Haruhi Fujioka Voice: "These damn rich people."


.


Sometimes, Noa would fall into the role of tour guide when Ryo visited the Kaiba Estate, simply because Ryo fell so easily into the role of tourist. Noa didn't suppose that was surprising, all told; Ryo's entire apartment could have easily fit inside one of Kaiba Manor's bigger rooms. All they'd have to do was rearrange some furniture. It was clearly difficult for Ryo to wrap his mind around the sheer size of the place, never mind the fact that it was filled with things.

"It would be easier, I think, and more accurate, to think of this house as a commune," Noa said. Then he grimaced. "Without the unfortunate undertone of a religious cult. A good percentage of our house staff live here on the grounds. Aniki's set them up with their own rooms, their own kitchen, their own dining room." Noa found his face going hot as Ryo stared at him, clearly still not comprehending. "I suppose my point is, I'm glad you first saw this place under Aniki's management. Chichiue was much more embarrassing."

Ryo quirked an eyebrow. "Really? How so?"

"Well," Noa pointed out a nearby window, "you know those Blue-Eyes White Dragon statues?" Ryo nodded. "Aniki hired local artists to build those. I'm pretty sure he paid off at least three kids college funds with that project alone. It was one of the first things he did when he took over the estate, and he was very generous about it. Almost definitely out of spite. You know what Chichiue had out there?"

"What?"

"Stone eagles."

". . . Did your father like eagles?"

"Nope!" Noa shook his head. "Absolutely not. Chichiue hated birds. Too much noise, too much mess, too many diseases. He kept them because they suited the image he wanted to project. He liked it when people saw the eagle statues and got intimidated. And before you ask, no, I don't know where he found them. What I do know, without having to guess, is that the source was wildly unethical. He probably stole them from a warzone. Or the person who found them for him did. They had cracks and blemishes and whatever, probably from fire damage or shell casings or whatever. They were trophies."

". . . Are the dragons not meant to intimidate, then?" Ryo asked.

Noa scoffed. "Everybody knows what the Blue-Eyes White Dragon is, at least everyone here in this city. I say this in full knowledge of the fact that I'm just as much of a nerd as anybody in Domino, but . . . fucking nobody is going to be intimidated by nerd shit." Noa smirked. "Aniki loves that dragon, so he had statues made in her honor. That's it. It's ridiculous, sure, but it's honest. If you asked him what the statues were for, he'd tell you it's to honor his dragon. He likes the dragon, so he has the dragon in his yard. That's it. Chichiue would make you sit through an hour of half-cocked bullshit about psychological warfare that would never explain why there's a fucking concrete bird on the back porch."

Ryo offered a little shrug. "I suppose you make a solid point," he said. "What . . . did your brother do with the eagles, then?"

"I think they're at Chichiue's gravesite."