Cloe: Do ya think I left them hanging long enough?

Jenny: Possibly…but I've received about 10 emails asking for the next chapter…5 were from the same person…Oo;

Mandy: Let's get this chapter rollin'!

Jenny: WAIT! First, I must thank Shelbey…she was my 70TH REVIEWER!!! *huggles her* Thank you soo much! And yes, for the sake of Kurama and Hiei, I am updating! Also for the sake of my insanity…

Mandy: Here's a taste of the insanity…

"............HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!" Hiei laughed like an evil scientist.

Kurama stared at the little firedude with wide eyes and said," Hiei, what are you laughing at? That guy just got his brain sucked out!"

" I KNOW! BUT IT WAS THE WAY IT WAS SUCKED OUT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

Jenny: Heehee! That's your thanks for reviewing! Plus I promised you I would…*sweat drop*

Cloe: With the 70th review, also comes the disclaimer so…

Disclaimer: Everything is mine except what's not, and what's not mine doesn't belong to me, and if it doesn't belong to me, then I don't own it and it's probably Kazuki Takahashi's. I don't own this disclaimer either, for I borrowed it from a friend of mine. Disclaiming disclaimers. What's next? *a monkey riding on a chicken goes by* Guess that answers my question…

~*~*~*~*~

My Immortal

By CFB

Chapter 9

*~*~*~*~*

(Vanessa's POV)

"I know what you're up to." Anzu mutters darkly.

"What is it?" I ask, pretending to be confused by her antics.

Anzu glares daggers at me and sits Indian-style on the floor in the middle of the doorway. So she sits…and sits…and she doesn't get up…this woman is the queerest person I've ever met in my afterlife…and I think I'm falling asleep. The only sound in the room is the ticking of the clock and the constant rustle of blankets on Yugi's bed.

"Anzu? What are you doing?" Yugi asks, dropping his sickly act.

"AHA! I caught you! I KNEW you weren't really sick! You're just as bad as Jou!! Acting sick and sending cousins and neighbors in your place, making them do your homework, somehow making ALL the cheerleaders like them and put them on MY squad. If Miho weren't around, your friend Nika wouldn't even be eating with us." She spits venomously.

Yugi sighs and motions for Anzu to come closer. She does so and Yugi whispers something in her ear. Her eyes become wide and she covers her mouth with both her hands to stop herself from gasping.

"Yugi…are you… are you sure? I mean…ALL of you?!" She drops her voice, "Girls?"

Yugi nods and continues whispering to her. Anzu looks over at me and blushes…in fact, I think I'M blushing…oh dear.

"Sorry Bakura…I had NO idea, I just thought that…well…Yugi, why'd you play such an awful trick on me? I thought I was your friend!" Anzu whines, completely changing her tone of voice from shock to complaining.

Yugi giggles.

"Sorry. I just wanted to see what you'd do. I know you're my friend-"

"Why'd you want to see what I'd do?" Anzu interjects.

"Well, I-"

"If I was our friend, you wouldn't have done that to me."

I think it's about time to leave…

The two quarrelers don't notice as I slip out of the room and run downstairs as quickly as possible. The others look up at me worriedly and go back to watching Tiami.

"She's yelling at him for something…I can't tell what, Yugi's trying to stop her…uh-oh! YUGI!"

Tiami doesn't wait for another second before dashing upstairs. The door to Yugi's room slams shut and even more shouting can be heard from the said room. Bits and snatches of it carry to our ears and it is not pretty.

The door opens, slams shut again and Anzu storms out, leaving a wave of tension in her wake. Yami follows, seconds later, and burns down the door leading to the shop area. Let's just say that that wasn't a good idea and that the few customers who were in there may never come back again. Yami is definitely ticked off beyond all reason…heheheh…maybe I should go help him settle the whole mess. One more foolish mortal wouldn't hurt the Shadow Realm…just Anzu, and maybe her few friends.

"Don't you even think of it, Bakura."

I jump, caught off guard by Ryou's angry tone of voice.

"Because I'LL be doing the honors this time."

I jump again, this time out of surprise and joy. Yes, joy. Ryou's taking after me, finally, through many hours of toiling to try and make him evil. It seemed impossible at first, but…the moment he picked up that frying pan and started smashing the computer, I knew he was making improvements. Dumb computer was worthless anyways…

(a/n: That's right, Ryou was using the aforesaid frying pan to wreck a computer. I believe I mentioned it last chapter.)

"Be doing what?!?!?" Jou questions.

"You'll see." Honda says dryly, not thinking too hard about what was up, and already figuring out Ryou's plan from the look on his face. It's like looking in a mirror, when I look at Ryou right now.

Ryou stands, grabs the Millennium Ring out from under her shirt and marches purposefully outside. He turns around at the front shop door and marches right back into the living room.

"Nope, not doing it. Someone may find out that it was me who sent all those telemarketers to the Shadow Realm…"

I gasp and hug her.

"Good job, Ryou!! I'm so proud! You never told me about the telemarketers! Although I was wondering why they weren't ruining my soap operas anymore…"

O_O

OOPS. That was NOT supposed to get out into the public.

"I mean, er, my evil plotting time. Yeah, that's it." I add a nod for extra effect. My pitiful excuse for an…excuse doesn't stop the laughter that follows, though. Sometimes I hate my big mouth.

(switch POV to Joey)

Wow. I never woulda guessed that old Bakura watched soaps during the day! Not that that makes me any better…I mean, c'mon, some of those girls are pretty nice looking! Like Hope on Days of our Lives.

It seems my lack of laughter is noticed immediately by everyone. Well, okay, Vanessa looks grateful…but the rest of 'em…aww, who cares? It's the only thing on TV during the day!!

"Don't tell me YOU watch them too, Jou!" Honda accuses.

"Hey, I saw you watching them with your momma one day, Honda! Don't you be pointing fingers! 'Cause ya got three pointin' right back at ya!"

Honda points at no one in particular and counts how many fingers are pointing back at him.

"Hey, he's right…umh…I gotta go now…"

And Honda is going…going…GONE! Heehee! Really, I think everyone has watched at least ONE soap opera once in their life. Heck, you can even call Baywatch a soap…

(switch POV's Honda)

"Hey, Anzu! Tiami! What's going on?"

Anzu smiles weakly and Tiami kinda glares at me, daring me to come closer and ruin their fight. I step closer anyways. In fact, I go all the way up to them.

"Hi, Alisha. This really isn't the time. Can we talk later?" Anzu asks between clenched teeth.

"I agree with Mazaki. We can talk later. Much later." Tiami says, not even looking at me, but still glaring up at Anzu.

"O--okay! I'll just go home, then…need to explain the situation to Mom…she'll be worried…"

After saying this, I run. Fast. Through my front door, into the family room and smack dab into my mom.

"Well, speak of the devil! I was just about to call over to Yugi's to—YOU'RE NOT MY SON!!"

"Shh! Keep it down, Mom! It's me, Hiroto!"

"No it's not! How do you know my son?! Are you dating him illegally? You know there's no dating in school!" My Mom explodes.

"MOM! Be quiet!! I've been turned INTO a girl! Why would I date myself in the first place?!"

She opens her mouth and closes it again, then she flops down on the couch.

"Okay, tell me something only Hiroto would know."

"Umm…I was born on April 19th?"

She sweat drops. "Anyone could know that! Something else."

"I hate fermented soybeans?"

"Who doesn't?" She responds.

"Mom, it's me! Can't you tell?"

"Yes…" She murmurs so softly I can barely hear her.

"I don't know what happened…"

She shakes her head and gets up off the couch and walks out of the room. She returns a few minutes later with two glasses of pink lemonade.

"Here. Tell me everything that's gone on since you were…changed."

I take a deep breath and begin my tale.

(a/n: Let's leave her for the moment, and go back to 'the fight', shall we?)

(No POV)

Yugi looked down out of his window and called down to his yami and friend.

"You guys, if you're gonna squabble, come inside! The neighbors will start complaining about all the yelling going on!"

Tiami and Anzu both glared up at her. Yugi sighed, defeated, and ducked his head back in. He quickly changed his clothes and dropped himself out of the window, clutching onto the drain pipe until he reached the pavement.

"Stop it. I don't want there to be any…problems between you two. Come inside and we can settle your…differences…" He stuttered, trying to find the right words.

"Fine." Tiami answered stiffly.

"Hmph." Anzu said, strutting back to the game shop.

She settled down on the love seat in the living room. Vanessa, Jou, and Nika muttered nervous hellos and how're ya doing's before dashing into the store room.

Yugi sat Tiami down next to Anzu and stood in front of them, red in the face.

"Anzu, I said I was sorry, and that I'll never do something to you like that again. Yami, I don't know why you rushed to my rescue. I was doing fine, sticking up for myself! I'm going to go run the store while you two talk it over. TALK, not yell and scream. If I hear one mean word out of either of you--"

"Yes, Yugi."

"Yes, mother." Yami muttered, receiving a glare from Yugi. With that, he left them and went to meet with the others left.

"Tough crowd, eh, Yug'?" Jou asked jokingly.

Yugi shrugged.

"Hey, did you ever find out what was in that envelope?" Nika questioned, trying to change the subject.

Yugi's face brightened and he pulled the package out from his pocket.

"She did say Mr. Mutou…she never specified which one…"

Jou grabbed it from him and tore open the letter. They watched in awe as a HUGE piece of paper fell out onto the floor in a neat pile.

Vanessa flipped the 'We're open!' sign over to 'Sorry, we're closed!' as Yugi picked up the top of the letter to read it aloud.

"To whom it may concern: You may not know me, but I know you—"

"What a crappy beginning. It's so original." Vanessa interjected.

Yugi rolled his eyes and continued, "My name is Namura Ishrat and I know why your grandson and friends are females and I know how to turn them back. I myself have been faced with the same crisis. If you wish to find out how to turn them back, please look in the nest in the tree in the center of the park. There you shall find your first clue."

"What's the rest of the paper for?" Nika asked, puzzled.

Yugi went to the bottom of the paper and found a signature.

"It says the letter's from…Malik Ishtar…"

!~*~*~*~*~*~!

"And that's my story. You don't think I'm crazy, do you Mom?" Honda asked.

She shook her head 'no' and hugged Honda.

"It's unbelievable, but…with all the crazy things that have been happening lately…what with all the tournaments for duel monsters and people going missing…"

She sighed and took a sip of her drink.

"It's just a bit uncanny—"

"Honda! C'mon! We gotta go to the park! We know how to get turned back into guys! Oh, hello Mrs. Honda! How are you this fine day?" Yugi asked politely.

"Super, thank you…Yugi, right?"

"Yep! Hurry, Honda, we hafta get the clue before it flies away!" Yugi goaded.

Honda jumped up, kissed his mom on the cheek and followed them to the center of the park.

"Gimme a boost." Yugi commanded.

Jou and Vanessa lifted him up. He scanned the tree branches for a nest and cried in joy when he saw it.

"Lift me higher! I can't reach!"

They pushed him up further and he seized the nest, just to find it empty.

"Darn…OH! There's another one on the other side of the tree!"

Yugi used the crook of a branch to climb up the tree and to the other side. He grabbed that nest and looked inside it.

"YES! I found—WHOA!"

Yugi toppled out of the tree and, luckily, right on top of Vanessa and Nika. He groaned and held up the clue for someone to get.

"You know, kid, I'm glad you're less than seventy pounds." Vanessa grumbled, rolling Yugi over onto the grass, and brushing herself off.

Yugi blushed and grinned.

"Hey! The note has some weird language on it!" Joey said.

Nika took it from him, flipped it over, and then handed it back.

"It was upside-down, dummy. Now try."

"Meet me in this exact spot at five-thirty. I'll tell you where to go from there." He read.

Nika checked her watch.

"It's three o' clock now…wanna grab something to eat and come back here?"

"I'll run home and tell Anzu and Yami, you guys go to Burger World and order us some grub. Meetcha back here at five-thirty!" Yugi yelled, running towards the Kame Game Shop.

@_@_@_@_@

"You came."

Anzu jumped as the same blonde girl came out from behind another tree.

"What do you want, Ishtar?" Joey growled defensively.

"I came to help, but if you don't want my help, I can always leave…"

"No! Please, stay."

Malik smirked in the shadows.

"Okay. I know what made you like this, and I know how to reverse it, but…you might not like it."

"Go on." Tiami said.

"Marik made you this way. He wants to defeat the pharaoh, blah, blah, blah; we've heard it all before. BUT, there are only two ways to reverse the curse. One, you retrieve my spell book from the hands of Marik and most likely die in the process, or two, one of you get Seto Kaiba to fall in love with you."

"One of us?" Nika questioned skeptically.

"Yes. Only one of you will be able to return to normal state if you go with option numero dos."

"Japanese, please." Honda said.

"Number two." Malik said, giving up on the Spanish.

(a/n: I know, this is all English…well, let's just say they're speaking Japanese, but you're hearing it (or reading it) in English…'kay?)

"Ohh…so, you tellin' me that I hafta make my worst enemy like me?" Joey exploded, just getting the gist of the situation.

"No. I'm telling you that you have to make Kaiba LOVE you. Liking won't count. So…choose option one or two…it's all up to you guys now. But no pressure. You have two weeks to do it, or else time's up. Have fun, and here's my hotel number, just in case you need me."

He shoved a tiny bit of paper into Tiami's hand and walked off, slouching slightly, into the darkening night.

"So…now what?" Honda asked.

"I don't know about you, but I'm getting a head start on number two! See ya!" Nika called, giggling as she ran home to her apartment.

"Hey! Wait up!" Vanessa yelled after her.

"See you later, Vanessa?" Yugi said hopefully.

"In your dreams, midget." She spat before sprinting after her aibou.

Yugi's face fell.

"Dang. She's a better cook than you are, Yami."

"Thank you. You just made my day…" Tiami muttered sarcastically.

"I'll go with Yugi on that one…but those extra hamburgers are calling my name." Joey said, his stomach rumbling.

Anzu rolled her eyes and handed him the Burger World bag.

"Boys eat too much. One of these days, all that food's gonna go to your stomach! Are you two listening to me??"

Obviously, they weren't, so Anzu gave up.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow at school. Good luck catching Kaiba's attention. It may be harder than it seems." Anzu alleged.

"I'll walk you home! C'mon guys, let's go." Yugi urged.

"No, that's okay, Yugi-tachi. I'll be fine on my own." Anzu assured him.

"Yeah! She can take care of herself!" Joey said, grabbing another burger.

"Hey! Who ate my cheese burger?" Honda asked.

Joey burst out laughing.

"You ate it! And let me tell ya, you wear your food well!"

Honda wiped his mouth off with a napkin and grabbed another cheese burger to make up for his 'lost' one.

Anzu shrugged and headed off towards her home…well, not really. She went in the direction of her house, but made a sharp turn into an alley and came out in front of Malik's hotel.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Cloe: Have I mentioned that I don't like Anzu that much? If I haven't…now I have!

Jenny: Oh yes. For the sake of the readers, here's a chart of who's who:

Yugi=Yukiri

Yami=Tiami

Joey=Andrea (or Andy)

Honda=Alisha

Ryou=Nika

Bakura=Vanessa (but ya'll remembered that one, didn't ya?)

Malik=Namura (yep, he's the new one)

Mandy: All clear on that one?

Readers: *nod*

Jenny: Okies! Reviewer thankies!

Dreamy-eyes 1: Yeah, she heard everything! I believe I told you why Yugi was being so mean…and perhaps there are more reasons than one…^^ *grabs Bakura plushie* SQUEE! I can have this now, right? 'Cause I updated?? *takes plushie and carefully adds it to collection of Bakura plushies* Thankies!

Shadow's Girl12: Yes, a doll. Like an Internet doll! I can send it to ya, if you want! It's soo cool lookin'! That's what I'm thinking, except me thinks Yugi shall get it first…heeheehee!

Seto-Kaiba's-fan: *grins manically* Yes, Yugi has a split personality…besides Yami…^^;

Blondie41: *huggles you* that's a total of about…three reviews from u? Two, maybe? *shrugs* Who's countin'? lol. I hope the above chart will help you to 'member everyone. Or I COULD put that chart at the beginning at every chapter…0.o Oh yeah, watch out for those cordless phones…they'll trip you up when you least expect it…*glares at cordless phone*

Treana: *blinks and rubs temples* I have no comment…except thanks for the review and no, Yugi's not doomed! Btw, can I use one of the 'things the YGO cast would never say' lines in this? It would fit perfectly! *chibi eyes of ultimate kawaiiness* Pweasey?

AstroFae: *bows* thank you, thank you. Like I said, I modeled Ryou after me (o.O) and I modeled Yugi after…me…o.o

MistralMikasha and MikoIshtar: LOL! Don't worry, Leon, your bro-er, sister isn't going to be a prep or anything! I couldn't do that to one of my fave charas.!

Misura: Yesh, it's all in the 'Plan'. LOL! Ain't I evil? Yah…poor Seto…^.^

Kenshins_gurl: *blushes* Aww, shucks. I tried (Cloe: Ahem?) I mean, Cloe tried very hard to make a good cliffie. This one wasn't as good as last time, though…^^;;

KJ Wheeler: Thank you! *eats the cheese* Yum! Mozzarella! ^_^

Woodelf193: Tree-killing teachers? *is confuzzled beyond all reason* Anyways, thanks for the review!

BloodShedRed: I thought your fic was very good! And I loved the Silent Night one by Bakura! I had it stuck in my head for a week! Everyone was telling me to 'stop singing that friggin' song!'.^^;;

Hiei and Shelbey 4ever: Thank you soooooo much! *huggles you* And please update your fic!! I can't wait!

RavenFireI: Thank you! And welcome to the review crew!

Snow White Hyatt: Hmm…well, give her these extra plushies I have of him. Oh, and give her this clone, too. Tell her sorry I couldn't give her the genuine one, I'm using him for my fic right now…

Cloe: Well…is that all?

Jenny: Let's see. Chapter written?

Cloe: Check.

Jenny: Reviewers thanked?

Mandy: Check!

Jenny: Advertisements and commercials inserted?

Cloe and Mandy: Err…no…

Jenny: That's okay! We can stick it in right here!! EVERYBODY READ HIEI AND SHELBEY 4EVER'S FIC CALLED 'TOO MUCH SCARY MOVIES AND TV SHOWS' IT IS REALLY, REALLY, REALLY FUNNY!!!! ESPECIALLY IF YOU LIKE YUYU HAKUSHO!!! GO! READ! But review first, please!

Cloe: And everything is A-OK! This is captain Cloe saying happy Thanksgiving! Over and out!