Author's Notes: i was thinking about that time when seto and mokuba are in the elevator with isis at the end of battle city and i was like, thats a long elevator ride, did they really stand there in total silence? i decided that that would be boring, so i wrote this

for whatever reason ive always just called her "isis" instead of "ishizu" so i refer to her as "isis" in this fic. i apologize if that throws anyone off, it's a personal preference. actually now that im uploading this to ffnet, i've noticed that this site refers to her as "isis" as well. ao3 calls her "ishizu". huh. oh yeah since i watch the sub and not the dub, i use "rishid" instead of "odion", just a heads up. tbh i think both names are perfectly legit but "rishid" is the name i'm accustomed to

Ups and Downs

The three of them are quiet when they step onto the elevator, and no one says a word after the doors shut behind them. The car makes a low rumbling sound, rattling a little before beginning its steady ascent to the top of the tower.

The first thirty seconds are almost painfully awkward, Mokuba thinks, glancing between Isis and his older brother. The two have not spoken since their exchange at the tower entrance, and judging by how they're standing on opposite sides of the small, round compartment, faces turned away from one other, he supposes it's unlikely that that will change.

After about a minute, Mokuba can barely stand the silence. He tilts his head up toward his brother, who is staring intently at a card held loosely in his hands, the one that he intends to give to Yuugi. Seto is far too lost in thought right now to hold any sort of conversation.

Mokuba turns instead to Isis, who is gazing out the glass panels of the car. He wonders if she's just zoned out; there really isn't much to see, other than the lights mounted on the steel walls moving by as the elevator rises. Mokuba blinks. It's making him dizzy.

"Is something the matter?"

He jumps, startled by the sound of her voice. Isis' eyes are on him now, and her eyebrows are furrowed ever so slightly.

"Oh, uh. No," he replies, face reddening a little. He hadn't counted on her noticing. Out of the corner of his eye, Mokuba can see Seto watching him as well. His blush deepens. Embarrassing.

Isis nods at him and begins to turn her head to look out through the glass again, but she stops, turning her attention back to Mokuba. He fidgets under her gaze, biting the inside of his mouth. Isis… is a little strange, he thinks. She speaks so informally with his brother, and she's been consistently able to get him to listen to her, and that's weird, she's mysterious, and weird, and–

"Your shoelaces are untied."

Mokuba lets out a very undignified sound halfway between "what" and "huh" and looks down at his feet, cheeks burning again. Sure enough, the laces on his left shoe are untied, the plastic tips torn away, leaving behind a frayed mess. "Th-thanks," he mumbles before kneeling down to tie them, and Isis nods again and gives him a small smile. She does not turn away this time.

When Mokuba stands up again, Isis has shifted her gaze to his older brother, who quickly notices her watching him. Seto stares back for a moment before averting his gaze and letting out an unsettled "Wh-what?"

For a moment, Mokuba thinks Isis is going to laugh, but she just shakes her head. "Nothing. You are just," she pauses, the corners of her lips twitching, "very tall."

Seto slowly glances down at Mokuba, who shrugs at him, then looks back to Isis. "Yes…" he says carefully.

"I apologize," Isis says, shifting her weight from one leg to the other, "I don't often meet people taller than Rishid."

Her voice falters when she speaks his name, and Mokuba is suddenly reminded of the man lying unconscious back in the battle ship, Isis' older brother, who has shown no signs whatsoever of waking up. Mokuba is unable to stop himself from thinking about how he would feel in her situation. His stomach twists.

He's thankful when Isis' voice snaps him out of his thoughts.

"And you, Mokuba? You're still young, but I wonder if you'll be as tall as your brother."

Mokuba glances up at Seto. He can't even imagine being that tall. "I haven't really thought about it," he admits, shifting his focus back to Isis.

She smiles again. "I suppose you'll find out soon enough. Perhaps you'll even surpass him." Isis seems distant now, gazing down at Mokuba but not really looking at him, instead staring right through him at someone that he and his brother cannot see. "It's… a peculiar feeling, when all of a sudden your siblings have outgrown you."

Mokuba does not know how to respond, doesn't think he could even if he knew how. Her words are too heavy, too stifling. It makes his chest feel tight.

At last, the elevator stops rumbling and screeches to a halt, doors sliding open. Isis is no longer looking at him and has turned to face the duel ring that lies ahead. Mokuba can see her shoulders tense and her hands begin to shake when she catches sight of Malik up on the platform, a twisted grin on his face. She shuts her eyes, tearing her gaze away from her younger brother, then opens them again to look at Yuugi instead. She digs her fingernails into her palms. The trembling stops.

"You'd better hurry," she says to Seto. The wistful edge to her voice is gone. "The duel is about to start."

"I know," he replies, uncrossing his arm and striding forward. His eyes are also on Yuugi, the card he plans on giving him held tightly in his hand. Isis follows behind him, coming to a stop at his side on the edge of the duel ring.

The duel begins, and Mokuba hears her let out a slow, deep breath, sees her eyes water a little, but she blinks once, twice, and her composure has returned. Mokuba steps away from her to move to his brother's side, and decides that Isis isn't really as mysterious as he thought.

Author's Notes: yknow this was supposed to be cute and funny but like halfway through writing this i blinked and suddenly there was angst, why does this happen to me.

anyway i finished the battle city arc not too long ago and i think isis is TOUGH AS NAILS dude can you imagine being in her position during all the yami malik stuff? id feel horrible, like all the time. shes really strong and i respect her a lot

in other news, im still awful at picking genres, i was like, angst is a little much? it wasn't that angsty, so i just left it as general. another thing i noticed is that ffnet refers to "malik" as "marik", and on ao3 i think they just refer to him as "malik". i dont really know much about the ygo fandom because im new to it (i didn't really watch it as a kid. scandalous, i know) but apparently this was a Great Debate at some point? the subs im watching call him "malik" though so i'm sticking with that.

thanks for reading!

–fearowkenya