BG: Yay! I got three reviews! ^_^ That means, I get to continue!
Midori: For once, she updates.
BG: Hush. Start giving me ideas…and by the way, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, or any of its characters. I DO own Yumiko, President Yanhamu, Koaru and Yukiko, for they are my original characters. So don't steal them, ok? ^_^
~*~ = flashback
~-~ = dream
\ = hikari to yami
\\ = yami to hikari
'blablabla' = thoughts
*:* = scene change
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Yukiko could not stand it any longer. 'If I don't get out of here now, I'm going to go INSANE!' She looked around the orphanage that was in chaos, as it usually was. Her bright violet eyes held a touch of resentment as one of the owners of the orphanage came up to her and asked if she could help out with the younger ones. All she wanted to do was leave, and go to her sanctuary.
As soon as she had the little ones asleep, Yukiko didn't waste any time. She quickly asked permission to leave the grounds, and as usual, permission was granted. She thanked the owner, and ran out the door, her red and black pigtails flowing behind her. Panting hard, she ran three blocks to the downtown Tokyo area, rounded a few more corners, and came to her sanctuary. Tokyo Tower.
She looked up at the tower in all its glory. Several stories high is where she would go at least once a week, to escape all the problems and worries of everyday life. She would watch the sun go down, and then stay and wait till the stars came out, thinking. Yukiko slowed her pace, and made her way inside, and took the elevator up to the sixtieth story. When the elevator doors creaked open, she found her safe haven, just waiting for her. She brushed her golden bangs back, and stepped out onto the observation deck to watch the sun set.
She smiled as she watched the sky become a chameleon, turning from blue, to a shade of gold, to a sakura pink, then a deep royal purple. And she watched the last few minutes of the sun's life for the day, as it sank beneath the horizon and ended its turmoil. 'Turmoil, something I know a lot about', she thought. She never had a good day in school for all the boys in class thought she was a freak, for she was the tomboy of the class.
~*~*~*~*~
"Hey, check out Yukiko, the punk rocker!", a boy yelled. Yukiko was used to the fact that people always made fun of her hair. It was a bit strange, having three colors, but she couldn't stand having people make fun of her for it. Her mother's hair used to be like that, and Yukiko would not have any one make fun of her family.
She knew better, though, and didn't reply. "What's the matter? Is your tongue pierced too? Can you talk? Or are you too popular for us?" Yukiko cringed at this last remark. They had pushed her over the limit. With fire in her eyes, she spun around and said calmly, "You jealous?" At this, the boy was left speechless, and Yukiko left the scene before it got worse.
~*~*~*~*~
But her trouble in school was not the only thing that was bothering her. The deep void inside her was not only her lack of friends, but her lack of family too.
Her parents had died in a terrible car accident when she was just five years old. She had been brought to the orphanage then. She took the picture she always kept with her out of her pocket and looked at it longingly. She longed to be loved again. She longed to feel accepted, and she longed to get the heck out of the city. 'Too many bad memories,' she thought. Tears swelled in her violet eyes as she looked at the picture.
There was a woman standing in front of some short of shop, with a man standing next to her, his arm around her. The woman had a loving smile on her face, and she was holding something in her arms. She had short, black hair with blonde highlights, and kind loving purple eyes. She was also very short. The man standing next to her with his arm around her was wearing a three-piece business suit and was smiling lovingly as well. His dark brown eyes and black hair added a fatherly look to him. The other man standing next to him was quite short as well. He had the same violet eyes, but his hair was very gray. His bangs stuck out in weird angles, but it looked very sophisticated. He was widely smiling too, and he was also holding something in his arms. The name of the shop, she could only half see. But there was a poster on the shop window, and the only word she could read were the words "Domino City". 'Domino City, probably where my family was from. Before they died.' When she thought this last thing, the waterworks came again. She put her head down on the railing and let the tears flow.
*:*:*:*:*
Yumiko had finally gotten used to the floating, but she still was in a hopeless mood. 'How can I ever find Yugioh? I don't even think he's alive. And if he is, Japan is a pretty big country. Or is he even in Japan? Oh…' Her mind was full with hopeless thoughts as she floated on endlessly. She flew into the depths of Tokyo, where she spent most of her time on the earth. She gazed at Tokyo Tower, where she had escaped many of her troubles in the past, and it would help her again. Yumiko flew up all sixty stories, gazing at her reflection on the way up. She looked the same, only she was quite transparent. She stopped at the fifty-ninth floor and looked hard at her reflection. She watched for a moment as an elevator passed by, and she wished she could pass her trouble by as fast as the elevator went. As she gazed into the glass, for a fleeting moment, she swore she saw an image of Yugioh in the glass. 'Now I know I'm hallucinating. Yugioh is not stuck in the glass here.' But then Yumiko realized that he might be trying to tell her something. 'What is it, Pharaoh? Where are you?' The image did return, and it glanced at her with a longing glance that said 'hurry, please'. Then the image looked up, closed its eyes, and disappeared.
Yumiko was now full of hope, but when the image disappeared, the hope disappeared with it, leaving her alone again. She figured that she had better take the image's advice and go up, as it had suggested. Yumiko floated upwards to the sixtieth floor observation deck, where she saw her.
The girl, was the spitting image of Yugioh. 'If Yugioh had been female,' Yumiko thought, 'Then surely, this would be him.' Yumiko knew that all she was was a transparent spirit floating about, but she had to talk to the girl. She saw that the girl was in great distress, very close to what she was feeling. Yumiko tapped the girl on the shoulder. "Are you alright?"
The girl quickly looked up, tears still streaming down her face. She replied with resentment in her voice, "Does it look like I'm ok?" Then the girl realized what she was talking to, and she became afraid. Her violet eyes widening, she took several steps backward.
"Don't be scared, young one," Yumiko said, in the calmest voice she could muster. "What is wrong?" Yumiko stared into her eyes, and thought, 'She must know where Yugioh is, she looks EXACTLY like him!'
"I-I'm fine," the girl managed to spit out. "T-There's nothing w-wrong." Yumiko knew that the girl was lying, for as soon as she said this, she began to cry again. Yumiko felt like crying herself.
"Ah, there's something wrong, otherwise you wouldn't be forming rivers on your cheeks," Yumiko replied. The girl smiled a little. "What is your name?"
"Yukiko," the girl replied. Yukiko's eyes were scanning the spirit with a questioning look in her eyes. "Sorry for sounding rude, but what the heck are you?"
Yumiko smiled. "My name is Yumiko, I'm princess of the moon." At this, Yukiko bowed her head in respect. "It's ok, Yukiko. You may rise. I don't feel much like a princess now, anyway," Yumiko said, sorrow dripping from every word.
Yukiko sniffled. "What's your problem, princess? Maybe I can help. There's nothing here for me in the city, anyway." She wanted so much to leave Tokyo, and helping the moon princess was the best bet she had so far.
Yumiko's dark brown eyes wandered off. "Oh, there's nothing you can do to help me, I'm afraid. I've been sent to find someone who I've not seen for five thousand years. I'm very sure he's dead, although, his spirit may still live…but I have no idea where to search first." Yumiko turned back to the young girl, whose eyes were beginning to brighten a bit. "Now I've told you my problem, now you tell me yours, maybe I can help."
"I've lived in this city for a very long time, ever since I can remember. My parents…my parents both died in a car wreck when I was two years old. I was found in the wreckage, without a scratch. The doctors were amazed. They couldn't find any near by relatives, so they put me in an orphanage. I've lived there ever since, and I want to GET OUT!" She screamed the last bit, which startled Yumiko a bit. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that," she sighed, "there has to be something better out there. I was found with a picture wrapped in the blanket I had in the wreck." Yukiko then handed her photo to the spirit. "This is all the pieces I have of my past. I don't know who these people are, except the two right there," she pointed to her parents. "And the bundle my mom is carrying is me. I think the elderly man lives in a place called Domino City, which is not far from here. I've always wanted to go and search for him, but I always put it off thinking that he must be dead by now." Yukiko looked off in the direction of the twinkling lights off to the east, which was Domino City. "And I was hoping that by coming with you, I would be able to help you find the person you're looking for, as well as the man."
Yumiko smiled, admiring Yukiko's spirit. 'She certainly would be able to help me find Yugioh, but I don't know if I can put her through the danger…' Yumiko had suddenly begun to cough violently.
"Yumiko! What's wrong?" Yukiko asked with deep concern.
Yumiko was coughing, and she was showing no sign of stopping. Until at last, she quit her hacking, and she gasped for breath. "There's one more thing," she gasped. "The *cough* person that sent me here is taking my life force away, *cough* to make sure that I don't take too long to find him. If I don't find him soon, I'll be dead for sure! *cough*"
Yukiko stared. "What do I have to do?"
"First, I must tell you the story. A long time ago, in ancient Egypt, there was a pharaoh who ruled during the time of the Games. The Games were games played by important people, magicians, and the pharaoh himself, which involved Shadow Monsters summoned from the Shadow Realm. The pharaoh played the game for fun, as well as the other people. Then one day, The Day of Great Shadows, an evil magician, Shoshenq, summoned the most powerful, most fearful monsters the Games had to offer. He was going to use them to destroy Egypt and take it as his own. The pharaoh, who's name was Yugioh, had to sacrifice himself, as well as six others, to save the entire country, by locking their spirits into seven items of gold, and firing them at the monsters. The monsters and Shoshenq were destroyed, at a large cost. Yugioh and the six others had been killed in the rescue, or so everyone thought. Now, an archeologist accidentally opened a portal to the Shadow Realm, where Shoshenq was banished to, and he is trying to get out. I was sent to banish him back, but I do not posses such great power. Only the pharaoh did. Shoshenq sent me on a quest to seek the pharaoh, though I'm not sure why. I suppose it's for revenge…" Yumiko stopped, for Yukiko had closed her eyes, as if she were taking it all in.
Yukiko then opened her big violet eyes and stated, "You know, any normal person would think you were just crazy and walk away. But I'm no ordinary person. For some odd reason, I believe every word you've said to me, and I want to help you out. But I'm not sure how."
Yumiko smiled weakly. "Well, Yugioh is not here in Tokyo, or I would have sensed him. I will take you with me on my journey, young one. But remember, it will be filled with perils so unimaginable, and danger that no ordinary person would want to venture through."
Yukiko smiled again. "Remember? I'm not ordinary."
"All right then. Any ideas on where to go next?"
The short girl scanned her eyes on the horizon, settling on a place to the right, where lights were glowing in the distance. "Domino City?"
"All right, let's go!"
"Yeah!"
Yumiko smiled wholeheartedly for the first time in a long time. 'This mission may not be so impossible after all! Domino City, and Yugioh, here we come!'