Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ World Tournament ❯ Arrivals at the Airport ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter One: Arrivals at the Airport

Yami's POV

I woke up just as the plane landed, Buka still dozing next to me. I smiled gently, and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. It had been long day for the both of us - all I wanted to do now was get to the hotel and collapse. But first I needed to get off the plane.

Buka stirred next to me. "What is it, koi?" she asked sleepily.

"We're here!" I exclaimed, but softly. I'm grinning like an idiot, as I had never been outside of Japan except for Duellist Kingdom - and that's not really counted.

"Really? What time is it?" she laughed at the look on my face.

"Umm… according to the announcement the pilot just made, it is 6:00pm," I replied. Buka stood, cradling Hana, and shook her legs in the limited space between the seats. I grinned at Buka, and crawled onto the seat so I could reach our hand luggage above us. She smiled, and braced me so I wouldn't fall. I nearly did, pulling down Hana's small backpack with her toys in it. We didn't even need to bring that, I thought. The little flower slept through the whole flight. I suppose it is her first time out of Japan too!

Finally the luggage was down, and I moved into the aisle, keeping Buka and Hana close by me. I made it down onto the tarmac with only a few bumps and jostles, and a friendly `Enjoy your stay!' from the stewardess near the exit. Since Buka, Hana and I had seats near the back of the plane, we had to exit by the back stairs onto the tarmac, then up the stairs into the terminal. It was very windy, and absolutely freezing. I shivered, even though I had four layers on underneath my heavy jacket.

"I'll be glad when we're inside," murmured Buka. Hana was still sleeping, looking like a little angel, all wrapped up in her layers upon layers of clothing. As we entered the warm terminal - well, warmer - I sighed with relief. We left through the glass doors at the end, and sat down with Buka in the waiting lounge, so we could greet the other champions as they came; and also Yugi, Anzu, Honda, Jounouchi, Mai, Seto, Mokuba (who had decided at the last minute that he wanted to come, and wouldn't leave Seto alone until he was allowed) and Ryou.

Casey's POV

Driving to Sydney had always been tiresome for me, but driving with Daniel - who had proved to be a chatterbox - was a nightmare. This is why I never want a boyfriend - too much work to keep them amused, I thought tiredly. It took only two hours to drive to Sydney, but it felt more like ten to me. Finally we pulled up at the International Airports in the Qantas* territory. I eagerly jumped out of the car, practically racing for the waiting lounge - anywhere to be away from Daniel. I slowed down slightly as I reached the entrance, and opened the door. I guessed that the two in the corner were Yami Motou and Bukasha Kashii, easily recognisable thanks to Yami's distinctive looks.

"Hello," he said in a strangely accented voice. Not quite Japanese, I realised -a touch of something different was mixed in too. Yami smiled, his arm wrapped around Bukasha's waist. A little girl of about eleven or twelve months old was just stirring in Bukasha's lap. That must be Hana Kashii-Motou, I surmised. No-one could have eyes the same colour as Bukasha's otherwise. As they stood, I smiled and waved them back down.

"You may as well stay seated - we have to wait for all of the champions to arrive." Hana looked up at me with the golden-brown eyes of her mother.

"Are you the one who they sent to pick us up?" Yami questioned, not recognising me. What the…?

"Uh - no. I'm Casey Katemera, the Australian Champion. Well, to say I wasn't sent to pick you up isn't entirely correct; I'm here to show everyone to the hotel we're staying at, since only I know where it is," I answered. Yami blushed slightly.

"Sorry about that," he apologised. I grinned, and took a seat across from them.

"S'okay. Now… I wonder who's going to get here next?" I wondered out loud.

"Seto Kaiba and the rest of our friends should be here in about fifteen minutes - they're flying in his private plane. Buka and I wanted a little private time, so we went commercial," Yami explained, lifting Hana from Bukasha's lap and bouncing her on his knee gently. Hana shrieked with laughter - she obviously liked it.

"She's gorgeous," I commented.

"Arigatou," murmured Bukasha, the first time she had spoken.

"You're welcome. Who is her father?" I asked, not realising the effect it may have on Bukasha.

"Um," she stuttered. Yami squeezed her waist gently, and looked back at me.

"Hana doesn't know her father - but you could say that I'm her step-father, even though Buka and I aren't married," Yami clarified. He added something under his breath that neither Buka nor I caught, but I dismissed it as nothing. Just then, about seven or eight people the lounge through a separate door from the one that I came through, followed closely by Daniel and his mother.

Seto's POV

I have absolutely no idea why I let the mutt and his friends fly with me. He annoys me so much! But Mokuba convinced me… if only I was immune to the puppy-dog power of his eyes! But nooo… silly old Seto fell for it, and had to put up with 10 hours of ramblings from the mutt.

As we landed, I heard that Anzu girl gasp - she's probably never flown before. Sure enough, as we were able to get out, I overheard her telling Mai that she hadn't ever been out of Japan.

Silly dancer - if she ever wants to go to New York, she had better get used to flying; it's not like she could drive there.

We - well, Anzu and Mai - asked where the waiting lounge was, and after getting a long list of directions, decided to find it for ourselves. It wasn't too hard: we just had to follow the signs that Mokuba noticed.

Left, right, left, left, right, through this door, through that shop and there we were, standing in front of the bright blue doors leading into the waiting lounge.

I pushed open the door, and held it open for everyone to pass through, including two people coming in after our group. Looking around, I spotted Yami and Buka almost immediately, speaking with a girl who looked to be around fifteen years old. Hana was playing in Yami's lap with her toys, rescued from her hand-luggage.

I recognised the girl from somewhere - and then it hit me. She was the Australian Champion, ranked second in the world, just after Yami. She place higher than me - I'm ranked ninth. Her name came to me after a minute, Casey Katemera.

Striding over to the three duellists - who all rank higher than me, I might add - I smiled coldly at Casey.

"Casey Katemera?" I asked. She nodded, and stood up. She may as well have just stayed seated - she's about the same height anyway.

"You're Seto Kaiba, right? The CEO of Kaiba Corp, ranked ninth in the world?" she smiled. I was a little surprised - not many knew my ranking, I tended to keep it hidden. Yami snickered, and mouthed `ninth?' to Buka. She bit her lip, and grinned, raising her eyebrows at me. Casey seemed well aware of the situation she had created, and it only served to make her more confident. "Nice to meet you at last."

"You too," I growled. Casey sat down again, after saying hi and introducing herself to everyone else. The boy who had come in after me sidled up to Casey, placing a hand on her shoulder. Instantly her other hand flew up and she smacked him away.

"I thought I told you never to touch me, Daniel," came her voice, suddenly as cold as mine had been. Even colder, if that's possible. Daniel jerked his hand away and glared at Casey's back.

"Sor-ry. I was just trying to get your attention."

"Then you could have said my name and got me to turn around that way," came the reply. Daniel kept glaring, but finally subsided, and apologised without the sarcasm. "Everyone, this is Daniel Lennon - he's my backup." Casey introduced him to the others.

"Hi there."

Tamera's POV

Y'know, flying from Canada to Sydney Airport isn't something I want to do again in a hurry (N1), as I left on Thursday at 11:30am, and arrived in Sydney on Saturday at 6:30pm - and the flight was 19 hours. Add in the time difference and I'm going to be very sleepy when I get to my hotel room.

I rubbed my eyes as I made my way through the terminal, then across the hallway to the waiting lounge. Upon entry, I found that a few of the others were there already. Identifying them with their photo's from over the internet, there was Casey Katemera (#2), Yami Motou (#1), Seto Kaiba (#9) and Bukasha Kashii (#7). I knew for a fact that we were the only five getting in tonight, the others would be here from 9:00 to midday tomorrow.

"Hello, I'm Tamera Iyami," I introduced myself to the crowd. Casey smiled at me, and then stood up, stretching.

"Time to go," she announced. "The others'll get here tomorrow." Ushering us all out to the baggage claim, we picked up our heavier bags and headed out to the newly arrived minivan. Shoving everything into it, we jumped onto the bus, and Casey stood up the front, pointing out sightseeing places like Hyde Park, Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and Anzac bridge.

Finally we pulled up outside the Radisson Hotel in Darling Harbour. Casey marched up to the front desk and gave our names to the woman behind the desk. We got our room key cards and pressed the button for the elevator. Eight of us got into the first one, the rest following. We all had rooms on the same floor, almost all in the same hallway.

I didn't even unpack before collapsing on my bed - neither did I feel my head hit the pillow.

So I certainly didn't hear the voice that floated down the halls, saying:

"Good night, sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite, my sweet duellists…"