All Possible Worlds
an excerpt

(This is a fanfiction crossover with characters from the anime series Yugioh and Getbackers, in case anyone wonders.)
Chapter 1 pt 3

Ryou couldn't tell if Bakura was following a plan or a trail that he couldn't see, or perhaps just trusting a natural born instinct for finding trouble, but he followed along beside his other half through the crowded streets without another question. They seemed to be wending their way deeper into the heart of Shinjuku's glittering nightlife world, which was just coming to life and growing brighter as the sky overhead filled with darkness.

Sometimes as they crossed streets between blocks of shops, clubs and restaurants, Ryou caught another glimpse of the dark towers, but at other times he couldn't find them even though he knew they must be there. He began to feel as if they were a ghostly presence over the city that could only be seen from certain angles, or perhaps, with a special trick of sight. In spite of the fact that they were heading in a general direction towards them, as far as he could tell, they never seemed to get any closer.

Closer to hand, the noise of traffic and voices filled the streets, punctuated with the beat and jangle of music from the clubs and game arcades they passed. Even with the urgency of their quest, Ryou couldn't help but be drawn to the flashing signs outside the arcades, and the enticing displays for games he'd love to try. He soon caught Bakura gazing at them as well. When they passed a window full of new and rare Duel MOnsters cards, they both gave up any pretense of disinterest and stopped to stare.

"Too bad we don't have time for a little browsing," Bakura said. "When this is over and we've got those files, I'm definitely coming back here to get some of these."

"I suppose that's why you insisted we bring all the credit cards," Ryou said, mildly sarcastic, although he was wishing they weren't on such a tight schedule, too.

"Of course not! Those are for dinner and a hotel afterwards, to celebrate. Who said anything about 'shopping'?"

Bakura gave him a sly grin. Of course, Ryou thought with a long-suffering sigh. It wasn't as easy to steal a hotel room or a meal, but trading game cards were a different story.

"You can't -" he began, turning on Bakura impatiently, but stopped short, suddenly remembering that there were people all around them, passing by close enough to overhear, and looking in the same shop windows. Right behind Bakura, a couple of men stood gazing at the window of the cafe next to the game shop with the same indecisive longing he and Bakura had been giving to the cards. They even seemed to be having a similar argument, judging from the long-suffering look on the younger one's face.

"I know you always say dessert first, Tsuzuki," the boy said, "But we don't have time for both. We've got an assignment to finish, remember! Make up your mind, already."

The sulky-sounding blond appeared to be no more than Ryou's age, but his older companion had the almost frantic look of a eager child overwhelmed with too many choices of treats. Following his gaze along the street, Ryou could see why; there was just about every kind of fare available in the block of restaurants ahead.

Ryou suddenly noticed he was getting hungry again; their early supper had been hours ago now, and the delicious aromas wafting out from restaurants, cafes and food stalls filled the streets. He watched with a little envy while the man spun around, coat tails flapping as he finally made his decision. With a look of weary patience,the boy followed him into the seafood restaurant across the street.

"I suppose we don't have time to eat again right now, either," he said wistfully.

"Now that you mention it," Bakura said, following his gaze up the street.

Ryou wasn't sure which of them spotted it first; neither said anything, but there was a feeling like a shout of triumph in the mental link they shared. A block away, just around the corner on a side street, there was the motorcycle with the sidecar that had nearly run them down at Shion University that morning. It was parked by the curb; its owners were nowhere in sight.

"Well, well. This makes things a little easier," Bakura said.

Ryou didn't see how. The driver and her passenger could be in any of the restaurants or clubs along the street, and there were even more possibilities among all criss-crossing side streets. Not only that, but he couldn't imagine how they were going to get the files away from them easily in a place like this without possibly drawing a lot of attention to themselves, and, if the Transporters were as dedicated and dangerous as Bakura seemed to think they were, there was far too great a chance of getting a lot of innocent, unwary people involved.

"I suppose it's too much to hope that the left the file here while they went to eat dinner," he muttered as they approached the bike.

"Idiot," Bakura said, more teasing than annoyed. "That would be far too easy!"

"Just tell me you're not actually looking forward to meeting up with them," Ryou said, remembering how much Bakura had seemed to enjoy his brief (and inevitably loosing) battles with Shego back in Drakken's lab.

"I admit, I'm a little curious, but I'm much more concerned with getting the file away from them before anyone else gets it."

They strolled up to the bike as casually as they could manage. Bakura glanced around briefly, Ryou took a much more nervous and thorough look up and down the street before they leaned over to inspect it. The driver's helmet was strapped to the seat. The sidecar was empty.

"How do we know they haven't already passed it on to whoever wants it?" Ryou asked.

"I doubt they've had time, but we'll just have to find that out when we find the Transporters."

"Oh? And precisely how do you intend to find that out?"

The smooth, soft voice seemed to drift out of nowhere, making Ryou's skin crawl almost before it registered on his hearing.

When he thought about it, Ryou decided it was just the kind of voice he'd expect to come from a man called Dr. Jackal. The Transporter seemed to detach himself from a shadow they hadn't noticed around the corner of the side street. Remembering the blurred glimpse of him speeding by in the sidecar, Ryou immediately recognized the wide-brimmed hat and flying strands of dark hair, a flash of narrowed eyes and a strange smile. The man had looked far too tall to be comfortable in the little sidecar, but as it had spun around to avoid hitting him and Bakura, he'd looked as gleeful as a kid on an wild carnival ride - until he'd caught a glimpse of them, and then, Ryou remembered, his expression had changed somehow.

"Too bad we didn't know what you were after when I almost ran you down earlier," another voice added, as his companion stepped out up to join him. "We could have settled this then, so you wouldn't have had to waste your time following us all the way to Shinjuku."

"Yes, that is a shame," Bakura said smoothly. "We could have saved you the trouble of coming here at all!"

"I'm somewhat impressed," Dr Jackal said, lifting the brim of his hat to gaze at each of them. "The fact that you were able to find us makes me hope this job might be a little interesting after all."

"I guess it depends on what you mean by 'interesting'," Bakura returned.

From the way he'd said the word, Ryou was fairly certain he didn't want to know what Jackal meant, but he knew Bakura well enough to guess that they were all going to find out soon.