[Epilogue: Day 5]
[The following occurs in the early evening hours of Asuka's fifth evening on the island, at approximately the same time that she is writing in her travelogue. Manjoume's location? The old well.]
It had been a while since Manjoume had visited this old well, where the cards that inexperienced, power-hungry duelists dismissed as needlessly weak and useless wound up when they were discarded. Mostly because he hadn't had any reason to, really - he'd taken in all of the cards that had been abandoned down there the last time he had come, and not only would there not have been enough time for more abandoned cards to appear here, but there had been no reason why he would have needed more of them.
This was where he had met Ojama Black and Ojama Green, and if Judai - the one from Econtra - was right, where he would meet them, and Ojama Yellow, again. If that were the case, that would certainly be fitting, wouldn't it. Everything coming full-circle and all that good stuff.
He descended carefully, taking enough time to make sure he didn't slip while still not wasting any. He wasn't about to leave Asuka alone in the woods for too long, after all - yes, Honest and Fubuki were there with her, and the former at least would be able to fend off any attackers for a little while at least, but still. The darkness made it somewhat hard to see, when he reached the bottom, but he didn't turn back. It wasn't as though he'd need much light to see by, anyway. Not if Judai was right.
And, as would be discovered a few minutes later, he had been.
"Is that...?" came a familiar voice from further into the well.
"Who else could it be?" said a second.
"But why would he...?" questioned a third.
And with the next turn Manjoume made, he found himself face to face with the Ojama Trio, their cards dropped unceremoniously on the bottom of the well, the three spirits peeking around the corner as though they'd been hiding. "There you are," he stated simply.
"You can see us again, Aniki?" Yellow asked, slightly timidly but with a hint of hope in his voice.
"Of course I can," Manjoume replied, deciding that denying what had happened would solve nothing. "I found you, didn't I?"
Yellow started to move toward Manjoume, to tackle him with a hug, but Green tugged on his ankle to signal that he shouldn't. Black, meanwhile, pointed out, "Yeah, well that doesn't change how you abandoned us in the first place!"
"That's right!" Green continued. "If you think you can just come and take our cards back and pretend nothing ever happened, you're wrong!"
"I know that." Manjoume's serious response put all three of the Ojamas off their guard (not that Yellow had been on his, in particular). But Manjoume closed his eyes and sighed a little. "I've been being a complete moron for a while now, following that bastard around and everything. I should never have thrown you all out - you're annoying as hell, but you're my annoyances, as well as the aces of my deck. I know that you probably won't want to come with me again, after all the stupid things I've done, but I just wanted to find you guys and say -"
He opened his eyes and looked straight at the Ojama Trio - his expression was serious and somewhat solemn. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I threw you away like I did."
The Ojamas looked at each other for a moment, as though deciding amongst themselves what to do. Then, suddenly, they all three began to cry quite loudly, leapt up, and tackled Manjoume into a group hug (which knocked him over, despite their intangibility, simply because he wasn't as used to them anymore), all three of them crying, "We've missed you so much, Aniki! We want to go with you again!"
"It's dark and scary down here," Green commented sadly.
"And lonely, too," Black continued.
"We need you, Aniki," Yellow concluded. "You're all that stands between us and a crab deciding he's going to chop up our cards."
I need you guys, too, Manjoume did not say aloud. Instead, he got up from where he had fallen, dusted himself off, and went to pick up the Ojamas' cards, stating, "All right. Come on, then."
And with a cheer from the spirits, the Manjoume and his Ojama partners made their way out of the well and back into the world, where twilight had fallen upon the forest, the stars only slightly visible through the canopy of leaves.
It had been a while since Manjoume had visited this old well, where the cards that inexperienced, power-hungry duelists dismissed as needlessly weak and useless wound up when they were discarded. Mostly because he hadn't had any reason to, really - he'd taken in all of the cards that had been abandoned down there the last time he had come, and not only would there not have been enough time for more abandoned cards to appear here, but there had been no reason why he would have needed more of them.
This was where he had met Ojama Black and Ojama Green, and if Judai - the one from Econtra - was right, where he would meet them, and Ojama Yellow, again. If that were the case, that would certainly be fitting, wouldn't it. Everything coming full-circle and all that good stuff.
He descended carefully, taking enough time to make sure he didn't slip while still not wasting any. He wasn't about to leave Asuka alone in the woods for too long, after all - yes, Honest and Fubuki were there with her, and the former at least would be able to fend off any attackers for a little while at least, but still. The darkness made it somewhat hard to see, when he reached the bottom, but he didn't turn back. It wasn't as though he'd need much light to see by, anyway. Not if Judai was right.
And, as would be discovered a few minutes later, he had been.
"Is that...?" came a familiar voice from further into the well.
"Who else could it be?" said a second.
"But why would he...?" questioned a third.
And with the next turn Manjoume made, he found himself face to face with the Ojama Trio, their cards dropped unceremoniously on the bottom of the well, the three spirits peeking around the corner as though they'd been hiding. "There you are," he stated simply.
"You can see us again, Aniki?" Yellow asked, slightly timidly but with a hint of hope in his voice.
"Of course I can," Manjoume replied, deciding that denying what had happened would solve nothing. "I found you, didn't I?"
Yellow started to move toward Manjoume, to tackle him with a hug, but Green tugged on his ankle to signal that he shouldn't. Black, meanwhile, pointed out, "Yeah, well that doesn't change how you abandoned us in the first place!"
"That's right!" Green continued. "If you think you can just come and take our cards back and pretend nothing ever happened, you're wrong!"
"I know that." Manjoume's serious response put all three of the Ojamas off their guard (not that Yellow had been on his, in particular). But Manjoume closed his eyes and sighed a little. "I've been being a complete moron for a while now, following that bastard around and everything. I should never have thrown you all out - you're annoying as hell, but you're my annoyances, as well as the aces of my deck. I know that you probably won't want to come with me again, after all the stupid things I've done, but I just wanted to find you guys and say -"
He opened his eyes and looked straight at the Ojama Trio - his expression was serious and somewhat solemn. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I threw you away like I did."
The Ojamas looked at each other for a moment, as though deciding amongst themselves what to do. Then, suddenly, they all three began to cry quite loudly, leapt up, and tackled Manjoume into a group hug (which knocked him over, despite their intangibility, simply because he wasn't as used to them anymore), all three of them crying, "We've missed you so much, Aniki! We want to go with you again!"
"It's dark and scary down here," Green commented sadly.
"And lonely, too," Black continued.
"We need you, Aniki," Yellow concluded. "You're all that stands between us and a crab deciding he's going to chop up our cards."
I need you guys, too, Manjoume did not say aloud. Instead, he got up from where he had fallen, dusted himself off, and went to pick up the Ojamas' cards, stating, "All right. Come on, then."
And with a cheer from the spirits, the Manjoume and his Ojama partners made their way out of the well and back into the world, where twilight had fallen upon the forest, the stars only slightly visible through the canopy of leaves.