High Twilight
Part One
The Hunt for Nuhta
I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or anything relating to it, really.
Except for Elendil and Estel. They're mine.
I suggest reading Hidden Truths before reading this, the second part of the Tingilya Arc.
This takes place roughly five years after Hidden Truths ends.
Have fun, and remember, please don't sue me, I am nothing more than a lowly college student living off of imaginary food!!!
~~~~~Five Years After the end of Hidden Truths~~~~~
Five years have passed since Yugi died, and the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle was resealed. Elendil and Estel, the children of a horrific circumstance, have come to live with Seto Kaiba, as were the last wishes of Yami, before he was contained within the Puzzle once more.
Neither hide, nor hair, has been seen of Bakura since the birth of the twins, and Seto has deemed, correctly, that they are still too young to know the truth behind their pasts. He has raised the children as if they were his own, and they have shown incredible talent at the game of Duel Monsters, like their parents before them.
But all that is about to change, as the perfect little world built around the two tiny duelists are about to be turned upside down, as the universe falls under the light of High Twilight......
"Papa." Estel whispered, pausing at the door to the giant office Seto spent most of his time in, her amethyst eyes quivering. Seto looked up from his work with a smile, gesturing that she should come in.
"What is it, Estel? Is Elendil picking on you again?" Seto asked as the tiny child crept into the room, her simple cerulean blue (AN: Sorry, but I love that color so!!!) dress rustling against the thick carpet. She tugged on the end of her long braid, a few loose strand of white hair wrestling free. Seto frowned slightly, it was becoming a nasty habit for her to tug on her hair, and her hair seemed to be getting more and more wild with every chance, just like her mother Yugi's.
"Papa...." Estel looked up nervously, and Seto smiled reassuringly, Estel was a very shy child, "I can't find Nuhta(1)." Estel whispered, and Seto almost laughed, picking her up with a grin. Estel seemed to lose Nuhta, her winged kitty plushie, every few minutes. Seto wasn't quite sure why, but it was always fun to find where Nuhta had gone to, though he was beginning to wonder about how Nuhta was making these miraculous disappearances, and reappearance's.
Nuhta the little kitty angel had appeared inside freezers, locked trunks, high shelves, and even in Seto's study a few times. Yet neither Estel nor Elendil went near these places, and still Nuhta appeared. Seto was seriously beginning to wonder if he should put a GPS beacon on the small plushie.
"Well, where do you think Nuhta has gone today, eh?" Seto asked with a grin, placing Estel safely on his shoulders, reaching up on high shelves for a peek. Estel, ever the quiet one, merely shook her head.
"Hey, what are you guys doing!?" Elendil demanded as they crossed one of the many living rooms in the Kaiba mansion, interfering with the mock battle Elendil, ever the hazel eyed spitting image of Yugi, was composing.
"Nuhta's gone." Estel explained simply, and Elendil rolled his eyes.
"Stupid stuffed animal! Serves you right for carrying that mangy thing around!" Elendil snapped, moving more toy soldiers into position, and Seto groaned inwardly. There was one thing, and one thing only, in the entire world that caused Estel to snap, and that was Nuhta. And Estel was not a pleasant creature to be around when her temper reared its ugly head.
"NUHTA'S NOT STUPID, BAKA KISAMA(2)!!!" Estel shrieked, Seto grabbing midair her as she leapt from his shoulders, growling and spitting, wriggling and raking her claws angrily through the air like rabid cat. Elendil jumped back a step, and blew her a raspberry.
"Elendil, apologize to your sister right now." Seto glared at the young boy, the elder of the twins. Elendil sighed, and rolled his eyes, but did as he was told.
"I'm sorry, Nuhta's not a stupid stuffed animal." Elendil apologized with a sigh, going back to his mock battle.
Estel, seemingly accepting the apology, went limp in Seto's hands as he placed her back on his shoulders with a slight grin, wondering what she would be like in the future. It would be extremely interesting to see her blow her lid in high school one day, and he almost felt sorry for the guy who would trigger that temper.
Almost.
"And you, young lady, must quit using language like that. Where did you hear those words, anyway?" Seto asked curiously as he continued the search for the missing Nuhta into the kitchen. He himself never swore, at least, not around Estel and Elendil.
"Uncle Mokuba." Estel whispered quietly, standing up on Seto's shoulders, reaching toward the fridge door.
She had an uncanny ability to sense where Nuhta was, if she was within the room. Problem was, though, that she was rarely in the same room as Nuhta, no matter how much she loved the raggedy toy.
"Uncle Mokuba, eh?" Seto nearly groaned out loud. Mokuba had grown into an extremely uncontrollable teenager, and he had apparently made it his job to train the twins the language he used.
"Nuhta's in the vegetable drawer." Estel whispered as Seto opened the fridge door, not giving Estel's directions a second thought. He had been through the routine enough times before.
And there, lo and behold, was a small, faded calico kitty plushie, tiny, ragged angel wings lopsided on its back. Seto reminded himself mentally to wash the thing again, and get it a collar and leash. Maybe that way Estel would be able to keep track of it, though he doubted it.
"You know, I'm beginning to wonder how Nuhta here keeps pulling these little magic disappearing acts." Seto commented, setting Estel, plushie and all, down on the linoleum floor. Estel looked at him with her uniquely eerie stare, and answered him, as she always did.
"Nuhta likes to play hide and seek with Puzzle Papa. But Nuhta is too good, and Puzzle Papa can't find him very often. Puzzle Papa doesn't like leaving us alone, does he, Nuhta?" Estel asked the faded plushie, not noticing as Seto's face paled, his eyes going wide.
"Puzzle Papa? Estel," Seto asked, kneeling down to eye height with the tiny five year old, "What does Puzzle Papa look like? What does he do? What does he say?" Seto demanded, resisting the urge to shake the tiny girl like a rag doll. Estel looked at him funny for a moment, and nodded.
"Puzzle Papa looks like a really tall Elendil, but his eyes are funny. Like blood, his eyes look like blood." Estel answered, squeezing Nuhta, looking around the empty room carefully.
"And he doesn't like you, Papa. He keeps calling you names. He says that you're bad things, and he blames you for Mama going away." Estel answered shyly, and Seto shook his head, nearly laughing.
Seto could only pause and think, and come to a logical conclusion about what Estel was telling him. He remember hearing somewhere that infants had incredible memories, and one of the first things she had seen as a child had been Yami, crying, with bloodshot eyes. He supposed that it was possible that she was merely remembering Yami, and the Millennium Puzzle he wore around his neck.
And, of course, Yami had just watched Yugi die that night, and he had probably been cursing Bakura, before Seto had arrived upon the scene. Estel was simply putting her imagination into overtime, using the tiny shred of memory she had of Yami to base this Puzzle Papa figure upon.
Seto made a mental note to make more time for the two tiny children, especially Estel. Her mind was obviously trying to create a better parent figure, and she was always so easy to overlook, being so small, quiet, and shy. Nuhta joining in on the games, getting hidden so that he could play with her imaginary image of Yami wasn't a good sign, either.
"Don't worry, Estel, Puzzle Papa," Seto had to smirk at the name Estel had given Yami, "Is mad at someone else. Now, try to convince Nuhta not to play hide and go seek, won't you?" Seto grinned, and Estel nodded solemnly, rushing out of the kitchen towards her bedroom, where, most likely, she and her stuffed animals would play Duel Monsters.
He still couldn't understand how she was even able to play Duel Monsters with stuffed animals in the first place, be assumed there was a logical explanation somewhere, probably just as logical as Puzzle Papa, an overly active imagination.
"And you," Seto whipped around to glare at Mokuba, who was creeping through the kitchen door quietly, "Do try to keep you language a little cleaner around the twins. I don't want them snipping off to their teachers when they enter school." Mokuba gulped like a guilty thief, and nodded.
"Sure thing, Seto. Look, I have homework, I should really get started on it!" Mokuba dashed for the stairs, Seto grabbing the brown bag from him as he slipped by.
"And Mokuba, I never want to see..." Seto opened the bag, and blushed furiously. He had assumed it was either alcohol, or drugs in the bag. He was quite shocked to see nothing more than a playboy magazine, "If you're going to have this in your room, lock your door." Seto sighed, returning the bag to his little brother, who was glaring at him, his face still very red.
"Yeah, sure. Wouldn't want to corrupt the little kiddies!" Mokuba sneered, and dashed up to his room, the lock clicking firmly in place.
No matter what Mokuba said, he really did care for the two little children, and he wouldn't intentionally cause them harm, or pervert their minds. He just sometimes forgot not to swear around them, but it was nothing big, as far as he could see. They would learn the words and phrases soon after they entered school anyway, he supposed.....
~TSUZUKU~
Well, here it is, as I promised, the second part of the Tingilya Arc!!!
Hope it's as good as people hoped, and lives up to all expectations!
Now, for explanations:
1) Nuhta: As I have commented before, I am learning Elvish. Nuhta means, roughly translated, 'Not to be allowed to continue'.
Don't ask me why, but it sounded good at the time! :)
2) Baka Kisama: I am a Gundam Wing fanfic writer, when my writers block isn't getting in the way, and this phrase is used slightly more than in most Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic's.
It means, basically, Stupid Bastard. It's very rude, and very insulting. Sort of like Mother Fucker.
Not something little five year olds should be shouting at each other, believe you me!
Well, until next time, R&R people's!!!
Part Two
I would also like to thank:
Shadow of a Rose
nimoe32
Gabbi
shinigami_no_molokai
Aaries
Crossover Authoress
Wolfspeaker
Black-Magic-Spellbinder
Tina
stupid kid 04
Sun Angel
cleo_ameka
leev
Feisty-angel
KaTyA
dru and larry
Maliklovers
Weird
Halacanno
UK Chatte
Kiao
Jokid
Jurie
WhiteLightning
And anybody else who reviewed Hidden Truths!!!
Thank You, and I hope this lives up to your expectations!!!