The Magicians' Realm Chapter 2: Preparations, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Chapter 2, everybody! In which we get ready for this upcoming Masquerade Ball….

Fromtheashtrees, thanks for the review! Yes! Finally, it starts! Now I need to do more art for it….You and me both. *~* I was sort of inspired by Once Upon a Time, but I've found I had to write the stories for the two timelines in their entirety and then splice them together. Which means I have to stay far ahead of this story to ensure a regular update….On the plus side, that generally results in about three chapters once it's done. Yes! This thing is going to be ridiculously long—remember Chaos Avatar Desertion? This is already much longer and not even finished. *v* Really? Have you read Kohaku no Hime's The Princess and the Dragon yet? That one is ridiculously well-done. *-* Anyway, hope this next chapter pleases! :D

Varee, thanks for the review! Thanks, glad you like! I prefer writing in third person, generally (although this story has switched itself to first person a couple of times—I can't explain it *~*). Yes, really—one chapter, every week, until such time as it garners enough interest to justify updating twice a week. Cheers!

References:

Yuki followed Yami as he walked off, a slight spring in his step. Focused on girls instead of practicing for Friday night. Well, one girl, but it still counted.

He recalled what Yami was supposed to do at the Masquerade Ball. Yami didn't seem concerned about it one bit, and why should he be? After all, he was the best magician in his age group, and most of the others as well. So if he wasn't worried, then neither was Yuki.

Instead, Yuki thought about the girl Yami had just asked to the Ball. She obviously had no magical skill whatsoever, so why did Yami ask her? Yuki wondered briefly if it was something romantic (which is what Kels would have suggested), but he decided that it was probably just Yami working to stroke his own ego. He was like that.

"Hey, Yami, what happens after Friday?" Yuki asked offhandedly. At least, he tried to. He wasn't sure what that was supposed to sound like.

"If all goes well—and it will—the Administration will put me down as a very likely candidate for the next Head Mage." Yuki could tell this excited his brother, even though his voice remained even. "Once that happens, I'll be able to study any magic I want to."

Yuki couldn't help but grin. His brother had mastered every single magical art allowed to young magicians; once he sufficiently pleased the Administration of High Magicians, he'd be allowed access to magics that only adults could touch—even, perhaps, a few branches that only High Magicians were allowed to study.

"Do you think you can teach me?"

It was a question that Yuki always asked, and one that Yami always had a ready answer for.

"No."

"Why not?"

"There are probably a lot of good reasons, but none so pithy as 'I don't want to.'"

Yuki sighed. He wanted to learn magic, truly—but only from his brother; the University, the Academy, and the Higher Learning buildings on the grounds of the old school of Hallowed Fields just didn't have the same spark. The teachers were generally sour faced, while Yami always looked like he had fun doing magic.

Yami paused and glanced back at his brother. "Tell you what: if Friday goes well, I'll teach you some of the smaller stuff; how's that?"

Yuki instantly perked up. "Really?"

Yami shrugged. "Sure, why not? I could do with a challenge."

Yami resumed walking down the street; Yuki followed with a spring in his step.

*\*/*

Teana had never seen her boss so nice. And he continued to be nice to her as the day wore on.

She took a minute to pull the Masquerade Ball ticket out of the pocket she had put it in for safekeeping. Technically, she didn't need it because she was going to be busing there, but that guy didn't need to know that. Besides, she'd like the opportunity to see such a ticket up close; she probably would never have the opportunity to do so again, most likely.

It was white, and made from a peculiar paper. The border was a spiky black trim, with an odd leaf at the bottom right that housed a JH inside. There was a large 1 in the center, circled with that same trim. On one side of the number was the name of the event with the location below it; on the other was the date and time.

Eight o' clock, she thought. She had to be there by six-thirty to assist with preparations, so she had plenty of time to meet that weird magic-man….Not that she had any intention of doing so.

She sighed and looked skyward. What on earth had she gotten herself into?

*/*\*

The little silver bell at the door dinged cheerily as Anzu bustled in.

"Monique! Monique!"

A dark-skinned girl with curly, shoulder-length hair came out from the back room of the store, holding a few bolts of fabric. Another girl, Miho, turned and looked at Anzu.

"Anzu! What are you doing so excited?" Miho asked, flipping her long blonde hair behind her shoulder; the yellow ribbon holding her hair in a ponytail bounced as her hair went back.

"That's what I was about to ask her!" Monique said as Anzu grinned at her fellow library-worker.

"Well," Anzu said, and then paused. She decided to wait for them to get all worked up, which didn't take long.

"Come on, tell us!"

"I was asked to the Masquerade Ball."

They gave her the reaction she was expecting: excited squeals. Miho immediately bubbled over with excitement, and Monique quickly started rattling off what they had to do to get her ready.

"We're going to need to do your hair; your nails; get you a nice, fancy dress—and a mask! You can't go to the Masquerade Ball without a mask."

"Oh Anzu! This is wonderful! It's just like one of those stories I read! Did you get asked by a prince?" Miho asked.

"No, he was a magician, and this is not like one of your romances," Anzu returned.

"Oh, a magician! You're coming up in the world!" Miho chimed, missing Anzu's angry glare; Monique just shrugged.

"Miho, get that bolt over there. No, not that one, the one next to it." Monique grabbed another bolt and held it next to Anzu. "We need to get something that compliments your skin tone; pity you're not a nice brown, like me."

"You go with everything, don't you, Monique?" Anzu asked, smiling.

"You know it girl!" Monique said, flashing a smile and selecting a bolt. She started measuring out fabric as Miho kept prattling on.

"Think about it Anzu, this is your big chance!" Miho said, dancing around; Anzu wondered if she ever got tired. "It's just like in a romance: the dashing young magician plucks the poor commoner girl out of her unhappy life, conjures up a dragon, and they fly off into the sunset."

"For one, I am not a poor commoner girl," Anzu seethed as Monique took measurements. "And second, he didn't conjure up anything more than some birds, sparks, and his little brother. I doubt he's that good."

"A magician is a magician," Miho returned primly, still lost in her fantasy world.

"She's got a point there, girl," Monique told her. "Magicians automatically are more privileged than we could ever hope for. Like him or not, he may be your ticket to getting close to one of the magician families."

"Isn't there something that doesn't involve magic?" Anzu sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if the Gypsians don't have the right idea about sailing around all day on their rafts."

"Like the Gypsians Samuel Clemens wrote about?" Miho piped up excitedly. "I loved that story about the Gypsian boy who rescued that servant—they weren't as privileged back then, you know."

Monique cut Miho a glare before continuing. "Like it or not, girl, magic is the high-class; besides, I know for a fact that you've wanted to learn ever since you were small—this is your chance."

Anzu blushed a bit; that much was true.

"C'mon," Monique said, gesturing towards the fitting rooms in the back. "Let's get you looking like a magician's dream come true."

"If only the magician was my dream come true," Anzu sighed as she followed Monique back.

What on earth had she gotten herself into?