It didn't take the silver haired thief king long to reach the Turtle Game Shop. "I just hope the Pharaoh is home." He said, taking a deep breath. But he stopped before entering. "Wait, I can't ask the Pharaoh for help! Ra, what was I thinking? He'll never help me, not after all the trouble I've caused him. I'd better do this as Ryou. Otherwise, it'll never work." Bakura prepared himself to start acting like Ryou, which he found to be very degrading for him to be doing, swallowed hard and entered the Turtle Game Shop.
Upon entering, he saw a blond haired teen by the name of Joey Wheeler, a friend of Yugi Mutou's, leaning over the counter talking to Mr. Mutou, Yugi's grandpa and owner of the Turtle Game Shop, about some duel monster card. It's attack. was 2000 and it's defense. was a measly 300, but it was the cards special ability, also know as it's effect, that made it a rare and powerful card.
Normally, Bakura would just jump at the chance to steal a rare and powerful duel monster card to integrate into his deck, but he hadn't come there to steal. He came there for help. And stealing wouldn't accomplish anything except maybe a duel with the Pharaoh, which he would probably lose, and get banished to the Shadow Realm for a couple of hours. And he couldn't have that. Best to play it cool.
"Hello, guys." He said in Ryou's voice. 'At least one good thing came of me having been stuck with Ryou for so long.' Bakura thought to himself, forcing a smile. 'At least I've the ability to imitate him so that I can save myself some dignity.' Out loud he said, "What's up?" "Oh, hey, Ryou!" Joey greeted him. "Gramps and I were just talking about this really cool card! Its attack is 2000, its defense is 300, but its effect that makes it really, really, cool!" "Oh," said Bakura, pretending to be interested, "I see. So are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?"
Joey shook his head and laughed. "Nah, of course not. I'll tell ya. It's effect is…" Just then, a boy about 4 foot tall with spiky, tri-colored hair came down the stairs that lead from the apartment above the Turtle Game Shop. He was wearing dark blue hot pants, a dark blue shirt with two golden buckles on it, complete with matching wristbands and choker necklace, and he was rubbing his eyes. He looked like he just woke up.
"Hey, grandpa," the boy yawned, walking over towards the gray haired shop owner, "what's going on? yawn I thought I heard voices." Mr. Mutou crossed his arms and glared down at his grandson. "Yugi, he said firmly, you're supposed to be in bed resting, not up walking around. Now get back to bed." Yugi yawned, and rubbed away some matter that had formed in the corner of his violet colored eye's while he had been sleeping. "But grandpa," he yawned for a third time, "I'm not tired. In fact, I feel much yawn better."
But Mr. Mutou wasn't buying it. "Yugi," he said crossly, "get back into bed before you give your friends your cold." "Huh?" Yugi asked blinking and looking around. He hadn't realized there were actual people there. He thought the voices that he had been hearing were all part of a dream. "Ya know," said Yugi grinning like a lunatic, "I think I will go back to bed. That is, if I can catch it from floating up the Nile. Good morning, everybody. Chaaaz!"
Yugi walked around in three complete circles, undid his belt, looked down into his pants, and then asked, "Can I have some more chocolate milk to pour in my trousers please? The fish are hungry and I think one of them just bit me." He looked and sounded almost delirious. Which, Bakura guessed, judging by how pale and sweaty looking Yugi was, he probably was. But Bakura wasn't worried. After all, he had the Millennium Ring, which protected him and his hikari from any harmful disease, contagious or otherwise.
Unfortunately, the dopey blond known as Joey had no such item to protect him from any diseases. 'The poor soul.' Bakura thought, smirking in the background. "Ugh, Mr. M?" said the masculine yet nervous sounding blond, backing slowly away from Yugi, who was still watching the fish that were swimming around in his pants, "I think I'm gonna go now. I don't wanna catch whatever it is he's got. I'll catch ya later." Joey turned to leave and bumped into Bakura, who almost shouted, "Watch it, you meatball headed blond!"
"Oh, come now Joey," said Bakura, regaining his composure before he could accidentally blow his cover, "you're not afraid of getting sick are you? Surely you keep yourself in too good a shape for that to happen." It was true, Joey realized, he did like to keep in shape and he had been eating healthier lately. So why should he have to worry about getting sick? "Ugh, yeah." Said Joey, smiling slightly. "You're right. I have been working out and eating healthier. What do I have to be worried about?" Bakura shrugged. "I don't know." He replied.
"It's okay, Joey," said Mr. Mutou, "I'll just take Yugi back upstairs to Yami…" 'So the Pharaoh is home!' Bakura thought happily. 'I should've known that the Pharaoh would be here to take care of his precious little light. Humph. He is way too soft…' "…He'll make sure Yugi stays upstairs away from you guys. Come on, Yugi," said his grandpa, taking him by the hand and leading him carefully back up to the apartment, "this way." "Okay, grandpa," he said, sounding like a giddy three year old, "but the fish are still hungry."
Joey sighed a sigh of relief, while Bakura snickered quietly to himself.
Upstairs… the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle known as Yami, a.k.a. Pharaoh Atem, was upstairs in the apartment looking for his sick little hikari. Yami had actually dozed off himself on the living room couch and when he had gotten up a few moments later to check on his light, who should've been in his room resting, he was nowhere to be seen.
Now the crimson-eyed Pharaoh had his spiky, tri-colored hared head poked into the kitchen pantry, thinking that maybe Yugi, in his delirium, had mistaken it for an elevator. "Yugi," he called to his hikari, "are you in here?" Yami waited for a response, but there wasn't one. "Hmm," said Yami, standing upright and scratching his chin with his left index finger, "maybe he's under the kitchen table."
Yami walked over to the round wooden table, lifted up the Easter Egg table clothe, and peered under it. But there was no Yugi. Then he had a though. "Oh, no!" he gasped his eyes wide with worry. "What if Yugi slipped out while I was dozing? In his state, he could get hit by a car, and that could be very bad for us." Yami about faced, and rushed over to the stairway, where he came face to face with a slightly irritated Mr. Mutou and even sillier looking Yugi.
"Oh, Yugi," Yami gasped in relief, dropping to his knees and hugging his little hikari, "there you are!" "Yes," said Mr. Mutou in an irritated voice, "he came down stairs just a few moments ago and, after walking around in circles, asked for some chocolate milk to feed the fish that were swimming around in his trousers." Yami looked at Mr. Mutou and blinked. He wasn't sure if he should worry about that or laugh. He kinda wanted to do both. But judging by the sound of Mr. M's voice, it wasn't meant to be funny. So Yami said nothing as he took Yugi by the hand and led him back towards his room.
"You were supposed to be keeping an eye on him." Mr. Mutou said somewhat crossly to Yami. "Do you know what could've happened if I hadn't been downstairs? Why, he could've ran out into the street and got run over by a car or something!" Yami stopped walking and said, "I'm sorry. I fell asleep." "You're a spirit!" Mr. Mutou snapped at him, throwing his arms up in the air. "Why do you even need to sleep?" "Because I like being able to sleep!" Yami shot back at him.
"Don't you realize," Mr. Mutou said, ignoring Yami, "that he's my only grandson? I'd be crushed if something ever happened to him! And you, you promised that you'd look out for him while I was running the shop! And look what happened! You fell asleep!" "Look," said Yami, raising his voice to match Mr. Mutou's, "I know he's you're only grandson, and that you'd be crushed if something bad were to happen to him. So would I. Not because I need him in order to survive, but because I care about him just as much as you do. Besides, I've already apologized. What more do you want from me?"
Mr. Mutou dropped his arms down to his sides and sighed. "I'm sorry Yami." He said apologetically. "I guess I'm just a little over protective of my one and only grandson. Please forgive me." Yami glanced over his shoulder at the elder man who was wearing a white tee shirt and blue jean overall's. He was playing with his fingers and staring down at his feet, looking very ashamed of himself.
But Yami understood why Mr. Mutou reacted the way he did. It was because Yami did fall asleep when he was supposed to be keeping his promise to watch over Yugi and keep him safe. That and because Mr. Mutou loved Yugi with all his heart. So why wouldn't he be over protective? "I'll forgive you," Yami said evenly, "on one condition." Mr. Mutou gave him a look that said, "What's that?" Yami understood the message. "That you forgive me for breaking my promise to keep an eye on Yugi."
Mr. Mutou nodded and went back downstairs to where Joey and 'Ryou' were waiting.
Yami took Yugi back to his room and tucked him in. "Lay back down and get some rest now Yugi. I'll go get a wet wash cloth to lay over your forehead. Maybe that'll help." Yami said, walking towards the door. "But I'm not tired." Said Yugi, tossing back the blankets and sitting up. "I'm wide awake. Can't I stay up and play ring-around-the-rosie with the fish? They're still swimming in my pants." Sighing, Yami walked back over to the delirious Yugi and tucked him back in.
"Yugi," he said softly, pulling the blankets back over Yugi's chest, "the fish have to go home now. It's time for their afternoon nap." Yugi frowned. "Ohh," he groaned sadly, lying back down, "does this mean it's time for my afternoon nap too?" "Yes." Yami replied sighing. "But I don't want too. I want to play!" Yami pinned Yugi down under the covers. "Not right now Yugi." He said firmly. "It's time for you to rest. Now go to sleep." "NO!" Yugi shouted, trying to wriggle out from under the covers. "I DON'T WANT TO! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! I WANNA PLAY!"
Yami crawled on top of Yugi and held him down, careful not to use his whole weight. "Yugi-" he began, but Yugi interrupted him. "NO! GET OFF ME! I WANT TO PLAAAY!" "-I'm sorry Yugi," said Yami, the Millennium Puzzle began to glow, a radiant yellow color, "but your body needs to rest." Yugi squinted his eyes and screamed, "NO FAIR! YOU CHEATERRRRR!"
Within seconds, Yugi's eyelids closed and his body went limp. His soul was no inside the Millennium Puzzle. "Sorry I had to do that Yugi," Yami apologized, getting down onto the floor, "but it was the only way. Now your body can get the rest it needs to heal."
Yami left and came back a few minutes later with a wet wash cloth, which he laid over his hikari's burning hot forehead. "There," he sighed, smoothing out some wrinkles in the wash cloth, "maybe now your temperature will break and bring you back to normal." Yami pulled up a chair, took a seat, and waited…
Meanwhile, downstairs in the Turtle Game Shop…
After Mr. Mutou had taken Yugi back upstairs to the Pharaoh, Joey had decided not to leave and went back to looking over that rare duel monster card that he and Mr. Mutou had been discussing when Bakura had arrived.
As for Bakura, he had busied himself studying some "Star Wars" posters that were hung on a nearby wall, trying to decide if the aliens depicted on them were real or not. He finally decided they weren't. One: Because if they were, they'd have probably tried to take over the Earth and annihilate all the humans by now, or turn them into slaves, considering how annoying they could be. And that hadn't happened yet, that Bakura knew of anyway.
And two: Because Bakura could easily make out what was clearly a zipper running down the back of a strange furry beast that was holding what looked like, to him anyway, a lit up toothpick. And aliens, real aliens, if they did exist most likely didn't have zippers attached to their skin.
Satisfied with his conclusion that the "Star Wars" aliens weren't real, he walked back over to the counter and stood next to Joey, waiting for Mr. Mutou to return.
"Hey, Ryou." said Joey turning to face him. For a moment, Bakura forgot that was impersonating Ryou. "Hey! Earth to Ryou!" said Joey, pretending to knock on Ryou's head. "Wha-" Bakura started to shout, shoeing Joey's fist away. "I mean, what?" he asked more calmly, softly. "Gee, touchy!" said Joey waving his hands. "Watchya do, stub your toe or something?" "No." said Bakura, just as sweetly as Ryou would have said it. "You just startled me, that's all. What did you want?"
"I was just gonna ask ya where ya got that pretty smelling flower that you're carrying 'round in your pocket." "My what?" Bakura blinked at him in confusion. Then it dawned on him. "Oh, you mean this thing?" he asked, indicating the Rose, whose thorns were slightly poking into his left breast. "Yeah." Said the dopey looking blond. "It sure is pretty." "Yes, well," said Bakura, adjusting the Rose so that its thorns would quit poking him, "it sure doesn't feel pretty. If anything, it's been a pain. Anyway, it was gift."
"Oh, really?" asked Joey, staring at the Roses vibrant red petals. "From who?" Bakura scratched his head and shrugged. "Just some girl." He replied, as if it were no big deal. "Really? Ya know," said Joey, with a dopey grin on his face, "when a girl gives a guy a flower, it usually means that she's got the hots for him." "Oh, really?" asked Bakura, pretending to be dumb. "I didn't know that. Thanks for telling me." "Oh, no problem." Said Joey, oblivious to the fact that Bakura was being sarcastic. "Whenever you need advice on girls and what their little signals mean, you just come to 'Dr. Love' and he'll tell everything you need to know." Smiled Joey proudly.
Bakura folded his arms, blew a piece of white colored bangs out of his eyes and made a face. He already knew what he needed to know about women and then some. But he wasn't going to tell Wheeler that, not right now anyway. Not while there were more pressing matters to take care of. Like getting rid of the annoying Rose that refused to leave his pocket for one thing, and then, finding out just who that Courtney broad thought she was, tricking the Great Thief King into having sex with her and then having a flower chase him and knock him out.
'How can Ryou stand hanging around people this geeky?' Bakura wondered. Just then, Mr. Mutou stepped down off the stairs into the Game Shop. "Sorry to keep you boys waiting." He apologized. "Yami and I were just having a talk." "Oh, really?" asked Joey, wiping that stupid looking grin off his face. "It sounded more like yelllin'." Mr. Mutou just shook his head and walked back behind the counter. "So," said Bakura slowly, "is it okay if I talk to the Pha-I mean, Yami?" 'Damn it!' Bakura cursed mentally to himself. 'I almost slipped up. I'd better be more careful or I'm going to give myself away.'
Luckily, nobody but Bakura noticed his bloop. Or if they did, there was no indication of it. "Go ahead." Mr. Mutou nodded. "He's probably taking care of Yugi in his room." 'Yeah, I'll bet.' Bakura thought to himself.
"Thanks." Said Bakura, moving quickly around Joey and taking the stairs two at a time. "Gee," Joey said to Mr. Mutou, "he sure seems to be in a hurry. I wonder why." Mr. Mutou shrugged. "I hope it's nothing too serious." Said Mr. Mutou, returning a case of Duel Monster cards back under the counter. "Maybe I should go check." Said Joey, staring up the stairs.
"Hmm," said Mr. Mutou, glancing towards the stairs then at Joey, "I don't think you need to be too worried right now. Yami can pretty much handle things on his own. Besides, I'm sure if it's anything too serious, Yami'll tell us." Joey nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
Mr. Mutou nodded. "Now then, where were we?" he asked the brown eyed blond. "We were talking about this card." Said Joey, holding up a card. "Oh," smiled Mr. Mutou, "that's right! But why don't we talk about this card? It's a really rare card! So rare in fact, that there's only two known copies of it in print." That really got Joey's attention. "Really?" he asked excitedly. "What's it called?"
Mr. Mutou smiled and chuckled. "It's a level six monster, which means you'd have to tribute a monster in order to play it. It's called: 'Janus: Guardian of Doorways'. Its attack is 1900, its defense is 1700, and it has a flip effect. The description on the card says," Mr. Mutou looked around to make sure no one was nearby listening in, "When this card is the target of an opponents monster, switch one card either from your side of the field or you hand with one of your opponents monsters on their side of the field. This monster can attack your opponents Life Points directly. You can only use this effect once per Duel. When this card is sent to the graveyard by the effect of a trap or magic card, it is equiped to one of your monsters on your side of the field and treated as an equip spell card and increases your monsters attack by 300 points."
Mr. Mutou put the card down and got a drink of water from the water fountain in the back room. All that talking had made him thirsty.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Joey, his eyes wide in amazement. "COOOL!" He snatched it up off the counter and oggled it. "Cool!" he exclaimed again, "Just cool!"
'I hope the Pharaoh can help me,' Bakura thought to himself climbing the stairs, 'otherwise, I just might be sunk...'
That's the end of chapter 7! Hooray! I had only planned on this story being a one-shot, but once I got typing... you understand. Anyway, please leave a revieew and make me happy. Again, I will try to update by next Wednesday. The next chapter is in progress. Thanks.
-Pharaoh's Queen.