The Game of Life
By: Rogue Fox
Part Seven... Star Gazing
*+*+*Yugi*+*+*
I walked down the street as quickly as I could, balancing two bags on my shoulder. One bag was extremely heavy, the other no heavier than usual. Of course, when your legs are as short as mine and your shoulders as narrow, such things can present a serious problem. Finally I gave up and carried the heaviest bag in my arms, putting the lighter one on my shoulders. I speed walked the rest of the way to Anzu's house. It was a Wednesday afternoon, and the sun was bright. The world seemed, at least for the moment, to be totally right. Even Yami Bakura hadn't been able to ruin this day. Actually, he had been rather enjoyable. He was agreeable and actually made an honest effort not to be his normal self. Yuki had been utterly overjoyed when Yami admitted there might be some hope for Bakura yet. It had been the first time I had ever heard Yuki say, "I told you so!" Bakura, like so many guys in our little group, had developed a protective nature for Yuki. Himeko thought it was funny, but as always, poor Yuki didn't get it. I think for Bakura, it had a lot to do with the fact that Yuki had been the only one willing to give him a second chance. Now, it seemed like he was determined not to let her belief be in vain.
I finally found myself on Anzu's doorstep, knocking on the door. A disheveled Anzu answered the door and smiled weakly at me.
" Hi, Yugi." She said as I stepped into the house.
" Hi. How's your stomach feeling?" I asked. Anzu's little episode at the movies had turned out to be stomach virus. She had actually been feeling sick for a few days, but hadn't said anything to anyone. It finally got to her during the movie we had been trying to watch with Jou and Mai.
" Better than it did. The doctor said I'll probably be able to go to school by Friday." Anzu said. I hefted the bag in my arms onto the kitchen table.
" Great. Here's your homework. And I put my notes in there too, so you can copy them down." I said, dropping my own bag on the floor. I knew as well as Anzu did that her mother wouldn't be home for another few hours. She was also an only child, and as for her father... I never asked and no one ever told me why he was never around. Anzu never did tell me until years later.
" You're such a sweetheart, Yugi." Anzu said, smiling. " I would give you a hug, but I'm probably not the most pleasurable person to hug right now." I blushed profusely at the suggestion, and I knew it.
" Um, yeah." I muttered, suddenly tongue-tied.
" So how did Yami Bakura do? Tell me everything!" Anzu begged.
" Well, it was interesting." I said, taking the initiative and sitting down. " He was trying really hard, and you could tell. He spent the entire time watching every else to see what they did." I started. I went on to tell of Bakura's misadventures throughout the day.
" Can you believe it?" Anzu asked after I had finished. " We've just started our third year of high school. Pretty soon we're going to be looking at colleges."
" Yeah." I murmured. In truth, the idea of college made me nervous. Could I stand to be apart from everyone I cared about? If my dreams for my future came true, they would most likely carry me far away from the people I cared about. I didn't think I would be able to do it.
*+*+*Yuki*+*+*
" Oh, this skirt would be too cute on you, Yuki!" Himeko cried, holding up a denim miniskirt.
" Yami and Seto would die if I wore that!" I protested.
" So? Let them. They don't own you." Himeko said, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at me.
" I don't wear skirts." I said stoutly.
" Yeah, you wear raggedy baggy jeans that look older than me!" Himeko cried, exasperated.
" That's me. Take me the way I am." I said, annoyed. I'd been having a pretty lousy week. I had been having some trouble with some girls from my class lately, and Yukio was, according to the first grade teacher, not following the rules and refusing to do his work. It had me worried. And then, to top it all off, Himeko wanted to drag me off shopping. I figured I would have an ulcer by the time I was eighteen.
" A skirt can't kill you. At least try it on." Himeko prodded me. I gave her my best glare. " Fine! Be stubborn." She cried, returning the skirt to the rack.
" Excuse me if I'm wrong, but didn't you give me that trait, Mother?" I asked, emphasizing "mother."
" Yeah, yeah. Keep it down, will you?" Himeko said, glancing around nervously. I looked over Himeko's shoulder at a girl I vaguely recognized from school.
" Oh, hi!" I called, waving to her. I knew she was one of the girls that had been giving me a hard time, but they do say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, and that love defeats the most admirable foes. Or something like that, anyway. She stared at me like I was crazy as I jogged up to her. " Um, your name's Machiko, right?"
" Yeah, that's me." Machiko agreed hesitantly. " You're Yuki, right? Yuki Kaiba?" she asked. I shook my head, but I could feel a light blush painting my cheeks. Machiko had dark brown hair and mahogany eyes. I thought she looked like the kind of girl who could pull off the most difficult bluff ever. She had a perfectly unreadable face.
" No, Seto and I aren't related. My last name is Motou." I said, willingly using my new adoptive name.
" I didn't think you and Kaiba were related. I thought you were married." Machiko said, blinking at me.
" Married?" I asked, thoroughly confused.
" M-married?!" Himeko echoed, her stutter coming in.
" Well, you do live with him." Machiko said patiently.
" I'm not even seventeen yet. Why would I get married, and to my best friend?" I asked.
" I don't know. That's just what they all say." Machiko said. She looked at Himeko and then at me, then repeated the process over and over. " You two look an awful lot alike." She noted.
" Why, thank you." Himeko said, obviously flattered.
" We're sisters." I explained.
" Then why were you calling her 'Mother' a minute ago?" Machiko asked. I faltered. I hate lying. I knew it was necessary, but I still hate it, and I'm no good at it at all.
" Um, it's a joke. I'm older and sometimes I get bossy, so she calls me that to knock me down to size." Himeko said, giving a high pitched, forced laugh. I nodded. Machiko stared at us.
" There's something weird about you two. First Yugi Motou started acting funny a few years ago, and then Yuki appears out of the blue. Then, your whole group disappears for like two weeks, and then Yami and you appear. Now Ryou Bakura's got a look-alike too." She listed, staring at us hard. " There's something definitely weird about you. And I'm going to find out what it is." She stated, then walked off. Himeko and I stared after her.
" I think we may have a problem." Himeko said.
A few hours later, Yami was throwing the kind of fit only he can throw.
" What'd you let slip?" he asked Himeko and I angrily.
" Nothing!" Himeko protested, equally angry.
" Really!" I agreed. " We told her the same things we tell everybody! We're sisters, part of a set of quadruplets." I said. Yugi pulled at Yami's sleeve.
" Okay, Yami. I think they really didn't tell her anything." He said loudly.
" This is a serious problem, right?" Seto asked, sinking into a chair in his personal office in the mansion. Himeko collapsed onto the couch. Nearby, Jou leaned against a wall. Anzu was at her house, still recovering, and Mai, Honda, Ryou, and Bakura were all on the way.
" This is way past serious. No one outside this group can know about us. It just can't happen." Yami said, his voice sounding suddenly flat and defeated.
" Can you imagine all the scientists? Just the ones who would want to know about ancient Egypt would be overwhelming." Yugi muttered. " And then there would be the ones who would want to learn about the Millennium Items. Oh, God. Can you imagine what they would do to Yuki?" he asked. Everyone looked at me. I was suddenly afraid.
" Lock her up, run tests on her until her body breaks." Jou muttered angrily. " Like she's just some lab rat."
" I don't even like testing on animals." Seto said with a sigh. Mai tromped into the room like she always did, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
" So what's the big emergency?" she asked.
" Some girl from school knows something is weird about us." Yugi said. Mai frowned.
" What girl?" she asked.
" Machiko." Himeko offered.
" Okay, I'll pull a guilt trip on her tomorrow." Mai said.
" A what?" I asked, once again finding myself confused.
" Never mind, Yuki." Five people said in unison. I considered pursuing the topic, but Honda came rushing in right then.
" What's the situation?" he asked. Everyone stared at him.
" There is no situation, as of yet." Himeko said slowly. The problem was explained to him, while I was still wondering over the guilt trip thing.
" But I don't get it!" I protested.
" Never mind, Yuki!" everyone told me, the tone a little more pushy.
" Okay, okay." I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest. Honda gave me a hug and I felt a little better.
" Where's Ryou and his shadow?" Yami asked, thoroughly annoyed by both their tardiness and Honda's display of affection for me. I glanced at Seto, but he was looking in another direction.
" Could you try to be nicer to Tepe?" Himeko asked him hotly. I could feel another argument developing between them. Yugi and I looked at each other.
" No." Yami said simply.
" I can't believe you!" Himeko cried.
" That's enough, you two. Argue later." Yugi said, pushing Yami until he sat down. I grabbed Himeko and made her sit across the room. Of course, that didn't stop either of them from glaring at the other.
" So what are we going to do?" Jou asked, straightening his posture and stretching his arms over his head.
" Nothing." Seto said, smiling.
" And just let her find you guys out?" Mai asked, aghast. Yugi smiled as well.
" Oh, I get it. Nothing. No Millennium Item use, no attacking, and Himeko, that means no little punishments. Yuki will have to control herself as best she can." Yugi said, flashing me a meaningful look. I knew he was referring to my somewhat shaky control of my abilities, and I winced. I had a long history of unpredictable energy surges, and my talent, which we still hadn't decided the nature of, was not something I could control.
" Okay, sorry we're late. He got us lost." Ryou said as he walked into the room, pointing to Bakura to show us who "he" was.
" How I was I supposed to know that was the wrong way?" Bakura asked.
" I tried to tell you, but you didn't listen." Ryou reminded him. The situation was related to them. Actually, it was related by Yami to Ryou, because my oldest brother still refused to acknowledge Bakura's presence.
" And we were just discussing how there will be no attacking, no use of Millennium Items or talents. In short, we get to be normal. Totally normal." Yugi said.
" Absolutely normal?" Ryou asked, his voice hesitant.
" Absolutely." Yugi agreed stolidly.
" That's hard!" Himeko protested.
" I guess we don't get a choice." I said.
" What happens if Yuki has a surge?" Mai asked.
" Yuki won't have a surge." I said decisively, speaking for myself in the third person.
" And your talent?" Seto pursued, watching me intently.
" Um... Any suggestions?" I asked, smiling sheepishly.
" What is her talent?" Bakura asked Ryou.
" We don't know." Ryou answered.
" How could you not know your own talent?" Bakura asked, the question directed at me.
" Whatever it is, I can't control it. It just sort of happens instinctively." I said, shrugging.
" I can't believe this. I'm going to be living off of pain killers." Yami muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
" How long?" Himeko asked, her voice sounding deflated, as though all the fight had escaped her like air from a balloon.
" Until this Machiko girl gets off our tail." Yami said.
" Live like mortals? I don't know if I can do it." Bakura said.
" Will everyone please calm down?" Yugi asked. " We need to stay calm and approach this logically. All we need to do is prove that we're entirely normal, aside from the obvious things. How hard could that possibly be? Ryou, Yuki, and I survive just fine without using our talents." Yugi was stared at by every yami present.
" Wouldn't you just love to have that naivete again?" Bakura asked Himeko.
That night found us in a playful mood. We were well aware that there was school the next day. But there was just an air that hung over the mansion, an air that beckoned us to play like little children again.
A child's scream echoed over the huge backyard, and I turned toward it, a wide grin spread over my face. I crouched low to the ground, my limbs spread out. Silently, I began to creep toward a shadow that moved under the moonlight. I decided by the silhouette that it must be Yami. I crouched near a bush as he walked past, his steps cautious. I fired my coiled muscles and launched myself at him.
" AH!" He cried in shock and probably fear. I released my grip on his shoulders and dropped to the ground, weak with laughter. " Yuki, you little- " Yami cried, adding a few choice Egyptian words. I knew Egyptian well enough to know exactly what he was calling me, thanks to the fact that Himeko and I had once shared a head. I also knew better than to be insulted. Instead, I continued laughing. I grinned widely up at Yami, whose glare broke up as he started laughing as well. Just then, Kentaro, the big Doberman Seto had bought after our return from Egypt, arrived on the scene, barking madly. He stooped and gave me a sloppy barrage of dog kisses. I forced myself to my feet with Yami's help.
" What a night!" I exclaimed as Yoshi and Yukio came tearing out of the darkness and tackled me around the waste, screaming something about ghosts. Ryou and Bakura appeared out the tree nearby, both laughing.
" They thought... we were ghosts." Ryou explained, trying to catch his breath.
" He was making scary noises!" Yukio announced, pointing at Bakura, who grinned and made one of those spooky ghost noises. Yukio screeched and hid behind me.
" That's enough." I reprimanded.
" I can see why they thought you were ghosts." Yami said seriously, nodding to Ryou's hair. Bakura rolled his eyes.
" To say nothing about your hair." He intoned.
" That's enough!" I cried, trying not to laugh.
" Well, did you just stick up for Ryou?" Yami asked, sounding genuinely surprised. Bakura blushed.
" No! I have the same hair, incase you didn't notice. Oh, I forgot. You used to pay for people to notice things for you. Still haven't kicked that habit?" Bakura asked.
" Can you two try not to rip each other apart? Please?" Himeko asked, tossing her hair as she entered the area.
" Why would we want to rip each other apart?" Yami asked innocently.
" Besides the fact that he's a stuck-up prick?" Bakura said, equally innocent.
" And he's a self righteous bastard?" Yami countered, facing Bakura.
" And he's a big-headed son of a bitch?" Bakura asked, his temper obviously flaring. I pushed myself between them and shoved them apart.
" Honestly, Tepe. If Ammon is a son of a bitch, that makes me a daughter of a bitch." Himeko said patronizingly. " And that makes Yugi and Yuki the grandchildren of a bitch. Don't forget that you can't insult Ammon like that without insulting me and the young ones as well." Bakura backed away from Yami, who gloated until I kicked him in the shin. He cursed under his breath, but didn't say anything out loud. Yugi tackled Yami at the waist at that exact moment, and everyone laughed, the mood instantly lightening. Seto arrived, Mokuba slung over his shoulder and Mai following him. Jou and Honda arrived soon afterward, but not without raising a fuss.
" Ah! Don't tickle me, Yugi!" Mai screamed, shying away from Yugi, who stared at her blankly.
" I didn't touch you, Mai." He protested quietly.
" Ah! Who tickled me?!" Himeko asked, practically climbing up Yami. At that moment, I felt fingers tease my sensitive sides. I made a noise somewhere between a shriek and laughter, and tried to hide behind Seto. Unfortunately for me, the tickling ghost followed me. I practically tackled Yami in an attempt to get away.
" Could you two get off of me?" Yami asked shrilly.
" How come he always get the good end of the deal?" Bakura wailed. Ryou shrugged.
" You call this the good end?" Yami asked in disbelief.
" They really don't ever stop." Yugi said, shaking his head.
" EEK! Who did that?!" Mai shrieked, grabbing Yugi around the neck. I couldn't decide whether it was meant as punishment for him or comfort for her.
" Whatever gets the girls for him," Bakura said, nodding at Yami, who was trying to remove himself from Himeko and my death grip. " It must be hereditary." Bakura decided, looking pointedly at Yugi. At that exact moment, I felt a set of fingers tickle my sides again. I reacted on lightning reflexes and grabbed the wrist those fingers belonged to, flung the body over my shoulder with force, and let out a cry of triumph.
" I think I got our mystery tickler-" I started, grinning broadly. Then I looked down into the face of the culprit. " Honda?! Oh, I'm so sorry!" I cried, instantly sorry. Seto took the chance to burst out laughing.
" That's what you get for trying to scare these girls." Yami said, after Himeko let go of him to pounce Honda.
" You idiot! You nearly scared me to death!" she screamed. And then, to make matters worse, Jou stepped out of the shadows, laughing it up.
" The look on your faces!" he cried, wiping tears away from his eyes. " It was priceless!" he added. I think Mai would have killed him if she wasn't laughing as hard as he was. And that was such a funny sight that everyone else started laughing too, and soon we were all sitting on the ground, wiping tears away and trying to remember how to breathe.
" You grown-ups are funny." Yukio announced, and everyone laughed again. I let my head flop down over Yami's chest, my legs draped over Seto. Nearby, Mai was using Jou's thigh as a pillow and had her legs crisscrossing with Himeko's, who had discovered that Honda's belly makes a great pillow. Bakura was stretched out alone on the grass, not out of arms reach of Himeko and only a few feet away from me. Ryou and Yugi were both sort of sprawled near each other, and Mokuba, Yoshi, and Yukio were curled up against Seto and I. Suddenly silent, we all stared skyward at the stars.
" Wouldn't it be great if you could just soar up there until you're so high you can touch those stars, and then just fall back to earth?" I wondered out loud. A few grunts and small noises of agreement answered me.
" I never really liked that whole thing about stars being just big balls of burning gas. I always thought it really took the fun out of stargazing." Yugi noted. Bakura sat up and stared at him.
" Stars are just balls of burning gas? Then how can we see them? How can they stay up there?" he asked, looking like the very foundation of the world had been ripped out from under him.
" There's no gravity in space, so-" Yugi started, but the blank look on Bakura's face stopped him. " Never mind, Bakura. I'll explain it later."
" I want to know now!" Bakura protested. Everyone laughed, and then it was silent again. " I was always taught that stars were really heroes and great people from the past who were elevated to always watch over the rest of the world, and because they were so great in life, they shined in the night sky to light the way." Bakura said after a moment. " Don't explain the stars to me. It'll ruin it." He decided. Yami's chest heaved under my head in a chuckle, but it wasn't the kind of chuckle I would have expected. It was more sympathetic than teasing, more like Yami knew what Bakura was going through.
" There's Polaris. The North Star." I muttered, pointing.
" The Guide Star." Yami agreed. " We knew a man who was a... Well, in this age, he'd be a captain. He taught us how to navigate with the Guide Star." I knew that when Yami said "we," he meant himself and Himeko.
" I remember him!" Himeko exclaimed. " He stopped coming after Father died." Again, everyone fell silent. I could have used Himeko's memory to see the man they spoke of, but I was quickly growing drowsy.
" My dad taught me how to find the North Star when I was a kid. Back before my mom and him got a divorce." Jou noted. We all caught the hidden message in his words. Before my dad went wrong. No one commented on it, though.
" I learned from Yami." Yugi confided.
" I learned from Bakura." Ryou added readily. Everyone waited for Bakura to speak up. There was, naturally, a long moment of silence.
" Okay, fine. I learned from my father, before he died. I was born in a wandering tribe. It's survival to know how to navigate by the stars." He explained gruffly. Himeko already knew that, I suspected.
" I learned from Yuki." Seto admitted.
" Well, pray tell, where did you learn how to find the North Star, Yuki?" Mai asked.
" I don't know. I've always known how to find it. It's the far lower corner of the Big Dipper. And the Big Dipper's easy to find." I said, shrugging. My shrug forced Yami to shift to get comfortable again.
" Well, I never knew before now." Mai admitted.
" City girl." I muttered. I can't help it. I have a very outdoorsy, country background. I don't always understand my friends because of it.
" I never knew, either. Street signs work just fine for navigating, thank you." Honda said.
" City boy." I amended. Everyone laughed. " I'd like to take you guys and turn you lose on my papa's land. Just to see what you'd do." I said, laughing at the thought of it.
" Wouldn't catch me dead out there." Mai said haughtily.
" I could handle it. How hard could it be? We managed at the Duelist Kingdom just fine." Jou said. I laughed, and Seto, who had had a fair taste of the life I had lived, joined me.
" You'd be begging for help within the first three hours." I announced. " What with coyotes, and wild dogs, and bobcats, and hawks, and snakes-"
" Snakes? No way!" Mai screamed.
" Oh, big ones, Mai. Huge. Why, I saw a black water moccasin-and those are really poisonous, you know-just outside the door once. About, oh, maybe four feet long, three inches thick at the middle, maybe four. Real big, broad head. And he sat up and showed me those big long needles of his, just dripping in venom-" I said, purposely taking on a country drawl.
" Stop!" Mai begged.
" And once, I saw a cottonmouth, about as long as my leg! He snapped at Papa, but Papa chopped his head off with a shovel. Bad thing about snakes, though, is that they can still bite you after that. And their nasty bodies keep on slithering, like they're looking for their head." I continued. Mai whimpered and squealed.
" Can we go inside?" she asked fearfully.
" Yeah, let's go inside." Himeko agreed, jumping up.
" That won't stop a snake. I found one, a nice big copperhead no less, nestled inside the boy's bathroom. The thing was big enough to take two fingers off in one bite, and it was real close!" I said. I was exaggerating, of course. The black water moccasin I had seen had really been a good five feet away, and the cottonmouth I had only seen after Papa had killed it. And as for the snake in the bathroom... Well, maybe I didn't exaggerate on that one.
" Make her stop!" Mai wailed.
" That's enough, Yuki. I don't like snakes anymore than Mai does." Yami said sternly.
" They're harmless if you chop their heads off and stay back!" I protested, smiling. I had achieved the desired effect already, which was to scare Mai and everyone else silly. With the exception of Bakura, I seemed to have done very well. Nothing, I've found, scares people quite as much as good snake stories. Everyone likes to say that I'm really sweet and innocent, but that doesn't mean I don't have an evil streak. After all, there had to be some in me to harbor Himeko all that time ago.
The next day at school started out perfectly normal. I managed to survive my first classes no worse for the wear. Even though I was pretty worn out from the night before, I managed to stay cheerful and upbeat. My friends seemed to have decided that's my role, to be happy and positive. Seto was positively grouchy, due to the fact that he had abandoned his work the night before and now he had more than ever. Yami and Yugi were grouchy also, due to lack of sleep. Himeko and I seem to function better on less sleep than those two. Honda and Jou were their normal selves, and Mai, as always, looked simply immaculate. Anzu even showed up at school. She looked pretty tired, but was otherwise entirely better.
I was on my way to my class directly after lunch, wondering why Seto and Honda had gotten into a competition to see who could lift the heaviest objects. Seto didn't usually indulge in those silly things, but lately he had been acting pretty strange when Honda was around us. I didn't get it, so I was puzzling over it. I was still deep in my thoughts, trying to figure it out, when a hand grabbed my elbow and hauled me into the girls' bathroom. Another hand clamped over my mouth, muffling any attempt to cry out. My instinctive reaction when muted was to call out mentally, try to reach someone who would hear.
Help! I called mentally. But my thoughts sounded hollow and dead, like they couldn't carry. HELP! I screamed with all my mental might, but still the hollow, empty feeling. Like no one could hear. Someone had to be muffling me mentally and spiritually, as well as physically. And that downright annoyed me. But I remembered that I wasn't supposed to use any special abilities for the time being, so I managed to keep the sudden, savage flow of energy in check. But anyone within scanning distant that could scan would have known that I was a ticking time bomb that could blow all of Japan and part of China sky high.
" Don't be difficult, and we won't have a problem." A girl's voice whispered. I recognized the voice. It was Aiko, one of the group that had been giving me a hard time lately. My tense body instantly fell limp. I knew all too well that if you just take what they dish out without a word, they go away quicker. Although, I had no idea why they reveled in hurting me. I found myself bound hand and foot, sitting on the bathroom floor, gagged, and looking up at Aiko, Machiko, Tori, and Kimi. I kept my expression blank. No emotion.
" Hello, Yuki. Imagine meeting you here." Machiko, the leader of the bunch, said conversationally. Imagine indeed, I retorted in my mind. I kept my mouth shut, however.
" Well, isn't that impolite? Not even saying hello? And your precious friends are always saying how nice and polite you are." Aiko said, shaking her head like I was some child she was disappointed in. What I wouldn't have given for one shot at each of them! I didn't need any supernatural abilities to take those four out. One punch each, that's all I wanted. But fighting back only makes things worse.
" You're right, Aiko. Isn't she right, Yuki?" Machiko asked, kicking my thigh. It wasn't hard, just a warning. I knew the warnings. They had never actually carried them out, but today they seemed particularly cocky. Well, I thought angrily, how do you expect me to say anything with this gag in my mouth? Instead of actually speaking, I nodded.
" That's a good girl. Isn't Yuki a good girl?" Kimi said.
" A very good girl. Too good." Tori agreed. This was going the way it always did. Machiko gave me a disgusted look.
" Perfect little Yuki. Sweet, pretty, nice, innocent. What a load of bull shit!" she cried. " I'm so sick of your little games, pretty little Miss Yuki. 'Fess up, now. We know you're not all you say you are."
" And on top off that, you've got every decent guy at this school ready to go to war for you." Aiko said, shaking her head. " I wish they could see what a phony you are." She added. That's right, I sneered mentally, insult me while my hands are tied and I'm gagged. Attack me when I can't fight back. God, I'd like to break your nose! Break it so that it'd never grow back right. Right in the middle of the bridge of your nose, between the eyes. Break your nose and give you two black eyes!
" That whole little naïve and innocent act may work on the guys, but it doesn't work on us. We see right through you." Machiko announced. I felt my old rage building in my throat. I swallowed it down. I was overcoming that, and no airhead cheerleader with a grudge was going to destroy all I had worked for. No way. Besides, that was not the way to be thinking. Bad thoughts lead to bad actions. Now, what would Seto or Yami or Himeko do? Well, Himeko would probably have already blasted them off the face of the earth and said to herself, "Problem? What problem?" Yami would have used his mind control thing and had them all go to Madagascar and stay there. Neither one of those ideas struck me as very good or very possible. Plus, two wrongs don't make a right. So, what would Seto do? If it was him, he'd threaten them with blackmail. If he found out about this, he'd probably hire an assassin. Not a good idea either. I was beginning to think I needed to reconsider the people I looked up to. It'd probably help me if I knew why they hated me.
" So, girls, what do you say we tarnish little Yuki's best charming weapon?" Machiko asked, reaching into the pocket of her uniform. I looked up at her sharply, not exactly by free will. She had grabbed my chin and jerked my face upward. " You've got such a cute, innocent little face. You know that, don't you, Yuki? After all, you use it so well. What would Kaiba and Honda say if you turned up with that innocent face slashed to ribbons?" she asked, flashing a five inch knife in front of my face, so close I couldn't ignore it. I knew my eyes were following that knife's every movement. But I didn't care. I could hear the other three laughing, but they sounded far away.
" Aw, Machiko! Don't go and do it so fast! That takes all the fun out of it! Why don't we let her plead her case first? After all, innocent until proven guilty." Kimi suggested. Machiko grinned at me maliciously and jerked my gag down. More like guilty until proven innocent, I thought grimly, and that doesn't seem too likely.
" So, cutey, what have you got to say for yourself?" Machiko asked.
" I'm not really sure why you hate me so much, but I'm really sorry." I started. It was not a good start, because they all laughed. " I don't put on any acts. My friends are my friends because they like me, or at least I like to think so. Why would you think that? Is that why you hate me?" I wondered out loud. Machiko slapped me across the mouth like I had called her all the worst names in the book.
" Shut up. I've had enough of you. I know you're not all you seem to be. I know it. Now I'm going to cut your face up until you tell me everything." She whispered, leaning so close her face was inches from mine. She brought the knife close to my face.
" Please, I don't want-" I began, but at that moment, the knife came at me. I was going to say, "I don't want to hurt you." I jerked my bound legs up and pushed against her stomach as hard as I could. I had used that trick once before, when Nepano was trying to get my orb on my neck. As though she had read my thoughts, Machiko reached for the orb and gave it a rough yank. I flailed violently. So much depended on that orb. Himeko's very existence rode on that little golden ball. At that moment, I sensed the mental muffle on my ability to call to someone lift.
HELP! I bellowed. But I had a sick feeling of dread as Kimi and Aiko pinned me to the ground and Machiko approached me, licking her lips, with that knife that no help would come on time.
" I wonder what the blood of purity tastes like." She whispered so that only I could hear.
By: Rogue Fox
Part Seven... Star Gazing
*+*+*Yugi*+*+*
I walked down the street as quickly as I could, balancing two bags on my shoulder. One bag was extremely heavy, the other no heavier than usual. Of course, when your legs are as short as mine and your shoulders as narrow, such things can present a serious problem. Finally I gave up and carried the heaviest bag in my arms, putting the lighter one on my shoulders. I speed walked the rest of the way to Anzu's house. It was a Wednesday afternoon, and the sun was bright. The world seemed, at least for the moment, to be totally right. Even Yami Bakura hadn't been able to ruin this day. Actually, he had been rather enjoyable. He was agreeable and actually made an honest effort not to be his normal self. Yuki had been utterly overjoyed when Yami admitted there might be some hope for Bakura yet. It had been the first time I had ever heard Yuki say, "I told you so!" Bakura, like so many guys in our little group, had developed a protective nature for Yuki. Himeko thought it was funny, but as always, poor Yuki didn't get it. I think for Bakura, it had a lot to do with the fact that Yuki had been the only one willing to give him a second chance. Now, it seemed like he was determined not to let her belief be in vain.
I finally found myself on Anzu's doorstep, knocking on the door. A disheveled Anzu answered the door and smiled weakly at me.
" Hi, Yugi." She said as I stepped into the house.
" Hi. How's your stomach feeling?" I asked. Anzu's little episode at the movies had turned out to be stomach virus. She had actually been feeling sick for a few days, but hadn't said anything to anyone. It finally got to her during the movie we had been trying to watch with Jou and Mai.
" Better than it did. The doctor said I'll probably be able to go to school by Friday." Anzu said. I hefted the bag in my arms onto the kitchen table.
" Great. Here's your homework. And I put my notes in there too, so you can copy them down." I said, dropping my own bag on the floor. I knew as well as Anzu did that her mother wouldn't be home for another few hours. She was also an only child, and as for her father... I never asked and no one ever told me why he was never around. Anzu never did tell me until years later.
" You're such a sweetheart, Yugi." Anzu said, smiling. " I would give you a hug, but I'm probably not the most pleasurable person to hug right now." I blushed profusely at the suggestion, and I knew it.
" Um, yeah." I muttered, suddenly tongue-tied.
" So how did Yami Bakura do? Tell me everything!" Anzu begged.
" Well, it was interesting." I said, taking the initiative and sitting down. " He was trying really hard, and you could tell. He spent the entire time watching every else to see what they did." I started. I went on to tell of Bakura's misadventures throughout the day.
" Can you believe it?" Anzu asked after I had finished. " We've just started our third year of high school. Pretty soon we're going to be looking at colleges."
" Yeah." I murmured. In truth, the idea of college made me nervous. Could I stand to be apart from everyone I cared about? If my dreams for my future came true, they would most likely carry me far away from the people I cared about. I didn't think I would be able to do it.
*+*+*Yuki*+*+*
" Oh, this skirt would be too cute on you, Yuki!" Himeko cried, holding up a denim miniskirt.
" Yami and Seto would die if I wore that!" I protested.
" So? Let them. They don't own you." Himeko said, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at me.
" I don't wear skirts." I said stoutly.
" Yeah, you wear raggedy baggy jeans that look older than me!" Himeko cried, exasperated.
" That's me. Take me the way I am." I said, annoyed. I'd been having a pretty lousy week. I had been having some trouble with some girls from my class lately, and Yukio was, according to the first grade teacher, not following the rules and refusing to do his work. It had me worried. And then, to top it all off, Himeko wanted to drag me off shopping. I figured I would have an ulcer by the time I was eighteen.
" A skirt can't kill you. At least try it on." Himeko prodded me. I gave her my best glare. " Fine! Be stubborn." She cried, returning the skirt to the rack.
" Excuse me if I'm wrong, but didn't you give me that trait, Mother?" I asked, emphasizing "mother."
" Yeah, yeah. Keep it down, will you?" Himeko said, glancing around nervously. I looked over Himeko's shoulder at a girl I vaguely recognized from school.
" Oh, hi!" I called, waving to her. I knew she was one of the girls that had been giving me a hard time, but they do say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, and that love defeats the most admirable foes. Or something like that, anyway. She stared at me like I was crazy as I jogged up to her. " Um, your name's Machiko, right?"
" Yeah, that's me." Machiko agreed hesitantly. " You're Yuki, right? Yuki Kaiba?" she asked. I shook my head, but I could feel a light blush painting my cheeks. Machiko had dark brown hair and mahogany eyes. I thought she looked like the kind of girl who could pull off the most difficult bluff ever. She had a perfectly unreadable face.
" No, Seto and I aren't related. My last name is Motou." I said, willingly using my new adoptive name.
" I didn't think you and Kaiba were related. I thought you were married." Machiko said, blinking at me.
" Married?" I asked, thoroughly confused.
" M-married?!" Himeko echoed, her stutter coming in.
" Well, you do live with him." Machiko said patiently.
" I'm not even seventeen yet. Why would I get married, and to my best friend?" I asked.
" I don't know. That's just what they all say." Machiko said. She looked at Himeko and then at me, then repeated the process over and over. " You two look an awful lot alike." She noted.
" Why, thank you." Himeko said, obviously flattered.
" We're sisters." I explained.
" Then why were you calling her 'Mother' a minute ago?" Machiko asked. I faltered. I hate lying. I knew it was necessary, but I still hate it, and I'm no good at it at all.
" Um, it's a joke. I'm older and sometimes I get bossy, so she calls me that to knock me down to size." Himeko said, giving a high pitched, forced laugh. I nodded. Machiko stared at us.
" There's something weird about you two. First Yugi Motou started acting funny a few years ago, and then Yuki appears out of the blue. Then, your whole group disappears for like two weeks, and then Yami and you appear. Now Ryou Bakura's got a look-alike too." She listed, staring at us hard. " There's something definitely weird about you. And I'm going to find out what it is." She stated, then walked off. Himeko and I stared after her.
" I think we may have a problem." Himeko said.
A few hours later, Yami was throwing the kind of fit only he can throw.
" What'd you let slip?" he asked Himeko and I angrily.
" Nothing!" Himeko protested, equally angry.
" Really!" I agreed. " We told her the same things we tell everybody! We're sisters, part of a set of quadruplets." I said. Yugi pulled at Yami's sleeve.
" Okay, Yami. I think they really didn't tell her anything." He said loudly.
" This is a serious problem, right?" Seto asked, sinking into a chair in his personal office in the mansion. Himeko collapsed onto the couch. Nearby, Jou leaned against a wall. Anzu was at her house, still recovering, and Mai, Honda, Ryou, and Bakura were all on the way.
" This is way past serious. No one outside this group can know about us. It just can't happen." Yami said, his voice sounding suddenly flat and defeated.
" Can you imagine all the scientists? Just the ones who would want to know about ancient Egypt would be overwhelming." Yugi muttered. " And then there would be the ones who would want to learn about the Millennium Items. Oh, God. Can you imagine what they would do to Yuki?" he asked. Everyone looked at me. I was suddenly afraid.
" Lock her up, run tests on her until her body breaks." Jou muttered angrily. " Like she's just some lab rat."
" I don't even like testing on animals." Seto said with a sigh. Mai tromped into the room like she always did, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
" So what's the big emergency?" she asked.
" Some girl from school knows something is weird about us." Yugi said. Mai frowned.
" What girl?" she asked.
" Machiko." Himeko offered.
" Okay, I'll pull a guilt trip on her tomorrow." Mai said.
" A what?" I asked, once again finding myself confused.
" Never mind, Yuki." Five people said in unison. I considered pursuing the topic, but Honda came rushing in right then.
" What's the situation?" he asked. Everyone stared at him.
" There is no situation, as of yet." Himeko said slowly. The problem was explained to him, while I was still wondering over the guilt trip thing.
" But I don't get it!" I protested.
" Never mind, Yuki!" everyone told me, the tone a little more pushy.
" Okay, okay." I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest. Honda gave me a hug and I felt a little better.
" Where's Ryou and his shadow?" Yami asked, thoroughly annoyed by both their tardiness and Honda's display of affection for me. I glanced at Seto, but he was looking in another direction.
" Could you try to be nicer to Tepe?" Himeko asked him hotly. I could feel another argument developing between them. Yugi and I looked at each other.
" No." Yami said simply.
" I can't believe you!" Himeko cried.
" That's enough, you two. Argue later." Yugi said, pushing Yami until he sat down. I grabbed Himeko and made her sit across the room. Of course, that didn't stop either of them from glaring at the other.
" So what are we going to do?" Jou asked, straightening his posture and stretching his arms over his head.
" Nothing." Seto said, smiling.
" And just let her find you guys out?" Mai asked, aghast. Yugi smiled as well.
" Oh, I get it. Nothing. No Millennium Item use, no attacking, and Himeko, that means no little punishments. Yuki will have to control herself as best she can." Yugi said, flashing me a meaningful look. I knew he was referring to my somewhat shaky control of my abilities, and I winced. I had a long history of unpredictable energy surges, and my talent, which we still hadn't decided the nature of, was not something I could control.
" Okay, sorry we're late. He got us lost." Ryou said as he walked into the room, pointing to Bakura to show us who "he" was.
" How I was I supposed to know that was the wrong way?" Bakura asked.
" I tried to tell you, but you didn't listen." Ryou reminded him. The situation was related to them. Actually, it was related by Yami to Ryou, because my oldest brother still refused to acknowledge Bakura's presence.
" And we were just discussing how there will be no attacking, no use of Millennium Items or talents. In short, we get to be normal. Totally normal." Yugi said.
" Absolutely normal?" Ryou asked, his voice hesitant.
" Absolutely." Yugi agreed stolidly.
" That's hard!" Himeko protested.
" I guess we don't get a choice." I said.
" What happens if Yuki has a surge?" Mai asked.
" Yuki won't have a surge." I said decisively, speaking for myself in the third person.
" And your talent?" Seto pursued, watching me intently.
" Um... Any suggestions?" I asked, smiling sheepishly.
" What is her talent?" Bakura asked Ryou.
" We don't know." Ryou answered.
" How could you not know your own talent?" Bakura asked, the question directed at me.
" Whatever it is, I can't control it. It just sort of happens instinctively." I said, shrugging.
" I can't believe this. I'm going to be living off of pain killers." Yami muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
" How long?" Himeko asked, her voice sounding deflated, as though all the fight had escaped her like air from a balloon.
" Until this Machiko girl gets off our tail." Yami said.
" Live like mortals? I don't know if I can do it." Bakura said.
" Will everyone please calm down?" Yugi asked. " We need to stay calm and approach this logically. All we need to do is prove that we're entirely normal, aside from the obvious things. How hard could that possibly be? Ryou, Yuki, and I survive just fine without using our talents." Yugi was stared at by every yami present.
" Wouldn't you just love to have that naivete again?" Bakura asked Himeko.
That night found us in a playful mood. We were well aware that there was school the next day. But there was just an air that hung over the mansion, an air that beckoned us to play like little children again.
A child's scream echoed over the huge backyard, and I turned toward it, a wide grin spread over my face. I crouched low to the ground, my limbs spread out. Silently, I began to creep toward a shadow that moved under the moonlight. I decided by the silhouette that it must be Yami. I crouched near a bush as he walked past, his steps cautious. I fired my coiled muscles and launched myself at him.
" AH!" He cried in shock and probably fear. I released my grip on his shoulders and dropped to the ground, weak with laughter. " Yuki, you little- " Yami cried, adding a few choice Egyptian words. I knew Egyptian well enough to know exactly what he was calling me, thanks to the fact that Himeko and I had once shared a head. I also knew better than to be insulted. Instead, I continued laughing. I grinned widely up at Yami, whose glare broke up as he started laughing as well. Just then, Kentaro, the big Doberman Seto had bought after our return from Egypt, arrived on the scene, barking madly. He stooped and gave me a sloppy barrage of dog kisses. I forced myself to my feet with Yami's help.
" What a night!" I exclaimed as Yoshi and Yukio came tearing out of the darkness and tackled me around the waste, screaming something about ghosts. Ryou and Bakura appeared out the tree nearby, both laughing.
" They thought... we were ghosts." Ryou explained, trying to catch his breath.
" He was making scary noises!" Yukio announced, pointing at Bakura, who grinned and made one of those spooky ghost noises. Yukio screeched and hid behind me.
" That's enough." I reprimanded.
" I can see why they thought you were ghosts." Yami said seriously, nodding to Ryou's hair. Bakura rolled his eyes.
" To say nothing about your hair." He intoned.
" That's enough!" I cried, trying not to laugh.
" Well, did you just stick up for Ryou?" Yami asked, sounding genuinely surprised. Bakura blushed.
" No! I have the same hair, incase you didn't notice. Oh, I forgot. You used to pay for people to notice things for you. Still haven't kicked that habit?" Bakura asked.
" Can you two try not to rip each other apart? Please?" Himeko asked, tossing her hair as she entered the area.
" Why would we want to rip each other apart?" Yami asked innocently.
" Besides the fact that he's a stuck-up prick?" Bakura said, equally innocent.
" And he's a self righteous bastard?" Yami countered, facing Bakura.
" And he's a big-headed son of a bitch?" Bakura asked, his temper obviously flaring. I pushed myself between them and shoved them apart.
" Honestly, Tepe. If Ammon is a son of a bitch, that makes me a daughter of a bitch." Himeko said patronizingly. " And that makes Yugi and Yuki the grandchildren of a bitch. Don't forget that you can't insult Ammon like that without insulting me and the young ones as well." Bakura backed away from Yami, who gloated until I kicked him in the shin. He cursed under his breath, but didn't say anything out loud. Yugi tackled Yami at the waist at that exact moment, and everyone laughed, the mood instantly lightening. Seto arrived, Mokuba slung over his shoulder and Mai following him. Jou and Honda arrived soon afterward, but not without raising a fuss.
" Ah! Don't tickle me, Yugi!" Mai screamed, shying away from Yugi, who stared at her blankly.
" I didn't touch you, Mai." He protested quietly.
" Ah! Who tickled me?!" Himeko asked, practically climbing up Yami. At that moment, I felt fingers tease my sensitive sides. I made a noise somewhere between a shriek and laughter, and tried to hide behind Seto. Unfortunately for me, the tickling ghost followed me. I practically tackled Yami in an attempt to get away.
" Could you two get off of me?" Yami asked shrilly.
" How come he always get the good end of the deal?" Bakura wailed. Ryou shrugged.
" You call this the good end?" Yami asked in disbelief.
" They really don't ever stop." Yugi said, shaking his head.
" EEK! Who did that?!" Mai shrieked, grabbing Yugi around the neck. I couldn't decide whether it was meant as punishment for him or comfort for her.
" Whatever gets the girls for him," Bakura said, nodding at Yami, who was trying to remove himself from Himeko and my death grip. " It must be hereditary." Bakura decided, looking pointedly at Yugi. At that exact moment, I felt a set of fingers tickle my sides again. I reacted on lightning reflexes and grabbed the wrist those fingers belonged to, flung the body over my shoulder with force, and let out a cry of triumph.
" I think I got our mystery tickler-" I started, grinning broadly. Then I looked down into the face of the culprit. " Honda?! Oh, I'm so sorry!" I cried, instantly sorry. Seto took the chance to burst out laughing.
" That's what you get for trying to scare these girls." Yami said, after Himeko let go of him to pounce Honda.
" You idiot! You nearly scared me to death!" she screamed. And then, to make matters worse, Jou stepped out of the shadows, laughing it up.
" The look on your faces!" he cried, wiping tears away from his eyes. " It was priceless!" he added. I think Mai would have killed him if she wasn't laughing as hard as he was. And that was such a funny sight that everyone else started laughing too, and soon we were all sitting on the ground, wiping tears away and trying to remember how to breathe.
" You grown-ups are funny." Yukio announced, and everyone laughed again. I let my head flop down over Yami's chest, my legs draped over Seto. Nearby, Mai was using Jou's thigh as a pillow and had her legs crisscrossing with Himeko's, who had discovered that Honda's belly makes a great pillow. Bakura was stretched out alone on the grass, not out of arms reach of Himeko and only a few feet away from me. Ryou and Yugi were both sort of sprawled near each other, and Mokuba, Yoshi, and Yukio were curled up against Seto and I. Suddenly silent, we all stared skyward at the stars.
" Wouldn't it be great if you could just soar up there until you're so high you can touch those stars, and then just fall back to earth?" I wondered out loud. A few grunts and small noises of agreement answered me.
" I never really liked that whole thing about stars being just big balls of burning gas. I always thought it really took the fun out of stargazing." Yugi noted. Bakura sat up and stared at him.
" Stars are just balls of burning gas? Then how can we see them? How can they stay up there?" he asked, looking like the very foundation of the world had been ripped out from under him.
" There's no gravity in space, so-" Yugi started, but the blank look on Bakura's face stopped him. " Never mind, Bakura. I'll explain it later."
" I want to know now!" Bakura protested. Everyone laughed, and then it was silent again. " I was always taught that stars were really heroes and great people from the past who were elevated to always watch over the rest of the world, and because they were so great in life, they shined in the night sky to light the way." Bakura said after a moment. " Don't explain the stars to me. It'll ruin it." He decided. Yami's chest heaved under my head in a chuckle, but it wasn't the kind of chuckle I would have expected. It was more sympathetic than teasing, more like Yami knew what Bakura was going through.
" There's Polaris. The North Star." I muttered, pointing.
" The Guide Star." Yami agreed. " We knew a man who was a... Well, in this age, he'd be a captain. He taught us how to navigate with the Guide Star." I knew that when Yami said "we," he meant himself and Himeko.
" I remember him!" Himeko exclaimed. " He stopped coming after Father died." Again, everyone fell silent. I could have used Himeko's memory to see the man they spoke of, but I was quickly growing drowsy.
" My dad taught me how to find the North Star when I was a kid. Back before my mom and him got a divorce." Jou noted. We all caught the hidden message in his words. Before my dad went wrong. No one commented on it, though.
" I learned from Yami." Yugi confided.
" I learned from Bakura." Ryou added readily. Everyone waited for Bakura to speak up. There was, naturally, a long moment of silence.
" Okay, fine. I learned from my father, before he died. I was born in a wandering tribe. It's survival to know how to navigate by the stars." He explained gruffly. Himeko already knew that, I suspected.
" I learned from Yuki." Seto admitted.
" Well, pray tell, where did you learn how to find the North Star, Yuki?" Mai asked.
" I don't know. I've always known how to find it. It's the far lower corner of the Big Dipper. And the Big Dipper's easy to find." I said, shrugging. My shrug forced Yami to shift to get comfortable again.
" Well, I never knew before now." Mai admitted.
" City girl." I muttered. I can't help it. I have a very outdoorsy, country background. I don't always understand my friends because of it.
" I never knew, either. Street signs work just fine for navigating, thank you." Honda said.
" City boy." I amended. Everyone laughed. " I'd like to take you guys and turn you lose on my papa's land. Just to see what you'd do." I said, laughing at the thought of it.
" Wouldn't catch me dead out there." Mai said haughtily.
" I could handle it. How hard could it be? We managed at the Duelist Kingdom just fine." Jou said. I laughed, and Seto, who had had a fair taste of the life I had lived, joined me.
" You'd be begging for help within the first three hours." I announced. " What with coyotes, and wild dogs, and bobcats, and hawks, and snakes-"
" Snakes? No way!" Mai screamed.
" Oh, big ones, Mai. Huge. Why, I saw a black water moccasin-and those are really poisonous, you know-just outside the door once. About, oh, maybe four feet long, three inches thick at the middle, maybe four. Real big, broad head. And he sat up and showed me those big long needles of his, just dripping in venom-" I said, purposely taking on a country drawl.
" Stop!" Mai begged.
" And once, I saw a cottonmouth, about as long as my leg! He snapped at Papa, but Papa chopped his head off with a shovel. Bad thing about snakes, though, is that they can still bite you after that. And their nasty bodies keep on slithering, like they're looking for their head." I continued. Mai whimpered and squealed.
" Can we go inside?" she asked fearfully.
" Yeah, let's go inside." Himeko agreed, jumping up.
" That won't stop a snake. I found one, a nice big copperhead no less, nestled inside the boy's bathroom. The thing was big enough to take two fingers off in one bite, and it was real close!" I said. I was exaggerating, of course. The black water moccasin I had seen had really been a good five feet away, and the cottonmouth I had only seen after Papa had killed it. And as for the snake in the bathroom... Well, maybe I didn't exaggerate on that one.
" Make her stop!" Mai wailed.
" That's enough, Yuki. I don't like snakes anymore than Mai does." Yami said sternly.
" They're harmless if you chop their heads off and stay back!" I protested, smiling. I had achieved the desired effect already, which was to scare Mai and everyone else silly. With the exception of Bakura, I seemed to have done very well. Nothing, I've found, scares people quite as much as good snake stories. Everyone likes to say that I'm really sweet and innocent, but that doesn't mean I don't have an evil streak. After all, there had to be some in me to harbor Himeko all that time ago.
The next day at school started out perfectly normal. I managed to survive my first classes no worse for the wear. Even though I was pretty worn out from the night before, I managed to stay cheerful and upbeat. My friends seemed to have decided that's my role, to be happy and positive. Seto was positively grouchy, due to the fact that he had abandoned his work the night before and now he had more than ever. Yami and Yugi were grouchy also, due to lack of sleep. Himeko and I seem to function better on less sleep than those two. Honda and Jou were their normal selves, and Mai, as always, looked simply immaculate. Anzu even showed up at school. She looked pretty tired, but was otherwise entirely better.
I was on my way to my class directly after lunch, wondering why Seto and Honda had gotten into a competition to see who could lift the heaviest objects. Seto didn't usually indulge in those silly things, but lately he had been acting pretty strange when Honda was around us. I didn't get it, so I was puzzling over it. I was still deep in my thoughts, trying to figure it out, when a hand grabbed my elbow and hauled me into the girls' bathroom. Another hand clamped over my mouth, muffling any attempt to cry out. My instinctive reaction when muted was to call out mentally, try to reach someone who would hear.
Help! I called mentally. But my thoughts sounded hollow and dead, like they couldn't carry. HELP! I screamed with all my mental might, but still the hollow, empty feeling. Like no one could hear. Someone had to be muffling me mentally and spiritually, as well as physically. And that downright annoyed me. But I remembered that I wasn't supposed to use any special abilities for the time being, so I managed to keep the sudden, savage flow of energy in check. But anyone within scanning distant that could scan would have known that I was a ticking time bomb that could blow all of Japan and part of China sky high.
" Don't be difficult, and we won't have a problem." A girl's voice whispered. I recognized the voice. It was Aiko, one of the group that had been giving me a hard time lately. My tense body instantly fell limp. I knew all too well that if you just take what they dish out without a word, they go away quicker. Although, I had no idea why they reveled in hurting me. I found myself bound hand and foot, sitting on the bathroom floor, gagged, and looking up at Aiko, Machiko, Tori, and Kimi. I kept my expression blank. No emotion.
" Hello, Yuki. Imagine meeting you here." Machiko, the leader of the bunch, said conversationally. Imagine indeed, I retorted in my mind. I kept my mouth shut, however.
" Well, isn't that impolite? Not even saying hello? And your precious friends are always saying how nice and polite you are." Aiko said, shaking her head like I was some child she was disappointed in. What I wouldn't have given for one shot at each of them! I didn't need any supernatural abilities to take those four out. One punch each, that's all I wanted. But fighting back only makes things worse.
" You're right, Aiko. Isn't she right, Yuki?" Machiko asked, kicking my thigh. It wasn't hard, just a warning. I knew the warnings. They had never actually carried them out, but today they seemed particularly cocky. Well, I thought angrily, how do you expect me to say anything with this gag in my mouth? Instead of actually speaking, I nodded.
" That's a good girl. Isn't Yuki a good girl?" Kimi said.
" A very good girl. Too good." Tori agreed. This was going the way it always did. Machiko gave me a disgusted look.
" Perfect little Yuki. Sweet, pretty, nice, innocent. What a load of bull shit!" she cried. " I'm so sick of your little games, pretty little Miss Yuki. 'Fess up, now. We know you're not all you say you are."
" And on top off that, you've got every decent guy at this school ready to go to war for you." Aiko said, shaking her head. " I wish they could see what a phony you are." She added. That's right, I sneered mentally, insult me while my hands are tied and I'm gagged. Attack me when I can't fight back. God, I'd like to break your nose! Break it so that it'd never grow back right. Right in the middle of the bridge of your nose, between the eyes. Break your nose and give you two black eyes!
" That whole little naïve and innocent act may work on the guys, but it doesn't work on us. We see right through you." Machiko announced. I felt my old rage building in my throat. I swallowed it down. I was overcoming that, and no airhead cheerleader with a grudge was going to destroy all I had worked for. No way. Besides, that was not the way to be thinking. Bad thoughts lead to bad actions. Now, what would Seto or Yami or Himeko do? Well, Himeko would probably have already blasted them off the face of the earth and said to herself, "Problem? What problem?" Yami would have used his mind control thing and had them all go to Madagascar and stay there. Neither one of those ideas struck me as very good or very possible. Plus, two wrongs don't make a right. So, what would Seto do? If it was him, he'd threaten them with blackmail. If he found out about this, he'd probably hire an assassin. Not a good idea either. I was beginning to think I needed to reconsider the people I looked up to. It'd probably help me if I knew why they hated me.
" So, girls, what do you say we tarnish little Yuki's best charming weapon?" Machiko asked, reaching into the pocket of her uniform. I looked up at her sharply, not exactly by free will. She had grabbed my chin and jerked my face upward. " You've got such a cute, innocent little face. You know that, don't you, Yuki? After all, you use it so well. What would Kaiba and Honda say if you turned up with that innocent face slashed to ribbons?" she asked, flashing a five inch knife in front of my face, so close I couldn't ignore it. I knew my eyes were following that knife's every movement. But I didn't care. I could hear the other three laughing, but they sounded far away.
" Aw, Machiko! Don't go and do it so fast! That takes all the fun out of it! Why don't we let her plead her case first? After all, innocent until proven guilty." Kimi suggested. Machiko grinned at me maliciously and jerked my gag down. More like guilty until proven innocent, I thought grimly, and that doesn't seem too likely.
" So, cutey, what have you got to say for yourself?" Machiko asked.
" I'm not really sure why you hate me so much, but I'm really sorry." I started. It was not a good start, because they all laughed. " I don't put on any acts. My friends are my friends because they like me, or at least I like to think so. Why would you think that? Is that why you hate me?" I wondered out loud. Machiko slapped me across the mouth like I had called her all the worst names in the book.
" Shut up. I've had enough of you. I know you're not all you seem to be. I know it. Now I'm going to cut your face up until you tell me everything." She whispered, leaning so close her face was inches from mine. She brought the knife close to my face.
" Please, I don't want-" I began, but at that moment, the knife came at me. I was going to say, "I don't want to hurt you." I jerked my bound legs up and pushed against her stomach as hard as I could. I had used that trick once before, when Nepano was trying to get my orb on my neck. As though she had read my thoughts, Machiko reached for the orb and gave it a rough yank. I flailed violently. So much depended on that orb. Himeko's very existence rode on that little golden ball. At that moment, I sensed the mental muffle on my ability to call to someone lift.
HELP! I bellowed. But I had a sick feeling of dread as Kimi and Aiko pinned me to the ground and Machiko approached me, licking her lips, with that knife that no help would come on time.
" I wonder what the blood of purity tastes like." She whispered so that only I could hear.