Summary:

Yami is heading towards the game shop late one afternoon and he spots something odd in the snow...someone's hurt. He finds her and she's in bad shape. Yami's told that she's silent and never says a word. He vows to prtect her from harm when he finds out that someone's after her. One night he swears that he heard her talk even though she's a certified mute...is he right?

A/N: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! I do own the girl though...

Chapter 1

The Encounter

Yami

I was exiting the movie theater when I noticed that my friends weren't behind me. I turned around and saw Yugi and Téa were kissing. I turned the other way and saw Joey and Mai kissing as well. It wasn't that bad that they were dating, it was the fact that they'd kiss in front of me forgetting that I don't have a love life at the moment. After that scene they said goodbye and Yugi joined me so we could walk home together.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that Yami," Yugi apologized.

"It's all right. Just warn me next time. It's a bit embarrassing coming out of the theater with you guys and see all of you kissing," I said.

"I can tell you're a bit disappointed for not having anyone special now but you'll find someone. Just when you least expect it," Yugi assured me.

"I know, I'm just tired of not expecting it," I said. I looked at my hikari and smiled. He was just like me in so many ways. But in others we were entirely different. He is like the brother I never had.

"It'll come…"

"I know it will…I'm just giving up on it for a while," I said. We were walking quietly when we heard footsteps approach us and the next thing I know I'm on the ground and so is this girl I must've bumped into.

I got up and tried to help her but she got up on her own and looked at us with a face that had 'I'm sorry' written all over it. It was then I noticed how beautiful she was. She had long brown hair that reminded you of milk chocolate and deep blue eyes that reminded you of the ocean. She gave us a small smile, finished straightening up and made a weird movement with her hands.

"Can't you talk?" I asked. She seemed a bit surprised with my question and made the odd movements with her hands again.

"I think that she wants us to move aside," Yugi said. I glanced at her again and she was nodding. We moved aside, she gave me a thankful look and ran off.

"I wonder what that was about?" I asked.

"I don't know," Yugi replied. Then we heard more footsteps and we moved aside letting the others go thru. They ran past us and stopped after a while.

"Yami, we should get going," Yugi said.

"I know Aibou, but I'd like to hear what they'd have to say. I have the feeling it's important," I said.

"Where did she go?" asked one of them.

"I think she went straight ahead," said the other one.

"We need to get her soon. We still don't know what he wants with her though," said the first one.

"You're right. Let's hope she isn't that far off," said the second one.

"There she is! I just saw her! Let's go!" said the first one as they ran off. I hope they aren't after that girl we bumped into. I bet Yugi could sense my worry because he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay…she'll be fine," he said.

"I hope so Yugi…this is beginning to scare me a bit," I said.

"Something scare you? That's odd."

"Yes I know. It's just that the life of an innocent person is in danger and we don't know who it is or where they could be so we can help them."

"You're right…it is a bit scary. Let's hope that whoever they're after know how to take care of themselves."

"You're right. I just hope it isn't that girl. She seemed so nice…"

"Do you like her Yami? I mean, you just met her and well…"

"No! It's just that I'm worried that it's her they're after."

"Don't worry. It probably isn't. Let's go home," Yugi said reassuringly.

"Let's go home," I said. The rest of the way it was pretty quiet. When we finally got home I showered and went to bed quickly hoping that whoever those guys were after would be fine.

I woke up the next morning to find a thick blanket of snow. The first snowfall of the season had arrived. I woke up and got dressed quickly. As I walked back into the room Yugi and I share and saw the he had woken up.

"Yami look! Snow!" Yugi said happily.

"I see it Yugi. The first snowfall of the season," I replied. I smiled and headed downstairs to work on breakfast. It took me a while since I'm not used to all of these modern gadgets but thanks to Yugi's help I know my way around the modern world. At least I wasn't acting like Bakura …threatening to send something to the Shadow Realm if it doesn't work the way he wants it to. I was done when Yugi came in.

"Smells good," he said. "You're getting better at this…"

"Thankfully," I said.

"I hope Ryou's yami gets used to all of this before he blows up everything in Ryou's house," Yugi said laughing.

"You're right," I said smiling.

After breakfast I went outside to shovel the snow with Yugi's help. Téa came for a visit dropping off something for Yugi. She left as quickly as she came. I was shoveling near the sidewalk when I noticed something odd in the snow.

"What's wrong Yami?" asked Yugi.

"Nothing. I just thought I saw something," I said quickly. I kept shoveling the snow and forgot about it. We went inside and had a quick lunch. Joey called a short while after lunch asking if Yugi and I would be interested in starting a snowball fight near the Kaiba mansion just to annoy Kaiba. Yugi said that it was nice but he'd prefer to stay at home since he was outside all morning.

After that moment Yugi decided to watch a movie in the living room and told me to watch over the shop. It was partially empty but pretty soon filled up due to the early Christmas shopping. That kept me busy for most of the afternoon. I closed the shop early and headed upstairs to check how Yugi was doing. I found him making hot chocolate for the both of us and told me to get some things at the market.

I left the game shop and took my time in getting there. It took me a while to get everything on Yugi's list but I managed to get everything. I took a different route back to the game shop when I noticed something odd yet again in the snow. That reminded me of what I saw earlier today. I bent down to see what it was. It took me a while to recognize it. It was blood……someone was hurt……I had to help whoever it was.

I followed the drops of blood and they lead me to an alley close to the game shop. I walked into the alley and the drops just stopped. I stepped on something and heard a slight moan of pain. I looked around and saw a pile of snow next to me. I crouched down and began to remove the snow from whatever the pile was hiding. It was a person from what I had managed to dig up at first. When I finished, I was surprised to see that girl from last night.

I touched her forehead and felt that she was extremely cold. I checked her breathing and it was slow and uneven. I took off my jacket to keep her warm for the time being and headed to Yugi's house leaving the groceries behind. Food didn't matter to me at this moment. All that mattered was to nurse the girl back to health.