The Game of Life
By: Rogue Fox
Part Eight... Machiko's Hate and Yuki's Blood
*+*+*Yami*+*+*
It's really tough, being the oldest of six siblings. It's even tougher when your little sisters have a stubborn streak and the oldest little brother is a younger, nicer version of yourself, and you're still learning how to deal with the two youngest. And if you've got my protective streak.
I know, and have since Isis and I were children, that I'm way too protective. But in Yuki's case, it's different. She emits a soft, gentle feeling that makes you want to protect her and preserve that innocence until you drop. It's hard not to lock her up in a room and keep her from the whole world. And I knew I wasn't the only one. I knew Kaiba would have willingly laid down his life to protect her before I even consciously knew of her existence. And now even Bakura was acting territorial about her, and I had always been so sure that guy completely lacked a heart. Anyone who had anything to do with Yuki had to have a heart. Maybe he wasn't so bad. But I would still kill him if I caught him so much as standing too close to Isis. My idea of too close was about two miles, but that seemed a little extreme in the tight confines of the school.
I was sitting in my geometry class directly after school. I hated geometry. It's really not the subject I hated. Geometry itself is very interesting. But the teacher I had is an idiot. If that man had lived in my time, he probably would have been written off as unfit for anything but the most mundane jobs. I'm sorry, but his lectures were not nearly as interesting as he thought they were. And his dumb jokes! I figured that I would always remember him as my most despised teachers, given that I didn't get any worse later.
" And therefore, you'll find that by adding the remote angles of the triangle, you will always get the measure of the exterior angle..." the teacher was droning on. I couldn't decide what was more boring, the fact that we had covered this yesterday and he refused to believe us when we told him (I think he was losing his memory), or the fact that his voice never changed pitch. The word pitch, of course, drew my thoughts toward the notes of a keyboard. I mentally rehearsed what I had learned from the books I had smuggled from the school library into my room. Things like scales in major and minor, flats and sharps... Soon, I had forgotten all about remote and exterior angles. My eyes lolled lazily over the class. A few seats away from me, I saw Jou with his head down on the desk. Judging by the rhythmic rise and fall from his breath, I decided he was fast asleep. Next to him, Mai was filing down her nails, the teacher completely forgotten. Ryou was in the front of the class. Usually, Ryou paid perfect attention. Today, he was working on history homework. The stupid teacher was too absorbed in hearing his own voice that he didn't notice. I wasn't the only one who was letting their mind wander to lands unknown.
That's when I got the first feeling of fear. It wasn't my own, I knew that. I glanced at Ryou, whose back had suddenly stiffened. So I wasn't being paranoid, Ryou had felt it too. Mai and Jou remained the way they had been, because they weren't as sensitive on the paranormal plane as we were. Whatever the feeling was, it was gone too quick to trace it. Ryou glanced over his shoulder at me, closer to the back of the room. I shook my head. Probably just a fluke, I mouthed for him to see. He nodded and turned back to scribbling down something on a paper for history. Oh, didn't we have a paper to write in there, I wondered, but it isn't due for a month. I stared at Ryou. He was that kind of student. Always ahead of everyone else. Yugi was the same way, but not to that degree.
I tried to pursue my previous train of thought again, playing a particular part of Mozart's Third in my head, but I couldn't seem to get it. There was something distracting me, something pulling at the back of my mind, telling me I was overlooking one very important fact. I tried to ignore it, but it just got more insistent. Again, Ryou turned to me from his own seat. His expression was questioning, as if to ask, "What does this mean?" I honestly didn't know.
HELP! Someone bellowed. I jumped to my feet. Ryou cried out and toppled to the floor. We both sat there for a few dead silent minutes, the entire class, dumb teacher and all, staring at us. Neither one of us could have cared less. I nodded to Ryou and we both ran from the classroom. The last thing on my mind at that point was looking normal in front of others. I really didn't care about anything but getting to the person who had called for help.
" That voice! It felt like someone was screaming right in my ear!" Ryou cried once we were out of the classroom. His voice was shaky. I didn't blame him. I never would have told anyone, but my legs were weaker than a newborn's. I could barely stand.
" It was loud." I conceded. Loud. What a joke. If it had been loud, my head wouldn't have been pounding so hard. I felt like my skull was about to split, right down the middle. I was about to scan the area, when who should come barreling out of the classroom across the hall but...
" Bakura, you imbecile!" I cried indignantly from my new seat on the floor. Bakura stared at me.
" You didn't hear that?" he asked me, dumbfounded.
" You are even stupider than you look! Of course I heard it! Anyone in the world could have heard it!" I cried, my rage initiated.
" You're calling me stupid?!" Bakura asked, his own anger rising.
" Shut up, both of you!" Ryou yelled. Naturally, that shut us up right away. We both turned to stare at him. Ryou rarely ever spoke above normal volume, much less yelled. " Yugi and Himeko are moving, and they're heading towards the girls' bathroom by Mrs. Hiraki's class. I think Kaiba is with them."
" I feel pretty stupid. Outdone by a light." Bakura muttered. Ryou grinned at this small victory.
" You are pretty stupid." I reminded Bakura, who glared at me. " Come on. You didn't honestly think I'd pass that up." I protested. " Anyway, what's in the girls' bathroom?" I asked. The idea of having to go into a girls' bathroom didn't really sound too appealing. Especially not after seeing Yugi's memories of accidentally going into that forbidden place. Poor guy still got teased about it on occasions, mostly by Anzu.
" Um, that's the bad thing. Yuki is. And a few other people I can't really identify. One is really powerful, though." Ryou said. I was already on my feet and taking off, marveling at how fast Bakura was following me. I nearly had another head on collision with the oldest of my two dear sisters, and then I had to avoid her temperamental attempt to knock me out.
" Who's in there, aside from Yuki?" Yugi asked, giving the bathroom door a nervous glance.
" Gee, I wonder. Perhaps girls?" Kaiba muttered. He was as nervous and annoyed with the whole situation as I was. Here I was, not five yards away from Yuki, and completely unable to help her because of some stupid social restriction.
" Oh, honestly!" Himeko cried out in frustration. She stormed past Bakura and Ryou, and plowed straight into the bathroom. Ryou was actually the first to pluck up enough courage to follow her. Of course, Yugi, Bakura, Kaiba, and I were not going to let him be the one to outdo us again, so we followed him. But not a one of us wasn't nervous beyond comprehension.
*+*+*Himeko*+*+*
Men can be so stupid. Excuse me if you happen to be of the male species, but what is so scary about a girls' bathroom? It's really no different from a guys' bathroom. And no, I don't know this from experience. I know this because it's common knowledge. Really, it's not like there was a huge monster in there just waiting to devour them. Now, if Yuki had been in trouble in the boys' bathroom, All five of them would have plunged in without further thought. I would have been right behind them. But a girls' bathroom? No way.
And so, with those sort of thoughts in my head, I plowed into the bathroom in question. I was not pleased with what I saw.
" What the hell is going on here?" I asked, struggling to keep my temper in check. I waved my hand behind me as I sensed the guys finally following me. Don't come in until I say so. I whispered mentally, for all of them, except Seto, to hear. I knew they'd hold him back. If the situation hadn't been so dire, it would have been hilarious when Machiko, Aiko, Kimi, and Tori all leapt to their feet.
" Himeko!" Tori sputtered. I like to think I command an amount of respect from the female population. This was proof I was right. Machiko instantly dropped the knife in her hand. Yuki looked up at me from the floor where she was bound up. My anger seethed again, but I kept it under control.
" What the hell is going on here?" I repeated, a little more angrily.
" None of your business!" Machiko cried, bending down to pick up the knife she had been about to hurt Yuki with.
" If it involves Yuki, then it is my business." I growled.
" We're not any more afraid of you than we are of her." Aiko said. Aiko was a little thing. Not much more than skin and bones. I'm no giantess myself, and I'm actually really short by this age's standards, but I'm big enough to be threatening to Aiko. It must have taken a lot of courage for that little mouse to speak up against me. But none the less, it enraged me further.
" I'd be afraid, if I were you." I cautioned them. Get ready. I whispered to the guys.
" Please. You're just all talk and no fight. Just like her." Machiko said, gesturing to Yuki, whose wild eyes had grown much calmer with my very presence. It made me feel good to know she had such faith in me.
Now. I whispered mentally. I felt Ammon, Tepe, and Seto step up behind me. " I may be, but they aren't." I said, jerking my thumb over my shoulder. I was glad they had sent those three in first. Those three are far more intimidating than Yugi or Ryou.
The next few seconds were rather amusing as all four girls scrambled to get out of the bathroom, only to find Yugi and Ryou, both well known as "good boys," waiting outside. Then, they fell to pleading for mercy. Ryou and Yugi finally decided that they wouldn't tell any teachers, for now. So the four girls left, but not before Machiko stopped to give the untied Yuki a dangerous glare.
" Don't think this is over, cutie. Your little posse won't always be there to protect you. I'll get you when you least expect it." She called, then followed Kimi down the hall to her class.
We all went back to class, telling tales of feeling violently ill. In Ryou, Yugi, Yuki, and even Seto's case, we were believed by all the teachers. Even Tepe got a break, mostly because he was still new. However, Ammon and I had been here long enough for us to have skipped a few classes. So we got the book thrown at us.
" Damn it. Two weeks detention. That can't be fair." Ammon groaned. Yugi smiled up at him as we walked home, accompanied for the moment by Tepe and Ryou. My own light side had been forced into a limo ride home by our ever protective brothers, Tepe, and Seto. Ryou and I were content with Yuki's claim to be able to protect herself, but the other guys didn't believe it.
" Well, if you hadn't skipped geometry class last month, it probably wouldn't have been so bad." Yugi said patronizingly. Ammon ruffled his hair affectionately.
" Say one more word like I'm some kid, and I'll rip your tongue out." Ammon threatened calmly. Yugi smiled again, but he didn't say anything.
" I find this rather funny. You received punishment, and yet I did not." Tepe said, sounding marveled with the fact. " The tables have turned, I believe."
" Ha! Let's see you keep it up! You'll have a record long as your arm in a month." Ammon said.
" He does it." Tepe said, pointing to Ryou, who made a face at him. Fortunately, Tepe didn't notice because he was facing Ammon and I. " If he can do it, how hard can it be?"
" You couldn't keep out of trouble in our own age. What makes you think you can do it now?" Ammon asked. I rolled my eyes.
" I like seeing you get into trouble without getting into trouble myself?" Tepe suggested innocently.
" Can you two not bicker for one afternoon?" I asked. " Now let's figure out what Machiko and her friends wanted with Yuki."
" Jealousy?" Ryou suggested. Everyone stared at him.
" Yuki is the nicest girl in the whole school. Why, in the name of Ra, would anyone be jealous of her?" Yami asked.
" Well, just that. She's so nice. And since Kaiba has more girls chasing after him than most superstar guys, and he's practically devoted to Yuki, that makes a whole lot of girls jealous. And then they see Honda and Kaiba duking it out all the time, and to them it must look like Yuki doesn't even care. It's easy enough to understand." Ryou explained.
" If it's so easy to understand, how come I don't?" Tepe asked. Ammon just kept staring.
" I think Ryou's right. Their just jealous." I said decisively. " Ha! I've got a light that everyone's jealous of!" I cried, sticking my tongue out at Ammon and Tepe.
" I'm not jealous at all!" Tepe protested.
" You little brat!" Ammon cried. " My light's better!"
" Uh-uh!" I shot back.
" Uh-huh!" Ammon responded. Yugi and Ryou stared at us like we were all crazy.
" Now, now." Tepe said calmly. " We all know my light is the best, so we can stop fighting."
" You pompous-" Ammon started.
" Why you big-" I said at the same time.
" Hey, stop that!" We both yelled at each other. We kept that up for a minute before Yugi stepped in.
" How about we all agree that yami's and lights alike are all equal?" he suggested.
" I still think-" I started.
" Himeko, don't even!" Ryou and Yugi threatened.
*+*+*Yuki*+*+*
It didn't matter that I was safe at home. It didn't even make a difference that I was curled into a ball on my bed with Seto's arms around me. I was still shaking. I could still hear Machiko's cold voice, whispering to me as she brought the knife close to my face to tear it to shreds.
" I wonder the blood of purity tastes like." She had whispered. I hadn't told them. I was scared to. I felt like one wrong word, and Machiko would be back. In that moment, her mahogany eyes had shone black and her hand on my throat had been cold as ice.
" Yuki, tell me what's wrong." Seto begged me. He hadn't left me since we walked in the door and I had fallen into a pathetic heap at his feet. I kept silent, afraid that my voice would betray my unreasonable terror further. Seto slipped his arms off of me and reached for the phone beside my bed. " I've had enough of this, Yuki. I'm calling your brothers and Himeko." He told me. I reached for the phone to stop him, but he stepped out of my reach.
" Don't!" I begged him, my voice trembling.
" I'm calling them." Seto said firmly. I tried to glare at him, but I was too scared. I don't know why I was so scared. I had absolutely nothing to be afraid of, and I knew it. But still, the terror was as fresh as it had been when the knife was at my cheek. Maybe I was afraid because of what had rendered me helpless in that moment. I had become used to being unstoppable once provoked. But Machiko, without raising so much as a finger, had left me helpless. Those silly ropes were nothing I couldn't have broken under normal circumstances. But when Machiko looked at me, her hate burned like an unstoppable flame. Her hate was palpable. And it left me powerless as a baby before her. It was like a hypnotic power that made me hold still and make it easy for her to slice me to ribbons. And she wanted to know what my blood tasted like. I was sure that was what she meant by "purity."
" Yeah... She hasn't done much of anything... No, I don't think she's in shock... No... Yes, as soon as possible... If I knew that I wouldn't be calling you!" Seto cried in annoyance. I sat up and looked him. " Yeah, I'll see you then." He said into the phone and hung up. " They'll be here in a few minutes." He told me reassuringly.
" She told me..." I started, in a whisper, but then stopped myself. I wouldn't have Seto worrying about me more than he already did. Just then, the phone rang. Out of sheer habit, I reached out and picked it up. " Hello?" I said into the phone. If I had been the kind of girl who faints a lot, I probably would have fainted when the person on the other end replied. Even so, I almost did faint.
" Hi, cutie." Machiko's voice said calmly. My face drained of all color and Seto looked at me curiously. " That's okay, don't say anything. Just listen." Machiko said hurriedly. " You know what I want. You know I'm going to get it. So why resist me? Besides, who knows what would happen to your precious friends if you resist?" Machiko asked. I tried to swallow, but my throat and mouth were as dry as the Sahara Desert. I could barely breathe. " Do you really want your dear brothers and your lovely sister paying the price for your stubbornness? Oh, dear. I've got to go, cutie. But I'm gonna getcha!" Machiko cried, laughing before hanging up the phone. I listened to the dial tone for a minute, before dropping the phone to the ground and looking up at Seto.
" Why?" I asked him helplessly.
" That was Machiko, wasn't it?" he asked. I nodded numbly. " What does she want?"
" Me." I said, with no emotion in my voice. " She wants my blood."
About half an hour later, Yami, Yugi, Himeko, Bakura, Ryou, Honda, Anzu, and Seto were all sitting with me in the main living room of Seto's mansion. The younger boys, Mokuba, Yoshi, and Yukio, were all outside playing with Kentaro. We figured no one was stupid enough to try to hurt them with Kentaro there, and we'd hear him bark if there was trouble.
" What is she, some sort of vampire?" Anzu asked after I had told them the entire story.
" No way. Vampires aren't real." Honda said, waving his hand dismissively.
" Two years ago, Honda, you would have said that I wasn't real. That Yugi just needed a therapist." Yami said calmly. " You've seen for yourself that some things regarded as 'not real' are actually quite real after all."
" Still, vampire? Come on. That seems like something you'd tell the little guys on Halloween night." Ryou protested. Bakura silenced him.
" Don't speak of things you don't understand. Even in Egypt in the old days there were tales of creatures that walked by night and drank the blood of mortals, creatures that surpassed death and became something else." He said. " Everywhere I've ever been have similar tales. If you look into the past of this country, you'll find such tales as well."
" The story of the vampire that took the form of a mortal woman and married one of her would-have-been victims." Anzu said, nodding.
" He's got a point. A lot of cultures have stories about vampires. They just don't call them by the same names." Seto said.
" But those old tales speak of inhuman things that walk by night, and are harmed by the sun. Machiko comes to school in the day. By sunlight." Himeko protested.
" Sunscreen?" Honda suggested. Everyone except myself groaned.
" Vampire just doesn't fit. For some reason, I just can't think of Machiko as a vampire." Yugi said, shaking his head.
" Honestly, I think we should get her expelled for threatening Yuki." Anzu said.
" Lot of good that would do. We've got no evidence. And even if we did get her and her group expelled, she'd just come after Yuki outside of school. And then, of course, she'd have even more reason to hate Yuki." Honda said, sighing. I lowered my head and cradled it in my hands.
" But why would she want Yuki's blood, and Yuki's blood only? Why not Yami or Himeko?" Ryou wondered.
" Or you, perhaps." Himeko said, glaring at Ryou. However, no one had an answer for this. I had an idea, but I didn't say it out loud.
" Shouldn't Jou and Mai be here by now?" Seto asked, looking around as though he expected to see them in the room with us.
" Yeah, come to think of it. They are late." Yugi said.
" More than fifteen minutes, too. Mai likes to be fifteen minutes late at most, and five minutes late at least. She calls it fashionably late. I call it late." Himeko said, shrugging.
" I'll call them. They're at Mai's place, right?" Honda, who was nearest to the living room phone, said. He picked up the phone and dialed Mai's number. " Hello. This is Honda. I was just calling to see if- What's wrong?" Honda asked suddenly, looking alarmed. " Look, just calm down and tell me-" now all the color drained from Honda's face.
" Oh, God." I moaned.
*+*+*Jou*+*+*
After school and the incident with Yuki, I decided to walk home with Mai. I just felt like I needed to be with her. Thank goodness she accepted my company.
" So, did you finish that geometry assignment?" Mai asked me. I sighed and shifted my bag.
" Do I ever?" I asked, grimacing. " I swear that teacher's out to get me." I needed to make good grades. I wanted more than anything to get into a good college. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with my life, but I was sure I would need a good education. I didn't always feel this way, but I did now. All I had to do was look at my father. I love my father. I always did. But my father is the definition of low for a man. I never wanted to be like him, stuck in a dead end job with a son I barely know, getting drunk every night and sleeping with women I'll never see again. That is not my description of what a man should be.
" Yeah. Anyway, I sent in that application to that college in Paris." Mai said. I looked at her. I wanted her to have a good education as much as I wanted to get one myself, but the idea of her being clear in Paris, France, did not appeal to me. A man, I thought to myself. A man should be honest and loyal, like Honda. He should be brave and strong, like Yami. He should be intelligent and a leader, like Kaiba. He should be loving and gentle, like Yugi. I couldn't help but worry that I was destined for the same fate as my father, a lowlife that can't get a decent job. A man should be able to care and provide for the woman he loves. I wanted to be that kind of man. I was willing to make any sacrifice to be that kind of man for Mai. The kind of man she deserved. The kind that wouldn't hurt her, not the kind that girls like Mai seem to attract.
" And?" I prodded, trying to forget the ominous thoughts in my head.
" And, it's a three month wait for a reply. At least." Mai said as she walked up the stairs to her apartment. " I'm not expecting a reply for a while, if I get one at all."
" Wish I knew what I was doing with my life, like you." I said, feeling a little envious.
" Well, you'll figure it out. I know you will. And I also know you're going to call me the minute you do." Mai said, smiling at me as she unlocked the door.
" Anzu seemed better today." I said.
" Yeah. It was good to see her smiling like that after that night at the movies. She was really blowing chunks." Mai said.
" That wasn't a good night for anybody." I said.
" Yuki and Kaiba were okay." Mai said, looking up at me as we walked into her apartment. She went to the fridge and handed me a soda, and got a bottled water for herself. She always ate like that. Everything was that tasteless health food crap.
" Kaiba told me that Yuki was anything but okay. She felt everything Himeko felt." I said.
" Wow. That must be so weird, knowing there's someone out there who knows everything about you, someone who created you." Mai said. " I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous. I've always wanted a sister, and Yuki gets not only a sister, but two brothers out of the blue."
" I've been a little jealous of them since Yami first showed up. Him and Yugi just seemed so close, like brothers. But you know, it's not like they really don't deserve it all. They've really been through a lot." I said.
" You're right. It's just... Well, you know. You always do." Mai said, smiling up at me. I plopped down on the couch just as the phone rang. " I've got it." Mai called, heading into her room where the phone in question was ringing. When she came back, her face was a little pale.
" What's the matter?" I asked.
" Yuki. It's like she's in shock or something. Yugi just called and said that Kaiba called him and Yuki's not doing well." She told me.
" Okay. Let's go, then." I said, standing up. " Think we can get there on foot, or do we have money for a bus?" I asked. Mai walked up to me, stood on tiptoe, smiled, and gave me kiss on the cheek. I blushed a red bright enough to make my face pass off as a tomato.
" That's what I like about you, Jou. You're always willing to drop what you're doing, no matter what it is, and help a friend. Would you do that for me?" she asked.
" Hell, Mai, I'd already be running down the street if it was you." I muttered. Mai's smile grew.
" Well, let's go then." She said. However, when she opened the door, someone was already there.
" Hello there." Machiko said. " I need to use your phone. Oh, and you as well."
*+*+*Yugi*+*+*
I thought I was going to drop where I stood and die. I was standing in Mai's living room. Across the room, Honda and Kaiba were trying to comfort Mai's mother. No one had been able to find Jou's dad.
" Do you know where we could find Mr. Jounouchi, son?" a police officer asked me. I sighed and turned from the sight of the living room. I thought that if I looked at it any longer, I would vomit. Anzu hadn't even been able to come in.
" You might want to look in all the bars in a two mile radius from his apartment." I said. I didn't say it scornfully. I said it for what it was. A fact. I turned back to the living room. Yami was looking down at a dark brownish-red stain on the cream colored rug. The couch had been over turned and several lamps lay shattered on the ground. Whoever had taken Jou and Mai hadn't done so without having to fight them first. Bakura approached me from behind.
" You thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked. Ryou also stepped close.
" Probably." I muttered. I felt angry, and guilty. I looked up at Yuki, who stared blankly at Mai's bloody and torn jacket, tossed carelessly on the floor near the door. " This just got way more serious."
" No. This is war now." Himeko growled.
By: Rogue Fox
Part Eight... Machiko's Hate and Yuki's Blood
*+*+*Yami*+*+*
It's really tough, being the oldest of six siblings. It's even tougher when your little sisters have a stubborn streak and the oldest little brother is a younger, nicer version of yourself, and you're still learning how to deal with the two youngest. And if you've got my protective streak.
I know, and have since Isis and I were children, that I'm way too protective. But in Yuki's case, it's different. She emits a soft, gentle feeling that makes you want to protect her and preserve that innocence until you drop. It's hard not to lock her up in a room and keep her from the whole world. And I knew I wasn't the only one. I knew Kaiba would have willingly laid down his life to protect her before I even consciously knew of her existence. And now even Bakura was acting territorial about her, and I had always been so sure that guy completely lacked a heart. Anyone who had anything to do with Yuki had to have a heart. Maybe he wasn't so bad. But I would still kill him if I caught him so much as standing too close to Isis. My idea of too close was about two miles, but that seemed a little extreme in the tight confines of the school.
I was sitting in my geometry class directly after school. I hated geometry. It's really not the subject I hated. Geometry itself is very interesting. But the teacher I had is an idiot. If that man had lived in my time, he probably would have been written off as unfit for anything but the most mundane jobs. I'm sorry, but his lectures were not nearly as interesting as he thought they were. And his dumb jokes! I figured that I would always remember him as my most despised teachers, given that I didn't get any worse later.
" And therefore, you'll find that by adding the remote angles of the triangle, you will always get the measure of the exterior angle..." the teacher was droning on. I couldn't decide what was more boring, the fact that we had covered this yesterday and he refused to believe us when we told him (I think he was losing his memory), or the fact that his voice never changed pitch. The word pitch, of course, drew my thoughts toward the notes of a keyboard. I mentally rehearsed what I had learned from the books I had smuggled from the school library into my room. Things like scales in major and minor, flats and sharps... Soon, I had forgotten all about remote and exterior angles. My eyes lolled lazily over the class. A few seats away from me, I saw Jou with his head down on the desk. Judging by the rhythmic rise and fall from his breath, I decided he was fast asleep. Next to him, Mai was filing down her nails, the teacher completely forgotten. Ryou was in the front of the class. Usually, Ryou paid perfect attention. Today, he was working on history homework. The stupid teacher was too absorbed in hearing his own voice that he didn't notice. I wasn't the only one who was letting their mind wander to lands unknown.
That's when I got the first feeling of fear. It wasn't my own, I knew that. I glanced at Ryou, whose back had suddenly stiffened. So I wasn't being paranoid, Ryou had felt it too. Mai and Jou remained the way they had been, because they weren't as sensitive on the paranormal plane as we were. Whatever the feeling was, it was gone too quick to trace it. Ryou glanced over his shoulder at me, closer to the back of the room. I shook my head. Probably just a fluke, I mouthed for him to see. He nodded and turned back to scribbling down something on a paper for history. Oh, didn't we have a paper to write in there, I wondered, but it isn't due for a month. I stared at Ryou. He was that kind of student. Always ahead of everyone else. Yugi was the same way, but not to that degree.
I tried to pursue my previous train of thought again, playing a particular part of Mozart's Third in my head, but I couldn't seem to get it. There was something distracting me, something pulling at the back of my mind, telling me I was overlooking one very important fact. I tried to ignore it, but it just got more insistent. Again, Ryou turned to me from his own seat. His expression was questioning, as if to ask, "What does this mean?" I honestly didn't know.
HELP! Someone bellowed. I jumped to my feet. Ryou cried out and toppled to the floor. We both sat there for a few dead silent minutes, the entire class, dumb teacher and all, staring at us. Neither one of us could have cared less. I nodded to Ryou and we both ran from the classroom. The last thing on my mind at that point was looking normal in front of others. I really didn't care about anything but getting to the person who had called for help.
" That voice! It felt like someone was screaming right in my ear!" Ryou cried once we were out of the classroom. His voice was shaky. I didn't blame him. I never would have told anyone, but my legs were weaker than a newborn's. I could barely stand.
" It was loud." I conceded. Loud. What a joke. If it had been loud, my head wouldn't have been pounding so hard. I felt like my skull was about to split, right down the middle. I was about to scan the area, when who should come barreling out of the classroom across the hall but...
" Bakura, you imbecile!" I cried indignantly from my new seat on the floor. Bakura stared at me.
" You didn't hear that?" he asked me, dumbfounded.
" You are even stupider than you look! Of course I heard it! Anyone in the world could have heard it!" I cried, my rage initiated.
" You're calling me stupid?!" Bakura asked, his own anger rising.
" Shut up, both of you!" Ryou yelled. Naturally, that shut us up right away. We both turned to stare at him. Ryou rarely ever spoke above normal volume, much less yelled. " Yugi and Himeko are moving, and they're heading towards the girls' bathroom by Mrs. Hiraki's class. I think Kaiba is with them."
" I feel pretty stupid. Outdone by a light." Bakura muttered. Ryou grinned at this small victory.
" You are pretty stupid." I reminded Bakura, who glared at me. " Come on. You didn't honestly think I'd pass that up." I protested. " Anyway, what's in the girls' bathroom?" I asked. The idea of having to go into a girls' bathroom didn't really sound too appealing. Especially not after seeing Yugi's memories of accidentally going into that forbidden place. Poor guy still got teased about it on occasions, mostly by Anzu.
" Um, that's the bad thing. Yuki is. And a few other people I can't really identify. One is really powerful, though." Ryou said. I was already on my feet and taking off, marveling at how fast Bakura was following me. I nearly had another head on collision with the oldest of my two dear sisters, and then I had to avoid her temperamental attempt to knock me out.
" Who's in there, aside from Yuki?" Yugi asked, giving the bathroom door a nervous glance.
" Gee, I wonder. Perhaps girls?" Kaiba muttered. He was as nervous and annoyed with the whole situation as I was. Here I was, not five yards away from Yuki, and completely unable to help her because of some stupid social restriction.
" Oh, honestly!" Himeko cried out in frustration. She stormed past Bakura and Ryou, and plowed straight into the bathroom. Ryou was actually the first to pluck up enough courage to follow her. Of course, Yugi, Bakura, Kaiba, and I were not going to let him be the one to outdo us again, so we followed him. But not a one of us wasn't nervous beyond comprehension.
*+*+*Himeko*+*+*
Men can be so stupid. Excuse me if you happen to be of the male species, but what is so scary about a girls' bathroom? It's really no different from a guys' bathroom. And no, I don't know this from experience. I know this because it's common knowledge. Really, it's not like there was a huge monster in there just waiting to devour them. Now, if Yuki had been in trouble in the boys' bathroom, All five of them would have plunged in without further thought. I would have been right behind them. But a girls' bathroom? No way.
And so, with those sort of thoughts in my head, I plowed into the bathroom in question. I was not pleased with what I saw.
" What the hell is going on here?" I asked, struggling to keep my temper in check. I waved my hand behind me as I sensed the guys finally following me. Don't come in until I say so. I whispered mentally, for all of them, except Seto, to hear. I knew they'd hold him back. If the situation hadn't been so dire, it would have been hilarious when Machiko, Aiko, Kimi, and Tori all leapt to their feet.
" Himeko!" Tori sputtered. I like to think I command an amount of respect from the female population. This was proof I was right. Machiko instantly dropped the knife in her hand. Yuki looked up at me from the floor where she was bound up. My anger seethed again, but I kept it under control.
" What the hell is going on here?" I repeated, a little more angrily.
" None of your business!" Machiko cried, bending down to pick up the knife she had been about to hurt Yuki with.
" If it involves Yuki, then it is my business." I growled.
" We're not any more afraid of you than we are of her." Aiko said. Aiko was a little thing. Not much more than skin and bones. I'm no giantess myself, and I'm actually really short by this age's standards, but I'm big enough to be threatening to Aiko. It must have taken a lot of courage for that little mouse to speak up against me. But none the less, it enraged me further.
" I'd be afraid, if I were you." I cautioned them. Get ready. I whispered to the guys.
" Please. You're just all talk and no fight. Just like her." Machiko said, gesturing to Yuki, whose wild eyes had grown much calmer with my very presence. It made me feel good to know she had such faith in me.
Now. I whispered mentally. I felt Ammon, Tepe, and Seto step up behind me. " I may be, but they aren't." I said, jerking my thumb over my shoulder. I was glad they had sent those three in first. Those three are far more intimidating than Yugi or Ryou.
The next few seconds were rather amusing as all four girls scrambled to get out of the bathroom, only to find Yugi and Ryou, both well known as "good boys," waiting outside. Then, they fell to pleading for mercy. Ryou and Yugi finally decided that they wouldn't tell any teachers, for now. So the four girls left, but not before Machiko stopped to give the untied Yuki a dangerous glare.
" Don't think this is over, cutie. Your little posse won't always be there to protect you. I'll get you when you least expect it." She called, then followed Kimi down the hall to her class.
We all went back to class, telling tales of feeling violently ill. In Ryou, Yugi, Yuki, and even Seto's case, we were believed by all the teachers. Even Tepe got a break, mostly because he was still new. However, Ammon and I had been here long enough for us to have skipped a few classes. So we got the book thrown at us.
" Damn it. Two weeks detention. That can't be fair." Ammon groaned. Yugi smiled up at him as we walked home, accompanied for the moment by Tepe and Ryou. My own light side had been forced into a limo ride home by our ever protective brothers, Tepe, and Seto. Ryou and I were content with Yuki's claim to be able to protect herself, but the other guys didn't believe it.
" Well, if you hadn't skipped geometry class last month, it probably wouldn't have been so bad." Yugi said patronizingly. Ammon ruffled his hair affectionately.
" Say one more word like I'm some kid, and I'll rip your tongue out." Ammon threatened calmly. Yugi smiled again, but he didn't say anything.
" I find this rather funny. You received punishment, and yet I did not." Tepe said, sounding marveled with the fact. " The tables have turned, I believe."
" Ha! Let's see you keep it up! You'll have a record long as your arm in a month." Ammon said.
" He does it." Tepe said, pointing to Ryou, who made a face at him. Fortunately, Tepe didn't notice because he was facing Ammon and I. " If he can do it, how hard can it be?"
" You couldn't keep out of trouble in our own age. What makes you think you can do it now?" Ammon asked. I rolled my eyes.
" I like seeing you get into trouble without getting into trouble myself?" Tepe suggested innocently.
" Can you two not bicker for one afternoon?" I asked. " Now let's figure out what Machiko and her friends wanted with Yuki."
" Jealousy?" Ryou suggested. Everyone stared at him.
" Yuki is the nicest girl in the whole school. Why, in the name of Ra, would anyone be jealous of her?" Yami asked.
" Well, just that. She's so nice. And since Kaiba has more girls chasing after him than most superstar guys, and he's practically devoted to Yuki, that makes a whole lot of girls jealous. And then they see Honda and Kaiba duking it out all the time, and to them it must look like Yuki doesn't even care. It's easy enough to understand." Ryou explained.
" If it's so easy to understand, how come I don't?" Tepe asked. Ammon just kept staring.
" I think Ryou's right. Their just jealous." I said decisively. " Ha! I've got a light that everyone's jealous of!" I cried, sticking my tongue out at Ammon and Tepe.
" I'm not jealous at all!" Tepe protested.
" You little brat!" Ammon cried. " My light's better!"
" Uh-uh!" I shot back.
" Uh-huh!" Ammon responded. Yugi and Ryou stared at us like we were all crazy.
" Now, now." Tepe said calmly. " We all know my light is the best, so we can stop fighting."
" You pompous-" Ammon started.
" Why you big-" I said at the same time.
" Hey, stop that!" We both yelled at each other. We kept that up for a minute before Yugi stepped in.
" How about we all agree that yami's and lights alike are all equal?" he suggested.
" I still think-" I started.
" Himeko, don't even!" Ryou and Yugi threatened.
*+*+*Yuki*+*+*
It didn't matter that I was safe at home. It didn't even make a difference that I was curled into a ball on my bed with Seto's arms around me. I was still shaking. I could still hear Machiko's cold voice, whispering to me as she brought the knife close to my face to tear it to shreds.
" I wonder the blood of purity tastes like." She had whispered. I hadn't told them. I was scared to. I felt like one wrong word, and Machiko would be back. In that moment, her mahogany eyes had shone black and her hand on my throat had been cold as ice.
" Yuki, tell me what's wrong." Seto begged me. He hadn't left me since we walked in the door and I had fallen into a pathetic heap at his feet. I kept silent, afraid that my voice would betray my unreasonable terror further. Seto slipped his arms off of me and reached for the phone beside my bed. " I've had enough of this, Yuki. I'm calling your brothers and Himeko." He told me. I reached for the phone to stop him, but he stepped out of my reach.
" Don't!" I begged him, my voice trembling.
" I'm calling them." Seto said firmly. I tried to glare at him, but I was too scared. I don't know why I was so scared. I had absolutely nothing to be afraid of, and I knew it. But still, the terror was as fresh as it had been when the knife was at my cheek. Maybe I was afraid because of what had rendered me helpless in that moment. I had become used to being unstoppable once provoked. But Machiko, without raising so much as a finger, had left me helpless. Those silly ropes were nothing I couldn't have broken under normal circumstances. But when Machiko looked at me, her hate burned like an unstoppable flame. Her hate was palpable. And it left me powerless as a baby before her. It was like a hypnotic power that made me hold still and make it easy for her to slice me to ribbons. And she wanted to know what my blood tasted like. I was sure that was what she meant by "purity."
" Yeah... She hasn't done much of anything... No, I don't think she's in shock... No... Yes, as soon as possible... If I knew that I wouldn't be calling you!" Seto cried in annoyance. I sat up and looked him. " Yeah, I'll see you then." He said into the phone and hung up. " They'll be here in a few minutes." He told me reassuringly.
" She told me..." I started, in a whisper, but then stopped myself. I wouldn't have Seto worrying about me more than he already did. Just then, the phone rang. Out of sheer habit, I reached out and picked it up. " Hello?" I said into the phone. If I had been the kind of girl who faints a lot, I probably would have fainted when the person on the other end replied. Even so, I almost did faint.
" Hi, cutie." Machiko's voice said calmly. My face drained of all color and Seto looked at me curiously. " That's okay, don't say anything. Just listen." Machiko said hurriedly. " You know what I want. You know I'm going to get it. So why resist me? Besides, who knows what would happen to your precious friends if you resist?" Machiko asked. I tried to swallow, but my throat and mouth were as dry as the Sahara Desert. I could barely breathe. " Do you really want your dear brothers and your lovely sister paying the price for your stubbornness? Oh, dear. I've got to go, cutie. But I'm gonna getcha!" Machiko cried, laughing before hanging up the phone. I listened to the dial tone for a minute, before dropping the phone to the ground and looking up at Seto.
" Why?" I asked him helplessly.
" That was Machiko, wasn't it?" he asked. I nodded numbly. " What does she want?"
" Me." I said, with no emotion in my voice. " She wants my blood."
About half an hour later, Yami, Yugi, Himeko, Bakura, Ryou, Honda, Anzu, and Seto were all sitting with me in the main living room of Seto's mansion. The younger boys, Mokuba, Yoshi, and Yukio, were all outside playing with Kentaro. We figured no one was stupid enough to try to hurt them with Kentaro there, and we'd hear him bark if there was trouble.
" What is she, some sort of vampire?" Anzu asked after I had told them the entire story.
" No way. Vampires aren't real." Honda said, waving his hand dismissively.
" Two years ago, Honda, you would have said that I wasn't real. That Yugi just needed a therapist." Yami said calmly. " You've seen for yourself that some things regarded as 'not real' are actually quite real after all."
" Still, vampire? Come on. That seems like something you'd tell the little guys on Halloween night." Ryou protested. Bakura silenced him.
" Don't speak of things you don't understand. Even in Egypt in the old days there were tales of creatures that walked by night and drank the blood of mortals, creatures that surpassed death and became something else." He said. " Everywhere I've ever been have similar tales. If you look into the past of this country, you'll find such tales as well."
" The story of the vampire that took the form of a mortal woman and married one of her would-have-been victims." Anzu said, nodding.
" He's got a point. A lot of cultures have stories about vampires. They just don't call them by the same names." Seto said.
" But those old tales speak of inhuman things that walk by night, and are harmed by the sun. Machiko comes to school in the day. By sunlight." Himeko protested.
" Sunscreen?" Honda suggested. Everyone except myself groaned.
" Vampire just doesn't fit. For some reason, I just can't think of Machiko as a vampire." Yugi said, shaking his head.
" Honestly, I think we should get her expelled for threatening Yuki." Anzu said.
" Lot of good that would do. We've got no evidence. And even if we did get her and her group expelled, she'd just come after Yuki outside of school. And then, of course, she'd have even more reason to hate Yuki." Honda said, sighing. I lowered my head and cradled it in my hands.
" But why would she want Yuki's blood, and Yuki's blood only? Why not Yami or Himeko?" Ryou wondered.
" Or you, perhaps." Himeko said, glaring at Ryou. However, no one had an answer for this. I had an idea, but I didn't say it out loud.
" Shouldn't Jou and Mai be here by now?" Seto asked, looking around as though he expected to see them in the room with us.
" Yeah, come to think of it. They are late." Yugi said.
" More than fifteen minutes, too. Mai likes to be fifteen minutes late at most, and five minutes late at least. She calls it fashionably late. I call it late." Himeko said, shrugging.
" I'll call them. They're at Mai's place, right?" Honda, who was nearest to the living room phone, said. He picked up the phone and dialed Mai's number. " Hello. This is Honda. I was just calling to see if- What's wrong?" Honda asked suddenly, looking alarmed. " Look, just calm down and tell me-" now all the color drained from Honda's face.
" Oh, God." I moaned.
*+*+*Jou*+*+*
After school and the incident with Yuki, I decided to walk home with Mai. I just felt like I needed to be with her. Thank goodness she accepted my company.
" So, did you finish that geometry assignment?" Mai asked me. I sighed and shifted my bag.
" Do I ever?" I asked, grimacing. " I swear that teacher's out to get me." I needed to make good grades. I wanted more than anything to get into a good college. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with my life, but I was sure I would need a good education. I didn't always feel this way, but I did now. All I had to do was look at my father. I love my father. I always did. But my father is the definition of low for a man. I never wanted to be like him, stuck in a dead end job with a son I barely know, getting drunk every night and sleeping with women I'll never see again. That is not my description of what a man should be.
" Yeah. Anyway, I sent in that application to that college in Paris." Mai said. I looked at her. I wanted her to have a good education as much as I wanted to get one myself, but the idea of her being clear in Paris, France, did not appeal to me. A man, I thought to myself. A man should be honest and loyal, like Honda. He should be brave and strong, like Yami. He should be intelligent and a leader, like Kaiba. He should be loving and gentle, like Yugi. I couldn't help but worry that I was destined for the same fate as my father, a lowlife that can't get a decent job. A man should be able to care and provide for the woman he loves. I wanted to be that kind of man. I was willing to make any sacrifice to be that kind of man for Mai. The kind of man she deserved. The kind that wouldn't hurt her, not the kind that girls like Mai seem to attract.
" And?" I prodded, trying to forget the ominous thoughts in my head.
" And, it's a three month wait for a reply. At least." Mai said as she walked up the stairs to her apartment. " I'm not expecting a reply for a while, if I get one at all."
" Wish I knew what I was doing with my life, like you." I said, feeling a little envious.
" Well, you'll figure it out. I know you will. And I also know you're going to call me the minute you do." Mai said, smiling at me as she unlocked the door.
" Anzu seemed better today." I said.
" Yeah. It was good to see her smiling like that after that night at the movies. She was really blowing chunks." Mai said.
" That wasn't a good night for anybody." I said.
" Yuki and Kaiba were okay." Mai said, looking up at me as we walked into her apartment. She went to the fridge and handed me a soda, and got a bottled water for herself. She always ate like that. Everything was that tasteless health food crap.
" Kaiba told me that Yuki was anything but okay. She felt everything Himeko felt." I said.
" Wow. That must be so weird, knowing there's someone out there who knows everything about you, someone who created you." Mai said. " I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous. I've always wanted a sister, and Yuki gets not only a sister, but two brothers out of the blue."
" I've been a little jealous of them since Yami first showed up. Him and Yugi just seemed so close, like brothers. But you know, it's not like they really don't deserve it all. They've really been through a lot." I said.
" You're right. It's just... Well, you know. You always do." Mai said, smiling up at me. I plopped down on the couch just as the phone rang. " I've got it." Mai called, heading into her room where the phone in question was ringing. When she came back, her face was a little pale.
" What's the matter?" I asked.
" Yuki. It's like she's in shock or something. Yugi just called and said that Kaiba called him and Yuki's not doing well." She told me.
" Okay. Let's go, then." I said, standing up. " Think we can get there on foot, or do we have money for a bus?" I asked. Mai walked up to me, stood on tiptoe, smiled, and gave me kiss on the cheek. I blushed a red bright enough to make my face pass off as a tomato.
" That's what I like about you, Jou. You're always willing to drop what you're doing, no matter what it is, and help a friend. Would you do that for me?" she asked.
" Hell, Mai, I'd already be running down the street if it was you." I muttered. Mai's smile grew.
" Well, let's go then." She said. However, when she opened the door, someone was already there.
" Hello there." Machiko said. " I need to use your phone. Oh, and you as well."
*+*+*Yugi*+*+*
I thought I was going to drop where I stood and die. I was standing in Mai's living room. Across the room, Honda and Kaiba were trying to comfort Mai's mother. No one had been able to find Jou's dad.
" Do you know where we could find Mr. Jounouchi, son?" a police officer asked me. I sighed and turned from the sight of the living room. I thought that if I looked at it any longer, I would vomit. Anzu hadn't even been able to come in.
" You might want to look in all the bars in a two mile radius from his apartment." I said. I didn't say it scornfully. I said it for what it was. A fact. I turned back to the living room. Yami was looking down at a dark brownish-red stain on the cream colored rug. The couch had been over turned and several lamps lay shattered on the ground. Whoever had taken Jou and Mai hadn't done so without having to fight them first. Bakura approached me from behind.
" You thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked. Ryou also stepped close.
" Probably." I muttered. I felt angry, and guilty. I looked up at Yuki, who stared blankly at Mai's bloody and torn jacket, tossed carelessly on the floor near the door. " This just got way more serious."
" No. This is war now." Himeko growled.