4
"You transferred in early?" Yugi asked Ryou in surprise as they rode the bus to school.
Ryou nodded with a smile on his face, though something was worrying about his expression. It had become slightly pained the moment he had laid eyes on the completed puzzle, but Amelia had come in with a distraction and said that she and Yugi matched. She showed her bracelet and Yugi looked at it with curiosity. The sudden distraction was to stop Yugi from noticing the strange behaviour of their friend.
"You'll get to join us with Jounouchi-kun," Amelia quietly said, "hopefully he doesn't hustle us again."
"It was an accident, Mia-chan," Yugi stated with a slight laugh.
"I know, he's got long legs he can't help but walk faster than us short people," Amelia muttered though she gave a slight pout that showed she wasn't being serious.
Ryou smiled at the sight and looked to the side. He was taller than both, and he sometimes wondered if he walked too fast for them. They never said anything, so he guessed he was safe on that end. Their bus came to a stop and they got off and joined Jounouchi. The conversation made Ryou turn a bright red and Amelia gained that glazed look to her eyes. He didn't like that and scratched his cheek in thought.
"Mia-chan," Ryou got her attention, "Have you finished the pieces you were asked to make?"
"Yeah, I mailed them off yesterday," She said her face slightly proud, "I took pictures of them before sending them so I can add them to my portfolio."
He welcomed the innocent conversation with the shorter teen and delved into other pieces she'd done. She was glad for the change of topic and talked to him about charcoal works and pastels. They even delved into what worked for drawing monsters and he found that pastel work with duel monsters was a match made in heaven. He couldn't help but smile at that open expression on her face as she talked about something she knew. She slipped in something about her pencil cannon in the conversation and he became amused. Of course, she'd make one, he didn't know why he expected she wouldn't. She was pretty chaotic when she wanted to be.
"I squinted but I couldn't see anything through the mosaic," Jounouchi complained, and Amelia turned to face him with a blank expression.
"I…am I one of the guys?" She quietly asked Ryou, "Because that's the vibe I'm getting."
"Trust me, I don't want to listen to it either," Ryou quietly replied.
She nodded her understanding as they both went red-faced at Jounouchi's proclamation that he'd just have to squint harder. Yugi's face was also a bright red as he looked over at his shyer friends. This kind of topic wasn't usually discussed out in the open. Jounouchi got distracted by something in front of the school.
"Woah, there's a television van outside the school." He stated, "I wonder what for."
"Shit," Amelia quietly cursed.
"Maybe a celebrity or idol is coming to the school?" Yugi guessed shrugging slightly.
"Could it be that our lovely Mia-chin was finally noticed?" Jounouchi teased but he became serious as he noticed her expression.
"I sure hope not," She sighed, "I don't care much for the media, I got asked if I was going to be in a relationship with Kaiba Seto. I don't even know him."
"Ah, Okaa-San says that a lot of what's in magazines is usually lies," Yugi agreed, and he got a thankful smile out of her.
"I hope it's an idol," Jounouchi said and the other three sighed, "let's take a look."
Yugi was the one to try and see through the tinted windows of the van. Ryou and Amelia stood back from the vehicle. Amelia became distracted by a growling Kuriboh and as such didn't notice the change in her soft-spoken friend. Bakura looked at the host that had solved the millennium puzzle and frowned. How could such an idiot solve it? He sighed before smirking to himself. Stealing it would be so simple, all he had to do was be patient. He spared a glance towards the heiress and noticed her distracted state. He mentally snorted, she wasn't as bright as she presented herself. If he didn't know any better he'd think she was clinically insane.
"I can't see anything, I think it's a one-way window," Yugi informed Jounouchi as he moved back from the van.
"I wouldn't trust whatever comes out of the van," Amelia quietly said, getting Bakura's attention, "I get a bad vibe from it."
Huh, he had been hasty in his judgment. She had good senses about her if she could feel a "bad vibe" from the van. He quickly switched with his host and Ryou blinked in slight confusion. He was a bit disoriented and felt like he had missed something. He shook his head as they headed inside, and he split from them to get his classroom number from the main office.
"Hey, did our conversation make you guys uncomfortable?" Jounouchi asked, cringing slightly.
"I can't speak for Bakura-kun, but it did make me a bit uncomfortable," She admitted as she turned a little red, "I'm used to being treated like one of the guys, but you're the first to go that far."
He laughed a little at that, it was an uncomfortable laugh. She noted that he felt a little bad about it and gently patted his shoulder before opening her footlocker. There was a note attached to a red rose on her shoes. She gave it a sceptical look as Jounouchi took it out.
"When I see you, my heart beats quick. Your Ruby hair shines in the sun. Your eyes are as bright as the gems they resemble. I wish to make you mine. Your secret admirer," Jounouchi read, and his nose scrunched in disbelief, "who writes this stuff?"
"Someone who thinks I like roses," Amelia said as she picked up the flower and glared at it, "I like freesias."
"Freesias?" He asked.
"They smell like fruit loops," She stated.
He gave her a blank look at that, and she returned it. How was he supposed to respond to hearing that? Yugi came around the corner and noticed the two deadpanning at one another. Just what did he miss? He heard Jounouchi sigh.
"Fruit loops?" Jounouchi asked in a weak voice.
"Yes, they smell fruity and that's the closest thing I could think of," Amelia shrugged, completely unbothered by Jounouchi's reaction.
"You need to find me this fruit loops smelling flower," Jounouchi muttered.
"Did…did I miss something?" Yugi asked.
"I got a letter from a secret admirer and a rose," Amelia informed him, "I don't like roses and had to explain to Jounouchi why I like freesias."
Yugi contemplated the strangeness of Amelia before nodding his understanding. At least she was consistent with her weirdness. They waited for Ryou and smiled when he showed that he was in their class. It didn't take long for him to wonder about his luck with his friends in One-B. He ended up sitting next to Amelia and was able to watch her try to pay attention to the lecture given by their homeroom teacher. She gave up halfway through and was doodling in the margins of her notebook. He ended up watching small little monsters take form. His favourite had to be the little ball of fur that seemed to be just as chaotic as she was.
"You didn't even try to pay attention," Yugi stated as lunch started.
Ryou was unfortunate enough to have started a fan club on his first day. He gave his friends an apologetic smile before sighing quietly as he gently turned down girl after girl. He didn't know how he caused the creation of fan clubs, but they always caused him trouble. He blinked in surprise when Amelia walked up to him with a familiar smile.
"C'mon, plenty of room at the round table," She teased, and he let out a slight laugh before shooting the girls around him an apologetic smile.
"It looked like you hated all the attention," Jounouchi informed Ryou as the white-haired boy sat down next to his friends, the blonde gained a wistful expression, "what I wouldn't give."
"They're all yours," Ryou quietly said, "I've never really liked the Fanclubs."
Yugi looked at his friends with a small smile as Anzu joined them. The brunette was introduced to Ryou and found that he was very pleasant to talk to. He was good friends with Amelia and Yugi, so she had no qualms against them. She was, however, concerned about Jounouchi being friends with Yugi. It wasn't that people couldn't change; she just didn't think he'd change so quickly.
"I still think there's an idol at this school," Jounouchi stated as they all tucked into their lunches.
"An idol?" Anzu asked as she quietly swiped a taiyaki from their resident redhead.
"Yeah, all the evidence is there and a tv van is parked outside," He said, easily rationalizing his theory, "right, Yugi?"
"Er…yeah," Yugi quietly agreed.
"If that was true, then word would've already have gotten out through the student populous," Amelia said before giving a small yawn.
"And all the class representatives would have been told to give a speech to their classes to keep them on their best behaviour," Anzu added.
"Maybe she's hiding among the students if that's the case, I'll just have to get her alone and unmask her!" Jounouchi stated before cackling to himself.
"That's how we go to prison, Jounouchi-kun," Amelia bluntly stated.
"They'd throw the book at you!" Anzu hissed at him, hitting him with a book to emphasise her point.
"There's no penalty for stripping," Jounouchi defended.
"So, war?" Amelia asked as she held up some regular playing cards, she could tell that the Black Magician was getting bored.
Kuriboh was laying on her school bag, napping. The small monster had gotten bored of stealing pencils and Amelia was a little relieved. She didn't have any more space for pencils on her desk. She shuffled the cards, her small talent of doing so garnering some attention, and began to deal them. Ryou looked at the design on the cards and tilted his head. They looked to be older than she was.
"Let's start," Amelia smiled.
The two boys nodded, and they all flipped their first card. Amelia won with the ace of hearts. She easily swooped in and grabbed her winning before they did the next round. Ryou won that one with a king of spades. It seemed as though their wins were in a set pattern. Amelia would win, then Ryou and then Yugi. Eventually, Ryou was out of the war and watched the card game with a keen expression. His eyes sharpened and Bakura took the place of his host.
"Hmm, you're good at card games, Mia-Chan," He commented in his host's voice and she looked at him in thought before sheepishly smiling.
"Not really, games like war are all about luck," Amelia stated as she pulled another ace and won the round, "I believe in games like poker or war all that's needed is decent luck."
"Yugi, come help me find the idol," Jounouchi grinned at the shorter teen, butting into the game.
"In a few more minutes, I promise," Yugi smiled as they flipped cards again.
Jounouchi looked over the game. It looked like Amelia was going to win, but Yugi refused to back down. They played their cards and soon Yugi had the upper hand. Amelia seemed unbothered as Yugi won time and time again, if anything she seemed relaxed by it. Even as Yugi won the entire game.
"I wasn't expecting such a comeback," Ryou said, the spirit had given him back control.
"Well done, Yugi-kun, Bakura-kun it was fun," Amelia said with a happy smile.
Yugi smiled back as Ryou helped to put away the cards he tilted his head in thought and turned towards the American woman turned teenager, not that he knew her secret. Yugi got up from their combined tables and went off with Jounouchi to help with the idol hunt. Anzu sighed in disbelief and took Yugi's now empty seat. She didn't know what to do with those two.
"What's wrong?" Amelia quietly asked Bakura.
"Have you ever done Tarot?" Bakura asked, testing the waters for his enjoyment of the occult.
"No, but I'm open for it," Amelia smiled, "what about you, Anzu-chan?"
"It sounds interesting," Anzu nodded her agreement and Ryou relaxed slightly.
"Can I try a reading on one of you?" Ryou questioned with a slightly pleading look.
"Sure, I'm game," Amelia stated, Anzu was a bit relieved that the other girl would go first.
Ryou took out his deck of tarot and
Ryou took out his deck of tarot and shuffled them before laying them out in the tree of life ufe method. He was a little inside what kind of reading he'd get for his friend, but her kind smile relaxed him. She didn't get angry over a lot of things, so he didn't have to worry. He flipped over the first three cards. Death, the ace of pentacles, and five of swords.
"Well, your spiritual tree shows that you've had a change and fallen into wealth, yet you feel as though it was an empty victory," Ryou read, and Amelia tensed slightly before giving him a strange look.
"That's…that's pretty accurate," She quietly admitted, "you're good at this."
He gave a sheepish smile and she felt something bump into her head. Kuriboh had come over to investigate, and a familiar card was in its hands. Well, she had her answer to whether the others could see the Black Magician while his card was being carried by Kuriboh. It would make moving this easier. She turned her attention back to Ryou's reading as he flipped the next three cards. Judgement, ace of cups, and the ten of swords.
"A spiritual awakening followed by the beginning of love yet ending with misfortune," Ryou said as he frowned at the cards, "I think you'll be fine. You'd be too stubborn to let such a thing bother you."
Anzu let out a slight snort at the expression on Amelia's face. The redhead looked as if she didn't know how to respond. She simply nodded as though she understood that reading. The spiritual, the intellectual, the desires or control, and then the physical body. She knew that much about the tree of life, but she had never attempted a reading before. She didn't even own tarot. Ryou looked a little nervous about turning over the next three cards, but the two girls watched with a serious expression. Their breaths holding in anticipation. He flipped them and blinked. Strength, the two of wands, and the seven of wands.
"Your triumphed in love and have extreme success in what you put your mind to, you show courage in difficult situations," Ryou stated with a smile, "these are really good cards."
"I was worried she'd get a bad reading," Anzu sighed in relief.
"Hey, I can always mess up," Amelia stated in good humour, "the cards can be a guide but will never truly be the set path, right?"
"Yes, it does take the willingness to listen to the cards, but one can ultimately ignore them," Ryou nodded, he flipped the last card and stared at it for a few seconds.
Anzu was worried by his silence and looked at the card. The Tower? She didn't know what that meant. She looked to Amelia and got a slight shrug in response. Amelia didn't know either. Ryou wondered what the card meant. How was his friend going to overthrow selfish ambition? Would it be hers's or would it be someone else?
"In this reading, the tower means the overthrowing of selfish ambition, but I am unsure if it is your own or someone else's," Ryou stated, and the two girls seemed to nod in understanding.
"Hopefully, it's someone else's," Amelia said as Ryou began to put the cards away.
It was getting close to the end of lunch and he wasn't about to have them confiscated by the teacher. It happened once before at his old school and he didn't want to see if the teachers here were just as strict. He'd already been warned against Chono. The expelling witch, he didn't want to get on her bad side. Anzu sighed at something and he turned to see something strange. Jounouchi and Yugi had entered the classroom, yet there was something off about his shorter friend.
Amelia felt something crawl up the back of her neck and she looked around to investigate. She stared at Yugi and her brows furrowed. That wasn't Yugi, but the Pharaoh. Kuriboh let out a scared sound and the pharaoh reacted to it. She had a feeling that the owners of the millennium items could see the duel monster spirit. His eyes followed Kuriboh's path behind her, and she grew nervous. Atem had been a chivalrous character, for the most part, if not a bit overconfident. She knew that he was a completely different person at the beginning of his story. All those years stuck in the puzzle had done a number on his psyche, and it showed. His eyes met her's and she could see the anger and insanity in them. What happened to Yugi? Her mind was racing as she quickly put the pieces together. The van, right the man who was making a false documentary on bullying. Yugi had ended up with the part of the victim.
"Hey, what's wrong, Mia-chan?" Anzu asked.
"I've got a bad feeling," Amelia stated before sighing, "that van in the front of the school is starting to bug me again."
"Don't tell me you think it's an idol," Anzu muttered.
"Of course not," Amelia said with a slight smile, "I'm not that big of an optimist."
Anzu wondered if that was optimism or wishful thinking. Well, perhaps she'd say it was wishful thinking on Jounouchi's end. They returned to their spots as the teacher came in and started her lesson. Amelia was distracted by the angry spirit sitting next to her in her friend's body. She could feel the shadows moving around him and wondered how no one else felt it. It was such an obvious feeling, yet no one seemed to notice it. Kuriboh hid from the pharaoh and she felt for the little monster. This wasn't the pharaoh it knew, and it was deeply upset by the fact.
"Hey, Mia-chan," The Pharaoh greeted, and Amelia looked over at him, "I need your help, mind sparing some of your time?"
"Not at all, Yugi-kun," She quietly said.
The Pharaoh smiled at that, and it wasn't Yugi's smile. It was colder than Yugi's. She didn't feel the slight warmth that always came from the shorter teen. Her mind turned towards that childhood crush and she wondered if she would've formed it if she had read the manga first as a child. She'd probably only like Mahad if that was the case, but she knew that Atem ended up being a good person. She just had to give him time to move past the insanity.
The walk home was a bit awkward with Ryou concerned by Yugi's silence, but soon he was talking to Amelia about the homework they had to do. For someone that spaced out, she had a good hold on what she needed to do for their work. He gathered she did extra studying to make up for her lack of attention during lectures. He found that he struggled with history, only because of Chono. The woman wasn't the best at teaching it. They split up afterwards, Yugi and Amelia heading to their homes. At least, that's what Ryou thought they were doing.
"What did you need from me?" Amelia quietly asked.
"Do you have any dice?" The Pharaoh questioned as he crossed his arms across his chest.
He turned his face to look at her with his crimson eyes. She dug around in her school bag to see if she did. She pulled out a regular six-sided die before pulling out an icosahedron as well. The Ancient Egyptian design of the icosahedron caught the spirits eye, and he picked that one. She put the regular one away.
"Thank you," The spirit thanked, and Amelia nodded slightly.
"What's the plan, Stan?" She asked him and he raised a brow, "No seriously, I'd like to know what the spirit possessing my friend's body wants to do with it."
The Pharaoh studied her for a few seconds before smirking slightly. There was an unsure glint in his eyes, and she wondered how much of his confidence was a front. He understood games to a degree that she couldn't, but social interactions weren't his forte. His "hi there" from the dub played in her mind and she relaxed slightly.
"You're sharp," The Pharaoh muttered.
"I try," She shrugged.
"You asked for Yugi's protection at the cost of your own," He pointed out and her eyes widened slightly, "such a strange person."
"A deal is a deal," She said with a nod, "you've got my support, but just know that if you ever hurt Yugi that deal is off."
He knew there was more to her words. He looked at the serious expression on her face and nodded his understanding. Loyalty seemed to be a rare feature around his host. He'd take it where he could get it. Even if it was from someone that would take him down without a second thought if it meant keeping her friends safe.
"I want to teach Director-San a lesson," He explained, starting to walk off in the direction the shadows were pointing him to, "perhaps you can tell me about that strange creature following you."
"Kuriboh is Kuriboh, nothing strange about it," She stated as she quickly caught up with him, a frown on her face, "I'm surprised you can see it, I think the only other person that can is my father."
"Strange indeed," He muttered to himself.
It was quiet after that. Amelia couldn't help but feel uncomfortable around the spirit and she didn't know why. Her future knowledge helped soothe her mind, but her body refused to listen. She was scared, and she didn't know why. She looked down at the Black Magician and noticed his anxious expression. So, the spirits of his priests and monster cards really had no what he was like before duelling with them. That was worrisome. She looked up at the parking garage and wondered how it took them such little time to reach their destination. Did they use the shadows to travel when she wasn't looking? It was plausible, but she couldn't say for sure. The pharaoh turned to her and she stopped in her tracks.
"Stay hidden," He ordered, and she made a face before complying.
She'd only get in the way. If she got in the way then that could cause harm to come to him. She made a promise to keep him safe to the best of her abilities. She knelt behind a car and ran a hand through her long hair. She was anxious, but that scared feeling was starting to disappear. She looked back down at the card in her hand.
"I'm guessing you didn't think it would be this bad," She muttered to the card, "I'm sorry."
The Black Magician gave her a look of gratitude and she raised a brow at him. Just what was he feeling? It wasn't like they could communicate. Or could they? She knew that Bakura had used duel monster cards to subdue guards during the duellist kingdom. Maybe she could do the same. It was something she'd have to try when she was in the safety of her own home. She never knew when she was being watched.
"Yo, Director-San," The Pharaoh greeted the older man.
"You're that Yugi brat from earlier!" The Director exclaimed in shock, "Don't tell me you came here looking for an actors fee."
"Not at all, you just so happened to stumble into my realm of influence," The Pharaoh informed him, "therefore you must play a game with me."
"A game?" The director questioned a sneer pulling at his lips, "I don't have time for a game with a brat."
"Oh? Then I suppose your producers will have no problem stopping the allegations of you harassing your actresses?" The Pharaoh questioned with a sly smirk.
"They would let him go immediately, there would be too much of a scandal and if all the women come forward his career is finished," Amelia muttered to herself.
Kuriboh gave a sound of agreement before hiding when the red eyes looked its way. She sighed quietly and brought a hand up to gently pet the fur. It was like petting a cat that acted like a dog. A Shiba was the closest thing she had to describe the chaotic monster.
"Fine, I'll play your stupid game," The director growled.
"Wonderful," The Pharaoh chirped as he held up the icosahedron, "we'll play using this die. Did you know that the concept of the die originated in ancient times? Sure, they were known as astragalos and differed in texture. But the way they were used is just the same."
"Enough with the history lesson!" The Director snapped, "Let's just start this game!"
"Okay then, let me explain the rules," The Pharaoh stated, "after I roll the die you will roll it as well, if you get a lower number then you win the same if it's the same number. If not then you shall face a penalty game."
"Hah, with those odds I can't lose," The Director pointed out.
Amelia didn't know about that. A twenty-sided die left enough room for chance, more so than a regular one. She bit the inside of her cheek in thought as she grew nervous. It was getting hard to sit back and watch, especially now that she had a connection with Yugi. His being in danger bothered her quite a bit.
"Let's begin!" The Pharaoh stated as he dropped the die.
It rolled around wildly until it stopped at the foot of the Director, letting out small taps each time it rolled. Amelia squinted, trying to see what number it landed on but couldn't. The Director let out a sharp laugh.
"Sixteen, the odds are in my favour it seems," He stated, and she frowned.
The Pharaoh seemed too content. He wasn't worried one bit, a smirk still on his face. His left hand had moved to his pants pocket while his right rested on the puzzle. Amelia narrowed her eyes.
"What is he planning?" She mumbled.
"My turn," The Director said, he bent over and picked up the die.
He tossed it at the Pharaoh's head and Amelia glared at the man with as much venom as she could muster. It must've done something because he shivered and looked around in confusion. He missed the Pharaoh bringing up the puzzle to deflect the die, and causing it to split. She winced at the sight, those had been custom made back in her dimension. She'd have to glue it back together with some resin if she wanted to use it again.
"Twenty-four," The Pharaoh said, "Looks as though luck isn't in your corner. Now the illusion of mosaic!"
The Director seemed fine for a few minutes as the Pharaoh picked up the broken die and returned to Amelia. He caught the sad expression on her face as he handed it back to her. Screaming caused her to jump in confusion before she looked towards the grown man. He was scratching at his eyes as he screamed, obviously terrified of something.
"Don't you think this is going too far?" Amelia questioned the spirit, "Even if he learns his lesson, he won't be able to see if he continues to do that."
"Then perhaps he shouldn't have walked into my domain," The Spirit answered as he grasped onto her wrist.
The spirit looked at the slightly taller girl and noted the worried expression on her face. She was concerned for a man that had harmed her friend, all because she deemed his action as "too far". He didn't understand her. He tugged on her wrist and began to exit the area, people would start to appear because of the screaming they couldn't afford to be seen. She stumbled a bit before easily regaining her footing.
"Honestly," She muttered, and his lips quirked upwards in an amused smirk.
"You are such a strange girl," He commented.
"How many girls have you met?" She asked back.
Ah, she had him there. He didn't remember anything, but his instinct was telling him that she was strange. She certainly didn't fit the mould of the girls surrounding his host. She was too flighty, but also too intense. She was such a strange mixture of personality traits that he had a tough time understanding her. He released her wrist when they were far enough away, and she sent him a strange look.
"You know the way to the game shop?" She asked him, confusion lacing her voice.
"I know most of what my host knows," He answered, and she nodded, understanding it a bit more.
"What's your name?" She asked and he tilted his head, "Well, it'd be rude to call you Yugi-kun since you aren't him."
"I don't have a name, at least I don't think I do," He muttered in thought and his expression caused her to relax around him.
It seemed to do the trick for Kuriboh as well. It came out from behind her and gently landed in his hair. She let out a soft laugh at his confused expression, it was hard not to laugh at the monster's antics. It had more courage than she did.
"Kuriboh's trying to comfort you," She explained when he shot her an annoyed look, "let's see, how about we call you Yami until you remember your true name?"
"Yami?" He asked.
"Yeah, it fits with your ability to create shadow games," She answered with a nod.
He let out a short huff of breath and she smiled at him. Yami. He could go by that name with ease. It was strange to have someone call him something that felt so wrong. Amelia looked at his conflicted expression before frowning to herself. She knew his true name but felt as though Mahad would summon himself from his card to stop her. He wasn't supposed to know his name, not this early in his destiny. Kuriboh flew to her hair and she waved at the spirit before heading to her house. She had a hypothesis to test.
"Hey, since I'm able to see you is it possible for me to summon other duel monster spirits to this plane?" She asked Kuriboh as she entered her room.
It floated in place for a few seconds before taking the Black Magician card from her blazer pocket. Black Magician seemed unamused by the sudden change in his surroundings. She couldn't help but smile in amusement. Kuriboh began to trill and moved the card up and down, causing the Black Magician to hold onto the edges of his card to stop himself from moving. Amelia blinked slightly before her eyes widened. It couldn't be that easy to summon a duel monster spirit. She just had to summon him like usual, and hope that the shadows did the rest of the work. She sighed and gently took the card back from Kuriboh before placing it down on the table with the mindset of summoning him. She took a step back when a harsh gust of wind came from the spot. It got bad enough that she had to cover her eyes with an arm to protect them from the ends of her hair. Kuriboh's cry of victory got her attention and she looked when the wind died down.
Black Magician in his purple glory stood in her room with a curious expression on his face. She could see Mahad in his features with ease, more so than his other variants. He was flexing his fingers as though testing to make sure he was truly there in a solid form. She waited for him to be done before doing anything. It didn't help that she was unsure if he knew what he had done to bring her here, or was a completely different version of himself. The way time worked in the dimension she found herself in was confusing at best. He finally stopped and looked at her, and she froze. His eyes were such a light blue, they were completely different from the darker hues that his true form had been.
"Thank you," He softly said, and she nodded, at least his voice was the same.
"I don't know why you're thanking me, but no problem," She said, and he sighed, she couldn't help but smile at the action.
"You are just as bad as Mana," He muttered, her smile turned into a grin at that.
She hadn't been wrong on that front. She'd get along famously when she finally got to summon the Black Magician Girl. She went to take a step and her leg gave out on her. She was caught by the bicep and helped to stand. She frowned when she felt it. Pure exhaustion. What was causing her to feel so tired?
"I'm afraid your body isn't used to summoning," Mahad's voice informed her, and she looked to him with a frown, "my apologies."
"You don't have to apologise," She murmured as her eyes grew heavy, "s'not like you twisted my arm to summon you."
She didn't catch what he said as her world turned dark. The Black Magician looked at the passed-out girl in his grasp and his mind went blank. Right, he should put her in her bed. He did so and the Kuriboh automatically flew to her side, it bumped against her arm until she lifted it. He sat down on her desk and crossed his legs as he tried to think about the strange turn of events. His Pharaoh had been released from the puzzle but had none of his memories. A girl wearing a bracelet usually given to the pharaohs priests had been able to summon him, though it had drained her of all her energy. This had all the makings of a prophecy, no wonder it wasn't sitting right with him. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before picking up the card that worked as a portal for his soul. Pegasus J. Crawford was scrawled under the picture. How that man knew what he looked like; he didn't know. His daughter knew what his student looked like, and he found that even stranger. He didn't even get to question her when she woke up the next day.
He got to see what her morning routine was like and watched as she blindly stumbled about with a happy Kuriboh following her. She muttered something and gently tugged on his arm. He allowed himself to be pulled down the stairs and placed in a chair. She yawned and grabbed a few boxes down from a cupboard before pulling some food out. She was cooking. She found making food more important than firing questions at him.
"Has anyone told you, you're strange?" He asked and she thought for a few seconds as she placed a piece of chicken in some hot oil.
"I'm getting it a lot more than I used to," She shrugged, "I'm not too pressed about it. I'm simply curious as to the fact that you didn't go back to your card after I completely blacked out."
"You delved into shadow magic, most magicians can use it," He stated, and she stopped in her action of putting another piece into the oil, "you…you were aware that you have magic, yes?"
"That explains so much, and yet so little at the same time," She muttered as she put the rest of the chicken into the oil and started on the smaller lunch items.
That explained more to him than it did her. She had no clue that she possessed magic. He could feel it moving around her. She was completely untrained, and that was a danger he couldn't let continue. It explained why she had such trouble paying attention when bored. His image flickered and he brought a hand up to look at it. That knowledge that she had magic caused her enough distress to disrupt the feed of it that kept him in her plane of existence.
"You can always be trained," He said as he focused on bringing a tome to her plane before he was returned to the card, "read this and extend your abilities, and please take my card with you."
She caught the tome before he vanished from his spot at her counter. It was heavy and smelt a bit musty. She gently opened it and saw the yellowed parchment that made up its insides. She could read the text. It was in a completely different language, but she could read it. She closed it before hurrying up the stairs and placing it on her desk. She grabbed his card, and he went back into her school bag. It was easier for her because he couldn't see her red cheeks. He didn't have to help her learn "magic". She quickly finished up the bentos and wrapped them. She wondered what her day was going to bring.
"I brought the tape as promised," Jounouchi told Yugi.
Porn. Her day brought about Porn being distributed to Yugi by Jounouchi. She shared a sigh with Ryou and noted that the other teen seemed just as unamused by it as she was. He scratched the back of his head as Anzu confiscated the video before heading into the school.
"Should we stop her?" Amelia asked Anzu.
"It's better not to get in the middle," Ryou quietly said, and she had to agree with him there.
The next few weeks passed normally. She met up with Ryou and Yugi in the mornings and they walked to school together. The only day that seemed unusual was the day that Yugi had been pushed all the way to the back of the bus before they could reach him in time. He had been quiet ever since and even Jounouchi could tell something was wrong.
"I think Souzouji had something to do with his sudden change," Amelia quietly said to Ryou as they did their after school clean up duties.
"You might be right," Ryou agreed as she started to bang erasers outside the window, "what are you going to do?"
"Kick his ass?" She said though it came out more like a question.
"Please take this seriously," Ryou said, and she sighed.
"I'll think of something," She stated, "I'd rather no one else get hurt, don't worry about me."
Did she not know that saying such a thing was going to make him worry more? She finished with the erasers around the same time he finished sweeping. They put everything away before heading to the bus. He got on first just as the bus was about to take off and he turned to look at Amelia. She stayed behind for a few seconds and he frowned at the sight. She gave him an apologetic smile as the doors closed in his face. She kept that smile up until he was out of sight. She took off in a sprint as soon as she was sure he wouldn't be able to follow.
"Souzouji does that stupid karaoke night every Friday at the same place," She muttered as she took a sharp corner, "that means he might already be there."
It was sound reasoning in her mind. Kuriboh let out a sound of agreement and flew ahead of her. She heard it let out a few sharp sounds that reminded her of a trumpet and a smile appeared on her face. She arrived at the karaoke place, sweat rolling down her face and her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. She walked in, and the woman behind the receptionist desk blinked in confusion.
"Can I…er…help you?" The woman asked in English.
"I'm looking for Souzouji," Amelia said in Japanese and the woman sighed in relief, "he coerced a friend of mine to join his tone-deaf party and I would like to help get him out of it."
"Ah, he's in the furthest room," The woman informed her before gaining a worried look, "is your friend the short one with spiky hair?"
"Yes ma'am," Amelia nodded.
The woman winced before the girl headed off to help her friend. She was nervous because she could feel the shadows bending around her. How had she never noticed them before? Was it because she hadn't had a single experience with shadow magic before meeting Yami? Just what made them stand out to her now? She brushed those thoughts to the side as she opened the door to the karaoke room. Yugi was sitting on a couch with a heavy pair of headphones on his ears.
"Oh, Mutou-kun you actually got someone to show up," Souzouji said, and she narrowed her eyes at him in a dangerous fashion.
"You shut your mouth you Elvis-wannabe-reject," She hissed at him, "I'm here to collect Yugi-kun."
"Collect? I didn't know you had Mia-Chan as your girlfriend, Mutou-kun," Souzouji sneered.
"You keep my pretty name out of your filthy mouth," Amelia stated, and she felt some of her confidence leave her as he stepped closer.
He was taller than Ushio and far more muscular. Just what did they feed their kids in Domino? Yugi was a short person, yet everyone around him was basically a giant. Was Yugi a Hobbit? She didn't know, and her mind had chosen at that moment to focus on Yugi being a hobbit. It was a poor time to get distracted by her thoughts because Souzouji physically lifted her by the front of her blazer and tossed her down on the bench next to Yugi. A pair of headphones covered her ears and she grimaced in knowing pain. Oh, her ears were going to ring for a long time after Yami was through with him.
"And now for the number, I'm most proud of!" Souzouji stated in the microphone before letting out a screech that could rival a banshee.
"Gah, motherfucker!" Amelia exclaimed.
Yugi winced as his ears rang, but there was some surprise at hearing the swear coming from his relatively PG friend. The fact that it was picked up by the mic and heard over Souzouji's screaming was impressive. The screeching stopped after a few minutes and Yugi slumped in relief. Amelia was not as lucky as she held her now throbbing head in her hands. She was clenching her jaw in an attempt to not cry. Her head felt like it was split in two.
"Now, before my next number," Souzouji started and Yugi looked at him with dread in his eyes, "I want to introduce tonight's special guest."
"Hanasaki-kun?" Yugi questioned when the curtain was pulled back to reveal a beaten-up teen from their class.
Tomoya Hanasaki. Another natural blonde in Domino, something Amelia was starting to notice with the city. She slowly looked over and winced as pain shot through her head. She was…she was just going to keep her head down. She wasn't so sure she could survive a second round with Souzouji the discount banshee.
"I'm sorry, Yugi-kun," Hanasaki apologised.
Yugi's face filled with rage and his eyes turned crimson. Amelia could pinpoint the exact moment the pharaoh switched with his host. She went to say something, but her head throbbed in pain. She had to stop a cry from coming out of her. She bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to get herself under control. She looked up slightly when someone removed the headphones from her head.
"How dare you make my friends suffer like this," Yami hissed as he turned his venomous glare towards Souzouji.
"What happened to your eyes?" Souzouji asked as he backed up slightly, "Are you looking for a fight?"
"I have one question for you, Souzouji," Yami said, moving towards the much taller teen, "are you a coward? Because if you aren't, then you wouldn't mind playing a game with me."
"Game?" Souzouji questioned.
Amelia rolled her eyes and then regretted that action immensely. Kuriboh appeared before her, making sounds of fear and relief. She got a gentle hug to the face from the small monster, and she wondered what happened. Her eyes widened in realization. Kuriboh was connected to her, and their connection had been tampered with by Souzouji's screech. Maybe he truly was a banshee. It was the only logical explanation.
"What kind of game?" Souzouji asked.
"The game of silence," Yami answered.
"Did…did you just challenge him to the game my family played when it got too loud in the car?" Amelia quietly asked and Yami shot her a look.
"Before I explain the game, allow me to retrieve a few items," Yami said.
Souzouji stood there, shocked as Yugi went around the room and picked up two sound pierrots before checking up on Crawford. She gave him a slight smile and Souzouji sneered at the sight. She was far too good for a weakling like Mutou. She turned her attention towards him, and her eyes grew cold. The warmth that usually came from her was nowhere to be seen, it was such a change that it startled him.
"We'll play with these sound Pierrot's, the first to make theirs move loses," Yami explained, "if you win I'll give my life, if I win you will face a penalty game."
"Interesting," Souzouji smirked.
They took a seat and the room fell silent. Amelia was a bit relieved by that fact and took an opportunity to rub at her temple. Kuriboh clutched to her neck as she sat up and studied the playing field. Yami had a small smirk on his face as he stared down Souzouji, but it fell slightly. She looked at his headphones and noted that the jack was on the edge of a glass. If that fell he would be in serious trouble. She narrowed her eyes when she saw Souzouji smirk from the corner of her peripheral. Kuriboh made a confused noise, and she gave it a small smile before motioning towards the jack. It gave her a salute and flew over to make sure it didn't fall in. Was it cheating? No, not really. Stopping someone from possibly getting electrocuted wasn't against the rules, if it had been then Kuriboh wouldn't have been able to get close. The shadows would've intervened.
The minutes slowly ticked by and Amelia wondered if it had taken this long in the manga. Sweat began to collect on her brow and a small drop went down the side of her face. She was starting to feel the effect of being an observer in a shadow game. It was like someone was grabbing her by the neck and slowly squeezing. She could still breathe, but it felt like a struggle. Her body relaxed when the distant sound of thumping began to play on the speakers. Souzouji never put down the microphone and that was his downfall. Both Pierrots began to dance, and he looked at the headphone jack in confusion.
"The reason for the Pierrot to be moving is the sound of your heart," Yami informed him, and Amelia let out a soft sound of disbelief.
"What did you think was going to happen with you clutching a mic at full volume?" Amelia asked as she stood up, "It was inevitable, really."
She knelt next to Hanasaki while Yami dealt with dealing out his penalty game. The shorter teen was out of it, but it didn't stop her from checking on his injuries. He was bruised, and his nose was bleeding. She reached into her school bag for her first aid kit, something she had started to carry around knowing that it would come in handy, and opened the metal case. She did quick work in cleaning up the small cuts and bandaging them up before Yami was done. Her coach on the rowing team had put her in charge of the kit one time and she had learned quite a bit about patching up cuts.
"Let's get you home, Tomoya-san," She quietly said as she gently manoeuvred the boy into a standing position and tossed his arm over her shoulder.
"Are you ready?" Yami asked, confusing her for a few seconds.
"Yes."
Amelia could say that helping the shorter boy home was a strange experience, people gave her looks that said she had hurt him. She didn't say anything when Yami looked around with a slight frown on his face, he didn't really understand social cues, but he knew what a glare meant. He looked towards the slightly taller teen and noted the blank expression on her face. It turned into a pleasant smile when they dropped Hanasaki off at home and explained what happened, much to his mother's gratitude.
"Do people always glare at you?" Yami questioned and she tilted her head in thought.
"Depends on the places I go," Amelia answered before shrugging, "it stopped bothering me a while ago. People are always going to think what they want to, if that's how they chose to perceive me and react upon it then there's not much I can do to stop them."
It was a strange way of looking at it, but he couldn't fault her way of thinking. Yet, he could call her out for such an obvious lie. The glares did bother her, but she wanted to pretend that they didn't. Such a contradictory person. Their walk was quiet. He didn't mind the silence and took the time to watch the strange creature called Kuriboh. It had a habit of flying around and picking flowers to put into the redhead's hair. She seemed fond of the creature and always smiled at it when it presented her with a new one. So far, she had collected a few daisies and it didn't seem like Kuriboh was going to stop until it was happy with the amount in her hair.
"Where are you from, Mia-chan?" Yami asked, and she looked at him in confusion.
"The United States in North America," She answered, "but my Grandparents immigrated from Ireland."
"Crawford-san is Irish?" He muttered in confusion.
"Er…no. My biological family is from Ireland," She said as she realized where his confusion had come from, "sorry about the confusion."
He frowned in thought. Where were these places that she talked about? He'd have to pay more attention when his host did his homework to fully understand the world he now walked around in. She gave him a tiny smile before waving, it was her time to part ways with him. She entered a house and he paused for a few seconds and memorized the address, just in case of emergencies.
Amelia let out a sigh of relief when she noticed that Suzuki wasn't back yet and quickly headed up to her room. She plopped down on the bed and Kuriboh joined her. She opened her bag and placed the Black Magicians card on the bedside table, effectively summoning him on accident. He was reading a scroll and looked up at the change in his surroundings. He saw his newest student laying down with a frown on her face.
"Your Pharaoh is scary, has anyone told you that before?" She asked and he shook his head, "Hey, nice to be the first one."
"Have you been practising?" He questioned.
"I've been reading the tome before even attempting the spells," She answered, "just in case."
Ah, at least she exercised some caution when it came to magic. She rolled onto her side to stare at him, and he noted the fatigue, that was normal summoning fatigue that was a shadow game fatigue. She couldn't game people, not without one of the millennium items. Did she give support to the pharaoh? He put his scroll down and gently patted her head as thanks. She gave him the dirtiest look he'd received.
"I can't tell if you're patronizing me or not," She muttered before falling asleep on him.
His hand was still resting on her head and he noted the flowers braided into her hair. Kuriboh made a noise the moment he went to remove one of them, well he now knew where they came from. He picked up his scroll and moved to sit at the desk. She had writing utensils and a comfortable chair; he'd rather sit there than on the furniture itself. He sighed through his nose as he went back to reading.
He didn't know what to do with his newest magic student.