By Hikaru Hayashi
This is the edited version of Chapter 9: "Rescuing Seto". Please remember that my fic is AU, so some of the things I came up with on my own.
Disclaimer note: I don't own them...the Yu-Gi-Oh people, I mean. However, ya know who I do own, so leave me alone!
Let the frenzy begin!
Chapter 9: Rescuing Seto
Sophia dove under the cold water. She fought her way deeper, and deeper. It got to the point where it was so deep she could not see where she was going. But that didn't matter to her. 'I've got to save Seto!' she thought.
Mokuba sat up on the dock and watched. He was so nervous he resorted to biting his nails. "I hope she can save him..." he muttered. 'Sophia,' he thought as he stood up and started pacing the dock, 'you better know what you're doing, you idiot!' Around him, the spooky fog started to clear up. 'I wonder where that came from, anyway,' he thought. 'It was perfectly sunny this morning.'
It had been almost five minutes. Mokuba had no more nails to bite and his feet were sore from pacing. He was almost sure he'd worn a dent in the dock from where he was pacing, not to mention having holes in his already soaking wet socks. He sat on the edge of the dock and looked into the lake. 'If I don't see them,' he thought, 'I might have to resort to biting off strands of my hair!' He couldn't remember a time where he was more stressed out than right now. 'Oh! Please be okay, Nii-sama!!' He was just about to give up hope, when...
Sophia finally resurfaced. She swam to the dock carrying Seto, who was unconscious and not breathing. "Hey, gimme a hand Mokuba!" she shouted.
"You found him!" Mokuba shouted. "You moron...! You scared me to death!"
"I can hold my breath for almost an hour if I have to," said Sophia as Mokuba helped her pull Seto out of the water. 'And he sounds like his brother calling me a moron...' she thought.
Sophia pulled herself onto the dock. She picked up her purse, which she had conveniently dropped before she dove into the lake. She pulled out her cell phone and was about to call an ambulance, when she heard Mokuba shouting.
"Hey! Sophia! There's something wrong with Nii-sama!!" he shouted.
'Yah, no DUH!' she thought, but went over anyway. Just to prove to Mokuba that his brother would be fine, she picked up his wrist...and noticed his pulse was absent. 'Okay!' she thought. 'That is NOT good!' She tossed Mokuba her cell phone.
"What am I 'sposed to do with this?" he asked as he caught it.
"Call an ambulance, you dork!" she shouted back. 'I should thank my mom for making me pay attention her stupid CPR classes!!' she thought.
Mokuba, in the meanwhile, dialed the number. 'She shouldn't have called me a dork,' he thought. The other line picked up.
"Hello, may I help you?" came a very kind lady's voice.
"Um, hi," Mokuba started. "um, my brother fell in the lake."
"Oh, goodness," said the lady. "Is he alright?"
"Um...if he were, I don't think that silly girl Sophia would have given me her phone to call you."
The nurse on the other line suddenly seemed interested. "Did you say Sophia?" Then the nurse asked, "Her last name is Carmichael, right?"
"Yeah!" said Mokuba. "She's silly, but she's the one who saved my brother... HEY!!! WHY ARE YOU JUST TALKING?? MY BROTHER NEEDS HELP! GOT IT?!?"
"All right!" said the nurse. "Tell me really quickly, is your brother's name Seto?"
"YES!!" Mokuba shouted, frustrated. "NOW GET DOWN HERE!!!"
The line ended. The nurse on the other line giggled a little. She then became really serious and went to alert someone about the call.
Sophia was becoming frustrated. "Wake up, darn you!!" she shouted at Seto, still unconscious. 'I don't think I can help him...' she thought. 'I was too late...how am I gonna tell this to Mokuba...' she started to cry. Suddenly, she felt that chill again. It wasn't like last time. It was different. 'Was it me again...?' she thought. She brushed it off and was about to give Mokuba the bad news, when she heard someone moaning. '...Seto?' she thought. Then she heard coughing. 'Hey, he's okay...!' she thought.
Mokuba ran back to where Sophia and his brother were. "Well?" he called as he was running. "Is he alright?"
"Yes!" Sophia shouted happily. "But if you don't stop running, you won't be." 'It looks like I wasn't too late after all!' she thought. A sudden thought crossed her mind. "Um, Mokuba?" she asked. "Would you mind telling me...I mean, I should think...well..."
"Let me guess..." Mokuba interrupted. "You want to know why Nii-sama and I can't swim."
"Well...uh...yeah!" she said, surprised that Mokuba guessed it.
"...I guess I can tell you." Mokuba said, then he whispered, "But don't tell Nii-sama I told you. He'd be upset."
"Okay!" Sophia whispered back.
"All right." Mokuba said. "You see, it started when we were younger. You're a smart girl, you probably already figured out that Seto and I are orphans."
Sophia felt her heart jump. "Um, I'm sorry Mokuba." She said quietly.
"Thanks," he replied. "Anyway, every weekend, me, Nii-sama, and some of the other boys at the orphanage would be allowed to go to the lake! I only went because the lake was really pretty and it was a cool picnic spot. It was also a great place to swim, even though my brother never did. He would just watch me to make sure I stay out of trouble. You following me?"
"Uh-huh," Sophia replied. "Go on..."
"Well, the thing is," Mokuba continued, "I've always liked the water, but I've never been a very good swimmer, so when I would swim in the lake, I would stay in the shallow part. Now, one thing you should know, is that the other boys at the orphanage weren't too nice...they would always pick on me. Luckily, Nii-sama would always show 'em whose boss!"
Sophia giggled a little at this.
Mokuba went on: "Well, one weekend at the lake, some of the bullies thought it would be amusing to drag me out into the middle of the lake, where it's deepest, and watch me struggle. So they did. It was one of the worst experiences in my entire life. I remember one of the boys shouting to Seto, 'See if you can get your brother out of this one, you dork!' And, being my cool protective big brother who promised to look after me, Seto jumped into the lake to help me. You know how my brother gets...."
Sophia nodded.
"I remember him shouting, 'I'm coming, Mokuba!' right before he jumped into the lake. In his hurry, Nii-sama forgot that he wasn't all that strong of a swimmer himself, so when he got to the middle of the lake, and his feet didn't touch the bottom, he began to panic. The next thing I knew, we were both drowning! The last thing I remember was looking up and seeing the water close over my brother's head. Then I screamed. Then...everything went dark."
"I remember waking up later...much later. It must have been at least an hour, but it might have been less...I was a little kid and couldn't keep track of time very well. I remember a friendly voice, a girl...about my brother's age, I think...maybe a little older. She said, 'Hey, you're okay. I'm so happy...' then she left and came back with a man who was much older than her. She said it was her uncle and that he was the one that saved us. The man said, 'You boys are lucky I came by when I did! You could have been fishbait.'"
Sophia became slightly amused with this comment, but said nothing.
Mokuba continued the story: "When the man said this, I remembered Nii-sama. I sat up and looked around. I was in a bed in the room of a...house, a cabin, I think. A little way across the room, I saw another bed and someone was lying in it...it was Nii-sama! His eyes were closed and his breathing was labored...and he looked pale. The man saw me looking at my brother and said, 'Your friend wasn't quite so lucky as you were. It seems he swallowed too much water. He's become quite ill.' My heart sank. The girl noticed my discouragement and said, 'Don't worry, he'll be fine. He just needs some rest.' I felt a little better after she said that. But, still...after that, my brother and I never went back to the lake. My brother became afraid of the water and I decided never to swim again!"
Sophia remained silent after Mokuba finished the story. 'They must have gone through a lot when they were little,' she thought. 'I mean, having no parents and all...that's probably why they turned out the way they did...Mokuba being so dependant on his older brother, and Seto being so protective of his younger brother...'
"So," Mokuba sighed. "That's it. That's the whole story. But remember, you can't tell Seto I told you! Got that? We never had this conversation!"
Sophia couldn't help smiling. "My lips are sealed, Mokuba." She said.
On the ground beside them, Seto stirred.
Mokuba crawled over to him. "My brother's coming to!" he said, relieved. "Nii-sama...? Can you hear me?"
Seto slowly opened his eyes. He felt weak and cold. At first, his vision was a little blurry, then he saw someone who looked like Mokuba. "...M-Mo-ku- ba...?" he stammered, weakly.
"Nii-sama!!" Mokuba shouted. "You're okay!!"
"...Wha...What happened?" Seto asked.
"We fell in the lake and you drowned!" Mokuba said. "And that stupid girl Sophia saved you."
"Wait...who...? Sophia...?" he stuttered.
"Yes?" she replied. "You gave us all a scare Seto. I thought you'd died for sure!"
"Hey..." he started. "What are you..."
"I saved you!" she said. "You probably want me to leave now, so..." she stood up and began to walk away, when she heard sirens. 'Oh, NOW the ambulance shows up!' she said. She kept walking, though slowly, as if she were waiting for something. Whatever she was waiting for didn't happen.
"Um, Nii-sama?" Mokuba asked. "Aren't you going to thank her for saving your life?"
Seto looked up at his younger brother.
He looked pale and weak, but Mokuba still noticed the look on his brother's face that says 'Are you kidding me?'. Mokuba grinned playfully. "I'm guessing that's a 'no', huh?" he asked.
Seto smiled weakly and nodded.
End Chapter Nine
How did you like the edited version? Was it better? Did it explain things a little more clearly (Cameron...!)? Well, in any case, that's it. Tomorrow, I'll see if I can post the edited Chapter 11...and CHAPTER 20! Ja ne!
This is the edited version of Chapter 9: "Rescuing Seto". Please remember that my fic is AU, so some of the things I came up with on my own.
Disclaimer note: I don't own them...the Yu-Gi-Oh people, I mean. However, ya know who I do own, so leave me alone!
Let the frenzy begin!
Chapter 9: Rescuing Seto
Sophia dove under the cold water. She fought her way deeper, and deeper. It got to the point where it was so deep she could not see where she was going. But that didn't matter to her. 'I've got to save Seto!' she thought.
Mokuba sat up on the dock and watched. He was so nervous he resorted to biting his nails. "I hope she can save him..." he muttered. 'Sophia,' he thought as he stood up and started pacing the dock, 'you better know what you're doing, you idiot!' Around him, the spooky fog started to clear up. 'I wonder where that came from, anyway,' he thought. 'It was perfectly sunny this morning.'
It had been almost five minutes. Mokuba had no more nails to bite and his feet were sore from pacing. He was almost sure he'd worn a dent in the dock from where he was pacing, not to mention having holes in his already soaking wet socks. He sat on the edge of the dock and looked into the lake. 'If I don't see them,' he thought, 'I might have to resort to biting off strands of my hair!' He couldn't remember a time where he was more stressed out than right now. 'Oh! Please be okay, Nii-sama!!' He was just about to give up hope, when...
Sophia finally resurfaced. She swam to the dock carrying Seto, who was unconscious and not breathing. "Hey, gimme a hand Mokuba!" she shouted.
"You found him!" Mokuba shouted. "You moron...! You scared me to death!"
"I can hold my breath for almost an hour if I have to," said Sophia as Mokuba helped her pull Seto out of the water. 'And he sounds like his brother calling me a moron...' she thought.
Sophia pulled herself onto the dock. She picked up her purse, which she had conveniently dropped before she dove into the lake. She pulled out her cell phone and was about to call an ambulance, when she heard Mokuba shouting.
"Hey! Sophia! There's something wrong with Nii-sama!!" he shouted.
'Yah, no DUH!' she thought, but went over anyway. Just to prove to Mokuba that his brother would be fine, she picked up his wrist...and noticed his pulse was absent. 'Okay!' she thought. 'That is NOT good!' She tossed Mokuba her cell phone.
"What am I 'sposed to do with this?" he asked as he caught it.
"Call an ambulance, you dork!" she shouted back. 'I should thank my mom for making me pay attention her stupid CPR classes!!' she thought.
Mokuba, in the meanwhile, dialed the number. 'She shouldn't have called me a dork,' he thought. The other line picked up.
"Hello, may I help you?" came a very kind lady's voice.
"Um, hi," Mokuba started. "um, my brother fell in the lake."
"Oh, goodness," said the lady. "Is he alright?"
"Um...if he were, I don't think that silly girl Sophia would have given me her phone to call you."
The nurse on the other line suddenly seemed interested. "Did you say Sophia?" Then the nurse asked, "Her last name is Carmichael, right?"
"Yeah!" said Mokuba. "She's silly, but she's the one who saved my brother... HEY!!! WHY ARE YOU JUST TALKING?? MY BROTHER NEEDS HELP! GOT IT?!?"
"All right!" said the nurse. "Tell me really quickly, is your brother's name Seto?"
"YES!!" Mokuba shouted, frustrated. "NOW GET DOWN HERE!!!"
The line ended. The nurse on the other line giggled a little. She then became really serious and went to alert someone about the call.
Sophia was becoming frustrated. "Wake up, darn you!!" she shouted at Seto, still unconscious. 'I don't think I can help him...' she thought. 'I was too late...how am I gonna tell this to Mokuba...' she started to cry. Suddenly, she felt that chill again. It wasn't like last time. It was different. 'Was it me again...?' she thought. She brushed it off and was about to give Mokuba the bad news, when she heard someone moaning. '...Seto?' she thought. Then she heard coughing. 'Hey, he's okay...!' she thought.
Mokuba ran back to where Sophia and his brother were. "Well?" he called as he was running. "Is he alright?"
"Yes!" Sophia shouted happily. "But if you don't stop running, you won't be." 'It looks like I wasn't too late after all!' she thought. A sudden thought crossed her mind. "Um, Mokuba?" she asked. "Would you mind telling me...I mean, I should think...well..."
"Let me guess..." Mokuba interrupted. "You want to know why Nii-sama and I can't swim."
"Well...uh...yeah!" she said, surprised that Mokuba guessed it.
"...I guess I can tell you." Mokuba said, then he whispered, "But don't tell Nii-sama I told you. He'd be upset."
"Okay!" Sophia whispered back.
"All right." Mokuba said. "You see, it started when we were younger. You're a smart girl, you probably already figured out that Seto and I are orphans."
Sophia felt her heart jump. "Um, I'm sorry Mokuba." She said quietly.
"Thanks," he replied. "Anyway, every weekend, me, Nii-sama, and some of the other boys at the orphanage would be allowed to go to the lake! I only went because the lake was really pretty and it was a cool picnic spot. It was also a great place to swim, even though my brother never did. He would just watch me to make sure I stay out of trouble. You following me?"
"Uh-huh," Sophia replied. "Go on..."
"Well, the thing is," Mokuba continued, "I've always liked the water, but I've never been a very good swimmer, so when I would swim in the lake, I would stay in the shallow part. Now, one thing you should know, is that the other boys at the orphanage weren't too nice...they would always pick on me. Luckily, Nii-sama would always show 'em whose boss!"
Sophia giggled a little at this.
Mokuba went on: "Well, one weekend at the lake, some of the bullies thought it would be amusing to drag me out into the middle of the lake, where it's deepest, and watch me struggle. So they did. It was one of the worst experiences in my entire life. I remember one of the boys shouting to Seto, 'See if you can get your brother out of this one, you dork!' And, being my cool protective big brother who promised to look after me, Seto jumped into the lake to help me. You know how my brother gets...."
Sophia nodded.
"I remember him shouting, 'I'm coming, Mokuba!' right before he jumped into the lake. In his hurry, Nii-sama forgot that he wasn't all that strong of a swimmer himself, so when he got to the middle of the lake, and his feet didn't touch the bottom, he began to panic. The next thing I knew, we were both drowning! The last thing I remember was looking up and seeing the water close over my brother's head. Then I screamed. Then...everything went dark."
"I remember waking up later...much later. It must have been at least an hour, but it might have been less...I was a little kid and couldn't keep track of time very well. I remember a friendly voice, a girl...about my brother's age, I think...maybe a little older. She said, 'Hey, you're okay. I'm so happy...' then she left and came back with a man who was much older than her. She said it was her uncle and that he was the one that saved us. The man said, 'You boys are lucky I came by when I did! You could have been fishbait.'"
Sophia became slightly amused with this comment, but said nothing.
Mokuba continued the story: "When the man said this, I remembered Nii-sama. I sat up and looked around. I was in a bed in the room of a...house, a cabin, I think. A little way across the room, I saw another bed and someone was lying in it...it was Nii-sama! His eyes were closed and his breathing was labored...and he looked pale. The man saw me looking at my brother and said, 'Your friend wasn't quite so lucky as you were. It seems he swallowed too much water. He's become quite ill.' My heart sank. The girl noticed my discouragement and said, 'Don't worry, he'll be fine. He just needs some rest.' I felt a little better after she said that. But, still...after that, my brother and I never went back to the lake. My brother became afraid of the water and I decided never to swim again!"
Sophia remained silent after Mokuba finished the story. 'They must have gone through a lot when they were little,' she thought. 'I mean, having no parents and all...that's probably why they turned out the way they did...Mokuba being so dependant on his older brother, and Seto being so protective of his younger brother...'
"So," Mokuba sighed. "That's it. That's the whole story. But remember, you can't tell Seto I told you! Got that? We never had this conversation!"
Sophia couldn't help smiling. "My lips are sealed, Mokuba." She said.
On the ground beside them, Seto stirred.
Mokuba crawled over to him. "My brother's coming to!" he said, relieved. "Nii-sama...? Can you hear me?"
Seto slowly opened his eyes. He felt weak and cold. At first, his vision was a little blurry, then he saw someone who looked like Mokuba. "...M-Mo-ku- ba...?" he stammered, weakly.
"Nii-sama!!" Mokuba shouted. "You're okay!!"
"...Wha...What happened?" Seto asked.
"We fell in the lake and you drowned!" Mokuba said. "And that stupid girl Sophia saved you."
"Wait...who...? Sophia...?" he stuttered.
"Yes?" she replied. "You gave us all a scare Seto. I thought you'd died for sure!"
"Hey..." he started. "What are you..."
"I saved you!" she said. "You probably want me to leave now, so..." she stood up and began to walk away, when she heard sirens. 'Oh, NOW the ambulance shows up!' she said. She kept walking, though slowly, as if she were waiting for something. Whatever she was waiting for didn't happen.
"Um, Nii-sama?" Mokuba asked. "Aren't you going to thank her for saving your life?"
Seto looked up at his younger brother.
He looked pale and weak, but Mokuba still noticed the look on his brother's face that says 'Are you kidding me?'. Mokuba grinned playfully. "I'm guessing that's a 'no', huh?" he asked.
Seto smiled weakly and nodded.
End Chapter Nine
How did you like the edited version? Was it better? Did it explain things a little more clearly (Cameron...!)? Well, in any case, that's it. Tomorrow, I'll see if I can post the edited Chapter 11...and CHAPTER 20! Ja ne!
