WSJ: *grin* Well, welcome back. ^^ This chapter promises to be a really great one. Ren faires are a lot of fun, so of course it's natural for me to send Gwen-tachi to one as soon as I get the chance. And no, Gwen's faire garb isn't the same as mine. I wear a tan skirt with a white shirt and a buckskin vest. I do wear about ten tons of jewelry with it, though.

Bakura: *rolls eyes* Would you get on with it?!

WSJ: Sure sure. *pokes Ryou* Disclaimer!

Ryou: *sweatdrop* You notice this keeps getting longer as the fic goes on? WSJ does not own YGO, nor does she own Sailor Moon. Amoura, Lisa, and Amoura's immediate family belong to Brood Mayran. Sekil and his siblings belong to Ebony Kuroneko. Gwen and various OCs belong to SJ. SJ also owns Amoura's various cousins, although I don't think she really wants them.

WSJ: *runs through, chasing Amoura's extended family with a squeaky blow-up hammer from Kaiba Land* Diiiiiie!!!!!!

Ryou & Bakura: Oo; *back away*

Saiyen Jedi: Whooo! ^__^ I loff it all! Thankie!! Hey, do you have e-mail? I wanna e-mail you! I think we may live a lot closer than you think!! *bounces excitedly*

Muse-ic of the Moment: Celtic Angels and Steps From the Highlands, both off of the Celtic Spectacular CD.

()()()()()

Home Sweet Home

Chapter 17 - The Beginning of the End

Quote of the Chapter:

"Aw, look Kat-chan! Anubis is so scared of Yami no Yugi-kun, he's making a puddle around his boots!"
~(Me, sugar high, watching the YGO movie)

Joey was reluctant to let Mai go, now that she was letting him hold her again, but she promised she'd drop by to see him once he got home. So he let her pick up her bag and leave, turning back at the doors to wave at him and blow him a kiss. Grinning foolishly, Joey mimed catching it and holding it to his heart. Mai smiled at him, and then with one final wave she was gone.

Joey only had a minute to gaze at where she'd disappeared, because almost as soon as she'd gone someone pushed him from behind, sending him sprawling across the couch where he and Mai had been sitting. He yelped as he fell against his stitches, but miraculously he didn't feel anything pop. He sat up quickly and turned to face whoever had pushed him, eyes smoldering. "Hey! Who do you think you-"

His voice died in his throat as he beheld his cousin Scott standing over him, arms crossed and face dark. Joey scrambled to his feet, facing his slightly taller cousin. "What's your problem, Scott?!"

Scott frowned. It wasn't quite a scowl, but he definitely wasn't pleased. "Oh, maybe... you?"

Joey frowned as well. "What'd I do?" he asked, although he had a suspicion that he knew. Quietly, he gulped, wondering if Mai would still love him if he was black and blue. No way could he fight off Scott with stitches in his side. Hell, it'd be hard for him to fight Scott off if he was in top condition!

Scott's eyes narrowed. "Damnit Joey! You had your chance, and you blew it! What makes you think you can just waltz right back in and pick up where you left off?!"

"Hey, Mai's the one who's got choice, here, and she chose me!"

Scott growled. "Only because you had to go and play dumb hero. I was working on a way to take that gang leader out without having to resort to bloodshed! I should have been the one Mai kissed just now!"

"Oh, yeah?" Joey couldn't help but smirk. "News flash, it wasn't."

"If you weren't already busted up," Scott said darkly. "I'd hit you."

Joey blinked and gulped a little, his smirk disappearing from his face. "Over a woman?"

Scott's temper snapped. "You jerk! Mai's not just a woman! If that's how you see her, you don't deserve her at all!"

"I know very well what she is!" Joey shot back, his own temper wearing dangerously thin. "She's a kind, courageous woman, who's willing to fight to make her dreams come true! She knows her limitations and her talents, and I think she knows her heart well enough to know who she loves! One guess as to who that is, Scott."

"Me," Scott hissed, grabbing Joey by the collar but managing to refrain himself from hitting his cousin. "She danced with me, kissed me, and loved me once, Joey. I can win her love again."

Joey stared his cousin in the eye, unflinching. "You're on."

"Children!"

Joey and Scott pushed away from each other to see Serenity and Yugi standing by with the bags. Yugi was blinking, as if unsure of what he should do, but Serenity was frowning, with her hands planted firmly on her hips. "If you boys could kindly stop your schoolyard squabbles, Yugi and Joey and I have a plane to catch!"

Joey blushed a little, and Scott looked down at his toes, running a hand through his hair. "Sorry Serenity..." they both muttered. Yugi snickered a little, which only earned him a glare from both of them.

Instantly Serenity's face transformed into one of cheerful brilliance. "Why thank you! Joey, there's no way you're lifting anything. Scott, would you pleeease help me carry my bags to the car?" She fluttered her eyelashes, and Scott sweatdropped.

"Sere', you know I hate it when you give me the eyes..." Following along behind the trio, Scott stared at Joey's back. Feeling his gaze, Joey turned around and shot him a look, which Scott returned. Serenity just sighed and massaged her temples, wondering which of them would need to be castrated first.

-()-

"Ugh..."

Mokuba glanced over at Rebecca, concern on his face. "Are you all right?"

//No. I hate roller coasters, and you know it,//

/I didn't ask you!/

"I'm fine," Rebecca said with a sigh. "But do you realize we're going back to school in less than two weeks?" Lisa and Mokuba groaned too.

All three of them were strolling along the midway, their Kami no Kardos draped over their shoulders. After a few roller coasters, Mokuba had given in to Seto's mental demands and suggested they go play some more games. Mokuba had won a Change of Heart plushie that he planned to give to Ryou, as well as a little Toon Blue Eyes that Seto had demanded he burn. Lisa had a Harpie Lady and a Lady of Faith, and Rebecca was towing a Magician of Black Chaos, Magician of Faith, and Gemini Elf.

"Aw cripes..." Lisa muttered. "School bad..."

Rebecca sighed. "No kidding... But at least I'll have Mokie-kun to help me with my homework!" She grinned. Arthur was still in Egypt, so until further notice she was still staying at the Kaibas'.

Lisa giggled at them. It was beginning to get late, so they were beginning to drift toward the exit so they could go home. They walked on in silence for awhile, until Lisa spoke up. "Thanks for bringing us, Mokie-kun. I had a lot of fun today."

"Me too." Rebecca agreed. The two girls grinned at each other, and then leaned over to give a suddenly blushing Mokuba a kiss on each cheek.

In his soulroom, Seto sighed and rolled over. He was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, for once wishing that Ryou hadn't saved his soul. He'd done a lot of thinking since last night, probably too much thinking. What if Mokuba really didn't need him anymore? And even if he did...

Even if Mokuba did need him, Seto wasn't sure anymore if he wanted to be needed. What if he was stuck with Mokuba for the rest of his little brother's life? Mokuba would get older, fall in love, and Seto would always be eighteen. Seto would seem like more and more of an intrusion into Mokuba's life...

Seto rolled over again, letting his arm hang off the side of his bed. Here, in his soulroom, he was dressed in a pair of light sweats and a t-shirt, comfortable clothes he'd never let himself wear in the real world. His bed was nuzzled up in the corner of his soulroom farthest from the door, with satin sheets and a scarlet comforter. The carpet on the floor was a deep red too. Other than the bed, his soulroom really didn't look like a bedroom at all. Every inch of wall space not taken up with the door or bed was covered in shelves. A lot of them held books, although some were reserved for various little trinkets and do-dads, a few held framed photos, and one had a suitcase on it with the spiritual equivalent of his dueling deck inside. In the center of the room was a desk, with a comfortable armchair scooted up to it and the various components of his latest invention spread across the top. Over in one corner, piled together, were a huge stuffed lion, a battered teddy bear, an old and worn-looking white stuffed cat, and Mokuba's new Obelisk plushie. There had used to be a giant, floppy-eared rabbit that Seto had been rather fond of, but apparently it had been replaced by Obelisk, because it wasn't there anymore. Seto really had no idea why these stuffed... toys were there, just that they were. [1]

Rolling off his bed, he wandered idly over to the pile and picked up the cat, turning it over in his hands as he walked back to the bed. The stitching was very worn, and in places it looked like the seams had burst and someone had been very clumsy about repairing them. It was hardly fuzzy anymore, most of the fur having been rubbed away. One ear was missing, and the tail hung at a crooked angle. But the cat's blue eyes, original ones or not, were still bright and clear. Somehow, Seto always felt better hugging this stupid stuffed cat.

(Oooooh the symbolism! *wiggles* ^^ See footnotes.)

Sitting down on his bed, he pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged the cat, feeling suddenly very small and very sad. He sniffed, but made no move to hide his tears, as there was no one but the cat to see, and stifled another moan, trying to ignore Mokuba's happiness, which for once had nothing to do with him, welling up and washing against his closed soulroom door.

-()

As soon as they reached the fair grounds, Hiro could tell that they were in for another day of torture. Gwen's driving was just as mad as always, and today it actually seemed a little worse than normal. That couldn't be a good sign.

Gwen yanked them all out of the car as soon as they got there, and all Malik, Hiro, and Ishtar could do was give each other pitying looks as they got dragged around from stall to stall at approximately the speed of light. It seemed Josh had been right when he said Gwen liked to annoy wandering musicians, because whenever they came across one, Gwen had to stop and request a song, and then she made them all stand around while she listened, and occasionally sang along. Hiro had been a little surprised to note that her voice, which was a deep alto, was pretty good. Not stunningly beautifully Mary-Sue-ish, but okay.

It seemed that most of the buskers knew Gwen, and Hiro gathered that she'd been coming to these faires since she was ten or eleven. Most of them were happy to oblige Gwen her requests, which seemed to consist mostly of "Sheebeg Sheemore", "Banish Misfortune", and anything by Loreena McKennitt. If the busker wielded a fiddle, Gwen would usually request "The Skull Hill Ghost" or "Fiddler Girl", which usually brought her laughs, but occasionally a few bars were actually played of the fictional song.[2]

Just after noon, they stopped at a small tavern with outdoor seating for lunch. Gwen had already bought a new necklace, a small dragon statue, and several pairs of earrings from various stalls, and had laughingly declared that they'd better get food before she ran out of money. So they sat down around one of the rough wooden tables and ate their lunch, chatting happily about the faire. It wasn't nearly as bad as Hiro had feared. The general atmosphere was a good one, and he could see why Gwen seemed to thrive under these conditions.

No sooner had they finished lunch and left the tavern when they ran into another busker. This one was a man, tall with shaggy brown hair and a flute case slung over one shoulder. Apparently Gwen knew him very well, or at least Hiro hoped she did, because as soon as she saw him she all but flung herself into his arms, screeching something in English. The guy laughed and hugged her, but then let her go, easing Hiro's jealousy a little.

"This is Banyon," Gwen explained to the boys in Japanese, her eyes lit up with happiness. "He's an old friend of my mother's. I can remember him coming over to my house when I was just a little girl and playing his flute for us." She turned back to Banyon, apparently introducing them. She said something else, and he laughed.

Malik poked Hiro in the back. "Now may be a good time to go shopping." he said quietly.

Hiro nodded and tapped Gwen on the shoulder. "Gwen-chan, we're going to go wander around. We'll meet back up with you again later, okay?"

Gwen nodded absently, already chattering on to Banyon, who was already getting out his flute. Malik, Ishtar, and Hiro headed their own way to find Gwen something for her birthday, and just before they were swallowed by the crowd, Hiro had to grin at Gwen's request.

"Play me Banish Misfortune!"

-()-

"What do you mean the Nile doesn't flood anymore?! The Nile always floods in spring!"

Shen chuckled at the nearly mortal spirit of the pharaoh. "Not anymore. They built the Aswan dam to stop it."

"But- but why?" Yami asked, clearly aghast. "The floods brought fertilization to the entire Nile delta!"

Shen and Yami, along with Shaadi and Priestess (who disliked being very far from either Yami or Shaadi) were down in the tomb, where they'd been all morning. Shen was copying the reliefs and beginning work on some of the translations, while Shaadi had begun photographing them. Already Isis was talking of publication, an entire book about the reign of Atemu, focusing on this tomb, the carved steles that she already had touring in the museum, and the tomb that Shaadi watched over. While the enigmatic man had yet to admit it openly, Yami suspected that the tomb Shaadi's family guarded, the one where he'd once taken Pegasus to look at the Kami no Kardo stele, was Atemu's tomb. That thought just made Yami shiver. He had no desire at all to look at his own mummy, which was why, he supposed, Shaadi hadn't excavated the tomb officially, even though he was an archaeologist.

Shen just grinned and shook his head, amused at Yami's questions. This had been going on all morning, Yami questioning Shen and Shaadi about what had changed in Egypt in the days since his reign. The fact that Egypt was now a republic, and not a monarchy, had actually startled him into silence for quite awhile. Far from finding it annoying, however, Shen thought it was funny and was happy to answer Yami's questions.

"Don't ask me," Shen shrugged, pushing his glasses up on his nose as he squinted at a particularly worn hieroglyph. "Any idea what that one is?"

Yami glanced at it, and quickly took it in context. "'Sweet wine'. It's a scripture from the Book of Coming Forth By Day." [3]

"Ah, thanks." Shen said, making a note in his sketchpad. While Shen was the linguist and knew how to read and write both hieroglyphs and hieratic, as well as ancient Hebrew and Greek, Yami was much quicker at deciphering and piecing together the texts on the walls. That was the main reason he was down here in the tomb, instead of helping Fate and Isis piece together pottery, or helping Soloman and Arthur sort through funerary equipment.

Neither sarcophagus had been opened yet, and the canopic jars were still sitting on the shallow ledge that had been carved for them in one of the walls. In fact, all of them, Shen, Soloman, and Arthur included, were trying to think of ways to get around having to put the mummies on display. All of them felt it would be wrong to have Mahaado and Mana peered at through glass, like just another dead body. Yami and Fate, especially, felt very strongly that the mages not be moved from their tomb.

Having run out of questions for the moment, Yami wandered into the burial chamber, sighing sadly as his thoughts turned gloomy. He respected Ryou's father, and Isis and Shaadi and Yugi's grandfather, and the Lady Fate, of course, but to him archaeology was still too much like grave robbing. Poking around in temples was fine, he could handle that. Even going into the tombs to copy scriptures, like Shen and Shaadi were doing now, was fine with him. But taking the goods meant for the deceased and then, the ultimate insult, removing the mummies from their resting places... that was just wrong. Yami would never get used to it. And more often than not, the mummies were just thrown into storage rooms, not even properly cared for while their grave goods and coffins were put on display. Far, far too many mummies rotted to nothing in forgotten museum attics.[4]

Yami growled, running a hand through his bangs. The rest of his hair was flattened and tied down into a short tail at the nape of his neck. By the gods above... To their credit, though, Isis and the others were fighting to keep Mahaado and Mana, at least, in their tomb. And as far as he knew, his own body still rested in his sarcophagus as well. Perhaps that was another reason Shaadi had never had it formally excavated... Neither Shaadi or Isis would ever stand to see their pharaoh's body moved from his tomb. Even Bakura would probably fight for that, now that he and Yami were friends...

Yami snickered a little. Friends. Even two years ago, he would have thought it wouldn't be possible for him and Bakura to be friends. Quickly becoming best friends, in fact, although they still took every opportunity to jibe and tease each other. Thinking of Bakura brought Yami's thoughts to him and Ryou, in some other realm, if he'd heard Ryou's hints right. He wondered vaguely what they were doing, and sent a silent prayer to Horus that he protect them. Their jeep had been found abandoned near Kuru Eruna, and brought back to the dig. Fate knew where they were too, and seemed unconcerned, but surely she could hear the same whining buzz in her ears that Yami could. Something was wrong...

Yami shook his head sharply. If something was wrong, no doubt Ryou and Bakura could fix it. They'd be fine.

Footsteps echoing hollowly against the stone floor, Yami walked over to stand between the two sarcophagi, resting one hand gently on each. Inside these great oblong stones would be the coffins, probably richly jeweled, although that wasn't what Yami cared about in the least. He was tempted to heave aside the stone lids so he could get a look at their masks, but he quickly quelled the urge. The masks that covered the heads of the mummies would probably be wood, plated with silver or gold, but they would look like the people they covered, or they were at least supposed to. Yami wished he could look upon the faces of his friends again...

He sighed and shook his head, stepping out from between them and turning away. Careful not to step into the holes that had been used to hold their staffs upright, he turned to face the canopic jars, trying not to feel sick as he thought about what lay in them. These jars were a beautiful set, obviously expensive and lovingly carved. Mahaado's were of dark obsidian, with shining green micah set in the eyes of the gods that the lids were carved to resemble. Unlike other sets Yami had seen in museums, these were not carved with the traditional heads of the Four Sons of Horus. One of Mahaado's jars was carved as Horus, another as Amun-Re, another as Khnum, and the last as Thoth. Protector, creator, fertile, and wise, whoever had carved the jars had known Mahaado well.

Mana's set were no less beautiful, carved of white marble... no. Hers were ivory! Yami couldn't help but gape. Ivory was rare and expensive in Egypt. As pharaoh, he'd had a pair of knives with ivory handles, and those had been worth a small fortune! The eyes of her jars were set with blue lapis lazuli, and she, too, had a unique set of gods. Goddesses, actually. Sekhmet, Isis, Hathor, and Bastet. Fierce warrior, kind hearted, beautiful, and nurturing. Yes, whoever had done these had known Mana and Mahaado very well indeed. [5]

Suddenly Yami blinked, a stray memory coming back to him. Teana carved small statues as a hobby...

Yami sighed deeply, turning to leave before the memories and grief suffocated him. Rubbing his hands up and down his arms, though it was well over a hundred degrees in the tomb, he headed back for where Shen was probably in need of translation assistance again.

Yami could only sincerely hope that Bakura and Ryou hauled ass and got back soon, before being in Egypt drove him utterly insane.

-()-

It was a week or so after Johnny Depp's visit, and Tea was still carrying around the stuffed dog Jack like it was her first born. Amoura just rolled her eyes and tolerated her. Amoura's little brother, Julien, would be turning three in a few days, and Madame was already putting together a huge, almost gala event.

"What's the big deal?" Tea asked Annalee as the two of them worked on cleaning one of the guest bedrooms. Madame had tried to keep her from helping, but the Japanese girl had insisted. Her French was good enough now that she could hold extended conversations with all three servants, and Valeraine.

Annalee grinned. "Master Julien is the heir to the Letazaut fortune, of course. Madame is a bit of a fanatic about making sure all her nieces and nephews know that. After Master Corwine died, all his cousins started sniffing around looking for his inheritance. Madame nearly had a coronary."

Tea blinked. "I don't understand... Amoura's a lot older than Julien. Shouldn't she be the heir?"

Annalee gave her a strange look. "Miss Amoura is a girl. She can't be the heir. Oh, she has a nice tidy sum of money waiting for her when she turns 21, but she's not the main heir. That title always goes to the oldest son."

"Oh." Tea frowned a little, unused to females being treated as lower than males. "But Madame is an heiress."

"No, Madame is a widow." Annalee corrected as they tucked the corners of the blanket under the mattress. "Her late husband, Master Jesper, named her heir because she was his wife." She shrugged. "I'm not sure exactly why, but wives can be main heirs, but daughters can't."

"Oh." Tea repeated. "So why are we getting all the extra rooms ready?"

Annalee grinned. "Because all of Miss Amoura's aunts and uncles are coming into Paris for the party Madame's throwing in Master Julien's honor. And Miss Amoura's cousins, too. Some of them are arriving tonight, and the rest tomorrow morning."

"Oh boy..." Tea said faintly.

But it was the truth. When she asked Amoura about it later, the French girl didn't look happy, but she nodded and sighed. "Oui, mon cousins are coming to visit from Riems. And Tante Clarice from Belgium. And probably mon cousins from Lyon. And definitely zee ones zat live in Paris."

Tea just stared at her. "How big is your family?!"

Amoura sighed again. "Big. Grandpapa, zee one zat died, 'as three zizters, and a brother, and all of zem 'ave children and grandchildren."

"And they're all coming here?!"

Amoura shook her head. "Non, non, um..." She began counting family on her fingers. "Tante Clarice, Oncle Roy, Tante Sandrine and Oncle Christian, Tante Lena and Oncle Jean, and mon cousins, Charlotte, Sonya, Sally, Nick, and David."

(Tante is French for aunt, oncle is French for uncle. ^^ Just thought I'd clear that up. :p)

Tea's eyes widened. "Amoura, that's so many people!"

"Actually, it is only 'alf of my family." Amoura said sheepishly. "Zee rest live too far away. Tante Clarice is Grandmama's younger sister, and Oncle Roy is 'er younger brother. Tante Clarice never got married, and Oncle Roy's wife died a few years ago. Tante Sandrine and Oncle Jean are Oncle Roy's children. Charlotte, Sonya, and Nick are Tante Sandrine's kidz, and Sally and David are Oncle Jean's. And... none of zem like me very much..." Amoura blushed, and Tea blinked.

"What? Who couldn't like you, Amoura?"

Amoura picked at the fuzz coming off her blanket and shrugged. "Grandpapa vas zee oldest of 'is brothers and zisters, and ven 'e died 'e left all 'is money to Grandmama, and papa vas zere only child. So Julien and I are going to inherit most, if not all, the Letazaut fortune. Mon cousins.... do not like zat."

Tea blinked. "So the people you're calling 'aunt and uncle' are actually you dad's cousins?"

Amoura shrugged and nodded. "It is eazier just to call zem tante and oncle."

"It'll be all right," Tea assured her, seeing how down Amoura was looking. "I'll be here, so it's not like you'll be totally friendless."

Amoura smiled at her. "Merci, Tea."

Tea grinned. "You're welcome."

-()-

"Please?"

"No,"

"Pleeeeeease?"

"No!"

"Pleeeeeeeeeeease, hikari? I promise I won't try to skewer the pharaoh or the tomb robber on it! Only rats! Please??"

"I said no!!"

Hiro sighed. This was not going as planned. They were supposed to be finding their way back to the jewelry booth Gwen had been at before, because she'd been fawning over a ring that had been too expensive for her to get. But they'd been side-tracked, because Ishtar had spotted a stall selling swords. Real ones. Very real ones.

"Ishtar! Put down that serrated edge this instant!"

Hiro was getting a headache. "Would you two just come on?"

"But... they're so nice and sharp! I can't just LEAVE them here!"

Malik sighed. "Fine, you can get ONE. But NOT anything very big! And nothing Bakura would want. We don't want him stealing a sword, Ryou would have our heads. Damn! These things are so expensive!"

"We're supposed to be shopping for..." Hiro stopped. Sitting right in front of him was the perfect birthday gift for Gwen. While Malik and Ishtar argued over whether or not Ishtar was allowed a dirk, Hiro quickly pointed out what he wanted to the stall attendant, who nodded and rang it up. He offered to have it wrapped, and Hiro nodded eagerly. Twenty minutes later, Ishtar had a long sword hanging from his belt, Malik had several new boot knives, Hiro had his present for Gwen wrapped in a piece of felt and hidden in his knapsack, which he'd brought because Gwen had warned him she planned to buy a lot.

And all of them were flat broke.

-()-

After letting Minako beat him at Dance Dance Revolution four times in a row, Duke managed to drag her and the other Sailor Senshi away from the arcade. Of course, they then started to gravitate toward the nearby ice cream parlor. Duke just sighed, silently swearing that he would never understand teenage girls.

Ten minutes later they were all sitting around a table slurping sundaes and shakes. Duke had even managed to buy a saucer of cream for the two cats.

"I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow..." Makoto pouted, stabbing at her ice cream with her spoon. "It's not fair..."

Duke laughed a little. "I only live an hour or two away. I can visit during breaks and stuff."

"You'd better!" Rei said with mock severity. "You're not allowed to go another ten years without seeing me!"

Duke laughed. "Okay, okay, I get the hint..."

"Make sure the Child keeps in contact with us too," Artemis the cat said. To anyone "normal" his speech would just sound like a normal cat mewing. "We're fighting a common enemy."

Duke nodded, slurping on his shake. He still couldn't get used to the fact that these five young schoolgirls were working to rid the world of the same evil Ryou was constantly fighting. It was just mind blowing. "I will Artemis. Fate-sama can get in touch with you any time she wants, so that shouldn't be any trouble at all."

They lapsed into silence for awhile, until quiet, soft-spoken, gentle Ami spoke up. "We're going to miss you, Duke-san."

The others could only agree.

-()-

Despite Tea's promise, things didn't go "all right" at all. All five of Amoura's second cousins arrived that night, and immediately ganged up against poor Amoura. David and Nick, the two boys, were only a year or so younger than her. Sonya was older, in her early twenties, while Sally and Charlotte were both around fifteen or sixteen. All five of them gathered around the couch where Amoura was sitting almost as soon as they came in the door. Tea was in the kitchen helping Annalee and Jacques, at the moment.

"Hi Amoura!" Sonya cooed in a sickeningly cheerful voice, leaning over the back of the couch. "How's my favorite baby cousin?"

"Buzz off Sonya..." Amoura muttered, staring resolutely at the book in her hands.

"Awww, is that any way to treat your best friend?"

"You are not, nor will you ever be my best friend, Sonya." Amoura said, keeping her face straight. "Go away."

"Why should we?" Nick asked, leaning in on Amoura's other side with a wide, too-innocent grin. "You're so much fun to torment."

"I said, go away." Amoura repeated, glaring at her cousin out of the corner of her eye.

Nick mimed being shot in the heart and fell over. "You're so cruel, Amoura!"

"No more than you..." Amoura muttered, mostly under her breath.

"What're you reading?"

Before Amoura could react, Charlotte had grabbed her book right out of her hands and was ruffling through it, David and Sally leaning in to look over each shoulder. After a moment Sally wrinkled her nose. "You're weird, Amoura. This isn't a book, it's just rows of funny symbols. Whoever wrote it must have been really dumb."

Amoura's face heated up as she tried to twist around and reach over the back of the couch to get her book back. Charlotte just laughed at her and pulled it out of her reach. "It's mine! Give it back!" Amoura said, as firmly as she could manage. "And it's not 'funny symbols', it's Japanese kanji!"

"Oooh, that's right!" David pretended to be interested and snatched the book away from Charlotte. "You're an exchange student! Perfect little missy Amoura!"

"Stop!" Amoura nearly shouted. Where was Grandmama when she needed her? "Give me my book back! That was a present from Bakura!"

"Bakura?" Sally asked slyly, and Amoura clamped her mouth shut. "Who's Bakura? Friend of yours...?"

"He's my boyfriend, thank you very much." Amoura said hotly, trying to glare at all her cousins at once. "He gave me that book to read so I wouldn't be bored while I sat around waiting for my leg to heal."

"So where is he nooow?" Sonya asked, looking around slyly like she expected Bakura to pop out of the woodwork.

"In Egypt." Amoura said crisply, trying to reign in her temper. "He had some business to take care of, and he's going to meet me back at Tokyo U in a few days."

Sonya sniffed. "I'll bet that's just what he wants you to think. You went and broke your leg, so he got bored, and I'll bet he's off with another woman!"

"He is not!" Amoura shouted, her anger getting the better of her good sense. If only she wasn't bedded down with a broken leg she'd teach that idiot Sonya a few things! "Bakura is the kindest, most faithful man I could ever ask for, and I know he loves me! You're just jealous because no man would ever love something like you."

"You little brat!" Sonya hissed, grabbing Amoura by the hair. "How dare you!"

Amoura cried out in pain at her long green hair being yanked, and tried to twist out of her second cousin's grip. Sonya held firm, although Amoura managed to twist enough to get Sonya's wrist in her field of vision. Then she did the only thing she could.

Amoura bit her.

Sonya screamed, letting go of Amoura and staring at her like she had rabies. The scream finally attracted the attention of the adults, and Madame, who knew about the animosity between Amoura and her cousins, shooed everyone except Amoura out of the livingroom and managed to rescue Amoura's book to boot.

Once all the cousins were gone, Tea sauntered into the room from where she'd been watching at the door to the kitchen, a lop-sided grin on her face. She plopped down on the couch next to Amoura and put her arm around the other girl. "Amoura, I think you've been hanging around Bakura too long..."

-()-

The boys found Gwen in front of one of the taverns, sitting at a round table with the busker from before and another man, as well as a woman. All four of them were engaged in a lively conversation, and Gwen laughed as her three friends came over. She turned to face them, grinning like a fool. "Come on," she said in Japanese (though Hiro noted she'd acquired a British accent from somewhere) "Sit down and have something to drink. Banyon said he'd play for us in a bit."

The shorter of the two men smiled and nodded to them, lifting his mug in silent toast as they took seats. Gwen stood up and hollered at one of the "wenches" in English, and a moment later she came over. Gwen talked to her for a moment, and then the barmaid nodded and walked away. Grinning, Gwen took her seat again and said something to the woman, who smirked and nodded.

A few minutes later the maid returned, balancing a tray with three mugs on it. Hiro had noticed that Gwen already had one, which was about half full, and vaguely wondered what it was the blond was drinking. As his drink was set in front of him, Hiro sniffed it, then took a cautious sip. "Ychh... Gwen, is this alcoholic?"

The American blinked at him, as if to say 'well duh.' Hiro frowned and pushed his mug away. He glanced at Gwen's drink again, and was relieved to see that she had been too busy talking to drink any more. She didn't seem to be tipsy or anything, but a drunk Gwen trying to drive home was the last thing they needed. Not to mention the fact that technically all four of them were underage. Banyon or one of his two friends must have ordered Gwen's drink.

Gwen giggled at something the tall blond guy with the green eyes had said, and Hiro frowned a little in jealousy, wishing he knew more English. A moment later such thoughts were put out of his mind as Gwen turned to face him, eyes sparkling in mischief. "Hiro-kun, do you dance?" she asked him quietly.

His eyes widened and he shook his head. "Huh-uh! No way!"

Gwen grinned. "I'll make a bet with you." she said. "If I can get Malik to two-step with me, then you'll dance with me. Deal?"

Hiro frowned a little. Getting Malik to dance was about like getting an elephant to say 'excuse me' after it sneezed. He grinned. "Deal. And if you can't get Malik to dance, I get to drive home."

Gwen pouted a little, but sighed and nodded. A moment later her grin was back. "Bethie and I are going to have some fun first, then I'll try and coax Malik into dancing with me." she decided. She then turned to the three rennies, and started speaking English again. The tall blond guy laughed, and Banyon grinned. The woman, Bethie, grinned too, and nodded. She and Gwen stood up and went toward one of the long tables that was set up in the center of the courtyard. The supper rush hadn't quite started, so one of them was still completely clear. Banyon turned around in his seat, already fitting his flute together as the blond readied his drum.

"The Galway Piper fading into The Girl I Left Behind Me fading into Banish Misfortune!" Gwen called out in English as she and Beth climbed up onto the table. Hiro's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Oh no... They weren't...

They were. As soon as the lively tune sprang out of Banyon's flute, the two women began to two-step on the table, laughing and shouting and generally making fools of themselves. The tavern's few customers and people passing by on the paths stopped to stare, and Hiro hid his face in his hands. Malik choked, and Ishtar sputtered, coughing as he inhaled his drink.

Gwen and Beth laughed, having the time of their lives as they kicked up their heels to the lively Celtic tune Banyon was playing. Gwen's shawl was jingling madly, playing a rowdy counter-tune to Banyon's flute. Although Hiro was staring at them like they had two heads, after the initial surprise wore off, Malik started clapping his hands to the beat. Ishtar, who was already on his second mug of ale, was grinning and yelling lecherous suggestions to the girls in Japanese, and dodging whacks from Hiro or Malik every now and then. Vaguely, Hiro wondered if they should relieve him of his new sword.

Gwen just laughed, and at one point, as she and Beth neared the opposite end of the table, there was a wooden mug sitting forlornly on the edge of the table. Letting go of Beth's hand briefly, the blond danced ahead. Spinning wildly, her skirts flaring up around her, she hit the mug with the toe of her boot and sent it flying directly into Ishtar's face, making him yelp in pain. She never missed a step in the dance, and swung back around to partner Beth again as the audience clapped and hollered in appreciation.

As they'd climbed up onto the table, Beth had thrown down a tattered hat at one end of the table. Now the passing people had mostly stopped to watch, and a lot of them were throwing coins into the hat! Hiro blinked, not having expected that. These people actually thought two women dancing on a tabletop were good entertainment? Well, they were pretty good... And this was a ren faire...

"Malik!" Gwen called from the table, out of breath and panting, although she was still dancing. "Beth's getting tired, so come dance with me!"

Malik's eyes nearly popped out of his skull, and he held his hands up defensively. "Oooh no, you are not getting me up there! Besides, I don't know how!"

Gwen blew a raspberry at him. "Nonsense! Come on, if I can do it, surely you can do it! They don't call it a two-step for nothing."

Malik frowned. She had a good point. "No." he said, stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest. "No way in seven hells."

Gwen actually looked disappointed, but Hiro wondered how much of that was acting and how much of that was real. "Aw, all right then... Ishtar, dance with me!"

Ishtar, who'd been drinking steadily, gave a lecherous grin and tried to stand up, decidedly unsteadily. "You bet!"

Malik twitched a little. Awww hell... He couldn't let Ishtar dance with her. Cursing Gwen's cleverness and his own gentlemanly instincts, Malik pounded Ishtar into the ground and then walked toward the table. The crowd cheered, seeing a new partner come up, and Beth hopped off the table as Banyon finished the song with a flourish. Gwen, her chest heaving and eyes bright as she tried to catch her breath, held out a hand to help Malik up. "Thanks Malik! You've just made Hiro lose a bet!" She grinned, and Malik blinked, looking back to where Hiro was repeatedly pounding his head against the table.

Beth had gone to join her friends, and had picked up a guitar. Gwen seemed to be thinking, as she and Malik stood on the table and the crowd waited for whatever may come. "Tamlin's Reel into Celtic Angels, and finish with the Loreena McKennitt set you guys were playing earlier." she called in English. Banyon, Beth, and the blond guy nodded, and immediately began to play.

Before Malik even had the chance to yelp, Gwen had grabbed his hands and was spinning him down the length of the table. For a moment he panicked, before his feet caught the rhythm of the song. It really wasn't as hard as it looked, you just let the music carry you along. Grabbing Gwen around the waist, he spun her, much to the delight of the crowd. She laughed and clutched onto him, spinning him in return. Soon the world beyond their table was just a whirl of breathless color as they spun, faster and faster, heels kicking to the music of flute and guitar.

Suddenly, the music changed, and Malik slid to a halt near the end of the table, blinking in surprise. Now the music was almost a lament, and Beth was singing in a clear, strong alto voice. Malik didn't understand the English words, but for some reason Gwen looked a little sad. As quickly as that expression had come, it vanished, and she grinned at him, holding out her hand. "Dance with me?"

Malik shrugged and glanced over at Hiro. Deciding the Japanese man couldn't turn any greener than he already was, Malik put one arm around Gwen's waist as the two began to turn in a much slower dance, but one that was no less lively. Malik's senses told him that this wasn't a love song, exactly, just a slow one.

"Sudd'nly I knew, you'd have to go,
Your world was not mine, your eyes told me so.
Yet it was there I felt the crossroads of time
And I wondered why..."

From there the song picked up speed a little, and launched into a ballad that even Malik recognized, as many times as he'd heard Gwen play the CD. Gwen grinned and sang along with Beth, and as they whirled Malik noticed that the other long table had been pushed back, and some of the passers-by were dancing in couples, now. Ishtar seemed to be looking for a girl he could latch onto, so Malik figured that before too long he'd have to get away from Gwen and give his yami a few lumps with the Rod.

"Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horse's hooves ring clear.
Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot! In the distance! Were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding,
Riding,
Riding,
The redcoats looked to their priming,
She stood up straight and still..."

Gwen's favorite ballad came to an end, and she grinned and winked at Malik before hopping off the table to go find Hiro and drag him onto the dancefloor. She wasn't so mean as to make him dance on the table like she had with Malik.

Banyon, Beth, and the blond started up the next tune, and Malik started in surprise. This music wasn't quite Celtic... It sounded almost Arabic. Standing stone still, up on the table, he cocked an ear to listen. Yes, definitely Arabic. Though the words weren't ones he could understand, the music sang to him of horses and sweat, sand and sun and Bedouin campfires. Closing his eyes, the ren faire and English garb seemed to drift away, replaced by Muslim robes and sand and grit. Slowly at first, and then picking up speed as the music did, Malik began to dance. This dance was a solo, one that no one there had ever seen before. It was a dance that spoke of home far away, of home missed and longed for. Everyone who'd been dancing stopped to watch him, and it was all Beth and Banyon could do to force themselves not to let the music trail off as they, too, watched.

"There are visions, there are memories,
There's the echoes of thundering hooves.
There are fires, there is laughter,
There's the sound of a thousand doves.

Ride on, through the night, ride on.
Ride on, through the night, ride on." [6]

But all too soon the song came to an end. Instead of going on and playing the last song of the set, the bards let the music fade. There was a moment of silence, and then someone began to applaud Malik's impromptu dance. The clapping spread, and Malik's eyes snapped open as coins almost poured into the hat sitting almost at his feet. He blushed deeply and scrambled off the table, only to be met with hearty back-slaps and cheerful complements he barely understood.

After a minute or so, Gwen managed to fight her way through the crowd, Hiro in tow. Banyon had started up another reel, something really worth dancing to, and the crowd was beginning to pair off again. Beth got grabbed by the tall blond, and was pulled away laughing, although Banyon was more than capable of playing by himself.

"That was fantastic!" Gwen cheered. "And you told me you didn't know how to dance!"

Malik scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, well, that wasn't really a dance. I was just moving how the music told me to. What was that song?"

"What, the last one? Night Ride Across the Caucasus, by Loreena McKennitt. Honestly though Malik, you were amazing!"

Apparently a lot of other people thought so too. A moment later he was snagged away by a duo of giggling dark-haired Gypsy girls, who whirled him onto the dance floor and wouldn't let him get away for several sets. By the time he finally stumbled back to the table, the supper crowd was beginning to thin and the clock was approaching 7:30.

Malik plopped into a seat, grabbing the nearest mug and drinking it down, not caring whose it was or what it contained. "Ugh... I never want to do that again..."

"Well, the Gypsies are your people, aren't they?" Hiro asked curiously. He'd managed to disentangle himself from Gwen awhile ago, and was now sitting at the table while Gwen danced with the tall blond, who she called Kory.

Malik made a face. "Sort of. Most Gypsies are descended from Egyptians or Arabs, but they're so far removed now they may as well be considered a separate people." He blinked and looked around. "Uuuuh... Where's Ishtar?"

A sudden scream from the dance floor made the answer very clear.

Hiro sweatdropped. "Oh shit..."

Gwen broke off from Kory and pushed her way over, eyes wide. "Was that-?"

Just then Ishtar came stumbling through the crowd, more than a little drunk and with a bright red hand print across one cheek. "...Ow."

"We should go," Gwen sighed, and turned to Banyon, saying something to him in English. He smiled and nodded, but then seemed to think of something and held up a hand to forestall her. The hat had been moved from the long table to this one, and was now almost over flowing. Bayon scooped out a double handful of the contents and offered it to Gwen. She blinked, looking shocked, as there was probably a good hundred dollars there, but took it.

"We haven't gotten that much money from busking in a long time." Banyon said in English, winking at her. "Thanks."

"No problem." Gwen grinned, pocketing the cash and waving to Beth and Kory, who were dancing again. "Maybe I'll see you next year."

Banyon nodded and grinned at Ishtar, who was being dragged away by Hiro and Malik. "No bringing him, okay?"

Gwen laughed. "Definitely not." Giving him one last wave, she turned and followed the boys toward the car.

~*~

[1] =3 Can YOU guess why Seto has those particular animals in his soulroom? ^_~ Dun worry, I don't expect any of you will guess right. You'll find out a lot more about Seto, his past, and his future in the next story. :p So all you Seto fans stay tuned for Yamis of Tokyo U: Sophomore!

[2] Sheebeg Sheemore is a really, really sad song about a feud between two elf clans. Fiddler Girl and The Skull Hill Ghost are two names for the same song, and it comes from a book. Can anyone name it?

[3] Book of Coming Forth By Day - that's the ancient Egyptian name for what we know as the Book of the Dead.

[4] I'm sorry to have gone off into a bit of a rant there, but sadly enough that is all too true. I have mixed feelings about archaeology, and Yami's thoughts in those couple paragraphs are pretty much mine too.

[5] Canopic jars are just that, jars with lids carved to look like the Four Sons of Horus. There are four per person, and hold their internal organs, although I forget which ones go in which jar. Some of them, the heart chiefly, were left inside the body (because the Egyptians believed the heart to be the center of thought, not the brain).

[6] The first song bit was from The Old Ways, the second was from The Highwayman, and the third was, as mentioned, from Night Ride Across the Caucasus. All three are by Loreena McKennitt. ^^ Night Ride is my current favorite out of all her songs I've heard so far, though The Old Ways and The Highwayman are close behind. :D I tend to fluctuate between those three on which my "favorite song" is.

()()()()()

WSJ: *grin* If anyone can find the three book characters that make cameos in this chapter, can give me the book(s) they come from, the author, and the characters' full names... You're amazing. :D Seriously though, see if you can spot them. ^_~ If anyone can name the book Fiddler Girl/The Skull Hill Ghost comes from, you are also amazing. (Bonus points: Why didn't Gwen request Sheebeg Sheemore from Banyon?)

Bakura: *grins and gives Ryou a noogie* Guess whose birthday it is!

Ryou: *gets annoyed and telepathically tosses him off* Mine. Yay.

WSJ: *grins* Aww, don't be so sour Ry-chan! There's only one chapter left to go!

Ryou: *brightens* Oh hey, that is good news!

WSJ:...But then we start on Yamis of Tokyo U again.

Ryou: Aww...

Bakura: So stay tuned minna! The last chapter will be posted September 16th!

WSJ: Until then!

Ryou: *smiles oh so uber-kawaii-ly* Make me happy and leave me reviews for my birthday!

All three: Ja ne!

Chapter 18: WSJ: (V/O) The end is near, my friend!

Bakura: *grin* Well, we're back!

Ryou: *makes a face* And sunburned.

WSJ: (V/O) Home is near, but we've still got a few things to get through.

Hiro: Happy birthday Gwen.

Amoura: Julien, come here. I have something for you.

WSJ: (V/O) And we may just have a surprise or two in store...

Sekil: ^_~ Remember me, minna?

Yugi: Yami, there's something different about you...

WSJ: (V/O) All this and more, next time!

God bless minna-san!