A/NHey! I hope you all enjoy this chapter - I was on a roll, especially since this was the chapter I've been planning since day one. Seriously. And there's so much more to come!
I even managed to get some ancient Greek in here - that's a winner if ther is one.
Thanks to WoNdY Alice and DaughterofDeath for their reviews - you two keep me going!
CHAPTER 6.
"Half-Brother! Half!" Jou's face was bright red with exertion as he glared at his brother, "And dammit, Bromius, I told ya to leave me alone! You're clingy and psychopathic to boot!"
"Oh, brother, you're such a flatterer!" Bromius coyly fluttered his eyelashes at Jou, "I never knew you felt that way about me. Although," Bromius' face turned thoughtful as he placed a slim finger on his chin, "It does explain why you never answer my calls, or letters, or faxes, or e-mails, or texts, or telegrams, or..."
"Shut up! Gods! You are so weird! And you wonder why I never come 'n visit." Jou, red-faced turned to his friends, "Come on guys, let's get outta here."
"Ah, but Jou..." Yugi, looked rather disappointed by Jou's apparent dislike of his brother, as did the rest of the gang; Yami, Bakura and Marik all looking like they had won the lottery in Blackmail – what was more incriminating than an embarrassing brother.
"Jou... You never told me you had a brother... I thought I was your best friend?" Honda looked so lost, it was as if everything he'd known about Jou had just crumbled in front of him.
"Honda," Jou looked imploringly to his best friend, "I promise, I'll tell ya everything later, just not now... I've gotta speak with... this guy...for a bit, find out wha' trouble he's gotten into now."
"Trouble, moi?"Bromius had a look on his face as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, "I just came over to welcome you to the museum, as per my job, and offer you all (as Jou's friends) an invitation to my party! Believe me, you've never lived until you've been to one of mine," his smile as he said this would make a shark jealous.
"Oh no! Don't even think about it. No one is going to any of ya parties. Ever." Jou had his arms crossed and the most serious expression on his face any one had ever seen before, "Now get over here so I talk to ya' about why ya don't invade my privacy." That said, Jou dragged his brother across the gallery and swerved around the crowds until they found themselves in a private corner between two display cases filled with geometric figurines.
"Yugi!"
The gang turned towards the noise, leaving Jou and Bromius to sort out their squabble by themselves.
And there was Grandpa. And another, surprisingly, familiar old man who had a few of his front teeth missing. Anzu, Honda, Yugi and Yami cringed at the memory that returned to them at the sight. It was not in the least their, or Shadi's, finest moment.
"Ji-chan!" Both Yugi and Sugoroku met each other half-way across the museum's gallery floor in a hug.
Upon parting, Sugoroku gestured towards Yoshimori-Sensei and told the gang his participation in the new exhibit.
"You see, it was all Yoshimori-Sensei's idea! He was the one to raise the money and put this whole thing together – and it is wonderful, right kids?"
Yoshimori-Sensei blushed under their scrutiny, but stood proud of his achievements, "Well, really, it was a joint effort, and it helped that many European and American museums, as well as the university, wished to participate in bringing Classics to the Japanese. Besides, it makes a refreshing change from the Egyptology!" He laughed heartily.
"It's great Yoshimori-Sensei! I especially like how you hired that actor to really bring this museum to life!" Anzu said, it seemed as if Bromius had made a real impact upon her, and the others too as the nodded emphatically along with her.
However, Sugoroku and Yoshimori-Sensei didn't look so pleased. In fact, they looked down-right confused. It was Yoshimori-Sensei who recovered first.
"But... I haven't hired any actors..."
"Από Ζεύς, είστε τόσο ηλίθιοϊ!" (By Zeus, you are so stupid!), Jou punched the wall beside him in anger, "What are you thinking?" Jou really felt as if he was about to explode in anger, "Coming here, looking like that! It's cheating! What if my friends found out about you-know-what?"
"You mean the bet or your godliness?"
"Both! But it wasn't a bet – it was...a challenge"
Bromius, did not look convinced, "Right, so when I said: 'Hey, I bet you couldn't act human for a whole human life-span' and you said, 'I so could, I bet my lyre on it' and then I said, 'Well, I bet on my wine that you can't' and then we agreed on this over the river Styx... you're saying that that wasn't a bet?"
Jou looked very embarrassed.
"Well... only a little one – and besides, I know I'll win, you willjust have to start being used to being sober, little Dionysus."
Dionysus, Bromius, did not look concerned. In fact he looked positively nonchalant as he leant on the wall next to Jou, "Psh...not likely, especially when I tell you my news..." the last part was delivered in a rather sing-song manner, but his eyes were serious and calculating.
"Oh?" Jou turned his back to the wall and leant right next to his brother, "And what news would that be?"
"Nothing big, well... unless you count Alecto and the other Erinnyes escaping and going rogue big news. Oh, and your sister's missing."
"What?" Jou almost fell down from the shock, as it was he was glad he was leaning on the wall, because he was sure his knees weren't working properly.
"Well, I was all for leaving you in the dark, in a weak mortal body, but our Great Father wouldn't hear of it."
"Dionysus," Jou's tone warned Dionysus off of the jokes, for a while.
"Really though, we're all in the dark on this one. Your sister disappeared... oh, what was it...around sixteen, maybe sixteen and a half, years after we started the bet and we haven't-"
"No, I'm not worried about that, I know where Artemis is. She comes and visits often, she's off on one of her: 'Girls can do things better than boys' stunts." Jou physically waved his hand, as if to (metaphorically) wave away the issue, "This time she's trying to show that she can be more 'mortal' than I can. Ha! As if!"
"So, she's alright then?"
"Sure!"
Dionysus looked visibly relieved, "Good. I'll tell the family. To be honest, with the whole Alecto thing... we thought she'd been forcibly shuffled off the immortal coil, as it were."
"Well, she hasn't."
"Good."
"Good."
The mood between them had obviously turned awkward.
"Well, I'm gonna' head back over to Yugi and the gang, we've chatted long enough as is."
"Yeah, well, I'm gonna' head home." Dionysus straightened up and started to walk to the museum's entrance, until he stopped and turned to face Jou, "Party? I mean, we never have the same atmosphere without you," Dionysus' eyes turned big and soppy, "You're the music to out hearts,"
Jou grinned, this was one of the things he missed most about home, "Get outta' here you loon! Go on! Get! Back to your panthers and leopards and what nots!"
Dionysus laughed as Jou mocked chased him across the gallery – despite the now dwindling crowds – and called back as he left, "Jaguar actually, a Jaguar XJ." And then he was gone.
Jou's smile faded and he walked over to Yugi and the gang, now noticing Sugoroku and Yoshimori-Sensei were there.
Jou suddenly stopped dead as he remembered that he'd forgotten to ask about Alecto and the escaped Erinnyes.
'Shit'
Jou realised he had no way of getting any new information until someone from his family randomly turned up again – which wasn't likely in a small town like Domino, now was it.
A/N REVIEW and Dionysus will personally come to invite you to his party!