Angel: I won't lie... I don't think this will be a short chapter. -_-' But you never know. I mean, last time I thought it would be a short chapter and it wasn't... Anyway, today the hikaris are forced to put on a play, and you won't believe the parts their given! But it isn't all fun and games. Yugi, Bakura, and Hikaru are going to have quite an adventure, so strap in and get ready for an amazing ride! (Oh yeh, and the new school term starts on April 7 in Japan, so pretend that is when this whole story began. It is about the middle of April now.)
I found out Bakura's big sister's real name. It is Amane. Apparently she died in a car crash not long before Bakura met Yugi. Bakura's dad gave him the Millennium Ring after her death to try and comfort him. Amane is not included in this because of Kamui and Juri.
Oh yeah, I picked out kanji symbols for everybody's names... I even made sure I had the correct kanji for the regular YGO characters! I own one of the Japanese novels so that is how I know for sure which symbols they use and what they mean. There is a minor part in this chapter where they talk about their names.
One last note: I am writing this while watching Tonari no Totoro in Japanese. Actually that is not the note, but it is true. The note is that I am uploading this in 2 parts again because I... feel like it. -_-'
Disclaimer: I don't own YGO. Remember?
1. Yami 2. Hikari 3. Millennium Item 4. Yami's Power 5. Hikari's Power 6. Item's Power 7. Color
1. Yugioh 2. Yugi Muto 3. Puzzle 4. Erm... I just call his power the "Power of the Millennium Seal" as in the signature, not the animal 5. Golden Detonation Beam and something I haven't named, mwahaha 6. Sends people to the Shadow Realm, does weird things, activates at Yami's will or Yugi's emotions 7. Yellow
1. Kerihk 2. Ryou Bakura 3. Ring (it should have been the Millennium Dream Catcher ^-^) 4. ESP (aka the Balance) 5. ESP (Balance) and something else... What is it? It's a secret! *mwahaha* 6. Opens portals to the Shadow Realm, can detect other Millennium Items, can combine them (how? you'll see....), and anything else I decide it can do (with author powers!) 7. White (how ironic)
1. Kiara 2. Hikaru Daichi 3. Pendant 4. Flight/Wind/Light 5. Eh... the light in the night? I dunno what to call Hikaru's power yet... 6. Makes light in darkness, senses when others are in trouble 7. Pink
1. Setsuna 2. Ai Itsuko (her initials spell her name: A.I.!) 3. Mirror 4. Super-strength 5. Also superstrength, sometimes called the "Power of Love" cuz not only does "Ai" mean "love," but she can only use her superstrength when she's fighting for someone she loves 6. Shows other Item Bearers, shows foes, can reverse magic but it is dangerous to use it to get out of another realm cuz you might end up somewhere between the Real World and the Shadow Realm - in other words you're lost 7. Red (in Egypt red signifies evil but Setsuna and Ai are not evil so I'm using it to signify the American way - love)
1. Ahmose 2. Takehiko Midori 3. Sword 4. Fire 5. Flame (how original) 6. Gets you out of sticky situations (I guess), makes the bearer an expert fighter when he uses it 7. Orange
1. Ay 2. Dajan Hada 3. Key 4. Water 5. Eh, water as well 6. Unlocks any lock 7. Light Blue
1. Himoko 2. Misaki Hikawa 3. Spoon 4. Healing 5. Healing (no duh) 6. Stops time 7. Navy
1. Taidu 2. Tali Takada 3. Broach 4. Of neither world, acts as a go-betweener for the... um... fates? 5. Pretty much just a peacemaker 6. Taps into almost inaccessible magic 7. Green
1. Zhur 2. Pegasus J. Crawford 3. Eye 4. Wouldn't you like to know 5. Like I'd tell you 6. Captures people's souls and a lot of other stuff that I don't feel like telling you 7. Shadowy Gray
Hikari No Yuugi
Play of Light
by Angel
Chapter Eleven Part One: Tsuyosa no Enjin
Circle of Power
Yami moaned softly as he began to wake up. A feeling of warmth and wholeness embraced his body, and his lips curled into a smile. Unconsciously he ran his fingers through Yugi's hair pulled his aibou closer to his body. Yugi grinned peacefully in response, snuggling up with his dark side beneath the covers. The two lay there together in complete contentment as outside the sun shone brightly, beckoning the wayward children to continue on their quest.
They knew nothing of what the day would bring, or of what would become of them. But at this moment, none of that mattered. Right now, while they were together, everything was all right. The bond of love between yami and hikari was so strong, that no matter what danger approached them, if they were together like now, they knew they would triumph.
A loud clang suddenly brought them out of their peace. In the kitchen, Kerihk had been making pancakes when Ro had walked in the room and said good morning. Kerihk hadn't heard Ro come in so he screamed and dropped the pan on the floor, splattering pancake batter everywhere. They both shouted for a few minutes before quieting down and cleaning up the mess.
In the meantime, both Yugi and Yami had ducked under the covers when the sound of their shouting became unbearable. Once the anger had subsided, they snuck back out, and finally noticed each other.
Yami's face broke into a smile. "Yugi," he said. His voice was no longer raspy, just thick from speaking first thing in the morning. "When do you come in?"
Yugi blushed. "Last night. I was lonely for you."
"I missed you, too. It was easier to sleep with you here."
"Same here."
The yami and hikari smiled at each other. Yami sat up and hugged his aibou.Yugi returned the hug enthusiastically.
"How are you feeling, Yami?" he asked. He reached up to touch Yami's forehead. "Your fever is gone!"
"Un!" Yami grinned. "All I have now is a headache - probably from that racket that woke us up!"
The two laughed. Yugi slid out of the bed, saying he was going to go see if anyone else was awake yet. Yami came too, glad to finally be out of his designated hospital chamber.
(A/N: I am listening to Masami Okui's "Ano Hi no Gogo"... that's why this part is a little weird. XP Now "Shuffle" is on... followed by "Hikari," which is not a YGO song [lol] and then "Call My Name." Just wait until "Kawaita Sakebi" comes on. Then things will REALLY get interesting...)
Yugi opened the door and looked around. Kerihk and Ro, of course, were in the kitchen, but Makimura, Bakura, Mokuba, and Kaiba were still sleeping. Other than that, the living room was deserted.
The boy looked harder. Bakura was actually awake. He was looking at his Duel Monster's deck, though still lying down. Mokuba and Makimura were on the brink of awakening, but Kaiba looked like he could sleep for another hour.
Yami looked at Kaiba guiltily. "I expect he was up a couple of times last night checking to make sure I was okay. It's probably my fault he's so tired."
"He'll be okay." Yugi was happy Yami and Kaiba were finally getting along. "Let's go see who else is up. Ohayo Bakura-kun."
"Ohayo," Bakura responded, waving his Change of Heart card at them. "Ogenki desu ka?"
"We're good," Yugi said. "Where is everyone?"
Bakura gestured to the outside. "Kerihk is making breakfast, but I think Ro is helping him now. Dajan and Takehiko are fighting over who gets to take a shower first... everyone else is outside playing football."
Yugi and Yami exchanged a glance. Together they strolled to the front door and opened it a crack.
Sure enough, everyone else was playing football out in the front. Well, actually only Hikaru, Kiara, Ai, Setsuna, Ahmose, and Ay were playing. Taidu and Himoko sat talking on the same bench Kiara and Hikaru had sat upon the night before. Setsuna lost track of the game when she noticed Yami, and didn't see the ball fly past her. She was blushing very hard, but Yami didn't notice her peculiar actions any more than he noticed a black fly on a black car at midnight.
At the moment, Hikaru ran behind Sesuna and grabbed the ball. Where they had found a football, no one knows, but they had one. Hikaru raced past the opposing team and scored a one-shot touchdown. Kiara, Setsuna (when she regained her dignity), and Ai laughed as Ay and Ahmose stomped on the ground in defeat.
"No fair!" Ahmose growled, faking annoyance. "It's four against one! And Hikaru and Kiara are very fast!"
"It's in the blood," Kiara giggled. "Yami is super-fast, too."
"So is Yugi," Hikaru added thoughtfully, remembering the first time they met. (A/N: I actually didn't post the chapter where Yugi and Hikaru first met because I didn't think anyone would be interested. It was about Yugi and Hikaru competing to see who was the better gamer... at one point they even ran a race... I'm not telling who won... maybe it was no one! Maybe I'll post it some day.)
"It's four against three now," Dajan's voice said. He walked past Yugi and Yami, nodded hello, and opened the door all the way. His hair was wet and he smelled like ivory soap. "I got to take my shower first. I can play now."
Ay cheered for his hikari, using some words Yugi didn't understand. Ay explained they were Greek words he picked up on one of his many voyages as a sailor for the Pharaoh's trading comittee. Yugi thought it must be interesting to go to so many different places.
"Maybe I'll tell you all about them some day," Ay said. He swung an arm around Dajan. "I've already given Dajan some detailed accounts."
"You should tell them about your trip to Morocco," Dajan suggested. "That was my favorite."
"No, the most interesting tales would be in Luxor," Yami laughed, winking.
"Luxor?" Yugi repeated. (A/N: Uh-oh, Kawaita Sakebi is playing... o.O)
"Where I lived. We had fun there. Luxor is the Egyptian name for Thebes," Yami explained. "Thebes is the Greek name. It's the capital of Egypt."
"No, it's not." Kaiba was awake now and had wandered outside. "Cairo is the capital now."
"Well, it used to be Thebes. That's where the palace is anyway."
"There are lots of palaces!"
"That's where MY palace was!"
"You seem to be back to normal."
Yami sweatdropped and stuck out his tongue at the CEO. "My fever's gone," he said triumphantly.
Kaiba grunted. "What about your cuts? Are they bothering you?"
It was just Yami's luck that at the same moment Kaiba asked that question, he winced from a sudden pang from the gash in his side. He blushed and tried to act like he hadn't felt anything, but Kaiba "hmmed" knowingly. Himoko may have tried to heal the wounds the day before, but some of them were too deep for her magic to completely heal.
"I'm fine, really!" Yami cried angrily. "Besides, you promised we would leave today!"
Kaiba rolled his eyes and said he wasn't backing out on their agreement.
Ro popped his head out the door. "One more game, guys, and then breakfast will be ready," he said.
"OK!"
Yugi tugged Yami's shirt. "Let's go," he said. "Takehiko must be almost done in the shower. He wouldn't stay in long because he doesn't like water."
"Neither do I," Hikaru commented, taking the football back to her side of the field. She passed it to Dajan and joined Yugi on the front steps. "A pool or a beach is okay, but when we were thrown into the ocean the other day I was so scared! It's like diving to a pit of blackness that will swallow you up any second now. And I'm scared of the undertow. I remember one time Takashi went floating out in a big orange tube when we went to the ocean back in Okinawa. I was... eight, I think, and still getting used to living with Takashi and Keikeru. Anyway, I was so afraid that the undertow was going to grab Takashi and pull him under, since he was floating so far away. Keikeru tried to get me to calm down, and his friends were laughing and stuff, but I just kept calling for Takashi to come back. He couldn't hear me... eventually Keikeru bought me a popsicle and I calmed down. But when Takashi finally came swimming back, I was really relieved."
Kiara smiled. She thought back to the day that Hikaru had realized the spirit of the Millennium Pendant was real. It had been about a year ago, maybe a little less. One of the first things they had talked about were their fears - and Kiara was a little hydrophobic herself, much to Hikaru's delight.
Yami was different. He liked the water, but he was claustrophobic. No one understood how he could stand being confined in the Millennium Puzzle for so long without flipping out. Kiara remembered one time in the marketplace where he got stuck in a crowd of people and nearly began to cry because of how trapped he felt. She smiled warmly at the memory.
Yugi and Yami went off to the showers where they found Takehiko just finishing up. Being yami and hikari, they had no problem bathing together to get it done faster. Takehiko joined the boys' football team, making it a fair game of four-on-four, and finally they put up a good fight. Ro and Kerihk actually managed to have a good time making breakfast - unlike his counterpart, Ro was easier to talk to than Kaiba. He could be cold and menacing, but only to people he disliked (which, in the beginning of their adventure, had included Hikaru and her friends). He was a bit more outgoing than his employer. When Mokuba and Makimura woke up, Bakura got out some paper and pencils for them to draw with and played with them to keep them from annoying their brothers. Kaiba walked back to the couch and lay down to catch up on a few more minutes of sleep.
*
(A/N: I drew a really awesome picture of Malik, Yami, and Tea... I was going to send it in to Shonen Jump to publish in their Fan Art section - I have no idea what the ratio of art they publish is but what the heck - but I brought it into school to show my art teacher, and... Well, she wanted to put it in the art show, but then she unknowingly sprayed water all over it and it got ruined. *sob* Yami has a big purple blot over his eye now... maybe I'll re-draw it and send it in again anyway... On a lighter note, my Magic Knight Rayearth music video I downloaded is awesome! Can't stop watching it! ^-^)
After a delicious breakfast of pancakes was over, the group packed up their bags and got ready to leave. The girls took hours brushing their hair and prettying themselves up. Himoko even undid Kiara's entire braid because it had started to fall apart, and then redid it! The other girls were amazed at how long Kiara's hair was when it was down, reaching past her waist and falling to its full length just above her knees. Compared to Hikaru's, which stopped short of her chin, they seemed like two totally different people. While on their own, Taidu asked Tali to keep the black Book of Truth in Tali's bag, just in case they needed it.
The boys were packing up in the living room rather loudly. Takehiko had stolen one of Yugi's socks and was pretending to hold it for ransom, and Dajan and Mokuba were bidding above the shouts and scoldings of Yugi. Taidu stuck her head in to say, "Sotto, sotto!" just as Yami let out a loud bid of "Negative fifty cents!" so he got a wack on the head from her. Yugi shook his head, whining, "My own yami tries to buy my socks from a thief!"
Kaiba walked up to the chair where Kerihk and Bakura were packing up their belongings. He coughed to get their attention.
Kerihk looked up at him from his spot on the floor with an annoyed glint in his eyes, as if saying, "Why are you here? Can't you see we're busy?" Kaiba found comfort in the fact that Bakura's gaze was cheerful and curious.
"I wanted to thank you for keeping Mokuba and Makimura occupied this morning," Kaiba began, looking at the pale-haired hikari below him. "I really needed to rest a little longer."
"Oh, it was no trouble, Kaiba-kun," Bakura replied with a sweet smile. "They're good kids. All I did was get out some paper and pencils for them."
"You must have been very entertaining then, retrieving paper and pencils, because otherwise they would have tried to bother me or Ro. If you can make a game out of finding paper and pencils, then you must be very talented."
Bakura blushed, embarrassed but pleased. Kaiba was complimenting him in his own weird way.
Kerihk's look invited Kaiba to scram, so he wandered over to where Yami was sitting and stood above him looking down.
Yami looked up and raised an eyebrow questioningly. Kaiba raised his own eyebrow in response. The two stayed in this ridiculous pose for a few minutes before Kaiba reached down past Yami to ruffle Mokuba's hair. His face was right besides Yami's ear now.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he whispered.
Yami growled. Kaiba smirked and knew that was a "yes."
At long last everyone was packed up and ready to go. Everyone had brought food in their bags just in case their luck wasn't so good again, but they had had to find bags in the storage room since most of them had lost their own in the river. Only a few of them still had their original belongings, and most of the kids were stuck wearing the same clothes for the rest of the journey.
Once outside, there was a short argument between a particular party over which way to go. Eventually Kiara sighed, exasperated, and flew into the sky to search for the closest pathway from the smaller island to the larger one. She returned to announce that there seemed to be a bridge to the next island on the left. So left was the direction they took, and of course Ay was very smug about his navigational talent and Ahmose was very upset that he had been wrong to suggest going right.
They walked for several hours, feeling happy and light-of-heart despite their peril. They chatted and laughed and brooded over their thoughts, occasionally mentioning Jonouchi, Anzu, Honda, Tetsuya, Naoko, and Ryoku. Yami soon grew tired from all the walking, as the cuts on his ankles were irritated by the quick progression. Kaiba couldn't resist an "I told you so," but he was more than happy to let the group rest for a few minutes so everyone - himself included - could regain their strength.
Yami rubbed his ankles and winced slightly. Yugi looked at him with worried violet eyes. "How badly does it hurt?" he asked anxiously.
The pharaoh laughed. "Not at all," he answered. "Despite the sharp sting going up my legs."
Yugi looked even more anxious at first, but Yami's smile caused him to relax and laugh a little.
Yami rested his back against a tree trunk and rubbed his legs. He met Yugi's worried inquiries with laughter, trying to bring sweet happiness back into his hikari's innocent eyes. Soon he felt someone staring at him, so he turned to look. Immediately his gaze was drawn to Setsuna, who was watching him intently. She blushed when he noticed her and quickly turned her face away. Yami gaze a quizzical look, unaware of her feelings. The other yamis exchanged glances of secretive knowledge, smiling at the cute situation. Setsuna, the romantic... and Yami, the oblivious.
One Millennium Spirit, however, did not find the predicament "cute". Taidu strongly discouraged Setsuna's feelings. Taidu approved of hardly anything Yami did, because he had always been so different from the other princes of Egypt, but she disliked the idea of a prince and a strong-willed Jew having a relationship even more.
Setsuna stood up and sighed. Yami was still watching her, wondering why she had been staring. She smiled and nodded at him. He blinked in question, but she began walking in the other direction.
She passed the rest of the group in silence and wandered into the forest. There she let out a loud sigh, and leaned against a tree, hugging herself.
"Ugh. Why is he so naive? I don't know what to think anymore." She sighed again and banged her forehead against the tree trunk. "He's just... something else. He looks at me in a way no one else ever has. And I just want him to be happy... that's why I could never tell him how I feel."
"Aww, what a touching ending line. I should include it in my play."
Setsuna gasped and looked up. Where had that voice come from? "Who are you?"
"Oh, no one important. Just a wanderer... with no past, no future, and barely a present to call my own." The voice gasped. "What a perfect line for the femme fatale! Let me write it down, quickly!"
Setsuna looked wildly around. The voice seemed to be coming from above. "What's your name?"
The voice sighed, and said in a mysterious, sad voice, "I don't have a name worth telling. My life, my name, none of it matters. I'm a lost soul who wanders this island alone, alone with my boring life for company. To make up for the lack of adventure, I write plays. Action, adventure, fantasy, romance... you name it, I've written it. I have too much time on my hands." The person laughed caustically. "But if you must know, they call me Ching. Ching Din-ling."
Setsuna sweatdropped. "Ching Din-ling? No offense, but that name..." She sucked in her breath suddenly. "Ching! Not Zhur's Melody Gamer?"
The person suddenly jumped out of the trees, landing on both feet. It was a girl with sad gray eyes and shoulder-length black hair. She was dressed entirely in black, and her skin was pale like the moon. From her appearance, she was definitely one of Zhur's Shadow Gamers - Ching Din-ling, the Melody Gamer.
"Ah, yes," Ching purred, running her fingers through her ebony hair. "Lord Zhur. Yes, I was one of his followers. One can't quite escape that, can one? But now, of course, I am on my own. That Zhur is a wretched creep and I can't stand him. But I can't get off this island either. I'm all alone now that I've abandoned him..."
Setsuna narrowed her eyes angrily. "What are you doing here?" she demanded to know, hands balled into fists at her sides. "If you're planning on harming my friends, you can just forget it! I'll have you know we have our memories back now, and I'm sure I can recall how to defeat you -"
Ching wagged her finger. "Tsk, tsk. Silly Gamer of Light. I'm not interested at you at all, dear. I told you, I'm not working for Zhur anymore."
"Then what -"
"To make it easier on the both of us, take me back to your friends. No doubt they will want to hear what I have to say as well."
The Hebrew girl cocked her head and folded her arms. Ching's unnerving glare disturbed her. "What is it that you have to say? Why should we care to hear it?"
Suddenly Ching dashed forward, until she was face-to-face with Setsuna. Setsuna was a little shorter than the height of Anzu, so she had to look up to read Ching's pale face. Ching herself was maybe 5'8" and with her thin body she resembled a birch twig.
"I know what you seek," she said in a deep, feminine voice. "Your friends, the prisoners of Zhur, and his vessel, Pegasus. You intend to cross the river and reach the mainland in order to get to his castle. But the river is treacherous - I should know. I had to cross it to escape him myself. I was unable to succeed in doing so. I found a different, much safer way. It takes longer, but at least I didn't die trying. I intended to help you and your friends find the way to the castle, since you are so intent on reaching it and rescuing the captives. Of course, I like to take things the slow way. I decided to let you come to me instead of trying to tail you. I had fallen asleep up there in the treetops, and would have missed your group if you hadn't come here with your lover's lament.
"I know a way to the castle that is much safer than the river. It is only dangerous for fools. Take me to your friends and I will tell you the way."
There was a pause. Setsuna licked her lips and thought. 'She could be lying,' she mused. 'She could still be working for Zhur. She hasn't shown me any proof that she has abandoned Zhur, and in all my memories I can't remember any of Zhur's Shadow Gamers even temporarily deserting him. Not until the very end... Himoko told me Zhur was on his own when he and Yami-sama faced off for the last time in Egypt. I don't know why they didn't join them. I was killed before Yami was even made Pharaoh, so I'm missing a big section of the journey in my memories. Maybe the others destroyed all his Gamers? Maa, naa. Not that it matters. I should take her back to the others, I guess. Ching is pretty harmless from what I remember. Yami-sama will know what to do with her... and if he doesn't, I'm sure Taidu will come up with something.'
"All right," she said aloud. "I'll take you to my friends. But don't pull any funny business. I'm watching you, and the others will be too. We all know better than to trust one who followed Zhur right away.
Ching smiled with exaggerated sweetness. Setsuna began to led her to their resting place. She wondered if the hikaris would accept Ching as quickly as they did everyone else. Given that they always trusted anyone pretty quickly (naturally assuming the "innocent until proven guilt" shtick), that would probably be the case.
Every eye turned in Setsuna's and Ching's direction when they arrived at the resting stop. Every face questioned Setsuna, inquiring of the identity of the odd girl she brought along. Taidu grimaced when she realized Ching was a Shadow Gamer of Darkness. The hikaris looked up quizzically, but it was Setsuna's own hikari that made the first move.
"Aibou," she began. "Who's that? Where did you go?"
Setsuna glared at Ai - the questions were simple, but blunt. Setsuna wasn't quite sure how to easily answer them. She decided to make light of it. "All right... aibou. This is someone. I went someplace. Happy?"
"Genki," Ai replied unhappily. "Be serious, Setsuna-chan."
Setsuna looked around desperately. Kiara gave her an encouraging glance; Yami and Yugi shared the same expectant smile. She sighed, and her shoulders drooped. "This is - Ching Din-ling. She was one of Zhur's - Pegasus's Shadow Gamers. She claims to have quit though. She says she knows a better way to his castle than crossing the river."
Silence ensued. Taidu shot her a cold glare. Himoko and Kiara looked worried, but Ahmose, Ay, and Yami simply frowned and dove into deep thought. The hikaris all looked surprised, and maybe a little wary, but for the most part they seemed unsure. Mokuba and Makimura looked completely clueless, as did Ro, although he tried to hide it. Kaiba looked at Ching with the same icy stare Taidu was giving Setsuna.
Himoko finally spoke. "You say she knows a better way into the castle? What's wrong with the way we're using now?"
"The river is extremely fast and wide," Ching said. "There is no way you could swim across. The bridge collapsed long ago. You could never get across - the current is even too swift for any canoes."
"Why are you telling us this?" Ay asked. He doubted she was telling the truth about the river.
"Because I know another way," Ching answered. "I don't want to go back to Zhur, but I'm willing to help anyone who wants to defeat him. He's such a big... well, you know. Anyway, I hate him, but I'm not strong enough to defeat him, and I'm afraid to even try. But I have no doubt in my mind..."
Here she broke off and locked eyes with Yami, who was still sitting on the ground. She walked forward and bent down to eye-level with him. She smiled in a way all the yamis found to be much too sexy.
"... That your Shadow Gamers can beat him." Yami raised an eyebrow in quandary. He seemed to be contemplating her words, but he looked tired and his mind was fuzzy. It even took a minute for him to realize her hand had reached his face and was caressing his golden bangs. He glared and reached up to bat it away.
She ignored his efforts and cupped her hands around his face. He loked at her in surprise, still glaring. Yugi looked on uncomfortably; Kiara froze where she was; and Setsuna looked daggers at Ching.
"You listen here -" Yami began to scold, but soon he found himself locked in a fiery kiss. He jerked back in astonishment, but she went with him and their heads banged against the tree. Her hands gripped his shoulders firmly. The others gasped and rushed to pry her from him.
It looked as though the kiss would last forever. Yugi tried to shove himself between the two, but Ching just pressed her mouth against Yami's harder. As the others began to push in, she opened her eyes and released him.
Yami fell against the tree when she let him go. Suddenly the Millennium Seal - the Eye symbol - began to glowb brightly on his forehead. His eyes closed and his hair flew back as if a giant wind were blowing against his face. A great light flared up around him, and soon engulfed the group. They shaded their eyes, and fear clutched their hearts; Yami seemed unconscious of what he was doing.
All of a sudden, they felt their feet lift off the ground. The Egyptians gasped when they realized what was going on.
Ahmose reached out and grabbed Yami's arm. "Yami-sama! Stop this! Listen to me! Yami-sama!"
The light completely enveloped them now, and a great wind blew them high into the sky. Blinded by the glow, everyone grabbed hold of the nearest person, with no idea who they were. They waited apprehensively for the end.
***
"Misaki."
"Mmm... sou?"
"Get off."
Misaki gasped and leaped off of Kaiba, whom she had fallen on top of when they had landed with a crash. Both were blushing thoroughly; Misaki looked apologetic; Kaiba's face flared with annoyance.
The others were also standing up and brushing themselves off. Mokuba and Makimura had landed atop Bakura, who had broken their fall. They were holding onto his legs tightly and he couldn't get up. Kaiba and Ro (who had been holding on to Ay) walked over to rescue him.
Yami was buried beneath Ahmose, Kerihk, and Taidu. It took the three of them a minute. to realize that they were lying on him, and when they had gotten off him he gasped for air like he had never breathed before. Taidu was especially embarrassed by this and quickly stomped away to hide her pink face. Yugi and Kiara had both landed on their heads and were lying unconscious, Yugi straddled over Kiara's chest. Hikaru (who had fallen on Takehiko, who had fallen on Dajan) felt a little tinge of jealously, but whether she was jealous of her lover or her yami was unknown. She slapped them both lightly until they woke up. Kiara realized at once what the problem was and quickly shoved Yugi towards Hikaru so their lips connected. After the shock of that unintended smooch, Kiara ruffled her hikari's hand and winked. Tali, Misaki, and Himoko had landed on three chairs - chairs of all things! When they got up, the realized the chairs were red theatre chairs. They exchanged confused glances.
Ai and Setsuna had fallen together at the feet of Ching. After rubbing their heads, they sat up and looked around. Setsuna glared at Ching. "What is the meaning of this?!"
Ching smirked; she was the only one that had landed on her feet. She glanced at Yami and said sweetly, "Daijobu?"
Yami coughed and turned to her. "What did you do to me?!" he exclaimed.
She laughed shrilly. "I kissed you." He glared. "Ok, ok. When I kissed you, I drew power from you and transformed it into energy to transport you all here." She waved a hand around. "You had no power to stop me in your current state; that moron Jyor-lang certainly did his work well, even if he lost."
Setsuna growled. "You tricked us! I gave you a second chance and you tricked us!"
Ching rolled her eyes. "Serves you right for being so gullible."
Yami wiped his mouth in disgust. As he looked around, he found that they had been taken to a building with many red theatre seats like the ones Tali, Misaki, and Himoko had landed on. He also realized that he was far above the chairs, on a large stage adorned with scenery and sets. Why on earth had she brought them here?
Ching giggled. "Misaki-san, Tali-san, you might want to come up here," she said to the two girls sitting below the stage. "This is a challenge for the hikaris."
The hikaris blinked and looked at each other. The yamis looked wary. Kaiba, Mokuba, Ro, and Makimura wonderyed why they had even been brought into this mess. (A/N: The authoress wonders why too... "TOTORO, TOTORO! TOTORO, TOTORO! LALALALALALALALALALA, AND I HARDLY UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS SONG...")
Ching waited until everyone was on stage. Then she clasped her hands together and explained, "This is a challenge from Pegasus. So far you've managed to outrun Iakara, defeat Chahahka, win against Jyor-lang, and escape from the dungeon of Pegasus's castle. Now you're going to have to face Ching Din-ling, but I've a much harder test." She drew an invisible square with her index finger, and the outline filled in to become a floating scroll. "Like I said, this test is for the hikaris. It's a play. Just a harmless, simple play. Once you sign the scroll, you will be given your parts in the play. You have to act out the entire play - 'Ramose and Aïda' I call it. If you manage to get through to the last scene, an exit will appear for you. But there's a twist - I haven't included the last line. You'll have to discover who says it and what it is all on your own, and until you get it right, you're stuck here!"
The group gaped. This was the strangest challenge they had ever been given! Even stranger than Anzu vs. the Penguin!
"You mean we have to act out a play? What kind of challenge is that?" Ai cried.
"Don't forget, it's the ending where it gets tough," Ryou reminded her.
"And only the hikaris are allowed to take part in it?" Ay added.
"I bet it's because one of us said the last line sometime in our lives," Kiara responded grumpily.
"All right! A play! This'll be so fun!" Hikaru shouted, punching the air. The others face-faulted.
Kaiba and Ro weren't nearly so enthusiastic about the play, but luckily for them they didn't need to take part in it. Mokuba and Makimura shared Hikaru's love for the stage and couldn't wait to see the show. They said it would be like going to a high school drama performance.
Finally Taidu said, "You're not giving us a choice here, are you?"
Ching smiled.
"Fine."
The yamis, the Kaibas, and the Fujishimas climbed down from the stage and took their seats in the audience. Kiara got the end seat, followed by Yami, followed by Kerihk. The others scattered themselves randomly throughout the row.
Ching looked at the young hikaris. "Sign the scroll," she commanded. "Your parts will appear beside your name."
Nobody moved at first. At last Hikaru grabbed the floating gel pen that had materialized beside the scroll and wrote her name: Daichi Hikaru. Next Yugi took his turn and signed the scroll, as did the others until they all had signed it.
Misaki peered at the scroll after she finished signing it, the last of the eight actors. "That's neat," she said softly.
"What's meat?" Hikaru inquired.
"Our names. I'm a big kanji freak, you see, and I just find the kanji we all use interesting. I mean, look here. Takehiko's personal name is made up of three kanji - bamboo, 'take'; fire, 'hi'; and child 'ko.' Of course his family name means 'green.' But it's funny because Takehiko's yami uses fire power, and 'fire child' is right in Takehiko's name."
Takehiko smiled cheesily. "Yeah! I have a cool name!"
"You sure do, Master Bamboo," Dajan sniggered. Takehiko snorted.
Misaki slipped off her glasses to get an upclose look of the writing. "My name, of course, means 'cape.' Just one kanji. Hikaru, yours is interesting - the kanji for your personal name means 'light', and your last name is made up of three kanji - peace, 'da'; will, 'i'; and thousan, 'chi.' 'A thousand peaceful wills.' Add your personal name and you get 'A thousan peaceful wills of light.'"
Hikaru blushed. "I love kanji too, because of my name. Yugi's is cool! Both his family name and personal name have something to do with games."
Misaki nodded. "Bakura, I can't read your family name. I haven't seen those symbols before - I keep wanting to say 'fruit', but I'm pretty sure that's different."
Bakura nodded. "The first kanji in my family name, 'baku', means 'tapir.' Not used too often, right? My personal name means 'finish, complete.'"
Ai added, "My personal name means 'love.' It's pretty, but it's a hassle to write. So many lines!"
"Mine has more," Yugi giggled. "Ryou's is definitely the simplest - only one stroke for his personal name!"
Takehiko looked at Tali and Dajan. "You two don't have kanji for your personal names. Why not?"
"My personal name is Greek," Dajan explained. "I'm half Greek. My dad was on a trip to Greece when he met my mom, Rhoda. They named me Dajan when I was born, and I've always just used katakana for my name."
"My name is African," Tali began after he had finished. "I don't have any African blood, but my parents are lovers of foreign names and chose that one for me. There is no 'li' symbol in Japanese, so I also just use the katakana for 'ta' and 'ri'."
"Are you quite finished?" Ching asked impatiently. "How long do you want to stay here? Forever?"
"Iyaiya!" the gang shrieked. "We're done! We're ready!"
"Good." She flicked her hand, and the parts appeared next to their names. Which part everyone was engaged for, you will see...
***
To be honest, everyone was actually relieved that this challenge was so easy, except for the mystery of the last line. All felt a little stage fright, some more than others, but at least they weren't fighting anyone. Ching was sitting in the very last row of seats, and Misaki sat right beside her. She was a little nervous to be sitting so close to someone who obviously hadn't stepped out of league with Pegasus, but she had no choice because she had been given the part of the narrator. She held a microphone in one hand and a script in the other, and couldn't help but laugh over parts of the play. Yami was in for a surprise - one of the characters was remarkably like him.
Behind scenes, the hikaris were pulling on their costumes. Ai, Dajan, and Tali had been given the parts of the "children." They were dressed in simple ancient Egyptian robes, which gave away the setting of the story. Takehiko had two parts, one small one and one large one. The first part was ''man who tells Pharaoh news of evil dude," in which he dresses as a commoner, and the second was "friend of the pharaoh" where he dressed as a warrior.
Ai was currently helping Bakura with his costume, and the other three were giggling and laughing about each other's costumes when Hikaru came out of the dressing room.
Tali noticed her first. Her face lit up. "Hikaru-chan! You look great!"
"Wowzer!" Takehiko and Dajan cried, blushing a little.
Hikaru was reddening too. She brushed imaginary dirt off her costume and looked embarrassed. "Thanks, you guys." Hikaru had the part of the pharaoh. She wore a black sleeveless shirt with a pink Millennium Seal (a/n: remember that the Millennium Seal is the Millennium Eye symbol) sewn on it. She had a golden belt and white skirt, and on her feet were golden sandals. Dangling from her ears were golden earrings and she also wore a golden clasp around her neck. A lavender cape billowed out behind her; she was the living image of a New Kingdom Egyptian pharaoh.
"You're the cutest pharaoh ever!" Tali exclaimed.
Hikaru smiled weakly. "So, uh, where are Yugi and Ryou?"
Takehiko shrugged. "I think Yugi is behind stage learning to walk in his freaky costume. Ai went to help Bakura with his, but I don't know where -"
"NO WAY!"
The three gasped and looked around curiously. "That sounded like Bakura!" Dajan said. They quickly rushed into the wings to see what the problem was.
"Ryou-chan, nan -" Hikaru stopped in mid-sentence when she caught sight of Bakura and Ai. "Ya... re..."
Bakura was standing with Ai, red from head to toe. He stood dressed in a two-piece white Egyptian dress, golden jewlery danging from his ears and arms. On his feet were wooden sandals, and a blue sash was tied around his waist. He looked beautiful, so Ai was satisfied with her work - but he wasn't.
"No way!" he cried again. "There is absolutely no way I'm going out there in this! Why does it have to be so girly?"
"Well, you're the pharaoh's girlfriend." Ai nodded as if this explained everything.
"So what? I'm not a girl! I just have long hair! Why do I have to be the stupid Aïda? I'm a boy!"
Ai rolled her eyes. "We weren't given a choice about our parts. You were given the pharaoh's lover, Aïda. So you have to act like a girl. Hikaru has to act like a boy, does that comfort you any?"
"She always acts like a boy," Takehiko whispered, earning him a stomp on the foot from Hikaru. "See? Owch - you proved my point!"
Ai continued, "You even get to kiss Hikaru. That's what you want, isn't it?"
Hikaru looked startled at Ai's outburst. True, she realized Bakura had a crush on her - although he didn't try to get her to like him back now that he knew she loved Yugi - and she understood that Ai liked Bakura, but Ai couldn't possibly be jealous of Hikaru, could she?
Bakura lowered his gaze. "Not really..."
The awkward moment was interrupted when Kiara burst into the wings. "Aren't you guys ready yet? Hikaru - you look adorable! And Ryou-chan, you just look so cute! Kawaii!"
Ryou shot her a death glare. Kiara sweatdropped.
"He doesn't want to do it," Ai said in mock anger, back to her old self. "I told him there isn't anyone around to see him that will tease him about it or anything, but even so."
Kiara's eyes widened. Then she sighed loudly. "That's too bad," she said. "I was hoping to see a good play. Not just for me, but for everyone - Mokuba and Makimura especially."
Bakura looked up expectantly.
"They were dragged into a mess they're much too young for... the poor dears. I'm sure they would have loved to be entertained and joyful even for a short while." Kiara grinned to herself when she saw guilt pass over the pale boy's face. "But I suppose it can't be helped, if you really don't want to..."
"OK! I'LL DO IT ALREADY! GEEZ!" Bakura tugged up his toge and went storming backstage. Then he stuck his head back into the wing to add, "BUT WHAT KIND OF GIRL DOESN'T SHAVE HER LEGS?!"
"A British girl," Tali commented. At this, everyone laughed.
Kiara went back to her seats after being complimented on her shrewd handling of boys. She plopped down besides Yami and wiggled her eyebrows at Kerihk, who just looked back curiously.
"Did you see what part Yugi has?" Yami whispered.
Kiara shook her head. "Gomen nasai. He wasn't there."
Suddenly the lights dimmed, and the curtain was drawn. The yamis, Kaibas, and Fujishimas looked on in awe as a beautiful set of Egypt came into view. Pyramids and sand were painted on the scenery. A chariot was placed nearby. And there, standing in the spotlight, was...
*
Angel: Da da da daa!!! Cliffhanger! Bum bum bum bum bum bum!! Did y'all have a good time? Huh? Huh?
Everyone but Bakura: YES!
Bakura: NO!
Angel: All in favor of continuing the play, say "Aye!" All opposed, say "Nay!"
Everyone but Bakura: Aye!
Bakura: Nay!
Everyone else: *girly giggles*
Angel: Yeppers, we're_on_a_roll! Next chapter - Tsuyosa no Enjin Part Two - will be up ASAP!
Readers: Sure it will...
I found out Bakura's big sister's real name. It is Amane. Apparently she died in a car crash not long before Bakura met Yugi. Bakura's dad gave him the Millennium Ring after her death to try and comfort him. Amane is not included in this because of Kamui and Juri.
Oh yeah, I picked out kanji symbols for everybody's names... I even made sure I had the correct kanji for the regular YGO characters! I own one of the Japanese novels so that is how I know for sure which symbols they use and what they mean. There is a minor part in this chapter where they talk about their names.
One last note: I am writing this while watching Tonari no Totoro in Japanese. Actually that is not the note, but it is true. The note is that I am uploading this in 2 parts again because I... feel like it. -_-'
Disclaimer: I don't own YGO. Remember?
1. Yami 2. Hikari 3. Millennium Item 4. Yami's Power 5. Hikari's Power 6. Item's Power 7. Color
1. Yugioh 2. Yugi Muto 3. Puzzle 4. Erm... I just call his power the "Power of the Millennium Seal" as in the signature, not the animal 5. Golden Detonation Beam and something I haven't named, mwahaha 6. Sends people to the Shadow Realm, does weird things, activates at Yami's will or Yugi's emotions 7. Yellow
1. Kerihk 2. Ryou Bakura 3. Ring (it should have been the Millennium Dream Catcher ^-^) 4. ESP (aka the Balance) 5. ESP (Balance) and something else... What is it? It's a secret! *mwahaha* 6. Opens portals to the Shadow Realm, can detect other Millennium Items, can combine them (how? you'll see....), and anything else I decide it can do (with author powers!) 7. White (how ironic)
1. Kiara 2. Hikaru Daichi 3. Pendant 4. Flight/Wind/Light 5. Eh... the light in the night? I dunno what to call Hikaru's power yet... 6. Makes light in darkness, senses when others are in trouble 7. Pink
1. Setsuna 2. Ai Itsuko (her initials spell her name: A.I.!) 3. Mirror 4. Super-strength 5. Also superstrength, sometimes called the "Power of Love" cuz not only does "Ai" mean "love," but she can only use her superstrength when she's fighting for someone she loves 6. Shows other Item Bearers, shows foes, can reverse magic but it is dangerous to use it to get out of another realm cuz you might end up somewhere between the Real World and the Shadow Realm - in other words you're lost 7. Red (in Egypt red signifies evil but Setsuna and Ai are not evil so I'm using it to signify the American way - love)
1. Ahmose 2. Takehiko Midori 3. Sword 4. Fire 5. Flame (how original) 6. Gets you out of sticky situations (I guess), makes the bearer an expert fighter when he uses it 7. Orange
1. Ay 2. Dajan Hada 3. Key 4. Water 5. Eh, water as well 6. Unlocks any lock 7. Light Blue
1. Himoko 2. Misaki Hikawa 3. Spoon 4. Healing 5. Healing (no duh) 6. Stops time 7. Navy
1. Taidu 2. Tali Takada 3. Broach 4. Of neither world, acts as a go-betweener for the... um... fates? 5. Pretty much just a peacemaker 6. Taps into almost inaccessible magic 7. Green
1. Zhur 2. Pegasus J. Crawford 3. Eye 4. Wouldn't you like to know 5. Like I'd tell you 6. Captures people's souls and a lot of other stuff that I don't feel like telling you 7. Shadowy Gray
Hikari No Yuugi
Play of Light
by Angel
Chapter Eleven Part One: Tsuyosa no Enjin
Circle of Power
Yami moaned softly as he began to wake up. A feeling of warmth and wholeness embraced his body, and his lips curled into a smile. Unconsciously he ran his fingers through Yugi's hair pulled his aibou closer to his body. Yugi grinned peacefully in response, snuggling up with his dark side beneath the covers. The two lay there together in complete contentment as outside the sun shone brightly, beckoning the wayward children to continue on their quest.
They knew nothing of what the day would bring, or of what would become of them. But at this moment, none of that mattered. Right now, while they were together, everything was all right. The bond of love between yami and hikari was so strong, that no matter what danger approached them, if they were together like now, they knew they would triumph.
A loud clang suddenly brought them out of their peace. In the kitchen, Kerihk had been making pancakes when Ro had walked in the room and said good morning. Kerihk hadn't heard Ro come in so he screamed and dropped the pan on the floor, splattering pancake batter everywhere. They both shouted for a few minutes before quieting down and cleaning up the mess.
In the meantime, both Yugi and Yami had ducked under the covers when the sound of their shouting became unbearable. Once the anger had subsided, they snuck back out, and finally noticed each other.
Yami's face broke into a smile. "Yugi," he said. His voice was no longer raspy, just thick from speaking first thing in the morning. "When do you come in?"
Yugi blushed. "Last night. I was lonely for you."
"I missed you, too. It was easier to sleep with you here."
"Same here."
The yami and hikari smiled at each other. Yami sat up and hugged his aibou.Yugi returned the hug enthusiastically.
"How are you feeling, Yami?" he asked. He reached up to touch Yami's forehead. "Your fever is gone!"
"Un!" Yami grinned. "All I have now is a headache - probably from that racket that woke us up!"
The two laughed. Yugi slid out of the bed, saying he was going to go see if anyone else was awake yet. Yami came too, glad to finally be out of his designated hospital chamber.
(A/N: I am listening to Masami Okui's "Ano Hi no Gogo"... that's why this part is a little weird. XP Now "Shuffle" is on... followed by "Hikari," which is not a YGO song [lol] and then "Call My Name." Just wait until "Kawaita Sakebi" comes on. Then things will REALLY get interesting...)
Yugi opened the door and looked around. Kerihk and Ro, of course, were in the kitchen, but Makimura, Bakura, Mokuba, and Kaiba were still sleeping. Other than that, the living room was deserted.
The boy looked harder. Bakura was actually awake. He was looking at his Duel Monster's deck, though still lying down. Mokuba and Makimura were on the brink of awakening, but Kaiba looked like he could sleep for another hour.
Yami looked at Kaiba guiltily. "I expect he was up a couple of times last night checking to make sure I was okay. It's probably my fault he's so tired."
"He'll be okay." Yugi was happy Yami and Kaiba were finally getting along. "Let's go see who else is up. Ohayo Bakura-kun."
"Ohayo," Bakura responded, waving his Change of Heart card at them. "Ogenki desu ka?"
"We're good," Yugi said. "Where is everyone?"
Bakura gestured to the outside. "Kerihk is making breakfast, but I think Ro is helping him now. Dajan and Takehiko are fighting over who gets to take a shower first... everyone else is outside playing football."
Yugi and Yami exchanged a glance. Together they strolled to the front door and opened it a crack.
Sure enough, everyone else was playing football out in the front. Well, actually only Hikaru, Kiara, Ai, Setsuna, Ahmose, and Ay were playing. Taidu and Himoko sat talking on the same bench Kiara and Hikaru had sat upon the night before. Setsuna lost track of the game when she noticed Yami, and didn't see the ball fly past her. She was blushing very hard, but Yami didn't notice her peculiar actions any more than he noticed a black fly on a black car at midnight.
At the moment, Hikaru ran behind Sesuna and grabbed the ball. Where they had found a football, no one knows, but they had one. Hikaru raced past the opposing team and scored a one-shot touchdown. Kiara, Setsuna (when she regained her dignity), and Ai laughed as Ay and Ahmose stomped on the ground in defeat.
"No fair!" Ahmose growled, faking annoyance. "It's four against one! And Hikaru and Kiara are very fast!"
"It's in the blood," Kiara giggled. "Yami is super-fast, too."
"So is Yugi," Hikaru added thoughtfully, remembering the first time they met. (A/N: I actually didn't post the chapter where Yugi and Hikaru first met because I didn't think anyone would be interested. It was about Yugi and Hikaru competing to see who was the better gamer... at one point they even ran a race... I'm not telling who won... maybe it was no one! Maybe I'll post it some day.)
"It's four against three now," Dajan's voice said. He walked past Yugi and Yami, nodded hello, and opened the door all the way. His hair was wet and he smelled like ivory soap. "I got to take my shower first. I can play now."
Ay cheered for his hikari, using some words Yugi didn't understand. Ay explained they were Greek words he picked up on one of his many voyages as a sailor for the Pharaoh's trading comittee. Yugi thought it must be interesting to go to so many different places.
"Maybe I'll tell you all about them some day," Ay said. He swung an arm around Dajan. "I've already given Dajan some detailed accounts."
"You should tell them about your trip to Morocco," Dajan suggested. "That was my favorite."
"No, the most interesting tales would be in Luxor," Yami laughed, winking.
"Luxor?" Yugi repeated. (A/N: Uh-oh, Kawaita Sakebi is playing... o.O)
"Where I lived. We had fun there. Luxor is the Egyptian name for Thebes," Yami explained. "Thebes is the Greek name. It's the capital of Egypt."
"No, it's not." Kaiba was awake now and had wandered outside. "Cairo is the capital now."
"Well, it used to be Thebes. That's where the palace is anyway."
"There are lots of palaces!"
"That's where MY palace was!"
"You seem to be back to normal."
Yami sweatdropped and stuck out his tongue at the CEO. "My fever's gone," he said triumphantly.
Kaiba grunted. "What about your cuts? Are they bothering you?"
It was just Yami's luck that at the same moment Kaiba asked that question, he winced from a sudden pang from the gash in his side. He blushed and tried to act like he hadn't felt anything, but Kaiba "hmmed" knowingly. Himoko may have tried to heal the wounds the day before, but some of them were too deep for her magic to completely heal.
"I'm fine, really!" Yami cried angrily. "Besides, you promised we would leave today!"
Kaiba rolled his eyes and said he wasn't backing out on their agreement.
Ro popped his head out the door. "One more game, guys, and then breakfast will be ready," he said.
"OK!"
Yugi tugged Yami's shirt. "Let's go," he said. "Takehiko must be almost done in the shower. He wouldn't stay in long because he doesn't like water."
"Neither do I," Hikaru commented, taking the football back to her side of the field. She passed it to Dajan and joined Yugi on the front steps. "A pool or a beach is okay, but when we were thrown into the ocean the other day I was so scared! It's like diving to a pit of blackness that will swallow you up any second now. And I'm scared of the undertow. I remember one time Takashi went floating out in a big orange tube when we went to the ocean back in Okinawa. I was... eight, I think, and still getting used to living with Takashi and Keikeru. Anyway, I was so afraid that the undertow was going to grab Takashi and pull him under, since he was floating so far away. Keikeru tried to get me to calm down, and his friends were laughing and stuff, but I just kept calling for Takashi to come back. He couldn't hear me... eventually Keikeru bought me a popsicle and I calmed down. But when Takashi finally came swimming back, I was really relieved."
Kiara smiled. She thought back to the day that Hikaru had realized the spirit of the Millennium Pendant was real. It had been about a year ago, maybe a little less. One of the first things they had talked about were their fears - and Kiara was a little hydrophobic herself, much to Hikaru's delight.
Yami was different. He liked the water, but he was claustrophobic. No one understood how he could stand being confined in the Millennium Puzzle for so long without flipping out. Kiara remembered one time in the marketplace where he got stuck in a crowd of people and nearly began to cry because of how trapped he felt. She smiled warmly at the memory.
Yugi and Yami went off to the showers where they found Takehiko just finishing up. Being yami and hikari, they had no problem bathing together to get it done faster. Takehiko joined the boys' football team, making it a fair game of four-on-four, and finally they put up a good fight. Ro and Kerihk actually managed to have a good time making breakfast - unlike his counterpart, Ro was easier to talk to than Kaiba. He could be cold and menacing, but only to people he disliked (which, in the beginning of their adventure, had included Hikaru and her friends). He was a bit more outgoing than his employer. When Mokuba and Makimura woke up, Bakura got out some paper and pencils for them to draw with and played with them to keep them from annoying their brothers. Kaiba walked back to the couch and lay down to catch up on a few more minutes of sleep.
*
(A/N: I drew a really awesome picture of Malik, Yami, and Tea... I was going to send it in to Shonen Jump to publish in their Fan Art section - I have no idea what the ratio of art they publish is but what the heck - but I brought it into school to show my art teacher, and... Well, she wanted to put it in the art show, but then she unknowingly sprayed water all over it and it got ruined. *sob* Yami has a big purple blot over his eye now... maybe I'll re-draw it and send it in again anyway... On a lighter note, my Magic Knight Rayearth music video I downloaded is awesome! Can't stop watching it! ^-^)
After a delicious breakfast of pancakes was over, the group packed up their bags and got ready to leave. The girls took hours brushing their hair and prettying themselves up. Himoko even undid Kiara's entire braid because it had started to fall apart, and then redid it! The other girls were amazed at how long Kiara's hair was when it was down, reaching past her waist and falling to its full length just above her knees. Compared to Hikaru's, which stopped short of her chin, they seemed like two totally different people. While on their own, Taidu asked Tali to keep the black Book of Truth in Tali's bag, just in case they needed it.
The boys were packing up in the living room rather loudly. Takehiko had stolen one of Yugi's socks and was pretending to hold it for ransom, and Dajan and Mokuba were bidding above the shouts and scoldings of Yugi. Taidu stuck her head in to say, "Sotto, sotto!" just as Yami let out a loud bid of "Negative fifty cents!" so he got a wack on the head from her. Yugi shook his head, whining, "My own yami tries to buy my socks from a thief!"
Kaiba walked up to the chair where Kerihk and Bakura were packing up their belongings. He coughed to get their attention.
Kerihk looked up at him from his spot on the floor with an annoyed glint in his eyes, as if saying, "Why are you here? Can't you see we're busy?" Kaiba found comfort in the fact that Bakura's gaze was cheerful and curious.
"I wanted to thank you for keeping Mokuba and Makimura occupied this morning," Kaiba began, looking at the pale-haired hikari below him. "I really needed to rest a little longer."
"Oh, it was no trouble, Kaiba-kun," Bakura replied with a sweet smile. "They're good kids. All I did was get out some paper and pencils for them."
"You must have been very entertaining then, retrieving paper and pencils, because otherwise they would have tried to bother me or Ro. If you can make a game out of finding paper and pencils, then you must be very talented."
Bakura blushed, embarrassed but pleased. Kaiba was complimenting him in his own weird way.
Kerihk's look invited Kaiba to scram, so he wandered over to where Yami was sitting and stood above him looking down.
Yami looked up and raised an eyebrow questioningly. Kaiba raised his own eyebrow in response. The two stayed in this ridiculous pose for a few minutes before Kaiba reached down past Yami to ruffle Mokuba's hair. His face was right besides Yami's ear now.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he whispered.
Yami growled. Kaiba smirked and knew that was a "yes."
At long last everyone was packed up and ready to go. Everyone had brought food in their bags just in case their luck wasn't so good again, but they had had to find bags in the storage room since most of them had lost their own in the river. Only a few of them still had their original belongings, and most of the kids were stuck wearing the same clothes for the rest of the journey.
Once outside, there was a short argument between a particular party over which way to go. Eventually Kiara sighed, exasperated, and flew into the sky to search for the closest pathway from the smaller island to the larger one. She returned to announce that there seemed to be a bridge to the next island on the left. So left was the direction they took, and of course Ay was very smug about his navigational talent and Ahmose was very upset that he had been wrong to suggest going right.
They walked for several hours, feeling happy and light-of-heart despite their peril. They chatted and laughed and brooded over their thoughts, occasionally mentioning Jonouchi, Anzu, Honda, Tetsuya, Naoko, and Ryoku. Yami soon grew tired from all the walking, as the cuts on his ankles were irritated by the quick progression. Kaiba couldn't resist an "I told you so," but he was more than happy to let the group rest for a few minutes so everyone - himself included - could regain their strength.
Yami rubbed his ankles and winced slightly. Yugi looked at him with worried violet eyes. "How badly does it hurt?" he asked anxiously.
The pharaoh laughed. "Not at all," he answered. "Despite the sharp sting going up my legs."
Yugi looked even more anxious at first, but Yami's smile caused him to relax and laugh a little.
Yami rested his back against a tree trunk and rubbed his legs. He met Yugi's worried inquiries with laughter, trying to bring sweet happiness back into his hikari's innocent eyes. Soon he felt someone staring at him, so he turned to look. Immediately his gaze was drawn to Setsuna, who was watching him intently. She blushed when he noticed her and quickly turned her face away. Yami gaze a quizzical look, unaware of her feelings. The other yamis exchanged glances of secretive knowledge, smiling at the cute situation. Setsuna, the romantic... and Yami, the oblivious.
One Millennium Spirit, however, did not find the predicament "cute". Taidu strongly discouraged Setsuna's feelings. Taidu approved of hardly anything Yami did, because he had always been so different from the other princes of Egypt, but she disliked the idea of a prince and a strong-willed Jew having a relationship even more.
Setsuna stood up and sighed. Yami was still watching her, wondering why she had been staring. She smiled and nodded at him. He blinked in question, but she began walking in the other direction.
She passed the rest of the group in silence and wandered into the forest. There she let out a loud sigh, and leaned against a tree, hugging herself.
"Ugh. Why is he so naive? I don't know what to think anymore." She sighed again and banged her forehead against the tree trunk. "He's just... something else. He looks at me in a way no one else ever has. And I just want him to be happy... that's why I could never tell him how I feel."
"Aww, what a touching ending line. I should include it in my play."
Setsuna gasped and looked up. Where had that voice come from? "Who are you?"
"Oh, no one important. Just a wanderer... with no past, no future, and barely a present to call my own." The voice gasped. "What a perfect line for the femme fatale! Let me write it down, quickly!"
Setsuna looked wildly around. The voice seemed to be coming from above. "What's your name?"
The voice sighed, and said in a mysterious, sad voice, "I don't have a name worth telling. My life, my name, none of it matters. I'm a lost soul who wanders this island alone, alone with my boring life for company. To make up for the lack of adventure, I write plays. Action, adventure, fantasy, romance... you name it, I've written it. I have too much time on my hands." The person laughed caustically. "But if you must know, they call me Ching. Ching Din-ling."
Setsuna sweatdropped. "Ching Din-ling? No offense, but that name..." She sucked in her breath suddenly. "Ching! Not Zhur's Melody Gamer?"
The person suddenly jumped out of the trees, landing on both feet. It was a girl with sad gray eyes and shoulder-length black hair. She was dressed entirely in black, and her skin was pale like the moon. From her appearance, she was definitely one of Zhur's Shadow Gamers - Ching Din-ling, the Melody Gamer.
"Ah, yes," Ching purred, running her fingers through her ebony hair. "Lord Zhur. Yes, I was one of his followers. One can't quite escape that, can one? But now, of course, I am on my own. That Zhur is a wretched creep and I can't stand him. But I can't get off this island either. I'm all alone now that I've abandoned him..."
Setsuna narrowed her eyes angrily. "What are you doing here?" she demanded to know, hands balled into fists at her sides. "If you're planning on harming my friends, you can just forget it! I'll have you know we have our memories back now, and I'm sure I can recall how to defeat you -"
Ching wagged her finger. "Tsk, tsk. Silly Gamer of Light. I'm not interested at you at all, dear. I told you, I'm not working for Zhur anymore."
"Then what -"
"To make it easier on the both of us, take me back to your friends. No doubt they will want to hear what I have to say as well."
The Hebrew girl cocked her head and folded her arms. Ching's unnerving glare disturbed her. "What is it that you have to say? Why should we care to hear it?"
Suddenly Ching dashed forward, until she was face-to-face with Setsuna. Setsuna was a little shorter than the height of Anzu, so she had to look up to read Ching's pale face. Ching herself was maybe 5'8" and with her thin body she resembled a birch twig.
"I know what you seek," she said in a deep, feminine voice. "Your friends, the prisoners of Zhur, and his vessel, Pegasus. You intend to cross the river and reach the mainland in order to get to his castle. But the river is treacherous - I should know. I had to cross it to escape him myself. I was unable to succeed in doing so. I found a different, much safer way. It takes longer, but at least I didn't die trying. I intended to help you and your friends find the way to the castle, since you are so intent on reaching it and rescuing the captives. Of course, I like to take things the slow way. I decided to let you come to me instead of trying to tail you. I had fallen asleep up there in the treetops, and would have missed your group if you hadn't come here with your lover's lament.
"I know a way to the castle that is much safer than the river. It is only dangerous for fools. Take me to your friends and I will tell you the way."
There was a pause. Setsuna licked her lips and thought. 'She could be lying,' she mused. 'She could still be working for Zhur. She hasn't shown me any proof that she has abandoned Zhur, and in all my memories I can't remember any of Zhur's Shadow Gamers even temporarily deserting him. Not until the very end... Himoko told me Zhur was on his own when he and Yami-sama faced off for the last time in Egypt. I don't know why they didn't join them. I was killed before Yami was even made Pharaoh, so I'm missing a big section of the journey in my memories. Maybe the others destroyed all his Gamers? Maa, naa. Not that it matters. I should take her back to the others, I guess. Ching is pretty harmless from what I remember. Yami-sama will know what to do with her... and if he doesn't, I'm sure Taidu will come up with something.'
"All right," she said aloud. "I'll take you to my friends. But don't pull any funny business. I'm watching you, and the others will be too. We all know better than to trust one who followed Zhur right away.
Ching smiled with exaggerated sweetness. Setsuna began to led her to their resting place. She wondered if the hikaris would accept Ching as quickly as they did everyone else. Given that they always trusted anyone pretty quickly (naturally assuming the "innocent until proven guilt" shtick), that would probably be the case.
Every eye turned in Setsuna's and Ching's direction when they arrived at the resting stop. Every face questioned Setsuna, inquiring of the identity of the odd girl she brought along. Taidu grimaced when she realized Ching was a Shadow Gamer of Darkness. The hikaris looked up quizzically, but it was Setsuna's own hikari that made the first move.
"Aibou," she began. "Who's that? Where did you go?"
Setsuna glared at Ai - the questions were simple, but blunt. Setsuna wasn't quite sure how to easily answer them. She decided to make light of it. "All right... aibou. This is someone. I went someplace. Happy?"
"Genki," Ai replied unhappily. "Be serious, Setsuna-chan."
Setsuna looked around desperately. Kiara gave her an encouraging glance; Yami and Yugi shared the same expectant smile. She sighed, and her shoulders drooped. "This is - Ching Din-ling. She was one of Zhur's - Pegasus's Shadow Gamers. She claims to have quit though. She says she knows a better way to his castle than crossing the river."
Silence ensued. Taidu shot her a cold glare. Himoko and Kiara looked worried, but Ahmose, Ay, and Yami simply frowned and dove into deep thought. The hikaris all looked surprised, and maybe a little wary, but for the most part they seemed unsure. Mokuba and Makimura looked completely clueless, as did Ro, although he tried to hide it. Kaiba looked at Ching with the same icy stare Taidu was giving Setsuna.
Himoko finally spoke. "You say she knows a better way into the castle? What's wrong with the way we're using now?"
"The river is extremely fast and wide," Ching said. "There is no way you could swim across. The bridge collapsed long ago. You could never get across - the current is even too swift for any canoes."
"Why are you telling us this?" Ay asked. He doubted she was telling the truth about the river.
"Because I know another way," Ching answered. "I don't want to go back to Zhur, but I'm willing to help anyone who wants to defeat him. He's such a big... well, you know. Anyway, I hate him, but I'm not strong enough to defeat him, and I'm afraid to even try. But I have no doubt in my mind..."
Here she broke off and locked eyes with Yami, who was still sitting on the ground. She walked forward and bent down to eye-level with him. She smiled in a way all the yamis found to be much too sexy.
"... That your Shadow Gamers can beat him." Yami raised an eyebrow in quandary. He seemed to be contemplating her words, but he looked tired and his mind was fuzzy. It even took a minute for him to realize her hand had reached his face and was caressing his golden bangs. He glared and reached up to bat it away.
She ignored his efforts and cupped her hands around his face. He loked at her in surprise, still glaring. Yugi looked on uncomfortably; Kiara froze where she was; and Setsuna looked daggers at Ching.
"You listen here -" Yami began to scold, but soon he found himself locked in a fiery kiss. He jerked back in astonishment, but she went with him and their heads banged against the tree. Her hands gripped his shoulders firmly. The others gasped and rushed to pry her from him.
It looked as though the kiss would last forever. Yugi tried to shove himself between the two, but Ching just pressed her mouth against Yami's harder. As the others began to push in, she opened her eyes and released him.
Yami fell against the tree when she let him go. Suddenly the Millennium Seal - the Eye symbol - began to glowb brightly on his forehead. His eyes closed and his hair flew back as if a giant wind were blowing against his face. A great light flared up around him, and soon engulfed the group. They shaded their eyes, and fear clutched their hearts; Yami seemed unconscious of what he was doing.
All of a sudden, they felt their feet lift off the ground. The Egyptians gasped when they realized what was going on.
Ahmose reached out and grabbed Yami's arm. "Yami-sama! Stop this! Listen to me! Yami-sama!"
The light completely enveloped them now, and a great wind blew them high into the sky. Blinded by the glow, everyone grabbed hold of the nearest person, with no idea who they were. They waited apprehensively for the end.
***
"Misaki."
"Mmm... sou?"
"Get off."
Misaki gasped and leaped off of Kaiba, whom she had fallen on top of when they had landed with a crash. Both were blushing thoroughly; Misaki looked apologetic; Kaiba's face flared with annoyance.
The others were also standing up and brushing themselves off. Mokuba and Makimura had landed atop Bakura, who had broken their fall. They were holding onto his legs tightly and he couldn't get up. Kaiba and Ro (who had been holding on to Ay) walked over to rescue him.
Yami was buried beneath Ahmose, Kerihk, and Taidu. It took the three of them a minute. to realize that they were lying on him, and when they had gotten off him he gasped for air like he had never breathed before. Taidu was especially embarrassed by this and quickly stomped away to hide her pink face. Yugi and Kiara had both landed on their heads and were lying unconscious, Yugi straddled over Kiara's chest. Hikaru (who had fallen on Takehiko, who had fallen on Dajan) felt a little tinge of jealously, but whether she was jealous of her lover or her yami was unknown. She slapped them both lightly until they woke up. Kiara realized at once what the problem was and quickly shoved Yugi towards Hikaru so their lips connected. After the shock of that unintended smooch, Kiara ruffled her hikari's hand and winked. Tali, Misaki, and Himoko had landed on three chairs - chairs of all things! When they got up, the realized the chairs were red theatre chairs. They exchanged confused glances.
Ai and Setsuna had fallen together at the feet of Ching. After rubbing their heads, they sat up and looked around. Setsuna glared at Ching. "What is the meaning of this?!"
Ching smirked; she was the only one that had landed on her feet. She glanced at Yami and said sweetly, "Daijobu?"
Yami coughed and turned to her. "What did you do to me?!" he exclaimed.
She laughed shrilly. "I kissed you." He glared. "Ok, ok. When I kissed you, I drew power from you and transformed it into energy to transport you all here." She waved a hand around. "You had no power to stop me in your current state; that moron Jyor-lang certainly did his work well, even if he lost."
Setsuna growled. "You tricked us! I gave you a second chance and you tricked us!"
Ching rolled her eyes. "Serves you right for being so gullible."
Yami wiped his mouth in disgust. As he looked around, he found that they had been taken to a building with many red theatre seats like the ones Tali, Misaki, and Himoko had landed on. He also realized that he was far above the chairs, on a large stage adorned with scenery and sets. Why on earth had she brought them here?
Ching giggled. "Misaki-san, Tali-san, you might want to come up here," she said to the two girls sitting below the stage. "This is a challenge for the hikaris."
The hikaris blinked and looked at each other. The yamis looked wary. Kaiba, Mokuba, Ro, and Makimura wonderyed why they had even been brought into this mess. (A/N: The authoress wonders why too... "TOTORO, TOTORO! TOTORO, TOTORO! LALALALALALALALALALA, AND I HARDLY UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS SONG...")
Ching waited until everyone was on stage. Then she clasped her hands together and explained, "This is a challenge from Pegasus. So far you've managed to outrun Iakara, defeat Chahahka, win against Jyor-lang, and escape from the dungeon of Pegasus's castle. Now you're going to have to face Ching Din-ling, but I've a much harder test." She drew an invisible square with her index finger, and the outline filled in to become a floating scroll. "Like I said, this test is for the hikaris. It's a play. Just a harmless, simple play. Once you sign the scroll, you will be given your parts in the play. You have to act out the entire play - 'Ramose and Aïda' I call it. If you manage to get through to the last scene, an exit will appear for you. But there's a twist - I haven't included the last line. You'll have to discover who says it and what it is all on your own, and until you get it right, you're stuck here!"
The group gaped. This was the strangest challenge they had ever been given! Even stranger than Anzu vs. the Penguin!
"You mean we have to act out a play? What kind of challenge is that?" Ai cried.
"Don't forget, it's the ending where it gets tough," Ryou reminded her.
"And only the hikaris are allowed to take part in it?" Ay added.
"I bet it's because one of us said the last line sometime in our lives," Kiara responded grumpily.
"All right! A play! This'll be so fun!" Hikaru shouted, punching the air. The others face-faulted.
Kaiba and Ro weren't nearly so enthusiastic about the play, but luckily for them they didn't need to take part in it. Mokuba and Makimura shared Hikaru's love for the stage and couldn't wait to see the show. They said it would be like going to a high school drama performance.
Finally Taidu said, "You're not giving us a choice here, are you?"
Ching smiled.
"Fine."
The yamis, the Kaibas, and the Fujishimas climbed down from the stage and took their seats in the audience. Kiara got the end seat, followed by Yami, followed by Kerihk. The others scattered themselves randomly throughout the row.
Ching looked at the young hikaris. "Sign the scroll," she commanded. "Your parts will appear beside your name."
Nobody moved at first. At last Hikaru grabbed the floating gel pen that had materialized beside the scroll and wrote her name: Daichi Hikaru. Next Yugi took his turn and signed the scroll, as did the others until they all had signed it.
Misaki peered at the scroll after she finished signing it, the last of the eight actors. "That's neat," she said softly.
"What's meat?" Hikaru inquired.
"Our names. I'm a big kanji freak, you see, and I just find the kanji we all use interesting. I mean, look here. Takehiko's personal name is made up of three kanji - bamboo, 'take'; fire, 'hi'; and child 'ko.' Of course his family name means 'green.' But it's funny because Takehiko's yami uses fire power, and 'fire child' is right in Takehiko's name."
Takehiko smiled cheesily. "Yeah! I have a cool name!"
"You sure do, Master Bamboo," Dajan sniggered. Takehiko snorted.
Misaki slipped off her glasses to get an upclose look of the writing. "My name, of course, means 'cape.' Just one kanji. Hikaru, yours is interesting - the kanji for your personal name means 'light', and your last name is made up of three kanji - peace, 'da'; will, 'i'; and thousan, 'chi.' 'A thousand peaceful wills.' Add your personal name and you get 'A thousan peaceful wills of light.'"
Hikaru blushed. "I love kanji too, because of my name. Yugi's is cool! Both his family name and personal name have something to do with games."
Misaki nodded. "Bakura, I can't read your family name. I haven't seen those symbols before - I keep wanting to say 'fruit', but I'm pretty sure that's different."
Bakura nodded. "The first kanji in my family name, 'baku', means 'tapir.' Not used too often, right? My personal name means 'finish, complete.'"
Ai added, "My personal name means 'love.' It's pretty, but it's a hassle to write. So many lines!"
"Mine has more," Yugi giggled. "Ryou's is definitely the simplest - only one stroke for his personal name!"
Takehiko looked at Tali and Dajan. "You two don't have kanji for your personal names. Why not?"
"My personal name is Greek," Dajan explained. "I'm half Greek. My dad was on a trip to Greece when he met my mom, Rhoda. They named me Dajan when I was born, and I've always just used katakana for my name."
"My name is African," Tali began after he had finished. "I don't have any African blood, but my parents are lovers of foreign names and chose that one for me. There is no 'li' symbol in Japanese, so I also just use the katakana for 'ta' and 'ri'."
"Are you quite finished?" Ching asked impatiently. "How long do you want to stay here? Forever?"
"Iyaiya!" the gang shrieked. "We're done! We're ready!"
"Good." She flicked her hand, and the parts appeared next to their names. Which part everyone was engaged for, you will see...
***
To be honest, everyone was actually relieved that this challenge was so easy, except for the mystery of the last line. All felt a little stage fright, some more than others, but at least they weren't fighting anyone. Ching was sitting in the very last row of seats, and Misaki sat right beside her. She was a little nervous to be sitting so close to someone who obviously hadn't stepped out of league with Pegasus, but she had no choice because she had been given the part of the narrator. She held a microphone in one hand and a script in the other, and couldn't help but laugh over parts of the play. Yami was in for a surprise - one of the characters was remarkably like him.
Behind scenes, the hikaris were pulling on their costumes. Ai, Dajan, and Tali had been given the parts of the "children." They were dressed in simple ancient Egyptian robes, which gave away the setting of the story. Takehiko had two parts, one small one and one large one. The first part was ''man who tells Pharaoh news of evil dude," in which he dresses as a commoner, and the second was "friend of the pharaoh" where he dressed as a warrior.
Ai was currently helping Bakura with his costume, and the other three were giggling and laughing about each other's costumes when Hikaru came out of the dressing room.
Tali noticed her first. Her face lit up. "Hikaru-chan! You look great!"
"Wowzer!" Takehiko and Dajan cried, blushing a little.
Hikaru was reddening too. She brushed imaginary dirt off her costume and looked embarrassed. "Thanks, you guys." Hikaru had the part of the pharaoh. She wore a black sleeveless shirt with a pink Millennium Seal (a/n: remember that the Millennium Seal is the Millennium Eye symbol) sewn on it. She had a golden belt and white skirt, and on her feet were golden sandals. Dangling from her ears were golden earrings and she also wore a golden clasp around her neck. A lavender cape billowed out behind her; she was the living image of a New Kingdom Egyptian pharaoh.
"You're the cutest pharaoh ever!" Tali exclaimed.
Hikaru smiled weakly. "So, uh, where are Yugi and Ryou?"
Takehiko shrugged. "I think Yugi is behind stage learning to walk in his freaky costume. Ai went to help Bakura with his, but I don't know where -"
"NO WAY!"
The three gasped and looked around curiously. "That sounded like Bakura!" Dajan said. They quickly rushed into the wings to see what the problem was.
"Ryou-chan, nan -" Hikaru stopped in mid-sentence when she caught sight of Bakura and Ai. "Ya... re..."
Bakura was standing with Ai, red from head to toe. He stood dressed in a two-piece white Egyptian dress, golden jewlery danging from his ears and arms. On his feet were wooden sandals, and a blue sash was tied around his waist. He looked beautiful, so Ai was satisfied with her work - but he wasn't.
"No way!" he cried again. "There is absolutely no way I'm going out there in this! Why does it have to be so girly?"
"Well, you're the pharaoh's girlfriend." Ai nodded as if this explained everything.
"So what? I'm not a girl! I just have long hair! Why do I have to be the stupid Aïda? I'm a boy!"
Ai rolled her eyes. "We weren't given a choice about our parts. You were given the pharaoh's lover, Aïda. So you have to act like a girl. Hikaru has to act like a boy, does that comfort you any?"
"She always acts like a boy," Takehiko whispered, earning him a stomp on the foot from Hikaru. "See? Owch - you proved my point!"
Ai continued, "You even get to kiss Hikaru. That's what you want, isn't it?"
Hikaru looked startled at Ai's outburst. True, she realized Bakura had a crush on her - although he didn't try to get her to like him back now that he knew she loved Yugi - and she understood that Ai liked Bakura, but Ai couldn't possibly be jealous of Hikaru, could she?
Bakura lowered his gaze. "Not really..."
The awkward moment was interrupted when Kiara burst into the wings. "Aren't you guys ready yet? Hikaru - you look adorable! And Ryou-chan, you just look so cute! Kawaii!"
Ryou shot her a death glare. Kiara sweatdropped.
"He doesn't want to do it," Ai said in mock anger, back to her old self. "I told him there isn't anyone around to see him that will tease him about it or anything, but even so."
Kiara's eyes widened. Then she sighed loudly. "That's too bad," she said. "I was hoping to see a good play. Not just for me, but for everyone - Mokuba and Makimura especially."
Bakura looked up expectantly.
"They were dragged into a mess they're much too young for... the poor dears. I'm sure they would have loved to be entertained and joyful even for a short while." Kiara grinned to herself when she saw guilt pass over the pale boy's face. "But I suppose it can't be helped, if you really don't want to..."
"OK! I'LL DO IT ALREADY! GEEZ!" Bakura tugged up his toge and went storming backstage. Then he stuck his head back into the wing to add, "BUT WHAT KIND OF GIRL DOESN'T SHAVE HER LEGS?!"
"A British girl," Tali commented. At this, everyone laughed.
Kiara went back to her seats after being complimented on her shrewd handling of boys. She plopped down besides Yami and wiggled her eyebrows at Kerihk, who just looked back curiously.
"Did you see what part Yugi has?" Yami whispered.
Kiara shook her head. "Gomen nasai. He wasn't there."
Suddenly the lights dimmed, and the curtain was drawn. The yamis, Kaibas, and Fujishimas looked on in awe as a beautiful set of Egypt came into view. Pyramids and sand were painted on the scenery. A chariot was placed nearby. And there, standing in the spotlight, was...
*
Angel: Da da da daa!!! Cliffhanger! Bum bum bum bum bum bum!! Did y'all have a good time? Huh? Huh?
Everyone but Bakura: YES!
Bakura: NO!
Angel: All in favor of continuing the play, say "Aye!" All opposed, say "Nay!"
Everyone but Bakura: Aye!
Bakura: Nay!
Everyone else: *girly giggles*
Angel: Yeppers, we're_on_a_roll! Next chapter - Tsuyosa no Enjin Part Two - will be up ASAP!
Readers: Sure it will...