Useless Atem (Part 3)

DIMENSION: MANGA (The One That Saves the Day)

The evening sun was starting to set as they continued onward. The cats trailing behind and the lions on the sides. No one messed or talked with them.

"Are you kidding?" Jounouchi dug out his wallet. They had kept walking and found a hotel. Even during this time, it was still open? There was a person outside of it with a gold scarab again. "Anybody else have money?"

Yuugi checked his wallet. "Credit cards mostly." He looked for spare cash. "We have money."

"Out." A hotel attendant kicked out a man. "I can't believe you tried to get two people in. Get out."

"Bastard," the ejected person yelled back. "Nobody can afford those prices and we can't just sleep outside!" A woman came out with him, got her money returned and they left.

The hotel attendant looked at them. "What do you want?" He noticed their feline attendants. "I uh. I don't want to mess with you. Do you need something?"

"Rooms. We have money," Yuugi said.

"50,000 yen per person, not per room," the hotel attendant said. "People are placed together as long as there is a bed. Are those lions tame?"

"Probably not," Jounouchi answered him. "Then that's 300,000 for just two rooms." Jounouchi still seemed to keep his cool. "Are you making the money?" The guy shook his head. "Hanasake?" The guy nodded. "You dead if you let someone sneak in?" Yep, several nods.That's why he was so rough with that man, and he was still dealing with them even though they had lions behind them.

"Yuugi," Atem called to him. "They are using Dragon Cards to separate the ancient spirits from the modern day hosts somehow," Atem explained. "The spirits stole their hosts. It should be impossible. Ryou Bakura said Hanasake offered Bakura the same thing. He refused. In fact, if it wasn't for him, there would be nothing left except this spot. He saved 20% of what he could in Domino City." Atem seemed to bite his lip. "I . . . begrudgingly thank him."

That had been hard for Atem, Yuugi knew that. Bakura tried to kill them more than once, lose Yuugi and his friends to the land of memories, and so much more. He was responsible for so much. Zorc would never had been released, Atem's soul never would have been in the puzzle. So much. That wasn't the same man, anymore than Ryou Bakura was him. He remembers the past, but he's different.

Jounouchi looked toward Yuugi. "I don't have enough."

"The bank has extra security, if you have money in the bank, you can walk there," the hotel attendant responded. "Please don't get upset, I have to follow rules."

"Which means extra people will be trying to rob people for that money," Anzu pointed out.

"Hanasake is trying to make this 'gig' last as long as he can," Atem said. "If we have to spend money to survive, one night in a hotel isn't worth it."

"Right." Jounouchi put his wallet away. "As nice as having a secure place would feel, it's not a good way to spend money. We never even ate supper and I'm betting if we find a restaurant, the prices will be way high too."

Yuugi nodded. "We should look for that then." Food would be important. They all headed away. "Does anyone know where the restaurants are in this area?"

"If there is a hotel, then a restaurant can't be far." Anzu pointed outward. "There." There was a guard with a scarab in the other direction. "Must be that way."

They all traveled the way she pointed. The restaurant looked packed. As they made their way through, they saw some people lock themselves in their cars to sleep for the night. Others kind of scream about their entourage.

As Yuugi came up though, there was a huge line of people still waiting to eat. "This must be the way it is," he said. "If you don't have the highest prices, then you have to deal with the lines." He looked on the other side. There was another place with no lines. A sushi place. Yuugi didn't even want to guess the prices there. "To the line."

"Okay, kitties and big kitties," Jounouchi turned around and said. "You have to stay out here. The restaurant won't allow pets." They all sat down where they were. "Hey, that actually worked. We'll be back."

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Inside the Restaurant

"This is ridiculous," somebody claimed to the service attendant. "I've been waiting three hours to eat. Three." The service attendant warned him, but when he started again, someone walked over to him. Some people reacted to him suddenly turning to sand, while others just wanted to step over him. After a short time, the sand was scattered and nobody cared to think of it anymore. Another person came over, swept up the sand, and threw it in the garbage.

Yuugi watched it all from the back of the restaurant where the line would curve frontward soon.

"We could invade a house for eats," Jounouchi said to them, "but I have a feeling it's a bad idea. If we're found, it might get us killed."

"If we follow their rules," Atem said, "we will be fine. Our bodies need to eat."

"Will they stay open long enough?" Anzu asked. No one knew but they had to try.

Each of them tried to keep it together. They conversed with the people around them and each other. Trying to think of better times. Pleasant times. It even brought about new times that he didn't know about Anzu and Satiah. Anzu actually spoke english to Satiah for a little while as they seemed to reminisce about better times.

Atem though was looking around. ///Atem: The lines are heavy for the bathrooms but they are moving. Do you know what that means?///

///Yuugi: The plumbing is intact. The damage is surface deep. What about those gaping holes?///

///Atem: Probably illusion, Yuugi. Hanasake wants to encourage everyone with money to stay here.///

Everyone seemed to try to speak, the place was loud. However, no one was telling anyone to be quiet. As long as they were decent, it was all that mattered. Until?

"I'm sorry, everyone," a nervous waitress came over. "I'm sorry. We don't have enough food for many more. If you are at least this far back, you won't get any. We don't want you to stay if you can't have food." She was trying not to cry. "The restaurant never serves this many. Very sorry. So sorry. There are more restaurants to try and we have been promised more food later. Sorry."

An hour and a half of waiting. There were definitely some groans, but no one rebelled, just started to head out. "I guess sushi will have to be it," Yuugi said. They needed food. There was a line starting but it was quickly disintegrating too.

When they got up to the line, it was 25,000 yen a plate. The good news was, as Yuugi looked around, whatever was ordered was stacked up for one person on a plate, and the rest were sharing it. Yuugi ordered six rolls for 'himself', but it wouldn't fit on one plate. So he ordered two.

They all sat down and tried to eat around the table, each taking the sushi nearest to them.

"There is plenty of food in the fridge," Anzu said, noticing Jounouchi's face. "Mai ate well and she's probably sleeping. It's a secure place."

"Never know," Jounouchi reminded her. "Someone got in before." Still, he didn't say much more as he ate his roll. Then?

One of the TV's over in the corner lit up. On the screen? Was Ryou Bakura.

"Hello everyone. My name is Ryou Bakura." He tried to smile. "I am sorry if you are lost, mourning, afraid, hungry or deprived of sleep. I have been trying to get my area together which isn't easy. If you are in Hanasake's area, then you will find restaurants and entertainment. If you see none of that around, or they are closed down, then you are in my area. Please listen."

Ryou Bakura pulled out a chart. "If you are in the Domino High school or two of the elementary schools that are standing, there is food inside of the cafeteria. Don't crowd, there will be guards and they will kill anyone talking back to them. Just be respectful and you will be fine. Don't go digging for food in dumpsters. The food is free."

"At least someone shows some respect," Jounouchi said as he ate his sushi roll.

Ryou Bakura continued on the TV. "In the morning, there will be ways for students to move off of there. For those of you near the grocery area, there are guards guarding it. Go to them and they will shop for you. Only three items per person and only one meat item. You can't buy food or get extra food. You might not get the exact food you want, don't complain unless you have an allergy. The bank is there too, so if you need some money, it is still around. Domino museum is there to provide history, and there are many homes and resident apartments that have been selected. You can't buy room. If you already have a key in a standing home or apartment, it will be respected as yours. Don't worry about the bathrooms, sinks, baths or other commodities. They weren't damaged."

"Just as I thought," Atem said. "Sewers. Waste management. Promise of food storage. The one in charge has an area large enough to support everyone. Must support everyone." Atem didn't look good. "Must."

"We need to get over on the other side," Yuugi said without hesitation. "There's got to be a way." The leader on the side they were on was going to bleed everyone dry. ///Yuugi: I wish I could call that scumbag something else! Hanasake was a good friend back then. I hate using his name for the man who killed him./// He didn't deserve his name. He didn't deserve any of his life at all.

"Last but not least?" Ryou Bakura tried to continue to look pleasant. "Please, please do not argue or get upset with anyone or anywhere you see a gold scarab. Do not break the rules, even a small one. They will kill you without hesitation. They don't mind reducing the population further, they will not waste time arguing. And? Not everything I do is in my control in this area. I will have set times to visit each area. If you need something, I will be there at a specific time, for only a limited amount of time. Please don't waste it with endless questions I can't answer. That would include a lot of them. Thank you."