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Chapter #12: Just Like Old Times.
*~*~*Elaya's POV-Saturday Morning*~*~*
Wow, I've never been up this early before. It's only 8:20.and I can't manage to fall back to sleep. I've been trying for the past hour. My mom went to work at 6:00am because her boss is a jackass and is working her like a dog. He will call her as soon as she comes home from work to come back in again to help him do stuff. Seriously, once, he called her to help him rearrange his filing cabinet.my poor mommy.
Walking like Frankenstein-you know swaying back and forth-I managed to make it to the kitchen, eat something and get dressed. I returned down the hallway where the bedrooms were and noticed a small box at the corner of my mom's room. Being the curious one, I went to it and opened it, to reveal a photo album and a manila envelope. I opened the envelope to find yellow sheets of paper.adoption forms. I smiled and read some of the documents. It was funny reading over my old last name: Elaya Roberts. I haven't used that in ages. The only other place 'Elaya Roberts' was on, was my birth certificate. Every other piece of ID had 'Elaya White' written across it.
It was then that I remembered the name of the orphanage Seto, Mokuba, and I went to: Fallen Angels. I read and re-read the address. This place was just on the outskirts of Domino City. I copied it onto a nearby Post-It note and put it in my pocket. I was going to visit this place today.
I looked over to the navy blue album and opened it. The first picture I saw was one with Seto and Mokuba.playing chess. It had gotten a bit yellow at the edges, but I remember that day well.
Seto was trying to teach Mokuba how to play chess. Mokuba wanted to play with the pieces. It was only a couple of weeks after we'd all met, and I had those big fold-out cameras and took their picture. I caught Mokuba off guard; he looked really surprised. Seto's expression was priceless: he was laughing, and had a smile on. I would pay to see that now.
I skimmed through the rest of the pictures. After that one of the Kaiba brothers they were mostly of the days after the orphanage. Birthday parties, trips.stuff like that. I put everything back in the box and grabbed my coat. I was going to see the place where I met Mokuba and Seto...so long ago.
What an ugly day. It's all cloudy and foggy. I hope that it doesn't rain. Oh crap, I jinxed it. Thunder and a crack of lightning hit the sky, and I pulled my jacket over my head as I went into the subway station. I made it to the ticket centre and luckily, the guy knew what stop is closet to the orphanage. I would have to get off on Downviews West Station, walk ten minutes then I'd be there. I wonder if they got that place renovated.
Once again, I almost missed the subway. There was no one on the train as well. What is with me? Do I have some sort of curse about not catching trains with people in them? Anyways, a couple of minutes later I arrived at my stop and followed the ticket man's directions. It was raining cats and dogs outside. I had my jacket over my head as if it were an umbrella. Then, after running three blocks, I saw Fallen Angles: Family Orphanage. I stood outside for a moment taking it all in. It was renovated; the building got new white automatic doors.and a new coat of beige paint. I walked inside the building and a wave of memories came through me. I almost cried.
*~*~*Seto's POV*~*~*
I can't believe I'm going to another meeting.I just got home from one. The best part is that it's raining like mad; my driver is driving cautiously, so I'm going to be late. Just great. The rain was pounding against my window like bullets. I managed to see some people walking-no, running-around in this weather. Suddenly, I heard a popping noise.
"Driver?" I called from the back of the limo, "What was that noise?"
Over the intercom, he answered, "It appears that we have a flat, sir." I sat back in my seat angry. There is no way I can go to this meeting. I opened my cell phone and realized that it had 'low battery' flashing on the screen. I threw it across the room.
"Sir?" My driver called from the intercom, "All phone lines in the car are down. I suggest that we stay put and wait for them to reboot."
"Well, I suggest that we go find a place that has a phone line that works." I ordered angrily into the intercom.
"Yes sir."
I opened my door to be welcomed with an umbrella from my driver. I snatched it away from him. "Wait here," I hissed, "I'll find the phone and call someone since you can't do anything right. Like avoid a nail in the road." I noticed a pointy silver thing sticking in the front tire. The closet building had white doors with a bad paint job of beige. I walked in to realize where I stood. Wide-eyed, I looked around and remembered everything that was in this place. I didn't get a chance to see the name of the building, but I knew that I was standing in the Fallen Angles: Family Orphanage.
Kids of all ages were running past me, chasing each other. One of them, a small boy, stopped running and cried, "Hi Mister!" He flashed a goofy grin, waved at me, and then went away.
It was just like it was 6 years ago. To my left was the reception area; to my right was a little play room. On my far left, down a large hallway was the kitchen, and in front of me were a flight of stairs-that led to the children's bedrooms.Mokuba and my bedroom. Elaya's bedroom-that was in front of the reading/library area. I walked around cautiously trying to avoid crashing into the kids that were running around. I then heard a high pitched squeal coming from the reception area to see Elaya talking to one of the employees that worked here when we were here. They hugged and had huge smiles on their faces. Doris, the old widow that worked here six years ago, was tearing up. It was making me sick.
"Such a pleasure to see you again Ms. Roberts!" she cried. Doris realized her mistake and was about to correct Elaya's last name to the one she used now, when Elaya said, "It's okay. I could use both names if I wanted to anyways." Elaya turned around, folded her arms across her chest and smiled.
"Hey Seto. What brings you here?"
Doris turned around as well. "Seto Morison? Is that you?" Her eyes got all teary again.
"I go by the name Kaiba now." I stated coldly.
"Terribly sorry, Mr. Kaiba. It really is a pleasure to see the both of you again.Robert! Put that down!" Her attention shifted to a young boy holding a block above another boy's head. "I'm sorry, but I must be going. Do stay awhile. I'll be back." She turned to the direction of the playroom and took the block out of the boy's hand.
"You didn't answer my question." Elaya said.
"My limo stalled. Where's the nearest phone?" I explained.
"If I recall.the only phone that was used was by the secretaries like Doris. You'll need to get their permission first."
I pushed past her and went over to the reception desk. I found the phone easily and began to dial my company's number. Mokuba answered.
"Kaiba Corporation speaking. How may I help you?"
"Mokuba? What are you doing at the phones? That's the secretary's job."
"She had to go to the washroom and asked me to take over for a bit. Where are you big brother?"
I sighed. I didn't want to tell Mokuba about the orphanage. "I'm stuck in the rain just a few kilometres away from Downviews West Station. Tell one of our chauffeurs to come pick me up. Also, call the Alliance Company and tell them that I won't be able to make the meeting."
"Sorry big bro.but the only other limo is in the shop. I'll call the Alliance Company. Do you...--Click. The phone went dead. The lights flickered on and off. Some of the kids screamed.
"What are you gonna do now?" Elaya asked standing behind me.
"Make use of this time." I sat in the nearest chair, opened my laptop and was about to plug it in, when Elaya stopped me.
"Are you an idiot or something? The power lines are screwed up. The storm's getting worse. Do you want to electrocute yourself?" I stared at her, but knew that she was right. Operating electrical appliances in a thunder and lightning storm is dangerous.
I stood up and stood in front of her. "I guess it means that we're stuck here for a few hours until the storm lets up or until I can reach another phone."
"You're actually going to go outside in this weather?" she questioned.
Just then, all the lights in the orphanage went out.and all the children screamed. A crack of lightning hit the sidewalk, not too far away from where my limo was. During the brief illumination of the streets, I noticed that my driver rushed back into the limo and stayed there.
I noticed a flicker of light in the corner of my eye. Some of the other employees that I didn't recognize found and lit some candles. Doris handed me a tall white candle and asked us if we could get more in the back. Elaya, apparently having photographic memory, led the way.
After walking behind her down a narrow corridor, she turned to face me and said, "The matches and stuff should be in here. Bring the light closer to the door so I can see where the handle is." It was pitch black. Neither of us could see three feet in front of us. Elaya opened the door and revealed a small room with steel shelves. That was all the light would allow us to see.
We walked around, bringing the light to areas that we couldn't see anything. Finally, Elaya noticed a box of spare candles and a tiny matchbox. "Over here!" She picked it up and stared at it.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Strike one and light a candle." The flame on our candle was almost out, so we couldn't use it to relight anything. We were losing light fast. She opened the match box slowly and broke a match off. Then I realized why she was taking so long. She must be afraid of fire.after all, that was what killed her parents. She had told me and Mokuba once when we were little when a similar situation happened and the employees got candles out. Elaya struck the match quickly and lit as many candles as she could before the flame blew out. The dark room was illuminated with several balls of faint light. Elaya carried about six candles, and I carried three towards the play room.
"Elaya?" I asked, breaking the deafening silence.
"What?"
"You shouldn't be afraid of fire. My parents died in a car crash and you don't see me avoiding automobiles."
She smiled and shook her head. "That's because you've never experienced it." She muttered something under her breath.I think it was 'you insensitive jerk.' Doris greeted us in the hallway. She thanked us and went back to retrieve the other candles. The room was filled with little kids, all hugging stuffed animals, all huddled in one group. The employees were reading stories to them and playing games with them to keep their minds off the storm. Elaya used to play the piano for us when the lights went out in a storm. That's when I noticed the same old piano that used to be in the library in the far corner of the playroom.
Elaya was already walking towards it, touching the rusty wood with her fingers. She laughed silently and lifted the block of wood that concealed the keys. Some of the kids already started to gather around her as she sat down. I shrugged my shoulders and came up behind her, putting a candle on top of the piano. She placed her hands on the keys and began to play the left hand of a song that I remembered she taught me. It was called 'Heart and Soul' and I would usually play the melody part.
Before I knew what I was doing, I sat down beside her and began to play along with her, keeping a strong steady beat. Most of the kids began to dance with each other and the rest just stood by us, watching. When the song ended, Elaya smiled, "Aw, you remembered!"
"So?" I responded. It was a really easy song anyways. Anyone could have remembered it. Doris, behind us, was telling the other employees that 'it was just like old times. The two of them and also the brother of the boy would always play along with her.' I rolled my eyes. The same boy who waved at me when I first came in said, "Play another song! Please?"
"How could I say no to an adorable fan?" She smiled and the boy blushed.
"Elaya, come on, he's half your age. Stop trying to make a pass at him." I smirked and stood up. She stared at me. "I happen to like younger men, thank you very much." I could tell that she was joking.she had a huge smile on.
She played some more music, some that I knew, and some that I didn't, when suddenly, the lights returned and the rain had let up. The children cheered and began to run around. I sat in one of the lounging chairs in the room.
"This place is great isn't it?" she asked.
"Yeah." I was bored out of my mind. This wasn't the place I wanted to spend my weekend in. Well, neither was a board room.She sat down beside me and showed me a little box. I opened it and saw markers and crayons and pencils inside it.
"What do you want me to do? Colour a picture for you?" I asked her.
She shook her head, "No you moron. I want you to notice something inside the box."
"Writing utensils?" I had no idea what she was talking about.
"You're denser than a post Kaiba. Look closely." I then realized small engraved letters on the far corner on the lid of the box. M E S. Mokuba, Elaya, Seto. That's what it stood for. Elaya and I managed to take a couple of forks from the dining room and all of us engraved the initials of our first name in the wooden box. The forks were horribly mangled afterwards, but no one noticed that two forks were gone. We had to use forks because knifes weren't allowed.some of the older kids tried to kill themselves with them.
"I guess that MES lives on." I concluded as I shoved the box back at her. I stood up, went to the receptions desk and asked if I could use the phone. I re-dialled my company's number and they were coming to pick me up in ten minutes. I noticed that Elaya was going upstairs. I followed her.
*~*~*Elaya's POV*~*~*
This is so cool. I wonder if my room is still the same. I know that Kaiba is following me, I can hear his ever quiet footsteps. As I got off the top step I whirled around and said, "Coming?"
He went around me and walked towards his old room. I trailed behind him. We arrived at his room shortly because it was near the stairs. The door was open, so we stepped inside. Yup, everything was the same down to the thin blue sheets. The walls were re-painted the same blue colour. There were still the two twin beds that were opposite to each other and that tacky green lamp on the small dresser. Even that chair that I fell asleep in was still there, in the same spot.
"Kaiba? Kaiba?" I shouted out loud. He appeared to be in some sort of daze. "You alright?"
He snapped out of it and said, "Yeah, fine." He looked at his watched, "I have to go." He turned around and went back downstairs. I checked on my room, but it was locked.and apparently some girls were inside it giggling. I slid on the banister and noticed that Mr. Kaiba was already outside waiting in front of his limo. I walked up to him, after saying goodbye to Doris and promising that I would visit again. He looked straight ahead.
"Who are you waiting for?" I asked.
"My ride home." He said. The heavy rain had let up to a slow drizzle, so his umbrella was left unopened at his side. His driver, apparently having trouble with the nail in his front tire, was kneeling in front of us with his back facing us. He was trying to get the nail out with his hands.
"Hey," I said, "Do you have a hammer? It would work better." The driver, wearing shades and a black suit, stared at me. I sighed and went into the little toolbox that was next to him. Luckily, there was a hammer inside. "Observe." I said as I flipped the hammer around, grabbed the nail with the two teeth at the back and yanked out the nail. Both of them continued to stare. I stared back, raising my eyebrow, "What?" I snapped impatiently.
Kaiba said nothing...the driver nodded in silent thanks. He began to unscrew the flat tire from the car to replace it. I stood up, and looked in the direction of the subway station, three blocks down. I was about to say 'see you later, Mr. Kaiba' and turn around, when he asked, "Do you want a ride home?"
I was shocked. "Okay.if it's alright." What else could I say? This was a definite change in him. Even though I've seen him only a couple of times, I could tell that this wasn't his real attitude. Frankly, he would probably leave people to walk home in down-pour conditions. Oh well.
Another limo was coming, but it stopped at the subway station. Kaiba began to walk towards it, I followed. The drive home was, not surprisingly, quiet. I just told the driver where I lived and sat back down. Ten minutes later I arrived at my apartment and said goodbye to Seto and thank you to the driver. As soon as I walked through the door, it started to rain again and I heard a familiar voice, Dieen's, calling to me, 'I'm coming.for you.'
*~*~*Seto's POV*~*~*
My old room. It was still the same way Mokuba and I had left it. Even though no one was in the room at the time that Elaya and I viewed it, I saw me and my brother sitting on the beds talking.
"Big Brother?" Mokuba asked me, "Will we ever get out of here? Will we ever find a family? Like Elaya?"
"Don't worry Mokuba," I said as I walked over to him, "We'll get our own family together.and we'll live happy. It'll happen.and I won't leave without you."
Mokuba smiled and hugged me. "Okay big brother. I hope that it does happen."
"It will." I said.
I wonder why that memory came to me when I was there. That was the day that Elaya left the orphanage, just after she said goodbye to us.never to see us again until now. As I drove away from Elaya's apartment, it had begun to rain again, hard. For some reason, chills rain up my spine as I heard that soft laughter in my head. The same laughter from that dream that I had.
*~*~*Yugi's POV*~*~*
I wasn't feeling that well today. I slept in for the most part, only to be interrupted by my Grandpa when he brought me some tea and an aspirin. He said that it was the best way to cure a rotten headache. I had heard the rain beating on my window, and since it was right above me, I couldn't escape the pounding of the water. Every little sound the house made brought pain to my head.but it was soon dulled by the aspirin. I felt weak, as if I couldn't get up at all. I lied down on the sheets and tried to fall back to sleep, which was easy when you had a drowsy aspirin in your system. But, just before I lost conscious, before I fell asleep, I heard an echoing laughter in my head. It was that spirit, Dieen.Queen of the Shadow Realm, which talked to me before. She began to speak, and I tried to listen to what she was saying, but the aspirin had already begun to weaken my senses. Giving up, not by my own will, but by my body, I fell asleep. That's when she shouted, quite loudly in my ear, "I'll take your Puzzle if it's the last thing I do Pharaoh!" I shot out of bed, heart pumping in my chest because of the unwelcomed scream in my ear, sweating and gasping for air.
All the while, she continued to laugh, until she fell silent and the rain overhead drowned out her soft laughter.
Please review!!
If you have the time, REIVEW!
Chapter #12: Just Like Old Times.
*~*~*Elaya's POV-Saturday Morning*~*~*
Wow, I've never been up this early before. It's only 8:20.and I can't manage to fall back to sleep. I've been trying for the past hour. My mom went to work at 6:00am because her boss is a jackass and is working her like a dog. He will call her as soon as she comes home from work to come back in again to help him do stuff. Seriously, once, he called her to help him rearrange his filing cabinet.my poor mommy.
Walking like Frankenstein-you know swaying back and forth-I managed to make it to the kitchen, eat something and get dressed. I returned down the hallway where the bedrooms were and noticed a small box at the corner of my mom's room. Being the curious one, I went to it and opened it, to reveal a photo album and a manila envelope. I opened the envelope to find yellow sheets of paper.adoption forms. I smiled and read some of the documents. It was funny reading over my old last name: Elaya Roberts. I haven't used that in ages. The only other place 'Elaya Roberts' was on, was my birth certificate. Every other piece of ID had 'Elaya White' written across it.
It was then that I remembered the name of the orphanage Seto, Mokuba, and I went to: Fallen Angels. I read and re-read the address. This place was just on the outskirts of Domino City. I copied it onto a nearby Post-It note and put it in my pocket. I was going to visit this place today.
I looked over to the navy blue album and opened it. The first picture I saw was one with Seto and Mokuba.playing chess. It had gotten a bit yellow at the edges, but I remember that day well.
Seto was trying to teach Mokuba how to play chess. Mokuba wanted to play with the pieces. It was only a couple of weeks after we'd all met, and I had those big fold-out cameras and took their picture. I caught Mokuba off guard; he looked really surprised. Seto's expression was priceless: he was laughing, and had a smile on. I would pay to see that now.
I skimmed through the rest of the pictures. After that one of the Kaiba brothers they were mostly of the days after the orphanage. Birthday parties, trips.stuff like that. I put everything back in the box and grabbed my coat. I was going to see the place where I met Mokuba and Seto...so long ago.
What an ugly day. It's all cloudy and foggy. I hope that it doesn't rain. Oh crap, I jinxed it. Thunder and a crack of lightning hit the sky, and I pulled my jacket over my head as I went into the subway station. I made it to the ticket centre and luckily, the guy knew what stop is closet to the orphanage. I would have to get off on Downviews West Station, walk ten minutes then I'd be there. I wonder if they got that place renovated.
Once again, I almost missed the subway. There was no one on the train as well. What is with me? Do I have some sort of curse about not catching trains with people in them? Anyways, a couple of minutes later I arrived at my stop and followed the ticket man's directions. It was raining cats and dogs outside. I had my jacket over my head as if it were an umbrella. Then, after running three blocks, I saw Fallen Angles: Family Orphanage. I stood outside for a moment taking it all in. It was renovated; the building got new white automatic doors.and a new coat of beige paint. I walked inside the building and a wave of memories came through me. I almost cried.
*~*~*Seto's POV*~*~*
I can't believe I'm going to another meeting.I just got home from one. The best part is that it's raining like mad; my driver is driving cautiously, so I'm going to be late. Just great. The rain was pounding against my window like bullets. I managed to see some people walking-no, running-around in this weather. Suddenly, I heard a popping noise.
"Driver?" I called from the back of the limo, "What was that noise?"
Over the intercom, he answered, "It appears that we have a flat, sir." I sat back in my seat angry. There is no way I can go to this meeting. I opened my cell phone and realized that it had 'low battery' flashing on the screen. I threw it across the room.
"Sir?" My driver called from the intercom, "All phone lines in the car are down. I suggest that we stay put and wait for them to reboot."
"Well, I suggest that we go find a place that has a phone line that works." I ordered angrily into the intercom.
"Yes sir."
I opened my door to be welcomed with an umbrella from my driver. I snatched it away from him. "Wait here," I hissed, "I'll find the phone and call someone since you can't do anything right. Like avoid a nail in the road." I noticed a pointy silver thing sticking in the front tire. The closet building had white doors with a bad paint job of beige. I walked in to realize where I stood. Wide-eyed, I looked around and remembered everything that was in this place. I didn't get a chance to see the name of the building, but I knew that I was standing in the Fallen Angles: Family Orphanage.
Kids of all ages were running past me, chasing each other. One of them, a small boy, stopped running and cried, "Hi Mister!" He flashed a goofy grin, waved at me, and then went away.
It was just like it was 6 years ago. To my left was the reception area; to my right was a little play room. On my far left, down a large hallway was the kitchen, and in front of me were a flight of stairs-that led to the children's bedrooms.Mokuba and my bedroom. Elaya's bedroom-that was in front of the reading/library area. I walked around cautiously trying to avoid crashing into the kids that were running around. I then heard a high pitched squeal coming from the reception area to see Elaya talking to one of the employees that worked here when we were here. They hugged and had huge smiles on their faces. Doris, the old widow that worked here six years ago, was tearing up. It was making me sick.
"Such a pleasure to see you again Ms. Roberts!" she cried. Doris realized her mistake and was about to correct Elaya's last name to the one she used now, when Elaya said, "It's okay. I could use both names if I wanted to anyways." Elaya turned around, folded her arms across her chest and smiled.
"Hey Seto. What brings you here?"
Doris turned around as well. "Seto Morison? Is that you?" Her eyes got all teary again.
"I go by the name Kaiba now." I stated coldly.
"Terribly sorry, Mr. Kaiba. It really is a pleasure to see the both of you again.Robert! Put that down!" Her attention shifted to a young boy holding a block above another boy's head. "I'm sorry, but I must be going. Do stay awhile. I'll be back." She turned to the direction of the playroom and took the block out of the boy's hand.
"You didn't answer my question." Elaya said.
"My limo stalled. Where's the nearest phone?" I explained.
"If I recall.the only phone that was used was by the secretaries like Doris. You'll need to get their permission first."
I pushed past her and went over to the reception desk. I found the phone easily and began to dial my company's number. Mokuba answered.
"Kaiba Corporation speaking. How may I help you?"
"Mokuba? What are you doing at the phones? That's the secretary's job."
"She had to go to the washroom and asked me to take over for a bit. Where are you big brother?"
I sighed. I didn't want to tell Mokuba about the orphanage. "I'm stuck in the rain just a few kilometres away from Downviews West Station. Tell one of our chauffeurs to come pick me up. Also, call the Alliance Company and tell them that I won't be able to make the meeting."
"Sorry big bro.but the only other limo is in the shop. I'll call the Alliance Company. Do you...--Click. The phone went dead. The lights flickered on and off. Some of the kids screamed.
"What are you gonna do now?" Elaya asked standing behind me.
"Make use of this time." I sat in the nearest chair, opened my laptop and was about to plug it in, when Elaya stopped me.
"Are you an idiot or something? The power lines are screwed up. The storm's getting worse. Do you want to electrocute yourself?" I stared at her, but knew that she was right. Operating electrical appliances in a thunder and lightning storm is dangerous.
I stood up and stood in front of her. "I guess it means that we're stuck here for a few hours until the storm lets up or until I can reach another phone."
"You're actually going to go outside in this weather?" she questioned.
Just then, all the lights in the orphanage went out.and all the children screamed. A crack of lightning hit the sidewalk, not too far away from where my limo was. During the brief illumination of the streets, I noticed that my driver rushed back into the limo and stayed there.
I noticed a flicker of light in the corner of my eye. Some of the other employees that I didn't recognize found and lit some candles. Doris handed me a tall white candle and asked us if we could get more in the back. Elaya, apparently having photographic memory, led the way.
After walking behind her down a narrow corridor, she turned to face me and said, "The matches and stuff should be in here. Bring the light closer to the door so I can see where the handle is." It was pitch black. Neither of us could see three feet in front of us. Elaya opened the door and revealed a small room with steel shelves. That was all the light would allow us to see.
We walked around, bringing the light to areas that we couldn't see anything. Finally, Elaya noticed a box of spare candles and a tiny matchbox. "Over here!" She picked it up and stared at it.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Strike one and light a candle." The flame on our candle was almost out, so we couldn't use it to relight anything. We were losing light fast. She opened the match box slowly and broke a match off. Then I realized why she was taking so long. She must be afraid of fire.after all, that was what killed her parents. She had told me and Mokuba once when we were little when a similar situation happened and the employees got candles out. Elaya struck the match quickly and lit as many candles as she could before the flame blew out. The dark room was illuminated with several balls of faint light. Elaya carried about six candles, and I carried three towards the play room.
"Elaya?" I asked, breaking the deafening silence.
"What?"
"You shouldn't be afraid of fire. My parents died in a car crash and you don't see me avoiding automobiles."
She smiled and shook her head. "That's because you've never experienced it." She muttered something under her breath.I think it was 'you insensitive jerk.' Doris greeted us in the hallway. She thanked us and went back to retrieve the other candles. The room was filled with little kids, all hugging stuffed animals, all huddled in one group. The employees were reading stories to them and playing games with them to keep their minds off the storm. Elaya used to play the piano for us when the lights went out in a storm. That's when I noticed the same old piano that used to be in the library in the far corner of the playroom.
Elaya was already walking towards it, touching the rusty wood with her fingers. She laughed silently and lifted the block of wood that concealed the keys. Some of the kids already started to gather around her as she sat down. I shrugged my shoulders and came up behind her, putting a candle on top of the piano. She placed her hands on the keys and began to play the left hand of a song that I remembered she taught me. It was called 'Heart and Soul' and I would usually play the melody part.
Before I knew what I was doing, I sat down beside her and began to play along with her, keeping a strong steady beat. Most of the kids began to dance with each other and the rest just stood by us, watching. When the song ended, Elaya smiled, "Aw, you remembered!"
"So?" I responded. It was a really easy song anyways. Anyone could have remembered it. Doris, behind us, was telling the other employees that 'it was just like old times. The two of them and also the brother of the boy would always play along with her.' I rolled my eyes. The same boy who waved at me when I first came in said, "Play another song! Please?"
"How could I say no to an adorable fan?" She smiled and the boy blushed.
"Elaya, come on, he's half your age. Stop trying to make a pass at him." I smirked and stood up. She stared at me. "I happen to like younger men, thank you very much." I could tell that she was joking.she had a huge smile on.
She played some more music, some that I knew, and some that I didn't, when suddenly, the lights returned and the rain had let up. The children cheered and began to run around. I sat in one of the lounging chairs in the room.
"This place is great isn't it?" she asked.
"Yeah." I was bored out of my mind. This wasn't the place I wanted to spend my weekend in. Well, neither was a board room.She sat down beside me and showed me a little box. I opened it and saw markers and crayons and pencils inside it.
"What do you want me to do? Colour a picture for you?" I asked her.
She shook her head, "No you moron. I want you to notice something inside the box."
"Writing utensils?" I had no idea what she was talking about.
"You're denser than a post Kaiba. Look closely." I then realized small engraved letters on the far corner on the lid of the box. M E S. Mokuba, Elaya, Seto. That's what it stood for. Elaya and I managed to take a couple of forks from the dining room and all of us engraved the initials of our first name in the wooden box. The forks were horribly mangled afterwards, but no one noticed that two forks were gone. We had to use forks because knifes weren't allowed.some of the older kids tried to kill themselves with them.
"I guess that MES lives on." I concluded as I shoved the box back at her. I stood up, went to the receptions desk and asked if I could use the phone. I re-dialled my company's number and they were coming to pick me up in ten minutes. I noticed that Elaya was going upstairs. I followed her.
*~*~*Elaya's POV*~*~*
This is so cool. I wonder if my room is still the same. I know that Kaiba is following me, I can hear his ever quiet footsteps. As I got off the top step I whirled around and said, "Coming?"
He went around me and walked towards his old room. I trailed behind him. We arrived at his room shortly because it was near the stairs. The door was open, so we stepped inside. Yup, everything was the same down to the thin blue sheets. The walls were re-painted the same blue colour. There were still the two twin beds that were opposite to each other and that tacky green lamp on the small dresser. Even that chair that I fell asleep in was still there, in the same spot.
"Kaiba? Kaiba?" I shouted out loud. He appeared to be in some sort of daze. "You alright?"
He snapped out of it and said, "Yeah, fine." He looked at his watched, "I have to go." He turned around and went back downstairs. I checked on my room, but it was locked.and apparently some girls were inside it giggling. I slid on the banister and noticed that Mr. Kaiba was already outside waiting in front of his limo. I walked up to him, after saying goodbye to Doris and promising that I would visit again. He looked straight ahead.
"Who are you waiting for?" I asked.
"My ride home." He said. The heavy rain had let up to a slow drizzle, so his umbrella was left unopened at his side. His driver, apparently having trouble with the nail in his front tire, was kneeling in front of us with his back facing us. He was trying to get the nail out with his hands.
"Hey," I said, "Do you have a hammer? It would work better." The driver, wearing shades and a black suit, stared at me. I sighed and went into the little toolbox that was next to him. Luckily, there was a hammer inside. "Observe." I said as I flipped the hammer around, grabbed the nail with the two teeth at the back and yanked out the nail. Both of them continued to stare. I stared back, raising my eyebrow, "What?" I snapped impatiently.
Kaiba said nothing...the driver nodded in silent thanks. He began to unscrew the flat tire from the car to replace it. I stood up, and looked in the direction of the subway station, three blocks down. I was about to say 'see you later, Mr. Kaiba' and turn around, when he asked, "Do you want a ride home?"
I was shocked. "Okay.if it's alright." What else could I say? This was a definite change in him. Even though I've seen him only a couple of times, I could tell that this wasn't his real attitude. Frankly, he would probably leave people to walk home in down-pour conditions. Oh well.
Another limo was coming, but it stopped at the subway station. Kaiba began to walk towards it, I followed. The drive home was, not surprisingly, quiet. I just told the driver where I lived and sat back down. Ten minutes later I arrived at my apartment and said goodbye to Seto and thank you to the driver. As soon as I walked through the door, it started to rain again and I heard a familiar voice, Dieen's, calling to me, 'I'm coming.for you.'
*~*~*Seto's POV*~*~*
My old room. It was still the same way Mokuba and I had left it. Even though no one was in the room at the time that Elaya and I viewed it, I saw me and my brother sitting on the beds talking.
"Big Brother?" Mokuba asked me, "Will we ever get out of here? Will we ever find a family? Like Elaya?"
"Don't worry Mokuba," I said as I walked over to him, "We'll get our own family together.and we'll live happy. It'll happen.and I won't leave without you."
Mokuba smiled and hugged me. "Okay big brother. I hope that it does happen."
"It will." I said.
I wonder why that memory came to me when I was there. That was the day that Elaya left the orphanage, just after she said goodbye to us.never to see us again until now. As I drove away from Elaya's apartment, it had begun to rain again, hard. For some reason, chills rain up my spine as I heard that soft laughter in my head. The same laughter from that dream that I had.
*~*~*Yugi's POV*~*~*
I wasn't feeling that well today. I slept in for the most part, only to be interrupted by my Grandpa when he brought me some tea and an aspirin. He said that it was the best way to cure a rotten headache. I had heard the rain beating on my window, and since it was right above me, I couldn't escape the pounding of the water. Every little sound the house made brought pain to my head.but it was soon dulled by the aspirin. I felt weak, as if I couldn't get up at all. I lied down on the sheets and tried to fall back to sleep, which was easy when you had a drowsy aspirin in your system. But, just before I lost conscious, before I fell asleep, I heard an echoing laughter in my head. It was that spirit, Dieen.Queen of the Shadow Realm, which talked to me before. She began to speak, and I tried to listen to what she was saying, but the aspirin had already begun to weaken my senses. Giving up, not by my own will, but by my body, I fell asleep. That's when she shouted, quite loudly in my ear, "I'll take your Puzzle if it's the last thing I do Pharaoh!" I shot out of bed, heart pumping in my chest because of the unwelcomed scream in my ear, sweating and gasping for air.
All the while, she continued to laugh, until she fell silent and the rain overhead drowned out her soft laughter.
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