Mac had just put Mokuba to bed, and was leaving the dark room when she ran into a tall muscular figure in the doorway.
"Hey," Seto spoke up softly. "How is he?"
"Alright. Totally oblivious of the danger he's in right now." She smiled weakly. "I'm worried about him."
"He's only twelve." Set managed a half smile, tiredly. He wrapped his arms around her waist. "You guys scared me there for a moment, when you all came stalking in here this evening. I'm just glad you're both safe." He glanced around. "I take it Tristan left?"
"About twenty minutes ago." Her mix-matched eyes grew mischievous. "Are you taking the rest of the night off?" she asked hopefully.
"It's only eleven o' clock." He stared at his watch.
"Yeah, only." She rolled her eyes. "Seto you have to stop working so much. I never get to see you any more, between your job and my school. I miss you."
"Mac, I didn't ask you to stay. You decided that on your own. Nothing has happened and I still have things to get done for the ball tomorrow. I don't have time to waste." He said coldly.
Mackenzie sighed. "I know."
"By the way, have you written your speech yet?"
"Serenity's going to help me tomorrow." She assured him. "Seto, please? Spend some time with me, at least for a little while." She leaned up, kissing his neck and gently nipping his skin.
She heard him sigh that same sigh, the sigh that meant she had won, for now. He reached down, grabbing her hand. "Alright. I could use a break anyway." His cold blue eyes went deeper and colder than before, and Mac knew she was in trouble.
She grinned. "What do you have in mind?"
"Grandpa, are you sure you're okay?" Yugi asked for the sixteenth time.
"I'm fine Yugi. Truly I am." Grandpa Muto smiled, sipping on his green tea.
"I still can't believe another card showed up, and I totally missed it!" Bakura spoke up.
"Yeah, really." Joey entered the room after Serenity called (apparently after the incident with the Harpie's Pet Dragon, the power came back on). "Tea`, your mom's on the phone."
"Really? I wonder what she could want?" Tea` got up and headed out of the living room.
"So what now?" Mai said, clutching her cards in her hand. They had realized all four of Mai's favorites were missing their pictures. Yugi had remarked earlier that they looked almost like Pegasus's soul cards.
"Do you think Mac's alright? I mean we did leave her with Kaiba-" Joey started, out of nowhere.
"She'll be fine!" Mai hit him upside the head. "Kaiba cares about her enough to protect her! Will you get off the subject? You're just paranoid!"
"Yes, cuz Mac's a friend, and personally I wouldn't leave Mokuba in the same room with his brother!" Joey shot back.
Another punch landed on the back of Joey's head.
Yugi smiled as the two continued bickering. "There's nothing we can do about it now. I think we'll just have to trust Kaiba tonight."
"What ever…" Joey muttered, rubbing his throbbing head.
"Sorry guys." The sound of Tea`s voice made everyone look up as she walked back into the room. "Apparently the Duel Monsters have made it onto the news and my mom's worried, so she wants me home."
"Do you want me to walk with you?" Yugi offered as Tea` grabbed her things.
"I think I'll be alright, but thanks anyway." She said leaning down to drop a quick kiss on Yugi's lips, turning him five shades of red.
"Wait a minute and I'll go with you." Mai stood up. "I should be getting home too." She winked. "Later Joey."
"Uh… later." Joey said, his cheeks flushing crimson too.
They watched the girls leave, Joey shaking his head.
"Joseph, Ryou*" Grandpa Muto called to Yugi's friends after they heard the front door slam shut. "Are you two staying the night?"
Bakura and Joey looked at one another. "Sure." Joey shrugged.
"It beats going home to an empty house." Bakura smiled.
So the boys headed back to Yugi's room to play PS2** while Yugi changed into his pjs and got the others blankets and pillows. Yugi's room was a huge collaboration of Duel Monsters and video games. Posters and tournament awards hung everywhere and even his small bedside table was cluttered with cards and rules. His television was set up so you could play from the bed, and his massive collection of RPGs, fighting and adventure games were sprawled out on the floor in front of the TV stand.
"Ha! I beat you again!" Joey called triumphantly as he beat Bakura yet again in Tekken 4***.
"Guys, could you keep it down? Grandpa's trying to sleep." Yugi told them as he came in and set the extra bed stuff down. "I'll play you Joey. Do you mind, Bakura?"
"No, not at all." Bakura offered him the controller from his place on the floor. "Lee's just not cutting it, I think."
"That's alright. You tried." Yugi told him, climbing up onto the bed next to Joey. He had to move the millennium puzzle out of his way so he could play. Even in his sleep Yugi had gotten accustomed to wearing the heavy object and it contrasted very badly with the boy's blue and yellow start pajamas.
"Alright Yugi." Joey threw his green jacket off and onto the floor in a heap as he selected Jin Kazama. "Let's go."
Yugi simply nodded, picking Hwoarang. The match was over in ten seconds flat. A heel cutter to Jin's face and then a bird hunter and Jin was beat along with Joey.
"How the heck did you do that?!" Joey's mouth hung open as Bakura laughed.
"You waste to much time between attacks. You should learn Jin's moves and then go for an all out assault before your opponent gets a chance to fight back. I've been practicing with Hwoarang for weeks." Yugi shrugged.
Nice piece of advice Yugi. Yami added.
Joey blinked. "I didn't understand a word of what you just said."
"Uh, guys?"
"What now Bakura?" Joey glared at him, irritable that he lost.
Bakura gulped. "There's someone at the door."
Glancing up they saw a pair of bright blue eyes staring shyly in at them.
A Duel Monsters card??? the young pharaoh asked, surprised.
'Most likely.'
"Hi there." Yugi smiled. "You can come in."
The blue eyes nodded, and as the door opened, became attached to a woman's figure with blonde hair, a long shirt with slits up both sides and a matching tube top. She brushed a strand out of her hair and twirled her staff nervously.
The female Dark Magician?!
"Whoa." Was Joey's only reaction.
"Joseph, you're drooling." Bakura spoke quietly. "But I agree."
"Hey, you're goin out wit my sister! You can't think like that!" Joey deathglared Bakura.
"Don't mind them." The shortest boy shook his head. "Can I help you?"
She smiled a little, passing the two boys quarreling on the floor. "Please. I'm looking for Sir Yugi Muto."
"She speaks English?" Bakura looked up, surprised.
"Hey Yug, what's with the 'sir' stuff?" Joey grinned.
"I'm Yugi." He told her, ignoring his friends.
"Oh, Sir Yugi, you have to help me!" she grabbed his arm and sat down next to him. Yugi blushed as the tops of her breasts were exposed over her shirt.
Yugi breathed. " Alright. I will help you. But will you stop calling me Sir? Yugi is just fine."
She sat back and glanced over at his friends before starting. "Alright…Yugi. My name is Kylie. I'm a very important sorceress in my home world." She paused. "A few days ago, my husband disappeared from our castle."
"The Dark Magician?" Joey asked.
She looked over at him. "If that is what you call him, then yes."
Yugi grabbed his dueling deck out of a seemingly endless pile on his nearby table. Shuffling through he pulled out his most favorite gone. "His picture is blank, just like Mai's."
Kylie nodded. "My lord's name was Ryu. He had a sense something would happen like this. He told me if he ever went missing, I was to find Yugi Muto in the human world."
"Ryu is the Dark Magician's name?" he stared at the now blank card.
"Ryu means Dragon, translated from Japanese to English." Bakura stated. "A fitting name for a powerful sorcerer."
"Ryu said you were his most trusted human friend, and despite your world boundaries, you two were very close." Kylie smiled.
"I'm flattered and surprised that he would think of me that way." Yugi told her, his purple eyes shining.
"Yeah, yeah. The Dark Magician helped Yugi out all the time." Joey waved it off. "How bout we make some introductions?" he leaned up onto the end of the bed to get closer to her. "I'm Joey Wheeler, 2nd best duelist in the world!"
"Ryou Bakura." The white-haired Englishman simply nodded.
"Nice to meet both of you. Your record must be impressive. But Yugi, you're the best, aren't you?" she asked.
Joey fell off the bed and Bakura nodded 'yes'. "You're stealing my thunder Yug!"
"Sorry Joey." Yugi replied his cheeks blushing hotly again.
"Don't listen to him Kylie. He's just jealous you're taken, that's all." Bakura informed her.
"I don't see her wearing a ring!" Joey snapped.
"I don't have to wear a ring. I have this." She picked up a huge dark purple pendant from around her chest. It seemed dark clouds chased each other over the stone's smooth surface.
"Wow. The Black pendant." Yugi's eye lit up.
"Yes." She smiled slightly.
"Kinda freaky, isn't it?" Joey said, annoyed.
"I think it's quite beautiful." Bakura breathed softly.
"I agree with you Bakura." Yugi nodded.
"It's a very old antique passed down through Ryu's family." She stared down at it proudly. " It's the source of my powers. When I was born I had no magic. I was simply the daughter of a printer in the small village inside the King's castle. One day, I ran into a young boy, training in the forest. I saw him defeat a monster with black magic. I approached him and we talked for a long time. We made plans to meet again. I saw him almost everyday." Her voice was soft as she ran a hand over the pendant, as if it was recalling the memories. "We became friends, and as we grew up, we both realized our friendship had grown into something up. It was my seventeenth birthday that Ryu asked my hand in marriage. He had been given the title of castle sorcerer, and had persuaded his father into the marriage somehow. We were married only a few weeks later." She sighed. "That was almost three years ago. I can't remember back now, that he wasn't in my life. That's why I need your help Yugi. I need you to help me find him."
"Of course I will." He comforted her. "We'll get to the bottom of this and find your husband."
"Wow." Bakura breathed. "What a great story."
"Yeah, really." Joey shrugged, yawning. "Is it bedtime yet?"
"It is after one." Bakura glanced at the clock.
"We should try to go to bed. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow." He hopped up. "I'll go get the guest room ready Kylie."
Even so, the group did not get to bed till after four, and everyone crashed in Yugi's room, including Kylie. They were unaware a pair of dark eyes was watching them from the window.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
· *I go by the Jap. Way for Bakura's name. So, it's Ryou Bakura
· **Playstation 2 (No I'm not promoting it, Yugi just seemed like that kind of guy!)
· ***Tekken 4 is a popular fighting game. I'm not promoting it, I just love to play it. Hwoarang, Jin Kazama and Lee Chaolan are all characters from Tekken 4.
**** Ryu and Kylie are just names I picked out for one of Yu-gi-oh's best Duel Monsters couples. What do you think???
Wow, two chapters and two days! I hope you guys are happy, cuz it's been a lot of work! Nah, it's been fun. Here's a long anticipated wait for the Dark Magician couple. If you're waiting for Ryu's grand debut, you got a while to go, but I promise I'll keep you entertained until he shows up. R&R, and hope you have fun!