A/N: Nothing like posting your update form an airport terminal. I left everyone waiting for eight years, so I figured the least I could do was update in a timely fashion. Have I ever mentioned how much I love Bakura? Like, seriously.

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters belong to Konami and are the creative property of Kazuki Takahashi. This is a work of fanfiction.


Ghost

Chapter 11

The train was packed with festival revelers returning home. Teenagers in colorful yukata crowded each other, chatting loudly and amiably. Parents held sleepy children in their arms and elderly grandparents fanned themselves in the crowded heat.

Serenity sat in total silence amongst her noisy friends. Completely turned in on herself, she could not stop replaying her recent paranormal experience.

The spirit had unquestionably been that of her brother's old classmate Seto Kaiba. She had never been one to believe in ghosts, but she would be delusional to write off the encounter. Was Kaiba perhaps using the spiritual nature of Obon to reach her from beyond? Wasn't Kaiba still alive? And why her?

"Is everything okay, Serenity?"

She jumped in her seat. Looking up in shock, she saw Bakura standing over her, slight concern hiding under his amusement at her surprise. Serenity blushed at being caught so out to space. She smiled sheepishly at Bakura's kind look and tried to put him at ease.

"Oh, no. I'm okay." He was unrelenting.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Bakura seemed like a nice, normal young man. She remembered the fragile, incapacitated boy from the Battle City tournament and her eager pleading with Kaiba to get him medical attention. She tried to equate that memory with the tall, broad-shouldered young man in front of her and was suddenly embarrassed. Joey's other friends were one thing, but she did not really want this quiet, worldly and thoughtful boy to think strangely of her.

"It's nothing, really." She launched a distraction. "What about you? How are things going for you?" He seemed to brighten perceptibly at her interest.

"Oh, I've never been better! I actually got to spend the summer abroad at a dig site sponsored by my archaeology department. They wanted some Egyptology majors to represent the university, and I guess I fit the bill!"

Momentarily distracted from her strange encounter earlier, she urged Bakura to continue.

"Well, a sister university of ours in London runs the program. There was a recent find near Luxor, so I volunteered to go. Quite eagerly, actually," he said with a chuckle. "Like father, like son," he said, rather wistfully. Serenity was fascinated. Luxor, as in Egypt?

"Did you find anything interesting?" she asked, imagining pyramids and towering statues of ancient pharaohs.

"Oh, loads! Pottery shards, ancient building bases, and even some paleofeces!"

"Um."

Bakura went on and on about his summer, excited to share it with Serenity. She loved hearing about his adventures, duly impressed with the young man's exciting lifestyle. She especially enjoyed the part about Bakura befriending an ornery camel.

The train ride passed quickly, and Serenity was disappointed when Bakura's stop came.

"I hope you had fun tonight," he told her, swaying with the hand-ring from above as the train braked to a stop at the station. "See you again tomorrow?" Serenity knew the group was planning on getting together again, but she could not help but blush at the handsome boy's inquiry.

"Uh, yeah. Definitely." He smiled at her as he left the car and stepped onto the platform. The remaining friends waved through the window at him as the train sped away from the station. Her brother spoke up.

"Got a fever or something, Serenity?" he asked with a knowing grin. Serenity frowned and turned her crimson face away.

"Shut up, Joey."

.

Thirty minutes later and the siblings were walking into Joey's apartment, kicking off their shoes at the entranceway. They headed into the washroom simultaneously to brush their teeth. Joey took the opportunity to tease his sister some more, speaking around the foam in his mouth.

"Should I expect to hear less about dreams starring Kaiba and more about Bakura tomorrow morning?" He laughed when she shoved him. Following her action, Serenity sobered again, reminded of her encounter at the festival. Joey did not question her shift in mood, dismissively blaming girly hormones. They bid one another goodnight, and Serenity retreated once again to the bedroom for the evening.

Changed into thin cotton shorts and a tank-top, she sat cross-legged atop the bed, clutching a pillow to her chest and gazing restlessly around the dark bedroom. Light from the streetlamp outside the window cast eerie shadows on the walls, and Serenity's nervous imagination made them dance in a way she had not noticed the previous few nights. She cleared her throat and whispered into the darkness.

"H-hello?"

She was not exactly sure what she expected when she called out into the empty space. Feeling a little silly, she could not banish the vision of Kaiba towering before her, or the feeling of his icy fingers wrapping around her own. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she tried once again with more resolve in her voice.

"Hello? Are you there, Kaiba?" The shadows continued to dance on the walls, but none were forthcoming with an answer. Serenity shook her head at herself and decided to get under the covers.

Thoroughly tucked in, she did her best to calm her racing heart and lull herself to sleep. Closing her eyes, she exhaled deeply.

A light thump from the middle of the room sent her eyelids flying open. Peeking out from under the covers, she strained to see through the darkness, looking for the source of the noise. She spotted something small and white in the middle of the floor, no bigger than a housecat. It had not been there before.

Peeling back the covers nervously, she curiously walked to the object. Bending over and picking it up, she recognized it as a toy she had mistakenly gifted Joey with a couple of years back. They laughed about the incident now.

Remembering his passion for the popular card game Duel Monsters, Serenity had seen the plush dragon in a store and bought it for him, mistaking the white monster for his favorite. At his affronted reaction and to her complete befuddlement, she discovered that she had accidentally presented him with a different creature, entirely. She had not really understood why he was so offended until he explained that it was a monster preferred by a disliked rival of Joey's: Seto Kaiba.

Serenity dropped the toy in horror and backed away quickly.

Collapsing back onto the bed behind her, she scooted as far back as she could, searching the room with fright-filled eyes for any sign of Kaiba's ghost. She felt a chill and her hair stood on end.

"What do you want?" she called out into the room nervously, her voice trembling slightly. "Why are you here?" The air was heavy, but she received no answer. She did not know what to do.

"Are you going to hurt me?" she asked fearfully, but with a challenging edge. "My brother - he told me that his friend Yugi said something was following me. Was that you this whole time?" She did not know what she expected to happen in response to all her questions.

"Why are you following me? And... why do I keep dreaming about you? I barely knew you!"

She was met with nothing but silence.

Her terror left her awake for at least another hour. Eventually, though, the stillness of the night lulled her into a fitful sleep.

The toy remained on its side where she dropped it.


A/N: My guilty pleasure is watching those 'ghost hunting' TV shows. I love those damned things, and I'm pretty sure they'd have a field day here.

A special shout out to returning readers. Thanks for having faith in me and sticking it out for the better part of a decade. I feel really old.