A/N: *Sniffles and wipes a tear* I almost have 70 reviews! I feel so loved... Thanks to everyone who's reviewed.
^_^ And... All you non-reviewing readers too, if there are any. ^_^'
C.A: ^_^ Glad ya' like the Yuugi and Joey and Yami interaction. I love those three, especially in interaction with each other. So I'm glad you liked it too. ^_^
Yeah, Yuugi and Sugoroku need to calm themselves. *Sweatdrop* Poor guys. I was so mean to them all in this chapter. XD
The group appreciates your hugs, since they aren't all grouchy like Yami B and Seto. You are now on Yami B's good list, for the alcohol, and Seto is somewhat annoyed by the insinuation from the book. I'm very amused, however. *Grin*
Glad you liked the chapter. ^_^
Black Scarab: Yay! You're back! ^_^ Thanks a bunch for the praise. And yes, I can write a bad chapter. *Points to her Digimon fanfics* They are horrid. Don't go looking for them. *Glare* I'm serious.
^_^ Thanks for the review! And I have a shield ready.
"...": Wow, you just read my sad little novel-length story all at once? I'm quite flattered... And even more so about how much you like it! I'm very honored to be in your top 5 Yugioh fic list! Also glad you like the yamis' relationship and Joey and Yami's relationship. ^_^ Thanks a bunch for you review!
Borath: Glad you liked the beginning. It was my favorite part of the chapter. ^_^ Also, I was worried it would be a little off... But I'm relieved it wasn't too bad. ^_^
I keep stalling on the trip to Egypt. XD I was gonna' have it last time, but then I went for four days without even opening my file (found a litter of kitties under the house) and figured I should finish up the chapter. Now I feel a little better that you don't mind that they didn't get there. Also happy you like the plane scenes with Yami B and Yami. I have a feeling the alcohol will now be a running joke...
In truth, the focusing on the other characters was because I felt I'd neglected them too long. XD And yes, I know it was very tedious and repetitive. ^_^ And boring to write, too... But now I get to ignore them all for another 6 chapters. *Evil smirk*
Yes, screwed for Egypt they are. I'm gonna' have fun torturing them... More. Thanks for the review!
Lori Kamiya: Thanks for the review. ^_^ And I'll definitely be writing more. Forever. XD
Ryuujin Dragon King: Yami torture = Yay. ^_^ Thanks a bunch for the review. ^_^ Hope you had fun at camp. *Never been camping... And has been on about two boats. XD*
Other notes: Gods, we found a litter of kittens under the house on the 24th, which is why the last chapter took so long and was rushed. (Right now, one of the kittens is "helping" by sitting in my lap and going after my arm.) My birthday was on Thursday, and.... Uh... Well, we went to an amusement park, where I proceeded to come down with some sort of flu and had to go home. I'm still sick. O.o So... Yeah. That's why it's taken so long for me to update this time. Hopefully, I won't have such bad luck with the next chapter.
Darn... I had thought this chapter was longer than this... *Sniff*
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, Coke, Sprite, magnetic checkers, travel battleship, or backgammon. ^_^
Warnings: Cursing. Do I have to say this every time?
Summary of Last Time: Yami returned to the land of the living/spirits/undead, the group got on the plane, and we got some long annoying looks into everyone's thoughts.
Preview of this time: Joey teaches Yami Battleship, and the group gets to Egypt!
Japanese:
None
Hope you all like the chapter! ^_^
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Eien; part 17
by: Amiasha
Yami frowned in his sleep, mumbling something incoherent and shifting slightly, wondering why he was so uncomfortable. He was leaning against something warm, but his back was twisted at a somewhat harsh angle, and his neck was stiff. But the spirit didn't really want to summon the energy to move, so he decided not to and just listened to the heartbeat of the person his head was laying against.
"Hey, are ya' awake?" Joey's voice asked softly from just above him, the chest he was laying against moving as he did.
"That depends." Yami murmured, still partially asleep and barely aware of where he was. "Are we in Egypt?"
"Nope." Joey replied, laughing. "We're still about six or seven hours from 'dere. You've been out for about four hours or so. You want somethin' ta' drink?"
Yami nodded slightly, pushing himself off of Joey and sitting up straight. It was when he began shivering that he realized he was very cold.
Joey looked at him in concern, and gently reached out to touch his forehead. "Geez, Yami..." Joey said quietly. "You're runnin' a huge fever." The blond picked up a cup of water he had gotten earlier, and carefully handed it to the spirit.
Yami gratefully accepted it, but only sipped a little due to how sore his throat was. He made a pained face, before handing the water back to Joey.
The blond looked confused. "Whatsa' matter?" He asked.
Yami gave him a reassuring smile, waving his hand dismissively. "Nothing." He answered softly, his voice much more subdued than usual.
Joey raised an eyebrow, but didn't figure he could get any more out of the dark on that. So he turned his attention to a different problem. "Yami?" He asked, to get the spirit's attention. "Do ya' want my coat? You look pretty cold..."
Yami smiled weakly but shook his head. "I'm okay." He assured softly, discreetly wrapping Seto's coat tighter around himself.
Joey raised his eyebrow again, somewhat used to this routine. He would ask Yami something, Yami would lie, and they'd end up having to threaten Yami with locking the puzzle in a closet for a week. But eventually, Yami had figured out they were bluffing, so that didn't work anymore either. Joey shook his head to try and reorganize he thoughts into something useful.
"Uh-huh." Joey said, obviously sarcastic. "Alrighty then. Tell me when ya' do want to admit it and ya' want my jacket." He said nonchalantly, turning his attention to the mumbling of the sleeping Tomb Robber next to him. Which was actually pretty interesting, or at the very least funny. Yami B was going on about something having to do with picking locks on vases, and wondering why vases had locks in the first place.
Yami fidgeted slightly in annoyance and discomfort, glaring at the ground and adjusting his position so he could sit on his feet. It wasn't especially regal, but most comfortable. He frowned and yanked Seto's coat tighter, before realizing that that was pretty much impossible without suffocating himself, and sighed. Very begrudgingly, Yami looked back at Joey, and reached out to tug on his jacket sleeve much like a four year old.
Joey cheerily look back at him, with a stupid grin on his face. "Yeah?" He asked, knowing full well that his ploy had worked and just wanting to see if he could get the sedate spirit to give a more animated reaction.
Yami glared at Joey from the tops of his eyes, seriously wanting to wipe the idiotic smile off his face. "Fine. I want the coat." Yami said hoarsely, none too happy about having to admit it.
Joey changed his smile to a more sincere and caring one, taking off his jacket and carefully wrapping it around Yami. "No problem." He said.
Yami smiled, feeling a little warmer. Now he was just bored.
Joey picked up on this, and laughed. "Bored?" He asked, grinning when Yami nodded. "Great. I've been wantin' someone to play magnetic checkers wit' for awhile now." He said happily, reaching down to dig through his onflight bag.
Yami rolled his eyes, idly rubbing the bridge of his nose as he felt his headache coming back now that he was fully awake. He almost laughed at the look of pure joy on Joey's face when he found the small magnetic checkers set and realized he didn't lose any pieces. The blond cheerfully went to work setting the checkers in their proper places.
After a few seconds, Joey flipped the armrest between him and Yami down, setting the game on it. "You go first." He said.
Yami scanned the board for a second, before sliding one of his red checkers one square.
After he had moved six turns, Yami had captured eight pieces, had two kings, and was wearing a very confident smirk. Whereas Joey had only taken three of Yami checkers, and those had all been setups so Yami could take more.
Joey sighed. "Damn Game King." He muttered, taking the jump Yami had given him and watching Yami take another two of his black checkers afterward.
Yami smiled at him. "I don't have this title for nothing." He said, frowning at the fact that his sore throat hadn't gone away and taking another drink of the Sprite Joey had gotten him.
Joey took a drink of his own Coke, and looked back at the gameboard. "Geez..." He moaned, seeing Yami had set him up again.
Yami just smirked.
Joey looked at the spirit hopelessly. "Let's play a different game, okay?" He suggested.
Yami shrugged and nodded, not caring. "Sure."
Joey's grin returned, and he packed up the checkers game before putting it back in the bag and looking for another. Another few moments and Joey pulled out travel Battleship.
Yami's eyes lit up as he looked at the game. "I've never played this..." He said softly, intently focused on a game he'd never seen before.
"'Den I'll explain. 'Dis game is mostly guessin', which is why I like it so much." He pulled the board out and showed it to Yami. "Ya' put the ships on the bottom, and 'da otha' player tries ta' guess which squares 'dere in by guessin' off the grin. Like E1, here." He said, pointing at the E1 square. "If your ship is on E1, you say 'hit' and put one of 'da red pegs in the ship. If your ship wasn't 'dere, just say miss." He paused, making sure that Yami was following. "If you were 'da one guessin', and the other person said 'hit', 'den put a red peg up on 'dis board so ya' can remember where ya' guessed. If ya' missed, ya' put a white peg in."
Yami nodded to show that he'd understood, but Joey noticed a somewhat glazed look in the dark's eyes.
"Are ya' doin' alright?" Joey asked, halting in the setting up of Battleship to look at Yami.
Yami nodded again weakly, becoming worn out and dizzy again. He very much wanted to try this new game though, so he figured he would just sleep again after he did so he ignored it.
The two placed their ships on the board, and Joey look up at Yami. "You can go first again." He offered.
Yami considered for a second. His lips curled into a small smirk. "E1." He whispered so as not to hurt his throat.
Joey gave an animated sigh and admitted dully, "Hit."
The dark made a noise of amusement and placed a red peg up on his board as Joey placed one in his ship.
"A4." Joey said, looking expectantly at Yami with a hopeful expression.
Yami raised an eyebrow and shook his head slightly.
"Aw..." Joey groaned, putting a white peg on his board.
Yami scanned the choices again, thinking about which way Joey would have placed his ship. Staring at the small letters were starting to hurt his head, and the spirit noted with annoyance that he'd started to get very dizzy again.
"Yami?" Joey asked gently, noticing Yami's hesitation and that he had gone slightly cross-eyed. "Hey, are you getting bad again? You wanna' relax for a minute?"
Yami narrowed his eyes from pain, his vision going blurry and then clearing before going grey around the edges like a movie flashback. He reached out for Joey, taking a hold of his shirt like he had with Yuugi in the airport. "Joey, I think I'm going to pass out again..." Yami murmured quickly, resting his forehead against Joey's chest.
"Okay, okay, it's alright." Joey tried to reassure the spirit, hurriedly moving the Battleship game to his bag and getting the arm of the chair out of the way. "It's okay Yami, just close your eyes and relax. You'll be okay." He said, putting his arms around Yami gently and rubbing his back with one hand.
Yami took a shaky breath and drew closer to the blond, clamping his eyes shut as the feeling of spinning enhanced. Yami was a little alarmed at how quickly he'd gone from feeling ill but not badly to nearly blacking out. Not to mention he really didn't like blacking out. He really hoped he wouldn't, but didn't think that his wish was going to be granted since the feeling of falling was becoming stronger.
Joey nervously continued to rub circles on Yami's back, but didn't really know what else to do for him. He moved his fingers up to pull through Yami's hair, knowing that the action calmed him, and then was scared senseless when the trembling spirit fell limp in his arms. "Y-Yami?" He asked, even though he knew that the older teen wouldn't answer him. Joey swallowed, trying to figure out what to do next. Bakura had told them earlier at the airport that it was important to lay someone who had passed out down, and would also speed up waking. But that was pretty much impossible here. So, Joey turned to the sleeping thief to his right. "Yami Bakura?"
Yami Bakura scowled and opened an eye. "What, MORTAL?" He asked sourly, fixing Joey with an intent glare.
Joey glared right back. "Yami's passed out again and I can't lay 'im down; what do I do know?" He asked, casting a worried glance down at the boy in his arms.
"Damn..." Yami B swore, stepping into the isle from his chair. "Get up idiot, flip the armrests up, and lay him across the seats." The white haired spirit ordered. "His knees'll have to be bent, but this is better than nothing. Or the isle, I suppose."
Joey, feeling stupid that he hadn't thought of that, did as he was told, squeezing into the space between the seats and the backs of the chairs in front of him. Almost as soon as he had placed Yami on his back, the leather clad spirit opened his eyes, looking somewhat dazed.
Joey, ignoring all the looks from the other people in the plane, carefully leaned over Yami. "Hey, you're back." He said, clearly relieved.
"That was much quicker than last time." Yami B muttered, arms crossed, but also seemingly pleased.
"I don't like this fainting thing at all." Yami muttered darkly, stubbornly pulling himself to a sitting position using the back of the chair and Joey's shirt, grimacing and shutting his eyes as his headache intensified again.
"Yami..." Joey protested lamely, gently detaching Yami's fingers from his shirt and chair and laying the spirit back down. "'Dis is getting a little scary, so don't make yourself worse 'den you already are, okay?" The blond asked.
Yami sighed, looking up into Joey's eyes. "I'd be hard-pressed to do so." He admitted, stubbornly pulling himself back up with only the help of the chair back. "And I'm in your seats, so-"
"Yami." Joey scolded darkly, cutting the spirit off. "Yami B here doesn't care, and I especially don't. So don't fret about it. And stop sittin' up, will ya'?" He added, reaching to take Yami's hand off the chair.
Yami sighed again and moved his hand on his own, laying back down unhappily before glaring at Joey and Yami B. "You're not just going to stand there for another 6 hours." He declared, absently rubbing at his throat as it hurt again.
"No, I'm going to go harass Ryou from my soul room." Yami B said matter of factly, strutting off toward his sleeping other and then disappearing into his soul room discreetly. Or as discreetly as he could, at least. Not too many people stared.
"And I guess I'll let you get up before we get ta' Egypt." Joey grinned. "Just not sayin' when."
"Joey-" Yami started to protest, but was again cut off by the blond.
"'Ey, don't argue wit' me, it's a waste a' time. And I know by now ya' ain't gonna' Mind Crush me either, so that ain't gonna' work." Joey said, at first serious then becoming joking. "Why don't ya' try an' sleep until we get ta' Egypt?" He suggested.
"That's all I'm doing lately." Yami muttered in annoyance, but didn't offer any other protests. Truthfully, it was getting hard to keep his eyes open, but he was getting somewhat bored of falling asleep and waking up to find out it had been hours and that he missed a lot. He'd had thousands of years of being idle, thank you, and wasn't really in the mood to sleep yet again anyway.
Joey gave a smile at the teen, managing to sit down in what little space there was between the rows of chairs. Surprisingly enough, no one had yelled at him yet. "Fine," He said. "If you're just gonna' be stubborn 'den let's play Backgammon."
**********************
//Stop poking me.//
/Then stop tapping out some sort of code on my soul room door./
//It's Morse Code. You taught me it; I'd expect you could recognize it.//
/Oh, I thought that was it, but I didn't figure you'd be tapping out 'Dice are for feathers.'/
//... Oh.//
Bakura shook his head, and looked out the window. They were less than 10 minutes from Egypt and his dark had gotten very anxious, whether or not he wanted to admit it, and was now acting somewhat hyper in his soulroom. And failing badly on his Morse Code skills.
//Is the Pharaoh up? He was whining about wanting to be awake for our arrival in Egypt.// Yami B asked nonchalantly.
Bakura looked over towards the row of seats where Yami, Yuugi, and Joey were. Both Motous were awake, and the two of them and Joey had all managed to look out the window at the same time. Bakura smiled at the amusing sight. /Yes, he's up./
Yami B gave a mental nod, before prodding his other slightly. //I'm going to take over. I want to look out the window.// He announced.
Bakura rolled his eyes. /Go right ahead./
Yami B took over, his hair standing up slightly and his eyes slanting and darkening. He leaned over to look out the window and down at the Sahara desert. //Well, that hasn't changed at all from what it used to look like.//
/What, rocky and sandy?/ Bakura asked bemusedly, grinning mentally.
//Yes, but don't let the Pharaoh hear you say that. Part of this ugly sand and rock pile was his.// Yami B returned, a smile growing as he looked fondly over the land he used to live in. Just seeing the Sahara was almost like being back in ancient Egypt.
Yami, meanwhile, was having a similar reaction. He too stared at the desert, but didn't remember anymore than feelings or small snippets of scenes. However, this was his homeland, and that fact alone made him feel almost like he was floating.
"We'll be landing in a few minutes so please buckle your seatbelts." The pilot said over the loudspeaker.
The Motou brothers and Joey sat back down, buckling their seatbelts after a few moments of effort. Yami leaned against the back of the chair, letting his head fall back as he continued to look out the window.
After a few minutes the plane had landed, taxing over to line up with the loading ramp, and the pilot had given the okay to leave.
"Out of the damn way, mortals." Yami B snarled as, yet again, he was shoved in the mass of people. No one listened to him.
"Eh, Yami B, most people ain't gonna' be scared of a teen. Especially if he's shoutin' about mortals. 'Den people just think you're loony." Joey advised, watching the white haired thief grow menacingly and simply be shoved back into his seat.
Surprisingly enough, the girls had made their way out of the plane already with Mafdet, and so had, presumably, Seto and Mokuba. The rest of the group however, was stuck.
Joey had insisted, much to Yami's annoyance, to carry the tri-color haired spirit, and so was holding Yami in his arms as he waited for the mass of people to get out of the way. Yami was muttering something under his breath.
Yuugi looked incredibly bored, staring at Joey's back as he too waited. He yawned, having only woken up about 20 minutes earlier.
"Are these people spawning in the bathroom as we speak?" Yami B marveled, staring in wonder as more and more people hurried past.
"That's a really scary thought." Ryuuji remarked, eyeing the bathroom warily. "And one that I really, really don't want to think about."
Finally though, they managed to get their bags and get off the plane, and into the terminal where they met up with the girls, Mafdet, and the Kaiba brothers.
"Freedom!" Joey announced, earning a weak smack upside the head from Yami who's ear he'd just shouted in.
The airport was relatively empty, but the people in it were very mixed. Citizens from all sorts of nations were there, talking in a chatter of many different languages and wearing everything from full veils to tank tops and short-shorts. The airport itself had light beige walls and somewhat gold carpeting, but had such high ceilings and huge windows that the colors didn't cause it to be too cozy.
The group got their bags quicker than they had in China, and stopped at a cluster of benches to decide what to do next.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: I'm slightly depressed at how short this chapter is. *Pout* But I hope it was good enough. ^_^
Please review, and I'll try and hurry up with the next chapter! ^_^
C.A: ^_^ Glad ya' like the Yuugi and Joey and Yami interaction. I love those three, especially in interaction with each other. So I'm glad you liked it too. ^_^
Yeah, Yuugi and Sugoroku need to calm themselves. *Sweatdrop* Poor guys. I was so mean to them all in this chapter. XD
The group appreciates your hugs, since they aren't all grouchy like Yami B and Seto. You are now on Yami B's good list, for the alcohol, and Seto is somewhat annoyed by the insinuation from the book. I'm very amused, however. *Grin*
Glad you liked the chapter. ^_^
Black Scarab: Yay! You're back! ^_^ Thanks a bunch for the praise. And yes, I can write a bad chapter. *Points to her Digimon fanfics* They are horrid. Don't go looking for them. *Glare* I'm serious.
^_^ Thanks for the review! And I have a shield ready.
"...": Wow, you just read my sad little novel-length story all at once? I'm quite flattered... And even more so about how much you like it! I'm very honored to be in your top 5 Yugioh fic list! Also glad you like the yamis' relationship and Joey and Yami's relationship. ^_^ Thanks a bunch for you review!
Borath: Glad you liked the beginning. It was my favorite part of the chapter. ^_^ Also, I was worried it would be a little off... But I'm relieved it wasn't too bad. ^_^
I keep stalling on the trip to Egypt. XD I was gonna' have it last time, but then I went for four days without even opening my file (found a litter of kitties under the house) and figured I should finish up the chapter. Now I feel a little better that you don't mind that they didn't get there. Also happy you like the plane scenes with Yami B and Yami. I have a feeling the alcohol will now be a running joke...
In truth, the focusing on the other characters was because I felt I'd neglected them too long. XD And yes, I know it was very tedious and repetitive. ^_^ And boring to write, too... But now I get to ignore them all for another 6 chapters. *Evil smirk*
Yes, screwed for Egypt they are. I'm gonna' have fun torturing them... More. Thanks for the review!
Lori Kamiya: Thanks for the review. ^_^ And I'll definitely be writing more. Forever. XD
Ryuujin Dragon King: Yami torture = Yay. ^_^ Thanks a bunch for the review. ^_^ Hope you had fun at camp. *Never been camping... And has been on about two boats. XD*
Other notes: Gods, we found a litter of kittens under the house on the 24th, which is why the last chapter took so long and was rushed. (Right now, one of the kittens is "helping" by sitting in my lap and going after my arm.) My birthday was on Thursday, and.... Uh... Well, we went to an amusement park, where I proceeded to come down with some sort of flu and had to go home. I'm still sick. O.o So... Yeah. That's why it's taken so long for me to update this time. Hopefully, I won't have such bad luck with the next chapter.
Darn... I had thought this chapter was longer than this... *Sniff*
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, Coke, Sprite, magnetic checkers, travel battleship, or backgammon. ^_^
Warnings: Cursing. Do I have to say this every time?
Summary of Last Time: Yami returned to the land of the living/spirits/undead, the group got on the plane, and we got some long annoying looks into everyone's thoughts.
Preview of this time: Joey teaches Yami Battleship, and the group gets to Egypt!
Japanese:
None
Hope you all like the chapter! ^_^
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Eien; part 17
by: Amiasha
Yami frowned in his sleep, mumbling something incoherent and shifting slightly, wondering why he was so uncomfortable. He was leaning against something warm, but his back was twisted at a somewhat harsh angle, and his neck was stiff. But the spirit didn't really want to summon the energy to move, so he decided not to and just listened to the heartbeat of the person his head was laying against.
"Hey, are ya' awake?" Joey's voice asked softly from just above him, the chest he was laying against moving as he did.
"That depends." Yami murmured, still partially asleep and barely aware of where he was. "Are we in Egypt?"
"Nope." Joey replied, laughing. "We're still about six or seven hours from 'dere. You've been out for about four hours or so. You want somethin' ta' drink?"
Yami nodded slightly, pushing himself off of Joey and sitting up straight. It was when he began shivering that he realized he was very cold.
Joey looked at him in concern, and gently reached out to touch his forehead. "Geez, Yami..." Joey said quietly. "You're runnin' a huge fever." The blond picked up a cup of water he had gotten earlier, and carefully handed it to the spirit.
Yami gratefully accepted it, but only sipped a little due to how sore his throat was. He made a pained face, before handing the water back to Joey.
The blond looked confused. "Whatsa' matter?" He asked.
Yami gave him a reassuring smile, waving his hand dismissively. "Nothing." He answered softly, his voice much more subdued than usual.
Joey raised an eyebrow, but didn't figure he could get any more out of the dark on that. So he turned his attention to a different problem. "Yami?" He asked, to get the spirit's attention. "Do ya' want my coat? You look pretty cold..."
Yami smiled weakly but shook his head. "I'm okay." He assured softly, discreetly wrapping Seto's coat tighter around himself.
Joey raised his eyebrow again, somewhat used to this routine. He would ask Yami something, Yami would lie, and they'd end up having to threaten Yami with locking the puzzle in a closet for a week. But eventually, Yami had figured out they were bluffing, so that didn't work anymore either. Joey shook his head to try and reorganize he thoughts into something useful.
"Uh-huh." Joey said, obviously sarcastic. "Alrighty then. Tell me when ya' do want to admit it and ya' want my jacket." He said nonchalantly, turning his attention to the mumbling of the sleeping Tomb Robber next to him. Which was actually pretty interesting, or at the very least funny. Yami B was going on about something having to do with picking locks on vases, and wondering why vases had locks in the first place.
Yami fidgeted slightly in annoyance and discomfort, glaring at the ground and adjusting his position so he could sit on his feet. It wasn't especially regal, but most comfortable. He frowned and yanked Seto's coat tighter, before realizing that that was pretty much impossible without suffocating himself, and sighed. Very begrudgingly, Yami looked back at Joey, and reached out to tug on his jacket sleeve much like a four year old.
Joey cheerily look back at him, with a stupid grin on his face. "Yeah?" He asked, knowing full well that his ploy had worked and just wanting to see if he could get the sedate spirit to give a more animated reaction.
Yami glared at Joey from the tops of his eyes, seriously wanting to wipe the idiotic smile off his face. "Fine. I want the coat." Yami said hoarsely, none too happy about having to admit it.
Joey changed his smile to a more sincere and caring one, taking off his jacket and carefully wrapping it around Yami. "No problem." He said.
Yami smiled, feeling a little warmer. Now he was just bored.
Joey picked up on this, and laughed. "Bored?" He asked, grinning when Yami nodded. "Great. I've been wantin' someone to play magnetic checkers wit' for awhile now." He said happily, reaching down to dig through his onflight bag.
Yami rolled his eyes, idly rubbing the bridge of his nose as he felt his headache coming back now that he was fully awake. He almost laughed at the look of pure joy on Joey's face when he found the small magnetic checkers set and realized he didn't lose any pieces. The blond cheerfully went to work setting the checkers in their proper places.
After a few seconds, Joey flipped the armrest between him and Yami down, setting the game on it. "You go first." He said.
Yami scanned the board for a second, before sliding one of his red checkers one square.
After he had moved six turns, Yami had captured eight pieces, had two kings, and was wearing a very confident smirk. Whereas Joey had only taken three of Yami checkers, and those had all been setups so Yami could take more.
Joey sighed. "Damn Game King." He muttered, taking the jump Yami had given him and watching Yami take another two of his black checkers afterward.
Yami smiled at him. "I don't have this title for nothing." He said, frowning at the fact that his sore throat hadn't gone away and taking another drink of the Sprite Joey had gotten him.
Joey took a drink of his own Coke, and looked back at the gameboard. "Geez..." He moaned, seeing Yami had set him up again.
Yami just smirked.
Joey looked at the spirit hopelessly. "Let's play a different game, okay?" He suggested.
Yami shrugged and nodded, not caring. "Sure."
Joey's grin returned, and he packed up the checkers game before putting it back in the bag and looking for another. Another few moments and Joey pulled out travel Battleship.
Yami's eyes lit up as he looked at the game. "I've never played this..." He said softly, intently focused on a game he'd never seen before.
"'Den I'll explain. 'Dis game is mostly guessin', which is why I like it so much." He pulled the board out and showed it to Yami. "Ya' put the ships on the bottom, and 'da otha' player tries ta' guess which squares 'dere in by guessin' off the grin. Like E1, here." He said, pointing at the E1 square. "If your ship is on E1, you say 'hit' and put one of 'da red pegs in the ship. If your ship wasn't 'dere, just say miss." He paused, making sure that Yami was following. "If you were 'da one guessin', and the other person said 'hit', 'den put a red peg up on 'dis board so ya' can remember where ya' guessed. If ya' missed, ya' put a white peg in."
Yami nodded to show that he'd understood, but Joey noticed a somewhat glazed look in the dark's eyes.
"Are ya' doin' alright?" Joey asked, halting in the setting up of Battleship to look at Yami.
Yami nodded again weakly, becoming worn out and dizzy again. He very much wanted to try this new game though, so he figured he would just sleep again after he did so he ignored it.
The two placed their ships on the board, and Joey look up at Yami. "You can go first again." He offered.
Yami considered for a second. His lips curled into a small smirk. "E1." He whispered so as not to hurt his throat.
Joey gave an animated sigh and admitted dully, "Hit."
The dark made a noise of amusement and placed a red peg up on his board as Joey placed one in his ship.
"A4." Joey said, looking expectantly at Yami with a hopeful expression.
Yami raised an eyebrow and shook his head slightly.
"Aw..." Joey groaned, putting a white peg on his board.
Yami scanned the choices again, thinking about which way Joey would have placed his ship. Staring at the small letters were starting to hurt his head, and the spirit noted with annoyance that he'd started to get very dizzy again.
"Yami?" Joey asked gently, noticing Yami's hesitation and that he had gone slightly cross-eyed. "Hey, are you getting bad again? You wanna' relax for a minute?"
Yami narrowed his eyes from pain, his vision going blurry and then clearing before going grey around the edges like a movie flashback. He reached out for Joey, taking a hold of his shirt like he had with Yuugi in the airport. "Joey, I think I'm going to pass out again..." Yami murmured quickly, resting his forehead against Joey's chest.
"Okay, okay, it's alright." Joey tried to reassure the spirit, hurriedly moving the Battleship game to his bag and getting the arm of the chair out of the way. "It's okay Yami, just close your eyes and relax. You'll be okay." He said, putting his arms around Yami gently and rubbing his back with one hand.
Yami took a shaky breath and drew closer to the blond, clamping his eyes shut as the feeling of spinning enhanced. Yami was a little alarmed at how quickly he'd gone from feeling ill but not badly to nearly blacking out. Not to mention he really didn't like blacking out. He really hoped he wouldn't, but didn't think that his wish was going to be granted since the feeling of falling was becoming stronger.
Joey nervously continued to rub circles on Yami's back, but didn't really know what else to do for him. He moved his fingers up to pull through Yami's hair, knowing that the action calmed him, and then was scared senseless when the trembling spirit fell limp in his arms. "Y-Yami?" He asked, even though he knew that the older teen wouldn't answer him. Joey swallowed, trying to figure out what to do next. Bakura had told them earlier at the airport that it was important to lay someone who had passed out down, and would also speed up waking. But that was pretty much impossible here. So, Joey turned to the sleeping thief to his right. "Yami Bakura?"
Yami Bakura scowled and opened an eye. "What, MORTAL?" He asked sourly, fixing Joey with an intent glare.
Joey glared right back. "Yami's passed out again and I can't lay 'im down; what do I do know?" He asked, casting a worried glance down at the boy in his arms.
"Damn..." Yami B swore, stepping into the isle from his chair. "Get up idiot, flip the armrests up, and lay him across the seats." The white haired spirit ordered. "His knees'll have to be bent, but this is better than nothing. Or the isle, I suppose."
Joey, feeling stupid that he hadn't thought of that, did as he was told, squeezing into the space between the seats and the backs of the chairs in front of him. Almost as soon as he had placed Yami on his back, the leather clad spirit opened his eyes, looking somewhat dazed.
Joey, ignoring all the looks from the other people in the plane, carefully leaned over Yami. "Hey, you're back." He said, clearly relieved.
"That was much quicker than last time." Yami B muttered, arms crossed, but also seemingly pleased.
"I don't like this fainting thing at all." Yami muttered darkly, stubbornly pulling himself to a sitting position using the back of the chair and Joey's shirt, grimacing and shutting his eyes as his headache intensified again.
"Yami..." Joey protested lamely, gently detaching Yami's fingers from his shirt and chair and laying the spirit back down. "'Dis is getting a little scary, so don't make yourself worse 'den you already are, okay?" The blond asked.
Yami sighed, looking up into Joey's eyes. "I'd be hard-pressed to do so." He admitted, stubbornly pulling himself back up with only the help of the chair back. "And I'm in your seats, so-"
"Yami." Joey scolded darkly, cutting the spirit off. "Yami B here doesn't care, and I especially don't. So don't fret about it. And stop sittin' up, will ya'?" He added, reaching to take Yami's hand off the chair.
Yami sighed again and moved his hand on his own, laying back down unhappily before glaring at Joey and Yami B. "You're not just going to stand there for another 6 hours." He declared, absently rubbing at his throat as it hurt again.
"No, I'm going to go harass Ryou from my soul room." Yami B said matter of factly, strutting off toward his sleeping other and then disappearing into his soul room discreetly. Or as discreetly as he could, at least. Not too many people stared.
"And I guess I'll let you get up before we get ta' Egypt." Joey grinned. "Just not sayin' when."
"Joey-" Yami started to protest, but was again cut off by the blond.
"'Ey, don't argue wit' me, it's a waste a' time. And I know by now ya' ain't gonna' Mind Crush me either, so that ain't gonna' work." Joey said, at first serious then becoming joking. "Why don't ya' try an' sleep until we get ta' Egypt?" He suggested.
"That's all I'm doing lately." Yami muttered in annoyance, but didn't offer any other protests. Truthfully, it was getting hard to keep his eyes open, but he was getting somewhat bored of falling asleep and waking up to find out it had been hours and that he missed a lot. He'd had thousands of years of being idle, thank you, and wasn't really in the mood to sleep yet again anyway.
Joey gave a smile at the teen, managing to sit down in what little space there was between the rows of chairs. Surprisingly enough, no one had yelled at him yet. "Fine," He said. "If you're just gonna' be stubborn 'den let's play Backgammon."
**********************
//Stop poking me.//
/Then stop tapping out some sort of code on my soul room door./
//It's Morse Code. You taught me it; I'd expect you could recognize it.//
/Oh, I thought that was it, but I didn't figure you'd be tapping out 'Dice are for feathers.'/
//... Oh.//
Bakura shook his head, and looked out the window. They were less than 10 minutes from Egypt and his dark had gotten very anxious, whether or not he wanted to admit it, and was now acting somewhat hyper in his soulroom. And failing badly on his Morse Code skills.
//Is the Pharaoh up? He was whining about wanting to be awake for our arrival in Egypt.// Yami B asked nonchalantly.
Bakura looked over towards the row of seats where Yami, Yuugi, and Joey were. Both Motous were awake, and the two of them and Joey had all managed to look out the window at the same time. Bakura smiled at the amusing sight. /Yes, he's up./
Yami B gave a mental nod, before prodding his other slightly. //I'm going to take over. I want to look out the window.// He announced.
Bakura rolled his eyes. /Go right ahead./
Yami B took over, his hair standing up slightly and his eyes slanting and darkening. He leaned over to look out the window and down at the Sahara desert. //Well, that hasn't changed at all from what it used to look like.//
/What, rocky and sandy?/ Bakura asked bemusedly, grinning mentally.
//Yes, but don't let the Pharaoh hear you say that. Part of this ugly sand and rock pile was his.// Yami B returned, a smile growing as he looked fondly over the land he used to live in. Just seeing the Sahara was almost like being back in ancient Egypt.
Yami, meanwhile, was having a similar reaction. He too stared at the desert, but didn't remember anymore than feelings or small snippets of scenes. However, this was his homeland, and that fact alone made him feel almost like he was floating.
"We'll be landing in a few minutes so please buckle your seatbelts." The pilot said over the loudspeaker.
The Motou brothers and Joey sat back down, buckling their seatbelts after a few moments of effort. Yami leaned against the back of the chair, letting his head fall back as he continued to look out the window.
After a few minutes the plane had landed, taxing over to line up with the loading ramp, and the pilot had given the okay to leave.
"Out of the damn way, mortals." Yami B snarled as, yet again, he was shoved in the mass of people. No one listened to him.
"Eh, Yami B, most people ain't gonna' be scared of a teen. Especially if he's shoutin' about mortals. 'Den people just think you're loony." Joey advised, watching the white haired thief grow menacingly and simply be shoved back into his seat.
Surprisingly enough, the girls had made their way out of the plane already with Mafdet, and so had, presumably, Seto and Mokuba. The rest of the group however, was stuck.
Joey had insisted, much to Yami's annoyance, to carry the tri-color haired spirit, and so was holding Yami in his arms as he waited for the mass of people to get out of the way. Yami was muttering something under his breath.
Yuugi looked incredibly bored, staring at Joey's back as he too waited. He yawned, having only woken up about 20 minutes earlier.
"Are these people spawning in the bathroom as we speak?" Yami B marveled, staring in wonder as more and more people hurried past.
"That's a really scary thought." Ryuuji remarked, eyeing the bathroom warily. "And one that I really, really don't want to think about."
Finally though, they managed to get their bags and get off the plane, and into the terminal where they met up with the girls, Mafdet, and the Kaiba brothers.
"Freedom!" Joey announced, earning a weak smack upside the head from Yami who's ear he'd just shouted in.
The airport was relatively empty, but the people in it were very mixed. Citizens from all sorts of nations were there, talking in a chatter of many different languages and wearing everything from full veils to tank tops and short-shorts. The airport itself had light beige walls and somewhat gold carpeting, but had such high ceilings and huge windows that the colors didn't cause it to be too cozy.
The group got their bags quicker than they had in China, and stopped at a cluster of benches to decide what to do next.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: I'm slightly depressed at how short this chapter is. *Pout* But I hope it was good enough. ^_^
Please review, and I'll try and hurry up with the next chapter! ^_^