Chapter 14-Yugi
We never asked why Syaoran had brought the book in the first place. Nor did we ask why he agreed to transform the cards. Somehow we felt that we still don't know his past very well, despite the hard-to-forget incidents he had shared with us. It was actually very touching, because later we found out from Pegasus that Syaoran never told his past to anyone before. Not even the Li clan knew what happened to his father.
Syaoran wouldn't show us how to use the cards. Because right after that he withdrew the staff and closed the book. When Seto came to pick him up I had to sneak the book into the older guy's hands, because Syaoran wouldn't touch it.
Seto did look worn and weary. He was awfully thin. His eyes had a look of a wild animal, cautioning anyone who looked at him in the eye. He said something about having to go to his office at five in the morning some time ago, so I guess it was lack of sleep. Seto talked with Ryou for a little while, and I overheard, before they left, that Seto was going on a trip to New York and that Ryou should take care of Mokuba and Syaoran.
The poor guy really does need a vacation.
One morning a few days after Seto left New York to come back, Yami and I were at the game shop front, where we were trying to ponder on Tarkot's fate and link it to Syaoran's. The empty space in Syaoran's past was filled. The only thing to fill now is Syaoran's future, and try to prevent most of it somehow. Yami saw a danger from the Duel Monsters cards, and then he remembered something Tarkot said about monsters not being a danger but the game itself.
" He was very strange about it." Yami told me. " He said, ' There is no such thing as
the Heart of the Cards. Only the heart of the master.' And then he said, ' The
Shadow World is not really Shadow. It is the Field of Reeds.'"
" The Field of Reeds?" I blinked. " What are you talking about?"
" He means the Dead Realm." Yami answered. " Where the Dead Osiris goes."
" Dead Osiris." I blinked. " Gomen. This place is too concerned with Asian history
to be with Egyptian."
" That's alright. The Dead Osiris is actually the spirit of a pharoah that died."
" Oh. So you're a living Horus but not the Osiris."
This made Yami very sad. " I'm pretty much dead. Only I didn't manage to
go to the Field of Reeds."
" But wait, if the Shadow Realm is the Field of Reeds, or the Dead Realm...then was
Tarkot saying that you are wielding magic of the dead?"
" You can say." This made Yami even more sad for some reason. " Egyptians are
serious about death."
" So Tarkot was probably saying that the monsters came from the Dead Realm.
And that they will bring death to the world."
" That's eventually what happened." Yami was uncomfortable. " To Tarkot and
everyone else. We had to start over. It was the time when Egypt was still divided
into two sections. When the Shadow Games nearly destroyed both kingdoms, North
and South Egypt joined to become one empire."
" North and South?" I asked.
" Hai." Yami nodded. " From what I can remember, North was on the bottom, and
South was on the top."
" This is getting me all confused." I blinked. " Why is North on the bottom?"
" Because the Nile flows from down up to the Mediterranean." Talking about it
made Yami really sad. I don't know why, so I dropped the topic.
Before I could go on though, and I'm sure you're all confused by this because
I was, the door opened.
" May I help you?" Jii-chan asked, trying to avoid any distractions so we could
work.
" Hai, I believe so." The voice was very friendly, so we instantly relaxed. " Does
Yugi-san live here?"
I looked up.
" Touya!" I called.
" Yugi-san!" Touya laughed. " And Yami!"
Jii-chan instantly relaxed, knowing that he was a friend.
" What are you doing all the way out here?' I asked, giving him a hug as if I knew
him for years. Then I realized another person behind him, holding a...stuffed animal?
" I came here for a visit." Touya winked. " There were some people who want to
meet Syaoran."
" Some...people?" I blinked. The boy behind Touya bowed.
" Konnichiwa." He said politely. " I am Tsukishiro Yukito. This," He lifted the
stuffed animal up, " Is Kero-chan, the only problem was he got a stomachache from
eating too much of Touya's cooking, so I beg pardon for him."
" Kero I'm familiar with." I blinked. " But I'm not familiar with Yukito..."
" Oh. Maybe Syaoran told you about Yue." Touya offered. I blinked.
" How does that...you're Yue?" I asked. Yukito smiled and nodded. He really was a
nice looking boy, tall and slender, but not as tall as Touya. White hair, a little grayish
though, friendly eyes with glasses neatly balanced on his nose. The stuffed animal
didn't look like anything I've ever seen nor heard of; it looked like some kind of
cross between a bear with wings and a baby lion with wings.
" From what I heard of Syaoran's description," Yami chuckled, " Yue was really
intimidating."
" Ugh, nani? What's going on?" The stuffed animal cried. It had a voice that didn't
seem to belong to it.
" Kero, we're here." Yukito let go of the stuffed animal. Kero floated and looked at
me.
" Ano, ohayo?" I blinked.
" Oh." Kero cocked his head. " You have weird magic. Nothing I've ever felt
before."
" Kero!" Touya and Yukito snapped.
" No really, Yue!" Kero floated over to Yukito. " Don't you sense it?"
" Of course I sense it." Yukito's voice sounded less friendly then. " This is a public
area, Kerberus. Do you have any place we can talk in private?" Yukito's voice was
light and friendly again.
" Ano, sure, although I have an idea. Do you want to meet Syaoran? He's not
exactly here," I offered. " He's with Ryou. I'll give them a phone call. Yami? Can
you get them to the back?"
" Sure." Yami put down the deck of cards he was holding. But the cards
immediately caught Kero and Yukito's attention.
" Interesting. How come I've never seen these before?" Yukito asked.
" Because they never reached Tomoeda." Yami and I answered in unison. Then at
Yukito and Touya's request, Yami told them the rules of the game while I told Ryou
to bring the children over. The only problem was...Jou, Honda and Anzu were
there.
" Watch out for the trap cards." I told Yukito. " They could really turn the game
around."
Actually, Yukito wasn't playing Yami-he was playing me. But I'm his instructor, after all, or one of them, hinting Yami. So I decided to go easier on him. He didn't really get it very well, was awfully confused because he told Yami that the cards have some weird aura.
Which could have been a problem, if Yukito played it from then on. Because he was able to sense which card was which.
Just then, there was a jingling, which meant that Ryou and the others were
here.
" Come on Syaoran, they aren't going to bite you." I heard Ryou say to him. "
After all, Touya did give you the book."
" I don't know what I'm feeling right now." I heard Syaoran's voice reply.
" They're in the back." Jii-chan told them.
" Now I'll see if Touya really does look like Kaiba." I heard Jou say. " Of course,
Kaiba has blue eyes and Touya has brown, yadda yadda yadda,"
" If you don't shut up I'm going to kick ye." Honda, of course. " You've been
saying the same things over and over again ever since we left."
" Alright! Chill! It's not like I'm hyper or anythin!"
Yukito looked up from the game and waited patiently.
" Gaw, he doesn't look like Kaiba. Or he does, wait," Jou got all confused. Touya
was a little annoyed.
" Syaoran!" Yukito smiled standing up. Syaoran, for the first time, was actually
wearing a t-shirt and shorts, making him look even younger than we thought.
The kid just froze. Just froze, his skin became icy snow white, and his eyes
widened, a different shade of gold glowing from it. Yukito ignored it though.
" How have you been?" Yukito asked. " You look like you need to gain a little
weight." He pulled the child into a hug. I heard a sob come from Syaoran, at which
Yukito let go and studied him. Syaoran looked like he was about to break down any
minute.
" Hold on," Ryou pushed Yukito away rather rudely, trying his best to soothe
Syaoran. He did accomplish one thing: Syaoran never broke down, but Syaoran
remained tense, as if he saw a ghost.
Meanwhile, Jou did not make a good impression on Touya. The guy always had a talent for getting people either annoyed or angry, and Touya was more of annoyed. Jou finally shut up when he recieved an identical glare with Seto from those brown eyes of Touya's. Yami and I sighed.
Mokuba was also recieving a lot of attention from Kero, who hung around him, floating around his head. The kid was very happy, although Kero also floated around Syaoran, still calling him gaki at first but stopped when he realized that Syaoran had gotten extremely sensitive. Because at that point he started crying, and I have never seen Touya and the two guardians so surprised. I guess they never saw Syaoran cry before.
At that minute, quite appropriately, Seto entered the game shop.
" Yugi?" He called.
" Seto!" Jou turned around, relieved that he has an excuse to look away from
Touya's glare. " You've come back!"
" Gomen we couldn't pick you up." Mokuba told his brother. " We didn't know
which airport you were using."
" That's alright kiddo." Seto smiled. Then he came face to face with...
Touya.
Now that those two were together, well, we sort of realized that Seto Kaiba does not look like Touya Kinomoto, partly because although they share the same hairstyle and glare, Seto's hair was much more neat. They share the same height, the same slim form, but their features were different. Seto had a look of intelligence and power. Touya just looked like...a confident but...nice kid, if you know what I mean.
" They don't look alike." Jou remarked. Seto and Touya sighed in annoyance.
" Konnichiwa. I'm guessing you're Kinomoto Touya."
" I'm guess you're Seto Kaiba. It's good to meet you."
" Same here."
" There is a resemblance though." Jou was answered with a wack on the head from
Anzu.
" Why was Syaoran crying?" Seto asked after a moment's pause.
" Ano..." Touya had a queer look that suggests discomfort. " Because the baka
called him a gaki." He stuck a glare at Kero.
Seto raised his eyebrows. " That's Kero that I have heard about? From what
I've heard, Kerberus was very intimidating."
" Hey!" The little guy cried. " I am intimidating!" His wings grew huge, as he
covered himself. There was a bright glow, and when the wings parted there stood a
huge...
I don't know if it was a jewel armored lion or a tiger.
" Kerberus!" Yukito snapped. " We don't need to...argh."
Seto was a little surprised, and I said a little because he wasn't surprised at
how Kero looked.
" That's the...Kero I pictured." Seto nodded, satisfied.
Syaoran was silent. He was hiccuping. Seto, on the other hand,
looked...relieved?
" Well, I don't believe you and I had been properly introduced." Seto looked at
Yukito. " I am Seto Kaiba."
" I am Yukito Tsukishiro. Although you probably know my other form, Yue."
" I do. Syaoran mentioned you."
" That's nice." Yukito blinked. " I hope he didn't say things behind my back." He
chuckled.
" Actually, he did." Seto said thoughtfully. " Something about you breaking some
kind of world record?"
" Hot dogs?" Yukito blinked. " That was when I was fifteen. Three years ago."
" What are you two talking about?" Anzu asked.
" He told me Tsukishiro-san-"
" Please call me Yukito."
" Ahem. That Yukito-san entered some kind of hot dog eating contest and broke the
record. How many was it?"
" Don't remember. Don't want to either."
" He had a stomachache and had to stay home for two weeks." Touya laughed,
trying to brighten up the mood a little bit, which worked, because Syaoran relaxed a
little.
" Come, sit down." I offered. We all sat down on whatever was available to sit on,
giving Yukito, Seto, Touya and Syaoran the couch, Anzu and Yami the chair,
Honda and Jou the table. I sat on the carpet with Ryou. Mai wasn't there today.
" So how have you been, taking care of the little one?" Touya asked. Syaoran
sniffed.
" I'm not little." He protested weakly, as Touya rubbed him on his head.
" I hear that Seto has been doing most of the work." Yukito smiled. " At least that's
what Ryou told Touya."
" How did he manage anyway?" Touya asked. " I know you're the owner of Kaiba
Corps. Isn't that so?"
" Hai." Mokuba spoke up. " He's smart."
This made us all laugh.
" Of course he is." Touya laughed. " If he can go through that. How old are you?"
" I'm fifteen."
There was a brief pause.
" You're a high schooler?"
" Not exactly." Seto suddenly realized where this was going. " I dropped out after I
complained it was too easy. College was no harder."
" What do we have here, a new generation Bill Gates." Yukito laughed.
" No fair!" Touya jumped up. " I'm eighteen and I have to go to college, stick in
dorms with losers, while you get to hang out in a mansion? This is not right!" We
started to laugh as he continued. " A fifteen year old is making more money than I
am!"
" It's not my fault." Seto blinked, amused. " You're older than me?"
" I'm eighteen years old."
Seto was smart, so we didn't really bother with that. We found out Touya has quick wits too.
" Oni-chan!" Seto called, surprising all of us.
" Kaijuu!" Touya answered, laughing. " What are you doing, stomping around your
office all day?"
This made Yukito and Kero laugh. Syaoran just smiled a little.
" That's what you call your imotou?" Seto blinked. " Hai, that's what Syaoran told
me."
" You're no less a monster, hanging around with your friends." Touya smirked at
the cards.
" Well, if I'm a monster," Seto got up and walked until he was face to face with
Touya. " Allow me to do this."
I'm not sure whether Seto was trying to make Syaoran laugh, or whether he was trying to get Touya back for calling him kaijuu, but the tall boy stomped on the taller one's foot.
" Ow! He does it just like the first one!" Touya winced.
Seto maintained a straight face as he walked back to his seat, while Mokuba laughed at his brother's act.
" You'd think the name ' Kaijuu' has some kind of spell in it." Yukito commented.
" It certainly does." Touya limped over to Syaoran. " When I leave, do the same
thing to him for me."
Syaoran just raised his eyebrows. " I think I'll do that to you first." He said slowly, a little too cautiously but funny all the same. " I remember that it was more than once when you called me gaki."
We started laughing, Touya also, which relieved Syaoran quite a bit. Yukito was holding Syaoran around the shoulders, very much amused.
" Poor Touya." Yukito murmured. Seto smiled and leaned back, pleased.
" I never knew Kaiba to make a joke before." Yukito continued. " From what I've
heard, Kaiba-san, you're very serious most of the time."
" Until he met us." Jou answered, almost proud.
" No wonder." Syaoran was much more relaxed at teasing us than teasing Touya
and Yukito. " With someone like you, Jou, it's hard not to laugh at you."
" Is that an insult?" Jou smirked. " Come here, come here!" He beckoned, and
Yukito, being wicked, pushed Syaoran towards Jou. Syaoran stumbled a little, then
backed away, but not in time to miss Jou attacking him, tickling him to no end.
Syaoran, to some extent, was right about one thing. It's hard not to laugh at
Jou. There came a whole chaotic scene, with Syaoran trying to push Jou off.
" Someone help here!" He yelled, and Honda offered to pull Jou off him. Syaoran
was clutching his stomach, glaring playfully at Jou while Seto helped him up.
I really didn't know what was the purpose of our performance at that time. Maybe it was to show Touya and Yukito that we are capable of taking care of Syaoran. Maybe it was to get Syaoran relaxed and happier. Because we all realized that he does not have a happy past.
