Whoops. Sorry to keep you guys waiting. It's been a weird couple of days, kinda . . . But anywho . . . To answer Nightmare's question . . . I came up with Chaos when just writing nothing in particular and she developed over time. Then I started chatting online and her character evolved further. I use her constantly in my RPs.
Gramps looked up from the counter he was washing when he heard the door open and that same bell jingle. Chaos walked in and let the door close behind her. She just nodded towards him and silently walked through to the home section. For a moment, Gramps considered saying something, but then shut his mouth and went back to cleaning the counter.
Chaos bit down on her lip again as she walked into the kitchen. She heard the television in the next room, but she couldn't help but feel her heart pounding furiously in her chest. The Egyptian took a deep breath, and walked forward.
When her shoes hit the carpet, they stopped. Before her, Yami stood dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, similar to her. Chaos looked into his eyes with mostly shock and concern. In her mind, she couldn't comprehend that he was really all right. Yami just looked back at her with a similar expression. But his expression was a little more stern.
Chaos took a couple slow steps toward him, then rushed forward and Yami welcomed her with open arms. Chaos wrapped her arms around him, shut her eyes tightly, and buried her face into his shoulder. Yami embraced her and simply closed his eyes. He could hear her steady breathing. He had half expected tears, but he found none. Yami just hugged her a little tighter.
It felt good to feel Yami's presence again. That familiar aura he always had was welcoming to Chaos's senses. She could also sense the Millennium Puzzle, which was pressing into her body as she hugged Yami. His breathing pattern had aligned with hers as they stood there. It was so comforting to be able to feel him again.
Yami could practically feel the relief from Chaos washing over him. As she clung to him, Yami rubbed a hand up and down her back. Chaos then loosened her grip upon him and pulled away.
Chaos saw Yami look into her eyes with gratefulness. "Thank you," he said softly. "I owe you a debt I feel that I cannot repay." She looked away.
"How could I have done anything else?" Chaos asked. Suddenly, exhaustion swept over her. Chaos stopped all movement to steady herself, then looked back at Yami."Shouldn't you be resting?" she asked. He'd nearly drowned a couple hours ago and he was already out of bed. Yami raised an eyebrow at her.
"What about you?" he asked as he noted the dark circles under her eyes. Chaos looked frustrated.
"I'm fine, Pharaoh," she growled. "You're the one that fell in the lake." Yami didn't change his expression.
"Yes, but you were the one that got me out," he said. "And brought me to the Game Shop by foot." Chaos looked at him with confusion. "Yugi's grandfather told me." Chaos bit her lip, then let it slide. She was now fighting to keep her eyes open, and when they were open, they weren't focused. Yami's brows knitted together as he frowned. He took a step forward and put a hand on her shoulder to steer her towards the couch.
"No, Yami," she mumbled. "I'm fine." 'I don't care if I promised Bakura I'd sleep,' she thought. 'We lie to each other all the time.' Yami pushed a little harder.
"You are exhausted," he said as he forced her to sit on the couch. "And you're still cold. Sleep won't kill you." Yami took the blanket he'd wrapped up in while he had watched TV and wrapped it around her shoulders.
"But we need to . . ."
"No," he said sternly. "You need to sleep." Chaos barely fought him as he forced her to lay down on her side. She muttered a little in Egyptian, then her eyelids sank and closed.
Yami stepped back and looked at his now sleeping friend. With a sigh, he picked up the remote control off the coffee table and turned off the television. Chaos could be so stubborn sometimes. As well as Bakura, and well . . . Himself.
The former Pharaoh walked into the kitchen and his socked feet barely made any noise. Mr. Mutou walked in and saw Yami raiding the fridge. "How is she? She looked half dead when she walked in." Yami looked over the top of the refrigerator door.
"She's asleep on the couch," he said as he rested his arms across the top of the door and rested his chin on top of them. "After I forced her to." Gramps shook his head.
"I tried to get her to rest when she first came," he said as he refilled his coffee mud. "She was a mess you know."
Yami nodded. "That's what you said." Gramps had only briefly mentioned how Chaos had brought him into the Game Shop while he was unconscious, but he had mentioned that much. Together, they had come to the assumption that she had dragged him the whole way.
"And she was making enough noise to wake the dead," Gramps continued as he sipped his coffee. "She was wailing as if you were already dead. Poor girl, I know it must be stressful for her, and you as well. I'm worried myself, but at least I know that Yugi is safe." Yami had begun to go through the fridge's contents again, but then came back up and looked over at the elderly man with confusion.
"Wait," he suddenly said. "She was crying?" Gramps turned around from the doorway.
"Mm-hm," he said quietly. Then, he walked back into the Game Shop.
Yami looked back towards the living room. He grabbed a can of soda and walked back into the living room. Chaos was now sleeping peacefully on the couch. She had the covers pulled underneath her chin and her hands clutched the corner of the blanket. He looked at her with confusion and disbelief.
"You cried for me?" he asked softly. Chaos just stirred slightly and almost rolled off the couch. Yami jumped forward with stealth and prevented her from falling. He then sat back on the coffee table. "Why?" For several moments, he just watched her and tried to answer his own question. Then, he gave up and went upstairs to his room.
Yugi sat on the bottom step and stared at doors. His knees were drawn up and he had his arms wrapped around them with his chin resting on top. His eyes never left the doors.
"I'm worried about him," Ryou whispered to Tazi. They stood in the door between the dinning room and the kitchen. From there, they could see Yugi and they were out of his hearing range if they whispered.
Tazi bit her lip and hugged herself. "He's been there for the past several hours," she said softly. "I hope Seto gets home soon." Ever since Seto left with the promise of being on the look out for Yami and Chaos, Yugi had kept his eyes on the door, waiting for his return.
Mokuba was in the living room, playing video games. He had made an attempt to get Yugi to play with him, but had failed horribly. Feeling that he could no longer help, he went off to the let the others figure it out.
Tazi looked at the clock. The others would be getting out of school soon. She wondered how they were doing. At least they were all right, as far as she knew. Next to her, Ryou sighed.
"I wonder how Bakura is doing," he said quietly as he looked down at the floor. "He always pretends that he's fine. He always hides what's bothering him. I think it is because he doesn't want me to spend my time worrying over him. Most of the time, he doesn't like to be fussed over. But in the long run, he likes the attention when he can get it." Ryou let out another sigh.
"I know, Ryou," Tazi said in an understanding tone. "I know." She leaned her shoulder against the door frame and closed her eyes. /Chaos?/ she pleaded. /Please answer me!/ Tazi had known that her yami wouldn't answer her, but she had been desperate enough to try it. 'You'd better be all right,' she thought.
Yugi closed his eyes for a moment. 'Why won't you come back, Kaiba?!' he thought as he opened his eyes again. He was desperate to hear about Yami. Ever since he'd felt that slight moment of pain and panic, Yugi had been jumpy.
Not just anything could get Yami into panicking. Something must have been seriously wrong, or something must have caught him off guard. Or maybe . . . No, that couldn't be.
For a moment, he considered the fact that maybe Chaos had snuck up on him and whacked him upside the head and it had just startled him. It would have been wonderful if that was it. But something in Yugi's mind told him that things couldn't be that simple.
The tri-color haired teen thought back to what Kaiba had said about Chaos looking out for Yami. Yugi hoped he was right about that. What if Chaos had gotten hurt too? Tazi hadn't said anything, but that didn't mean something had happened. Or what if Chaos and Yami had gotten split up? Maybe Chaos didn't know something was wrong with Yami.
The horrible thoughts ran through the boy's head and threatened to drive him to tears. Yugi buried his face behind his knees and arms. "I want my yami . . ." he cried softly.
Yami sat at his desk and flipped through his dueling deck. It was a little after four and Chaos was still sound asleep on the couch, and the Pharaoh hoped that it stayed that way. She had been so tired when he'd seen her come in, Yami hoped to see her sleep most of the way through the night.
Yugi's grandfather had gone to run an errand and had left Yami to be by himself for the time he was gone. The home was practically a tomb. The only thing that Yami could hear was the sound of the cards being placed on the desk and his own breathing.
"Yo, Yug'! Yugi!" a voice shouted from downstairs.
"Yugi?" another, more feminine voice called.
"Where are you, buddy?" a third voice yelled.
Yami recognized the voices and set his deck down quickly and ran downstairs. He skidded into the kitchen with socked feet as Joey walked in and shouted again. "He's not here," Yami said as the other two walked in. "And I wish you wouldn't yell."
"Where is he?" Joey asked. "The last time we saw him or Tazi was after school when they got picked up by Kaiba. We thought maybe he was sick or something'." Yami winced a little and Joey's loudness.
"Is Yugi sick?" Tea asked with concern. Yami shook his head.
"As far as I know," he began. "Yugi is well, but I wouldn't know myself because I haven't seen him for two days."
"What do you mean you haven't seen him?!" Joey demanded. "Where's our little buddy?!" Yami growled in frustration.
"Would you shut up?!" Yami hissed. He looked back to the living room. Did that boy have any respect for those who were resting?
"I just wanna know what's goin' on!" Joey shouted. Tristan smacked him upside the back of the head.
"He just told you to be quiet, man!" Tristan said in a normal volume of vocals. "If you'd shut up he might answer some of your questions!" Yami nodded to Tristan in thanks.
"Yugi's at Kaiba's for the time being," Yami explained. "And so are Ryou and Tazi. Someone is after Chaos, Bakura and me. It's only a safety precaution we felt we had to take. Does that satisfy your curiosity?"
Joey nodded dumbly. It had come short and quick, and he had been barely able to catch it all. Tea thought to herself for a moment, then looked up.
"Would it be all right if we went to see them?" she asked. Yami shook his head.
"No one must get the slightest hint that they are there," he said sternly.
"How's everything holding together?" Tristan asked as he stuck his hands in his pocket. "I mean with Bakura and everything."
"Bakura's recovering," Yami said. "I'm afraid I almost met with a tragic event earlier today though." Tea gasped.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Does it really matter?" Yami asked. "I'm here aren't I?"
"Of course it does!" Tea cried. "We don't want anything to happen to you guys!" Yami sighed.
"If you must know, I almost drowned," he said reluctantly. "I fell unconscious in the lake at the park. Luckily, Chaos was there to save me." Tristan looked around.
"Speaking of Chaos," he piped in. "Where is she?"
"She's sleeping on the couch," Yami said. "At least she was sleeping. But after Joey's havoc she might have woken up." Joey blushed furiously with embarrassment.
"Heh, sorry, man," he said apologetically as he rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't know." Yami raised a brow in amusement.
"Well, I need to be going," Tea said as she began to walk back into the Game Shop.
"So do we," Tristan said as he grabbed Joey's arm. "We'll see ya later, Yami."
"Goodbye," Yami said as the trio left. The Egyptian then sighed. He turned and walked into the living room to see if Chaos had awoken from Joey's yelling.
Chaos was still curled up on the couch, now sleeping more peacefully than before. Yami walked over and pulled the covers back up from where she'd kicked them off. The other Egyptian turned her back to Yami. The former Pharaoh shook his head and made his way back to his room.
Chaos rolled onto her back, and slowly became aware of her surroundings. She stretched and yawn. She felt something poking her in the back. When the blond reached back to her waist, she found the gun she'd placed there. Chaos carelessly put it on the coffee table, along with the one that had been in her sweatshirt pocket.
After sprawling back out, a wonderful aroma from the kitchen reached her nose. When her stomach growled in annoyance of not being fed, Chaos got up and shuffled into the kitchen. The spirit of the Bracelet had only been half awake when she stepped into the kitchen, but when she saw who was hovering over the stove, she was wide awake.
"Pharaoh?!" she cried incredulously. Yami turned around with a large stirring spoon in his hand. He saw Chaos hugging the doorframe for balance, laughing insanely.
"Well, it seems that you're feeling better," Yami muttered as he folded his arms across his chest.
Chaos coughed several times and sank to the floor as she laughed even harder. Yami just frowned as she held her sides and laughed hysterically. Then she began to cough again with a painful sound. Yami's frown became one of concern and he walked over to her and slammed down on her back a few times. "Breath, Chaos," he commanded.
After a few moments, Chaos stopped coughing, but started laughing again. Yami let out a cry of frustration. "I give up!" he yelled as he chucked the spoon across the kitchen. "You are completely hopeless!" Chaos only laughed harder and she sprawled out on the floor and laughed till she was in tears.
"Don't throw things in the kitchen, Yami!" Mr. Mutou called from where he was counting money in the Game Shop. This only increased Chaos's hysterics. Yami sighed.
"Sorry, grandfather," he called. Yami walked across the kitchen and picked up the spoon and placed it on the counter. He then walked over to the stove and turned off the burner. When he turned back around, Chaos was still laughing. "Why is me cooking so funny?!" he demanded.
Chaos struggled to stop laughing as she sat up. Finally, she was down to merely giggling. "I don't know," she confessed. "Just, it's so . . . Weird!" She began to laugh again.
"Yeah? Well you know what? I'm weird! Okay?!" Yami cried. Chaos laughed some more. Yami let out another stressful sigh. He figured she could use a good laugh anyway, the day had been fairly rough.
"So, watcha makin' anyway?" Chaos asked from where she was still sitting on the floor.
"Vegetable soup," Yami asked as he went back to the soup to stir it. "I think it's done." He turned and glared at her. "But who knows . . . Maybe I poisoned it." Chaos giggled.
"I'm sorry," she said as she stood up. "It actually smells really good." Chaos walked over and looked over Yami's shoulder. "It looks good too. It's a shame I can't cook like that. I'm a disaster in the kitchen."
"Well then," Yami said as he opened the cabinet above him to get out some bowls. "Get out before you turn my soup into paint on the walls."
"You're so mean!" Chaos cried as she stepped back. Yami didn't turn around. Chaos stuck her tongue out at him and went back into the living room.
"Get back here, Chaos," Yami called. "We're getting ready to eat now." He heard a sigh from the living room.
"You just told me to leave!" Chaos shouted.
"I was kidding!" Yami exclaimed.
"You didn't sound like it!" she accused.
"Does it matter?!" Yami asked with exasperation.
"Yes!"
"Fine then! Stay in there and STARVE!" Yami screamed. Chaos broke into a fit of giggles in the next room and Yami let out an exasperated sigh.
Gramps walked in and raised an eyebrow when he saw that Yami was red in the face. "What's going on in here?" he asked in a fatherly tone. Yami glared towards the living room door.
"Well, I was trying to do something nice for a change," Yami began, his voice slowly growing louder with each word. "But someone had to go and be a baka and ruin it!" he shouted towards the living room. Chaos giggled some more, then once again laughed hysterically.
Yami growled in frustration and folded his arms across his chest. Even Gramps laughed a little. "It looks as if all the events of today are finally getting to her," he said quietly. Yami fumed silently. "Well, at least she's enjoying herself."
"Yeah," Yami muttered. "On my behalf!" Chaos's laughs went up a notch and Yami braced his arms at his sides and clenched his fists. Then, there was a small crash in the living room.
"Oi!" Yami shouted as he went into the living room. "What are you doing?!" When he entered the living room, he saw Chaos's legs hanging over the coffee table. He walked closer and saw the rest of her in between the couch and the table. She was still giggling slightly. "Serves you right," he hissed. Yami then turned around and began to walk out.
Chaos tried to pull herself up, but slipped and fell back. "I can't get up," she complained while laughing. Yami didn't turn around. "Help me up, baka no Pharaoh."
Yami marched right back and leaned over her. He held his hands out towards her neck, as if to strangle her, but he somehow managed to restrain himself. Chaos looked at his hands until she was almost cross-eyed. She laughed a little as his hands trembled furiously as they tried to make their way around her neck.
"I should," he said, mostly talking to himself. "I really should. But . . ." Yami took his hands away. "Then, Yugi would probably never trust me again." The former Pharaoh held out his hand and Chaos allowed herself to be pulled up.
Chaos swallowed the last of her giggles and smiled sweetly at Yami. "Thank you," she said in a sing song voice. Yami's narrowed eyes bore into her. Chaos pursed her lips, trying not to laugh again. "Your gun's on the floor," she said as she pointed downward, changing the subject.
Yami looked down and saw that Chaos was speaking the truth. "Where was it?" he asked as he knelt down to pick it up, along with Chaos's gun that had fallen on the floor during her antics.
"Kaiba found them," she said softly as she became more sober. Yami set them on the coffee table, then stood up.
"Lets eat," he said as he turned and walked out of the room. Chaos was not far behind him.
Gramps was already dishing out soup for all three of them. Yami got drinks for them and Chaos got out the spoons. Once they had everything set on the table, they sat down to eat. Both the yamis suddenly grew quiet and went into their own thoughts. Gramps looked from one to the other, but decided that whatever they were thinking of, it was best to leave them to it.
After several minutes went by, Yami looked across the table, over to Chaos. "So . . . Are you planning on stay here tonight or . . ." Chaos looked up with her spoon in her mouth. She then took out the spoon and set it aside.
"No, I'm going home," she said quickly before Gramps could butt in. "And I think you should come with me, Yami." The other two looked at her curiously. "I don't want you to get hurt because of us, Mr. Mutou," Chaos told the elderly man. "You've been more than gracious to us and I feel this is the best way we can return the favor." Yami nodded.
"I agree," he said. Yami met Chaos's gaze and she nodded once. Then, everyone slipped back into silence.