Third chapter! And it's a long one! Yaay, long chappies!
Oh, and just as a side note--if you don't like this fic, then for Ra's sake, don't read it! Quit chewing me out about it!
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Touza No Seirei

BONNG! BONNG!

For the second time that night, Kaiba was jolted out of sleep. He stepped nervously out from behind the hangings, waiting. Waiting for whatever would happen next. He felt that nothing would surprise him now.

Until the sudden piping of a flute behind him made him nearly jump out of his skin.

He whipped around—and came face to face with a girl. She was also as tall as he. Her long, reddish-brown hair nearly touched the floor, and her amber eyes glittered with mischief. She wore a simple green dress that swept the floor, and a circlet of vines rested on her head. Kaiba noted the resemblance between her and Shizuka as another freak incident.

She was piping on what appeared to be a hand-carved wood flute. As she played her tune, vines grew out of nowhere, until they covered the walls. Kaiba stared at the vines, rubbing his eyes every now and then. As one began to curl around his toe, he took and unconscious step backwards.

The girl stopped playing with a laugh, and the vines ceased their creeping. "Seto Kaiba, you don't enjoy nature's bounty?"

"I've never had much time to enjoy it," Kaiba admitted quietly.

The girl nodded cheerily. "Well, we'll fix that, won't we?"

Kaiba gave his head a little shake. "Sure. And—who are you again?"

The girl giggled. "I haven't introduced myself, have I?" She curtsied. "I am Touza—the Spirit of Christmas Present. You've never seen me before?"

"No…"

"You've never been out with one of my elder brothers or sisters at this very time of year?"

"I can't say that I have."

Touza sighed. "You're a difficult one." She flashed him another cheery smile—and he was once more reminded of Shizuka.

Her smile widened. "Didn't Iwaku tell you, Kaiba? Every being has a sibling in every realm—be they angels, humans, demons, or Earth-spirits. Iwaku is the angel brother of Ryou; I am the Earth-spirit sister of Shizuka."

Well, that explained all the freaky resemblances. Kaiba nodded, determined to remember it.

Touza held out her hand. "Shall we go?"

Kaiba choked down the automatic, "Go where?", and took Touza's hand. She played a long, trilling note on her flute—and suddenly, they were outside. And it was daytime.

Children laughed and sang as they ran through the streets, playing in the snow. The adults were more poised, but they still grinned widely as they wished each other Merry Christmas.

"Come on," Touza said impatiently. "We'll walk—it's not too far from here."

Unlike last night, when he'd been in a hurry to get home, Kaiba studied the decorations around him. They were beautiful, he admitted grudgingly. The inhabitants of Domino City had definitely put some care into the decorating.

"Here we are!" Touza chirruped, breaking Kaiba out of his reverie. "Come on!"

Kaiba started, realizing it was the Kame Game Shop. The sign on the door read 'Closed until Further Notice'.

Touza made a sort of "tsk"ing noise. "That sign's been there for years."

For the first time in years, Kaiba began to feel a little guilty.

"Well?" Touza asked impatiently, tapping at him from the other side of the glass in the big display window. Kaiba jumped—he hadn't seen that Touza had gone ahead of him. He slipped in after her.

There was a roar of laughter from the kitchen area, which was where the two of them walked to. Kaiba looked around, shocked.

Just about everyone was there. Mai, Malik, Ryou, Bakura, Honda, and Yami were all sitting in the kitchen, talking and laughing.

Touza smiled at Kaiba. "They all look so happy, don't they?"

Kaiba could only nod in agreement. As he looked around, he noted three people were missing. Jonouchi and Shizuka weren't there—and neither were Anzu or Yuugi.

Bakura suddenly looked up. "Someone's at the door."

At that moment, the shop door flew open with a bang. Jonouchi marched into the kitchen, carrying a small stack of packages. He was singing 'Deck the Halls', loudly and rather off-key. Shizuka was right behind him, giggling so hard she looked unable to breathe properly. By the time Jonouchi reached the kitchen table, everyone in the room was in a similar state as Shizuka

"Hey, guys!" Jonouchi exclaimed, plopping down at the table. "When's dinneh? I'm starvin'!" He looked around. "An' where's Yuug?"

"Upstairs," Yami replied. "He asked me not to bring him down until you guys showed up."

Everyone stared at him, and he blinked. "Oh—yeah. He wrote it down."

Jonouchi grinned. "Well, go get 'im!"

Yami nodded, and darted up the stairs. Jonouchi looked around. "So, what'd I miss?"

"Not much," Bakura replied, idly drumming his fingers on the table. "His highness-ness is all up and excited about this guest he's invited—some girl he says he hasn't seen in ages."

"He said we'll know her, too," Honda added. "But he won't say anything else."

At that moment, Yami pattered back down the stairs. "He's coming—just give him a few minutes." Everyone waited, quietly and expectantly.

Soon, there was the sound of quick feet on the stairway, and Yuugi bounded in. He was wearing his usual black tanktop and jeans, but his feet were bare—and, for some strange reason, he was carrying a Dark Magician plushie.

Kaiba raised his eyebrows. He knew Yuugi had always acted young for his age—but this was going a little too far.

Touza sighed. "It's not what you think, Kaiba. Don't you remember that accident with the de-railed bullet train? And how Yami could barely work that week because he was distracted, and he was constantly glancing at the clock and pacing around the offices?"

Kaiba nodded, still watching Yuugi—who was now sitting in Yami's lap, getting his hair tousled by Jonouchi. "I remember—I dismissed it as a bad week."

Touza snorted. "You weren't listening, were you? Everyone was asking him what was wrong, and you were often in the same room." She leaned forward to emphasize her point. "Yuugi was on that train."

Kaiba stared at her. She nodded grimly. "He was in the hospital that whole week. They think he has brain damage—he never talks, and acts like such a little kid. But they don't know for sure, because he won't go anywhere near the machines. And he's never had any problems—sure he acts young, but he's still smart, and he still knows how to use the knowledge."

Kaiba felt guilt creeping up on him, as he watched Yuugi jump at Jonouchi because the older boy had taken his plushie. He hadn't known—he hadn't even paid attention.

Suddenly, Yuugi froze. He darted over and yanked on Yami's sleeve. Yami, looked down, confusion written on his face. Yuugi pointed to the shop door, and yanked on Yami's sleeve again.

Yami's eyes lit up like lamps, and he stood up. "You all wait here. My guest has arrived." He went into the shop, and bells were hear as he opened the door and shut it again.

Everyone immediately turned to Yuugi. "Do you have any idea who Yami's 'special guest' is?" Ryou asked

Yuugi shook his head. He then flashed a secretive grin, which plainly told them that even if he did know, he wouldn't have told.

Yami entered the room again, a triumphant grin on his face. Behind him was—

"Anzu!" everyone exclaimed.

Anzu grinned. "Hey, guys—I just got back from America yesterday!"

Yuugi bounded up and gave her a hug. Anzu smiled, tousling his hair. "Hey, Yuugi. How've you been?" Yuugi simply smiled up at her.

Yami clapped his hands together. "Well, now that everyone's here, we can begin the dinner! Honda, Jonouchi, Bakura, would you mind giving me a hand with the food?"

Soon, the small table was groaning with food. Everyone dug in—none more so than Jonouchi. As they ate, Anzu answered question after question about her trip to America.

"I didn't know she'd gone to America," Kaiba murmured.

Touza shrugged. "That's because you don't pay attention."

Suddenly, Kaiba heard something that snapped him back to reality.

"I propose a toast—to Seto Kaiba."

Everyone in the room fell silent, staring at Yami. The former pharaoh was standing, holding up his glass.

Honda shook his head. "Come again?"

Yami shrugged. "Hey, the boss-man deserves a toast."

Jonouchi snorted. "He don't even pay ya enough ta keep dis place from fallin' down around yer ears!"

"But he does pay me," Yami countered.

Shizuka sighed. "I saw him last night, when I was out with the carol group. He's always so distant…especially on Christmas."

Anzu growled slightly. "I wish he were here now. I'd give him a piece of my mind, for sure!"

Yami smiled slightly, raising his glass again. "To the man who swallowed his pride enough to give me a job, even if it is minimum wage—Seto Kaiba."

Jonouchi growled. "Only 'cos I like you." He raised his glass. "To Rich-boy."

"To Kaiba," everyone else said at the same time.

Yuugi raised his glass—silent, as usual, but grinning widely.

"Come on," Touza murmured, pulling Kaiba's arm. "That's enough for one night."

She trilled on her flute again—and they were back in Kaiba's room, which was now free of vines.

Kaiba sat down on his bed, his mind racing. "Yuugi…is he going to be okay?"

Touza didn't answer. When Kaiba looked up, she was gone.

There was a loud crash of thunder right outside his window—and suddenly, the scene changed. He was sitting on a lump of rock in the middle of a thick grey mist—and a hooded, cloaked figure was coming right towards him.

I'm sure you can guess what 'Touza no Seirei' is, so I won't say anything.

Review, please!