Zypher: Again, here we have another chapter that's coming out insanely fast. Gotta love episode guides instead of hunting for episodes unless you needed some help for action and dialogue. -blanches- Anyways, glad you enjoyed the chapter and please give a big thanks to Serzie who gave some of her time to draw me a wonderfully cute picture of Yugi for the story! Go check her profile for the link.
Thanks again, Serzie! -grins- Hopefully soon I can get some of my own fan art out but who knows. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. And don't forget the suggestions! Still need some before chapter 8 which is the entrance of Li and all suggestions for characters will stop there but I still may need some suggestions for chapter plots or such later on if I ask.
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Chains of the Seal
Chapter 4
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The next day was a wonderful sunny day and Yugi woke up early to this good day. He opened the blinds and smiled brightly. "Sweet! It's such a wonderful day today!" Yugi exclaimed as he looked out to the scene outside. Trees and plants were glistening with droplets from the rain that happened late last night. Kero popped out from where he slept and flew over to Yugi's side. "Yes, I surely agree with you but why so giddy today? Going on another date with Aqua~?" he questioned playfully. "No! And I told you yesterday that it wasn't a date! Today, I'm spending the day with Diamond and Ryou, maybe the others as well, and heading to the park for a picnic. You should come too." Yugi offered as he left the window and went to get dressed. "Maybe I will." Kero spoke as Yugi came out fully dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. His otou-san and jii-chan were already the table and eating breakfast when he came down. "Morning, everyone!" he greeted happily as he sat down at the table. "Ah, morning, my boy. What makes you so happy today?" Sugoroku asked. "It's lovely weather outside! Just perfect for the picnic I'm going to with my friends." he said as he made himself a bowl of cereal and started to eat. The other two adults looked to each other sadly before Sugoroku turned to Yugi. "Yugi, I'm sorry to say this but today, you are doing all of the chores." he said and Yugi looked up.
"Really? I thought I was free today?" he whispered.
"No. Remember last Sunday? You asked jii-chan if you could go to a friend's piano recital and he took over the chores for that day while you went." His father spoke. "Yes and I scheduled to sign and get those orders to restock the shop today so I'll be gone all day while your father is at his presentation." Sugoroku added. "Oh. That's right. I forgot that I went to Myrrh's piano recital last week…" Yugi whispered, happy mood dampened with the idea of working with the chores all day. "Don't be sad, Yugi. If you get done, you can call your friends and tell them you will meet them at a different time." Yugi nodded and once they were done with breakfast, Yugi's father and Sugoroku left to get their work done and he started with his chores, washing up the dishes before he went over to the phone to call Ryou. "Moshi moshi, Ryou speaking."
"Ryou, its Yugi. I have some bad news."
/"Really? What's wrong?"/
"Well, I forgotten I had to do all the chores today so I won't be able to make it for the picnic. I'm sorry about that."
/"Oh, it's ok. I understand."/
"Thanks, Ryou. Maybe we can go another time."
/"Sure. I'll call the others and tell them."/
"Thanks again and I'm really sorry."
They both said their goodbyes before Yugi hung up along with Ryou. Diamond walked in and looked over to Ryou. "Who called?" she asked. "It was Yugi. He can't make it because he had chores to do today." Ryou explained as he started to call the others and cancel the plans for the day. "Oh man. And today was wonderful weather for a picnic." Diamond murmured as she looked out the window and sighed.
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As Yugi was dusting, Kero agreed to help out and was handling the laundry that Yugi's father set next to the washing machine yesterday. "How are you doing back there, Kero?" Yugi called as he placed the duster away and went to get the vacuum and a rag to wipe off the tables. "I'm doing fine. Be glad no one's here." Kero grumbled as he took another handful of clothes and placed them into the machine before pressing the start button. Yugi nodded and started wiping off the tables before he got to vacuuming. As he was doing so, he spotted something sticking out from under the carpet and turned off the vacuum to reach down for it. He pulled it out and was amazed to see it was a card. "The Wood card. Surprising to find this here of all places." he whispered before smiling. "Hey, Kero! Kero? I found a Clow card!" Was the excited call as Yugi ran for the laundry room. With Kero, he was looking inside the machine, wondering why it didn't start. "I did everything Yugi told me. Wonder why it didn't start." he mumbled quietly to himself. "Kero!" Yugi's voice echoed, starting him and he fell forward, hitting the sliding door of the washing machine and fell in, the door closing above him as the machine started up. "Kero? Where are you?" he questioned as he walked into the room. "I wonder where he went to. Oh well, at least he started the clothes for me." he hummed, slipping the card into his pocket before leaving out the room, just missing Kero working his way out of the washing machine, eyes swirling before he shook his head to get rid of the dizziness.
"Man, I quit! This isn't a job for the strongest guardian beast to be doing." Kero grumbled as he closed the door and flew out the room. He heard Yugi speaking to himself as he was mopping the floors of the shop. "Maybe to thank Kero for helping me, I can get some ice-cream for us." Yugi hummed as he continued his mopping and at the mentioning of the frozen treat, the Clow guardian shrugged. "I guess I can help him some more if I'm getting a reward for it…" A little later, Yugi headed down into the basement, the last place on the list, to vacuum the floor and place some of the fallen books back into place while Kero went to put the clothes up to dry. Yugi opened up the window to let in some light before he got to work. As Yugi was vacuuming, the vacuum caught something and he lifted it up, spotting another card on the end. Taking it in hand, checking over it before seeing the familiar back that showed it was a Clow card. "Another Clow card...but it's covered in ink. Dad must've dropped his bottle of ink when he was working on something." Yugi spoke as he placed the card down on the desk. "I should get a wet towel and wipe this ink off. I'm so lucky today to find two cards in my own home." he said, taking the other from his pocket and placing it next to the ink covered one before heading upstairs to get a towel. Before he could get back downstairs, he heard the phone ringing and went to grab it first.
"Moshi moshi." Yugi greeted and heard his father's voice on the other line.
"Yugi? It's me. Do you happen to see a manila envelope on the table?" he asked and Yugi went to take a glance in the kitchen and saw the envelope on the table.
"Yeah, I see it. Why?"
"My presentation is all in that envelope. Can you stop by the bus stop and give it to me before the bus gets here?"
Yugi gasped and nodded. "Right! I'll be there in a bit!" Giving a quick goodbye, Yugi dashed to grab the envelope before heading to the front door and strapped on his skates and guards. "Kero! I'll be right back! I need to step out really quick!" Yugi called as he opened the door and left, locking it behind him. Kero fluttered in with the laundry as he heard him, looking a bit confused.
In the basement, the sun shined on the desk where the cards rested and the one covered with ink started to glow, removing the ink itself and revealing the Rain card.
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He quickly raced to the bus stop, catching his father right on time and handed him the envelope just as the bus came. He thanked Yugi for bringing the envelope before he got on the bus. "I hope you do well at your presentation, otou-san!" Yugi called, waving to him. "I will! Thank you, Yugi!" he called back, waiving to him from the open window before the bus was gone from sight. After the bus left, Yugi started making his way back home when he bumped into Seth on the way. "Oh. Hey, Seth." Yugi greeted. "Hello, Yugi. Running some errands today?" he asked. "Yeah, my dad forgot something for a presentation he's doing at the other college he works at."
"Ah. You should feel proud to help." Seth replied and Yugi nodded. "Well, have you had lunch yet? If not, how about we head over there for a quick lunch break." he suggested, pointing over to a restaurant across the street. "Sure, I don't mind." Yugi replied as he and Seth crossed the street and entered the restaurant. "So, why are you in your uniform today?" Yugi asked, realizing that he was dressed in his school uniform. "Oh? There was a basketball game today and I went to go see it and help out our team." Seth explained and Yugi nodded as they went to sit at a table. Yugi was surprised when he saw just who came to get their orders. "Jou?! What are you doing here? I thought you were working at the aquarium." Yugi exclaimed. "I was, then I quit. Learned this job paid more." Jou replied easily. "What about Kaiser?" he asked again. "He's here too." Yugi nodded then gave him his order along with Seth's and Jou left. A few minutes went by and the two talked with one another until Jou came back with their food and was intrigued at how much Seth was eating. 'Honestly, he could probably eat twice as much as Jou.' The boy thought as he took a bite of his sundae. 'But I need to get back to Kero soon. Don't need to leave him alone any longer.' he thought, watching as Jou came back with a second extra-large plate of food and took away Seth's empty plate. After they were finished, they said their goodbyes to Jou before leaving. "Thanks for lunch, Seth. I really enjoyed it." Yugi spoke. "No problem. I'll see you at school tomorrow then." Seth replied as he left. "Ja ne, Yugi!" he spoke, waving to him.
"Ja ne!" Yugi replied before skating off towards home. "Tadaima!" he called as he reached the door and looked up to see that Kero had hung up the clothes to dry on the clothesline right outside on the upstairs patio and smiled. He headed inside, taking off his skates and leaving them by the door and placed on his slippers before heading upstairs into his room. "Kero? Kero, where are you?" he called and then saw the guardian beast lying on the bed, asleep from all the work he did. Yugi smiled as he walked over to the bed quietly and knelt down. "Thanks..." he whispered before nudging him lightly. "Kero, I'm going to get lunch started." Yugi spoke and the other nodded. Yugi was about to stand when he heard an odd creaking noise somewhere in the house. He nudged Kero again and he sat up sleepily. "Is lunch ready?" he asked. "No. There's this odd sound." Yugi whispered and Kero listened in before he too heard the sound. The house shook after a short moment after the last creaking sound and Yugi gulped. Standing, Yugi left with Kero, heading downstairs. "Do you think it's a burglar?"
"No. I don't think so but it sounds like it's coming from downstairs." Kero rebuked and wielding a mop, Yugi continued downstairs and looked about the hall. He looked into the living room, game shop and kitchen but didn't see anything that was making the sound. The sound came again and he turned to the basement door. "Sounds like it's down there." Kero whispered and Yugi nodded. Slowly opening the door, both looked inside but with the dim lighting from behind, they couldn't really see what was down there. Soon enough, something emerged and Yugi yelped as it came out the door and quickly shut it, holding his back to it. Two branches snapped off from the thing that came for the door and he looked to it. Kero fluttered down and picked up one of them. "This came from some sort of plant that must be down there." Kero commented. "Plant?! What kind of plant could be growing down in my basement?!" Yugi exclaimed. Kero continued to examine the twigs until they disappeared. "This is no ordinary plant! This is the work of Wood!" he exclaimed. "Wood..." Yugi repeated then remembered about the card he found earlier. "Wait! I remember now! I found the Wood card when I was cleaning earlier. But I left it in the basement..." Yugi explained. "That's bad! You can't leave a Clow card alone without inscribing your name onto it! Clow cards will only listen to their owner once their name is on it." Kero stated as he helped Yugi to keep the door shut when he started to slide across the floor.
"But it's been in the house this whole entire time! Nothing happened ever since!"
"Well, I know what's true. The Wood is a gentle card. It would never be up to mischief like this." Kero murmured as he let go of the door to think. "Hey…wait! Don't let go!" Yugi cried as the door cracked open and a root came to wrap around Yugi's leg as more started to slip out from the doorway.
"Kero! I need some help here!"
"I'm kinda in a bind myself!" he responded, tied by another branch and struggling to get free. They continued to try and get free when they heard a knock at the door to the game shop and Yugi gulped in fear, knowing that whoever is at the door will see this happening and start asking one too many questions. 'What should I do? What should I do?!' he thought frantically. "You should answer the door." Kero mumbled. "I can't! If they saw us like this, we'll be the talk of the town by having a living tree in our home. And you! If they find out you can talk, they'll sell you off somewhere as a talking plush toy! You know you don't want that, right?" Yugi snapped and Kero huffed. "Yeah. You're right about that." he murmured.
"But for now..." Kero went silent and still, Yugi looking to him in confusion.
"Kero, what..." he started but Kero spoke before he could finish.
"Don't speak to plush toys." he whispered and Yugi finally got what he was doing but the moment was shattered as the branches pressed more into the door before it finally opened, overpowering Yugi easily and he hit the floor. The smaller groaned in pain and yelped as the branch wrapped around his ankle lifted him up, causing him to be carried over to where the door was and the branches stopped there. A knock was heard again and Yugi tried to get free. The door started to crack open and Yugi closed his eyes, waiting for the questioning to start. "Yugi?" A voice called and knowing the voice, he looked up to see Ryou and Diamond standing there. "Yugi, what happened here?!" she asked. "I'm glad to see you two but right now, may I ask what brought you two over?" Yugi questioned. "We came to help with your chores so we could still have our picnic. No need to have you cooped up in the house while we have such a wonderful day going on." Ryou explained as he unwrapped the branches from around Kero and he stretched, glad for the freedom. Diamond helped Yugi down and he stood, dusting his clothes. "Hurry and seal it, Yugi!" Kero called and he nodded as he took the Key from the chain around his neck. "Release!" he summoned, the Key growing into a staff as he grabbed hold of it. "Return to the guise you were meant to be! Clow card!" Yugi tapped the air before him and the branches started to shrink away, disappearing back into the basement.
"Lovely as always, Yugi." Diamond praised, holding the video camera. "You will always bring that with you anytime you visit me, aren't you?" Yugi whispered and she nodded, grinning. "But there's a problem. Where's the card?" Ryou questioned. "Oh yeah, it's not here. What happened?" Kero questioned, looking around. Yugi thought about it before coming up with an answer. "Oh yeah, it's in the basement where I left it." Yugi replied. "Alright then. Let's go get it!" Kero spoke but they heard the creaking sound again and soon, the branches came back in a flood and they gasped. "Let's get upstairs!" Diamond cried and they made their way upstairs, some of the branches coming to follow. They continue their way, stepping out onto the second-floor patio and stood as far as they could from the door. The branches flooded after them and looked poised as if to attack but stop just mere inches from them to curl upwards, wrapping around the poles of the clothesline as well as the railing of the patio, sprouting tiny leaves. "Well, I guess like any tree, it's happy once it gets some sunlight." Ryou commented and Kero nodded before gasping. "No! The laundry!" he cried as he flew up to where the clothes hung and sighed, floating down in depression. "And I worked so hard with that." he whispered. "Don't worry, Kero, we'll help you to do the laundry again." Diamond murmured. "...the laundry..." he whimpered still.
"Now what are we going to do about this? No matter how many times I seal it away, it will keep coming back." Yugi stated. "Then we have only one choice in this matter!" Kero said angrily as he flew back up into the air. "We'll go down into the basement and seal it off permanently!" he continued before stopping as they heard more creaking louder than before. "That sound...it sounds like Wood is still growing! Now the whole house is creaking!" Kero spoke and they yelped.
"I thought it was calm once it got some sunlight?!" Yugi exclaimed.
"Well, either way, we have to get down there and fast. If not, the whole entire house will be destroyed." Diamond explained. "She's right. If the whole entire tree that is Wood wants sunlight, it will continue to grow until it can fully get to the sunlight…" Kero added.
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When they were ready to head back in, Yugi was wearing another battle outfit. This time the colors were of a sky blue, white and hinted with gold. It had a futuristic feel to it, the vest he wore being a sky blue with bands of white around it. He wore a long sleeved, white shirt underneath to accompany the vest. His pants, which were form fitting, were also white and ended off with a pair of white boots with a sky-blue band that held them closed and gold studs at both ends. Over his hand were white gloves with a thick, sky blue band around the wrist, ending with large gold studs and over his head was a headband with two large wings sprouting from them, a gold sheen over them to make them glow when he was in the sunlight. "The outfit itself was made from an elastic type material for easy movement, Yugi. You should have no problem getting through these branches." Diamond said as she held up the video camera to get a view of Yugi in the outfit. "What, did you predict something like this would happen to me?" Yugi questioned. "No, when we got to the park today, I was going to record you dancing in this outfit. This was also part of it." she explained, bringing out a shimmering sky-blue cloak that was split into triangular strips at the end, the cloak itself shining in the sunlight. "Looks nice when you add it." Kero commented, munching on a sandwich.
"Yeah." Yugi agreed as she placed it back into the basket. They heard a snort and looked behind them to see the Chinese dragon resting there. "Hey, how'd you get here? In broad daylight no less?" Yugi asked. /I saw the tree branches from afar and knew there must've been a problem. Even though you didn't call, I'm willing to help./ he explained and Yugi nodded. "Well, hope you can squeeze through these narrow openings." They started making their way through the branches and like Diamond said, it was much easier for Yugi to get through the branches and not overexert himself with the elastic material of his outfit. The dragon followed close behind, also not getting caught easily in narrow areas of the intertwined branches. "Hey, I found a way down to the basement." Kero said as he waved to an opening. They nodded and continued to crawl through, reaching the kitchen which marked them being halfway there. The house shook again and Diamond nodded to Yugi. "Let's hurry." she whispered and he nodded as they continued along the way. Once they got to the basement, Yugi descended down the stairs but when he arrived, he stepped into a pool of water. "Water? What's water doing down here?" he whispered. "Water doesn't come from the Wood card. It's not capable of that." Kero added. "Then that must mean this was the doings of the other card." Yugi stated and Kero looked to him. "Another card? You never told me about another card! But if what you said is true and this water came from it, then there's only one other card I know of to do this outside of Watery." They got closer to the pattering noise and soon spotted the main trunk of the Wood card with a small cloud hovering above it. "The Rain card." he whispered. "Rain?" Ryou asked. /A card made for rainfall. The Wood and Rain must've interacted to make your house into a living jungle, small one./ The dragon stated and he nodded. "So if I capture it, then the rain will stop and Wood would stop growing?" he asked and he nodded.
/Exactly./
Yugi nodded and got closer. "Rain! Wood!" he called and the rain stopped. A little form popped from the cloud, revealing a little blue elf girl donned in a blue jester's costume, her ears decorated with raindrop-shaped earrings. Said girl smiled and moved over to hover above Yugi and with a wave of her arms, a gentle misting of rain started. "This isn't too bad." Yugi began but was soon soaked as the rainfall became a waterfall. Yugi ran away from the downpour but she only followed after him. Seeing that getting away may be difficult until he could come up with a plan, the dragon made his way over to Yugi, crouching down. /Climb on./ Yugi nodded, grabbing a handful of fur and swung himself onto his back as he continued to slip through the maze of books and branches, Yugi crouched low to his back to avoid being clotheslined as they went. Rain followed behind them, laughing all the while. "Yugi! She's only playing with you! You need to seal her away!" Kero called. "I can't while dealing with a waterfall over my head!" Yugi replied back harshly as the dragon clambered over a bookshelf and jumped down, Rain still following behind him. /I have it./ he spoke as he stopped. "What do you have in mind?" Yugi asked. /Use Watery. Turn her rainfall against her./ he suggested and Yugi nodded, jumping from his back. He pulled out Watery and tossed it into the air. "Card of Clow. Lend your powers to my Key! Transfer the magic dwelling within the card and grant me your power! Watery!" he chanted, tapping the card as it came back down.
Rain was still happily following them but stopped when her rainfall was being pulled somewhere else. She followed the trail back to Yugi who was holding the staff over his head, the water swirling about it and Watery's form seen within the swirling liquid, causing her to gasp. "Water, become a binding chain! Watery!" Watery's eyes opened, the water swirling about her now consuming her as she made her way towards Rain, strands of water shooting out and creating a bubble around Rain. "Return to the guise you were meant to be! Clow card!" He tapped the air before him and the captured Rain card, although struggling, was soon sealed away into the card and Yugi took hold of it, the water pooling about their feet disappearing. Diamond smiled as she recorded everything while the dragon walked over to Yugi's side, leaning down to nuzzle him. /Wonderful job, small one./ he whispered and Yugi smiled. "Thanks to you for help." he said before turning to the trunk that was Wood. He readied to capture it too but a whisker wrapped around his wrist. /Watch./ Yugi watched and soon, the trunk started to glow along with the branches. The branches started to shrink back into the basement and back to the trunk, which glowed brightly before revealing the form of Wood's true self, a small green woman with a collar of leaves around her neck and eyes that held a gentle glow. Kero fluttered over to them and smiled to her. "Just as I said, she's a gentle card. Once we captured Rain, she wouldn't be as bad as she was earlier because of the water." Kero explained and Yugi nodded. Wood hovered up into the air and Yugi held out his hands, Wood hovering down and returning back to a card. The cardcaptor smiled as the card stopped glowing, revealing Wood's picture and name on the front.
/And look at that./ he said, pointing over with a whisker to the small rainbow that appeared by the window from Rain's earlier downpour throughout the basement. "It's so pretty." Ryou whispered as they marveled at the small rainbow before Yugi went over to the desk and sat down, taking a pen to write his name onto the cards. "There. I learned the hard way to never forget to write my name on these cards to save ourselves from another problem like that." Yugi said. /Yes, that's an important factor to learn when collecting the Clow cards./ Kero yawned and started up the stairs. "I'm going to take a nap." he said and Yugi nodded. "Sleep well, Kero." he spoke softly then turned to Diamond. "And you?" She looked up and smiled. "I guess we won't have to worry about the park this time. I got wonderful footage right here." she proclaimed, smiling. "You always say that no matter what." Yugi pointed out, smiling over to her. "Besides, I wasn't going to dance in this anyway. That would be a little embarrassing." The dragon purred and nuzzled him. /I don't think so./ he whispered and Yugi blushed. "Cute~!" Diamond squealed. "Yugi! We have a big problem!" Kero shouted from upstairs as they all climbed up and stopped over by his side. "Look." he whimpered and Yugi turned to see the hall a mess, things splayed over the floor. They headed over to the kitchen and saw it too was a mess. "Looks like when the branches shrunk back, if they were wrapped over anything, they took it with them before letting go." Ryou hummed and Yugi sighed heavily.
"Now I got an even bigger mess to clean up."
/Don't worry, small one. We'll all help./ he said, Ryou, Diamond, and even Kero, nodded in agreement. "Thanks so much. Especially you." he said, looking over to the dragon. /It's my pleasure./ They all soon got to work cleaning up the house once more, going late into the day. After Ryou and Diamond left, Yugi headed up to his room, Clow book in hand, which he brought down earlier to place the Wood and Rain cards into it and changed out of his outfit and into some comfortable clothing. /I best be going now. Maybe I'll come again tonight, small one./ The dragon spoke and was about to leave through the skylight when Yugi grabbed a hold of his fur. "Why don't you stay a while? It's still daylight and no need to be seen while heading back to wherever you stay." Yugi suggested. /If you sure I won't be a problem. What if someone walks in?/ he asked. "I'll keep the door locked. I offer my hospitality as thanks for your help today." The dragon smiled and nodded. /Ok then, I'll accept your offer./ he replied, moving to lay down on the spacious floor and curled up, soon falling asleep. Yugi looked over to him after locking the door and crept over to his side, seeing a nice sized spot on the floor in the center of his coiled form. 'I hope he won't mind.' he thought as he stepped into the spot and sat down, lying against his side and lulled by his warmth, soon fell asleep. The dragon's crimson eyes opened and he smiled as he looked to him. He curled up even more around him, resting his head upon his lap.
/Sleep well, small one./
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Later, Sugoroku walked in and seeing the house sparkling clean, he smiled. "He must've taken all day to clean up the house to be so spotless. I'll make him something nice for dinner tonight for doing all this work." he murmured as he got started. Once he was done with dinner, Yugi's father walked in, Sugoroku greeting him. "Well, looks like Yugi done a wondrous job with cleaning up. I should make him a cake as thanks." he spoke and Sugoroku nodded. "That's a wonderful idea. A nice little treat for all of his hard work."
Upstairs, Yugi was still sleeping, a small smile on his face as he slept upon the dragon's side. The dragon was lucky for one thing, that Kero didn't sense any of his power that could reveal him to be another Clow card as suspected.
Zypher: And that's it for this chapter. Hoped you enjoyed and now, I really need some quick help. I need someone for Miss Maki since she will show up in the next chapter. If you have an idea, please send them in your reviews. If not, I'll just keep her the same. And for Li and Meiling, Li will stay the same and I may still go with Meiling unless you want her to be replaced with Vivian (who will be younger, mind you). Make those suggestions and I'll shall see you all soon.