“Mana…”
“You’re
talking to yourself.”
“Priestess?”
The Priestess
felt her cheeks redden. “If you know so much, you also know
that I’m not a real Priestess. I’m only accepted
into the Court by his…by Ate…by the
Pharaoh’s command. To take the place of my
teacher…”
“Mahaado.”
Mana heaved a sigh. She hated this situation, she hated the work she
was doing, she hated this timeline…and she knew how much
Mahaado hated himself. Almost irritated, she rubbed at her eyes and
pinched the bridge of her nose. She had to remain focused.
“How
many of his studies are still behind? How many did you study for
yourself?”
“I
didn’t have always the time,” the Priestess
defended herself. “Besides, if the Pharaoh finds them in my
room…”
“I
was afraid so,” Mana muttered. She hadn’t missed
out on the Priestess’ earlier slip, that she referred to
Atemu with his first name. “Very well. It will suffice to say
that every world, no matter how small, is subjected to a
timeline…and all these timelines are subjected to the Great
Timeline.”
“What
are you talking about?”
Mana shushed
her. “Listen to me, please. In most of the cases, the Great
Timeline is disturbed many times with little pinpricks; events that are
not that important that they throw it off completely. However, there
are certain events that are so drastic, so encompassing, that they
influence the Great Timeline after all.”
“What
kind of events?” The Priestess asked, a little confused. She
didn’t like it that she was listening so meekly, that she was
willing to buy the words this other girl was speaking so easily. There
wasn’t much she couldn’t do about it, though - it
was fascination and curiosity that kept her latched onto the words
spoken.
“Epidemics,
wars, earthquakes…in general, not the kind of happy events.
They change the course of mankind, and that is why they have to appear
in every timeline to keep the Great Timeline going,
otherwise…the balance is thrown off.”
“Where
does…the Pharaoh fit in, then?”
Mana wanted
desperately to sit down, and she didn’t await her
namesake’s approval for it - she flopped down on the nearest
chair, drawing up her knees to her chest.
“He
was supposed to defeat Darkness…”
“He
did!” The Priestess all but crowed. “He defeated
the King of Thieves, who had desecrated his father’s tomb,
and he summoned the golden God to kill him…!”
“That
wasn’t the right course of events,” Mana objected
slowly. She supported her head with her hands. “The King of
Thieves had to be defeated, yes, but not before he had unleashed the
great God of Darkness, Zorc Necrophades.”
“The
great God of Darkness…”
“The
Pharaoh was supposed to die in defeating him, and his sacrifice
would’ve been the key to keep the timeline going as it
was,” Mana all but whispered. “He wasn’t
supposed to live longer, to absorb the Darkness in himself, to become
the man he’s become now.”
“You…you
can’t be serious.”
“I’ve
seen enough worlds and realities by now to know how the Great Timeline
goes…and there’s no place for a corrupted
Pharaoh.”
“It’s
not his fault!” the Priestess cried.
“It’s not his fault! If Maha…Master
didn’t run away, he could’ve helped him, together,
in defeating that Darkness!”
“No!”
Mana shifted in the chair, fixing the Priestess a stern glare.
“Mahaado…couldn’t have been of any use.
There was nothing in his powers that could’ve avoided all of
this.”
“You’re
lying…you’re just some clever witch
who’s telling lies to cause unrest…!”
“I’m
not lying. I’m not asking you to believe me, anyway.
I’m asking you to help me, for I can’t do this
alone.”
“If
you want any help of me in killing him, you can forget it. Leave here,
right now, before I call the guards and have you taken to the
dungeons.”
Mana let out a
dry laugh, a short chuckle. “You’ll change your
mind, Priestess. You will, soon enough…and pray that it
won’t be too late by then.”
She had barely
finished her sentence or her heka was depleted.
Unable to keep her presence anchored in this world, Mana let it go, let
herself go, allowing herself to be pulled back into the timeline that
was at least the less damaged one. She left the Priestess behind in
confusion and in tears, forcefully biting back her own.
The guards had
to quicken their pace to keep up with their Pharaoh; despite being
small, Atemu kept a very fast stride. He had left his own room, walking
down the large hallways and crossing one of the most beautiful lotus
gardens known to mankind - though he didn’t look at it once -
towards the servants’ quarters.
“Great Pharaoh,” one of the guards finally spoke up, “are you sure you want to be here?”
Atemu looked
over his shoulder, narrowing his crimson red eyes. The taller man
gulped, but he stuck to his guns. “Great Pharaoh?”
“Bring
me to that woman,” he spoke. “I wish to speak to
this Kisara myself. I ordered her to be brought to the
servants’ quarters. Where is she?”
The guards
exchanged nervous glances.
“Ah…we…we’re not really sure
where she is, Great Pharaoh.”
Atemu turned
around, the movement so fast, his cloak swirled around. “What
do you mean by that? Go get me someone who does
know where this woman is!”
“Great
Pharaoh…”
“What?”
“Great
Pharaoh, we don’t know someone who
knows…”
“We
only know she isn’t here,” the other guard said,
almost pleading. “The High Priest, Great Pharaoh, he wanted
to make sure she was safe and sound, without too many people
knowing…”
“You
idiots,” Atemu snarled. “I will have your heads for
this!”
Brusquely, he
went past them and pushed them out of his way, the two guards looking
horrified. They were supposed to guard him, watch his every step and
keep him safe, but after his last words… nervously, they
remained standing, considering whether to run if someone had heard his
words, or to go after him and pretend nothing had happened.
Atemu
couldn’t care less, the guards already disappearing from his
mind, anger running through his veins. Set had deliberately ignored his
orders and kept the woman hidden now, hadn’t he? What was he
thinking, did he single-handedly want to ruin the nation? He growled in
annoyance when he realized that he didn’t know where
Set’s quarters were. Another pair of guards came to help him,
guiding him to the right hallway, up a few stairs until they reached
the right wing of the Palace, housing all the Priests and their
personal staff.
Atemu
didn’t wait for the guards to knock on the door, but already
went through it, throwing it open as he entered. Sure enough, his High
Priest was sitting at his writing table, startled at his sudden
entrance. The young woman, Kisara, was lying on a sofa, comfortably
supported by a healthy amount of cushions, covered with a thin blanket.
“What
is the meaning of this?” Atemu said out loud, ignoring the
furious look on his cousin’s face. “Why are you
ignoring my orders?”
“I
told you that I would take full responsibility for Kisara,”
Set said, visibly suppressing his irritation.
“Great
Pharaoh, it was my own judgment that she was not safe in the
servant’s quarters. I wished her close, so I could keep an
eye on her.”
“Do
not hold me for stupid,” Atemu said, the same annoyance in
his tone of voice. He tilted his head, looking at Kisara whose wide,
blue eyes were…strangely hypnotizing. Forcefully, he averted
his head, noticing the Sennen Rod lying on Set’s desk.
“Great
Pharaoh…”
“I
will not have her cause this much riot between you and me,”
Atemu continued. “You are my most trusted and wisest advisor.
I need you at my Court, head straight and mind clear of any foolish,
corrupted thought.”
Set lowered
his eyes, briefly. “I thank you for your faith in
me,” he said, “but my head is
straight and my mind is clear. I am not doing
anything different than I would usually do. I have taken care of the
problem, or what is thought of as a problem.”
“You
ignored my orders.”
“Great
Pharaoh, it would have caused more of a ruckus if we were to house her
in the servants’ quarters. She would be badly treated, and
she needs rest, to find her strength again.” The High Priest
kept his eyes on Atemu, carefully watching where he was going. Atemu
moved towards the large desk, picking up one of the papers.
“At
least you are still working.”
“But
of course, Great Pharaoh.”
Set’s
attention on Atemu was briefly interrupted as he heard a rustling
sound, of fabric being pushed away; Kisara tried to get up. The High
Priest moved to help her, softly whispering to her to stay down and
save her strength.
“These
are the latest reports about the national guard?”
“Yes,”
Set answered, slightly distracted as he supported the girl.
“I have just received final reports from the
captains.”
“Very
well. I want you to keep me informed about the mobility and strength of
our army.”
“Great
Pharaoh?” Set turned around, confused. As far as he knew,
there wasn’t a war going on. It was of course his duty to
keep the Pharaoh informed about the state of his army, but he had never
asked so specifically about it before. Kisara tugged at his collar.
“It’s
all right. I can stand.”
Atemu turned
away from the desk, hearing her speak for the very first time.
“I
did not know that you mastered our language.”
“Exalted
Pharaoh,” she said, her voice soft, but melodious, the title
obviously strange to her. “I know the language.”
“Kisara
is native to our nation,” Set supplied. “She is not
from another country…”
The girl shook
her head. “I’m a proud denizen of Khemet.”
“How
come you look so different?” Atemu demanded. He moved his
arms, his right arm in particular, from resting against his back to his
front. Set raised an eyebrow when he saw the Pharaoh with his Sennen
Item - the Rod. He’d left it on his desk as he’d
been working on the reports; he didn’t know why Atemu wanted
to hold it right now. He already had an Item, the heavy Puzzle.
“I
don’t know,” Kisara answered and tried to bow, but
the movement was too straining on her weak constitution and she swayed.
Set quickly stabilized her, wrapping an arm around her to keep her
upright. Stubbornly, she pushed his arm away from her as soon as she
found her balance. She gave him a grateful smile, then she turned
towards Atemu again, lowering her head a little.
“Great
Pharaoh, I don’t know about my parents. I have lived on my
own for as long as I can remember. I want to thank you for your great
hospitality and that I’m allowed to live here. I have always
been on the run, out of fear, away from the hatred and pain.”
“They
say that if you look in your blue eyes, you will be cursed,”
Atemu casually said. “Is that true, Kisara?”
She looked a
little dumbfounded. “There are many prejudices going around,
mighty Pharaoh. I am sure that you, in the wisdom bestowed upon you,
realize that many of these prejudices are false.”
“Children’s
fantasies and fairy tales,” Set added. “Kisara has
been through enough. As soon as she has rested more, she will be more
than happy to answer any of your questions.”
Atemu held the
Sennen Rod in his right hand, his left hand closing itself around the
handle.
“How
long will that take?”
“For
her to rest?” Set asked. “As long as it takes,
Great Pharaoh. She almost died from dehydration, she…what is
that noise?”
“Pharaoh…!
Pharaoh!”
It was another
female voice, and both Set and Kisara took a step back, shifting
towards each other.
“Mana?
What are you doing here?”
The Priestess
all but ran towards them, her eyes frantically glued to Atemu,
examining him.
“What
is the meaning of this, Mana?” he asked, his hands still
holding the Sennen Rod. Mana blushed, knowing that she’d been
very rash in her actions. After her encounter with the other, strange
Mana, the girl that claimed to be her and was
her, and all her talk about the timelines, the Priestess wanted to see
for herself that at least her Pharaoh was safe…and now she
was standing in Set’s quarters, Atemu obviously alive,
interrupting the discussion. She couldn’t back out with an
excuse now.
“I…I
have to talk to you, urgently,” she said, bowing to him.
“In priv…in private. Please.”
“All
in due time,” Atemu said. “I have to deal with
another urgent matter first.”
“I
cannot believe that you still think this is a matter at all,”
Set growled, fairly irritably. His sharp eyes were focused on Atemu,
failing to have heard the sound of the dagger concealed in the Sennen
Rod being unscrewed due to all the previous noise.
“It is
an important matter. You have forsaken my orders, you have
shown that you are willing to take risks and endanger our nation by
bringing this woman to your personal quarters…”
“Please,
Great Pharaoh,” Kisara tried to raise her voice.
“If…if it’s such a problem, I better be
going…I don’t want to be of any burden.”
“You
are not a burden.” Set firmly spoke up,
not about to give in. “As far as I am concerned, this
discussion has ended. There is nothing more we can say about this, and
frankly, I…”
“Silence!”
Atemu had stepped closer, drawing up all his height as he stood in
front of Set and Kisara. “I will not have you plunge us into
a crisis just because you fancy a white demon.”
“Stop
that,” Set hissed. “Do not refer to her like
that…”
“Pharaoh,”
Kisara started to talk at the same moment, “I can assure you,
I will never…”
“Atemu,”
Mana wanted to say, but her voice was frozen. Frozen in time, frozen in
fear, frozen in that one second of realization settling in, of despair
being born, of shells being removed from the eyes. She wasn’t
believing what she was seeing, denying it in every fiber of her soul,
every corner of her heart, but she saw it happening - the dagger being
lifted, the expression on Kisara’s face changing from
pleading to disbelieving pain, Set’s soundless cry.
The girl fell
to the floor, hands pressing against her abdomen, blood gushing through
her fingers, staining her pale skin, coloring her dress. Weakened and
fragile as she was, Kisara all but died at the moment she fell on the
floor, the impact when hitting the tiles too much for her body to
handle. Set immediately kneeled next to her, taking her in his arms,
repeating her name.
“Kisara!
Kisara!”
Plain disgust
was written all over Mana’s face as she looked at Atemu, who
calmly screwed the end cap on the Sennen Rod again, concealing the
dagger once more. She didn’t see if there was any blood on
the object, but even if there was, it wasn’t of any
importance. He had killed her, in cold blood, not showing the faintest
bit of remorse or sorrow…
“How
could you!” she cried out. Certain events that influence the
Great Timeline. “You killed her!” The
Pharaoh was supposed to die in defeating him, and his sacrifice
would’ve been the key to keep the timeline going as it was.
“You
killed her!” He wasn’t supposed to live
longer, to absorb the Darkness in himself, to become the man
he’s become now. She had been lying. To herself, to
everyone around herself, to all the Gods watching over her, to her
heart, her mind, her body and soul. I’ve seen
enough worlds and realities by now to know how the Great Timeline
goes…and there’s no place for a corrupted Pharaoh.
There was no
one to help her now but herself - as far as she could muster up the
strength to walk a new path, not this path of imminent destruction. Her
voice kept repeating the words, each with increasing disbelief and
horror. She wasn’t looking at Kisara on the floor, she
wasn’t looking at Set who was shaking at her as if he could
bring her back to life. I’m asking you to help me,
for I can’t do this alone. No remorse. No guilt.
His face was blank, bored maybe, and the Sennen Rod was still in his
hand, his fingers simply curled around it. So much gold adorned his tan
body, so small in statue and so tall in what he used to believe in -
justice, fairness, equal chances.
He
wasn’t a Pharaoh. He was nothing but a monster. You’ll
change your mind, Priestess. You will, soon enough…and pray
that it won’t be too late by then. She cried out
something unintelligible and turned around, running away from him as
fast as she could. Set was calling for her, pleading for her to stay
and to try to heal Kisara, even though he already knew it was in vain.
She kept
yelling “No, no, no!” as she ran through the
hallways, haunted by ghosts, haunted by her defeat, haunted by herself.
Timeline
II, Alternate Universe: Domino City, Japan
The quaint
Kame Game Shop owned by Mutou Sugoroku was well-known all over town;
the man had established a name in trading in the most exotic and
wonderful games, both international and national. He was also rumored
to own an exclusive, very interesting collection of ancient and rare
games from all over the world, and excelling in every one of them. His
grandson, Mutou Yuugi, who had inherited his knack for gaming, had gone
to Domino High until he dropped out.
Jounouchi
suppressed the queasy feeling in his stomach as they approached the
store, sticking out like a sore thumb between the surrounding gray
apartment buildings because of its striking green and red colors. The
store was combined with the house where the Mutous lived and was topped
off with a roof that would fit a surrealistic painting. Whoever was
responsible for the architecture had either been a genius or just plain
drunk.
“We’re
here,” he announced superfluously as he opened the front
door, a bell chiming happily. It was small, the walls covered
with posters announcing game tournaments or sales, display cases on the
left and right, large bookcases filled to the brim with board games.
The little room left was occupied by a giant counter, stacked with even
more games and a large, old-fashioned cash register.
There was no
one behind the counter and Jounouchi walked forward, followed by the
others - Honda, looking around like a kid in a candy store, and Mana
and Mahaado sternly and silently taking in the surroundings. Jounouchi
had never been in the store before, and was quite impressed by the
amount of card games. He’d been lucky with blackjack and
poker before, learning the rules while he was with the gang - he
didn’t know much about the trading card games,
though…he didn’t have any money to spend on them
anyway.
“Welcome!”
It was obviously an elderly man who spoke, and Mutou Sugoroku entered
the store from a door to the right; the bell had been loud enough to
hear through the entire house.
“What
can I do for you?”
“We’re
here to see Yuugi,” Jounouchi said, showing a goofy grin.
Even though the family resemblance was quite obvious - the hair, the
eyes and the height - the man didn’t show any lack of
confidence or self-esteem as his grandson had.
“Are
you?” he asked, his voice chilly. “He
didn’t tell me he was expecting visitors.” His eyes
went over Jounouchi’s and Honda’s school uniforms.
“And certainly not visitors from his school. Jounouchi
Katsuya, right?”
“The
one and only,” he grinned.
“Give
me one reason why I shouldn’t throw you out,”
Sugoroko growled. “It was because of you that he left school.
Do you have any idea what you’ve done to him?”
“The
kid doesn’t have any character,” Jounouchi snorted
before anyone else could say something. “Gramps,
don’t take it so hard. He wouldn’t have stood a
chance in the business world either, with his whining and
yammering.”
“Enough,”
Mahaado cut in. “We are here to see the Prince, not to trade
insults.”
“The
Prince?” Sugoroku repeated.
“Yeah,
these…people seem to think Yuugi is some kind of
Prince,” Jounouchi snorted again, making a dismissive gesture
with his hand. Sugoroku folded his hands on the counter, looking from
one to another.
“What
is the meaning of this? If this is some kind of
prank…”
“Sir,
please,” Mahaado said, “we would really like to see
our Prince.”
Suddenly, the
elder man nodded. “Very well. Yuugi is in the storage room,
helping me keeping the stock up-to-date. I will leave you with him, but
the moment he wants you to leave, you will leave. Understood?”
It was more
aimed towards Jounouchi and Honda than to the others, but Mahaado
nodded in return.
“Storage
room is on the left, immediately after you’ve gone through
that door,” Sugoroku pointed them towards the door on the
right. Mana thanked the man in passing, and went after Mahaado.
Jounouchi and Honda followed her, both muttering something under their
breath.
The storage
room was quite large, and chilly - the few wooden scaffoldings, crammed
with cardboard boxes, made it difficult to see.
“Hey,
Yuugi!” Jounouchi hollered, ignoring Mahaado’s
angry look.
There was no
answer, so Jounouchi repeated his words, joined by Honda.
“Hey,
Yuugi! Are you here?”
Mahaado
suddenly widened his eyes and Jounouchi showed his trademark grin. A
familiar head peaked from behind the last scaffolding, large eyes even
wider than he remembered.
“Jounouchi-kun…Honda-kun!
What are you doing here?”
“We’ve
come to visit you,” Honda said casually, enjoying how the
small boy swallowed. Yuugi held a small box in his hands, but it
wasn’t his golden treasure box; it was just a package of Duel
Monsters booster packs. Jounouchi had heard a lot about the game, and
was surprised to learn that there were even tournaments with great
prizes. How anyone could ever get rich by winning game tournaments was
a riddle to him, but apparently is was a booming market.
“It’s
nice of you to visit me,” the small boy said, trying to hide
the disbelief that two of his greatest bullies had actually come to
visit him.
“What’s
that you have in your hand?” Honda asked.
“This?
Oh, this is a carton of Duel Monsters booster packs, I was just
checking up on the inventory,” Yuugi said hurriedly. He
stepped back when Honda reached for the box, but he wasn’t
fast enough and he grabbed one of the booster packs.
“Duel
Monsters, huh? Do you play the game yourself?”
“We
are not here for small talk,” Mahaado reminded them. Mana
stood next to him, looking at Yuugi with a rather neutral look on her
face, though her lips were still curled up in a smile.
“Honda-kun,
please don’t open it, those costs money,” Yuugi
protested. Honda waved with the package in his face.
“What
if I don’t have any money to pay for it?”
“Honda-kun…!”
“Enough.”
Mahaado stepped forward and took the package from Honda to give it back
to Yuugi. Jounouchi snickered. So little Yuugi had barely changed after
all. He was dressed in simple slacks and a shirt, wearing a gray vest
over it. He was exactly as Jounouchi had seen him the last time, even
his typical tri-colored hair was still the same.
“How
come you’re visiting me, Jounouchi-kun? And who are your
friends?” Yuugi asked, putting the box on the small table
behind him covered with paperwork.
Jounouchi
heaved a sigh. Only Yuugi would immediately assume that everyone around
him was his friend.
“They
wanted to see you and didn’t know where to reach
you,” he said, bored. “It’s about your
puzzle.”
Yuugi frowned.
“What about it?”
“Prince,”
Mahaado bowed to him. “May I ask you where the Item
is?”
“Prince?
Item?”
“The
Puzzle,” Mana spoke up. “Do you still have
it?”
“I
do, but it’s incomplete,” Yuugi answered. A
stubborn look appeared on his face. “I’m not
selling it, if that’s what you want.”
The girl
smiled a little sadly. “No, it’s yours, Prince. We
would like to see it, please.”
“Why
are you calling me Prince?” Yuugi tilted his head.
“Haven’t we met before? You look
familiar.”
“We
haven’t met before, but it’s not surprising that I
look familiar to you,” she said. “All in due time,
Prince.”
Jounouchi
whistled, amused. “I didn’t know you picked up hot
chicks, Yuugi!” He immediately doubled over, gasping as he
was punched in the stomach - while no one moved.
Yuugi looked
confused, Honda jumped up ready for action, and Mahaado growled.
“You
will not refer to my Apprentice that way!” He turned towards
Yuugi again. “Prince, the Puzzle, if you please.”
“It’s
upstairs,” Yuugi answered, eyeing Jounouchi who tried to
regain his breathing, meanwhile uttering curses.
“I…I’ll go get it for you.”
As he walked
away, Jounouchi yelled at Mahaado. “Where the fuck was that
for!”
“I
told you, I will not have you refer to my Apprentice that
way,” Mahaado answered calmly.
“It
is sad to see how you turned out to be, Jounouchi Katsuya. I had hoped
that this world was deviated from its course of anything else but you.
You have always proven to be strong and faithful to your friends, and
to see you as an ill-mannered, brusque cad is something I was never
expecting to see.”
“Hey,
who are you calling a cad, you quack,” Honda protested.
“I
advise you to shut up,” Mahaado rudely told him.
“You have both condemned this world to its demise, and pray
to your Gods that something can be saved before the darkness
strikes.”
“Yeah,
well, whatever,” Jounouchi huffed. “We’ve
brought you here like good little lackeys, and you’ve found
your precious Prince. Let’s get the hell out of here,
Honda.”
“You
are not permitted to go anywhere.”
“Excuse
me?”
“You
are not permitted to go anywhere.”
“Take
a hike, you moron!”
“Do
not make me freeze you on the spot and deny you your ability to
speak,” Mahaado said. “I do not have any qualms
about keeping you in place here with every means necessary.”
“What
do you want from us?” Honda demanded. “For all your
talk about the end of the world and doom, you haven’t
explained anything, and still you’re holding us responsible
for everything that has happened? You’re way out of whack,
man.”
“What
is this all about? Could you please stop fighting?” Yuugi had
entered the storage room again, carrying something triangular in his
hands. “I could hear you all from upstairs.”
“Yeah
well, tall and lanky doesn’t want to let us go,”
Jounouchi growled.
“Is
that the Item?” Mahaado ignored him, focused intently on
Yuugi’s hands. The small boy put it on the table so everyone
could see.
“Yes,
this is the Puzzle I got from my grandfather. He found it in Egypt, you
know…but it’s not complete,
unfortunately.”
He moved his
hands away and both Mahaado and Mana uttered a shocked gasp. The Puzzle
was lying in front of them, perfectly in once piece…except
for the missing center piece.
“You
never finished it, Prince…” he said.
Yuugi blushed
faintly, not used to being addressed like that, feeling embarrassed.
“I don’t know how it’s
possible…either it was incomplete when my grandfather
brought it back from Egypt, or I’ve been careless.
I’ve taken it a few times to school with me, maybe one of the
pieces…”
“…was
taken away by someone who thought it was an awesome
joke,” Mahaado completed his sentence, staring pointedly at
Jounouchi.
“I
must’ve dropped it somewhere,” Yuugi said.
“No one touched the box, I was the only one to carry
it…”
“Your
kindness is great, Prince,” Mana said, her voice cheerful.
“You always want to see the good side of everything and
everyone, even if it’s not true. You didn’t lose
the piece, it…”
“If
you want some kind of confession from me, yes, I took that stupid piece
and threw it out of the window,” Jounouchi snarled.
“Can we cut it out with the mystery thing and the stupid
Prince stuff, and tell us all in little words what the fuck is going
on?”
Even Honda
looked up from his friend’s outburst, and Yuugi blushed
deeper, not used to the language.
“Maybe
it’s better if we all go to the living room
and…talk,” he suggested. “I
don’t even know your names, eh…?”
“Mahaado,”
he said curtly. “Mahaado and Mana.”
“Mahaado
and Mana,” Yuugi repeated. “Let’s go to
the living room.
Honda-kun…Jounouchi-kun…?”
“Yeah yeah, we’re coming.”
The golden
Puzzle rested on the coffee table, the missing piece a large black hole
on the front. Mahaado kept looking at it, a disturbed expression on his
face. Mana had gone quiet, her hands plucking at the folds in the
fabric of her formless robes covering up her entire body.
“It
is as I feared.”
Yuugi stared
at the tall man, slightly uncomfortable. He had never known that
Jounouchi had taken a piece of the Puzzle out of the box and thrown it
into the school’s swimming pool; he had simply assumed that
he was responsible himself for missing the last piece.
“What
now, Master?” Mana asked.
“How
bad can it be?” Honda asked at the same time. He
didn’t see the importance of the gaudy piece of jewelry,
thinking everyone made a lot of fuss about nothing.
“How
bad it can be?” Mahaado fixed his gaze on him. “The
end of the world, that is how bad it can be. Prince was supposed to
solve the Puzzle and inherit the Pharaoh’s soul.
“Together,
they would save the world from everlasting darkness. Now that the
Puzzle has not been solved, the Pharaoh’s soul has not been
released, which means Prince is alone…and the half of one
soul cannot do the work of a complete soul.”
“Gibberish.
Just fucking gibberish,” Jounouch muttered.
“Silence!”
Mahaado snapped. “You have no room to talk, as it was you
who caused all of this!”
“How
the hell was I supposed to know? All I saw was a whiny kid prancing
around with his golden treasure box!”
“Stop
fighting, please!” Yuugi raised his voice, trying to drown
the others out. Jounouchi cringed.
“At
least nothing about your voice changed. Sheeesh!”
“Enough
of this,” Mahaado said. “If the Puzzle cannot be
completed, this world is doomed and we are wasting our time
here.”
“How
can we complete it, then?”
Yuugi frowned.
“If Jounouchi-kun threw it in the swimming pool,
I’d say it would still be there on the
bottom…”
“I
don’t think so,” Honda shook his head.
“It’s been months, and the pool has been cleaned in
the meantime.”
“The
front piece is quite big,” Yuugi pointed at the Puzzle.
“Certainly, when cleaning the pool, they would’ve
noticed it?”
“It’s
too big to slip through a filter,” Honda added, vaguely
wondering why he was even actively contributing to the conversation.
The whole thing seemed weirder by the second.
“I
can call the school tomorrow and ask about it,” Yuugi
suggested. “If anyone would’ve seen it,
it’s Hashimono, the janitor.”
“Very
well, Prince,” Mahaado said, obviously content. Mana showed a
brilliant smile.
“See?
I told you that Prince would find a solution!”
“Could
you please refer to me as Yuugi…please?” Yuugi
said, blushing furiously. Both shook their heads, wearing similar
all-knowing smiles. The small boy wished his blush would go away,
feeling rather sheepish in the company of his visitors.
“Fine,
Yuugi here calls to the school tomorrow, everything’s fine
and dandy, world saved,” Jounouchi said. He turned around
with the intention to leave, even motioning to his friend.
“Not
exactly,” Mahaado spoke up, his voice commanding enough to
make Jounouchi halt in mid-movement. “You still have a role
to play, as you are responsible for this mess to begin with.”
“I’d
like to ask of you to repeat that a little more often,”
Jounouchi answered in a bored tone. “I really do think you
haven’t stressed it enough.”
“I’m
sure Jounouchi-kun didn’t mean it,” Yuugi said,
smiling. “After all, he was trying to teach me to become a
man.”
Mahaado looked
at him for a brief moment, then averted his head and stood up, rather
brusquely.
“We
have to leave now, but we will return soon enough. There is still time,
ironically enough.”
“Where
are you going to?” Yuugi wanted to know. “We have a
guestroom…if you don’t have a place to
stay…”
“Thank
you, Prince, you are too kind,” Mahaado thanked him.
“We return to another world as that is the basic timeline as
we know it, for now…a pure world which we use as a standard
to restore the Great Timeline.”
“Oh…okay,”
Yuugi replied, slightly dumbfounded. He stood up as well, throwing a
last look on the incomplete Puzzle and walked with his visitors to the
front door; one floor down as the living quarters were above the Game
Shop. Jounouchi and Honda followed, making rude gestures at each other
to indicate what they were thinking of Mahaado’s words.
When Mahaado
and Mana were out of sight, Yuugi was very surprised to see Jounouchi
and Honda still standing in the hallway. Wearily, he turned towards
them, holding the door open.
“Hey,
Yuugi…”
He
automatically cringed, expecting a snide remark from the both of them.
“Y- yes?”
“Did
you listen to the news today? About the escaped convict?”
“I…I
did,” Yuugi said, wondering why Jounouchi brought up that
topic. “He’s still at large, and everyone is
advised to go straight to home after work or school and to be extra
careful.”
“He
killed one of his hostages yesterday,” Jounouchi continued.
“Did you know…that it was Anzu?”
Yuugi’s
eyes went even wider. “Wh-what? Anzu? That’s not
possible…”
“I’m
sorry,” Jounouchi said, and Honda nodded with him. Neither
one of them had wished the girl dead. “I don’t
think it means much to you, but I’m sorry. I thought you
should know it.”
“Th-thank
you,” Yuugi croaked. Anzu had always been there for him, his
friend since elementary school…and now she was dead? He
spoke to her two days ago, on the phone, catching up…two
days ago.
“We’ve
got to go,” Jounouchi said abruptly and brushed past Yuugi,
all but pushing him out of the way. Honda followed suit, leaving the
smaller boy with his sudden grief behind, thoughts already on other
things instead of his former classmate.
“Uwaaah…”
Jounouchi stared at himself in the mirror, toothbrush sticking out of
his mouth, raking his hands through his already mussed hair. It was a
Friday, which was always good - Friday held the least classes, and it
was the start of the weekend. Today was even a more special Friday, as
his sister would come over and spend the weekend with him!
Usually
Shizuka went with her mother, but she had to work the upcoming weekend
and since his father was gone for the next few days…Shizuka
made her mother believe that she was spending the days with a friend -
said friend was involved in the ‘conspiracy’ and
knew how important it was for Shizuka to spend some time with her
brother - and would wait for Jounouchi to come pick her up from the
institute.
His mind was
pretty empty as usual. Negative thoughts never stayed long with
Jounouchi as he simply didn’t care for a lot of things, or
simply refused to spend any energy on it. He still felt bad about
Anzu’s death even though it wasn’t his
responsibility, and the whole issue with Yuugi, the Puzzle and Mahaado
and Mana barely took any of his thoughts. So what if one piece of a
stupid puzzle was missing? End of the world, he didn’t
believe in that kind of crap.
If Yuugi
wanted to believe all that, more power to him, but Jounouchi Katsuya
had other things to worry about. Like his paper route, getting past his
dad without the man noticing him… his hand moved to the
right and turned on the small bathroom radio. It was barely giving off
any sound; the batteries had to be replaced. Jounouchi chewed on his
toothbrush, muttering something, listening half-heartedly to the news
as he searched for a comb.
“Domino
City prefecture is still in the dark about the death of American CEO
Pegasus J. Crawford, who was found lifeless in his hotel room yesterday
morning. Crawford, rumored to be in Domino for the organization of an
international Duel Monsters tournament, bled to death as his left eye
was brutally torn from its socket. According to…”
“Bah,”
Jounouchi gurgled, toothbrush still clenched between his teeth, as he
switched off the radio. What was it with all these deaths lately?
Domino City was large, but not as large as Tokyo, and crime was
typically limited to a robbery or petty theft. Jounouchi grumbled at
his reflection and rinsed his mouth, combing his hair at the same time.
He met up with
Honda on his way to school, catching up with some members of the
Hirutani gang as well. They talked about how they had great fun in
spooking people when impersonating the escaped convict, who still was
at large. Jounouchi scowled, but let it slide; he wasn’t the
gang leader and frankly, he couldn’t care less about the
airheads.
School was
uneventful, even though Bakura was late for the first time. Jounouchi
was amused at how the polite boy tried to search for excuses as the
teacher scolded him for being late. Finally, the boy was allowed to
sit, muttering something about anal retentive teachers and their
unhealthy obsession with the clock.
“What
was that, Bakura?” Jounouchi asked pleasantly.
“Nothing!”
“Man,
you look like shit,” Honda said, subtle as ever.
“What did you do? Party until you dropped?”
“I
couldn’t drag myself out of bed this morning,”
Bakura complained, rubbing at his face. His bleary eyes looked red and
irritated, and he was as pale as ever.
Chapter 7 | Chapter 9