*eyes bulge* You have GOT to be kidding me!
Eight reviews for one chapter?! The FIRST chapter?! Oh my god! That is so much better than I expected!!! *huggles all reviewers* And they were all good ones too! *dazed*
Pardon me, but it's very amazing for little ol' amateur me, who hasn't had more than one review for the first chapter of ANY of her stories before. I'm amazed.
In other words: YOU GUYS ARE SO KEWL!!!
^^;;;
But before we begin, I must alert you to an INSPIRATIONAL IDEA or a no- reward challenge, if you really want to put it that way.
I dare someone to do a MALIK/SETO/ISIS LUUUUUUUV triangle. I've never seen one, and if I have, I haven't seen enough. Just think:
Isis and Kaiba have been dating for weeks, but even though many have wished them the best of luck with their relationship ("You guys are so cute together""A new celebrity relationship, I'm glad you were the lucky girl Isis Ishtar!"), one soul remains lonely. What's this, Malik's in LOVE WITH KAIBA?! This is sibling rivalry unlike ever before . . .
Well, so what if that little summary sucked? The idea is invigorating to me, but I am by no means a humor writer, and I'd only screw it all up. That's why I'm asking for a writer's (or two's) help. Take it or leave it, I'm only here to help. Or try to. ^^
Anyway:
I'm sorry Vera, but there isn't more than a hint of SXJ fluff encased within, as of now. *sniffle* I really tried to get to a certain part, but ended up dramatisizing way too many parts to keep may attention for another scene. And the hint is probably the least amount of SXJ I could do (but also the most, sadly enough). But I promise, PROMISE that there will be some SXJ fluff (aka Joey-torturing, Seto smirking, insult packed, overpowered scuffling), though it's not quite a dominating aspect yet.
I have to set up the scenes, you know!
. . . okay, enough rambling-of-nonsense, on with the show!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
He nearly tip-toed, as that sort of delicate footing seemed very necessary around the gentle setting. Down within the deepest, darkest "bookshelf" in his mind, he knew that in this case, care wasn't ~really~ mandatory, but the slight frame somehow withholding the generous spirit of Yugi wasn't one to freely intrude, even the slightest, on such a pretty peace.
They had always been required to stay on the easily defined paths after every sundown, 'till sunup (not that they really supported having students about late at night, but it was rather inevitable, really), for a number of reasons. One of the most prominent being that large amounts of magical energy ALWAYS attracted a great deal of . . . ~queer~ creatures, and the unsettled areas around campus were by no means an unfair exception.
Some of these unwanted settlers were purely and nastily dangerous, while others provided skills of a nature that still confused and horrified others of the human population, even if they were of a different spawn than the general description of "dangerous". They had still reserved their own right to be wary of, and since they rarely came out from hiding in their unknown homes under their own free will they were easily avoided. Easy truce, everybody's happy. Well, for the most part anyway . . . if you thought about it long enough, you would discover that no one really understood each other, and that was not always a good thing.
But Yugi didn't mind the restrictions! The little faerie lights that twittered softly and shimmered in interesting natural sparkles were all of the insistence he needed to keep his toes firmly planted in their sight. He always held such a fascination with those mischievous faeries that it could easily qualify for obsession, though he preferred not to refer to it in such a derogatory manner.
It never made sense to him how so many involved with their magical community took advantage of their useful aspects, they used so often. Yugi knew that without them, lighting would be nearly impossible outside of the daylight hours, since fire could only be used in carefully calculated amounts as was recorded in the practically universal Laws of Samia. Everything would just stop when the sun set, if it were not for the cheery faeries that somehow took pity on their helplessness.
Everything about them were just so . . . sparkly . . . so ~amazing~. They supposedly held a low-level of intelligence inside their pointed-featured heads, but Yugi suspected it was nothing more than a long-lasting claim of a frustrated scholar (who was probably studying under faerie light ANYWAY), for not even the most scholarly scholar, with the gaudiest velvet robes, could translate any of their jumbled squeaks and high whistles; not that they hadn't tried.
The society that hung around the Academy often came and went, but still managed to somehow organize themselves into positions to fulfill the needs of the unforgiving headmaster. Both sides often cursed each other, Yugi could tell by their little faces, and at the major setback concerning literacy, but everyone managed before and would manage again, or at least eventually.
A few of the nearby sprites peaked up in interest as he sashayed by, and once the persistent beatings of their glittering wings became too pretty to resist, he smiled widely and turned to face them; returning delight easily.
More of them came up, toppling over each other shamelessly to situate themselves strewn across his line-of-view, so he chuckled and knelt in the same shameless manner to await their friendly praise.
A few showerings of carefully-picked sweets later, and they were all sighing shrilly in contentment. Once they were quite certain that he had no more of those tasty treats, they let him continue down the path with a few hugs around his fingers and little dainty kisses. Each one of them waved as he continued.
Yugi gave a clumsy twirl; /okay, now off to grandpa's house . . . /
~*~*~*~
"Yugi? Is that you?" it was a homely voice; the kind that made your happiness up inside of your stomach and make you feel an overwhelming urge to jump in someone's arms as you heard it. The plain Office door slowly opened to reveal orange-lit warmth and the voice's bearer; a man who looked to be nearing the ends of middle-age as proof of his steely gray mane and age-roughened call. But even though his youthful and painless appearance had long since faded into time, his wide eyes were surrounded with tiny smile lines, and an almost child-like energy bounced his face up in a lively manner. He had a large resemblance with the boy on his doorstep.
"Grandpa!" Yugi greeted with an appropriate hug, oblivious to anything else. Solomon Moto closed his eyes gently to prevent them being stabbed by unruly hair that defied all laws of physics with it's spiky magnificence. He returned the hug fiercely, noticing just how long his grandson's hairdo had become with so much vigor. His mouth marked his forehead's height, for he wasn't much taller than him, and it was quite obvious if there were any onlookers where he acquired _those_ genes from.
His wild mass of magenta and gold chaos tilted backward as Yugi's large eyes assessed and surveyed his grandfather for the first time in nearly a month. No . . . surely longer.
The normally ignorant circles under his eyes had become much darker, more defined and his eyes were nearly half-closed at best. A line of worry creased between Yugi's brows as his mouth tightened to the side to compliment his worry.
"They've been overworking you again." He stated, shaking his head to the wood-paneled floor.
The old man chuckled.
"To you perhaps, nothing but a few hours of sleep may seem unhealthy," his eyes twinkled wisely "but to an old man long since a point of growing, more wakeful hours are not really that dramatic."
Unfortunately for Solomon's independent ego, his footing chose that precise time to falter slightly as he led Yugi inside of his quarters. His grandson was under him immediately, calmly helping him stand vertical.
He was always an odd child, only mellowed with his ecstatic energies when he was helping someone. Solomon sometimes worried for the boy, he was always picked on by the upper-classmen, and he suspected he was only around for the joy he found in ~helping~ people.
Why did he never make himself happy?
"Grandpa . . . " he said tensely, and sat him down carefully on a chair that was as ugly as it was comfortable.
The old man admitted defeat with a lengthened sigh that obviously carried a lot of burdens in it's grasp. He felt dizzy for a moment, as the sigh seemed to wash out a bit of his consciousness as well as a bit of stress.
"Yet," he continued wryly, shifting himself comfortable "I _always_ underestimate just how much energy science an unruly children drains from my life."
"Why not just tell them no for once." Yugi reasoned logically, as he started a simple heating spell to the full teapot.
"I can't" he sighed again /I can't give up on something I love, I'm not like you Yugi./ "Professor Hawkins and myself have just found a clue to uncover something, and we're nearly there. Something big. ~Worth~ knowing . . . it's something about the Old Ways. Probably the Old Magic; things that haven't been seen or heard of for ~thousands~ of years!"
Abandoning the teapot for more pressing manners, Yugi faced his grandfather with eyes that had suddenly become very large and very round. He stared for a moment, just to make sure he wasn't kidding.
"You're ~sure~ it's about magic?" he asked breathlessly.
The old man surveyed him in amusement. The boy seemed to find so much interest in this sort of thing! He knew the gift would serve wonderfully, despite Professor Hawkins' assurance:
/"He wouldn't like that . . . "
"You never know, Yugi is a very interesting boy."
"Well, I suppose it's yours to do with what you will. Perhaps you're right, and if you are, young Rabecca and Yugi have as different interests as possible."
"Yes, of course."/
"Nearly positive. We even called in one of the younger revolutionaries for conformation, and he was quite enthusiastic about the find as well." Was he ever! Professor Bakura even shared the fact that he was in possession of a very similar item to the one they recovered on yesterday's expedition.
"Wow . . . " Yugi's eyes sparkled, going off into another idea of what the old days must have been like. So much magic; building, instead of fading as it was now, and luscious forests like in the southeast and buildings that reached the sky and . . .
He was interrupted as Solomon tried to stand again with a grimace planted on his face. Yugi quickly pushed him back down gently.
"Oh, bother child!" he glared at his grandson, until he finally relented his support and allowed him up. The older man brushed himself off as if to rid himself of pesky age.
"I may need help from time to time, but I am by no means ~helpless~! I get by perfectly fine in-between your sparse visits."
Yugi knew well enough not to take his grandfather's lectured assurances too seriously, but his expression turned indignant all the same. "I really try to visit you!"
Solomon's expression softened, "Oh, I'm sorry Yugi, I didn't mean to sound so harsh." He rubbed the back of his head and smiled apologetically, with a little hint of ever-present weariness. "You shouldn't worry about me, just your studies now. Besides, if you're going to play 'nursemaid', then you won't be good company at all!" he wrinkled his nose in mock disgust as he teased the boy easily.
Yugi blushed and stared at his boots.
When the redness had subsided, he looked up to find that his grandfather had already taken to the action of sorting through a nearby clutter pile, as if searching for something through the pile of infinite junk. Yugi himself now relaxed into a chair, now suddenly mindful of his own weariness weighing down at his feet. He nearly groaned: /How am I ~ever~ going to get through tonight?!/
"A-ha! Here it is!" the boy jolted out of a slight dose when he heard his grandfather's triumphant cry. His newly-rubbed eyes met . . . ~something~ . . . out of gold. He squinted to further examine the object, but Solomon held it behind his back, obviously intent on voicing an introduction.
"Yugi, do you remember that puzzle from a while back? The one you solved for me?"
"Ye-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-s." he replied. The puzzle had been nagging Solomon's mind, but he couldn't even begin to place one ceramic piece together. Knowing that his grandson was fond of material challenges such as that, he offered the pieces to Yugi who accepted them curiously with care, and set himself down on the lush carpet in front of the wall-sized window that lit up his Office during most times.
He sat there for hours on end, where his grandfather couldn't hold his attention for more than five minutes at the most, piecing and plucking off pieces from the ground. Yugi accepted no food; in fact, he didn't even give any action while solving the puzzle that reflected he knew of anyone or anything else in the world besides the puzzle. Solomon was slightly alarmed at first, but Yugi was always a strange child in many ways, so he did nothing.
It was a very good thing that day was nothing more than a rare free-day for the academy, because he probably wouldn't have even noticed his class even if the most intimidating instructor hissed up to his face. He was just working; not talking, not smiling.
Just working. Solving in a rather startlingly oblivious state, for so long . . .
Then, just as Solomon was finishing his small dinner, Yugi walked into the kitchen, wiping his eyes.
'Is it breakfast yet, grandpa?' he had asked 'I finished that puzzle you gave me.'
He had only stared, dumbstruck. It was much beyond such a queer situation as to tease, and when Solomon had carefully set Yugi's internal clock right, he seemed to accept it without more difficulty than a shrug. 'It was a good puzzle.' Was all he had said.
Of course, much of the story he had not bothered to explain back to Yugi, and Solomon thought over the events again at the pause now, with a mind-set of finality; Yugi didn't need to be informed of his trance-like state, it's not as if it had any relevance . . .
"Well," he continued, his eyes twinkling "~that~ was just a model." And then he pulled out the golden object from behind his back.
The boy's expression was indefinite. First he was slack-jawed in surprise at it's nearly ~regal~ appearance, then quiet and eyes calm in a response through awe. He finally looked up at his grandfather cheerily with vigor "AWEsome, grandpa!"
"I just followed off of the model you had already assembled," well, it wasn't ~quite~ that simple. Even with the model, it had taken him incomprehensible amounts of time that probably amounted to darker eye- circles along with his other late-night translations of time-taken civilizations. But that morning was when he finally came to a point where it just didn't seem ~right~ somehow to continue, the morning of the precise day that his grandson came for another visit. If that wasn't destiny or fate or something far-fetched and otherworldly such as that, then what was?!
"but," he continued fondly "I think you should place in the last piece, as it's yours now."
Yugi's face looked as though he was hardly daring to believe it, but he took the objects eagerly when Solomon offered them to him. He looked at the objects as if they were foreign and arcane for a moment, gazing back up for a signal to act.
His grandfather nodded; the third and final reassurance of reality he needed.
He was enthusiastic enough to almost fumble and lose the obviously old piece that was apart from the rest, but not careless enough to let it fall and test the potential of harm that it may have come to. However, the little slipping and audible ~*click*~ sound was efficient enough in Yugi's normally clumsy grip to make Solomon wonder.
Something was diffidently strange about this thing. The way the setting of the office seemed to flux for a moment, and the metallic reek of an old magic suddenly sprouted about and around his senses.
But he was expecting a corruption to occur, as his blood went cold at the thought that ~maybe~ it wasn't in Yugi's best interests to even see that puzzling puzzle . . . yet the distinctive 'Yugi' remained behind his violet eyes, tarnished by nothing and certainly not that slight moment of disorientation. Greed had not overwhelmed him, as it had so many before.
Solomon let out a relieved breath. That moment of worry seemed so far away now, and ~ridiculous~. He nearly blushed in . . . shame? Probably. It was a good thing Yugi was so enveloped in his gift, because Solomon was too flustered to have made a good comeback to even something like; 'grandpa, what's wrong?'.
Then, as Yugi probed the artifact closer like a new puppy, still caught up in mindless joy . . .
All hell broke loose.
Or so it seemed. Solomon felt as if his insides had dropped into icy water, his skin trembled as the numerous knick-knacks and baubles rattled with no sound. He closed his eyes, only to find them snapping back open on their own accord. He was shaking in fear now, but deaf to the world.
A slickly sliding shadow rose out of the completed puzzle. Yugi's eyes were blank and shadowed, so his grandfather tried to shout, but found his voice wasn't working right. The shadow hesitated, as if looking back down on the boy in front of it under close scrutiny.
All Solomon saw were the eyes. Narrow, menacing eyes that he could not chase away. They stared at his grandson for a second, and then, quite suddenly, they disappeared.
/Eyes . . . /
Yugi shook himself out of his trance-like state, and looked over at his obviously disturbed grandfather with worried eyes.
"Grandpa, what's wrong?"
~*~*~*~
Yugi walked up to the twin lanterns that marked the entrance of Madame Ara's Work Room with slightly startled breath that made his throat a bit sore. A figure was already waiting for him, hunched in juvenile awkwardness, and sporting a messy hairdo that was easy to identify much further back.
The figure waved once Yugi came into his view.
"Hey Joey!" he bounced.
"Heh, been a while, huh Yug?" The blonde replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. The two had been friends since the first week of school back when they were of the resident newbies. It had long since blossomed into a tight friendship between seemingly unlikely subjects; the bully, and the kid who was always picked on, and Yugi couldn't say he trusted someone so completely as Joey. Well, maybe Tea, but that was it.
"Yeah," Yugi looked behind him at the sound of leisurely set footsteps to face another tall student, with strangely angular chocolate hair and a very cool attitude.
"How's it going guys?" Tristan asked, breaking his awkwardly untouchable impression. The three of them stood on the neatly swept steps signaling a nearly dreaded dark place, and conversed quietly with inspirations of the past while they waited for their other companions. Madame Ara would never let them in if they didn't have the girls, and besides . . .
"Ryou said he would try to come," Yugi said "he said he was sick, but would see how well he felt be nightfall."
Both of the others looked at each other.
"Bakura? Yeah, maybe." Tristan voiced as he avoided Yugi's eyes.
The short one sighed /What IS so bad about Ryou?/
"Sorry we're late!"
Tea was dragging another girl up to the 'group meeting', one with large brown doe-like eyes, a kind expression and honey-shade hair that was loosely bound with the restrictions of a braid. They both smiled as they caught their breath, and Tea gave a little 'V for victory' sign with one of her hands.
The other girl, Serenity, looked over at Tristan and blushed a deep shade of red. He looked back at her fondly, until he noticed her brother seething as he noticed the exchange.
"Wha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-at?!" he yelled, clearly taken in his 'big brother' stage. Joey knew that his little sister and that . . . ~goon~ (even though they were practically best friends) had something going on, but she was his LITTLE SISTER! The little toddler that he always used to take down to the beach, the little girl who he used to comfort as she clutched at his cloak on thunderstorm-lit nights. There was no way, NO WAY he was gonna just let her get hurt like that!
All four of them fell silent. Tristan and Serenity were blushing, Joey was glaring so hard that his face had become round, and Tea and Yugi were surveying the rest with peaceful wishes in mind.
It stayed silent for a long, long time.
Tea shifted her head position ever-so-slightly, catching Yugi's eye. This hadn't been the first time, nor the last, but they always managed to divert everyone's attention enough for it to be comfortable. However, Tea's eyes sparkled with a little more mischief than usual, causing Yugi's eyes to widen in dread. /What is she planning on doing?! I don't like the looks of this . . . /
"Oh my!" Tea whisked the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically "The," it was specified enough with her wiggling eyebrows "~tension~ around you two is almost too much to bear for my poor soul! Get a room, you two!"
Yugi closed his eyes, silently praying that it would all turn out alright. When he opened them again, Joey had turned even more red in aghast realization, so he decided to play peacekeeper. ~Again~. "Hey, come on guys, let's just all calm down and venture to that happy place . . . "
His throat was tight, but he was secretly giggling at Tea's poke of fun, even if Joey looked as though he was prepared to kill something when she said it.
"Big brother," Serenity put in "if you hurt somebody, then we'll ~never~ graduate!"
"Um, yeah, Joey." Tristan was obviously not keen to be the unfortunate victim of the Great and Powerful ANGRY Joey ((AN - tm ^^)).
The dirty-blonde's anger seemed to fade at the voice of his little sister, and he finally, albeit a bit slowly, shook his head and smiled at his sister.
"Yeah, guess you're right. Heehee." He scratched the back of his head again.
Tea led the way as she opened the door with a fair tug of the door, Yugi right behind her.
"They really needed that." She whispered.
Yugi nodded, and they proceeded further into the darkness. They suddenly stopped as they heard a distinct ~*thud*~ and Joey's harsh whispers.
"But if I hear ~one~ little bad thing about you, buddy" he threatened "I'll punch your face in so hard, you'll never be able to charm a girl again. Got it?"
"Chill, Joey, chill!" Tristan then went off in a steady stream of disclaimers, as Serenity looked back on the pair with a sigh.
"Joey needs to find someone he loves." She reflected.
The other two nodded.
"He just needs to understand how we feel," she continued, but not allowing the pair out of her sight "even if he fell in love with the cruelest person in the world."
"Don't worry about it," Tea assured the younger girl "he may be thick- headed, but he's not heartless."
They both giggled.
"Oh, wow Yugi!" Tea noticed the stub of a weapon in Yugi's hand, of a different sort than he usually carried "you never told me that you got a new Emulator!"
The boy blushed "It's not mine . . . it's grandpa's. I was too lazy to go back to the dorms and pick up my own before coming here." He laughed nervously at his fault.
"It's very cool." She assured. "So's that puzzle." The said object seemed to gleam darkly.
"It's my new Focus." Yugi continued down the dark corridor, and offered nothing else in explanation. Tea blushed at her childish behavior of probing him with questions, and dearly hoped Yugi wasn't too angry with her.
When clumsily loud footfalls could be heard other than their own, signaling Joey and Tristan's arrival, they stepped into the familiar light of an open Work Room.
Another fascinating adventure for all five of them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
That has to be one of the longest chapters I've ever written! Well, despite it's length, it was rather uneventful, but I hope the next chapter will make up in exiting, er, kickass bishie-ness!!!
o.O
Yup, Seto's coming up! ^^ I'm trying to parallel a number of main events from the anime, so I haven't just stolen the characters. I'm doing an AU properly, if you know what I mean. ^_~
So don't forget about my side-challenge if you have writers block right now (I kind of think of having writers block is kind of like having your . . . well, you other gals out there should get it; writers block is maddening, hassling, and makes you feel emotional. Any questions?) The idea of a Malik/Seto/Isis triangle has been plaguing me for quite some time. Gawd. I need to finish up a project, but I've barely even started them!
Somebody PLEASE take this idea off of my back! C'mon, you're guaranteed a reviewer!
And please . . .
Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please . . .
. . . review? *falls off of chair* What are you talking about, I'm not a greedy, good-for-nothing, annoying writer. NAW! ^^
Toodaloo for now!
giggleplex
Eight reviews for one chapter?! The FIRST chapter?! Oh my god! That is so much better than I expected!!! *huggles all reviewers* And they were all good ones too! *dazed*
Pardon me, but it's very amazing for little ol' amateur me, who hasn't had more than one review for the first chapter of ANY of her stories before. I'm amazed.
In other words: YOU GUYS ARE SO KEWL!!!
^^;;;
But before we begin, I must alert you to an INSPIRATIONAL IDEA or a no- reward challenge, if you really want to put it that way.
I dare someone to do a MALIK/SETO/ISIS LUUUUUUUV triangle. I've never seen one, and if I have, I haven't seen enough. Just think:
Isis and Kaiba have been dating for weeks, but even though many have wished them the best of luck with their relationship ("You guys are so cute together""A new celebrity relationship, I'm glad you were the lucky girl Isis Ishtar!"), one soul remains lonely. What's this, Malik's in LOVE WITH KAIBA?! This is sibling rivalry unlike ever before . . .
Well, so what if that little summary sucked? The idea is invigorating to me, but I am by no means a humor writer, and I'd only screw it all up. That's why I'm asking for a writer's (or two's) help. Take it or leave it, I'm only here to help. Or try to. ^^
Anyway:
I'm sorry Vera, but there isn't more than a hint of SXJ fluff encased within, as of now. *sniffle* I really tried to get to a certain part, but ended up dramatisizing way too many parts to keep may attention for another scene. And the hint is probably the least amount of SXJ I could do (but also the most, sadly enough). But I promise, PROMISE that there will be some SXJ fluff (aka Joey-torturing, Seto smirking, insult packed, overpowered scuffling), though it's not quite a dominating aspect yet.
I have to set up the scenes, you know!
. . . okay, enough rambling-of-nonsense, on with the show!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
He nearly tip-toed, as that sort of delicate footing seemed very necessary around the gentle setting. Down within the deepest, darkest "bookshelf" in his mind, he knew that in this case, care wasn't ~really~ mandatory, but the slight frame somehow withholding the generous spirit of Yugi wasn't one to freely intrude, even the slightest, on such a pretty peace.
They had always been required to stay on the easily defined paths after every sundown, 'till sunup (not that they really supported having students about late at night, but it was rather inevitable, really), for a number of reasons. One of the most prominent being that large amounts of magical energy ALWAYS attracted a great deal of . . . ~queer~ creatures, and the unsettled areas around campus were by no means an unfair exception.
Some of these unwanted settlers were purely and nastily dangerous, while others provided skills of a nature that still confused and horrified others of the human population, even if they were of a different spawn than the general description of "dangerous". They had still reserved their own right to be wary of, and since they rarely came out from hiding in their unknown homes under their own free will they were easily avoided. Easy truce, everybody's happy. Well, for the most part anyway . . . if you thought about it long enough, you would discover that no one really understood each other, and that was not always a good thing.
But Yugi didn't mind the restrictions! The little faerie lights that twittered softly and shimmered in interesting natural sparkles were all of the insistence he needed to keep his toes firmly planted in their sight. He always held such a fascination with those mischievous faeries that it could easily qualify for obsession, though he preferred not to refer to it in such a derogatory manner.
It never made sense to him how so many involved with their magical community took advantage of their useful aspects, they used so often. Yugi knew that without them, lighting would be nearly impossible outside of the daylight hours, since fire could only be used in carefully calculated amounts as was recorded in the practically universal Laws of Samia. Everything would just stop when the sun set, if it were not for the cheery faeries that somehow took pity on their helplessness.
Everything about them were just so . . . sparkly . . . so ~amazing~. They supposedly held a low-level of intelligence inside their pointed-featured heads, but Yugi suspected it was nothing more than a long-lasting claim of a frustrated scholar (who was probably studying under faerie light ANYWAY), for not even the most scholarly scholar, with the gaudiest velvet robes, could translate any of their jumbled squeaks and high whistles; not that they hadn't tried.
The society that hung around the Academy often came and went, but still managed to somehow organize themselves into positions to fulfill the needs of the unforgiving headmaster. Both sides often cursed each other, Yugi could tell by their little faces, and at the major setback concerning literacy, but everyone managed before and would manage again, or at least eventually.
A few of the nearby sprites peaked up in interest as he sashayed by, and once the persistent beatings of their glittering wings became too pretty to resist, he smiled widely and turned to face them; returning delight easily.
More of them came up, toppling over each other shamelessly to situate themselves strewn across his line-of-view, so he chuckled and knelt in the same shameless manner to await their friendly praise.
A few showerings of carefully-picked sweets later, and they were all sighing shrilly in contentment. Once they were quite certain that he had no more of those tasty treats, they let him continue down the path with a few hugs around his fingers and little dainty kisses. Each one of them waved as he continued.
Yugi gave a clumsy twirl; /okay, now off to grandpa's house . . . /
~*~*~*~
"Yugi? Is that you?" it was a homely voice; the kind that made your happiness up inside of your stomach and make you feel an overwhelming urge to jump in someone's arms as you heard it. The plain Office door slowly opened to reveal orange-lit warmth and the voice's bearer; a man who looked to be nearing the ends of middle-age as proof of his steely gray mane and age-roughened call. But even though his youthful and painless appearance had long since faded into time, his wide eyes were surrounded with tiny smile lines, and an almost child-like energy bounced his face up in a lively manner. He had a large resemblance with the boy on his doorstep.
"Grandpa!" Yugi greeted with an appropriate hug, oblivious to anything else. Solomon Moto closed his eyes gently to prevent them being stabbed by unruly hair that defied all laws of physics with it's spiky magnificence. He returned the hug fiercely, noticing just how long his grandson's hairdo had become with so much vigor. His mouth marked his forehead's height, for he wasn't much taller than him, and it was quite obvious if there were any onlookers where he acquired _those_ genes from.
His wild mass of magenta and gold chaos tilted backward as Yugi's large eyes assessed and surveyed his grandfather for the first time in nearly a month. No . . . surely longer.
The normally ignorant circles under his eyes had become much darker, more defined and his eyes were nearly half-closed at best. A line of worry creased between Yugi's brows as his mouth tightened to the side to compliment his worry.
"They've been overworking you again." He stated, shaking his head to the wood-paneled floor.
The old man chuckled.
"To you perhaps, nothing but a few hours of sleep may seem unhealthy," his eyes twinkled wisely "but to an old man long since a point of growing, more wakeful hours are not really that dramatic."
Unfortunately for Solomon's independent ego, his footing chose that precise time to falter slightly as he led Yugi inside of his quarters. His grandson was under him immediately, calmly helping him stand vertical.
He was always an odd child, only mellowed with his ecstatic energies when he was helping someone. Solomon sometimes worried for the boy, he was always picked on by the upper-classmen, and he suspected he was only around for the joy he found in ~helping~ people.
Why did he never make himself happy?
"Grandpa . . . " he said tensely, and sat him down carefully on a chair that was as ugly as it was comfortable.
The old man admitted defeat with a lengthened sigh that obviously carried a lot of burdens in it's grasp. He felt dizzy for a moment, as the sigh seemed to wash out a bit of his consciousness as well as a bit of stress.
"Yet," he continued wryly, shifting himself comfortable "I _always_ underestimate just how much energy science an unruly children drains from my life."
"Why not just tell them no for once." Yugi reasoned logically, as he started a simple heating spell to the full teapot.
"I can't" he sighed again /I can't give up on something I love, I'm not like you Yugi./ "Professor Hawkins and myself have just found a clue to uncover something, and we're nearly there. Something big. ~Worth~ knowing . . . it's something about the Old Ways. Probably the Old Magic; things that haven't been seen or heard of for ~thousands~ of years!"
Abandoning the teapot for more pressing manners, Yugi faced his grandfather with eyes that had suddenly become very large and very round. He stared for a moment, just to make sure he wasn't kidding.
"You're ~sure~ it's about magic?" he asked breathlessly.
The old man surveyed him in amusement. The boy seemed to find so much interest in this sort of thing! He knew the gift would serve wonderfully, despite Professor Hawkins' assurance:
/"He wouldn't like that . . . "
"You never know, Yugi is a very interesting boy."
"Well, I suppose it's yours to do with what you will. Perhaps you're right, and if you are, young Rabecca and Yugi have as different interests as possible."
"Yes, of course."/
"Nearly positive. We even called in one of the younger revolutionaries for conformation, and he was quite enthusiastic about the find as well." Was he ever! Professor Bakura even shared the fact that he was in possession of a very similar item to the one they recovered on yesterday's expedition.
"Wow . . . " Yugi's eyes sparkled, going off into another idea of what the old days must have been like. So much magic; building, instead of fading as it was now, and luscious forests like in the southeast and buildings that reached the sky and . . .
He was interrupted as Solomon tried to stand again with a grimace planted on his face. Yugi quickly pushed him back down gently.
"Oh, bother child!" he glared at his grandson, until he finally relented his support and allowed him up. The older man brushed himself off as if to rid himself of pesky age.
"I may need help from time to time, but I am by no means ~helpless~! I get by perfectly fine in-between your sparse visits."
Yugi knew well enough not to take his grandfather's lectured assurances too seriously, but his expression turned indignant all the same. "I really try to visit you!"
Solomon's expression softened, "Oh, I'm sorry Yugi, I didn't mean to sound so harsh." He rubbed the back of his head and smiled apologetically, with a little hint of ever-present weariness. "You shouldn't worry about me, just your studies now. Besides, if you're going to play 'nursemaid', then you won't be good company at all!" he wrinkled his nose in mock disgust as he teased the boy easily.
Yugi blushed and stared at his boots.
When the redness had subsided, he looked up to find that his grandfather had already taken to the action of sorting through a nearby clutter pile, as if searching for something through the pile of infinite junk. Yugi himself now relaxed into a chair, now suddenly mindful of his own weariness weighing down at his feet. He nearly groaned: /How am I ~ever~ going to get through tonight?!/
"A-ha! Here it is!" the boy jolted out of a slight dose when he heard his grandfather's triumphant cry. His newly-rubbed eyes met . . . ~something~ . . . out of gold. He squinted to further examine the object, but Solomon held it behind his back, obviously intent on voicing an introduction.
"Yugi, do you remember that puzzle from a while back? The one you solved for me?"
"Ye-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-s." he replied. The puzzle had been nagging Solomon's mind, but he couldn't even begin to place one ceramic piece together. Knowing that his grandson was fond of material challenges such as that, he offered the pieces to Yugi who accepted them curiously with care, and set himself down on the lush carpet in front of the wall-sized window that lit up his Office during most times.
He sat there for hours on end, where his grandfather couldn't hold his attention for more than five minutes at the most, piecing and plucking off pieces from the ground. Yugi accepted no food; in fact, he didn't even give any action while solving the puzzle that reflected he knew of anyone or anything else in the world besides the puzzle. Solomon was slightly alarmed at first, but Yugi was always a strange child in many ways, so he did nothing.
It was a very good thing that day was nothing more than a rare free-day for the academy, because he probably wouldn't have even noticed his class even if the most intimidating instructor hissed up to his face. He was just working; not talking, not smiling.
Just working. Solving in a rather startlingly oblivious state, for so long . . .
Then, just as Solomon was finishing his small dinner, Yugi walked into the kitchen, wiping his eyes.
'Is it breakfast yet, grandpa?' he had asked 'I finished that puzzle you gave me.'
He had only stared, dumbstruck. It was much beyond such a queer situation as to tease, and when Solomon had carefully set Yugi's internal clock right, he seemed to accept it without more difficulty than a shrug. 'It was a good puzzle.' Was all he had said.
Of course, much of the story he had not bothered to explain back to Yugi, and Solomon thought over the events again at the pause now, with a mind-set of finality; Yugi didn't need to be informed of his trance-like state, it's not as if it had any relevance . . .
"Well," he continued, his eyes twinkling "~that~ was just a model." And then he pulled out the golden object from behind his back.
The boy's expression was indefinite. First he was slack-jawed in surprise at it's nearly ~regal~ appearance, then quiet and eyes calm in a response through awe. He finally looked up at his grandfather cheerily with vigor "AWEsome, grandpa!"
"I just followed off of the model you had already assembled," well, it wasn't ~quite~ that simple. Even with the model, it had taken him incomprehensible amounts of time that probably amounted to darker eye- circles along with his other late-night translations of time-taken civilizations. But that morning was when he finally came to a point where it just didn't seem ~right~ somehow to continue, the morning of the precise day that his grandson came for another visit. If that wasn't destiny or fate or something far-fetched and otherworldly such as that, then what was?!
"but," he continued fondly "I think you should place in the last piece, as it's yours now."
Yugi's face looked as though he was hardly daring to believe it, but he took the objects eagerly when Solomon offered them to him. He looked at the objects as if they were foreign and arcane for a moment, gazing back up for a signal to act.
His grandfather nodded; the third and final reassurance of reality he needed.
He was enthusiastic enough to almost fumble and lose the obviously old piece that was apart from the rest, but not careless enough to let it fall and test the potential of harm that it may have come to. However, the little slipping and audible ~*click*~ sound was efficient enough in Yugi's normally clumsy grip to make Solomon wonder.
Something was diffidently strange about this thing. The way the setting of the office seemed to flux for a moment, and the metallic reek of an old magic suddenly sprouted about and around his senses.
But he was expecting a corruption to occur, as his blood went cold at the thought that ~maybe~ it wasn't in Yugi's best interests to even see that puzzling puzzle . . . yet the distinctive 'Yugi' remained behind his violet eyes, tarnished by nothing and certainly not that slight moment of disorientation. Greed had not overwhelmed him, as it had so many before.
Solomon let out a relieved breath. That moment of worry seemed so far away now, and ~ridiculous~. He nearly blushed in . . . shame? Probably. It was a good thing Yugi was so enveloped in his gift, because Solomon was too flustered to have made a good comeback to even something like; 'grandpa, what's wrong?'.
Then, as Yugi probed the artifact closer like a new puppy, still caught up in mindless joy . . .
All hell broke loose.
Or so it seemed. Solomon felt as if his insides had dropped into icy water, his skin trembled as the numerous knick-knacks and baubles rattled with no sound. He closed his eyes, only to find them snapping back open on their own accord. He was shaking in fear now, but deaf to the world.
A slickly sliding shadow rose out of the completed puzzle. Yugi's eyes were blank and shadowed, so his grandfather tried to shout, but found his voice wasn't working right. The shadow hesitated, as if looking back down on the boy in front of it under close scrutiny.
All Solomon saw were the eyes. Narrow, menacing eyes that he could not chase away. They stared at his grandson for a second, and then, quite suddenly, they disappeared.
/Eyes . . . /
Yugi shook himself out of his trance-like state, and looked over at his obviously disturbed grandfather with worried eyes.
"Grandpa, what's wrong?"
~*~*~*~
Yugi walked up to the twin lanterns that marked the entrance of Madame Ara's Work Room with slightly startled breath that made his throat a bit sore. A figure was already waiting for him, hunched in juvenile awkwardness, and sporting a messy hairdo that was easy to identify much further back.
The figure waved once Yugi came into his view.
"Hey Joey!" he bounced.
"Heh, been a while, huh Yug?" The blonde replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. The two had been friends since the first week of school back when they were of the resident newbies. It had long since blossomed into a tight friendship between seemingly unlikely subjects; the bully, and the kid who was always picked on, and Yugi couldn't say he trusted someone so completely as Joey. Well, maybe Tea, but that was it.
"Yeah," Yugi looked behind him at the sound of leisurely set footsteps to face another tall student, with strangely angular chocolate hair and a very cool attitude.
"How's it going guys?" Tristan asked, breaking his awkwardly untouchable impression. The three of them stood on the neatly swept steps signaling a nearly dreaded dark place, and conversed quietly with inspirations of the past while they waited for their other companions. Madame Ara would never let them in if they didn't have the girls, and besides . . .
"Ryou said he would try to come," Yugi said "he said he was sick, but would see how well he felt be nightfall."
Both of the others looked at each other.
"Bakura? Yeah, maybe." Tristan voiced as he avoided Yugi's eyes.
The short one sighed /What IS so bad about Ryou?/
"Sorry we're late!"
Tea was dragging another girl up to the 'group meeting', one with large brown doe-like eyes, a kind expression and honey-shade hair that was loosely bound with the restrictions of a braid. They both smiled as they caught their breath, and Tea gave a little 'V for victory' sign with one of her hands.
The other girl, Serenity, looked over at Tristan and blushed a deep shade of red. He looked back at her fondly, until he noticed her brother seething as he noticed the exchange.
"Wha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-at?!" he yelled, clearly taken in his 'big brother' stage. Joey knew that his little sister and that . . . ~goon~ (even though they were practically best friends) had something going on, but she was his LITTLE SISTER! The little toddler that he always used to take down to the beach, the little girl who he used to comfort as she clutched at his cloak on thunderstorm-lit nights. There was no way, NO WAY he was gonna just let her get hurt like that!
All four of them fell silent. Tristan and Serenity were blushing, Joey was glaring so hard that his face had become round, and Tea and Yugi were surveying the rest with peaceful wishes in mind.
It stayed silent for a long, long time.
Tea shifted her head position ever-so-slightly, catching Yugi's eye. This hadn't been the first time, nor the last, but they always managed to divert everyone's attention enough for it to be comfortable. However, Tea's eyes sparkled with a little more mischief than usual, causing Yugi's eyes to widen in dread. /What is she planning on doing?! I don't like the looks of this . . . /
"Oh my!" Tea whisked the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically "The," it was specified enough with her wiggling eyebrows "~tension~ around you two is almost too much to bear for my poor soul! Get a room, you two!"
Yugi closed his eyes, silently praying that it would all turn out alright. When he opened them again, Joey had turned even more red in aghast realization, so he decided to play peacekeeper. ~Again~. "Hey, come on guys, let's just all calm down and venture to that happy place . . . "
His throat was tight, but he was secretly giggling at Tea's poke of fun, even if Joey looked as though he was prepared to kill something when she said it.
"Big brother," Serenity put in "if you hurt somebody, then we'll ~never~ graduate!"
"Um, yeah, Joey." Tristan was obviously not keen to be the unfortunate victim of the Great and Powerful ANGRY Joey ((AN - tm ^^)).
The dirty-blonde's anger seemed to fade at the voice of his little sister, and he finally, albeit a bit slowly, shook his head and smiled at his sister.
"Yeah, guess you're right. Heehee." He scratched the back of his head again.
Tea led the way as she opened the door with a fair tug of the door, Yugi right behind her.
"They really needed that." She whispered.
Yugi nodded, and they proceeded further into the darkness. They suddenly stopped as they heard a distinct ~*thud*~ and Joey's harsh whispers.
"But if I hear ~one~ little bad thing about you, buddy" he threatened "I'll punch your face in so hard, you'll never be able to charm a girl again. Got it?"
"Chill, Joey, chill!" Tristan then went off in a steady stream of disclaimers, as Serenity looked back on the pair with a sigh.
"Joey needs to find someone he loves." She reflected.
The other two nodded.
"He just needs to understand how we feel," she continued, but not allowing the pair out of her sight "even if he fell in love with the cruelest person in the world."
"Don't worry about it," Tea assured the younger girl "he may be thick- headed, but he's not heartless."
They both giggled.
"Oh, wow Yugi!" Tea noticed the stub of a weapon in Yugi's hand, of a different sort than he usually carried "you never told me that you got a new Emulator!"
The boy blushed "It's not mine . . . it's grandpa's. I was too lazy to go back to the dorms and pick up my own before coming here." He laughed nervously at his fault.
"It's very cool." She assured. "So's that puzzle." The said object seemed to gleam darkly.
"It's my new Focus." Yugi continued down the dark corridor, and offered nothing else in explanation. Tea blushed at her childish behavior of probing him with questions, and dearly hoped Yugi wasn't too angry with her.
When clumsily loud footfalls could be heard other than their own, signaling Joey and Tristan's arrival, they stepped into the familiar light of an open Work Room.
Another fascinating adventure for all five of them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
That has to be one of the longest chapters I've ever written! Well, despite it's length, it was rather uneventful, but I hope the next chapter will make up in exiting, er, kickass bishie-ness!!!
o.O
Yup, Seto's coming up! ^^ I'm trying to parallel a number of main events from the anime, so I haven't just stolen the characters. I'm doing an AU properly, if you know what I mean. ^_~
So don't forget about my side-challenge if you have writers block right now (I kind of think of having writers block is kind of like having your . . . well, you other gals out there should get it; writers block is maddening, hassling, and makes you feel emotional. Any questions?) The idea of a Malik/Seto/Isis triangle has been plaguing me for quite some time. Gawd. I need to finish up a project, but I've barely even started them!
Somebody PLEASE take this idea off of my back! C'mon, you're guaranteed a reviewer!
And please . . .
Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please . . .
. . . review? *falls off of chair* What are you talking about, I'm not a greedy, good-for-nothing, annoying writer. NAW! ^^
Toodaloo for now!
giggleplex
