First of all, I'm so sorry that this is being posted so late. I wanted to post it on the day I said I would post it (I ended up missing the mark by a little over ten minutes but oh well) and so here it is.
Thank you to Guest, OpticInferno, SuperNeos2, EndlessNight025, DarkZorua100, a1993, Kamen Rider Sting, Lightningblade49, decode9, reven228, Lightclaw's Shadow and iloveyugiohGX93 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.
Here is the last non-dueling chapter of part one and the next chapter, which will be posted either Sunday or Monday of next week, will be Finals of the US Duel Monsters Tournament as well as the last chapter of Part One of Chained.
I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
5
Tourist Attractions of Honolulu
A few days after the banquet, the gang was walking around Iolani Palace, talking quietly amongst themselves while the adults were walking ahead of them, listening intently to the tour guide. The tour had begun on the bottom floor where the tour guide guided them through the throne room, reception, and dining room. They were now on the upper levels, looking at the living quarters of the royal family.
"When the monarchy was overthrown in 1893, troops of the newly formed Provisional Government of Hawaii took control of this palace and it was renamed the Executive building for the Republic of Hawaii," the tour guide was saying as the group came across one of the rooms. The tour guide then gestured to the room before adding, "This is the room in which Queen Lili'uokalani was imprisoned for nine months following the overthrow and after the second of the Wilcox rebellions in 1895. This was where she stayed before her trial, which was held in the throne room."
Jaden started tuning him out. The tour guide had the tendency to go too much into detail when describing something within the palace and, especially, when talking about the history of it. And he had never been a big fan of history anyway, though he did enjoy some aspects of dueling history, but that was primarily because of his love of dueling.
Raiden, on the other hand, was listening intently but that wasn't that big of a surprise. In terms of learning, Raiden was the opposite of Jaden; he enjoyed learning about anything just as much as he enjoyed reading. Atticus looked bored out of his mind. He yawned before wandering away from the gang, though only Raiden noticed out of the corner of his eye.
Where's he going? he thought, turning his head to watch his friend slip away. He immediately headed after the other boy, knowing leaving Atticus alone was probably not the wisest thing to do.
Atticus was bored and so he decided to go wandering by himself. He didn't think anyone would notice as they were too busy listening to the tour guide, or looking at the various items or talking with each other. He left the palace behind and began wandering around the grounds of the palace, just looking at things. He ended up leaving the grounds of Iolani Palace, finding nothing interesting there, and was walking down the street.
"Atticus!"
Atticus stopped, turned and smiled. "Raiden, my friend! What brings ya here? I thought you were listening to that tour guide?" he said as his friend caught up with him, breathing hard.
"I saw you walk away and decided to make sure you don't get lost," Raiden replied, once he got his breath back.
Atticus raised an eyebrow as he turned and started walking again "I seem to remember you got lost in Minato," he said.
"I was six!" Raiden said as he fell into step beside him.
Atticus chuckled.
. . .
After the tour of Iolani Palace, the gang and the adults with them gathered on the sidewalk to decide where to go next.
"There are a lot of places in this area we can visit," Emily said, glancing at the map that she had brought with her. "There's Washington Place, the Kawaiahao Church, the Hawaiian State Art Museum and there's also Chinatown, which is only a few minutes away by car."
"I know we've gotta visit Chinatown at least once this trip," Matt said.
"That does sound interesting," Kaede said. "I'd like to visit Aloha Tower, though. I never got the chance to go there when I came to Honolulu last."
"Can we get lunch first? I'm hungry," Jaden said.
Alexis chuckled fondly. "When aren't you hungry?" she teased.
"Never," Kasumi said with a smirk.
Jaden stuck his tongue out at his sister who responded in kind.
"But now that you mention it, I'm starting to feel hungry, too," the Lightsworn duelist added.
"Me, too," Kyle agreed and Arina nodded in agreement.
Chazz just shrugged. "I could eat," he said.
"What about you, Atticus? Atticus?" Alexis looked around, frowning when she noticed that her brother was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Raiden. "Uh, guys, where's Atticus and Raiden?"
The gang looked around and then looked at each other, puzzled.
"They were here when we were in the palace," Jaden said.
"Yeah. I thought they were right behind us when we left," Kasumi said.
There was a moment of silence, then: "Great. We lost Atticus. Serena's going to kill us," Matt groaned.
. . .
"Do you have any idea where we are?"
"I dunno. I was following you. Considering you got lost in Minato, I probably shouldn't have."
"I. Was. Six!"
Raiden and Atticus were currently wandering around Downtown Honolulu with no idea where they were. They hadn't really been paying attention when they started walking and talking after Raiden caught up with Atticus. They probably should have as they were no longer in sight of Iolani Palace and had no idea which way the palace was. They had been walking for a good fifteen minutes before they decided to take a break.
"Hey, might as well make the most of it," Atticus said brightly. "Uncle Matt did say he wanted to visit Chinatown. Maybe we can meet 'em there."
Raiden shrugged. "Might as well," he said and the two headed toward Chinatown.
. . .
There wasn't much to see in Chinatown but Celina absolutely loved the botanical garden that could be found at the edge of Chinatown. It took a small fee to get in but she didn't mind paying it as she really did enjoy wandering around it, taking in the natural beauty. She had always enjoyed nature. That was why she enjoyed hiking and camping as much as she did.
Besides, the walk through the botanical garden helped her to clear her mind and get her thoughts off her mentors badgering.
Slade and Jagger were still trying to convince her to use the cards they had bought in her final duel against Keith.
"They're rare cards and they're powerful. You can win easily with them," Slade had told her.
"As I said before, do not make the same mistake as our brother," Jagger had said.
Celina shook her head. She couldn't understand why the Princetons couldn't accept that she was planning on trying to win with her own deck. She also still didn't understand why they were so obsessed with this tournament when Celina was already qualified to enter the World Championships next summer because she would be runner-up if she lost to Keith.
Well, at least Ms. Thomas is still supporting me, she thought, smiling as she thought about her foster mother; she seemed to have a soft spot for Celina.
For years, Celina had wondered what she had done to cause her parents to leave her at the orphanage. She blamed herself, thinking she had done something wrong and it took Ms. Thomas, once she took Celina in as a foster child, several times to get it through Celina's head that she was not responsible for what her parents did.
"It is your parents' fault for leaving you here. It is not yours. Don't ever think that."
Still, thinking about her parents made Celina think a little about Japan. She knew that was where she had been born, as Ms. Thomas had told her that. At least she was legal in America; that was the only thing her parents had done for her. But she did want to visit Japan; it was where she was born and where her birth parents were from. She also wanted to visit to try to find her birth parents and ask them why they abandoned her.
She sighed. That's wishful thinking. It's doubtful that they went back to Japan, but then, I barely remember them as it is, she thought.
She was so deep in thought that she barely managed to stop herself from walking into someone who was also walking around the garden. "Sorry," she said immediately and then started in surprise when she recognized the white-haired young man that she had almost run into.
Ryou Bakura smiled gently at her. "Don't worry about it, Celina," he said.
Celina stared, shocked, that the duelist she looked up to was standing right in front of her.
Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"
"You're Ryou Bakura," Celina blurted out and then blushed in embarrassment.
Bakura just chuckled. "Yes, last I checked," he said, amusement dancing in his friendly brown eyes.
"Uh, sorry, I guess I'm a bit surprised to see you here and…how did you know my name?" Celina asked, remembering that Bakura had greeted her by name.
"I've been watching the tournament," Bakura said, "and I was there for the semifinals. You did really well against Nathan. Congrats."
"Uh, thanks," Celina said.
"As for why I'm here, I got bored and decided to try to visit as many places in Honolulu as I can before I leave," the Occult duelist added.
"Ah."
"Good luck in your duel against Keith, by the way," Bakura added. "I've seen him duel, and he's tough. He would have made it pretty far in the last World Championships, had Joey not knocked him out."
"Are you going to be in the World Championships?" Celina asked curiously.
He shook his head. "I got knocked out of the Regional's during the semifinals and so didn't qualify, 'cause you have to be a champion or a runner-up to attend," he said.
"Oh. Well, I'll do my best against Keith."
"That's all you really can do."
Yeah, but Slade and Jagger don't seem to understand that, Celina thought with a frown.
Bakura noticed and frowned as well. "What's the matter?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice.
"Oh, nothing, it's nothing," Celina said.
"You sure? You look upset."
"Yeah." Celina trailed off and then said, "It's just…my mentors don't seem to think the same way you do."
"Not everyone does."
Celina ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah," she said, trailing off.
"For what it's worth, I think Keith's in for a big challenge when you face him," Bakura said.
"Really?" the whitenette asked.
The older whitenette nodded. "Yeah, you've got the potential to be a champion and I think Keith's in danger of losing his title," he said.
Celina smiled uncertainly, not sure if she could believe him or not. Even though she was determined to be the best, she just didn't know if she really could be. The Princetons even doubted her ability. She wasn't going to admit that out loud, though. "I don't wanna underestimate him, though," she said instead.
"That's a good thing. Underestimating your opponent can, and likely will, backfire," said Bakura.
"I've been trying to come up with a strategy to beat him," Celina said. "But he is not predictable, so it's hard."
"No good duelist is predictable," Bakura said. "Just look at Yugi. He is almost undefeated."
"Almost?"
"From what he's told me, he's only lost a few fair duels. Even champions like Yugi can lose, you know."
"True."
"If you want my advice, I suggest you not focus too much on your strategy because it is likely you will have to change it during the duel, especially if you don't know your opponent well."
Celina smiled. "I'll keep that in mind," she said. "So, are you gonna be at the finals?"
"Yes, I'll be there."
Celina's cell phone rang at that moment and she slipped it out of her pocket. "Excuse me," she said and answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Celina, where are you?" Slade's voice sounded at the other end of the phone.
"I'm just taking a walk through the Foster Botanical Garden, Mr. Princeton," Celina replied.
"Have you finished working on your strategy for your duel?"
"I've got a few days until then, Mr. Princeton. Besides, I don't think it's a good idea for me to focus too much on my strategy," Celina said, glancing at Bakura, who was looking over his shoulder as someone had just called his name.
"You won't be able to win if you don't have a good enough strategy, especially since you still refuse to use the cards we're offering you," Slade said.
"I plan on winning with my own deck, Mr. Princeton," Celina said, watching as a familiar blonde Egyptian jogged over to join them.
"Bakura, there you are. I've been looking all over Chinatown for you," Marik exclaimed.
Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you just call me?" he asked.
"Erm, my phone kinda died on me."
"Did you forget to charge it last night?"
"Maybe."
Bakura chuckled and shook his head in amusement.
"Are you still there?" Slade asked.
"Yeah, I'm still here. I'll be back later. I want to finish my walk through this garden," Celina said.
"Fine. We still think it would be best if you used the cards we are offering you," Slade said.
"Didn't I just tell you that I wanted to win with my own deck?" Celina asked curtly.
"Yes, but using our cards will ensure that you do not lose," Slade said.
"And how do you know that? How do you know that using those cards you're telling me to use will make sure I win?" Celina demanded.
"They are rare and very powerful."
"So? You don't need rare and powerful cards to win a duel. I've won all my duels with my own deck and they are not rare or too powerful, even if they are new."
"Still, their power will definitely help your deck."
"Look, how many times must I tell you this? I. Plan. On. Winning. With. My. Own. Deck!" Celina hissed, her temper flaring. It was her temper flaring that was the reason she had left the hotel anyway; the Princetons just would not let it go and let her use her own deck. It was as if they really thought she would lose without their cards, despite her winning all the duels leading up to her duel with Keith.
"Yes, you plan on winning. There is no guarantee you will win," Slade said firmly.
"So what if I don't win? I mean, I still qualify for the World Championship tournament. That's gotta count for something, right?"
"Second place is not good enough."
Celina rolled her eyes. "Hmph, I think second place is a pretty good accomplishment. I mean, plenty of duelists have gotten second place and are still very strong duelists. Just look at Marik," she said. Her phone beeped and she pulled it away from her ear to look at it. "My battery's about to die, Mr. Princeton. I'll be back in a few hours. Bye." She hung up before Slade could respond.
"I take it that was your manager," Bakura said.
"More a mentor," Celina said, pocketing her phone and then looked at Marik, adding, "Mr. Ishtar, I'm Celina." She held out a hand.
"I know, and call me Marik," Marik said, taking her hand and shaking it. "If you want my advice, I say just use whatever cards you're comfortable with. Like you said, it doesn't take rare and powerful cards to win a duel. That's something I learned in the years after Battle City."
"Thanks."
"No problem."
. . .
It was early evening. The sun hung low in the sky and Raiden and Atticus were, once again, hopelessly lost.
"Rai, do you have any idea where you're going?"
"No. Do you have any idea where we are?"
"No."
"Great."
"Why don't you just call your aunt and uncle?"
"I would, but my phone's dead. Why don't you?"
"I would, but I left my phone in my room."
A sigh, then: "So, what now?"
"No idea."
"Hey, look, they're having a party on the beach."
"Correct term is luau, Atticus. Atticus? Where are you going?"
"Where else?"
"Don't tell me you're gonna crash that luau?"
"Why not? Besides, I see some pretty ladies there. Maybe I can set you up with one of 'em."
"Don't even think about it. Atticus!'
. . .
Marik walked alongside Bakura, who looked thoughtful, and he glanced at him. "What are you thinking about?" he asked his white-haired friend.
"Hmm, oh just Celina," Bakura said.
"You do know she's ten years younger than you, right?" Marik was rewarded with a hard smack upside the head.
"Not in that way," Bakura said. "No, I was actually thinking about our conversation and what we overheard on her side of her conversation with her mentor."
"What about it?"
"Well, it seems to me that Celina's under a lot of pressure. I mean, she did state that she wanted to win with her own deck, twice, and the second time she sounded frustrated. I get the feeling that wasn't the first time she's had that argument with her mentor."
"And your point is…?" Marik looked puzzled.
Bakura sighed. "Celina's a very good duelist and she has the potential to be so much better than she is right now. She understands that she doesn't need the help of rare and powerful cards, and yet I get the feeling her mentors don't think the same way. I also remember Celina saying that her mentors don't understand that all she can do is her best."
"So?"
"Personally, I don't think her mentors are very good mentors."
"And…?"
"And I think her mentors don't have very much faith in her ability to win against Keith Saturday."
"Okay, how'd you figure that?"
"Just the fact that her mentors don't seem to think she's capable of winning with her own deck. At least, that's what I got from the talk, though I only heard Celina's side of it."
"While I agree with that, why are you so focused on this?"
"I want to help her," Bakura admitted. "She has so much potential and yet it seems like she doubts herself, or maybe her mentors doubt her."
"How do you know that?"
"I don't, really, so maybe I'm completely wrong, but that's the impression I got."
Marik didn't respond to that and started walking again and Bakura fell into step beside him.
"You know, if she didn't already have mentors, I'd take her under my wing," Bakura said thoughtfully, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.
"Personally, I think you'd be a good mentor," Marik said.
"You think so?"
Marik nodded. "You've really gotten better in the years since, well, you know," he said.
Bakura smiled a little, knowing what Marik was referring to. He had been an okay duelist, but he never really got to practice himself since he got the Millennium Ring; after the Millennium Items were sealed following the Ceremonial Duel, he had decided to try and become a better duelist and asked if Yugi would be willing to teach him.
"I had Yugi's help," he reminded the Egyptian.
"True."
. . .
"Still no word on where Atticus and Raiden are?" Jaden asked, joining Alexis in the dining room within the hotel.
Alexis shook her head. "His phone's probably dead. Aunt Emily, Uncle Matt and your dad are still out looking for him," she said. "Have you been able to reach Raiden?"
"He left his phone in our room," Jaden said, sitting down beside his girlfriend. "I tried calling him as soon as we realized he was missing."
"Do you think they're all right?'
"Ah, I'm sure they are. Where do you think they are?"
Alexis seemed to think about it for a minute before she said, "Well, hopefully, they won't get arrested or anything," she said.
"Nah, Raiden would never do anything like that. By the way, I wanted to give you something," Jaden said, remembering what he had bought the day before at one of the stores Kasumi and Emily had suggested he go to when he told them he wanted to get something for Alexis for a late birthday gift, since he hadn't been able to get her anything before her birthday.
He held out the square-shaped velvet box toward his girlfriend. "Happy late birthday, Lex," he said.
Alexis smiled and took the box before opening it, gasping when she saw it. "Oh my, this is beautiful, Jaden," she whispered, lifting the necklace out of the box. It was a silver heart-shaped pendant encrusted with sapphires and connected to a silver chain.
"I kinda got help from Kasumi and your aunt. Your aunt was the one that suggested it since I honestly couldn't think of what to get you to show how much I cared," Jaden said, cheeks red with embarrassment.
"Thank you, Jaden," Alexis said and held it out to him. "Will you help me put it on?"
Jaden nodded and, after Alexis turned and lifted her hair out of the way, he gently put in on so that it rested at the base of her throat. She lowered her head and touched the pendant and then looked at Jaden. "This must've cost a lot, though," she said. "Still, thank you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and gently kissed him.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently kissed her back.
"Get a room, you two," Chazz said as he walked into the dining room with Arina just behind him.
Jaden flipped him off for that but broke off the kiss, more because he needed air than because of Chazz, though.
. . .
"So ya lost your cousin and your cousin's friend?" Joey asked, looking at Keith who was sitting in his armchair, running a hand through his hair.
"Technically, Dad lost 'em. I was here. I've tried calling Atticus but it goes straight to voicemail, so I'm guessing that his phone's dead," Keith said.
"I'm sure he's all right, though," Yugi said.
"Yeah. I just don't know why he hasn't called. Dad made sure that we had his number memorized just in case something like this happened," Keith said.
"If ya want, we could help ya look," Joey suggested. "We've got nothing better to do, anyway."
"By the way, has anyone seen Marik and Bakura?" Yugi asked curiously. "They said they'd meet us here."
The door opened and Marik and Bakura walked into the room. "Hey, guys," Marik greeted them.
"Hey, Marik, Bakura," Yugi said.
"What's up?"
"My cousin and my cousin's friend are lost," Keith said.
"We were gonna go see if we could help find 'em," Joey said.
"Do we have any idea where they are? 'Cause Honolulu's a big city and we can't exactly cover all of it in one day," Bakura pointed out.
"Well, Mom, Dad, and Mr. Yuki are looking around Iolani Palace, since that's where we last saw 'em," Keith said. "It's possible that he could be at the beach, though, so maybe we could start looking there."
"Sounds like a plan," Joey said, standing up.
Keith also stood up. "It's late. If we wanna try and find 'em before it gets too late, we should go," he said.
. . .
"You see, I told you they wouldn't mind," Atticus said brightly. He and Raiden were currently surrounded by a few pretty ladies at the luau that Atticus had decided to crash, and dragged Raiden into joining him. They both had lei around their necks as music played in the background. It was already evening; stars glittered in the night sky and the beach was lit by torches.
Raiden sighed. "I never said they would," he said, briefly noticing that a few girls were watching them and whispering to their friends, giggling. Atticus had noticed and winked at the girls, which caused them to giggle again and Raiden to face-palm.
"How did I get caught up in this mess?" he murmured into his hand.
"You followed me," Atticus said.
"That was a rhetorical question."
"C'mon, Rai, lighten up! It's our vacation." Atticus grabbed Raiden's arm and practically dragged him over to join the giggling girls.
"Hello, ladies," he said.
One of the girls giggled. "Hi, you two are cute," she said.
"And you are very pretty," Atticus said with a smile.
The girl giggled again and pointed to Raiden, who was mutely standing off to the side. "Is he shy or something?"
"Or something," Raiden muttered, glaring at Atticus, who smiled.
"He can be. He's single, y'know," Atticus said brightly.
"Atticus!"
. . .
Chazz and Arina were with the rest of the group in the dining room. It was around time for dinner but there was still no sign of Atticus and Raiden. Matt, Emily and Kaede hadn't returned yet, though the gang did learn that Keith had gotten Joey, Yugi, Marik and Bakura to help them look. But, so far, they didn't seem to be having much luck as Alexis, whom they said they would call if they found them, hadn't received any phone calls.
"I hope they're all right," Arina said, resting her head on Chazz's shoulder.
"Yeah, me, too," Chazz said.
Arina lifted her head before looking at him. "Where do you think they are?"
"No idea. I don't know 'em well enough to know where they could've gone."
"They'll be fine, Lex," Jaden said, nearby as he rubbed his girlfriend's back.
"Why haven't they called, though? Atticus knows my number," Alexis said worriedly.
"They could be somewhere where there isn't a phone," Kyle said.
"Maybe." Alexis looked at Jaden. "Aren't you worried?"
"A little," Jaden admitted. "This isn't the first time Raiden's wandered off and gotten lost, though. I remember him getting lost in Minato when he was six. I don't remember much of what happened, but I do remember it took my parents a few hours to find him, but he was fine when they did."
"Where did they find him?" Kasumi asked curiously.
Jaden thought back and then shrugged. "I don't really remember," he said.
"Well, let's hope he's fine this time, too."
"I'm sure he will be."
. . .
Raiden and Atticus were sitting at the back of the crowd, watching the performers perform the hula, when a shout of "Atticus! Raiden!" sounded and he and Atticus turned their heads to see Keith running toward them with Joey, Bakura, Marik and Yugi just behind him.
"Hiya, Keith, what brings ya here?" Atticus said with a wave as he got to his feet and Raiden followed suit.
"What brings us here? What the hell are you doing here? Don't you know Mom and Dad are worried about you? So is everyone else!" Keith exclaimed quietly to avoid distracting the people who were watching the performance.
"We kinda got lost," Raiden said.
"Obviously. Why didn't you call?"
"Atticus's phone died and I left mine in my hotel room."
"Why didn't you ask to borrow someone else's phone or ask for directions back to the hotel?"
Raiden and Atticus exchanged glances and Atticus sheepishly said, "Uh, we kinda didn't think of that."
Keith sighed and pulled out his phone. He dialed a number and then held it up to his ear. "We found Atticus and Raiden," he said into it.
A moment of silence passed, then: "Some luau on the beach a few miles away from the hotel."
Another moment of silence, then: "Sure. Atticus, Uncle Matt wants to talk to you," Keith said, holding out the phone to Atticus.
Atticus took it. "Hello?" he said into it and then winced.
Raiden got the feeling he was being scolded.
"Sorry, sorry, Rai and I didn't really think of that," Atticus said.
Another moment of silence, then: "Yeah, yeah, I know. We should've done that as soon as we realized we were lost." Another moment passed. "Ah man. Okay, bye." Atticus pouted as he handed the phone back to Keith.
"What happened?" Raiden asked.
"They're gonna tell my parents," Atticus muttered.
"Raiden, your dad wants to talk to you," Keith said, holding out the phone to the other brunet.
Raiden took it. "Hello?" he said.
"Thank goodness you're all right. Why didn't you call me or Jaden or Kasumi or anyone?" Kaede asked, relief clear in his voice.
"I kinda forgot my phone in the hotel room."
"So why didn't you ask to borrow a phone? You've had me worried all day."
Raiden sighed, feeling guilty. "Sorry, Dad, I didn't mean to worry ya. We didn't really think about it."
"Obviously. We'll talk more when you get back to the hotel," Kaede said firmly and then asked Raiden to return the phone to Keith.
Keith took it. "We're heading back to the hotel now," he said into it.
"Aw man, can't we stay for the rest of the luau?" Atticus asked pleadingly. "I mean, no sense in leaving before the party's over."
Raiden shook his head in exasperation.
. . .
"Raiden!"
"Atticus!"
Jaden, Kasumi and Alexis immediately went to Raiden and Atticus as soon as the exhausted duelists walked into the room; both of them had lei around their necks and Atticus looked happy, though that could be because he had some lipstick on his cheek from where he had been kissed by one of the girls at the luau.
"Hey, guys," Atticus said with a wave.
"Where have you been?" Alexis asked.
"Got lost, found a luau and stayed there 'till Keith and the others found us. Plus, a pretty girl kissed me so I'm happy."
"You won't be once Aunt Serena finds out you 'forgot' to find a phone and call us when you found yourself lost," Keith said dryly.
"Way to kill the mood, Keith."
"And what happened with you?" Jaden asked his brother, raising an eyebrow. "Wait, let me guess, you were the one that got you and Atticus lost, right?"
Raiden smacked his brother upside the head, glowering.
Jaden, rubbing his head, smiled.
Kaede entered the lobby at that moment with Matt and Emily just behind them, Emily was on the phone and she turned to Atticus. "Atticus, your mom wants to talk to you," she said.
Atticus sighed but took the phone. "Hey, Mom," he said into it and walked away with the phone.
Kaede walked over to Raiden and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Next time, don't forget to use common sense," he said.
"I'm not convinced he has any," Jaden teased and was smacked upside the head again. "I'm kidding, Rai."
Kasumi chuckled. "So you ended up in a luau?" she asked.
"Yeah, we had fun, though, so I guess that's something," Raiden said with a shrug.
Atticus walked over to join them, handing the phone back to Emily. "I didn't get into trouble, but Mom said that I should've used common sense," he said.
"That's what Dad told me," Raiden said with a shrug and then stopped. He pointed to the silver pendant that hung around Alexis's neck. "Whoa, Alexis, where'd you get that?"
Alexis rested her hand on it, a small smile on her face. "It was a late birthday gift from Jaden," she said.
"How the hell were you able to afford that?" Raiden said, turning to his brother, who shrugged.
"Dad helped me out," he replied.
"Oh."
. . .
Friday, the day before the final match of the tournament, found the gang at the Aloha Tower. They were currently in the tenth floor observation deck, looking at the various landmarks they could see like the harbor and the towering Koolau Mountains. Jaden curled an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders and Alexis leaned against him.
"I wonder if Dad's gonna cut the vacation short since we're running outta places to visit after the finals tomorrow," Jaden mused.
"Maybe," Alexis said.
Nearby, Chazz and Arina were talking quietly with each other as they gazed out the window.
"So, why don't you like them?" Arina asked. She had learned sometime before that Chazz could see and talk to duel spirits and she had wondered why he didn't seem to like his duel spirits, so she decided to ask.
"They're annoying," Chazz grunted, glaring at Ojama Yellow, who was currently floating right in front of him, taking in the view. "Will you get outta my way?!"
'Sorry, boss, but this is such a nice view!' Ojama Yellow said. 'I'm gonna ask Blue, Red, Green and Black to join us!'
Chazz's eye twitched. "One of you is enough," he growled.
'It's not very nice to play favorites, boss,' Ojama Yellow pointed out.
"I'm not playing favorites. I don't like all of you equally!"
'Ah, I know ya like us, boss,' Ojama Yellow said brightly.
"That wasn't very nice," Arina said at the same time.
"I guess," Chazz muttered. He wasn't going to apologize, though.
"I think it'd be nice to have a duel spirit," Arina said thoughtfully.
Chazz shrugged.
Nearby, Kasumi was watching her duel spirit. She and Shire had gotten close in the months since she had started to see and hear the fairy. Shire also had a childlike curiosity and seemed to enjoy discovering new things and exploring new places. She was currently zooming around the observation deck, startling Chazz and amusing Jaden and Raiden, as well as their duel spirits, who were hovering behind them, before returning to Kasumi's side.
'I like this place. We're so high up!' Shire exclaimed excitedly.
Kasumi chuckled. "It's a nice view," she said, turning to the mountains.
Shire sat down on the Lightsworn duelist's shoulder. 'Look, I can see our hotel from here,' she cried happily, pointing a little hand toward the hotel in the distance. There was no telling if it was really their hotel but Kasumi decided against pointing that out.
She just chuckled.
Kaede walked over to stand beside Kasumi. "Your mother says hi," he said.
"How is she?" Kasumi asked.
"Fine. She just got back to Japan earlier today," Kaede said.
"Oh. That's good."
Kaede nodded in agreement. Inwardly, though, he was concerned because his wife was still paranoid. Though she had agreed to talk with a therapist about what happened, he knew that she still believed in that warning.
He glanced toward Kasumi who was gazing at the mountains, occasionally saying something to something only she could see—something that Jaden and Raiden did a lot—and then turned to Jaden and Alexis who were sharing a kiss and Raiden who was talking to something only he could see.
I hope that I'm right about this. I don't want to know what he would do if he really is back, especially not after what happened at the hospital when he left, Kaede thought.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: well, that was chapter 5, the second to last chapter of part one
Darth: cool
Blaze: you know, I've started watching Season 0 of Yu-Gi-Oh! again and, while it is very good and I kinda may have had a fangirl moment when Bakura came into the picture, I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that Kaiba had green hair. Green hair!
Kaiba: yeah, we don't talk about that point in time
Yami: I still find it hilarious
Bakura: so do I
Marik: (looks out the window)
Jaden: checking to see if the apocalypse has started?
Marik: Yami and Bakura are agreeing on something so yeah I am
Jesse: (chuckles and holds up piece of paper) question time?
Bakura: you actually have a question?
Blaze: I just finished all 52 posted episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V so, yeah, I've got questions for this chapter and the next two chapters after this one
Jesse: well, I'll read today's question then. Today's question is: Who is your favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V character? If you have more than one, please name your top five. Blaze's favorite ARC-V characters, in order as of right now, are Yuya Sakaki, Yuzu Hiragi, Yuto, Shun Kurosaki and Reiji Akaba.
Jaden: cool
Blaze: yup. So I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.