Familiar Stranger

By Lindsay R. Honosky

Chapter Seven: The Sands of Eygpt

I am so, so, so, so, SO sorry I've taken so long to update! Writer's block is a horrible affliction. . . Anyway, I hope you guys are still reading this, and I'm so happy you're all enjoying it as well as you are. I only hope I can keep pleasing you all, and thank you for reminding me to keep on my toes about my spelling (I'm a speed-checker, not a spell-checker, apparently, lol).

Please Read and Review! I'll shut up now so you can do just that! Lol

She didn't remember falling asleep, but she did remember that she wasn't alone when she had closed her eyes. The cold, empty space to her right told her that reality was no longer true. Kisara groaned, groggy still from a restless night. She'd had nightmares, but as the sunlight crept in through the windows, its images evaded her. She was about to turn over and go back to sleep when she heard the bass in her room boom to life. She shot up out of bed, more startled than she thought she should've been. A little annoyed, Kisara walked briskly to her room, the door still shut tight. The lyrics of Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" blared from behind the door. She almost forgot how annoyed she was; it was a good song. Wiping the smile from her face, Kisara banged the door open.

She almost died from laughter. She didn't know why, but Joey had somehow found his way into her room, and, through a bit of experimentation, found a way to start the stereo system. His face was flushed, either from the embarrassment he felt now, or from the fact that he was just previously dancing as if there was something trying to escape his pants. Mokuba was there too, but his age permitted him to feel no shame for his sudden outburst of rhythmic movement. Téa had fallen off of Kisara's bed, laughing to hard to breath. Kisara, leaning against the door frame, asked, "Having a good morning?"

Joey laughed, though it sounded more like he was being strangled, "K-Kisara! Good morning! Um, yeah, Mokuba asked how to work this thing, and well, I mean. . . It's a good song, ya know!" He was searching desperately to find something to counter her on. Then he looked down at her legs. He smiled a wolfish grin, "So, who comes to a party without pants on?"

"Hm?" Her eyes went wide as she realized what he meant. She saw Mokuba blushing. Thinking quick, she smirked, "Oh, I'm still wearing pants, it's just your imagination made me in my underwear so you could perform without being nervous."

"I thank my imagination, then."

"And I thank my stereo for letting me witness how flexible you could be, Joey." She slammed the door behind her, getting ready to storm into the living room, until she remembered she was still pantless.

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Seto Kaiba had always been an early raiser. However, he didn't expect that he would wake up next to the same woman he had just previously been dreaming about. That had helped boost the waking up process, however he was surprised at how reluctant he was to leave her side. Sipping on the coffee Mahad had made before he and Yugi left for the airport had helped him calm down, in more ways than one, that morning. Then the noise started. Of course it was that idiot Wheeler's doing, but he was to tired to stop it. Besides, he had the more than suspicious feeling that he would make comments about his sudden disappearance from last nights little "gossip group". He took another sip, yelping when the coffee turned out to still be to hot after all.

Walking into the living room, he saw Noah had decided to watch the morning news. It was scary, watching him, to see how similar they were. Of course they looked alike, but he noticed that the seemed to act the same as well. Probably a side affect of Gozaboro's teaching ability. He never knew of another kid who would willingly watch the news at his age, save himself, and who understood what was being said, no less. Mokuba would always ask politely if he could change it to some cartoon that Seto could never really remember. Of course he would let him; his business usually occupied most of his attention.

He sat quietly on the chair to the left of the couch, where Noah sat, his eyes never leaving the screen. The news was blaring on and on about the lightening storm that had caused so much damage to the docks the other night. Of course, nothing else was being aired; once something catastrophic happened, you would hear about it for the next week or so. Seto leaned back, closing his eyes.

"That was our fault." The sudden voice coming into existence in the quiet room startled Seto, not to mention it was that of someone he presumed dead. Noah's eyes didn't leave the screen, "The lightening storm. That was because of us."

"Was it?" Seto smirked, "Well then, I guess I know who to send the bill to."

Noah raised an eyebrow, "Really? A lot of good that would do you, since we are in the same family."

"The fact that you and father are supposed to bed dead would cause quite a problem, as well." It was quiet again, but this time it was more uncomfortable. Sighing, Seto asked, "What do you mean, that was you?"

There was something strange about the boy's eyes then. There was a hint of fear, uncertainty, "It's what I first remembered, when I woke up. Smoke and fire, screaming, the lightening cracking above my head. . ." He trailed off, Noah's hands visibly shaking.

Seto bit his lip, unsure of what to do. The boy was clearly frightened, but he was Noah! Then he remembered what Mokuba had said last night. Sighing, he got up and sat next to Noah, cautiously reaching out his hand to the boy. A tear ran down his face, and Seto pulled him closer to himself, like he had done so many times for Mokuba, "Hey, it's going to be alright. Come on, there's no need for tears."

It was unnerving to see Noah act so, well, human. He hiccuped, "I'm sure you're enjoying this, aren't you? Seeing me show weakness like this."

"Am I laughing?" Noah didn't answer, "Then no, I don't find this funny at all. It just proves to me that you are indeed human, not some made-up computer program." He looked down to see Noah was watching him, "We'll sort this out, sooner or later, I promise."

A strange smile spread across the boy's face, "No wonder Mokuba chose you over me." Noah leaned away from him, wiping his eyes, "You're a good older brother, Seto." He didn't answer, instead Seto chose to let the awkward silence settle.

It didn't last long.

The music which had been muffled before now blared loudly into the living room, followed quickly by what sounded like Wheeler being strangled by his own voice, accompanied by laughter from Mokuba and that Téa girl. Kisara must be awake, he thought, smiling. Then he heard something along the lines of "where are your pants?" and he almost laughed out loud. He heard Kisara's high pitched voice, followed by a swift slamming of the door. He half expected to see her walk out into the living room with just that shirt on, however she seemed to realize she was missing pants. Shaking his head, Seto leaned back, feeling the need to drink more coffee.

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The airport was huge. Mahad had never liked crowded places, let alone really busy, noisy, crowded places. Yugi seemed to pick up on this, and stayed close to him as they made their way through the lobby. He also stayed close because, to be honest, Mahad's height made it easier for him to make his way through the groups of people. Trying to concentrate on where he was going, Mahad barely heard Yugi ask, "So how long have you known Kisara?"

"Hm?" He seemed as though he'd been slapped awake, "Do what now?"

Yugi laughed, "You and Kisara. How long've you been friends?"

"It's a long story." Mahad sighed, almost tripping over some old woman's carry on.

He shrugged, "Well, we'll be waiting for another hour or so. . ."

"Another hour?!" His face was starting to turn green, "Oh man, I don't think I can take this place for another hour."

"If you don't mind me asking, what's with you and crowds?"

"You wanted to know how Kisara and I met, right?" The quick change in subject threw Yugi off, but he nodded in response. Looking around quickly, Mahad asked, "Which terminal are we supposed to wait at? I want to sit down before I start talking."

Yugi, noticing how he was becoming visibly more woozy, pointed to his right, "There, terminal twelve. They should be arriving in an hour or so."

"Who are these people, anyway?" A sly smirk traced his lips, "That Kaiba guy didn't seem to enthused."

"Kaiba. . ." Yugi scratched the back of his head, "Well, let's just say he's not a people person."

"Really? I would've never guessed."

The reached the terminal quickly enough, even though they had to dodge two very wide tourists that were blocking the entrance. Yugi had almost died after Mahad's "fire hazard" comment, though he quickly stopped laughing when the couple turned to glare at them. The seats were like any other airports', or so Mahad would have guessed. They were simple blue, plastic chairs lined up by a metal rod that made them stand up from the ground without the need for legs. A giant window to their right showed the landing strip; they would be able to tell whenever their guests had arrived. Mahad, choosing to sit as far away from the planes outside as possible, chose to sit to Yugi's left, his head almost between his legs.

Yugi, coughing into his hand, asked, "Well, do you feel like talking?"

Mahad shrugged, "There's not a lot to talk about, really. She was a weird one, I'll give her that." A strange smile appeared on his face, "She was the only girl in an all boy orphanage at one point, did you know that?"

He just shook his head, "How did that work?"

"Apparently she had pretended to be a boy, but I think the owner figured it out pretty quick. Not to mention there were some things she couldn't keep hidden forever." Mahad looked out the window, though his eyes seemed like he was looking much farther away than just the landing strip, "They sent her to where I was after some trouble with a few of the older boys. Apparently some douche bag named Sammy had tried to touch her--" Yugi gasped, "Don't worry! She about kicked all of his teeth out. Although, that did cost her a home." Mahad smiled, "She said she didn't really miss it all that much though; the only friends she had over there were adopted a long time ago. . ." He ran his fingers through his hair, "I guess that was that Kaiba guy and his brother."

"So how did you meet?"

"Heh," Mahad's face held something that looked almost like embarrassment, "You asked me earlier why I didn't like crowds? Well, I got lost in a crowd once when I was a child. I just can't help myself; even to this day I get nervous. The day she was transferred to my orphanage was a day they had decided to take us on a field trip to the local city. Of course, I was stupid enough to not pay any attention to where I was going, and ended up getting lost. Well, as luck would have it, Kisara was pretty much in the same position, though she hid it a lot better than I did. She walked up to me, after seeing my name tag, and asked, 'Are you lost too?' I could only nod, to scared and embarrassed to actually form anything like words. She seemed to understand though, and just took my hand and told me to follow her." He was smiling warmly now, "Before we reached our group, she switched places with me and started to cry. I asked her what was wrong, and she said, 'Dummy! I'm trying to make you look cool! Now drag me back to everyone!' I couldn't argue with her, and she made it out as if I was the one who found her." He looked down at his hands, hiding his face, "We've looked out for each other ever since. She's," he sighed, "she's special."

"Mahad?"

The bell for the announcer came on, and in the distance you could hear the soft rumbling of the landing plane. Mahad's head perked up, and he looked as though he were straining to seem perky at the thought of the gigantic piece of metal falling at amazing speeds directly towards him, "I guess that's our guys, huh?"

"Y-yeah." Sensing that it was best to drop the subject, Yugi just sighed and stood, "I'm going to go wait by the gate. You wanna come?"

Mahad looked down at his seat, then back up at Yugi, "I better come with you. I'd probably get hopelessly lost if I didn't." They both laughed, though Mahad quickly added, "Uh, we don't tell Kisara about that, okay?"

"Yeah, I won't."

The entrance, or exit, depending on if you were coming or going, started to fill with people. Mahad just waited to see if Yugi recognized anyone, not really sure who he should be looking for. This went on for another fifteen or so minutes until he noticed a single woman walking through the doorway. She was dressed in exotic clothing, middle-eastern style by the look of it. She had lightly tanned skin, much like his own, though it held more of a femine glow to it, beautiful blue eyes blazing from beneath a golden headband. Her hair was raven black, flowing down to her mid-drift. Mahad stood there, stunned, as he stared at the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. She seemed to sense his stare, for she quickly shot him a glance, locking eyes with him. Even though his face was burning, Mahad couldn't look away. He was vaguely aware that Yugi was shouting something like, "Over here!"

His heart seemed to stop as he realized the woman was walking towards them, followed closely by two men. One was amazingly tall, the same dark skin but with intense golden eyes, strange tattoos flowing down one side of his face. His form was concealed in a very dark cloak, though his face was friendly enough. The second seemed closer to Yugi's age, though his height didn't match. The boy had the same tan skin as the woman, though his eyes were a light indigo color, his hair almost a platinum blond. His face was so feminine, that in fact if he hadn't heart the man talk, Mahad would have assumed he was a woman.

Yugi, smiling widely, opened his arms to greet the trio, "Marik, Ishizu, Odion! How are you guys?"

The woman smiled brightly, causing chills to go up Mahad's spine, "Yugi," she said in a sultry voice, "it has been to long."

"Marik would not stop complaining about leaving his motorcycle behind," the tall man said, a laugh lighting up his deep voice.

The blond, apparently Marik, didn't seem phased by the remark. Instead he smiled all the brighter, "I doubt I would've found much time to ride it anyway, Odion."

The woman, who Mahad had deduced as Ishizu, nodded in his direction, "And this is?"

"Oh, sorry guys," Yugi laughed, "this is a new friend of mine, Mahad. Mahad, this is Ishizu Ishtar and her brothers, Odion and Marik."

Ishizu's eyes held a strange gleam, "We are well met, Mahad." She bowed deeply, causing him to blush.

"U-um, yeah, you don't have to do that--" Mahad tried to speak clearly, but his mouth had suddenly gone extremely dry.

She smiled sweetly then, but just as fast turned to Yugi, her face turning strictly to business, "Now, you called us for some problem?"

"It's something Kaiba saw, er well, at least I think he saw. Anyway, he seemed disturbed enough by it to tell me about it, so I believe him." Yugi shrugged, "Though, I honestly don't know what he's talking about."

Marik started walking forward, "Well, we'll never find out if we stay here all day. Let's get going; people are starting to stare." Without a word, Odion began to follow. Quickly behind them Ishizu ran, trying to catch up, calling after them to wait on Yugi and Mahad.

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Breakfast was a disaster. It wasn't that it didn't taste good, but because Kisara and Mokuba were having a little to much fun with the mixer. Pancake and waffle batter was spattered across the kitchen, to where it was almost impossible to tell what color the tiles were under the white, sticky ooze. The apartment smelled good though, and Joey and Seto had lost their rounds of rock-paper-scissors, so they had to clean up afterward. Seto just laughed from the couch, "If you can get me to work with Wheeler, that'll be an entirely different kind of win for you, Kisara."

"I can think of ways to make you do it, Mr. Kaiba," she said in an almost eerily sweet voice. Seto just laughed again, clearly ignoring the threat.

Noah ate his pancakes as if he'd not eaten in years, which, according to what she'd been told, was exactly the case. It gave her a warm feeling to know that he liked them so well. . . or maybe he was just so hungry he didn't care. To his left sat Joey, who hadn't come up for air since she laid the hot syrup down on the table. Every now and then he would bang on his chest, coughing, but she'd gotten over that scare long ago; that seemed to be his way of swallowing. Mokuba sat on the couch with his brother, eating his waffled while telling Seto to get something to eat between bites. Kisara wasn't the only one who was worried about him this morning.

Tristan and Téa both had to go to their jobs, yet even though they were missing the tiny apartment was almost filled to capacity. The thought that soon three more additions would be coming over made Kisara wonder if the floor would give out. Sighing, she decided that she should probably start on the kitchen, since it was pretty obvious no one else was going to clean it. She was just about to put the first dishes away when she noticed Seto had left his seat. Frowning, she asked, "Hey, where'd Seto go--oh!" There was a loud clack beside her as Seto put his coffee cup in the sink. Taking the sink rag that was in laying on the counter, Kisara wiped it full force at his arm, "Don't do that! You scared me!"

He merely grinned, "Maybe you should try not to be so easily startled."

"Maybe you should learn some manners?" He started to walk away, but she quickly wrapped the towel around his neck, pulling gently, "And just where do you think you're going?"

"Well, I obviously wouldn't want to frighten you further with my presence."

She jerked quickly, nearly knocking him into her. She tried on his trademark grin, "Oh no, you're not going anywhere, buddy." He turned to face her, an eyebrow raised, "What, you think you can just come into the war zone and not lend a helping hand? You're stuck here now, mister."

Seto's face grew more serious, "Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've had to do housework?"

She got up in his face, which was difficult, since she had to stand on her tip-toes, "It's like riding a bike; you never forget."

"I didn't eat anything, so this mess isn't mine," he answered cooly, inching his face closer to hers.

Kisara pushed him back, pretending to cry, "I know, and it deeply hurt me that you wouldn't try my cooking. So, you owe me. Start wiping down the counter over there, or if you want, gather up the dishes that everyone left behind."

"What?" And to his surprise, everyone that had previously been sitting at the table or living room had vanished, the only sign that it had been occupied were the dirty dishes left in their wake. "This is humiliating," he grumbled, disappearing briefly only to return with a stack of sticky plates, the sound of a GameCube shooting to life echoing in the distance.

"Why is it humiliating?" Kisara asked, a sour note to her voice, "I do this as a living, you know."

"Yes, but you're not a multi-million dollar company owner who has enough money to pay people like you to do it for them." He dropped the dishes in the soapy water, suds flying everywhere. He growled in annoyance as a big blob of bubbles landed in his hair.

Kisara laughed, reaching up to remove the mess, "Well, think of it as an opportunity to get to know your employees better. Besides," she lowered the bubbles to her face, blowing gently, "it can be fun with more than one person helping." She giggled as the tiny bubbles floated through the air. They popped along the ceiling, leaving little holes where it hit the batter splotches, "Oh," she frowned, "I'm just making a bigger mess, aren't I?"

Smiling, Seto teased, "You know, you act like a little kid."

"Uh huh, this coming from a man who makes all his money on childrens' toys." She felt his arms wrap around her stomach then, "Seto?"

His chin rested on her head, Seto breathed in deeply, "I wish I could act like you." They were silent for what seemed like forever, the only sound was of someone being blown out of the ring on Super Smash Brothers.

Kisara placed her hands on Seto's, "What happened to you, Seto? It's almost as if you're afraid to act your age." She felt him tense, and his breathing seemed to grow tight. She turned, hugging him fiercely, "Nevermind, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

His body shuddered, and in a weak, tortured voice he whispered, "I . . . don't want you, or anyone, to know. It's not that I don't trust you," he leaned out of their embrace, only far enough so he could see her eyes, "I just, I'm not. . ."

She kissed him lightly on the cheek, "I said, don't worry about it. Just know that you're never alone, Seto. I'll be here for you," she smiled, "and if you can't find me, I'm sure Mokuba will be more than happy to be there for you."

His hand left her side to find her face. Tracing the outline of her jaw, he gently directed her towards his lips, kissing her lightly. He whispered her name, then with a hunger he kissed her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him find whatever comfort he could in their embrace. Seto lifted her up to the counter, as if she weighed no more than a doll. They kissed for another moment or so until Kisara started to giggle. Not really sure what was so funny, but unwilling to stop either, Seto just continued their episode, until she nibbled on his lip. He pulled away, gasping, "What?"

"I'm pretty sure I have pancake batter all over my butt right about now."

"What--?" He looked down, blushing as he noticed the puddle of pale ooze he'd placed her on. Lifting her down almost as quickly as he had placed her up there, he muttered, "Sorry."

She smirked in response, "This just means you really have to help me clean now."

Seto, his arms pinning her between himself and the counter, smiled slyly, "Oh, I don't mind cleaning you up--"

"We're home!" The front door slammed open, and Yugi was the first to step through. The sound of multiple carry-ons flopping on the floor echoed through the hallway. Kisara, blushing wildly, ducked under Seto's long arms and stumbled to the door to help, calling, "H-hang on! I'm coming!"