Despite a few setbacks, the day had progressed smoothly enough. Astrid was particularly excited with the prospect of viewing a new ancient Egyptian exhibit and hoped the hieroglyphs were preserved well enough to view in their entirety; the language had always held a mysterious and fascinating beauty to her.
The group had split after breakfast; she wasn't sure where Tristan and Joey went - they were probably at an arcade - and Tea had went off to run some last minute errands. This left Astrid and Yugi together, and though their conversation this afternoon was filled with a few silences, they were not uncomfortable silences.
Yugi turned to her and asked, "So, Astrid, what brought you here to Domino City?".
Astrid looked back at him and considered a response, maintaining their steady pace toward the museum. Although traffic and pedestrians buzzed noisily beside them, she felt as though she was put on the spot.
'I suppose it had to be asked sometime . . .' she mused to herself.
"Well, I suppose I just wanted a fresh start. I wasn't really unhappy with things back at home, but everything was growing . . . stagnant."
This wasn't a lie; her life had indeed grown stagnant, but her reason for moving involved far more factors than that. She didn't want to think about them. Besides, living in the city was invigorating, in its own way - filled with life and vigor that _ wished came more easily to her.
"Do you miss your family?"
Ah, the question that inevitably emerged in every conversation.
"I'm actually an orphan."
Yugi's eyes slightly widened in surprise, but she interrupted the impending apology with a wave of her hand and a smile. Years of answering that question had desensitized her enough that she no longer often ruminated over the family that she never had. And one could not miss what was never there, after all.
"That's alright, it doesn't bother me at all any more."
A giggling couple passed, and she vaguely wondered whether she would ever have another half to complete the whole. She couldn't imagine herself with a long-term partner - certainly not someone who was as cheerful as the two she just saw. This was one of the reasons she liked spending time with Yugi, in particular; they had similar demeanors. She wondered what exactly it was about him that struck her as odd.
Yugi seemed a little quieter now. She assumed it was the subject at hand.
"And what about you? You're living with your grandfather, right? Doesn't he own a game shop?"
His gaze trailed over to hers and he gave her a crooked smile. "Yes, though I'm not home much of the time. You should come meet him some time, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to show you his collection of duel monster cards,"
"Mm, that would be nice. I've definitely gotten more into dueling now that I'm around duelists so much." Astrid smiled. The encouragement she had been receiving from Yugi was definitely kindling her interest in dueling.
After they turned a corner, the Domino City museum was now within sight. Just as they were about to reach the front steps, a man with white hair approached them. His sudden appearance almost startled her, even, since she hadn't noticed him there a moment earlier.
"Hello Bakura, I didn't know you were coming to the museum today. Meet Astrid, I'm sure you've heard about her - she's been spending quite a lot of time with all of us lately."
"Oh yes, I have heard about her. I've heard you're quite the duelist, though you don't really play," Bakura smiled warmly at Astrid, but the smile did not seem to reach his eyes.
"Thanks, nice to meet you," she said, with equal warmth. "Do you play?"
"Not competitively." The smile remained.
"Why don't we all go inside and see the exhibits? Bakura, your father has been to Egypt once or twice, hasn't he? Maybe you'll recognize the exhibit I'd like to see." As Yugi and Bakura ascended the stairs, Astrid noticed a glimmer of gold near Bakura's neck.
'Interesting, it looks similar to the puzzle Yugi has . . .' she thought to herself. She couldn't shake the sense of unease she felt upon meeting Bakura, but he didn't seem too unusual. He was just . . . Quiet.
'I'm probably just being paranoid.'
The museum was surprisingly empty today, despite the fact that it was a weekend.
'Good,' Astrid thought, 'Maybe I'll be able to get some information from the people who work here. An application, even . . .'
As she traversed the halls with the two of them and engaged in occasional small talk with Bakura, they finally reached the exhibit that was the focus of Yugi's attention.
"Man, look at that. Looks just like you," she breathed. Indeed, the slate bore a figure that had an uncanny resemblance to Yugi. After a few moments of examining the slab, the feeling of unease resurfaced once again; although Bakura seemed to be staring at the exhibit, his gaze seemed unfocused, as though he was distracted by something else.
Almost as though he was observing her through his peripheral vision.
'This guy's really creeping me out. Is he really one of Yugi's good friends? Am I the only one who feels this way toward him?'
She thought back to the questions he had asked her earlier. They seemed casual enough, but it was strange that he hardly spoke of himself. Fortunately, she managed to dodge answering most of them by re-directing the subject to himself. He seemed to be quite good at evading her questions as well, though; that, and the few responses she did receive about him were vague and rather short. She began to wonder whether his appearance at the museum wasn't purely a coincidence.
Once again, she shook these suspicious thoughts off and focused her attention back onto the slate. There was no use in worrying if it was unproductive. Besides, why would he go out of his way to stalk someone he hadn't even met?
'I really need to lay off the horror stories,' she thought to herself with a small smile.
"Who do you think that is?" Yugi asked after a few moments of silence. Astrid looked at the side opposite to the figure that resembled Yugi and felt disappointed when she saw that the majority of that side had been eroded.
"It's hard to see, but I think I see what looks like a wing… A duel monster, maybe," she suggested.
"Hm. Lets ask where it was found. It could play an important role in the story this depiction is meant to tell. I'll see if someone can come over," Yugi said, looking around. He walked in the direction of the entrance, leaving Astrid to inwardly debate over following him over staying at the exhibit.
'I'm being silly now, even in the worst case scenario that Bakura really is a creep, we're in public. I'll be fine,' she decided.
As Yugi disappeared from their view, Bakura turned to her and smiled again.
"You seem to have an interest in Ancient Egypt", he said.
"Yeah, I've always found the culture and mythology pretty fascinating. I heard Yugi mention that your father's been there before."
'Might as well indulge him while we're here,' she thought.
Bakura smirked. "He's an archaeologist. Say . . . Have you heard of Millenium items?"
When Astrid shook her head, he continued. "They are rare ancient Egyptian artifacts; it is believed there are only seven in the world. He passed one down to me. Would you like to see it?"
'Strange that he's talking so much now, compared to before,' she thought, pondering his question. Something about him - perhaps the tone of his voice or his unwavering gaze - still bothered her, but the prospect of seeing such a rare artifact was too intriguing to pass up.
"Sure, that sounds really interesting!"
Bakura procured the item underneath his shirt and she stared in wonder. It was beautiful yet unsettling, and left her to wonder whether it had a particular purpose.
He studied her expression as she continued to stare. "Some think these items were used in ancient Egypt to play shadow games - games that used magic to summon monsters." As he said this, there was a darkness in his smile.
Before Astrid could respond, she heard Yugi's voice behind her.
"Ah, I see Bakura has shown you his Millenium Ring. I'm sure you have an idea now of what my puzzle is."
"Oh, so that's what it is. I wonder where the other items are; it's ironic that there are only seven in the world, and you both carry two of them and happen to know each other."
Bakura smiled.
"If you'd like, I could tell you more about it tonight or tomorrow. You seem to be quite interested in these items . . ."
"Yeah sure, that'd be pretty cool."
Bakura's smile deepened. Unbeknownst to Astrid, he inwardly commended himself for his tactfulness. His plan with Marik might run its course even sooner than he had thought.
Now, all that remained on his end of the deal was to isolate her.
Author's Note: I know the chapters are dragging on a bit slowly, but I think the progression of the story will be better, and more rewarding, this way. Let me know what you think so far!