An Unwanted Guest

It's nice to have a relaxing day for once. But it can seem a little strange after living a life full of adventure and excitement. But even heroes need to take it easy sometimes. But you never know when something new and exciting is going to happen. But that's why it's called the unexpected; because anything can happen when you least expect it to.

It was Sunday in the afternoon. Emily was sitting in the living room with her calico kitten Avalon cuddled up next to her. The blonde thought it was precious seeing her little friend curled up for a nap. She wondered if Avalon was having happy dreams because she was purring contentedly. Emily sighed, gently rubbed her kitten's ears, and went back to her reading. She was reading Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.

Her concentration was broken when she heard knocking on her door. It was unusual because she wasn't expecting any visitors today. Did her neighbors need to borrow some ingredients or tools? She wasn't expecting a delivery either. Then again, sometimes Rafael likes to leave surprise gifts on her doorstep. Emily didn't spend a lot of thinking what it could be. The knocking on her door became a little louder. Finally, she got up, set her book down, and approached the door. When she opened the door, she gasped as she saw an unfriendly figure standing in front of her. It was her father who disowned her: Robert Briar. He was an old man nearing the end of his forties with his brown hair starting to gray. His eyes were the same bright green with a few hints of light blue and he was starting to wrinkle a bit as age was starting to be unkind towards him.

Robert smiled as best as he could, but it looked more like he was showing his teeth than trying to smile. "Hi, Emily. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Emily agreed that it had been so long since she last saw her father, but she couldn't bring herself to give a proper greeting. "Would you like to come inside?" she offered as she moved aside from him.

Robert invited himself inside and looked around. "It's not too bad," he told her. "You got a nice place and good furnishings."

Emily scooped Avalon into her arms and took her to her bedroom. She remembered that her father was allergic to cats and his sinuses would act up around them. She promised her friend that everything would be all right and asked her to stay in the room. When Emily returned to the living room, she went to prepare some tea. "Please, have a seat," she insisted. "Make yourself comfortable."

So Robert sat down on the couch and took notice of Emily's book. He remembered reading Charles Dickens' books when he was her age. "So how've you been doing, Em?"

Not that she wasn't paying attention to his questions and she wasn't trying to change the subject, but she was curious and needed to ask, "How did you find me?"

"Well, I got to tell you, it wasn't easy," he admitted. "The latest Duel Monsters tournament was broadcasted all over the world and when I saw that you were a competitor, I decided to find you. I was driving around the city like a lunatic because I didn't know how to find you. But someone told me you lived near a game shop and now, here we are."

Emily didn't think it would come to this. Her father didn't like the Duel Monsters card game and would never watch the duels on television. But who would have thought her competing would attract her father's attention? She came back with some tea for herself and cold water for her guest. "So that's it?" she asked. "That's why you came all this way looking for me?"

Robert chuckled and replied, "Well, yeah, I mean, I'm your dad."

What a typical response. That was pretty much his answer to everything. And it wasn't even a legitimate or reasonable answer. "Whatever," Emily muttered.

Robert stopped smiling. "I've really missed you, Em."

Emily said nothing. She just looked at her father directly. Actually, she was trying to look in his heart to find out if he was telling the truth. Robert was always a difficult man to figure out. He had an ill sense of humor and would talk dirty while trying to be funny, he called her crude names, he hardly expressed his emotions, he barely showed appreciation or affection, and he was very controlling. But Emily did know this much: Robert was weak in body and soul. He was never the kind of man who knew how to take care of himself no matter how independent he was. He was a lone wolf who liked everything his way and that was why he was sick physically and mentally.

When Robert didn't hear anything from his daughter, he wasn't surprised. It was always difficult for him to get anything out of her. To Robert, talking to Emily was like pulling teeth. "So that's what I get after all this time. After all these years of not being able to see or speak to each other-,"

"I don't know what you want me to say," Emily interrupted.

"Just tell me how you're doing," Robert suggested. "How's school? Are you working? Do you have a boyfriend?"

Emily was really irritated with all of Robert's questions. Why should her life be his business after he disowned her? Finally, she figured, "Maybe we should start from the very beginning."

"You mean like why you left?"

"I left because you told me to," she retorted. "You said if I didn't like things your way, then I should just pack up and leave."

"Yeah, but I didn't think you actually would," said Robert.

"You still signed the papers and surrendered me," continued Emily. "After that, I packed up, left, and used the money Mom left me to buy a house of my own."

"Why'd you come back to Domino of all places," Robert wondered.

Emily thought he would know the answer to that. It was the last place she lived before her mother died and it was where her friends lived. After moving in with her father, Emily would write to Téa and Yugi once every week to let them know how she was doing and she would always promise them that she would return someday. They were her friends and she loved them. "I wanted to return to everything I left behind," she answered. "When I did, I finally felt like I belonged somewhere with someone. I was home again with Téa and Yugi and the rest of my friends."

When Robert heard her mention Yugi's name, he was disgusted. The first time Robert met Yugi was when he came to visit his daughter and ex-wife to celebrate Emily's birthday. Even though they were divorced, Robert wouldn't let that stop him from visiting his daughter because he loved her and deserved to be a part of every special occasion. Robert didn't know what to make of Yugi and thought he was a shabby kid trying to be a delinquent. But Emily and her mother would try to assure him that Yugi was a good friend and a nice kid.

Finally, Robert broke the silence and said, "You wanted to come back here because of him."

Emily frowned. "I don't care what you say or think about my friends."

"I don't want you near that boy."

"I love Yugi," Emily told her father. "I always have and nothing's going to change that. If you could just get to know him and give him a chance, you could understand-"

"It's not my job to understand," Robert interrupted.

"You know, that's one of the reasons why I left," Emily was telling him. "You didn't take time trying to get to know me and you didn't want to understand me. Maybe if you tried, things wouldn't be so difficult between us like they were with you and Mom."

As Robert was listening to his daughter, he began thinking about the time his ex-wife packed up, took their daughter, and left. They fought a lot deciding how to manage things at home and how to look after their daughter. Finally, Rachel was fed up and decided she wasn't going to stay with someone who was so controlling. She valued her independence and wanted the same thing for her daughter; to have a sense of freedom and security. "You know, Emily, when you left, you reminded me of how your mother left me. I didn't want the last thing that happened between you and me to end up like it did with me and your mom. And you know, maybe you're right. I could have been a better husband and a better father, but your mom had her share of difficulties too."

"I know," Emily was saying. "But Mom loved you. She just couldn't be around you. And after being away from you for so long, I think I might understand how she would have felt and what she was going through." To explain what she means, Emily tells her father, "I love you, but it hurts to be around you. I can't be near you because I don't feel safe around you. I could never be myself around you. But I can't be away from you either because I worry about you because you don't do anything to take proper care of yourself. I try to help, but you don't want my help. You push me away."

"It's not your job to worry about me," Robert debated. "It's my job to be concerned about you."

"But when you get concerned, you want to take control of the situation without giving me a chance to try. You've always been that way whenever it came to school, home, leisure, anything."

This time, Robert said nothing for a while. Finally, he spoke and said, "I want you to come live with me again."

"I'm not going back with you," Emily protested. "I have a life here. I love my school, my job, my home, my friends, everything. And I won't give it up for you." Robert rose from the chair and got to his feet. He reached out to Emily, but she slapped his hand back. Robert tried a more aggressive approach by grabbing Emily by her hair and pulling it. Emily let out a painful cry and grabbed her father by the arm. As she tried to make him lose his grip, her hand began to heat up and she ended up burning Robert's arm.

Robert yelped in pain and finally let go. There was a burn mark around his wrist. He hadn't had a burn this severe since he was a kid and got his hand pressed against a hot stove as punishment from his parents. He faced Emily and asked, "What was that?"

"Oh, no," Emily gasped, seeing the burn on her father's wrist. Now that she had exposed her magic powers before him, she had to remedy the situation. Carefully, she stretched her arm out towards her father's. "You have to trust me." Reluctantly, he stretches his arm out towards her. Emily places her hand over the burn and begins to use a spell called Remedy; a water-based spell used to cure poisonings and heal burns. Her eyes glow into a bright blue color and so does her arm. Robert feels chilling pulses and waves as the burn begins to fade.

The burn is gone, but a little bit of pain still lingers. "How did you do that?" Robert demanded.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Emily replied. Then she heard knocking on her door. She answered it and saw Yugi standing on her doorstep.

"Hey, is everything okay?" He asked her. "I heard yelling and wondered what was going on."

"Everything's fine," she lied. She didn't want to alarm Yugi, but she had a feeling he would be shocked enough to know that her father was here. "We were just talking." She turned around and revealed her father. "You remember my dad, right, Yugi? He came by to visit."

Yugi did remember. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Briar."

Robert didn't return the gesture. He got up and approached the door. "We're not finished. I'll be back," he said to his daughter. He turned to Yugi and told him, "As for you, young man, stay away from my daughter."

"What's going on?" Yugi wondered.

"Emily is my daughter," Robert was saying. "She's coming back to live with me." And with that, he went to his car and drove off.

Emily gasped hearing him say that. Now her father would stop at nothing to take her back.