When Yugi woke up the next morning, the first thing he did was trip over the Celtic Guardian, who was sound asleep on his bedroom floor. It took Yugi a minute or two to remember why the elf was there. Ah, of course. He'd lost the wrestling match for the couch, which was where Mahaddo should to be. Thankfully, Sam hadn't seemed interested in doing much more than flirting, which was driving both Duel Monsters absolutely mad.
Chuckling at the memory of his friends up to their elbows in soapsuds and dishes (they'd been put on dish-washing duty), Yugi meandered into the shower. When he got out, both Mahaddo and the Celtic Guardian were still sound asleep, but Sam was awake, sitting on the kitchen counter and waiting for the kettle to boil for tea. Yugi hopped up to sit beside her.
"Good morning." She murmured.
"Morning."
"The guys're still asleep?"
"Mmhm. And snoring. Celtic is, anyway." That got him a laugh. "Something wrong? You're a little spacey this morning."
"I'm fine. It's just…I'd started to believe that there was nobody else out there who knew anything about magic of any kind, and then I meet you, and find out you have the not-so-dangerous equivalent of an evil twin, and two Duel Monsters pop out of nowhere, stay for dinner, flirt with me, and then spend the night. It's just…taking awhile to sink in."
"Is it a bad thing?" Yugi asked. The kettle whistled. Yugi watched, more delighted than anything else, as the kettle lifted up on its own and poured hot water into a pair of mugs waiting beside the stove. The kettle was set back down on the stove, and the mugs floated over to where they sat.
"No, I suppose not. I haven't been able to do anything like this in ages either. I assumed you'd call me a witch or something. Most people do."
"Most people are idiots." Yugi muttered, sipping carefully at the steaming tea. "They only believe what society in general believes, which is dumb, because society in general has an IQ of 3." Sam giggled. "It's true. Everybody believed that I-and Yami- was just a quiet, short kid with crazy hair and an obsession with gaming. They kept believing that until I-we- won a major duel with an audience, and then everyone was practically singing our praises."
"Isn't it a little weird? Talking about yourself as a plural, I mean."
"Not really. Before…well, all three of us got our-"
"Three? I thought there was only you and your yami. Just how many…how many other yous were there?" Sam looked very confused.
"Right. But we were one of three light/dark pairs…although I'm not sure 'light' is an accurate way to describe one of them."
"Three pairs? Jeez, that's got to be a hassle to keep straight. Did the other two have Egyptian roots too?"
"Yes. One was the Tomb Robber that was the kicker for the whole Millennium Item fiasco, and the other is-and was- a Tomb Guardian. My yami's tomb, to be exact."
"Those are the yamis, right?"
"Yes and no. The Tomb Guardian was a plural in and of himself- their situation was an entirely different case. Bakura and Yami- my yami- are definitely the dark side of our pairs, but Marik and Malik are a different story."
"How so?"
"Well…Marik resented the traditions of the family he was born into, because he was the first son and therefore had to stay in the tomb until he passed the title of Tomb Guardian to his son. Malik is best described as first a mental and then physical manifestation of Marik's combined emotions. More than anything, Marik wanted out. Malik got him out. They fought for the longest time, but we separated them, and Malik is just your average loveable nutcase now. But, the question is, is Malik the yami because he was created from anger and hatred, or is Marik the yami because he created such a dark being?"
"And the verdict?"
"Nothing official. We generally call Marik the hikari. It's just easier."
"Jeez." Sam muttered. Yugi gave her a lopsided grin and sipped at his tea. "There aren't any others, are there?"
"Not that we know of. There's only one other possible, because, of the seven Priests who had the Items, only one who was in possession of their Item when they died hasn't reincarnated or become a yami of some kind."
"Mmm."
Rather suddenly, a loud bang sounded in the living room. Sam and Yugi jumped. Then an unfamiliar voice began yelling.
"Where in the name of everything Egyptian have you been!? Do you have any idea how worried I've been? How worried everyone has been? Nowhere to be found, no note, no duels going on…" Whoever was speaking was male, with a surprisingly light voice.
"What was that?" Sam asked slowly.
"I have absolutely no idea."
"Let's go check." Sam slid off the counter, and Yugi followed. Together, they tiptoed into the living room. Celtic and Mahaddo were there, looking guilty. Standing in front of them, hands on hips, was a fantastic blend of human and dragon. He was tall, well over six feet, with very long legs, a fact made quite obvious by the outfit he wore. It consisted of a thick silver chain around his waist, from which hung what could only be called a loincloth. It fell to his knees. A long tail flicked back and forth from underneath the cloth. The silver of the chain was repeated in his cuffs, anklets, and the thick collar around his neck, which contrasted nicely with his tan skin and sleek blonde hair. He wore no shirt, which allowed his wings free movement. The wings themselves were the same shade of blue as his loincloth and tail, and arced up over his head, sweeping nearly to his ankles. The claws on them looked wickedly sharp. Slowly, he turned to face Yugi and Sam. He bowed deeply.
"Ah. Good morning, Game King." He murmured. His eyes were so pale a blue that they looked white, and his teeth were too sharp to be human.
"Um…good morning. Who are you, what connection do you have to them, and why are you in this apartment?" Sam snapped.
"I apologize for my intrusion. I'm here because I was charged with tracking your guests down. I am one of the three Masters of another Deck, one which belongs to a friend and rival of his." He nodded to Yugi. "And I am Kenji, the male Blue Eyes White Dragon."
"You're the what?" Yugi yelped.
"Blue Eyes White Dragon. Is it so hard to believe? You can see my wings, can't you?" Kenji twisted around to make sure his wings were still in place.
"Yes, but…you've got a human-ish form…"
"I wouldn't fit in here otherwise." Kenji said, grinning in a way that was utterly irresistible. "Most places in this world aren't built to accommodate dragons." Sam started laughing.
"So…why are you here?" Yugi asked. Behind Kenji, Mahaddo and the Dark Magician shifted guiltily.
"Because these idiots vanished without any sort of warning, and we were going to have a meeting this morning. However, since they failed to present themselves, we had to postpone it and I got chased out to track them. I hope you two are happy, because I've got burns on my back that you are going to treat for me."
"Burns?" Samantha repeated. "From what?"
"Two very impatient sisters."
"Are they dragons too?"
"Yeah. One older, and one younger. You're looking at two of the most popular guys in the Decks, and my sisters are diehard fangirls. Between the Council itself and the girls who found out that they were missing with out leaving a hint to their whereabouts…well, let's just say that it was a mess. A mess that I had to clean up. You two have two hours. Then you're coming back, or I'll go get the Harpies, and their Brother." Kenji vanished.
"Then you've got time for breakfast," Sam said cheerfully. "How do waffles sound?"
