And Bakura's plan gets mentioned now, ooo >>;;;
Things will start getting a little weird after this part, but for now it's about like it has been for the other chapters.
Yu-Gi-Oh! characters and everything related is (c) Kazuki Takahashi
"I've not brought you here to harm you. Well, not as my top priority at least. Here my magic is stronger. You will help me find the dimensional rift that leads to your world. Once I have it, then you are of no use to me. I might send you home, I might leave you here with the twerps or I might bind you to this realm and leave you stranded. All depends on my mood," the spirit said as he folded his hands neatly behind his back. "Now get up, you'll not be allowed to rest when I'm here on business," he snarled.
Yami raced through the rooms in the house, Honda and Jou on his heels.
"I can't believe it, he tried something even when we all were here!" Jou panted as he tried to keep up with the frantic spirit.
"Why is she so important?" Honda questioned. Yami ignored him and moved to the next room. When he turned to leave, he found Honda blocking the door. "What is special about her that puts her in danger and makes you this frazzled?"
"She, she knows things. Things he wants to exploit. And, she's sort of an other worldly person. She's not from around here, here being this world." Yami said slowly. He had no idea how to break the news to them and didn't wish to sugar coat it.
"Alien?" Jou cocked his head.
"No, no. More like from a world parallel to ours. Did you know where she's from there is an animated series and a graphic novel based on us?" the spirit smirked a bit.
"This sounds like Twilight Zone material," Honda muttered.
"What makes it worse is Bakura knows all this and is going to use her for his own means." Yami cut off any further conversation.
"So where are they?" Honda asked. "We've checked the whole house..."
"Where else?" Yami started. "He's taken her to the Shadow Realm."
"Do let me know if you see anything familiar so I may look into it further," Bakura more or less growled. He had his back to the woman and was concentrating on projecting an image of sorts, it cycled through things quickly, almost to the point of inducing vertigo in the woman. The spirit snarled as he slowed the slideshow. "You mortals lack the capacity to take things in quickly. A bothersome little thing, makes this take longer than I would like. Of course, there is another way," he said. With the flick of his wrist the image was gone. He turned quickly to face the woman, she took a reflexive step back and he stepped forward again. He was enjoying this, fear was welling up in her eyes and he was going to relish every bit of it. He grinned widely and let her take a few steps backward before his arm and hand shot up with lightning speed, he grabbed her face and just held his hand there as hers raced up to grab his arm. She tugged in vain, trying to remove his hold.
"If you struggle so much right off you'll wear yourself out more," he chuckled darkly.
I could feel him pushing at boundaries within my head, walls I didn't know I had. Then again, I did have a habit of shutting myself off from the outside world. I locked things away, to keep them from swimming around and bothering me. It was amazing and terrifying at the same time to feel him methodically tearing at my boundaries; pushing his way into my head. Eventually I couldn't hold him off anymore, a migraine had seized me. A horrible one, my skull felt like it was on fire and rapidly expanding. At some point the pain caused by his reckless searching became so great, I slipped away...
"Fine time to pass out," the spirit of the Ring hissed as he was forced to support the weight of the now unconscious woman. He hadn't found much of interest, well not in what he was looking for. Her mind was full of frivolous details and a dark fairy-tale like land. It was about all Bakura could find, he would have to search really deep for what he needed. A slight disturbance caused him to halt momentarily as alert eyes scanned the area around him. He scowled when the murky fog-like covering obscured his line of sight so far from him. If not for the fact he could sense the other souls he might have missed them. "Well Pharaoh, it took a sizeable amount of time to get here. I could have killed her by now," he said wickedly.
"But you didn't, you haven't found what you need," Yami said as he cleared a patch of murky fog. His red eyes fell quickly to the woman who lay limp against the Tomb Robber. Behind him Yugi, Honda and Jou approached.
"Not only do you bring the bandwagon, you actually let your host roam free. How careless of you little Pharaoh. He's an easy target here."
"You say it as if your refusal to let your host stand alone is out of a need to protect him," Yami growled.
"No, I do not have the time or energy to put up with his freewill, so I restrict him to save my temper." The tomb robber grunted as he shifted the woman. She was like a dead weight at the moment, and with company he wasn't going to accomplish much. "You all look like jackals standing around there. Here, take her. I'll get her when she's most vulnerable," the Ring spirit snarled as he heft the woman up and shoved her towards the group. Jou made the move to catch her as Yami fully turned his attention to the tomb robber. Bakura grinned and slowly backed into darkness. Yami scowled and went after him.
"Set her down. Prop her feet up, I think it helps," Yugi said as he kneeled where Jou was laying the woman down.
"What did he do her?" Honda asked as he inspected the bruises Bakura had made on her arm and face.
"I don't know, I didn't feel anything on the back of her head so I doubt he hit her," Jou mumbled as he slid his hands out from under her head.
"We need to wake her up, I'm afraid of what might happen if she stays out too long here," Yugi bit his lip.
"We need your other half here, to get us all back." Honda stated at he took his trench coat off and folded it before putting it under the woman's feet. Yugi sat down and put her head in his lap as he moved hair from her face.
"Yuug, after you said prop her feet up you bring her head up? How's that gonna work?" Jou asked.
"The ground is rocky though, don't want to leave her head on it," he said as violet eyes turned up to the taller teen. With a sigh he gently rolled her head from side to side in a effort to wake her.
I heard voices, three I think. I recognized Yugi right off the bat and the other two sounded familiar. They were speaking English though, I think at least. My eye lids felt heavy and as if they were tied shut, I know they had to flutter a few thousand times before I could even open them slightly. My head was being gently rocked back and forth, I felt something under me move. I grunted and brought a hand to my head to rub the back. My fingers brushed fabric and I tried to sit up. Small hands tried to help me from behind, that was also the direction Yugi's soft voice was coming from so I assumed it was him I had just been laying on. My eyes finally opened, though vision was horrid. I made out two figures. One stood by my feet and the other was kneeling to my side. The green of his jacket told me it was Jou.
"Hey Yuug, ask her if she's ok and what happened," the blonde said.
"My head hurts, and I don't know what happened, he did some mind thing to me," the woman replied groggily.
"Hey! She understood me and I understood her!" Jou said as he fell back on his rear.
"You're not the only one," Honda said as he reclaimed his trench coat from under her feet.
"Sorry," the woman said as she moved her heavy boots. She sat still for a moment then as her head fully cleared, her eyes shot up to look at both Honda and Jounouchi. "You, you can speak English?" she questioned.
"No, and I thought you couldn't speak Japanese," the taller of the two teens said as he dusted his coat off.
"I, can't..." she started puzzled. "But, I swear you're using English," she said as she looked back to him.
"And I say it's Japanese..."
"There are no language barriers here, you can understand everyone with ease," Yami's voice called out before he was seen. "I've lost Bakura, I've no idea what he may have done to you Sarah, but we have to get out of here. Too much time here can't be good on the lot of you," Yami said as he extended a hand first to help Sarah up then Yugi. Jou declined and got to his feet on his own.
"Hey, wait a sec," he said before tapping Sarah on the shoulder. "Look, I know I came off as rude before. Just wanna say I'm sorry. But could you at least smile a little or something, not look so dark?" he asked.
The woman gave him a small smile in return, "Apology accepted," she said happily. "And I'm sorry if I came off as rude, I was just a bit annoyed is all."
"No sweat, I've been told I have that effect on people," he said as he shot a glare to Honda. The other teen laughed and held his hands up innocently. "I'll try to be nicer from now on though, since yer in danger an all that."
"Thanks, I think," the woman replied as she rubbed the back of her head.
Yami was much better about realm shifts than Bakura had been. We shifted back into the house, he nor is counterpart Ryou were to be found. I was still dizzy and weak on my feet. It was a might bit annoying to learn Honda and Jounouchi could no longer communicate with me and vise versa, because I felt extremely guilty for having to lean on the both of them from time to time. We managed to get back to the Game Shop. Mr. Mutou was a bit mortified when I returned in my horrible condition. He knew of the Ryou/Bakura thing so no fast lies had to be made up. For my own protection, everyone said it would be best if I not saw Ryou again for quite some time. Though it felt wrong to un-include him, I could see where they were coming from.
"No, I'm fine. Please Yugi, could you tell Jounouchi he doesn't have to wait on me hand and foot or fill my glass once it's empty? Ask him to just sit down and take a breather, I'm fine," the woman muttered as she peeked out from under the cold cloth she had over her eyes. Her head was killing her and she found the constant doting over her to be annoying. Jou apparently thought he would do everything as a way to make up for being rude, but it was testing Sarah patience.
"He said he just wants to help, but doesn't know what he can do so this'll work," Yugi translated.
"There is one thing," the woman said as she sat up, she stretched and then rubbed her shoulders. "What you gave me for my head isn't as strong as it could be, if Jou wants to do something he could rub my shoulders and neck." The woman slid off the bed and sat next to it as Yugi relayed what she had said to Jou, the teen nodded and sat behind her before working fingers into tight muscles.
"Not so hard," she grunted. "And if hands get tired use your knuckles in a circular motion," she said, once Yugi had translated Jou eased up a bit.
"If she wants, your grandpa has offered to make an herbal tea. It would help relax her and relieve a bit of the stiffness she has," Honda said once Yugi joined him in the kitchen.
"I think she'll be fine, I'll pitch her the idea but she's having Jounouchi rub her shoulders at the moment."
"She got him to sit still?" the other teen laughed.
"For now at least, maybe if she makes him do it long enough he'll leave her alone. She was getting a bit annoyed with the attention."
"Yeah, think I heard her grumble something before you came out." Honda took a sip from what he had and munched on a cracker. "So, how's Sarah's company been? She always seems to be down."
"She is, I would say it's because she's so far from home but I don't know. Just looks like she's been that way for a long while."
"Anything we could do to make her stay better?" Honda asked as he chewed nosily.
"Just be the friends she could use at the moment," Yugi shrugged.
"That's do-able."
"Thank you, Jounouchi. You can stop now, and it helped," the woman said as she slid away from the younger teen. He understood the thank you and nodded in return. He poked her gently then let her be once he got the smile he was looking for. The blonde offered the woman his hand so she could stand. She took it and followed him to where Yugi and Honda sat.
"How you feeling?" Yugi asked.
"Much better, Jou's rub helped tremendously. My migraine is now just a tiny annoyance of a headache," she replied. Yugi translated for her and Jou posed as if he had just done something heroic, this elicited a laugh from Sarah.
The other two spent the rest of the afternoon with Yugi. Anzu got off work late that afternoon and swung by. She was a little upset no one had taken the time to inform her of what had happened, even if she was at work. The girl complained about it being slow and easily getting off if they had of called. The bruises on Sarah's face were so minor, that by the time Anzu arrived they had just about vanished. Her arm would be tender for a while though.
Shortly before everyone was about to part ways for the evening, Ryou arrived. He was lead to where everyone was, but was watched carefully.
"I know something happened earlier, and though I don't know what I want to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any harm to come to you," the boy said as he lowered his eyes. He had the most angelic look to his face at the moment.
"It's ok, really. I don't blame you at all, Ryou," Sarah replied. Shyly, the teen looked up, he gave a meek smile when he saw the sincerity in her eyes.
"Thank you. I just black out all the time, never knowing what's going on. It worries me, and I don't like to think I've been the reason for harm," he said.
"I'm not going to let this keep me from talking to you. Just that we're always going to have to be around everyone else," she stated. Yugi and Anzu nodded, once informed Honda and Jou did the same.
"Thank you again, and I think I should depart. Don't wish to overstay my welcome. Good evening, and once again I'm sorry."
Good-byes were exchanged as others decided to take their leave as well. The sun was just beginning to set but already most were tired.
Yugi squirmed and let out another short bark of laughter before trying in vain to get away from his captor.
"Tickle me will you? I'll show you!" Sarah said in a mock threat as she kept up her assault.
"Mercy, mercy!" Yugi giggled as tears began to form in his eyes.
"Mercy? NEVER!" the woman laughed. "This is such a nice change, normally I'm the one on the receiving end."
"Oh really?" Yugi's voice had become a bit deeper.
"EEP!" the woman cried as she scrambled off. With Yami playing now things could go either way and she didn't want to break her no-tickle streak yet. She didn't get far when the spirit grabbed her ankle and tugged. "Watch it, don't want carpet burns," she laughed as she tugged back.
"Hm, tug-of-war using a leg. Better watch it, I could get kicked." With that, Yami released his hold on the woman. She laughed and sat up on the floor where she looked back to the spirit.
"Makes me nervous when you sit so still like that," she said. Yami didn't reply, in fact he seemed zoned out. "Hey, you ok?" she asked as she scooted back over to him. "Yami?" the woman waved her hand in front of his face, nothing. "Hey?" she flicked his nose gently. Still no reaction. "Err..." she jabbed him in the ribs. "You do make a nice statue, you know."
A minute or so passed with no reaction, puzzled the woman simply got up and walked off. A jingle behind her got her attention, and as she turned she saw Yami sailing at her. "No tackles! ACK!" she was bowled over the arm of the couch and her attacker flipped off before assaulting her with a barrage of tickles.
"Hey! No fair!" she laughed and squirmed.
"Thought you could keep me down, huh?" The tone sounded like Yami but the words were more like Yugi's. The two must be acting as one at the moment. After a bit of squirming the woman had positioned herself in a way so she could grab both Yami's wrists. She stuck her tongue out as she sat up. She made the mistake of letting the spirit go once she was on her feet and he tackled again. This time he sat square on her back.
"I hope your comfy," she said as she propped herself up on her elbows.
"Not really, kinda bony," he wiggled about as if he was trying to get comfortable.
"Bum," the woman laughed before she tried to get to her hands and knees. Yami braced his hands on her shoulder blades as the woman lurched about.
"Why do I have the sudden urge to yell out 'Pony ride, giddy-up!'?" the spirit laughed.
"Oh you're such a big kid!" Sarah exclaimed as she began to stand. She looped arms behind Yami's knees as he wrapped his arms around her neck. "Too tight," she gasped.
"Sorry."
"I hope I'm not going to have to play the part of babysitter for you two children," Mr. Mutou said with an amused look on his face.
"He started it!"
"She started it!" They said in unison.
"You do know what you're acting like, don't you?"
"Five year olds?" Sarah replied.
"Nope, think about it for a moment," he winked as he turned the water on to wash his hands.
"Oh," came the double reply as Sarah put Yami down.
"Jou thought the same thing," Sarah wrinkled her nose.
"It's just you seem so comfortable around one another. It's easy to see it that way," Mr. Mutou shrugged.
"Guess it's my fault, think I'm letting the fan-girl attitude get me," Sarah shrugged.
"Nice to unwind once in a while, though," Yami chuckled before he relinquished his hold to Yugi again.
"It's also fun to feel like a kid again," Yugi beamed.
"You two start throwing food, I'll have you sleep on the floor of the shop," Mr. Mutou waved a finger about. "On the other hand, I'm more than relieved to see you doing so well, considering your current situation."
"It helps keep my mind off it, now that I think about it."
"Maybe tomorrow you and everyone should take a visit to an amusement park or such. Do something together and outside so you aren't cooped up inside again."
"Anzu's got tomorrow off, we'd all be together."
"As long as Ryou comes too." She got a puzzled look from both the guys. "Bakura is someone different and I'm not going to let him ruin things for Ryou, so there," the woman crossed her arms.
"It's sweet you're so forgiving, but don't let your guard down or Bakura might strike again," Mr. Mutou warned.
"I'll be fine, really. As long as Yugi is around," she ruffled the teen's hair again, he protested and straightened it back into it's gravity defying shape. "And I should probably do laundry tomorrow too. I don't have much along the lines of clothing with me."
"No problem at all, the machine is in that little recess between the rooms."
"Caught ya fair and square!" the woman exclaimed as she slung the smaller figure over her shoulder. Yugi took to poking her in the back in an effort to free himself. "Sneak tickle attacks," she muttered comically.
"Well I waited for an hour after dinner at least!" he protested. "Blood's starting to go to my head, let me down please?"
"So long as I don't get another attack, I've left you alone so far," she reminded him.
"I promise," he replied.
"What about Yami?"
A pause.
"He says he promises too and hopes next time you forget you have to get an answer from two so he can do a sneak attack," there was a laugh. "I wasn't supposed to say that last part," he admitted.
"A deal's a deal," she un-slung the figure and set him down on the bed. Standing on it he was taller than her. He made such a big deal about it too. Suddenly his brows furrowed as he thought about something.
"Sarah?" he began as he sat down.
"Hm?" she replied as she sat beside him.
"Is this what it's like to have a big sister?" he asked, turning his face up to her.
She smiled, "I don't know. I am a big sister, oldest of three. I know how it is to be one, but not how it is to have one."
"What are your siblings like?" Yugi seemed very interested in it now.
"Well, my sister is fifteen, the youngest of us. She's the one with the seizures, and because of them she's a bit slower than she should be. She's at a lower level mentally. As for my brother, he's eighteen now. He doesn't really act it, that and we hardly see him. He's out all the time. A few years back he ended up in the hospital from a drug overdose, scared the crap out of us. I'm pretty sure he still does the stuff, I know he drinks too. Legal drinking age where I'm from is twenty one, my age. Personally, I hate alcohol. Had the chance to try stuff before, nasty I think. As for my sibs, it's nice to have someone around closer to your age. Also kind of funny when they get some of the same teachers you had. Teachers normally expected a lot from my sibs because I did so well. Math I bombed, but did good in everything else."
"Having a brother or a sister is like always having a friend around?"
"Pretty much, except for when you don't see eye-to-eye. We had a habit of stealing things from one another. Got to the point eventually that our names would be scrawled on everything. We did it ourselves, no less. But yeah, you can use them as a friend if no one else is available at the time."
"I wish I had a sibling, would have been nice."
"Sometimes, Yugi. Sometimes. There are times where either you or them wants to be left alone to do your own thing. And usually this includes going out with their friends, they don't want you around. Younger siblings always had a habit of wanting to tag along with the older ones."
"Would you have done that if we were brother and sister?" he asked.
"Most likely, yes. Younger siblings seem to embarrass older ones when they're at a certain age. My sister still likes to tag along with me and it gets annoying at times. Then again, for some reason folks seem to think I'm her mom and not sister."
"That must be weird," the teen wrinkled his nose.
"Very, apparently I look older than what I am."
"Don't get mad, but you do. You just look so tired and I think that's what does it."
"It is, been this way for years and I have no idea why."
"Well, maybe I should let you get some sleep, since when I called earlier everyone settled on a morning hour to meet; you'll need sleep," the tri-colored hair boy said as he hopped of the bed.
"I'll shower then head off to bed, gotta go now before your grandfather goes to bed. Don't want to keep anyone up."
Apparently at some time during my shower his grandfather had gone to bed, the door to his room was pulled to when I got out. The TV was on, volume down low. Again Yugi had fallen asleep sitting up; I guess he might have been waiting on me. Once more I pulled his feet up and slid him down a bit. Violet eyes fluttered open and he smiled as I tugged up the covers.
"Thought it was you that covered me last night. Thank you," he said quietly.
"No problem kiddo," she replied and pat his shoulder. She hesitated a moment then stooped down to kiss his forehead. "Sweet dreams, see you in the morning. And thank you for being so kind to me. You, your grandfather, Yami and everyone else."
"You're welcome. Oh, wait, come back," he waved her back. The boy sat up and kissed her forehead in return. "That was from my other half, he says you needed it."
"Well tell him thank you for me and that I wish him sweet dreams as well."
"He already knows, now goodnight to you too. Rest well."
At this rate he's going to have me in tears. They've been so wonderful to me, this has really become another home for me. But I miss my other home, friends and family. It saddened me to think that I would have to leave this new set of friends behind to return to the old. I would had loved to keep both, but fate is cruel and says I can't have both. Blah. I took a moment more to watch Yugi get settled, before he turned the TV off I saw a glint of bright eyes as he looked to where I was standing in the doorway, I smiled back and closed the door. Such a cute kid, his comment on the sister thing was touching; I'd love to have him as a brother. Be a package deal, Yami would technically be my brother as well. They'd both be wonderful brothers.
Things will start getting a little weird after this part, but for now it's about like it has been for the other chapters.
Yu-Gi-Oh! characters and everything related is (c) Kazuki Takahashi
"I've not brought you here to harm you. Well, not as my top priority at least. Here my magic is stronger. You will help me find the dimensional rift that leads to your world. Once I have it, then you are of no use to me. I might send you home, I might leave you here with the twerps or I might bind you to this realm and leave you stranded. All depends on my mood," the spirit said as he folded his hands neatly behind his back. "Now get up, you'll not be allowed to rest when I'm here on business," he snarled.
Yami raced through the rooms in the house, Honda and Jou on his heels.
"I can't believe it, he tried something even when we all were here!" Jou panted as he tried to keep up with the frantic spirit.
"Why is she so important?" Honda questioned. Yami ignored him and moved to the next room. When he turned to leave, he found Honda blocking the door. "What is special about her that puts her in danger and makes you this frazzled?"
"She, she knows things. Things he wants to exploit. And, she's sort of an other worldly person. She's not from around here, here being this world." Yami said slowly. He had no idea how to break the news to them and didn't wish to sugar coat it.
"Alien?" Jou cocked his head.
"No, no. More like from a world parallel to ours. Did you know where she's from there is an animated series and a graphic novel based on us?" the spirit smirked a bit.
"This sounds like Twilight Zone material," Honda muttered.
"What makes it worse is Bakura knows all this and is going to use her for his own means." Yami cut off any further conversation.
"So where are they?" Honda asked. "We've checked the whole house..."
"Where else?" Yami started. "He's taken her to the Shadow Realm."
"Do let me know if you see anything familiar so I may look into it further," Bakura more or less growled. He had his back to the woman and was concentrating on projecting an image of sorts, it cycled through things quickly, almost to the point of inducing vertigo in the woman. The spirit snarled as he slowed the slideshow. "You mortals lack the capacity to take things in quickly. A bothersome little thing, makes this take longer than I would like. Of course, there is another way," he said. With the flick of his wrist the image was gone. He turned quickly to face the woman, she took a reflexive step back and he stepped forward again. He was enjoying this, fear was welling up in her eyes and he was going to relish every bit of it. He grinned widely and let her take a few steps backward before his arm and hand shot up with lightning speed, he grabbed her face and just held his hand there as hers raced up to grab his arm. She tugged in vain, trying to remove his hold.
"If you struggle so much right off you'll wear yourself out more," he chuckled darkly.
I could feel him pushing at boundaries within my head, walls I didn't know I had. Then again, I did have a habit of shutting myself off from the outside world. I locked things away, to keep them from swimming around and bothering me. It was amazing and terrifying at the same time to feel him methodically tearing at my boundaries; pushing his way into my head. Eventually I couldn't hold him off anymore, a migraine had seized me. A horrible one, my skull felt like it was on fire and rapidly expanding. At some point the pain caused by his reckless searching became so great, I slipped away...
"Fine time to pass out," the spirit of the Ring hissed as he was forced to support the weight of the now unconscious woman. He hadn't found much of interest, well not in what he was looking for. Her mind was full of frivolous details and a dark fairy-tale like land. It was about all Bakura could find, he would have to search really deep for what he needed. A slight disturbance caused him to halt momentarily as alert eyes scanned the area around him. He scowled when the murky fog-like covering obscured his line of sight so far from him. If not for the fact he could sense the other souls he might have missed them. "Well Pharaoh, it took a sizeable amount of time to get here. I could have killed her by now," he said wickedly.
"But you didn't, you haven't found what you need," Yami said as he cleared a patch of murky fog. His red eyes fell quickly to the woman who lay limp against the Tomb Robber. Behind him Yugi, Honda and Jou approached.
"Not only do you bring the bandwagon, you actually let your host roam free. How careless of you little Pharaoh. He's an easy target here."
"You say it as if your refusal to let your host stand alone is out of a need to protect him," Yami growled.
"No, I do not have the time or energy to put up with his freewill, so I restrict him to save my temper." The tomb robber grunted as he shifted the woman. She was like a dead weight at the moment, and with company he wasn't going to accomplish much. "You all look like jackals standing around there. Here, take her. I'll get her when she's most vulnerable," the Ring spirit snarled as he heft the woman up and shoved her towards the group. Jou made the move to catch her as Yami fully turned his attention to the tomb robber. Bakura grinned and slowly backed into darkness. Yami scowled and went after him.
"Set her down. Prop her feet up, I think it helps," Yugi said as he kneeled where Jou was laying the woman down.
"What did he do her?" Honda asked as he inspected the bruises Bakura had made on her arm and face.
"I don't know, I didn't feel anything on the back of her head so I doubt he hit her," Jou mumbled as he slid his hands out from under her head.
"We need to wake her up, I'm afraid of what might happen if she stays out too long here," Yugi bit his lip.
"We need your other half here, to get us all back." Honda stated at he took his trench coat off and folded it before putting it under the woman's feet. Yugi sat down and put her head in his lap as he moved hair from her face.
"Yuug, after you said prop her feet up you bring her head up? How's that gonna work?" Jou asked.
"The ground is rocky though, don't want to leave her head on it," he said as violet eyes turned up to the taller teen. With a sigh he gently rolled her head from side to side in a effort to wake her.
I heard voices, three I think. I recognized Yugi right off the bat and the other two sounded familiar. They were speaking English though, I think at least. My eye lids felt heavy and as if they were tied shut, I know they had to flutter a few thousand times before I could even open them slightly. My head was being gently rocked back and forth, I felt something under me move. I grunted and brought a hand to my head to rub the back. My fingers brushed fabric and I tried to sit up. Small hands tried to help me from behind, that was also the direction Yugi's soft voice was coming from so I assumed it was him I had just been laying on. My eyes finally opened, though vision was horrid. I made out two figures. One stood by my feet and the other was kneeling to my side. The green of his jacket told me it was Jou.
"Hey Yuug, ask her if she's ok and what happened," the blonde said.
"My head hurts, and I don't know what happened, he did some mind thing to me," the woman replied groggily.
"Hey! She understood me and I understood her!" Jou said as he fell back on his rear.
"You're not the only one," Honda said as he reclaimed his trench coat from under her feet.
"Sorry," the woman said as she moved her heavy boots. She sat still for a moment then as her head fully cleared, her eyes shot up to look at both Honda and Jounouchi. "You, you can speak English?" she questioned.
"No, and I thought you couldn't speak Japanese," the taller of the two teens said as he dusted his coat off.
"I, can't..." she started puzzled. "But, I swear you're using English," she said as she looked back to him.
"And I say it's Japanese..."
"There are no language barriers here, you can understand everyone with ease," Yami's voice called out before he was seen. "I've lost Bakura, I've no idea what he may have done to you Sarah, but we have to get out of here. Too much time here can't be good on the lot of you," Yami said as he extended a hand first to help Sarah up then Yugi. Jou declined and got to his feet on his own.
"Hey, wait a sec," he said before tapping Sarah on the shoulder. "Look, I know I came off as rude before. Just wanna say I'm sorry. But could you at least smile a little or something, not look so dark?" he asked.
The woman gave him a small smile in return, "Apology accepted," she said happily. "And I'm sorry if I came off as rude, I was just a bit annoyed is all."
"No sweat, I've been told I have that effect on people," he said as he shot a glare to Honda. The other teen laughed and held his hands up innocently. "I'll try to be nicer from now on though, since yer in danger an all that."
"Thanks, I think," the woman replied as she rubbed the back of her head.
Yami was much better about realm shifts than Bakura had been. We shifted back into the house, he nor is counterpart Ryou were to be found. I was still dizzy and weak on my feet. It was a might bit annoying to learn Honda and Jounouchi could no longer communicate with me and vise versa, because I felt extremely guilty for having to lean on the both of them from time to time. We managed to get back to the Game Shop. Mr. Mutou was a bit mortified when I returned in my horrible condition. He knew of the Ryou/Bakura thing so no fast lies had to be made up. For my own protection, everyone said it would be best if I not saw Ryou again for quite some time. Though it felt wrong to un-include him, I could see where they were coming from.
"No, I'm fine. Please Yugi, could you tell Jounouchi he doesn't have to wait on me hand and foot or fill my glass once it's empty? Ask him to just sit down and take a breather, I'm fine," the woman muttered as she peeked out from under the cold cloth she had over her eyes. Her head was killing her and she found the constant doting over her to be annoying. Jou apparently thought he would do everything as a way to make up for being rude, but it was testing Sarah patience.
"He said he just wants to help, but doesn't know what he can do so this'll work," Yugi translated.
"There is one thing," the woman said as she sat up, she stretched and then rubbed her shoulders. "What you gave me for my head isn't as strong as it could be, if Jou wants to do something he could rub my shoulders and neck." The woman slid off the bed and sat next to it as Yugi relayed what she had said to Jou, the teen nodded and sat behind her before working fingers into tight muscles.
"Not so hard," she grunted. "And if hands get tired use your knuckles in a circular motion," she said, once Yugi had translated Jou eased up a bit.
"If she wants, your grandpa has offered to make an herbal tea. It would help relax her and relieve a bit of the stiffness she has," Honda said once Yugi joined him in the kitchen.
"I think she'll be fine, I'll pitch her the idea but she's having Jounouchi rub her shoulders at the moment."
"She got him to sit still?" the other teen laughed.
"For now at least, maybe if she makes him do it long enough he'll leave her alone. She was getting a bit annoyed with the attention."
"Yeah, think I heard her grumble something before you came out." Honda took a sip from what he had and munched on a cracker. "So, how's Sarah's company been? She always seems to be down."
"She is, I would say it's because she's so far from home but I don't know. Just looks like she's been that way for a long while."
"Anything we could do to make her stay better?" Honda asked as he chewed nosily.
"Just be the friends she could use at the moment," Yugi shrugged.
"That's do-able."
"Thank you, Jounouchi. You can stop now, and it helped," the woman said as she slid away from the younger teen. He understood the thank you and nodded in return. He poked her gently then let her be once he got the smile he was looking for. The blonde offered the woman his hand so she could stand. She took it and followed him to where Yugi and Honda sat.
"How you feeling?" Yugi asked.
"Much better, Jou's rub helped tremendously. My migraine is now just a tiny annoyance of a headache," she replied. Yugi translated for her and Jou posed as if he had just done something heroic, this elicited a laugh from Sarah.
The other two spent the rest of the afternoon with Yugi. Anzu got off work late that afternoon and swung by. She was a little upset no one had taken the time to inform her of what had happened, even if she was at work. The girl complained about it being slow and easily getting off if they had of called. The bruises on Sarah's face were so minor, that by the time Anzu arrived they had just about vanished. Her arm would be tender for a while though.
Shortly before everyone was about to part ways for the evening, Ryou arrived. He was lead to where everyone was, but was watched carefully.
"I know something happened earlier, and though I don't know what I want to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any harm to come to you," the boy said as he lowered his eyes. He had the most angelic look to his face at the moment.
"It's ok, really. I don't blame you at all, Ryou," Sarah replied. Shyly, the teen looked up, he gave a meek smile when he saw the sincerity in her eyes.
"Thank you. I just black out all the time, never knowing what's going on. It worries me, and I don't like to think I've been the reason for harm," he said.
"I'm not going to let this keep me from talking to you. Just that we're always going to have to be around everyone else," she stated. Yugi and Anzu nodded, once informed Honda and Jou did the same.
"Thank you again, and I think I should depart. Don't wish to overstay my welcome. Good evening, and once again I'm sorry."
Good-byes were exchanged as others decided to take their leave as well. The sun was just beginning to set but already most were tired.
Yugi squirmed and let out another short bark of laughter before trying in vain to get away from his captor.
"Tickle me will you? I'll show you!" Sarah said in a mock threat as she kept up her assault.
"Mercy, mercy!" Yugi giggled as tears began to form in his eyes.
"Mercy? NEVER!" the woman laughed. "This is such a nice change, normally I'm the one on the receiving end."
"Oh really?" Yugi's voice had become a bit deeper.
"EEP!" the woman cried as she scrambled off. With Yami playing now things could go either way and she didn't want to break her no-tickle streak yet. She didn't get far when the spirit grabbed her ankle and tugged. "Watch it, don't want carpet burns," she laughed as she tugged back.
"Hm, tug-of-war using a leg. Better watch it, I could get kicked." With that, Yami released his hold on the woman. She laughed and sat up on the floor where she looked back to the spirit.
"Makes me nervous when you sit so still like that," she said. Yami didn't reply, in fact he seemed zoned out. "Hey, you ok?" she asked as she scooted back over to him. "Yami?" the woman waved her hand in front of his face, nothing. "Hey?" she flicked his nose gently. Still no reaction. "Err..." she jabbed him in the ribs. "You do make a nice statue, you know."
A minute or so passed with no reaction, puzzled the woman simply got up and walked off. A jingle behind her got her attention, and as she turned she saw Yami sailing at her. "No tackles! ACK!" she was bowled over the arm of the couch and her attacker flipped off before assaulting her with a barrage of tickles.
"Hey! No fair!" she laughed and squirmed.
"Thought you could keep me down, huh?" The tone sounded like Yami but the words were more like Yugi's. The two must be acting as one at the moment. After a bit of squirming the woman had positioned herself in a way so she could grab both Yami's wrists. She stuck her tongue out as she sat up. She made the mistake of letting the spirit go once she was on her feet and he tackled again. This time he sat square on her back.
"I hope your comfy," she said as she propped herself up on her elbows.
"Not really, kinda bony," he wiggled about as if he was trying to get comfortable.
"Bum," the woman laughed before she tried to get to her hands and knees. Yami braced his hands on her shoulder blades as the woman lurched about.
"Why do I have the sudden urge to yell out 'Pony ride, giddy-up!'?" the spirit laughed.
"Oh you're such a big kid!" Sarah exclaimed as she began to stand. She looped arms behind Yami's knees as he wrapped his arms around her neck. "Too tight," she gasped.
"Sorry."
"I hope I'm not going to have to play the part of babysitter for you two children," Mr. Mutou said with an amused look on his face.
"He started it!"
"She started it!" They said in unison.
"You do know what you're acting like, don't you?"
"Five year olds?" Sarah replied.
"Nope, think about it for a moment," he winked as he turned the water on to wash his hands.
"Oh," came the double reply as Sarah put Yami down.
"Jou thought the same thing," Sarah wrinkled her nose.
"It's just you seem so comfortable around one another. It's easy to see it that way," Mr. Mutou shrugged.
"Guess it's my fault, think I'm letting the fan-girl attitude get me," Sarah shrugged.
"Nice to unwind once in a while, though," Yami chuckled before he relinquished his hold to Yugi again.
"It's also fun to feel like a kid again," Yugi beamed.
"You two start throwing food, I'll have you sleep on the floor of the shop," Mr. Mutou waved a finger about. "On the other hand, I'm more than relieved to see you doing so well, considering your current situation."
"It helps keep my mind off it, now that I think about it."
"Maybe tomorrow you and everyone should take a visit to an amusement park or such. Do something together and outside so you aren't cooped up inside again."
"Anzu's got tomorrow off, we'd all be together."
"As long as Ryou comes too." She got a puzzled look from both the guys. "Bakura is someone different and I'm not going to let him ruin things for Ryou, so there," the woman crossed her arms.
"It's sweet you're so forgiving, but don't let your guard down or Bakura might strike again," Mr. Mutou warned.
"I'll be fine, really. As long as Yugi is around," she ruffled the teen's hair again, he protested and straightened it back into it's gravity defying shape. "And I should probably do laundry tomorrow too. I don't have much along the lines of clothing with me."
"No problem at all, the machine is in that little recess between the rooms."
"Caught ya fair and square!" the woman exclaimed as she slung the smaller figure over her shoulder. Yugi took to poking her in the back in an effort to free himself. "Sneak tickle attacks," she muttered comically.
"Well I waited for an hour after dinner at least!" he protested. "Blood's starting to go to my head, let me down please?"
"So long as I don't get another attack, I've left you alone so far," she reminded him.
"I promise," he replied.
"What about Yami?"
A pause.
"He says he promises too and hopes next time you forget you have to get an answer from two so he can do a sneak attack," there was a laugh. "I wasn't supposed to say that last part," he admitted.
"A deal's a deal," she un-slung the figure and set him down on the bed. Standing on it he was taller than her. He made such a big deal about it too. Suddenly his brows furrowed as he thought about something.
"Sarah?" he began as he sat down.
"Hm?" she replied as she sat beside him.
"Is this what it's like to have a big sister?" he asked, turning his face up to her.
She smiled, "I don't know. I am a big sister, oldest of three. I know how it is to be one, but not how it is to have one."
"What are your siblings like?" Yugi seemed very interested in it now.
"Well, my sister is fifteen, the youngest of us. She's the one with the seizures, and because of them she's a bit slower than she should be. She's at a lower level mentally. As for my brother, he's eighteen now. He doesn't really act it, that and we hardly see him. He's out all the time. A few years back he ended up in the hospital from a drug overdose, scared the crap out of us. I'm pretty sure he still does the stuff, I know he drinks too. Legal drinking age where I'm from is twenty one, my age. Personally, I hate alcohol. Had the chance to try stuff before, nasty I think. As for my sibs, it's nice to have someone around closer to your age. Also kind of funny when they get some of the same teachers you had. Teachers normally expected a lot from my sibs because I did so well. Math I bombed, but did good in everything else."
"Having a brother or a sister is like always having a friend around?"
"Pretty much, except for when you don't see eye-to-eye. We had a habit of stealing things from one another. Got to the point eventually that our names would be scrawled on everything. We did it ourselves, no less. But yeah, you can use them as a friend if no one else is available at the time."
"I wish I had a sibling, would have been nice."
"Sometimes, Yugi. Sometimes. There are times where either you or them wants to be left alone to do your own thing. And usually this includes going out with their friends, they don't want you around. Younger siblings always had a habit of wanting to tag along with the older ones."
"Would you have done that if we were brother and sister?" he asked.
"Most likely, yes. Younger siblings seem to embarrass older ones when they're at a certain age. My sister still likes to tag along with me and it gets annoying at times. Then again, for some reason folks seem to think I'm her mom and not sister."
"That must be weird," the teen wrinkled his nose.
"Very, apparently I look older than what I am."
"Don't get mad, but you do. You just look so tired and I think that's what does it."
"It is, been this way for years and I have no idea why."
"Well, maybe I should let you get some sleep, since when I called earlier everyone settled on a morning hour to meet; you'll need sleep," the tri-colored hair boy said as he hopped of the bed.
"I'll shower then head off to bed, gotta go now before your grandfather goes to bed. Don't want to keep anyone up."
Apparently at some time during my shower his grandfather had gone to bed, the door to his room was pulled to when I got out. The TV was on, volume down low. Again Yugi had fallen asleep sitting up; I guess he might have been waiting on me. Once more I pulled his feet up and slid him down a bit. Violet eyes fluttered open and he smiled as I tugged up the covers.
"Thought it was you that covered me last night. Thank you," he said quietly.
"No problem kiddo," she replied and pat his shoulder. She hesitated a moment then stooped down to kiss his forehead. "Sweet dreams, see you in the morning. And thank you for being so kind to me. You, your grandfather, Yami and everyone else."
"You're welcome. Oh, wait, come back," he waved her back. The boy sat up and kissed her forehead in return. "That was from my other half, he says you needed it."
"Well tell him thank you for me and that I wish him sweet dreams as well."
"He already knows, now goodnight to you too. Rest well."
At this rate he's going to have me in tears. They've been so wonderful to me, this has really become another home for me. But I miss my other home, friends and family. It saddened me to think that I would have to leave this new set of friends behind to return to the old. I would had loved to keep both, but fate is cruel and says I can't have both. Blah. I took a moment more to watch Yugi get settled, before he turned the TV off I saw a glint of bright eyes as he looked to where I was standing in the doorway, I smiled back and closed the door. Such a cute kid, his comment on the sister thing was touching; I'd love to have him as a brother. Be a package deal, Yami would technically be my brother as well. They'd both be wonderful brothers.