An Empty Shell
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seashell: thanx again. You're really a very big help and just for that… I'm going to upload the next chapter! Well, I was going to any way, but you've just made it quicker.
Jenny-fer (or was it The Amazing Dancing Jenny-fer?): Okay, all I have to say, Jen, is you're very, very weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeird! ^_~ You're odd! (Gasp.)
A/N: sorry about the long wait for chapter 4 again. Yay! Christmas, Christmas, 20 more days till Christmas! *bouncing up and down excitedly*
DISCLAIMER: I own only those whom you don't recognize from the series. The poem in italics is a poem whose title I forget and whose author I forget. I don't own it anyway.
Don't forget!
"speaking"
'thoughts'
[mental link]
CHAPTER 5: The Hidden Secrets Of Kalinda Zona
If you come softly
As the wind within the trees
You may hear what I hear
See what sorrow sees
If you come as lightly
As threading dew
I will take you gladly
Nor ask more of you
"So what's going on here?" Tristan asked. "So you and you already know each other?"
"Wow, you're quick." Blake noted sarcastically.
Ryou and William were still busy goggling at each other.
"Can we come back to reality?" Bakura asked. "Hey, hey. Ryou. Ryou…"
"Forget it." Blake advised. "If he's anything like William, you can't get him back to reality unless you—" Both yamis got insane evil grins on their faces.
"Don't. Even. Think. About. It." William snapped.
"Nuts." Blake muttered. Bakura looked equally disappointed at the missed chance to startle his hikari.
"Oh, Blake, you know Ryou?" Kali asked, looking up abruptly.
"Oh, she's back from her own world," Son teased gently, poking her playfully in the side. "What was that all about?"
"Shut up, Son." Kali growled. "I am sooo not in the mood for you."
"Oh that cut. That cut really deep," Son returned tactlessly.
"Sure it did."
"Of course it did."
"You're too sensitive."
"You're not sensitive enough."
"Listen, if you were me, would you be sensitive?"
"Don't even try self-pity on me, Kali Zona. It doesn't become you."
"Who said I was pitying myself, Son Yuma? It's the facts of life. Or the lack thereof."
"You're being pathetic, Kali."
Kali ran a hand through her hair and groaned. "What are we arguing over?"
"I have no clue." Son admitted. The other Silver Bearers shook their heads and rolled their eyes. This sort of argument was usual between the two. It was like they'd been friends in a past life…
Which, actually, they probably had.
After school had ended, Ryou and William were talking about going somewhere to talk. Neither of their yamis wanted to leave them alone with the other, so they went. Neither of the yamis wanted it to be only the four of them, so their assorted friends wound up tagging along.
"Oooooo, you're so annoying sometimes." William snapped.
"Listen, you want to go through the whole stretch thing? Me, I'm not too keen on it, so shut up." Blake snarled.
"If I had known you were going to be this overbearing, I would've never released you from the Lamp. I'm not joking."
"Like I would've chosen to be yami to you if I had a choice. You're so irresponsible."
"Oh, I'm irresponsible?! Look who's talking!"
"You are!"
"Gah! I see why whoever created the Millennium Items locked you away! You must've seriously ticked him off!"
"For your information, I didn't choose to be locked away. I would've just gone and died with the rest of Egypt if I had the choice. And I didn't know the guy. How could I have ticked him off?"
"I don't know, but you do a pretty good job of it any how!"
"Shut up!" Kali finally burst out. "Just shut up, the both of you!"
William and Blake lapsed into startled silence: even as the yami with perhaps the darkest past, Kali NEVER lost her temper. It was one of the things that scared most people; even Aseliah had thrown some pretty memorable fits in her day. Kali was the calm one.
The other Silvers were watching Kali with fear and surprise written in big block letters on their faces. The Golds were just confused. And slightly scared: her temper looked as though it could rival Marik's.
Kali reddened slightly. "Why do you do this to each other?" she asked finally. "You know neither of you means any of what you're saying. So why are you saying it? All it's going to do is tear you both apart, and that hurts more than any stretch will ever hurt."
"Me, I want to know what's going on." Téa asked finally.
"No, you don't." Caryn told her. "Trust me, you don't."
"It's just confusing," Paz added.
"Not like it wasn't confusing before," Awan muttered.
"But it's even more confusing now." William finished.
"Oh, and that wasn't confusing at all," Yami grumbled.
"Shut up, you." Son snapped.
"Hold your temper." Yami returned.
"Why should I?" Son growled. "I don't have to listen to you."
"Say what?" Joey cut in abruptly. "This gets more confusing with every word said."
"But then again, you're not exactly a genius," Tristan told him.
"Shut up!" Joey mumbled. "'snot my fault they don't teach us good."
"You don't listen," Yugi told him, smiling.
"And your point is?"
"I want to know what's going on," Téa asked again. "And don't tell me I don't need to know, or that I won't understand."
"You won't," Kali told her. "I don't even understand half of this."
"Yes you do," Son told her. "You understand all of it. You're the one who explained it to us, Kalinda Zona."
"Would you stop calling me that?" Kali exclaimed. "You know I hate being called Kalinda!"
"You do know," Son muttered rebelliously, but obediently shut up, glaring at her. "And what happened to—" he touched the side of his face.
"They don't need to know," Kali told him delicately.
"Admit it," Son told her. "You're scared."
"Scared to admit what?" Ryou asked.
"That I'm dying," Kali shrugged. "And there's nothing anybody can do to stop it."
After this enormous pronouncement, and a weird awkward silence filled the air, Kali said with fake cheerfulness "Oh, gee, look at the time. I really must be going." With that, she whirled around and left the school courtyard, just as the heavy black clouds that had been hanging over the city all day let loose a torrent of rain.
*Kali's POV*
I walked rapidly along the quickly deserted sidewalk. I touched the side of my face and looked at my hand. Wet streaks of make-up had come off onto my fingertips, exposing the long scar the make-up had been hiding.
The rain continued to pour, erasing all traces of make-up, mingling with my tears.
"A week, Kali," I whispered. "You have a week left to live, Kalinda Nokomis. What are you going to do about him?" (A/N: okay, that just totally contradicts itself. The name, I mean. Kalinda means 'the sun' in Sanskrit and Nokomis means 'daughter of the moon' in Native American.)
*Son's POV*
Somehow I had the idea something was going on with Kali that she wasn't telling me. I was sure it wasn't just about the whole 'calling-her-Kalinda' thing; all she does is beat me up for calling her that, she never walks away if she can fight. I had the idea the attitude may have come from her past in the Ancient. Her whole life being lived unable to fight, she takes it when she can.
I had noticed the two Golden Item holders earlier. But I hadn't noticed which items they were.
The albinos had the Ring. I recognized the older one from somewhere vaguely, considered the possibility of it being him, and decided he didn't carry himself like a pharaoh. The Puzzle was held by…
The Puzzle.
The Puzzle. Kali's cold nature towards Yami Moto. The way he carried himself, his commanding nature, everything about him screamed PHARAOH. It all fit… even his name…
Yami.
"Oh my,"
"What?" Reva asked immediately.
"It's him." I said simply.
*Third-person POV*
"Him?" Blake scoffed, looking at Yugi.
"Look at him. He's a wuss!" Reva snorted.
"Excuse me?" Joey and Yami said at the same time.
"There's no way he can be the one." Loella agreed.
"Not him," Son said tiredly. "Him."
"Me?" Yami asked blankly.
"Ooooooooooooh… him." Loella said. "That makes more sense… Hold on! Him?! He's the one?"
"Yep," Son said. Paz and Caryn shuddered and backed away.
*Bakura's POV*
I had to give the pharaoh points for acting: he certainly looked confused. Not to mention his little hikari. But they had just figured out this guy was Pharaoh now?
*Kali's POV*
"Hi, Sanya," I greeted the secretary at Volunteer Services as I entered the office to sign in.
"Hey, Kali," she answered. "Omigosh, what happened to your face?" She touched the side of her face to indicate what she meant.
"I ran out of make-up." I grumbled.
"But how did you get that?" Sanya persisted.
I paused only a moment before I answered "I had great misfortune in my youth." 'To put it mildly,' I thought to myself as she turned back to her computer screen.
I was in Children's Emergency today and it was fairly quiet, as Emergency rooms go on a Friday evening.
"Oh, yay!" a nearby nurse exclaimed. "A volunteer! We're saved!" (A/N: I'm not joking. I'm a volunteer in a hospital and the nurses are forever saying "Hurray! A volunteer!")
"Yes," I answered. "Madam Galahad to the rescue. What do you need me to do?"
"Well, we have no immediate emergencies, but you can take these charts, go into the waiting room and extract information from the people in there." The nurse, a woman called Dahlia, said and put a pile of charts into my hands.
"All right." I shrugged, and entered the buzzing waiting room. I zeroed in on the first person I saw, a woman in her mid-thirties, and squatted down to ask her "I'm here to get some information from you. Who was brought in?"
"My son," she answered tearfully. "Kyle Isadore. He's only 8, he went out with his friends to a soccer practice after school and he, he, he…" she sniffled. "He broke his ankle. When are the doctors going to come and set it?"
I looked next to her, and there was a small boy, not looking too injured but rather, gaping at my scar. "You would be Kyle, right?"
"Yep," he answered cheerfully. "I was playin' soccer, like Ma said and then I slipped on Tommy's poncho, 'cause he never puts his stuff out of the way an' it was rainin' an' all, and then next I know, I hear this biiiiiiiiiiig crack, and my foot's lookin' funny. It was fun. What happened to your face?"
"Kyle!" his mother reprimanded.
"Oh, I don't mind," I answered. "Let's just say I wasn't a very lucky kid."
*Third-person POV*
The next day, Kali woke up feeling like $*(%. Her negative energy was back.
[Bleh.] she groaned. [Anybody there?]
[What is it, Kali dearest?]
[Do not call me that, Blake. I feel like dollar sign, asterisk, bracket, percentage sign.]
[Huh?]
[I don't feel good. My negative energy is back.]
[Bleh.]
[That's what I said. I don't think I should go to the swim meet today.]
[Miss a swim meet?!] Son gasped, as he entered the spirit chamber. [You must be feeling sick. Or is it just because the back of your suit is clear?]
[What would that have to do with anything?] Loella mumbled, sounding as if she'd just woken up. [Why are you all making such a racket in my head first thing on a Saturday?]
[It would make a difference because Kali was a slave girl in the Ancient.] Son answered.
[Why would that make any difference?] Reva asked, waking to the conversation.
[You wouldn't know, you overprotected rich kids,] Kali muttered. [We slaves didn't have that kind of protection.]
[Neither did us lower-class families.] Son agreed.
[You were still more protected than us,] Kali argued.
[Yeah, by one small detail.] Son grumbled.
[What would that be?] Blake asked in interest.
[He was Egyptian.] Kali answered simply.
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A/N: yay! Chapter 5 is done! Finally!!! ReViEw!!!!!