The Safe Side

By:

Blue-Eyes White Dragon

BEWD: This is my first Duelist Kingdom alternate universe fanfic…I hope everyone likes it!

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'I don't see why Uncle Pegasus wanted me to participate in his stupid tournament…he knows that I'll beat anyone who dares to challenge me…' a girl thought, laying on a branch in a tree on Duelist Kingdom. She had to practically beat up her uncle's goons just to get away from his castle. She heard voices below her, so she quickly turned over and saw two of her uncle's "targets"-Yuugi Muto and Ryou Bakura. She had decided to stay quiet when the branch suddenly broke, causing the girl to lose her balance and fall right on top of Ryou.

"Ryou! Are you okay?" Jounouchi Katsuya cried out, helping the slightly shorter Ryou to his feet.

"Unh…I'm fine Jou, really…are you all right?" Ryou asked, turning his attention to the girl that had just fallen on him.

"Yes, I'm fine!" the girl said angrily, turning around and starting to walk away.

"Wait…who are you, anyway?" Yuugi asked, stepping in front of her.

"If you MUST know, my name is Keiko." the girl answered, stopping and turning around to glare at Yuugi with sky blue eyes.

"Keiko, why don't you hang with us for a while?" Honda Hiroto suggested, looking towards Anzu Mizaki, who quickly nodded in agreement.

"Are you sure you want me around? Once you figure out who I really am, you'd probably want to kill me…"

"You wanna bet on that?" Jou said, grabbing Keiko's shoulder playfully.

"Yeah…my uncle is the one holding this stupid tournament…" Keiko said, pulling away from Jou and walking to the base of the tree that she just fell out of.

"No way! Your uncle is Pegasus J. Crawford?!" Ryou cried out, looking at Keiko. She looked in NO way like Pegasus…her strawberry-blond hair fell to her waist, and her sky blue eyes lacked the coldness constantly present in the eyes of Pegasus J. Crawford.

"I'm afraid so…in fact, it was Uncle Pegasus who raised me for the past nine years…"

"I don't believe it…" Ryou said quietly as a group of Pegasus's goons came up to them.

"Keiko…we've been looking for you…your uncle wants you to return to the castle."

"I'll NEVER go back to the castle! You'll have to kill me!"

"That can easily be arranged, Keiko…" the goon said, laughing as he pulled a gun from behind his back. The goon laughed again as he pointed the gun towards Keiko and cocked the weapon. Keiko merely sat there watching as the goon pulled the trigger and shot the ground in front of her feet.

"If you think that gun is going to scare me into going with you, you're sadly mistaken…" Keiko said quietly, her eyes gaining the same cold stare that was famous for her uncle.

"Oh, really?" the goon asked as he pointed his gun not at Keiko, but at Yuugi. "Does my gun scare you now, little girl?" he asked, laughing as he pulled the trigger. Keiko quickly jumped between the bullet and Yuugi, the bullet driving itself into her side. She fell to the ground, her hands pressed over the wound the bullet caused.

"Keiko!" Yuugi cried out, looking from the still-smoking gun to the injured Keiko lying in front of him. Ryou was instantly at Keiko's side, helping her up and quickly examining the wound. The goons quickly escaped as the others gathered around Ryou and Keiko.

"Is she okay?" Anzu asked, looking at Ryou nervously.

"I'm not really too sure…the bullet's still in her body…"

"How are you so sure, Ryou?" Jou asked, looking over Keiko's side.

"Look, Jou…there's not an exit wound…if someone's shot, if the bullet exits the body, there's always an exit wound…" Ryou explained, looking at Yuugi with a worried expression. "It looks like one of us has to take her back to the castle…"

"No…not the castle…anywhere but the castle…" Keiko gasped, trying to stand up.

"Keiko…don't try to move…I have to take you to the castle…it's the quickest way to deal with your wound…" Ryou told her, placing his hand on her shoulder and forcing her back down into a prostrate position.

"But…the castle's where my uncle is…I can't bear to be that close to him…" Keiko whispered, her sky blue eyes clouded with pain.

"Listen to me, Keiko…if we let that bullet stay in your body, the wound will get infected…"

"Ryou, I don't care…I can't bear to be any closer to my uncle than I have to be!" Keiko cried out, once again trying to stand.

"Keiko…" Yuugi whispered, his violet eyes flooding with tears.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Keiko asked, glaring at Yuugi.

"Nothing, really…I'm just worried…can you blame me? You risk your own life for mine…" Yuugi answered, a tear escaping his eyes.

"Oh, Ra, help me…he starts with the tears…" Keiko whispered, closing her eyes.

"Ryou? Is she okay?" Honda asked, looking at Keiko.

"I don't know, Honda…she's unconscious now, I can tell you that…" Ryou replied, carefully picking Keiko up and walking towards the castle. "I don't care what she says, I'm not going to have someone die while I can do something about it…"

"Ryou, wait up!" Yuugi cried out, running after Ryou.

"Yuugi…only one of us needs to take her. You stay here and work on getting enough star chips to get into the castle for the finals, okay?"

"Fine…Jou and I will stay here…"

"Make sure Honda and Anzu stay here, as well…this is something only one of us needs to do this…"

"Okay, Ryou…I promise none of us will follow you." Yuugi told him as he turned and half-ran to the castle and slammed his fist against the door.

"Who is it?" the doorkeeper asked, opening the door and seeing Keiko. "Keiko is injured, I see…follow me. I'll take you to Mr. Crawford…"

Ryou followed the doorkeeper, somewhat reluctant to do so at first. He didn't know what these people were thinking, much less Pegasus J. Crawford himself. They arrived in a large dining hall, Pegasus sitting at the head of the large table.

"Mr. Crawford, this boy has graciously brought your injured niece here for help…she's been shot, and still has a bullet in her body."

"Why should I care? The treacherous girl left without my permission in the first place…" Pegasus snapped, his cold stare locking on the unconscious Keiko.

"If I may add to this, Mr. Crawford…if the bullet in her body is not removed, she will die…do you want to be responsible for the death of someone, namely your OWN NIECE, on your island during this tournament?" Ryou stated, hoping that his words would somehow get through and change the stubborn man's mind.

"Fine…have her wounds tended to…then kick her out. You, boy, seem to be willing to care for her, I'll leave her recovery in your hands."

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BEWD: That's it for now! I hope everyone likes this story…I've been planning on this story for WEEKS…

Shadow: She's not joking…I hear her thinking about what to type in this story…anyway, everyone, PLEASE R&R…