((Are you ready for thousands of words of fluff with like one plot point in the whole chapter because I'm ready XD))
The clinic was a small building for a small town, not at all like the Domino City Hospital. It had only three floors and took up only a little over double the space of a normal house – in fact, it was connected directly to one of the houses in the neighborhood.
Yami no Yugi held the doors open so Dominic could ease his way through with the unconscious girl. There was a sleepy looking red-headed girl at the desk. Her head jerked up from where it had been leaning against her hand when she saw them come in. She hit a bell on the desk and shouted for Doctor Grey as she jogged into the hallway. She came back with a gurney and helped Dominic shift the girl onto it.
As they completed this process, a man came out from the back. He was young-looking, no older than his thirties, with high cheek bones and dark brown hair that was currently held back in a tight ponytail. Had it been let down, it probably would have gone past his shoulders. He was wearing the typical white coat that would identify him as a doctor, his blue-gray eyes calm and quick as he assessed the situation.
"What's the status?" he asked as he came up to the group.
"She just collapsed. She's really, really cold, dad," Dawn said.
He nodded – so this was Dawn's father?
"Good work getting her here," he said. He smiled and put a hand on Dawn's shoulder. She relaxed visibly at the touch.
"Sera and I will take care of the rest. Why don't you and your friends head into the house?"
He and the red-head pushed the gurney back into the hospital.
For a few moments, the group stayed in the lobby, quiet. Yami no Yugi stared at the hallway for a minute.
There had been something incredibly familiar about that man...and something about him felt off. Like...like something about him was the wrong color.
"Well, let's not block the entry," Dawn said. "Come on, my house is right over here."
She gestured to a door on the side of the lobby, and held it open for the group to filter in. It came straight into a kitchen. The worn wooden floor had been swept clean, and all the surfaces, though old-looking, were meticulously clean. There was one small window towards the front, but the rest of the walls were taken up by a door into a small hallway and cabinets along the warm yellow walls.
Dawn trotted over to the cabinet.
"Anybody hungry?" she asked, pulling out a container full of what appeared to be cookies.
"Uh, did you make those, or your dad?" Dominic asked, looking suspicious.
Dawn stuck her tongue out at him.
"Dad made them. Glad to know you appreciate my cooking."
"You cannot call those charred rock cakes of yours cooking."
Dawn threw a cookie at him, which he caught and popped in his mouth, grinning. Dawn rolled her eyes. She plopped down into a seat and patted the one next to her for Mana to sit down. Cadence took a spot on the other side of her, and Dominic and Yami no Yugi sat down on the opposite side of the table.
"You going to be all right, Mana?" Dominic asked.
"Yeah," Mana said, ducking her head. "That was just...kinda scary, you know? I hope she'll be okay."
"You shouldn't worry, Mana. You know Dr. Grey is very good at his work," Cadence said.
Then she sent Yami no Yugi a glance that said it was his fault that Mana was worrying. Yami no Yugi decided not to respond to the gesture, accepting the cookie that Dawn offered him with a nod of thanks.
"Well, why don't you open the rest of your cards?" Dawn said. "Then Yami and I can help you build a deck while we wait for my dad to come back and tell us what's up."
"Sure," Mana said, brightening slightly.
Dawn set the container of cookies down and trotted off to get her own cards. Yami no Yugi reached into his back for his deck while Mana started slitting open the rest of the cards.
She had then all laid out on the table by card type by the time Dawn returned. The blonde girl slid into her chair and started pointing out the difference between normal and effect monsters, which Mana listened to with great attentiveness.
"What cards do you have?" Dominic asked Yami no Yugi.
"Mostly spellcasters and warriors. A few beasts. Here, I'll show you."
He spread his own cards out on the table to show Dominic. He was suddenly glad that he had left the three God Cards in the care of Grandpa back home. He didn't really want them here right now. Then Mana asked Yami no Yugi a question about trap cards, and Yami no Yugi leaned over to see what she was talking about.
Dawn came around the table to lean over Dominic's shoulder, looking through Yami no Yugi's cards. She occasionally would bat at Dominic's hand as he pointed at one, telling him not to touch another duelist's cards, because this game was serious business – in Japan especially. Yami no Yugi was secretly grateful to Dawn – he didn't particularly want people to be poking at his cards.
After a while, Mana had carefully compiled a deck. She had gotten very lucky; most of her pack finds were spellcasters, with a few beasts and dragons thrown in. The sun was setting outside the window.
"I'd better be going. Got to help da with the flowers tonight," Dominic said, standing up from the table.
"Oh, is it that late already?" Mana said, head jerking up.
She pouted at the digital clock on the wall.
"No fair. I gotta go too," she said. "Dawn, you'll tell me what happens with Miss Enigma, right?"
"You named her?" Dawn said teasingly.
"Just until she tells us her real name!"
Dawn laughed.
"Of course, I'll let you know when dad finds out she's okay," Dawn said.
Mana nodded, satisfied. Then she turned to Yami no Yugi.
"Let's play the game tomorrow after school, okay?"
"Sure," Yami no Yugi said. "I look forward to it."
Mana gathered up her cards and placed them carefully in a pocket of her bag.
"I'll walk you home," Cadence said.
"Thanks," Mana said. "Bye everyone! See you tomorrow!"
Yami no Yugi smiled and waved. A few moments later, it was only Yami no Yugi and Dawn. Dawn yawned, stretching.
"Well," she said. "I don't know how late my dad's working, so why don't I show you the room you'll be using?"
"That would be great, thank you," Yami no Yugi said.
He followed her down the hall from the kitchen and up a narrow flight of stairs, then to the right down another hall. The room was three doors down from the stairs.
"My dad just cleaned it, so it shouldn't be dusty or anything," Dawn said.
She pushed the door open. It was actually a tad bigger than Yugi's room at home. The walls were half plaster towards the top and wood on the bottom half, which stretched into the same color as the wooden floor. A large window pointed out towards the rest of the neighborhood. It was already getting dark out. That was winter for you. The bed was nestled in the corner to the right of the window, and there was a desk on the other side of the window.
"Not a bad view, huh?" Dawn said.
"It's perfect. Thank you," Yami no Yugi said. He bowed slightly in the way he was used to doing in Japan before he remembered that they didn't do that in England. Dawn didn't even miss a beat, though, bowing right back so perfectly that she might have been Japanese herself.
Then she yawned again.
"Ugh. I haven't gotten much sleep in the last couple days," she said, stretching. "If you don't mind, I'll probably be heading to bed in a few, after I get my homework. Jeez. Bathroom's down the hall to the left. I'll let you get settled and stuff."
"Thank you again," Yami no Yugi said.
Dawn winked.
"No problem! While you're here, our home is your home. I hope I'll get to introduce my dad properly tomorrow, though. Sorry about that, he's always busy.
"It's not a problem."
"Still," Dawn said.
She shrugged.
"Well, see you in the morning, I guess. Good night."
"Good night."
She bobbed her head at him and bounced from the room.
Yami no Yugi drew in a deep breath. What a long day. Great, but long.
A projection of Yugi appeared beside him.
"Well," Yugi said. "Having a lot of fun?"
Yami no Yugi ducked his head.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't mean to hog the time."
Yugi just grinned at him.
"How many times do I have to say it! I don't care! I'm really just here for school, anyway. Besides, this is huge! You getting to make friends all by yourself! I'm proud of you."
He patted Yami no Yugi lightly on the shoulder, prompting a small laugh from the spirit.
"As long as you're okay with it," Yami no Yugi said. "Hmmm...what time is it in Japan?"
"Um...really early in the morning. It's already tomorrow, there."
No wonder Yami no Yugi felt so incredibly tired. He sunk onto the bed. For a brief moment, they both just sat. Then Yugi gently came back into control, and Yami no Yugi sank gratefully back into the Puzzle. He watched sleepily as Yugi unpacked and star
Sometime during Yugi's moving around, Yami no Yugi drifted off.
He didn't actually sleep. He had found some time ago that he didn't need it, and didn't really reach a level of unconsciousness that was akin to sleep. Still, it was blissful release, and it came without dreams for once. He came to again to find Yugi was still awake. He had set up the laptop they had brought on the desk.
"Oh, you're awake, other me," Yugi said. "I was just talking to everybody."
"What time is it...?"
"Here? About...almost ten. It's nearly six in Japan."
Yami no Yugi surfaced enough to register that there were four faces on the screen in their own little boxes. In the top left was Anzu, next to her was Jonouchi, below him was Honda, and on the last one was Ryo.
"Other me's awake," Yugi said to them.
"Oh, tell him good morning, then," Anzu said.
"It's not morning over there, Anzu," Jonouchi said.
"I don't need you to tell me that, Jonouchi."
"How are you doing, other Yugi?" Ryo asked.
Yami no Yugi switched into control for a moment.
"Very good, actually," he said. "It's very peaceful up here."
Jonouchi groaned and folded his arms.
"I tell ya, Yugi, you got out at the best possible time. You wouldn't believe the workload they're throwing on us."
"Don't mind him," Honda said, grinning. "He's just irritated because Kaiba came to classes yesterday."
"Kaiba? Why?" Yami no Yugi asked.
Yugi surfaced again.
"Oh, don't tell me...is that what Anzu was talking about?"
"Yeah," Anzu said, rolling her eyes. "He wants you to be in his next tournament. It's not even until spring, but he wants to make sure you commit. Something Prix."
Yami no Yugi sighed, popping back into control.
"He's never going to give up, is he?" he said, then Yugi switched back in.
"I can't believe he came to class for that. Didn't I tell him I was going someplace?"
"Why would you tell that jerk anything?" Jonouchi grumbled. "He ain't your coordinator, he doesn't need to know everything you're doing."
"Jonouchi-kun, he is our friend," Yugi said.
"I'm pretty sure only you think that, Yug."
"Anyway," Anzu said, cutting in before Jonouchi go on a rant. "We were thinking of coming to visit when break comes around."
"What? Really?" Yugi said, sounding excited. "But...airfare is expensive, right?"
Anzu looked a tad guilty.
"Weeell," she said.
"Kaiba-san offered to buy plane tickets on the condition that you participate in that tournament," Ryo said, smiling.
"I didn't tell him yes, or anything," Anzu said quickly. "I'm not going to speak for you."
"Go ahead and say yes," Yugi said. "I'd love you guys to see this place, and meet everyone we met today. I don't mind tournaments, you know that! Besides, a normal one without the world at stake would be fun!"
"Great!" said Jonouchi.
"I can't wait," Anzu said. "I hope you're having fun!"
"Don't worry, Anzu, I am."
She smiled warmly at him, and Yami no Yugi could feel the barely suppressed happiness that filtered through his partner's mind. He smiled to himself.
"Well, we'll have to be getting ready to go to school soon," Honda said.
"Right, and you should sleep, Yugi," Anzu said. "Don't make the other Yugi take you to school again!"
Yugi laughed.
"Don't worry, Anzu, I'll sleep this time," he said. "Good night, everybody."
"G'night."
"Night, Yugi."
"Bye."
"See you soon!"
Yugi logged off. He leaned back in his chair, sighing.
"Well, partner, you should probably make good on that promise of yours," Yami no Yugi said. "Go to bed."
"Ugh, you act like a mom sometimes," Yugi said. "Okay, okay."
Yami no Yugi smiled quietly again, then sank back into the labyrinth of his soul, back to his half-sleep state.
In the morning, Yugi was still groggy, trying to get over his jet lag. Yami no Yugi, on the other hand, felt completely fresh and rested. Perhaps there were benefits to his own strange sleep patterns. Yami no Yugi let Yugi sleep. He got dressed, and, upon hearing voices downstairs, padded softly down to the kitchen.
Dawn was sitting at the table with a steaming cup, tea by the smell of it. Her father was standing at the stove, pouring another cup. This morning, his hair was down, and it did in fact fall past his shoulders. He looked up just as Yami no Yugi arrived in the doorway, as though he had known he was right there. For the second time, Yami no Yugi was struck by a sense of familiarity.
"Ah, good morning," he said. "My apologies for last night. My job can cause me to work long hours."
"No, it's all right. You're doing a very important job," Yami no Yugi said.
The man smiled.
"I'm Darcy Grey," he said. "You can just call me Darcy. Would you like some tea?"
He offered Yami no Yugi the cup he had just poured.
"Thank you," Yami no Yugi said, accepting it. "I'm Mutou Yami."
"Yes, my daughter talked about you," Darcy said. He smiled slightly as though there were some joke there. "Thank you for helping her and her friends bring in that girl last night. All of you and your quick actions probably saved her."
He gestured that Yami no Yugi should sit. Dawn looked groggily up at him from under her messy bangs.
"Hey," she mumbled. "It's morning."
Yami no Yugi suppressed a grin.
"It is," he said.
"Why is it morning?" Dawn moaned, letting her head flop to the table.
Darcy turned back towards the stove and started portioning something from a pan onto plates. A soft bell-like tone emanated through the house. Darcy frowned. He paused to wipe his hands on his apron.
"Dawn, will you finish breakfast? Just put the things on plates," he said.
Dawn grunted an affirmative as Darcy reached for a phone on the wall.
"Yes? This is Dr. Grey," he said.
Dawn managed to pull herself off the table and stumbled towards the stove. She finished plopping things on plates, then stumbled back towards the table and pushed a plate at Yami no Yugi.
He thanked her, but she didn't seem to hear him. Her face was back to being pressed against the table. Quietly, he pressed his hands together and muttered a quick "itadakimasu."
He was not at all sure about the English breakfast, and could not remember having ever used a fork. Dawn was no help to watch off of since she wasn't eating yet, so he was going to have to do the best he could. What was this fried meat strip, anyway? It smelled good...but how did you eat it?
Darcy put the phone back down on its hook.
"I'll be right back. That girl from last night is up; I'd like to see how she's doing."
Yami no Yugi nodded, and Darcy took off his apron as he headed through the door into the hospital.
After a little while, Dawn seemed to wake up, and started to tear into the breakfast with a relish. Yami no Yugi silently watched her out of the corner of his eye so that he could figure out how he was supposed to eat scrambled eggs with a fork. Turned out the meat strip was a finger food, and it was absolutely delicious.
"Yum," Dawn said when she was done, leaning back in her chair. "That was better than usual!"
Yami no Yugi was still have trouble getting eggs onto his fork, so he wasn't quite done yet. Yugi was waking up, probably adjusting to the memory of having eaten as well.
The door opened again, and Darcy was back. But he wasn't alone this time: the white-haired girl was with him.
Dawn perked up a bit.
"Oh! Good morning," she said. "Are you feeling all right?"
The girl ducked her head slightly.
"Y-yes," she said softly. "Thank you."
She was not British, that was for certain. Her accent was a tad on the French side, although there was another sort of lilt to it that Yami no Yugi could not place. Her English was pronounced perfectly, though.
"It looks like she was just suffering from too much cold, and not enough to eat," Darcy said, nodding. "I've invited her to have breakfast with us...as she says she's not sure where her home or parents are."
Her shoulders drew up and she ducked her head a little further. It wasn't so much a shy gesture as it was...a nervous one, Yami no Yugi thought. It was almost as if she were a frightened animal who thought she might have to defend herself.
"Thank you," she murmured. "I wish...I could remember..."
"Don't push yourself," Darcy said firmly. "Sit down, I'll get you something to eat. You need to get your strength back. Memories will come back with time – it's probably just shock."
She nodded quietly. She still hesitated before sitting down, and she perched herself precariously on the very edge, as though afraid to touch too much of it.
"I'm Dawn," Dawn said to her. "Dawn Marisa Grey. And this is Yami Mutou. He's an exchange student from Japan."
She waited a few beats for the girl to supply her own name. She didn't answer for a few moments, but she did glance up between her long bangs to look at Yami no Yugi, as though he were a puzzle she couldn't figure out.
After a very long silence passed in which things were beginning to get awkward, she said,
"I'm...Kisara," she said. "I...think. Kisara...Winter."
"That's a really pretty name," Dawn said, almost encouragingly.
Darcy set a plate in front of Kisara. She ducked her head slightly – again, it seemed less shy and more defensive. There was something distinctly...animalistic about her current state. Although she looked like she was hunched and shy, Yami no Yugi could almost feel her tensity. She was ready to fight if she had to.
He wondered briefly if she really had forgotten everything about where she came from, or if she was just afraid to go no, that didn't seem right.
"She seems a little off, don't you think?" Yugi thought at him. "Like...I dunno. Like she's not quite the right shape for the rest of the puzzle, you know?"
"I think I know what you mean," Yami no Yugi thought back. "But she's also scared. I think we should give her a chance to relax."
Kisara poked dubiously at the meal with her fork. Darcy had sat down at the last seat of the table and was sipping at his tea.
"Dawn, what time are you leaving for school?"
"In about fifteen minutes," Dawn said. "Oh, as long as you'll be ready, Yami."
"Sure," Yami no Yugi said.
"We have to be there in time to meet up with Mana and everyone."
Yami no Yugi nodded. Kisara's hand twitched for a moment, and her brow wrinkled with slight confusion. Then she shook her head and started to eat small, delicate bites of the food.
That didn't last long; she was obviously starving, and the highly dignified eating process quickly gave way to a quicker one. Dawn popped from her chair and scurried back into the hall, presumably going to get dressed. Darcy got distracted by another phone call and said he had to pop over to the desk in the hospital for a moment. He left the door open between the lobby and the kitchen, but it still ended up that Kisara and Yami no Yugi were alone at the table.
Kisara had finished her meal quickly. In fact, she looked like she could have eaten more, but it looked like there weren't any leftovers, and the dishes had been placed in the sink already. Yami no Yugi wondered to himself if he should be offering to help clean up while he was here. It was only polite.
The thought, however, was mostly to distract him from the awkward silence that grew between him and Kisara.
She had her head down so that her extremely long bangs fell over her face like a curtain. Yami no Yugi ran his tongue over dry lips. Should he break the silence? He didn't want to startle her or anything. She looked like she had been having a rough time. She was much too thin, for starters, as though she had eaten well in weeks. And where would she go if they didn't know where she belonged, if she didn't remember? What kind of procedure was that?
She couldn't remember anything. Just like him.
He glanced up at her. He was surprised to find that she was looking up through her bangs at him, and their eyes met for a moment. Then her head dropped again and the hair fell over her eyes. Yami no Yugi looked awkwardly towards the kitchen window, wondering how long it would be before Dawn or Darcy got back.
She mumbled something. He blinked and glanced at her.
"I'm sorry?" he said.
"I feel like...I've seen you before," she repeated, just a tad louder than before. "Have I...have we...? Do you know who I am?"
The question struck Yami no Yugi to his very core. It was the very question he wished he could ask someone, and get an answer. His shoulders dropped slightly.
"I'm afraid not," Yami no Yugi said. "I wish I could help."
She slumped.
"Is that...what you were trying to ask me yesterday? When you fainted?"
She nodded quietly. Another silence passed. Then she looked up. She pushed the hair from her face, although one strand remained stubbornly hanging between her deep blue eyes.
"I can't remember anything since before yesterday morning," she said. "I was standing in that square. In the cold. And I realized that I had never felt so much cold before, and I only barely knew what snow was. I kept walking in circles, trying to find something that would tell me where I was, who I was, and then I saw you...and I knew...I had seen you before. I don't know...if it was from afar or if I knew you, or someone like you, but you were the only familiar thing."
She looked down at the table.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"For what?" Yami no Yugi said.
"I must have scared you. Or annoyed you."
He frowned.
"No, you didn't. Of course not. Not knowing anything about yourself...that's terrifying. It really is. I understand."
She glanced up at him, surprised. He bit his tongue, worried he had said too much. Then an idea struck him.
"Wait, I might have something," he said, digging in his pocket.
He pulled out his Duel Monsters cards.
"Do these look familiar at all to you?"
She blinked. She reached tentatively for them, but hesitated, waiting for him to nod before she picked up one of the cards from the top. She examined it, turning it over in her hands with a careful, light touch.
"Yes," she said after a beat. "Yes, these are...familiar. I can't say why, but they...but they are."
"The game is Duel Monsters," Yami no Yugi said, hoping that might spark some memories for her. "I'm...well, right now I'm the world champion at this game. Perhaps you've seen me before because of that?"
She stared at the card for a while.
"It does...make sense..." she said. "But...I can't remember."
Her lips tightened and she looked like she might cry. She returned his card to him and withdrew her hands under the table, where she was presumably squeezing fists into her lap. Disappointed, Yami no Yugi returned the cards to his pocket.
"I'm sorry...I wish I could be more help," he said.
"No...no, it's okay. Thank you so much for trying."
He felt incredibly helpless. He knew more than anyone what she was feeling, and he couldn't even come up with a single thing to comfort her. He supposed it made sense. He couldn't comfort himself about it, either.
Without warning, Yugi popped back into control.
"Don't worry," Yugi said. "And don't push yourself. Memories can hurt if you try too hard. I know it's really, really hard, but...I think you only make it worse by worrying, and trying too hard to remember. It's better to relax. Memories come back better when you're not looking for them."
Yami no Yugi smiled to himself. Leave it to Yugi. The words seemed to calm Kisara down.
"You're right," she said. "Thank you. Thank you. I'll try."
"And don't be upset with yourself for being upset either," Yugi said. "Because that hurts too. Cry if you have to. Okay?"
Kisara nodded. She glanced up through her bangs at Yugi, and smiled. It was a very nice smile, Yami no Yugi thought.
Then Darcy came back into the room, and Dawn pattered in with her bag on her back.
"We gotta go, Yami!" Dawn said. "Don't wanna be late! Thanks for breakfast, dad. Nice to meet you, Kisara. I hope we can talk again soon!"
Kisara ducked her head, back into a defensive mode. Darcy smiled at Dawn and Yami no Yugi.
"Have a good day," he said.
"Thank you for breakfast," Yami no Yugi said, standing up from the table. Yugi had popped back into the Puzzle when Dawn and Darcy had appeared.
Dawn gestured down the hallway towards the entry way. Yami no Yugi hesitated just for a moment to glance at Kisara. She was looking at him again. He gave her a faint smile and a thumb's up. She smiled tentatively back.
Then Yami no Yugi followed Dawn outside into the cold morning.
The school day had gone by in a blur for Yami no Yugi. After an enthusiastic greeting from Mana and another cold glare from Cadence, they had walked to the school with Dawn filling in the other three about Kisara and that she was doing fine. Yami no Yugi had quietly returned to the Puzzle, so it was Yugi that was walking alongside the others this time. Just because they had met him first, Yami no Yugi thought, didn't mean that Yugi shouldn't have a chance to make friends with them as well.
No one really seemed to notice the change, and then classes started, and Yami no Yugi drifted into the labyrinth of his Puzzle, not very interested in paying attention to lessons today. He wandered up and down the halls of his mind. It was less of a vigorous searching and more of an idle meandering. He had stopped trying to make any sense of the place sometime after he had met Shadi. It seemed designed to confuse him, and he was determined more now than ever to relax and not try to push himself too hard. This was a projection of his own insecurities, and Yugi's words to Kisara had reminded Yami no Yugi that it wouldn't do him much good to run around the place without thinking. Perhaps if he relaxed and let go of his insecurities altogether, his soul room would figure itself out on its own.
The bell rang for the last class of the day, and the group found themselves outside again.
"Let's go to your place, Dawn! I want to meet Kisara," Mana said, gripping the straps of her backpack.
"I dunno, she seems really nervous," Dawn said. "I'm not sure we should overwhelm her..."
"Weell..." Mana said, looking disappointed. "Well, your house is closest, anyway, and Yami was going to teach me to play Duel Monsters, so we could go to your house anyway, right? I mean, she's probably staying in the hospital right now, so we just won't go bother her!"
Dawn considered it, then smiled.
"Okay, okay, we'll go to my place. But promise me you won't pester dad about her, or even tell her you know about her at all! I mean, technically I'm supposed to keep patients confidential..."
"Yay!" Mana said. She jumped up and punched the air. "I promise, Dawn, I promise!"
They trekked through the cold and snow – it had snowed a little bit more while they had been in classes. Their breath spiraled up into the gray sky, and Yami no Yugi thought his nose was going to fall off from the cold before they finally reached the Greys' house.
"I'm home! I brought everyone with me!" Dawn shouted down the hall.
"Glad to hear it," Darcy's voice floated down from the kitchen. "Come in, I've made hot chocolate."
"Yes," Dominic said, pumping his fist. "That is a brilliant thing to hear when you come in the door. Why can't my parents do that?"
"Because your parents like to experiment with different kinds of tea," Cadence said.
"Don't remind me," Dominic said, making a face.
After knocking off their boots and hanging up their coats, the group milled down the hallway and into the kitchen, where Darcy was setting out mugs. Yami no Yugi had ended up at the front of the line with Dawn, and was surprised to see Kisara sitting at the table. She flinched slightly at the sight of so many people, and instinctively dropped her head so that her hair fell over her face like a curtain.
"Oh! Kisara!" Dawn said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd be here...dad, you should have warned her we were all coming!"
"I did," Darcy said, frowning. "Kisara, I told you it's perfectly fine if you want to go upstairs for now; I understand if this is all very overstimulating."
Kisara shrank slightly into her shoulders, but shook her head slightly.
"No, I don't...didn't want to...thank you..."
Darcy's eyebrows drew together slightly, but he nodded. He turned his aqua-gray eyes to the group trapped bottle-necked in the doorway. He nodded at them, and they sheepishly moved all the way out into the kitchen.
"Kisara is having troubles remembering where she came from," Darcy explained. "The police have interviewed her and are starting an investigation, but until that time, I have offered to let her stay here with us."
Kisara shrank down a little bit more. Concerned, Yami no Yugi sidled through the group so that he was standing nearer the table. She glanced up through her bangs at him, and seemed to relax slightly. Then her eyes turned to the rest of the group, slowly, as though evaluating each one individually. The room was a bit quiet and awkward, as though everyone was afraid that a sudden move might startle her.
Then, Mana plopped herself into the seat across from Kisara. She pushed one of the hot chocolate mugs towards Kisara, and then pulled one towards herself. She smiled warmly.
"I'm Mana Raful," she said. "Pleased to meet you!"
Kisara blinked. She looked at the mug in front of her. Cautiously, she wrapped her long fingers around it, feeling at the heat. Then she looked up at the still smiling Mana again.
The white-haired girl smiled faintly.
The tension broke. It was like a breath had been let out that no one had known they were holding. Yami no Yugi took a seat on the left of Kisara, across from Mana. Dawn sat down on Kisara's other side, and Dominic and Cadence ended up on either side of Mana.
"So this is Dominic McGuire, and that's Cadence Mulloy," Mana said, pointing to everyone. "And you already met Yami and Dawn, I guess."
Dominic gave her a smile and a little two-fingered salute, and Cadence nodded. When she wasn't glaring at Yami no Yugi, she actually had a very calm and open sort of aura about her. Well, at least her strange hatred didn't extend to Kisara; that was the last thing the poor girl needed right now.
Kisara nodded silently. However, it seemed that her tensity had faded, and she appeared to be greatly enjoying her hot chocolate. Yami no Yugi himself was very grateful for the sweet, warm liquid. The cold had seemed to seep into every inch of him. He needed the supplemental warmth.
Mana took another sip of her chocolate. Then she reached for the bag that she had dropped beside her chair and rummaged around. She pulled out her Duel Monsters cards with a triumphant gesture.
"Okay!" she said. "Yami, time for you to teach me this game!"
Yami no Yugi smiled.
"Okay," he said, going for his own cards.
Dominic leaned in as Yami no Yugi showed Mana the best way to cut and shuffle her cards. Cadence sniffed reprovingly, muttering something about a waste of time and money, but Kisara was watching with fascination, dark eyes glimmering in the light. It seemed that the earlier revelation about the cards being connected to her memories had left an impression on her, and she watched the pair of duelists with interest.
"Okay, so what do I do?" Mana said, looking at the five cards she had drawn. "Why don't you just go first, Yami?"
"Okay," Yami said. "First, you draw a card from your deck, and then you can choose a monster to summon...it has to be level four or lower, though."
"Oh, no," Mana muttered.
Yami no Yugi hid a smile with his cards. She must have drawn all high level monsters.
"I'll summon Big Shield Gardna in defense position," Yami no Yugi said. "And then I'll place these two cards face down. Turn end."
"Oh, oh, what do I do now?"
"Draw a card, Mana," Dominic said.
"Oh, right!"
She drew a card, but her face fell when she saw it. She didn't have the hint of a poker face, did she?
"Uuuum...so if I can't play a monster, I can just put some of the green or purple ones face down, right?"
"Spells or traps, right," Yami no Yugi said.
Dawn popped up from her seat and ran around the table to look at Mana's hand.
"Oooh, play that one face down, Mana, that one," she said, pointing.
"Hey, Dawn, I don't want to cheat!" Mana said. "No helping me!"
"It's not cheating, this is your first duel! Just play that one, and that one face down, okay?"
"It's probably better if you have someone to help, for the first time, anyway," Yami no Yugi said.
Mana pouted but she played the two cards that Dawn indicated.
"It takes so long to read all the cards," she moaned.
Yami no Yugi drew his next card.
"Okay, I'm going to summon the Celtic Guardian," Yami no Yugi said.
"That one, Mana, that one!" Dawn said, pointing at Mana's face down card.
Mana flipped it over.
"Trap Hole?" she said.
"That'll destroy Celtic Guardian," Dawn said.
A bit miffed, Yami no Yugi put Celtic Guardian in the Graveyard pile.
"Okay, I'll activate my magic card Card Destruction, so we have to discard our hands and draw the same number of cards."
"Oh good," Mana said, looking relieved.
Yami no Yugi laughed softly. This was fun. A duel with absolutely nothing at stake – and no giant holograms for once. That was actually a bit relieving. It felt much more low key. He wondered how Mana would take the sight of the big holographic creatures that he usually dealt with.
"Hmm," he said, looking at his new hand. "I'll play another card face down and end my turn."
Kisara leaned over to see the cards in his hand, mouth slightly open in fascination.
"Oh," she said, staring at one card in particular. Her eyes wandered from that card towards Dawn, and back again.
Yami no Yugi almost looked over to see what she was doing but Mana was starting her turn, and it looked like she had gotten a much better hand this time.
"I summon Magician's Valkyria in attack mode," she said, eyes bright. "Oh, I'm so glad I got to use this one! It's so pretty!"
Yami no Yugi nodded. He didn't have a Valkyria himself, but it was a good card. It really seemed to match the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl actually. Speaking of which...
It was his turn, and he drew a card. He selected one that was already in his hand.
"I'll tribute Gardna to summon Dark Magician Girl from my hand."
Mana's eyes widened.
"Whoa," she said. "That one is awesome! Can I see it up close after the duel?"
Yami no Yugi laughed a little.
"Sure," he said.
A thought occurred to him as he heard Kisara shift. He looked down at the card. He glanced up at Kisara, who was glancing between the card and Dawn. Yami no Yugi looked up at Dawn. The girl had positioned herself between Mana and Cadence, leaning her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands, humming to herself as she looked at Mana's cards. He looked down at his card again, and up at Dawn.
If he just put little pink circles on her cheeks...
A soft tap at the door distracted him from his train of thought. Without waiting for someone to answer, it popped open, and the red-head from the clinic desk poked her head in. Her ridiculously long orange hair was pulled back into a ponytail today, and she glanced impassively at the group at the table before seeing Darcy in the corner.
"Having an issue. Can you come over?"
"Certainly," Darcy said. "I have to go. Have fun with your game, kids."
"Thank you for the chocolate, Dr. Grey," Dominic said.
"Yes, thank you," Cadence said.
"Thanks!" Mana said.
Darcy smiled and headed through the door. It closed softly, and Yami no Yugi turned back to the game.
What had he been thinking about a moment ago? He couldn't quite remember.
"Okay, that one, Mana," Dawn was saying, pointing to her other face down.
"This one?"
Mana fumbled with her hand, trying to pull a card from it. Dawn glanced up to meet Yami no Yugi's gaze.
Her smile seemed to indicate she knew something that he didn't...
Hours went by without anyone really noticing. Mana had lost to Yami no Yugi, but she had done fairly well with Dawn's coaching. Dominic had asked to take a shot against Yami no Yugi, and Dawn had lent him her deck. Yugi had switched in silently to take this duel; they had decided privately that they would take turns with the games, since Yugi was itching to play as well. Dominic was absolutely hopeless at the game. He kept forgetting that you couldn't summon level five or higher monsters without a tribute, and eventually dissolved into swearing irritably under his breath every time he drew a bad card.
"You've gotta connect with them, Dom," Mana insisted. "And then you'll get the ones you want."
"They're just pieces of paper," Cadence said dryly.
"Exactly! It's all bloody luck," Dominic said.
"You'll never get it like that, Dom! Believe in the cards!" Mana said, pumping her arms up and down like a cheerleader.
While that went on, Mana lent her deck to Kisara to look through. The girl looked at each card for a very long time, as though trying to divine its meaning – or as though she were looking for a particular one. When Dominic lost (badly) to Yugi (he hadn't really been trying that hard so as not to make Dominic feel bad, but he had still won without much effort), Dawn asked to borrow Mana's deck so that she could teach Kisara, too, lending her own deck to Kisara.
Cadence just huffed when Dawn asked her to play a round.
"It's just a silly game," she had muttered.
"It's much, much more than that," Yami no Yugi said.
The look in her dark eyes almost made him think that she knew that, but was pretending not to. But that was silly. She was probably just being as disagreeable as always.
After a few hours of this, Dominic had to go to help his parents at the flower shop. Dawn and Mana started a duel that Yami no Yugi was glad to settle in to watch. Cadence fidgeted in her seat, looking more irritable than normal as her eyes flicked between the game to Dawn to Yami no Yugi to the game again.
Finally, she stood up and muttered something about a bathroom, and stalked off.
"Geez," Dawn said teasingly. "You shouldn't wait so long, Kay!"
Cadence didn't reply and disappeared down the hall.
Kisara scootched over so that she could see their duel better. For a few moments, everything was quiet.
"...I like this game," Kisara said suddenly. "It feels very nostalgic."
Mana and Dawn glanced up from their hands, and Yami no Yugi looked sidelong at the white-haired girl. She had definitely relaxed. Her shoulders hung loosely, and her hands were merely resting in her lap, not curled into fists.
"Yeah," Mana said, smiling. "I like it too."
Kisara's lips twitched into a small smile. She looked down at the cards.
"You know...?" she said slowly. "I think...I remember one other thing about myself."
"Really?" Dawn said, brightening.
Kisara nodded. Yami no Yugi leaned over to see Kisara's expression. It was a little closed off and guarded, a little nervous, but there was determination there too.
"I...I'm looking for something," she said. "Someone, I think. I think I lost someone, and I'm trying to find them again."
"Oh!" Mana said. "Like, there was someone with you just before you lost your memories?"
Kisara nodded.
"I have to find him," she said, almost thoughtfully. "Yes. Him. I remember it's a him. I'm looking for him."
It sounded like she was testing the words out, seeing how they sounded. Everyone was quiet for a few moments. Yami no Yugi closed his eyes for a moment. What would it be like to have a little bit of something, the slightest hint of what he had forgotten, like a clue that told him what he needed to be looking for in his mind? What would that be like?
"That must be really hard," Mana said softly. "Knowing that there's someone that you have to remember...and not being able to."
Yami no Yugi opened his eyes. He glanced at Kisara, and saw the drawn pain behind her mask. He felt suddenly guilty for being jealous of her. How much harder would it be to have the memory so close in your grasp and not being able to touch it? Mana had hit it on the nail.
He straightened.
"I'll help you," he said.
Kisara glanced up.
"I'll help you find who you're looking for," Yami no Yugi said. "I'll help you find your memories."
Kisara stared at him, eyes wide.
"Me too!" Mana said, jumping up. "I'll help you look! With all of us working together, we're sure to find the person you're looking for!"
"Count me in," Dawn said.
Kisara looked between all three of them, eyes wide, uncertain. Then, slowly, a huge smile broke across her face, perhaps the first real relief she had felt in the hours that she could remember.
"Thank you," she said softly. "Thank you."
It was late, and Yami no Yugi was exhausted. Yugi was in control now, and Yami no Yugi was content to float in his semi-darkness.
Kisara was settled in another guest room; there seemed to be several in this house. Mana and Cadence had walked home some hours ago, Mana extracting a promise from Yami no Yugi for them to play Duel Monsters again during lunch break the next day. She was improving really quickly, and it was very exciting for Yami no Yugi. He loved being able to share something he loved with someone new.
Yugi yawned as he stepped out of the bathroom. Then he hesitated when he saw Dawn standing in the hallway. Her hands were clasped behind her back, and she was rocking back and forth on her heels.
"Hi, Yugi," she said.
"Uh, hi," Yugi said.
Yami no Yugi stirred slightly, taking in Dawn. Again, the similarities of her and the Dark Magician girl were startling. She might be a tad shorter, though...it was hard to tell. Still, if he imagined that distinctive hat on her head.
"Um...Dawn..." Yugi said. "You..."
Then suddenly it hit both of them at the same time what she had said.
"Hi, Yugi."
"It is Yugi, right now, right?" Dawn said. "I thought, because your eyes are purple again."
Yugi hesitated.
"You..."
"Don't worry! No one else has noticed," Dawn said. "And I won't tell anyone. But there are two of you, right? When we got the confirmation that you were going to be staying with us for the exchange program, the papers said your name was Yugi. But you called yourself Yami. And I saw you switching occasionally. So...right?"
Both soul mates were stunned. Yugi couldn't speak at first.
"You – and you're – you're okay with that?" Yugi said, blinking. "Just like that? You're going to accept that there are two different people in one head?"
Dawn cocked her head.
"There are far less believable things," she said. "Anyway, I didn't think I got to say hello to Yugi properly, so I wanted to say hi to you. I want you both to feel welcome here, see?"
She looked so much like the Dark Magician Girl. She knew that there were two Yugis.
"Dawn...who are you?" Yugi asked, before he could think about it.
Dawn smiled. It was a mysterious sort of smile, especially in the dark hallway.
"I'm Dawn Marisa Grey, of course," she said, bowing. "Good night, Yugi, Yami. Don't worry...your secret is safe with me."
She winked at him. Then she brushed past him into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Yugi was left standing in the dark hallway, both he and Yami no Yugi reeling slightly from what had just happened.
"Dawn...Marisa...Grey..." Yugi said slowly. "D...M...G..."
He looked at the door. He looked up at the dark ceiling.
"DMG..." Yami no Yugi repeated. "DMG."
A/N: Okay, so if you don't know who Dawn is at this point, I can't help you. XD A crocus means "cheerfulness."