Yu-Gi-Oh!
Dawn of Fate
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SKYLA'S TREEHOUSE ~ SKYLA'S ROOM
[Skyla and Yami Yugi come running into the room. Yami Yugi is beating Skyla over the head with a cardboard tube, while Skyla is trying the fend him off and hold onto a "Slayers Return" manga at the same time.]
SKYLA: C'mon, pharaoh! I was reading manga!
Y.YUGI: And you need to get this chapter out before you have a mob on your hands like the last time you took forever to update!
SKYLA (pouting): Three people armed with tomatoes does not a mob make... besides, this chapter was really hard to write!
Y.YUGI (cynically): Unh-hunh... hard to write while you were busy playing "Dawn of Destiny" for five hours, "Legend of Dragoon" for two days straight, and not to mention your nightly browsing sessions through the YGO yaoi section of Adult Fan Fiction.net.
[Skyla sweatdrops.]
SKYLA: Well, when you say it like that...
[Yami Yugi glares.]
SKYLA: All right... all right... yeesh... Hard ass.
Y.YUGI: Better that than a procrastinator.
[Skyla sweatdrops again, before turning to the readers.]
SKYLA: No Q&A this time. I just want to get this chapter out before his highness-ness here has a cow.
[Yami Yugi sweatdrops.]
Y.YUGI: Um... Skyla... that's impossible...
SKYLA (sighs): ANYway... you'll notice some differences in the Yule Ball, at least in reguards to Harry and Ron. Also, I don't know French. Forgive me if I screwed up. As always; read, enjoy, and then review!
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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - THE YULE BALL
It never seemed the fail; the closer the date got to Christmas, the more homework the students of Hogwarts would be forced to suffer through. Of course, it was not anything that overly bothered Seto - he always did his homework the day it was assigned, often staying up till exhausting hours of the night until it was completed to his satisfaction. At least... that was what he USED to do. Since opening up to his other self, he was starting to force himself to take it easier. The rate he had been going at, he would have had a heart attack before he reached twenty-five years of age.
That was why he was setting down his quill at nine o' clock in the evening the day before Christmas, even though he still had another scroll of Potions work left to do. He leaned back in his chair, letting every bone in his body pop satisfyingly as he stretched himself out like a cat. Taking up the scroll he just finished, he started rolling it up while glancing at the couch. His other self was lying out on it like the priest usually did when he was busy with homework, his laptop resting open on his chest. Yami Seto had his hand on the mouse pad, frowning slightly as he moved his finger about, commanding the cursor on screen.
"Something wrong?" Seto asked.
"Yeah," the high priest replied, "you've got all the technology in the world at your disposal, and your computer can't play 'OGG' files."
Seto paused as he started to pack away his school supplies, fearing where this was going. "And what exactly are 'OOG' files?"
"OGG," Yami Seto corrected, "and it's a kind of music file."
Seto's eyebrow twitched. "And... what did you download that you need to find a whole separate music player?"
Yami Seto grinned, sticking his tongue out in an expression that was meant to be adorable, but did not work on his face.
"The Sailor Moon Memorial Music Box Collection," he replied.
Seto felt a vein pop. "WHAT?!"
The other Ravenclaws that were left in the common room gave him strange looks, but Seto ignored them, fixing his other self with a, "how dare you destroy my property" look. The high priest just rolled his eyes, and the young businessman could have sworn he heard Noah chuckling from the computer.
"Relax, hikari, the biggest file is barely over two thousand kilobytes," he assured him.
Seto groaned inwardly. "It's also TEN CDs long!"
Yami Seto turned his gaze away from the computer, eyebrow raised. "How would you know?"
Seto sweatdropped. "Because Mokuba has it."
The high priest's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, before he started sniggering. Seto groaned audibly that time, shoving the rest of his school supplies into his bag before throwing it at his other, who easily deflected it with his elbow. Flopping against the back of his chair, he closed his eyes and muttered several cruel promises under his breath, as Yami Seto mellowed out a bit.
"You're nervous about tomorrow, aren't you?" he asked.
Seto opened one eye and fixed it on his other. "Whatever gave you that idea?" he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Yami Seto chuckled, before reaching over to the coffee table that rested near the couch and grabbing a pair of headphones - the kind that wrapped around one's ear - he had set on it before. He inserted the jack into the proper slot, before offering his hikari one of the miniature speakers.
"C'mon, listen to some of the music I downloaded, and help me look for a player," he offered. "Maybe it'll help calm your nerves."
Seto frowned at the pro-offered headphone, but took it anyway. He pushed the armchair he was sitting in closer to the couch before clipping it on. His other had already set a song to play, and the soft melody flooded in over the tiny device.
Wúlùn héshí wôchàng de geqû
Zài wûtái shàng huòshì wô zìjî
Wúlùn héshí wô shuo de huàyû
Xiwàng tamen dou néng bèi tingjian
Wô kànjian nî duì wô wéixiào
Shì zhen háishì huàn
Nî yông yuân zài nà xiâoxiâo ba tái de nâge jiâo lùo
Seto's frown deepened, and he gave his other a questioning look. "Chinese?"
Yami Seto shrugged as best as he could from the position he was laying in. "The file said it was supposed to be Japanese. Probably some idiot American that doesn't know the difference named it." ~~So, what's got you so stressed, other than the obvious?~~
It took the young businessman a moment to realize that his other had gone from vocally speaking, to speaking through their mind link.
~~I guess...~~ he began, ~~I don't know if I should tell Fleur about Kisara.~~
~~You're afraid that if you did, she might take it the wrong way,~~ Yami Seto replied. ~~You're afraid she might think that's the only reason you want to be around her.~~
~~Wouldn't you?~~ Seto returned, pointing out a website the high priest could try for the music player he was looking for.
"'Winamp'? But, hikari, this thing doesn't run on Windows, does it?" Yami Seto asked aloud, while saying through their mind link, ~~Maybe... Fleur is obviously not that thrilled about what she is, or at least very insecure about it. I guess she wouldn't know how to take it if the man she cared about told her there was another spirit in her too. Then again, she may think that now we're on even footing, if you know what I mean.~~
It took Seto a moment to process everything he had to say, considering his other was vocally speaking as well as mentally. It sounded like everything ran together, and his mind was having trouble separating one from the other.
"Doesn't matter," he finally answered his vocal question, "I made the OS so it would work with anything, Microsoft or otherwise."
~~I just don't want to make it look like I'm using her,~~ he replied to his mental speech. ~~Maybe I should wait until we're… I don't know; more comfortable with each other?~~
Yami Seto smirked as he clicked on the download button for the program. ~~Don't sweat it, hikari. Remember, if you screw up, you could always find another girl from the thousands in the line that follows you around wherever you -~~
The high priest was cut off as his hikari swatted him with a pillow from the couch.
~.oOOo.~
Harry still could not figure out how he managed to do it. Somewhere, some higher power had to be smiling down at him, because when he asked Parvati Patel to go to the Yule Ball with him, she had accepted. Not only that, but she also convinced her sister, Padma, to go out with Marik; not that she needed much convincing. If the rumors were true, she had been eyeing the Egyptian since their first year. Ron had somehow managed to swallow his pride and asked Eloise Midgen out. Harry had to admit, now that her acne had more or less cleared up, they made a cute couple, but he would never say that to Ron's face. He did not recognize the girl Draco had gotten as a date, though she did seem to be an older student.
Harry, Ron, and their respective dates had accidentally bumped into Bakura, his yami, and their dates in the entrance hall as they waited with other students for the ball to start at eight o' clock. Bakura and Susan Bones looked absolutely adorable together, and the two of them giggled when Parvati said as much. Yami Bakura's date however... she hid behind the tomb robber as soon as Ron spotted her. Ron blinked, hardly believing his eyes, before turning an interesting shade of green.
"Ginny!" he exclaimed. "What the... why the... YOU'RE his date?!"
Yami Bakura's entire face was so hot with embarrassment - his hikari looking like he was going to bust a gut from laughing so hard did not help any - it seemed as if even his hair was blushing. Ginny shuffled out from behind the tomb robber, not looking at her brother.
"Well... it was the only way I could go too," she said, before turning red herself. "Besides, Yami Bakura's really cute."
Ron looked like he was either going to die of shock, or strangle Yami Bakura. Harry put a restraining hand on his shoulder, before he could get any ideas, before turning to the tomb robber.
"And... you're always calling Marik a cradle robber?" he asked.
Bakura was outright SNIGGERING at his other's predicament; Susan was looking like she was enjoying the conversation as well. Yami Bakura spared them both a withering glance, before responding to Harry's question.
"Harry, I'm five thousand, twenty-five years old... give or take a few years. I don't think it matters much."
Ron was almost as red as his hair, and he looked like he was going to knock the tomb robber flat. Eloise gave Harry a concerned look, before steering her date away from a possibly dangerous situation.
It was then that Professor McGonagall called for the school champions. Harry said good bye - he wished Ginny's sanity good luck, only to result in further embarrassment to the tomb robber - before he and Parvati went up to the double doors of the Great Hall where the professor and the other champions were already assembled. They were to wait by the doors as the other student entered the Hall first, and then would enter in procession themselves. Fleur and Seto stood closest to the doors; Seto looked like he was trying to hide his nervousness behind his "cold businessman" act, but it was not working as well as it usually did. Marik and Padma stood by Harry, though it seemed as if the Egyptian could care less about his date, or anything else for that matter. He was fixing a look of the deepest loathing on Krum, and it did not take long for Harry to figure out why.
He hardly recognized her at first, which was sort of understandable, considering he only ever saw her in her school robes and not the floaty, periwinkle-blue robes she was currently wearing. Once she waved to him and said hello, however, a name attached itself to her in his brain, and his jaw almost dropped.
Hermione.
Marik was not the only one giving the couple dirty looks. The fan club Krum had gathered since he had arrived at Hogwarts were tossing looks similar to the ones Marik was giving her date as they stalked past. Even Ecillia, who was on the arm of Marcus Flint, was glaring at her, though Harry suspected it was because Hermione looked a heck of a lot prettier than she did.
Once everyone was assembled, the champions proceeded into the Hall, walking in with their dates on arm. The students from all three schools applauded enthusiastically as they made their way to the top of the hall, where Dumbledore, Madame Maxime, Professor Karkaroff, Ludo Bagman, and Percy Weasley of all people were waiting for them.
As soon as they reached the main table, Percy caught Harry's eye and pointedly pulled out the chair next to him. He got the hint, leading Parvati over to the two seats nearest to Percy, remembering to be courteous and help his date into her seat before sitting down himself.
"I've been promoted," Percy announced as he sat down, a look on his face so smug that it should have been illegal. "I'm now Mr. Crouch's personal assistant and I'm here representing him."
"Great," Harry replied dully, all but saying that he really did not care.
Dinner started soon after, but instead of Dumbledore summoning the food from the kitchens for everyone like he usually did, each person had a menu from which they could order. Harry kept his order simple - when it came to the dancing part, he did not want to get sick. Seto, however, ordered some kind of beef and sauce dish; it had to have been French, because Fleur looked impressed.
The dinner passed more or less without incident, though the fact that Marik was hardly eating anything and spending most of the dinner glaring at Krum had Harry a bit concerned. Hermione ignored him, and instead was anxiously chatting with her date, who was trying desperately to try to pronounce her name correctly. Seto seemed to have relaxed a bit, and was speaking quietly with Fleur, who seemed happy about something he was saying.
All too soon, the plates were cleared along with the tables, and a group of extremely hairy witches dressed in torn robes trooped up onto the stage set up before where tables had been. Harry had been so busy staring at the strange music group, that he almost forgot that the champions were supposed to lead off the dance. He almost tripped over his own robes in surprise when Parvati tugged him to get his attention. He recovered quickly enough, though, remembering to put a hand on her waist as they started dancing.
Parvati looked impressed. "I thought you said you didn't know how to dance?"
Harry grinned sheepishly. "I grabbed a quick lesson from Seto a few hours before."
She giggled. "Cutting it a little close, aren't you?"
There was a yelp, and Harry looked over his shoulder to see that, while they were talking, other students had joined the champions on the dance floor. The yelp had come from Susan, because Bakura had trod on her foot. Harry grinned, nodding over to the couple as Bakura apologized profusely.
"Would you rather I be doing that?"
Parvati giggled, and Harry spared a moment to look for the other champions. Seto and Fleur had disappeared once the other students had joined the dance floor. Krum and Hermione were still around, and Marik had wandered off to one of the side tables at the first opportunity, much to Padma's obvious frustration. Harry frowned inwardly; he wanted to help Marik, but he knew that there was nothing he could really do for him. Besides, he would never admit it, but he was enjoying himself. He was not about to leave the dance floor anytime soon.
Elsewhere on the floor, Yami Bakura and Ginny gave up on attempting to dance. While Ginny made a good effort toward it, the tomb robber quickly found out that it was not as easy as the pharaoh and his hikari were making it look. He watched dully as they twirled past them again, kicking at the floor in annoyance. He felt guilty in a sort of un-Yami-Bakura-ish way - damn his hikari for rubbing off on him. Ginny looked kind of disappointed that the dance was not as fun as she thought it would be.
"Well..." Yami Bakura began. "We can probably do one of two things. We can both sneak off and do something else somewhere else. Or... we could cause some havoc down here...?"
He had a sinister grin on his face as he offered the last suggestion, and Ginny just had to laugh.
"You know," she said, "my brother's going to kill me if we cause havoc."
Yami Bakura waved a dismissive hand. "No, he's just going to be mad at you. Me, on the other hand, he's going to kill regardless. All things considered though, it's a bit of a moot point."
Ginny giggled again, before nodding out to the dance floor. "Well, any ideas?"
Yami Bakura look out on the dance floor as well, frowning slightly. Just then, he caught sight of Ecillia and Flint dancing. He grinned devilishly, tossing Ginny a wink before running a hand through his hair, mussing it up.
"I still owe her for giving me pink hair last year," he said, standing up.
He started walking toward where Ecillia and Flint were dancing, stumbling along as if he were drunk. Ginny had to put a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from bursting into hysterical giggles, as Yami Bakura broke Ecillia and Flint apart, grabbing the Slytherin girl and spinning her about. His mouth moved to form the words, "Pretty ugly little ferret," before giving her a sloppy wet kiss on the mouth. The tomb robber stumbled off, as Ecillia started spitting and wiping her mouth, as if he had left a foul taste on her.
Yami Bakura straightened out his walk as soon as he was within sight of where Ginny was sitting; who was trying so hard not to laugh that she nearly had tears in her eyes.
"You're so evil!" she exclaimed.
Yami Bakura just grinned roguishly. "Comes in the packaging," he said, before holding out a hand to her. "C'mon. Lemme show you something nice."
~.oOOo.~
The night air was cool and crisp, but Seto did not notice it much, as his dress robes were warm enough for the outside. Fleur's robes, however, were made of a gauzy, thin material. When she shivered, Seto took his outer robe off and wrapped it around her shoulders. She smiled up at him when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to add to warming her up, as they walked down a pathway that had been created through the snow. Terraces had been set up above the path, and vines and flowers where twined within the woodwork. Real live fairies darted amongst the flowers above, giving a truly mystical look to everything.
"Zis iz very beautiful," Fleur said lazily, walking a little closer to Seto. He smiled down at her warmly as they approached a statue of Father Christmas and his reindeer. They stood before it, hand in hand, looking at each other.
"Fleur..." Seto began, still at war with himself. "There's something I... I really want to tell you, but... I don't know..."
Fleur reached up, putting a hand over his mouth, silencing him. "Itz all right," she said. "You can tell me when you are ready."
He shook his head, however. "It's not that... I SHOULD tell you. I'm never going to forgive myself if I don't."
She bit her lip, before nodding in understanding. Seto took a moment, trying to calm his heart, before continuing.
"Fleur... that day that you passed out," he explained, "you woke up almost right away... but it wasn't you that was in control of your body."
It was his turn to bite his lip as she frowned. "Zeto, what are you zaying?"
Seto winced at her tone. "I'm saying that you have a spirit within you as well... but she's different from my other self. She IS a part of you, and she can only appear when you're unconscious."
Fleur was silent for a long, nerve-wracking moment, her expression unreadable, before she finally asked, "Who iz she?"
He took a deep breath. "Her name is Kisara. She... she was a foreign woman who ended up in Egypt five thousand years ago... where she met my other self... and where she also died."
Seto kept his eyes down, unable to bring himself to look her in the eyes. Fleur surprised him, though, suddenly throwing herself into her arms. He looked at her then, only to see that she was clutching at his dress shirt tightly and her eyes were squeezed shut.
"Fleur..."
She shook her head. "I... I think that's why... I've never felt zis way before..." She turned a tearful gaze back up at him. "Many times, I feel like I always have to zee you, zat I am dependant on you. I don't understand zis feeling. Iz zis because of fate?"
Seto shook his head. "I don't believe in fate, as much as my other tries to convince me that such a thing exists. All I believe in is what is going on in the present... and one of those things I believe in are my feelings for you."
It took a moment for what he said to sink in. Fleur looked up in surprise, and Seto - caught off guard by his own daring - took that moment to swoop down and kiss her. She tensed up at first, apparently not expecting him to do such a thing, before melting into the kiss, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck. An eternity seemed to pass until the need for air forced the two of them apart.
Seto leaned his forehead against hers, smiling gently. "Merii Kurisumasu."
Fleur laughed softly, before she returned, "Jovial Noel."
~.oOOo.~
Yami Bakura made sure Ginny was nestled securely in front of him on the tree branch they sat on, before whisking off the blindfold he had tied over her eyes. She realized almost right away exactly high up off the ground they where - and in a tree within the forbidden forest no less - and instinctively reached to grab a hold of him. The tomb robber chuckled in spite of himself, wrapping an arm around her waist to calm her down.
"It's all right," he assured her. "I wouldn't let you fall. Look."
He pointed up to the sky above, and Ginny gasped at the sight. One could not ask for a clearer night sky, as all the stars in existence seemed to be winking down at them from the heavens. The tomb robber reached out a hand, seemingly grabbing some of the sparkling diamonds that were far beyond his reach.
"It used to be like this in Khemet," Yami Bakura explained. "The air was pure back then, and you did not have to be so high up in order to see the jewels in the sky." He smiled fondly. "This was always my favorite treasure. It was something that I didn't have to steal, didn't have to work for, and no pharaoh could take it away from me..."
He fell silent, lost in reminiscence. Ginny swiveled her head around to look up at him.
"Do you miss it?" she asked. "The past, I mean."
Yami Bakura bit his lip in thought. "Some things, yes," he admitted. "I miss traveling through the desert at night on horseback. Sometimes, if you had a fast enough steed, it would almost feel like you were flying. I miss the bars and taverns, where good food and good drinks were always aplenty."
Ginny smiled at the thoughts that came to her mind at his words; thoughts of a time long past, where while life was harsh, the world just seemed so much... freer.
"Do you miss your family?"
Yami Bakura paused, truly mulling over the question. "Terribly," he whispered. "They were gone long before I died... but... it doesn't hurt so much any more... it doesn't ache like it used to. Maybe Ryou's just rubbing off on me."
"Or... maybe you're just growing up, moving on," Ginny suggested.
The tomb robber looked up at the stars above. Moving on...? Could someone even move on from witnessing the destruction of an entire village? It had always seemed impossible to him, that he had inherited the hate of his fellow villagers as he witnessed their bodies being molded together... but had the time for him to let it go pass long ago? The God of Evil was not controlling him anymore, so why did he let the hate that Necrophadisu had fed on plague him still?
He could not forget... but he needed to let go.
Yami Bakura tightened his hold on Ginny in a hug, burying his face in her flaming red hair.
"Thank you," he murmured, his voice muffled.
She blinked, surprised by his actions. "For what?"
"For being so honest."
~.oOOo.~
Hermione was one of the last to return to the Gryffindor common room that night. Clouds seemed to be holding her up as she walked; she had had such a wonderful time dancing with Viktor, that she hoped there would be another dance later on in the year. Who would have thought that someone who could barely pronounce her name would be so enjoyable to be around?
She was about to head off to the girl's dormitory, when the sound of snoring coming from the couch caught her attention. Curious, she went over to look, only to see Marik - still in his dress robes - passed out on the furniture. Apparently, he had left the ball early and came back to the tower to cry himself to sleep, because she could see trails of black where tears had run through the kohl that he always applied every morning. Hermione scoffed at the sad sight, before continuing on to her dorm.
~~Don't you think you should help him?~~ Aishisu's voice invaded her thoughts. Hermione just frowned.
~~No,~~ she returned. ~~Let him stay like that. I don't care.~~
She could just barely make out her other muttering under her breath in Egyptian.
~~My light, you are too stubborn for your own good,~~ Aishisu accused. ~~Can you seriously tell me you genuinely enjoyed yourself tonight?~~
Hermione came to a halt, her lips pursed tightly, ready to tell the priestess exactly that...
...but she could not do it.
She did not have fun... not like she would have... if...
~~It doesn't matter, I don't care,~~ Hermione repeated, before continuing on to her dorm. The only other thing she heard from her other half for the rest of the night was an exasperated sigh.
Dawn of Fate
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SKYLA'S TREEHOUSE ~ SKYLA'S ROOM
[Skyla and Yami Yugi come running into the room. Yami Yugi is beating Skyla over the head with a cardboard tube, while Skyla is trying the fend him off and hold onto a "Slayers Return" manga at the same time.]
SKYLA: C'mon, pharaoh! I was reading manga!
Y.YUGI: And you need to get this chapter out before you have a mob on your hands like the last time you took forever to update!
SKYLA (pouting): Three people armed with tomatoes does not a mob make... besides, this chapter was really hard to write!
Y.YUGI (cynically): Unh-hunh... hard to write while you were busy playing "Dawn of Destiny" for five hours, "Legend of Dragoon" for two days straight, and not to mention your nightly browsing sessions through the YGO yaoi section of Adult Fan Fiction.net.
[Skyla sweatdrops.]
SKYLA: Well, when you say it like that...
[Yami Yugi glares.]
SKYLA: All right... all right... yeesh... Hard ass.
Y.YUGI: Better that than a procrastinator.
[Skyla sweatdrops again, before turning to the readers.]
SKYLA: No Q&A this time. I just want to get this chapter out before his highness-ness here has a cow.
[Yami Yugi sweatdrops.]
Y.YUGI: Um... Skyla... that's impossible...
SKYLA (sighs): ANYway... you'll notice some differences in the Yule Ball, at least in reguards to Harry and Ron. Also, I don't know French. Forgive me if I screwed up. As always; read, enjoy, and then review!
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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - THE YULE BALL
It never seemed the fail; the closer the date got to Christmas, the more homework the students of Hogwarts would be forced to suffer through. Of course, it was not anything that overly bothered Seto - he always did his homework the day it was assigned, often staying up till exhausting hours of the night until it was completed to his satisfaction. At least... that was what he USED to do. Since opening up to his other self, he was starting to force himself to take it easier. The rate he had been going at, he would have had a heart attack before he reached twenty-five years of age.
That was why he was setting down his quill at nine o' clock in the evening the day before Christmas, even though he still had another scroll of Potions work left to do. He leaned back in his chair, letting every bone in his body pop satisfyingly as he stretched himself out like a cat. Taking up the scroll he just finished, he started rolling it up while glancing at the couch. His other self was lying out on it like the priest usually did when he was busy with homework, his laptop resting open on his chest. Yami Seto had his hand on the mouse pad, frowning slightly as he moved his finger about, commanding the cursor on screen.
"Something wrong?" Seto asked.
"Yeah," the high priest replied, "you've got all the technology in the world at your disposal, and your computer can't play 'OGG' files."
Seto paused as he started to pack away his school supplies, fearing where this was going. "And what exactly are 'OOG' files?"
"OGG," Yami Seto corrected, "and it's a kind of music file."
Seto's eyebrow twitched. "And... what did you download that you need to find a whole separate music player?"
Yami Seto grinned, sticking his tongue out in an expression that was meant to be adorable, but did not work on his face.
"The Sailor Moon Memorial Music Box Collection," he replied.
Seto felt a vein pop. "WHAT?!"
The other Ravenclaws that were left in the common room gave him strange looks, but Seto ignored them, fixing his other self with a, "how dare you destroy my property" look. The high priest just rolled his eyes, and the young businessman could have sworn he heard Noah chuckling from the computer.
"Relax, hikari, the biggest file is barely over two thousand kilobytes," he assured him.
Seto groaned inwardly. "It's also TEN CDs long!"
Yami Seto turned his gaze away from the computer, eyebrow raised. "How would you know?"
Seto sweatdropped. "Because Mokuba has it."
The high priest's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, before he started sniggering. Seto groaned audibly that time, shoving the rest of his school supplies into his bag before throwing it at his other, who easily deflected it with his elbow. Flopping against the back of his chair, he closed his eyes and muttered several cruel promises under his breath, as Yami Seto mellowed out a bit.
"You're nervous about tomorrow, aren't you?" he asked.
Seto opened one eye and fixed it on his other. "Whatever gave you that idea?" he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Yami Seto chuckled, before reaching over to the coffee table that rested near the couch and grabbing a pair of headphones - the kind that wrapped around one's ear - he had set on it before. He inserted the jack into the proper slot, before offering his hikari one of the miniature speakers.
"C'mon, listen to some of the music I downloaded, and help me look for a player," he offered. "Maybe it'll help calm your nerves."
Seto frowned at the pro-offered headphone, but took it anyway. He pushed the armchair he was sitting in closer to the couch before clipping it on. His other had already set a song to play, and the soft melody flooded in over the tiny device.
Wúlùn héshí wôchàng de geqû
Zài wûtái shàng huòshì wô zìjî
Wúlùn héshí wô shuo de huàyû
Xiwàng tamen dou néng bèi tingjian
Wô kànjian nî duì wô wéixiào
Shì zhen háishì huàn
Nî yông yuân zài nà xiâoxiâo ba tái de nâge jiâo lùo
Seto's frown deepened, and he gave his other a questioning look. "Chinese?"
Yami Seto shrugged as best as he could from the position he was laying in. "The file said it was supposed to be Japanese. Probably some idiot American that doesn't know the difference named it." ~~So, what's got you so stressed, other than the obvious?~~
It took the young businessman a moment to realize that his other had gone from vocally speaking, to speaking through their mind link.
~~I guess...~~ he began, ~~I don't know if I should tell Fleur about Kisara.~~
~~You're afraid that if you did, she might take it the wrong way,~~ Yami Seto replied. ~~You're afraid she might think that's the only reason you want to be around her.~~
~~Wouldn't you?~~ Seto returned, pointing out a website the high priest could try for the music player he was looking for.
"'Winamp'? But, hikari, this thing doesn't run on Windows, does it?" Yami Seto asked aloud, while saying through their mind link, ~~Maybe... Fleur is obviously not that thrilled about what she is, or at least very insecure about it. I guess she wouldn't know how to take it if the man she cared about told her there was another spirit in her too. Then again, she may think that now we're on even footing, if you know what I mean.~~
It took Seto a moment to process everything he had to say, considering his other was vocally speaking as well as mentally. It sounded like everything ran together, and his mind was having trouble separating one from the other.
"Doesn't matter," he finally answered his vocal question, "I made the OS so it would work with anything, Microsoft or otherwise."
~~I just don't want to make it look like I'm using her,~~ he replied to his mental speech. ~~Maybe I should wait until we're… I don't know; more comfortable with each other?~~
Yami Seto smirked as he clicked on the download button for the program. ~~Don't sweat it, hikari. Remember, if you screw up, you could always find another girl from the thousands in the line that follows you around wherever you -~~
The high priest was cut off as his hikari swatted him with a pillow from the couch.
~.oOOo.~
Harry still could not figure out how he managed to do it. Somewhere, some higher power had to be smiling down at him, because when he asked Parvati Patel to go to the Yule Ball with him, she had accepted. Not only that, but she also convinced her sister, Padma, to go out with Marik; not that she needed much convincing. If the rumors were true, she had been eyeing the Egyptian since their first year. Ron had somehow managed to swallow his pride and asked Eloise Midgen out. Harry had to admit, now that her acne had more or less cleared up, they made a cute couple, but he would never say that to Ron's face. He did not recognize the girl Draco had gotten as a date, though she did seem to be an older student.
Harry, Ron, and their respective dates had accidentally bumped into Bakura, his yami, and their dates in the entrance hall as they waited with other students for the ball to start at eight o' clock. Bakura and Susan Bones looked absolutely adorable together, and the two of them giggled when Parvati said as much. Yami Bakura's date however... she hid behind the tomb robber as soon as Ron spotted her. Ron blinked, hardly believing his eyes, before turning an interesting shade of green.
"Ginny!" he exclaimed. "What the... why the... YOU'RE his date?!"
Yami Bakura's entire face was so hot with embarrassment - his hikari looking like he was going to bust a gut from laughing so hard did not help any - it seemed as if even his hair was blushing. Ginny shuffled out from behind the tomb robber, not looking at her brother.
"Well... it was the only way I could go too," she said, before turning red herself. "Besides, Yami Bakura's really cute."
Ron looked like he was either going to die of shock, or strangle Yami Bakura. Harry put a restraining hand on his shoulder, before he could get any ideas, before turning to the tomb robber.
"And... you're always calling Marik a cradle robber?" he asked.
Bakura was outright SNIGGERING at his other's predicament; Susan was looking like she was enjoying the conversation as well. Yami Bakura spared them both a withering glance, before responding to Harry's question.
"Harry, I'm five thousand, twenty-five years old... give or take a few years. I don't think it matters much."
Ron was almost as red as his hair, and he looked like he was going to knock the tomb robber flat. Eloise gave Harry a concerned look, before steering her date away from a possibly dangerous situation.
It was then that Professor McGonagall called for the school champions. Harry said good bye - he wished Ginny's sanity good luck, only to result in further embarrassment to the tomb robber - before he and Parvati went up to the double doors of the Great Hall where the professor and the other champions were already assembled. They were to wait by the doors as the other student entered the Hall first, and then would enter in procession themselves. Fleur and Seto stood closest to the doors; Seto looked like he was trying to hide his nervousness behind his "cold businessman" act, but it was not working as well as it usually did. Marik and Padma stood by Harry, though it seemed as if the Egyptian could care less about his date, or anything else for that matter. He was fixing a look of the deepest loathing on Krum, and it did not take long for Harry to figure out why.
He hardly recognized her at first, which was sort of understandable, considering he only ever saw her in her school robes and not the floaty, periwinkle-blue robes she was currently wearing. Once she waved to him and said hello, however, a name attached itself to her in his brain, and his jaw almost dropped.
Hermione.
Marik was not the only one giving the couple dirty looks. The fan club Krum had gathered since he had arrived at Hogwarts were tossing looks similar to the ones Marik was giving her date as they stalked past. Even Ecillia, who was on the arm of Marcus Flint, was glaring at her, though Harry suspected it was because Hermione looked a heck of a lot prettier than she did.
Once everyone was assembled, the champions proceeded into the Hall, walking in with their dates on arm. The students from all three schools applauded enthusiastically as they made their way to the top of the hall, where Dumbledore, Madame Maxime, Professor Karkaroff, Ludo Bagman, and Percy Weasley of all people were waiting for them.
As soon as they reached the main table, Percy caught Harry's eye and pointedly pulled out the chair next to him. He got the hint, leading Parvati over to the two seats nearest to Percy, remembering to be courteous and help his date into her seat before sitting down himself.
"I've been promoted," Percy announced as he sat down, a look on his face so smug that it should have been illegal. "I'm now Mr. Crouch's personal assistant and I'm here representing him."
"Great," Harry replied dully, all but saying that he really did not care.
Dinner started soon after, but instead of Dumbledore summoning the food from the kitchens for everyone like he usually did, each person had a menu from which they could order. Harry kept his order simple - when it came to the dancing part, he did not want to get sick. Seto, however, ordered some kind of beef and sauce dish; it had to have been French, because Fleur looked impressed.
The dinner passed more or less without incident, though the fact that Marik was hardly eating anything and spending most of the dinner glaring at Krum had Harry a bit concerned. Hermione ignored him, and instead was anxiously chatting with her date, who was trying desperately to try to pronounce her name correctly. Seto seemed to have relaxed a bit, and was speaking quietly with Fleur, who seemed happy about something he was saying.
All too soon, the plates were cleared along with the tables, and a group of extremely hairy witches dressed in torn robes trooped up onto the stage set up before where tables had been. Harry had been so busy staring at the strange music group, that he almost forgot that the champions were supposed to lead off the dance. He almost tripped over his own robes in surprise when Parvati tugged him to get his attention. He recovered quickly enough, though, remembering to put a hand on her waist as they started dancing.
Parvati looked impressed. "I thought you said you didn't know how to dance?"
Harry grinned sheepishly. "I grabbed a quick lesson from Seto a few hours before."
She giggled. "Cutting it a little close, aren't you?"
There was a yelp, and Harry looked over his shoulder to see that, while they were talking, other students had joined the champions on the dance floor. The yelp had come from Susan, because Bakura had trod on her foot. Harry grinned, nodding over to the couple as Bakura apologized profusely.
"Would you rather I be doing that?"
Parvati giggled, and Harry spared a moment to look for the other champions. Seto and Fleur had disappeared once the other students had joined the dance floor. Krum and Hermione were still around, and Marik had wandered off to one of the side tables at the first opportunity, much to Padma's obvious frustration. Harry frowned inwardly; he wanted to help Marik, but he knew that there was nothing he could really do for him. Besides, he would never admit it, but he was enjoying himself. He was not about to leave the dance floor anytime soon.
Elsewhere on the floor, Yami Bakura and Ginny gave up on attempting to dance. While Ginny made a good effort toward it, the tomb robber quickly found out that it was not as easy as the pharaoh and his hikari were making it look. He watched dully as they twirled past them again, kicking at the floor in annoyance. He felt guilty in a sort of un-Yami-Bakura-ish way - damn his hikari for rubbing off on him. Ginny looked kind of disappointed that the dance was not as fun as she thought it would be.
"Well..." Yami Bakura began. "We can probably do one of two things. We can both sneak off and do something else somewhere else. Or... we could cause some havoc down here...?"
He had a sinister grin on his face as he offered the last suggestion, and Ginny just had to laugh.
"You know," she said, "my brother's going to kill me if we cause havoc."
Yami Bakura waved a dismissive hand. "No, he's just going to be mad at you. Me, on the other hand, he's going to kill regardless. All things considered though, it's a bit of a moot point."
Ginny giggled again, before nodding out to the dance floor. "Well, any ideas?"
Yami Bakura look out on the dance floor as well, frowning slightly. Just then, he caught sight of Ecillia and Flint dancing. He grinned devilishly, tossing Ginny a wink before running a hand through his hair, mussing it up.
"I still owe her for giving me pink hair last year," he said, standing up.
He started walking toward where Ecillia and Flint were dancing, stumbling along as if he were drunk. Ginny had to put a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from bursting into hysterical giggles, as Yami Bakura broke Ecillia and Flint apart, grabbing the Slytherin girl and spinning her about. His mouth moved to form the words, "Pretty ugly little ferret," before giving her a sloppy wet kiss on the mouth. The tomb robber stumbled off, as Ecillia started spitting and wiping her mouth, as if he had left a foul taste on her.
Yami Bakura straightened out his walk as soon as he was within sight of where Ginny was sitting; who was trying so hard not to laugh that she nearly had tears in her eyes.
"You're so evil!" she exclaimed.
Yami Bakura just grinned roguishly. "Comes in the packaging," he said, before holding out a hand to her. "C'mon. Lemme show you something nice."
~.oOOo.~
The night air was cool and crisp, but Seto did not notice it much, as his dress robes were warm enough for the outside. Fleur's robes, however, were made of a gauzy, thin material. When she shivered, Seto took his outer robe off and wrapped it around her shoulders. She smiled up at him when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to add to warming her up, as they walked down a pathway that had been created through the snow. Terraces had been set up above the path, and vines and flowers where twined within the woodwork. Real live fairies darted amongst the flowers above, giving a truly mystical look to everything.
"Zis iz very beautiful," Fleur said lazily, walking a little closer to Seto. He smiled down at her warmly as they approached a statue of Father Christmas and his reindeer. They stood before it, hand in hand, looking at each other.
"Fleur..." Seto began, still at war with himself. "There's something I... I really want to tell you, but... I don't know..."
Fleur reached up, putting a hand over his mouth, silencing him. "Itz all right," she said. "You can tell me when you are ready."
He shook his head, however. "It's not that... I SHOULD tell you. I'm never going to forgive myself if I don't."
She bit her lip, before nodding in understanding. Seto took a moment, trying to calm his heart, before continuing.
"Fleur... that day that you passed out," he explained, "you woke up almost right away... but it wasn't you that was in control of your body."
It was his turn to bite his lip as she frowned. "Zeto, what are you zaying?"
Seto winced at her tone. "I'm saying that you have a spirit within you as well... but she's different from my other self. She IS a part of you, and she can only appear when you're unconscious."
Fleur was silent for a long, nerve-wracking moment, her expression unreadable, before she finally asked, "Who iz she?"
He took a deep breath. "Her name is Kisara. She... she was a foreign woman who ended up in Egypt five thousand years ago... where she met my other self... and where she also died."
Seto kept his eyes down, unable to bring himself to look her in the eyes. Fleur surprised him, though, suddenly throwing herself into her arms. He looked at her then, only to see that she was clutching at his dress shirt tightly and her eyes were squeezed shut.
"Fleur..."
She shook her head. "I... I think that's why... I've never felt zis way before..." She turned a tearful gaze back up at him. "Many times, I feel like I always have to zee you, zat I am dependant on you. I don't understand zis feeling. Iz zis because of fate?"
Seto shook his head. "I don't believe in fate, as much as my other tries to convince me that such a thing exists. All I believe in is what is going on in the present... and one of those things I believe in are my feelings for you."
It took a moment for what he said to sink in. Fleur looked up in surprise, and Seto - caught off guard by his own daring - took that moment to swoop down and kiss her. She tensed up at first, apparently not expecting him to do such a thing, before melting into the kiss, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck. An eternity seemed to pass until the need for air forced the two of them apart.
Seto leaned his forehead against hers, smiling gently. "Merii Kurisumasu."
Fleur laughed softly, before she returned, "Jovial Noel."
~.oOOo.~
Yami Bakura made sure Ginny was nestled securely in front of him on the tree branch they sat on, before whisking off the blindfold he had tied over her eyes. She realized almost right away exactly high up off the ground they where - and in a tree within the forbidden forest no less - and instinctively reached to grab a hold of him. The tomb robber chuckled in spite of himself, wrapping an arm around her waist to calm her down.
"It's all right," he assured her. "I wouldn't let you fall. Look."
He pointed up to the sky above, and Ginny gasped at the sight. One could not ask for a clearer night sky, as all the stars in existence seemed to be winking down at them from the heavens. The tomb robber reached out a hand, seemingly grabbing some of the sparkling diamonds that were far beyond his reach.
"It used to be like this in Khemet," Yami Bakura explained. "The air was pure back then, and you did not have to be so high up in order to see the jewels in the sky." He smiled fondly. "This was always my favorite treasure. It was something that I didn't have to steal, didn't have to work for, and no pharaoh could take it away from me..."
He fell silent, lost in reminiscence. Ginny swiveled her head around to look up at him.
"Do you miss it?" she asked. "The past, I mean."
Yami Bakura bit his lip in thought. "Some things, yes," he admitted. "I miss traveling through the desert at night on horseback. Sometimes, if you had a fast enough steed, it would almost feel like you were flying. I miss the bars and taverns, where good food and good drinks were always aplenty."
Ginny smiled at the thoughts that came to her mind at his words; thoughts of a time long past, where while life was harsh, the world just seemed so much... freer.
"Do you miss your family?"
Yami Bakura paused, truly mulling over the question. "Terribly," he whispered. "They were gone long before I died... but... it doesn't hurt so much any more... it doesn't ache like it used to. Maybe Ryou's just rubbing off on me."
"Or... maybe you're just growing up, moving on," Ginny suggested.
The tomb robber looked up at the stars above. Moving on...? Could someone even move on from witnessing the destruction of an entire village? It had always seemed impossible to him, that he had inherited the hate of his fellow villagers as he witnessed their bodies being molded together... but had the time for him to let it go pass long ago? The God of Evil was not controlling him anymore, so why did he let the hate that Necrophadisu had fed on plague him still?
He could not forget... but he needed to let go.
Yami Bakura tightened his hold on Ginny in a hug, burying his face in her flaming red hair.
"Thank you," he murmured, his voice muffled.
She blinked, surprised by his actions. "For what?"
"For being so honest."
~.oOOo.~
Hermione was one of the last to return to the Gryffindor common room that night. Clouds seemed to be holding her up as she walked; she had had such a wonderful time dancing with Viktor, that she hoped there would be another dance later on in the year. Who would have thought that someone who could barely pronounce her name would be so enjoyable to be around?
She was about to head off to the girl's dormitory, when the sound of snoring coming from the couch caught her attention. Curious, she went over to look, only to see Marik - still in his dress robes - passed out on the furniture. Apparently, he had left the ball early and came back to the tower to cry himself to sleep, because she could see trails of black where tears had run through the kohl that he always applied every morning. Hermione scoffed at the sad sight, before continuing on to her dorm.
~~Don't you think you should help him?~~ Aishisu's voice invaded her thoughts. Hermione just frowned.
~~No,~~ she returned. ~~Let him stay like that. I don't care.~~
She could just barely make out her other muttering under her breath in Egyptian.
~~My light, you are too stubborn for your own good,~~ Aishisu accused. ~~Can you seriously tell me you genuinely enjoyed yourself tonight?~~
Hermione came to a halt, her lips pursed tightly, ready to tell the priestess exactly that...
...but she could not do it.
She did not have fun... not like she would have... if...
~~It doesn't matter, I don't care,~~ Hermione repeated, before continuing on to her dorm. The only other thing she heard from her other half for the rest of the night was an exasperated sigh.