I'm really sorry that chapter was so short! ^_^; and(. Oh well! The next
ones will be longer, I promise! Oh! And also, please note that Yugi is 10!
Get that, 10 years old! Serenity's eye operation just happened a few years
before it was supposed to, and so did duelist kingdom and just about
everything, that's all. Kaiba is sadly still a genius, though. No, all you
fans of his, don't get mad at me! (Though I can't see how anyone could like
him!) I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Do we really have to say this all the time?
It's so tedious! I do own Marina and most, if not all, of her cards. OK!
PLEASE R/R! I'll do anything! ----Water's Angel.
~~~~~~~~~
Marina seemed to be waking up, inside her necklace. She wondered where it was then. She took a peek out of the gray pearl, the one in the center of the other two. She seemed to be in a jewelry shop. She sighed. Now she would have to find a way to get out of the glass case the necklace was on.
"Dude, that is one cool necklace," a boy's voice said, and he punctuated the statement by whistling. "I think I'll buy it for Serenity, for recovering from the surgery so quickly. Yo, Tristen, whaddya think?" Looking from her soul pearl again, she saw a blond-haired boy in a green jacket with brown eyes. A boy with spiked brown hair joined him. Jounochi! Honda! Reincarnated!
"Oh yeah! Joey, you are one sharp man when it comes to findin' stuff for Serenity," Tristen, Marina thought his name had been, joked. His voice grew more serious. "Sure, go ahead! I'd bet she'd love it...but there's a problem."
"What?"
"Did you even glance at the price tag? Dude, it's $99.99!"
"What?! Hey, d'you think Kaiba would lend me some?"
Kaiba! Marina thought. What?!
"Do you think I would what?" Marina heard a voice she knew all too well ask. She looked out to see the same old Kaiba. He seemed...nicer though, somehow. Kinder. He looked exactly the same, but in different clothes. He walked over to the counter and looked down at the necklace. "Wow! Is it really that valuable?" he asked the manager.
"Of course!" the fat, potbellied man seemed to be offended. "Do you know how rare black and especially gray pearls are?"
"Okay, Joey," Kaiba said in a resigned voice. "How much have you got?"
"Well..."
"Joey!"
"About...um..."
"Spit it out!" Kaiba roared.
"$10."
Kaiba sighed, and laid $90 on the counter and glared. "For your sister, Chihuahua, not you."
Marina laughed inside the pearl as Joey tried to punch Kaiba. Same as always, she thought.
So, she was "bought", but when the necklace was showed to Yugi Muoto, her eyes overflowed. He was the mirror image of Yami, but softer. Marina thought that he and Anaia would get along very well. As soon as he touched it, his hand jerked back.
"Put it on the table!" He hissed to Joey. "There's a spirit inside it!"
Marina cried only harder when she saw Yami materialize from the puzzle and say, "I'm going to force him or her out. It might not be friendly, so stand back!"
She dried her tears, and prepared to be yanked out of the pearl. Nothing happened. She laughed and laughed. He couldn't get her out. Only one with Gray Magic could. Then she stopped. How was she to come out? And another boy, who looked like the tomb robber from the past! He had the Ring! She swallowed hard, and decided to just materialize, and save a lot of trouble and fuss, which she absolutely despised.
As soon as she was out, she started crying again. She couldn't help it. And most surprising of all, so did her brother. "Oh Yami," she whispered, into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry---"
"I should be sorry," he whispered back, his breath tickling her ear. "I shouldn't have played that trick on you and got you angry."
The solemn tension in the air that rose from the others broke when Joey asked, "Is she friendly or not?" Everyone laughed.
As she stepped away from her brother rubbing her eyes, Marina muttered, "I must look like some freak."
Yami grinned. Same old Marina. Always thinking that she looked horrible when she could make crying look beautiful and break your heart at the same time. Nobody else had got a good look at her before she had ran to Yami. Now they did, and gasped. She was drop dead, break-your-heart gorgeous, even in the Egyptian clothes that she was wearing.
"Joey," she said, smiling at him. Joey felt his heart melt like butter. "Sorry about the necklace. You can have one of my other ones..." and she handed him a very pretty necklace of woven gold set with garnets and rubies that she seemingly plucked from thin air.
"Yami," said a new voice, one that Marina had not heard before. "Is she your wife?"
Yami turned bright red and spluttered something indecipherable. At last, he managed, "Mokuba, you be quiet!" to the little boy with the long spiky hair.
"No, I'm not," Marina said with a mischievous grin. "I'm his sister. But when I last checked---about a millennia ago isn't it?----everyone wanted to be." She dodged her brother's would-be yank on a lock of her hair. Everyone laughed again, and Tristen teased, "Ohhhh, good with the ladies, were you?"
"So anyway," Marina said, noticing that Yami was about to blow his top. "Where can I get clothes like the ones you have on? I'm not sure many people walk around dressed like this!"
"Can your pearl necklace supply it?" Yami asked curiously, glad for the change of topic.
Marina shrugged. "I'll try!" and she disappeared. A few seconds later, she reappeared in embroidered jeans, and a turtleneck/sweater. Sapphire studs gleamed in each ear. "How's this?"
"Hey what's everyone doing?" a girl's voice asked, before anyone could answer her.
"T'ea! Serenity!" the boy with the Millenium Ring said. "We found out that Yami has a sister!"
"Yeah, and she's really pretty!" Yugi added. Marina smiled at him, and he grinned back.
Two girls came into view, both brown haired and blue eyed. "A-Anzu! Serenity!" Marina burst out before she could contain herself.
"Thankfully, no one seemed to notice except Yugi, who gave her a curious look. Then he smiled. "Yami did that when he first saw them, too," he whispered.
She ruffled his hair, and then introductions were made. T'ea stared at her for a second before saying in a curious voice, "You know, I could swear that I know you. And" she held up a card that had the Fairy's Gift on it. "Why is this glowing?"
Serenity stared. "You, too?" And she held up her also glowing Angel of Nevermore.
"Whoa, this is psyching me out!" Joey exclaimed as he held up his Flame Swordsman.
"I'll say," Tristen agreed as his Soldier of Doom was displayed.
Yami only smirked and held up Kuriboh.
Marina sweatdropped. She herself could feel a heat from her pocket of her new clothes that she wasn't exactly sure she liked. She reached into the pocket to find all of her monsters' images printed on thin cards. Anreielle was glowing strongly, and surprisingly, so was Kuribess. Everyone stared at her two cards that she held up.
"I've never seen those cards before," Kaiba said, peering closely at them. "And what is that Kuriboh doing with pink paws?"
"It isn't a Kuriboh," Yami said, with a roll of his eyes. Marina wasn't surprised that even though this Kaiba seemed nicer, Yami was still on guard. "It's a Kuribess, the twin sister of Kuriboh. And the angel is the Gray Angel...card. You see that heart on both her forehead and on her dress?" He pointed to the hearts. They were pitch black on one side, a perfect gray on the middle of the hearts, and white on the other side of the gray. "It represents Shadow, Light, and Gray magic."
"Dude," Joey whispered in awe. Marina winced. She really would have to learn some of the slang on this age. Then, the door to the game shop opened again, and a loud, impatient voice demanded, "Well, where's the shopkeeper? Hurry, up! Come on, now..."and he trailed off, seeing them all standing there and glaring at him. Marina edged to the back of the group, and ducked behind the counter.
The newcomer had sunglasses on his face, and a bandanna held his blond hair that went every which way. He introduced himself, with a sneer, as Bandit Keith. Yami quickly filled her in using telepathy all that had happened because of the man. When he was done, Marina was even angrier than she had been about the stone carvers.
That ugly little bitch! I ought to jump out there and teach him a lesson, tell him to make fun of friends of my brother! He needs to go fuck a pole, dammit!
No one could understand why the former pharaoh's face went bright red, or why he trembled from held in laughter except for Yugi, who had been included in the conversation. He choked, and then turned back to Keith.
"Well, I came to find some good cards. So show me, Muoto, what have you got?" Keith was asking, a horrible superior sound in his voice.
"Now you listen here," Kaiba hissed, taking a step towards the man. "Don't you dare speak to any of us like that, coward! Except for the Chihuahua, we're all good duelists here!"
"Hey now, what was that for?" Joey demanded with a hurt look on his face that mixed with a scowl.
Keith smirked. "I see. Say!" He had spotted Marina's two cards on the table, though they were no longer glowing. "These are pretty decent! A Kuriboh with pink paws? It has to be one of a kind! And this angel card! I haven't even heard about it!"
"They're not for sale," Yami said coldly, snatching the cards away from the bandit.
"That's right, they already belong to someone else, someone much worthier than you are!" Serenity glared.
"Well, maybe they're not for sale...but are you, pretty baby?"
Serenity turned pink from either humiliation or anger Marina couldn't tell. Joey jumped in, yelling, "Keith, I don't care if your bitch of a self teases anyone but her, but if you talk to my sister like that, you've crossed the line!"
"That goes for my sister, too." All eyes turned to Yami. If his voice had been cold before, then it was winter's heart now.
"Why should I listen to you?"
"Keith, you bastard!" T'ea screamed as Serenity turned pale. Tristen put an arm around Serenity, and she blushed, though she didn't move away, Marina noted. Kaiba gently put his hands on Mokuba's shoulders and attempted to steer him out of the shop, though froze when Keith drawled, "Oh, how sweet! Poor Kaiba is trying to protect his kid brother---"
It was the last straw for Kaiba, it seemed. He swung out his arm in a perfect right hook, knocking Keith onto his knees. But Keith wrapped his arms around Kaiba's ankles and in a second, they were in a full blown out fight. Tristen and Joey rushed to help with battle cries, and only Yugi clutching to Yami's arm prevented Yami from doing the same. Marina shook her head. Why did boys always seem to think that fighting was the answer to everything?
She stepped out from behind the counter, and shouted as loudly as she could, "Stop this immediately! Bandit Keith, you are the most disgraceful person I have ever seen, a disgrace to yourself, and to dueling! You will stop now."
The four fighters brushed themselves off, and stared at the floor, all except Keith. He looked straight at her and gave a low, long whistle. Yami surged forward and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
"You will not do anything to her," he growled. "You will leave her alone."
A voice chuckled from behind, a dark voice, a voice that haunted Marina in her dreams...the voice of a certain tomb robber.
"Bakura," she hissed whirling around. And there he was, and standing beside him was another boy who looked just like him, except softer and kinder. "So you survived. What a pity! How could you deserve an item? How many times did I haul you off to jail, only to have you escape? I fell in l- --" She stopped, suddenly aware of what she had been going to say. "We'll discuss this later," she spat.
Yami had thrown the bandit out, with a shouted "And never come back, mother fucker!" And he added a list of curses that Marina had only heard in Thieves' Lane a millennium ago.
He stepped back inside and dusted imaginary dirt off his hands. "You wanted to talk to Bakura, Marina? Go on upstairs; we live above the shop."
And so she and Bakura went, leaving everyone else downstairs and in foul moods. As soon as they were in a private room, Marina slammed the door, and whirled around to face the tomb robber, only to be folded into strong arms and thoroughly kissed. Marina was too shocked to move, and just let it happen. After he was done, she was breathless and gasping.
"I missed you so much," Bakura said in a voice that no one had heard before. He never spoke that way. "But I couldn't do anything; your brother hates me, everyone else except Ryou thinks that I'm evil, and I admit, I did some horrible things in this millennia, too, but...Isis, I don't even know why I'm so in love with you... You don't know what you do to me..."
"Bakura, you rotten little thief," Marina whispered into his chest. "I knew we could never be. I tried to forget you, but I couldn't! Every spare moment I had, guess who popped into my mind? But how could I ever tell Yami? And do you know how much it hurt when my monsters had to haul you off to jail, when it was me who was to blame for your punishments for your robbing..."
T'ea poked her head in just as they headed towards the door. "Bakura, Yami wants to see you," she said quietly. And so Yami and Bakura talked in another quiet room somewhere else; Marina didn't know where. She took this time to talk to Serenity and T'ea more, and she also revived their memories of their past lives. They both were surprised and shocked when they found out that they had lived millenniums ago. Marina also helped revive Serenity's Light power, and T'ea's Shadow power. Yugi and Ryou watched, fascinated, as the monsters emerged from the cards. Only until Marina helped them did they discover that they could summon, too. (Ryou's 11, people, just so you know--WA.) Their power was both of Light. Kaiba's, as you can guess, was still Shadow, and he already knew how to use it. 7-year- old Mokuba's was almost Gray. He had mostly Shadow, but there was Light, there, too. The properties of Light are healing and rebirth. Shadow Magic destroyed and conquered. Marina could do both, and Mokuba had limited healing abilities. Limited.
The door to the shop opened once more, and everyone in it looked warily up. A blonde-haired girl in purple and white stepped in. "Okay, Yugi, I'm here for our weekly duel," she announced in a drawl. Marina studied her intently. The girl was a bit ostentatious, that was for sure. She seemed nice, though, because everyone seemed happy to see her.
"Mia Valentine," she introduced herself to Marina. "Nice to meet you."
Marina grinned back, and everyone watched Mia and Yugi duel, except for Bakura and Yami, who were still talking. Mia puts a lot of faith in her Harpy Ladies, Marina thought as Mia drew magic card after magic card, and trap after trap. She doesn't seem to have any monsters other than them.
Yugi won the duel narrowly. He used Oozaki just in time, or Mia would have trounced him. Marina thought that she was a pretty good duelist. Reaching into a pocket, she took her deck out. "Can I duel anybody?" she asked.
Mia smiled, and replied, "Duel me, gorgeous girl. I need to beat someone!"
"You came to the wrong person, then," Marina smirked.
Her first hand was good. Anaia, Cissandra, Anreielle, Kuribess, Fairy of Forgotten Memories, called Myriandra, and the Revealing of Darkness (my own made up magic card!) were all good cards, but Mia was smiling ferociously, which made Marina gulp.
Mia went first. "Harpy Lady, in attack mode!"
Hmmm, if I destroy her Harpy Lady right off, she might not have any other monsters. "OK, then I put down this magic card face down, and the Angel of Innocence, in attack mode, also! Buh-bye Harpy Lady!"
Mia gasped. "B-but that's a really strong monster! On your first turn- ----!"
"Yeah, that's right. Make your next move."
Mia drew a card, and said, "I place this magic card face down. Turn over."
"No problem! I'll I activate Revealing of Darkness, and place a monster face down in defense mode!"
"Walking right into my trap," Mia crowed, as she turned over De- Spell. Marina growled as she placed it into the Graveyard. The Revealing of Darkness would have destroyed all the opponent's cards without damage to herself. Mia's eyes bugged as she saw the card.
"Marina, I haven't even heard of that card! I haven't heard of your other card, either! This is---!"
Marina shrugged as Mia drew. "Harpy's Pet Dragon! Attacking your monster in defense mode!"
Marina tossed a stray lock of hair over her shoulder. "Nope. Your Pet Dragon says good-bye, too." She drew, and smiled. "I put this trap card facedown, and turn my face down monster card over in attack mode!"
Mia stared. "Is this a joke? How could a Kuriboh stand against my Pet Dragon?"
"Not a Kuriboh, Kuribess, the twin sister of Kuriboh! Just being near the Angel of Innocence increases the attack and defense points of Kuriboh and Kuribess by a whopping 2000 points!"
Mia frowned and drew, and her eyes brightened. "I put this card face down, and another Harpy Lady in attack mode!"
Marina's eyes narrowed. The face down card could be either a magic or a trap card; Mia hadn't said. She took a deep breath. She could always draw for Forgiver of Sins (Another made-up card!), which would revive all of her monsters in the graveyard if things got really bad. She sighed, and said, "OK. I attack Harpy Lady with Anai--I mean, the Angel of Innocence."
Mia gasped. "Argh!" she cried. "I forfeit already! How could you have possibly known that I had Elegant Eagittus (I don't care if I didn't spell it right.)face down?"
Marina's smile was dazzling, her voice teasing. "I think I just guess really well." A door opened nearby. Marina's head whipped around as Yami called, "Hey sis, could you get over here for a minute?"
"Coming!" Marina yelled back, and with an apologetic smile to everyone else, ran in the direction his voice. She passed Bakura in the hall, and stopped, a question evident in her eyes. "It's fine," he whispered, reaching out a squeezing her hand. "He's pretty decent." She nodded, and walked on at a more reasonable pace.
As she sat down on a bed in what must have been Yugi's room (It was covered with posters of the Dark Magician), and Yami let out what must have been a huge breath of air. "You're in love," he said at last, flatly, plainly stating a point, not questioning.
"So what if I am?" Marina whispered, her eyebrows lifting. "You can't hate him, Yami, I would hate myself for eternity if you did---"
"And I don't hate him," Yami admitted. "We just don't get along that well. We've improved, yes, and I think we could be friends. Now, Marina what hurts is that you didn't tell me."
Marina blushed. "Now you're acting like Father used to," she grumbled. "Well, just in case you had forgotten, he was the best thief in all of Egypt, and you would do anything to catch, punish, and torture him. As if I could tell you after all that!"
Yami grinned unexpectedly. "Well, yes," he relented. "That might have been a very, very good reason why you didn't tell me. Well, now you know that I'm OK with it. Let's go join the others?"
As they walked back, a loud BANG! startled them all. Another BANG!, and Yugi ran over to the door and pulled it open. When he saw who it was, he let out a frightened squeak and collided into Marina. She put her hands on his shoulders and squeezed reassuringly, though she herself was scared. There was a giant stooping in the doorway.
"Well?" he said in a gruff sort of voice. "Aren't ye going to let me in?"
"Y-yes, come on in," Serenity stuttered, as T'ea breathed, "Please."
Marina eased her one of her hands into her pocket and pulled out her deck as the giant stepped in. He eased onto the sofa in the living room when they led him there. "Hm," he grunted as he settled himself. "Much better'n when I 'ad to go pick up Harry."
"All right," Marina planted her fists on her hips. "What do you want, what's your name, and why are you here?"
Marina! Yami and Bakura chorused in admonition. That was rude! They had both returned to their soul rooms. I don't care, Marina returned obstinately. He just demanded to be invited in. That was rude, too!
The giant was chuckling. "Forward, aren't you? I'm Hagrid, from Hogwarts. I came t' bring ye t' school."
Marina frowned. "School? I'm 14, here, and I'm already enrolled at...somewhere. Why didn't you tell us in advance that you would be coming?"
Hagrid's eyes seemed to laugh, though his face was completely serious. "Tell you in advance? I thought I did. And I know Dumbledore didn't mention you when he told me to come----"
He was interrupted by a loud tapping on the door again. Marina's eyes narrowed. That didn't sound like a knock, more like a wood-pecker drilling a hole in a tree.
Mokuba ghosted down the hall and pulled open the door, and blinked in surprise as a tawny brown owl flew past him. "What on earth!"
The owl had a thick letter clutched in its beak, and it flew to Hagrid and settled onto the couch's arm. Hagrid read the letter, and nodded wearily. Marina read it, too, though upside down.
Hagrid,
I hope this finds you in good health. What a beautiful night, isn't it, perfect for stargazing. Professor Trelawney, Professor McGonagall, and I are taking a stroll down by the lake. I haven't talked to the giant squid in such a long time, and Sirius says it misses me terribly, which I find rather hard to believe. Enough! The real purpose of this letter is to tell you that although Mr.'s Seto Kaiba, Mokuba Kaiba, Yugi Muoto, Ryou Bakura, Joey Wheeler, and Tristen Taylor are not all 11, I need them all at Hogwarts for certain reasons that I dare not say lest the letter falls into the wrong hands. The Ladies Serenity Wheeler, Mia Valentine, and T'ea are also to be sent here. But they are not all. Convince this group to allow you to see the three ancient spirits they are hiding, one lovely girl, her brother, and her lover. Convince them to move to England; I can have it arranged for them to live close to the Weasley's. Do not fail me, Hagrid! I would trust you with my life.
Albus Dumbledore
(Let's skip all the titles, shall we?) Postscript: The following letter is for Ms. Marina Muoto. As a proudly smiling Hagrid handed her the letter, she felt a shiver of magic race up her hand. She broke the seal, noting its code of arms, and read:
My dear Marina Muoto,
I know that Yami, Bakura, and yourself are ancient spirits, with a powerful magic of your own. We would love to study it, but we don't wish for you to simply become specimens. That would be the cruelest thing. I would like all of you to become students here at Hogwarts, because I think that you all have the talent to become wonderful witches and wizards.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Marina looked up just in time to hear Yugi ask, "So those weren't prank letters after all, were they, like Joey said they were?" Joey turned bright red. "We can really become witches and wizards?"
"Sorry to interrupt," Marina cut in smoothly as Hagrid opened his mouth to answer. "But you wanted to see Yami and Bakura, did you?" She sighed. "I made the mistake of staying out."
"Yes please, miss," Hagrid said, his black eyes direct. "Right away."
Marina, you told? Yami asked as he and Bakura materialized.
Of course not, was the answer. The letter he just got told him all about us.
"Now, ont' yer schoolin'. Dumbledore wants ye to move ter England, see, 'cause Hogwarts is in it, an' it'll be easier fer us all. I know a nice place----"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After quite a while, it was decided where they would live, and such and such. Kaiba protested that he couldn't possibly leave Kaiba Corp., but when this protest was greeted with silence, he relented. It was decided that they wouldn't bother with plane tickets ("We'll just Realm Travel," Marina, Yami, and Bakura assured everyone else), and that they would leave tomorrow. T'ea was frowning thoughtfully all the while.
After Hagrid left, T'ea and Mia mysteriously disappeared, after T'ea had whispered something in Mia's ear, taking their purses with them. It was past dinnertime when they came back, lugging huge bags that bulged suspiciously.
"Clothes," T'ea explained brightly as everyone groaned. She pursed her lips. "For Marina," Mia added pointedly.
Yami laughed quietly to himself as Marina's eyes went wide and she started backing away. She had always hated fittings. She preferred to make her own clothes the way she liked them. Serenity turned to the boys and ordered, "Out! Out! We don't want you here! Buh-bye!" Grinning at Marina's horrified face, they left.
T'ea reached into the nearest bag, and shook wrinkles that none of them could see out of a pretty dark green sweater. She beckoned Marina over, and she tried it on, and it was followed by a blue sleeveless sweater...and a pair of jeans with intricate designs on them...by a tight fitting red T-shirt...and on...and on...
After all was done, Marina collapsed on the sofa, moaning about clothes that never fit right and didn't look good on her. They had decided on three different sweaters; two different T-shirts and one light long sleeved shirt; four different pairs of jeans, and two pairs of shorts; two headbands; three hair scrunchies; and a huge pack of hair ties, which Marina protested that she wouldn't need, because she always liked her hair in long waves straight down her back. She had refused to even try on the dresses and skirts. A knock on the door startled them all. "Are we allowed to come in now?" That was Mokuba, with a hint of a giggle in his voice. "Hagrid said we had to leave in four hours, remember, and it's already been one and a half hours."
Marina, now wearing a tight aquamarine T-shirt that exactly matched her eyes and a pair of jeans with a silver and gold beaded hem, groaned. "I'm worn out already," she grumbled, unaware that Yugi and Mokuba were sneaking up behind her with dripping ice cubes in their hands. "Wait a sec, plea----Ahhhh!" Stealthily, the two mischievous boys had gently parted her hair and slipped the ice cubes down her back, while Ryou was doubled up with laughter, and hung onto the doorframe to support himself as he tried not to spill a cup full of the boys' ammunition. T'ea, Serenity, and Mia had traded bemused expressions and were giggling helplessly as an enraged Marina tickled Yugi. Even Yami and Bakura laughed when Mokuba started to strike silly poses, and when he slipped ice cubes down the sleeping Joey's back...well, you can imagine!
They all packed their things in an hour, and then they split into Traveling groups. Marina could go anywhere, but those of the Light must stay in the Light, and those of Shadow must stay in Shadow. "I can lead them," Marina offered, since no one else had been into the Realm of Light before in that time. "The rest of you should all be all right with Yami and Bakura, right?" They all agreed to her reasoning, and portals were opened. After a few "good-bye for now!"s, all stepped into the portals and disappeared. No one saw that a fat, gray rat had been watching intently from a shadowed corner.
Oh, I love cliffhangers! I'll see you next time, all right? Review, please! I'll do practically anything, I swear. If you don't know how to, just click on the "Go" at the bottom. Don't throw flames, please! . -----Water's Angel.
~~~~~~~~~
Marina seemed to be waking up, inside her necklace. She wondered where it was then. She took a peek out of the gray pearl, the one in the center of the other two. She seemed to be in a jewelry shop. She sighed. Now she would have to find a way to get out of the glass case the necklace was on.
"Dude, that is one cool necklace," a boy's voice said, and he punctuated the statement by whistling. "I think I'll buy it for Serenity, for recovering from the surgery so quickly. Yo, Tristen, whaddya think?" Looking from her soul pearl again, she saw a blond-haired boy in a green jacket with brown eyes. A boy with spiked brown hair joined him. Jounochi! Honda! Reincarnated!
"Oh yeah! Joey, you are one sharp man when it comes to findin' stuff for Serenity," Tristen, Marina thought his name had been, joked. His voice grew more serious. "Sure, go ahead! I'd bet she'd love it...but there's a problem."
"What?"
"Did you even glance at the price tag? Dude, it's $99.99!"
"What?! Hey, d'you think Kaiba would lend me some?"
Kaiba! Marina thought. What?!
"Do you think I would what?" Marina heard a voice she knew all too well ask. She looked out to see the same old Kaiba. He seemed...nicer though, somehow. Kinder. He looked exactly the same, but in different clothes. He walked over to the counter and looked down at the necklace. "Wow! Is it really that valuable?" he asked the manager.
"Of course!" the fat, potbellied man seemed to be offended. "Do you know how rare black and especially gray pearls are?"
"Okay, Joey," Kaiba said in a resigned voice. "How much have you got?"
"Well..."
"Joey!"
"About...um..."
"Spit it out!" Kaiba roared.
"$10."
Kaiba sighed, and laid $90 on the counter and glared. "For your sister, Chihuahua, not you."
Marina laughed inside the pearl as Joey tried to punch Kaiba. Same as always, she thought.
So, she was "bought", but when the necklace was showed to Yugi Muoto, her eyes overflowed. He was the mirror image of Yami, but softer. Marina thought that he and Anaia would get along very well. As soon as he touched it, his hand jerked back.
"Put it on the table!" He hissed to Joey. "There's a spirit inside it!"
Marina cried only harder when she saw Yami materialize from the puzzle and say, "I'm going to force him or her out. It might not be friendly, so stand back!"
She dried her tears, and prepared to be yanked out of the pearl. Nothing happened. She laughed and laughed. He couldn't get her out. Only one with Gray Magic could. Then she stopped. How was she to come out? And another boy, who looked like the tomb robber from the past! He had the Ring! She swallowed hard, and decided to just materialize, and save a lot of trouble and fuss, which she absolutely despised.
As soon as she was out, she started crying again. She couldn't help it. And most surprising of all, so did her brother. "Oh Yami," she whispered, into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry---"
"I should be sorry," he whispered back, his breath tickling her ear. "I shouldn't have played that trick on you and got you angry."
The solemn tension in the air that rose from the others broke when Joey asked, "Is she friendly or not?" Everyone laughed.
As she stepped away from her brother rubbing her eyes, Marina muttered, "I must look like some freak."
Yami grinned. Same old Marina. Always thinking that she looked horrible when she could make crying look beautiful and break your heart at the same time. Nobody else had got a good look at her before she had ran to Yami. Now they did, and gasped. She was drop dead, break-your-heart gorgeous, even in the Egyptian clothes that she was wearing.
"Joey," she said, smiling at him. Joey felt his heart melt like butter. "Sorry about the necklace. You can have one of my other ones..." and she handed him a very pretty necklace of woven gold set with garnets and rubies that she seemingly plucked from thin air.
"Yami," said a new voice, one that Marina had not heard before. "Is she your wife?"
Yami turned bright red and spluttered something indecipherable. At last, he managed, "Mokuba, you be quiet!" to the little boy with the long spiky hair.
"No, I'm not," Marina said with a mischievous grin. "I'm his sister. But when I last checked---about a millennia ago isn't it?----everyone wanted to be." She dodged her brother's would-be yank on a lock of her hair. Everyone laughed again, and Tristen teased, "Ohhhh, good with the ladies, were you?"
"So anyway," Marina said, noticing that Yami was about to blow his top. "Where can I get clothes like the ones you have on? I'm not sure many people walk around dressed like this!"
"Can your pearl necklace supply it?" Yami asked curiously, glad for the change of topic.
Marina shrugged. "I'll try!" and she disappeared. A few seconds later, she reappeared in embroidered jeans, and a turtleneck/sweater. Sapphire studs gleamed in each ear. "How's this?"
"Hey what's everyone doing?" a girl's voice asked, before anyone could answer her.
"T'ea! Serenity!" the boy with the Millenium Ring said. "We found out that Yami has a sister!"
"Yeah, and she's really pretty!" Yugi added. Marina smiled at him, and he grinned back.
Two girls came into view, both brown haired and blue eyed. "A-Anzu! Serenity!" Marina burst out before she could contain herself.
"Thankfully, no one seemed to notice except Yugi, who gave her a curious look. Then he smiled. "Yami did that when he first saw them, too," he whispered.
She ruffled his hair, and then introductions were made. T'ea stared at her for a second before saying in a curious voice, "You know, I could swear that I know you. And" she held up a card that had the Fairy's Gift on it. "Why is this glowing?"
Serenity stared. "You, too?" And she held up her also glowing Angel of Nevermore.
"Whoa, this is psyching me out!" Joey exclaimed as he held up his Flame Swordsman.
"I'll say," Tristen agreed as his Soldier of Doom was displayed.
Yami only smirked and held up Kuriboh.
Marina sweatdropped. She herself could feel a heat from her pocket of her new clothes that she wasn't exactly sure she liked. She reached into the pocket to find all of her monsters' images printed on thin cards. Anreielle was glowing strongly, and surprisingly, so was Kuribess. Everyone stared at her two cards that she held up.
"I've never seen those cards before," Kaiba said, peering closely at them. "And what is that Kuriboh doing with pink paws?"
"It isn't a Kuriboh," Yami said, with a roll of his eyes. Marina wasn't surprised that even though this Kaiba seemed nicer, Yami was still on guard. "It's a Kuribess, the twin sister of Kuriboh. And the angel is the Gray Angel...card. You see that heart on both her forehead and on her dress?" He pointed to the hearts. They were pitch black on one side, a perfect gray on the middle of the hearts, and white on the other side of the gray. "It represents Shadow, Light, and Gray magic."
"Dude," Joey whispered in awe. Marina winced. She really would have to learn some of the slang on this age. Then, the door to the game shop opened again, and a loud, impatient voice demanded, "Well, where's the shopkeeper? Hurry, up! Come on, now..."and he trailed off, seeing them all standing there and glaring at him. Marina edged to the back of the group, and ducked behind the counter.
The newcomer had sunglasses on his face, and a bandanna held his blond hair that went every which way. He introduced himself, with a sneer, as Bandit Keith. Yami quickly filled her in using telepathy all that had happened because of the man. When he was done, Marina was even angrier than she had been about the stone carvers.
That ugly little bitch! I ought to jump out there and teach him a lesson, tell him to make fun of friends of my brother! He needs to go fuck a pole, dammit!
No one could understand why the former pharaoh's face went bright red, or why he trembled from held in laughter except for Yugi, who had been included in the conversation. He choked, and then turned back to Keith.
"Well, I came to find some good cards. So show me, Muoto, what have you got?" Keith was asking, a horrible superior sound in his voice.
"Now you listen here," Kaiba hissed, taking a step towards the man. "Don't you dare speak to any of us like that, coward! Except for the Chihuahua, we're all good duelists here!"
"Hey now, what was that for?" Joey demanded with a hurt look on his face that mixed with a scowl.
Keith smirked. "I see. Say!" He had spotted Marina's two cards on the table, though they were no longer glowing. "These are pretty decent! A Kuriboh with pink paws? It has to be one of a kind! And this angel card! I haven't even heard about it!"
"They're not for sale," Yami said coldly, snatching the cards away from the bandit.
"That's right, they already belong to someone else, someone much worthier than you are!" Serenity glared.
"Well, maybe they're not for sale...but are you, pretty baby?"
Serenity turned pink from either humiliation or anger Marina couldn't tell. Joey jumped in, yelling, "Keith, I don't care if your bitch of a self teases anyone but her, but if you talk to my sister like that, you've crossed the line!"
"That goes for my sister, too." All eyes turned to Yami. If his voice had been cold before, then it was winter's heart now.
"Why should I listen to you?"
"Keith, you bastard!" T'ea screamed as Serenity turned pale. Tristen put an arm around Serenity, and she blushed, though she didn't move away, Marina noted. Kaiba gently put his hands on Mokuba's shoulders and attempted to steer him out of the shop, though froze when Keith drawled, "Oh, how sweet! Poor Kaiba is trying to protect his kid brother---"
It was the last straw for Kaiba, it seemed. He swung out his arm in a perfect right hook, knocking Keith onto his knees. But Keith wrapped his arms around Kaiba's ankles and in a second, they were in a full blown out fight. Tristen and Joey rushed to help with battle cries, and only Yugi clutching to Yami's arm prevented Yami from doing the same. Marina shook her head. Why did boys always seem to think that fighting was the answer to everything?
She stepped out from behind the counter, and shouted as loudly as she could, "Stop this immediately! Bandit Keith, you are the most disgraceful person I have ever seen, a disgrace to yourself, and to dueling! You will stop now."
The four fighters brushed themselves off, and stared at the floor, all except Keith. He looked straight at her and gave a low, long whistle. Yami surged forward and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
"You will not do anything to her," he growled. "You will leave her alone."
A voice chuckled from behind, a dark voice, a voice that haunted Marina in her dreams...the voice of a certain tomb robber.
"Bakura," she hissed whirling around. And there he was, and standing beside him was another boy who looked just like him, except softer and kinder. "So you survived. What a pity! How could you deserve an item? How many times did I haul you off to jail, only to have you escape? I fell in l- --" She stopped, suddenly aware of what she had been going to say. "We'll discuss this later," she spat.
Yami had thrown the bandit out, with a shouted "And never come back, mother fucker!" And he added a list of curses that Marina had only heard in Thieves' Lane a millennium ago.
He stepped back inside and dusted imaginary dirt off his hands. "You wanted to talk to Bakura, Marina? Go on upstairs; we live above the shop."
And so she and Bakura went, leaving everyone else downstairs and in foul moods. As soon as they were in a private room, Marina slammed the door, and whirled around to face the tomb robber, only to be folded into strong arms and thoroughly kissed. Marina was too shocked to move, and just let it happen. After he was done, she was breathless and gasping.
"I missed you so much," Bakura said in a voice that no one had heard before. He never spoke that way. "But I couldn't do anything; your brother hates me, everyone else except Ryou thinks that I'm evil, and I admit, I did some horrible things in this millennia, too, but...Isis, I don't even know why I'm so in love with you... You don't know what you do to me..."
"Bakura, you rotten little thief," Marina whispered into his chest. "I knew we could never be. I tried to forget you, but I couldn't! Every spare moment I had, guess who popped into my mind? But how could I ever tell Yami? And do you know how much it hurt when my monsters had to haul you off to jail, when it was me who was to blame for your punishments for your robbing..."
T'ea poked her head in just as they headed towards the door. "Bakura, Yami wants to see you," she said quietly. And so Yami and Bakura talked in another quiet room somewhere else; Marina didn't know where. She took this time to talk to Serenity and T'ea more, and she also revived their memories of their past lives. They both were surprised and shocked when they found out that they had lived millenniums ago. Marina also helped revive Serenity's Light power, and T'ea's Shadow power. Yugi and Ryou watched, fascinated, as the monsters emerged from the cards. Only until Marina helped them did they discover that they could summon, too. (Ryou's 11, people, just so you know--WA.) Their power was both of Light. Kaiba's, as you can guess, was still Shadow, and he already knew how to use it. 7-year- old Mokuba's was almost Gray. He had mostly Shadow, but there was Light, there, too. The properties of Light are healing and rebirth. Shadow Magic destroyed and conquered. Marina could do both, and Mokuba had limited healing abilities. Limited.
The door to the shop opened once more, and everyone in it looked warily up. A blonde-haired girl in purple and white stepped in. "Okay, Yugi, I'm here for our weekly duel," she announced in a drawl. Marina studied her intently. The girl was a bit ostentatious, that was for sure. She seemed nice, though, because everyone seemed happy to see her.
"Mia Valentine," she introduced herself to Marina. "Nice to meet you."
Marina grinned back, and everyone watched Mia and Yugi duel, except for Bakura and Yami, who were still talking. Mia puts a lot of faith in her Harpy Ladies, Marina thought as Mia drew magic card after magic card, and trap after trap. She doesn't seem to have any monsters other than them.
Yugi won the duel narrowly. He used Oozaki just in time, or Mia would have trounced him. Marina thought that she was a pretty good duelist. Reaching into a pocket, she took her deck out. "Can I duel anybody?" she asked.
Mia smiled, and replied, "Duel me, gorgeous girl. I need to beat someone!"
"You came to the wrong person, then," Marina smirked.
Her first hand was good. Anaia, Cissandra, Anreielle, Kuribess, Fairy of Forgotten Memories, called Myriandra, and the Revealing of Darkness (my own made up magic card!) were all good cards, but Mia was smiling ferociously, which made Marina gulp.
Mia went first. "Harpy Lady, in attack mode!"
Hmmm, if I destroy her Harpy Lady right off, she might not have any other monsters. "OK, then I put down this magic card face down, and the Angel of Innocence, in attack mode, also! Buh-bye Harpy Lady!"
Mia gasped. "B-but that's a really strong monster! On your first turn- ----!"
"Yeah, that's right. Make your next move."
Mia drew a card, and said, "I place this magic card face down. Turn over."
"No problem! I'll I activate Revealing of Darkness, and place a monster face down in defense mode!"
"Walking right into my trap," Mia crowed, as she turned over De- Spell. Marina growled as she placed it into the Graveyard. The Revealing of Darkness would have destroyed all the opponent's cards without damage to herself. Mia's eyes bugged as she saw the card.
"Marina, I haven't even heard of that card! I haven't heard of your other card, either! This is---!"
Marina shrugged as Mia drew. "Harpy's Pet Dragon! Attacking your monster in defense mode!"
Marina tossed a stray lock of hair over her shoulder. "Nope. Your Pet Dragon says good-bye, too." She drew, and smiled. "I put this trap card facedown, and turn my face down monster card over in attack mode!"
Mia stared. "Is this a joke? How could a Kuriboh stand against my Pet Dragon?"
"Not a Kuriboh, Kuribess, the twin sister of Kuriboh! Just being near the Angel of Innocence increases the attack and defense points of Kuriboh and Kuribess by a whopping 2000 points!"
Mia frowned and drew, and her eyes brightened. "I put this card face down, and another Harpy Lady in attack mode!"
Marina's eyes narrowed. The face down card could be either a magic or a trap card; Mia hadn't said. She took a deep breath. She could always draw for Forgiver of Sins (Another made-up card!), which would revive all of her monsters in the graveyard if things got really bad. She sighed, and said, "OK. I attack Harpy Lady with Anai--I mean, the Angel of Innocence."
Mia gasped. "Argh!" she cried. "I forfeit already! How could you have possibly known that I had Elegant Eagittus (I don't care if I didn't spell it right.)face down?"
Marina's smile was dazzling, her voice teasing. "I think I just guess really well." A door opened nearby. Marina's head whipped around as Yami called, "Hey sis, could you get over here for a minute?"
"Coming!" Marina yelled back, and with an apologetic smile to everyone else, ran in the direction his voice. She passed Bakura in the hall, and stopped, a question evident in her eyes. "It's fine," he whispered, reaching out a squeezing her hand. "He's pretty decent." She nodded, and walked on at a more reasonable pace.
As she sat down on a bed in what must have been Yugi's room (It was covered with posters of the Dark Magician), and Yami let out what must have been a huge breath of air. "You're in love," he said at last, flatly, plainly stating a point, not questioning.
"So what if I am?" Marina whispered, her eyebrows lifting. "You can't hate him, Yami, I would hate myself for eternity if you did---"
"And I don't hate him," Yami admitted. "We just don't get along that well. We've improved, yes, and I think we could be friends. Now, Marina what hurts is that you didn't tell me."
Marina blushed. "Now you're acting like Father used to," she grumbled. "Well, just in case you had forgotten, he was the best thief in all of Egypt, and you would do anything to catch, punish, and torture him. As if I could tell you after all that!"
Yami grinned unexpectedly. "Well, yes," he relented. "That might have been a very, very good reason why you didn't tell me. Well, now you know that I'm OK with it. Let's go join the others?"
As they walked back, a loud BANG! startled them all. Another BANG!, and Yugi ran over to the door and pulled it open. When he saw who it was, he let out a frightened squeak and collided into Marina. She put her hands on his shoulders and squeezed reassuringly, though she herself was scared. There was a giant stooping in the doorway.
"Well?" he said in a gruff sort of voice. "Aren't ye going to let me in?"
"Y-yes, come on in," Serenity stuttered, as T'ea breathed, "Please."
Marina eased her one of her hands into her pocket and pulled out her deck as the giant stepped in. He eased onto the sofa in the living room when they led him there. "Hm," he grunted as he settled himself. "Much better'n when I 'ad to go pick up Harry."
"All right," Marina planted her fists on her hips. "What do you want, what's your name, and why are you here?"
Marina! Yami and Bakura chorused in admonition. That was rude! They had both returned to their soul rooms. I don't care, Marina returned obstinately. He just demanded to be invited in. That was rude, too!
The giant was chuckling. "Forward, aren't you? I'm Hagrid, from Hogwarts. I came t' bring ye t' school."
Marina frowned. "School? I'm 14, here, and I'm already enrolled at...somewhere. Why didn't you tell us in advance that you would be coming?"
Hagrid's eyes seemed to laugh, though his face was completely serious. "Tell you in advance? I thought I did. And I know Dumbledore didn't mention you when he told me to come----"
He was interrupted by a loud tapping on the door again. Marina's eyes narrowed. That didn't sound like a knock, more like a wood-pecker drilling a hole in a tree.
Mokuba ghosted down the hall and pulled open the door, and blinked in surprise as a tawny brown owl flew past him. "What on earth!"
The owl had a thick letter clutched in its beak, and it flew to Hagrid and settled onto the couch's arm. Hagrid read the letter, and nodded wearily. Marina read it, too, though upside down.
Hagrid,
I hope this finds you in good health. What a beautiful night, isn't it, perfect for stargazing. Professor Trelawney, Professor McGonagall, and I are taking a stroll down by the lake. I haven't talked to the giant squid in such a long time, and Sirius says it misses me terribly, which I find rather hard to believe. Enough! The real purpose of this letter is to tell you that although Mr.'s Seto Kaiba, Mokuba Kaiba, Yugi Muoto, Ryou Bakura, Joey Wheeler, and Tristen Taylor are not all 11, I need them all at Hogwarts for certain reasons that I dare not say lest the letter falls into the wrong hands. The Ladies Serenity Wheeler, Mia Valentine, and T'ea are also to be sent here. But they are not all. Convince this group to allow you to see the three ancient spirits they are hiding, one lovely girl, her brother, and her lover. Convince them to move to England; I can have it arranged for them to live close to the Weasley's. Do not fail me, Hagrid! I would trust you with my life.
Albus Dumbledore
(Let's skip all the titles, shall we?) Postscript: The following letter is for Ms. Marina Muoto. As a proudly smiling Hagrid handed her the letter, she felt a shiver of magic race up her hand. She broke the seal, noting its code of arms, and read:
My dear Marina Muoto,
I know that Yami, Bakura, and yourself are ancient spirits, with a powerful magic of your own. We would love to study it, but we don't wish for you to simply become specimens. That would be the cruelest thing. I would like all of you to become students here at Hogwarts, because I think that you all have the talent to become wonderful witches and wizards.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Marina looked up just in time to hear Yugi ask, "So those weren't prank letters after all, were they, like Joey said they were?" Joey turned bright red. "We can really become witches and wizards?"
"Sorry to interrupt," Marina cut in smoothly as Hagrid opened his mouth to answer. "But you wanted to see Yami and Bakura, did you?" She sighed. "I made the mistake of staying out."
"Yes please, miss," Hagrid said, his black eyes direct. "Right away."
Marina, you told? Yami asked as he and Bakura materialized.
Of course not, was the answer. The letter he just got told him all about us.
"Now, ont' yer schoolin'. Dumbledore wants ye to move ter England, see, 'cause Hogwarts is in it, an' it'll be easier fer us all. I know a nice place----"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After quite a while, it was decided where they would live, and such and such. Kaiba protested that he couldn't possibly leave Kaiba Corp., but when this protest was greeted with silence, he relented. It was decided that they wouldn't bother with plane tickets ("We'll just Realm Travel," Marina, Yami, and Bakura assured everyone else), and that they would leave tomorrow. T'ea was frowning thoughtfully all the while.
After Hagrid left, T'ea and Mia mysteriously disappeared, after T'ea had whispered something in Mia's ear, taking their purses with them. It was past dinnertime when they came back, lugging huge bags that bulged suspiciously.
"Clothes," T'ea explained brightly as everyone groaned. She pursed her lips. "For Marina," Mia added pointedly.
Yami laughed quietly to himself as Marina's eyes went wide and she started backing away. She had always hated fittings. She preferred to make her own clothes the way she liked them. Serenity turned to the boys and ordered, "Out! Out! We don't want you here! Buh-bye!" Grinning at Marina's horrified face, they left.
T'ea reached into the nearest bag, and shook wrinkles that none of them could see out of a pretty dark green sweater. She beckoned Marina over, and she tried it on, and it was followed by a blue sleeveless sweater...and a pair of jeans with intricate designs on them...by a tight fitting red T-shirt...and on...and on...
After all was done, Marina collapsed on the sofa, moaning about clothes that never fit right and didn't look good on her. They had decided on three different sweaters; two different T-shirts and one light long sleeved shirt; four different pairs of jeans, and two pairs of shorts; two headbands; three hair scrunchies; and a huge pack of hair ties, which Marina protested that she wouldn't need, because she always liked her hair in long waves straight down her back. She had refused to even try on the dresses and skirts. A knock on the door startled them all. "Are we allowed to come in now?" That was Mokuba, with a hint of a giggle in his voice. "Hagrid said we had to leave in four hours, remember, and it's already been one and a half hours."
Marina, now wearing a tight aquamarine T-shirt that exactly matched her eyes and a pair of jeans with a silver and gold beaded hem, groaned. "I'm worn out already," she grumbled, unaware that Yugi and Mokuba were sneaking up behind her with dripping ice cubes in their hands. "Wait a sec, plea----Ahhhh!" Stealthily, the two mischievous boys had gently parted her hair and slipped the ice cubes down her back, while Ryou was doubled up with laughter, and hung onto the doorframe to support himself as he tried not to spill a cup full of the boys' ammunition. T'ea, Serenity, and Mia had traded bemused expressions and were giggling helplessly as an enraged Marina tickled Yugi. Even Yami and Bakura laughed when Mokuba started to strike silly poses, and when he slipped ice cubes down the sleeping Joey's back...well, you can imagine!
They all packed their things in an hour, and then they split into Traveling groups. Marina could go anywhere, but those of the Light must stay in the Light, and those of Shadow must stay in Shadow. "I can lead them," Marina offered, since no one else had been into the Realm of Light before in that time. "The rest of you should all be all right with Yami and Bakura, right?" They all agreed to her reasoning, and portals were opened. After a few "good-bye for now!"s, all stepped into the portals and disappeared. No one saw that a fat, gray rat had been watching intently from a shadowed corner.
Oh, I love cliffhangers! I'll see you next time, all right? Review, please! I'll do practically anything, I swear. If you don't know how to, just click on the "Go" at the bottom. Don't throw flames, please! . -----Water's Angel.
