Racing my back
Chapter 12
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After three
all-nighters, five liters of sirop, nine recoveries and four complete
crashdowns, it is done: my computer is back in working order, and so am I.
Thanks to
all of you for being this patient, it’s nice to know that people like my
stories enough to wait for my easly updates.
Well, then,
enough talk, lights, camera, action!
Ja ne!^^
12
“Kami
really hate me!” mumbled Jounouchi, as he browsed the contents of the n-teenth
costume shop he had been searching through.
Somehow,
Mokuba had convinced his elder brother to invite the Yugi gang for his
thirteenth birthday bash, and had insisted on a costume party.
Which, of
course, overtaxed Jou’s tightly drawn budget.
Between
taking care of his father, paying off the hospital bills(Kaiba had offered to
take care of them, but Jou hated being in anyone’s debt, especially the CEO’s)
and organizing a decent present for Mokuba, the blond had taken up two
additional jobs just to make enough money for a good costume.
Which, of
course, he didn’t find.
Knowing
first-hand, what his friends would be wearing, this narrowed down his choices
quiet a bit.
And seeing
how this was the last costume shop in whole Domino City, it was either the one
he was inspecting or the Barney costume.
“No way
in hell am I going to be caught dead in this red-style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US;font-style:normal'>thingstyle='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>!” spat Kanashimi in disgust.
“Shut
up” hissed Jou back, “you’ve dissed every single get-up I wanted to pick, from
the musketeer to the samurai, and even the whole Final Fantasy cast. I don’t
like the dino either, so it’s either this one here or nothing!”
Kanashimi
thought about this a moment.
“You
know, you could still go as Adam, wearing only a fig leaf. It would sure raise
a few brows-among other body parts, ne?” chuckled his dark half. Katsuya
blushed furiously.
“That’s
not funny!” Kanashimi only shrugged.
“Hey,
you got a good build and, may I add, a very nice ass. If you got it, flaunt
it!”
Jou
stood there, staring wide-eyed at his alter ego, then croaked:
“You’ve..bechecchecking me-out?!?”
“Gomen, we
are closing now. Did you find something you like?” Jou snapped his head around,
trying to give the saleswoman a semi-coherent answer, and only managing a
feeble:
“Huh?”
The lady
smiled (Jou could actually see her rolling her eyes inwardly) before repeating:
“The shop is
closing. Have you found anything suiting your desire?”(AN/ read: anything you
can afford?)
Jou nodded
and handed the soft, red fabric to the clerk.
“Uhh, yes,
I’d like this one, please. And the wig and sword, too.”
“Hai,
So far, the
party was a big success.
Yami and
Yugi, dressed as pharao and slave, had organized an accurately assorted deck of
cards for Mokuba, which was enhanced by Seto’s very own Ghost of Ryuu.
Mokuba had
nearly fainted, when his brother, disguised as Count Dracula, handed him the
card in a crystal-glass case.
Honda, aka
the Black Corsair, had bought him a leather jacket complete with the boy’s
initials. The Dark Magician Girl-pardon, Anzu-had sewn a wonderful sweater,
more suiting the boy’s current age and size.Otogi, who found his Ninja fuku to
be somewhat of a hindrance, provided a beautifuly crafted helmet and the
promise, to teach him how to drive a bike, once Mokuba was old enough.
Shizuka had
outdone herself by forging a tiny, wooden BEWD pendant, ‘to protect you, when
Kaiba-kun is not around.’
Her
green-brown eyes sparkled beneath her tiara, when she gave him the present,
trying to keep her long tresses from becoming entangled in her delicate elf
wings.
Ryou,
clothed in the robe of a shinto priest, had somehow managed to get a
hand-signed copy of Nakashima Mika’s newest CD, and Mokuba
almost went into a seizure with glee(so did his brother, although for opposite
reasons).
“You
know, looking back, the samurai outfit would have suited you better” mused
Kanashimi. Jou groaned.
“It’s a
little late for that now, ne? ‘Sides, what are you doing here?”
Kanashimi
cocked a brow.
“Kami
forbid that I enjoy myself, ne?” Katsuya’s reply consisted of a rude snort.
“This is
a birthday party, not a gorefest, so how are you possibly gonna-“
“Jou, wake
up, it’s your turn” hissed Anzu, as she elbowed him in the ribs.
“Nani? Oh,
yeah, sorry, just got carried away by the smell of the food, hehe. Here ya go,
Mokuba. Hope ya like it.”
Taking the
sloppily wrapped parcel from Jou’s hands, Mokuba nearly dropped the present.
“Domo-eh?
It’s heavy” he grunted, as he tore off the paper.
And stared
in amazement at the large, metal plate.
It was a
picture,* all shapes carved intricately into the shimmering, polished suface of
the tablet, the colors were fiery and stunningly bright, almost life-like. The
portrait showed the raven-haired boy sporting an armor and holding a leash,
that was tied to the BEWD standing behind him, buckled up like a horse.
Underneath it, the words ‘Mokuba: Dragon Tamer’ were engraved in large,
beautiful kanji.
Jou
scratched his head, slightly embarassed.
“Uhh, well,
ya see, I didn’t really know what t’ give you for your birthday, and then I
passed this workshop of sorts, and well, I gave them a prescription of what I
wanted, they showed me a few sketches they had done, and-voilà! I know, it’s a
little off, to give a bo-guy a picture but-“
Two large,
blue-grey eyes, brimmed with tears, made him pause his speech, making him fear
the worst.
The smile
he received however, was worth all the trouble he had been through in the past
few weeks.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
*I suppose,
you have already seen those, they’re really beautiful, somebody once explained to
me how they did it, but I can’t remember the details for the love of it.
I thought,
it would be the perfect gift to give a boy, who had basically everything.
Next:
chappie: Jou’s costume revealed!