Chapter 2
Well here you are again. Reading a story that barely makes sense. At least to me anyway. So where did we leave off? Right, me at the hospital. Well I don't think I have to say that I fell asleep after the guys' visit. When I woke up in the hospital I didn't open my eyes right away. Let's just say that I have this habit of trying to go back to sleep every morning I wake up. I hear a couple voices.
"It was only a light scratch, but it was infected quickly. It shouldn't even leave a scar. She'll be free to go anytime today." A voice commented, female's I think.
"Thanks a lot." Another replied. That one was somewhat alien to me. Wait a sec . . . . . you ever have that feeling after a long day. You wake up and your memory ditches you for a sec. Then it all comes flooding in? That's what was happening. The waking up in the street, meeting Yu-Gi and everyone else. Shit, I was so screwed. Well I knew I wasn't going to get anymore sleep with that little thing bugging me. I opened my eyes. Forgot to take off my glasses again, damn. I'm going to ruin them someday. I sat up wearily and took off my glasses rubbing my eyes tiredly. Dumping them back onto my nose I looked up and saw big purple orbs in front of my eyes. With a strangled yell I fell out of bed.
"Oops. Sorry Miss. Usagi." Yu-Gi replied quickly helping me stand up. I brushed him away.
"What are you doing here?" I said trying not to sound rude. "Don't you have school?"
"Nope. It's Saturday." Tristan declared, he was sitting in one the hospital chairs and leaning on it.
"really?" I checked my roots watch. The time read 9:30 and sure enough on the top is had that little 'Sat.' highlighted. I was kinda shocked, not that it was Saturday, but that I was up so early. On days I didn't have school I usually slept in, to about 10:30 or 11:00. Oh well. I took one look at myself in the mirror and flinched. Nothing short of a rat nest in my hair.
"I'm gonna take a shower. Thanks for stopping by but you don't have to." I declared and walked into the bathroom. I was lucky for once. They had a new toothbrush, and a hairbrush ready for me to use. With nothing left I stepped inside the shower and closed the curtain, within minutes water was pouring down my back and cascading through my hair. At least this is one thing where I was safe. They had the shampoo I used, whenever I use a new shampoo my head gets all itchy. Needless to say, I haven't switched shampoo brands in almost three months. Oh well. They had 'Pears' soap. That was okay, I'd live. Half an hour later I stepped out of the shower and pulled on my clothes. The blue shirt and jeans and all. They felt like they'd been cleaned. Maybe this wasn't going to be a bad day after all. I came out of my room's bathroom and got a small surprise. They were all still there.
"Hey! You didn't take as long as I thought you would." Joey remarked. I stared.
"Why are you guys still here? I mean, not to be rude or anything but don't you have other things to do?" I wondered.
"We were worried about you." Yu-Gi shrugged. I stared, brown eyes slightly in shock.
"But I'm a complete stranger." I protested.
"So? You needed help. That's good enough reason right?" Taia said smiling. I shook my head, and dropped the towel on the bed I had vacated only a short while ago and proceeded to brushing my hair.
"Oh! I completely forgot. Here. I found it on the street right after Tristan and Yu-Gi dragged you off." Taia said and held out a bag to me. I dropped my brush and it clattered to the ground. It was my backpack. The one I had brought to school with me on that day. How did it end up here? Taia frowned.
"Are you okay?"
I nodded my head lightly and took the bag with both my hands, as if to reassure myself it was real. I opened the bag and stared inside. Well here's something that wasn't in my bag that day. Three sleeveless shirts. One was a black, another was a dark green and the last was a baby blue with white stripes. That and a black vest. Along with a hastily stuffed in jacket and two pairs of jeans? That and my discman and a book. Oddly enough it all fit into my red back pack. (A/N: Believe me, I tried stuffing that into my school backpack and it all fit. Weird neh?) My wallet was there too. I pulled it out, let's see. There's my student ID card, we got one every year, my learner's permit, and all my money. Also a few bills that suspiciously looked Japanese. I sighed, wait a sec. My debit card?! That wasn't even in my wallet when I took it to school. Well other then that, and a picture of my cousins. There wasn't anything else except a few receipts. Wait a sec . . . there was a paper in my jean pocket. I took it out and it had written on it in English;
473 Galley street.
Okkaaaayyyyyyy. . . . . An address. Should I go there? Well, I had nothing else to do. So I closed my bag and turned to the others.
"Actually, can you help me? I need to find this house. Or whatever." I declared handing Yu-Gi the paper. The youth stared at it for a minute then looked at me.
"You want to go to this place?" He asked lightly. I nodded. Taia looked at the address and gulped.
"You're serious?!" She demanded. I gaped. What was so horrible about this place?!
~~~
Okay. . . I could kinda see why they didn't like this place. It was a big dusty building. The kind that spelled out 'haunted.' But I had nothing else to do, so I walked in. There was a scraggly old woman at the counter. I walked up to her.
"Um . . hi." I began. She didn't even look at me and continued working.
"Name?" She asked. I Blinked.
"Wha-? Oh, it's Hikari. Hikari Usagi." She stared at me, a tiny grin taking place on her lips.
"Usagi? Oh yes. We've been waiting for you." She said still giving that creepy grin. She shuffled around in the drawers on her desk and then smiled. She held up. . . a house key? Okay, sorry but I was expecting something along the lines of a dead rat. So I let my imagination slip, sue me. She also held up a piece of paper and dumped both of them in my hand.
"Here's the address and the key. The rent is paid for by him. Have a nice time there." She said and shuffled me away. I stared.
"Um . . okay." I muttered and stalked away. As soon as I got outside I looked at the paper. Wait a sec. . . who was 'him'?
*The rent was paid for by him.*
So someone was out there watching me. Or I could just be being paranoid. Oh well, Yu-Gi walked up to me.
"You okay?" I grinned.
"Sure, it's not like they have decapitated heads in there. I need to go here next." I told the group and showed them the new address. Taia nodded.
"This is in the building area. I mean where they're building the new houses. It's a bit of a walk though." Taia commented. I nodded.
"That's okay. Listen, I can just get a taxi or whatever, you guys can clear off and go have fun." They shook their heads.
"Nope. We're sticking with you the whole way, I mean, it's not like we have anything else to do." Joey said. "It's been really boring since the Duel City Tournament ended."
"Really?! Who won?!" I asked quickly, then self consciously smacked myself on the head. Yu-Gi still had the millennium puzzle and that world wasn't in chaos. Think Kari think, who else could have won but-
"Yu-Gi did. And he kicked BUTT!" Joey said happily. I nodded at the short youth.
"Congratulations I guess."
"Thanks. Say, are you hungry? It's getting close to lunch."
"Yeah, let's go eat." Tristan said, I stayed in the background, I didn't really like to intrude on a group's conversation. They ran through a whole bunch of names, restaurants I guess. I hadn't heard of any of the names except Edo Japan. (A/N: Love that place! The food is awesome! ^_^) So I really couldn't suggest anything could I? Then Yu-Gi turned to me. Crap!
"Where do you want to eat Miss. Usagi?" I shook my head.
"Don't care. And call me Kari okay? The only people who call me by my last name are my teachers." He grinned.
"Okay Joey. You win, we'll go eat and McDonalds." I stiffened. McDonalds? Wow, I struck lucky. We were going to a place that I actually knew about. This was going to be a good day. I could already tell. Maybe my life was getting better. Just maybe. . .
~~~
Seeing Joey eat through a TV screen was one thing, seeing him eat right in front of you, quite another thing. I had managed to eat my McChicken and half of my fries before I lost my appetite. Watching Tristan was probably something I could keep eating through, but Joey disgusted me to the point that I pushed my remaining fries towards him and was content to sip my chocolate milk shake. He took them without complaint. The other's who ate normally like Yu-Gi and Taia seemed unaffected, they were probably used to it. Though I did see Taia shoot a few death glares at Joey who remained oblivious. I did however manage to look at Yu-Gi without him noticing. How could someone so small make such an impact on the world? It was kind of scary if you thought about it. Then I turned my attention to the Millennium Puzzle. Such a small thing, like Yu-Gi, yet so powerful too.
"Hey you know, I just thought of something. We never told you our names." Yu-Gi suddenly said looking up at the others, then at me. Damn! I never asked them for their names because I'd already known who they were, but they weren't supposed to know that! Shitezer! (A/N: Just a word I like say. It's a replacement for Shit, but yeah, I can say this word in front of my parents. Pronounced as Shyt-zer) I shrugged.
"Figured you'd get around to telling me sooner or later." I replied carelessly.
"My name is Yu-Gi Motou, that's Taia, Joey, and Tristan." The youth said pointing to each person in turn. I nodded at them and went back to my thoughts. Unknowingly I kept fiddling with the jade piece on my necklace. Slowly I closed my eyes, fatigue wearing me down. A small voice began to whisper in my ear, I was too sleepy to think that the voice was weird.
*Hikari . . . . I'll be here for you.*
My eyes were still closed as I still played around with the jade, my eyebrows deepened in concentration, my ears straining to hear that voice again.
*I'll always wait for you. I'll always protect you. You only need to call my name. . . .*
" . . . . . .name? . . . . " My voice was quiet. Almost a whisper. Yu-Gi stared at me.
"What did you say?" He asked. I didn't reply, I couldn't hear him. He stared at me worried. "Hikari?" Now Joey was staring at me. Everyone at our table was. "Kari?!"
~~~
*My. . . . . . name. . . . . .is. . . . . N-*
"Kari!" A rough hand jerked me out of my trance, I let the jade piece slip from my fingers. I stared down to my side and saw Yu-Gi, but his face was worried, was that FEAR in his eyes?!
"Yu-Gi? What . . what happened?" I asked staring around me blindly.
"You zoned out for a few minutes." Joey said, looking kinda funny, worry on a face covered with crumbs was not a good match. I smiled and without thinking took a napkin and wiped the sides of his mouth. Joey just stared at me. I laughed and dumped that napkin on the tray.
"You done Joey?" He smiled. Everyone began laughing. That includes me, weird neh? One minute I'm in a trance, the next I'm laughing happily. Oblivious to all. Joey smiled and nodded, dumping that last empty wrapper on the tray.
"Where to now?"
"I have to drop off a book at the library. How about stopping there?" Taia suggested. Joey sighed but agreed. I followed along, I didn't have much else to do did I?
~~~
After stopping at the library we headed for the arcade. There Joey, Taia, Tristan and even Yu-Gi had fun. Joey and Tristan played fighting games and were in the process of spending every quarter they had, Taia was doing a dance step game, and Yu-Gi was trying the racing games. I raced him once, but oddly enough I lost. Guess he really was the king of games. I was sitting near the entrance in a secluded corner. A lot of people were sitting next to me but I didn't bother looking at the comers. Or the people who were going. So imagine how I feel when I see someone sit next to me. A white haired, brown eyed someone. I nearly jumped. Please note that I said 'nearly' I was now sitting next to Bakura. Well sure, he was cute in his own little way. Who do I really like on this show? That would be. . . well. . .maybe I'll tell you later. And don't whine, be grateful I'm even SUGGESTING telling you. He stared at me and smiled. I didn't smile back, the emotionless mask was back on. He kinda felt intimidated by the harsh return of faces and just stared at the ground. Damn, why do all these characters have to make my heart go out to them?! I sighed.
"Hi. What's your name?" I asked in a semi cheerful voice. He looked up startled, when he saw the easy grin on my face he smiled as well and held out a hand.
"Bakura. You?"
"Well since we're on a first name basis, call me Kari. You looking for someone?" I asked going out on a hunch. He nodded.
"Yes. I'm looking for a few friends."
"Is one named Yu-Gi?" I asked. Hell what was I doing? I knew who he was looking for, why ask? But ignorance, had to remember I was a dummy in this world.
"Yeah! Do you know where he is?" The white haired youth asked. I nodded and pointed at the boy we were just talking about, he and the gang were walking towards us now. Yu-Gi was talking to Taia and Joey was talking to Tristan behind them.
"Hey Yu-Gi! You have a visitor!" I called out, still sitting. He looked at me and smiled.
"Bakura! What are you doing here?" Yu-Gi asked smiling.
"Just wanted to see you guys, it's rather lonely at my house, what with my father out on an excavation and all. You don't mind me dropping in do you?"
"No! Not at all." Taia replied smiling. Suddenly she grabbed my arm.
"How's about going to the dance game over there? I challenge you!" She said still grinning. Dance? Okay, I take a few classes but something like this? Well, what could I lose? Except my dignity.
"No thanks." I said quietly. She pouted. Damn, stupid Snake thing is getting to me again!
"C'mon Kari! I'm sure you'll do great!" Yu-Gi encouraged me. Now everyone was harping at me. All saying I should try. I sighed, I was officially trapped. So I shrugged and handed my backpack to Tristan. Then stepped up onto that platform with all the nice tiny arrows. I shook out my arms and moved around a bit on my feet to warm up. Then nodded at her, people were gathering. Shit, I was going to make a spectacle of myself.
"Ready?" Taia asked. I nodded and held my jade piece for reassurance. Suddenly I felt odd. Like I was floating, a tiny grin took my face. It later became a sneer.
***
"Yu-Gi! Look!" Yami said using his mind channel to talk to his carrier. Yu-Gi stared at what Yami mentally pointed at. All he saw was Kari, she gripped that jade dragon, then all of a sudden she was sneering. Her eyes were somewhat sharper and narrowed. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn her pupils had gone cat like. She faced the screen on the dance platform and smiled.
"What does this mean?" Yu-Gi asked his spirit. "What happened to Kari?"
"I don't know. . . . ."
The music started, Taia moved like water, smooth and fast. She hit all the right steps and in no time had a high score. Yu-Gi smiled then looked at Kari's screen and gaped. She was at 750 points while Taia was still at 675. And Kari didn't stop there, her score kept going up within five minutes both girls were moving fast and smoothly. Both had over 1150 points. The crowd was going wild.
"Hey look at the brunette! She's pretty good!"
"Yeah but the one with the glasses is better!" 10 minutes later the game ended with Kari winning by five points only. She grinned at Taia, not that friendly game grin, it was a smug look. Yami didn't like it at all. Suddenly the look vanished and Kari was looking normal again.
~~~
I was wasted, I still can't believe I won that dance competition. I was staring at Taia with a smirk on my face, I didn't even realize it. The grin vanished and I replaced it with the mask again. Bakura was smiling and clapping his pale hands. Taia was grinning as well. Joey was patting me on the back and Tristan was messing up my hair. Yu-Gi however wasn't smiling. I looked him over, crap. Yami was in play, and he only came out when Yu-Gi was in danger. What I do now? I went into the bathroom to rinse my sweaty face. After that was done I walked out the door and came head to head with the spirit of the puzzle.
"Who are you?" He wanted to know. I gaped.
"I already told you Yu-Gi" I said quietly, still playing stupid.
"Stop playing games, I know you have information about me, my friends, and people you haven't even seen yet. How do you know all this?" He demanded. I stared, so he wanted to play rough? Well I wasn't going to cower. Fight fire with fire.
"Listen Yami, I know a lot of things, and where I come from, what I know isn't uncommon. I'm sorry if this scares you, but I'm scared as well. I'm stuck in a land that is a story of fiction in my world. I don't even know how I got here, much less how I can get out. I'm sorry, but if my knowledge scares you. There's nothing I can do. Unless you plan to send me to the shadow realm." I said in one breath. Turning to face him I saw he was looking awed. He suddenly contorted.
"Very well, I won't send you to the shadow realm, I don't do that to innocent people. However, if you so much as harm one of my friends, or try to do evil, you'll wish that I HAD put you in the shadow realm." He threatened and walked away. Ouchy, now that wasn't too nice was it? I grinned my hand unknowingly playing with the jade piece. Somehow, I should be scared, but I wasn't. I don't know why either. I think I was beginning to scare myself. . . .
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh does not belong to me. I only own Hikari Usagi.
Well here you are again. Reading a story that barely makes sense. At least to me anyway. So where did we leave off? Right, me at the hospital. Well I don't think I have to say that I fell asleep after the guys' visit. When I woke up in the hospital I didn't open my eyes right away. Let's just say that I have this habit of trying to go back to sleep every morning I wake up. I hear a couple voices.
"It was only a light scratch, but it was infected quickly. It shouldn't even leave a scar. She'll be free to go anytime today." A voice commented, female's I think.
"Thanks a lot." Another replied. That one was somewhat alien to me. Wait a sec . . . . . you ever have that feeling after a long day. You wake up and your memory ditches you for a sec. Then it all comes flooding in? That's what was happening. The waking up in the street, meeting Yu-Gi and everyone else. Shit, I was so screwed. Well I knew I wasn't going to get anymore sleep with that little thing bugging me. I opened my eyes. Forgot to take off my glasses again, damn. I'm going to ruin them someday. I sat up wearily and took off my glasses rubbing my eyes tiredly. Dumping them back onto my nose I looked up and saw big purple orbs in front of my eyes. With a strangled yell I fell out of bed.
"Oops. Sorry Miss. Usagi." Yu-Gi replied quickly helping me stand up. I brushed him away.
"What are you doing here?" I said trying not to sound rude. "Don't you have school?"
"Nope. It's Saturday." Tristan declared, he was sitting in one the hospital chairs and leaning on it.
"really?" I checked my roots watch. The time read 9:30 and sure enough on the top is had that little 'Sat.' highlighted. I was kinda shocked, not that it was Saturday, but that I was up so early. On days I didn't have school I usually slept in, to about 10:30 or 11:00. Oh well. I took one look at myself in the mirror and flinched. Nothing short of a rat nest in my hair.
"I'm gonna take a shower. Thanks for stopping by but you don't have to." I declared and walked into the bathroom. I was lucky for once. They had a new toothbrush, and a hairbrush ready for me to use. With nothing left I stepped inside the shower and closed the curtain, within minutes water was pouring down my back and cascading through my hair. At least this is one thing where I was safe. They had the shampoo I used, whenever I use a new shampoo my head gets all itchy. Needless to say, I haven't switched shampoo brands in almost three months. Oh well. They had 'Pears' soap. That was okay, I'd live. Half an hour later I stepped out of the shower and pulled on my clothes. The blue shirt and jeans and all. They felt like they'd been cleaned. Maybe this wasn't going to be a bad day after all. I came out of my room's bathroom and got a small surprise. They were all still there.
"Hey! You didn't take as long as I thought you would." Joey remarked. I stared.
"Why are you guys still here? I mean, not to be rude or anything but don't you have other things to do?" I wondered.
"We were worried about you." Yu-Gi shrugged. I stared, brown eyes slightly in shock.
"But I'm a complete stranger." I protested.
"So? You needed help. That's good enough reason right?" Taia said smiling. I shook my head, and dropped the towel on the bed I had vacated only a short while ago and proceeded to brushing my hair.
"Oh! I completely forgot. Here. I found it on the street right after Tristan and Yu-Gi dragged you off." Taia said and held out a bag to me. I dropped my brush and it clattered to the ground. It was my backpack. The one I had brought to school with me on that day. How did it end up here? Taia frowned.
"Are you okay?"
I nodded my head lightly and took the bag with both my hands, as if to reassure myself it was real. I opened the bag and stared inside. Well here's something that wasn't in my bag that day. Three sleeveless shirts. One was a black, another was a dark green and the last was a baby blue with white stripes. That and a black vest. Along with a hastily stuffed in jacket and two pairs of jeans? That and my discman and a book. Oddly enough it all fit into my red back pack. (A/N: Believe me, I tried stuffing that into my school backpack and it all fit. Weird neh?) My wallet was there too. I pulled it out, let's see. There's my student ID card, we got one every year, my learner's permit, and all my money. Also a few bills that suspiciously looked Japanese. I sighed, wait a sec. My debit card?! That wasn't even in my wallet when I took it to school. Well other then that, and a picture of my cousins. There wasn't anything else except a few receipts. Wait a sec . . . there was a paper in my jean pocket. I took it out and it had written on it in English;
473 Galley street.
Okkaaaayyyyyyy. . . . . An address. Should I go there? Well, I had nothing else to do. So I closed my bag and turned to the others.
"Actually, can you help me? I need to find this house. Or whatever." I declared handing Yu-Gi the paper. The youth stared at it for a minute then looked at me.
"You want to go to this place?" He asked lightly. I nodded. Taia looked at the address and gulped.
"You're serious?!" She demanded. I gaped. What was so horrible about this place?!
~~~
Okay. . . I could kinda see why they didn't like this place. It was a big dusty building. The kind that spelled out 'haunted.' But I had nothing else to do, so I walked in. There was a scraggly old woman at the counter. I walked up to her.
"Um . . hi." I began. She didn't even look at me and continued working.
"Name?" She asked. I Blinked.
"Wha-? Oh, it's Hikari. Hikari Usagi." She stared at me, a tiny grin taking place on her lips.
"Usagi? Oh yes. We've been waiting for you." She said still giving that creepy grin. She shuffled around in the drawers on her desk and then smiled. She held up. . . a house key? Okay, sorry but I was expecting something along the lines of a dead rat. So I let my imagination slip, sue me. She also held up a piece of paper and dumped both of them in my hand.
"Here's the address and the key. The rent is paid for by him. Have a nice time there." She said and shuffled me away. I stared.
"Um . . okay." I muttered and stalked away. As soon as I got outside I looked at the paper. Wait a sec. . . who was 'him'?
*The rent was paid for by him.*
So someone was out there watching me. Or I could just be being paranoid. Oh well, Yu-Gi walked up to me.
"You okay?" I grinned.
"Sure, it's not like they have decapitated heads in there. I need to go here next." I told the group and showed them the new address. Taia nodded.
"This is in the building area. I mean where they're building the new houses. It's a bit of a walk though." Taia commented. I nodded.
"That's okay. Listen, I can just get a taxi or whatever, you guys can clear off and go have fun." They shook their heads.
"Nope. We're sticking with you the whole way, I mean, it's not like we have anything else to do." Joey said. "It's been really boring since the Duel City Tournament ended."
"Really?! Who won?!" I asked quickly, then self consciously smacked myself on the head. Yu-Gi still had the millennium puzzle and that world wasn't in chaos. Think Kari think, who else could have won but-
"Yu-Gi did. And he kicked BUTT!" Joey said happily. I nodded at the short youth.
"Congratulations I guess."
"Thanks. Say, are you hungry? It's getting close to lunch."
"Yeah, let's go eat." Tristan said, I stayed in the background, I didn't really like to intrude on a group's conversation. They ran through a whole bunch of names, restaurants I guess. I hadn't heard of any of the names except Edo Japan. (A/N: Love that place! The food is awesome! ^_^) So I really couldn't suggest anything could I? Then Yu-Gi turned to me. Crap!
"Where do you want to eat Miss. Usagi?" I shook my head.
"Don't care. And call me Kari okay? The only people who call me by my last name are my teachers." He grinned.
"Okay Joey. You win, we'll go eat and McDonalds." I stiffened. McDonalds? Wow, I struck lucky. We were going to a place that I actually knew about. This was going to be a good day. I could already tell. Maybe my life was getting better. Just maybe. . .
~~~
Seeing Joey eat through a TV screen was one thing, seeing him eat right in front of you, quite another thing. I had managed to eat my McChicken and half of my fries before I lost my appetite. Watching Tristan was probably something I could keep eating through, but Joey disgusted me to the point that I pushed my remaining fries towards him and was content to sip my chocolate milk shake. He took them without complaint. The other's who ate normally like Yu-Gi and Taia seemed unaffected, they were probably used to it. Though I did see Taia shoot a few death glares at Joey who remained oblivious. I did however manage to look at Yu-Gi without him noticing. How could someone so small make such an impact on the world? It was kind of scary if you thought about it. Then I turned my attention to the Millennium Puzzle. Such a small thing, like Yu-Gi, yet so powerful too.
"Hey you know, I just thought of something. We never told you our names." Yu-Gi suddenly said looking up at the others, then at me. Damn! I never asked them for their names because I'd already known who they were, but they weren't supposed to know that! Shitezer! (A/N: Just a word I like say. It's a replacement for Shit, but yeah, I can say this word in front of my parents. Pronounced as Shyt-zer) I shrugged.
"Figured you'd get around to telling me sooner or later." I replied carelessly.
"My name is Yu-Gi Motou, that's Taia, Joey, and Tristan." The youth said pointing to each person in turn. I nodded at them and went back to my thoughts. Unknowingly I kept fiddling with the jade piece on my necklace. Slowly I closed my eyes, fatigue wearing me down. A small voice began to whisper in my ear, I was too sleepy to think that the voice was weird.
*Hikari . . . . I'll be here for you.*
My eyes were still closed as I still played around with the jade, my eyebrows deepened in concentration, my ears straining to hear that voice again.
*I'll always wait for you. I'll always protect you. You only need to call my name. . . .*
" . . . . . .name? . . . . " My voice was quiet. Almost a whisper. Yu-Gi stared at me.
"What did you say?" He asked. I didn't reply, I couldn't hear him. He stared at me worried. "Hikari?" Now Joey was staring at me. Everyone at our table was. "Kari?!"
~~~
*My. . . . . . name. . . . . .is. . . . . N-*
"Kari!" A rough hand jerked me out of my trance, I let the jade piece slip from my fingers. I stared down to my side and saw Yu-Gi, but his face was worried, was that FEAR in his eyes?!
"Yu-Gi? What . . what happened?" I asked staring around me blindly.
"You zoned out for a few minutes." Joey said, looking kinda funny, worry on a face covered with crumbs was not a good match. I smiled and without thinking took a napkin and wiped the sides of his mouth. Joey just stared at me. I laughed and dumped that napkin on the tray.
"You done Joey?" He smiled. Everyone began laughing. That includes me, weird neh? One minute I'm in a trance, the next I'm laughing happily. Oblivious to all. Joey smiled and nodded, dumping that last empty wrapper on the tray.
"Where to now?"
"I have to drop off a book at the library. How about stopping there?" Taia suggested. Joey sighed but agreed. I followed along, I didn't have much else to do did I?
~~~
After stopping at the library we headed for the arcade. There Joey, Taia, Tristan and even Yu-Gi had fun. Joey and Tristan played fighting games and were in the process of spending every quarter they had, Taia was doing a dance step game, and Yu-Gi was trying the racing games. I raced him once, but oddly enough I lost. Guess he really was the king of games. I was sitting near the entrance in a secluded corner. A lot of people were sitting next to me but I didn't bother looking at the comers. Or the people who were going. So imagine how I feel when I see someone sit next to me. A white haired, brown eyed someone. I nearly jumped. Please note that I said 'nearly' I was now sitting next to Bakura. Well sure, he was cute in his own little way. Who do I really like on this show? That would be. . . well. . .maybe I'll tell you later. And don't whine, be grateful I'm even SUGGESTING telling you. He stared at me and smiled. I didn't smile back, the emotionless mask was back on. He kinda felt intimidated by the harsh return of faces and just stared at the ground. Damn, why do all these characters have to make my heart go out to them?! I sighed.
"Hi. What's your name?" I asked in a semi cheerful voice. He looked up startled, when he saw the easy grin on my face he smiled as well and held out a hand.
"Bakura. You?"
"Well since we're on a first name basis, call me Kari. You looking for someone?" I asked going out on a hunch. He nodded.
"Yes. I'm looking for a few friends."
"Is one named Yu-Gi?" I asked. Hell what was I doing? I knew who he was looking for, why ask? But ignorance, had to remember I was a dummy in this world.
"Yeah! Do you know where he is?" The white haired youth asked. I nodded and pointed at the boy we were just talking about, he and the gang were walking towards us now. Yu-Gi was talking to Taia and Joey was talking to Tristan behind them.
"Hey Yu-Gi! You have a visitor!" I called out, still sitting. He looked at me and smiled.
"Bakura! What are you doing here?" Yu-Gi asked smiling.
"Just wanted to see you guys, it's rather lonely at my house, what with my father out on an excavation and all. You don't mind me dropping in do you?"
"No! Not at all." Taia replied smiling. Suddenly she grabbed my arm.
"How's about going to the dance game over there? I challenge you!" She said still grinning. Dance? Okay, I take a few classes but something like this? Well, what could I lose? Except my dignity.
"No thanks." I said quietly. She pouted. Damn, stupid Snake thing is getting to me again!
"C'mon Kari! I'm sure you'll do great!" Yu-Gi encouraged me. Now everyone was harping at me. All saying I should try. I sighed, I was officially trapped. So I shrugged and handed my backpack to Tristan. Then stepped up onto that platform with all the nice tiny arrows. I shook out my arms and moved around a bit on my feet to warm up. Then nodded at her, people were gathering. Shit, I was going to make a spectacle of myself.
"Ready?" Taia asked. I nodded and held my jade piece for reassurance. Suddenly I felt odd. Like I was floating, a tiny grin took my face. It later became a sneer.
***
"Yu-Gi! Look!" Yami said using his mind channel to talk to his carrier. Yu-Gi stared at what Yami mentally pointed at. All he saw was Kari, she gripped that jade dragon, then all of a sudden she was sneering. Her eyes were somewhat sharper and narrowed. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn her pupils had gone cat like. She faced the screen on the dance platform and smiled.
"What does this mean?" Yu-Gi asked his spirit. "What happened to Kari?"
"I don't know. . . . ."
The music started, Taia moved like water, smooth and fast. She hit all the right steps and in no time had a high score. Yu-Gi smiled then looked at Kari's screen and gaped. She was at 750 points while Taia was still at 675. And Kari didn't stop there, her score kept going up within five minutes both girls were moving fast and smoothly. Both had over 1150 points. The crowd was going wild.
"Hey look at the brunette! She's pretty good!"
"Yeah but the one with the glasses is better!" 10 minutes later the game ended with Kari winning by five points only. She grinned at Taia, not that friendly game grin, it was a smug look. Yami didn't like it at all. Suddenly the look vanished and Kari was looking normal again.
~~~
I was wasted, I still can't believe I won that dance competition. I was staring at Taia with a smirk on my face, I didn't even realize it. The grin vanished and I replaced it with the mask again. Bakura was smiling and clapping his pale hands. Taia was grinning as well. Joey was patting me on the back and Tristan was messing up my hair. Yu-Gi however wasn't smiling. I looked him over, crap. Yami was in play, and he only came out when Yu-Gi was in danger. What I do now? I went into the bathroom to rinse my sweaty face. After that was done I walked out the door and came head to head with the spirit of the puzzle.
"Who are you?" He wanted to know. I gaped.
"I already told you Yu-Gi" I said quietly, still playing stupid.
"Stop playing games, I know you have information about me, my friends, and people you haven't even seen yet. How do you know all this?" He demanded. I stared, so he wanted to play rough? Well I wasn't going to cower. Fight fire with fire.
"Listen Yami, I know a lot of things, and where I come from, what I know isn't uncommon. I'm sorry if this scares you, but I'm scared as well. I'm stuck in a land that is a story of fiction in my world. I don't even know how I got here, much less how I can get out. I'm sorry, but if my knowledge scares you. There's nothing I can do. Unless you plan to send me to the shadow realm." I said in one breath. Turning to face him I saw he was looking awed. He suddenly contorted.
"Very well, I won't send you to the shadow realm, I don't do that to innocent people. However, if you so much as harm one of my friends, or try to do evil, you'll wish that I HAD put you in the shadow realm." He threatened and walked away. Ouchy, now that wasn't too nice was it? I grinned my hand unknowingly playing with the jade piece. Somehow, I should be scared, but I wasn't. I don't know why either. I think I was beginning to scare myself. . . .
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh does not belong to me. I only own Hikari Usagi.