Fairies of Anchanta
Chapter 2- Domino Airport — present day
There was a dim flash of light, and like an apparition, Yugi Moto was replaced by his alter ego, Yami.
Téa, Joey, and Tristan all jumped slightly. "Yami? What are you doing here?" Téa asked.
"Yugi decided that I should meet this girl from Egypt," he answered matter-of-factly.
Joey arched an eyebrow. "I wish Yugi would at least warn us before yous guys pull a switch like dat," he said.
Tristan agreed. "Yeah, man. I'm still getting used to this."
Yami smiled. "You'll have to talk to Yugi about that," he said, crossing his arms and closing his yes, contemplating about something.
Téa looked at Yami accusingly. "I know that look. What's the matter?" she asked quietly.
Yami didn't answer. He was still thinking about what Yugi had said. "Besides Ishizu, you haven't had any Egyptian friends…"
Saria tried to smile, but inside she was heartbroken.
Ryoko, her last family member, was walking off with Nicole to go and live with her in the country.
Suddenly the blonde-haired girl stopped. She turned to face her sister. Tears stinging her eyes, she ran to her sister and gave her a hug. "Saria, will I ever see you again?" She asked fearfully.
Saria dropped her bags and hugged Ryoko back. "Of...of course." But inside she was wondering the same thing. She looked up towards Nicole, who had stopped to wait for Ryoko. "Nicole, can Ryoko and I walk out of the gate together?" she asked. Then her face fell. She grasped her sister tightly. "I'm …I'm not ready to say goodbye yet…" she said, tears swelling in her eyes.
Nicole nodded; knowing what turmoil was going on in her friend's head. "Okay, I'll wait for you outside the gate while Sarra gets the car," and with that, she walked off with Sarra beside her.
Saria picked up the bags she had dropped. "Come on, Oki." She said, using her special nickname for her little sister. She took Ryoko's hand. "Time to go."
Ryoko tried to smile. "After you Sari," she managed to say through silent sobbing. Silently, the two walked out of the gate.
"Are you excited?" a voice said from Yami's left.
Yami opened his eyes briefly. "Yes. I suppose..." he said uncertainly. He turned to look at the person who spoke to him.
Yugi's grandfather, Mr. Solomon Moto, was standing next to him.
Téa looked at Mr. Moto. "Well, I'm excited!" she said eagerly as Yami closed his eyes again.
Joey and Tristan looked thrilled as well. Waiting for the new arrivals contributed their competitive spirit.
"Maybe dey will present a challenge for duh great Joey Wheeluh," said Joey arrogantly as he struck a heroic pose.
Tristan rolled his eyes. "Anyone would present a challenge for you, Joey," he said teasingly.
Joey was about to retort harshly, when he heard an excited squeal come from behind him.
"Joey! As in, THE Joey Wheeler! IN PERSON!"
Joey turned to see a pretty young girl with braided black hair and brown eyes shining in admiration standing right behind him. A cheeky smile spread across Joey's face. "Duh one an' only!" he said.
The girl's eyes grew twice as big as before. "WOW! I can't believe I'm talking to the amazing Joey Wheeler! Wait until my friends hear about this!" she said with hardly any breath at all. "You're a legend in Egypt!" she bubbled.
Joey smiled. "Egypt? Does dat mean you're duh Egyptian transfuh student?" he asked.
"I wish!" Nicole answered with a trace of envy dripping off each word.
"So does dat mean you are one of duh student's friends?" asked Joey.
The girl smiled. "Yep! Nicole Tireel at your service, Mr. Wheeler," she said holding out her hand.
Joey held out his hand as well. "Pleased ta meet ya," he said shaking her hand. "An' please call me Joey."
"WOW!" exclaimed Nicole with a childish smile on her face. "I'm on a first name basis with Joey Wheeler!" she said.
As they shook hands, Joey noticed a duel disk on Nicole's wrist. "You a duelist too?" he asked, letting go of her hand.
Nicole nodded. "Yeah, but no where near as good as you are. And especially not as good as Yugi Moto." Her smile vanished. "You wouldn't want to duel me," she said shamefully.
Joey shook his head. "Status dudn't mattuh ta me. Duel Monsters idn't all about winning. Sometimes it's just about havin' fun," he said. "An' even if ya don' win, I can still teach ya some pointas."
Nicole smiled again. "So you're saying we could duel sometime?" she asked excitedly.
Joey smiled too. "Sure. Anytime!" he said.
Nicole punched the air. "ALRIGHT! I'm gunna duel with Joey Wheeler!" she exclaimed. Then after she had calmed down a bit she said, "Although, if you want a real challenge, you should duel my friend. She's really good. Almost as good as Yugi Moto," she suggested thoughtfully.
"Really...?" he said, as he thought hard. "So... all of your friends are duelists?"
Tristan came up and gave his friend a noogie. "Awww, isn't adorable when he tries to think?" he said in a mock-baby voice.
Nicole giggled. "And who might this be, Joey?" she asked.
Joey pulled himself out from his friend's noogie. "Dis is duh class clown, Tristan Taylor," he said. Then he gestured towards Nicole. "Tristan, dis is Nicole Tireel," then he turned smug, 'One of my many fans."
"Really?" said Tristan sarcastically. Tristan gave Nicole a cheesy grin. "He says I'm the class clown, but you should really see him in class. Like I said, he's a adorable when he tries to think."
Joey clenched his fists. "Why you..."
Nicole quirked an eyebrow. "I see you two are... really good friends. I can really tell," she said sarcastically.
Just then, two new figures walked out of the gate. One of them, a blonde-haired, little girl was clutching to the arm of the other girl. The other, an older, brown-haired girl, was smiling kindly as the younger one babbled on excitedly.
As they got nearer, Nicole called out. "Saria! Ryoko! Over here!" The two girls looked up. When they saw who had called them, they waved and ran over to join the group.
Nicole smiled at first but when she looked at her clock her eyes widened. "Oh dear! Two o'clock already? Sarra is probably waiting for us."
Just then, Mr. Moto came up, leading Téa and Yami behind him. "There you are Joseph! We've been looking for you!" he said reproachfully.
Joey then realized that he and Nicole had wandered off as they talked. "Sorry about dat Gramps," he said, a little embarrassed.
Nicole shrugged. "Oh well...' she said, "Sorry, Ryoko. It's two o'clock and I'm afraid it's time to go."
Saria and Ryoko stopped smiling. Ryoko's eyes filled with tears again. She gave Saria one last big hug. "Bye, Saria. I'll miss you..."
Saria tried to keep the tears from escaping her own eyes as she hugged her sister back. "I'll miss you too," she said quietly. "Don't worry. I promise we'll see each other again, Ryoko." Saria took Ryoko's little hands into her own.
Ryoko nodded. "And you will call a lot, right?" she asked.
"When ever I can, little one," she said sweetly.
Without another word, Ryoko let go of Saria's hands and sadly slipped her little hand into Nicole's hand. With one last look behind herself, Ryoko solemnly walked off toward the exit.
Saria watched until they disappeared behind a door. "Be careful, Oki..." she said softly, wondering if she would ever see her sister again.
Stay tuned next time! (PAF- I've always wanted to say that!)