Angel: Well, here's part two. Hope you like it. I don't have much else to say.
The YGO Gang: WAU! SHE WROTE A SHORT AUTHOR'S NOTE!
Angel: Ok, ok! I get it already!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh but I do own Ahmose, Setsuna, Kiara, Rachel Lampa (kidding)... etc.
" " - talking
' ' - thinking
/ - Any Hikari talking to his or her Yami in his or her mind
// - Any Yami talking to his or her Hikari in his or her mind
Hikari No Yuugi
Play of Light
by Angel
Chapter Six Part Two: Chuukin Omoide
Casting Memories
Kaiba, Mokuba, Ro, Makimura, and the hikaris were hanging out in the kitchen of the boat, having "fun" making dinner - or, at least, attempting to.
"Takehiko!" Dajan whined. "You're not doing it right! You don't cut meat in triangles like that to make sandwiches, you do it in straight lines!"
"If you're so clever, YOU do it then!" Takehiko yelled, throwing down the knife and wiping his hands on his apron. Grumbling, he joined Misaki and Tali, who were putting butter and mayonnaise on bread.
Bakura chuckled. It didn't really matter to him if his meat was cut in triangles or squares, just as long as he had something in his stomach. He looked out the window. The sky was darkening with great black clouds. He could still see blue sky farther out to sea.
Wait a moment. Houston, we have a problem.
Those clouds... they seemed to be trailing the boat, as if pulled by a magnetic force. He heard a rumble of thunder and grimaced. Something was not right.
"Yugi? Oi Yugi-kun, are you okay?" Hikaru called. Bakura blushed ever so slightly at the sound of her sweet voice and turned to see why she was asking Yugi if he was all right.
Yugi, who had been loading his sandwich with tomatoes and lettuce, was now bent over the table, a brilliant smile of his face. Takehiko too, Bakura noted, seemed head-over-heels happy for some reason.
"Yugi-chan? Are you in there? Earth to Yugi!" Hikaru chimed again.
Yugi's violet eyes opened. "Yami is gone from my mind," he said softly. "It's like he's unconscious or asleep or something... but I know nothing's wrong because he's so happy that it's reflecting into me..."
"Same here," Takehiko said with a large grin replacing the scowl he had been wearing when Dajan scolded him for cutting the meat wrong. "Ahmose is awake but all he's saying is 'Uh-huh... everything's wonderful... this is so right...'"
Hikaru closed her eyes and seemed to zone out on the rest of the group. It was obvious she was speaking to her own yami.
/Yo, Kiara?/
//Yes, my light?//
/D'you know what Yami and Ahmose are up to?/
Giggles from Kiara's end. //Oh, they're all right. Tell Yugi and Takehiko not to worry. Everything's fine on deck.//
/That's good to know, but Takehiko and Yugi, I think, already know that Yami and Ahmose are all right. I mean, they're practically immobile from ecstasy./
Kiara laughed and closed the link.
Bakura smiled at his friends who were now on the floor laughing and joking about what situation Yami and Ahmose could possibly be in that would cause such an uproar. Then his conscience chastised him and urged him to ask Kerihk about those storm clouds.
/Kerihk, what is it with those storm clouds? Don't you think you and the other yamis ought to come inside before it pours?/
//...//
/Kerihk?/
//...//
/ANSWER ME! ONEGAI!/
//OK! No need to shout, baka! ... But I think it's you guys who should get out here, make sure you get Taidu and Ay out of the steering area... Ay knows a lot about the sea, he might know something about the danger of these storms, but I think Taidu will be more needed out here. Man, what a great time for the Pharaoh to fall asleep... fat lot of good that'll do...//
/Nan desu ka? Daijobu desu ka?/
//Daijobu desu! Now get going!//
Bakura's heart thumped in his chest in fear. He turned to his friends. "I just talked to Kerihk," he said breathlessly. "He needs us to get out there, with Ay and Taidu... something about the storm being dangerous. He says Yami's asleep too, so we need you up there, Yugi-chan."
The other hikaris stared at him for a split second; then they nodded and darted off in different directions, some heading for the upper deck, Misaki and Kaiba heading for the steering area (a/n: sue me, I don't know any boat terms at all) to get Taidu and Ay - that is, after Kaiba and Ro made Mokuba and Makimura promise not to come outside.
(A/N: "I stand in the light of faith... I thank you in so many ways... ... and I'm getting closer to perfection cause of you!" Thank you, thank you! Readers: Encore! Encore! Bravo! NOW GET ON WITH IT! Me: And for my next number - Readers: ARRRGGGHHH!)
Yugi ran up to the deck. The harsh wind howled and blew his hair aggressively every which way. The black clouds blocked out any light from the sun. Soon the rain would come down. He followed the other hikaris as they joined Kerihk to find out what the heck was wrong.
Hardly a minute passed between thunder and lightning when Taidu, Ay, Kaiba, and Misaki emerged from the steering room. They had crossed paths half-way down the corridor because Taidu had sensed something was up.
"What's going on?" Kaiba asked over the wind, pulling his coat tighter around his body for warmth.
"We're not sure yet," Kerihk yelled back, glancing up at the sky. "But it's not good."
"It's just a storm, right?" Ai inquired worriedly. "N-nothing to worry about, right?"
No reply from Bakura's yami, which just made the group even more nervous (a/n: hence Kiara's phrase from last chapter: "Beware the silence of a white-haired man; it may be a sign that darkness is at hand." LOL!).
Lightning flashed and thunder rolled. Taidu joined Kerihk in glaring at the gray-black ether. The clouds were large and ominous, yet something was... almost familiar about them.
"Where is the Pharaoh?" she asked of Kerihk.
"With Ahmose, asleep by the cargo entry," Kerihk answered, "but why -"
Taidu dashed off to find Yami and Ahmose, ignoring the bewildered look on her hikari's face. Tali shook her head, her wavy auburn hair blowing in the wind. She said to Misaki, "I wish someone would just give me a straight answer for once." Misaki agreed.
Ro turned to Kaiba. "Seto, I think we should take the sails," he advised. Kaiba nodded and called out for super-strong Setsuna to help out. The three of them and Kerihk went off together, leaving the hikaris and Ay alone.
They weren't alone for very long. In the blink of an eye, Taidu returned with Ahmose and Yami just as the rain began to drizzle on the kids. Although he had been asleep, Yami was now alert and ready for action. You couldn't tell he had been tired in the least.
Taidu pointed to something in the air and the other two looked up with her. "Does it remind you of her?" she asked, obviously continuing a conversation they had begun before.
Yami wiped raindrops off his face. "You're right," he answered gravely. "It does look just like her storm clouds. I sensed someone's aura just before the storm started; it may have been hers. Let's ask Kiara, she's the expert."
"There's no time," Ay interrupted, joining them. "Who do you suppose caused this? Is it who I think it is?"
"That depends, who do you think it is?" Ahmose hissed as the rain began to come down harder. He'd always hated water... that was why his power was fire.
Taidu's dark brown eyes narrowed. "Iakara."
The four yamis exchanged a dark look.
"Iakara?" Tali asked, rushing up through the rain to Taidu's side. "Who is Iakara, pray tell?"
"One of Pegasus's gamers," Taidu answered. "She has power over storms."
Gasps all around. "Well, that isn't good," Yugi gulped.
The rain was really pouring now. Himoko and Kiara had joined Kaiba, Ro, Kerihk, and Setsuna as they took in the sails. The storm raged all around them, knocking the boat back and forth. Now it was the hikaris turn to feel sick.
A gigantic wave crashed against the boat. Kaiba let out a yell when some of the supplies fell overboard. Ro dashed off to tell the others.
"Guys, we need to hold our ground!" he cried when he found the hikaris and the four yamis. "The rations are falling over the side! C'mon, let's get going!"
"Right!" the others answered.
Dajan was just about to follow them when he realized Takehiko had stayed behind. "Hey Tak, you okay?" he asked, wincing when the thunder boomed above.
Takehiko couldn't answer. Dajan realized his cousin was really seasick. The biggest difference between Dajan and Takehiko was his love of the sea and Takehiko's hatred of it. Dajan called out for Ahmose and Ay.
"I need help over here!" he shouted. "Takehiko's gotten so seasick, he's got cramps! He can't stay out here!"
In a flash Ahmose and Ay had returned and helped the invalid to his feet. "C'mon, now," Ahmose said soothingly, though he didn't like the storm to much either. "Try to think of something else."
But all Takehiko could think of was the wind and the bouncing boat, and the churning, sick feeling in his stomach...
Uh-oh.
In an adrenaline rush Takehiko pulled out of the other three's grip and darted to the side of the boat to vomit.
It really was bad timing to be sick. A humongous wave came crashing down on the boat at that very instant. The last thing Takehiko heard was Yami's call of "BRACE YOURSELVES!" before he found himself falling into the sea. He emerged coughing and sputtering, finally managing to shout, "HELP! I STINK AT SWIMMING! HELLLPPP!"
"Oh no!" Dajan cried in dismay. "Takehiko overboard! He can barely swim in our eight-feet-deep pool, let alone the sea in a storm!"
"Iakara!" screamed Taidu, her voice echoing through the air. "Show yourself!"
The next sound of thunder seemed like a laugh of "Yeah, right!" coming from Iakara.
Hikaru and Kiara had fallen against each other when the wave forced them to hit the side of the boat. With Kiara (who had taken most of the impact) in a bit of a daze and Hikaru in a jumpy, fearful mood, Hikaru stood up to see where Takehiko was in the water. "TAKEHIKO!" she shrieked when she saw his blond head bobbing up and down in the waves. Forgetting where she was and everything else, Hikaru clambered onto the edge of the boat and dove into the sea.
Just as Hikaru jumped, Kiara's world stopped spinning. "Hikaru, aibyou, no!" she cried, trying to grab the girl. It was too late. Hikaru went plummeting into the waters.
"HIKARU!" Yugi yelled in shock.
"I'll go get a rope!" Bakura shouted to the others. "Hold on, guys!"
The female yamis were huddled into a bunch, trying to keep Kiara from jumping in the water herself. All Setsuna could think was, "If Yugi jumps in, Yami will too, and then we're done for."
Yugi watched as Hikaru swam towards Takehiko and attempted to hold him above the water. She was a good swimmer, but not good enough to fight that storm. Someone had to help her!
Suddenly Hikaru and Takehiko both disappeared under the water. Yugi cried out and dove in the water himself.
Boy, was Setsuna ever right about Yami's reaction! The former pharaoh had been helping Bakura haul the long rope on deck when he heard Yugi's cry. Still carrying his end of the rope, Yami ran on deck shouting for him to stop.
He too was too late. Yugi sailed through the water and grabbed Hikaru's hand, yanking her up to get air. Yugi could tell Hikaru wasn't strong enough to hold Takehiko alone; after all, he was much taller than either of the two sea-shrimps. He grabbed Takehiko's other arm and all three worked to stay where they could breathe even though huge waves kept toppling on them, drenching them more every time. Their shoes were filling with water... if only they could kick them off they might be able to stay up easier...
Hikaru sank back under for a split second. This time Takehiko was able to pull her back out. "Oh, Kiki!" he said, using his special nickname for her. "Trouble follows you like bees!"
"And seasickness follows you like hornets," Hikaru retorted.
"Yugi!" shouted Yami. "Hold on down there, we've got the rope!" He and Bakura tossed it over the side and Yami tied the other end to the nearest pole.
Bakura tried to fling the rope closer to the fallen three. "C'MON!" he shouted about the warring wind and rain. "GRAB HOLD!"
"You first, Takehiko," Yugi said once he reached the rope. Takehiko took it gratefully and began climbing up.
Another wave came upon the distressed ship, one more gigantic than the rest. Bakura didn't notice it in time and when its impact took effect, he too was tossed over the side.
"Bakura! You too?" Yugi said in grave surprise when Bakura joined them in the sea. "H-hi there, guys!" Bakura laughed nervously.
"I don't see what's so funny," Hikaru grumbled. "We're being driven away from the rope!"
It was true. Takehiko had managed to keep hold of the rope but the others hadn't been so lucky as they drifted further off to sea.
"This can't get any worse!" Kerihk cried as he watched his hikari fight against the storm.
"Yes it can," Ay corrected. "Say that lightning strikes now. What then? They'll be goners!"
"Thanks for the comfort," Kerihk murmured.
Ahmose had been helping Takehiko back on the boat. Now that his hikari was safe, he could look elsewhere for a way to save the other three... He gasped when he caught Yami in his sight. Fire burned in the great pharaoh's eyes. He hadn't tried it yet, but if Ahmose didn't hurry he'd fling himself into the sea as well.
"OH, NO YOU DON'T!" Ahmose cried, grabbing Yami by the arms and pulling him to the ground. They landed hard on the deck and hit their heads, but even so Yami continued to struggle and Ahmose tightened his grip.
Yugi could hardly see with the rain and the waves blocking his field of vision. He could hear Bakura still shouting "HELP! WE'RE STILL OUT HERE, YOU KNOW!" and Hikaru nearby crying and coughing. They had to get out of the water before the lightning struck!
Bakura closed his eyes. There was no point in keeping them open now - it just made things worse. "Everybody hold hands!" he cried, feeling for his friends' drenched hands. He found Hikaru's quickly enough and she yelled that she had Yugi's, so at least they were all together now. He opened his eyes to see just how close they were to each other, then closed them again and turned his head the other direction. Something compelled him to open his eyes and look directly at the area his head was turned, through the rain and waves. To his astonishment, there was stretch of land just there, with a cave nearby!
"There's land over there!" Bakura shouted. "Come on! We've gotta swim to it, it's our only chance! And don't let go of each other's hands!"
A nod from Yugi and a sob from Hikaru were all he received in reply. They kicked their legs as hard as they could though their energy was almost spent. Even when another wave separated them from one another, they still pressed on.
'We're almost there,' Hikaru kept telling herself. 'Just a little further... we'll be fine, we'll be okay... we're almost there...'
Bakura reached the land first. He grabbed hold of the nearest rock outcropping and clambered on the land. He didn't waste time trying to catch his breath; instead he reached out his hand and instructed, "Climb up here, you two! Give me your hand, Hikaru!"
Hikaru reached out to grab Bakura's hand. She couldn't quite reach and had to painfully hold on to his middle and index fingers with one hand. The water sprayed her face, but Bakura quickly threw out his other hand and managed to pull her in.
It had been a while since the last lightning had appeared. It was probably nearly time for another bolt to strike... Desperately Bakura scanned the area for Yugi. He finally spotted him clinging for dear life to another rock sticking out from the mysterious land mass.
"Stay here, Hikaru," Bakura said to the sobbing, shivering girl by his side. He then darted around the rocks to reach Yugi, who was trying to pull himself out the water.
And then...
... the lightning struck.
"Yugi... wake up... please wake up," Hikaru begged, staring at the limp form of Yugi Muto lying in the cave beside her. After Yugi was electrocuted by the lightning, Bakura had snatched him out of the water and dragged him into the cave followed by Hikaru. They had made a fire and were now taking off their soaked clothes. (A/N: *cough cough* They left their pants on and Hikaru left her sleeveless-shirt on - she had a pink jacket on top of it). Bakura placed his, Hikaru's, and Yugi's clothes by the fire to dry. He wished he had some marshmallows as he heard his stomach growling.
Hikaru looked down at the small boy just her size. He had risked everything to save her... "Please be all right, Yugi," she whispered gently, planting a small kiss on his forehead.
(A/N: "When you turn around... all the tears will dry... whatever was lost will be found... in the blink of an eye!" *smiles sheepishly* It's been a while... *gulp* we are now at sixteen pages... hope I'm not boring you to death...)
Bakura's heart sank when he saw Hikaru do this. He had trouble admitting it even to himself, but he had quite a big crush on the petite, brown-haired beauty, but he had no idea how she felt about him. It was too easy for anyone to fall in love with Hikaru because she could make just about anybody think she was in love with them. It was just her nature. Bakura didn't think the girl knew HOW to hate.
(A/N: Darnit. I just dropped water on my laptop... I've been writing since one p.m. with one half hour break for lunch and chores and now it's 5:40 and I'm on my fifth glass of water and I'm starting to get finger cramps.)
Hikaru shivered and moved closer to the fire. It was still storming outside. She wondered if Kiara and the others were all right. The storm broke any connections between the hikaris and their yamis so they couldn't even give their rescuers directions to their cave.
She sighed. It would be a long night.
***
The yamis, the remaining hikaris, Kaiba, Mokuba, Ro, and Makimura sat around the table in the shelter of the boat. The storm had lessened, but it was still raining really hard outside, and though the lightning was less frequent, it was still there.
"What are we going to do?" asked Misaki.
"Hikaru, Yugi, and Bakura could be miles away by now," Dajan added. "They might... not even be alive anymore..."
It was a dark and gloomy prospect, but it seemed very likely. The most probable solution would be they drowned.
"They might have washed to one of the small rock islands near the main areas of Duelist Kingdom," Ro said hopefully.
Kaiba shook his head. "If they made it without getting electrocuted, it would be a miracle. They disappeared from our sight within five minutes of that lightning, so obviously they had less than five minutes to get ashore."
"But there is still a possibility they DID make it," Kiara put in breathlessly. "I didn't go into Hikaru's soul room itself - our connection was cut off by Iakara. But I DID go into the - um - the Hall of Colors and I know she's alive because the hall way was a greenish-yellow color, not black."
Nobody but the hikaris and yamis understood what Kiara was talking about, but they accepted it without comment. (A/N: If you can't remember about the "Hall of Colors" and don't want to accept it without comment, then go read chapter three again when Yami and Ahmose decide to take Takehiko and Yugi to the nurse. Yugi talks about his soul room and this area is mentioned after the line "Yep, he was pretty set if he ever needed to let Yami have total control for a while." One more thing - I'm on glass number six now. Man, is it hot!)
"How COULD they make it, though?" Tali asked. "It doesn't make any sense!"
Ai pulled her sopping air back in a high ponytail, Setsuna following the suit with a low one. "C'est la vie," Ai replied, seating Makimura on her lap and playing with her hair.
"Har har."
Yami had been extremely quiet ever since Yugi's disappearance. He was trying to think of ways to help the kids, but when he had entered his own "Hall of Colors" as Kiara put it, though it hadn't been black, it had been rainbow-colored, indicating that Yugi was unconscious, which worried Yami greatly.
Suddenly Kerihk slapped himself. "Of course! What an idiot I am! I know how we can find them!"
Everyone stared at him. Kerihk took this as a plead to continue.
"Well, Bakura and I have the Millennium Ring, right?" he asked rhetorically. "One of its uses is tracking other Millennium Items. If we get in range of where we last saw them, maybe the Ring will respond to Bakura and the other two because of their Millennium Items."
Kiara squealed and flung herself around a very startled Kerihk, speaking praises in Egyptian that made the other yamis smile. Yami actually smiled and said it was a great idea.
"It will take us off-course," Ay said, "but it's worth it to save those three kids. I'm getting kind of fond of them." Dajan giggled.
Kerihk, Yami, and Kiara went on deck to see when the Ring would light up. Ay and Taidu went back to the steering room to bring the ship back near where they lost the hikaris.
Setsuna watched them go, her gaze trailing Yami in particular. Kiara was speaking soothing words to him in Egyptian, reassuring him that everything would be all right. He responded also in his native tongue by saying something that caused Kiara to laugh outright. Well, at least he wasn't totally depressed anymore, but what would he do if they couldn't find Yugi?
Kerihk told them to hurry up and Kiara dashed up the stairs, still laughing. Yami followed, his golden bangs blowing from the force of the wind when Kerihk opened the hatch. Man, he looked hot...
"Setsuna?" Setsuna jumped at the sound of Himoko's voice and cocked her head quizzically.
Himoko had a mischievous smile on her face. "I asked you if you were worried," she said, repeating her question.
"Huh? Oh, of course I'm worried," Setsuna covered, turning cherry red. "I sure hope they get back all right."
"No, I meant about Yami. I asked you in you were worried about HIM."
Setsuna's blush turned brighter. "Y-Yami? Oh... sure! Sure I am! I mean, I don't want him to go into depression or anything if we can't find Yugi... I mean..."
Himoko began to giggle uncontrollably. "What?" Setsuna inquired, annoyed.
"I think you're sweet on someone," Himoko whispered.
Setsuna gave her a doubtful look but the blush remained on her coffee-colored face.
"I think you've got a thing for Yami," Himoko tried again.
"Wha?! I do not! I am SO out of here!"
Setsuna jumped up from her chair and strode off to re-start preparing dinner. 'Me, have a thing for Yami? How ridiculous!' she thought haughtily. Still, a nagging voice in the back of mind thought Himoko may be right.
Himoko stood up and stared after Setsuna, her raven-black hair framing a broad smile on her face. "Maybe you should tell him!" she shouted after the Hebrew Shadow Gamer. "I bet he feels the same for you, but he doesn't know how to say it! You've gotta claim him for yourself! C'mon, he's probably already yours, trust me!"
Setsuna looked over her shoulder and shook her head. "Adonai, Adonai!" she gasped as if irritated. What no one heard but the rain and wind was her final joyful shout of "Praise the Lord!"
***
Yugi rolled mumbled something in his sleep. He could hear soft voices whispering around him. Slowly he opened his violet eyes and saw flames flickering besides him. As his vision cleared, he was able to make out Hikaru and Bakura talking by the fire. He sat up with a groan.
Hikaru turned at the sound of his voice. "Yugi-chan!" she cried happily. "You're awake! I mean - you're alive!"
"Y-yeah... so I am," Yugi replied, confused. "What happened?"
"You were struck by lightning, mate," Bakura answered, an irritated note in his voice. "You're lucky to be alive. Any normal person would be killed by that lightning, but you've got the Millennium Puzzle and it helped you out. But seriously, Yugi! You could have been killed! THINK before you leap next time!"
"That's right," Hikaru nodded.
"What're you talking for, Hikaru? You jumped in too!"
"At least I jumped in instead of FALLING in, Ryou-chan!"
Yugi laughed at Bakura and Hikaru's good-natured squabble. Then something struck him - he was no longer in most of his clothes. "Um... guys?" he asked meekly, blushing somewhat. "What - er - where... are my clothes?"
Hikaru turned red and a very self-conscious Bakura answered, "Well, uh, you were asleep but we had to get you out of those wet clothes or you might get pneumonia, so... Anyway your clothes are drying over there."
Yugi stood up and nodded, crawling over to his shirt. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Duel Monsters deck, flipping through the cards. He gave a sigh of relief. "None of them are ruined," he said cheerfully, holding up his Dark Magician. "Just a little wet around the edges."
The other two walked over to where Yugi was now sitting. Hikaru bent down to get a closer look at the card Yugi was holding. "Is the Dark Magician your favorite card?"
"Yes," Yugi replied. "Yami and I both love it and use it a lot."
"Kiara's favorite card is Dark Magician Girl," Hikaru said with a smile. "Figures since she's Yami's little sister."
Yugi looked at her, wide-eyed. "Isn't Dark Magician Girl your favorite card, too?"
Hikaru shook her head. "No... although I play it a lot. I guess you could say it's my favorite monster card, but my all-time favorite is... this." She pulled out a thin plastic card holder which had been pinned to the inside of her shirt. The card inside the see-through plastic was Change of Heart.
"Hey!" Bakura exclaimed. "That's Kerihk's and my favorite card!"
"Really?" Hikaru said in surprise. "That's so cool! We have the same favorite card!"
"It sure is," Bakura grinned warmly.
Yugi looked at the ground. 'Darnit,' he thought. 'One more reason for her to like Bakura better than me. I hate being jealous!'
"Yugi, did you hear me?" asked Hikaru.
"Huh? Nan - gomen nasai, nandatta?"
"I asked you why the Dark Magician is your favorite card."
Yugi thought for a moment. "I guess... because it reminds me of my grandfather. He put his heart into creating this deck, and when he gave it to me I could feel his heart in the cards. Dark Magician was always really special to me because sometimes I really felt like he could understand me." He laughed. "I know, it's weird, thinking a card could understand you, but I can't help it. I wonder if I'm losing it?"
Bakura smiled. "Change of Heart is my favorite because... of a lot of things. It kind of like me and Kerihk, one half light, the other half dark. It's like a yin-yang, it represents the balance of the world. You know... dark and light must be equal or the balance will come off kilter. Wherever there is light, darkness is nearby. You can never have one without the other. So I suppose it just makes me feel better when I feel like the world's turned its back on me. Bad times will come to an end, they just have to, like a circle..." His voice trailed off.
The other two stared at him as he gazed at the still falling rain outside the cave. They had had no idea Bakura was such a deep person. Hikaru looked at him in wonder, following the trail of his deep amber eyes. 'He has such beautiful eyes,' she thought. 'Beautiful but sad... they sort of scare me at times. He looks like he's been hurt in the past but tries to remain cheerful in spite of it. He's doing a good job of it too, but he can't fool me... it's MY job to figure these things out. Now, Yugi's another matter. He always seems so happy, but when he has to be serious he will be. Not like Takehiko who can't sit still to save his life. They're both so kind and caring...' Hikaru's lavender eyes widened when she realized what she was thinking. 'Yare! I don't believe this... I can't believe I have feelings for both of them! I've always promised myself I'd be loyal to one person who would wait for me... but now I have these two guys and until I figure out which one of them I love, I'm stuck... but what am I worrying for? I've saved myself. I haven't had my first kiss yet, and when I do, it will be the most wonderful, pure thing I've ever felt... because I'll be in love.'
Bakura tore his eyes away from the rain and wondered why Hikaru was looking so shamed and distant. "Douka shita no, Hikaru-chan?" he asked.
"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine, Ryou-chan," Hikaru said with a small smile. "Lessee... why is Change of Heart my favorite card? (A/N: cuz it's the authoress' favorite too.) You see, when I was just ending eighth grade, I had already been playing Duel Monsters for a while and I was supposedly the best duelist in Tôru." She laughed. "You know how biased people can be! Anyway, school was out for the summer and my friends - meaning Naoko, Tetsuya, and Ryoku - saw an advertisement for a Duel Monsters Tournament in Kyoto City - Walk-ins Welcome. Naturally we didn't think we could go because we were all the way in Okinawa - how were we supposed to get to Kyoto? Then, by some miracle, I won a trip for four to Kyoto in a drawing at a store. I was looking forward to participating in the tournament, but at the same time, I was so nervous. Every time I thought of the tournament I felt sick. My older brother Keikeru noticed this and on the day I was supposed to get on the plane, he slipped Change of Heart into my hand. He told me to keep it as a present from him. I told him I couldn't, that had been his first ever card, but he insisted I should have it. 'And when you play it you can think of me,' he told me. 'It represents to halves of the circle, Hikaru. Just imagine that one half is me and the other half is you, and I'll be dueling right along with you.' I won the Kyoto Tournament with that card and then I didn't use it again until I dueled Pegasus because of what it meant to me. I thought I should keep it safe, especially when Pegasus kidnapped Keikeru. It hit me when Pegasus and I were starting our duel - Keikeru gave me the card so we could be together even when we were in different dimensions. So I played it, and even though Pegasus and I were unable to finish our duel, I was still leading when we were interrupted."
She smiled though her eyes glistened with tears. "Keikeru is my brother by adoption. Both my parents died when I was a baby, so I can't remember them at all. I spent seven years in an orphanage until Takashi Katsura came to adopt me... when I met Keikeru. So we're not relatives by blood... but we love each other like we were. Siblings by heart, that's what really counts. That's why I love this card, because I love the person who gave it to me. I miss him so much." She began to sob quietly.
Yugi and Bakura didn't know what to do at first. "That's beautiful, Hikaru-chan," Yugi said softly. "I know a little how you feel. When my parents died, I felt alone too. I was lucky my grandfather was still alive or I would have been in an orphanage too."
(A/N: I have recently discovered that Yugi's mother is alive, at least in the show, and she just works far from home and isn't home much. But that would sort of mess up the concept of this story so both of his parents are dead in this, okie-dokie? "Like a river flows... to the sea... so it goes... some things are meant to be...")
Bakura blew some hair out of his face. "I can relate, too," he spoke softly. "I guess everyone has someone they love. Even Pegasus loves Cyndia. For me, it was my little sister."
Yugi gasped. That picture in Bakura's room! The girl with Bakura must have been his little sister! But Yugi had never seen her around the house, why was that?
"I grew up in Australia," Bakura continued. "This was before my dad inherited all that money. Back then it was just me, my parents, and my little sister, Juri. She was only a year younger than me but we could have passed for twins. When I was about nine years old, my mother passed away because of cancer. I promised Juri we'd always stay together even when Dad started working constantly because of his grief." Tears filled his eyes. "But I couldn't keep that promise. Juri had been my best friend... the one person who loved me back after my mother's death... and then she too passed away. She needed a bone marrow transplant to live. I didn't have compatible marrow so I couldn't help her. Finally they found someone compatible but before they got to do the surgery... she passed away. I - I missed her more than I missed anyone else in my entire life.
"I couldn't accept my little sister's death. I was in denial about it for a little while, I couldn't even cry for her. Finally I let the truth sink in and I was sure I'd flood the house with my tears." Bakura held up his wrist, displaying a purple bracelet clasped around it. JURI was written in gold lettering on the band. "This was Juri's bracelet. We found it at one of those craft stores. It wasn't really meant to be a name... it was created for its meaning, 'acceptance.' It was coincidence that 'acceptance' in Japanese is 'Juri.' So we bought it for her, and when she died I took it for myself to remind me of her. It's been many years but I guess I haven't achieved 'juri-ness' myself... I still haven't completely accepted her death. But honestly, I should be counting my blessings, right?"
(A/N: WE ARE NEARING THE END OF CHAP 6! YES!)
Yugi put an arm around him as he wiped away his tears. Hikaru leaned on his shoulder and took his hand. "It's okay, Ryou-chan," she whispered. "We'll be here for you. Right, Yugi?"
"Of course," Yugi nodded.
Bakura smiled. "Doumo arigatou, otomodachi. I'll be there for you guys, too."
"Promise?"
The two boys looked at Hikaru, who had her small pinkie finger sticking out. "Promise me. We'll always be there for each other."
Yugi and Bakura smiled at each other and clasped their pinkies with Hikaru's. It was a done deal.
"And that means," Hikaru went on with a sly smile, "that Yugi has to call Ryou-chan by his first name!"
"N-nani?" Yugi gasped at Hikaru's sudden boldness. She giggled at the blush on Yugi's face. The small boy looked over at Bakura. "... Is that okay?"
Bakura's face was pink, but he was smiling. After the death of his sister he had always introduced himself as "Bakura." The last person outside of his family to call him by his first name was Malik, and then Hikaru. He sighed.
"Go ahead. I... I'd like that, really."
"OK then... Ryou."
They laughed in unison, feeling cheerful and light of heart. Maybe everything would be all right after all...
Suddenly the thunder boomed loudly and the covered their ears. A few minutes later, the lightning flashed. It looked like the storm was starting up again.
"C'mon," Bakura said, standing up. "Get back in your clothes. They're pretty dry now and it's bound to get cold now that the storm's begun again."
The other two nodded and slipped into their still damp clothing. Yugi shivered slightly at the memory of the lightning which had previously struck him.
"When will this storm let up?"
"Probably when that 'Iakara' decides she's had her fun and takes pity on us," Bakura said bitterly.
Hikaru watched the flames of the fire dance as she wrung the rest of the water out of her socks. 'It's so dark outside,' she thought to herself. 'I wonder -' /- when the sun will come out./
//Hikaru?!// Kiara's voice echoed like a wind chime in Hikaru's head.
/Kiara? Is that you?/ Hikaru asked excitedly.
//Of course it is, silly! I've been trying to get in touch with you for hours! I guess we must be nearing the area where you are!//
/What do you mean?/
//Kerihk's using the Millennium Ring to track down your Millennium Items, and it's working! We must be getting close if we can use our mental link again; Iakara had cut it off!//
/That's good news, right?/
//Of course it's good news! Now tell me, love, where exactly are you?//
/We're in a cave on an island. We made a fire. Yugi got struck by lightning but he's all right now, thanks to the Millennium Puzzle./
//That's a relief. Now I can tell Yami to stop worrying.//
/How's Takehiko-chan?/
//Still sick, but he's doing better. He blames himself for your disappearances, though.//
/Don't worry. We'll cheer him up when we get back./
//Roger that, chief. Over and out.//
/::giggles:: Over and out./
Hikaru turned to the boys. "Guys! I just talked to Kiara. She says they're nearing our island, so we can communicate again! We're nearly rescued!"
"YEAH!"
Just then, a bolt of lightning struck the cave. The ground began to quake as rocks began to tumble down. The kids gasped in fear and hurried out of the way as the rocks buried the fire and reduced it to cinders.
"We've got to get out of here!" Yugi shouted above the breaking rocks. "We'll be crushed if we don't! C'mon, get outside!"
No one asked questions. The trio quickly stumbled through the rubble and dashed out of the way, getting drenched all over again in the pouring rain. The raindrops were like knives. The chilliness of each droplet stung their arms and numbed them to the toes. They could hardly move as the cave began to collapse.
They each began to push against the cave, trying to make it fall the other way. It was their only chance!
Hikaru's muscles gave way. In her fear her tears mixed with the rain and she let go, slipping in a puddle and falling backwards into the waters below. The thunder rumbled above. Any moment now the lightning would strike again.
Bakura left his post to clutch Hikaru's hand before she was washed away. "DERRRRAUUUGHH!!!" he groaned as he tried to hang onto the rocks with one hand and keep himself and Hikaru out of the water. It was not working. He felt his grip weaken, and the next thing he knew, the rocks had crumbled under his palm and he was falling...
Someone grabbed his arm to keep him from falling. Hikaru sobbed in his arms. After taking a quick look to see if she was all right, he looked up at the cracking cliff to see who had saved him.
It was Yugi. Yugi Muto.
Yugi's face tensed and he moaned in pain as he tried to keep Bakura and Hikaru above the water and stay on the cliff side himself. He winced as he pulled the muscle in his arm, but he wouldn't give up.
"Yugi, don't!" Hikaru cried. "You'll fall in too if you keep this up, and then we'll all be goners!"
"I know you believe in the whole 'power of the heart' thing, Yugi, but not even that can help us now!" Bakura pleaded with Yugi to let them go. "I don't want it to take you, too! The tide is too much for any of us!"
Yugi shook his head, scared witless yet unwilling to surrender. "NO! I'll never let you go! We're a team! One for all and all for one! We've GOT to hold together, it's our DESTINY to be together! We can't do this alone! NO ONE should be alone! Remember our promise? We'll always be there for each other! I WON'T LET YOU DOWN!"
Yugi closed his eyes, his brow furrowed in both hope and desperation. He silently prayed, 'I can't let anything happen to them. I've already lost too many friends. Jonouchi... Anzu... Honda... and the other three... We've just gotten to know each other! It can't end like this!
'I don't want anyone to get hurt. I don't want any more suffering, or any more tears. But most of all... I WANT THE POWER TO HELP MY FRIENDS!"
Bakura and Hikaru's eyes widened as Yugi's Millennium Puzzle began to glow with a bright yellow light, engulfing everything around them. It was so bright and the light hurt their eyes so they quickly squeezed them shut... Suddenly they were whisked out of the water just before the lightning struck. They found themselves safe on the ground.
Bakura realized Yugi was still holding his arm, but the touch was different now. He opened his eyes and found Yugi staring, wide-eyed, at the bracers now clasped to his arms. They were golden, with a ruby gem in the center of the wrist and they glimmered with the light of the Puzzle.
Hikaru, ironically, was the first to recover. "Yugi!" she exclaimed, running over to him. "That was amazing! What happened back there?"
"I'm not sure," Yugi answered, still staring at the bracers. "I was wishing really hard for the power to save you guys, and then..." He shrugged as the bracers disappeared, their light returning to the safety of the Puzzle. "Huh? They're gone now..."
Bakura hugged his friend. "Your wish for our safety was a selfless wish," he said mysteriously. Hikaru thought the voice didn't sound completely like his own. "That's why you were able to tap into the Power of the Wish."
"Wha-" Yugi began, confused, but Bakura had released him and was staring out to sea, back to normal. The rain was suddenly clearing up, another consequence of the Puzzle's power. He cupped his hand over his eyes to shade them in the sudden sunlight, smiling as its warm rays strengthened his numbed limbs.
"Look!" he gasped, pointing to an object coming their way. Hikaru and Yugi shrieked in delight when they realized the object was none other than their own ship, the "St. Kaiba."
***
"Guys! You're alive!" Takehiko flung himself around the tallest of the three (Bakura) even though he was wetter than wet. "I'm so happy! And so sorry!"
"It's... it's okay, Takehiko," Bakura replied, gasping for air. "No... really, you can let go now. We're fine."
Bakura, Yugi, and Hikaru were back on the boat, having been rescued by Yami, Kerihk, and Kiara who had traveled out in a life boat to help them. The three yamis (even Kerihk) had been hysterical when they were finally reunited - not that the hikaris had been any different. Now, they were each snuggled in towels (except Bakura who was presently pinned to the floor by Takehiko) and being taken to the kitchen to warm up.
Over hot cocoa and a dinner (at last) of cheese sandwiches, they explained their adventures in the cave to the rest of the group, leaving out most of their conversations, which they considered a secret between the three of them. The only thing Kiara found different was how Yugi always referred to Bakura as Ryou now, but Yami was more concerned with the power Yugi had discovered with his Millennium Puzzle.
"You wished hard enough, and then the bracers just appeared?" he said, befuddled.
"That's right," Yugi nodded. "Ryou said something about tapping the Power of the Wish. Didn't you, Ryou?"
Bakura gave him an odd look and made no response.
Kaiba sprang to his feet. "Well guys, it's been a long day. I say we turn in for the night. Ay and Taidu said they will take shifts trying to get the ship back on track, but the rest of us should go -"
"- Catch some Z's," Mokuba finished, giggling at the annoyed glare his brother shot him.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Hikaru said, happy to be among friends. "Let's get some shut-eye."
Makimura was looking out the window, watching the sun go down. Now something caught the attention of her ten-year-old green eyes.
"Hey, everybody! We're heading right for a huge land mass!" she exclaimed.
"What? Who's driving this thing?" Ay and Taidu said together as they jumped to their feet. They exchanged a glance at the other's voice. "Uh-oh..."
"EVERYBODY GET DOWN! HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!" Kaiba instructed loudly, grabbing Mokuba and preparing for impact. Ro and Makimura did the same, and everyone else grabbed the person nearest to them and ducked. Somehow Bakura, Hikaru, and Yugi managed to stay together but Kerihk found himself with one arm thrown over Yami, protecting the former pharaoh from the collision. What's more, it had been complete instinct, which only ticked off the tomb robber even more.
They had just enough time to get into their positions when the boat crashed against the land, breaking into splinters. It was a loud, ear-splitting noise and many of the things in the kitchen came falling on top of the crew.
Finally it ended. Shoving a chair off himself and Takehiko, Ahmose stood up and helped his hikari to his feet. "Is everyone all right?"
Bakura groaned and rubbed his back; as the tallest of the three he had taken on more than the other two. Misaki and Tali nodded, Kiara and Himoko mumbled a "yes," rubbing their heads where the broken hot cocoa mugs had landed, and Kaiba and Ro stood up, both carrying their younger siblings to show they were all right. Ai was hanging on to Setsuna who was clutching her hikari like it were life or death. Taidu, Ay, and Dajan were squashed behind the table but that was quickly resolved when Setsuna (using her super-strength) tore it apart and let them out. Kerihk stood up, Yami supporting himself on Kerihk's shoulder. Quickly realizing what he was doing, the pharaoh immediately let go and both blushed.
"Th-thanks," Yami said with a smile. "For - for helping me."
Kerihk himself looked surprised at what he had done, but he seemed even more surprised when he heard himself answering, "No big deal. Are you okay?"
"Fine." Yugi didn't think Yami's face could go any redder.
Mokuba interrupted the awkward moment with a cry of, "Hey, we've landed! Boy, is it ever pretty! Isn't it pretty, Seto? Can we go see? Onegai?"
"No harm in taking a look, I suppose," Taidu said, brushing herself off.
Together the group trooped out of the ship and on the land. It really was beautiful. The trees were tall and green; the grass soft and lush with colorful flowers scattered everywhere. By the shore the ocean lay, big and blue and vast.
While Ai took Mokuba and Makimura to scout out the area, Kaiba, Yami, Ay, and Ro stayed behind to check over the boat.
"It's taken quite a lot of damage," Yami observed.
"Damage? It's completely destroyed!" Kaiba kicked a splinter of wood on the ground. "One thousand dollars down the drain."
"It got us to our destination, right?" Ay, the boat expert, couldn't find any way to disagree with the CEO so he pointed out the faithfulness of the vessel instead. "It was good while it lasted."
"Just where are we, anyhow?" inquired Ro.
That was a good question, and one that Kiara was willing to answer. She spread her angel-like wings and took off high into the air, scanning the area. A few minutes later the princess returned with news.
"From what I could tell, we're still in Duelist Kingdom," she said as she landed and made her wings disappear. "We must have landed on a different island, though. That castle is huge but I couldn't see it anywhere when I flying. It was supposed to be within sight from the air where we were supposed to land."
"That means we must have drifted towards the west of our determined stop," Yami said.
"Great," Kaiba sighed as Misaki wandered towards the discouraged five. "We're stranded on an island far away from our 'vacation' spot with no way of returning. This is so great."
"All I can say to you, Seto Kaiba, is..." Misaki took a deep breath, stared at the ground, and finished with a shrug...
"Merry Christmas?"
Angel: FINALLY I'M DONE! Wasn't that good? Huh? Huh? Wasn't it? It's 27 pages long! But that's just cuz it's double-spaced thanks to stupid ff.net rules. Oh, well. At least most .txt documents don't get their triple periods turned to single periods.
Yugi: Eh?
Angel: Never mind. Guess what? CardCaptor Sakura, Master of the Clow is out and it rocks! For those of you who don't know, that's the second series of the CCS manga. YUE IS SO KAWAII!!!
Yami: I thought you liked ME!
Angel (ignores Yami): I NEED FEEBACK! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!!!
Yami Bakura: NO DON'T!!! SHE'S MAKING ME BE A SISSY!
Angel: Cannit! Now YOU can do the translations, Yami B!
Yami Bakura: ::scratches head:: Yami B?
From the Desk of Yami Bakura, aka Kerihk:
oi - hey
baka - idiot
nan desu ka - what is it?
aibyou - pet
kiki - crisis; also Takehiko's nickname for Hikaru! ^-^
c'est la vie - "well, that's life, that's how it is" in French
Adonai - Hebrew for "God"
gomen nasai - I'm very sorry
nandatta - what did you say?
yare - oh! ah! oh dear! dear me! aah! thank God!
doumo arigatou - thank you very much
otomodachi - friends
nani - what?
CHARACTER OF THE DAY:
Today's Character of the Day is Dajan Hada, age 15 (I wanted to do Yami but I'm finishing this up at 11:10 at night and my sisters are yelling at me to go asleep and I'm too tired to write anything good so I'm focusing on a minor character). Dajan is Takehiko Midori's cousin, and he loves the water. Naturally swimming in his favorite sport. His love of the sea is a consequence of his ocean-loving yami, the sailor Ay. Dajan bears the Millennium Key which can unlock any lock. He found the key in his uncle's desk and was allowed to keep it even when he went on the Duelist Kingdom journey to cheer Takehiko on.
Dajan is relatively quiet and reserved in persona. He loves his cousin very much as they are like best friends. He isn't exactly a coward but he always thinks before he leaps and doesn't like going into danger for no plain reason. He likes cut-and-dry answers and doesn't appreciate mystery, being content with a pool and a tall glass of lemonade on a hot summer afternoon. Still, he's a great friend and will always come through for his friends if they need him. Undoubtably his Millennium Key will come in handy as we journey on.
Next time: Chapter Seven, Yami Musouka (as told by Bakura): OK, don't you agree with me that all my dreams were weird? Well, I think they were. And now that we're on this strange island, they just get weirder as they come true! That's right, COME TRUE! We need help or we'll all die, and it's all my fault! I've got to stop this, but I can't do it alone! Wait a moment, who's the weird guy in black coming our way? Er, Yugi, I think we should get outta here... AHHH!!! *wakes up* Um... why am I on a Duel Monsters board?
The YGO Gang: WAU! SHE WROTE A SHORT AUTHOR'S NOTE!
Angel: Ok, ok! I get it already!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh but I do own Ahmose, Setsuna, Kiara, Rachel Lampa (kidding)... etc.
" " - talking
' ' - thinking
/ - Any Hikari talking to his or her Yami in his or her mind
// - Any Yami talking to his or her Hikari in his or her mind
Hikari No Yuugi
Play of Light
by Angel
Chapter Six Part Two: Chuukin Omoide
Casting Memories
Kaiba, Mokuba, Ro, Makimura, and the hikaris were hanging out in the kitchen of the boat, having "fun" making dinner - or, at least, attempting to.
"Takehiko!" Dajan whined. "You're not doing it right! You don't cut meat in triangles like that to make sandwiches, you do it in straight lines!"
"If you're so clever, YOU do it then!" Takehiko yelled, throwing down the knife and wiping his hands on his apron. Grumbling, he joined Misaki and Tali, who were putting butter and mayonnaise on bread.
Bakura chuckled. It didn't really matter to him if his meat was cut in triangles or squares, just as long as he had something in his stomach. He looked out the window. The sky was darkening with great black clouds. He could still see blue sky farther out to sea.
Wait a moment. Houston, we have a problem.
Those clouds... they seemed to be trailing the boat, as if pulled by a magnetic force. He heard a rumble of thunder and grimaced. Something was not right.
"Yugi? Oi Yugi-kun, are you okay?" Hikaru called. Bakura blushed ever so slightly at the sound of her sweet voice and turned to see why she was asking Yugi if he was all right.
Yugi, who had been loading his sandwich with tomatoes and lettuce, was now bent over the table, a brilliant smile of his face. Takehiko too, Bakura noted, seemed head-over-heels happy for some reason.
"Yugi-chan? Are you in there? Earth to Yugi!" Hikaru chimed again.
Yugi's violet eyes opened. "Yami is gone from my mind," he said softly. "It's like he's unconscious or asleep or something... but I know nothing's wrong because he's so happy that it's reflecting into me..."
"Same here," Takehiko said with a large grin replacing the scowl he had been wearing when Dajan scolded him for cutting the meat wrong. "Ahmose is awake but all he's saying is 'Uh-huh... everything's wonderful... this is so right...'"
Hikaru closed her eyes and seemed to zone out on the rest of the group. It was obvious she was speaking to her own yami.
/Yo, Kiara?/
//Yes, my light?//
/D'you know what Yami and Ahmose are up to?/
Giggles from Kiara's end. //Oh, they're all right. Tell Yugi and Takehiko not to worry. Everything's fine on deck.//
/That's good to know, but Takehiko and Yugi, I think, already know that Yami and Ahmose are all right. I mean, they're practically immobile from ecstasy./
Kiara laughed and closed the link.
Bakura smiled at his friends who were now on the floor laughing and joking about what situation Yami and Ahmose could possibly be in that would cause such an uproar. Then his conscience chastised him and urged him to ask Kerihk about those storm clouds.
/Kerihk, what is it with those storm clouds? Don't you think you and the other yamis ought to come inside before it pours?/
//...//
/Kerihk?/
//...//
/ANSWER ME! ONEGAI!/
//OK! No need to shout, baka! ... But I think it's you guys who should get out here, make sure you get Taidu and Ay out of the steering area... Ay knows a lot about the sea, he might know something about the danger of these storms, but I think Taidu will be more needed out here. Man, what a great time for the Pharaoh to fall asleep... fat lot of good that'll do...//
/Nan desu ka? Daijobu desu ka?/
//Daijobu desu! Now get going!//
Bakura's heart thumped in his chest in fear. He turned to his friends. "I just talked to Kerihk," he said breathlessly. "He needs us to get out there, with Ay and Taidu... something about the storm being dangerous. He says Yami's asleep too, so we need you up there, Yugi-chan."
The other hikaris stared at him for a split second; then they nodded and darted off in different directions, some heading for the upper deck, Misaki and Kaiba heading for the steering area (a/n: sue me, I don't know any boat terms at all) to get Taidu and Ay - that is, after Kaiba and Ro made Mokuba and Makimura promise not to come outside.
(A/N: "I stand in the light of faith... I thank you in so many ways... ... and I'm getting closer to perfection cause of you!" Thank you, thank you! Readers: Encore! Encore! Bravo! NOW GET ON WITH IT! Me: And for my next number - Readers: ARRRGGGHHH!)
Yugi ran up to the deck. The harsh wind howled and blew his hair aggressively every which way. The black clouds blocked out any light from the sun. Soon the rain would come down. He followed the other hikaris as they joined Kerihk to find out what the heck was wrong.
Hardly a minute passed between thunder and lightning when Taidu, Ay, Kaiba, and Misaki emerged from the steering room. They had crossed paths half-way down the corridor because Taidu had sensed something was up.
"What's going on?" Kaiba asked over the wind, pulling his coat tighter around his body for warmth.
"We're not sure yet," Kerihk yelled back, glancing up at the sky. "But it's not good."
"It's just a storm, right?" Ai inquired worriedly. "N-nothing to worry about, right?"
No reply from Bakura's yami, which just made the group even more nervous (a/n: hence Kiara's phrase from last chapter: "Beware the silence of a white-haired man; it may be a sign that darkness is at hand." LOL!).
Lightning flashed and thunder rolled. Taidu joined Kerihk in glaring at the gray-black ether. The clouds were large and ominous, yet something was... almost familiar about them.
"Where is the Pharaoh?" she asked of Kerihk.
"With Ahmose, asleep by the cargo entry," Kerihk answered, "but why -"
Taidu dashed off to find Yami and Ahmose, ignoring the bewildered look on her hikari's face. Tali shook her head, her wavy auburn hair blowing in the wind. She said to Misaki, "I wish someone would just give me a straight answer for once." Misaki agreed.
Ro turned to Kaiba. "Seto, I think we should take the sails," he advised. Kaiba nodded and called out for super-strong Setsuna to help out. The three of them and Kerihk went off together, leaving the hikaris and Ay alone.
They weren't alone for very long. In the blink of an eye, Taidu returned with Ahmose and Yami just as the rain began to drizzle on the kids. Although he had been asleep, Yami was now alert and ready for action. You couldn't tell he had been tired in the least.
Taidu pointed to something in the air and the other two looked up with her. "Does it remind you of her?" she asked, obviously continuing a conversation they had begun before.
Yami wiped raindrops off his face. "You're right," he answered gravely. "It does look just like her storm clouds. I sensed someone's aura just before the storm started; it may have been hers. Let's ask Kiara, she's the expert."
"There's no time," Ay interrupted, joining them. "Who do you suppose caused this? Is it who I think it is?"
"That depends, who do you think it is?" Ahmose hissed as the rain began to come down harder. He'd always hated water... that was why his power was fire.
Taidu's dark brown eyes narrowed. "Iakara."
The four yamis exchanged a dark look.
"Iakara?" Tali asked, rushing up through the rain to Taidu's side. "Who is Iakara, pray tell?"
"One of Pegasus's gamers," Taidu answered. "She has power over storms."
Gasps all around. "Well, that isn't good," Yugi gulped.
The rain was really pouring now. Himoko and Kiara had joined Kaiba, Ro, Kerihk, and Setsuna as they took in the sails. The storm raged all around them, knocking the boat back and forth. Now it was the hikaris turn to feel sick.
A gigantic wave crashed against the boat. Kaiba let out a yell when some of the supplies fell overboard. Ro dashed off to tell the others.
"Guys, we need to hold our ground!" he cried when he found the hikaris and the four yamis. "The rations are falling over the side! C'mon, let's get going!"
"Right!" the others answered.
Dajan was just about to follow them when he realized Takehiko had stayed behind. "Hey Tak, you okay?" he asked, wincing when the thunder boomed above.
Takehiko couldn't answer. Dajan realized his cousin was really seasick. The biggest difference between Dajan and Takehiko was his love of the sea and Takehiko's hatred of it. Dajan called out for Ahmose and Ay.
"I need help over here!" he shouted. "Takehiko's gotten so seasick, he's got cramps! He can't stay out here!"
In a flash Ahmose and Ay had returned and helped the invalid to his feet. "C'mon, now," Ahmose said soothingly, though he didn't like the storm to much either. "Try to think of something else."
But all Takehiko could think of was the wind and the bouncing boat, and the churning, sick feeling in his stomach...
Uh-oh.
In an adrenaline rush Takehiko pulled out of the other three's grip and darted to the side of the boat to vomit.
It really was bad timing to be sick. A humongous wave came crashing down on the boat at that very instant. The last thing Takehiko heard was Yami's call of "BRACE YOURSELVES!" before he found himself falling into the sea. He emerged coughing and sputtering, finally managing to shout, "HELP! I STINK AT SWIMMING! HELLLPPP!"
"Oh no!" Dajan cried in dismay. "Takehiko overboard! He can barely swim in our eight-feet-deep pool, let alone the sea in a storm!"
"Iakara!" screamed Taidu, her voice echoing through the air. "Show yourself!"
The next sound of thunder seemed like a laugh of "Yeah, right!" coming from Iakara.
Hikaru and Kiara had fallen against each other when the wave forced them to hit the side of the boat. With Kiara (who had taken most of the impact) in a bit of a daze and Hikaru in a jumpy, fearful mood, Hikaru stood up to see where Takehiko was in the water. "TAKEHIKO!" she shrieked when she saw his blond head bobbing up and down in the waves. Forgetting where she was and everything else, Hikaru clambered onto the edge of the boat and dove into the sea.
Just as Hikaru jumped, Kiara's world stopped spinning. "Hikaru, aibyou, no!" she cried, trying to grab the girl. It was too late. Hikaru went plummeting into the waters.
"HIKARU!" Yugi yelled in shock.
"I'll go get a rope!" Bakura shouted to the others. "Hold on, guys!"
The female yamis were huddled into a bunch, trying to keep Kiara from jumping in the water herself. All Setsuna could think was, "If Yugi jumps in, Yami will too, and then we're done for."
Yugi watched as Hikaru swam towards Takehiko and attempted to hold him above the water. She was a good swimmer, but not good enough to fight that storm. Someone had to help her!
Suddenly Hikaru and Takehiko both disappeared under the water. Yugi cried out and dove in the water himself.
Boy, was Setsuna ever right about Yami's reaction! The former pharaoh had been helping Bakura haul the long rope on deck when he heard Yugi's cry. Still carrying his end of the rope, Yami ran on deck shouting for him to stop.
He too was too late. Yugi sailed through the water and grabbed Hikaru's hand, yanking her up to get air. Yugi could tell Hikaru wasn't strong enough to hold Takehiko alone; after all, he was much taller than either of the two sea-shrimps. He grabbed Takehiko's other arm and all three worked to stay where they could breathe even though huge waves kept toppling on them, drenching them more every time. Their shoes were filling with water... if only they could kick them off they might be able to stay up easier...
Hikaru sank back under for a split second. This time Takehiko was able to pull her back out. "Oh, Kiki!" he said, using his special nickname for her. "Trouble follows you like bees!"
"And seasickness follows you like hornets," Hikaru retorted.
"Yugi!" shouted Yami. "Hold on down there, we've got the rope!" He and Bakura tossed it over the side and Yami tied the other end to the nearest pole.
Bakura tried to fling the rope closer to the fallen three. "C'MON!" he shouted about the warring wind and rain. "GRAB HOLD!"
"You first, Takehiko," Yugi said once he reached the rope. Takehiko took it gratefully and began climbing up.
Another wave came upon the distressed ship, one more gigantic than the rest. Bakura didn't notice it in time and when its impact took effect, he too was tossed over the side.
"Bakura! You too?" Yugi said in grave surprise when Bakura joined them in the sea. "H-hi there, guys!" Bakura laughed nervously.
"I don't see what's so funny," Hikaru grumbled. "We're being driven away from the rope!"
It was true. Takehiko had managed to keep hold of the rope but the others hadn't been so lucky as they drifted further off to sea.
"This can't get any worse!" Kerihk cried as he watched his hikari fight against the storm.
"Yes it can," Ay corrected. "Say that lightning strikes now. What then? They'll be goners!"
"Thanks for the comfort," Kerihk murmured.
Ahmose had been helping Takehiko back on the boat. Now that his hikari was safe, he could look elsewhere for a way to save the other three... He gasped when he caught Yami in his sight. Fire burned in the great pharaoh's eyes. He hadn't tried it yet, but if Ahmose didn't hurry he'd fling himself into the sea as well.
"OH, NO YOU DON'T!" Ahmose cried, grabbing Yami by the arms and pulling him to the ground. They landed hard on the deck and hit their heads, but even so Yami continued to struggle and Ahmose tightened his grip.
Yugi could hardly see with the rain and the waves blocking his field of vision. He could hear Bakura still shouting "HELP! WE'RE STILL OUT HERE, YOU KNOW!" and Hikaru nearby crying and coughing. They had to get out of the water before the lightning struck!
Bakura closed his eyes. There was no point in keeping them open now - it just made things worse. "Everybody hold hands!" he cried, feeling for his friends' drenched hands. He found Hikaru's quickly enough and she yelled that she had Yugi's, so at least they were all together now. He opened his eyes to see just how close they were to each other, then closed them again and turned his head the other direction. Something compelled him to open his eyes and look directly at the area his head was turned, through the rain and waves. To his astonishment, there was stretch of land just there, with a cave nearby!
"There's land over there!" Bakura shouted. "Come on! We've gotta swim to it, it's our only chance! And don't let go of each other's hands!"
A nod from Yugi and a sob from Hikaru were all he received in reply. They kicked their legs as hard as they could though their energy was almost spent. Even when another wave separated them from one another, they still pressed on.
'We're almost there,' Hikaru kept telling herself. 'Just a little further... we'll be fine, we'll be okay... we're almost there...'
Bakura reached the land first. He grabbed hold of the nearest rock outcropping and clambered on the land. He didn't waste time trying to catch his breath; instead he reached out his hand and instructed, "Climb up here, you two! Give me your hand, Hikaru!"
Hikaru reached out to grab Bakura's hand. She couldn't quite reach and had to painfully hold on to his middle and index fingers with one hand. The water sprayed her face, but Bakura quickly threw out his other hand and managed to pull her in.
It had been a while since the last lightning had appeared. It was probably nearly time for another bolt to strike... Desperately Bakura scanned the area for Yugi. He finally spotted him clinging for dear life to another rock sticking out from the mysterious land mass.
"Stay here, Hikaru," Bakura said to the sobbing, shivering girl by his side. He then darted around the rocks to reach Yugi, who was trying to pull himself out the water.
And then...
... the lightning struck.
"Yugi... wake up... please wake up," Hikaru begged, staring at the limp form of Yugi Muto lying in the cave beside her. After Yugi was electrocuted by the lightning, Bakura had snatched him out of the water and dragged him into the cave followed by Hikaru. They had made a fire and were now taking off their soaked clothes. (A/N: *cough cough* They left their pants on and Hikaru left her sleeveless-shirt on - she had a pink jacket on top of it). Bakura placed his, Hikaru's, and Yugi's clothes by the fire to dry. He wished he had some marshmallows as he heard his stomach growling.
Hikaru looked down at the small boy just her size. He had risked everything to save her... "Please be all right, Yugi," she whispered gently, planting a small kiss on his forehead.
(A/N: "When you turn around... all the tears will dry... whatever was lost will be found... in the blink of an eye!" *smiles sheepishly* It's been a while... *gulp* we are now at sixteen pages... hope I'm not boring you to death...)
Bakura's heart sank when he saw Hikaru do this. He had trouble admitting it even to himself, but he had quite a big crush on the petite, brown-haired beauty, but he had no idea how she felt about him. It was too easy for anyone to fall in love with Hikaru because she could make just about anybody think she was in love with them. It was just her nature. Bakura didn't think the girl knew HOW to hate.
(A/N: Darnit. I just dropped water on my laptop... I've been writing since one p.m. with one half hour break for lunch and chores and now it's 5:40 and I'm on my fifth glass of water and I'm starting to get finger cramps.)
Hikaru shivered and moved closer to the fire. It was still storming outside. She wondered if Kiara and the others were all right. The storm broke any connections between the hikaris and their yamis so they couldn't even give their rescuers directions to their cave.
She sighed. It would be a long night.
***
The yamis, the remaining hikaris, Kaiba, Mokuba, Ro, and Makimura sat around the table in the shelter of the boat. The storm had lessened, but it was still raining really hard outside, and though the lightning was less frequent, it was still there.
"What are we going to do?" asked Misaki.
"Hikaru, Yugi, and Bakura could be miles away by now," Dajan added. "They might... not even be alive anymore..."
It was a dark and gloomy prospect, but it seemed very likely. The most probable solution would be they drowned.
"They might have washed to one of the small rock islands near the main areas of Duelist Kingdom," Ro said hopefully.
Kaiba shook his head. "If they made it without getting electrocuted, it would be a miracle. They disappeared from our sight within five minutes of that lightning, so obviously they had less than five minutes to get ashore."
"But there is still a possibility they DID make it," Kiara put in breathlessly. "I didn't go into Hikaru's soul room itself - our connection was cut off by Iakara. But I DID go into the - um - the Hall of Colors and I know she's alive because the hall way was a greenish-yellow color, not black."
Nobody but the hikaris and yamis understood what Kiara was talking about, but they accepted it without comment. (A/N: If you can't remember about the "Hall of Colors" and don't want to accept it without comment, then go read chapter three again when Yami and Ahmose decide to take Takehiko and Yugi to the nurse. Yugi talks about his soul room and this area is mentioned after the line "Yep, he was pretty set if he ever needed to let Yami have total control for a while." One more thing - I'm on glass number six now. Man, is it hot!)
"How COULD they make it, though?" Tali asked. "It doesn't make any sense!"
Ai pulled her sopping air back in a high ponytail, Setsuna following the suit with a low one. "C'est la vie," Ai replied, seating Makimura on her lap and playing with her hair.
"Har har."
Yami had been extremely quiet ever since Yugi's disappearance. He was trying to think of ways to help the kids, but when he had entered his own "Hall of Colors" as Kiara put it, though it hadn't been black, it had been rainbow-colored, indicating that Yugi was unconscious, which worried Yami greatly.
Suddenly Kerihk slapped himself. "Of course! What an idiot I am! I know how we can find them!"
Everyone stared at him. Kerihk took this as a plead to continue.
"Well, Bakura and I have the Millennium Ring, right?" he asked rhetorically. "One of its uses is tracking other Millennium Items. If we get in range of where we last saw them, maybe the Ring will respond to Bakura and the other two because of their Millennium Items."
Kiara squealed and flung herself around a very startled Kerihk, speaking praises in Egyptian that made the other yamis smile. Yami actually smiled and said it was a great idea.
"It will take us off-course," Ay said, "but it's worth it to save those three kids. I'm getting kind of fond of them." Dajan giggled.
Kerihk, Yami, and Kiara went on deck to see when the Ring would light up. Ay and Taidu went back to the steering room to bring the ship back near where they lost the hikaris.
Setsuna watched them go, her gaze trailing Yami in particular. Kiara was speaking soothing words to him in Egyptian, reassuring him that everything would be all right. He responded also in his native tongue by saying something that caused Kiara to laugh outright. Well, at least he wasn't totally depressed anymore, but what would he do if they couldn't find Yugi?
Kerihk told them to hurry up and Kiara dashed up the stairs, still laughing. Yami followed, his golden bangs blowing from the force of the wind when Kerihk opened the hatch. Man, he looked hot...
"Setsuna?" Setsuna jumped at the sound of Himoko's voice and cocked her head quizzically.
Himoko had a mischievous smile on her face. "I asked you if you were worried," she said, repeating her question.
"Huh? Oh, of course I'm worried," Setsuna covered, turning cherry red. "I sure hope they get back all right."
"No, I meant about Yami. I asked you in you were worried about HIM."
Setsuna's blush turned brighter. "Y-Yami? Oh... sure! Sure I am! I mean, I don't want him to go into depression or anything if we can't find Yugi... I mean..."
Himoko began to giggle uncontrollably. "What?" Setsuna inquired, annoyed.
"I think you're sweet on someone," Himoko whispered.
Setsuna gave her a doubtful look but the blush remained on her coffee-colored face.
"I think you've got a thing for Yami," Himoko tried again.
"Wha?! I do not! I am SO out of here!"
Setsuna jumped up from her chair and strode off to re-start preparing dinner. 'Me, have a thing for Yami? How ridiculous!' she thought haughtily. Still, a nagging voice in the back of mind thought Himoko may be right.
Himoko stood up and stared after Setsuna, her raven-black hair framing a broad smile on her face. "Maybe you should tell him!" she shouted after the Hebrew Shadow Gamer. "I bet he feels the same for you, but he doesn't know how to say it! You've gotta claim him for yourself! C'mon, he's probably already yours, trust me!"
Setsuna looked over her shoulder and shook her head. "Adonai, Adonai!" she gasped as if irritated. What no one heard but the rain and wind was her final joyful shout of "Praise the Lord!"
***
Yugi rolled mumbled something in his sleep. He could hear soft voices whispering around him. Slowly he opened his violet eyes and saw flames flickering besides him. As his vision cleared, he was able to make out Hikaru and Bakura talking by the fire. He sat up with a groan.
Hikaru turned at the sound of his voice. "Yugi-chan!" she cried happily. "You're awake! I mean - you're alive!"
"Y-yeah... so I am," Yugi replied, confused. "What happened?"
"You were struck by lightning, mate," Bakura answered, an irritated note in his voice. "You're lucky to be alive. Any normal person would be killed by that lightning, but you've got the Millennium Puzzle and it helped you out. But seriously, Yugi! You could have been killed! THINK before you leap next time!"
"That's right," Hikaru nodded.
"What're you talking for, Hikaru? You jumped in too!"
"At least I jumped in instead of FALLING in, Ryou-chan!"
Yugi laughed at Bakura and Hikaru's good-natured squabble. Then something struck him - he was no longer in most of his clothes. "Um... guys?" he asked meekly, blushing somewhat. "What - er - where... are my clothes?"
Hikaru turned red and a very self-conscious Bakura answered, "Well, uh, you were asleep but we had to get you out of those wet clothes or you might get pneumonia, so... Anyway your clothes are drying over there."
Yugi stood up and nodded, crawling over to his shirt. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Duel Monsters deck, flipping through the cards. He gave a sigh of relief. "None of them are ruined," he said cheerfully, holding up his Dark Magician. "Just a little wet around the edges."
The other two walked over to where Yugi was now sitting. Hikaru bent down to get a closer look at the card Yugi was holding. "Is the Dark Magician your favorite card?"
"Yes," Yugi replied. "Yami and I both love it and use it a lot."
"Kiara's favorite card is Dark Magician Girl," Hikaru said with a smile. "Figures since she's Yami's little sister."
Yugi looked at her, wide-eyed. "Isn't Dark Magician Girl your favorite card, too?"
Hikaru shook her head. "No... although I play it a lot. I guess you could say it's my favorite monster card, but my all-time favorite is... this." She pulled out a thin plastic card holder which had been pinned to the inside of her shirt. The card inside the see-through plastic was Change of Heart.
"Hey!" Bakura exclaimed. "That's Kerihk's and my favorite card!"
"Really?" Hikaru said in surprise. "That's so cool! We have the same favorite card!"
"It sure is," Bakura grinned warmly.
Yugi looked at the ground. 'Darnit,' he thought. 'One more reason for her to like Bakura better than me. I hate being jealous!'
"Yugi, did you hear me?" asked Hikaru.
"Huh? Nan - gomen nasai, nandatta?"
"I asked you why the Dark Magician is your favorite card."
Yugi thought for a moment. "I guess... because it reminds me of my grandfather. He put his heart into creating this deck, and when he gave it to me I could feel his heart in the cards. Dark Magician was always really special to me because sometimes I really felt like he could understand me." He laughed. "I know, it's weird, thinking a card could understand you, but I can't help it. I wonder if I'm losing it?"
Bakura smiled. "Change of Heart is my favorite because... of a lot of things. It kind of like me and Kerihk, one half light, the other half dark. It's like a yin-yang, it represents the balance of the world. You know... dark and light must be equal or the balance will come off kilter. Wherever there is light, darkness is nearby. You can never have one without the other. So I suppose it just makes me feel better when I feel like the world's turned its back on me. Bad times will come to an end, they just have to, like a circle..." His voice trailed off.
The other two stared at him as he gazed at the still falling rain outside the cave. They had had no idea Bakura was such a deep person. Hikaru looked at him in wonder, following the trail of his deep amber eyes. 'He has such beautiful eyes,' she thought. 'Beautiful but sad... they sort of scare me at times. He looks like he's been hurt in the past but tries to remain cheerful in spite of it. He's doing a good job of it too, but he can't fool me... it's MY job to figure these things out. Now, Yugi's another matter. He always seems so happy, but when he has to be serious he will be. Not like Takehiko who can't sit still to save his life. They're both so kind and caring...' Hikaru's lavender eyes widened when she realized what she was thinking. 'Yare! I don't believe this... I can't believe I have feelings for both of them! I've always promised myself I'd be loyal to one person who would wait for me... but now I have these two guys and until I figure out which one of them I love, I'm stuck... but what am I worrying for? I've saved myself. I haven't had my first kiss yet, and when I do, it will be the most wonderful, pure thing I've ever felt... because I'll be in love.'
Bakura tore his eyes away from the rain and wondered why Hikaru was looking so shamed and distant. "Douka shita no, Hikaru-chan?" he asked.
"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine, Ryou-chan," Hikaru said with a small smile. "Lessee... why is Change of Heart my favorite card? (A/N: cuz it's the authoress' favorite too.) You see, when I was just ending eighth grade, I had already been playing Duel Monsters for a while and I was supposedly the best duelist in Tôru." She laughed. "You know how biased people can be! Anyway, school was out for the summer and my friends - meaning Naoko, Tetsuya, and Ryoku - saw an advertisement for a Duel Monsters Tournament in Kyoto City - Walk-ins Welcome. Naturally we didn't think we could go because we were all the way in Okinawa - how were we supposed to get to Kyoto? Then, by some miracle, I won a trip for four to Kyoto in a drawing at a store. I was looking forward to participating in the tournament, but at the same time, I was so nervous. Every time I thought of the tournament I felt sick. My older brother Keikeru noticed this and on the day I was supposed to get on the plane, he slipped Change of Heart into my hand. He told me to keep it as a present from him. I told him I couldn't, that had been his first ever card, but he insisted I should have it. 'And when you play it you can think of me,' he told me. 'It represents to halves of the circle, Hikaru. Just imagine that one half is me and the other half is you, and I'll be dueling right along with you.' I won the Kyoto Tournament with that card and then I didn't use it again until I dueled Pegasus because of what it meant to me. I thought I should keep it safe, especially when Pegasus kidnapped Keikeru. It hit me when Pegasus and I were starting our duel - Keikeru gave me the card so we could be together even when we were in different dimensions. So I played it, and even though Pegasus and I were unable to finish our duel, I was still leading when we were interrupted."
She smiled though her eyes glistened with tears. "Keikeru is my brother by adoption. Both my parents died when I was a baby, so I can't remember them at all. I spent seven years in an orphanage until Takashi Katsura came to adopt me... when I met Keikeru. So we're not relatives by blood... but we love each other like we were. Siblings by heart, that's what really counts. That's why I love this card, because I love the person who gave it to me. I miss him so much." She began to sob quietly.
Yugi and Bakura didn't know what to do at first. "That's beautiful, Hikaru-chan," Yugi said softly. "I know a little how you feel. When my parents died, I felt alone too. I was lucky my grandfather was still alive or I would have been in an orphanage too."
(A/N: I have recently discovered that Yugi's mother is alive, at least in the show, and she just works far from home and isn't home much. But that would sort of mess up the concept of this story so both of his parents are dead in this, okie-dokie? "Like a river flows... to the sea... so it goes... some things are meant to be...")
Bakura blew some hair out of his face. "I can relate, too," he spoke softly. "I guess everyone has someone they love. Even Pegasus loves Cyndia. For me, it was my little sister."
Yugi gasped. That picture in Bakura's room! The girl with Bakura must have been his little sister! But Yugi had never seen her around the house, why was that?
"I grew up in Australia," Bakura continued. "This was before my dad inherited all that money. Back then it was just me, my parents, and my little sister, Juri. She was only a year younger than me but we could have passed for twins. When I was about nine years old, my mother passed away because of cancer. I promised Juri we'd always stay together even when Dad started working constantly because of his grief." Tears filled his eyes. "But I couldn't keep that promise. Juri had been my best friend... the one person who loved me back after my mother's death... and then she too passed away. She needed a bone marrow transplant to live. I didn't have compatible marrow so I couldn't help her. Finally they found someone compatible but before they got to do the surgery... she passed away. I - I missed her more than I missed anyone else in my entire life.
"I couldn't accept my little sister's death. I was in denial about it for a little while, I couldn't even cry for her. Finally I let the truth sink in and I was sure I'd flood the house with my tears." Bakura held up his wrist, displaying a purple bracelet clasped around it. JURI was written in gold lettering on the band. "This was Juri's bracelet. We found it at one of those craft stores. It wasn't really meant to be a name... it was created for its meaning, 'acceptance.' It was coincidence that 'acceptance' in Japanese is 'Juri.' So we bought it for her, and when she died I took it for myself to remind me of her. It's been many years but I guess I haven't achieved 'juri-ness' myself... I still haven't completely accepted her death. But honestly, I should be counting my blessings, right?"
(A/N: WE ARE NEARING THE END OF CHAP 6! YES!)
Yugi put an arm around him as he wiped away his tears. Hikaru leaned on his shoulder and took his hand. "It's okay, Ryou-chan," she whispered. "We'll be here for you. Right, Yugi?"
"Of course," Yugi nodded.
Bakura smiled. "Doumo arigatou, otomodachi. I'll be there for you guys, too."
"Promise?"
The two boys looked at Hikaru, who had her small pinkie finger sticking out. "Promise me. We'll always be there for each other."
Yugi and Bakura smiled at each other and clasped their pinkies with Hikaru's. It was a done deal.
"And that means," Hikaru went on with a sly smile, "that Yugi has to call Ryou-chan by his first name!"
"N-nani?" Yugi gasped at Hikaru's sudden boldness. She giggled at the blush on Yugi's face. The small boy looked over at Bakura. "... Is that okay?"
Bakura's face was pink, but he was smiling. After the death of his sister he had always introduced himself as "Bakura." The last person outside of his family to call him by his first name was Malik, and then Hikaru. He sighed.
"Go ahead. I... I'd like that, really."
"OK then... Ryou."
They laughed in unison, feeling cheerful and light of heart. Maybe everything would be all right after all...
Suddenly the thunder boomed loudly and the covered their ears. A few minutes later, the lightning flashed. It looked like the storm was starting up again.
"C'mon," Bakura said, standing up. "Get back in your clothes. They're pretty dry now and it's bound to get cold now that the storm's begun again."
The other two nodded and slipped into their still damp clothing. Yugi shivered slightly at the memory of the lightning which had previously struck him.
"When will this storm let up?"
"Probably when that 'Iakara' decides she's had her fun and takes pity on us," Bakura said bitterly.
Hikaru watched the flames of the fire dance as she wrung the rest of the water out of her socks. 'It's so dark outside,' she thought to herself. 'I wonder -' /- when the sun will come out./
//Hikaru?!// Kiara's voice echoed like a wind chime in Hikaru's head.
/Kiara? Is that you?/ Hikaru asked excitedly.
//Of course it is, silly! I've been trying to get in touch with you for hours! I guess we must be nearing the area where you are!//
/What do you mean?/
//Kerihk's using the Millennium Ring to track down your Millennium Items, and it's working! We must be getting close if we can use our mental link again; Iakara had cut it off!//
/That's good news, right?/
//Of course it's good news! Now tell me, love, where exactly are you?//
/We're in a cave on an island. We made a fire. Yugi got struck by lightning but he's all right now, thanks to the Millennium Puzzle./
//That's a relief. Now I can tell Yami to stop worrying.//
/How's Takehiko-chan?/
//Still sick, but he's doing better. He blames himself for your disappearances, though.//
/Don't worry. We'll cheer him up when we get back./
//Roger that, chief. Over and out.//
/::giggles:: Over and out./
Hikaru turned to the boys. "Guys! I just talked to Kiara. She says they're nearing our island, so we can communicate again! We're nearly rescued!"
"YEAH!"
Just then, a bolt of lightning struck the cave. The ground began to quake as rocks began to tumble down. The kids gasped in fear and hurried out of the way as the rocks buried the fire and reduced it to cinders.
"We've got to get out of here!" Yugi shouted above the breaking rocks. "We'll be crushed if we don't! C'mon, get outside!"
No one asked questions. The trio quickly stumbled through the rubble and dashed out of the way, getting drenched all over again in the pouring rain. The raindrops were like knives. The chilliness of each droplet stung their arms and numbed them to the toes. They could hardly move as the cave began to collapse.
They each began to push against the cave, trying to make it fall the other way. It was their only chance!
Hikaru's muscles gave way. In her fear her tears mixed with the rain and she let go, slipping in a puddle and falling backwards into the waters below. The thunder rumbled above. Any moment now the lightning would strike again.
Bakura left his post to clutch Hikaru's hand before she was washed away. "DERRRRAUUUGHH!!!" he groaned as he tried to hang onto the rocks with one hand and keep himself and Hikaru out of the water. It was not working. He felt his grip weaken, and the next thing he knew, the rocks had crumbled under his palm and he was falling...
Someone grabbed his arm to keep him from falling. Hikaru sobbed in his arms. After taking a quick look to see if she was all right, he looked up at the cracking cliff to see who had saved him.
It was Yugi. Yugi Muto.
Yugi's face tensed and he moaned in pain as he tried to keep Bakura and Hikaru above the water and stay on the cliff side himself. He winced as he pulled the muscle in his arm, but he wouldn't give up.
"Yugi, don't!" Hikaru cried. "You'll fall in too if you keep this up, and then we'll all be goners!"
"I know you believe in the whole 'power of the heart' thing, Yugi, but not even that can help us now!" Bakura pleaded with Yugi to let them go. "I don't want it to take you, too! The tide is too much for any of us!"
Yugi shook his head, scared witless yet unwilling to surrender. "NO! I'll never let you go! We're a team! One for all and all for one! We've GOT to hold together, it's our DESTINY to be together! We can't do this alone! NO ONE should be alone! Remember our promise? We'll always be there for each other! I WON'T LET YOU DOWN!"
Yugi closed his eyes, his brow furrowed in both hope and desperation. He silently prayed, 'I can't let anything happen to them. I've already lost too many friends. Jonouchi... Anzu... Honda... and the other three... We've just gotten to know each other! It can't end like this!
'I don't want anyone to get hurt. I don't want any more suffering, or any more tears. But most of all... I WANT THE POWER TO HELP MY FRIENDS!"
Bakura and Hikaru's eyes widened as Yugi's Millennium Puzzle began to glow with a bright yellow light, engulfing everything around them. It was so bright and the light hurt their eyes so they quickly squeezed them shut... Suddenly they were whisked out of the water just before the lightning struck. They found themselves safe on the ground.
Bakura realized Yugi was still holding his arm, but the touch was different now. He opened his eyes and found Yugi staring, wide-eyed, at the bracers now clasped to his arms. They were golden, with a ruby gem in the center of the wrist and they glimmered with the light of the Puzzle.
Hikaru, ironically, was the first to recover. "Yugi!" she exclaimed, running over to him. "That was amazing! What happened back there?"
"I'm not sure," Yugi answered, still staring at the bracers. "I was wishing really hard for the power to save you guys, and then..." He shrugged as the bracers disappeared, their light returning to the safety of the Puzzle. "Huh? They're gone now..."
Bakura hugged his friend. "Your wish for our safety was a selfless wish," he said mysteriously. Hikaru thought the voice didn't sound completely like his own. "That's why you were able to tap into the Power of the Wish."
"Wha-" Yugi began, confused, but Bakura had released him and was staring out to sea, back to normal. The rain was suddenly clearing up, another consequence of the Puzzle's power. He cupped his hand over his eyes to shade them in the sudden sunlight, smiling as its warm rays strengthened his numbed limbs.
"Look!" he gasped, pointing to an object coming their way. Hikaru and Yugi shrieked in delight when they realized the object was none other than their own ship, the "St. Kaiba."
***
"Guys! You're alive!" Takehiko flung himself around the tallest of the three (Bakura) even though he was wetter than wet. "I'm so happy! And so sorry!"
"It's... it's okay, Takehiko," Bakura replied, gasping for air. "No... really, you can let go now. We're fine."
Bakura, Yugi, and Hikaru were back on the boat, having been rescued by Yami, Kerihk, and Kiara who had traveled out in a life boat to help them. The three yamis (even Kerihk) had been hysterical when they were finally reunited - not that the hikaris had been any different. Now, they were each snuggled in towels (except Bakura who was presently pinned to the floor by Takehiko) and being taken to the kitchen to warm up.
Over hot cocoa and a dinner (at last) of cheese sandwiches, they explained their adventures in the cave to the rest of the group, leaving out most of their conversations, which they considered a secret between the three of them. The only thing Kiara found different was how Yugi always referred to Bakura as Ryou now, but Yami was more concerned with the power Yugi had discovered with his Millennium Puzzle.
"You wished hard enough, and then the bracers just appeared?" he said, befuddled.
"That's right," Yugi nodded. "Ryou said something about tapping the Power of the Wish. Didn't you, Ryou?"
Bakura gave him an odd look and made no response.
Kaiba sprang to his feet. "Well guys, it's been a long day. I say we turn in for the night. Ay and Taidu said they will take shifts trying to get the ship back on track, but the rest of us should go -"
"- Catch some Z's," Mokuba finished, giggling at the annoyed glare his brother shot him.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Hikaru said, happy to be among friends. "Let's get some shut-eye."
Makimura was looking out the window, watching the sun go down. Now something caught the attention of her ten-year-old green eyes.
"Hey, everybody! We're heading right for a huge land mass!" she exclaimed.
"What? Who's driving this thing?" Ay and Taidu said together as they jumped to their feet. They exchanged a glance at the other's voice. "Uh-oh..."
"EVERYBODY GET DOWN! HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!" Kaiba instructed loudly, grabbing Mokuba and preparing for impact. Ro and Makimura did the same, and everyone else grabbed the person nearest to them and ducked. Somehow Bakura, Hikaru, and Yugi managed to stay together but Kerihk found himself with one arm thrown over Yami, protecting the former pharaoh from the collision. What's more, it had been complete instinct, which only ticked off the tomb robber even more.
They had just enough time to get into their positions when the boat crashed against the land, breaking into splinters. It was a loud, ear-splitting noise and many of the things in the kitchen came falling on top of the crew.
Finally it ended. Shoving a chair off himself and Takehiko, Ahmose stood up and helped his hikari to his feet. "Is everyone all right?"
Bakura groaned and rubbed his back; as the tallest of the three he had taken on more than the other two. Misaki and Tali nodded, Kiara and Himoko mumbled a "yes," rubbing their heads where the broken hot cocoa mugs had landed, and Kaiba and Ro stood up, both carrying their younger siblings to show they were all right. Ai was hanging on to Setsuna who was clutching her hikari like it were life or death. Taidu, Ay, and Dajan were squashed behind the table but that was quickly resolved when Setsuna (using her super-strength) tore it apart and let them out. Kerihk stood up, Yami supporting himself on Kerihk's shoulder. Quickly realizing what he was doing, the pharaoh immediately let go and both blushed.
"Th-thanks," Yami said with a smile. "For - for helping me."
Kerihk himself looked surprised at what he had done, but he seemed even more surprised when he heard himself answering, "No big deal. Are you okay?"
"Fine." Yugi didn't think Yami's face could go any redder.
Mokuba interrupted the awkward moment with a cry of, "Hey, we've landed! Boy, is it ever pretty! Isn't it pretty, Seto? Can we go see? Onegai?"
"No harm in taking a look, I suppose," Taidu said, brushing herself off.
Together the group trooped out of the ship and on the land. It really was beautiful. The trees were tall and green; the grass soft and lush with colorful flowers scattered everywhere. By the shore the ocean lay, big and blue and vast.
While Ai took Mokuba and Makimura to scout out the area, Kaiba, Yami, Ay, and Ro stayed behind to check over the boat.
"It's taken quite a lot of damage," Yami observed.
"Damage? It's completely destroyed!" Kaiba kicked a splinter of wood on the ground. "One thousand dollars down the drain."
"It got us to our destination, right?" Ay, the boat expert, couldn't find any way to disagree with the CEO so he pointed out the faithfulness of the vessel instead. "It was good while it lasted."
"Just where are we, anyhow?" inquired Ro.
That was a good question, and one that Kiara was willing to answer. She spread her angel-like wings and took off high into the air, scanning the area. A few minutes later the princess returned with news.
"From what I could tell, we're still in Duelist Kingdom," she said as she landed and made her wings disappear. "We must have landed on a different island, though. That castle is huge but I couldn't see it anywhere when I flying. It was supposed to be within sight from the air where we were supposed to land."
"That means we must have drifted towards the west of our determined stop," Yami said.
"Great," Kaiba sighed as Misaki wandered towards the discouraged five. "We're stranded on an island far away from our 'vacation' spot with no way of returning. This is so great."
"All I can say to you, Seto Kaiba, is..." Misaki took a deep breath, stared at the ground, and finished with a shrug...
"Merry Christmas?"
Angel: FINALLY I'M DONE! Wasn't that good? Huh? Huh? Wasn't it? It's 27 pages long! But that's just cuz it's double-spaced thanks to stupid ff.net rules. Oh, well. At least most .txt documents don't get their triple periods turned to single periods.
Yugi: Eh?
Angel: Never mind. Guess what? CardCaptor Sakura, Master of the Clow is out and it rocks! For those of you who don't know, that's the second series of the CCS manga. YUE IS SO KAWAII!!!
Yami: I thought you liked ME!
Angel (ignores Yami): I NEED FEEBACK! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!!!
Yami Bakura: NO DON'T!!! SHE'S MAKING ME BE A SISSY!
Angel: Cannit! Now YOU can do the translations, Yami B!
Yami Bakura: ::scratches head:: Yami B?
From the Desk of Yami Bakura, aka Kerihk:
oi - hey
baka - idiot
nan desu ka - what is it?
aibyou - pet
kiki - crisis; also Takehiko's nickname for Hikaru! ^-^
c'est la vie - "well, that's life, that's how it is" in French
Adonai - Hebrew for "God"
gomen nasai - I'm very sorry
nandatta - what did you say?
yare - oh! ah! oh dear! dear me! aah! thank God!
doumo arigatou - thank you very much
otomodachi - friends
nani - what?
CHARACTER OF THE DAY:
Today's Character of the Day is Dajan Hada, age 15 (I wanted to do Yami but I'm finishing this up at 11:10 at night and my sisters are yelling at me to go asleep and I'm too tired to write anything good so I'm focusing on a minor character). Dajan is Takehiko Midori's cousin, and he loves the water. Naturally swimming in his favorite sport. His love of the sea is a consequence of his ocean-loving yami, the sailor Ay. Dajan bears the Millennium Key which can unlock any lock. He found the key in his uncle's desk and was allowed to keep it even when he went on the Duelist Kingdom journey to cheer Takehiko on.
Dajan is relatively quiet and reserved in persona. He loves his cousin very much as they are like best friends. He isn't exactly a coward but he always thinks before he leaps and doesn't like going into danger for no plain reason. He likes cut-and-dry answers and doesn't appreciate mystery, being content with a pool and a tall glass of lemonade on a hot summer afternoon. Still, he's a great friend and will always come through for his friends if they need him. Undoubtably his Millennium Key will come in handy as we journey on.
Next time: Chapter Seven, Yami Musouka (as told by Bakura): OK, don't you agree with me that all my dreams were weird? Well, I think they were. And now that we're on this strange island, they just get weirder as they come true! That's right, COME TRUE! We need help or we'll all die, and it's all my fault! I've got to stop this, but I can't do it alone! Wait a moment, who's the weird guy in black coming our way? Er, Yugi, I think we should get outta here... AHHH!!! *wakes up* Um... why am I on a Duel Monsters board?