Authoress Notes: Between school, watching anime and drawing, I've barely had anytime for writing! You see, I'm in danger of loosing a lot of stuff do to grades and I've got a huge English research paper to write.
Aura (my yami): You're research paper is on how anime has changed over the past six decades.
...but it's a lot harder than I thought!
Aura: :staring in disbelief:
Gr...mean yami...anyway, I'm trying my best. Currently, I'm also working on the DoI contest, the prize being a copy of the DoI soundtrack. I'm planning it on being 2-Disc set and the CD design will be created in my Graphic Arts class. The contest will be a quiz consisting of 10 questions absed on the dubbed anime series, the movie, the manga and on this fic. And I'm telling you all right now, it won't be easy. At least, I hope it won't be! :sweatdrop: I'll be posting the contest on the DMCR site, which you can reach by going to my closet site. But it isn't up yet. I still have four questions to go, based on this fic. I'll try to do second and third prize winners, so don't worry. However, I'd suggest that you all go back and reread this fic, as well start studying the anime, manga and movie! ^^ Seriously, I'm making this easy by telling you all what is going to be in it!
Aura: there are people who don't have the movie or the manga baka. The only reason you got the manga was by borrowing Shonen Jump from that friend of yours!
Gr...Leave me be Aura. I'm gonna go watch more of 'Harlock Saga' now. ::walks away::
Yugioh is (c) Takahashi Kazuki and 4Kids Entertainment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dreams of Innocence
Chapter XXIV: Accepting What You'd Rather Ignore
Malik knew almost immediately that something was up the minute he came into the kitchen. Even his yami within the Millennium Rod knew that something was amiss. And what they saw freaked them out.
Isis was cooking.
"Uh...sis? Are you feeling all right?" asked Malik uncertainly.
"Hm?" Looking over, Isis gave him a questioning look. "Why do you ask?"
"Well...uh...you're cooking."
"So?"
"You never cook."
"We cannot live off of take-out and going to restuarants all the time."
"Sure we can," answered, sitting at the table. "We have plenty of money. Besides, the last time you cooked, you nearly killed me."
"I did not!" Isis protested, huffing.
"Isis, I choked and got food poisoning from the basil leaves."
"It was an accident!"
"Uh-huh, suuuuuure...hey hey hey! You better not whack me with! Put the frying pan down! Put it down! Now! Holy shit!" Scrambling off his stool, Malik ran for it as Isis chased after him with a frying pan.
It was at that moment where the phrase 'Saved by the Bell' in order.
Except Malik got hit over the head with pan just as the doorbell rang.
So...yeah.
Isis grinned in victory as she went to answer the door. Malik went into the kitchen, cursing loudly, to get ice to nurse his sore head. Finding a plastic bag, he pulled out a tray of ice cubes and dumped them into the bag. Sealing it, he placed it over the bump on his head, hissing at the shock of cold.
"-and you can jsut put your bag on the couch. I'm making dinner; are you hungry?"
"Yes I am, I haven't ahd any dinner yet. I had dancing and only had enough time to run home and take a quick shower!"
[Well well well! I do believe I recognize that voice!]
Ignoring his yami's taunting, Malik peeked into the living. His eyes bulged. Quickly, he whirled back inside and leaned against the wall.
{Why the hell is Anzu here?} he demanded, his heart racing.
[Why not ask Isis? She seemed to have planned it.]
{Oh Isis is sooooooo going to get a world of hurt for this hurt.}
[Can I help?]
{I said a world of heart; not a long, painful death.}
[You suck.]
"Why don't you and Malik work in here? There's plenty of room." He heard Isis tell Anzu in the living room.
"All right. I brought some refrence books for our project."
"Well, if you need anything, just let me know. Now, let me get my little brother out here."
"Just one question Isis..."
"Yes?"
"Why do you have a frying pan in your hand?"
"...Malik! Get out here!"
{I'm reconsidering your offer...}
[Yes!]
Groaning, Malik held the bag of ice to his head as he came into the living room. Isis was smiling innocently at himw hile Anzu was blinking in confusion. Anzu's eyes went from the frying pan behind Isis' back to Malik's sore head and then back to the pan.
{I am not going to ask.} she thought to herself, sweatdropping.
"You two can get started on your project while I go work on dinner!" suggested Isis, clapping her hands together. Quickly, she left the room. however, Malik follwoed her.
"Why the hell did you invite her over?" hissed Malik as the swinging door to the kitchen closed behind them.
Isis stirred the soup, tasting it. "You told me about your project and I thought that you two should start on it. And since I have so much information from my digs in Egypt, I found it would be easier if you two worked here. Now get your butt back in there before I hit you again."
"I should report you for child abuse."
"And I report your yami for several murders and thefts," Isis answered simply. "Now get back out there."
"I will have my revenge," growled Malik as he turned and elft.
Sighing, Isis shook her head and went back to the dinner.
"Oh yeah," added Malik, sticking his head back in. "I knwo about your little 'crush'!"
"GET OUT!" shrieked Isis, throwing the pan at him.
Malik dodged back inside the living room, laughing as the pan hit the door. Anzu stared and sighed once more.
{It's going to be a looooong night.}
"Seto? Are you okay?"
Blinking, Seto turned to see Mobuka standing there, his face etched with worry. Seto smiled kidnly and wearily at him.
"I'm fine Mokuba, just stressed out. I've been adding some last minute touches to the new duel disc systems."
"You promise to go to bed tonight?"
"After I finish these details and speak with Crawford."
Mokuba frowned darkly. "Pegasus? Do you hafta take to him?"
"He's running part of this tournament himself kiddo." Seto then chuckled, seeing the face his brother made. "You go to bed kid. You have school."
"All right. Night big brother!" said Mokuba, giving Seto a big hug before exiting his office. Sighing, Seto turned back to the blueprints in front of him. His pencil touched the paper and began to scritch-scratch away.
All of sudden, Seto felt a sharp pain in his right eye. His eyelid closed over it and he flinched. Gingerly, he touched it but immediatelty regretted it. Cursing, he pulled his finger away. "Shit! What happened to my eye?" His fingers slowly traced along the flesh beneath the eye and looked at his finger tips. He nearly choked at the sight.
Blood.
"Are you okay Yami?" asked Yugi softly. Yami blinked, looking over at his light.
"I'm fine Yugi, just stressed out. but I don't know why."
Yugi looked over at the clock and sweatdropped. "Well...it is ten o'clock."
His darker half stared at him.
"You mean to tell me that we've been playing this game of chess for almost an hour and a half now?"
"Yep." Noticing the tired look on his Yami's face, he then said, "Do you want to call this a draw?"
"Well..."
"I know your the King of Games, but this is rediculous," pointed out Yugi, noticing Yami's hesitation. "Besides, I have that test in math tomorrow."
"All right. But let's leave it like this so we can continue it tomorrow."
Chuckling, Yugi shrugged. "Sure." Then, standing up and stretching, he glanced at him. "You sure you're okay?"
Yami nodded, carefully picking up the folding table with the board to the corner of the room, making sure that none of the pieces had been moved or fallen. "As I said before, I'm just stressed out."
"About what?"
"...to be honest, I have no idea," answered Yami with a heavy sigh. "But something is pestering me in the back of my mind, yet I don't know what."
"A good night's rest should take care of that," suggested Yugi, as he went to finish packing for school. "Besides, we'll need all the energy we can get to keep Jou from killing Malik." Yami chuckled lightly, which made Yugi grin. "Hah! I cheered you up!"
Hugging his light, Yami chuckled again. "Thank you aibou."
Seto quickly pressed a damp cloth over his eye, flinching. The bleeding would not stop and he couldn't open his eye.
{What the hell is happening to me?}
*~It seems that you're loosing an eye there kid.~*
Seto nearly shouted in surprise, stumbling backwards into the wall in the bathroom.
{W-what the hell?!}
*~I know nothing about hell, but Valhalla is a land made for warriors. I suggest you visit it sometime.~*
Now, this boy has dealt with spirits and millennium items, being that his arch rival has one of each. However, having the voice of what seemed to be a half-drunken man ring in your head...
*~See here! I am not drunk!~*
"Get out of my head!"
*~'Fraid not. The name's Odin, by the way.~*
"Odin? As in the Father of the Norse Gods?"
*~Yes.~*
"..."
*~Wake up there!~*
"That window is awfully tempting right now."
*~Don't think that! Just give me a minute to explain!~*
"..."
*~So, can I speak?~*
"YES!"
*~Thank you. And I just want to say that the pain'll go away after a day or too.~*
Seto stared into the mirror, blinking his one eye. Then, he let his ehad bang against the sink counter.
{I look like Crawford with this one eye.}
*~Ah...you mean Osiris! Hm, he didn't like that one-eye thing too much. But, hey, you win some, you lose some.~*
"...start talki-er...however the hell your communicating with me."
*~Valhalla.~*
"What?"
*~There is no hell, unless you want to count Hel...damn, she was a pain in the ass, that one...~*
"Great," said Seto wryly. "I got a voice in my head that says he's Odin with a sense of humor. Mokuba's right: I don't get enough sleep."
Seto heard a very loud and annoyed sigh. *~What do I have to do to to this seriously?~*
"By going away."
*~I'm afarid I cannot do that. You see, you have a part to perform.~*
"This sounds like some kind of play or something."
*~Ah, but a fatal play at that.~*
{What do you mean?}
"I'm going crazy, listening to you," mumbled Otogi, covering his face with his hand, his eyes closed. Leaning backwards, he sat down heavily onto his bed. An opened textbook and notepad lay on teh ebd beside him, completely forgotten.
*~You must listen to me.~* pleaded the voice. *~This is no joking matter.~*
"I'm hearing...voices in my head...this is not good..."
*~I know that this is hard for you to understand, but you must listen!~*
"Why should I? This has gotta be a bad dream!" groaned Otogi, pulling his hand away and leaning against the wall where he sat. "That's it! This is all just a bad dream!"
*~This is not a dream Otogi. I, Anu, am speaking to you.~*
"Gotta wake up, gotta wake up," muttered Otogi. Then, he pinched his arm rtaher painfully, voicing the pain. Opening his emerald eyes, he looked around. His room was normal, like in the dream. Pausing for a moment, he listened. Grinning, he sighed.
*~Now will you listen?~*
"GAH!" Otogi jumped about three feet into the air, before falling off the bed.
*~I hope that the others aren't having this much trouble as I am.~* sighed Anu, becoming slightly agitated.
Seated in his chair, Pegasus blinked, looking around the room. In his hand was the newest graphic novel of 'Funny Bunny' and in his hand a glass of wine. As he looked around, he snorted.
"I see dead people," he mumbled under his breath, chuckling.
From behind, he heard a bell-like laughter. You've been watching too many movies again my love.
Pegasus couldn't help but smile as a faint ghost-like figure slipped around from behind and sat carefully on the ground, letting its arms rest, folded on the arm rest with its chin resting in the crook.
"It fits perfectly though Cythina," murmured Pegasus lovingly, gently brushing a strand of her ghost-blone hair out of her face.
And it did, for all over the the room were ghosts and spirits. Now, being the avatr of Osiris, Lord of the Underworld, this was bound to happen. Not that Pegasus really minded...in fact, he was excited by this.
You seemed troubled Pegasus. spoke Cynthia kindly, noticing the tired and stressed look on his face. She carefully reached up and touched his cheek.
"Things...have caught me by surprise my dear..."
I understand...but I'm just so happy to be with ouy once more.
"As am I Cynthia, as am I."
Closing the book, Anzu let out a yawn. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she glanced over at Malik. An amsued smile curlled on her lips as she noticed that he was asleep. His arms were folded on teh table top, his head resting on it like a pillow. Brushing some of her behind her ear, she felt a warm flush on her cheecks.
{He looks so cute like that.} she thought, watching as his gentle breath caused his light blonde bangs to move. Getting up very quietly, Anzu began to clean up the work area. Several books and papers were scattered around, so she had to be careful not to wake the sleeping boy. At one point, Anzu noticed a book beside malik. Very, very carefully, she reached over the boy and snatched the book. However, that was the only thing snatched.
Malik, in his sleep, had reached out and grabbed Anzu's wrist, holding it somewhat tightly. He muttered something in his sleep, but it wasn't audible. Then again, Anzu was too freaked out by this to try and even understand what he was saying. Her face was turning cherry-red as she desperately tried to think of way to pull away.
"Please....don go..." muttered Malik, still asleep. "Stay wit me..."
Anzu blinked at him, her heart racing rapidly. {O-oh boy...how am I going to get outta this?}
Suddenly, something happened next that shocked her.
Tears were forming the sleeping boy's eyes. "D-dad..."he murmured, his face scrunched up in sorrow. Anzu hesitated, watching him. Then, smiling, she sat back down and placed her other hand over the hand clapsed around her wrist. She watched him silently, unmoving. Minutes passed slowly, Malik's face still filled with saddness. Anzu couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"Anzu?" Looking over, the brunette saw Isis walking into the room. The older woman was smiling, shaking her head in amusement. "Been working hard?"
"I guess so," replied Anzu with a giggle.
Walking over to the table, Isis studied the situation. Then, with a grin, she gently pried Malik's fingers off of Anzu's wrist with caution. It took a few minutes, but eventually, Anzu was freed and standing up. "I'm sorry about that. Malik tends to do...stupid things in his sleep," spoke Isis with a chuckle.
"It's okay," Anzu answered with a nod of her head.
"Do you need a ride home?"
"Well...yeah....but I don't want to be a-"
But Isis waved that away. "It won't be any trouble. Besides, you complimented on my cooking! It's the least I can do!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, before any of you start getting confused, here's what's happening:
~Pegasus is the avatar of Osiris, the Egyptian God of the Underworld. Because of this, he can see dead people, like Cynthia.
~Seto is the avatar of Odin, the Norse God of ...damnit! I forgot! I think it's war and wisedom.
~Otogi is the avatar of Anu, the Assyro-Babylonian God of the Sky. Otogi's gifts will be revealed in future chapters.
That scene with Pegasus, kinda reminded me of 'Shaman King'. ^^ Love that manga. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! A whole bunch of things happened and there's a whole lot mroe to come. I think the next two avatars will appear in the next chapter, as well as the beginning of Golden Isle Tournament! Now, I gotta go and work on the English research paper...oh yeah, and I changed my name again. ^^ ~Mae L. Crawford