Hey everyone, I'm back, with a chapter sooner than usual. I'm sorry it takes me such a long time to update. This chapter is actually longer than my usual… and it was actually supposed to go on longer than this, but I wanted to post it soon. So for those who want to know who trenchcoat man is, I'm sorry but you'll have to wait one more chapter… and I will try not to update four months from now. I can't promise you much though… but if you give me a lot of good reviews I might be able to crank out a new chapter soon.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead, of the Pharaoh's Memory Arc. Read at your own risk.
"Enter," came the cold voice from inside the office of the Kaiba Corporation CEO, one of the most powerful men in Japan. Judai couldn't believe he was actually about to face him. All of the sudden, the whole room felt quite hot.
Tugging nervously at his collar, Judai turned around to look quickly at his companions. Atemu was tight-lipped, with a determined air about him, but when he caught Judai's gaze the pharaoh smiled comfortingly. Kuriboh still seemed happy—most likely because he had no idea what was happening. Then Judai looked over at Asuka, his only flesh-and-blood companion.
She was chalk-white, and gazing at the gold plate with fear in her eyes. Judai remembered how pale she had become when he had first informed her that they would be talking to Seto Kaiba. If she was this scared now… Judai was scared to find out what would happen if she actually set her gaze upon the powerful duelist.
Swiftly, Judai took her arm and guided her over to the couch. "Stay here," he said firmly, making her sit. "You look pale as death—just stay here. I'll be the one to go in."
Asuka nodded meekly. "Thank you. You sure you'll be fine on your own?"
Judai had forgotten that she couldn't see Atemu or Kuriboh. He smiled. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."
"Do you expect me to open the door for you?"
Judai jumped when he heard the cold voice. "I better get going," he said hurriedly, straightening up.
"Good luck," whispered Asuka.
Judai glanced around for Atemu and Kuriboh. Once he knew they were ready, he opened the door.
The temperature inside Seto Kaiba's office was pleasantly cool, a welcome contrast to the stark heat of summer outside. A number of bookcases lining one wall, all of which were filled with leather-bound tones. In the center of the room was a luxurious couch and a pair of armchairs, with a table arranged in the middle of it that was most likely used to put laptops and all those other business items. A door was set into the wall opposite the bookshelves.
At the far end of the room, there was a beautiful mahogany desk backed by whole wall composed entirely of glass windows, allowing the CEO a fantastic view of Domino City against a beautiful sunset. And behind that desk, sat—
"Kaiba," Atemu breathed quietly, stepping forward without much further ado to get a better look at his old rival. Judai squinted through the mild sunlight to get a better look as well, not daring to believe that he was in the same room as such a powerful duelist.
Having watched tapes of the Duelist Kingdom hosted by Pegasus, and of Kaiba Corp.'s own Battle City tournament, Judai had a good idea of what Seto Kaiba looked like. The young boy saw that his appearance hadn't changed much, but he didn't look so much a teenager now than as a young man. His face was longer and more finely sculpted. He looked more tired than he did before—but also more satisfied.
And he still had that hard, calculating gaze— which he now was using on Judai.
"What is your business here?" asked Seto Kaiba coolly. Judai jumped. He had completely forgotten that he was supposed to be talking to him about Atemu. Judai glanced at his ghostly companion—but the pharaoh seemed to be lost in a world of memories that Seto Kaiba had brought forth. Judai was on his own. That made him all the more nervous.
"I—my name is Yuki Judai, sir," Judai stammered, desperately trying to figure out where to begin. "I'm a student at the—at your—school, sir—and, I—uh… well, an old acquaintance of yours—contacted me and—he—"
"Calm down," said Seto Kaiba, his face stern. "Take a few deep breaths, organize your thoughts, and try again—if you keep talking like that I will find you a waste of time and will have to ask you to leave."
Judai stopped talking at took his advice, too unnerved by Kaiba's words to not follow the suggestion. He paused for a few moments, then began again.
"I am Yuki Judai, sir, a student at the Duel Academy. Recently an old acquaintance of yours contacted me, and he wanted me to talk to you for him about… something… but I'm afraid I don't know what that is at the moment."
"That's better and clearer," Kaiba said thoughtfully, still serious, "but if you have no idea what you came here to talk about, I still judge this as a waste of my time. I am waiting for a more important meeting with a true old acquaintance of mine—and if you have come up with a fictional 'friend' just to see me or serve some sick and demented purpose of yours… you may leave. The door is right behind you."
Judai realized now that he had worded his introduction wrong. He said desperately, "No, sir, I really do know your old rival—at least… I'm pretty sure he's your old rival. Yugi Motou seemed to deny his alter ego ever existed, but… I'm still pretty sure you knew him. Atemu's sure, anyway."
Kaiba froze at this. Atemu… there was a name he hadn't heard in… such a long time. And whoever he had been expecting, it hadn't certainly been Atemu. His phone call to Yugi had confirmed that the Duel King and his little pack of friends weren't really planning on talking to him soon (Jounouchi, he was sure, wasn't planning to talk to him ever), so it couldn't have been them. He had thought it would have been another contestant from the Battle City or Grand Prix tournaments—but never would he have imagined that the 'old acquaintance' the man in the turban had mentioned and the 'old rival' his secretary had buzzed up to him about would be a pharaoh that had once shared Yugi Motou's body.
Even after witnessing the Ceremonial Battle, he still was tentative on subjects concerning magic… and this definitely was one of them. Spirits couldn't just come back to life. There was no way that could happen. Especially spirits who had already crossed over into the afterlife.
The CEO glanced at the boy standing across from him. He was slight, seemed really nervous, and was wearing a red ensemble—one Kaiba recognized now as the uniform of the Osiris Red, the lowest class in Duel Academy. Now the story seemed even more farfetched than ever. Osiris Red was supposedly composed of students with practically no skills or strategy in the Duel Monsters card game. Why would Atemu, a master of the cards—if he even had been the one who had sent this boy here—talk to such a low-class duelist?
Kaiba reclined slightly in his seat. One must ask questions to get answers.
"How can I be sure that my rival has contacted you?" he asked simply, starting with the most puzzling question. "If Atemu has really talked to you, Yuki, then where is he now?" If this boy made a slip in his story, then Kaiba would be able to tell he was lying—
"He's standing right beside you, sir… but I'm not sure he's listening… he seems to be recollecting. I… I'm still waiting for him to tell me what to say… but I'd rather not disturb him."
Kaiba started. Out of all the things he hadn't been expecting, it had not been an answer like that. Oh well. It gave him a quick way to decide if this boy was lying or not.
"Please take him out of his trance, Yuki. If what you are saying is true," he said to Judai, still using his infamous cool voice, which was a wonderful tool to mask his uncertainty, "Then I must ask you for a bit of information that very few know—Atemu being one of those few. This information has not been released publicly, so I warn you, I will know if you are lying. Now, wake him up."
Judai felt that calling across the room would be inappropriate, so he took a cautious step forward. When he heard no admonishment from the CEO seated behind his desk, he crossed quickly over to the spirit, who was gazing at the landscape outside the window.
"Atemu," he whispered, reaching to tap his shoulder before remembering he couldn't touch the pharaoh. He blew into his ear.
Atemu jumped. "What? Oh, Judai—what do you—" He started again as he realized Kaiba's eyes were on the two of them.
"Well, I've talked to Kaiba… but he wants to know if you're truly here," Judai said nervously. "He said he'll ask me a few questions only you can answer…"
Atemu cracked a smile, seeing with some amusement how this must look to Kaiba, with Judai talking to thin air. "Bring on the questions then."
Judai glanced at Kaiba. "He's… um, he's ready."
Kaiba got straight to the point. "I only have two questions. The first one: In who did the Blue-Eyes White Dragon ka reside?"
Atemu smiled. "That's easy. Her name was Kisara."
Judai relayed this.
Kaiba studied him for a moment. "Last question… who killed her?"
Judai was intrigued by this relay of information, but he knew not to question it further. He glanced at Atemu.
The pharaoh looked slightly amused. "His name was Akunadin. I wonder why those are the only parts Kaiba remembers?" He glanced at Judai. "Don't tell him I said that. Just say the first one. I figure those are the only parts he remembers because that was all he saw…. Though he could've asked me about Zork or something…"
Smiling slightly, Judai said, "The guy's name was Akunadin."
Kaiba studied him more intently. "You have proved he is here…. But I have one more question. Why has he come back?"
Judai saw that Kaiba was still looking at him, not at the pharaoh. The boy glanced at Atemu, slightly confused. "He knows you're here… but how come he can't see you yet?"
"It's because he doesn't fully believe," Atemu said sadly, looking thoughtful himself. "Anyway, tell him something has gone wrong—the seal on the door to the afterlife was broken. I need his help in getting back… not to mention the help of the rest of my friends."
Judai repeated the message with difficulty.
Kaiba didn't move for a full minute. Finally he shifted in his chair, pressing a button on his intercom. The familiar, sickly sweet voice of the receptionist floated up through the speakers.
"Yes?"
"Cancel all my meetings and reschedule any other appointments. I have important business to attend to. And call my brother—tell him I'll talk to him at nine o' clock later this evening—it should be morning there. And get my limo ready." Here he cut off the connection and stood up, taking out his briefcase from under the table, along with a long, thin object wrapped messily in brown paper, as though it had been unwrapped and rewrapped. He looked at Judai.
"Come with me… both you and Atemu. We're going to Yugi's."
"What!" Judai yelped, positively shocked at this sudden turn of events. "Why?"
"Because I don't understand fully what's going on—but I do have an idea, and I think it's best if we clear this matter up once and for all," Kaiba said, moving to the room next door. Judai and Atemu glanced at each other.
"Is he serious?" asked Judai blankly.
"I couldn't believe it myself," Atemu said, voice shaky with excitement, "But he never jokes." He sighed. "I get to see Yugi again…"
Judai couldn't help smiling at the content look on Atemu's face.
In a few moments Kaiba emerged from the room again, wearing his trademark white trenchcoat over the black outfit he had been wearing earlier. He picked up the suitcase and the paper-wrapped object.
"Let's go."
"Wait, my friend's out there waiting for us," Judai said quickly. "She's—uh, we said we'd take her home… I think she's expected to be back soon, and we said we'd make sure that she got home safely—" He couldn't tell Kaiba that Asuka was most likely going to be terrified if she had to come along.
"Then call her a cab," said Kaiba smoothly, heading towards the main door of his office. "Or have the receptionist call her one—I'd rather not waste time. I have an phone call with my brother later, and I don't want to have to cancel it."
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