Pre-chapter Notes: As said in the last chapter, this is a double update. I'm really trying to speed this up and finish as soon as possible. If you didn't notice last chapter, I changed 'authoress' notes' to 'pre-chapter notes'.
Disclaimer: The line is, as said one hundred other times before, I don't own Yugioh, but the cheap plot of this story.
Chapter 9: Reflections of The Unforgettable Past
The ghastly night filled her with distant memories. It wasn't as if she couldn't bear seeing the memories. They couldn't torment her, because of what she is. There isn't anything, as far as she was concerned that could harm her mentally anymore.
As she moved towards the mail slot, her heart beat faster. Maybe a little too rapid for her taste, because they pounded against her chest like a heavy axe splitting a log into two. Her hands trembled as she opened the mail slot and took out the handful of mail. Her breathing became shallow and brisk as she pulled a letter aside.
Taking a hold of the letter in one hand and the rest in her other hand, Rebecca made her way into the living room where her Grandpa sat smiling at her.
"No need to be so nervous Rebecca," Her grandpa smiled fondly at her as she left the stack of letters on the coffee table and sat next to him.
She stared at the letter, long and hard. Finally, with trembling hands, she took a nail file and slit opened the letter. She took out that formal white typing paper, folded neatly. Then, opening it, she shut her eyes.
"Tell me grandpa. Tell me what it says."
"You got in, Rebecca."
"…Really…?" A doubtful Rebecca asked.
"See for yourself." Her grandpa ruffled her hair fondly.
Slowly, she opened her eyes. Her eyes skimmed the letter
quickly until she reached the bottom.
"I can't believe it." Rebecca whispered. "I got in!"
"Of course you will." Her Grandpa said, smiling.
"It's still hard to take this all in, Grandpa. I'm just a 12 year old, and I'm going to university. I didn't really expect this to happen. There are many people out there who is talented-, maybe more talented than me."
"Silly goose." Arthur Hawkins smiled. "So where should we go celebrate, Rebecca?"
Dropping the letter, Rebecca allowed it to fall onto the coffee table, with the words still facing up at her. She sat quiet for a while, her brows bent, indicating that she was thinking.
"Grandpa, can't I just don't celebrate this?"
"Ah." Arthur Hawkins said thoughtfully as he stroke his chin. "It's not everything that my granddaughter gets into university at the age of twelve."
"No grandpa, I don't want to celebrate this…. I want to know...If I…If I can…." Rebecca stuttered, unable to get the words she wanted out.
"If you can inherit my dueling deck?"
Rebecca looked up to meet the smiling face of her grandpa. Feeling relieved, she nodded and smiled. "Yes, you're a master at dueling Grandpa. I would love to inherit your deck."
"And I will be proud to give you my deck, Rebecca." Professor Hawkins smiled.
The smile on her face widened as she hugged her grandpa and thanked him over and over until her grandpa told her that that's enough, and he'll get the deck for her.
The effects of the memory hardly faded away when None realized how happy Rebecca was during the time when Professor Arthur Hawkins was still living, breathing and walking in this world.
All this time she was trapped in this body, she noted how it didn't usually show her this type of memories-, the happy ones. The ones that actually showed her that there were some things that are worth living for. Perhaps when she met Tea tonight, it triggered something. Something deep.
Yet, that memory hardly left when another came upon her.
Rebecca smiled tauntingly at her opponent, waiting as he stared hard at the next card that he drew. She knew she was going to win. There was no way a genius like here was going to lose to him. Even if he was the Duelist Kingdom champion.
However, his answer shocked her.
"I surrender, Rebecca. You win. This duel's over, Rebecca."
That was not what she had expected, but she didn't care. She had won though, and that was all that mattered to her.
His friend, a brunette looked at him surprised, her jaw opened. "Yugi? Why?" The hall blonde friend next to her looked astounded as he uttered the words out. "You just can't give up Yug!" He protested, glancing at his friend.
The monster holograms of the Dark Magician and Shadow Ghoul disappeared as a happy Rebecca rejoiced. "You mean I win?" She asked in a taunting tone. She smirked, already knowing the answer, but couldn't help, but mock Yugi, who had lost to her, or she thought he did.
Yugi, not rising to the bait gives a slight sheepish grin and replied, "Yes, you win, Rebecca."
Rebecca laughed, and held up Teddy, swinging him around. "Yay! Bravo! Whee! We beat him Teddy!" She told the stuff animal as she laughed. "Rebecca the genius wins! Whee!" Leaving the dueling arena, she ran up to Solomon Motou and demanded for the Blue Eyes card.
Tea glanced at Yugi who had said nothing and started, "I don't get it. Why did you surrender?"
"Yeah, what's up with that Yug?" Joey asked, glancing at his friend as well.
"I win, now give me the Blue Eyes!" Rebecca demanded as she extended her right hand, ready to intercept the valuable Blue Eyes card.
Solomon sighed in defeat as he reached into his overall pocket and took out the ripped Blue Eyes card, which was taped back together with clear tape. The tape, however, was beyond what it could do to ever repair the card to its original state. Rebecca stared on with a horrified look as she realized what condition the precious Blue Eyes Card was in.
"You tore it!" She burst. "Oh no! You destroyed Grandpa's favorite card!"
"It wasn't me, Rebecca!" Solomon tried to explain to the girl, but no avail.
Rebecca didn't bother listening as she continued ranting. "First you steal it, then you lie, and then you ruin it!" She tamped her foot angrily on the hard marble floor as she continued ranting.
"I treasured that card, Rebecca. I would have never destroyed it!" Solomon protested. ("You mean despicable man!")
"I have heard just enough of your lies!" Rebecca screamed angrily, causing Solomon to stop. Just then, her Grandpa arrived, giving her a stern look before saying, "Rebecca! Behave yourself!"
Rebecca felt angry. She was being told by her grandpa to behave for something she didn't do wrong. This man, this thief stole her grandpa's favorite card and ruined it. And yet, he just stood there like there was nothing wrong with it.
"Grandpa?" Rebecca whirled around in surprise as her Grandpa step into view from the room adjacent to this.
"Arthur!?" Solomon said in delighted surprise. "Arthur, is it really you?"
Rebecca stared at her grandpa and then to Solomon Motou. What was going on?
Professor Hawkins smiled at Solomon Motou fondly. "It's been a long time Solomon."
"Far too long, my dear friend." Solomon agreed, smiling in return.
"I do hope my precocious granddaughter haven't caused you too much trouble." Professor Hawkins began striding towards Yugi as he talked. Rebecca's gaze never left her grandpa as he stopped in front of Yugi.
"I won!" Rebecca said promptly.
"Rebecca, did you know that Yugi's actually the winner?" Professor Hawkins said in response to his granddaughter's outburst.
"But I won!" Rebecca insisted, sending a death glare towards Yugi who immediately look away.
"Yugi-,"
Yugi turned to Professor Hawkins as he spoke his name.
"You're just like your grandfather and a very fine duelist." Professor Hawkins complimented, smiling at the short teen.
A confused and angry Rebecca raced up to her Grandpa as Professor Hawkins turned to the Dueling Arena where he reached for the topmost card of Yugi's deck. He lifted it and turned it over and a knowing look appeared on his face. "I knew it!" He stated simply as he glanced at the card before turning to show it to Rebecca. "Rebecca, have a look at this card."
Rebecca let out a faint gasp as she saw the card.
Professor Hawkins smiled knowingly and continued, "It's a card called Soul Release. If Yugi had played this card on his final turn, you would have been defeated for certain! With Soul Release, Y ugi could have freed up to five cards from his graveyard. Or yours. Do you know what that means?"
Rebecca knew what it meant.
But her Grandfather continued, even though he knew that she knew. "Your Shadow Ghoul's attack would have instantly dropped from 2800 to 2300. Meanwhile, Yugi's Dark Magician had an attack of 2500. And therefore…." He trailed off, allowing Rebecca to finish.
She looked surprised at first and then turned to ashamed. "Uh, you mean you Yugi never had to surrender? Then why?" She threw a questioning glance at the quiet teen whom had never spoke a word throughout this conversation.
"Yugi wanted to show you that duels are more than just winning or losing." Professor Hawkins explained, saving from the short teen from having to explain. "It's about the Heart of the Cards, which if your own heart. After we were trapped in that tomb, Solomon sacrificed his victory to save my life (At this point, Solomon looked thoughtful)."
Everyone looked surprise at the news.
"I felt weak, overcome by the heat. He saved my life, Rebecca, but there's more. In my duel with Solomon, it's true that I sent monsters to the graveyard to give Shadow Ghoul its ultimate attack power." He paused slightly to allow the words to sink into Rebecca's mind. "But, I never failed to honor those monsters for their sacrifice. They were every bit as important to me as the Shadow Ghoul itself. Even more than the monsters though, a duelist must respect their opponents. In Solomon's case, I felt such respect and gratitude that I gave him my Blue Eyes White Dragon."
To this, Rebecca looked scornful as she exclaimed, "Yeah! And he showed his thanks by ripping it up!"
Solomon looked apologetic as he told Professor Hawkins that the card was ripped. "It was damaged Arthur, forgive me."
Professor Hawkins, however, did not look mad. Instead he gave a curt nod and replied, "It doesn't matter, Solomon. What matters is that you kept it as a token of our friendship. You valued the card not for its rarity, but what it represents: the bond between us. Now do you understand Rebecca?
Rebecca said nothing.
"Great duels can form the base of great and lasting friendship." Professor Hawkins finished. He stood up.
Rebecca turned to Yugi and looked extremely embarrassed. "Oh Yugi. I'm sorry." She said in a low voice.
Yugi accepted the apology and reassured her, "It's okay, Rebecca."
Rebecca smiled. "You mean you forgive me?"
"Sure." Yugi smiled in return and reached into his pocket for something. "Here. Take this." He slid his arm forward to give a card to the Rebecca, who looked surprise at the beautifully painted card. The card showed of a beautiful girl-woman with golden blonde hair and a fancy dress. Every inch of the card was painted in fine detail. Rebecca reached out with her right hand and took a delicate grasp on the card, admiring the card in quiet awe before finally muttering the name.
"The Ties of Friendship?"
Yugi nodded. "Yeah. I'll like you to have it." He released his hold on the card as he watch Rebecca drew the card closer to examine it. He had won the card in the Duelist Kingdom Tournament. He knew that there were no other copies of it, but he was willing to give it up to Rebecca.
"Thanks Yugi." Rebecca looked up, pulling on a bright smile. From this moment on, she became another Rebecca.
The Ties of Friendship, None thought idly as she leaned over and place rested her head on her hand. Her chin was positioned on the palm of her right hand as she stared with half-closed eyes at the endless night. The card….
I still have the card.
She shot up and dug into her pockets frantically and finally, from the pocket inside her jacket, she pulled out the card. The card wasn't in the same condition as it was when it was given to her. Instead of the perfect, unmarred card, the delicate card now had several creases over it. And those creases could never be cured.
Just like how the Blue Eyes card ripped. It'll never be the same well sought out card again.
Nothing stays perfect forever.
And yet….
"It doesn't matter, Solomon. What matters is that you kept it as a token of our friendship. You valued the card not for its rarity, but what it represents: the bond between us."
Their friendship….
"Here. Take this."
He gave her that card. The Ties of Friendship. As a token of their very own friendship. Just like how her Grandpa-, no, Rebecca's Grandpa gave the rare Blue Eyes card to Solomon Motou as a token of their friendship.
She held the card out with the thumb and forefinger, staring hard at the card as the moonlight shone upon it, washing over it with its silvery light. And the creases seemed worse than it had without the moonlight's radiance. Reaching up with her hand, None expected tears. Yet, when her hand touch upon her check, there was no tears.
And yet, she was suddenly burdened with such sorrow, anguish, self-hate, and many other things at once. Then it hit her. When she created this body, she had never calculated how long this body would last to shield her from human emotions. In her haste, she had never thought of what would happen if she were suddenly bombarded by the human emotions again.
Breathing hard, she allowed the emotions to calm themselves. And when they finally settled, she felt calm, peaceful and relieve. Something she had not felt for ten years. The bad and dark memories were shoved to the back of her mind.
In this moment of peace, None realized that she had only created this body out of self-pity. She had not thought of it before. Back then; Rebecca's goal was stop feeling, because it made her felt weak. But not as she thought about it, she realized that this was self-pity. She pitied herself because she was unable to deal with the loss and out of self-pity; she decided to do something like this. This was all, but feeling sorry for herself. And out of selfishness, she made None-, who she is now.
Yet, as she thought back to the memories that just had replayed in her mind, a sudden occurrence dawned her. Her friends where there all along for her. Had she not been so selfish and drowned in self-pity, maybe then she'll come to realize that there were many people who cared for her and are willing to support her. Yet, she pushed them away, out of selfishness again and took the path and became None. Had she not done that ten years ago, maybe she, too, had a chance of a future. A future that perhaps would have made her Grandpa proud if he was still living now. He didn't live, but she could at least live her life for her friends.
She may not have families, but aren't friends who are always there for you same as having a family? It's the closest thing she has now. If she had not thrown it all away….
Yet, tonight, when she met Tea, she didn't reject her. Instead, Tea tried to get her to change herself.
I should have accepted her offer, None thought scornfully to herself. She was right. No matter what happens, I'm still human-, still Rebecca Hawkins.
Rebecca wondered if all her friends are willing to accept her again. She wondered if they were willing to help her. As long as she is in this body, she wouldn't die anytime soon. And that was good enough. Good enough to rebuild the old Rebecca. Good enough to rebuild a future.
Just as the last bit of the moon faded into the illusions of the colors of the sky and the first rays of sunlight appear over the horizon, Rebecca had decided to take the third chance she was given. This will be the last time she'll need to tempt fate. And this time, it's enough.
She will be Rebecca Hawkins again.
End Notes: God damn it. Another boring chapter, damn it. During the flashback where Yugi gives Rebecca 'The Ties of Friendship', I had to review the episode to get the events correct. I taped this episode, and digging it out, I watched it. The whole flashback was written roughly according to what I remembered. So not all the quotes are the same as the ones you saw on WB. At the same time, while I was writing that flashback, I tried my best to keep the whole 'Heart of the Card' crap out. Really, in real life, I don't know how you can rely on 'Heart of the Cards' and pull some miracle if you're losing.
See, right now, I'm sort of on hiatus. It's not that bad really. I'm planning to finish 'The Stranger I Once Knew' within the month of February. Hopefully, on my birthday (March 16, 14th birthday), I could upload something. At the same time, my hiatus is the weird kind. I have like a whole bunch of ideas on my mind and several story plots. But the story plots are…what you would say unfinished. There's just bits of idea and events in each, leaving it with a lot of plot holes. I'll have to sort the ideas out, that's the problem.
I must say though, 'The Stranger I Once Knew' dragged about 6-7 months. I began this story (on fanfiction.net) roughly on August 20, 2003. Now, it's February. And it's only a rather short story, a prologue, epilogue and 11 chapters. Compare to some stories here, its damn short. Maybe one problem is that I write under two accounts. Maybe the other problem is that I'm so damn lazy. Anyways, happy reading, though this is hell boring.