Well, here we go again.
I haven't been writing recently, had other things to take care of. So this is why it's a bit later than I had hoped. Anyway, Harry was happy with being finally put into the story, even if he did have to get cold and wet and slog through mud. Anyhow, on to the Disclaimer.
Disclaimer:
I, being of sound mind (usually) and body, do hereby declare that I do not own Harry Potter or Yugioh! Therefore, if I should die, I cannot pass either on to anyone, so don't ask.
Notes and More Notes:
Um, did Mrs. Figg die in Order of the Phoenix? It was either in that book or in a fanfic that I read she got caught and killed by Death Eaters, but I can't remember which. If anyone remembers, let me know. Thanks.
Thanks for the heads-up about the Daily Prophet; I'll change that if I ever get around to it. Maybe in a few days. *shrugs*
Okay, there won't be a lot of Harry Potterness for a while yet. So far its still summer so Harry's just chillin at the Dursleys wondering when he gets to go back to the wizarding world. So expect a lot of focus on Yugi-tachi right now and for a little while. But don't worry, Harry won't be vanishing or anything, he'll pop his head out to see what's up every now and then.
ACK!! I've been writing storylines and scenes for this fic on printer paper the past few days, (more lines fit when I write really tiny than on notebook paper). I've written everyone up to about a week or two into August, but this story is getting so out of hand! It's going to be huge! And Harry still isn't at Hogwarts!! And Yami hasn't even shown up once since he got blown around by magic at the party! Plus Malik intends to make an entrance next chapter. I swear I don't know how that happened. My biggest problem will probably be writing Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts once he gets there. I've got some ideas, ^_^ and they're great, but still, I gotta work my way through his school year.
Another problem I've got is that I have very little confidence in my ability to write good, exciting duels. I have a few planned for all you dueling fans, but I'm not sure if I can pull them off well. I'll give it a shot but I may just end up writing opening and ending moves to them. If anyone here knows a lot about the card game and writing good duel scenes, if you want to give it a shot at helping me write the scenes, send me an email. I'd like to read a bit of what you can do with dueling scenes, so send me a bit of what you can do with a duel. Please don't put this into a review, just send me an email about it, my email is in my ff.net profile. Just a duel between two non-canon characters please. No blue eyes, red eyes, dark magicians, exodia, god cards, five-god-dragons (Legendary Dragon in English I think), Toons, etc. please. Those are rare cards in the anime, even if one blue eyes is included in every English Kaiba starter deck in real life. Only Kaiba has the blue eyes, and grandpa too; the only duelist I've seen in the anime with a red eyes is Jou, and the only other person to have a Dark Magician was not only a Rare Hunter (they were involved in counterfeiting cards), but also his DM seemed to be a different edition of the card than Yugi's. Out of whoever accepts this offer, I will choose who I feel can do the best job for what I want to happen. I will then put in my thanks and recognition of you for your help in the Notes at the top of the page, and I will also give you a cameo appearance in this fic. ^_^ There's plenty of time for you to submit offers to me, lots of chapters to go before I need a duel scene in one. Thanks in advance. =)
Hmm, anyone know if its spelled Kami Game Shop or Kame? I was just writing and realized that the spelling switched on me in my head. I'll leave it at Kami for now, but if anyone knows that it's actually Kame, let me know so I can fix it.
Anyway, here we go! Try not to fall off the page. ^_~
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Kami = God
ahou = fool
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Harry Potter and The Advent of Darkness
Chapter 4: Westward Ho!
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Domino City, Japan, Kami Game Shop, July 11th, 1:03 pm.
"Yugi, come on man, you have to eat something. The doctors said so." Jounouchi Katsuya urged as he leaned forward across the kitchen table. His brown eyes pierced into the lavender purple of his best friend's with concern.
"I know. But I'm not hungry, Jounouchi-kun." Yugi Mutou responded softly as he stared down at his plate. He twisted his fingers together where they sat in his lap.
"Grraargh! Damn it Yugi! You have to eat something! You haven't had anything since lunch yesterday! And you barely touched it, even if it was hospital food!" Jounouchi shouted as he bolted to his feet, knocking his chair over where it clattered against the linoleum. Yugi jumped in surprise, his eyes darting up to stare at Jou before falling back to his lap.
"Come on, Yugi. It's hamburgers. Your favorite! At least try them! I may not look it but I do know how to cook. They're good, honest. Not like Bakura-kun's, but still." Jounouchi wheedled, hoping to convince the smaller teen to eat.
"No thanks, Jounouchi-kun. It's really nice of you to stay and make me lunch and all, but I just don't feel like eating. I think.....I think I'm going to just go lay down." Yugi pushed back his chair and stood up.
"Oh no you don't!" Jounouchi growled as he stepped around the table and pushed Yugi back into his chair. "You aren't going anywhere until you at least eat something! This isn't helping anyone Yugi! You can't just mope around and act like everything's okay, because it's not! And everyone knows it! Damn it man, we're all worried sick about you!" Jounouchi finished, his voice beginning to choke up as he dropped to one knee so he could look up at the sitting teen.
"About me? But why? I'm not the one who's alone and trapped! I'm not the one who's missing!" Yugi shouted as he slammed his fists onto the tabletop making the cutlery rattle. "I'm not the one who's never failed his friend....." Yugi whispered, his voice threatening tears, as he bowed his head forward over the table.
"Yugi....." Jounouchi leaned forward and rested his hand on his best friend's shoulder. "This is not your fault. Don't ever think that, Yugi. You didn't fail him. There was nothing you could do, nothing any of us could do. Kami knows we tried." Jounouchi said softly, hoping to sooth the tears he knew would come soon.
"B-but, not me. I couldn't do anything; I couldn't even stand up." Yugi choked, his shoulders shaking slightly.
"That's not your fault. Yami knows that, you know he does. Even if you can't talk to him right now, he knows you'd never just sit back and do nothing if there was a chance you could help him. He knows you wouldn't abandon him. Just like you know he'd never abandon you either." Jounouchi said as he patted Yugi reassuringly on the back. "I'm sure we'll find the piece. You can't give up hope Yugi."
"B-but the piece, it's gone!" Yugi cried as he suddenly turned to Jounouchi and buried his face against his shoulder, his hands fisting in Jou's loose T-shirt at his sides. Jounouchi almost jumped from the sudden move, but recovered and awkwardly wrapped his right arm around Yugi's shoulders as he sobbed into his shirt. "H-how c-can it be g-gone! N-no one b-broke in to st-steal it! W-w-what if i-it was d-d-destroyed!" Yugi wailed, his voice somewhat muffled by Jounouchi's shoulder.
Jounouchi stiffened and pulled back, gripping Yugi's shoulders in either hand. "Don't say that! You can't believe that!" Jounouchi gave Yugi an admonishing shake to punctuate his words. "You can't believe that Yami's gone for good. You can't give up hope Yugi! Y-you just can't!" Jounouchi bowed his head as his voice broke. Lifting his head to meet Yugi's startled, wide violet eyes, Jounouchi looked up at him with his watery brown ones. "You gotta believe there's a way Yugi. I'm sure there's a way, we just have to keep trying and find it, ya know. Just.....just.....don't give up Yugi."
Yugi blinked his wide eyes and nodded so slightly it was almost imperceptible. Reaching up, Yugi wiped away the tears that leaked down his cheeks with the back of his hand and met Jou's gaze again. "Un. I won't give up, Jounouchi-kun. Yami wouldn't give up, and neither will I." Yugi nodded determinedly this time and smiled slightly at Jou.
Jounouchi ducked his head and rubbed at his eyes for a second before lifting his eyes to Yugi and grinning broadly. "Heh, you better not, or I'll have to knock some sense into you like I did to Yami.* Heh, c'mere you!" Jounouchi lunged forward and grabbed Yugi around the neck, pulling him down into a hug.
"Ack! Jounouchi-kun!"
"Now you better try my hamburgers or else I won't let you go!" Jounouchi grinned wickedly as he tousled Yugi's hair.
"Gah! I give! I give!" Yugi gasped as he squirmed out from Jounouchi's grip.
"Hah! Knew you couldn't resist my cooking!" Jounouchi grinned as he flopped into the chair to Yugi's left. Yugi picked up the burger on his plate and started eating it.
As Yugi finished the burger and took a drink of soda he turned to Jounouchi. "Shouldn't you go on home soon? Shizuka must be missing you by now."
"Nah, Shizuka's fine. I asked Anzu and Mai to keep an eye on her; don't trust Honda or Otogi alone with her, ya know. Besides, you think I'd leave you alone right now? No way, Yugi." Jou shook his head.
"Jounouchi-kun..... you guys didn't think that I'd.....I'd.....try and.....you know....." Yugi looked over at him, a concerned look filling his eyes.
"What? You?..... commit suicide? No way Yugi. You aren't like that." Jounouchi shook his head vehemently. "No. We're worried that whatever attacked us on the 9th might try again. This time, it might go after you, or try to get the puzzle from you. And we figured that it'd be best if none of us were alone until we figure out what's going on. So Anzu's staying with Shizuka and Mai, Kaiba's taking Mokuba to his office with him when he goes to work, and Otogi and Honda are staying with Bakura-kun. And me, I'm bunking at your place." Jounouchi grinned widely. "Hope ya don't mind."
"Of course not, Jounouchi-kun. You're always welcome over here." Yugi smiled over at him.
"Good, cuz Anzu threatened to put a hole in my head if I let you out of my sight."
"Anzu said that?" Yugi asked in surprise.
"You better believe it. She's been worried sick about you ya know. Bet you can get a couple dates out of that." Jounouchi winked at him and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi gasped as his cheeks darkened with red heat. "I don't want Anzu to sympathy dat.....er.....um.....that is." Yugi turned an even brighter shade of red and ducked his head in a vain effort to hide it.
"Heeheehee." Jounouchi grinned impishly. "But you wouldn't mind a date with her, huh?" Jou teased as Yugi started to resemble a lobster.
"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi wailed, unable to prevent the blush that spread across his face.
"Calm down. Hehe. Don't worry, I won't spill. But she was really worried you know. She almost came over herself when I told her on the phone that you refused breakfast this morning."
"She did?" Yugi asked as his blush started to fade back into his cheeks.
"Aa, she said that she was going to come over with dinner for us tonight. Doesn't trust me to cook anything nutritious like the doctors said you should have. Who said burgers aren't nutritious!"
"Anzu's coming for dinner? And you didn't tell me sooner! The house is a mess!" Yugi sprang to his feet.
"Oi, oi. Calm down. She won't be here for hours yet. You've got plenty of time to go fix your hair and put on makeup." Jounouchi smirked and made kissy faces at Yugi who turned red again, but with a different emotion this time.
"Jounouchi!" Yugi snatched up the nearest placemat and whapped Jou over the head with it. Jounouchi countered with a balled up napkin and then bolted for the living room to secure more substantial ammunition from the couch. Yugi followed in hot pursuit, snagging a pillow from the armchair as he passed it, then took a flying leap over the couch arm to tackle Jounouchi as he leaned over to snatch up a pillow. As Jounouchi toppled over onto the couch with Yugi perched on his back, whacking him over the head repeatedly with a pillow, the blond congratulated himself on a job well done.
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Kami Game Shop, 5:11 pm.
"Honestly Jounouchi, I expected you to at least use your head for once. The doctors said Yugi has to eat nutritious food to keep from having a relapse. And here you are, ready to stuff him on as many hamburgers as he can eat! Yugi, you may like them, but they are not the best things for you to eat right now." Anzu Mazaki frowned as she unpacked the grocery bags she had brought in with her.
"But Anzu, they're Yugi's favorite! You aren't going to deny him his favorite food right now, are you? I thought you'd understand since you're a girl. Don't girls always splurge on ice cream and cake and stuff they like when they feel down about something?" Jounouchi frowned as he ducked and caught the sack of oranges Anzu had tossed at his head.
"Jounouchi Katsuya, are you implying that I can't deal with my feelings except by pigging out on junk food." Anzu asked in a frigid tone as she turned to stare down the hapless blond.
"Eh heh, um.....no not at all. It's just that I thought Yugi'd for sure eat his favorite food, ya know. Eh heh." Jounouchi backed cautiously away from the teenage girl and tried to slide behind Yugi. Yugi sweat dropped as Anzu focused on him.
"Jounouchi-kun meant well Anzu." Yugi supplied, hoping she wouldn't turn on him too.
"Well, I suppose so. Even if he is an idiot sometimes, he always means well." Anzu humphed as she turned back to the bag of groceries. "Don't worry Yugi." Anzu smiled brightly at the nervous teen. "I brought all kinds of stuff. Mother says I make a mean stir-fry so that's what we'll have tonight. Would you prefer chicken or beef?"
"Um, chicken is fine." Yugi tentatively smiled back at her.
"Great, you go on out into the living room and relax with Shizuka. Send Mai into the kitchen when she comes out of the bathroom, okay. Jounouchi, you set the table."
"R-right!" Jounouchi grinned in relief as he hurried to pull out the dishes.
Yugi headed out into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Shizuka, who smiled at him. Just as he was about to ask her what she was watching, Yugi heard the front doorbell ring. He hurried down into the game shop and glanced out the front windows. Outside, Seto Kaiba stood impatiently with Mokuba by his side. Yugi blinked.
Yugi hurried over to the door and opened it to let the boy billionaire inside.
"Yugi." Kaiba stated as a greeting, as his blue eyes flickered with something akin to relief.
"Seto-kun, Mokuba-kun, what are you doing here?" Yugi asked, confused.
Seto blinked down at him. "You mean you don't know? Damn that idiot thief! He had better have a damned good reason for calling me and insisting I get down here as soon as possible."
"Bakura called you here? But, he isn't even here." Yugi blinked, confused, as he led the two up the stairs.
"He sounded frantic on the phone, right ni-sama? I was worried something had happened to you, but Seto said he would have told us to go to the hospital if something serious had happened." Mokuba piped up as he walked in front of his brother.
"You were worried?" Yugi asked glancing back at the two.
"Un. You really scared us that night you know. I was worried you'd relapsed like that doctor said you might." Mokuba nodded. Seto just frowned slightly and grunted noncommittally, refusing to meet Yugi's eyes.
"Aa. Well, Bakura hasn't called here or anything. I should probably give him a call and find out what's going on. Did you want to stay for dinner? Anzu, Shizuka, Mai and Jounouchi-kun are here too. We were just about to start cooking dinner." Yugi asked as they stepped into the living room. Shizuka glanced up from the new television and smiled brightly at them.
"I didn't know you were coming Mokuba-kun, Seto-san." Shizuka smiled as her eyes found Seto's.
Kaiba suddenly found himself shifting his weight uncomfortably as he wondered if he should take off his trench coat or leave it on. He had worn it to intimidate some petty bureaucrats at a meeting this afternoon and was starting to hope it wasn't as threatening as he had earlier thought. Hoping he wasn't sounding too aloof and ticked at Bakura, he nodded. "Shizuka-san." Seto shifted his weight again and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trench coat when he sensed them trying to come together and twiddle their fingers in nervous energy.
Both of them completely missed the rolled eyes Mokuba passed to Yugi who returned them full circle.
"Have a seat you two, I'll just go into the kitchen and let Anzu and Mai know to cook for two more." Yugi smiled as he started for the kitchen. He hadn't gone two steps before the doorbell interrupted him. "That must be Bakura. I'll go let him in." Yugi about-faced and headed back into the hall and down the stairs. Back in the game shop Yugi saw not only Bakura, but Honda and Otogi as well.
As he let them in, Bakura turned to face him. "Is Kaiba here yet?" He asked with a hopeful note to his voice.
"Un. What's going on, Bakura-kun? He's pretty upset you told him to come over but didn't explain why." Yugi replied sounding a bit concerned.
"Let's go upstairs and fill everyone in then, us included Bakura. For a hunch you sure have dragged us around tonight." Honda frowned at the shorter white-haired teen. They all followed Yugi back up to the living room. Bakura seemed to be holding some emotion inside him as his eyes glittered and his steps seemed to jump and twitch slightly. Yugi couldn't tell if it was from excitement or worry.
"Well, its about time you arrived Bakura. What is all this nonsense about coming to Yugi's as quickly as possible?" Kaiba demanded from an armchair as they walked in. This seemed to be the question that broke the dam as Bakura allowed his excitement to bubble over.
"He's a genius! We figured it out! My yami's an absolute genius!" Bakura crowed uncharacteristically as he clapped his hands together in delight. Three heads poked out of the kitchen to blink in confusion at the mild- mannered British teen as everyone else stared.
"What! You morons think I can't be a genius!" Bakura growled as his hair fluffed up into spikes and his eyes glittered with muted red highlights.
Everyone sweat dropped.
"Who says I can't be a genius! Haven't you idiots ever heard of a diabolical genius before?" Yami Bakura glowered at them. "I was the King of Thieves you know. You don't get that title by being an idiot."
"Eh, ah..... hum. What was it you two figured out?" Yugi asked, hoping the thief king wouldn't cause trouble with Yami out of the picture.
"Oh right. The ahou can fill you in." Bakura's hair settled to his scalp again as his eyes turned into a warm honey brown.
"Eh heh, sorry about that. I'm really excited about this. I'm sure it will work and Bakura assures me it'll work too." Ryou smiled at them.
"What will work Bakura-kun?" Anzu asked as she came the rest of the way into the living room from the kitchen.
"Oh that's right, I haven't told you yet." Bakura smiled as everyone sweat dropped.
"What is it Bakura-kun?" Yugi asked.
"My yami suggested it actually. I never use the ring like that myself so it never occurred to me. But just as I was getting ready to cook dinner, I realized I couldn't find my soup ladle. So I asked Bakura to help me find the ladle, so he showed me how to use the Ring to find it. Then I asked Bakura if it could find that book report I lost for Mrs. Tatewaki, you remember the one we had to write on Shakespeare. And then he got all thoughtful and said we could use it to find almost anything. And then he said we should use it to find the puzzle piece!" Bakura cried with a flourish as he grabbed Yugi's hands and jumped up and down excitedly.
"It can do that?!" Jounouchi exclaimed as he practically fell the rest of the way into the living room.
"Yami Bakura would be willing to help me find the puzzle piece?" Yugi gasped, surprise and delight warring on his features.
Bakura abruptly dropped Yugi's hands and straightened up as his eyes darkened. "Che. The ahou tells it like I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart. For your information, Yugi, the puzzle is useless unless its whole, and besides, I'd be bored out of Ryou's mind if that idiot pharaoh wasn't around to pester." Yugi blinked, and then Ryou blinked.
"Eh heh. That's his way of saying he's agreed to help." Ryou chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.
:You aren't going to tell him that you feel you owe him and Yami, are you?: Ryou chided gently.
::You say anything about that and I'll drink you into a stupor and leave you with the hangover!:: Yami Bakura's angry growl darted across their link. ::I'd never hear the end of it.:: He grumbled as he settled back in his soul room, embarrassment tingeing his thoughts.
"So uh, how does it work?" Jounouchi asked as he peered down at the Ring that hung around Ryou's neck.
"Oh, it's fairly simple. You channel your energy into the Ring and tell it to show you what you want to find while concentrating on the thing you're looking for. Then the little hanging tines lift and point in the direction the missing thing is in." Ryou replied as he lifted the Ring up to hold horizontal in front of his chest.
"So what are we waiting for?" Mai asked with a smile. "Lets go find that piece so we can all see Yugi's famous smile again." She grinned down at Yugi and winked. Yugi smiled gratefully back at Mai.
"Oh right." Bakura smiled sheepishly. "Hang on just a moment, my yami is much better at finding things with it. We'll get a better scrying if he does it." Ryou's eyes glazed over slightly, taking on a distant look as he talked with his yami.
:Yami? Could you do this, I'm still not very good at it, it took me six tries just to find the ladle. I don't want to discourage Yugi's hopes if it doesn't work right the first time.:
::Che. You should have thought of that before you promised to find it.:: Bakura sighed as a sense of exasperation flowed down their link. ::I should have just kept my mouth shut. Then you wouldn't come begging to me for help.::
:Please yami. It is your idea, and besides, what better way to prove to Honda and the others that you really didn't have a hand in the attack.: Ryou pleaded logically.
::Fine. But don't expect me to do this for everything you lose.:: Yami Bakura grumbled as he took control from Ryou.
"Should have kept my mouth shut." He grumbled under his breath as he shifted his grip on the Ring. Concentrating slightly Bakura channeled the power of his aura into the Millennium Ring until it gleamed with a pale blue aura. "Ring! Show me where the Millennium Puzzle is!" He commanded as he pictured the completed puzzle in his mind's eye. The Ring quivered in his grasp and the golden tines shivered and clinked together making a musical chiming sound before the Ring jerked in his grasp, tugging him in a specific direction. The majority of the Ring's tines were pointing straight out towards the incomplete puzzle that hung around Yugi's neck on its chain. A single tine pointed towards the window of the living room and sharply angled downward.
"Did it fall out the window?" Jounouchi asked confused. "But it was closed that night."
Bakura frowned as Honda went over to the window and looked around it and then leaned out to look down onto the street below. "I don't think it's out the window." Bakura turned and walked into the hallway and then downstairs. Everyone followed, eagerly awaiting his verdict.
Upon reaching the ground floor, Bakura repeated his command. The Ring again quivered and its tines split their decision. All but one pointed towards Yugi. The single tine now pointed downwards toward the ground and somewhat westward.
"Whaat! The puzzle piece is underground!! How are we going to get it out without digging up the Game Shop?" Jounouchi cried, shocked.
"Don't be an idiot. Yugi stand still." Bakura paced the length of the store and then back and forth from one side to the other before turning to face the group gathered behind the counter. "The piece is very far away. I don't think it's underground. The Ring is just pointing in a straight path to it."
"A straight path? Are you saying it's on the other side of the world?" Otogi asked sounding shocked.
"Seems like it." And with that Ryou blinked over at them before glancing down at the still slightly glowing Ring in his hands.
"How can he tell how far away it is?" Shizuka asked, looking intrigued.
Ryou cocked his head to the side then blinked and replied. "He says that the tines that pointed to Yugi's incomplete puzzle all moved as Bakura moved. But the tine that pointed to the missing piece didn't move at all as he walked. He walked around so he could triangulate on the distance. The missing piece is so far away that he couldn't tell how far it is exactly." Ryou paused and frowned. "He says, the Ring indicates it's probably halfway around the world."
"On the other side of the world..... How am I ever going to find it then?" Yugi moaned despondently as he dropped his gaze to his feet and slumped his shoulders.
"Don't worry Yugi, we'll find it. I'm sure of it. At least now we know the direction we have to go in, right?" Jounouchi said as he tried to cheer Yugi up.
"Aa. But how far do we need to go to the west? It could be anywhere from China to America." Yugi scowled as he clenched his fist.
"I don't think it would be in America Yugi. If it was, the Ring would probably have pointed East." Honda spoke up.
"Right, so China to er..... Europe. That narrows it down a lot right?" Jounouchi smiled encouragingly.
"Don't stress your brain puppy, you might wrinkle it."** Seto scowled at Jounouchi who glared back. "Ruling out the America's hardly narrows it down."
"Shut up Kaiba, you aren't helping anything!" Jounouchi snarled at him as he shook a fist.
"Please don't fight you two. My yami and I were discussing this and we both agree. The best place to start would probably be Egypt. The Millennium Items are originally from there, and so are Yami and Bakura. Even if the puzzle piece isn't there, we might find some clues as to what happened that night and where the puzzle piece might be. Besides, the piece will probably be close enough to Egypt that we can use the Ring to accurately triangulate its position." Ryou spoke up, stepping between the two taller teens.
"Un. Ryou's right, besides Malik and Isis-san might have information for me that will help out." Yugi spoke up, stepping forward. "I'm not sure how I'll get to Egypt, but I'm sure there's a way."
"Us you mean, Yugi-kun." Bakura smiled at the smaller duelist. "I'm coming with you, you'll need my help to find the puzzle piece whether we go to Egypt or not."
"Oi, 'us' is right! There's no way you're heading off to Egypt without the rest of us, right?" Jounouchi turned and glanced at Anzu and Honda and the others.
"Un!" Anzu smiled and nodded firmly.
"Heh, couldn't get rid of us if you tried, Yugi." Otogi grinned while Honda and Shizuka nodded.
"Jounouchi Katsuya! If you think for one minute that you're going to run off to Egypt without me, then you've got another thing coming mister!" Mai glared as she snagged Jou's shirt collar. Jou sweat dropped and nodded vigorously.
"Of course not Mai. I was just about to ask you to come too." Jounouchi nervously smiled at the tall blond, who nodded, satisfied with his answer.
"Um.....oniichan, how are we going to get to Egypt?" Shizuka spoke up looking distressed at this hiccup in the plan.
"Er.....I don't suppose Pegasus would fly us out there on an Industrial Illusions jet?" Jounouchi turned hopefully to Yugi.
"The whole lot of you are hopeless aren't you?" Kaiba scowled as he stepped forward from the stairwell. "It never fails, you're off on another of your magic induced globe-hopping trips with no money and eventually you expect me to come bail you out of whatever mess you've gotten yourself into. This time, I'm going to save myself the exasperation of listening to you and the puppy beg, Yugi."
"Whaat! Since when have I ever begged you for money you ....." Jounouchi started.
"Really! That's so nice of you Seto-san to offer to help us out. I was going to offer the money I've been saving so I could visit oniichan this Christmas, but now I'll be able to be here in Domino for Christmas with oniichan and all of our wonderful friends!" Shizuka exclaimed as she clapped her hands together in front of her chest, beaming brightly at Seto.
Both Seto and Jounouchi were dumbstruck by this. Jounouchi trailed off into indecipherable splutters, unable to contradict his sister's happy praise. Kaiba was just as flustered, suddenly embarrassed he had said anything at all, let alone been praised for it.
"Er.....yes, that's good. As I was saying." Kaiba pulled himself back on track with an effort. "It seems luck is on your side, as always, Yugi. There are two Duel Monster's tournaments Kaiba Corp. is sponsoring in Europe next month. One is in France and coincides with the nationwide release of the Duel Disk mark 2 system, now compatible with the French and English cards as well as Japanese. The other is to take place in England the next weekend and coincides with the English release of the Duel Disks. Because Kaiba Corp. is sponsoring these tournaments, I have to be present in Paris and London before the tournaments begin, to finalize preparations and host the tournaments. Mokuba will be attending as well. The prize for first place in each tournament includes the opportunity for the winner to challenge myself to a duel so I must stay until the end of each. Each tournament will last three days, and we'll be in Paris and London the week before the tournaments to make sure everything is operating smoothly beforehand. As such, I must be in Paris in three weeks. However, because Egypt is on the way to France and since the Kaiba Corp. private jets tend to be spacious, I will permit you and your collection of friends to accompany me on this business trip. As I predict you will want to spend time wandering about Egypt reading ancient wall scribbles and listening to hack mystics, I will reschedule the jet to leave in two weeks." Kaiba nodded firmly as he met Yugi's eyes with his own. "If there is no other reason you called me here, Bakura, I'll take my leave." Seto glanced at the British teen.
"Uh, no. I wanted you to hear the good news about the Ring's ability along with everyone else, Kaiba-kun." Bakura smiled faintly, a little shell- shocked at the aloof teen's sudden bout of magnanimity.
"Very well. Let's go Mokuba. Be at the airport on time or we'll leave without you. Until then. Yugi." Seto nodded at his diminutive rival before he swept out of the front door of the Kami Game Shop, leaving everyone present in a state of surprise and shock. Mokuba followed on his heels, waving cheerfully back at them.
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ANIME SPOILER ALERT!!!!
* When Yugi's soul was stolen by Raphael for Dartz during the Doom arc, Yami was so distraught and horrified over his loss, and that it was mostly Yami's fault, that he was practically catatonic for a while. Wouldn't meet anyone's gaze, and was withdrawn and depressed [so sad]. Jounouchi snapped him out of it by decking him when he found out what had happened.
SPOILER OVER!!
** The number of wrinkles on your brain tells you how much you know! Whenever you learn something it puts a new wrinkle on the surface of your brain. So Kaiba telling Jounouchi to be careful cuz he might wrinkle his brain is saying Jounouchi knows nothing, so has no wrinkles! ^_^ It's a joke! Laugh now.....please.
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Ta Da! New chapter completed.
Most chapters are going to deal with one single scene or a few small closely related scenes. This is to keep the chapters from becoming massive monsters that will swallow up readers and leave me wondering what happened to my audience.
Whee! Off to Egypt next chapter where we find out what's been going on with Malik and Isis these days. Harry should show up again the chapter after that.
See, aren't you proud of me, I've been planning these things out, so now I'll know what's happening next. Although, that whole Jou-Yugi friendship- counseling session jumped out of the screen and ambushed me. Oh well, you liked it though didn't you? I didn't go overboard with Yugi crying and all did I? He did just get the other half of his soul ripped away from him to fates unknown, you know, I figure he's due for a good cry over that now and again. Although, Yugi is really the only guy who can get away with crying on someone's shoulder. Mokuba too, but that's cuz he's younger and he has his big brother to run to. But really, I just can't do that with say, Jou and Honda, you know. It just doesn't work without being really, really awkward.
Anyone have problems with the little 'place, date, time' stuff I have going on at the beginning of scenes?
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Reviewer Responses:
C.M. Aeris Queen of Insanity: Actually if you re-read that you'll see that I never said Honda died. I did say that Yugi was afraid that he had died, which is quite different. Um, I take it you're going off of the anime version of Death-T. I'm afraid I never saw more than a few of the episodes from that early Yugioh series and so could not use the events that happened in it for my story. I have, however, read the translated-into-English versions of the first three manga books and up to the 13th issue of Shonen Jump. This goes all the way up to the beginning of the manga version of Death-T Stage 4 in which Yugi accepts his other half and reveals Yami's existence to Jounouchi and Anzu and fights Mokuba in a game of Capsule Monster Chess. At this point, Honda has been separated from the group because his coat was caught under a giant tetris block in Death-T Stage 3. Honda made sure that Yugi got out before the exit hole was blocked by falling blocks before he tried to free his jacket. The exit hole was blocked before he could free his jacket and Yugi was afraid that Honda would be unable to escape and would get squished by a falling block. This fear caused Yami to almost take control which alerted Anzu and Jounouchi to something being strange with Yugi. As far as I know, what I said happened to them during this time is correct as far as the manga goes.
Dark-necrophhia666: Whew, dodged that demonic bullet. Here's another update to satisfy your minions. =D
duckydeary: 17 huh? Well, in America 16 is the age to get a learner's permit. Actual license doesn't come till 18. Is 17 the age for permit or for license? If its license, then permit comes before, so Dudley could practice driving at 16 with an adult in the car. If its permit, then let's just say Dudley's getting his car a bit early so his parents can avoid a tantrum. ^_^
Hyozanryu: Working on the chapters being shorter. Doesn't seem perfected yet though. ^_^
It'sHardToBelieve: There's lots of meaning, but don't think you'll learn it all at once. I plan to keep you waiting for a while for answers to some things. =D
JenniChan: I agree with Jadyn. That's scary. Must now hide behind Yugi. [He makes such a great human shield, no one has the heart to hit him to get at the person hiding behind him. ^_^]
Lady Silver Dragon I: Oh good, I thought for sure it was an intro to Harry that had been overdone. But I guess mine was a bit different. He was seeing from a 3rd person point of view rather than Voldemort's after all.
Mists: Well Harry didn't see it from Voldemort's point of view actually. Harry is more of a disembodied astral projection in that dream. If you'll notice he sees Volde across the crypt from where Harry's standing. I figure the Occlumency lessons prevent Harry from seeing through Voldemort's eyes, but that doesn't mean that a strong enough emotion from Voldemort can't bring Harry's consciousness to wherever Voldemort happens to be.
ruth 4 kai: Updating! =)
Sachi-chan: Continuing! ^_^
sugarpony: Why thank you. =) Well, the Yugi gang won't be attending Hogwarts, but I never said they wouldn't drop by for some reason or other. ^_^ Yup, Malik fix, dead ahead, in chapter 5. Thanks for the tip on the Daily Prophet. Not sure if I'll change it though, there can be two wizarding papers right?
The Mad Tortoise: Thanks for the support! Always nice to have people agree with the muses in my head, especially when they say nice things about me. ^_^ More coming up soon! =)
Yami-Bakura's-little-thief: It may take a while for that flashback for the Bakuras, but I plan to put it in somewhere. ^_^
Yanslana: Thanks for dropping by. I really hope its not getting worse as it goes along. Let me know if you think any of my latest chapters needs work, and where you think it should get it.
Youkai Youko: Thanks. ^_^ And Oh look! Its an update! How cool is that. ^_^
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Ah well, until next time.
Ja ne! ^_^
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Look at the pretty spinny disk thingy! ^_^
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/ ___________
| / _______ \
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| \________ / |
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Mwuahaha! You are now hypnotized. You will do as I say!
Now, when I update my fic you will click the purple button and submit a review!
I haven't been writing recently, had other things to take care of. So this is why it's a bit later than I had hoped. Anyway, Harry was happy with being finally put into the story, even if he did have to get cold and wet and slog through mud. Anyhow, on to the Disclaimer.
Disclaimer:
I, being of sound mind (usually) and body, do hereby declare that I do not own Harry Potter or Yugioh! Therefore, if I should die, I cannot pass either on to anyone, so don't ask.
Notes and More Notes:
Um, did Mrs. Figg die in Order of the Phoenix? It was either in that book or in a fanfic that I read she got caught and killed by Death Eaters, but I can't remember which. If anyone remembers, let me know. Thanks.
Thanks for the heads-up about the Daily Prophet; I'll change that if I ever get around to it. Maybe in a few days. *shrugs*
Okay, there won't be a lot of Harry Potterness for a while yet. So far its still summer so Harry's just chillin at the Dursleys wondering when he gets to go back to the wizarding world. So expect a lot of focus on Yugi-tachi right now and for a little while. But don't worry, Harry won't be vanishing or anything, he'll pop his head out to see what's up every now and then.
ACK!! I've been writing storylines and scenes for this fic on printer paper the past few days, (more lines fit when I write really tiny than on notebook paper). I've written everyone up to about a week or two into August, but this story is getting so out of hand! It's going to be huge! And Harry still isn't at Hogwarts!! And Yami hasn't even shown up once since he got blown around by magic at the party! Plus Malik intends to make an entrance next chapter. I swear I don't know how that happened. My biggest problem will probably be writing Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts once he gets there. I've got some ideas, ^_^ and they're great, but still, I gotta work my way through his school year.
Another problem I've got is that I have very little confidence in my ability to write good, exciting duels. I have a few planned for all you dueling fans, but I'm not sure if I can pull them off well. I'll give it a shot but I may just end up writing opening and ending moves to them. If anyone here knows a lot about the card game and writing good duel scenes, if you want to give it a shot at helping me write the scenes, send me an email. I'd like to read a bit of what you can do with dueling scenes, so send me a bit of what you can do with a duel. Please don't put this into a review, just send me an email about it, my email is in my ff.net profile. Just a duel between two non-canon characters please. No blue eyes, red eyes, dark magicians, exodia, god cards, five-god-dragons (Legendary Dragon in English I think), Toons, etc. please. Those are rare cards in the anime, even if one blue eyes is included in every English Kaiba starter deck in real life. Only Kaiba has the blue eyes, and grandpa too; the only duelist I've seen in the anime with a red eyes is Jou, and the only other person to have a Dark Magician was not only a Rare Hunter (they were involved in counterfeiting cards), but also his DM seemed to be a different edition of the card than Yugi's. Out of whoever accepts this offer, I will choose who I feel can do the best job for what I want to happen. I will then put in my thanks and recognition of you for your help in the Notes at the top of the page, and I will also give you a cameo appearance in this fic. ^_^ There's plenty of time for you to submit offers to me, lots of chapters to go before I need a duel scene in one. Thanks in advance. =)
Hmm, anyone know if its spelled Kami Game Shop or Kame? I was just writing and realized that the spelling switched on me in my head. I'll leave it at Kami for now, but if anyone knows that it's actually Kame, let me know so I can fix it.
Anyway, here we go! Try not to fall off the page. ^_~
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Kami = God
ahou = fool
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Harry Potter and The Advent of Darkness
Chapter 4: Westward Ho!
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Domino City, Japan, Kami Game Shop, July 11th, 1:03 pm.
"Yugi, come on man, you have to eat something. The doctors said so." Jounouchi Katsuya urged as he leaned forward across the kitchen table. His brown eyes pierced into the lavender purple of his best friend's with concern.
"I know. But I'm not hungry, Jounouchi-kun." Yugi Mutou responded softly as he stared down at his plate. He twisted his fingers together where they sat in his lap.
"Grraargh! Damn it Yugi! You have to eat something! You haven't had anything since lunch yesterday! And you barely touched it, even if it was hospital food!" Jounouchi shouted as he bolted to his feet, knocking his chair over where it clattered against the linoleum. Yugi jumped in surprise, his eyes darting up to stare at Jou before falling back to his lap.
"Come on, Yugi. It's hamburgers. Your favorite! At least try them! I may not look it but I do know how to cook. They're good, honest. Not like Bakura-kun's, but still." Jounouchi wheedled, hoping to convince the smaller teen to eat.
"No thanks, Jounouchi-kun. It's really nice of you to stay and make me lunch and all, but I just don't feel like eating. I think.....I think I'm going to just go lay down." Yugi pushed back his chair and stood up.
"Oh no you don't!" Jounouchi growled as he stepped around the table and pushed Yugi back into his chair. "You aren't going anywhere until you at least eat something! This isn't helping anyone Yugi! You can't just mope around and act like everything's okay, because it's not! And everyone knows it! Damn it man, we're all worried sick about you!" Jounouchi finished, his voice beginning to choke up as he dropped to one knee so he could look up at the sitting teen.
"About me? But why? I'm not the one who's alone and trapped! I'm not the one who's missing!" Yugi shouted as he slammed his fists onto the tabletop making the cutlery rattle. "I'm not the one who's never failed his friend....." Yugi whispered, his voice threatening tears, as he bowed his head forward over the table.
"Yugi....." Jounouchi leaned forward and rested his hand on his best friend's shoulder. "This is not your fault. Don't ever think that, Yugi. You didn't fail him. There was nothing you could do, nothing any of us could do. Kami knows we tried." Jounouchi said softly, hoping to sooth the tears he knew would come soon.
"B-but, not me. I couldn't do anything; I couldn't even stand up." Yugi choked, his shoulders shaking slightly.
"That's not your fault. Yami knows that, you know he does. Even if you can't talk to him right now, he knows you'd never just sit back and do nothing if there was a chance you could help him. He knows you wouldn't abandon him. Just like you know he'd never abandon you either." Jounouchi said as he patted Yugi reassuringly on the back. "I'm sure we'll find the piece. You can't give up hope Yugi."
"B-but the piece, it's gone!" Yugi cried as he suddenly turned to Jounouchi and buried his face against his shoulder, his hands fisting in Jou's loose T-shirt at his sides. Jounouchi almost jumped from the sudden move, but recovered and awkwardly wrapped his right arm around Yugi's shoulders as he sobbed into his shirt. "H-how c-can it be g-gone! N-no one b-broke in to st-steal it! W-w-what if i-it was d-d-destroyed!" Yugi wailed, his voice somewhat muffled by Jounouchi's shoulder.
Jounouchi stiffened and pulled back, gripping Yugi's shoulders in either hand. "Don't say that! You can't believe that!" Jounouchi gave Yugi an admonishing shake to punctuate his words. "You can't believe that Yami's gone for good. You can't give up hope Yugi! Y-you just can't!" Jounouchi bowed his head as his voice broke. Lifting his head to meet Yugi's startled, wide violet eyes, Jounouchi looked up at him with his watery brown ones. "You gotta believe there's a way Yugi. I'm sure there's a way, we just have to keep trying and find it, ya know. Just.....just.....don't give up Yugi."
Yugi blinked his wide eyes and nodded so slightly it was almost imperceptible. Reaching up, Yugi wiped away the tears that leaked down his cheeks with the back of his hand and met Jou's gaze again. "Un. I won't give up, Jounouchi-kun. Yami wouldn't give up, and neither will I." Yugi nodded determinedly this time and smiled slightly at Jou.
Jounouchi ducked his head and rubbed at his eyes for a second before lifting his eyes to Yugi and grinning broadly. "Heh, you better not, or I'll have to knock some sense into you like I did to Yami.* Heh, c'mere you!" Jounouchi lunged forward and grabbed Yugi around the neck, pulling him down into a hug.
"Ack! Jounouchi-kun!"
"Now you better try my hamburgers or else I won't let you go!" Jounouchi grinned wickedly as he tousled Yugi's hair.
"Gah! I give! I give!" Yugi gasped as he squirmed out from Jounouchi's grip.
"Hah! Knew you couldn't resist my cooking!" Jounouchi grinned as he flopped into the chair to Yugi's left. Yugi picked up the burger on his plate and started eating it.
As Yugi finished the burger and took a drink of soda he turned to Jounouchi. "Shouldn't you go on home soon? Shizuka must be missing you by now."
"Nah, Shizuka's fine. I asked Anzu and Mai to keep an eye on her; don't trust Honda or Otogi alone with her, ya know. Besides, you think I'd leave you alone right now? No way, Yugi." Jou shook his head.
"Jounouchi-kun..... you guys didn't think that I'd.....I'd.....try and.....you know....." Yugi looked over at him, a concerned look filling his eyes.
"What? You?..... commit suicide? No way Yugi. You aren't like that." Jounouchi shook his head vehemently. "No. We're worried that whatever attacked us on the 9th might try again. This time, it might go after you, or try to get the puzzle from you. And we figured that it'd be best if none of us were alone until we figure out what's going on. So Anzu's staying with Shizuka and Mai, Kaiba's taking Mokuba to his office with him when he goes to work, and Otogi and Honda are staying with Bakura-kun. And me, I'm bunking at your place." Jounouchi grinned widely. "Hope ya don't mind."
"Of course not, Jounouchi-kun. You're always welcome over here." Yugi smiled over at him.
"Good, cuz Anzu threatened to put a hole in my head if I let you out of my sight."
"Anzu said that?" Yugi asked in surprise.
"You better believe it. She's been worried sick about you ya know. Bet you can get a couple dates out of that." Jounouchi winked at him and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi gasped as his cheeks darkened with red heat. "I don't want Anzu to sympathy dat.....er.....um.....that is." Yugi turned an even brighter shade of red and ducked his head in a vain effort to hide it.
"Heeheehee." Jounouchi grinned impishly. "But you wouldn't mind a date with her, huh?" Jou teased as Yugi started to resemble a lobster.
"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi wailed, unable to prevent the blush that spread across his face.
"Calm down. Hehe. Don't worry, I won't spill. But she was really worried you know. She almost came over herself when I told her on the phone that you refused breakfast this morning."
"She did?" Yugi asked as his blush started to fade back into his cheeks.
"Aa, she said that she was going to come over with dinner for us tonight. Doesn't trust me to cook anything nutritious like the doctors said you should have. Who said burgers aren't nutritious!"
"Anzu's coming for dinner? And you didn't tell me sooner! The house is a mess!" Yugi sprang to his feet.
"Oi, oi. Calm down. She won't be here for hours yet. You've got plenty of time to go fix your hair and put on makeup." Jounouchi smirked and made kissy faces at Yugi who turned red again, but with a different emotion this time.
"Jounouchi!" Yugi snatched up the nearest placemat and whapped Jou over the head with it. Jounouchi countered with a balled up napkin and then bolted for the living room to secure more substantial ammunition from the couch. Yugi followed in hot pursuit, snagging a pillow from the armchair as he passed it, then took a flying leap over the couch arm to tackle Jounouchi as he leaned over to snatch up a pillow. As Jounouchi toppled over onto the couch with Yugi perched on his back, whacking him over the head repeatedly with a pillow, the blond congratulated himself on a job well done.
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Kami Game Shop, 5:11 pm.
"Honestly Jounouchi, I expected you to at least use your head for once. The doctors said Yugi has to eat nutritious food to keep from having a relapse. And here you are, ready to stuff him on as many hamburgers as he can eat! Yugi, you may like them, but they are not the best things for you to eat right now." Anzu Mazaki frowned as she unpacked the grocery bags she had brought in with her.
"But Anzu, they're Yugi's favorite! You aren't going to deny him his favorite food right now, are you? I thought you'd understand since you're a girl. Don't girls always splurge on ice cream and cake and stuff they like when they feel down about something?" Jounouchi frowned as he ducked and caught the sack of oranges Anzu had tossed at his head.
"Jounouchi Katsuya, are you implying that I can't deal with my feelings except by pigging out on junk food." Anzu asked in a frigid tone as she turned to stare down the hapless blond.
"Eh heh, um.....no not at all. It's just that I thought Yugi'd for sure eat his favorite food, ya know. Eh heh." Jounouchi backed cautiously away from the teenage girl and tried to slide behind Yugi. Yugi sweat dropped as Anzu focused on him.
"Jounouchi-kun meant well Anzu." Yugi supplied, hoping she wouldn't turn on him too.
"Well, I suppose so. Even if he is an idiot sometimes, he always means well." Anzu humphed as she turned back to the bag of groceries. "Don't worry Yugi." Anzu smiled brightly at the nervous teen. "I brought all kinds of stuff. Mother says I make a mean stir-fry so that's what we'll have tonight. Would you prefer chicken or beef?"
"Um, chicken is fine." Yugi tentatively smiled back at her.
"Great, you go on out into the living room and relax with Shizuka. Send Mai into the kitchen when she comes out of the bathroom, okay. Jounouchi, you set the table."
"R-right!" Jounouchi grinned in relief as he hurried to pull out the dishes.
Yugi headed out into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Shizuka, who smiled at him. Just as he was about to ask her what she was watching, Yugi heard the front doorbell ring. He hurried down into the game shop and glanced out the front windows. Outside, Seto Kaiba stood impatiently with Mokuba by his side. Yugi blinked.
Yugi hurried over to the door and opened it to let the boy billionaire inside.
"Yugi." Kaiba stated as a greeting, as his blue eyes flickered with something akin to relief.
"Seto-kun, Mokuba-kun, what are you doing here?" Yugi asked, confused.
Seto blinked down at him. "You mean you don't know? Damn that idiot thief! He had better have a damned good reason for calling me and insisting I get down here as soon as possible."
"Bakura called you here? But, he isn't even here." Yugi blinked, confused, as he led the two up the stairs.
"He sounded frantic on the phone, right ni-sama? I was worried something had happened to you, but Seto said he would have told us to go to the hospital if something serious had happened." Mokuba piped up as he walked in front of his brother.
"You were worried?" Yugi asked glancing back at the two.
"Un. You really scared us that night you know. I was worried you'd relapsed like that doctor said you might." Mokuba nodded. Seto just frowned slightly and grunted noncommittally, refusing to meet Yugi's eyes.
"Aa. Well, Bakura hasn't called here or anything. I should probably give him a call and find out what's going on. Did you want to stay for dinner? Anzu, Shizuka, Mai and Jounouchi-kun are here too. We were just about to start cooking dinner." Yugi asked as they stepped into the living room. Shizuka glanced up from the new television and smiled brightly at them.
"I didn't know you were coming Mokuba-kun, Seto-san." Shizuka smiled as her eyes found Seto's.
Kaiba suddenly found himself shifting his weight uncomfortably as he wondered if he should take off his trench coat or leave it on. He had worn it to intimidate some petty bureaucrats at a meeting this afternoon and was starting to hope it wasn't as threatening as he had earlier thought. Hoping he wasn't sounding too aloof and ticked at Bakura, he nodded. "Shizuka-san." Seto shifted his weight again and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trench coat when he sensed them trying to come together and twiddle their fingers in nervous energy.
Both of them completely missed the rolled eyes Mokuba passed to Yugi who returned them full circle.
"Have a seat you two, I'll just go into the kitchen and let Anzu and Mai know to cook for two more." Yugi smiled as he started for the kitchen. He hadn't gone two steps before the doorbell interrupted him. "That must be Bakura. I'll go let him in." Yugi about-faced and headed back into the hall and down the stairs. Back in the game shop Yugi saw not only Bakura, but Honda and Otogi as well.
As he let them in, Bakura turned to face him. "Is Kaiba here yet?" He asked with a hopeful note to his voice.
"Un. What's going on, Bakura-kun? He's pretty upset you told him to come over but didn't explain why." Yugi replied sounding a bit concerned.
"Let's go upstairs and fill everyone in then, us included Bakura. For a hunch you sure have dragged us around tonight." Honda frowned at the shorter white-haired teen. They all followed Yugi back up to the living room. Bakura seemed to be holding some emotion inside him as his eyes glittered and his steps seemed to jump and twitch slightly. Yugi couldn't tell if it was from excitement or worry.
"Well, its about time you arrived Bakura. What is all this nonsense about coming to Yugi's as quickly as possible?" Kaiba demanded from an armchair as they walked in. This seemed to be the question that broke the dam as Bakura allowed his excitement to bubble over.
"He's a genius! We figured it out! My yami's an absolute genius!" Bakura crowed uncharacteristically as he clapped his hands together in delight. Three heads poked out of the kitchen to blink in confusion at the mild- mannered British teen as everyone else stared.
"What! You morons think I can't be a genius!" Bakura growled as his hair fluffed up into spikes and his eyes glittered with muted red highlights.
Everyone sweat dropped.
"Who says I can't be a genius! Haven't you idiots ever heard of a diabolical genius before?" Yami Bakura glowered at them. "I was the King of Thieves you know. You don't get that title by being an idiot."
"Eh, ah..... hum. What was it you two figured out?" Yugi asked, hoping the thief king wouldn't cause trouble with Yami out of the picture.
"Oh right. The ahou can fill you in." Bakura's hair settled to his scalp again as his eyes turned into a warm honey brown.
"Eh heh, sorry about that. I'm really excited about this. I'm sure it will work and Bakura assures me it'll work too." Ryou smiled at them.
"What will work Bakura-kun?" Anzu asked as she came the rest of the way into the living room from the kitchen.
"Oh that's right, I haven't told you yet." Bakura smiled as everyone sweat dropped.
"What is it Bakura-kun?" Yugi asked.
"My yami suggested it actually. I never use the ring like that myself so it never occurred to me. But just as I was getting ready to cook dinner, I realized I couldn't find my soup ladle. So I asked Bakura to help me find the ladle, so he showed me how to use the Ring to find it. Then I asked Bakura if it could find that book report I lost for Mrs. Tatewaki, you remember the one we had to write on Shakespeare. And then he got all thoughtful and said we could use it to find almost anything. And then he said we should use it to find the puzzle piece!" Bakura cried with a flourish as he grabbed Yugi's hands and jumped up and down excitedly.
"It can do that?!" Jounouchi exclaimed as he practically fell the rest of the way into the living room.
"Yami Bakura would be willing to help me find the puzzle piece?" Yugi gasped, surprise and delight warring on his features.
Bakura abruptly dropped Yugi's hands and straightened up as his eyes darkened. "Che. The ahou tells it like I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart. For your information, Yugi, the puzzle is useless unless its whole, and besides, I'd be bored out of Ryou's mind if that idiot pharaoh wasn't around to pester." Yugi blinked, and then Ryou blinked.
"Eh heh. That's his way of saying he's agreed to help." Ryou chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.
:You aren't going to tell him that you feel you owe him and Yami, are you?: Ryou chided gently.
::You say anything about that and I'll drink you into a stupor and leave you with the hangover!:: Yami Bakura's angry growl darted across their link. ::I'd never hear the end of it.:: He grumbled as he settled back in his soul room, embarrassment tingeing his thoughts.
"So uh, how does it work?" Jounouchi asked as he peered down at the Ring that hung around Ryou's neck.
"Oh, it's fairly simple. You channel your energy into the Ring and tell it to show you what you want to find while concentrating on the thing you're looking for. Then the little hanging tines lift and point in the direction the missing thing is in." Ryou replied as he lifted the Ring up to hold horizontal in front of his chest.
"So what are we waiting for?" Mai asked with a smile. "Lets go find that piece so we can all see Yugi's famous smile again." She grinned down at Yugi and winked. Yugi smiled gratefully back at Mai.
"Oh right." Bakura smiled sheepishly. "Hang on just a moment, my yami is much better at finding things with it. We'll get a better scrying if he does it." Ryou's eyes glazed over slightly, taking on a distant look as he talked with his yami.
:Yami? Could you do this, I'm still not very good at it, it took me six tries just to find the ladle. I don't want to discourage Yugi's hopes if it doesn't work right the first time.:
::Che. You should have thought of that before you promised to find it.:: Bakura sighed as a sense of exasperation flowed down their link. ::I should have just kept my mouth shut. Then you wouldn't come begging to me for help.::
:Please yami. It is your idea, and besides, what better way to prove to Honda and the others that you really didn't have a hand in the attack.: Ryou pleaded logically.
::Fine. But don't expect me to do this for everything you lose.:: Yami Bakura grumbled as he took control from Ryou.
"Should have kept my mouth shut." He grumbled under his breath as he shifted his grip on the Ring. Concentrating slightly Bakura channeled the power of his aura into the Millennium Ring until it gleamed with a pale blue aura. "Ring! Show me where the Millennium Puzzle is!" He commanded as he pictured the completed puzzle in his mind's eye. The Ring quivered in his grasp and the golden tines shivered and clinked together making a musical chiming sound before the Ring jerked in his grasp, tugging him in a specific direction. The majority of the Ring's tines were pointing straight out towards the incomplete puzzle that hung around Yugi's neck on its chain. A single tine pointed towards the window of the living room and sharply angled downward.
"Did it fall out the window?" Jounouchi asked confused. "But it was closed that night."
Bakura frowned as Honda went over to the window and looked around it and then leaned out to look down onto the street below. "I don't think it's out the window." Bakura turned and walked into the hallway and then downstairs. Everyone followed, eagerly awaiting his verdict.
Upon reaching the ground floor, Bakura repeated his command. The Ring again quivered and its tines split their decision. All but one pointed towards Yugi. The single tine now pointed downwards toward the ground and somewhat westward.
"Whaat! The puzzle piece is underground!! How are we going to get it out without digging up the Game Shop?" Jounouchi cried, shocked.
"Don't be an idiot. Yugi stand still." Bakura paced the length of the store and then back and forth from one side to the other before turning to face the group gathered behind the counter. "The piece is very far away. I don't think it's underground. The Ring is just pointing in a straight path to it."
"A straight path? Are you saying it's on the other side of the world?" Otogi asked sounding shocked.
"Seems like it." And with that Ryou blinked over at them before glancing down at the still slightly glowing Ring in his hands.
"How can he tell how far away it is?" Shizuka asked, looking intrigued.
Ryou cocked his head to the side then blinked and replied. "He says that the tines that pointed to Yugi's incomplete puzzle all moved as Bakura moved. But the tine that pointed to the missing piece didn't move at all as he walked. He walked around so he could triangulate on the distance. The missing piece is so far away that he couldn't tell how far it is exactly." Ryou paused and frowned. "He says, the Ring indicates it's probably halfway around the world."
"On the other side of the world..... How am I ever going to find it then?" Yugi moaned despondently as he dropped his gaze to his feet and slumped his shoulders.
"Don't worry Yugi, we'll find it. I'm sure of it. At least now we know the direction we have to go in, right?" Jounouchi said as he tried to cheer Yugi up.
"Aa. But how far do we need to go to the west? It could be anywhere from China to America." Yugi scowled as he clenched his fist.
"I don't think it would be in America Yugi. If it was, the Ring would probably have pointed East." Honda spoke up.
"Right, so China to er..... Europe. That narrows it down a lot right?" Jounouchi smiled encouragingly.
"Don't stress your brain puppy, you might wrinkle it."** Seto scowled at Jounouchi who glared back. "Ruling out the America's hardly narrows it down."
"Shut up Kaiba, you aren't helping anything!" Jounouchi snarled at him as he shook a fist.
"Please don't fight you two. My yami and I were discussing this and we both agree. The best place to start would probably be Egypt. The Millennium Items are originally from there, and so are Yami and Bakura. Even if the puzzle piece isn't there, we might find some clues as to what happened that night and where the puzzle piece might be. Besides, the piece will probably be close enough to Egypt that we can use the Ring to accurately triangulate its position." Ryou spoke up, stepping between the two taller teens.
"Un. Ryou's right, besides Malik and Isis-san might have information for me that will help out." Yugi spoke up, stepping forward. "I'm not sure how I'll get to Egypt, but I'm sure there's a way."
"Us you mean, Yugi-kun." Bakura smiled at the smaller duelist. "I'm coming with you, you'll need my help to find the puzzle piece whether we go to Egypt or not."
"Oi, 'us' is right! There's no way you're heading off to Egypt without the rest of us, right?" Jounouchi turned and glanced at Anzu and Honda and the others.
"Un!" Anzu smiled and nodded firmly.
"Heh, couldn't get rid of us if you tried, Yugi." Otogi grinned while Honda and Shizuka nodded.
"Jounouchi Katsuya! If you think for one minute that you're going to run off to Egypt without me, then you've got another thing coming mister!" Mai glared as she snagged Jou's shirt collar. Jou sweat dropped and nodded vigorously.
"Of course not Mai. I was just about to ask you to come too." Jounouchi nervously smiled at the tall blond, who nodded, satisfied with his answer.
"Um.....oniichan, how are we going to get to Egypt?" Shizuka spoke up looking distressed at this hiccup in the plan.
"Er.....I don't suppose Pegasus would fly us out there on an Industrial Illusions jet?" Jounouchi turned hopefully to Yugi.
"The whole lot of you are hopeless aren't you?" Kaiba scowled as he stepped forward from the stairwell. "It never fails, you're off on another of your magic induced globe-hopping trips with no money and eventually you expect me to come bail you out of whatever mess you've gotten yourself into. This time, I'm going to save myself the exasperation of listening to you and the puppy beg, Yugi."
"Whaat! Since when have I ever begged you for money you ....." Jounouchi started.
"Really! That's so nice of you Seto-san to offer to help us out. I was going to offer the money I've been saving so I could visit oniichan this Christmas, but now I'll be able to be here in Domino for Christmas with oniichan and all of our wonderful friends!" Shizuka exclaimed as she clapped her hands together in front of her chest, beaming brightly at Seto.
Both Seto and Jounouchi were dumbstruck by this. Jounouchi trailed off into indecipherable splutters, unable to contradict his sister's happy praise. Kaiba was just as flustered, suddenly embarrassed he had said anything at all, let alone been praised for it.
"Er.....yes, that's good. As I was saying." Kaiba pulled himself back on track with an effort. "It seems luck is on your side, as always, Yugi. There are two Duel Monster's tournaments Kaiba Corp. is sponsoring in Europe next month. One is in France and coincides with the nationwide release of the Duel Disk mark 2 system, now compatible with the French and English cards as well as Japanese. The other is to take place in England the next weekend and coincides with the English release of the Duel Disks. Because Kaiba Corp. is sponsoring these tournaments, I have to be present in Paris and London before the tournaments begin, to finalize preparations and host the tournaments. Mokuba will be attending as well. The prize for first place in each tournament includes the opportunity for the winner to challenge myself to a duel so I must stay until the end of each. Each tournament will last three days, and we'll be in Paris and London the week before the tournaments to make sure everything is operating smoothly beforehand. As such, I must be in Paris in three weeks. However, because Egypt is on the way to France and since the Kaiba Corp. private jets tend to be spacious, I will permit you and your collection of friends to accompany me on this business trip. As I predict you will want to spend time wandering about Egypt reading ancient wall scribbles and listening to hack mystics, I will reschedule the jet to leave in two weeks." Kaiba nodded firmly as he met Yugi's eyes with his own. "If there is no other reason you called me here, Bakura, I'll take my leave." Seto glanced at the British teen.
"Uh, no. I wanted you to hear the good news about the Ring's ability along with everyone else, Kaiba-kun." Bakura smiled faintly, a little shell- shocked at the aloof teen's sudden bout of magnanimity.
"Very well. Let's go Mokuba. Be at the airport on time or we'll leave without you. Until then. Yugi." Seto nodded at his diminutive rival before he swept out of the front door of the Kami Game Shop, leaving everyone present in a state of surprise and shock. Mokuba followed on his heels, waving cheerfully back at them.
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ANIME SPOILER ALERT!!!!
* When Yugi's soul was stolen by Raphael for Dartz during the Doom arc, Yami was so distraught and horrified over his loss, and that it was mostly Yami's fault, that he was practically catatonic for a while. Wouldn't meet anyone's gaze, and was withdrawn and depressed [so sad]. Jounouchi snapped him out of it by decking him when he found out what had happened.
SPOILER OVER!!
** The number of wrinkles on your brain tells you how much you know! Whenever you learn something it puts a new wrinkle on the surface of your brain. So Kaiba telling Jounouchi to be careful cuz he might wrinkle his brain is saying Jounouchi knows nothing, so has no wrinkles! ^_^ It's a joke! Laugh now.....please.
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Ta Da! New chapter completed.
Most chapters are going to deal with one single scene or a few small closely related scenes. This is to keep the chapters from becoming massive monsters that will swallow up readers and leave me wondering what happened to my audience.
Whee! Off to Egypt next chapter where we find out what's been going on with Malik and Isis these days. Harry should show up again the chapter after that.
See, aren't you proud of me, I've been planning these things out, so now I'll know what's happening next. Although, that whole Jou-Yugi friendship- counseling session jumped out of the screen and ambushed me. Oh well, you liked it though didn't you? I didn't go overboard with Yugi crying and all did I? He did just get the other half of his soul ripped away from him to fates unknown, you know, I figure he's due for a good cry over that now and again. Although, Yugi is really the only guy who can get away with crying on someone's shoulder. Mokuba too, but that's cuz he's younger and he has his big brother to run to. But really, I just can't do that with say, Jou and Honda, you know. It just doesn't work without being really, really awkward.
Anyone have problems with the little 'place, date, time' stuff I have going on at the beginning of scenes?
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Reviewer Responses:
C.M. Aeris Queen of Insanity: Actually if you re-read that you'll see that I never said Honda died. I did say that Yugi was afraid that he had died, which is quite different. Um, I take it you're going off of the anime version of Death-T. I'm afraid I never saw more than a few of the episodes from that early Yugioh series and so could not use the events that happened in it for my story. I have, however, read the translated-into-English versions of the first three manga books and up to the 13th issue of Shonen Jump. This goes all the way up to the beginning of the manga version of Death-T Stage 4 in which Yugi accepts his other half and reveals Yami's existence to Jounouchi and Anzu and fights Mokuba in a game of Capsule Monster Chess. At this point, Honda has been separated from the group because his coat was caught under a giant tetris block in Death-T Stage 3. Honda made sure that Yugi got out before the exit hole was blocked by falling blocks before he tried to free his jacket. The exit hole was blocked before he could free his jacket and Yugi was afraid that Honda would be unable to escape and would get squished by a falling block. This fear caused Yami to almost take control which alerted Anzu and Jounouchi to something being strange with Yugi. As far as I know, what I said happened to them during this time is correct as far as the manga goes.
Dark-necrophhia666: Whew, dodged that demonic bullet. Here's another update to satisfy your minions. =D
duckydeary: 17 huh? Well, in America 16 is the age to get a learner's permit. Actual license doesn't come till 18. Is 17 the age for permit or for license? If its license, then permit comes before, so Dudley could practice driving at 16 with an adult in the car. If its permit, then let's just say Dudley's getting his car a bit early so his parents can avoid a tantrum. ^_^
Hyozanryu: Working on the chapters being shorter. Doesn't seem perfected yet though. ^_^
It'sHardToBelieve: There's lots of meaning, but don't think you'll learn it all at once. I plan to keep you waiting for a while for answers to some things. =D
JenniChan: I agree with Jadyn. That's scary. Must now hide behind Yugi. [He makes such a great human shield, no one has the heart to hit him to get at the person hiding behind him. ^_^]
Lady Silver Dragon I: Oh good, I thought for sure it was an intro to Harry that had been overdone. But I guess mine was a bit different. He was seeing from a 3rd person point of view rather than Voldemort's after all.
Mists: Well Harry didn't see it from Voldemort's point of view actually. Harry is more of a disembodied astral projection in that dream. If you'll notice he sees Volde across the crypt from where Harry's standing. I figure the Occlumency lessons prevent Harry from seeing through Voldemort's eyes, but that doesn't mean that a strong enough emotion from Voldemort can't bring Harry's consciousness to wherever Voldemort happens to be.
ruth 4 kai: Updating! =)
Sachi-chan: Continuing! ^_^
sugarpony: Why thank you. =) Well, the Yugi gang won't be attending Hogwarts, but I never said they wouldn't drop by for some reason or other. ^_^ Yup, Malik fix, dead ahead, in chapter 5. Thanks for the tip on the Daily Prophet. Not sure if I'll change it though, there can be two wizarding papers right?
The Mad Tortoise: Thanks for the support! Always nice to have people agree with the muses in my head, especially when they say nice things about me. ^_^ More coming up soon! =)
Yami-Bakura's-little-thief: It may take a while for that flashback for the Bakuras, but I plan to put it in somewhere. ^_^
Yanslana: Thanks for dropping by. I really hope its not getting worse as it goes along. Let me know if you think any of my latest chapters needs work, and where you think it should get it.
Youkai Youko: Thanks. ^_^ And Oh look! Its an update! How cool is that. ^_^
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Ah well, until next time.
Ja ne! ^_^
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Look at the pretty spinny disk thingy! ^_^
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Mwuahaha! You are now hypnotized. You will do as I say!
Now, when I update my fic you will click the purple button and submit a review!