Disclaimer: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, right, Yu-Gi-Oh isn't mine. The plotline
is mine, Jamie Light is mine, and Shemeeka Tsumachiro is FOG's.
Seto: That was.unexpected.
Yami: She's using the psychotic laugh! Run!
Seto: gulp Too late!
Me: glomp
Yami: Oof.
Seto: Oof.
Author's Notes: Yes, this is part three of As the Fog Clears. Yes, it's really long. But read it anyway, because it's good, as far as I'm concerned. I'd also like to point out something: as you've noted, this story has characters that are not in the actual show. One belongs to FOG, whom this story is dedicated to. The other is mine, because Shemeeka needed a best friend. I don't consider them Mary Sues, but if you do, please just bear with it.
Special Dedication: This story is dedicated to FOG, who is a marvelous authoress and a very good friend of mine. FOG, if you're reading this, please don't kill me! I know I did some mean stuff to Shemeeka, but there IS a happy ending, I promise!
That said, Macavity and Dragon Enterprises present.As the Fog Clears, chapter three!
~*~*~
As the girl slumped to the cool tiles, icy blue eyes rose to glare at Mr. Tsumachiro. "What did you do her?" Seto growled, his voice a terrifying, feral sound.
"Who are you to challenge me, you skinny little nothing?" the big man laughed drunkenly. He stepped forward, as if daring Seto to challenge him. "I could squash you like an insect!"
"Try me," Seto replied, a strange, cunning smirk on his face.
But though Mr. Tsumachiro was bigger and stronger, the blue-eyed boy had pure rage on his side. His fists flew out once, twice; and the next thing Mr. Tsumachiro knew he was on the floor with a bleeding nose.
"W-Wha-" he stammered in disbelief.
Seto's next words were cold and unpitying. "That was for what you did to Shemeeka," he snarled.
Another fist slammed into the big man's face. "That was for terrifying Jamie this afternoon."
Another fist, this time knocking a tooth loose. "That was for making your daughter live in constant fear of you."
Fist by fist, punch by punch, Seto listed all the crimes Mr. Tsumachiro had committed against Shemeeka, Jamie, and their friends. The big man never even stood a chance; Seto was faster and a heck of a lot angrier. He tried weakly to block the punches, but to no avail.
"And finally, that was for what you just did to Jamie!" Seto barked, his fist pounding into Mr. Tsumachiro's already-bloody nose.
As the blue-eyed boy walked over and tenderly lifted Jamie into his arms, Mr. Tsumachiro managed to croak out, "Who are you?"
Seto turned, his unforgiving eyes boring into Mr. Tsumachiro's. "I am Seto Kaiba, and these girls are under my protection now."
And then he turned and walked out, Jamie still in his arms.
When Seto made it back to the Game Shop, the door was still locked. However, Yami was peering out the window and rushed to open the door when he saw Seto coming back.
As Seto walked inside, Yami's eyes went wide. "What happened to Jamie?"
"That scum of a thing Shemeeka calls a father knocked her unconscious," Seto replied. He laid Jamie down on the window seat, gently stroking her hair.
Yami frowned. "You didn't kill him, did you?"
Seto looked up. "I wish I had. How dare he lay a hand on my Jamie. She didn't do anything to him," he replied, the worry slowly becoming evident in his tone.
Yami knelt beside him, looking Jamie over with his violet eyes. "You're tense and angry and frustrated, buddy," he murmured, glancing over at the brunette boy. "Look, why don't you take a walk or something, clear your head."
Seto bit his lip. "Thanks for the offer, Yami, but I don't want to leave her." He dug his fingers into his soft chestnut hair, rejoicing at the slight, tingling pain he received. "I shouldn't have let her go in there!"
"Seto, calm down," Yami replied, gently moving Seto's hands off his head. "Don't blame yourself for this. I doubt you could have stopped her from going, anyway. Even if you'd told her to stay, she would have gone after you two."
"But I promised her no one was going to get hurt," Seto whispered, unable to look at Yami. "I promised her and look what happened."
Yami didn't have a reply to that. Instead, he just watched Seto, frowning at how vulnerable his best friend looked. "Come on, Seto, don't do this to yourself."
"Anyone I ever care about always gets taken away from me," Seto replied, absently running his fingers over his trench coat. "My parents.Mokuba.Jamie."
Yami was about to say something else, but just then Jamie stirred, whimpering slightly.
Immediately Seto was up, cradling her in his arms, looking down on her pretty face. "Jamie? Sweetheart, are you okay?"
Slowly, torturously slowly, her eyes opened. "Seto.? What a.great way.to wake up." she whispered, a weak smile playing across her delicate features.
Despite himself, Seto began to smile. "Not awake ten seconds, and you're already teasing me," he murmured, gently kissing her forehead. "Are you okay?"
"I think so.is Shemeeka okay?"
"She's upstairs with Yugi," Yami said softly. "She's fine."
Jamie's eyes lit up. "Then are they-"
"Unfortunately, no." Yami looked a little annoyed. "I don't understand why they won't admit they like each other, kiss, and get this whole thing over with!"
Jamie looked thoughtful. "Halloween is next week, right?"
"What does Halloween have to do with them?" Seto demanded, obviously confused.
"Shemeeka's birthday is on October 31. I thought maybe we could throw a party for her, Seto." Jamie said, stopping her sentence to cough. "And I was thinking we could make it a costume party." Her speech was becoming much clearer; less broken.
Seto began to smile as he caught on. "Jamie, have I ever told you that you're a sneaky little piece of work?"
"No, but you've told me I'm cute, cuddly, and loveable," she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. "Take me home, please?"
Seto grinned. "For once, Yami, Jamie thought up the sneaky plan. Call me when Yugi's out and we'll work out the details. We'll be at the mansion."
Then, lifting Jamie into his arms, the two brunettes exited the Game Shop.
Yami just stared at them. "What on earth-never mind. I don't want to know."
~*~
All these events happened on a Friday, so Jamie had two days to recover before she went back to school. She ended up being pretty annoyed with Seto (because he insisted on having her stay at his mansion and then wouldn't let her out of the house), but that wasn't that big of a problem.
In all actuality, staying at Seto's wasn't as bad as Jamie pretended it was. Shemeeka ended up rooming there to stay away from her own house, so at least the brunette had someone to talk to.
Of course, Shemeeka was new to the idea of being waited on hand and foot, but it wasn't THAT hard to get used to.
On Sunday, Shemeeka went into Jamie's room to say hello, just as she did every day. "Hi there, O Hospital Patient," she said cheerily.
Jamie just scowled. "Okay, let me just make this perfectly clear: there is nothing wrong with me. I can walk around. My head does not hurt. Of all the boyfriends I could have, I got stuck with the overprotective one," she said, a little louder than necessary.
Shemeeka jumped as a voice replied, "I heard that, Jamie."
Jamie smiled at the ebony-haired girl and held up an intercom that Seto had apparently given her. "You were supposed to, sweetheart."
"Would you prefer I kick you out of the house and make you go take care of your uncle, as opposed to having my servants do it?"
"I'd love to, but you won't let me stand up. As much as I like having you carry me around, Seto, I am capable of walking on my own," Jamie replied, rolling her eyes. "You don't have to be so protective of me. I can take care of myself."
"That's right, snookums, and tomorrow Joey is going to kick my butt at Duel Monsters," was Seto's reply.
Jamie giggled. "Okay, you win. But promise you won't stay down in that stuffy office all day, okay? You work too hard."
"I hereby promise I will not stay in this stuffy office all day. I couldn't, anyway. There's no bathroom in here."
Both girls laughed, and Jamie turned off the intercom. "I'll tell you one thing, being around him is never dull."
"I'll say," Shemeeka agreed. "Planning on doing anything interesting today?"
"Oh, I don't know, I thought maybe I'd invent a cure for cancer, achieve world peace, run for Congress, and then possibly go out to dinner, time permitting," Jamie replied, grinning and crossing her eyes.
Shemeeka smiled. "Okay, Senator Light. But seriously, what are you doing?"
"Well, Seto still won't let me out of the house, so I'm pretty much stuck here. A little later I'll probably go challenge him to a duel, but for now I'm free. Why? You busy?"
"No, unfortunately," Shemeeka sighed. "You know, my birthday is on Tuesday, and I was just thinking about things."
"You're going to be seventeen, right?"
"Actually," Shemeeka corrected with a small smile, "I'm going to be sixteen."
"But I thought you were already-"
"I have an October birthday, so when I registered for school I put myself down as sixteen. I figured a month or two was no big deal," she explained.
Jamie cocked an eyebrow. "Sneaky."
"Yeah. I've always been the baby in my family, so I really wanted to be thought of as sixteen instead of fifteen."
Jamie rolled her eyes. "Could be worse. Joey and Tristan are both sixteen, and look how they turned out."
"True. So tell me how old everyone is, in order from oldest to youngest."
"Well, Seto is seventeen, and he's a junior in high school. Yami is the same. Everyone else is in our grade," Jamie said thoughtfully. "I think Tristan is the oldest, then Joey. They're about a month apart. Yugi is about four months younger than Joey, and Ryou is the youngest of the guys. He turns sixteen in December. You fit in between Yugi and Ryou, and I'm the very last, turning sixteen in May."
"Cool. I'm not the youngest anymore."
"Now then, if your birthday is on Tuesday, then we must hold a party for you," Jamie said enthusiastically. "Which reminds me, what do you want for a present?"
But strangely, Shemeeka looked like she was about to cry. 'Want? Isn't it obvious what I want? I want Yugi to love me!'
"I don't know," she said at last. "I have friends, a safe place to stay.what else could I want?"
Jamie smiled sadly. It was obvious she knew what Shemeeka had been thinking, but she didn't mention it. "Well, we'll have to go shopping, then. My treat, okay?"
"Sounds good."
Just then, there was a tap on the door. Pushing the door open, a little black-haired head peeked in the room. "Hey, Jamie? My big brother says to bring this to you."
Jamie looked up. "Hi, Mokuba! Come on in."
Mokuba Kaiba entered the room, holding a medium-sized, silver-wrapped present. "He said I had to bring it because he couldn't trust any of the servants to do it."
Shemeeka waved slightly. "Hi, I don't believe we've met. I'm Shemeeka Tsumachiro."
"Nice to meet you," Mokuba said with a slight bow. "I'm Mokuba. Sorry I can't stay and talk, but I'm supposed to meet some friends down at the arcade in fifteen minutes."
"Yugi?" Jamie inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope, some kids from school. They can't figure out how to beat this one level in Seto's virtual reality game, so I'm going to go show them how it's done." Mokuba wore a sly smirk not unlike his older brother's when he finished.
Jamie giggled. "Try not to mercy them too badly, Mokuba."
"You got it, Jamie. See you later, Shemeeka."
And then he was gone.
Once he left, Jamie and Shemeeka both eyed the present. "What do you think it is?" Shemeeka wanted to know.
"Who knows?"
"Aren't you going to open it?"
"Nah. I'm just going to sit here, stare at the pretty wrapping, and fantasize about what it could be."
"Jamie!"
"Kidding, kidding. Let's open it," Jamie agreed.
She carefully undid the ribbon, frowning at the small holes that it had previously covered up. "What could this be? The only thing that would have holes in the box is-"
Her eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh, he didn't!"
"What? What?!"
The brunette all but tore off the wrapping, reaching inside hopefully. Her face lit up with joy and she pulled out a tiny golden retriever puppy with big brown eyes. There was a dainty blue collar around its neck, and a little silver charm hung from it.
Shemeeka rushed forward to pet it. "It's so cute!" she exclaimed.
The puppy looked up, looking happily at Shemeeka. It raised its head and thumped its tail against the bedspread as she stroked its little nose.
Jamie giggled, picking up the puppy and holding it close to her chest. "I used to have a puppy, but after my parents died, I couldn't keep him. My uncle said we had to give him away because the house was too small, so he got sent to my cousins. They live in Iowa and had plenty of room for a dog. But I haven't seen them in two and a half years, and I miss my little Sunshine a lot. I guess Seto remembered."
Shemeeka held out her arms. "Can I hold him?"
"Sure," Jamie replied. She handed the little puppy to Shemeeka and turned on the intercom once again.
"Seto, I love you!" she cried happily. "He's sooooooooo cute!"
Soft chuckling could be heard on the other end. "Anything for my little invalid."
"Don't call me that."
"Did you look at its collar yet?"
"Why?" Jamie asked suspiciously.
"Just look."
Shemeeka sat down next to Jamie and held out the puppy so she could check the tag. The puppy whimpered a little and hopped out of Shemeeka's arms, its tiny paws sliding every which way.
It only took one glance. "Seto!" Jamie groaned, trying not to laugh. "You named it Joey?!"
"What? It fits."
"It still wasn't very nice!"
"I concede your point. No puppy deserves the agony of being named after Joey Wheeler. You'd better change it."
"Seto!" But then, she burst out laughing. "All right, I forgive you. Thank you so much! I love you!"
"You too, sweetheart. Now you have something to do today, anyway. After all, you can't go out somewhere and leave that poor little puppy all alone in this great big house, right?" Seto replied slyly.
Jamie rolled her eyes. "Someday, I'm going to get you for this. Mark my words, Seto Kaiba, I will get you."
"You're cute when you're angry. I'll come up and see you a little later, okay? Stay out of trouble. And don't let the puppy do anything to my furniture."
"Bye." Jamie turned off the intercom and looked up at Shemeeka. "You doing anything special today?"
"No, except for keeping you company and playing with this adorable little puppy-wuppy," Shemeeka cooed, stroking the golden fur of the puppy's head.
"What is your cat going to say about this?" Jamie asked with a smile.
"Teresa can suffer. She's always first in my book, but for now I want to give my attention to this cute little bundle of fur," Shemeeka replied.
Jamie ended up naming the puppy Hikari, and the girls played games with him the rest of the afternoon. The brunette tried to bring up the subject of Yugi, but Shemeeka always carefully avoided the subject.
Finally Jamie just came right out and said it. "Shemeeka, do you want Yugi to be your boyfriend?"
The ebony-haired girl bit her lip and didn't say anything for a few moments. But at long last, she whispered, "Yes. I really, truly do."
"Okay," Jamie replied quickly. And that was the last she said about it.
However, inside her mind, the wheels of inspiration were slowly turning.
~*~
The days practically flew by, and then next thing Shemeeka knew, it was her birthday. There were a few perks, like the birthday cake the gang surprised her with at the lunch table that day, but all in all she was pretty gloomy.
After all, why bother to celebrate? The only thing she wanted was for Yugi to love her, and that sure wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
Jamie picked up on this, and suggested they walk home from school together. Of course, Shemeeka agreed.
The ebony-haired girl kicked at a few stray leaves as they walked through the long, colorful streets. Fall was her favorite season, both because of the colors and because of her birthday. There was nothing Shemeeka enjoyed more than watching the leaves turn colors, jumping in the large piles they made when they fell. But this year, there wasn't any joy in it. The gold, auburn, and plum hues of the leaves only reminded her more of Yugi.
"So, how does it feel to be sixteen?" Jamie asked, trying to start a conversation.
"It's okay, I guess," Shemeeka replied dismally. "You know, same old thing. I don't feel any different, anyway."
"Well, Sheem, I don't know about what you guys did back where you used to live, but here it's an unwritten rule: every girl deserves a sweet-sixteen party," Jamie said mischievously. "I already talked to Seto, and he said we can use the mansion tonight. So how about it?"
"I don't know, Jamie. I'm not big on the whole girly-girl thing."
"Who said it was going to be girly-girl stuff?" Jamie countered, her eyes wide with mock horror. She put her hands on her hips and eyed Shemeeka, a tiny grin threatening to spread across her face. "This is Halloween, isn't it? We're going to have a costume party!"
Shemeeka looked startled. "A costume party? Really? That sounds great!"
"Cool. We can drop off our school stuff at Seto's, change, and go out shopping for costumes. What do you want to go as?"
The ebony-haired girl looked thoughtful. 'Should I? If Yugi's going to be there it might be embarrassing, but-'
"Dark Magician Girl," she replied with a smile. "It's my favorite Duel Monster; why not dress up as her for Halloween?"
"Sounds like a plan," Jamie agreed.
By now they were only a block or so from the mansion, so they hurried there and then raced out to the store for costume ideas.
The plan had been set into motion.
That night.
Jamie opened the door of the mansion, carefully adjusting her black cat's ears as she did so. "Hi, Joey! C'mon in!" she exclaimed, flashing him a wide smile.
Joey grinned back. "Hey. So what'd I miss?"
"Nothing. You know the party couldn't start until you got here."
Hikari, who was sitting obediently at Jamie's feet, stretched forward and sniffed Joey, familiarizing himself with the new scent. The little puppy yipped once or twice, pawing at the trousers of Joey's gangster costume.
Joey looked down. "Aw, no! Don't tell me he got that thing just to tick me off!"
"Nope. He's mine, actually, but I can't keep him at my house because my uncle says our house is too small. I figure this mansion is big enough for one tiny puppy."
"Great."
"Nice costume, by the way," Jamie enthused, leading him into the large dueling arena where they had decided to hold the party.
Joey looked down at his pinstripe suit and shiny black shoes. "Yeah, thanks. It was either this or a baby kangaroo, you know?"
Jamie groaned. "That was so bad, Joey."
"True."
Joey couldn't help but gape in awe at how different the whole stadium looked. The entire floor was bathed in an eerie blue light, and the holo- generators were programmed to create the image of a random monster at various intervals. An elaborate sound system was set up in one corner, and it appeared that Seto was controlling it from the dueling platform on the far end of the room.
The billionaire was dressed in a green tunic and white leggings, with a sheathed sword on his back and a green cap on his head. Comfortable brown boots covered his feet, and he wore a pair of brown fingerless gauntlets on his hands.
Jamie and Joey walked over to say hello, and Joey couldn't help but stare at the blue-eyed boy's attire.
Seto noted this with a touch of amusement. He glanced down at his costume. "Hey, it was Mokuba's idea," he said good-naturedly.
Joey nodded sympathetically. "Tell me about it. Serenity wanted to dress me up as a baby kangaroo."
Seto couldn't conceal a snicker. "From chihuahua to joey? I don't think so."
Jamie bent and scooped up Hikari, who had followed them and was sitting patiently behind Jamie's left heel. "This is the only puppy dog currently in this house, Seto," she cooed, stroking the puppy's head.
"Yes, and it's much more obedient than Joey will ever be," Seto replied.
Joey, deciding to ignore this, looked around at all the other people currently there. "Jeez, look at them costumes!" he exclaimed.
There were people milling about all over the floor of the arena. There was a Dark Magician Girl with long, highlighted black hair (Shemeeka); an Elvis in customary white rhinestone-studded suit (Tristan); and a short black- haired boy wearing a leather jacket, a fedora, and holding a bullwhip (Mokuba).
Joey raised an eyebrow at Seto and gestured towards Mokuba. "Who's he?"
Seto rolled his eyes. "Hello? Anyone home in there? He's Indiana Jones!"
Joey blinked rapidly and looked at Mokuba again. "OH! Indiana JONES! Right. I knew that."
Jamie giggled and hugged Seto. "Enough of this. Joey, why don't you go down to say hello to everyone. Only three more people and then the party can really start."
Once again, Joey raised an eyebrow at this. Seto shrugged. "Hey, what can I say? She wants me all to herself. I'm telling you, Link is a babe-magnet."
"He is! He's got like seven chicks all after him in Ocarina of Time alone!" Mokuba shouted up from the dance floor.
Joey just laughed and headed down to join the others.
~*~
To any bystander, the two white-haired boys that walked up to Seto's doorstep could have been mistaken for twins. The only difference (besides the fact that one was slightly shorter than the other) was that one wore a deerstalker cap, brown trench coat, and was carrying a meerschaum pipe. He also held a plate of pumpkin-shaped cookies covered in tinfoil.
The taller one scowled. "I still don't see the point of dressing up, Ryou. Why make a fool of yourself?"
"It's a tradition, Yami. Besides, it is a costume party, after all," Ryou replied, smiling up at Yami Bakura.
"It's a stupid tradition."
Ryou sighed, knowing better than to argue with his stubborn Yami. "If you say so."
Yami Bakura frowned, seeing Ryou's dismay at his answer. "Look, just because I don't like it doesn't mean you can't."
The smaller boy brightened. "Okay." Then he blushed. "Um, Yami? Could you ring the doorbell for me? My hands are kind of full."
Yami Bakura chuckled, ringing the doorbell and taking a step back. "All right, aibou. When the party's over, call me and I'll come pick you up." He reached out and brushed back a lock of Ryou's silvery-white hair that had escaped from the hat's hold. "Knock them dead, kid."
"Are you sure you don't want to come, Yami?" Ryou asked, his eyes hopeful.
But Yami Bakura shook his head. "Nah. Parties aren't really my thing. But don't worry about me. I'll go over to Malik's house, hit on Isis just to tick him off, and we'll entertain ourselves tonight."
Ryou smiled knowingly. "Don't vandalize too many houses, okay?"
"Why? Were you saving that carton of eggs for something else?"
The smaller boy just rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. But please, Yami, promise me three things."
"What are they?" Yami Bakura asked suspiciously.
"No drugs or booze, don't get caught, and only vandalize the houses of people we don't like."
At that, Yami Bakura stared openly. "You're twisted, Ryou, you know that? You're really, seriously twisted."
Ryou shrugged. "I guess I've been hanging around you too much."
Now Yami Bakura laughed. "All right. Have fun, kiddo. I'll see you later."
And then, sticking his hands in his pockets, he walked away towards their home.
~*~
At last everyone was there. Jamie had just answered the door and let in Yugi and Yami, who were dressed as the Dark Magician and an Egyptian pharaoh, respectively. Shemeeka's birthday party could finally begin.
For the first twenty minutes, everyone just wandered, listening to the music and admiring each other's costumes. Ryou's Sherlock Holmes outfit was a crowd favorite.
Shemeeka made sure to carefully avoid Yugi, even though she was longing to throw herself into his arms. The Dark Magician costume was perfect for him, and exactly matched his eyes.
Oh, how badly she wanted him to walk over, say he was sorry, say that he loved her and they could be together.
'Guess it's not going to be such a happy birthday, after all.'
Jamie walked over to her. "Everyone has such great costumes," she murmured. "I almost feel a little bit plain among everyone else."
"Key word being almost," Shemeeka replied instantly.
Jamie grinned. "You know me too well, DMG. Come on, enough with all this boring "you look so cool" stuff! Let's DANCE!"
Seto flashed her a thumbs-up and hit play. Immediately, Smash Mouth's "All Star" began blasting out of the enormous sound system. The individual holo- squares of the arena ceased to project monsters and instead began flashing with colored light. Four spotlights that had been rigged to the actual projectors swept the floor, individually illuminating every person on the dance floor.
Joey, getting in the spirit of things, leaped a foot in the air. "It's time to PARTY!" he yelled.
They danced for an hour or two, sometimes slow, sometimes fast. After a while, Seto did come down and join them. He claimed he had two left feet and wouldn't be caught dead dancing in front of people, but Yami quickly righted that.
"I've seen you playing Dance Dance Revolution, Mister Humility!" Yami called. "Now get your Kokiri rear in gear and get down here!"
Seto couldn't keep a grin off his face. "Your wish is my command, Pharaoh Amenhotep IV!"
Yami groaned. "Man! It's Tutankhamon, dude! Not Amenhotep! Tutankhamon! Greatest pharaoh of them all!"
"That's not what you said at home, Yami," Yugi put in, smiling mischievously.
"Is there no such thing as privacy?!" Yami complained.
"You said yourself that you picked this costume because you wanted to go as- "
Yami quickly clapped a hand over Yugi's mouth. "I'm starving!" he said quickly, cutting Yugi off. "Do we have food?"
Jamie winked at him. "Of course. Seto, why don't you go show Yugi and Yami where it is?"
Seto nodded knowingly. "Sure. Yami, Yugi, come with me."
And with that, the three duelists left the room.
Shemeeka raised an eyebrow at Jamie. "Is this some sort of surprise birthday present that they're rigging up for me?"
Jamie, who had already gotten a cookie and had just bitten into it, immediately choked. "Wh-what-huh?" she managed between coughs.
"They are, aren't they!"
Jamie knew she couldn't lie to her best friend. However. "Yeah, sort of. It was mostly Seto's idea. See, they're going to-"
"No, don't tell me!" Shemeeka exclaimed, giggling. "Let it be a surprise!"
Jamie smiled knowingly. "All right, then. It will be a surprise."
But when Yami, Yugi, and Seto returned, there were no surprises. After a while, Shemeeka forgot all about it.
After another half-hour of dancing, Seto stepped up and raised a microphone to his lips. "Hey, there, everyone. This is your magnificent, illustrious, incredible-"
"And not the slightest bit conceited, right?" Yami yelled, grinning.
"Of course not," Seto replied instantly. "Anyway, I'm your splendiferous, serendipitous, not at all supercilious-"
"You forgot all-around sweet and sexy!" Jamie called, enjoying the slight blush that swept over Seto's cheeks at her words.
The green-clad boy quickly got over it, though. "Okay, okay, enough of the big words. I'm your host, and we're all having a great party, right?"
"YEAH!"
"And we all want our birthday girl to have a great one, right?"
"YEAH!"
"All right, then. That brings us to our next and most special dance of the night: the first-ever Sweetheart dance! All you lucky guys out there, find the sweet little girl who strikes your fancy and ask her now! Be gutsy, fellows, because for this one dance alone, they can't say no!" Seto explained. "Unfortunately, I myself will not be able to participate because I have to run the music. But that's okay because I know Jamie would never turn me down anyway. Hey out there, snookums!"
"Don't call me snookums!"
"Whatever, snookums. Now then, let's go!"
Seto popped a CD into the sound system and let the music play.
How will I start
Tomorrow without you here?
Whose heart will guide me
When all the answers disappear?
Is it too late?
Are you too far gone to stay?
Best friends forever
Should never have to go away.
Shemeeka turned her eyes toward Yugi, hoping for some chance that he would come over and ask her to dance, some chance that he felt the way she did.
But instead, she watched the Dark Magician walk over to Jamie. They murmured unintelligible words to each other for a few moments before Jamie placed her paw on Yugi's outstretched hand.
Yugi glanced up at Seto for a minute, who nodded encouragingly. And then, together, they moved out onto the dance floor.
So that was it. That was why Yugi, Yami, and Seto had left the party for those brief minutes. All this time, Yugi had liked Jamie, and he wanted to ask Seto's permission to dance with her.
"It figures," she whispered, heartbroken. "The guy I like always falls for my best friend."
Wallowing in anguish, she made her way over to the punch bowl, pouring herself a cup and making sure to face away from everyone so no one could see her despair. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing Yugi and Jamie dancing together, the way she'd always imagined she and Yugi would dance one day.
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn't see the Egyptian pharaoh she knew was Yami walk over to her side. "Why so sad, Shemeeka? It is your birthday, after all," he said softly.
Shemeeka wouldn't meet his gaze. "It's-it's nothing, Yami."
"Somehow, I don't think it's 'nothing'."
"I don't know," Shemeeka sighed, trying to come up with a plausible lie. "Just no one to dance with, that's all."
"You'd be happy if you were dancing with Yugi, though." Yami's words were a statement, not a question.
"I don't know," Shemeeka whispered, looking away, trying to hide the pain in her aquamarine eyes.
Yami smiled gently. "I'm sure it's not the same, but would you like to dance?"
Shemeeka considered this a minute. He wasn't Yugi, even though they looked alike.but still, Yami was a nice enough guy. It was her birthday, after all, so why not at least try to have some fun?
"Sure," she replied. "Sounds like.fun."
What will I do?
You know I'm only half without you.
How will I make it through?
They moved out onto the dance floor and Shemeeka hesitantly moved forward into Yami's arms. They danced conservatively for a few moments, but then Shemeeka got another glance of Yugi and Jamie.
By then, Jamie had her head on Yugi's shoulder and a blissful expression on her face. The costumed Dark Magician was smiling as well, allowing one gauntleted hand to stroke her loose brown hair. Together, they looked perfect.
Shemeeka couldn't have been more miserable. She knew Jamie couldn't refuse this dance.but still, it hurt. It hurt a lot.
She turned back to Yami, looking at the black silk mask that covered his incredibly violet eyes. "T-Thank you for dancing with me," she whispered.
And then, the pain became too horrible for her to bear. Unshed tears in her eyes now streamed freely down her cheeks, and she cried openly into Yami's shoulder.
If only tears could bring you back to me,
If only love could find a way,
What I would do, what I would give if you,
Returned to me, someday, somehow, someway.
If my tears could bring you back, to me.
Yami smiled sadly and let her weep into his shoulder, holding her close. "You really love my aibou, don't you."
"Oh, Yami, I do," Shemeeka sobbed, raising her face to stare at him with wet aqua eyes. "I love him so much, more than anything else, and I don't know what to do!"
Yami nodded sympathetically, so she continued, "He means so much to me, it hurts to see him dancing with someone else! I-I keep thinking that if only I'd told him sooner, before this whole terrible mess with Tea started, m- maybe he might have felt the same way.but now it's too late and he'll never know!"
"Are you sure about that?" Yami asked tactfully. "Did he ever tell you he doesn't care for you?"
Shemeeka bit her lip hard. "I-It's obvious he doesn't.h-he's dancing with Jamie now, not me.I've cried every night, wishing he'd somehow know how I feel, but my tears are worthless!"
I've cried you an ocean,
If you'd sail on home again,
Waves of emotion,
Will carry you and all they can.
Yami smiled, stroking her cheek. "Your tears are not worthless."
"Yes they are!" Shemeeka cried. "How could they be worth anything? He doesn't love me!"
"Shemeeka.it's been so hard for me to say this, but now I see I must. Shemeeka.I'm in love with you," Yami whispered.
Shemeeka looked up, smiling weakly. "Yami, I'm sorry, but.well, it wouldn't be the same. You're not Yugi."
A tiny smile played across Yami's features. "I'm not?"
That's when it happened.
Just let love guide you,
And your heart will chart the course,
Soon you'll be drifting,
Into the arms of your true north,
Look in my eyes, you'll see,
A million tears have gone by,
And still they're not dry,
Yami reached up, lifting off his mask and revealing a pair of sweet, violet eyes.
Shemeeka's eyes went wide, and she gasped audibly. "Y-Yugi?!"
And indeed it was. When Yami and Yugi had gone with Seto into the kitchen, they had changed costumes. It was YAMI who had been dancing with Jamie. This whole time, YUGI had been the Egyptian pharaoh. And that meant-
"This whole time.everything I said." Shemeeka stammered, still in shock.
Yugi nodded, raising a finger to her lips to silence her. "Shhh. Yes. I heard the whole thing."
"Y-You don't hate me?"
Yugi shook his head, smiling softly. "I LOVE you," he whispered.
And then he leaned in and kissed her.
To try and describe how much emotion was let loose in that one single embrace is something all writers attempt to do, but none ever achieve. Yugi's hands tangled in Shemeeka's loose hair, assuring them both that they weren't going anywhere. The kiss just went on, and on, and on, neither wanting to leave the delicious warmth of the other's embrace.
But at last, lack of breath forced them to break off. New tears, tears of joy, shone in Shemeeka's eyes. Aquamarine met violet as they gazed at each other, ignoring everything but the fact that they were together at last.
Never breaking eye contact, Yugi leaned forward and placed a kiss on Shemeeka's forehead. "Happy birthday," he whispered.
Shemeeka hugged him tightly. "Don't ever let me go."
"Never," Yugi promised, smiling. "Never."
If only tears could bring you back to me,
If only love could find a way,
What I would do, what I would give if you,
Returned to me, someday, somehow, someway.
If my tears could bring you back, to me.
I'd hold you close,
And shout the words,
I only whispered before,
For one more chance,
For one last dance,
There's not a thing that I would not endure,
Jamie and Yami swayed over to where Yugi and Shemeeka were still standing, even as the song drew to a close.
"So, what do you think of our present?" Jamie teased, winking at Shemeeka.
"I don't know whether to hate you or kiss you!" Shemeeka cried, grinning at Jamie.
Yami groaned. "Please, let's skip the 'kiss her' part. Yugi, can we change costumes back now? This Dark Magician suit is too small and it's like an oven in here."
"One thing first, Yami," Yugi said absently, returning to staring into Shemeeka's eyes.
Yami rolled his eyes. "Fine. Just don't get the costume all nasty when you kiss. That thing's a rental, you know, and it cost-ow!"
He broke off to clutch his now-bruised shin from Jamie's hard kick. Jamie just smiled innocently. "We'll leave you two alone, I think. Come on, Yami."
"Yes, ma'am," Yami moaned in agony, letting Jamie drag him away.
Shemeeka giggled softly, looking up at Yugi. Slowly, she stopped, mesmerized by his intense gaze.
Yugi leaned close, his lips millimeters from her ear. "You're beautiful, you know," he murmured, warm breath making her shiver.
She reached up, entwining her arms around his neck. "I love you, Yugi, so much more than anything."
"And I you," Yugi replied, pulling back to grace her with a series of butterfly kisses on her lips. "Forever and ever."
If only tears could bring you back to me,
If only love could find a way,
What I would do, what I would give if you,
Returned to me, someday, somehow, someway.
If my tears could bring you back, to me.
~*~
Jamie sighed, resting her head on Seto's shoulder. "They're so perfect for each other."
"I know," Seto whispered back, slipping an arm around her waist. "Just like you and me."
They stood there in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's presence, until Yami made his way over to them.
He and Yugi had finally switched back, though Yugi was annoyed at having to tear himself away from Shemeeka, even for a second. Fortunately, both had worn jeans and T-shirts underneath their costumes, so they were able to make a quick change of clothes right there on the dance floor.
Yami, in full pharaoh's attire, sidled up to Jamie. "You know, we Ancient Egyptians worshipped cats," he teased, grinning at the two brunettes.
Seto groaned. "Yami, would you give it up? For once, I have a girlfriend who's more attracted to me than you! It's not going to change anything!"
"Plus, there's no way you could score a date with me with THAT pick-up line," Jamie added, rolling her eyes.
"But it's the truth!"
"That's not the point. It's the principle of the thing. We females like sweet, refined, subtle pick-up lines. Seto, an example, please?"
Seto grinned, placing a kiss on Jamie's forehead. "Hey, baby. Do your feet hurt? 'Cause you've been running through my mind all night."
Now it was Yami's turn to groan. "You call that refined?!"
"Hey, he IS my boyfriend."
Yami turned a full-fledged pout on her, his eyes wide and innocent. "But.but I've only gotten to dance once at all tonight.and that was pre- arranged.I feel left out.alone.exiled.no one likes me.snuffle."
Jamie glanced up at Seto. "Yami, that's the worst lie I've ever heard, but."
Seto shrugged. "Hey, he's done it to all the others. Why not you, too? Sure, go dance. I have to run the music, anyway."
"I'll be back, Seto. And then you can make Yami run the music while we kick it on the dance floor."
Yami snorted. "Seto? Kick it?! Somehow that image just won't come to mind."
Jamie smiled slyly. "Well then, you'll just have to see it for yourself."
They made their way down onto the floor, just as Seto turned off the song. "Okay, thank you, that was our Sweetheart dance. That means, that song is now over. Would the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl in our midst PLEASE untangle themselves from each other so we can continue? Thank you," he said over the loudspeaker.
Blushing furiously, Yugi and Shemeeka stepped away from each other, resigning themselves to just hold hands.
"That means fingers too, guys."
Shemeeka shot a death glare up at Seto. "Excuse me?!"
"What? This is my own personal dueling arena! If you two get any mushier, you're going to melt into Yugi-and-Shemeeka-puddles. I don't want that kind of mess in my stadium!" Seto replied, still speaking to them over the loudspeaker.
Rolling their eyes, Shemeeka and Yugi dropped their hands and stood next to each other.
"That's better," Seto said with a smile.
They continued dancing for a while until the last slow song of the night came on. Seto managed to get Yami to take over the sound system and stepped down to the floor, the barest hint of a smile on his face.
Jamie looked up, eyes hopeful. "Can I help you, Link?"
"Why yes, I believe you can," Seto replied teasingly. "Shall we dance, kitty-cat?"
She grinned, stepping into his arms. "I thought you'd never ask."
Romantic music wafted out of the speakers, and Jamie caught a glance of Yugi and Shemeeka dancing together, completely lost in each other's eyes. "They look so happy," she sighed blissfully, reaching up to entwine her arms around Seto's neck.
"I know. I'm glad they found each other," Seto replied softly.
Jamie smiled up at him. "I'm even more glad you found me."
Seto weaved his fingers through her hair, staring into her turquoise eyes. "I've always wanted to dance with you like this, Jamie. I'm so lucky, so incredibly lucky that you're mine."
"I'm the lucky one, Seto," Jamie murmured, watching him intently.
"Do you remember that day in the park, the day we first met?"
"How could I forget?" she replied, smiling.
"Jamie.sweetheart, that was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. I wasn't sure what you'd do, or what you'd say-"
Jamie reached up and placed a finger over his lips, silencing him. "Was it the truth, what you said?"
"Yes," he replied, in a voice barely below a whisper. "Yes, it was."
She smiled. "Then nothing else matters."
"It's just.so many people in my life had already hurt me."
"And you were afraid that I might hurt you, too?"
He smiled weakly. "Well.sort of."
"Seto, I love you more than anything, and nothing is ever going to change that," she whispered, raising her face in hopes of a kiss.
The billionaire didn't disappoint her, leaning down and brushing his lips over hers. "You're everything to me, Jamie, everything."
Jamie sighed again, resting her head on his shoulder. "You and Yami joke about him trying to steal me away from you.that will never happen, Seto. I'm yours, only yours."
"And I wouldn't have it any other way."
Jamie let her eyelids flutter closed, concentrating on nothing but the fact that Seto was holding her close in his arms. "I like this song."
Seto stroked her hair comfortingly. "I love you, snookums."
"You too.forever and ever."
Yami interrupted them however, when he decided to shut off the CD and pick up the microphone. "Ahem. Would Link and the goddess Bastet in our midst PLEASE untangle themselves from each other? This IS supposed to be a party, you know."
Seto calmly looked up, flipped Yami off, and continued dancing with Jamie.
"Now THERE'S the Seto I know," Yami said with a chuckle. "Okay, everyone, it's time to party!"
Yugi and Shemeeka immediately moved into each other's arms. Seto and Jamie did the same. Ryou, Joey, Tristan, and Mokuba all decided to prank-call Tea. And once again, Yami started the music.
For this one moment in time, everything was perfect.
THE END
Oh, and here's what happened after all this:
-Yugi and Shemeeka are still in love.
-Jamie is still trying to get Seto to wear a leather jacket.
-Unbeknownst to Jamie, Seto has actually BOUGHT a leather jacket, he just hasn't told her about it.
-Unbeknownst to Seto, Jamie discovered the leather jacket and has decided to keep it quiet as a bargaining chip for later.
-Yami is currently writing a book, "1,000 Pick-Up Lines for the Suave Ancient Egyptian." When last we heard, he was somewhere around #13.
-Yami Bakura broke his promise and egged the Game Shop, but he claims that's all just splatter marks from when he egged Shemeeka's house.
-Malik, who was under no such promise, egged everyone's house.
-Isis accidentally thought Yami Bakura was Ryou, and as such accepted his invitation to go out sometime to cheese Malik off.
-Seto has not yet gotten to ram a car through Shemeeka's house.
-Instead, he and Yami got Tea really drunk, put HER unconscious body behind the wheel of a car, and rammed it through the front of Shemeeka's house.
-As such, Tea is in jail and is being sued for all she's worth.
-Tristan has yet to have a major part in any one of these stories.
-At Joey's request, KaibaCorp is now running tests to try and figure out why older siblings always seem to do whatever their younger siblings ask them to, even if it means wearing a baby kangaroo costume.
-Mokuba became an expert at crank calls and is considering becoming a telemarketer for a living.
-What Yugi never revealed was that Yami had actually based his Halloween costume on Cleopatra, considering the costume store didn't carry Tutankhamon stuff.
-Jamie and Yami still have not had their Super Smash Brothers showdown.
-Yugi and Shemeeka kiss a lot.
-Don't ask how we know that.
-We don't quite know ourselves.
-Although it may have something to do with the security cameras in Seto's mansion.
-Hikari is going to be starring in Air Bud ® 109,632: Hacki-Sack Pup. Watch for it in theaters whenever Macavity ends up owning Yu-Gi-Oh and the use for disclaimers becomes nonexistent.
-Sources indicate that the real mastermind behind Tea's plot to split up Yugi and Shemeeka was, in fact, Mai Valentine.
-She claims she was just trying to add drama to the story.
-Don't believe her.
-She's jealous because she didn't make an appearance at all in this story.
-Yami has been experimenting with putting other things in Seto's coffee, though he actually stopped for a short period of time.
-This was right after he put powdered Ex-Lax in Seto's coffee.
-Right before he had a big meeting with the shareholders of KaibaCorp.
-Seto still has not forgiven him for that.
-We don't blame him.
-Yami still has not found out why Jamie can make Seto go out for a Slurpee whenever she wants.
-The world may never know.
-Jamie and Shemeeka managed to get the dress code rules changed at Domino High School, and as such, everyone can wear whatever they want whenever they want.
-Joey started a petition to change the policy to: no shirt, no shoes, no problem!
-He accumulated a total of four signatures.
-Three of them were his.
-Needless to say, it failed.
-Miserably.
-To support Joey's petition, send $50 in small unmarked bills to Macavity today.
~*~*~
Whee! I finished another unnecessarily long story! I'm so proud of myself!
Seto: Ex-Lax?! In my coffee?! BEFORE A BOARD MEETING?!
Yami: snickers and hides the evidence
Seto: I liked this story.
Yami: Wonder who the fourth signature on Joey's petition was?
Seto: Probably Macavity. She'd like to see us without shirts or shoes.
Yami: Hide the pictures of us in swim trunks. Quickly.
That's the end of this special, one-of-a-kind story for FOG. Happy birthday! I hope you all had as much fun reading this as I did writing it! Joey the Flame Swordsman and Flamina are going to torch any mean reviews. That said.hit the little purple button and review!
Seto: That was.unexpected.
Yami: She's using the psychotic laugh! Run!
Seto: gulp Too late!
Me: glomp
Yami: Oof.
Seto: Oof.
Author's Notes: Yes, this is part three of As the Fog Clears. Yes, it's really long. But read it anyway, because it's good, as far as I'm concerned. I'd also like to point out something: as you've noted, this story has characters that are not in the actual show. One belongs to FOG, whom this story is dedicated to. The other is mine, because Shemeeka needed a best friend. I don't consider them Mary Sues, but if you do, please just bear with it.
Special Dedication: This story is dedicated to FOG, who is a marvelous authoress and a very good friend of mine. FOG, if you're reading this, please don't kill me! I know I did some mean stuff to Shemeeka, but there IS a happy ending, I promise!
That said, Macavity and Dragon Enterprises present.As the Fog Clears, chapter three!
~*~*~
As the girl slumped to the cool tiles, icy blue eyes rose to glare at Mr. Tsumachiro. "What did you do her?" Seto growled, his voice a terrifying, feral sound.
"Who are you to challenge me, you skinny little nothing?" the big man laughed drunkenly. He stepped forward, as if daring Seto to challenge him. "I could squash you like an insect!"
"Try me," Seto replied, a strange, cunning smirk on his face.
But though Mr. Tsumachiro was bigger and stronger, the blue-eyed boy had pure rage on his side. His fists flew out once, twice; and the next thing Mr. Tsumachiro knew he was on the floor with a bleeding nose.
"W-Wha-" he stammered in disbelief.
Seto's next words were cold and unpitying. "That was for what you did to Shemeeka," he snarled.
Another fist slammed into the big man's face. "That was for terrifying Jamie this afternoon."
Another fist, this time knocking a tooth loose. "That was for making your daughter live in constant fear of you."
Fist by fist, punch by punch, Seto listed all the crimes Mr. Tsumachiro had committed against Shemeeka, Jamie, and their friends. The big man never even stood a chance; Seto was faster and a heck of a lot angrier. He tried weakly to block the punches, but to no avail.
"And finally, that was for what you just did to Jamie!" Seto barked, his fist pounding into Mr. Tsumachiro's already-bloody nose.
As the blue-eyed boy walked over and tenderly lifted Jamie into his arms, Mr. Tsumachiro managed to croak out, "Who are you?"
Seto turned, his unforgiving eyes boring into Mr. Tsumachiro's. "I am Seto Kaiba, and these girls are under my protection now."
And then he turned and walked out, Jamie still in his arms.
When Seto made it back to the Game Shop, the door was still locked. However, Yami was peering out the window and rushed to open the door when he saw Seto coming back.
As Seto walked inside, Yami's eyes went wide. "What happened to Jamie?"
"That scum of a thing Shemeeka calls a father knocked her unconscious," Seto replied. He laid Jamie down on the window seat, gently stroking her hair.
Yami frowned. "You didn't kill him, did you?"
Seto looked up. "I wish I had. How dare he lay a hand on my Jamie. She didn't do anything to him," he replied, the worry slowly becoming evident in his tone.
Yami knelt beside him, looking Jamie over with his violet eyes. "You're tense and angry and frustrated, buddy," he murmured, glancing over at the brunette boy. "Look, why don't you take a walk or something, clear your head."
Seto bit his lip. "Thanks for the offer, Yami, but I don't want to leave her." He dug his fingers into his soft chestnut hair, rejoicing at the slight, tingling pain he received. "I shouldn't have let her go in there!"
"Seto, calm down," Yami replied, gently moving Seto's hands off his head. "Don't blame yourself for this. I doubt you could have stopped her from going, anyway. Even if you'd told her to stay, she would have gone after you two."
"But I promised her no one was going to get hurt," Seto whispered, unable to look at Yami. "I promised her and look what happened."
Yami didn't have a reply to that. Instead, he just watched Seto, frowning at how vulnerable his best friend looked. "Come on, Seto, don't do this to yourself."
"Anyone I ever care about always gets taken away from me," Seto replied, absently running his fingers over his trench coat. "My parents.Mokuba.Jamie."
Yami was about to say something else, but just then Jamie stirred, whimpering slightly.
Immediately Seto was up, cradling her in his arms, looking down on her pretty face. "Jamie? Sweetheart, are you okay?"
Slowly, torturously slowly, her eyes opened. "Seto.? What a.great way.to wake up." she whispered, a weak smile playing across her delicate features.
Despite himself, Seto began to smile. "Not awake ten seconds, and you're already teasing me," he murmured, gently kissing her forehead. "Are you okay?"
"I think so.is Shemeeka okay?"
"She's upstairs with Yugi," Yami said softly. "She's fine."
Jamie's eyes lit up. "Then are they-"
"Unfortunately, no." Yami looked a little annoyed. "I don't understand why they won't admit they like each other, kiss, and get this whole thing over with!"
Jamie looked thoughtful. "Halloween is next week, right?"
"What does Halloween have to do with them?" Seto demanded, obviously confused.
"Shemeeka's birthday is on October 31. I thought maybe we could throw a party for her, Seto." Jamie said, stopping her sentence to cough. "And I was thinking we could make it a costume party." Her speech was becoming much clearer; less broken.
Seto began to smile as he caught on. "Jamie, have I ever told you that you're a sneaky little piece of work?"
"No, but you've told me I'm cute, cuddly, and loveable," she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. "Take me home, please?"
Seto grinned. "For once, Yami, Jamie thought up the sneaky plan. Call me when Yugi's out and we'll work out the details. We'll be at the mansion."
Then, lifting Jamie into his arms, the two brunettes exited the Game Shop.
Yami just stared at them. "What on earth-never mind. I don't want to know."
~*~
All these events happened on a Friday, so Jamie had two days to recover before she went back to school. She ended up being pretty annoyed with Seto (because he insisted on having her stay at his mansion and then wouldn't let her out of the house), but that wasn't that big of a problem.
In all actuality, staying at Seto's wasn't as bad as Jamie pretended it was. Shemeeka ended up rooming there to stay away from her own house, so at least the brunette had someone to talk to.
Of course, Shemeeka was new to the idea of being waited on hand and foot, but it wasn't THAT hard to get used to.
On Sunday, Shemeeka went into Jamie's room to say hello, just as she did every day. "Hi there, O Hospital Patient," she said cheerily.
Jamie just scowled. "Okay, let me just make this perfectly clear: there is nothing wrong with me. I can walk around. My head does not hurt. Of all the boyfriends I could have, I got stuck with the overprotective one," she said, a little louder than necessary.
Shemeeka jumped as a voice replied, "I heard that, Jamie."
Jamie smiled at the ebony-haired girl and held up an intercom that Seto had apparently given her. "You were supposed to, sweetheart."
"Would you prefer I kick you out of the house and make you go take care of your uncle, as opposed to having my servants do it?"
"I'd love to, but you won't let me stand up. As much as I like having you carry me around, Seto, I am capable of walking on my own," Jamie replied, rolling her eyes. "You don't have to be so protective of me. I can take care of myself."
"That's right, snookums, and tomorrow Joey is going to kick my butt at Duel Monsters," was Seto's reply.
Jamie giggled. "Okay, you win. But promise you won't stay down in that stuffy office all day, okay? You work too hard."
"I hereby promise I will not stay in this stuffy office all day. I couldn't, anyway. There's no bathroom in here."
Both girls laughed, and Jamie turned off the intercom. "I'll tell you one thing, being around him is never dull."
"I'll say," Shemeeka agreed. "Planning on doing anything interesting today?"
"Oh, I don't know, I thought maybe I'd invent a cure for cancer, achieve world peace, run for Congress, and then possibly go out to dinner, time permitting," Jamie replied, grinning and crossing her eyes.
Shemeeka smiled. "Okay, Senator Light. But seriously, what are you doing?"
"Well, Seto still won't let me out of the house, so I'm pretty much stuck here. A little later I'll probably go challenge him to a duel, but for now I'm free. Why? You busy?"
"No, unfortunately," Shemeeka sighed. "You know, my birthday is on Tuesday, and I was just thinking about things."
"You're going to be seventeen, right?"
"Actually," Shemeeka corrected with a small smile, "I'm going to be sixteen."
"But I thought you were already-"
"I have an October birthday, so when I registered for school I put myself down as sixteen. I figured a month or two was no big deal," she explained.
Jamie cocked an eyebrow. "Sneaky."
"Yeah. I've always been the baby in my family, so I really wanted to be thought of as sixteen instead of fifteen."
Jamie rolled her eyes. "Could be worse. Joey and Tristan are both sixteen, and look how they turned out."
"True. So tell me how old everyone is, in order from oldest to youngest."
"Well, Seto is seventeen, and he's a junior in high school. Yami is the same. Everyone else is in our grade," Jamie said thoughtfully. "I think Tristan is the oldest, then Joey. They're about a month apart. Yugi is about four months younger than Joey, and Ryou is the youngest of the guys. He turns sixteen in December. You fit in between Yugi and Ryou, and I'm the very last, turning sixteen in May."
"Cool. I'm not the youngest anymore."
"Now then, if your birthday is on Tuesday, then we must hold a party for you," Jamie said enthusiastically. "Which reminds me, what do you want for a present?"
But strangely, Shemeeka looked like she was about to cry. 'Want? Isn't it obvious what I want? I want Yugi to love me!'
"I don't know," she said at last. "I have friends, a safe place to stay.what else could I want?"
Jamie smiled sadly. It was obvious she knew what Shemeeka had been thinking, but she didn't mention it. "Well, we'll have to go shopping, then. My treat, okay?"
"Sounds good."
Just then, there was a tap on the door. Pushing the door open, a little black-haired head peeked in the room. "Hey, Jamie? My big brother says to bring this to you."
Jamie looked up. "Hi, Mokuba! Come on in."
Mokuba Kaiba entered the room, holding a medium-sized, silver-wrapped present. "He said I had to bring it because he couldn't trust any of the servants to do it."
Shemeeka waved slightly. "Hi, I don't believe we've met. I'm Shemeeka Tsumachiro."
"Nice to meet you," Mokuba said with a slight bow. "I'm Mokuba. Sorry I can't stay and talk, but I'm supposed to meet some friends down at the arcade in fifteen minutes."
"Yugi?" Jamie inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope, some kids from school. They can't figure out how to beat this one level in Seto's virtual reality game, so I'm going to go show them how it's done." Mokuba wore a sly smirk not unlike his older brother's when he finished.
Jamie giggled. "Try not to mercy them too badly, Mokuba."
"You got it, Jamie. See you later, Shemeeka."
And then he was gone.
Once he left, Jamie and Shemeeka both eyed the present. "What do you think it is?" Shemeeka wanted to know.
"Who knows?"
"Aren't you going to open it?"
"Nah. I'm just going to sit here, stare at the pretty wrapping, and fantasize about what it could be."
"Jamie!"
"Kidding, kidding. Let's open it," Jamie agreed.
She carefully undid the ribbon, frowning at the small holes that it had previously covered up. "What could this be? The only thing that would have holes in the box is-"
Her eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh, he didn't!"
"What? What?!"
The brunette all but tore off the wrapping, reaching inside hopefully. Her face lit up with joy and she pulled out a tiny golden retriever puppy with big brown eyes. There was a dainty blue collar around its neck, and a little silver charm hung from it.
Shemeeka rushed forward to pet it. "It's so cute!" she exclaimed.
The puppy looked up, looking happily at Shemeeka. It raised its head and thumped its tail against the bedspread as she stroked its little nose.
Jamie giggled, picking up the puppy and holding it close to her chest. "I used to have a puppy, but after my parents died, I couldn't keep him. My uncle said we had to give him away because the house was too small, so he got sent to my cousins. They live in Iowa and had plenty of room for a dog. But I haven't seen them in two and a half years, and I miss my little Sunshine a lot. I guess Seto remembered."
Shemeeka held out her arms. "Can I hold him?"
"Sure," Jamie replied. She handed the little puppy to Shemeeka and turned on the intercom once again.
"Seto, I love you!" she cried happily. "He's sooooooooo cute!"
Soft chuckling could be heard on the other end. "Anything for my little invalid."
"Don't call me that."
"Did you look at its collar yet?"
"Why?" Jamie asked suspiciously.
"Just look."
Shemeeka sat down next to Jamie and held out the puppy so she could check the tag. The puppy whimpered a little and hopped out of Shemeeka's arms, its tiny paws sliding every which way.
It only took one glance. "Seto!" Jamie groaned, trying not to laugh. "You named it Joey?!"
"What? It fits."
"It still wasn't very nice!"
"I concede your point. No puppy deserves the agony of being named after Joey Wheeler. You'd better change it."
"Seto!" But then, she burst out laughing. "All right, I forgive you. Thank you so much! I love you!"
"You too, sweetheart. Now you have something to do today, anyway. After all, you can't go out somewhere and leave that poor little puppy all alone in this great big house, right?" Seto replied slyly.
Jamie rolled her eyes. "Someday, I'm going to get you for this. Mark my words, Seto Kaiba, I will get you."
"You're cute when you're angry. I'll come up and see you a little later, okay? Stay out of trouble. And don't let the puppy do anything to my furniture."
"Bye." Jamie turned off the intercom and looked up at Shemeeka. "You doing anything special today?"
"No, except for keeping you company and playing with this adorable little puppy-wuppy," Shemeeka cooed, stroking the golden fur of the puppy's head.
"What is your cat going to say about this?" Jamie asked with a smile.
"Teresa can suffer. She's always first in my book, but for now I want to give my attention to this cute little bundle of fur," Shemeeka replied.
Jamie ended up naming the puppy Hikari, and the girls played games with him the rest of the afternoon. The brunette tried to bring up the subject of Yugi, but Shemeeka always carefully avoided the subject.
Finally Jamie just came right out and said it. "Shemeeka, do you want Yugi to be your boyfriend?"
The ebony-haired girl bit her lip and didn't say anything for a few moments. But at long last, she whispered, "Yes. I really, truly do."
"Okay," Jamie replied quickly. And that was the last she said about it.
However, inside her mind, the wheels of inspiration were slowly turning.
~*~
The days practically flew by, and then next thing Shemeeka knew, it was her birthday. There were a few perks, like the birthday cake the gang surprised her with at the lunch table that day, but all in all she was pretty gloomy.
After all, why bother to celebrate? The only thing she wanted was for Yugi to love her, and that sure wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
Jamie picked up on this, and suggested they walk home from school together. Of course, Shemeeka agreed.
The ebony-haired girl kicked at a few stray leaves as they walked through the long, colorful streets. Fall was her favorite season, both because of the colors and because of her birthday. There was nothing Shemeeka enjoyed more than watching the leaves turn colors, jumping in the large piles they made when they fell. But this year, there wasn't any joy in it. The gold, auburn, and plum hues of the leaves only reminded her more of Yugi.
"So, how does it feel to be sixteen?" Jamie asked, trying to start a conversation.
"It's okay, I guess," Shemeeka replied dismally. "You know, same old thing. I don't feel any different, anyway."
"Well, Sheem, I don't know about what you guys did back where you used to live, but here it's an unwritten rule: every girl deserves a sweet-sixteen party," Jamie said mischievously. "I already talked to Seto, and he said we can use the mansion tonight. So how about it?"
"I don't know, Jamie. I'm not big on the whole girly-girl thing."
"Who said it was going to be girly-girl stuff?" Jamie countered, her eyes wide with mock horror. She put her hands on her hips and eyed Shemeeka, a tiny grin threatening to spread across her face. "This is Halloween, isn't it? We're going to have a costume party!"
Shemeeka looked startled. "A costume party? Really? That sounds great!"
"Cool. We can drop off our school stuff at Seto's, change, and go out shopping for costumes. What do you want to go as?"
The ebony-haired girl looked thoughtful. 'Should I? If Yugi's going to be there it might be embarrassing, but-'
"Dark Magician Girl," she replied with a smile. "It's my favorite Duel Monster; why not dress up as her for Halloween?"
"Sounds like a plan," Jamie agreed.
By now they were only a block or so from the mansion, so they hurried there and then raced out to the store for costume ideas.
The plan had been set into motion.
That night.
Jamie opened the door of the mansion, carefully adjusting her black cat's ears as she did so. "Hi, Joey! C'mon in!" she exclaimed, flashing him a wide smile.
Joey grinned back. "Hey. So what'd I miss?"
"Nothing. You know the party couldn't start until you got here."
Hikari, who was sitting obediently at Jamie's feet, stretched forward and sniffed Joey, familiarizing himself with the new scent. The little puppy yipped once or twice, pawing at the trousers of Joey's gangster costume.
Joey looked down. "Aw, no! Don't tell me he got that thing just to tick me off!"
"Nope. He's mine, actually, but I can't keep him at my house because my uncle says our house is too small. I figure this mansion is big enough for one tiny puppy."
"Great."
"Nice costume, by the way," Jamie enthused, leading him into the large dueling arena where they had decided to hold the party.
Joey looked down at his pinstripe suit and shiny black shoes. "Yeah, thanks. It was either this or a baby kangaroo, you know?"
Jamie groaned. "That was so bad, Joey."
"True."
Joey couldn't help but gape in awe at how different the whole stadium looked. The entire floor was bathed in an eerie blue light, and the holo- generators were programmed to create the image of a random monster at various intervals. An elaborate sound system was set up in one corner, and it appeared that Seto was controlling it from the dueling platform on the far end of the room.
The billionaire was dressed in a green tunic and white leggings, with a sheathed sword on his back and a green cap on his head. Comfortable brown boots covered his feet, and he wore a pair of brown fingerless gauntlets on his hands.
Jamie and Joey walked over to say hello, and Joey couldn't help but stare at the blue-eyed boy's attire.
Seto noted this with a touch of amusement. He glanced down at his costume. "Hey, it was Mokuba's idea," he said good-naturedly.
Joey nodded sympathetically. "Tell me about it. Serenity wanted to dress me up as a baby kangaroo."
Seto couldn't conceal a snicker. "From chihuahua to joey? I don't think so."
Jamie bent and scooped up Hikari, who had followed them and was sitting patiently behind Jamie's left heel. "This is the only puppy dog currently in this house, Seto," she cooed, stroking the puppy's head.
"Yes, and it's much more obedient than Joey will ever be," Seto replied.
Joey, deciding to ignore this, looked around at all the other people currently there. "Jeez, look at them costumes!" he exclaimed.
There were people milling about all over the floor of the arena. There was a Dark Magician Girl with long, highlighted black hair (Shemeeka); an Elvis in customary white rhinestone-studded suit (Tristan); and a short black- haired boy wearing a leather jacket, a fedora, and holding a bullwhip (Mokuba).
Joey raised an eyebrow at Seto and gestured towards Mokuba. "Who's he?"
Seto rolled his eyes. "Hello? Anyone home in there? He's Indiana Jones!"
Joey blinked rapidly and looked at Mokuba again. "OH! Indiana JONES! Right. I knew that."
Jamie giggled and hugged Seto. "Enough of this. Joey, why don't you go down to say hello to everyone. Only three more people and then the party can really start."
Once again, Joey raised an eyebrow at this. Seto shrugged. "Hey, what can I say? She wants me all to herself. I'm telling you, Link is a babe-magnet."
"He is! He's got like seven chicks all after him in Ocarina of Time alone!" Mokuba shouted up from the dance floor.
Joey just laughed and headed down to join the others.
~*~
To any bystander, the two white-haired boys that walked up to Seto's doorstep could have been mistaken for twins. The only difference (besides the fact that one was slightly shorter than the other) was that one wore a deerstalker cap, brown trench coat, and was carrying a meerschaum pipe. He also held a plate of pumpkin-shaped cookies covered in tinfoil.
The taller one scowled. "I still don't see the point of dressing up, Ryou. Why make a fool of yourself?"
"It's a tradition, Yami. Besides, it is a costume party, after all," Ryou replied, smiling up at Yami Bakura.
"It's a stupid tradition."
Ryou sighed, knowing better than to argue with his stubborn Yami. "If you say so."
Yami Bakura frowned, seeing Ryou's dismay at his answer. "Look, just because I don't like it doesn't mean you can't."
The smaller boy brightened. "Okay." Then he blushed. "Um, Yami? Could you ring the doorbell for me? My hands are kind of full."
Yami Bakura chuckled, ringing the doorbell and taking a step back. "All right, aibou. When the party's over, call me and I'll come pick you up." He reached out and brushed back a lock of Ryou's silvery-white hair that had escaped from the hat's hold. "Knock them dead, kid."
"Are you sure you don't want to come, Yami?" Ryou asked, his eyes hopeful.
But Yami Bakura shook his head. "Nah. Parties aren't really my thing. But don't worry about me. I'll go over to Malik's house, hit on Isis just to tick him off, and we'll entertain ourselves tonight."
Ryou smiled knowingly. "Don't vandalize too many houses, okay?"
"Why? Were you saving that carton of eggs for something else?"
The smaller boy just rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. But please, Yami, promise me three things."
"What are they?" Yami Bakura asked suspiciously.
"No drugs or booze, don't get caught, and only vandalize the houses of people we don't like."
At that, Yami Bakura stared openly. "You're twisted, Ryou, you know that? You're really, seriously twisted."
Ryou shrugged. "I guess I've been hanging around you too much."
Now Yami Bakura laughed. "All right. Have fun, kiddo. I'll see you later."
And then, sticking his hands in his pockets, he walked away towards their home.
~*~
At last everyone was there. Jamie had just answered the door and let in Yugi and Yami, who were dressed as the Dark Magician and an Egyptian pharaoh, respectively. Shemeeka's birthday party could finally begin.
For the first twenty minutes, everyone just wandered, listening to the music and admiring each other's costumes. Ryou's Sherlock Holmes outfit was a crowd favorite.
Shemeeka made sure to carefully avoid Yugi, even though she was longing to throw herself into his arms. The Dark Magician costume was perfect for him, and exactly matched his eyes.
Oh, how badly she wanted him to walk over, say he was sorry, say that he loved her and they could be together.
'Guess it's not going to be such a happy birthday, after all.'
Jamie walked over to her. "Everyone has such great costumes," she murmured. "I almost feel a little bit plain among everyone else."
"Key word being almost," Shemeeka replied instantly.
Jamie grinned. "You know me too well, DMG. Come on, enough with all this boring "you look so cool" stuff! Let's DANCE!"
Seto flashed her a thumbs-up and hit play. Immediately, Smash Mouth's "All Star" began blasting out of the enormous sound system. The individual holo- squares of the arena ceased to project monsters and instead began flashing with colored light. Four spotlights that had been rigged to the actual projectors swept the floor, individually illuminating every person on the dance floor.
Joey, getting in the spirit of things, leaped a foot in the air. "It's time to PARTY!" he yelled.
They danced for an hour or two, sometimes slow, sometimes fast. After a while, Seto did come down and join them. He claimed he had two left feet and wouldn't be caught dead dancing in front of people, but Yami quickly righted that.
"I've seen you playing Dance Dance Revolution, Mister Humility!" Yami called. "Now get your Kokiri rear in gear and get down here!"
Seto couldn't keep a grin off his face. "Your wish is my command, Pharaoh Amenhotep IV!"
Yami groaned. "Man! It's Tutankhamon, dude! Not Amenhotep! Tutankhamon! Greatest pharaoh of them all!"
"That's not what you said at home, Yami," Yugi put in, smiling mischievously.
"Is there no such thing as privacy?!" Yami complained.
"You said yourself that you picked this costume because you wanted to go as- "
Yami quickly clapped a hand over Yugi's mouth. "I'm starving!" he said quickly, cutting Yugi off. "Do we have food?"
Jamie winked at him. "Of course. Seto, why don't you go show Yugi and Yami where it is?"
Seto nodded knowingly. "Sure. Yami, Yugi, come with me."
And with that, the three duelists left the room.
Shemeeka raised an eyebrow at Jamie. "Is this some sort of surprise birthday present that they're rigging up for me?"
Jamie, who had already gotten a cookie and had just bitten into it, immediately choked. "Wh-what-huh?" she managed between coughs.
"They are, aren't they!"
Jamie knew she couldn't lie to her best friend. However. "Yeah, sort of. It was mostly Seto's idea. See, they're going to-"
"No, don't tell me!" Shemeeka exclaimed, giggling. "Let it be a surprise!"
Jamie smiled knowingly. "All right, then. It will be a surprise."
But when Yami, Yugi, and Seto returned, there were no surprises. After a while, Shemeeka forgot all about it.
After another half-hour of dancing, Seto stepped up and raised a microphone to his lips. "Hey, there, everyone. This is your magnificent, illustrious, incredible-"
"And not the slightest bit conceited, right?" Yami yelled, grinning.
"Of course not," Seto replied instantly. "Anyway, I'm your splendiferous, serendipitous, not at all supercilious-"
"You forgot all-around sweet and sexy!" Jamie called, enjoying the slight blush that swept over Seto's cheeks at her words.
The green-clad boy quickly got over it, though. "Okay, okay, enough of the big words. I'm your host, and we're all having a great party, right?"
"YEAH!"
"And we all want our birthday girl to have a great one, right?"
"YEAH!"
"All right, then. That brings us to our next and most special dance of the night: the first-ever Sweetheart dance! All you lucky guys out there, find the sweet little girl who strikes your fancy and ask her now! Be gutsy, fellows, because for this one dance alone, they can't say no!" Seto explained. "Unfortunately, I myself will not be able to participate because I have to run the music. But that's okay because I know Jamie would never turn me down anyway. Hey out there, snookums!"
"Don't call me snookums!"
"Whatever, snookums. Now then, let's go!"
Seto popped a CD into the sound system and let the music play.
How will I start
Tomorrow without you here?
Whose heart will guide me
When all the answers disappear?
Is it too late?
Are you too far gone to stay?
Best friends forever
Should never have to go away.
Shemeeka turned her eyes toward Yugi, hoping for some chance that he would come over and ask her to dance, some chance that he felt the way she did.
But instead, she watched the Dark Magician walk over to Jamie. They murmured unintelligible words to each other for a few moments before Jamie placed her paw on Yugi's outstretched hand.
Yugi glanced up at Seto for a minute, who nodded encouragingly. And then, together, they moved out onto the dance floor.
So that was it. That was why Yugi, Yami, and Seto had left the party for those brief minutes. All this time, Yugi had liked Jamie, and he wanted to ask Seto's permission to dance with her.
"It figures," she whispered, heartbroken. "The guy I like always falls for my best friend."
Wallowing in anguish, she made her way over to the punch bowl, pouring herself a cup and making sure to face away from everyone so no one could see her despair. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing Yugi and Jamie dancing together, the way she'd always imagined she and Yugi would dance one day.
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn't see the Egyptian pharaoh she knew was Yami walk over to her side. "Why so sad, Shemeeka? It is your birthday, after all," he said softly.
Shemeeka wouldn't meet his gaze. "It's-it's nothing, Yami."
"Somehow, I don't think it's 'nothing'."
"I don't know," Shemeeka sighed, trying to come up with a plausible lie. "Just no one to dance with, that's all."
"You'd be happy if you were dancing with Yugi, though." Yami's words were a statement, not a question.
"I don't know," Shemeeka whispered, looking away, trying to hide the pain in her aquamarine eyes.
Yami smiled gently. "I'm sure it's not the same, but would you like to dance?"
Shemeeka considered this a minute. He wasn't Yugi, even though they looked alike.but still, Yami was a nice enough guy. It was her birthday, after all, so why not at least try to have some fun?
"Sure," she replied. "Sounds like.fun."
What will I do?
You know I'm only half without you.
How will I make it through?
They moved out onto the dance floor and Shemeeka hesitantly moved forward into Yami's arms. They danced conservatively for a few moments, but then Shemeeka got another glance of Yugi and Jamie.
By then, Jamie had her head on Yugi's shoulder and a blissful expression on her face. The costumed Dark Magician was smiling as well, allowing one gauntleted hand to stroke her loose brown hair. Together, they looked perfect.
Shemeeka couldn't have been more miserable. She knew Jamie couldn't refuse this dance.but still, it hurt. It hurt a lot.
She turned back to Yami, looking at the black silk mask that covered his incredibly violet eyes. "T-Thank you for dancing with me," she whispered.
And then, the pain became too horrible for her to bear. Unshed tears in her eyes now streamed freely down her cheeks, and she cried openly into Yami's shoulder.
If only tears could bring you back to me,
If only love could find a way,
What I would do, what I would give if you,
Returned to me, someday, somehow, someway.
If my tears could bring you back, to me.
Yami smiled sadly and let her weep into his shoulder, holding her close. "You really love my aibou, don't you."
"Oh, Yami, I do," Shemeeka sobbed, raising her face to stare at him with wet aqua eyes. "I love him so much, more than anything else, and I don't know what to do!"
Yami nodded sympathetically, so she continued, "He means so much to me, it hurts to see him dancing with someone else! I-I keep thinking that if only I'd told him sooner, before this whole terrible mess with Tea started, m- maybe he might have felt the same way.but now it's too late and he'll never know!"
"Are you sure about that?" Yami asked tactfully. "Did he ever tell you he doesn't care for you?"
Shemeeka bit her lip hard. "I-It's obvious he doesn't.h-he's dancing with Jamie now, not me.I've cried every night, wishing he'd somehow know how I feel, but my tears are worthless!"
I've cried you an ocean,
If you'd sail on home again,
Waves of emotion,
Will carry you and all they can.
Yami smiled, stroking her cheek. "Your tears are not worthless."
"Yes they are!" Shemeeka cried. "How could they be worth anything? He doesn't love me!"
"Shemeeka.it's been so hard for me to say this, but now I see I must. Shemeeka.I'm in love with you," Yami whispered.
Shemeeka looked up, smiling weakly. "Yami, I'm sorry, but.well, it wouldn't be the same. You're not Yugi."
A tiny smile played across Yami's features. "I'm not?"
That's when it happened.
Just let love guide you,
And your heart will chart the course,
Soon you'll be drifting,
Into the arms of your true north,
Look in my eyes, you'll see,
A million tears have gone by,
And still they're not dry,
Yami reached up, lifting off his mask and revealing a pair of sweet, violet eyes.
Shemeeka's eyes went wide, and she gasped audibly. "Y-Yugi?!"
And indeed it was. When Yami and Yugi had gone with Seto into the kitchen, they had changed costumes. It was YAMI who had been dancing with Jamie. This whole time, YUGI had been the Egyptian pharaoh. And that meant-
"This whole time.everything I said." Shemeeka stammered, still in shock.
Yugi nodded, raising a finger to her lips to silence her. "Shhh. Yes. I heard the whole thing."
"Y-You don't hate me?"
Yugi shook his head, smiling softly. "I LOVE you," he whispered.
And then he leaned in and kissed her.
To try and describe how much emotion was let loose in that one single embrace is something all writers attempt to do, but none ever achieve. Yugi's hands tangled in Shemeeka's loose hair, assuring them both that they weren't going anywhere. The kiss just went on, and on, and on, neither wanting to leave the delicious warmth of the other's embrace.
But at last, lack of breath forced them to break off. New tears, tears of joy, shone in Shemeeka's eyes. Aquamarine met violet as they gazed at each other, ignoring everything but the fact that they were together at last.
Never breaking eye contact, Yugi leaned forward and placed a kiss on Shemeeka's forehead. "Happy birthday," he whispered.
Shemeeka hugged him tightly. "Don't ever let me go."
"Never," Yugi promised, smiling. "Never."
If only tears could bring you back to me,
If only love could find a way,
What I would do, what I would give if you,
Returned to me, someday, somehow, someway.
If my tears could bring you back, to me.
I'd hold you close,
And shout the words,
I only whispered before,
For one more chance,
For one last dance,
There's not a thing that I would not endure,
Jamie and Yami swayed over to where Yugi and Shemeeka were still standing, even as the song drew to a close.
"So, what do you think of our present?" Jamie teased, winking at Shemeeka.
"I don't know whether to hate you or kiss you!" Shemeeka cried, grinning at Jamie.
Yami groaned. "Please, let's skip the 'kiss her' part. Yugi, can we change costumes back now? This Dark Magician suit is too small and it's like an oven in here."
"One thing first, Yami," Yugi said absently, returning to staring into Shemeeka's eyes.
Yami rolled his eyes. "Fine. Just don't get the costume all nasty when you kiss. That thing's a rental, you know, and it cost-ow!"
He broke off to clutch his now-bruised shin from Jamie's hard kick. Jamie just smiled innocently. "We'll leave you two alone, I think. Come on, Yami."
"Yes, ma'am," Yami moaned in agony, letting Jamie drag him away.
Shemeeka giggled softly, looking up at Yugi. Slowly, she stopped, mesmerized by his intense gaze.
Yugi leaned close, his lips millimeters from her ear. "You're beautiful, you know," he murmured, warm breath making her shiver.
She reached up, entwining her arms around his neck. "I love you, Yugi, so much more than anything."
"And I you," Yugi replied, pulling back to grace her with a series of butterfly kisses on her lips. "Forever and ever."
If only tears could bring you back to me,
If only love could find a way,
What I would do, what I would give if you,
Returned to me, someday, somehow, someway.
If my tears could bring you back, to me.
~*~
Jamie sighed, resting her head on Seto's shoulder. "They're so perfect for each other."
"I know," Seto whispered back, slipping an arm around her waist. "Just like you and me."
They stood there in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's presence, until Yami made his way over to them.
He and Yugi had finally switched back, though Yugi was annoyed at having to tear himself away from Shemeeka, even for a second. Fortunately, both had worn jeans and T-shirts underneath their costumes, so they were able to make a quick change of clothes right there on the dance floor.
Yami, in full pharaoh's attire, sidled up to Jamie. "You know, we Ancient Egyptians worshipped cats," he teased, grinning at the two brunettes.
Seto groaned. "Yami, would you give it up? For once, I have a girlfriend who's more attracted to me than you! It's not going to change anything!"
"Plus, there's no way you could score a date with me with THAT pick-up line," Jamie added, rolling her eyes.
"But it's the truth!"
"That's not the point. It's the principle of the thing. We females like sweet, refined, subtle pick-up lines. Seto, an example, please?"
Seto grinned, placing a kiss on Jamie's forehead. "Hey, baby. Do your feet hurt? 'Cause you've been running through my mind all night."
Now it was Yami's turn to groan. "You call that refined?!"
"Hey, he IS my boyfriend."
Yami turned a full-fledged pout on her, his eyes wide and innocent. "But.but I've only gotten to dance once at all tonight.and that was pre- arranged.I feel left out.alone.exiled.no one likes me.snuffle."
Jamie glanced up at Seto. "Yami, that's the worst lie I've ever heard, but."
Seto shrugged. "Hey, he's done it to all the others. Why not you, too? Sure, go dance. I have to run the music, anyway."
"I'll be back, Seto. And then you can make Yami run the music while we kick it on the dance floor."
Yami snorted. "Seto? Kick it?! Somehow that image just won't come to mind."
Jamie smiled slyly. "Well then, you'll just have to see it for yourself."
They made their way down onto the floor, just as Seto turned off the song. "Okay, thank you, that was our Sweetheart dance. That means, that song is now over. Would the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl in our midst PLEASE untangle themselves from each other so we can continue? Thank you," he said over the loudspeaker.
Blushing furiously, Yugi and Shemeeka stepped away from each other, resigning themselves to just hold hands.
"That means fingers too, guys."
Shemeeka shot a death glare up at Seto. "Excuse me?!"
"What? This is my own personal dueling arena! If you two get any mushier, you're going to melt into Yugi-and-Shemeeka-puddles. I don't want that kind of mess in my stadium!" Seto replied, still speaking to them over the loudspeaker.
Rolling their eyes, Shemeeka and Yugi dropped their hands and stood next to each other.
"That's better," Seto said with a smile.
They continued dancing for a while until the last slow song of the night came on. Seto managed to get Yami to take over the sound system and stepped down to the floor, the barest hint of a smile on his face.
Jamie looked up, eyes hopeful. "Can I help you, Link?"
"Why yes, I believe you can," Seto replied teasingly. "Shall we dance, kitty-cat?"
She grinned, stepping into his arms. "I thought you'd never ask."
Romantic music wafted out of the speakers, and Jamie caught a glance of Yugi and Shemeeka dancing together, completely lost in each other's eyes. "They look so happy," she sighed blissfully, reaching up to entwine her arms around Seto's neck.
"I know. I'm glad they found each other," Seto replied softly.
Jamie smiled up at him. "I'm even more glad you found me."
Seto weaved his fingers through her hair, staring into her turquoise eyes. "I've always wanted to dance with you like this, Jamie. I'm so lucky, so incredibly lucky that you're mine."
"I'm the lucky one, Seto," Jamie murmured, watching him intently.
"Do you remember that day in the park, the day we first met?"
"How could I forget?" she replied, smiling.
"Jamie.sweetheart, that was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. I wasn't sure what you'd do, or what you'd say-"
Jamie reached up and placed a finger over his lips, silencing him. "Was it the truth, what you said?"
"Yes," he replied, in a voice barely below a whisper. "Yes, it was."
She smiled. "Then nothing else matters."
"It's just.so many people in my life had already hurt me."
"And you were afraid that I might hurt you, too?"
He smiled weakly. "Well.sort of."
"Seto, I love you more than anything, and nothing is ever going to change that," she whispered, raising her face in hopes of a kiss.
The billionaire didn't disappoint her, leaning down and brushing his lips over hers. "You're everything to me, Jamie, everything."
Jamie sighed again, resting her head on his shoulder. "You and Yami joke about him trying to steal me away from you.that will never happen, Seto. I'm yours, only yours."
"And I wouldn't have it any other way."
Jamie let her eyelids flutter closed, concentrating on nothing but the fact that Seto was holding her close in his arms. "I like this song."
Seto stroked her hair comfortingly. "I love you, snookums."
"You too.forever and ever."
Yami interrupted them however, when he decided to shut off the CD and pick up the microphone. "Ahem. Would Link and the goddess Bastet in our midst PLEASE untangle themselves from each other? This IS supposed to be a party, you know."
Seto calmly looked up, flipped Yami off, and continued dancing with Jamie.
"Now THERE'S the Seto I know," Yami said with a chuckle. "Okay, everyone, it's time to party!"
Yugi and Shemeeka immediately moved into each other's arms. Seto and Jamie did the same. Ryou, Joey, Tristan, and Mokuba all decided to prank-call Tea. And once again, Yami started the music.
For this one moment in time, everything was perfect.
THE END
Oh, and here's what happened after all this:
-Yugi and Shemeeka are still in love.
-Jamie is still trying to get Seto to wear a leather jacket.
-Unbeknownst to Jamie, Seto has actually BOUGHT a leather jacket, he just hasn't told her about it.
-Unbeknownst to Seto, Jamie discovered the leather jacket and has decided to keep it quiet as a bargaining chip for later.
-Yami is currently writing a book, "1,000 Pick-Up Lines for the Suave Ancient Egyptian." When last we heard, he was somewhere around #13.
-Yami Bakura broke his promise and egged the Game Shop, but he claims that's all just splatter marks from when he egged Shemeeka's house.
-Malik, who was under no such promise, egged everyone's house.
-Isis accidentally thought Yami Bakura was Ryou, and as such accepted his invitation to go out sometime to cheese Malik off.
-Seto has not yet gotten to ram a car through Shemeeka's house.
-Instead, he and Yami got Tea really drunk, put HER unconscious body behind the wheel of a car, and rammed it through the front of Shemeeka's house.
-As such, Tea is in jail and is being sued for all she's worth.
-Tristan has yet to have a major part in any one of these stories.
-At Joey's request, KaibaCorp is now running tests to try and figure out why older siblings always seem to do whatever their younger siblings ask them to, even if it means wearing a baby kangaroo costume.
-Mokuba became an expert at crank calls and is considering becoming a telemarketer for a living.
-What Yugi never revealed was that Yami had actually based his Halloween costume on Cleopatra, considering the costume store didn't carry Tutankhamon stuff.
-Jamie and Yami still have not had their Super Smash Brothers showdown.
-Yugi and Shemeeka kiss a lot.
-Don't ask how we know that.
-We don't quite know ourselves.
-Although it may have something to do with the security cameras in Seto's mansion.
-Hikari is going to be starring in Air Bud ® 109,632: Hacki-Sack Pup. Watch for it in theaters whenever Macavity ends up owning Yu-Gi-Oh and the use for disclaimers becomes nonexistent.
-Sources indicate that the real mastermind behind Tea's plot to split up Yugi and Shemeeka was, in fact, Mai Valentine.
-She claims she was just trying to add drama to the story.
-Don't believe her.
-She's jealous because she didn't make an appearance at all in this story.
-Yami has been experimenting with putting other things in Seto's coffee, though he actually stopped for a short period of time.
-This was right after he put powdered Ex-Lax in Seto's coffee.
-Right before he had a big meeting with the shareholders of KaibaCorp.
-Seto still has not forgiven him for that.
-We don't blame him.
-Yami still has not found out why Jamie can make Seto go out for a Slurpee whenever she wants.
-The world may never know.
-Jamie and Shemeeka managed to get the dress code rules changed at Domino High School, and as such, everyone can wear whatever they want whenever they want.
-Joey started a petition to change the policy to: no shirt, no shoes, no problem!
-He accumulated a total of four signatures.
-Three of them were his.
-Needless to say, it failed.
-Miserably.
-To support Joey's petition, send $50 in small unmarked bills to Macavity today.
~*~*~
Whee! I finished another unnecessarily long story! I'm so proud of myself!
Seto: Ex-Lax?! In my coffee?! BEFORE A BOARD MEETING?!
Yami: snickers and hides the evidence
Seto: I liked this story.
Yami: Wonder who the fourth signature on Joey's petition was?
Seto: Probably Macavity. She'd like to see us without shirts or shoes.
Yami: Hide the pictures of us in swim trunks. Quickly.
That's the end of this special, one-of-a-kind story for FOG. Happy birthday! I hope you all had as much fun reading this as I did writing it! Joey the Flame Swordsman and Flamina are going to torch any mean reviews. That said.hit the little purple button and review!