Fading Colors

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or its characters. I only own my OC's, and the fanfic. I'm not getting any money out of this. Just for entertainment purposes.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the super late update… I was really busy with school. To clear some things up, you could call Niu, Dusk's 'yami', in a way. Gosh, this story's getting confusing. Feel free to message me/leave a review with questions. Oh, I added some stuff from the Japanese version too.

Chapter 13- Creeper

-Roxanna-

"Where the heck did I put them? I know saw it right there yesterday night… Unless I was sleepwalking and put them somewhere else?" I sighed, aggravated. Then I dove into my mess of a closet, digging around in the mounds of clothes and other random things, searching.

Today, I had gotten up a few minutes earlier than usual, and for once, I was all ready to go to school. I had my uniform on, all my homework done (probably all wrong), and my book bag slung over my shoulder. And I would have already been on my way to school if I wasn't missing those things.

'What's the ruckus about?' Ren, stuck her ghostly head into the closet, looking amused. 'What did you lose this time?'

"Um… Nothing…" I crawled out of the closet, a sock sticking to the top of my head. I threw the sock aside, and it landed on the ever growing mound of dirty clothes. Gees, I have to clean up the house soon… Ugh, stupid chores… "Just a pair of sunglasses and a scarf…"

'Hmm… Sunglasses and scarf…' Ren pondered a bit, and then snapped her fingers. 'Oh! The ones you got when you went to go visit your aunt and uncle in-'

"Do not speak of them again." I seethed, gritting my teeth. "I hate my relatives so much…"

My so called 'relatives' –who are supposed to be family- didn't take me in after my family drove down that cliff. They were the ones who allowed me to be sent off to that orphanage. At that point, my only relatives consisted of my aunt and uncle. The two of them never really liked Ryan or me… So they just outright rejected on being my legal guardians. But both of them had passed away after I had stayed at the orphanage for a year. My uncle died in an airplane crash and my aunt was murdered. The murderer was never found. Not that I really cared about who it was. Whoever it was did me a favor of taking care of her for me…

'Gees sorry! But you might as well forgive 'em already since they're dead.' Ren shrugged.

I sighed, not commenting on her previous statement. And I set off for school. As I walked, I started to think about a lot of things that have been bugging me since yesterday night.

It seems like everyone's keeping something from me. Angel, that Dusk dude or Niu (I'm still pretty confused on who the heck they are.), and even Ren…

She has a specific reason for entering the tournament. I know, after all, I've been stuck with her for years. But yet she's hasn't told me yet… And for some reason, she seems more distant. It's not like she's gone into depressed mode or anything, she's just… Different. Like she's avoiding me as much as possible without worrying me too much.

Like earlier, when I didn't say I'd forgive my relatives. Usually, she'd probably nag me until I gave in. But she didn't…

I sighed. Things are getting so confusing… I wish I could just have a normal life… You know not having any magic, spirits, and the end of the world looming over me… A life of just being a normal high school girl who's only worries is guys and school…

Wait, scratch that. It would be too boring anyway. Besides, just the thought of me gushing over guys… It's so stupid, I could laugh.

I guess I just gotta settle with what I got… But I am going to get to the bottom of this. Whatever's going on…

-Niu-

I casually strolled around the nearly empty streets. A couple of adults gave me a glare that had 'you should be in school' written all over. I can't really blame them, since I did look like someone cutting school.

I pulled down on the rim of my hat so it hid my eyes better. Gees, not having a mask is pretty annoying… I frowned. Though it's all Dusk's fault for never running away from a fight… He gets in so much trouble sometimes.

Popping in a piece of candy and chewing noisily, I stopped in mid step. All the people had somehow disappeared off the street, and it looked empty. All the shops had suddenly closed. A smile crept onto my face. So he did notice.

In about three… Two… One-

"NIU, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" An angry shout rang into the air, and I winced at both the volume and the mention of my name. People just don't know when to stop calling me that.

"I was wondering when you'd be aware of my disappearance…" I stepped to the side to avoid a punch to the back of my head. Then I turned on my heels to face… Dusk. I was amused to find that he had gotten another mask. It makes one wonder how he manages to find one so quickly. And manage to 'persuade' someone to give it to him.

And he looked very angry. I couldn't see his eyes, but I could tell they were burning with fury. "Look, Accent Boy, I thought I told you to not use magic!" He growled. "Are you trying to commit suicide? I can't believe you're that stupid!"

"Is Accent Boy my nickname?" I smiled, munching on a chocolate bar. "Sounds interesting… A nice change from Niu Tarik… Niu sounds like a girl's name if you ask me. I'm not exactly fond of my last name either…"

"Stop avoiding the question!" Dusk glared. "Why are you traveling around in a solid body? It wastes a lot of magic energy you know! You're going to die if you keep this up!"

"It's easier to get things done… Besides, I'm fine. I'll live for at least another six months even if I stay in this form the entire time." I shrugged. "And anyway, it's not really a body… I just made it to last a little bit so I can move around on my own." To prove my point, I let my hand turn into a mass of writhing and shifting dark black shadows. That material seemed to be radiating with darkness and it seemed almost alive. Tendrils of black smoke rose from the weird substance. Then I forced it to form back into a normal looking hand. "It's just temporary. Like my 'life'." My smile started to falter. "I was supposed to have died thousands of years ago." Right, my existence was just because of a careless mistake. I shouldn't even be here right now.

"… Whatever, I don't want you to stay like that forever, you got it?" Dusk sighed, defeated. "Especially during the tournament. I don't think the two of us running around in separate bodies would be a good idea."

"Sure," I reached into my pocket, pulling out some candy, tossing a few more in my mouth. Then I froze and swallowed before speaking. "… They're here."

I could see them. A whole group hiding in the small alleys. And I could sense that they had weapons. Hmm… Dusk and me, against about ten armed people. Oh, doesn't that sound like a fair fight…

A smirk formed on Dusk's lips. He drew out a bunch of knives (courtesy of Angel), his eyes gleaming with excitement. Oh, that's not good… I know that look. He wanted to kill.

"Dusk, try not to kill them if possible. Knock them out instead, or only give them a few minor injuries." I didn't want to cause anymore 'accidents' in Domino. Dusk already had an airplane go 'boom!'.

Dusk nodded absentmindedly, but didn't really listen to my words. I sighed. How did I end up getting stuck with him again?

The enemies started coming out into the open, and I saw the gleam of metal in their hands. Probably knives, swords, or guns. They were slowly advancing towards us.

I couldn't just leave Dusk to fight alone… Especially since he'd probably make a whole scene about it again. The last thing we needed was more attention.

Taking a deep breath, I put my hand out in front of me, and concentrated. My hand started to glow black, and it started to heat up. The heat soon turned into a searing pain. I winced as I felt another small portion of my lifespan disappear. It might have been a few seconds, it might have been a day. But I didn't really care, since I got the desired result.

It was that weird substance again, this time it appeared on the floor. The shadowlike essence started to float into the air, near y outstretched hand. It started to morph and shift into a vague shape. I gripped it, and it glowed crimson red, slightly blinding me. Then the light disappeared, and I was holding a sword in my hand. The hilt was black and the slightly curved blade was blood red. And very sharp. The sword was a foot longer than my arm, and pretty light.

I took a few experimental swings into the air. Foggy black smoke trailed behind the blade as it sliced cleanly through air. I smiled slightly. "I'm not really used to this kind of sword… But I guess it'll do for now."

Dusk looked pretty impressed. "Nice looking sword… But how are expecting to not kill with something as sharp as that?"

"I have my ways…" I twirled the sword like a baton, and then held it normally, getting into fighting stance. I heard Dusk mutter 'show-off'. He had his knives ready.

And then the enemies pounced on us the same time we charged.

-Roxanna-

It was after school, and I was not feeling so good. It felt like my head was going to explode. I personally think this happened because I was thinking too hard and worrying while actually trying to pay attention during class today. Le gasp! I was actually listening to the teacher for once! And now I have a horrible headache. This just proves that thinking and school is not very good for you. Or at least for me.

Of course the gang and me were on the roof of the school. The cool breezes distracted me from the pain slightly, but I still wasn't in the best of shape. So while the others were standing while talking, I sat, gripping my pounding head.

Apparently Yugi had called Tea to inform her all about the tournament. Joey and Tristan had already fallen asleep by the time Yugi tried to call them, so he and Tea were explaining about the tournament to them right now.

"So Kaiba's holding his own huge tournament? I can't believe that money bags didn't send me an invitation!" Joey growled, his clenched fists shaking with fury. "I was the runner up in Duelist Kingdom! Where's the respect?"

"Joey, if you hadn't noticed, Kaiba doesn't like you." Tristan pointed out.

Joey seemed to be even more angered by the comment, and I vaguely heard him mention something about 'Rox being invited but she only got in third'. My eyebrow twitched in annoyance, and my headache only grew even more painful. "Joey, if this makes you feel any better, Kaiba didn't finish sending all the invites yesterday." That seemed to cheer Joey up greatly.

"But Joey, how can you go to the tournament when your sister's operation's tomorrow?" Tristan asked.

"The operation won't take long," Joey waved dismissively. "I'll just come to the tournament afterwards. Oh, Yugi, Rox, are you guys entering?"

"Yep…" I muttered, my headache still not subsiding. I wasn't really sure on entering before, but I knew Ren needed to get something done… And I had a feeling that I'd get some questions answered if I entered.

"I'm definitely going." Yugi nodded. "But there's this one ante rule, so I can't lose."

"Ante rule?" Joey asked. "What's that?"

"The ante rule is a rule that allows the winner of the duel to take a rare card from the loser." Yugi explained.

Joey's eyes widened and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a card. "That means if I lose, then my Red Eyes will be taken away?"

"You sure you want to enter?" Tea asked. "You might lose your Red Eyes."

Joey all of a sudden went from panicked to confident. "Nah, course I'm entering. Besides, my Red Eyes is my goddess of victory!" He kissed his Red Eyes card, and the rest of us made faces. "He and I are connected by an unbreakable line of destiny! I'll just keep winning one rare card after another with him!"

"Someone's being a bit arrogant today…" I muttered.

"Hey, bad things happen to people when they get too greedy." Tea warned, but Joey didn't really seem to be listening.

"Oh right, Joey I forgot to tell you. You'll need Kaiba's newly improved Duel Disk to enter." Yugi added, and Joey immediately frowned, probably recalling the time Kaiba beat him with the first version of the Duel Disk back in Duelist Kingdom. Yugi continued, "My grandpa's game shop doesn't sell it, but another card shop does."

And Joey burst to life again. "Great! Let's meet up at that card shop later!" With that, he ran off. The rest of us sighed, saying goodbye to each other and heading home first before going to the card shop.

With my book bag slung over one shoulder, I walked back home, in a slightly good mood, since my headache had finally subsided. And then I got two surprises waiting for me when I looked at the front steps of the bookstore. One was a box, with a Duel Disk inside. (Well, it really wasn't a surprise, since I asked Kaiba to send one to me since I wasn't sure where to get one. Plus, I had him uh… Add a little 'modification' to it…)

But the real surprise was that someone was holding and examining the box. Someone wearing a mask and the hoodie, called Dusk or Niu… (I am still very confused about that topic… All I know is, Accent= Niu. Attitude= Dusk.) I cleared my throat trying to get his attention. He turned his head to look at me. "Uh… Hi? Would you mind putting that box down, please?"

"Oh, sure!" He placed the box down. "I was just waiting around here for you." It was definitely Niu, with that accent.

"Uh, huh… Don't you go to school?" I asked. I couldn't imagine him going to school. Weirdo with the mask… That would creep out a lot of teachers and students. Plus, this time his mask was bright neon green, only hiding his eyes. Is he trying to stand out or something? "What did you want anyway?"

"School? Hmm…" He tapped his chin. Then he snapped with realization. "Oh! You mean those buildings where they teach you stuff!" Is he serious? Or was he just joking about not really knowing what a school was? "Nope. I don't."

"Uh… How old are-" Before I finished my sentence, he shoved something in front of my face, and dropped it in my outstretched hands. Well, two things really. The scarf and the pair of glasses. I was shocked speechless for a moment. How did he get…?

"I needed to return this!" Niu smiled. "Sorry I borrowed 'em without your permission…"

"How did you…?" I asked.

"I accidentally lost my mask in a fight," Niu shrugged. "I needed something to hide my face with until I got another mask." Then he added. "You should lock your windows at night. People can always sneak in you know."

"So you snuck into my house last night…?" Ok, now he was getting plain creepy.

"Oh, you might want to wash the scarf sometime. I got some blood on it." He chuckled when I made a face. And I started to notice he really didn't answer most of my questions. "Well, I gotta go. I only stopped by to return your stuff." He started to walk off, but when he took a step, he suddenly keeled over, falling on his knees.

"Hey, are you alright?" I ran over, and my eyes widened. While we were talking, I hadn't noticed his right pant leg was drenched with blood. The deep red liquid seeped through the fabric and it was starting to drip onto the road. There was a trickle of blood coming from underneath his mask as well. Was I blind before or something? How could I have not noticed before? "Why didn't you tell me you were injured? You need to go to a hospital or get bandaged up!"

"Hmm?" He shakily stood up, glancing at blood. But still, he didn't sound worried, his voice remaining as carefree as before. "Ahh, I guess I was wounded earlier… I hadn't noticed. Oh well. But don't worry about me, it'll heal soon." Before I could say anything else, he gave me a wave, and ran off.

'… I wonder why.' I blinked, surprised to see Ren next to me. She murmured, 'He obviously remembers me. Why won't he tell me anything? Maybe he's mad at me?' She noticed me looking at her, and she quickly said, 'Oh, I'm just talking to myself, don't listen to a word I say!' With that, she disappeared.

I sighed, walking into the bookstore with all my stuff. I placed the Duel Disk box on the kitchen counter, along with the scarf and glasses. Talk about a weird return back home. I quickly changed out of my uniform, back into the outfit I wore in Duelist Kingdom. Just for old memories sake. I needed to meet up with the others at the card shop.

And I made sure to lock the window before I left. Just in case some creeper wanted to come back again.

Author's Notes:

Well, this chapter accomplished… NOTHING! xD I wanted to fit the whole episode in this chapter, but I don't have enough time today… Oh well. Sorry if it really sucks… *bangs head on the desk* School's been a real pain… And yeah… Roxy doesn't have the best family relationships, does she?

Thanks for reading anyway, and reviews are always appreciated. ^^'