The Game of Life
By: Rogue Fox
Part Five... Just A Normal Morning
*+*+*Yami Bakura*+*+*
I stared at Isis. She had barely changed. It had been a millennia, yet, to the eye, she hadn't changed. She was still daring in her choice of clothes, and she still had those incredible eyes. I had mistaken the little girl, Yuki, for her when I had first arrived. I had planned it all perfectly. I had been extra careful when I emerged from the Limbo I had been sentenced to, so as to not evoke any suspicions. I had surveyed the Kaiba mansion, chose the point of least resistance for my entrance. Of course, the power of the gods definitely makes that work easier. My only goal had been to get at Isis. I knew she was freed from her prison. I had seen her, when the little girl tried her hand at the power of the Key of Ra. My heart had felt like it was going wild. She was there, right there. I could have gone to her, had business not interfered. But now, she was there. Standing so close and yet so far away. I blinked rapidly, remembering her skin against mine. She finished her story, and the girl whose wrists' I had in my hands, Yuki, stared at her as well. She pulled experimentally against my grip, but I hadn't forgotten about her. Nearby, Isis's uppity brother sat silently, true to his word. At some point in time, my own little lighter side had entered. He stayed quiet for once, and just listened. He didn't ask any questions, just listened. The Pharaoh's lighter side was also remarkably silent. I wondered if I would have killed them if they had interrupted Isis. The sound of her voice made all the years of pain and nightmares seem unreal. Like I had only left her yesterday. Just yesterday I had climbed out of the bed we had slept together in. Just yesterday I wiped her tears away and made my promise. There was a thick moment of silence as everyone considered what Isis had told and I thought about how good it would feel to kiss her again.
" You promised there were no more secrets." Yuki suddenly accused. Isis let her gaze fall to the floor.
" I... I'm sorry, Yuki. I thought this was dead. I didn't think that you would ever need to know." She whispered.
" Dead?" I echoed.
" No more secrets." Yuki whispered. I tightened my grip on her wrists and she whimpered. She knew as well as I did that I could break both her wrists with one good squeeze. She seemed so frail and thin. I frowned. I didn't want to hurt anyone so close to Isis's heart, but her accusation had hurt Isis. I wondered what punishment was in line in this situation. I couldn't think of any, so I left it at the threat when I squeezed her wrists.
" Dead." I repeated, practically spitting the word. " Dead. You said you'd wait for me. Then, the second you think I'm gone, you run straight for someone else."
" I waited for you! I waited nearly a whole year! And as for Nen, he-" she started, then she stopped herself.
" What? He what? Loved you? Loved you all along?" I mocked. Isis swallowed.
" Can we leave the past where it belongs?" she asked.
" For something that belongs dead, it sure hurts a lot." I said angrily.
" I'm sorry! What more do you want from me?!" Isis screamed.
" What you gave me all those years ago! Your love!" I screamed back, wincing as I said it.
" Let Yuki go, and then I'll talk to you about love!" Isis cried. I released the little girl's wrists and shoved her toward the Pharaoh, who leaped up and hugged her. Isis started to go to them, but I stepped in the way.
" I told you once that I can't breathe without you. I've been holding my breath for a millennia. I've missed you." I said, with more emotion than I had spoken in a long time. Isis looked at me helplessly.
" I've changed, Tepe. Can you love me anymore? Even Nen said he hated what I've become." She said, her eyes telling me of all the pain she had endured. Suddenly, all my own pain seemed small in comparison.
" I told you I always would. No matter what." I reminded her. " Would your Nen love you now?" I asked. She looked away, but didn't respond. Dumb thing to say, I told myself. Life was so much simpler before Isis. I never regretted what I said then. But, Isis had made me something better than what I was.
" This still hurts too much. I can't forget Nen." She whispered, looking up at me. " I'm sorry." She added. I felt like my heart had dropped through the soles of my shoes and into the ground. I swallowed back the urge to wail. I reached out and touched her cheek, but I felt like she was just letting me touch her, not like she wanted me to.
" So am I." I said sadly, then turned and walked away. I was walking away now, but I knew all to well that it wasn't over. I still loved her.
*+*+*Yuki*+*+*
I handed Seto a glass of water to help him swallow the painkillers he was taking for his headache. Yami paced through the kitchen of the mansion, and outside the boys played as though nothing happened. It made me happy to think that to them, the world was no different. They were rather used to odd happenings. Himeko was sitting in the living room, head cradled in her hands. Part of me wanted to go make sure she was okay, but another part of me was still angry. She had promised me there were no more secrets, and then this comes out. Seto swallowed his pills and looked up at me.
" You're sure you're okay?" he asked.
" Why wouldn't I be?" I asked him in return. He stood and hugged me. I sighed into his chest as he patted my head affectionately. Yami stopped pacing as I pulled away from Seto.
" Damn him. He just wants to hurt her with this. I don't think he ever really cared about her at all." He said, frowning angrily. I sighed.
" He did. I was right next to him, Yami. His love for her was almost palpable. I could almost touch it." I said.
" Then why is he doing this?" Yami asked me.
" If you got the chance to tell Mariah one more time how much you love her, would you? No matter what it took?" I asked. Yami stared at me.
" Sometimes, you seem so wise it scares me." He confessed.
" Join the club." Seto agreed.
" Bakura got his chance. It just opened old wounds Himeko thought were closed forever." I continued. Seto wrapped a protective arm around my waist.
" Well, Jou and the others need to know about this soon." He said, as Yugi and Ryou came in from outside, where they had been occupying the boys.
" Hey. Where's Himeko?" Yugi asked.
" Pouting." Yami said. I gave him a disapproving look.
" She hasn't made any effort to talk to any of us." I said. Yugi grimaced and exchanged a look with Ryou.
" Do you think she'll be okay?" Ryou asked. I turned and walked out of the kitchen.
" I'll go find out." I called, walking into the living room. Himeko hadn't moved. " Hi, Himeko. Are you okay?" I asked, swallowing my anger.
" No." Himeko said honestly. She raised her head and looked at me. Her eyes were puffy and red with tears. " Why does this hurt so much?" she asked me.
" Shouldn't I be asking you that? I am the little sister." I cracked. Himeko didn't even crack a smile. I sighed. " I'm don't know, Himeko. I can't even figure my own heart out. Yours is out of the question."
" I'm sorry, Yuki. I really am." She whispered, lowering her gaze again. " I feel like dirt right now. It seems like I'm always hurting someone. I've gotten myself into a fine mess. There's no way out without hurting someone." She said. I felt bad for being mad at her.
" I'm not mad." I lied. She knew I was lying, but I figured it was worth a try. " Just... No more secrets, okay? No more." I said, looking at her helplessly.
" I swear, on my father's honor, there is nothing out there that you don't know about me." Himeko told me with a rueful smile. " Just when I think I'm starting to heal, he decides to show up." She muttered to herself.
" He's gone now." I assured her, sitting next to her on the couch. She shook her head and smiled sadly.
" No, he just left this area. He won't go away, now that he knows I'm here. Poor Ryou might want to move in with someone else." Himeko answered.
" What's this about poor Ryou?" Ryou asked, coming into the living room. Himeko stood.
" You might want to get your rear out of your house for a while, unless you've been making up all those stories about what Bakura used to do to you." She told him. Ryou's pale skin went about ten shades paler as he stared at us.
" God..." he muttered. " I hadn't even thought about that. Yami! I need a ride to my house! Now!" he yelled, storming back into the kitchen to get Yami. " And can Yugi come? Strength in numbers?" Ryou asked abashedly.
" What did Tepe do to him?" Himeko asked.
" I don't think I want to know." I answered, casting a glance at Ryou, who was yanking Yugi and Yami out the door.
" I'll make him stop." Himeko promised. Ryou shot her a thankful glance, but other than that, he was too busy running out the door. That left Himeko, Seto, and I in the house. Himeko left soon after, claiming to be too tired and upset to deal with anyone. I collapsed on the couch.
" A normal morning in our lives." I said, sighing. Seto sat down and began massaging my shoulders. He stayed silent as the boys ran through, yelling their helloes and running up the stairs. I chuckled.
" Yep. A normal day." He agreed. " Loosen up! You're muscles are as solid as rock!" he cried, pressing those hands I knew so well against my shoulders. I obediently tried to relax. " Didn't I tell you to loosen up?" Seto asked.
" I did!" I protested, looking over my shoulder at him from my position laying on my stomach. Seto smiled at me and I smiled back. He continued massaging me, complaining all the while that I was stiff as a board. I groaned as he hit a spot on my neck that was sore. He rubbed it, pressing hard and yet gentle at the same time. This was the Seto I alone knew. This was his tender side he showed only to me. Soon, I switched places with him. He pulled off his casual jacket and laid down on the couch, and I began to massage him.
" And you were saying I was tense!" I cried. Seto only grinned. He loosened up as soon as my hands moved over his broad shoulders, his hardened muscles melting like wax beneath my touch. We stayed like that for a long time, just happy to be near each other and enjoying each other's company. I only stood when I heard a knock on the door.
" Must be Honda. No one else knocks." Seto said, sitting up. A saw a flash of regret on his face, followed by something else for a single instant... I did a double take at him. Was that jealousy I had seen in his eyes? I ignored it and went to answer the door. I opened it and was greeted by the powerful scent of flowers and a flash of colors suddenly practically under my nose. I reeled back a little.
" Honda!" I cried in mock outrage.
" Hello." Honda answered sociably. I grinned and took the bouquet of white and red roses from him.
" Honda, they're beautiful! Thank you!" I cried. Seto slid up behind me and peeked over my shoulder.
" Expensive, too." He added, flashing a look at Honda.
" You've got a one in a million girl living under your roof," Honda explained, shrugging. " She's worth every single bit of it." Seto grinned and patted my head.
" Ain't it the truth." He agreed. I flushed, both pleased and embarrassed by the flattery.
" There's a movie playing down at the theatre I thought you might want to see." Honda suggested. I grinned at him and looked back a Seto, waiting for his approval.
" Sure, go ahead." Seto said, making a shooing motion with his hands. " Get out of here and leave me all by myself." He said, feigning depression.
" Oh, Seto! I'm sorry!" I wailed, instantly sorry I had even thought about it.
" I was joking." Seto with a laugh. " You're way too gullible. Besides, I need to get to work. All the excitement this morning kept me from getting done. If I don't meet those deadlines, they might try to take the company again." He continued, starting up the stairs.
" The I'll see you later?" I called hopefully.
" You're still here?" Seto asked, still grinning. " Get out of here!" he boomed. I scurried out the door, with Honda right on my tail.
" Seto Kaiba! If you find a virus in your computer tonight, it's your own fault!" I yelled, slamming the door, then grinning in amusement.
" Ready to go?" Honda asked. I gave myself a complete look over. I was wearing some baggy, torn jeans from America and a dark blue shirt that had "Angel" written on it with the letters engulfed in blue flame. No make-up, but I never wore that stuff unless I absolutely had to anyway.
" Yeah, unless you're taking me to a ball." I said.
" Sorry, but there's no ball for such a lovely lady tonight." Honda cracked. " So what was Kaiba saying about excitement?" he asked.
" Wow, you don't know, do you?" I said, surprised. Then I related the story to him, including what Himeko had told us and my anger at her for keeping secrets after she promised there were no more, as he drove us to the theatre. I like Honda, I realized, I feel comfortable and happy with him. So why do I feel like I'm not supposed to be here?
*+*+*Mai*+*+*
I watched Jou as he talked with Yugi on the phone. I gathered from Jou's responses there had been an incident this morning.
" Is everyone okay?" I asked after he hung up the phone.
" Well, Ryou's apparently in a big hurry to go into hiding, and Himeko seems to be hurt emotionally, but no physical injuries." Jou said, then went on to tell me the whole story. I popped some dry cereal in my mouth as I listened. Jou had come over to the apartment my mom and I lived early, and I hadn't changed from my nightgown yet. I was still on the couch where he had found me. We had been watching the Saturday morning cartoons together.
" Now, Ryou's gonna stay with me until we can find a safer place for him, or until we're sure that Bakura's not interested in him." Jou finished.
" Damn Bakura. Why couldn't he leave us alone? We were just starting to get over all that stuff that happened." I muttered. Jou sat down and wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
" I know. But there's nothing we can do about it now. Just live with it, and him." He said.
" Still, that was just a mean thing to do to poor Himeko!" I exclaimed.
" Look at it from his point of view." Jou suggested. I crossed my arms haughtily.
" I don't want to. I want to keep hating him. It's easier when he seems like a monster, not a human." I told him. " Things are simpler when you only hate, not love or sympathize."
" But could you live without love?" Jou asked, giving my shoulders an affectionate squeeze. I smiled.
" I don't think I want to find out." I said.
*+*+*Anzu*+*+*
Yami's face was pensive as he drove, silently concentrating on the road. Yugi, sensing his big brother's tenseness, was silent. Yugi had related to me in short, terse sentences what had happened while I waited impatiently outside the Kaiba mansion. Now, I sat in the backseat of Yami's car, feeling the discomfort in the air. Ryou clutched a sack of his belongings to his chest in the front seat, staring out the windshield with a blank look on his face. It had been decided that the best place for Ryou to stay was at Jou's place. Kaiba's mansion was too obvious, there wasn't any room at the Motou household, we couldn't get a hold of Honda, and for obvious reasons, he couldn't stay with either myself or Mai. Next to me, Yugi's slightly broadened shoulders heaved in a sigh. I looked down at him, studying his profile. It seemed like every day he matured a little more. Every day he was a little bit taller. And every day his smile looked a little less forced.
Yami dropped Yugi and I off near the mall and set off to Jou's place to drop off Ryou, muttering about having to be the taxi service.
" I'm sorry about all this." Yugi said, sighing again. I smiled.
" It's okay. It's better than going nuts because nothing ever happens around here." I told him. He laughed, but his mind was elsewhere.
" That movie's probably over." He noted.
" So, let's go do something else." I suggested, pulling him toward the mall arcade. It was something we hadn't done a long time. I loved going with Yugi to the arcade. He was a legend there. He had beaten all the games and knew all the tips. Yugi himself was quite fond of the place, even though every game had long since lost its challenge.
" Okay." Yugi agreed, allowing me to grab him by the hand and pull him into the arcade. I liked being with Yugi. I felt calm and comfortable with him. But he was changing. I was changing. We were all changing. We were growing up. We were looking at colleges, at our futures. And even as Yugi raked in the prizes and we laughed at old jokes and gossip, a voice in the back of my head was fussing about that impending day when Yugi's path would finally take him away from me.
*+*+*Yuki*+*+*
" You call this culture?" Yami asked, his hands over his ears as Himeko made him listen to a CD she had picked out. " It sounds like a stampede of monsters from some tormented child's nightmare to me!" Yugi and I laughed as we browsed through the music store in the mall. It was one of those family outing things that we were supposed to do every now and then. Yukio wasn't out of my arm's reach, inspecting a saxophone with rapt interest. A little farther off, Mokuba and Yoshi were trying to get a sound out of a trombone, to no avail. I smiled and let my hands slide up the smooth skin of a clarinet. I removed it from the rack and checked the reed, then gave it a tentative blow. I played a few notes carefully, picking out vaguely remembered scales. Yami and Himeko stared at me.
" You know how to play that thing?" Himeko asked.
" I used to play when I was younger." I explained, giving the clarinet another toot before replacing it. " It's not as good as mine." I said.
" Just when I think I know everything about you, you surprise me again." Himeko grumbled. Yami cocked his head thoughtfully at a keyboard.
" And I suppose this is an instrument of some sort?" he asked me. I smiled and pressed a single finger on a key. A smooth note drifted from the black keyboard, and Yami was intrigued. He experimentally copied my movement, hitting a lower note.
" Every key plays a different pitch." I explained. Yami nodded, pressing two fingers down at once. He grinned when the two keys sang in unison.
" Now, this I like." He muttered. I smiled and went about showing the younger boys pictures of great composers while Yami toyed with the keyboard, growing more delighted with each note. Himeko found an American pop culture section and was nearly ecstatic. Yugi was reading a brochure full of neat little facts about great musical minds, occasionally directing our attention while he read off a good one. Eventually, he ended up reading out loud to the boys, who made appropriate noises of awe. I checked back on Yami, who had begun to make up a simple tune with one hand on the keyboard. It was catchy, mostly low notes.
" You really like it?" I asked.
" I do." Yami agreed, smiling at me while he played his little tune again. I pressed a button on the console and the tone of the notes changed to that of an organ. Yami was thoroughly surprised, but played on, repeating his little tune. I systematically went through all the tones and soon, Yami was in love with the keyboard.
A week passed with no unusual happenings. If Yami Bakura was out to get any one of us, he was taking his time doing it. Every day after dropping Yugi and Himeko off, Yami made his way back to the music store to play with the keyboard. He tried others, and a few pianos, always returning delighted. I was happy that he had found a medium through which he could express those emotions he bottled up inside himself. On Friday afternoon after school, I had Seto direct his blasted limo up to the mall, where I bought Yami a CD of Mozart's piano pieces. I gave it to him the next day on Saturday, and I found him hours later in his room after Himeko started complaining that her Discman had disappeared. There he was, lounging on his bed with Himeko's Discman on his ears, eyes closed and body relaxed. I could tell he was listening to the CD I had given him. A wide grin was spread across his face, and I didn't have the heart to tell Himeko that he had stolen her Discman. I told Seto, though, and he took me to a nearby store where we bought Yami his own.
If anyone was more pleased than me with Yami's discovery of music, it was Yugi. Yugi was tickled pink with it. He even spoke with me about setting up lessons for Yami so he could learn to play. Yami rejected the idea. He said he had enough teachers at school. Besides, he complained, what would people say about a high school guy taking piano lessons? He did, however, buy several more classic piano CD's, and even a few modern ones, and a jazz that he fell in love with. It made me very happy to know my big brother wasn't spending all his time fighting with Himeko any more. And it helped keep our minds off Bakura.
*+*+*Himeko*+*+*
It was a Saturday night, and the air outside was crisp with the fall. It would be Halloween in America soon, but I didn't know if they celebrated that over here. I had forgotten to ask. I was safe from the cool night air in Ammon's car, my jacket wrapped tightly around me. Ammon was pleased with my choice of clothes for the night, but actually the chill in the air had been what had prodded me to wearing a pair of tight black pants. They came very low on my waist, and I had left the bottom five buttons on my white button up shirt unbuttoned, thus showing a fair amount of my flat stomach. Ammon, next to me in the driver's seat, was wearing a leather jacket over a leather shirt that was fastened over his chest in the same way as mine, except his used an assortment of buckles. His pants were leather as well, and I had teased him that he could make a big black cow out of all the leather he was wearing.
" Did you do your homework?" Ammon asked me, interrupting my thoughts.
" No." I answered honestly. " Neither did you, from the look of your desk." I added before he could scold me. He shrugged.
" I guess you can do it after the party." He muttered. This was the first party we were going to without Yugi or Yuki, or even Seto. Jou and Mai had said they might be there, but other than that, we were on our own. Ammon pulled up to the curb and I followed his gaze up to a house with all the lights on and about twenty cars parked around or nearby. " This must be it." He said quietly.
" No screw-ups, right?" I said, to myself and to him.
" No screw-ups. No talking in Egyptian, no energy balls. Normal." Ammon agreed.
" Boy, this is gonna be harder than I thought." I muttered. Ammon laughed and opened his door. We both climbed out of the car and stared up at the house.
" Shall we, Himeko?" Ammon asked, purposely emphasizing my modern name.
" Of course, Yami." I answered, mocking his tone at his name. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and we walked up the lawn to the front door, our hips bumping companionably.
Hours later, close to eleven, Ammon called to me through the crowded room. The music was booming and I knew Ammon hated it, but he tolerated it. He'd had a steady throng of a minimum of five girls around him at all times. I had been flitting from place to place, happy to be socializing with people who didn't guess at the truth about me.
" Himeko!" my brother's voice boomed over the music. I squeezed through teenagers dancing, talking, and a few making out. I finally located Ammon in the crowd.
" What is it?!" I asked, yelling to be heard. He leaned his head close to mine.
" Yugi just called. He's at the movies with Anzu, Jou, and Mai. Anzu got really sick, and they need me to come pick them up." He told me.
" Can't they have Seto send a ride?" I asked, dismayed.
" They already tried. Is- I mean, Himeko, I need to go pick them up. Anzu might be really sick." Ammon told me, giving me a stern look.
" Okay. Go get them. Tell Anzu I'll drop by tomorrow to check on her." I said.
" I thought you'd say that. Promise me you'll get a ride home. I don't want you walking alone so late." Ammon said. I waved him away from me.
" I will, I will. Curfew's at midnight, I know. Get out of here." I said, shoving him toward the door. He waved at me as he went out the door. I left soon after.
" Come on, Himeko. Hang around." A guy I barely knew from school named Kazuo begged me. I pulled my arm from his grip gently and moved toward the door.
" Sorry, I promised my brother I'd be home by midnight." I said.
" So what? Is he your keeper or something? What's he gonna do, ground you?" Kazuo asked.
" No. But Grandpa will." I said. " Now are you gonna give me a ride or what?" Kazuo grinned and stuck his face close to mine. He was okay in the looks department, but a little average. I winced. I could smell alcohol on his breath.
" Only if you give me a kiss." He said.
" On second thought, I think I'll get a ride with Ayame." I said, backing up. Kazuo didn't like that, and reached out to grab me. Fortunately for me, he was totally drunk and overshot by a mile. I ducked him and jogged back into the crowded party, looking for Ayame, a girl I knew vaguely who I knew lived in the same general direction as I did. I found a girl named Sakura, who regularly hung out with Ayame. Sakura informed me that Ayame had left already, and that Kazuo was looking for me. I decided that walking home and braving Ammon's wrath was nothing compared to letting Kazuo find me.
And that was how I found myself walking down a dark street, every sense trained to pick up trouble. I passed some greasy restaurant and glanced down a dark alley. Once I had decided nothing was going to leap out at me from it, I hurried past it. I stared hard at an old street sign, trying to figure out how far I was from home. And that was when I heard the first snicker. The first shuffle of feet. My heart leapt into my throat and suddenly the greasy restaurant didn't look so greasy. I turned around and saw a man leaning against a street light pole, watching me. He was smirking at me around the cigarette in his mouth. I gulped and hurried in the other direction. I could hear footfalls behind me. Panic settled over me. Why couldn't I have just hung around at the party, called home and told Grandpa I couldn't get a ride? Why couldn't I have waited until Ammon could come pick me up? Now I was in trouble, and this time, no one could bail me out. A hand reached from a dark doorway and grabbed at my arm. I screamed and reeled away from it, stumbling right into a big, burly man who grinned down at me with yellowed, uneven teeth. His big hands grabbed my arms.
" Let me go!" I screamed, feeling dark energy pumping into my hands. I rammed my elbow into his gut and stomped his foot simultaneously. A ball of darkness began to enlarge in my hand. Then... All I can really remember is something hard hitting me on the back of the head. I remember stumbling blindly for a second, clapping my hands together to kill off the energy in my hands. The last thing I remember is someone laughing.
" Gotcha, pretty-pretty." A deep, raspy male voice said, just before my vision hazed over completely and I slipped into blissful, dreamless sleep.
By: Rogue Fox
Part Five... Just A Normal Morning
*+*+*Yami Bakura*+*+*
I stared at Isis. She had barely changed. It had been a millennia, yet, to the eye, she hadn't changed. She was still daring in her choice of clothes, and she still had those incredible eyes. I had mistaken the little girl, Yuki, for her when I had first arrived. I had planned it all perfectly. I had been extra careful when I emerged from the Limbo I had been sentenced to, so as to not evoke any suspicions. I had surveyed the Kaiba mansion, chose the point of least resistance for my entrance. Of course, the power of the gods definitely makes that work easier. My only goal had been to get at Isis. I knew she was freed from her prison. I had seen her, when the little girl tried her hand at the power of the Key of Ra. My heart had felt like it was going wild. She was there, right there. I could have gone to her, had business not interfered. But now, she was there. Standing so close and yet so far away. I blinked rapidly, remembering her skin against mine. She finished her story, and the girl whose wrists' I had in my hands, Yuki, stared at her as well. She pulled experimentally against my grip, but I hadn't forgotten about her. Nearby, Isis's uppity brother sat silently, true to his word. At some point in time, my own little lighter side had entered. He stayed quiet for once, and just listened. He didn't ask any questions, just listened. The Pharaoh's lighter side was also remarkably silent. I wondered if I would have killed them if they had interrupted Isis. The sound of her voice made all the years of pain and nightmares seem unreal. Like I had only left her yesterday. Just yesterday I had climbed out of the bed we had slept together in. Just yesterday I wiped her tears away and made my promise. There was a thick moment of silence as everyone considered what Isis had told and I thought about how good it would feel to kiss her again.
" You promised there were no more secrets." Yuki suddenly accused. Isis let her gaze fall to the floor.
" I... I'm sorry, Yuki. I thought this was dead. I didn't think that you would ever need to know." She whispered.
" Dead?" I echoed.
" No more secrets." Yuki whispered. I tightened my grip on her wrists and she whimpered. She knew as well as I did that I could break both her wrists with one good squeeze. She seemed so frail and thin. I frowned. I didn't want to hurt anyone so close to Isis's heart, but her accusation had hurt Isis. I wondered what punishment was in line in this situation. I couldn't think of any, so I left it at the threat when I squeezed her wrists.
" Dead." I repeated, practically spitting the word. " Dead. You said you'd wait for me. Then, the second you think I'm gone, you run straight for someone else."
" I waited for you! I waited nearly a whole year! And as for Nen, he-" she started, then she stopped herself.
" What? He what? Loved you? Loved you all along?" I mocked. Isis swallowed.
" Can we leave the past where it belongs?" she asked.
" For something that belongs dead, it sure hurts a lot." I said angrily.
" I'm sorry! What more do you want from me?!" Isis screamed.
" What you gave me all those years ago! Your love!" I screamed back, wincing as I said it.
" Let Yuki go, and then I'll talk to you about love!" Isis cried. I released the little girl's wrists and shoved her toward the Pharaoh, who leaped up and hugged her. Isis started to go to them, but I stepped in the way.
" I told you once that I can't breathe without you. I've been holding my breath for a millennia. I've missed you." I said, with more emotion than I had spoken in a long time. Isis looked at me helplessly.
" I've changed, Tepe. Can you love me anymore? Even Nen said he hated what I've become." She said, her eyes telling me of all the pain she had endured. Suddenly, all my own pain seemed small in comparison.
" I told you I always would. No matter what." I reminded her. " Would your Nen love you now?" I asked. She looked away, but didn't respond. Dumb thing to say, I told myself. Life was so much simpler before Isis. I never regretted what I said then. But, Isis had made me something better than what I was.
" This still hurts too much. I can't forget Nen." She whispered, looking up at me. " I'm sorry." She added. I felt like my heart had dropped through the soles of my shoes and into the ground. I swallowed back the urge to wail. I reached out and touched her cheek, but I felt like she was just letting me touch her, not like she wanted me to.
" So am I." I said sadly, then turned and walked away. I was walking away now, but I knew all to well that it wasn't over. I still loved her.
*+*+*Yuki*+*+*
I handed Seto a glass of water to help him swallow the painkillers he was taking for his headache. Yami paced through the kitchen of the mansion, and outside the boys played as though nothing happened. It made me happy to think that to them, the world was no different. They were rather used to odd happenings. Himeko was sitting in the living room, head cradled in her hands. Part of me wanted to go make sure she was okay, but another part of me was still angry. She had promised me there were no more secrets, and then this comes out. Seto swallowed his pills and looked up at me.
" You're sure you're okay?" he asked.
" Why wouldn't I be?" I asked him in return. He stood and hugged me. I sighed into his chest as he patted my head affectionately. Yami stopped pacing as I pulled away from Seto.
" Damn him. He just wants to hurt her with this. I don't think he ever really cared about her at all." He said, frowning angrily. I sighed.
" He did. I was right next to him, Yami. His love for her was almost palpable. I could almost touch it." I said.
" Then why is he doing this?" Yami asked me.
" If you got the chance to tell Mariah one more time how much you love her, would you? No matter what it took?" I asked. Yami stared at me.
" Sometimes, you seem so wise it scares me." He confessed.
" Join the club." Seto agreed.
" Bakura got his chance. It just opened old wounds Himeko thought were closed forever." I continued. Seto wrapped a protective arm around my waist.
" Well, Jou and the others need to know about this soon." He said, as Yugi and Ryou came in from outside, where they had been occupying the boys.
" Hey. Where's Himeko?" Yugi asked.
" Pouting." Yami said. I gave him a disapproving look.
" She hasn't made any effort to talk to any of us." I said. Yugi grimaced and exchanged a look with Ryou.
" Do you think she'll be okay?" Ryou asked. I turned and walked out of the kitchen.
" I'll go find out." I called, walking into the living room. Himeko hadn't moved. " Hi, Himeko. Are you okay?" I asked, swallowing my anger.
" No." Himeko said honestly. She raised her head and looked at me. Her eyes were puffy and red with tears. " Why does this hurt so much?" she asked me.
" Shouldn't I be asking you that? I am the little sister." I cracked. Himeko didn't even crack a smile. I sighed. " I'm don't know, Himeko. I can't even figure my own heart out. Yours is out of the question."
" I'm sorry, Yuki. I really am." She whispered, lowering her gaze again. " I feel like dirt right now. It seems like I'm always hurting someone. I've gotten myself into a fine mess. There's no way out without hurting someone." She said. I felt bad for being mad at her.
" I'm not mad." I lied. She knew I was lying, but I figured it was worth a try. " Just... No more secrets, okay? No more." I said, looking at her helplessly.
" I swear, on my father's honor, there is nothing out there that you don't know about me." Himeko told me with a rueful smile. " Just when I think I'm starting to heal, he decides to show up." She muttered to herself.
" He's gone now." I assured her, sitting next to her on the couch. She shook her head and smiled sadly.
" No, he just left this area. He won't go away, now that he knows I'm here. Poor Ryou might want to move in with someone else." Himeko answered.
" What's this about poor Ryou?" Ryou asked, coming into the living room. Himeko stood.
" You might want to get your rear out of your house for a while, unless you've been making up all those stories about what Bakura used to do to you." She told him. Ryou's pale skin went about ten shades paler as he stared at us.
" God..." he muttered. " I hadn't even thought about that. Yami! I need a ride to my house! Now!" he yelled, storming back into the kitchen to get Yami. " And can Yugi come? Strength in numbers?" Ryou asked abashedly.
" What did Tepe do to him?" Himeko asked.
" I don't think I want to know." I answered, casting a glance at Ryou, who was yanking Yugi and Yami out the door.
" I'll make him stop." Himeko promised. Ryou shot her a thankful glance, but other than that, he was too busy running out the door. That left Himeko, Seto, and I in the house. Himeko left soon after, claiming to be too tired and upset to deal with anyone. I collapsed on the couch.
" A normal morning in our lives." I said, sighing. Seto sat down and began massaging my shoulders. He stayed silent as the boys ran through, yelling their helloes and running up the stairs. I chuckled.
" Yep. A normal day." He agreed. " Loosen up! You're muscles are as solid as rock!" he cried, pressing those hands I knew so well against my shoulders. I obediently tried to relax. " Didn't I tell you to loosen up?" Seto asked.
" I did!" I protested, looking over my shoulder at him from my position laying on my stomach. Seto smiled at me and I smiled back. He continued massaging me, complaining all the while that I was stiff as a board. I groaned as he hit a spot on my neck that was sore. He rubbed it, pressing hard and yet gentle at the same time. This was the Seto I alone knew. This was his tender side he showed only to me. Soon, I switched places with him. He pulled off his casual jacket and laid down on the couch, and I began to massage him.
" And you were saying I was tense!" I cried. Seto only grinned. He loosened up as soon as my hands moved over his broad shoulders, his hardened muscles melting like wax beneath my touch. We stayed like that for a long time, just happy to be near each other and enjoying each other's company. I only stood when I heard a knock on the door.
" Must be Honda. No one else knocks." Seto said, sitting up. A saw a flash of regret on his face, followed by something else for a single instant... I did a double take at him. Was that jealousy I had seen in his eyes? I ignored it and went to answer the door. I opened it and was greeted by the powerful scent of flowers and a flash of colors suddenly practically under my nose. I reeled back a little.
" Honda!" I cried in mock outrage.
" Hello." Honda answered sociably. I grinned and took the bouquet of white and red roses from him.
" Honda, they're beautiful! Thank you!" I cried. Seto slid up behind me and peeked over my shoulder.
" Expensive, too." He added, flashing a look at Honda.
" You've got a one in a million girl living under your roof," Honda explained, shrugging. " She's worth every single bit of it." Seto grinned and patted my head.
" Ain't it the truth." He agreed. I flushed, both pleased and embarrassed by the flattery.
" There's a movie playing down at the theatre I thought you might want to see." Honda suggested. I grinned at him and looked back a Seto, waiting for his approval.
" Sure, go ahead." Seto said, making a shooing motion with his hands. " Get out of here and leave me all by myself." He said, feigning depression.
" Oh, Seto! I'm sorry!" I wailed, instantly sorry I had even thought about it.
" I was joking." Seto with a laugh. " You're way too gullible. Besides, I need to get to work. All the excitement this morning kept me from getting done. If I don't meet those deadlines, they might try to take the company again." He continued, starting up the stairs.
" The I'll see you later?" I called hopefully.
" You're still here?" Seto asked, still grinning. " Get out of here!" he boomed. I scurried out the door, with Honda right on my tail.
" Seto Kaiba! If you find a virus in your computer tonight, it's your own fault!" I yelled, slamming the door, then grinning in amusement.
" Ready to go?" Honda asked. I gave myself a complete look over. I was wearing some baggy, torn jeans from America and a dark blue shirt that had "Angel" written on it with the letters engulfed in blue flame. No make-up, but I never wore that stuff unless I absolutely had to anyway.
" Yeah, unless you're taking me to a ball." I said.
" Sorry, but there's no ball for such a lovely lady tonight." Honda cracked. " So what was Kaiba saying about excitement?" he asked.
" Wow, you don't know, do you?" I said, surprised. Then I related the story to him, including what Himeko had told us and my anger at her for keeping secrets after she promised there were no more, as he drove us to the theatre. I like Honda, I realized, I feel comfortable and happy with him. So why do I feel like I'm not supposed to be here?
*+*+*Mai*+*+*
I watched Jou as he talked with Yugi on the phone. I gathered from Jou's responses there had been an incident this morning.
" Is everyone okay?" I asked after he hung up the phone.
" Well, Ryou's apparently in a big hurry to go into hiding, and Himeko seems to be hurt emotionally, but no physical injuries." Jou said, then went on to tell me the whole story. I popped some dry cereal in my mouth as I listened. Jou had come over to the apartment my mom and I lived early, and I hadn't changed from my nightgown yet. I was still on the couch where he had found me. We had been watching the Saturday morning cartoons together.
" Now, Ryou's gonna stay with me until we can find a safer place for him, or until we're sure that Bakura's not interested in him." Jou finished.
" Damn Bakura. Why couldn't he leave us alone? We were just starting to get over all that stuff that happened." I muttered. Jou sat down and wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
" I know. But there's nothing we can do about it now. Just live with it, and him." He said.
" Still, that was just a mean thing to do to poor Himeko!" I exclaimed.
" Look at it from his point of view." Jou suggested. I crossed my arms haughtily.
" I don't want to. I want to keep hating him. It's easier when he seems like a monster, not a human." I told him. " Things are simpler when you only hate, not love or sympathize."
" But could you live without love?" Jou asked, giving my shoulders an affectionate squeeze. I smiled.
" I don't think I want to find out." I said.
*+*+*Anzu*+*+*
Yami's face was pensive as he drove, silently concentrating on the road. Yugi, sensing his big brother's tenseness, was silent. Yugi had related to me in short, terse sentences what had happened while I waited impatiently outside the Kaiba mansion. Now, I sat in the backseat of Yami's car, feeling the discomfort in the air. Ryou clutched a sack of his belongings to his chest in the front seat, staring out the windshield with a blank look on his face. It had been decided that the best place for Ryou to stay was at Jou's place. Kaiba's mansion was too obvious, there wasn't any room at the Motou household, we couldn't get a hold of Honda, and for obvious reasons, he couldn't stay with either myself or Mai. Next to me, Yugi's slightly broadened shoulders heaved in a sigh. I looked down at him, studying his profile. It seemed like every day he matured a little more. Every day he was a little bit taller. And every day his smile looked a little less forced.
Yami dropped Yugi and I off near the mall and set off to Jou's place to drop off Ryou, muttering about having to be the taxi service.
" I'm sorry about all this." Yugi said, sighing again. I smiled.
" It's okay. It's better than going nuts because nothing ever happens around here." I told him. He laughed, but his mind was elsewhere.
" That movie's probably over." He noted.
" So, let's go do something else." I suggested, pulling him toward the mall arcade. It was something we hadn't done a long time. I loved going with Yugi to the arcade. He was a legend there. He had beaten all the games and knew all the tips. Yugi himself was quite fond of the place, even though every game had long since lost its challenge.
" Okay." Yugi agreed, allowing me to grab him by the hand and pull him into the arcade. I liked being with Yugi. I felt calm and comfortable with him. But he was changing. I was changing. We were all changing. We were growing up. We were looking at colleges, at our futures. And even as Yugi raked in the prizes and we laughed at old jokes and gossip, a voice in the back of my head was fussing about that impending day when Yugi's path would finally take him away from me.
*+*+*Yuki*+*+*
" You call this culture?" Yami asked, his hands over his ears as Himeko made him listen to a CD she had picked out. " It sounds like a stampede of monsters from some tormented child's nightmare to me!" Yugi and I laughed as we browsed through the music store in the mall. It was one of those family outing things that we were supposed to do every now and then. Yukio wasn't out of my arm's reach, inspecting a saxophone with rapt interest. A little farther off, Mokuba and Yoshi were trying to get a sound out of a trombone, to no avail. I smiled and let my hands slide up the smooth skin of a clarinet. I removed it from the rack and checked the reed, then gave it a tentative blow. I played a few notes carefully, picking out vaguely remembered scales. Yami and Himeko stared at me.
" You know how to play that thing?" Himeko asked.
" I used to play when I was younger." I explained, giving the clarinet another toot before replacing it. " It's not as good as mine." I said.
" Just when I think I know everything about you, you surprise me again." Himeko grumbled. Yami cocked his head thoughtfully at a keyboard.
" And I suppose this is an instrument of some sort?" he asked me. I smiled and pressed a single finger on a key. A smooth note drifted from the black keyboard, and Yami was intrigued. He experimentally copied my movement, hitting a lower note.
" Every key plays a different pitch." I explained. Yami nodded, pressing two fingers down at once. He grinned when the two keys sang in unison.
" Now, this I like." He muttered. I smiled and went about showing the younger boys pictures of great composers while Yami toyed with the keyboard, growing more delighted with each note. Himeko found an American pop culture section and was nearly ecstatic. Yugi was reading a brochure full of neat little facts about great musical minds, occasionally directing our attention while he read off a good one. Eventually, he ended up reading out loud to the boys, who made appropriate noises of awe. I checked back on Yami, who had begun to make up a simple tune with one hand on the keyboard. It was catchy, mostly low notes.
" You really like it?" I asked.
" I do." Yami agreed, smiling at me while he played his little tune again. I pressed a button on the console and the tone of the notes changed to that of an organ. Yami was thoroughly surprised, but played on, repeating his little tune. I systematically went through all the tones and soon, Yami was in love with the keyboard.
A week passed with no unusual happenings. If Yami Bakura was out to get any one of us, he was taking his time doing it. Every day after dropping Yugi and Himeko off, Yami made his way back to the music store to play with the keyboard. He tried others, and a few pianos, always returning delighted. I was happy that he had found a medium through which he could express those emotions he bottled up inside himself. On Friday afternoon after school, I had Seto direct his blasted limo up to the mall, where I bought Yami a CD of Mozart's piano pieces. I gave it to him the next day on Saturday, and I found him hours later in his room after Himeko started complaining that her Discman had disappeared. There he was, lounging on his bed with Himeko's Discman on his ears, eyes closed and body relaxed. I could tell he was listening to the CD I had given him. A wide grin was spread across his face, and I didn't have the heart to tell Himeko that he had stolen her Discman. I told Seto, though, and he took me to a nearby store where we bought Yami his own.
If anyone was more pleased than me with Yami's discovery of music, it was Yugi. Yugi was tickled pink with it. He even spoke with me about setting up lessons for Yami so he could learn to play. Yami rejected the idea. He said he had enough teachers at school. Besides, he complained, what would people say about a high school guy taking piano lessons? He did, however, buy several more classic piano CD's, and even a few modern ones, and a jazz that he fell in love with. It made me very happy to know my big brother wasn't spending all his time fighting with Himeko any more. And it helped keep our minds off Bakura.
*+*+*Himeko*+*+*
It was a Saturday night, and the air outside was crisp with the fall. It would be Halloween in America soon, but I didn't know if they celebrated that over here. I had forgotten to ask. I was safe from the cool night air in Ammon's car, my jacket wrapped tightly around me. Ammon was pleased with my choice of clothes for the night, but actually the chill in the air had been what had prodded me to wearing a pair of tight black pants. They came very low on my waist, and I had left the bottom five buttons on my white button up shirt unbuttoned, thus showing a fair amount of my flat stomach. Ammon, next to me in the driver's seat, was wearing a leather jacket over a leather shirt that was fastened over his chest in the same way as mine, except his used an assortment of buckles. His pants were leather as well, and I had teased him that he could make a big black cow out of all the leather he was wearing.
" Did you do your homework?" Ammon asked me, interrupting my thoughts.
" No." I answered honestly. " Neither did you, from the look of your desk." I added before he could scold me. He shrugged.
" I guess you can do it after the party." He muttered. This was the first party we were going to without Yugi or Yuki, or even Seto. Jou and Mai had said they might be there, but other than that, we were on our own. Ammon pulled up to the curb and I followed his gaze up to a house with all the lights on and about twenty cars parked around or nearby. " This must be it." He said quietly.
" No screw-ups, right?" I said, to myself and to him.
" No screw-ups. No talking in Egyptian, no energy balls. Normal." Ammon agreed.
" Boy, this is gonna be harder than I thought." I muttered. Ammon laughed and opened his door. We both climbed out of the car and stared up at the house.
" Shall we, Himeko?" Ammon asked, purposely emphasizing my modern name.
" Of course, Yami." I answered, mocking his tone at his name. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and we walked up the lawn to the front door, our hips bumping companionably.
Hours later, close to eleven, Ammon called to me through the crowded room. The music was booming and I knew Ammon hated it, but he tolerated it. He'd had a steady throng of a minimum of five girls around him at all times. I had been flitting from place to place, happy to be socializing with people who didn't guess at the truth about me.
" Himeko!" my brother's voice boomed over the music. I squeezed through teenagers dancing, talking, and a few making out. I finally located Ammon in the crowd.
" What is it?!" I asked, yelling to be heard. He leaned his head close to mine.
" Yugi just called. He's at the movies with Anzu, Jou, and Mai. Anzu got really sick, and they need me to come pick them up." He told me.
" Can't they have Seto send a ride?" I asked, dismayed.
" They already tried. Is- I mean, Himeko, I need to go pick them up. Anzu might be really sick." Ammon told me, giving me a stern look.
" Okay. Go get them. Tell Anzu I'll drop by tomorrow to check on her." I said.
" I thought you'd say that. Promise me you'll get a ride home. I don't want you walking alone so late." Ammon said. I waved him away from me.
" I will, I will. Curfew's at midnight, I know. Get out of here." I said, shoving him toward the door. He waved at me as he went out the door. I left soon after.
" Come on, Himeko. Hang around." A guy I barely knew from school named Kazuo begged me. I pulled my arm from his grip gently and moved toward the door.
" Sorry, I promised my brother I'd be home by midnight." I said.
" So what? Is he your keeper or something? What's he gonna do, ground you?" Kazuo asked.
" No. But Grandpa will." I said. " Now are you gonna give me a ride or what?" Kazuo grinned and stuck his face close to mine. He was okay in the looks department, but a little average. I winced. I could smell alcohol on his breath.
" Only if you give me a kiss." He said.
" On second thought, I think I'll get a ride with Ayame." I said, backing up. Kazuo didn't like that, and reached out to grab me. Fortunately for me, he was totally drunk and overshot by a mile. I ducked him and jogged back into the crowded party, looking for Ayame, a girl I knew vaguely who I knew lived in the same general direction as I did. I found a girl named Sakura, who regularly hung out with Ayame. Sakura informed me that Ayame had left already, and that Kazuo was looking for me. I decided that walking home and braving Ammon's wrath was nothing compared to letting Kazuo find me.
And that was how I found myself walking down a dark street, every sense trained to pick up trouble. I passed some greasy restaurant and glanced down a dark alley. Once I had decided nothing was going to leap out at me from it, I hurried past it. I stared hard at an old street sign, trying to figure out how far I was from home. And that was when I heard the first snicker. The first shuffle of feet. My heart leapt into my throat and suddenly the greasy restaurant didn't look so greasy. I turned around and saw a man leaning against a street light pole, watching me. He was smirking at me around the cigarette in his mouth. I gulped and hurried in the other direction. I could hear footfalls behind me. Panic settled over me. Why couldn't I have just hung around at the party, called home and told Grandpa I couldn't get a ride? Why couldn't I have waited until Ammon could come pick me up? Now I was in trouble, and this time, no one could bail me out. A hand reached from a dark doorway and grabbed at my arm. I screamed and reeled away from it, stumbling right into a big, burly man who grinned down at me with yellowed, uneven teeth. His big hands grabbed my arms.
" Let me go!" I screamed, feeling dark energy pumping into my hands. I rammed my elbow into his gut and stomped his foot simultaneously. A ball of darkness began to enlarge in my hand. Then... All I can really remember is something hard hitting me on the back of the head. I remember stumbling blindly for a second, clapping my hands together to kill off the energy in my hands. The last thing I remember is someone laughing.
" Gotcha, pretty-pretty." A deep, raspy male voice said, just before my vision hazed over completely and I slipped into blissful, dreamless sleep.