Chapter Two-The Helpful Cat,Oreo

"Just open the portal! You'll prove your loyalty to me!" Master Marik ordered.

I stood beneath the darkening sky, my small body trembling more from fear than the cold rain that was starting to lightly fall. "I so cold…." I looked at Master Marik, my eyes full of tears.

"Do it now!" He demanded, making a move as if to throw another wave of Shadow energy my way.

My eyes widened, and I began to realize how deadly the situation was. For even at the age of six, I knew that standing in an open field during a thunderstorm was dangerous. Part of me longed for the nicer Marik to return. To rescue me again. But I knew he wouldn't. The man Shadi had assured that. I began the chant in my baby English that would open the portal once more……..

****************************************************************************

"Are you okay?"

Victoria found herself being shaken, while someone spoke to her in a concerned tone. "Mmm….." She slowly opened her eyes, and found herself staring up at Duke Devlin. "Ah!!" She sat up quickly, taking stock of her whereabouts.

"You were found outsidethis shop, unconscious." Duke told her gently. "I'm Duke. Duke Devlin."

"D-duke? Then….I must still be unconscious…or dreaming…." Victoria stood up, and looked around the store. She caught sight of the name. "Duke's Dice Imporium? Is this a new store?"

"Uh….no. Not really. It's been around for the last two years." The dice expert was staring at her curiously. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you need to call anyone?"

Victoria shook her head, backing away from the couch she'd been on. "Where…where am I?"

"At the moment, you're in downtown Domino Square." Duke was beginning to think this girl was insane. "I can call someone for you…" He offered again.

"N-no…. That's not necessary." Victoria couldn't keep the shaking from her voice. He actually did it…He brought me to this…. This..reality. But…I was just getting over Marik! I was starting to have a normal life! I don't believe this…. I'm in Marik's world! Without saying another word to Duke, she stepped outside of the shop, and looked around. Deciding she would be lost no matter which way she went, she took South Bennett Avenue, which seemed to lead toward the quieter part of Domino.

**************************************************************************

Victoria walked along the avenue, while she tried to figure out what to do next. She had no way of knowing how to get to Marik's. If I actually paid attention in Social Studies, I could use a map! That was about the only thing she could think of to do. She was about to turn around and look for one when she felt something rub against her legs. "Ahh!" She looked down, and then smiled. It was cat. "I'm sorry, Kitty…" She picked her up, and studied her. "Where did you come from?"

"Merow." The cat wrapped her long silky tail around Victoria's wrist.

"I don't have any food or anything, kitty…." I wish I did…I'm hungry…..She thought to herself.

"Meow…" The cat replied, and pointed her tail down the street.

"You want me to go that way?" Victoria wrinkled her nose, listening to herself. "Great…now I'm talking a cat.." I suppose it's better than just standing still…..She started in the direction the cat's tail pointed.

Soon enough, the cat leaped from her arms, and continued down a sidewalk. "Wait! Where are you going?"

The cat looked back at her, before continuing. "Meow!" She seemed to be saying, "just follow me!" With a deep sigh of frustration, she followed the cat up the walk to a house.

"Oreo! What kind of…." The cat's owner had an evident British accent, and Victoria was hesitant to continue towards it at first. But the owner came out to her instead, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Hello. Sorry if my cat was bothering you…she can be a handful sometimes."

"Oh…no..she wasn't bothering me. I think she was trying to help, actually." She looked up at Bakura. "I'm Victoria."

"Bakura. And this ball of energy is Oreo." He smiled brightly at her. "Would you like to come in?"

"Well…. I guess so. I don't want her to work to have been for nothing." She patted Oreo's head gently.

Bakura laughed lightly, and led the way into his quaint house. "I have some rice on the stove. You're more than welcome to eat with my brother and I…" He chose his wording carefully, when it came to his yami. He was certain this girl wouldn't comprehend the concept of yamis.

Brother? Does he mean his yami? I don't know if I can handle seeing him again…even if he did save my life. "Thank you for the invitation."

Bakura nodded, just as his Millennium Ring glinted, and Yami Bakura emerged, with a bad case of bed hair. "Oh….sorry, yami. Did we disturb you?"

The yami just grunted, eyeing Bakura's visitor. "You…What are you doing here, Child?"

"Rakura…." Victoria whispered to herself in disbelief.

"Don't be so harsh with her. Oreo brought her home." Bakura scolded, before Victoria could respond to his yami's question.

"I'm aware of that. I wasn't referring to why she was in this house. I want to know why she's here in this dimension. " Yami Bakura grumbled.

"You act as though you know her!" Bakura realized in disbelief.

"You should go check on our rice." The yami replied, not taking his eyes off Victoria for a second. He knew the child didn't belong there, and wanted to know who thought otherwise.

Bakura took the hint, and still holding Oreo, went to the kitchen to give his yami and their visitor some privacy, though he couldn't imagine how his yami knew this girl.

"Now then. How is it that you're here?" The old thief demanded. "Who brought you here?"

"You know who brought me." Victoria replied evenly. "Yami Marik did."

"I see." He grunted. "And you have no clue why?"

"He wouldn't tell me. I didn't want to come, that's for sure. He threatened my family."

"Sounds like he hasn't changed a bit." The yami replied.

"He hasn't." Victoria confirmed with a shiver. "I don't wanna talk about this,okay?" She headed into the kitchen to see Bakura.

"I'll talk about what I want!" The yami called after her.

Victoria whirled to face him, a look of defiance on her face. "And I'll ignore whomever I want."

"You can't ignore me forever, Child!" The yami taunted.

"Watch me." Victoria walked into the kitchen.

"Is everything alright?" Bakura looked worried.

"Yeah. Don't worry about us. It's an old thing." The girl sat down at the small table, with a sigh.

"I see…." Bakura still looked concerned, as he handed her a bowl of rice. "If you're in trouble of some kind, I can help, maybe."

"No offense,Bakura, but I don't want you to get hurt." Victoria answered, as she spooned another bite of rice. "Your yami can fill you in if he wants to." She added, when yami Bakura walked in.

"And I don't." The thief told Bakura before he could ask. He sat down across from Victoria, eyeing her.

Bakura sighed in confusion, and handed his yami a piece of meat with his rice. "Do you have anywhere to go?" He asked his young guest now.

"To Marik Ishtar's actually…" She replied, setting her empty bowl aside now. "But I don't know how to get there." Part of Victoria was still in denial that any of this was even happening. How could she really be in Domino? Her shrinks had all said it never existed. That Marik and his siblings never existed. But she knew that wasn't the case, didn't she? She had to know!

"Here you go." Bakura had written down directions for her to get to Marik's.

"Thank you so much, for everything." Victoria stood up now, and went back into the living room to get her backpack. "Oh no! Oreo!" The feline had dumped the bag's contents in the doorway. She scrambled to pick them all up, and was shocked to find her medication for hallucinations in the pile. "Good. This will come in handy." She muttered, tucking them in her pocket now. When she had everything back in order, she looked up at Bakura, and his yami. "I'll be in touch, Rakura." To Bakura, she said, "Thanks again, for having me."

"It was no trouble at all." Bakura smiled again, and held the door open for her. "I hope to see you again, Victoria."

"You too." Victoria stepped out and headed down the street.

Bakura closed the door, and looked at his yami. "What a nice girl!"

"Should've seen her when she was five. Menace." The yami grunted, before returning to Bakura's Item. The British boy blinked, but decided to let it drop, as he picked up Oreo and carried her to his room for a nap.

(A/n:Oreo the cat is used by permission from Daisy Hunt (LuckyLadybug66) and I do not take credit for her in any form. Thanks,Daisy-sama)