Three days later than I wanted to post, but it's here now.
Mahou sat at the back of the classroom listening to the teacher drone on about Japan's economics. She had her notebook open to take notes and in between notes she sketched in the margins. Things had been quiet since Shaadi had left Domino City. Mahou hadn't seen the other Yuugi, or Yami as she had begun to call him, since the incident. Though she hadn't seen him, she still dreaded the next time she would encounter him.
"Did you know your . . . cousin . . . is terrified of you? She's witnessed what you do to people who hurt you and your friends. She's watched you drive them mad for their crimes. And she fears . . . what you will do to her when you learn hers!"
Mahou's pen paused. Why did he have to tell him? And why did he tell me that he did?
Beside her, she heard Honda sigh. He was resting his head in his arms.
"My Miho-chan . . . Why did you not appear today?" he mumbled, depressed.
Mahou scanned the room, already knowing she wouldn't see her ponytailed classmate.
"So today's Japan's economy is growing in the world," the teacher lectured. A sudden beeping interrupted him. "What?"
Jounouchi fumbled with something and ducked under his desk. "Man! I just cleaned it! Here you go."
In his hand was a little keychain game. A little digital creature appeared on screen. He pressed a few buttons and the creature's mess was cleaned up.
The teacher stood over his desk and cleared his throat. "What are you doing?"
Jounouchi got back in his chair. "Don't you know, Sensei? It's the new Digital Pet product. I'm taking care of my pet. You have to take care of feeding it and taking it to the toilet. How the pet turns out depends on how you raise it. And . . . the new difference is that Digital Pets can now date. So that means you can create an even more personalized pet! Heh! It's really popular!"
The teacher thumped Jounouchi on the head. "I'm telling you to not do it during class!" he scolded.
Jounouchi rubbed his head.
At break, Yuugi, Mahou, and Anzu gathered around Jounouchi's desk.
"Silly," scolded Anzu. "Why didn't you switch it off?"
"It doesn't grow when you switch it off!" defended Jounouchi. "I want it to hurry and grow."
"Well it takes time, it can't be helped," said Anzu. She took out her own Digital Pet. "Well. I suppose that's its cute point."
Yuugi took out his own. "If you properly care for it you'll get a good outcome. It's like it's your child."
"Yeah!" Jounouchi agreed. "Right now I'm devoting half my day to him!"
Mahou took hers out from under her blouse. She had it clipped to the chain of her necklace so she wouldn't lose it. She unclipped it and tended to its needs.
The door slammed open and Honda appeared. "What a waste!" he declared loudly. He quickly composed himself a little better. "To waste time on that . . . Truly a waste of youth! Useless! Depravity!" He walked around to Jounouchi's desk.
"What was that?" asked Jounouchi.
"You didn't have to say all that!" Anzu told Honda.
"Honda-kun, this is fun," said Yuugi.
"No, I have no interest," said Honda.
Jounouchi let his Digital Pet swing from his finger. "You mean you couldn't get one, right? It's sold out everywhere."
Honda huffed. "I did not become a Beautification Member to clean up Digital Pet droppings. What I must clean is not the Digital World! Even if the droppings of Digital Pets spread to all humanity . . . I will remain in reality and continue picking up trash one piece at a time! I, Beautification Member, Honda Hiroto!"
Miho appeared in the doorway. "Good morning." She waved.
Honda went red and mimicked the gesture. "Miho-chan! Good morning . . ."
"What do you mean 'good morning'? Second period is already over," Anzu pointed out.
Miho shrugged and giggled. "Well . . . it's hard to take care of her." She took out her own Digital Pet. "She also slept late last night."
Miho's Digital Pet looked very much like her, the head shaped like her hair and even had her signature hair bow.
Honda was put into a love-struck trance. He rocked from side to side, a blush on his cheeks and his eyes glazed over.
"So you're doing it, too, Miho-chan?" asked Yuugi.
She hummed an affirmative. "I definitely want to go to Australia."
"Australia?" repeated Anzu.
Miho took a flyer out of her purse. "Here. This. Didn't you know? It's this Sunday. A pet competition. And the prize is an Australia trip!" She spun around excitedly.
"I see," said Anzu. "So that's why Jounouchi is so desperate."
Jounouchi laughed. "Well, I couldn't go on a foreign trip without this device."
Miho's expression fell. "But . . . Miho is tired. I wonder if there's someone who can raise my pet so that it can win the prize for me? And the Australia trip is for a pair."
Honda snapped out of his trance. "Pair?" He grabbed Miho's hands. "Miho-chan, leave it to me! I swear as a Beautification Member that I will make you win!"
Miho squealed. "Really?"
The others stared at Honda.
"Hey! What was all that before about humanity?" Jounouchi asked.
"I just realized it!" said Honda. "There is no difference between reality and the digital world."
"Oh really?" Anzu asked sarcastically.
"Good luck, Honda-kun," Miho said.
Yuugi noticed another classmate standing over by the blackboard. He was roughly Yuugi's height with dark hair and square glasses. He looked sad.
Yuugi went over to him. "Haiyama-kun, aren't you going to play with Digital Pets?"
"I don't have one," Haiyama told him.
A larger, repulsive boy appeared in the doorway. "Haiyama, you there?"
"Kujirada-kun."
"Come here for a bit," the boy, Kujirada, said.
Haiyama reluctantly left the room.
"Haiyama-kun . . ." Yuugi called after him. He followed a moment later.
Mahou was going to follow, but Miho stopped her.
"Mahou-chan, would you like to do a data exchange with my pet?" Miho asked.
"Oh . . . Sure . . ." replied Mahou.
That night, Yuugi and Mahou did their homework at the kitchen table. Yuugi's Digital Pet beeped and he took it out to care for it.
Mahou frowned. "That's not your pet."
Yuugi shook his head. "It's one of the extras Grandpa put back for us. I gave the one I had to Haiyama-kun. He hasn't been able to get one."
"Oh. That was nice of you." She went back to her homework.
"Mahou . . ."
Mahou looked up.
"Are you okay?" asked Yuugi.
"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked.
"It's just . . . You've been . . . distant . . . since we went to the museum," Yuugi pointed out.
"It's nothing, Yuugi." It's nothing you can help me with.
"Oh." Yuugi fiddled with his Digital Pet. "Do you want to do a data exchange? Your Digital Pet hasn't done it with this one."
"Okay." Mahou pulled hers out from under her blouse and unclipped it from her necklace.
"Why do you keep it there and not in your pocket?" asked Yuugi.
"Digital Pets are very popular right now," replied Mahou, linking the two pets together. "I don't want mine to get stolen."
Yuugi hummed. "That's probably smart. Harder for someone to take things from you . . ."
"Did something happen with Haiyama-kun when you left?" Mahou asked.
"I . . . I promised I wouldn't tell," said Yuugi.
"Ah . . ."
The Digital Pets beeped.
"They seem like they're getting along," said Mahou.
"Yeah!" Yuugi laughed.
They disconnected them a few minutes later and continued their homework.
A couple of days later they walked home from school, only Honda wasn't with them. He had left a note for the school that he would be out for a few days to take care of a child – the child being Miho's Digital Pet.
"Man, what was that Honda guy thinking?" Jounouchi complained. "He hasn't been to school since that time."
Miho had a happy smile on her face. "I look forward to the contest."
They walked by a shop with a bunch of elementary school children crowding around the window.
"What could it be?" Yuugi wondered.
They walked up to the crowd.
In the window was a gold colored Digital Pet for sale.
Yuugi let out a yell of surprise. "A Gold Pet!"
"What is it?" asked Anzu.
"Oh. A limited edition Digital Pet, only a hundred were sold," explained Yuugi. "They say you can raise an amazing pet!"
"So you're saying with that there's no way you can lose the contest?" Jounouchi asked.
"I want! I want!" squealed Miho, swaying giddily.
Yuugi's expression fell. "But it's 50,000 yen."
"Gya! 50,000?" Jounouchi repeated in shock.
"It's a premium item after all," Yuugi pointed out.
Miho didn't appear to hear Yuugi and continued to squeal. "I want! Aah!" She was shoved aside.
Kujirada plowed his way through the group of children. "Move! Move!"
Yuugi gasped.
Jounouchi cried, "Isn't that Kujirada?"
"The Gold Pet is mine!" Kujirada went up to the window and punched through the glass, snatching the gold Digital Pet.
The shop owner came running out, shouting at him.
Kujirada wasn't bothered. He held up his hand. "Price of wares and repairs." He dropped a wad of bills in front of the shop owner's face. "Catch."
The shop owner babbled happily as he snatched the bills out of the air.
Yuugi frowned. The money he took from Haiyama-kun!
Kujirada laughed and walked away.
"That bastard . . ." said Jounouchi. "He didn't even have money to buy lunch before. Just rice money.
"But it was said before," said Anzu, "he used to be a good kid, then he suddenly went wild. He was force to change schools."
"I wonder what happened," Miho added.
The next day, Anzu and Miho were in homeroom waiting for class to start.
"Honda, that guy! He's been absent three days!" Anzu complained.
"Seems he's been watching over the pet all that time," said Miho. "Miho's pet is a shoe-in for the championship."
Anzu put her hands behind her head and stretched. "You . . ."
They went over to Yuugi's desk where he and Mahou were playing with their Digital Pets. Yuugi was feeding his, a cute pet with hair just like his, but instead of his gold fringe, they were a pair of arms for the pet. It was happily eating the food Yuugi just gave it.
"How cute!" squealed Miho. "It's eating!"
Yuugi giggled. "I call him Yu-2."
"Yu-2?" Anzu repeated with a laugh. "Mine is pretty good, too." She took out her Digital Pet, a peach shaped pet with a bow atop of its head. "Here."
"Anzu's is cute, too," Miho said.
"Her name is Sumomo," Anzu said. "I'm pretty proud of her."
"What about yours, Mahou?" asked Miho.
Mahou smiled bashfully. "He's not much . . ." She held out Digital Pet, a boxy looking thing with a crooked nose and uneven eyes. "His name is Picasso, after the artist. He's not cute, but he is mine."
Jounouchi came running in. "Wait a moment!" He held up his Digital Pet. "The championship is going to my pet, Joe." His looked like a guitar pick with legs and single curl for hair.
"It's not cute," Miho said bluntly.
"The only resemblance is that they're both cheeky," added Anzu.
"Shuttup!" Jounouchi told them. "Yuugi, mind if we do a data exchange? We can make both ours grow."
"Yu-2 is kind of timid, so it'd be nice to have Joe's wild characteristic."
"All right, then . . . link up!"
Jounouchi and Yuugi linked their Digital Pets together. Joe walked over into Yu-2's screen.
"There he is! There he is!" Jounouchi cried excitedly.
Joe began kicking Yu-2.
They gasped.
"He's bullying him!" cried Miho.
"It really is just like you!" Anzu told Jounouchi.
Yu-2 seemed to take it in stride and the Digital Pets beeped as Joe went back to his screen.
"The data exchange is done," said Yuugi. "After this there should be some kind of change in his growth."
"All right! Australia is mine!" Jounouchi said, clutching his Digital Pet.
"He is taking it?" Kujirada was standing in the doorway.
"Kujirada-kun!" cried Yuugi.
"The contest winner is definitely going to be me," Kujirada announced. He held up the Gold Pet.
Jounouchi scoffed. "Kujirada, don't get a big head just 'cause you have a Gold Pet! There's no way someone like you could raise one!"
"Oh, really? This is my ultimate pet! He's DevilMaster!" Kujirada showed off his Digital Pet. It was a menacing thing with thin legs, fin-like hands, and wide smile. It had a black star in the middle of its round body.
The others looked at it with varying expression.
"He looks like he has a lousy personality," Anzu commented.
"No way, that's yours?" Jounouchi asked, stunned.
Kujirada chuckled. "If you pay money you can learn plenty of secrets."
Jounouchi gritted his teeth. "Money again?"
Kujirada grabbed the Digital Pet out of Anzu's hand. "His strength ain't just for show!" He connected the two pets. "Go, DevilMaster!"
A moment later Anzu's pet was deleted.
"My Sumomo-chan!" mourned Anzu.
Kujirada laughed. "DevilMaster grows by eating other Digital Pets."
Mahou hurried to clip her Digital Pet to her necklace and started shoving it into her shirt. Kujirada noticed and grabbed her Digital Pet and pulled hard. The chain of Mahou's necklace snapped, flying across the classroom while her pet was connected to Kujirada's.
"Picasso!"
He was devoured by DevilMaster in a second.
Mahou looked on in horror, one hand around her neck to soothe the scratches Kujirada had given her.
"Kujirada, you bastard!" Jounouchi yelled.
"Shall he eat yours, too?" the larger boy taunted.
Jounouchi grabbed his pet. "Works for me! Try if you can!"
They linked Digital Pets.
"Beat him up, Joe!" commanded Jounouchi.
Joe disappeared from the screen and DevilMaster looked around confused. Joe reappeared and started kicking DevilMaster.
"All right, good!" Jounouchi cheered.
"How cheap . . ." Anzu muttered at the surprise attack.
"No use! No use!" Kujirada yelled.
DevilMaster caught Joe and ate him, too.
Jounouchi let out a wail. "Joe!"
Kujirada chuckled. "The Australia trip is mine. Don't worry about it."
"How mean, Kujirada-kun!" cried Yuugi.
"Yeah!" agreed Miho. "How can you use the pets that others raise to go to Australia?"
Anzu glanced at Miho. "You're one to talk."
"Kujirada-kun, everyone raised their Digital Pets with care," said Yuugi. "It's so wrong to eat them!"
"Shut up!" Kujirada yelled. "In the world, those who have money win! I'll eat yours, too!"
"Stop!" A disheveled Honda walked into the classroom.
"Honda?"
"What is it?"
Honda looked like he hadn't slept in days. "I have raised the ultimate pet."
"Ultimate pet?" Kujirada asked.
"Three days without sleep or rest . . . this is the ultimate creation! Digital Super Ichigo!" He held up Miho's Digital Pet. It had changed to something a little more humanoid and was carrying a broom.
The others laughed nervously.
"Did you think I, a Beautification Member, didn't know?" Honda went on. "This device will teach you."
Kujirada laughed. "What can that pet do? I will turn him into DevilMaster's food!"
"Try it!" challenged Honda.
They linked Digital Pets and DevilMaster came over to Super Ichigo's side.
Miho screamed, expecting her pet to be eaten.
"Hmph." Honda smiled confidently.
"What?" gasped Kujirada.
Super Ichigo was literally sweeping up DevilMaster. DevilMaster disappeared.
"He . . . He did it!" Jounouchi gasped in disbelief.
"Super Ichigo does not allow trash to exist!" Honda told them. "When he finds trash he completely destroys it. He's truly the Beautification Member of the Digital World!"
The Digital Pet was currently in a victory pose.
Kujirada threw the Gold Pet down and stormed off. "Damn it!"
"That's what you get!" Jounouchi jeered.
"Honda-kun, you were so amazing!" cried Yuugi.
"Great job!" Miho congratulated.
"That truly is just like Honda," said Anzu.
There was a crash and they turned around. Haiyama was sitting at his desk and his pencil case was on the floor.
"Haiyama, what's wrong?" asked Honda.
"No . . . nothing . . ." he replied despondently.
They heard a little sniffle and turned to Mahou. She was still rubbing at her neck and looked like she was about to cry.
"Mahou?"
"Are you all right?"
"What's wrong?"
She shook her head and used her blazer sleeve to dab at her eyes. "He was mine . . . He wasn't much, but he was mine. I wasn't going to enter the contest. He wasn't even a threat . . ."
"I'm sorry about Picasso, Mahou," said Miho.
"What about your neck?" asked Anzu.
Mahou loosened her scarf and pulled her collar back. There were two thin red marks on her neck.
"Those look bad," said Miho.
"How did that happen?" asked Honda.
"Kujirada snapped her necklace when he stole her Digital Pet," said Jounouchi. He looked at the floor. "Where did it go?"
Honda was the one to find it. He picked it up and handed it back to her. "I'm sorry, Mahou. I don't know if it can be fixed."
The chain had snapped on one side and the delicate links were mangled.
Mahou let out a little sob.
Yuugi saw the tears and panicked. "Don't cry, Mahou! We'll get a new chain for it!"
"Let's take you to the nurse and get it cleaned up," said Anzu. "We don't want it to get infected."
The two of them walked out of the classroom.
Yuugi and Mahou walked the route home by themselves after school.
Mahou was staring at the broken necklace. How am I going to be able to fix this? It's missing a few links. It'll be shorter if I figure out a way to join the ends.
Yuugi was looking at the ground, deep in thought. Haiyama-kun . . . I hope Kujirada-kun hasn't done anything to him again.
The sound of heavy footsteps got their attention. Kujirada was running down the other street with a bundle over his shoulder.
"What was that?" Yuugi wondered aloud.
They both followed after him.
They reached a warehouse and heard yelling from inside.
"That sounds like Honda," Mahou said to Yuugi.
They ran inside to find Honda and Haiyama. Haiyama had a wild look in his eye and was cracking the whip in his hand. Behind them was Kujirada face down on the floor and Miho unconscious and strung up between two beams.
"Stop it!" cried Yuugi.
Honda whirled around. "Yuugi! Mahou! Why are you here?"
"I was worried about Haiyama-kun, so we followed after Kujirada-kun," Yuugi told him. "But this is how it is . . . Haiyama-kun, this is wrong!"
"You saw me during feeding time, didn't you?" asked Haiyama. "Oh, right. This childish game . . . let me return it." He threw the Digital Pet Yuugi had given him over to Kujirada.
"Haiyama-kun!" Yuugi charged in.
Haiyama pulled at the whip. "You shouldn't have been looking around!" He snapped the whip and hit Yuugi with it. Yuugi fell back into some boxes.
"Yuugi!" Mahou ran over to him.
"What a fool," Haiyama casually commented. "Completely worthless as a pet."
"You bastard . . ." Honda ran at Haiyama. He dodged several whip cracks before stumbling. He was then hit in the face and fell to the floor. "Why must the damage of staying up all night affect me now? Sleepy . . ." His head dropped to the floor.
"Honda-kun, finished already?" Haiyama asked. He realized Honda wasn't getting up. "Honda-kun? Hey, I'm talking to you, Honda-kun!" he yelled, throwing a tantrum at being ignored.
Yuugi started to get up.
"Honda-kun . . . actually I was getting bored of Kujirada," admitted Haiyama. "Won't you be my pet? That's why I called you."
"What was that?" Honda asked.
"It was fun when you get used to it," said Haiyama. "The lifestyle of a pet. And for your feed . . ." He snapped the whip at Miho, ripping off the bow of her collar. "What do you think?"
". . . You're disgusting . . ."
"Huh?" Haiyama turned to Mahou. The girl was pale and shaking. "I'm disgusting?"
Honda and Yuugi both stood up.
"Haiyama . . . you're the only one I'll never forgive . . ." said Honda.
Haiyama turned his attention back to Honda. "A pet shouldn't look at its master like that!" Haiyama cracked the whip and Honda fell into the wall.
Honda dropped to the floor.
Haiyama looked down at him. "What a fool. But that's fine. Raising a resistant pet can be interesting."
A bright glow cast shadows around the warehouse.
Haiyama turned around. "Yuugi!"
The other Yuugi was smiling. "Now . . . it's game time," he announced.
"What?"
The other Yuugi knelt down and picked up the discarded Digital Pet. He connected it with his.
Mahou gasped as she saw a giant Yu-2 appeared behind the other Yuugi and a black toad-like monster with a red star behind Haiyama.
"Sounds interesting!" grinned Haiyama. "I love this kind of thing. Go! Eat that loser!"
The Digital Pet lunged forward.
"Loser?" hissed the other Yuugi.
Yu-2 jumped into battle.
Haiyama's pet was quick to get the upper hand.
"Such a weak loser is no match!" he laughed.
"It's okay . . ." said the other Yuugi, looking strained. "This loser can . . . beat you."
Mahou watched from the side. Is he hurt? Can they be hurt by their pets attacking each other?
Yu-2 looked back at the other Yuugi and nodded with a chirp. He charged again.
"The outcome is the same no matter how many times you try!" Haiyama told him.
His pet grabbed Yu-2. Yu-2 squealed in panic.
The other Yuugi gasped.
There was a loud beeping coming from the little game.
"What?" asked Haiyama.
The other Yuugi grinned. "The effect of the data exchange has appeared. This is the sound that plays when a Digital Pet evolves."
"What? Evolves?"
Yu-2 began to change, his yellow coloring darkening to red and his eyes becoming more angular.
Like Yami . . . Mahou thought.
"The change caused by Joe's data has appeared," said the other Yuugi.
Yu-2 powered up and broke free of Haiyama's pet. Yu-2 punched Haiyama's pet as hard as he could and sent it flying.
Haiyama screamed in anguish. "What? Get up!" He whipped the Digital Pet.
"Haiyama, the match is over," the other Yuugi announced.
"Not yet!" He snapped the whip again.
The Digital Pet growled and got up.
"All right, that's it!"
It turned to Haiyama and came at him.
"Stop! I raised you!" Haiyama cried.
"The Door of Darkness opens," said the other Yuugi.
Haiyama screamed as he was devoured by his own Digital Pet.
"Pets are free to choose who they point their fangs at. You forgot that, so you lose."
The giant Digital Pets disappeared. Haiyama was sprawled out on the floor with a book full of photos over his face, a few loose and scattered around.
Mahou let out a breath she was holding.
The other Yuugi stepped over to Haiyama. "There's more to pets than food and whips. Love is needed. Seems even in the end you never understood that."
Mahou noticed Miho was missing. She looked around frantically before noticing she was lying next to Honda.
"Let's go to Australia together . . . Mama . . ." she said in her sleep.
Mahou smiled.
"Mahou-san."
Her expression fell. Mahou whirled around to the other Yuugi. Already her palms were in a cold sweat.
"Are you scared of me, Mahou-san?" he asked, his lips quirked up.
"I would be foolish not to be," she replied.
His smirk slipped.
Mahou drew back slightly, taking a breath through her teeth.
The other Yuugi reached out.
Mahou cringed, bracing for a blow.
The other Yuugi paused for a moment before flipping her hair over her shoulder and pulling back her collar. "Do you believe I would hurt you, my distant cousin . . . ?"
"But you're not, are you? Not really . . ." Mahou noticed his shirt and shoes were different from Yuugi's a few minutes ago. She didn't know if Yuugi actually owned a blue leather top and black shoes or if it was some sort of creation of the other Yuugi.
He frowned, looking at her neck. The mark from her necklace was still a vibrant red. He looked over at Kujirada,
"Please, Yami, don't."
The other Yuugi returned his attention to her. "What did you call me . . . ?"
Mahou was shaking. She wouldn't be surprised if he could feel it through the fabric he had between his fingers. "Yami . . . You're not Yuugi . . . at least not . . . oh . . ."
"I'm not what, Mahou-san?"
"You're not Yuugi," she repeated. "You look like him, but you're not him . . . And calling you 'other Yuugi' sounds wrong . . . like you're some sort of thing . . ."
He stood there with an unreadable expression. The smile then returned. "Heh, you surprise me, Mahou-san. If that is what you wish to call me." He turned away. "It's late. We should go home."
"What about Honda and Miho?" Mahou asked. "And Kujirada and Haiyama?"
"Let Honda and Miho rest. They're safe where they are. Kujirada doesn't seem like he'll be able to do much when he regains consciousness. As for Haiyama . . . He won't be causing trouble for us again."
Mahou gulped at the ominous words. He's right about Kujirada. Once a beating like that is over, you don't want to move much. And Haiyama is alive at least. But . . . what state is his mind in?
The other Yuugi, Yami, walked to the door.
The walk home was uncomfortably silent for Mahou.
Is he not going to ask about what happened on the rooftop?
They walked in the front door to the shop.
"We're home!" Yuugi's cheery voice called out.
"Ah, Yuugi, Mahou, you're late!" Sugoroku told them.
"Huh?" Yuugi looked at the clock.
"We were held up by some classmates," Mahou covered. "It's soon time for dinner, right? Do you need help closing up?"
"No need," said Sugoroku. "You two go upstairs."
"Okay!"
Yuugi and Mahou went upstairs and put their bags away, one acting like he hadn't blacked out and the other acting like she hadn't witnessed their classmate being eaten by a giant monster.
Yeah, not my best chapter ending, but it is better than my original ending. I have made a decision about what I'm going to do for the next chapters. I'm going to do Zombire next then get back on track with the anime episodes.