EchoGirl: So here we go. I hope you guys like this chapter. You finally get to meet the grandparents! Under pretty strange circumstances, I'll admit, I mean who first meets their grandparents by breaking into their house? Really...

Goldfish: You're giving away the entire chapter! They don't want to hear it!

EchoGirl: Oops.

Goldfish: (sighs) EchoGirl319 does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.


A Rose in the Stars

Chapter 7

"So," Destiny murmured, standing outside the extremely large house, her friends flanking her, "this is the Izinski household."

"Not a bad place," Mark said, gazing up at the house.

Vanessa nodded in agreement. "It sure is big."

"Meh," Jake shrugged, "they could've done more with the garden. Plus, you can see that all their windows have been replaced at least once."

Everyone rolled his or her eyes.

"You really need to stop hanging about your father as much as you do," Destiny told him, "you're adopting his attitude."

Jake glowered at her, violet eyes shining.

Pretty, pretty, pretty! That aggravating voice in his head sung.

Shut up!

They had been hiding in the bushes until they were sure that the senator and his wife were not home before stepping forward. Chris, being the strange, twisted child that he was, had revealed to the rest of the group that he knew how to pick locks. Destiny was becoming increasingly concerned his mental state, but she had to admit that being able to pick locks was an awesome skill. The rest of the group had even begged him to teach them.

After half an hour they had decided it was safe and were now standing in the house's looming shadow as Chris worked on the lock with his mother's hairpins. With a click, the door opened.

"Yeah!" Chris exclaimed, punching at the air, "who's genius?"

Destiny rolled her eyes as she climbed the steps up to the porch, pushing him over in the process. The others followed her inside. She closed the door turned to them.

"Right, you know our mission. Split up, explore the house, and see if you can find anything on Akiza Izinski or the Black Rose, but don't touch anything else. This," she looked around the entrance, "is our rendezvous point. We'll meet back here when we're done."

Her four companions nodded and headed off in different direction. Jake headed left to the living, Chris right to the study, Vanessa headed down the hall and Mark headed for the kitchen. Destiny glanced to her right.

"I guess that leaves upstairs for me," she mused, sliding her hand along the banister before beginning to climb the stairs.


The first room that Destiny came to upstairs led to the master bedroom. A king-sized bed was pressed up against one wall, flanked by two bedside tables. A book was lying face down one of them. She walked over and silently picked it up.

"Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte," she read quietly, her fingers brushing the elegant typing. She opened the book and watched as a folded piece of paper fell out of it and fluttered to the ground. Tentatively, she bent down to pick it up.

She put the book back in place and carefully unfolded the letter. Her eyes widened as she began to read:

Mom, Daddy,

I'm sorry. I know that I've been gone for months without even saying anything, and that you're probably worried sick about me. You always are, and I don't think I've ever really appreciated how much you really do care about me.

I'm leaving. For good this time. And I'm not coming back this time.

Something's happened. Something that you wouldn't understand. I know that you've always told me not to run away from my responsibilities, but this isn't something I can face. You know what I did to both of you, especially you, Daddy, and I'm afraid of that happening again. I couldn't bear it if I ever hurt someone else, someone important to me, like that again. I don't think I could survive.

So I'm leaving. It'll be better for everyone. Just, please, forget me.

And I'm sorry. For everything.

Your daughter,

Akiza

The letter fell from Destiny's hand as she stumbled backwards, shocked to the core. She dove for it before it could hit the floor and clutched it tight to her chest.

Her mother had written this. Her mother had given this to her parents the day that she had left. She had asked them to forget about her. Like she had never existed.

Destiny choked out a strangled cry, and the letter crumpled in her grip. She said that she didn't want anyone important to her to get hurt again.

Me.

She had hurt her own parents, the letter had said, Yusei had revealed that she had hurt him, and it was common knowledge that she had hurt many others. She hurt so many people that she'd loved. She didn't want to hurt daughter.

Destiny's desire to unravel the mystery of her mother's past was stronger than ever.

She would solve the enigma that was the Black Rose.

Slowly, she slipped a card from her deck and slid it into position on her duel disk, using her psychic powers to solidify the monster.

"White Magician of Fate," she called in a whispered voice as a white cloaked girl, appeared before her. She was dressed in a loose silvery white dress and an open white cloak. A pair of silver eyes situated in beautiful pale face framed by long silvery white hair peered out at her from beneath the cowl of the cloak. She held a silver staff tipped with a mystical red jewel in one hand.

"Can you help me find information about my mother?" Destiny asked the duel monster spirit who nodded silently and touched the girl's forehead, her eyes glowing eerily. Her lips twisted into a smile and with a grace that only the monster spirits could have walked out of the room, her mistress in tow.

She led Destiny to a door just down the hall and passed through the it. Destiny opened the door and looked curiously around the room. There was a bed in one corner. Destiny walked over to it, her fingers brushing against the wall as she went. White Magician of Fate stood next to a cardboard box, watching her as she went.

The room was dusty, Destiny noticed, coughing. Her fingers touched the bedspread, only to come away with a layer of grey dust. She rubbed it off on her trousers.

Whoever's room this is hasn't been here in a while, Destiny thought disgustedly, recoiling as her hand made contact with another dust covered surface. I mean, my grandparents could've at least cleaned the place. Unless of course they didn't want anything about it to change… wait a second! That's it!

This was her mother's room. It made complete sense. They hadn't forgotten about her like she'd asked them to. They'd left her room completely the same, just in case she ever came back. Destiny bounded over and wrapped her duel monster in a tight embrace. After a moment, the magician returned the hug.

"Thank you, White Magician!" she told her, "this is her room, isn't it?"

The magician nodded, "yes, Destiny, it is. And here." She bent down and pulled a wrapped object out of the cardboard box and handed it to her mistress. "You will be able to experience what she experienced through this."

Destiny stared at her, wide-eyed. Before unwrapping the strange object. She let the wrapping fall unceremoniously to the floor as she gaped at the object in her hands.

This was too good to be true.

In her trembling hands Destiny Fudo held the mask of the Black Rose Witch.

It was completely white, with a red stripe – shaped like a scar – running vertically across each eye. It cracks ran across several spots of it – like it had somehow been broken and then glued back together. She glanced at White Magician, who smiled gently at her before vanishing. Destiny once again turned her sapphire gaze to the mask.

It was light in her hands, practically weightless. As she stared intently into its empty eyes she could just hear the whispered voices it emitted.

"…we're relying on you, Akiza…"

"…stay away from me!…"

"…embrace your dragon, it's beautiful, just like you are behind the mask…"

"…I'm not beautiful!…"

"…you've done enough damage for one day…"

"…help me…"

Destiny almost dropped the mask in shock. So many voice, all merged together, so much pain…

"Who are you?!" an unfamiliar male voice yelled from downstairs. Destiny gasped in horror. This. Could. Not. Be. Happening.

"How did you get in here?!" a shocked female voice added fearfully.

Uh-oh. Busted.

Hastily, Destiny shoved the mask and letter into a bag that she had brought and grabbed a few more items from around the room, shoving them in too before zipping the bag shut and racing downstairs. She could hear White Magician's voice in her head urging her to hurry.

What do you think I'm doing? She would have rolled her eyes were she not in such a rush.

She reached the bottom of the stairs to see Jake, Vanessa, Mark and Chris gathered in the hall, staring at a couple who were standing shocked in the doorway. She joined them just in time to hear the woman announcing that she was calling security and whip out a phone. She watched as the holographic image of Officer Trudge appeared before them.

That's just great, she thought sarcastically, of every member of Sector Security to call it just had to be him.

She could tell that the others were thinking the exact same thing.

"Mrs. Izinski?" Trudge asked squinting, he evidently hadn't heard from her in a while. "Is that you?"

"Yes," the violet haired woman nodded. So this was her grandmother. That must mean that the large intimidating man with the moustache was her grandfather, "some youths just broke into our house?"

"What?" Trudge exclaimed, "why would anyone try to break into a senator's house?"

"Well, they did," her grandfather responded, standing beside her grandmother.

"Have they run off yet?" Trudge asked.

"No," Setsuko shook her head. "We've got them right here."

"Strange," Trudge murmured, stroking his chin before turning back to the couple, "alright. Show me this bunch of unruly uneducated vandals."

"We're not unruly, uneducated vandals, Trudge," Jake snapped as the woman turned the phone so as security officer could see the group.

"YOU!" Trudge exclaimed loudly, then saw all of them. "I always thought you lot where a bunch of misfits, just like your fathers back in the old Satellite, but this time you've pushed the limit. Especially you two," he glared at Destiny and Jake.

Before either one could retort, Vanessa replied indignantly, "we haven't taken anything!"

Except me, Destiny thought guiltily, glancing at her bag. She didn't want the others to get blamed for what she did, as she knew that each one of them would take the blame without even considering what might happen to them.

"No," Trudge responded, "but you broke into someone's house and entered without permission. That, in case you were unaware, Miss Hogan, is against the law." He turned back to the Izinskis. "I'm going to be coming to pick these unruly kids up and take them into custody until I can speak to their parents."

"Ha," Jake snorted, "I'd like to see you deal with my father after arresting me."

Trudge blanched slightly and Destiny chuckled at the thought. That would be a sight.

Unfortunately, Trudge recovered quickly. "Nevertheless, you lot are coming downtown. Senator Izinski," he glanced at Hideo, "you and your wife are welcome to come along to see that these kids' punishment is to your satisfaction."

"I think we will," Hideo replied, "there's something familiar about these children and I want to find out what."

He recognises our parents in us, Destiny thought as the call ended and Trudge's hologram disappeared.

She moved closer to the rest of the group, so that they were all huddled together, waiting for Trudge to arrive as the Izinskis eyed them suspiciously.

Some grandparents they are, Destiny thought in amusement, having their only grandchild arrested on sight.


EchoGirl: Some grandparents indeed. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to writing the next chapter so it'll be up super soon! I hoped you guys liked this one. And, yep, Jake is still hearing voices. R+R please!