The Quirks of Love
Part Four: The Cursed Gift
The glow was immense, it overtook the entire group gathered in the alley. Finally, it dimmed, revealing two new figures.
"Whoa," Tristan murmured, "somebody tell me I'm not seeing what I'm seeing."
"Well," Tea gasped, "if that's true, I'm seeing it too!"
Rebecca turned and mused at their astonished faces, even Yugi looked speechless. "Allow me to present," she gestured towards the figures, "The Dark Night Sorceress and The Winged Huntress."
The first figure gazed at the group with piercing amber eyes which shimmered as her gaze intensified. The second figure had wings alright, long grayish blue ones to match the rest of her skin. She resembled a gargoyle with yellow cat eyes and violet hair. Truly, these were both Duel Monsters Cards.
"Hold the phone!" Joey exclaimed, "You mean to tell me that you can actually bring Duel Monster cards to life? JUST BY TOUCHING EM?!"
"Yes." Rebecca answered, "But you can just imagine what would happened if I tried to duel, with creatures like--say--your Red Eyes Black Dragon. Bringing a monster like that to life could mean disaster for anyone nearby. For some reason, the monsters never attack me."
"Why not?" Mai muttered, "Some are pretty evil looking. I'd imagine they'd be hard to control."
"They're only evil in the hands of certain players," Rebecca responded, "left to their own devices, the monsters are loyal and harmless. And if they should cause trouble, it's not because they meant to. But powerful monsters like Exodia would have a hard time not trashing anything."
"I'll say," Joey was still amazed, "just one step and the guy'd knock down a building!"
"So you see why it's so important that I not duel, and ALWAYS wear my gloves?" Rebecca asked urgently.
"Yeah," Tristan nodded.
"That's a killer power you've got," Joey added.
"It's a curse." Rebecca muttered.
"When did you find out you could do this?" Tea asked, staring at the creatures before her.
Rebecca didn't seem eager to answer, "I--I touched my deck. These two cards, when I got back home, from battling Yugi."
Everyone's jaw dropped.
"Yugi," Tea whispered, "you don't think that you might have accidentally caused this?"
"I don't see how," Yugi replied. "The Millennium Puzzle has great powers, but it's never shared them with anyone but me before."
"What? That thing around your neck?" Rebecca asked.
"Yes," Yugi started to explain, "you see, the spirit you saw inhabits this puzzle. He comes out when I summon him. One who possesses a Millennium item can obtain the powers locked away inside."
"Somehow Yugi," Rebecca sighed, "I don't think I got my power from you. Not directly anyway. I just don't sense it."
"Sense it?" Joey questioned.
"Something else I can do," she replied, "I can sense others with differences, I figured that out when I arrived here. First with a white haired man who passed me on the street and then again with Yugi."
"White hair?" Tristan asked, "Bakura!"
"Can you do any other tricks?" Mai smiled.
"The cards from other players decks sometimes speak to me. Tell me secrets." Rebecca responded, "Like yours, I can hear your Harpy Lady whispering about how when you and Joey first met you thought he was the wimpiest little geek that ever picked up a deck."
"Hey!" Joey exclaimed, not happy at being reminded.
Mai blushed and pulled out her deck, "Sshh!!"
"They don't mean any harm." Rebecca grinned, "Who else would know you better than your cards? A duelist almost always has them. So naturally they pick up on a lot about you."
"That makes sense." Tea agreed.
"Shining Friendship says you're true blue." Rebecca said, "And it took a lot of guts for you to face Mai back at the Duelist Kingdom."
"Wow," Tea smiled, "she's good."
"All I did was listen." Rebecca insisted. "But like I said, sometimes it leads to nothing but trouble, I wish I knew how to end this."
"But Rebecca," Yugi spoke up, "you've got an incredible gift. I'm not sure how you got it. But you've got to admit, it's amazing."
"Look Yugi!" Rebecca scowled, "You may enjoy being a freak but I don't!"
Yami wanted out, no one talked about his friends that way. Especially his best friend, Yugi.
Yugi submitted and allowed the spirit to emerge. Once Yami had taken control he turned on Rebecca, "You have no idea what it is to be a freak Rebecca."
"You again? What right have you got to talk to me? You're a curse in yourself!"
"I'm no curse, but I am a friend to Yugi and his companions." Yami answered sternly, "No one talks to them in such a manner. I see you haven't learned humility in all these years."
"Humility?!" Rebecca burst out, "Don't even talk to me about being humane! I'm not the one possessing people like a--a--demon!"
This caught Yami off guard. Demon? Was that really what others saw him as? He didn't ASK to possess others. And it was only by Yugi's will that he took control of his vessel. No, he was no demon, but it still hurt that Rebecca viewed him that way. He didn't know why, but it really hurt.
The expression on his face was unexpected, poor Yami looked as though he'd been cut down from his roots. She hadn't meant to hurt him so much. Rebecca really didn't mean to hurt anyone. It was just so hard to be told that she possessed a gift, when her life had been a living curse over the past eight years. She could no longer play the one game she loved! Was it so surprising that she'd become a bit bitter?
"Yami?" Mai questioned, "Are you okay?"
Yami didn't answer, he just stared ahead silently at Rebecca. She felt terrible about what she'd said. She honestly hadn't meant to offend him so badly.
Without a word to her Yami returned to the recesses of Yugi's mind and whispered to him in passing, She's all yours now, you deal with her.
Rebecca crossed her arms and looked away, how could she have said something so cruel? Her life had become a living curse since she'd received her powers, people like her were never excepted in the world. Yet, she never meant to make Yugi and Yami feel that way.
She was surprised to feel a hand on her shoulder, looking up she smiled faintly, "Thank you, Dark Night Sorceress. But I don't deserve your comfort. Not after what I said to Yami."
The creature peered down gently at the blonde, as if speaking to her through her gaze. Fear not mistress. They will come around. You have a good heart, soon they will discover it. Do not be afraid of the magic you possess.
The magic I possess can harm others if I'm not careful. Rebecca answered through her thoughts, I didn't get my powers from a Millennium item like Yugi. This is just something that happened to me. It serves no purpose and helps no one. It's just a cursed gift that I can't be rid of!
Yugi was now facing Rebecca as she ended her conversation with the duel monster. "You shouldn't have said that to Yami. He's not like a demon at all. He's my friend."
Yugi's voice quivered as he spoke the last words. Rebecca sighed and apologized, "I'm sorry Yugi. And I'm sorry about hurting Yami's feelings, if you could tell him that for me. Look, none of you can help me with this. Thanks for trying to talk to me but I'm afraid my grandpa will just have to get use to the idea of me never playing Duel Monsters again."
"But-" Tea started to object.
"It's okay," Rebecca smiled faintly, "you've all been good friends to me, even after all these years I still feel a bond. Thank you. But as you can see," she gestured to the duel monster on either side of her, "I have friends that can travel with me. Should they need to."
"They ain't exactly able to walk right into a restaurant or something looking like that." Joey pointed out.
Rebecca grinned and placed a hand on each figure, they instantly took on human forms. Their monster features masked by human ones.
"Well," Tristan gasped, "that's handy."
"Don't worry about me," Rebecca continued, "I'll be fine. And I hope Yami will forgive me. Seems like I'm always harming poor Yugi in one way or another. My grandfather and I will be leaving town in a week anyway, we've been traveling a lot lately, I shouldn't be around to hurt you much longer."
Rebecca's voice had changed over the years, instead of being fiery and commanding she now sounded submissive and somber. The years had obviously been hard on her. The others began to feel sorry for the poor girl standing before them with eyes on the verge of tears, and a forced smile plastered on her face. Yugi had had his friends, while Rebecca was so distant that she'd kept away from everyone.
Poor Rebecca, I can't even begin to imagine what she's been through. Yugi thought.
Yami pretended not to care, although he was studying her intensely. The thought of behaving like a demon still bothered him. But Rebecca obviously had problems of her own that had made her so hard and defensive.
Both Yugi and Yami were intrigued by her. Her posture, her features, her personality. Neither individual had really paid this much attention to her before. She was almost captivating in her complexity. An air of mystery surrounded her now, much like the one that drifted around Yugi and Yami themselves.
Another being was studying the blonde from atop the roof of an adjacent building. A claw passed along the railing of a fire escape as the creature peered closer at the small party gathered around the blonde below. The others would be easy enough to bypass. But that Yugi one could pose a threat. There seemed to be only one way to get close enough to Rebecca to make her move without the young man detecting her. With a mischievous glare she turned away and passed through a swirling vortex formed by a wave of her hand to plan for the next day. A day that young Rebecca and her new allies would NEVER forget…
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*This may seem far fetched, even for Yu-Gi-Oh, but the story will get interesting. Plenty of plot twists and surprises so please keep reading and reviewing.*