Sorry about not getting this up eariler, but I've been busy with things to do in my own life. Thanksgiving is coming up and that means I'll be even more busy this week. just had to do its upgrading at this time too ... how unlucky can I get?
Proxima Centauri - I'm just curious ... what would you have written instead for the plot?
Chapter 3
In the evening ...
Ruri was in her room, talking to herself. "How strange. Why did I suddenly hear a voice when I was being questioned by those people? And that voice, it seemed like the person knew me for a while ..." She found that that same situation as before had occurred to her again. Each time when she felt fear for something, she would not remember what happened after that. By the time she woke up, she would see that the other people around her were gazing at her with an odd expression on their faces. Ruri thought that was strange in itself but felt embarrassed to ask them why. "Argh ... just forget it!"
She jumped onto her bed and used the sheets to cover her head, as if she thought that this action would help get rid of the restlessness in her heart.
Someone decided to knock on the door at this time.
"Oh? Come in."
The person opened the door as she looked in that direction. It was Yuugi, who was staring at her with a perplexed look.
"Ruri, what were you doing? Why was there such a loud noise at first? You could have disturbed everyone else with that sound!"
"Really? I'm so sorry."
"Is there something on your mind, Ruri?"
"What?" She was amazed that her brother had been able to guess at what she was thinking. "No .... it's nothing ..."
Yuugi saw how she was stammering her responses to him and thought, 'It'll be really strange if nothing was wrong with you, since it's all written on your face!' He asked, "Is that the truth?"
Since he was still asking her about it, she thought for a moment before answering, "Actually ... there is something ..."
"What is it?"
"Onii-chan, if I say anything that appears to sound bizarre in the next few minutes, will you loathe me?"
"Why should I?"
"You really think that?"
"Of course!"
Ruri paused before speaking again. "Onii-chan, I keep getting the feeling that there's a shadowy person surrounding me ..."
"A shadowy person?" Clearly, Yuugi did not understand what his sister was saying.
"What I mean is, I sometimes hear a voice and it seems like the person knows me. Each time I hear the voice, I would not remember anything after that. When I wake up, the people around me would either stay away from me or look at me with a odd expression ..."
Yuugi was startled because he didn't think his sister would discover about her other half's existence so quickly yet it appeared that she still had no idea who her other half was.
"Onii-chan, I really think that there is someone else inside of me and it looks like it's that other person I was just talking about. But ... I don't know her."
Ruri was obviously very worried and confused. Yuugi thought about it for a while and felt that it was time he told her the truth.
"Ruri, listen to me carefully. You mentioned that the person would appear when you felt fear. Why are you afraid? What are you frightened of?"
She began to look back into her confused memories and tried to think back with a clear mind. 'That's right. Why am I afraid? What am I afraid of? Am I afraid that the people causing me this fear would hurt me? Or is it because ...'
Yuugi watched her with a gentle look as he thought to himself that he should help his sister accept her darker half just like how his friends had helped him.
"Onii-chan, I feel that when 'she' appears, she's trying to protect me ... Each time I am being bullied or when I experience great dread, 'she' would emerge ..."
"And then? What else is there?"
Ruri began to intermittently speak the thoughts that come into her mind. "She doesn't just casually appear, and when she does, it's usually only for a short time. She also doesn't use my body to do evil deeds. I feel that she values me very much ..."
As he heard her answer, Yuugi began to smile kindly and said, "Ruri, listen to me. Even if you really do have another person inside of you, you don't have to worry because your friends would never drift away from you for that reason alone. If they do move away from you, then they aren't really your friends."
"What does that mean?"
"One day, you'll understand."
Yuugi chose this moment to leave her room to give her some time to think over what he just said.
The next day, Ruri woke up and discovered that she was in her soul room.
"What? Why am I here? I usually would just get out of bed ..." She began to walk towards the door when with a creaking sound, it opened. The scene she saw in front of her had Ruri speechless. She actually saw another room and on the door was a large figure of an eye.
"What is going on here? Why would this be here?" Ruri's hands moved to grab onto the doorknob as she slowly turned it to open the other door. When she walked inside, she was shocked again by what she saw. Ruri thought she had just walked into a temple that belonged in Ancient Egypt as the walls were covered with smooth rock. Carved on top of them were a bunch of images and script that she couldn't comprehend. She continued to stand there, gaping, until a voice spoke up.
"Who is it?"
It was the voice that she had heard before ...
A Few Minutes Before
Yami Ruri was sleeping in her room when she abruptly roused from her slumber because she felt a presence in her room. With a serious expression, she quickly walked towards the intruder.
'Why would there be someone here? Who is it? What does that person want?'
When she reached the doorway and asked her question, she too was surprised ...
'Why is my other self here?'
The two finally meet each other face to face ...
"Who are you? Why are you inside of me?" Ruri asked amazed. No, she was extremely astonished as she gazed at the girl in front of her, who looked so much like her. The air surrounded the other person had Ruri feeling somewhat fearful. Just looking at her had Ruri thinking that she was so much like her darker side.
Noticing the surprised look on Ruri's face, Yami Ruri was also very puzzled. She really didn't know how to respond to her questions.
"I am your other self ..."
"What?! Other self?!"
"That's right."
"Then why are you here now?"
"I once existed in a Millenium item, a spirit that lived inside of the Millenium jewelry."
"Millenium jewelry? You mean that golden necklace?"
"Yes. Because you came into contact with the Millenium Puzzle, I was revived. From that moment on, I had existed within you."
As Ruri listened to her explanation, she really didn't completely believe her but since the other girl didn't seem too evil, the feelings of dread Ruri felt began to slowly disappear. 'Wait a minute! Is she the one who appears to help me when I am in danger? Perhaps, it really is her ...' Ruri thought silently before exclaiming, "It is you!"
"What?"
"It's you, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's you! Each time I am in peril, you would come to my rescue. Isn't that right?"
"You ... how did you know?"
"It really is you!" Ruri said happily as she ran to hug the other girl. "Thank you." She then released her and extended a hand. "From now on, please take care of me too!"
Yami Ruri watched her, surprised at how quickly she had accepted her presence. She grasped Ruri's hand with her own.
"Very well."
Yuugi went into the kitchen, wanting to go eat some breakfast when he saw a scene he never believed he would actually witness. His sister Ruri, who usually slept until it was very late, was up and about. He rubbed his eyes, suspecting that he was still dreaming, when he still saw her sitting next to the table. It was real! He thought, 'What's going on? Has the sun risen from the west now?'
"Ohayo, Ruri!"
"Morning!"
He was surprised, since the person who responded was Yami Ruri. "Are you Yami Ruri? Where is my sister?"
"Her?" She sighed before adding wryly, "She's still sleeping. No matter how I try to wake her, she won't get up. I was afraid she'll be late so I decided to take over for her ..."
After they had shaken hands, Ruri suddenly felt like sleeping again leaving her other half no other choice but to take over her body.
"Good luck then."
"Hmm ..."
When they reached the school ...
"Oh! How annoying!" Yami Ruri looked very impatient. She usually had very good patience but when she was dealt with such circumstances as these ...
"Mutou-san, how are you? Can you give me your phone number?"
"No, Mutou-san. Ignore him. I'd like to ask if you're free on Sunday?"
"Mutou-san, let's walk back together after classes are over?"
"Mutou-san ..."
'Oi! What is wrong with these people? I don't notice my other half having so many people asking her out on dates.'
(AN: Actually she does have people asking her, but not that many.)
Yami Ruri continued to wonder to herself, 'what's wrong with these schoolboys?' as she answered their questions with a smile before responding with the same sentence. "I'm very sorry but I am busy right now."
At this moment, someone spoke with a loud voice, "It's so noisy here! If you want to argue, do that somewhere else!"
Silence reigned in the classroom since no one really wanted to provoke an angry Kaiba.
Yami Ruri was very grateful to the person who helped her get rid of those annoying 'flies' surrounding her. She turned her head slightly and was astonished. "Seto ...?"
"what did you say?"
"Oh, nothing. Thank you."
"Humph."
Kaiba may not have said it out loud, but his heart felt a big shock at the name. 'Seto? Why do I get the feeling that this name is familiar ... as if I heard it before. And I feel like I've seen her from somewhere too. What a nostalgic feeling ...'
The door to the classroom opened and a voice yelled, "Why is so loud in here?!"
"Just great ... it's Chouno-sensei ..."
"Take out your textbooks! We're going to be talking about ..."
When it was halfway through the class, Chouno-sensei abruptly caught a male student passing notes. She was very furious, not at the boy for breaking the rules but at what the note said.
(Hey ... Who do you think is prettier -- Mutou-san or Chouno-sensei?)
(Nonsense! Do you even need to ask? Of course it's Mutou-san! How can that old woman Chouno compare with her?!)
(That's right! If they were standing side by side, it would be like an angel next to a demon!)
(Good choice of words! I think that way too!)
A blue vein on her forehead looked like it was about to burst as Chouno-sensei fumed, "How deplorable!" She thought with wrath, 'Humph. Very well, Mutou Ruri, I'll remember this!' Chouno-sensei gave Ruri a fierce glare as the girl appeared puzzled.
(AN: It's just Ruri now, not her other half.)
'Why is Sensei glaring at me?'
"Mutou-san ..." Chouno-sensei called to her with what sounded like a soft voice, but to the ears of some of the students who knew their teacher well, it sounded more like the ravings of a devil.
"Yes?"
"Please come up here to calculate this math problem. If you are unable to get the answer or get it wrong, you'll have to stay after school. I will be personally helping you study."
The whole class was not reassured by her words but Ruri had no idea of what she was getting herself into as she went up to the front of the classroom.
"Hmm ..." She looked up at the question on the blackboard in worry. 'Sensei never taught us this kind of problem before ...' Ruri began to think hard of the answer or a formula that would solve the problem.
"What's wrong, Mutou-san? Hurry up." Chouno-sensei prodded with a voice that sounded very pleased with herself. She seemed like she enjoyed seeing Ruri worried and anxious. "Well, Mutou-san? If you can't solve the problem, why don't you just say it out loud?"
Kaiba just happened to look up at the board and saw the problem. He thought, 'That old woman sure is cruel. Other than me, I don't think anyone else would be able to solve it in this class.' He also looked at Ruri with interest, wondering how she was going to get herself out of this one.
"Uh ..." She was still struggling to figure out what to do as she kept on glancing at the problem on the board.
Ruri? What's wrong? You seem so troubled?!
/ Well ... /
Oh, are you studying mathematics?
Yami Ruri looked at the problem on the blackboard and almost burst out laughing. Being born and raised in ancient Egypt, these kind of math problems were like nothing to her.
Ruri, let me help you with this.
/ Ah, do you know how to solve it? /
Yami Ruri gave her other half a stare that said 'You're insulting me' as she thought that the ancient Egyptians were the best in mathematics so there was no reason for Ruri to worry.
In a moment, you'll see.
They switched places and Yami Ruri picked up a piece of chalk as she quickly wrote out the correct formula to solve the problem.
The whole class appeared surprised as they watched her write on the board.
'Tada!' Yami Ruri put down the chalk and moved to the side, letting Chouno-sensei check her work.
"It's the correct answer ..." She stammered out.
The class, including Kaiba, were all shocked as they stared at Yami Ruri, who was smiling in self-confidence. The look in her eyes seemed to be telling Chouno-sensei, "How could you even have considered using such a question to test me? How embarrassing for you!"
"Uh ... Let's end it for now ... This class is over!" She literally flew out of the classroom.
"Hehe ..." Yami Ruri laughed.
/ I wonder, did you go a bit too far with her? / Ruri asked anxiously.
No, I didn't! You have to treat that kind of person that way or else she won't know when to stop.
Yami Ruri was still watching the departing figure so neither of them noticed that someone was gazing at them silently. The person's expression seemed to be thinking about something ...
Postscript by Youlan --
Youlan: I have conceived the idea for this chapter for a while now but I took this long to actually complete it.
Yami Ruri: Hmm .. you may be right. But why are the stars in this chapter me, Ruri and Kaiba? What about everyone else?
Youlan: What are you so impatient about? They'll appear in the next chapter!
Yami Ruri: Is that so? Oh! Is Kaiba actually Seto? Make that clear!
Youlan: What do you think?
Yami Ruri: Just as I thought.