A/N- Thank you to Tomboy 601, Crystal Ice614, Ashka-Chan, Cheeky-Eyes, Possessed By The Anime, MagicalBrat and DarkChao1663, especially to those who gave me input on the tenses and such. :D It really helped me make a decision. I’m sticking to present tense since you all seem to like it better but keeping the dub names since Crystal Ice and Tomboy suggested I keep to them, that’s probably a good idea now I think more on it. It’ll be a bit odd for everyone reading if I suddenly change the characters names.

Enjoy everyone!

Pyramid of Fire

Chapter 12- A Bad State of Affairs

I didn’t get any sleep last night. None. The uncomfortable bed hurt my back, the drunken shouts from the other arrests invaded my ears, and the thin blanket offered me no warmth- not that it would matter much anyway though. I couldn’t stop thinking, my brain seemed to be running on overtime no matter how tired I got. I kept tossing and turning, trying out every position possible, but it was no use. So here I am now, still sitting on this godforsaken bed tired as anything. It’s alright for Yami, he’s not been arrested, he’s in my mind snoozing, if I listen really hard I can hear him snoring, typical.

I suppose it’s not his fault though, well, it sort of is, what with his little act during the interrogation… But I don’t know why I’m being so hard on him, I guess I’m just grumpy from my lack of sleep, I’ve never been much of a morning person, but heh! I expect you all know that already.

All this waiting is starting to drive me nuts, I still don’t know what’s going to happen to me, I haven’t spoken to anyone since the interrogation and I’ve no idea what’s going on. I’m going to court, presumably a youth court, but from my limited knowledge of the justice system I’m pretty sure that’s going to take a while to organise. So what am I supposed to do till then? Stay here? Get shipped off to a detention centre? I’m shivering now and it’s nothing to do with the heating system. I just want to get out of here and go home.

Are they supposed to feed you at this place? Because I’m bloomin’ starving right now, if you don’t mind me saying so, surely they can’t starve you here? Well, I’m tired, grumpy and now I’m hungry. What a brilliant way to start the day. Wait! Something’s happening, the door’s opening! Hooray! An officer steps through the open gap, I’m just about to stand up and demand my freedom (Yeah, right) when I notice the tray in the officer’s hands. My stomach rumbles in reply- it’s breakfast. The officer is a sleepy looking woman with dishevelled clothes and buttons done up in the wrong places. She sets the tray down on the hard bed, yawning and moves to the door again, obviously, and rudely not intended to speak to me.

“What’s going to happen to me?” I blurt out abruptly as she opens the door, unable to keep quiet any longer.

She looks over to me and smiles a little smile, “You’ll have to wait and see,” she says, “You’ll find out soon enough. I don’t blame you for wanting to get out of here though, Mrs Corona’s on the rampage. She’s been itching to get in there all morning, wanting to bring my baton.” The woman laughs, though I personally don’t find the idea of being beaten black and blue by some strange woman. Rather, I wonder who this baton-wielding madwoman is.

“Mrs Corona?” I ask.

The policewoman looks surprised, “You don’t know? Don’t you remember the… Oh well, never mind. Just don’t tell her that or she’ll hit you even more.” With that confusing comment she walks out, leaving me to my thoughts. I look down at the tray on the bed; there are two slices of toast and a glass of orange juice. My stomach rumbles again and I sigh, “If you insist.”

I spent the rest of the morning lying on my bed making patterns and pictures out of the little cracks on the wall, having nothing better to do. When I grew bored of this I sat up and created a long elaborate daydream where I win the Duel Monsters championship, my prize being a kiss from Tea, who strangely enough was wearing a bunny girl outfit. I love my imagination. This fantasy was somewhat spoiled by the rogue thought that if I was sent to a young offenders institute I wouldn’t be competing in any Duel Monsters championships however.

When lunch time comes around I’m once again visited by the woman with the tray. She enters, closing the door behind her with a soft click and gathers up all my things from breakfast, tucking the empty tray and cup and plate haphazardly under her arm, and putting down the new tray, before readjusting all the old breakfast things from under her arm. It kind of makes me wonder why she just didn’t do it all the other way round. She still looks half asleep. I watch as she does all this, bored witless and practically begging to be told of any news.

“Someone is coming to talk to you in an hour or so,” she says, seeing my expression.

“Is my Grandpa coming to visit today?” I ask hopefully with a polite smile.

She shakes her head, “No idea I’m afraid,”

“Oh…Okay,” I say, a little sadly. My smile wilts to the ground.

“Sorry,” she says, and I notice a little look of pity on her face, something I haven’t seen much of these past few days, amidst the sea of hateful and murderously angry looks I’ve been getting lately.

“Bye,” I say as she slips back out the door. Then I look to my food- and my stomach does the talking.

I wonder who it is whose coming to see me later? Maybe Mr Ueda? Or the detective? It could just be a regular officer I guess, they don’t need the chief of police to do everything, and if he’s the chief I would have thought he’d be busy a lot of the time. So long as it isn’t the woman that officer was talking about, the one who wanted her baton. Mrs Corona… I think I might have heard that name before- I just wish I could remember where!

…This is so dull.

After a triple dose of boredom with boredom on top and with a side order of boredom something finally happens. The door opens again. I look up eagerly, expecting Yuichi or some other officer’s face will swim into view- but this person isn’t Yuichi, nor any other officer. I know this because they’re not wearing a police uniform; it’s a man wearing a white coat. A white coat. A white coat. Excuse me while I burst into tears here… This can’t be happening. They’ve send a psychiatrist, a psychologist, whatever the heck they’re called to come talk to me! I’m not crazy!

“Good afternoon Mr Motou,” the man says to me, “I’m Dr Melson. Don’t worry; I’m just here for a little chat.”

“I’m not mad.” I say bluntly.

“Of course you’re not. Do you mind if I sit down?” I shake my head stiffly and shuffle over, giving him room on the bed next to me. “So Mr Motou… would it bother you if I called you Yugi?” Once again I reply with a shake of the head, feeling uncomfortable. “They tell me you set fire to your school Yugi, do you know why you did that?”

“I didn’t!” I say, my voice on the verge of a shout. I can’t keep quiet any longer.

“Okay then,” says Dr Melson, whipping out a notepad and jotting something down quickly. I’m a bit surprised; I didn’t expect him to accept that so easily, I was prepared for a long argument on that one. “Do you like fire Yugi?”

My irritation swarms back, turns out he hasn’t accepted it, he’s just trying to sound reasonable and fair. Pff. “I don’t know,” I say, “I don’t especially like it- it’s just fire.”

“I see,” says the twat sitting next to me, writing his silly notes again, “I believe you live with your grandfather Yugi, what about your parents?”

“I don’t have a Dad,” I say coldly, this is an uncomfortable subject for me, “and my Mum lives in another town for her work, I don’t see her very often.”

“What do you mean by not having a Dad Yugi?”

“I thought you people have a file on me, don’t you know this already? He died when I was little.” I say exasperatedly.

“How do you feel about that Yugi?”

“Will you stop calling me that!?” I snap, I wish he’s stop saying my name so much, ‘Yugi this’ ‘Yugi that’ ‘how do you feel about so and so Yugi?’ It’s driving me nuts!

“You don’t like being called by your name?” He asks, he’s completely missing the point here; I really don’t like this type of people. They’re so nosy, asking about everything and trying to make you think they understand you and that they care about you, but all they want really is to put a giant stamp on your head that says Insane.

“No, not that. You just say it every time, and the way you say it too. It sounds like… like…” Like you’re talking to a five year old. But I don’t complete the sentence. He seems to have understood what I meant however, or is pretending too.

“My apologies,” he says, insincerely I’m sure. “Do you ever feel depressed?” Yup, he didn’t mean it; he’s back using that voice again as though he’s talking a small child, either that or someone very stupid. Argh! He makes me so angry!

“Will you just leave me alone?” I ask him, goaded beyond endurance; I feel like storming out of the room, unfortunately, the door’s locked.

“You know Yugi- Mr Motou- according to your school records you’re supposed to be a quiet shy and hardworking young man with a history of being the victim in bullying. Are you sure you’re not someone else?”

“I’m very sure,” I say, dipping my voice into a little of my dislike, “But I’m not in the best mood at the moment, being arrested for something you didn’t do kind of does that to you, y’know?” I use my most un-yugi-ish glare on him- I must say, I’m quite proud of myself. I’m getting quite good at this standing up for myself business. “Now tell me really, I know you’re not here for a ‘little chat’ so why are you here?”

Dr Melson’s smile and pleasant demeanour drops away, taking with it that hateful sugary voice. “I’ve been told by Police Chief Ueda that after you lit the fire on the ground floor you returned to your maths room above, and consequently had to be rescued by your friend. It appears you didn’t want to get out- you almost died. Both Mr Ueda and Mr Shimura agree that you must be somewhat mentally imbalanced and-”

“I never went from the ground floor to the third—because I wasn’t down there, I never started the fire, I’ve told you that already!” I interrupt angrily.

“-Furthermore, you’ve been witnessed on more than one occasion talking to yourself, quite merrily, I’ve been informed.” He finished, completely ignoring my statement. He looks at me in a way that asks, ‘What do you say to that, huh?’ “Mr Motou, do you hear voices?” He asks snidely. I’m openly glaring at him now, I’ve never met someone so obnoxious in my life- Well, I do hear voices, but I sure as hell aren’t gonna tell him about Yami!

“I don’t.” I say, “And I’m not… Mentally imbalanced either. I’m not crazy, or suicidal, or whatever it is you think.”

Dr Melson frowns deeply at me, obviously annoyed he couldn’t get me to tell him some great sob story about how my parents might have abandoned me and tossed me into the streets leaving me vengeful and suicidal and very very traumatised, and how to vent my anguish I set the school ablaze, planning to kill myself and everyone around me. These types of people make me sick. Can’t he go do something constructive, like clean a few bins? I must be such a disappointment to him.

“Well, thank you Mr Motou,” he says sourly, closing his notebook with a snap, “goodbye.” He stands up primly, unlocks the door and walks out, letting it slam noisily behind him. I hear the clicking noise of the locking mechanism as once again I’m trapped.

“Good riddance,” I whisper.

That man was such a pain, I really am glad he’s gone, I think I did a good job at standing up to him though. When did I get so tough? I think Yami must still be asleep- the lazy bum. ‘Yami,’ I call, ‘Yami!’ ...No answer, I guess he really is still sleeping. To be honest I haven’t heard much from him for ages, he used to be so noisy, always chattering to me- Everything’s gone all topsy-turvy now I guess.

The hours pass incredibly slowly now, and Yami’s no fun, still snoozing, and I’m too nice too wake him up. Still, I might if he doesn’t soon, today’s been such a drag, so boring, hardly anything has happened. I hope something does soon. I lay back on my bed, hearing the faint tap of shoes outside my cell. The shoes get louder, clacking noisily towards my door; I wonder who it could be? The tapping is fast, like the person is hurrying, or in a rush. Sounds like high-heels as well; do I know anyone who wears high-heels? I’m sure they’re not normal attire for policemen, Tea wears them sometimes, could it be her? Or my Mum? I stand up to greet whoever it is.

The door bursts open and a furious looking woman walks inside, the door smashing against the wall and bouncing back from the impact. I wince. It’s the green-eyed secretary, the one who was giving the evils yesterday when I came in. She holding a ring of keys in her hand which explains how she got in, I thought the door was locked. Maybe… Maybe this is the ‘Mrs Corona’ the officer was talking about earlier… Judging from what she said, I think I should be scared.

“So,” she snarls at me, “You’re the one who burnt down the school, aren’t you?”

“No,” I say, more than a little intimidated. What does this woman want from me? “I was framed.”

“I’ve worked here for five years now, you little freak,” she hisses, “how many times do you think I’ve hard that one? I’ve seen all the evidence- it’s concrete! Don’t think you’ll weasel your way out of this, you’ll get your just desserts, I’ll make sure of it.”

I’m… At a loss of what to say. I could tell her I didn’t’ do it again, but something tells me that really isn’t going to help me here… I feel like backing away but I draw up my courage and hold me ground, if I show any weakness to this person she’ll trample me to the ground. I still wonder why she’s so angry, this isn’t the anger of an onlooker who feels sympathy for those lost and wants the culprit caught. No… It couldn’t be… Maybe someone she knew died that day, it’s possible. The woman- who I’m now positive is Mrs Corona- walks up to me and grabs my shoulders- I try to pull away but she holds on tight digging her nails painfully into my skin. She locks me in the eye, looking ready to explode. “Thanks to you she’s gone! Thanks to you I’ll never see her again! Thanks to you she’s dead!” she exclaims, shaking me in a rage. My suspicions are confirmed, dread fills me stomach. “If it wasn’t for you she’d still be here- My precious daughter!”

“Oh no…” I whisper, “You mean…Her…” My eyes dropped to the floor, I’d almost forgotten about it. My heart feels painfully sad; I distantly notice Mrs Corona seems to have stopped shaking me.

“What?” She asks.

In my mind a girl swims into vision dressed in the pink and blue uniform of our school, brown hair in loose bunches, fear sparkling in her green eyes. “…Did your daughter… have eyes like you?” A fire blazes around her, I call out—but it’s too late.

“Yes…Why do you ask?” A rumble, a crash, the roof collapsing, engulfing her.

x

The table is their usual one, big enough for five to sit. Only four places are set. At this time of day, after lunch, before dinner Burger World is almost empty. The man behind the counter leans heavily on it looking ready to fall into a deep slumber, an old man sits with a newspaper, an empty coffee cup on the table.

The group of youths fiddle with the spoons in their sundaes, inside, they know something is missing.

“What do you think Yugi’s up to ‘bout now?” Joey asks his friends, his sundae amazingly uneaten.

Tea shrugs her shoulders half-heartedly, “Who knows,” she says in a defeated voice, “I just…I still can’t believe they actually arrested him. Out of all the people in the school, they arrest Yugi. He’s probably one of the people least likely to do it.”

“He’s still at the station,” says Tristen, “I rang up this morning, asked if we visit.”

“What did they say?” asks Bakura curiously.

“They said no. They said they wanted to send someone to speak to him again today, the poor guy. I wonder how he’s standing up to it all…”

“He’s got Yami,” Tea says, her voice strangely high pitched as she pronounces the name. “He’ll be alright.”

Joey bites his lip, still internally struggling whether to tell the others something important. He looks down at his sundae, fingers tapping a beat on the table, at last, he looks up. “I ‘spose I better mention this to you guys,” he sighs out, “Yesterday morning the police came round my house.” Everyone’s eyes flick to him, seeking out explanations. “They wanted ta ask ‘bout the day of the fire,” he explains to his friends, “…And dey was asking a lot about what Yug’ was doing. I was half asleep that day, but I do remember Yug’ askin’ if he could go to da bathroom. I remember ‘cuz the beast- dat’s Mrs Watson- was half inclined ta say no. Yug’ said it was urgent though, so she let him go in da end. Da police made a big deal outta this, asking if I was sure that was what happened and all dat. I guess they think that’s when he mighta lit the fire.”

Tristen snorts, “Right,” he says sarcastically, “Because we all know Yugi’s an evil pyromaniac, don’t we?”

Bakura chuckles but then falls into a much more solemn mood, noticing the expressions of his friends around him, “Well, I just hope the real culprit gets caught soon—so Yugi doesn’t take the blame.”

Tea sits thoughtfully, her finger placed ostentatiously on her chin, “I never really thought about it before,” she begins, “but why did Yugi get stuck in the building once the bell went off? I know he’s got short legs but I didn’t think he was that slow. I can’t believe I didn’t ask about it before…”

The thought grows on the others and they begin to wonder as well. Tristen speaks slowly, “If he was in the bathroom… He would have heard the bell.” He puts his head in his hands, leaning into them, “Ugh, there’s something we’re missing here.”

“…Yugi didn’t come back to your classroom after did he?” Bakura asks Joey.

“Nope, the bell went off a lil while after Yug’ left, so we had to evacuate and I didn’t see Yug’ again till I went in ta find him afterwards. I can see why it seems suspicious to the police… But really, I’m sure ‘dere are other people outta class at da time.”

“Even if he had done it,” Bakura adds, “Aren’t people about to commit serious crimes like that usually a bit edgy and jumpy beforehand? I’m not in Yugi’s maths class but I saw him earlier on- he was fine.”

“He seemed okay in maths as well, though… Now I think on it…” Joey pauses, silence stretching between the four people as he scrunches his forehead, digging into his memories, “When he asked to go to the bathroom, he seemed… sorta’ dazed.”

x

Mrs Corona is looking at me with her hard green eyes demanding an explanation and I… I honestly don’t know how say it. I saw your daughter die? I don’t think that would put her in any better mood… But she deserves to know, they never found Mina Corona’s body in the end. This woman probably has no idea what happened to her.

“I…” How do I tell her this? “I saw her in the fire,” I settle with, Mrs Corona’s anger fading away a little from in her in determination to know the fate of her daughter. “She was in the science rooms, frozen, I guess with shock. I called out to her… But

then-” I stop, how the heck am I supposed to say it? I take a deep breath, “the part of the roof above her collapsed.”

Mrs Corona makes a sort of strangled cry, burying her face in her hands. Should I try and say something comforting to her? Her shoulders are shaking and she’s choking back small sobs, I reach out towards her, meaning to pat her arm in a sort of ‘there, there’ kind of way. She swats it back, glaring towards me.

“Don’t. Touch me.” She says, fury in every syllable, “After what you’ve done to me, don’t you dare touch me.” The next few seconds are a blur, my mind recognizes a hand swinging towards my face, then SMACK! My hand instinctively rises to my stinging cheek. She’s slapped me.

“I hate you so much,” she says with a tremble, “If you knew how much pain you’ve caused me…” SMACK! She hits me again on the other cheek; I don’t do anything to stop her. This doesn’t look like it’s going to end here however, her hand’s balling into a fist, I raise my arms to cover my face.

“Mrs Corona,” A voice calls out firmly, I lower my arms, it’s the policewoman who brought my food before. She’s standing at the door, that permanent sleepy look still on her face. “Mrs Corona,” she repeats, “please stop beating up our suspect.”

Mrs Corona throws me a dirty look and storms out the door, her high heels tapping away even faster than they had came. I look in relief to the policewoman by the door, “Thanks,” I say, she nods in reply.

“I’ve come to collect you, your Grandfather is here to see you.” Hope lifts my heart a little; I didn’t think I’d be allowed to see him today. The officer escorts me out the door and I must say, it’s a relief to be out of the room. We walk down the corridor, I’m still feeling a little rattled from my encounter with that woman, I never knew Mums could be so scary! Still, I don’t blame her… She has just lost her daughter after all; I’d probably do the same. I only wish she’s pick the right person to screw at. I look at the woman striding along next to me, I decide to attempt at conversation. “Um, that lady, Mrs Corona, she’s the secretary here right?”

“That’s right,” replies the officer, “she stole the keys for your room. Determined, huh?”

“Uh, yeah. It kinda hurt though.” I rub at my cheek again. We’re almost at the end of the corridor now.

The officer looks to me, the sleepy look gone from her face, “Well, you people get what you deserve I say.” And with that she opens the door in front of us and walks away back down the corridor.

Is there any kindness left in this world for me?

My grandfather is inside the room looking tired and sitting with Mr Ueda and another officer whose shuffling paperwork. It’s not the interrogation room again, thank goodness, but a plain ordinary one with several seats. “Come in Yugi,” says Mr Ueda, gesturing for me to enter, “We’ve decided what we’re going to do with you.” He makes it sound like I’m some sort of dog with a disease no one quite knows what to do with.

I walk inside, aware of all their eyes on me and take a seat next to Grandpa. “Hi,” I say hesitantly.

He gives me a tired smile, “Hello Yugi,”

The chief of police clears his throat, “I’ve been with many of the senior officers for most of the day- trying to figure out what to do with you until the court case. We’ve come to a bit of an agreement now though. You’ll be allowed to go home under our grandfather’s care,” Yeah! “But, there will be rules. Quite a few of them actually. First of all you’ll only be allowed to leave your house under a responsible adult’s care. Secondly, even at home you must be supervised at all times, and lastly, all dangerous items, including knives and matches must be taken away from your reach. There’ll be an inspection in a few days time. We decided on these rules with input from Dr Melson, he thought them adequate.”

God… So that’s why they needed him to talk to me, if I had known this I would have been a bit more sweet with him, it’s typical the one time I manage to stand up for myself and be tough nothing good comes of it. Maybe I really should have told him that sob story after all.

“Wait a moment,” I say, frowning, “I understand the first two, and the matches, but why knives? Do you think I’m going to become a murderer or something as well?”

Mr Ueda coughs ominously, looking over to my Grandpa instead of me, “Actually, no. It’s because, well, it’s in case you do something to yourself.

No. Fricking. Way. They think I’m suicidal! I feel like just shouting out ‘I didn’t do it!’ I just… I just can’t believe these guys. “Does that mean I can go home though?” I ask, trying to stay on the- diminishing- bright side of things.

“Once your grandfather signs some forms for us. You’ll have to come to the station several times before the court case most likely however, the investigation is still ongoing. We’ll need to take fingerprints sometime soon too.” Mr Ueda says.

“Aha!” I exclaim abruptly, my mind clicking into place, Grandpa looks a little bit startled, “Then you can test them against the ones on the lighter and see it wasn’t me! Because trust me, I’ve never ever seen that thing before in my life.”

Mr Ueda looks at me strangely, I guess wondering how I can be so confident, “Yes well, we’ll have to do the test first.” Despite this rather negative reply I feel relieved by this thought- the fingerprints will definitely show the lighter was planted in my bag, and hopefully, the real culprit.

Mr ‘chief of police’ has Grandpa sign the forms next, the other officer in the room handing them to him. Both Grandpa and Mr Ueda lean hunch-back over the table, Mr Ueda showing him where to sign. My eyes wander around the room impatiently, taking in details as I wait for them to finish. My vision is drawn to a vase on the other side of the room. It’s only a plastic one, the kind that might have the 200 yen¹ sticker still on the bottom. Flowers sit in it; I don’t know what they’re called, me not being a master of plants. They’re rather nice though, there’s about three or four of them in the vase, with long stems and most of the leaves trimmed off. The petals are an unusual colour scheme, a pale yellow colour towards the middle fading into a vibrant orange at the tips, the edges flecked with red. The few leaves left are delicate and wispy, like moth or butterfly wings. The clock ticks lightly overhead, beating out its steady rhythm as I sit waiting Grandpa and Mr Ueda to finish.

“Right, thank you, that’s the last one.” Says Mr Ueda gathering up the pieces of paper Grandpa’s signed and handing them to the other officer who leaves the room with them. I look away from the tacky vase and unusual flowers and see Mr Ueda watching me, “You’re free to go now—for the moment at least.” He says cheerfully, the darker undertones to his words very much present.

Grandpa stands from where he was leaning on the table and stretches, his back making an ominous crack as he does so, “Ouch!” he cries, rubbing it with a wince, “Back isn’t what it used to be any more,” he complains. I feel like I should make some kind of consoling comment to him, or just any comment at all to lighten the mood, but all of a sudden I’m lost for words. Does Grandpa think I’m a pyromaniac too? Even though I didn’t start the fire I’m still feeling a bit worried, what if Grandpa starts to treat me differently as well? I’m afraid he’s going to think I did it and be mad at me, because for all he knows I could very well have. I suppose I just have to have hope that he has more faith in me than that.

“Well my boy, time to get back to the game shop,” says Grandpa, and I’m relieved hear that it’s not disgust in his voice, only a little tiredness I can tell he’s trying to mask with a cheerful tone, which I’m grateful for. It’s nice to know someone still believes in me, unlike Joey and his ‘I went to the bathroom in maths’ story. I’m going to have words with him about that and see if I can figure out what the ruddy hell is going on.

I get up from my seat and head to the door with grandpa, looking back to Mr Ueda and wondering if I should say anything to him. It seems stupid to say ‘bye’ to the man who arrested you and is most likely going to put you in a youth prison for years, but all the same I wonder if I should to be polite. He looks back to me from the clock he was glancing at and sees me staring, “I’ll escort you out,” he says- well, that’s the end of that internal argument. He heads over to us but stops sharply part of the way there, “Wait,” he says, walking back to the table where several lone pieces of paper still lay, “I completely forgot, you have to sign something as well Yugi,” he sifts through the papers and I repress a groan, I was hoping to get out of this place son, it’s suffocating. He passes me a sheet with small printed type and a ball-point pen. “It basically says you agree not to get away from the court case and you’ll attend with your guardian. It’s to make sure you don’t try to escape from the country, anything like that. It’s an equivalent to bail, basically. If you did try to escape, consequences would be… unpleasant.” Once again there’s that amiable voice complete with a darker message. I take the form and pen from him wordlessly and quickly scan through the text making sure what he said is true, I just want to be careful is all, you can never be too sure you see…

Satisfied what he said matches with the form I press it against the wall, leaning forward with my left leg and pressing all my weight onto it. I sign my name: YMotou, I don’t add a letter for my middle name because I don’t have one, my parents kind of forgot about giving me one I guess. I hand the form back to the bossman and he puts it on top of the tiny pile in his other hand.

“Right then, let’s go,” he walks with us back through reception (which I am very glad to see is currently empty) and outside through the doors, holding it open for Grandpa but either forgetting or ignoring me. I presume it is the latter. “Goodbye then Yugi, and you too Mr Motou. I’ll see you in the court case in a few weeks time; we’ll call you to inform you of the actual date soon.”

“Great, thanks.” I say, restraining myself from adding a sarcastic tone to my reply, this is the chief of Domino’s police, all in all not someone you’d usually mess around with. The fact that I seem to be meeting so much with him shows just how serious this all is. Me and Grandpa walk down the steps from the station and I admire the day, having being trapped inside for hours I hadn’t even known what the weather was like! It’s a sunny kind of day; not like the roaster we had on the day of the fire, but certainly warm enough, with a gentle stirring of wind that prevents one from getting too warm.

“Um, so Grandpa, what have you been doing today?” I still find it a little difficult to speak to him, hopefully a little pointless banter will loosen things up a bit between us.

“Oh, just the norm, running the shop, having dinner and all that.” He says, and I wonder by that vague answer if he spent most of the day with his ‘secret stash’. The ends of my mouth turn upwards at the thought of this. He thinks I don’t know about it, but I came home from school early one and caught him watching something called ‘Sailor Moon’ dressed as one of the girls on screen, complete with a blonde wig tied in pigtails high on his head, a sight a little too disturbing even for me. I had quickly backed out of the room from the otaku and pretended I didn’t see anything; things might have got a bit… awkward if I had let him know I saw him. Especially if he asked me to join his little cosplay –or is that crossplay- club, ugh…

I jerk back to reality and I realize he’s waiting for a reply to something, “Oh, um yeah. That’s… uh nice.” I say lamely, hoping that makes sense as a reply to whatever it was he just said. Obviously not though, since he’s watching me worriedly as we walk down the street now.

“You seem kind of distracted Yugi,” he says, “are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just thinking is all.” …I get the feeling he doesn’t believe me in the slightest.

We head back to the Turtle game shop down the main road, cars rushing past us at top speeds, cherry trees border the road, petals whipped off by the wind created by the cars cascading over us.

A figure steps forward through the petals, they gather around her, clustering and fluttering like moths around a light. I recognize her instantly; my heart begins to pound wildly.

It’s the girl who died in the fire- Mina Corona. She walks towards me and I stop dead, petals fluttering on past. She looks exactly like she did that day, my mind heightened by panic remembered every detail, her brown hair is still in bunches, her school uniform blowing in the breeze that I can’t even feel any more because I’ve gone numb, those green eyes are staring deep. I’m aware of Grandpa shaking me, saying something to me but I can’t tear my eyes away from her, I can’t see him because I’ve gone blind, his words don’t reach me because I’ve gone deaf.

I shake my head to clear my mind, blink my eyes to make her disappear, but she’s still stands there. She’s supposed to be dead! But here she is, not a scratch on her, is this a ghost? At last Grandpa’s words catch up with me, “Yugi, what’s the matter? Yugi, Yugi!” He’s still shaking me, and I can feel myself shaking as well. I turn to him.

“Look!” I say, pointing to Mina, “It’s the girl who died when the school burnt down, I saw the roof fall on top of her that day!”

Grandpa looks ahead, right to where she’s standing, “Where?” he asks, squinting for something far in front of us.

“Right there!” I say exasperatedly, pointing again to just in front of us.

He shakes his head, “I still don’t see anyone Yugi,” he looks really concerned now, and I’m sure I look incredibly confused. Why can’t he see her? Grandpa puts a hand on my shoulder and leads me forward, I give no resistance. “Come on now,” he says.

Mina’s eyes follow me as I walk towards her. A thought crosses my mind, have I gone mad? But as I pass her, shoes clacking on the pavement, I reach my hand out through the swirl of petals towards her and it meets soft flesh. It’s still warm.

¹ -- 200 yen is equivalent to 82 pence, or 1.62 dollars if you prefer.

Hope you all enjoyed this latest twist, things are really going to start heating up now the court case is in sight. A lot of people are coming up with ideas for who the culprit might be now, let me know if you think you know who it is, it’s possible from reading these 12 chapters to find out who it is, but only just. I’m not saying anymore. ;)