Kairi: So, brought to you from my phone, since my laptop is stupid... (So glad I had a bunch of chapters in Doc Manager already) ...Anyway, welcome back to whoever's still out there lurking around... ;D Enjoy Chapter Seven, and consider leaving a review, if you feel like it!


Hope Flies – Chapter Seven

New Life

"When I showed up at the hotel the next morning, Zylar was waiting for me. We got on his duel runner and headed out to the truck stop a few miles east of town, then jumped into his trailer and headed southeast, for his ranch in Kentucky," she summarized.

You watch Twyla's expression as she tells her story. The situation with her name is starting to make a bit of sense now, but you still haven't figured out why she's telling you all this.

She looks over at you and smiles. "You're still wondering why you're here, aren't you?" she asks. You give in and nod, while she just chuckles. "It'll be a while yet. I suppose you could call everything you've heard so far Part One. Yes, Part One… the Beginning. That sounds about right," she rambles for a moment.

You frown. "If Part One is the Beginning, then what's Part Two?" you wonder aloud. Twyla smiles.

"A Different World," she replies. Then she looks over at you. "Do you duel?" she asks. You shrug, and she chuckles, sitting up and grabbing a deck holder from under a pillow. You note absent-mindedly that it's a dark blue. "Come on, let's duel while I tell you this next part."


I gasped. The house itself was huge, and the farm… Zylar laughed at the look on my face.

"Come on. Let's find you a room and get you… well, partially settled in. We'll have to leave tomorrow for Chicago if we want to make it in time for the tournament, but for now, we've got a little time to relax," he said. I just smiled.

Once I figured out how to get to the bathroom and the front door from my new room (which I felt was way too large), I sat down on the floor and pulled my bag over. Inside were only a few things.

My tent, folded down and taking only half of the space in the backpack (which should say something). Both deck holders, the silver-gray of the Twilight Valkyries and my dark gray one that held my fairy deck. My duel disk, in desperate need of a new paint job.

Oh, and a jacket. That was it. Everything else was on my body.

"Hey, I called one of the neighbors. His daughters are coming over to take you shopping for some clothes," Zylar said, poking his head into the room. I smiled.

"Thanks," I said. I held up my sad little duel disk. "And I think I'm going to find some paint somewhere," I added. Zylar made a face, and I just laughed.

"Um… Try to stay out of trouble. I've got to go check on the horses, make sure the handlers didn't slack off while I was gone," he said. I shrugged, looking through the Twilight Valkyrie deck and pulling the odd card out of my fairy deck to throw into it. Zylar just smiled and walked away.

Once I was done, I slipped the fairy deck back into the dark gray deck holder, while the Twilight Valkyrie deck was put in its silvery one.

I stood and decided to wander around. I knew where the bathroom was, and my room, and the front door, but I wanted to be able to walk around as if I actually knew the place.

I ended up wandering down into the basement, but before I could flip the light switch on, I heard the doorbell go off. I slipped the location of the door to the basement into the back of my brain as I ran upstairs again to get the door.

When it opened, I was greeted by a soft face framed in curly silver hair that seemed to turn lavender wherever the sun hit it. Behind her, I could see a black car with another silver-haired girl in the driver's seat.

"You must be Twyla," the girl in front of my said. I looked down at her sky blue eyes and smiled.

"I am," I replied. She grinned.

"I'm Amai. Come on. My sister's waiting for us," she told me. "Oh, wait a sec. Where's Zylar?" she asked. I looked around.

"He said he was going to go take care of the horses," I said. Amai rolled her eyes and ran off.

"Go ahead and get in the back seat. I'll be back in a minute!" she called over her shoulder. I walked over to the car a bit awkwardly and opened the back door on my side. I raised an eyebrow at the music the girl in the driver's seat had playing as I got in quietly.

"You got a problem with Celtic Woman?" the girl asked. I shook my head.

"Not at all, I actually like them. I just don't know a lot of other people who do," I told her. She smiled and brushed her straight hair out of her face.

"That makes two of us. Amai loves singing along, by the way, so…" she said. I giggled, actually giggled for once.

"That's fine. I'll do it on occasion too," I told her. She grinned and held a hand out behind her.

"Name's Nigai. Ni, for short, since a lot of people get my name and Amai's mixed up," she said. I shook her hand.

"Twyla, but I think you already knew that," I replied. Just then, Amai came running around and opened the door on the other side, hopping into the back seat happily.

"'Kay! We're all good!" she said cheerfully. Nigai gave her a look in the mirror.

"Not until you've got that seatbelt on," she grumbled. I put mine on quickly, and Amai sighed before doing the same.

"There, happy now?" the younger girl said. I couldn't help but laugh, while Nigai smiled and drove off back to the main road and into town.

I'd only known these two for a few minutes, but already, they reminded me of a couple of friends I'd had as a child.

When we got back hours later, as the sun started to sink in the sky, and I'll admit it, I was exhausted. I'd gotten a haircut in there somewhere, as well as become best friends with the sisters. Amai and Nigai were total opposites, but they got along great (except where food was concerned, as Nigai liked meat and Amai was a vegetarian), and I fit in somewhere in the middle.

The sisters helped me sort my stuff out from theirs, and once again, I had to wonder at how the trunk of the car had actually managed to fit all of it. We happily carried the bags up to my room, and I thanked them before they left. I then started sorting out everything, putting the paint we'd gotten off to one side with my duel disk. I started putting clothes into the closet, shoes in there on the floor, lined up neatly for now. I doubted they'd stay that way for long.

Once my bags were empty, I headed back down toward the basement. The sun was just above the horizon when I went down the stairs, and I hadn't seen Zylar all afternoon.

I finally flipped the light switch on and smiled at what I saw. It was nice and cool down here, and I grabbed a bottle off the shelf and headed back upstairs.

I had just gotten the stubborn bottle open when Zylar walked in and crossed his arms, leaning against the doorway.

"You know… We are underage," he said as I poured myself a glass of wine. I turned and grinned, pulling another glass down and filling it for him.

"I'm drinking responsibly," I argued, handing it to him. "Besides, sparkling grape juice just doesn't quite cover it when you're celebrating," I added teasingly. Zylar took the wine glass and swirled it around a bit.

Then he sighed, a smile on his face. "Well, my dear… You are most definitely a Hunt," he said, chuckling as he finished. I raised my glass.

"A toast, then. To my new family," I said. Zylar tapped his glass with mine.

"To my new little sister," he replied.

And as we both raised our glasses to our lips, I had a feeling that I wasn't the only underage drinker in my new family.

The next morning was… chaotic. Zylar and I had wiped out the bottle of wine, meaning I had a bit of a hangover (I'm telling you, I have horrible alcohol tolerance, don't ask me why I keep drinking), and Zylar was hooking up the spare trailer he kept for when his normal one was in need of work to the second truck for me. He'd had people working on it most of the night, making sure it was in good shape.

Sure, the colors were the blacks, reds, and golds that Zylar preferred, but it was comfortable. Before I could get in though, he handed me a phone.

"Wanted to keep you in touch," he said before walking over to his trailer. I smiled and stepped up into… well, mine I guess…

We had only been on the road for about an hour when I got a call. I checked the caller ID and smiled. Zylar had programmed five numbers in already. His, his parents' numbers, as well as Nigai's and Amai's.

It was Amai calling, so I picked the phone up and hit the green button, putting the phone to my ear.

"Hey Twyla!" her chipper voice rang in my ear. I smiled

"Hi…" I slurred.

"Huh? You okay?" she asked. I chuckled.

"I'm a little tired," I told her, rolling over onto my belly. "And maybe a bit bored."

Amai laughed. "Well, I was gonna tell you yesterday, but I forgot. My little brother's gonna be at the tournament. See if you can find him, 'kay?" she said. I smiled.

"What color does his hair light up?" I asked, remembering that hers looked lavender in sunlight and Nigai's was light green.

"Red," was her response. "And his name's Arashi," she added. I smiled.

"Okay," I replied. "But until we get up there… what are you doing?" I asked. She giggled.

"Oh, nothing. Just watching the Fortune Cup from a few years ago. I've got it recorded… Hey, I can probably send it to the T.V. in your trailer if you wanna watch it with me," she said. I looked over at the flat-screen and flinched.

"You're gonna have to talk me through it, Amai," I told her. She must have been grinning as she told me how to turn the T.V. on and receive the recordings she was sending me.

Finally, I was sprawled out on the bed, watching the introductions to the Fortune Cup. Amai was happy enough to start hers over so we could sit there and talk about the same duels while they were happening on the T.V.

Amai, it seemed, was completely enamored with a hulking man with dark skin and darker hair. Greiger, I think his name was? At any rate, I couldn't care less. No one really caught my eye in that way…

Well, this one kid did, so to speak. Except, he reminded me of someone I hadn't seen since I was a kid. I sat there wondering if maybe Koran hadn't just been an illusion. Except, the guy's name was Yusei Fudo.

I sighed.

"Something wrong?" Amai asked for what had to be the umpteenth time. I chuckled.

"No, just caught up in a memory," I told her. She giggled as we talked about the boy that was pretending to be his twin sister as he dueled Greiger. She was doing more daydreaming than thinking though, I think.

And I couldn't help but smile, wondering if this was what normal teenage girls did. Either way, I had decided that I liked it.