all disclaimers apply as usual
The next morning, all anxiously awoke early. The teens couldn't wait to get to the ski resort to enjoy a multitude of winter activities and the elder men could wait to get to the convention to hear of the latest finds and theories.
The smell of bacon permeated throughout the house. Yami stirred immediately. For some odd reason, bacon was fast becoming a favorite of his. "Aibou. May I?" he asked his partner as he couldn't resist a chance to physically taste the greasy, but oh so tasty strips of pork. Having arrived at the Hopkins' abode, Yami and Yugi had switched places as well as Ryou and and Bakura. Though, inwardly Yugi would've rather Yami remained in control so as to avoid Rebecca's advances, but Yami needed rest...until now.
"Heheheh, somehow I knew you'd ask. Sure. Why not. I need a little more sleep anyway. But remember, you will be in your own form until after we get to the resort." Yugi said as he finished drying his hair and began dressing.
"Would you rather--"
"No, no...I'm just forewarning you that it's cold out there."
"You packed warm things. It shouldn't be much of a bother." Yami winked. Yugi nodded and the two concentrated, allowing Yami to assume his own form.
As it turned out, while Ryou was in the shower, Bakura too, beckoned to take control. He entered the room drying his hair as he met another dark skinned being. "Oh, its you now."
"Good morning to you too." Yami gruffed and contined dressing. He found what Yugi had instructed him to wear...long underwear, a turtleneck, sweater, and two layers of socks, one being of the wool variety.
"You look like an overpuffed penguin." Bakura chuckled.
"I wouldn't laugh. From what I gather, you're going to look even worse." Yami said as he stepped out of the room to gather his share of the bacon.
As he entered the dining area, Rebecca and Tea were busy laying out the food. Rebecca was somewhat disappointed that it was the pharaoh rather than her Yugi that was in their presence.
Joey and Tristan immediately began to dig in, but stopped as soon as Yami's regal death glare shoved the two back in their seats. Yami kept the two from reaching from any more food until all were seated.
As a reward, Tea handed Yami the plate with the bacon. Yugi had told her about Yami's love of the stuff.
Bakura meandered down with his own casual air to the world. He took his seat without a word as others kindly passed him some of the food plates. Sometimes...even the King of Thieves had manners. Grandpa Motou and Professor Hopkins marvelled at the sight of two ancient Egyptians who were total opposites, seated at the same table. Luckily, both young men were more interested in their food than each other. But, the elder men figured the two were likely in truce until they arrived at the ski resort.
Once breakfast was complete, the boys headed outside and packed their luggage while the elders and ladies took care of the plates and prepared for the trip. While waiting, they found that the snow was of a perfect consistency.
Joey and Tristan broke out in a snowball fight. Bakura, finding the opportunity for mayhem, joined in. Seeing Yami standing idly by the van, Bakura couldn't resist. There was no way the pharaoh was going to play manners through this whole trip! But little did Bakura know that the ancient ruler was one step ahead of the thief.
Bakura launched a snowball directly at Yami. With agility of a cat, Yami gracefully slid to the side, allowing the snowball to whack the van. But as he maneuved, he had launched a snowball of his own! Bakura didn't know the pharaoh had picked up any snow let alone rolled one into a ball! It caught the thief off guard. The snowball whacked him between the legs.
Joey and Tristan fell over laughing hysterically as Bakura winced in pain. Yami simply smirked proudly then resumed his stoic stance like nothing had happened.
Before Bakura could exact his revenge upon the pharaoh, the others had exited the house. Joey and Tristan scrambled to their feet to offer their assistance in loading the rest of the bags. Yami had already started doing such.
"What's wrong with Bakura?" Tea asked as she noticed the King of Thieves all pissed off and just standing several feet away fuming.
"He found out that snowballs can give soreballs." Joey replied as he and Tristan broke into a fit of laughter once again.
Both Rebecca and Tea glanced over at Yami. He shrugged with a devious smirk. It was King of Games-1, King of Thieves-0.
On the trip there, Grandpa Motou made sure that nothing could happen in the vehicle. Yami sat up front in the passenger's seat as Professor Hopkins drove while he himself, sat beside Bakura in the farthest row from the front. Tea and Rebecca sat behind the front row as Tristan and Joey sat behind them. Bakura wore an imaginary halo all the way there as if he were trying to score pity points.
Once there, the elder men got out to check in and get their rooms, lift tickets for the teens,etc. As the teens waited by the van, they looked at the mountain looming before them.
"I don't know about you, but this is like twice the size of the mountain we use for skiing with our school's ski club." Tristan said. All had signed up for ski club one year, but where they went was only a quarter the size of the mammoth mountain before them. Even Bakura gulped. He'd never seen such a large piece of Earth before! Yami was equally amazed, but didn't reveal such outwardly. To him, it was simply another challenge to be mastered by him. They watched nearby trails are skiers snaked down them, some hitting massive mounds and doing mid air stunts.
Bakura glanced over at Yami. Yami returned his stare. Both gave each other an unspoken, "bring it on" before assisting in unpacking the luggage from the top of the van.
Within minutes all were headed into the hotel to their assigned rooms. Tea and Rebecca were given a room as was the elder men. Then, the split of the boys. Joey and Yugi in one room. Tristan and Ryou in the other. This way at least the hotel rooms could be sanctuary for the thief or king as it was fast becoming obvoius that no other part of the resort would be.
Once settled in, Grandpa and Professor Hopkins had to immediatly report in at the archaeology convention. The teens were allowed to explore the resort or ski as their lift tickets were good for the entire duration of the convention.
Rebecca and Tea decided to try the ice skating rink. "Do you think it's wise we leave those troublemakers all together without supervision?" Tea asked.
"The pharaoh and thief will likely split from the other two. It looks as though they already have their own plans."
"True. Well, I guess it's okay then. Joey and Tristan aren't that much trouble together, especially if there's sports around."
Meanwhile, Bakura opted to visit the lodge's pub. Yami followed suit, not wanting the thief to get out of sight.
Joey and Tristan headed over to the ski shop for rentals. They were going to try to attract some ski bunnies.
At the pub, Bakura ordered and received a beer. Yami wasn't stupid enough to try to get alcohol. Unlike Bakura, his appearance didn't make him look older. He opted for a nice warm mug of hot chocolate and sat beside the fire that was crackling in the main dining area. He could still see the thief at the bar from where he sat. He also watched skiers as they whisked down the trails towards the lodge. He was studying their motions so that if he too, wanted to ski, he'd master it quickly. It was all a matter of physics, balance, and angles. Not too far fetched for the ancient ruler to grasp.
Bakura, feeling a bit social decided to join the pharaoh by the fire.
"Wanna try some?" he said as he offered his beer to the ancient ruler.
"I know what beer tastes like. Our kind invented the stuff remember?"
"Yeah, but this is European beer. It's much more potent than that ancient stuff we had. Just try a little. It's not often I'm nice."
"No need to state the obvious." Yami replied as his curiousity got the better of him. He took a drink of it and nearly choked. He wasn't ready for exactly how strong it was!
"Heheheh, see. Now, next meal, we go to that fancy restaurant in the hotel and get wine, got it?"
"They won't serve me wine thief."
"Then I'll get it another way." Bakura smirked.
Yami rolled his eyes. "It's your funeral."
"Whatever that's supposed to mean. I'm already dead." Bakura said as both thief and king turned their attentions towards the action outside. "So that is skiing eh? Doesn't look hard at all."
Then they saw a skier lose his balance and careen uncontrollably down the hill before coming to a stop in a most uncomfortable position.
"Hmm, it appears harder than it looks. Trick is not to fall at all costs." Yami stated as he sipped his cocoa once again. The falling guy made him cold just watching him.
Naturally though, this gave the thief a plan of action.
Moments later, they saw a snowmobile go by with a sled on the back and a skier within it. Within the lodge, they heard a couple of skiers mutter something about that guy having just shattered his leg.
"Guess this sport should not be underestimated. It's more dangerous than it seems." Yami commented.
"Your funeral." Bakura commented for no apparent reason. Yami gave him a death stare. He knew what the thief was planning.
"I don't trust you thief."
"When have you ever?"
"I know what you're planning."
"Accidents happen." Bakura muttered. "Well, I'm off to find those scantily clad females."
"Don't steal anything!" Yami warned.
"Who me? Nah..maybe just some woman's virginity...that's all."
"Good luck." Yami chuckled. He knew that the odds of finding a virgin of legal age in modern times was slim to none.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Guess you'll find out sooner or later." Yami replied as his attentions returned to watching skiers.
Bakura growled and departed. He hated riddles!
Elsewhere, Joey and Tristan were preparing to hit the slopes! As they snapped their gear on, they looked for the easiest trail that could make their beginner butts look the coolest. And naturally, there had to be ladies on the trail as well.
As they picked one out and waited in line, they found a couple of college girls in line in front of them.
"Hello ladies, come here often?" Joey asked. Tristan couldn't believe his friend just opened with the most cliche line around!
The two giggled. "You're not from around here are you?" one said in a rather thick accent.
"We're from Japan."
The other lady spoke. "We're from Sweden."
"Care to join to lonely men on a run down the hill?" Tristan added as both Joey and Tristan looked at each other thinking they were going to score big with two hot Swedish ladies.
"Sure, why not? We're headed down Devil's Abyss. Is that the trail you two are going down as well?"
"Uhh, sure. We just got here. Which one is Devil's Abyss?" Joey asked.
The two girls pointed at a double black diamond (that means serious expert trail for those of you who don't ski) that began at the very top of the mountain, snaked through pine trees, dropped off cliffs, and sported powder snow up to one's chest.
Joey and Tristan gulped. "Uh, actually, we wanted to properly warm up first...down an easier trail to get our muscles ready for the big stuff." Tristan quickly replied.
"Yeah, we're going down this one." Joey pointed.
"Yes, Fluffy Fun is a good warm up run." one of the girls giggled.
"Fluffy Fun!? That's the name of that trail?"
The girls nodded.
Joey and Tristan felt as if they'd just been castrated.
And in yet another area of the resort. Tea and Rebecca had hit the ice with their rented skates.
"What's the odds of getting one of the boys on this ice?"
"For a game of hockey perhaps. Otherwise, I'd say null." Rebecca replied.
"But there's so many of us girls out here. You'd think they'd know where the gals hang out."
"It's their pride. They're limited by that remember."
"Oh, how could I forget."
Suddenly two young men came racing onto the outdoor rink. The first immediately fell on his ass and cursed. The second, shorter guy tried to stop his forward motion onto the ice, but waited too late, he too, slipped and fell on his ass. Yet more Egyptian cursing ensued.
"Was that Egyptian I just heard?" Tea asked.
"I can't believe it. It's the thief and the pharaoh." Rebecca said as she caught a glimpse of Bakura's lengthy white hair and the pharaoh's spike hair.
"What on Earth are they doing!?" Tea said as she and Rebecca immediately skated towards them.
Bakura tried to regain his footing only to find his legs going in opposite directions. He had to choose quickly...fall back down or do a split. He opted to fall again.
Yami, who had, as dignified as he could, regained his footing by using a snowbank as leverage slid back down in laughter as he watched Bakura fall back on his ass yet again.
"Just what are you two doing!?" Tea asked as still laughing Yami.
Yami immediately tried to compose himself, but realized it was worthless. "Uh, hello Tea, Rebecca. Nice to meet you here."
"Don't change the subject. What's going on?"
"Thief there found the dancing girls boring and most unvirginlike, but was told there were virgins on ice. He didn't realize it was an exclusive drink here, not a real thing. But, I figured it was best he learned that on his own. I followed just to watch it play out."
Pharaoh-2 Thief-0
Tea and Rebecca couldn't help but laugh. Bakura continued to curse as he found himself unable to stand in the middle of the rink. He had no props for leverage until--
"Hey kid...c'mere a sec."
A boy about seven years old in full hockey gear looked over at the strange man sprawled out in the middle of the rink.
"You need help mister?"
"Yeah. Pull me over to the side will ya? By that spikey haired guy."
The boy obliged and called over a couple of his friends. They told Bakura to hold on to their hockey sticks as they dragged him to the side of the rink.
Yami turned into the snowbank to hide his laughter only to realize he just got a cold faceful of snow! He stopped laughing and lifted his face. Tea and Rebecca nearly fell over laughing this time. The pharaoh looked like a partially done snowman! These two were most amusing in an element neither were familiar with.
Bakura actually thanked the whelps that helped him to the side. He then started laughing as Yami, still with snow on his face, glanced over at the thief. Yami, already disgusted at making a fool of himself, grabbed a chunk of snow and heaved it into Bakura's face. Needless to say, it stopped Bakura's laugh.
"Will you two stop! You are making asses of yourselves!" Tea said, half giggling.
"Speaking of which. Mine is cold. Later ladies." Yami added as he tried to wipe some of the snow off his face. He then pushed himself fully into the snow and stood. The thief repeated the maneuver. Both brushed snow off themselves then as casually as they could, raced back towards the warmth of the lodge. Bakura, not wanting to lose the 'race' to the lodge tripped the pharaoh up from behind. Yami crashed to the snowy ground face first, thus getting another faceful of snow. Cursing, he regained his footing, caught up the thief and tacked him from behind. Yami's weight firmly stuffed the thief into the snow face first as well while he landed upon the thief. He then sped off to the lodge first while Bakura chose to walk, spitting snow and curse words as he eventually reached the lodge.
Pharaoh-3 Thief-0
to be continued...