Tristan and the others with him watched Duke as he blinked and looked confused.
"Lay down!" Tristan said firmly, pushing the other boy into such a position on the couch.
"I don't need to!" Duke retorted defensively, trying to get up again.
"Oh please just rest," Serenity whispered.
Duke closed his eyes for about five minutes and then opened them again. "I need to gather those files and lock them somewhere safe," he muttered, it only now dawning on him full force that Joey knew the contents of some of them now.
"Do it later!" Tristan said sternly.
"No, I'll do it now." Duke forced himself to stand up and climb the stairs to his office. "And no one follow me. I can't risk anyone else's safety. Too many people know about this already." There was one person he had told himself, for reasons of supposing that the person could help. Now he needed to call that person and tell about the break-in.
"Duke, you might fall!" Serenity objected. "What if you have a concussion?! You're acting like you might!!" She clasped her hands in worry.
"Don't worry about me, Serenity," Duke said soothingly. "I'm alright. I'll just put the files away and then I plan to go home." Not leaving room for argument, he disappeared into his office and shut the door.
"Somehow I think he's doin' more than puttin' the files away," Joey commented.
"So do I," Tristan agreed. "But I dunno what that'd be."
****
Marik was startled out of a deep sleep by the ringing of the telephone. Mumbling something unintelligible in his native tongue, the tired boy picked up the receiver and said something that roughly translated to "Hello?"
The caller's words then brought him to full consciousness and he sat up in bed. "What??!" Marik narrowed his eyes angrily. "Something strange happened to me too—someone sent me a death threat!"
"Maybe they know."
"Perhaps so, but how would they?! I haven't told a soul, and I know you haven't either."
"The walls have ears, Marik."
Marik growled. He knew that, of course. "What do you want to do about it?"
"I'm finding a new place to hide them over Thanksgiving."
"Fine. On Friday we'll discuss our next course of action." Marik leaned back into the soft pillows. "Perhaps this angle should be discussed with the police. Any of the others could be in danger now as well, especially Ishizu and Rishid! And I can't let anything happen to them! I can't!" He clenched his fist.
"I'll report things to the police." Abruptly the call ended.
Marik yawned and hung the phone up before staring into the darkness, deep in thought. He had gotten involved with this to try helping the innocent, but what if his siblings were harmed?! They didn't know about this. He hadn't wanted them to know incase that would put them in greater danger. What he really wanted was for everything just to be resolved without anyone being seriously harmed. But he didn't know if that was possible.
****
Bakura was trudging through the snow, his letter to Amane clutched in his hand. Frances had stayed for dinner and then Mr. Ryou had driven her back to the hotel where she was staying, promising to bring her over the next day for Thanksgiving dinner.
The boy still wasn't sure what to think. Maybe the whole Frances/Franceska thing was all in his head. He prayed it was. But he didn't know, and he knew he had to find out. If it was Franceska, he couldn't allow her to do something to his father. And he didn't especially want her hurting himself either.
Slowly he pushed the gate to the cemetery open, shivering slightly as the falling snow landed on his hand. He walked up the familiar path to his dear sister's grave, brushing the snow away from the tombstone before placing his letter in the lamb statue's front hooves. Did Amane really get his letters? Perhaps it was just a childish fantasy, as he was sure his father would tell him if he knew. But . . . then again . . . maybe . . . maybe she actually did come. Bakura never gave up that hope, and Amane was someone he could always tell his deepest thoughts to, so he continued to write the letters.
"Happy Thanksgiving, Amane," he whispered, feeling a tear come to his eye.
****
As he was walking back home, Bakura encountered a certain child sneaking down the streets.
"Mokuba!" he gasped in astonishment. "What are you . . ."
"I'm walking home!" Mokuba retorted, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.
"But it's after midnight!" Bakura cried. "Why are you up in the first place having to walk home?!"
"I followed Seto to some secret meeting!" Mokuba said defensively. "I thought he might get hurt or something! But he's fine and he's going home, and I've gotta get there before he does!" With that he pushed past Bakura and ran off, calling back, "Don't tell him you saw me!"
Bakura sighed. "I won't, unless he asks!" he returned. Perhaps I should follow him and make certain he gets home safely, the British boy thought to himself. Without wasting time pondering on that idea, he carefully crept after the retreating Mokuba.
****
Téa looked out her window and was startled to see Duke wandering down the street, followed closely by Tristan, Joey, and Serenity. Curiously she ran downstairs and opened the front door to call to them. "Hey guys! What's going on?!"
They all looked over at her.
"We're just walking with Duke back to his place," Tristan replied. "He had an . . . encounter . . . and Serenity didn't think he should walk home alone."
"She thought he might pass out in the snow," Joey volunteered.
"Oh be quiet," Duke retorted. "Nothing will happen to me!!" He took a step forward and nearly slipped on a patch of ice.
"Nothing, huh?" Tristan remarked.
Duke gave him a smoldering look.
Téa came over to them then. "What happened to you, Duke?" she asked. "Your eyes look glassy!"
Duke didn't look pleased. "My eyes look fine," he said.
"Someone hurt him in his shop!" Serenity cried. "When we found him, he was laying on the floor, unconscious!"
Téa blinked in surprise. Duke just sighed.
Headlights suddenly appeared in front of them all and a black limo approached.
"Is that Kaiba's?" Téa wondered.
It was. Seto rolled the window down and was about to speak to them when he saw something so strange in the sky that he actually got out to try to get a better look.
"What the heck are you doin' over here, Kaiba?!" Joey demanded. "And what're you lookin' at?!"
Seto narrowed his eyes. "It's gone now," he replied, not answering Joey's first question at all.
"Well, as long as you're here, how about giving us all rides home?" Tristan spoke up.
Seto shot him a Look. "You look perfectly capable of walking by yourselves."
"Aw, come on, Kaiba! It's the holidays!" Joey said. "Have a heart!"
Seto grunted. "I don't have time to argue. Come on." He wasn't ever very willing to let his kinder side show around anyone but Mokuba.
Before anyone could move, a snorting sound came to everyone's attention and they turned just in time to see a spooked reindeer charging toward them all.
"Hey!! What the heck??!? OH MAN, JUST LOOK OUT!!!" Joey yelled.
Instantly everyone scattered—except for Seto and Duke, who hadn't been able to run off fast enough. Both boys gave cries of shock and disbelief as they were bowled over and ran across by the terrified animal.
Once the snow had settled and the reindeer was off in the distance, the others came out from their places of refuge and ran over to their friends in alarm, calling their names.
Seto shakily sat up after a moment, breathing heavily and looking highly irritated. His hair was flying in all directions and there was snow all through it. His shirt had come unbuttoned and there was a hoof-shaped bruise there. "Well . . . that was fun," he said sarcastically.
"Are you two alright?!" Téa cried.
Seto raised his hand to his forehead. "I'm fine," he grumbled. "But I don't know about Devlin."
Serenity had already knelt down next to Duke, who still looked dazed. "Duke!!" she called frantically. "Duke, speak to me!!"
Duke, who had still been suffering the effects of being hit over the head, didn't answer and only stared ahead blankly, his breathing raspy.
"Let's get him into the limo!" Tristan directed, reaching to haul him up again.
"Tristan, be gentle!" Serenity worried.
Téa watched in concern as Tristan and Joey carried the stunned Duke into the limo and then turned back to Seto. "Are you sure you're alright?!" she demanded. "That bruise looks bad!" She wondered how many others Seto had sustained.
"I'm perfectly fine," Seto retorted, struggling to stand. Téa caught him before he could fall.
"It isn't every day you get run over by a reindeer," Téa remarked.
Seto pulled himself away from her and stumbled ahead to the limo, getting in. That, he thought to himself, has got to be the most annoying reindeer in existence! There was no doubt in his mind—it was the same one that had bowled him down last year.
Téa decided to climb in with them for the moment. She wanted to make sure that Duke—and Seto—were both truly alright. "How is he?" she asked, watching as Joey and Tristan seemed to be trying to revive Duke.
"He's been stunned silly," Tristan replied, shaking his head. "He was still hurt from earlier."
Duke groaned and closed his eyes, slumping back against the seat.
Serenity ran into the limo then, clutching something in her hand. "Joey!" she called. "Look!"
Joey turned to gaze at her. "Eh? What is it, Serenity?! What did you find?"
Serenity opened her fist and showed him the jingle bell. "It must have come from the reindeer's harness," she decided.
"I have a good mind to sue whoever owns it," Seto muttered.
"Maybe you need to call some of your doctors, Kaiba," Téa suggested. "Duke looks like he needs it, and it couldn't hurt to have one examine you as well!"
"I don't need any doctor, but I'll get one for Devlin," Seto replied.
So he did.
By the time the doctor arrived, Duke was alert again and vehemently protesting the examination, which was, the doctor said, a good sign. "What exactly happened?" the physician wanted to know, as Seto hadn't said details on the phone.
"They got run over by a reindeer!" Joey was only too willing to volunteer the information.
The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Is that so. . . ." Quickly he returned to the examination, determining at last that Duke was badly shaken and probably also had a mild concussion from the earlier blow. He recommended that the boy have a good, long rest.
Seto gave a curt nod and told him that that would be all.
"Kaiba!" Téa cried in frustration.
"I said I don't need to be examined," Seto said coldly. He fingered something in his pocket idly that he had taken from the scene of the crime before anyone had seen—an envelope of some kind. He intended to investigate it as soon as he was alone.
The doctor sighed. "You really should be checked, Mr. Kaiba . . ."
"It's not necessary!" Seto ushered him to the door of the limo.
Duke ran a hand over his eyes. This day had been much too eventful for his liking. First he had been knocked on the head, most likely by someone who wanted his files, and then he had wound up being a victim of a hit-and-run reindeer attack. He had had enough.
****
Ishizu was awakened by a loud crash downstairs and she sprang up, worried that someone had broken in and was going to try killing her brother. Slowly she walked to the door and opened it, going out into the hall. Rishid and Marik were both already out there.
"Someone's in the kitchen!" Marik exclaimed in a whisper.
A weird snorting sound came to their attention and then the intruder sauntered into view at the bottom of the stairs. All three of them were appalled.
"A reindeer!!" Rishid burst out.
"Lay down!" Tristan said firmly, pushing the other boy into such a position on the couch.
"I don't need to!" Duke retorted defensively, trying to get up again.
"Oh please just rest," Serenity whispered.
Duke closed his eyes for about five minutes and then opened them again. "I need to gather those files and lock them somewhere safe," he muttered, it only now dawning on him full force that Joey knew the contents of some of them now.
"Do it later!" Tristan said sternly.
"No, I'll do it now." Duke forced himself to stand up and climb the stairs to his office. "And no one follow me. I can't risk anyone else's safety. Too many people know about this already." There was one person he had told himself, for reasons of supposing that the person could help. Now he needed to call that person and tell about the break-in.
"Duke, you might fall!" Serenity objected. "What if you have a concussion?! You're acting like you might!!" She clasped her hands in worry.
"Don't worry about me, Serenity," Duke said soothingly. "I'm alright. I'll just put the files away and then I plan to go home." Not leaving room for argument, he disappeared into his office and shut the door.
"Somehow I think he's doin' more than puttin' the files away," Joey commented.
"So do I," Tristan agreed. "But I dunno what that'd be."
****
Marik was startled out of a deep sleep by the ringing of the telephone. Mumbling something unintelligible in his native tongue, the tired boy picked up the receiver and said something that roughly translated to "Hello?"
The caller's words then brought him to full consciousness and he sat up in bed. "What??!" Marik narrowed his eyes angrily. "Something strange happened to me too—someone sent me a death threat!"
"Maybe they know."
"Perhaps so, but how would they?! I haven't told a soul, and I know you haven't either."
"The walls have ears, Marik."
Marik growled. He knew that, of course. "What do you want to do about it?"
"I'm finding a new place to hide them over Thanksgiving."
"Fine. On Friday we'll discuss our next course of action." Marik leaned back into the soft pillows. "Perhaps this angle should be discussed with the police. Any of the others could be in danger now as well, especially Ishizu and Rishid! And I can't let anything happen to them! I can't!" He clenched his fist.
"I'll report things to the police." Abruptly the call ended.
Marik yawned and hung the phone up before staring into the darkness, deep in thought. He had gotten involved with this to try helping the innocent, but what if his siblings were harmed?! They didn't know about this. He hadn't wanted them to know incase that would put them in greater danger. What he really wanted was for everything just to be resolved without anyone being seriously harmed. But he didn't know if that was possible.
****
Bakura was trudging through the snow, his letter to Amane clutched in his hand. Frances had stayed for dinner and then Mr. Ryou had driven her back to the hotel where she was staying, promising to bring her over the next day for Thanksgiving dinner.
The boy still wasn't sure what to think. Maybe the whole Frances/Franceska thing was all in his head. He prayed it was. But he didn't know, and he knew he had to find out. If it was Franceska, he couldn't allow her to do something to his father. And he didn't especially want her hurting himself either.
Slowly he pushed the gate to the cemetery open, shivering slightly as the falling snow landed on his hand. He walked up the familiar path to his dear sister's grave, brushing the snow away from the tombstone before placing his letter in the lamb statue's front hooves. Did Amane really get his letters? Perhaps it was just a childish fantasy, as he was sure his father would tell him if he knew. But . . . then again . . . maybe . . . maybe she actually did come. Bakura never gave up that hope, and Amane was someone he could always tell his deepest thoughts to, so he continued to write the letters.
"Happy Thanksgiving, Amane," he whispered, feeling a tear come to his eye.
****
As he was walking back home, Bakura encountered a certain child sneaking down the streets.
"Mokuba!" he gasped in astonishment. "What are you . . ."
"I'm walking home!" Mokuba retorted, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.
"But it's after midnight!" Bakura cried. "Why are you up in the first place having to walk home?!"
"I followed Seto to some secret meeting!" Mokuba said defensively. "I thought he might get hurt or something! But he's fine and he's going home, and I've gotta get there before he does!" With that he pushed past Bakura and ran off, calling back, "Don't tell him you saw me!"
Bakura sighed. "I won't, unless he asks!" he returned. Perhaps I should follow him and make certain he gets home safely, the British boy thought to himself. Without wasting time pondering on that idea, he carefully crept after the retreating Mokuba.
****
Téa looked out her window and was startled to see Duke wandering down the street, followed closely by Tristan, Joey, and Serenity. Curiously she ran downstairs and opened the front door to call to them. "Hey guys! What's going on?!"
They all looked over at her.
"We're just walking with Duke back to his place," Tristan replied. "He had an . . . encounter . . . and Serenity didn't think he should walk home alone."
"She thought he might pass out in the snow," Joey volunteered.
"Oh be quiet," Duke retorted. "Nothing will happen to me!!" He took a step forward and nearly slipped on a patch of ice.
"Nothing, huh?" Tristan remarked.
Duke gave him a smoldering look.
Téa came over to them then. "What happened to you, Duke?" she asked. "Your eyes look glassy!"
Duke didn't look pleased. "My eyes look fine," he said.
"Someone hurt him in his shop!" Serenity cried. "When we found him, he was laying on the floor, unconscious!"
Téa blinked in surprise. Duke just sighed.
Headlights suddenly appeared in front of them all and a black limo approached.
"Is that Kaiba's?" Téa wondered.
It was. Seto rolled the window down and was about to speak to them when he saw something so strange in the sky that he actually got out to try to get a better look.
"What the heck are you doin' over here, Kaiba?!" Joey demanded. "And what're you lookin' at?!"
Seto narrowed his eyes. "It's gone now," he replied, not answering Joey's first question at all.
"Well, as long as you're here, how about giving us all rides home?" Tristan spoke up.
Seto shot him a Look. "You look perfectly capable of walking by yourselves."
"Aw, come on, Kaiba! It's the holidays!" Joey said. "Have a heart!"
Seto grunted. "I don't have time to argue. Come on." He wasn't ever very willing to let his kinder side show around anyone but Mokuba.
Before anyone could move, a snorting sound came to everyone's attention and they turned just in time to see a spooked reindeer charging toward them all.
"Hey!! What the heck??!? OH MAN, JUST LOOK OUT!!!" Joey yelled.
Instantly everyone scattered—except for Seto and Duke, who hadn't been able to run off fast enough. Both boys gave cries of shock and disbelief as they were bowled over and ran across by the terrified animal.
Once the snow had settled and the reindeer was off in the distance, the others came out from their places of refuge and ran over to their friends in alarm, calling their names.
Seto shakily sat up after a moment, breathing heavily and looking highly irritated. His hair was flying in all directions and there was snow all through it. His shirt had come unbuttoned and there was a hoof-shaped bruise there. "Well . . . that was fun," he said sarcastically.
"Are you two alright?!" Téa cried.
Seto raised his hand to his forehead. "I'm fine," he grumbled. "But I don't know about Devlin."
Serenity had already knelt down next to Duke, who still looked dazed. "Duke!!" she called frantically. "Duke, speak to me!!"
Duke, who had still been suffering the effects of being hit over the head, didn't answer and only stared ahead blankly, his breathing raspy.
"Let's get him into the limo!" Tristan directed, reaching to haul him up again.
"Tristan, be gentle!" Serenity worried.
Téa watched in concern as Tristan and Joey carried the stunned Duke into the limo and then turned back to Seto. "Are you sure you're alright?!" she demanded. "That bruise looks bad!" She wondered how many others Seto had sustained.
"I'm perfectly fine," Seto retorted, struggling to stand. Téa caught him before he could fall.
"It isn't every day you get run over by a reindeer," Téa remarked.
Seto pulled himself away from her and stumbled ahead to the limo, getting in. That, he thought to himself, has got to be the most annoying reindeer in existence! There was no doubt in his mind—it was the same one that had bowled him down last year.
Téa decided to climb in with them for the moment. She wanted to make sure that Duke—and Seto—were both truly alright. "How is he?" she asked, watching as Joey and Tristan seemed to be trying to revive Duke.
"He's been stunned silly," Tristan replied, shaking his head. "He was still hurt from earlier."
Duke groaned and closed his eyes, slumping back against the seat.
Serenity ran into the limo then, clutching something in her hand. "Joey!" she called. "Look!"
Joey turned to gaze at her. "Eh? What is it, Serenity?! What did you find?"
Serenity opened her fist and showed him the jingle bell. "It must have come from the reindeer's harness," she decided.
"I have a good mind to sue whoever owns it," Seto muttered.
"Maybe you need to call some of your doctors, Kaiba," Téa suggested. "Duke looks like he needs it, and it couldn't hurt to have one examine you as well!"
"I don't need any doctor, but I'll get one for Devlin," Seto replied.
So he did.
By the time the doctor arrived, Duke was alert again and vehemently protesting the examination, which was, the doctor said, a good sign. "What exactly happened?" the physician wanted to know, as Seto hadn't said details on the phone.
"They got run over by a reindeer!" Joey was only too willing to volunteer the information.
The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Is that so. . . ." Quickly he returned to the examination, determining at last that Duke was badly shaken and probably also had a mild concussion from the earlier blow. He recommended that the boy have a good, long rest.
Seto gave a curt nod and told him that that would be all.
"Kaiba!" Téa cried in frustration.
"I said I don't need to be examined," Seto said coldly. He fingered something in his pocket idly that he had taken from the scene of the crime before anyone had seen—an envelope of some kind. He intended to investigate it as soon as he was alone.
The doctor sighed. "You really should be checked, Mr. Kaiba . . ."
"It's not necessary!" Seto ushered him to the door of the limo.
Duke ran a hand over his eyes. This day had been much too eventful for his liking. First he had been knocked on the head, most likely by someone who wanted his files, and then he had wound up being a victim of a hit-and-run reindeer attack. He had had enough.
****
Ishizu was awakened by a loud crash downstairs and she sprang up, worried that someone had broken in and was going to try killing her brother. Slowly she walked to the door and opened it, going out into the hall. Rishid and Marik were both already out there.
"Someone's in the kitchen!" Marik exclaimed in a whisper.
A weird snorting sound came to their attention and then the intruder sauntered into view at the bottom of the stairs. All three of them were appalled.
"A reindeer!!" Rishid burst out.