Chapter Fourteen-Epilogue

"Catch it, Tori!" Victoria ducked a ball of snow that Jonathan threw at her. She giggl ed,falling into Marik.

"Whoa! Sorry, Marik!" She stood again, and stared at Jon. "It's not possible to catch a snowball without crushing it, Jon!"

"Oh yeah? Well, then how come Christien just did?" He snickered, as Mokuba did as well. "See?"

"Fine then. Throw another one!" Victoria's eyes narrowed in determination. This time, she did catch it whole. "Yes!"

"Nice catch!" Christien cheered, as the two Robas and Mokuba joined her and Marik. It had been almost a month since the incident with Yami Marik. No one ever mentioned it, but everyone knew Victoria missed her home in her world. Victoria hadn't spoken about her world since the Ishtars brought her home from the hospital. As a matter of fact, it wasn't until today that Victoria had even spoken. Christien studied her discretely. I know she'll be homesick for her world eventually, when her shell of denial falls, but...I'm glad she's staying. I need a friend. My own friend, not one of my brothers. And not one that is only into dueling. Victoria and I are a lot alike, and I want to be the one to take care of her. Yeah. that's what I want.

"Hey, Christien....um....it was nice playing Snow Ball with you..." Victoria spoke up softly, as Marik put an arm around her shoulders.

"You too. Maybe we can play again tomorrow..."

"Perhaps." Marik replied with a smile. He was glad Victoria was adjusting so well to life in Domino. He knew it wasn't over, however. He didn't put all of his eggs into one basket. "Let us go home and get warmed up before dinner. I overheard our sister say that she was making green bean casserole." He knew how much Victoria enjoyed the dish.

"Mmmm. Okay. Bye, Robas. Later, Mo- m -Mokuba." Victoria caught herself. "Sorry."

"Nah. Forget about it. I'll be over tomorrow to help you get ready for school, Okay?" Mokuba grinned. "Maybe I'll be bringing Chris." He and Jonathan hadn't missed the way Christien stared at Victoria.

"Oh....okay." Victoria hurried after Marik then. I hope you do, Mokuba. Christien and I....we have a lot we could talk about. He's so differen t than the guys back at home. He's not all about "one thing", like every guy I know. Then her thoughts turned to something else. A late thought. Had Marik called Ishizu my sister too? I don't know if I'm ready for that...I mean,I love Marik..and the other two, but I just lost my other sister, not to mention my way of life. Does he really expect me to call them siblings just like that?! Victoria sighed deeply, as they turned into the driveway of the Ishtars' house. "Marik.....can I talk to you before we go in?"

"Of course." Marik turned to face her, worried at her sad tone.

"Well....I don't really know where to begin this, but...."

Marik touched her shoulder. "Take your time,my friend."

After a minute, Victoria started again. "Marik, I'm not ready to....call you guys my...s-siblings...not yet. It's too soon still." She looked at the snow covered concrete, eyes teary.

"I understand." Marik pulled her into a hug, and just held her for a moment. "Take all the time you need, Victoria. None of us want to pressure you into something you don't want to do."

"Y-you're not mad?" Victoria's voice shook a bit.

"Not at all. I'm rather glad you told me how you were feeling." Marik took her hand in his now, and led her up the rest of the way to the door. "It's always important to be honest with your best friend. I'm sure you knew that already, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Then it hit her. She hadn't heard from Johanna in a couple of days. "Oh no!"

"What is it?" Marik led th e way into the house, anxious to get them both into the warmth within.

"Marik, have you heard from Johanna at all?" She was worried now. The last time she'd seen Jo, Yami Bakura had been involved.

"I did. The last time I saw her wa s a couple of days ago. She's helping Bakura in his bookstore."

"She's living with him?" The girl blinked in surprise.

"Yes, I am." Jo spoke up from the kitchen doorway. She walked over, and looked Victoria in the eye. "But don't think I'm happy about it. I'm not."

"I didn 't think you would be..." Victoria replied, suddenly cold. "You never did like it when someone tried to civilize you."

"Civilize me?! No,I'm not mad about that. He's keeping me from my work!"

"Your work. Jo, won't you give up on that?" Victoria sighed deeply. "We're not five anymore, Jo. Rakura's only trying to take care of you."

"If he cared so much, he shouldn't have left." Jo folded her arms, her eyes narrowed. "I suppose it's all okay now though, right? You're with your precious Marik, so nothing else matters to you. Does it?"

"Th-that's not true! Jo, you matter! You always mattered to me!" Victoria shrank back from the girl that used to be her friend. "Even after you betrayed me...the only thing I could think about was you. I was afraid Yami Marik or Rakura would hurt you with me out of the way. You know? I was worried Child Services would take you away somewhere, or you'd be locked up. I never stopped worrying about you, Johanna, and I never will!"

"R-really?" Jo walked up to Victoria slowly. "I was always used to make you do things that hurt you....and....you don't despise me for it?"

"No. It's not your fault that you were used, Jo- jo . It was never your doing." Victoria slid down the wall, in tears. "If anything, it was mine.."

"What?! Don't be crazy." Jo knelt, and pulled Victoria into a hug. "You had no control over Rakura. I'm an idiot, you know. A real idiot. But I love him, Victoria. You know....like an older brother or something."

"Really? I thought you were mad because he hurt Ryou?" Victoria smiled a little, remembering how Jo had cursed Rakura for that.

"Well....Ryou's okay now. They live together, if you can believe it. It's awesome."

"Really? Well, that is interesting." Victoria was intrigued. "Did he ever tell Ryou about you?"

"I think he told him a lot more than he needed to know." Jo replied ruefully. "Well,I better go home now. We're having salisbury steak tonight, with rice!" The girl stood. "By the way...I'm sorry...for what I said."

"It's okay, Jo. I probably said worst to you in the past." Victoria also stood u p, wiping her tears. "Good bye for now." She walked into the dining room, and let Ishizu wrap her in a very comforting,welcome hug. "She's such a mystery to me..."

"I gathered." Ishizu replied, a smile of slight amusement on her face. "We went to the store today, while you and Marik were out. We had to buy a few things your cat needed."

Victoria gasped. "Oh Ishizu...you guys didn't have to go through all that trouble..."

"It was no trouble at all, Victoria." Rishid replied, as they all sat down. "He did need to eat, did he not?"

"I guess so..." Victoria was in awe. She cleared her throat after a minute. "I wanted to....I wanted to thank you for having me in your home..."

"Our home is your home now as well, Child." Rishid replied, with a smile. "Don't hesitate to ask for anything you may need."

"Thank you." She put a few bites of casserole into her mouth, and closed her eyes in delight. "Oh man...Ishizu, you have to show me how to cook! This is awesome! Can we have dinners like this every night?"

Ishizu chuckled. "We just might, once I teach you a thing or two in the kitchen."

Victoria giggled. "That would be cool!" She smiled around the table at the Ishtars. "You're all great siblings. I'm glad to have you."

"And we're glad you're here with us too. I believe you should've been here all along." Marik replied.

Ishtar meowed in obvious agreement, as he ate his soft serve cat food. He had no problems with his namesakes. He was glad Victoria would be safe with them. He p urred when Victoria suddenly scooped him up, and held him gently.

"We're really home now, Ishtar. I can't wait to see the rest of Domino. It's going to be great!"

Marik smiled, watching his friend. His little sister. Yes, you're in for a lot of adventure here. It will be great fun for you. Welcome to a whole new life, Victoria. You'll love it.