The "Aka Neko Cafe", aka the "Red Cat Cafe", was a recent development in Domino. Opened in the building complex that had replaced the Black Clown game store, it was a cat café that worked with the local cat shelter to adopt out its tenants to the customers who fell in love with them.
It was also the first location on the list of places Yugi and her friends were going to hit on their day out and where Yugi, quietly, filled Mai in on everything she had missed as they enjoyed their drinks and the company of some friendly felines.
"So, you're telling me that there's another woman competing?" Mai demanded, slamming a hand down on the table and startling the ginger tabby cat that had curled up next to her as they had talked. "And you didn't think to introduce me?"
"I mean she's…" Yugi paused to consider her words carefully.
"Been threatening Yugi for months." Anzu huffed irritably over her cup of tea, watching the servers dodge the cats as they started over with their treats. "Over something that isn't even Yugi's fault."
"Oh… because of…" The blonde Duelist gestured to the Puzzle.
Amane, who was waiting for the sugar to put in her tea, was not quite sure why she had dared to agree to come to this gathering, other than wanting the chance to do something with her friends. "The history attached to it, yes."
"I think I got through to her last night." Yugi sighed as she leaned back in her chair, waiting for the waitress to drop off their food and watching as Rebecca, who had been quiet since last night, had to fend off a particularly insistent black kitten who wanted to try her bacon and cheese wrap. "She might work with me, but I don't… she's been hurting for a long time with only her brothers to talk to. I don't think she really trusts that I don't want to hurt them. Not yet."
"So invite her out with us." At Mai's words, the others stared at her. "Hear me out. There's more of us than there are of her, so we can kick her ass if she tries something physical, and both you and Bakura have magic, so there's two of you if she decides to start something magical."
Yugi glanced at Amane, who pursed her lips. "I don't…"
'Remember, I have a deal with her.' Amane trailed off when the Spirit of the Ring spoke over their bond. 'I keep the Tomb Keepers off their back and she'll give me her Millennium Item after Battle City. It wouldn't help her to attack us right now.'
'Point…' Amane let out a sigh. "If we're going to invite her, do we need to rebook the nail place?"
"I'll call them." Mai waved it off. "I can get them to add another."
"Do we really want Ishizu along?" Rebecca cut in, still unnerved by the magic that had been thrown around the evening before and still not entirely sure how she felt about everything she had been told. It all seemed so insane that she only believed it because she had seen the evidence with her own eyes. "She was a little…"
As the black kitten proceeded to use Rebecca's distraction to steal some of the bacon from her snack, distracting the girl, Yugi had to redirect a silver, short-furred cat, from trying to take a drink of her milk.
"Item holders can be… intense." Anzu shrugged, being wise enough to have ordered something the cats would not be interested in and trying not to giggle at the struggles of her friends. "I'll admit I'm not happy about the idea of having her around, but if Yugi's going to try and be friends with her, we're going to have to deal with her anyway. So you might as well invite her."
Amane tried not to wince, fully aware that was how Yugi's friends had felt about her to start with.
'What do you think, Anesan?'
At her sister's question, Meisa sent the mental equivalent of a grimace, 'I don't know, Imoto. She said she was willing to try to be our ally, but I don't know how trustworthy she is. Mai seems interested and Amane didn't say no, so if you want to try it…'
'The question is Rebecca.' Yugi glanced at the younger girl, whose hand had gone to her pocket once she had shooed the kitten away.
As Rebecca ran her thumb over the detailing on the front of the magical compact that Ishizu had given her, she tried to decide how she felt. She knew there were things Yugi had not fully explained last night and she hated not having all of the information. If she could catch Ishizu alone, she could possibly get what she wanted.
The question was, did she trust her when Ishizu had so blatantly tried to manipulate her last night?
"I'm not afraid," Rebecca decided finally as she took her hand out of her pocket and picked up her wrap. "Besides, I want to kick her butt in the arcade."
"Alright, I guess I'll give her a text."
The sound of Marik's message alert going off startled the Egyptian teenager and he nearly dropped the tools he was using to check the latest print run of fake cards. He carefully put them down and checked who was trying to contact him. There were not many with his number, since he had only gotten the pay-as-you-go phone set up once he had moved to Japan, so whoever it was, was someone he would want to answer.
His eyes widened as he saw the message from the Pharaoh, then he grinned and headed for the kitchen, where he could hear Ishizu and Rishid talking.
"…can do it, Rishid." Marik paused just short of the doorway to listen to his sister's irritated voice. "I know how to cook."
"Yes, and your cooking isn't bad," his brother allowed, "but you've been working non-stop for days. Please let me prepare tonight's meal, while you rest."
"Doing what?"
"I have an idea, Ukhti." Marik stepped into the room and offered his sister his phone. "You really should give Yugi your number, so I don't have to play messenger."
"What does it say?" Rishid's curiosity got the better of him as their older sister raised an eyebrow.
"She's inviting me to join her and her friends for a 'girls' day out'," the young woman answered, her eyebrows furrowing, "though I don't know why."
"You were saying that you said you'd consider an alliance," Rishid pointed out. "She might be trying to get to know you."
"Still… it's a waste of time I could be using to prepare for Battle City…"
"When was the last time you did something just for you?" At Marik's question, the young woman paused to think. "Not for me, not for Rishid, not to make the Pharaoh do what we want her to do? Just for you?"
Ishizu paused to think about it. If she was honest with herself, it was probably back in Paris, when she had dared to think that her betrothed was actually on their side and she had wanted to show him the world outside the catacombs. They had been at the top of the Eiffel Tower when he had admitted the real reason for coming to find her and that as they spoke, the men who had come with him were collecting her brothers…
Hanaq had introduced him to the fast way down and was still certain that he would have made an interesting splat as he had met the ground…
She had nearly had her family taken from her that day because she had dared to be selfish and think about herself and what she wanted, rather than her brothers.
Ishizu did not want to make that mistake again.
"I know Paris hurt." At her younger brother's words, she startled, wondering how he had known what she was thinking. "Omori…"
"Made his choice." Ishizu cut her brother off sharply, not wanting to talk about the man who had betrayed her. "I'm not…"
"Ishizu." She trailed off at Rishid's snap and rocked back on her heels. It was unusual for him to be harsh with either of his siblings, and that he had, meant she needed to listen. "I know you're still hurting. You don't do anything just to make yourself happy, you don't make spontaneous choices, you barely ever let yourself relax… We're worried about you."
The oldest of the Ishtar siblings let out a huff and leaned back on the kitchen counter, "Will you stop worrying, if I take her up on her offer?"
"It would be a start, yes." Marik nodded, jumping up to sit on the worksurface next to his sister. "Rishid and I need to work on ensuring our cards work on the Duel Disks anyway. It's going to be boring, and you finished the last Memento last night. Not that you need them now, right?"
Ishizu's lips pursed as she considered the Shadow-infused trinkets on her desk.
Yes, she had finished them. She had also spent precious time and energy breaking Penalties on the people who were to bear them.
Her Little Spider was already in Domino, checked into the hotel for competitors, while her Eliminators were going to be here tomorrow, having needed to pick up their decks from their families before revenge could be had.
All three of them would be meeting with her the evening before Battle City to collect their tools.
The only one left was her Brute, whom she had spent almost half a year putting back together. It had been hard to find the pieces of his soul amongst the darkness, especially since his physical form had been fed to the Shadows along with it, but she had done it.
She just needed to pull him out and bring him back into the mortal world, and she was not ready for that. The Shadows had been more than willing to share the story of how he had ended up in the state he had, and Ishizu was not willing to give him time to find a way to assault her or her family, like he had the Pharaoh and her brat… Yugi.
Her plan had been to summon him back from the darkness on the morning of the event itself, since she was going to have to keep a tight leash on him if she wanted him to play by her rules.
The question was, did she want to move forward after last night's conversation?
She did not have to hand her tools their magic. She could just let them do their own thing. It would be a shame to have wasted all that energy reviving them, but she HAD agreed to ally with the Pharaoh…
She let out a huff and moved away from the counter. She did not have to decide now. Perhaps a day with the Pharaoh, getting to understand her and what she really needed to move forward, rather than second guessing herself, was for the best.
"You're certain you'll be alright without me?" Ishizu asked. "I don't…"
"We're not going anywhere, and the Tomb Keepers haven't been back in town for months. We'll be okay." Rishid put a hand on her shoulder. "I swear, if anything happens, we'll call. You know you can get back to us in an emergency."
The Bearer of the Millennium Rod hesitated. When Paris had happened, 'she' had gotten back from the Eiffel Tower in seconds… but it had not been HER.
She did not know how Hanaq had done it, but it was one of the few times that she had been grateful for her darker self.
'And I'd do it again.' She straightened at the echo of her own voice bouncing back at her from her own mind. Her wrath, apparently, had opinions. 'Marik and Rishid are ours. We are NOT losing them. It's about time you tried to learn more about the Pharaoh anyway. We can't fight her effectively if we don't get to know her. If she turns on us, we need to know how to hurt her the most.'
"Fine… Give me her number." Ishizu pulled her phone out, reassured that should something go wrong, then at least Hanaq would have a target Ishizu would not feel bad targeting. "She may have changed her mind."
"She's made her choice. She's going." Azra opened her eyes to watch her husband, who was pacing back and forth. "But I don't…"
Karim did not listen to her. Instead, he strode from the room to talk to his men.
Green eyes sank to the floor. The Necklace Bearer knew her standing had fallen greatly over the last few months, as she had refused to out the location of the Ishtars to her husband and the rest of the tribe, but she had sworn an oath on the Shadows.
Azra would leave the Ishtars alone and provide information on what happened back in Egypt. In exchange, the Demon Thief would not attack Azra and would side with the Pharaoh in Battle City.
And if either of them broke that oath, their soul was forfeit.
Her husband did not care though. Battle City was days away and he wanted the Ishtars as far away from the competition, and the Pharaoh, as possible. They had returned to Domino specifically for that reason.
And she had forced him to spy on them the old-fashioned way, by following the youngest boy from the game shop where he worked and finding out where he lived.
A nasty little voice in Azra's head reminded her that Ishizu was not entirely wrong to be fed up with the way things were handled by the tribe. The oldest Ishtar sibling was not the only one who thought that what had happened to Marik was unfair. Yes, it had been traditional, but there HAD been an Ishtar boy who was willing to take on the duty. Rishid might have been adopted, but he had been accepted by the tribe and his mother and siblings. He was an Ishtar in everything but blood.
As the keeper of the records, Azra was fully aware that it would not have been the first time the scriptures had been out of the control of the Ishtar bloodline. In fact, they had only started leading the catacombs a few generations ago, during the Second World War.
In one of her rebirths, the Pharaoh's vessel had been born into the tribe. Sadiki Ali, the Leader of the tribe at the time, had dared to go above ground with her and some of his strongest men, to go to the Pharaoh's tomb. He had been hopeful that Urbi would be able to win the games guarding her ancient self and help the tribe claim the Millennium Puzzle.
The trip had been a complete disaster. The war that had been raging at the time had seen to that. Sadiki had managed to return, alone and badly injured, carrying Urbi's body. The effort it had taken to get her back to the catacombs for proper burial had been too much for him though, and he rested alongside her.
Seeing the catacombs now leaderless and weakened by the losses, Khalfani Ishtar, Ishizu and Marik's great-grandfather, had taken advantage of the situation to seize control and tighten the rules, preventing the loss of anyone else for the rest of the war.
And they had never been loosened.
Azra could see how they had been needed back then, but even just by reading the records, she could see how they were causing the tribe to die out. They just were not able to function effectively with the limitations they presented. Things that were needed were getting in such short supply that the rules would need to change in the next couple of generations, or the tribe would be lost.
Knowing what she did, Azra had been the one to encourage Ishizu in her attempt to claim the Pharaoh's Truth. As Head of the Tribe, Ishizu could have brought them into the light and helped fix everything…
But Ishizu's father had betrayed her and what had happened to Marik had started the tribe on a downward spiral that, unfortunately, the tribe would not recover from.
As such Azra was still trying to decide what she wanted for her future. She was tired of being pushed around by her husband, even though he needed her more than she needed him. She was also the closest thing the Ishtar children had to a mother. She had been there to teach and raise Ishizu and Rishid during the ten years that their father had been solely focused on Marik. She had been there when no one else had.
And, in a way, Karim was right not to trust her.
She had aided in the hunt for the Ishtars, that was true. However, it had not been to bring them back and punish them, as Karim wanted. When she had first gotten the Millennium Necklace, it had shown her the path she needed to tread to get the 'best ending' and that included ensuring that the Ishtars kept moving.
That way they could not be poached by something older and more powerful than even the items and used like the pawns they would have become.
Azra did not want to drag them back into the darkness. She just wanted to save their souls and keep the world from drowning. Everything she had done, everything she was going to do, was for that goal.
She would sacrifice herself for them if she had to.
Right now, by making an ally of Ishizu, the Pharaoh had found a new route to victory. One Azra had not seen before, where no one needed to die and the suffering of those around her could be greatly mitigated.
But if Karim followed his planned path. If he went ahead with his attempt to snatch Ishizu's brothers from her grasp while she was not looking, what was to come would entirely be on him. Neither Azra nor the Pharaoh would be responsible for the fate that befell him or anyone else.
She had wanted to lie to him and tell him that Ishizu was staying behind, since it would prevent him from attacking, but he had spies on site. He would have known if she chose to hide the truth.
And this had not been a test of her powers, but a test of her loyalty.
Karim had made it clear that if she betrayed the tribe by lying to him, Ishizu would not be the only Item Holder that would not be returning to the catacombs. By admitting that Ishizu was leaving her brothers unattended, Azra had ensured that she could still be in a position where she could help the trio AND try to mitigate any damage.
She had to try to dissuade Karim, he was her husband after all, but he HAD threatened her life. If he chose to ignore her warnings, then there was still a path that the Pharaoh could take to victory, even if it was one fraught with danger and potential loss.
And Karim would have chosen his own fate.
Once upon a time, Azra would have been sad about that and that the young woman she considered her daughter would have more blood on her hands, but if Karim took the choice from the Necklace Bearer's hands, she would not mourn.
Not anymore.
Even if the Pharaoh completed her destiny in this life, rather than fall and doom the world, the tribe would die. With its duties completed, it would scatter to the wind as those who had completed their tasks made new lives and realised that they could have better futures.
As Azra's head rose and her hands balled into fists, she knew that she might have to sacrifice herself for those she considered her children once more.
If Karim chose to attack, he chose to die for the tribe and Azra would be free of him and his inability to see past the rules he had grown up with. She would be free to open up properly to the Ishtar siblings, apologise for everything she had done and create her own life once the duties of the tribe were complete.
If she was successful, if she managed to keep him from being the victim of his own idiocy, then he would return to the dark tunnels, unable to change enough to step into the light and Azra knew she would be shackled to him for the rest of her days until they died, and the tribe died with them.
And as she stalked after her husband for one last attempt to stop Battle City becoming a living hell, she could no longer bear that fate.
She would, for the Ishtar siblings, but if she could get the 'ending' she wanted?
Then she wanted to live.
Ishizu still was not sure that this was a good idea as she chained up her brother's motorcycle and headed for the Aka Neko Café, where she was supposed to be meeting up with the Pharaoh and her friends. In fact, if they had not suggested such a public meeting place, she would not have heeded the nagging of her brothers.
The cream and grey cat in the window mewed at her through the glass as she approached, causing her to let out an amused huff. Marik had been asking if they could get a cat for months, ever since he had met Ginka. She had not said yes or no, yet, but she had reminded him that they had no stable home. The house they lived in now was not where they planned to live forever, and should the Tomb Keepers come to find them, like they had so many times before, it would be hard to move quickly if they had to hunt out where their pet had gone.
Not that she wanted to move again, other than into a less decrepit property. She was tired of being on the run and she knew that it was bad for the futures of her siblings. Marik had not even had the chance to get a modern education because the Ishtars had not been able to stay in one place long enough to find their feet.
Upon seeing the group of five within the café through the window, she took a shaky breath. It was one thing to agree to meet with the Pharaoh and her friends, it was quite another to realise that one of those friends was the vessel of the Thief Queen and another was the girl she had given a Memento to last night.
Not that she was worried about the Hopkins girl. She knew she could take her in a battle of magic, because the twelve-year-old was inexperienced.
The Thief Queen, however, was another matter. They had an agreement between them, where Ba-Khu-Ra would keep the Tomb Keepers off their backs in exchange for Ishizu handing over her Millennium Rod after Battle City. However, the young woman was not stupid. That deal did not ensure Ishizu's safety if she did something that irritated the ancient spirit.
And for all the bravado Ishizu had shown the last time she had encountered the Demon Thief, she was fully aware that she was no match for her unless she could start the Shadow Game, and determine the rules, rather than allowing herself to be sucked into the thief's and being at her mercy.
Yugi waving at her through the window, dragged her from her thoughts and forced her to stop lurking outside. She stepped inside to find that her entrance fee had been paid and the drinks were cheap. As she emerged into the area where the felines played, carrying a green tea, she got the entertaining sight of three cats sneaking up on the blonde adult that was with the four teenagers, from different angles. The yelp the woman, who, if Ishizu was remembering rightly, was Kujaku Mai, the Harpie Duelist and Duel Queen of Europe, let out as the trio pounced at her like they were trying to take down a bird of substantial size, only to bounce off and stalk away to plan another attack, made Ishizu snicker.
'Entering exalted company are we?' Hanaq chuckled as she approached the table, not that Ishizu chose to respond, as per normal. Talking to her wrath only encouraged her to fall further down the crevasse than she already had, and Ishizu knew that if she fell too far, the demon would claim her, just like it had claimed so many before her.
The Pharaoh's vessel rose to her feet and bowed to her guest. "Ishtar-san."
Ishizu paused at the surprise politeness, then inclined her head, refusing to bow. "Yugi."
There was a quiet hiss from the brunette in the group at the rudeness, but the Pharaoh's vessel seemed unbothered as she gestured to her table. "Come and join us, I'll introduce you to the others."
Still, even now uncertain this was a good idea, she sat, nodding to Rebecca, who watched her with a considering gaze.
"Ishtar-san, these are my friends, Mazaki Anzu, Bakura Amane, Kujaku Mai and Hopkins Rebecca." Yugi pointed to each in turn. "Everyone, this is Ishtar Ishizu. She's competing in Battle City."
Mai was surprised to find that Ishizu looked to be around her age. She had expected the magic insanity to have ensnared another teenager, not an adult. Still, she was not complaining. If they could make an ally of Ishizu, rather than an enemy, they would be adding to the numbers of powerful female Duelists, and it would be nice to actually have one that she could go for a drink with after a tournament.
"So, what are the plans for today's trip?" Ishizu asked after taking a few sips of her drink and noting the slightly uncomfortable silence, unsure where to start trying to interact with the group and figuring that at least working out a plan of attack was the best place to start.
"Arcade first," Anzu spoke up, watching Ishizu over the rim of her mug. "Mai thinks she can beat me on Dance Dance Revolution."
"Then lunch on Anzu, I mean the loser." Mai smirked, unwilling to show any sort of nervousness around the newcomer. "There's a restaurant that Bakura wanted to visit."
"It's a Victorian gothic place that opened recently, with help from some backers," Amane admitted sheepishly, fully aware of who was one of those backers and able to sense the smugness of her sister in the back of her mind. "It's creepy but it's very much my style. I just haven't had anyone to go with."
"I don't mind creepy." Ishizu shrugged, unsure what kind of creepy they meant but not too worried, since her nightmares had been unnerving enough to make her mostly immune to the horror that her brothers found interesting.
"Then a stop at the card store across town that stocks really rare cards," Yugi added to the list, "because it's got some in that even Jii-san can't get."
Ishizu paused, trying to remember the contacts in the city who bought the fake cards sold by the Ishtars. "Do you mean Phoenix Games?"
"Why?"
"Because I bought cards from that shop, and they don't work on the Duel Disks," she lied, covering their business but also deciding to stop Yugi buying anything that could get her kicked from Battle City. "I don't know if they've had problems with their stock or what's going on."
At her warning, Anzu pulled out her deck and started checking it over, worry creasing her features. As she and Yugi tried to ensure the cards in Anzu's deck were playable, Mai nodded to Ishizu.
"Thanks for the warning."
Ishizu, who could see the cards across the table, was trying to remember if they had ever printed any Lunalight monsters and coming up blank, just pulled out her phone to check with her brothers, who would have access to the order list. "You're welcome. Is that everything?"
"No, we have a booking at a nail parlour. I've already let them know there's going to be an extra guest, and I'm paying so all you need to do is relax."
"Thank you." The Bearer of the Millennium Rod raised an eyebrow, surprised. She had not expected such inclusion.
The shrug the Harpie Queen gave in reply solved none of her confusion. "You're welcome."
Her phone vibrating in her hand distracted Ishizu, who was relieved to see that nothing Lunalight related had been printed by them, suggesting that Anzu's deck was made of legitimate cards. Not because she cared of course, but because she did not fancy having someone report one of the shops that they did a roaring business with.
"There's always King's Games," Yugi offered as she held one of Anzu's cards up to check the hologram in the corner. "We could make a stop there instead. They've got less rare things, but they sell more singles than we do."
"You're not suggesting your store?" Ishizu raised an eyebrow.
"If I go back to my store before I'm ready, I'll get sucked into customer service and then my day off is gone. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to help but I want to be as far away from there as possible until it's after closing." Yugi shook her head quickly.
"In that case…" Ishizu paused to think. "I know a hibachi place that does good food, cheap. If we're hungry after the store and the nail salon…"
She trailed off when a bell gently rang, letting them know their time with the cats was up and it was time to let the next set of guests come in, realising that her late arrival meant she had not had a chance to cuddle or pet a cat. "Oh…"
"That's okay, we should start moving anyway or we won't have time for everything." Mai rose to her feet easily and the others followed, except for Rebecca, who had to poke the little black kitten until it moved off of her lap first. "And I want to kick Anzu's ass."
Yugi had never seen Anzu more irritated and determined than she was as she turned and glowered at Mai.
"Not a chance."
