she was trained by the best."
"I wasn't trained by Yugi, Slade, I was trained by the tutors you hired," Celina pointed out.
Slade glared. "Just remember what Jagger and I have done for you before you decide to risk losing your duel by not accepting our help," he said.
Yeah, I can definitely see why Jaden enjoys calling him an asshole, Kyle thought.
"Hmph, it's my deck. You should know by now that I won't change my deck unless I want to," Celina said.
Slade didn't answer. He just stood up and walked away.
. . .
About an hour later, the rest of the semifinalists and their guests had arrived as well as all the others who were attending the banquet. Pegasus had given a brief speech and then everyone had started getting their food. Kasumi shook her head as Jaden happily dug into his food, practically inhaling it. Raiden, however, was eating at a much slower pace.
"This food is awesome," Jaden said, a while later as he came back to the table with this third plate.
Kasumi chuckled as music started to play. "Looks like the dance is gonna start now," she said as couples slowly made their way onto the dance floor, those that were done eating, anyway.
Atticus got to his feet. "Hey, let's go find someone to dance with. Maybe you'll find someone to date while you're at it," he said, grabbing Raiden's arm and practically dragging the older Yuki out of his chair and toward the dance floor. It was a good thing Raiden was done eating.
Jaden chuckled, swallowing a bite of food while Alexis sweatdropped.
Atticus and Raiden ended up getting two sisters to dance with them. Keith was dancing with Marina while Kyle had shyly asked Celina if she wanted to dance and she had agreed. Jaden, once he finished eating, stood up and turned to Alexis. "Do you wanna dance?" he asked, holding out a hand.
Alexis smiled and took his hand. "Sure," she said and Jaden guided her onto the dance floor.
A slow-song had come on and Jaden gently placed his hands on Alexis's waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck and they started dancing to the music.
"You're a good dancer," Alexis said.
Jaden smiled a faint blush on his cheeks. "Thanks," he said.
The two danced through a few more songs and then made their way back to their table to get something to drink.
At the other side of the dance floor, Kyle spun Celina, causing the white-haired girl to giggle as she was spun back into Kyle's arms. "Wow, you're a good dancer," she said with a smile.
Kyle blushed. "Um, well, I guess," he said uncertainly.
Celina chuckled and turned around in Kyle's arms and wrapping her arms around his neck as they continued to dance.
Back at the table, the gang were watching the couples dance, listening to the music and talking with each other. Arina glanced at Chazz who was sipping at a glass of water. "Hey, do you wanna dance?" she asked.
Chazz swallowed a drink, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "Erm, no thanks," he said.
"Do you even know how to dance?" Kasumi asked curiously.
Chazz glowered but said nothing.
Kyle walked over to the table with Celina walking beside him, each of them carrying a glass of water. "Hey, guys," he greeted them as he and Celina sat down.
"Hey, Kyle, hey, Celina," Keith said brightly. "What brings you here, Celina?"
Celina shrugged. "What? Can't I say hi to my opponent come Saturday?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Keith chuckled. "I see you and my little bro are getting along," he said.
"Well, he is really nice," Celina said, sipping at her water.
A good fifteen minutes went by with the gang, and Celina, just talking. Celina had asked the gang what they thought about Duel Academy and they told her a few stories of what went on there, leaving out the business with the Shadow Riders and the Sacred Beasts just as Kyle did. Raiden and Atticus rejoined them, both exhausted from having been dancing nonstop since the slow-songs started.
"Hey, what're we talking about?" Atticus asked, sitting down.
"Just things that happened at Duel Academy," Jaden said with a shrug. "Celina asked 'cause she's never been to a duel school before."
"Like I told Kyle, I'd like to go but the Princetons don't think I need to go," Celina said.
"Well, if ya want to go, I don't see why you should let whatever those assholes say stop ya," Jaden said with a shrug.
Celina frowned. "You really don't like them, do you?" she said.
"What was your first clue?"
"You know, all things considered, I don't like 'em, either," Kasumi said with a shrug. "What happened at the School Duel was downright mean."
Celina's frown deepened. "What happened at the School Duel?" she asked.
"None of your business," Chazz said bluntly before anyone could respond, his thoughts suddenly on Slade's words from the convention.
If it was a heat of the moment response, why hasn't he talked with me at all? Or even tried to talk to me? he thought.
Arina placed a hand on Chazz's arm. "Why don't we go get some dessert? They just brought it out," she said.
"Yeah, sure, whatever," Chazz said, getting to his feet and following Arina toward the buffet.
Celina watched them go and glanced at the rest of the group. "Is he always like this?" she asked.
"He's better than he was when we first met," Jaden said with a shrug. Then, he scowled and added, "Oh, wonderful."
Celina and the rest turned around to see Slade and Jagger walking toward them.
Jaden stood up. "Lex, why don't we go get some dessert?" he said, holding out a hand to his girlfriend.
"Sure," Alexis said, taking Jaden's hand and the two of them walked toward the buffet.
"Celina," Slade said as he came to a stop behind them.
"Yeah?" Celina asked.
"We're leaving, now."
"But I haven't even had a chance to get dessert."
"We've got some things we need to do and you still need to prepare for your upcoming duel."
"That's days away. I have time."
Jagger folded his arms across his chest and then spotted Keith. "Why're you hanging around your competition?" he asked.
"It's a free country," Celina said. "Who're you to dictate who I can and cannot hang around with? You're not my parents."
"Look, if it's a ride she needs, we can take her back to her hotel after we leave here," Keith offered. "We just need to know which hotel you're staying at."
"That won't be necessary," Jagger said.
"I'd like to stay a little longer, though, or at least get some dessert," Celina said.
"We'll stay for another fifteen minutes," Slade said finally before he and Jagger walked away.
"Geez, they act like they're your parents," Atticus commented.
"They aren't, but they did take me under their wing. They even offered to adopt me only a few months ago."
Chazz, who had walked back to the table with Arina in time to hear those last words, flinched as he sat down.
The others looked sympathetic as they realized if the Princetons were offering to adopt her, something must have happened to her parents.
"I declined, though," Celina said. "It's complicated."
The gang decided against asking what she meant.
Fifteen minutes later, the Princetons came back and Celina stood up. "I'll see you guys later, hopefully," she said with a smile at Kyle, who smiled timidly back at her.
She walked after the Princetons, thinking. She really did like spending time with Kyle; he was quiet and shy but she could still talk with him. It wasn't that she was shy; it was basically that she rarely ever talked with anyone her own age because of the Princetons' obsession with her winning the tournament had her constantly working on completing that goal and the fact that whenever she had time to herself, most of the people her age that she tried to talk to were either perverts, star-struck fans, or were too busy to talk to her.
Celina found it easy to talk with him because he was very kind, too. She also seemed to get along all right with Kyle's friends, though she didn't get to spend as much time with them as she had with Kyle.
Thinking about him brought a faint blush to her cheeks as she thought about them dancing. It was the first time she had ever danced with someone who actually kept his hands where they belonged or didn't step on her toes. She didn't go to many places where dancing was involved, though, and she only knew the basics on how to dance, mostly because her foster mother, Ms. Thomas, was nice enough to teach her.
"For when you go to high school and get asked to the dances."
Celina smiled as she thought of her foster mother. She was really nice, and sympathetic toward Celina since she was the only one her age in the foster home. She also understood why Celina was hesitant about accepting any offers of adoption; she knew the truth about Celina's parents, and made it clear that she did not like them.
"The people who just abandon their children, without even checking to see if their child is being taken care of at the place where they were abandoned, are among the people I hate the most."
It was nice to know someone cared. Celina liked to think the Princetons cared, too. Why else would they ask to adopt her? But there were times when she questioned whether they really cared about her, or just about her skills in dueling. That thought only came to her whenever she thought about how obsessive they seemed over her winning the tournament, even though she was already qualified to be in the World Championships because she would be runner-up if she lost. She would still have her chance to become the World Champion, and yet the Princetons were still harping on her to win the U.S. tournament.
She also had to wonder what would happen to her when the Princetons left. They didn't live in the America, after all; they had only visited Celina until the tournament started and, because they had the money, they were able to come to Ms. Thomas's home once a week for her tutor sessions. She didn't know if those would continue after the tournament was over, though.
Sighing, she slipped into the limo that was out front and rested her back against the leather seat, closing her eyes. I wonder if Ms. Thomas will be watching next Saturday. She said she would when we last spoke, she thought.
. . .
"Well, that was fun, I guess, though I wish there had been some duels," Jaden commented as soon as the Yukis entered their room; Kasumi staying long enough to say goodnight to their father before leaving to enter the room the girls were sharing.
"That would've been cool, but I guess they just didn't have time or weren't prepared or whatever," Raiden said with a shrug, flopping face-first on his bed.
"I guess," Jaden said, sitting on his bed. "The food was awesome, though."
Raiden chuckled. "Obviously. You ate half of it, Judai," he said, lifting his head and was rewarded with a pillow to the face.
"I did not eat half of the food," Jaden protested.
Raiden tossed the pillow back at his brother, smirking when it hit him in the face. "You practically did," he said and ducked the pillow Jaden chugged at him. "Missed!" The second pillow hit him in the face again.
Jaden smirked.
Raiden chugged the pillow at his brother, who caught it and tossed it back. The two were tossing pillows back and forth for about five minutes before Kaede, who had been on the balcony talking on the phone, walked in and was promptly hit with a pillow.
"He did it!" Jaden and Raiden shouted, pointing at each other.
Yubel and Rogue both laughed as they materialized beside their respective partners.
Kaede shook his head with amusement in his eyes and tossed the pillow back on the bed. "You two should probably think about getting some rest," he said.
"It's only nine-thirty," Jaden protested.
"Yeah, it's way too early," Raiden said.
Kaede chuckled.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: well, that was chapter 4 and we got to learn more about Celina's character
Darth: cool
Blaze: well, I hope you liked it, some fiancéshipping moments as well as Kyle/Celina moments, which I've decided to call Natureshipping, and yes, those two will get together eventually
Bakura: whatever. What happens next?
Blaze: visiting various landmarks and places around Honolulu, Atticus and Raiden get lost and some other things
Jaden: cool
Jesse: yup
Blaze: so, I started watching Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V and it is getting to be really good. I'm only on episode 21 though so I have like thirty one to get through before I'm caught up. Yuya reminds me of Jaden and is quickly becoming my favorite character in ARC-V right now but, like I said, I'm only on episode 21
Jesse: cool, so is that gonna be your question?
Blaze: well, I was considering it but I don't want any spoilers for upcoming episode and I get this feeling that more characters are going to be introduced before I get to the newest episode so I'm going to wait until I get through the newest episode
Jaden: sweet
Blaze: so yeah, I'm gonna end the chapter now and go working on my Yu-Gi-Oh! story, which is going to be posted soon. It's going to be called You're Not Alone
Jesse: cool
Blaze: so I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.