I'M BACK!!
Oh yeah! It's good to be myself again! I woke up this morning and everything was right back where it's supposed to be! Now I can book that trip and go see for myself Kujaku Mai! These are good times, mate! Good times. First thing's first, I wanna test out a new card I got last night from some bloke that insisted that he was a better duelist than me. I kick his ass, naturally. I think I'm going to like this one. It's called Power Fist and it's a magic card that enhances the strength of the duelist for one turn by 800. Meaning that what ever life points the user has, add 800 and that becomes your attack points. Cool!! This card will be a great addition to my armor deck.
Just when I think that I'm on top of the world, something came crashing into my ocean! I was told that I can't go anywhere just yet because I have a mission. What?! I thought I wasn't considered ready for any missions and now Freak changed his mind? I went to board room to find that Red had left to complete his mission and Tower is about to start his own and then I come in and some folder is slid in front of me. I'll bite. I'll see what this mission is.
As soon as I opened the folder I laughed. Where I'm being sent is exactly where I wanted to be! Talk about ace!! The orders are simple; guage and find the strongest duelist, but don't engage in duels. What!? No duels?! I was about to ask Freak why when I remembered my week long curse. No way am I gonna go through that again. I chose to word my question properly this time. "Is there a particular reason why I can't engage in duels?" His response, "Japan isn't the place to reveal ourselves just yet. It would be too risky for you to engage in a duel before the right time." I practically pouted. Oh well.
I packed up my bags and looked at Sally. If I'm going on this mission, I can't risk taking her and her brood and risk harming them. I don't know how long I'll be gone. Tower knocked on my door. As always, I had let him in. He noticed that I was at a crossroads. I knew I had to give up Sally sometime. For the first time since the tragedy of Sister Mary Ester and my home, I cried. There really was nothing I could do. I had a mission and there was no turning back now. I had to say my goodbyes. Then Tower said something that took me by surprise. He said that his mission is local so he'll keep an eye on them but he needed to know when the pups would be ready to take to the pet shop.
At first, I shook my head. Normally he doesn't offer anything like that and another hangup he has is that he's not fond of mice. Since my plane doesn't leave until I get there, I took my time and wrote out the list of things to do. He didn't have to hold them, but putting his hand in the cage was the best suggestion since holding was out of the question. This way, the pups would know his scent too and if he fears them, they would know it and stay away. If he doesn't fear them, they would come up to him, but only to take out the grains from his hand. The pups like granola too. They don't really eat it, but they will play with it. Sally eventually eats the "toys" so it doesn't spoil in thier cage.
Once the list was done, he was astonished at how much care is involved with mice. He then looked at me as if I had suddenly become a mouse expert. He asked me more questions than I did when I first got Sally. I simply said that if you make a mistake, no worries. They're pretty hardy creatures. For something so small, they sure are tougher than they look. I felt like I was leaving behind my family. I was going to Japan and taking mice there was not an option.
Once I got to the plane and was on my way for my first mission, I began to reflect since I had nothing else to do. It's been a month now or close to it and so far I have had a pretty exciting time. The time I spent with Tower and Red were anything but dull. Even though Red doesn't like me all that much, he's not a bad guy, just weird. Tower is the gentle giant, but he's not stupid. We had our ups and downs, but nothing really off kilter to call bad or good. I had my first memorable birthday ever and I have a friend. There is a balance of the good and the bad as long as I remember that we are in this together.
Now I think I can manage a duel or two without Freak knowing.