Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh as it is solely the property of Kazuki Takahashi. I recieve, and have no wish to recieve profit from the writing of this story as it is simply due to pleasure and an overactive imagination that I write.
Setting: After the Battle City Finals. Before Waking The Dragons arc.
Title: Emeralds, Sapphires, and Amethysts
Chapter 1
Hidden In Shadows
The young woman shivered as a light breeze brushed her bare shoulders, sending the dry autumn leaves at her feet flitting and fleeing from some unforeseen foe. Clenching her pale hand tighter around the large black case, the girl shuddered again before forcing herself to step forwards, crunching the crispy, fragile remains of foliage beneath her small feet.
The wind hurled again, tossing itself against the woman's slim body as if repelling the unwanted stranger away from the city; tearing keenly at her clothes in an attempt to prevent her from progressing further along the empty street, throwing leaves and litter defensively at her strong form. Clutching the suitcase closer to her body, the girl threw her long ponytail of pale gold hair over one shoulder and defiantly lifted her chin, bearing her neck to the ferocious element. The wind clapped cold, crushing hands around her throat, its efforts useless against the woman's fearless stance. Finally, she opened her closed lids, emerald green eyes challenging the incessant element as it continued to attack the exposed pale skin and loose strands of long, fair gold hair.
A shout caused the battle to end and the young woman spun around defensively, eyes flashing in preparation for an ambush as her wary gaze flew over the narrow alley. In moments, it fixed upon a slight young man whose albino-white mane appeared not to have been combed in weeks as it flowed with a casual elegance over his slim shoulders. The girl glanced up to meet sparkling, earnest and excited brown eyes and within moments the young man hurtled down the street and wrestled the woman into an embrace.
"Kyrana!" He shouted joyfully, wrapping a pair of slender, gentle arms around her midriff, "you made it!" Placing a soft kiss on the girl's cheek, the boy drew away and rested a casual hand on her shoulders, gazing deep into her eyes with an avid concern.
"Yes Ryou. It's nice to see you too." She replied quietly, inclining her head slightly and carefully avoiding eye contact with the taller boy. She could sense his concern, yet was unable to meet his perceptive glance. As long as she had known him, Bakura had been incredibly observant and sensitive – so unlike the rest of his family. He had always been her favourite cousin, ever since childhood…
"I'm so glad you could. I was worried if you would be able to make it." The albino boy paused pensively, then gently pulled his cousin closer. Kyrana glanced up momentarily and immediately sank into Bakura's concerned, deep brown eyes. Even though he did not voice the question, she could clearly see it written upon his face. What happened? She could not answer, and upon feeling a weight lift from her hand, glanced down to find her suitcase in Bakura's slim arms. Looking up at her, he grinned easily.
"Blimey Kyrana! What did you put in here? The kitchen sink?"
His soft, carefree tone and often used joke forced a strained smile onto the girl's serious pale face, and lifting her hand which still ached from the immense weight of the suitcase, she quickly tucked an escaped bang of pale hair behind her ear. "No Ryo, there would be no point as you would never get it fitted."
Bakura laughed lightly and with his free hand, awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, further tousling his long white hair as a light blush crawled across his soft features. "That's probably true…" He trailed off and the smile across his lips grew wider at an amusing memory. Zoning out for a few moments, he quickly pulled him back to reality and his grim, silent cousin standing beside him with her arms crossed and face drawn. "Hey, so do you want to see where you'll be staying?"
Nodding, Kyrana moved her gaze back to the ground and let her eyes briefly flick to the end of the alley before returning to the leaf carpeted floor. "That would be nice." She replied finally, wrapping her arms around her waist protectively before following her grinning cousin as he proceeded to the end of the alley into a small housing estate. Kyrana vaguely registered her surroundings, noting her location for future reference. The houses were perhaps a little shabby, but not unpleasantly so. Most had numbers fixed to their doors and very few had cars parked outside. A small concrete square in the centre held a fading inscription on a stone tablet. Her eyes passing unseeingly over these features, Kyrana continued to follow Bakura until they reached a small apartment several hundred metres from the alleyway in which they had met.
Reaching in his pocket, Bakura fumbled for a few moments, a small frown creasing his unaccustomed features as he failed to find the key. Flushing again and subconsciously running a hand through his long white locks, he turned to make a confession to his cousin. Yet Kyrana had already moved to his side, and trying the handle of the door, allowed a small smirk to form on her lips as the door swung inwards. Bakura's eyes widened. He had left the key in the lock? Shocked at his own carelessness, he quickly realised that his hesitation might make his cousin suspicious and led the way into the apartment.
"I don't know if your parents told you, but you're going to be staying with me… at least until they finish tying up everything back in England." He smiled at Kyrana and carefully set her suitcase down on the floor before brushing his unruly hair back from his face. "But that shouldn't be long – I mean they said it would only take two months at the most!"
Kyrana glanced up for a moment. Obviously Bakura had yet to learn of the reason for her parent's sudden move to Japan. They were keeping her where she would be safe, for the moment anyway… realising that Bakura was looking at her with worry in his eyes, the young woman forced a smile. "Good. Well I'm glad to be staying with you… but," she paused taking a deep breath of cooling air, "please, no late night partying and no lap-dancing girls."
Unsure whether she was serious or not, Bakura blushed a violent shade of red, before protesting: "Honestly Kyrana, I wasn't planning to!"
It was hard to resist breaking into a smile at his outburst, yet the exhaustion of the long flight over and the emotional impact of recent events in addition to moving to a foreign country took its toll. Raising a hand to her head, Bakura's confused expression of concern was the last thing Kyrana saw before falling into unconsciousness.
Bakura dashed forward immediately upon noticing his cousin pale undetectably before swaying with fatigue. Catching her slender figure in his arms, the young albino quickly dragged her and draped her carefully onto the sofa. At this close of a range, it was obvious why she had collapsed. Bakura cursed himself silently for not noticing before.
Kyrana had deep, dark patches beneath her eyes, shading her light skin an unpleasant tinge of purple; her long hair was hastily tied back into a ponytail yet was lank and withering. Glancing down, Bakura gently lifted one of the girl's trailing arms from the floor and carefully laid it upon her chest. In doing so, the dark material of the long black sleeve covering her arm slipped up to reveal an assortment of dirt-stained bandages spreading the width of her arm. The boy's heart skipped a beat. What wasn't she telling him? Concerned, Bakura checked Kyrana's other arm to find the same; her entire forearms were bandaged to the elbow. He knew if his cousin were awake, she would never appreciate his next action, yet Bakura found himself unable to refrain from unwrapping the peeling linen to reveal the flesh beneath.
He gasped out in horror. Resisting the temptation to cover his eyes, Bakura repeated the action on the opposing arm to find the same. Both were scarred with deep white lines, some of which seemed still fresh and red. They striped her forearms like a tiger's back, marring her pale skin with ugly welds. Cringing, Bakura pulled away. He knew if his cousin woke in this state: knowing he had removed her way of hiding from the world, she would never forgive him. So the young albino quickly hurried to the bathroom and found some fresh bandages to replace the old ones. Of course, she would notice later, but he couldn't bring himself to wrap the dirty, fraying strips of linen back around her damaged arms; it wouldn't be right.
A few minutes later, Bakura finished his task, dropping the old bandages in the nearby bin and replacing the scissors and tape in their resting places, he walked back over to the living room where his cousin was sprawled carelessly over the settee. Sighing, the young man gently pulled the dark sleeves over her arms then sat himself on the opposing armchair. Resting his chin on clasped hands, he gazed worriedly at his cousin. What could have caused her to commit such a terrible act? How could someone so sane, so calm, gentle and loving do such a thing?
Biting his lip to prevent tears from falling, Bakura settled back into his chair, reaching for a nearby book in a hope to distract him from the terrible thoughts plaguing his mind. His eyes passed unseeing over the written text, and after a few moments he dropped the book, useless, upon his lap and choked back a sob. What had happened to the girl he had once known?
7 Years Ago:
Bakura still remembered that day. The day when he had woken from a drowsy state upon his school desk with all his classmates laughing and pointing at him. Confused, the young boy brushed his long white locks behind his ear, face aflame and pulled his gaze to the blackboard. Luckily, the unobservant teacher had failed to notice the lapse in attention of one of her students, yet Bakura glared defiantly at the board, determined that the stinging tears in the corners of his eyes wouldn't fall as the children around continued to tease and taunt. Blocking them out of his mind, he was relieved to feel the distraction of a gentle hand upon his arm and glanced up to meet a pair of emerald, sparkling eyes.
He was glad that his cousin had chosen to sit next to him rather than one of her many friends. But at the same time he felt guilty from holding her back, yet she always assured him that it was her choice and she would prefer to sit with him anyday.
The fact was, Bakura was an easy target, and so many people preferred to avoid the quiet, shy boy, knowing that the consequences of fraternising with him could be severe. The bullies always picked on him. Hence why his cousin was the only one to sit next to him, but even she wasn't invulnerable to the bullies' assaults.
Thankfully, the rest of the lesson passed without incident and Bakura managed to hold back the stream of tears until they reached the school gates. Once outside, he allowed the floods of salt water to gush unstoppably from his eyes, ashamed of his weakness.
"But you're not weak!" Kyrana had denied fiercely, wrapping a protective arm around her cousin, or as she sometimes considered him, brother's, shoulders. "They're just stupid, pathetic and of a far inferior intelligence to you. Only pity that they're so sad they have nothing better to do then pick on you!"
Bakura smiled reluctantly. If nothing else, Kyrana was loyal and ever determined to help people. She was always there for him. Yet that often caused her trouble…
The two children drew to an abrupt halt as a figure stepped out of the shadows; Mark, the school's most notorious bully had been laying an ambush for them. This hadn't happened before, he normally didn't go out of his way to hurt Bakura, but this time he wanted revenge. He hated people standing up to him, and last time the albino had been persuaded to tell the teacher about his bullying, Mark had suffered a long grounding.
"Well, well. The two freaks." He grinned maliciously, showing an assortment of yellow, uneven, jagged teeth. "What a surprise seeing you here."
Kyrana stepped forward protectively to cover her trembling cousin. Solely the boy's presence was enough to induce fear in him. Feeling an anger rising within her, the young girl lifted her voice sharply and spoke out? "I was thinking the same. How did you manage to get out of the school without a map Evans?"
The boy growled, and before she had chance to react, he lunged forwards and caught her chin with a large, blistered fist, knocking the small blonde girl to the ground. Biting her lip, Kyrana glared up defiantly as the bully swaggered his bulk towards her cousin. She couldn't let him get away with this.
Pulling herself to her feet, the small girl agilely dodged around the boy to stand once again between the ugly delinquent and her frail cousin. Spreading her arms protectively, she raised her burning eyes to meet his before aiming a swift kick at his ankle, toppling him to the ground. Howling furiously, the boy clutched his leg and watched helplessly as his prey sprinted away.
"I'll get you for this, Kyrana!" Little did he know it would take another seven years for him to get that opportunity.
A few months later, the unfortunate boy ended up in hospital with an even greater vengeance, and worse, his gang dissipated, the main part were found scattered in nearby streets, immobile and unconscious. At the time it had been a mystery, yet Bakura felt as if something was eating away inside him. Everything worsened with the dreadful announcement that he would be moving schools to another part of England; leaving his cousin and livelihood behind him. He had never understood why his parents had done such a thing, and years later, having moved schools continuously with the strange repeat of unconscious students flooding into the local hospitals, Bakura had arrived in Japan. He had missed his cousin, and had been overjoyed when he received a letter from her, asking if they could be friends again. Months later, he had answered a phone call from Kyrana's parents, requesting that she stayed with him for a few months until their finances were settled back in England, and they could join their daughter and nephew in Japan.
Bakura abruptly jolted from his reverie as the motionless form on the couch groaned then began to stir. He watched as Kyrana instinctively cradled her newly-bandaged arms before bringing herself to a sitting position. Tucking the loose strands of pale blonde hair behind her ear, then folding her arms from habit, the young woman faced Bakura, a dull, unreadable look in her eyes.
"How long was I out?" She asked finally, meeting Bakura's sad, deep, chocolate brown orbs. Rubbing her tingling arms, she frowned slightly as her cousin's gaze momentarily wandered to her hands before snapping back to her eyes.
"N-not long." He stuttered, a guilty blush crawling across his cheeks as he met her hard gaze. She was obviously suspicious, and it was only a matter of time before she realised that he had accidentally uncovered her secret. Wringing his hands nervously, he rose to his feet, bumbled into the kitchen then emerged with a wet cloth in his hands. "You might want this." Gently, he pressed the rag to her forehead, glad to have an excuse to avert his eyes from hers, mortified that she might see his fear within them. "It's supposed to help any sort of fever you may have contracted."
Kyrana smiled slightly, her features lifting and the dark bags beneath her eyes softening from the relax in her muscles. "Do tell me how you became such an expert."
Dabbing the cloth across her forehead, Bakura closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm studying first-aid at school, and medical care. I want to be a nurse."
"A nurse? But I remember that one time I got a paper-cut and you told everyone that I was about to perish!"
Bakura flinched at the mention of cuts, and turned a yet deeper shade of crimson. Attempting to push away the unwanted thoughts that threatened to shroud his mind, the albino forced himself to grin. "Yes. Blood continues to be my one big fear. Apart from that, I'm doing quite well."
Kyrana bowed her head gracefully. "I'm glad." Bakura paled in worry as she subconsciously twisted her fingers around her forearm, idly fiddling with the bandages he had replaced not so long ago. Suddenly, she frowned and rose to her feet. Bakura gulped. "Ryou… where is the bathroom?"
The young albino raised a trembling finger and pointed towards the hallway. He had a sneaking suspicion as why she had a sudden need to go, and if he was correct, all hell was about to be let loose. He waited for her disappear. Moments later he cringed upon hearing the bathroom door slam and heard rapid footsteps approach until she towered in an extremely intimidating fashion above him.
"Ryou…" Her tone was surprisingly gentle and calm as she glanced down at the squirming young man beneath her. "Did you change the bandages?" She lifted the dark material covering her arm and rolled it to her elbow, revealing the ghastly white linen that hid the terrible scars from sight.
Bakura nodded shamefully, keeping his gaze directed at his hands and feeling a tension building in the air between them. He quickly glanced up as Kyrana sighed before sinking back onto the couch, face in hands and hands clenching large clumps of pale gold hair. "I'm sorry…" He whispered, tears forming in his eyes as he felt the pain she was experiencing.
"No. It's not your fault." Kyrana said finally, her voice muffled by the hands concealing her face. Bakura half-expected tears to dampen the material that concealed her pain, yet instead her face remained blank as she lowered her hands to meet his eyes. As his gaze met hers, he noticed that it was only her eyes that showed a small fraction of the agony she had felt. Whatever it was. "I suppose you want to know why I did it."
It wasn't a question. It was a statement, a fact. Bakura didn't need to answer, yet he nodded anyway, but Kyrana didn't see, she was too busy staring at something behind him. Something that didn't exist.
"Well I'm very sorry to say Ryou, that I can't. Not because I don't want to, but because I simply cannot remember." Or will not. She added silently. All she remembered was pain, and anger. Anger that she couldn't control. If she concentrated then images would flicker back to her mind, yet she didn't want to remember. Her mind had made an unconscious decision to block the event from her mind, and although she could easily ask a councillor to find out the source of the problem, she had no desire to do so.
Bakura realised that no more was to be said, so in an attempt to relieve the tension in the air, he changed the subject to less dark matters. But the fact remained, it was desperately important that he found out why his cousin had done such a thing.
"Kyrana, I thought you should know that your parents wanted me to tell you a few things before you start school next week." There was a long pause before Kyrana jerked her head up. School? She hadn't even thought about that yet! Seeing that she was now responsive, Bakura continued. "Your parents understand that you're qualified enough for work, but they want you to complete your education here and especially finish your qualification for speaking Japanese. Then, there's the matter of your uniform, I already bought one for you, so it shouldn't prove to be a problem. Finally, I was going to warn you that a few friends of mine are coming over tomorrow for a sleepover. They'll be here just until Monday, and I thought it would be good if you could have some friends before starting then."
Kyrana smiled. That was Bakura – always thinking of everyone else.
"I would have cancelled the sleepover, but the phone call about you coming was so unexpected I really didn't have time to…"
Kyrana cut him off with a shake of her head. "No Ryo. It's fine, and after all, who am I to deny you on your birthday?"
Bakura looked momentarily shocked. "How-how did you-?"
She simply pointed a finger at the birthday card which lay on the coffee table between them. "I put two and two together," She explained. "Happy birthday for tomorrow, Ryo. It's lucky I made you a card before coming. I am just too exhausted now."
Like a small child, Bakura leaned forward in his chair and grinned appealingly at Kyrana, the worries of a few minutes ago temporarily forgotten. His chocolate eyes sparkled with an adorable intensity as he looked into Kyrana's eyes. "Can I see now?" He begged sweetly.
"No, you can wait until tomorrow."
Bakura pouted.
The next morning was a hectic rush to clear up the house. Bakura insisted that Kyrana stay in bed, but she stubbornly refused and assisted her grumbling cousin. For a small apartment, it was amazing how much refuse had collected in dusty corners and food wrappers between the cushions of the settee. Just as Kyrana laid down the mop, wiping her brow wearily, the doorbell rang. The two cousins both rushed to answer the door, and in the same instant emerged from opposite doors before colliding with one another in a tangled mess on the floor.
"Argh! I'm sorry Kyrana!" Bakura apologised, helping his cousin to her feet and brushing his striped T-shirt off before bounding towards the front door and jamming the key in the lock. The doorbell rang again, this time for longer as if an impatient child were pressing down on the button.
"Stop Joey! I think Bakura's heard by now!" A hushed female voice scolded as Bakura finally succeeded in unlocking the door and yanking it open to reveal a brightly-clothed assembly of teenagers. Three boys and one girl stood at the entrance. A tall blonde stood frozen with his hand halfway to the bell and behind him a brunet had wrapped an arm around his neck in a headlock. Beside the two tall boys, was a short spiky-haired boy, who for some explicable reason, was dressed in school uniform and wore an embarrassed expression at his friends' behaviour, lastly there was a pretty brunette who had folded her arms and was rolling her eyes, muttering something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like 'I need female friends.'
"Happy Birthday Bakura!" The group chimed in unison as they realised that the door had been opened. The albino shyly greeted the loud assembly and began to lead them inside as Kyrana continued to watch curiously. Realising she was staring, she quickly placed the mop back in the cupboard and moved to go back to her room. She didn't mean to be rude, but she simply wasn't a people person and would much prefer to be alone than greet these strangers. Besides, she would meet them sooner or later anyhow.
Unfortunately, Bakura didn't seem to agree with her philosophy: "Kyrana! Come and greet our visitors!" He called cheerily from the entrance hall. Cringing, the young woman dragged her feet back towards the entrance and kept her head low so she wouldn't attract too much attention.
"Whoa Bakura! You didn't tell us you had a girl over!" So much for that idea, Kyrana thought gloomily.
Bakura blushed monumentally at the suggestion and Kyrana did nothing to help him, but rather kept her gaze directed firmly at the floor, preferring not to meet the gaze of the loud, presumptuous blonde.
"She-she-" Bakura began, but was interrupted as Joey eagerly barged past the albino to get a look at this enigmatic girl, only to be yanked back by two hands on his shoulders belonging to his brown spike-haired friend.
"Whoa! Down boy!"
At this point, the short, smiling boy intervened. "I think what Bakura's trying to tell us is that this is his cousin he was telling us about." There was an embarrassing silence and Kyrana didn't need to look up to tell that the blonde had turned a bright shade of red. "Isn't that right, Bakura?"
"Yes Yugi. Anyway, would you all like to come in and I will introduce you." Bakura finished, ushering in the two rowdy boys, then the thin brown-haired girl. He turned to make introductions, but found that Yugi had beaten him to it. The small boy grinned up at Kyrana and held out his hand.
"Hi Kyrana, I'm Yugi." He introduced, his voice high and squeaky, but at the same time kind and gentle. Kyrana glanced up to meet his eyes, and for a moment she could've sworn a shadow flickered across his lilac eyes like a cloud passing the sun on a windy day.
"Hello Yugi. You appear to already know my name, so there's not much point in introducing myself." Kyrana replied in dry humour. Yugi laughed, his purple eyes sparkling as he bowed his head, and for once the young woman noticed the eccentric cut of his hair. A tall black mane framed his face, tinged red at the tips and several bangs flipped over his eyes, coloured a bright yellow. In addition to which, a large, triangular gold pendant hung around his neck; a large eye engraved on the front of the heavy metal pyramid. Eccentric indeed.
"Bakura told us lots about you."
Kyrana briefly glanced up at Bakura enquiringly. "Good things I hope."
Yugi smiled and was about to answer when the rude blonde strutted between him and Kyrana, breaking the conversation. "I'm Joey! Joey Wheeler!" He announced loudly, striking a pose which he desperately hoped was flattering. Bakura exchanged a grin with Yugi as their eyes flickered between the monumentally unimpressed Kyrana, and Joey who stood comically on one leg with his fists in the air, looking unfortunately similar to a demented chicken. Seconds later, he was knocked to the ground. A scowl formed on his face as he noticed his pointy-haired companion taking his place.
"Taylor. Tristan Taylor." He introduced smoothly, running a hand over his hair. Yet again, Kyrana failed to look vaguely interested and remained irresponsive, instead directing her gaze towards Bakura in a silent plea for help. Instead, she found her saviour arrive in the form of her cousin's last friend – the pretty brunette.
Clasping Kyrana's hand in hers, she scowled at both Joey and Tristan, leading the pale blonde girl away from them before letting out a relieved sigh. "Sorry, you'll get used to those two dorks. It's nice to have some female company for once!" She enthused with a big grin. "Anyway, I'm Téa and you're Kyrana, right?"
Kyrana nodded. This girl seemed nice enough, if a little over-enthusiastic. Perhaps Bakura was right. Perhaps it was a good idea to make friends before starting school tomorrow… after all, it was a rather daunting prospect. Then again…
Kyrana cringed as Joey's head popped around the door. "You guys comin'? Kyrana?" He asked with a giant grin. Téa rolled her eyes and shooed the blonde away, making sure that Bakura had received the over-eexcitable blonde before returning to the silent Kyrana.
"Hey Kyrana, are you okay?" She asked in concern, laying a worried hand on the taller girl's shoulder. Kyrana lifted her gaze to meet the brunette's bright blue eyes and nodded again.
"I'm sorry Téa, moving house is just a little daunting… moving country is well… even more so. I apologise if I seem withdrawn."
Tea laughed and lifted her hand from the pale blonde's shoulder then waved it dismissively, "Don't worry, it must be hard – especially with those two dorks harassing you!" Kyrana smiled in agreement. "They're alright really, just…boys."
Bakura suddenly appeared from behind the door, a large grin plastered to his face. "Hello Téa. I hope you're both doing well. I've just managed to get Joey and Tristan seated," He lowered his voice to a whisper and winked, "so it's safe to come in now." Giving Kyrana a thumbs-up and an encouraging smile, he gestured for her to enter the living room, and after exchanging a few words of greeting with her cousin, Téa followed. Upon shutting the door to the lounge behind her, Kyrana found herself ambushed by the short, spiky haired boy, Yugi, who gently took her hand and tugged the tall girl down to his height. His eyes darted around the room and he exchanged secretive nods with Tristan and Joey before lowering his voice to a whisper.
"Téa, Kyrana, we're going to sing happy birthday to Bakura when he's finished opening his presents. But not until then – okay?" the two girls nodded in unison and exchanged a confused glance. What were the boys planning? Seeing their worried looks, Yugi winked. "Don't worry!"
With that, the brunette and the pale blonde seated themselves carefully on the edge of the sofa. Kyrana was careful to keep her gaze directed on the floor at all times, wary of Joey's side glances and elbow-nudges at Tristan. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, she found herself self-consciously rubbing her arms before folding them defensively. She didn't like this situation at all.
Téa, aware of her new friend's awkwardness, desperately scanned the room, searching for some form of distraction that she could use to divert the boys' interest from the girl. After a few moments, she found a television remote stuffed carelessly between the cushions of the settee. Perfect.
"Hey Joey! I wonder if Daily Dance is on…" The brunette began teasingly. She watched Joey's predictable reaction as the fiery blonde's eyes widened and he jumped to his feet, snatching the control out of Téa's hand before being tackled into a head-lock by Tristan. Kyrana glanced at Téa admiringly. She seemed to know what she was doing. Yet… feeling a strange tingling on the back of her neck, Kyrana turned to meet a pair of dark violet eyes. She felt she was sinking, trapped within the two pools of unfathomable mystery, drowning in their endless depths, fighting to reach the surface…
"Kyrana? Are you feeling okay? You look pale." Téa's voice broke through her thoughts, saving her from the momentary panic constricting her chest. Glancing back at Yugi, Kyrana found him smiling pleasantly at her, his eyes once again sparkling and carefree.
"Yes thank you. I'm fine."
Everyone's face turned to the television screen as it suddenly flickered into life; Joey having won the battle for the remote. The usual boring programs flashed up; soaps, news, game shows… Kyrana yawned, feeling suddenly very tired as the television hummed hypnotically and the dull ebb of Joey and Tristan arguing became a background drone. After a long few minutes, Bakura returned, a wide grin on his face and a bag of snacks in his hands which was immediately leapt upon by Joey and Tristan with a loud war cry of 'Food!' And within moments, the potato chips were demolished and the only thing left was the packet trailing from Joey's mouth. Kyrana found herself nudged back to consciousness by Téa who was laughing at Yugi and Bakura's shared expressions of amused exasperation.
The careless laughter and playful shouts were suddenly cut short as the television screen in the middle of the room suddenly blazed a bright white. Glancing at the surrounding appliances, Kyrana worriedly registered the abrupt diminishment of light. Shuddering slightly, she rose to her feet. Bakura quickly joined his cousin and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, attempting to push her back into her seat to no avail.
"Stay calm everyone. It's only a power cut." To his alarm, the albino found himself spun around to face his pale blonde cousin; her white skin and light gold hair almost glowing in the eerie light exhibited by the flickering television set. Leaning closer, she carefully put her lips next to his ear and lowered her voice to a whisper so as not to panic the others.
"If this is a power cut, then why is the television still on?" Bakura gulped, pulling away from Kyrana and turning towards the flashing white screen. Something wasn't right. Calmly, he walked over to Joey and gently removed the control from his hand, murmuring something about a 'fire hazard' while Téa remained in her seat and Yugi glanced around nervously like a rabbit stuck in headlights.
Kyrana watched in concern as her cousin failed to turn off the television. Recognising his failure, she decided to take her own course of action and bent down in front of the set to casually press the standby button. That didn't work either. Instead, the television began to crackle, random pixels of colour flitting across the screen before disappearing. Forcing her heartbeat to stay even, Kyrana calmly straightened back up and walked over to the plug point wherein the television's cable was plugged. Reaching out a fair hand, Kyrana found herself prevented from extending it further by a strong grip closing gently around her wrist. She shivered involuntarily as a warm breath tickled her neck and a deep voice muttered in her ear: "That won't work, Kyrana." Ignoring the voice's owner, Kyrana quickly twisted her arm from the grip, and with a quick glance up to see who had predicted her failure, she found herself meeting the dark, endless violet eyes once again.
"It had better."
With that, she pulled the plug.
Okay, please tell me what you think because this is a new story, and I'm not sure how good it is (I finished the end of this at 3.30 am so I'll spell-check it tomorrow when I'm actually awake.) Faz favor - review!!!
~ FreeXFallXPhoenix