RESPONSES


Phoenix727

Toli: Hmmm...

Mena: Oh, come on, don't you start too!

Toli: Oh. Sorry. Anyway, about the Joey/Tea...it's still undecided as to whether or not that'll be in here. I'm kind of leaning towards no, just because I'm not a romance writer. But if a bunch of people want it, then I'll see about putting it in. I'll just have Mena write it or something. Even if I do have Joey/Tea in the story, it won't be a main part. It won't even be a side plot. It'll just be a space filler. So, no worries.

Mena: Hey, what's the idea you got from our chappie? Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be cool! And thanks for keeping us posted on what rating our story should be. We don't want to offend or be deleted! Oh, and remember, this is AU, and the people are quite OOC, so that could change Toli's mind on the Joey/Tea--

Toli: Fat chance! Anywhatever, thanks for reviewing.


xcrystalclearx

Mena: Mmp, guess number two don't count.

Toli: But thanks anyway for reviewing! Hope you enjoy the chapter!


Ksaturn

Mena: Thank you so very much for reviewing! We appreciate it! Hope you enjoy the new installment!


Silver Moon Phoenix

Mena: (sighs) I really wish I knew that inside joke...

Toli: Well, get over it! Just think about some of our inside jokes and you'll feel better.

Mena: Okay. (thinks) Wheat! Hahahaha!

Toli: O.o; What'd I tell you? Anyway, you shouldn't kill Luna, even if she does seem to dislike Yugi to an unhealthy extent... (glares unintentionally at Luna) Anyway, thanks for the review.


Masami, Mistress Of Fire

Toli: I'll remember that piece of advice! Thanks, Masami!

Mena: (blushes and giggles) You like my picture, Damie-chan? (looks embarrassed as she looks away) I spent half the night on it...

Toli: The judge? Oh no! How can we warn him? Doesn't he have, like, Secret Service too, or something? Stupid ice and cement, hurting my poor pal! (glares at ice and cement with Masami)


kameeko

Mena: How'd you miss the 7th chapter?

Toli: Mena, don't be mean. They may have accidentally skipped it.

Mena: Oh. True. Well, I hope you've read it now! If not, you'll be kinda confused...

Toli: Weird building, hahaha! Maybe it is! Who knows what it holds!


kristen89

Toli: No, you can't bonk Tea.

Mena: Yugi should be all right now! We're back and the story can continue! So... (hides behind Toli) no reason to bonk us!

Toli: (rolls eyes)


Toli: Hi! Thanks for coming back!

Mena: Yeah! And some of you even guessed who was going to try and help Yugi out. Well, here's news for you! Congratulations to Phoenix727, xcrystalclearx, and Ksaturn, because they all got it right! It's the old man! Now, on with the chappie!

Toli: Uh, disclaimer first, sister!

Jesselda: I'm sure they've gotten it by now.

Mena: Come on, let's just go! WDOY, okay? Let's go already!

Toli: All righty then!


NINE: Meet The Old Man

Solomon Moto yawned for the third time as he walked to his shop to open it. He had been kept up for a lot of the night by the distant gunshots he had heard. He'd heard them before other nights, but never that close. He was incredibly sleepy now even as he grabbed his key off the hook and went to unlock the door.

Suddenly, he stepped right into some liquid. Solomon looked down irritably, raising his foot up. What was this? He knew he should have worn his shoes like he usually did. But he had been too sleepy to care either way. He was surprised to find the toe of his sock soaked with some dark red fluid. For the first time, he looked down at his floor. The usually gleaming tiles were half covered with the same dark red fluid. Despite the accumulation of it all over the floor, it seemed to move in a jagged stream behind the counter. Curious, Solomon walked to the counter and peeked over it.

"What's this?" he exclaimed, suddenly becoming wide-awake. He walked around the counter and knelt down beside the little form lying with its face to the wall. It was some child, it appeared. He couldn't exactly tell what gender, but it looked like a boy. He was wrapped up in a large jacket, and he was lying in a giant puddle of the same dark red substance. It was then that Solomon realized that the fluid could be blood. That was dangerous. From all of the blood decorating his floor, it had to be a bad injury.

Solomon reached out and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. Immediately the figure tensed and tried to pull itself closer to the wall.

"It's all right," Solomon said soothingly. "I won't hurt you." The boy still tensed under his hand, and then relaxed some. "Are you injured?" Solomon continued. That seemed to be a pretty stupid question, but anything could be possible.

"I-I think so," the boy said in a trembling voice. He didn't say anything else, so Solomon spoke up. "Why don't you turn away from the wall, and we can see if you're okay?"

The boy hesitated, as if he wasn't sure what he wanted to do. He finally raised himself up on his elbow and slowly turned to face Solomon. His amethyst-colored eyes were wide and filled with fear, and his cheek was smudged with dirt. He looked positively pitiful. Solomon gave him a quick once-over to see if he could locate where the injury was. The entire bottom half of the large jacket was covered with blood, plus he was wearing dark colors, so it was hard to tell.

"Tell you what," Solomon said, "why don't I take you into my house so we can look a little more thoroughly for your injury?"

The boy hesitated. "I...I'm not so sure if that's a good idea," he said slowly.

"Nonsense," Solomon persisted. "You obviously need some help. Don't worry, you'll be all right."

The boy hesitated some more, and then finally said, "Okay." Solomon helped him stand up, and he winced when he put his weight on his right leg. Solomon half-carried him into the house, leaving a thinner trail of blood behind than the first one. So he was still bleeding? Just how bad was his injury?

Solomon took the boy into the downstairs bathroom and let him sit in the tub. "I'll be right back," he promised, and left. Moments later he returned with a white box.

"All right," Solomon said, kneeling beside the tub. "Why don't you take off your shirt?"

The boy sighed, as if still afraid, and then shed his jacket. He lifted his shirt and took it off. Immediately Solomon saw the injury: a deep-looking gash that stretched almost all the way across his right side. It was still bleeding, and had already formed a small puddle underneath the boy. Solomon was surprised at how small the gash seemed in proportion to the amount of blood that it had emitted and was still emitting.

(NFT: P.O.V. switch)

The man got some stuff out of his first-aid kit. "Just hold still," he instructed, while wetting a cloth with something clear from a bottle. "This will sting some, but it's going to help you later on." He then placed the cloth over the gash.

He was right; it did hurt. Yugi clenched his teeth. He was about to pull away from it when the man removed the cloth. Yugi sighed in relief. Then the man wrapped some white bandages around Yugi's stomach to stop the injury from bleeding.

"There," the man said. "That's better, isn't it?"

Yugi nodded faintly.

The man picked up Yugi's blood-soaked shirt and jacket and shook his head. "We'll need to wash these, along with your pants," he said, as if to himself. "While we do that, how about we find you some clothes to wear? I doubt there's anything in this house than can fit you perfectly, but I do still have some clothes I can't wear anymore floating around somewhere upstairs."

The man helped Yugi out of the tub and upstairs where he looked through a large trash bag and pulled out a few articles of clothing. "These were all giveaway," he explained as he helped Yugi into a room with a bed and a dresser in it. "I suppose you could wear them. And you can dress here in the guestroom while I put your clothes in the laundry."

The man left after acquiring Yugi's blood-soaked pants. Yugi sat on the bed in only his boxers, which happened to be blood-free. He looked down at the white shirt and blue jeans the elderly man had given him. Why did he want to help so much? Maybe it was because he didn't know he was aiding a half-vampire. After a moment's deliberation, he put on the shirt and jeans. The shirt's sleeves came past his elbows, and the jeans were inches too long. Yugi rolled up the bottoms of the jeans and ignored the sleeves of the shirt.

(NFT: P.O.V. switch again)

Solomon reentered the guest bedroom and saw that the boy had put on the new clothes. They looked a little silly on him, but neither of them minded. He sat on the bed next to the boy. "So, what is your name?"

The boy turned and gazed at him. His purple eyes seemed indecisive. Finally he spoke. "Yugi."

"Yugi," Solomon repeated. "That's an unusual name. How did your mother think of it?"

Yugi's eyes flickered. "I don't know," he said truthfully. "She was murdered before I was old enough to remember her."

"Oh," Solomon said. "I'm very sorry."

Yugi shrugged. "It was her own fault, I suppose." He was looking down at his lap, so he didn't notice Solomon's perplexed gaze. "She and my father were both murdered because they were not supposed to be together. My older brother saved me from the ones who murdered them, but now I think he hates me. I think everyone hates me." He paused. "I was shot, and that's how I got my injury. I know that the bullet didn't stay in me; if it had, I would have been destroyed. I don't actually have any place to go now." He could feel tears threatening.

"That's quite an interesting story, Yugi," Grandpa said. "So are you homeless?"

Yugi shrugged again. "I have no home. I guess I am homeless. But nobody can take me in. I'm far too dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Solomon repeated. He eyed Yugi, who looked even smaller in the sizes too big clothes. "You don't look very dangerous to me."

"Oh, well, that's because the sun is shining. But when it gets dark, I turn into a vampire." At Solomon's shocked look, he continued. "Everyone's afraid of me. A lot of people want to kill me. The guy who shot me was a vampire hunter, I think. But I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want to live in peace. I can't stay with anyone, because I'm a vampire; but I can't go home because I'm half-human. I don't know what to do."

Solomon watched Yugi. The boy's eyes were filling with tears as he gazed down sadly at his lap. "Well, I'll say this," he said. "You still don't seem dangerous to me. And, if what you say is true, you don't want to act like a vampire. I see no reason why you can't stay with me."

Yugi lifted his head to stare at Solomon. "You'd take that risk?" he blurted. "The last people I stayed with nearly got killed because of me."

"That's not a problem," Solomon said easily. "I'm nearly past my limit anyway. I might as well make the most of my last years. Besides, I couldn't live with myself if I simply left you to fend for yourself. Of course, it's up to you, because I don't want to force you, but I would be happy to let you stay here."

A tear dropped from Yugi's eye and sank down into the fabric of his borrowed jeans. "Really? Thank you so much!" More tears fell to join the first. "I really appreciate this--I really do..."

Solomon patted Yugi's rapidly wettening knee. "There, there, you don't have to worry about thanking me. I live to help people."

END CHAPTER


Mena: Altogether now...Awwwww!

Toli: n.n; You can tell who wrote this chapter!

Mena: What?! Something sweet had to happen to our sweetie! Readers were starting to complain!

Toli: Well, I never said this was a fluff story, now did I?

Mena: (grumbles)...No.

Toli: Sorry we can't have any more, but any more and we'd be spoiling! But don't worry! Something should be up by next Friday! Seeya then!