A/N: Well summer's been a blast, as I'm sure it has been for most of you, I hope you are all having a great summer and a safe one! I'm almost up to walking speed again so I'm excited to start working, I've been wanting to for a while. Just have to get back to walking on my own two feet then I can get my license and get to work!
Onto the story!
SLAM!
"Eep!" I squealed, surging up in the bed I was in. I looked at the door to glare at whomever had dared to wake me and saw Bakura, "Why am I not surprised?" I muttered, putting a hand over my heart and the other on my face. I sighed, trying to control my breathing as he sauntered over and sat on the corner of the bed.
"You know, everyone's already up and about, maybe you should get dressed and find the others." Bakura offered some advice, I nodded and looked up at him, why is he such a jerk to everyone else but me? I shook it off, he's nice to Marik and Ryou, so it's probably because I'm like him in a few ways. A thief for one.
"Thanks, Bakura." I gave him a smile that seemed to be coming easier and easier to give, one that started to come when I first met these guys. "Remind me, why did Marik have to stay home?" I questioned, confused at why our blond Egyptian friend would stay home and miss this opportunity. Bakura chuckled,
"It's mainly because Ishizu would have his head if he was gone for more than a few days at a time. She keeps her brothers close." He explained in a malevolent tone. I rolled my eyes and waved my hands at him,
"Shoo. I have to change." He sighed, rolling his eyes in return as he waited just outside the door. The horn sounded from the boat, making the entire thing vibrate as I pulled on some normal clothes, ones that didn't have blood on them from just a few nights ago. It's been nearly a week since I've met all of them... Although Joey and Yugi I barely know, along with Tristan and Tea. Maybe I'll get to know them better. I pulled on a pair of jeans with a tank top and my army jacket that I refused to go anywhere without. I slipped my Millennium Bracelet on and sighed at the cool metal touching my warm skin, the contact felt ever relaxing and familiar. Come to think of it, I never told Atem where I got it. Oh well.
"Alright, King of Thieves, I'm done." I called out, watching the door fall open and Bakura falling with it, Joey and Yugi were there,
"Hey, Zar, come on! We've almost reached the island!" Joey called, giving me a nickname off the bat. I shook my head and stuffed everything in my bag and ran to catch up with them.
"Coming, Bakura?" I asked as I walked around him, his eyes seemed to have swirls in them as I laughed and he growled, chasing after me to catch me. I ran outside onto the deck, chasing after Yugi and Joey to the front of the boat. The sea water splashed against the giant boat and I loved the smell of the salt on the wind as it blew through the deck, keeping it cool on the warm sunny day. I ran a hand through my short black hair and put the other on the railing, Tea and Yugi were standing next to each other and Tristan was nervously looking around. Joey was grinning like an idiot,
"Alright! I can't wait to get started!" He announced, making all the other duelists around us look at him like easy prey. Some of us sighed at him but I just shook my head, I've only known these guys for nearly a week but even I know that Joey's always like this. Talk and act now, think later. It's a constant problem. Someone wrapped their arms around my waist and picked me up, I bit my lip to keep from squealing like a girl, it's unusual for me to be so relaxed but it's nice. I turned to see Bakura behind me, guess he caught up. He turned me back around so I was facing towards the island once again and put his chin in the crook of my neck,
"Like the view?" He asked, looking at the island with dull eyes, he was thinking about something, about what I couldn't guess. I looked at his eyes then in the ocean, out to the island we were about to dock in.
"It's a beautiful island, and the stone castle is amazing." I breathed, I had never left Japan before, and seeing stuff like this was rare considering I lived underground most of the time. I didn't go on vacations, and if I did, it was in the city so I could get some more cash hustling people. I sighed, looking down and Bakura gave me a questioning look,
"It's silly, but I'm missing my kids right now. I hope your brother can handle them. They tend to test the limits of someone they don't know." I explained and smiled sheepishly, Bakura just laughed and shook his head,
"You'd be surprised at how well Ryou can handle children. They flock to him, it's like he's never really grown out of that stage. He's pure adult sometimes when I'm being my troublesome self. But-"
"You two take turns taking care of each other. I get it. Sometimes even my kids surprise me and teach me something new." I covered my mouth as a cough came out and I shook my head with surprise. Bakura spurted out with laughter,
"That... was adorable." He made a face, mimicking me and continued laughing. I folded my arms and walked away from him since he had let me go to laugh, I walked over to Tea and Tristan,
"You know, Tristan, you should really act normal. People will get suspicious if you keep looking around like that." I muttered to him, leaning back against the railing and closing my eyes with a sigh. He jumped, apparently I seemed to appear out of nowhere to him,
"Wait, how did you get on the ship?" Tristan asked, my eyes opened slightly at him, the others were also curious and Bakura seemed to try and slip away so he couldn't get yelled at anymore.
"Oh, no you don't. The king of thieves over there took someone else's passes to get onto the boat and island." I pointed at him and Yugi seemed to sweatdrop and facepalm at the same time,
"Bakura~," Yugi sighed, Bakura just folded his arms as Atem looked at me surprised,
"And you just let him do this?"
"Well, how else was I supposed to get on this ship? Be a stowaway like these two and be afraid every second of getting caught? No thanks." I barked back, I didn't like being accused of letting a bad dead happen, mainly since I stole things for a living. Giving is what I usually do, I talk to the store owner and see what's overstocked in the stores so I can 'steal' them and I don't get sued or looked for by the cops. Even the gramps Muto at the Kame Game Shop gave me a few things that weren't selling. Atem seemed annoyed at me attacking his friends,
"You could've asked, like Joey did." He surprised me by reacting with a soft voice, not reprimanding me on my actions. I was taken back by his kindness and looked away,
"I'm not used to charity. I'm used to fighting for what I want, tooth and nail." I replied, hiding my eyes under my hair, Joey grabbed my chin and made me look up at him,
"Well, this isn't charity, capiche? We're your friends now, weather you like it or not. We help each other when needed, it's not charity if it's coming from friends." He explained, and for some reason I started getting teary eyed. I will not cry... I will... not... cry! I started coughing again, I held a hand to my throat as the coughing became slightly more violent than the last. Not now... I can't have this now! I forgot to pack my medicine... The others stepped away from me, giving me room to breath as Bakura stepped forward and forced me to stand straight so I could breath better. Tears fell down my cheeks as I had my eyes closed so I could focus on my breathing, Bakura steadied me with a hand on my lower back and Tea stepped forward this time.
"Are you okay? You started having a coughing fit last night too while everyone was asleep." Tea's voice was full of concern and it made me feel like I had another sister, I nodded once I caught my breath again.
"I'm fine, it's just allergies." I gave them a smile that told them not to worry, "Look! We're going to dock soon!" I pointed at the island as it was getting ever more closer to us, it had gotten very close while we were all talking and I had to get them distracted. Atem and Bakura weren't fooled though, Joey was still looking at me and I blinked,
"Wha-"
"Tell me if you're not okay, alright?" Joey stated, his voice very serious and his golden brown eyes boring into mine. I looked away and nodded,
"Alright, Joey." I whispered, and it seemed to be enough for Joey because he wrapped an arm around my shoulders in a brotherly way and cheered for finally reaching the island. I smiled, having friends could be troublesome, but it felt nice to have someone worry and be there for you.
"Man, this Duelist Kingdom looks like a pretty big place, Yugi." Joey commented, dragging me over to the others once more. He didn't want me to seclude myself and I was strangely getting used to the idea of not being alone. "Finding yer grandpa's not gonna be easy." Joey reminded all of us of why we were here, I'm starting not to care about the reward money and more about Yugi's grandfather. From what I've heard, a lot has happened to the nice old man and that doesn't play well in my book.
"Well, we gatta start somewhere." Said the smaller Muto, the optimism was always welcoming, so far. I nodded in agreement and smiled at Joey and Yugi, the anchor was set a few moments afterwards and we made our way to the boarding plank that let us off the boat. When we all got off the boat, we were greeted with a bunch of KaibaCorp looking flunkies in suites that stood just outside the boarding dock.
"Woah, check out the suites..." Joey commented, making me laugh under my breath, shaking my head.
"If this is being held by Maximilian Pegasus, then don't you think he'd have security?" I asked, looking up at Joey, who hadn't let me go yet. Apparently he was afraid I'd run off on my own. Which was the plan for as soon as I had gotten on the island. He's smarter than he looks. Acts. Thinks. Yeah...
"Attention all duelists!" Came a voice from the intercom, "Please disembark in an orderly fashion." Tristan suddenly got into Tea's face,
"Hey, Tea, what if one of those security guys finds out we're both stowaways? We oughta play it safe and just swim back." He stated, his eyes shifting from side to side in a creepy manner. I rolled my eyes,
"Yeah, and what if they realize that Bakura and I weren't actually invited. It's not like they have a big list that they check off. That'd take too long."
"Besides, Tristan, we're in the middle of nowhere, lame brain. If you can just try and act normal, we'll be okay." I laughed at Tristan's expression, he seemed to not like Tea yelling at him and shoving reality in his face. I caught up to Yugi, Atem, and Joey,
"Hey, guys?" I called, catching up,
"What is it, Zar?" Joey asked, stopping to look at me,
"What happened to Bakura?" I skimmed over the heads of the crowd that had already formed for my white haired friend and saw him nowhere.
"That's a good question." Yugi stated, noticing Bakura's absence as well,
"But we don't have time to look for him." Atem told us as we continued down the plank,
"Act cool, just act cool, cool as a cucumber." Tristan chanted under his breath, walking like a wooden toy soldier. I rolled my eyes when suddenly-
"Hey you!" Tristan had a freak attack as we all turned around to see who the suite meant. "Don't look so nervous, you guys are our guests here!" He welcomed us, trying to calm Tristan's nerves. I laughed as I turned back around to continue walking, Tristan was making faces and I didn't want to give anything away.
"T-thaat's right! I'm your guest!" Tristan exclaimed, bowing then turning and marching away form the guy towards us once more. We regrouped around some boxes of cargo and Tristan put his hands on his knees breathing deeply,
"Do you need an inhaler or something, Tristan?" I asked, and he glared up at me,
"It's not funny, you guys, I think I just had a heart attack." Tea turned her head to the side with an expression that said he was an idiot,
"Way to play it cool, Tristan, that wasn't suspicious at all." I giggled at Tea's comment and she gave me a smile that said she loved her dork of a friend, Joey fist pumped in the air, getting over excited again.
"MMMM~, alright! Every single one of us made it here, safe and- AU!" I squealed, ducking behind Atem as Joey sneezed rather loudly, and onto Tea.
"Ew! Joey!" Tea squirmed around, trying to get the gross off of her, a giant loogie hung from Joey's nose afterwards. Atem chuckled, turning his head so he could look at me,
"Afraid of a sneeze, Zaara?" He asked, and I turned red, I just didn't want him to sneeze on me like he did to Tea.
"No, I was just using you as a human meat shield in case he exploded." I stated with a serious expression, walking around him and over to Tea again. His eyes almost seemed to bulge out of his head with confusion at what I had said, but he shook it off. Sort of.
"You would never had caught that cold if it wasn't for Weevil." Yugi stated, feeling bad about being tricked by Weevil so easily and letting Joey dive into the ocean,
"Speaking of our wormy friend, looks like he just slithered his way off the boat and he's already looking to start some trouble." He turned to look at Weevil, who had a grin on his face, "That slimeball, I'd love to wipe that grin off his face." I sighed, Joey's getting all worked up again. Atem put a hand on Joey's shoulder,
"I would too, Joey. But we don't have time for Weevil right now, we need to get Grandpa's soul back." Atem stated, throwing away Joey's irritation and replacing it with anger. Great idea, Atem, get Joey even more fired up about someone else. I folded my arms, these people don't know how to stay calm. Suddenly a man in a suite with an identical hair style to Tristan's stepped forward.
"Welcome all duelists, please," he brought an arm up behind him, motioning towards the staircase, "Follow the stairs to meet your host." Yugi stared intently at the stone castle,
"That castle has to belong to Pegasus," he stated, his expression grim. No shit, Sherlock. What gave it away? The fact that he's holding his own tournament on his island or that it's a stone castle that Pegasus is currently in? I didn't want to say this out loud just because it was obvious, but also because I was slowly learning to hold onto my tongue around these guys. If you said something crude, they'd all turn on you to protect one of their own. It's not something I want to feel. Atem already conveyed what he's capable of on the ship when Weevil threw Yugi's Exodia cards overboard, Atem would've beat him black and blue if I weren't there. Which reminds me-
"Atem," I began to dig through my pack and pulled out Atem's blue jacket, "Here. Thanks for letting me use it last night." I didn't notice it last night, thankfully, but now it was hard to ignore that he had muscles. I've really gatta stop thinking like a girl and think like a thief again. I didn't have any problems with guys when I was a thief. He took it with a grateful expression and put it back on, being an exact older copy of Yugi once more.
"Then what're we waitin for?" Joey asked, responding to Yugi's earlier statement and started walking towards the stairway. Yugi looked at him confused for only a moment before following. There were a bunch of groups splotched out on the stairway that had become friends on board the ship or were friends before hand, the stone stairways were beautifully carved and looked ancient. Along with the stone castle with it's empty windows, kept as it was who knows how long ago. The different terrains of the island were obvious to see from the height of the staircase as we made our way up, I kept a note of it in the back of my head for later.
"Huh, what's that?" Tea stopped and looked out into the forest area just below us, I quickly darted my eyes over to the area she had looked and saw Bakura in the woods.
"Huh?" The younger Muto questioned,
"What do you see, Tea?" The older Muto asked, Tea pointed to a spot in the woods were Bakura had been moments ago with his Millennium Necklace,
"It looked like... Bakura." Tea stated, obviously confused as to why he wasn't with us.
"Bakura? From school?" That's right, Yugi hadn't seen Bakura on board, he avoided Joey and Yugi while we were on the ship. Yugi was always focused on something else when Bakura was around, I looked at Atem. We had a silent conversation with our eyes,
Bakura never told me why he's here...
Well, obviously he didn't want us to know he was here, the only reason he stuck around was for you.
Well he's sneaking around now, with his Millennium Necklace in hand.
He's got a Millennium item?
Duh.
The conversation took merely seconds but it seemed that Atem didn't know Bakura had a Millennium Item, and I had forgotten to tell him about mine, another time maybe.
"Hey, you two coming or what?" Joey yelled, the group had finished their conversation and continued up the stairway, we jolted out of our own conversation and nodded,
"Wait for us, Joey! Or do I need to give you another bump on your head?" I threatened playfully as Joey mocked a frightened expression and I began to chase him up the stairs. Atem caught up to Yugi and walked beside him, not bothering the younger Muto with worries of Bakura. Not yet anyways. Joey and I made it to the top of the stairs first and we both were bent over, catching our breath as the others finally made it,
"See, that's why you two should've walked," Tea scolded us for acting like a couple of children. I rolled my eyes and began coughing, my resistance is going down. I need to start working my lungs more or there's going to be more than just a coughing fit as my problem. Atem seemed to appear behind me and held me straight up like Bakura had done on the boat, the coughing ceased and I began to breath again.
"Are you sure you're okay, Zaara?" Joey questioned, I'd definitely have to explain to Joey later about why I'm having these fits. Atem seemed like he wouldn't let it go later, it's something I didn't tell him when I gave him my history. Blah. A bunch of kids of all ages gathered around big iron doors and began to chat,
"Wow, that's Weevil Underwood, the regional champion!"
"And that's the runner up, Rex Raptor!" Weevil looked like he couldn't get enough of the praise that came to him, Rex seemed to be focused heavily on something, although why he had the purple streak in his hair was a mystery to me. Duelists are weird.
"And there's Maku Tsunami!" People turned to look at a guy with spikey blue hair and the guy had failed to locate a shirt to wear as he fashioned a big fishing spear in his left hand. "He was ranked third in the regional championship."
"Wow, these are all the best duelists in the world. Where's the world champion, Kaiba?" My eyes automatically located the kids that were talking and my ears zeroed in on their voices.
"Didn't you hear? Some kid beat him, and on his own turf too." Someone defeated Seto in a duel? That isn't possible, Seto is the world champion, he's got the three- wait. Yugi and Atem have/had Exodia in their decks! Was it-? I turned back to our group and looked at the twins who were trying their best not to gain attention to themselves,
"You two? One of you beat him?" I asked, amazed.
"Are you serious? I thought Kaiba was the best."
"He was, but not anymore."
"Atem's supposed to be the guy to beat now." My eyes nearly bugged outta my head as Joey patted his friend on the back, Yugi and Atem seemed to have started blushing from the attention. I didn't like how these kids were bad mouthing Seto, but if I said anything, I'd probably be outcasted for life from this group. It seemed like Seto did something pretty bad in order for Atem to duel him, from what I've learned about Atem, he only duels when it's a problem big enough and worthy enough.
"Attention! Please gather around! Your malevolent host is anxious to greet you all." Announced a stuffy voice, just hearing him talk made my throat hurt from the tone of it. Everyone looked up to a balcony that was fashioned just above the iron doors to see what Pegasus had to say.
"Boy would I like to get five minutes alone with that guy."
"What and get arrested, Joey?" Joey seemed to lose some steam after thinking it through and I sighed, "Honestly. I know you want revenge but you'll get there. He wants you to go through the tournament first." I mumbled, pinching the bridge of my nose irritably. A man in a red suite with gold buttons and white ruffles out of the cufflinks came out onto the balcony, his silver haired glimmered in the sunlight and covered his left eye. His golden eye searched the crowd as he held his hands behind him before speaking. I looked at Yugi and Atem and they had grim and determined expressions on their faces as they glared at Pegasus, Pegasus's eye seemed to finally find the spikey haired duo and he grinned wickedly at them. I could hear Pegasus give a low, quiet, chuckle as he smirked down at them.
I am starting to really hate this guy.
A/N: Well, sorry to cut the episode in half, but it makes for a great chapter cliffhanger, yes? XD Well, I hope you will continue to review as you guys follow along, thanks for the favorites and the follows! It makes me proud to know that there are those out there following my story! :) Thanks for reading!
Going on Hiatus for a while because fanfiction angered me, I was trying to delete a chapter from my Naruto fiction then the scroller moved and I deleted the next chapter. I was working on it so I hadn't backed it up yet. So I don't know when I'll update next, sorry guys.
Until next time, TT_TT
-Zaara