~*A.N: So sorry for the hiatus everyone. Well, now I know how to finish this off. Two chapters to go*~

~*Down With The Sickness*~

Yami continued riding off in the countryside. It had been hours since they had left Salem. The clouds were gray as if it would rain soon.

"Hey, where are we?" Tea looked around, her head resting on Yami's back.

"Huh?" Yami glanced back at Tea. "We're away from Salem."
"Yes I know. I heard Shadi mentioning about it. I heard a bit of commotion earlier." Her head rested on his back, her arms wrapped around his waist. "Though I do worry. What if they manage to find us?"

Yami took Tea's hand to his, intertwining his fingers within hers. "I wonder if we will be caught. But I try not to let that get to me. We should not worry of the future right now but the present." His other hand held the reigns of his horse.

They rode for many hours, still out in the open fields with not a single home or village in sight. By the time the sun had set, they entered the forests.

"Yami," Tea looked around. "Shouldn't we stop for the day? I think your horse is getting tired."

"Good point." Yami smiled. "Whoa, kiddo." He pulled on the reigns, the horse stopped obediently. He went behind the cart, pulling out the sheet that covered the cart. Mostly it was clothes, sheets that were used as blankets as well as Tea's bag. Looking through her bag, he found out her things were inside. Something caught his eye. Reaching in, he pulled out a hardcover black book. Encrypted in cursive gold, it labeled "Salem Witch Trials"

"What in the world?" Yami was rather intrigued by the title itself. Opening it up, his eyes widened as he read the words. Amazing, he called out in his mind. This is about everything that happened. Every event had every detail from the time she arrived to Yugi and Ishizu's death, towards their runaway from Salem. Some events he had not known of such as Ryou's encounter with Mai and the circle's mourning of Chibi-Usa had been included. This is like a life story of everything that happened in Salem. He continued skimming through the pages, noticing it was completely blank. Not a single word or a drop of ink scrawled through the pages. Surely Tea could not have written this. But if she had not, then who was it? Noticing Tea getting off the horse, he shoved the book back in her bag, zipping it up.

"Hey Yami," Tea called out, pointing to a huge lake. "There's a pool. Wanna swim?"

Yami smiled. "Well…I…"

"Come on!" she took him by the wrist.

"Hey, hey. At least let me take off my shirt." He pulled his shirt over his head, kicking off his boots, before going after her. He noticed along the way Tea's attire and shoes laying on the ground. Looking up, he saw her only in her lacy undergarments.

Tea stood on a rock, looking out into the water. The warm air surrounded her as she finally dove in. She quickly popped up, shivering. The water was too good for it was ice cold.

Yami laughed softly as he too dove in, swimming towards Tea. "A little too cold, no? You should get used to it in a few minutes."

"This…this is freezing." Tea shivered, the water going up to her shoulders.

Yami looked over her bra, taking the lace of her bra into his fingers. "What kind of women's wear is this?" he then reached down to her waist, feeling the same material.

Tea's faced turned red as she felt Yami's fingers on her waist. Her face twitched slightly and with her fist balled up, she punched Yami right in the face, knocking him underwater.

"Yami…Yami…"

Yami's eyes opened, seeing Tea's face hovering above him. Slowly, he stood up, looking around, noticing se started a fire. "What just happened?"

Tea, who wore a long sleeve black shirt and a dark blue skirt, helped him sit up. Yami looked over her strange clothing, and the silver necklace that held a crystal butterfly.

"Er…yeah. I kinda knocked you in the water." Tea smiled nervously. "I…" she looked down at her clothes. "Yes…um…I was to sleep over at a friend's house and these were the only clothes I had in my bag." She tossed another twig, watching the flames rise.

"What's it like in your world?" Yami laid on Tea's lap.

"My world?" Tea shot a confused look.

"I know you've come from another time," he smiled. "Judging by your clothes, I would say the future. I know not of clothes like that in history."

"That's pretty smart," she smiled, looking up at the night sky. "Well, I'm not sure how to explain how it is like in the future. All I can say is that it's different from Salem. At least in my time, we don't hang and burn people."

"Sounds like a beautiful place." He rested himself on her lap. "I'm sure your people have a reasonable way to punish criminals."

"In my world, we do not have witches. We have rapists and robbers. But there are no such thing as witches." She then looked down, noticing Yami sleeping. Smiling, she too fell asleep.

The next morning, Tea woke up feeling extremely weak. A feverish urge ran through her body as she looked down at Yami, who was sleeping soundly. A hand reached down to play with the locks of hair weakly.

Stirring from the slumber, Yami woke up, expecting to see a lovely face. Except all he saw was a sickly, pale woman. "Tea?" he quickly sat up. "Tea, what's wrong?"

Tea sneezed. "I don't feel so good Yami. I guess I didn't have a blanket with me when the cold wind passed by."

Yami stood up, helping Tea up. "Come, I think I know a place where we can stay."

"Where is that?" Tea sneezed once more.

"I have a friend who lives not far from here." Yami started to untie the reigns of his horse. "He's the high priest of all Salem though he tends to keep a private life." He then helped Tea climb on the horse before he too hopped on.

Soon, they rode through the twisted paths of the forest grounds. Time trickled by as they reached a cottage tucked near a cave. After Yami took care of his horse, he helped Tea off, wrapping her arm over his shoulder, carrying her up the steps. With his free hand, he knocked on the wooden door. The seconds passed by and finally, the door opened. There stood a rather tall man with wild, light brownish hair, almost similar to Ryou's. His body is nicely sculpted, as if he had been lifting weights. He wore a black sleeveless top with matching long black pants.

"Well, well Yami," he spoke in a dark voice. "What brings you here? Salem becoming Boston's hellhole?

"Give it a rest Marik." Yami sneered before his eyes glanced at Tea. "Tea, this is my so-called friend Marik. Marik, this is Tea."

"Strange clothes indeed." Marik eyed Tea's clothing. "Not even Boston carries these sort of garments."

"She's not from around here." Yami stepped in. "Enough of her. She's sick."

"Hmph! Oh well, take her up to my room." Marik pointed up the staircase. "I'll prepare some herbal tea."

"And since when did you learn to make tea?" Yami gave Marik a strange look.

"Since Namu taught me." He said quietly. "Before Namu…well…you know?"

Yami nodded. "I still can't believe that Namu would drug himself to escape his own insanity."

"He didn't have to. Just go. I will bring the tea in a bit." He then disappeared into the kitchen. Starting a small fire in the fireplace, he filled a pot with water. He then sat down on a chair, watching the flames rise higher.

"I'm surprised you decided to take the two in after all." A soft voice called out.

"What the?" Marik turned around seeing a familiar figure making its way towards him. He wore a white robe with the millennium key dangling from his neck. A head wrap covered his head as he stepped out from the shadows.

"Oh, it's you again." Marik eyed Shadi suspiciously. "And here I thought you went out beyond the borders of Salem."

"They are looking for me in Boston too." Shadi grinned.

"You make this sound like a game you play with the other priests." Marik checked to see if the water is warm.

"A game I very well enjoy indeed. I am quite surprised, of all high priests, you chose to trust the one who studies the dark arts."

"As you know, I was born from a high priest and a sorceress. Or in other words, my mother is like how your sister Ishizu is."

Shadi shook his head sadly. "You have no idea do you? Has your father told you nothing of your mother?"

"I remember my mother and father were separated and that my father took me away from my own mother. I have never seen her since then."

Shadi's eyes lowered to the ground. "I have bad news. Your mother was executed a while back thanks to Reverend Kaiba."

"You lie!" Marik snapped. "My father told me my mother when I was ten."

"Your mother…" Shadi finally looked up at him. "Your mother was my own sister."

"What?!?" Marik's eyes went wild. "You lie Shadi! You fucking lie!!"

"I guess that's a good thing about being a high priest, living as far away from Salem." Shadi smiled, crossing his arms over his chest. "You get to profane as much as you want and neither God nor the Puritans would give a damn."

"You seem to have gotten it down. But if my mother was Ishizu, why do you only tell me this now? Why only come to me when Yami and his little girlfriend arrived?"

"I will tell you if you do not speak a word of this to Yami."

"All right fine," Marik was getting annoyed. "Just tell me."

Shadi looked out the window. "Destruction will befall on Salem. Innocence will die, betrayal will come forth," he turned to Marik. "And happenings will occur in this household."

"I nay see that happening. I only pity Yami because his little girlfriend is sick."

"They, as well as I, are on the run. We have been named witches. But enough of that, it seems that my siblings will be the ones causing this destruction in Salem."

"Ishizu and Ryou?" Marik continued to eye Shadi.

"I sense your mother has been seeking revenge ever since her death. She has made an appearance to me nights ago. She has made a pact with the devil and death. With the three together, they will surely cause damage to that pitiful town."

"How so? And what does this have to do with Ryou?"

"I will not say." Shadi smiled. "You, Marik, are difficult to deal with. Your soul is torn between the dark side and the mortal realm. But I do admire you. While you manage to keep a low profile on your inner demon, you manage to live a life of a high ranking priest." He then brushed past Marik, walking into the shadows. "Your mother will visit you, yes. Your cards could help. I sense that you do know your cards well. There is a full deck behind the shelf of your library, no?" he then disappeared.

Marik looked on, even after Shadi disappeared. How could he have known his past? How could have Shadi known about the cards he kept in the library. Not even Yami knew. He then put out the fire, taking out three porcelain cups. With a ladle, he scooped up the steaming water, pouring it into each cup. In each cup, he mixed a lemon and honey, mixing it all together. Placing the cups on the tray, he took it up the stairs and into his room. Setting the tray on the nightstand beside his bed, he placed his hand on Tea's forehead. "God, she's burning up." He then shook her slightly, causing her to stir.

"Huh? Wha…?" Tea opened her eyes seeing Marik on the bed while Yami sat on the chair on the other side of the bed.

Marik handed Tea the cup. "Drink m'lady. It will be a long night. Plus, it will control that little cold of yours." He then smiled.

Tea took the cup eagerly, sipping on the hot, sweet liquid. Yami stood up, leaving the bedroom. "Marik, you wouldn't mind if I used your shower, would you?"

"The tub has a bit of a problem," said Marik. "There is a lake within the caves that's perfect for a bath. I'm pretty sure you could find it."

Yami nodded and left. Marik watched Tea slowly dozing off. Strangely, there's something about her that had enticed him. Something about her seemed to slowly cause him…

No! He shouted in his mind. Of all things…oh God…could it be…love?

~*To Be Continued*~