By: Virtual Maiden and Ruriko Minamino
Ruriko: *tiptoing into computer room* Errr... Hello again! SOOOORY we've been gone for, like, forever!
V. Maiden: it does seem forever if im the one who's typing -_-;
Tristan: *whistling, then freezes* Oops.... Wrong room... Bye!
Ruriko: NOT SO FAST! Yo're in the right room, Tailor. You're today's muse! (V. Maiden and Ruriko drag him in)
V. Maiden:MUHAHAHAHAHA *cough**wheez**cough* you are now at our mercy!... well until this chappie is over at least
(Ruriko & Tristan sweatdrop)
Ruriko: Now YOU're on sugar high!!!!!! So..... What happened? Why did you take a YEAR to pass the chapter on to me!?!
V. Maiden: simple answer....sugar high! my mouth can't close while im on sugar high you know that, and lots of demented ideas flow out of my demented brain O_O
Ruriko: Um.... Okay.... So, didn't you have some questions for Tristan here?
Tristan:What?!?!?!?!? Is this the police station or something??!?!!!
V. Maiden: ...*grins evilly then clears throat* ssoo, we have been debating here if your hair is real or not so is it or is it not *directs onned flash light at his face*
Tristan: *scoots away* Stop that! It's real! See! (places V.M.'s hand on his head)
Ruriko: Is it real, V.M.?
V. Maiden: ...your puncturing my skin
Ruriko and Tristan: WHAAAAAAT??!?!!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!
Ruriko: Right... You're both freaking me out.... V.M., any more questions?
V. Maiden: what? *shows bleeding hand, and hiding a bottle of ketchup in the other*
Ruriko: V.M., enough already! Do you have any more REAL questions for Tailor here?
V. Maiden:um *smiles mischievously* well we had gathered information about your past relationships, how do you respond to that or technically speaking who really is it
Tristan: Tristan: W-what relationships? I-I'm with Ryuuji!
Ruriko: (face darkens) Don't we ALL know that? Miho, or Serenity? PICK!
Tristan: Errrrr........ Just go to your reviews!!!!! (pushes girls towrds computer screen)
V. Maiden:hey ur avoiding the question!
Tristan: THe first review is from Osiris Lee!!!!!!!
Osiris Lee = R.M.: Don't worry, I've got teh angst all covered! But, we do need some humor in the middle.... V.M.: well ruriko thats ur calling, Ms. angst goddess, and were really glad we have achieved ur standards tnx for reviewing ^-^
AmenOsirius = VM: um thank you ^^ i recently got interested in those black magic stuff (like the tarot cards, black zodiac etc.) um sorry but i dont know what my tarot deck is, im still searching for a second one though T_T tnx for the review, and gud luk with the immortal war (children of maat fic) it must be hard being reported. R.M.: In total agreement. V.M.'s the one into magic. I love research work though! As for Joey and Seto... Only the future can tell waht shall befall them... Thanks for reviewing! Nad, good luck on I.W.!!!!! Hope you fix it soon! I LOVEd that....
Also, thanks to:Maruken, Sakurai no Yuki, SoulDreamer, Immortal Memories, Kitty Neko, Koishii No Tenshi, Pink_Flower, setokaba, Macbeth, Yamishadowcat22, & ~Lone-Wolf~!!!!
Warning = V.Maiden's twisted humor, Ruriko's sexual tendencies, regret, minor angst, and some whore Tea!
Disclaimer = We don't own, you don't sue, got it?.... ^-^
Enjoy the chapter, and please, R&R!!!!!!
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Chapter 4: The Hermit
"But Seto…Can't they just give me a break?" Joey said in a broken voice as he buried his face in Seto's shoulder. He and his brunette lover were lying on their huge, canopied bed in their mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, taking about what they'd seen at the ritual the day before. Seto was, to be certain, upset, but being who he was, he didn't allow it to show very much. But Joey… Yugi had after all, been the blonde's best friend. Joey's voice was still thick with emotion and he'd spent half the night awake, tears coursing down his fair face. It was already late in the morning now, and Yami had declared that a small contingent of naval and army forces be sent straightaway to the cold, northern region of Slovakia to squash the uprising there. Unfortunately for Joey, he was one of the commanders Yami had instructed to go. "I-I mean, I just saw my best friend's murder…and I-I – " Joey, overcome by his emotions, began to sob.
"I know, pup," Seto agreed quietly. "Even I was unnerved by what Yami and the other two did. It was… brutal." He stroked Joey's hair and back, trying to calm down the blonde. What they had witnessed was traumatizing, but hadn't Joey had enough? It had been three years. He had to move on.
"BROTHER, WAKE UUUUUUUP!!!"
"BIG BROTHER, JOEY'S GOING TO BE LAAAAAAAAATE!!!!"
There were two loud voices bellowing outside the door. Seto and Joey looked at each other and sighed. It was Serenity and Mokuba. The two of them lived with Seto and Joey, since the two elder siblings wouldn't even dream of letting those two live alone. Besides, Mokuba needed to be watched, if he was to be the next head of the Kaiba Corporation, and Serenity wasn't in the best of health again. Both Serenity and Mokuba had experienced walking in on their elder siblings during an 'intimate' moment and since then, they had deemed it wise to bring a megaphone along to warn the lovers that they were coming in. It was much safer, and less traumatizing that way.
"Serenity, thanks a lot! Ya just ruined a moment," Joey hollered bitterly, and the only response he got was the sound of giggling from outside the doors. Seto hid a smile. It was obvious already: Joey was going to be late…again.
"Well, I guess you have a ship to catch – command, I mean," Seto said with a perfectly straight face.
There was more giggling at the doorway.
"I'll be there in a moment!" Joey yelled, annoyed. The two lovers heard footsteps and laughter retreating, and as soon as the sounds had faded completely, Joey sighed in defeat, getting up to dress. "I'd better get going… See you in a few days, love."
"Don't you dare die, okay?" Seto said in a low, teasing voice.
"Hehe… Don't worry. I can't and won't," Joey promised, giving the brunette a lop-side grin.
"Good." Seto nodded in approval, then, suddenly, bowed his head his and groaned.
"Huh? What's wrong, Seto?" the blonde commander asked.
His lover just shook his head. "Oh, nothing… I just remembered: it's another day of facing the three laziest asses in the world…"
"Aw! They ain't that bad!" Joey laughed. "They're just kids in big guys' bodies!"
"Hurry up or you're going to be late," came the reply. At this, Joey snickered, and Seto frowned. "What the hell is so funny?"
"You sound like a mom Seto!"
Seto gave the blonde his 'oh-shut-the-hell-up' glare, and Joey countered it with a 'you-know-I'm-right' pouty expression as he slipped on his shirt. The brunette surrendered and his muttered reply sounded distinctively like 'I have a little brother, you know'.
"Okay, okay, money-bags!"
If looks could kill then Joey would twenty feet under. He was feeling uncomfortable from the intense glare Seto's giving him
"Erm…well, uh gottagoSetoseeyouinafewdaysimgonnamissyoubye!" Joey said it all in one breath, jamming on his pants. He then ran out of the room before Seto could get his hands on him.
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Seto was walked along the long, marble corridors of the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec (which used to be a castle-like hotel, until the three yamis had decided it would make an ideal summer/winter getaway for the three of them) his expression bordering on open disgust as he shifted his open laptop in his arms. Tristan and Ryuuji, who were whispering sweet little love-nothings at each other from behind the tall stacks of paper they carried, accompanied him.
'Gods! Why did I ever ask them to help me bring the yamis their papers – not that anything will actually get done with these new documents…' Seto thought sourly, whether his feeling was directed at his rulers, or the couple a few steps behind him, no one can know. When Ryuuji started nibbling on Tristan's neck and his papers started to sway ominously, Seto decided to interrupt. "Can't you two wait till after you drop off those papers before you start shagging?"
"Hey, you're the one who dragged us into this carrying thing, dude." Ryuuji said irritably, although, thankfully, he stepped away from Tristan.
"What are we doing this for, again?" Tristan asked, rolling his eyes. "You know, Seto, this'll just add to the pile-up in all the offices Yami, Bakura, and Malik have all over the world!"
Seto snorted, totally agreeing.
He had already begun to miss his pup. 'Wonder if he's at least half-way up the North Atlantic now…' He pulled himself from his thoughts as he knocked on Yami's huge oak office doors – his first stop in the hell of laziness.
The sight that greeted him was not what he had expected. In fact, it was the farthest thing from what he'd braced himself to see. He'd walked in on all three of the yamis while they were having sex with their concubines, while they were sleeping, in the middle of pig-out fests, while they were busy torturing servants, and even one time when Marik had gotten so bored that he'd started turning documents into airplanes. But this?! It was unbelievable! Yami wasn't alone. Bakura and Marik were with him. That wasn't the strange part. He knew they had found a way to stay in the same room and not kill each other, but as soon as Seto set eyes on them, he believed he'd died and gone to heaven. Or as least, was still in bed with Joey, dreaming.
The three yamis were actually working! Pens scratched out signatures on yellowing pieces of paper and folders were shuffled, pages turned slowly as the readers frowned over the writing, which, before, had been naught but a mystery. Ensconced on three high-polished wooden chars, behind desks of leather, glasses, and marble, that shone in the sunlight from a large French window across the room, were Yami, Bakura, and Marik. An attendant stood at the side of each table, ready to send the signed documents on their way, or else to burn the unacceptable ones immediately at the huge hearth in the center of the room. At random, one yami would stand and cross the crimson-carpeted floor to the great bookshelves lining one wall, take down a book and bear it way back to the table for reference.
But wait? What was this? The triumvirate looked… different. And in thinking so, Seto did not mean the serious expressions on their faces. Were these the yamis… or their hikaris? If indeed that was Yami, right there, reading a book by the shelves, then why was he in sneakers? Why was he wearing his coat, and why, for once, was his shirt loose and made of cotton, and his pants rather loose? Bakura, if Seto's eyes did not deceive him, was just sitting down at his desk… wearing a light blue sweater?! Gods! He was wearing faded jeans and somehow, he'd managed to tame his hair a bit. Only Marik looked somewhat normal. But, then again, no. Marik. Wearing white. Something was definitely wrong with that picture. The burly blonde it seemed, had exchanged his deep purple tank top with a white one, a chain dangling from the chest area. His cape too, was missing, exposing his shoulders and his hair seemed less spiky than normal.
Seto blink, then blinked again, and even rubbed his eyes to make sure they were not deceiving him. He looked over at Tristan and Ryuuji; both were making very, very good imitations of goldfish. Seto pinched himself to make sure it wasn't a dream; it hurt but he pinched himself again. '…By the gods…the three yamis actually in the office and not fighting… actually signing paperwork…and what the hell!?!?!? Did they change their wardrobes overnight?' Disbelief was written all over Seto's features. Recovering, he cautiously made his way to Yami, who'd just returned to his desk, jolting Tristan and Ryuuji back into action. They dropped the paperwork onto the slowly diminishing pile of work to be done. Yami ignored them all, as did Bakura and Marik, as the rest o the paperwork was dropped off at their desks. The brunette Advisor had expected one, both, or all of them to burst out in protest at the added work, but nothing came. The three were suspiciously quiet…too quiet. Reluctantly, Seto shrugged off the thought. 'It must be because of yesterday.' Knowing the three yamis, they would never admit that inside, they were hurting, and would just ignore the obvious facts. Bottom line: their egos were just too big, and the fact that they were very stubborn didn't help either.
Yami cleared his throat and quirked an eyebrow at Seto. "If there is nothing more you need, then you may leave," the Pharaoh said coldly, waving his hand dismissively before turning back to his paperwork.
Stunned, Seto, Tristan, and Ryuuji backed out of the room, slowly and silently.
Once they were outside Tristan and Ryuuji started to praise the gods for the miracle that had occurred…while Seto just pinched himself again.
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"Why are we here, again?" Marik asked, for what seemed like the millionth time.
The three yamis were sitting in a none-too-modest tearoom in Bakura's Japan palace, sipping on sake and nibbling on rice cakes, obviously bored to death. Seto had almost blown his top when, out of thin air, all three of them announced that they were – no questions asked – going to Japan for two weeks. The brunette could do nothing to stop them, and why should he? They'd finished about eighteen months of paperwork in one sitting, so he was satisfied. The three yamis hadn't been separated from each other since the ritual. None of them would admit it, but the scene of their hikari's deaths was haunting them. They avoided thinking about it, but in truth, they were really…murderers.
Bakura and Yami looked at each other in exasperation and simultaneously hit the blonde psychopath on the back of the head – HARD.
"Ow!!! What was that for?" the blonde cried out rubbing his skull. "That hurt!"
Bakura rolled his eyes. "For being a demented psychopathic idiot. Besides, you can stand to loose a few more brain cells." How he knew what brain cells were, is still a mystery.
"I'm going to visit Grandpa Motou in Domino City," Yami said, his voice dropping a bit as he said the name of the late Yugi's grandfather.
"And I live here, remember?" Bakura added, regarding Marik with a raised eyebrow. "Why you decided to come along, I don't know."
"I guess I was just bored…" Marik said. In truth, he just had a weird feeling he should go to Japan with Yami and Bakura.
His comment went unnoticed as the silvery-haired turned back to Yami. "You what? Feel the need to repay the old man for everything he did for you and him? Newsflash: you erased his memories – using my Ring; he doesn't know you anymore – well, personally, that is. Damn! Everyone knows who we are!" Bakura ended with a growl.
"I don't care! And you're right; I want to pay him back!" Yami said in a challenging voice. "As soon as I've rested, I'm going to go to Domino City." Bakura opened his mouth to speak, but Marik beat him to it.
"Oh, just shut it Bakura! You know you can't knock sense into him no matter how hard you try. Yami, Mr. Noble, you are too kind for your own good," Marik stated, snorting into his cup.
"Whatever! I'm doing what I think is right!" he spat, dropping his rice cake and stomping out of the room, the Scales bouncing at his hip. A few seconds later Bakura and Marik followed him. "Why the hell are you two following me!?"
"We got nothing better to do, and I kinda miss that place." Bakura stated in matter-of-factly and Marik nodded in agreement.
Yami just rolled his eyes at them, though, inside, he was satisfied. "Fine, but no random murder. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves this time!" Bakura and Marik both grinned evilly.
A day later, at Domino City, Bakura and Marik hadn't killed anyone, and yet….
"Stupid, Ra-damnable reporters!!!!!!!!!" Yami swore, banging the door of the Kame Game Shop closed behind him. Marik started tapping on his shoulder. "Following us around the city!"
Bakura and Marik were glaring at the glass door, where a dozen or so members of their security personnel were manfully dissuading the media from following into the store (though why immortal, near-invincible yamis needed bodyguards, was a mystery). From the moment the trio had gotten off Bakura's private plane and out of the airport doors, they'd been mobbed by members of the media and assorted paparazzi. There was no place they went that they could escape!
"We didn't even have to do anything, Yami," Bakura said in disgust. "These Ra-damned mortals! Don't they have anything better to do?" Marik was now tapping on his shoulder.
"I know!" Yami snapped. "All I wanted was a nice trip into this little city and all of the sudden, I've got cameras stuck in my face!" Marik switched back to tapping on his shoulder.
Bakura shuddered. "And the fan girls! What do those bitches think of us?! Sides of beef?!?!" Marik was shaking him.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Yami and Bakura bellowed at Marik.
The psycho blinked and pointed.
"W-welcome to the Kame Game Shop, m-my Lords!" a kid of about 15 years old stammered. In the midst of Yami and Bakura's ranting, the boy had come out of the shop's back room and walked up to them cautiously. Marik was the only one who'd noticed him. He had unruly jet-black hair and deep green eyes, hidden behind round glasses. His eyes were wide open in surprise and his voice was weak, overcome by the sight of the three most powerful, important men in the world – standing at the doorway of his employer's shop!
Bakura bent down and squinted at him. "Hey… Aren't you the kid from that book by the Rolling woman?"
Marik started to poke at the boy's forehead. "You're right, Bakura. What's the name of the kid again? Harpy?"
Yami smacked both of them on the back of the head. "It's 'Harry Potter', by J.K. Rowling, and look! You've got the wrong kid!" He pointed at the boy's nametag, which read 'Harold Peterson'. "Sorry about them, kid. They aren't that sober just now." Yami apologized, looking around. Yes, everything was as he remembered it from three years ago. The cluttered center of the store, the Duel Monster posters hanging from the walls, the display cases full of playing cards, everything there was familiar to Yami. After a moment, he turned back to the boy. "So, Harold, how long have you been working here?"
"Th-the past thr-three years, Lord Yami," the boy said in a low voice. He was blushing to the roots of his hair. "And… I get that comment about h-how I look very often."
Bakura snorted. "Hey, Yami, looks like the kid is scared of you or something!" He fixed his most menacing glare on Harold. "Heh, you shouldn't be scared of him. I'm the one who frightens little boys…."
Harold squeaked in fright, but dared not move, lest Lord Yami banish him to the legendary World of Shadows, or Lord Bakura torture him where he stood, or worse! What if Lord Marik decided to kill him!?!
"Funny little guy…." Marik commented, leaning on the counter.
"Harold? Are you okay?" came a familiar voice. Yami, Bakura, and Marik stiffened. Solomon Motou had just walked into the shop. "Oh, my…." He gasped as he caught sight of the three Spirits. "To what do I owe the honor, my Lords?"
"If it's okay, we'd just like to look around a bit, first," Yami said softly, Bakura and Marik nodding in agreement. He felt hurt in a way. As soon as he'd caught sight of the old man, he'd wanted to run up to him and give him a hug, but as soon as he'd seen the fearful look in Solomon's eyes, he'd tossed the idea aside. Just like everyone else in the world, Grandpa Motou stood in awe and fear of him.
Finally, after making some pretense at browsing, the trio grabbed a couple of cards and other things then went to the counter to pay.
"Keep the change, kid." Bakura and Marik started to walk out, but Yami lingered to speak with Harold. He avoided looking at the old Motou. "Tell your employer that Bakura, Marik, and I are inviting both of you to dinner tonight. Wear something formal. A limousine will pick you up at seven."
Without another word, Yami turned his back on the startled youth and followed Bakura and Marik out into the sunlit, reporter-filled sidewalk.
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The arcade. He hadn't been here in a while, in fact, not since the week before that happened.
Yami blinked and shook his head. He was there to have fun, not think about the past. It was three days after he, Bakura, and Marik had met and seen Grandpa Motou for dinner. He'd kept his word about making the game shop a more popular place; he knew there was a promotional Duel Monsters game being held outside the Kame Game Shop on his orders. Mobs of people went to Solomon Motou's shop now and thanks to Yami's co-rulers, there was little competition. Normally, Yami wouldn't miss a duel, and would have been participating too, but there were other things that caught his attention… such as the arcade. He fumbled with the dark shades he was wearing, but it wasn't enough. He could tell that people were still looking at him, that everyone there knew that he was Lord Yami, Pharaoh of the Middle Continent, or, at the very least, knew he was someone extremely important. Trying to be invisible was made even more impossible by the fact that the press had, once again, followed him. It was during such times that he was glad for his bodyguards. 'At least they keep the nuisances away. I really don't need the extra attention right now,' Yami thought glumly as he was given token by one of the attendants. The wide-eyed teen mumbled something about it being an honor to have Yami there, but the Pharaoh wasn't paying attention. His eyes were roaming the arcade. His eyes lighted up as he saw a familiar game. 'We used to play that…' he thought with a half-smile, touching the machine in a fond manner. 'I've missed it…'
'Aha!' he spotted something near the center of the arcade and the players melted out of his way. "I didn't know this was out, yet…" he murmured, smirking. "'DDM Version 2'… Leave it to Seto and Ryuuji to come up with something like that." Even though Ryuuji worked in the Air Force, he had found time to merge his company with Seto's and almost every month coming up with new games. Yami when Duke had been talking of such games, he had been quite excited, amethyst eyes glowing as the idea was sketched out. Pushing the unwanted thoughts away, he narrowed his wine-colored orbs and inserted a coin into the slot. 'I should finish this one easily…'
Two hours and a lot – about a million of so – of tokens later, Yami still wasn't done. And the paparazzi still hadn't quit their posts at the door. Yami's security staff had their hands full. 'Why can't I win?! It's impossible! I'm the King of Games!!! I – ' The screen started to blink. 'Oh… I guess I won… Wow…'
"Good job, Yami!" Yami nearly jumped at the sound of the voice. It couldn't be!
Almost expecting to face a pair of wide amethyst eyes staring up at him, smiling in congratulation, Yami turned. But there was no one speaking to him…No one there…
'Aibou…'
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The library. Such a quiet place… He had really liked it there.
'How can anyone find the library fun?' Bakura wondered. Really, he wondered, there was television and the radio. Why would anyone go to such a boring place like the library? 'Heh! There're probably enough books to burn here for the next ten years!' Bakura was pulled out of his reverie by the angry shushing of a librarian. Those Ra-damnable reporters had followed him all the way to the library and his bodyguards were arguing and trying to keep them away. The librarian wasn't too happy with the noise and tried to quiet them. Bakura smirked and weaved his way into the mazes of bookshelves. This was probably the only good thing about the library. There was little chance that people would be able to bump into him and stare. He was easier to recognize than Yami and Marik because, after all, Japan was his capital, as Egypt was Yami's and the U.S. was Marik's. He flexed his fingers. He was still tired from his activities the night before. Since Yami had bludgeoned him into helping promote the Kame Game Shop, and he was in no way good with people, he'd taken it upon himself to, ah, 'attend' to Grandpa Motou's rivals. Really, Yami had said that they weren't allowed to murder anyone, but that didn't mean he couldn't have someone else do it for him, right? Or that he couldn't watch, or threaten?
There was a crashing sound and from behind the shelves, Bakura saw the librarian, now wielding a broom, face tomato-red, chasing the reporters out. 'Now THAT is my kind of old lady! Atta girl! Hmm… Wonder if she'll consider taking a spot on my security staff – or teaching them a thing or two…'
Running a hand along the shelves, Bakura's fingers landed on a familiar title. 'Inferno and Paradiso'. The silvery-haired yami blinked. 'I remember…he used to read this…' Taking the book down and opening it to a random page, he noticed something scrawled in his unmistakable version of the hieroglyphics. He'd been scolded by him for vandalizing. 'What's so interesting about this, anyway?' He sat down on the ground to read.
An hour later, he slammed the book down in disgust. "By Set! There's nothing interesting here!" he grumbled. "A demon and angel fall in love, and in the end, the angel dies and the demon kills himself! Bah!" He held up the book to throw it away but he stopped at the sound of a voice.
"Kura, don't!" Impossible! He was dead! How – ?
Bakura turned. There was no pale hand reaching out to stop him. There was no one there.
'Tenchi…'
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The park and the evil that is squirrels. Oh, Ra, damn them all to the pits of hell!!!! He wasn't here anymore, so…
'How much energy can this accursed thing have?!?' Marik thought in frustration. He'd been running after a particular squirrel in the park for about an hour now and it still put up a good chase. He had been BORED to death earlier. It was morning, and he was usually asleep at that time, but he hadn't been able to sleep long. As soon as Bakura had had another one of Grandpa Motou's competitors 'silenced' he'd gone off to gamble with the man who took over for possession of everything. Old Mr. Motou didn't know it yet, but by the time the three yamis left Japan, he'd find that he owned about half of the gaming industries in the country! 'Damn! What did I do wrong today? Why are those men with cameras chasing me again?' He'd have sent them to the Shadow Realm already, but he didn't want to have to argue with Yami again. Ah, if his security staff couldn't manage to keep them away, he could always hire some new guards. Back to the squirrel… Where did it go?!
The voices of the reporters and Marik's security staff were getting closer. Marik could now hear bits of their conversation. Good. His guards were trying to convince the paparazzi to bugger off, but what was this. "Oh… He's soooo strong! … Why does he need to exercise so much?" Marik snorted. Exercise? Couldn't they see that he was trying to rid the world of the evil that is squirrels?! Besides, he wasn't I such a good mood. Sexual deprivation did that to him and neither Bakura nor Yami were interested in fucking those days… Pulled from his thoughts, he looked just in time to stop himself from hitting a tree. An acorn landed on his head. Looking up, he saw a squirrel, grinning 'innocently' down at him. 'I'll show the world just what you are… one of these days!!!!!!!' He started to circle the tree when he noticed some graffiti around one side. He howled with laughter. He knew who'd carved everything there…
There was a crude drawing of the Pharaoh with a huge horn and forked tail, and another of the Tomb Robber with bunny ears. 'YUGI luvs YAMI' was carved inside one heart and 'RYOU+BAKURA 4EVER' in another. And, yes… There it was! In bold letters 'MY YAMI IS SEXY AS HELL' was etched, and below it, in hieroglyphics, Marik recognized his own words: 'DAMN RIGHT!!!' Marik sighed. Those had been the good old days…BONK! Another acorn landed on his head. 'That squirrel is sooooo dead!'
"Give it a rest already, Marik!" That voice…NO!!! It wasn't possible!
Marik looked around. No smirking face…There was… no one…
'Habibi…'
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"With your IQ, sh…shouldn't you chase butt'rflies 'stead o' sh…shquirrels?" Bakura said in a slurred voice, downing another shot.
Marik shrugged. "Bah! Sh…sh…shquir'ls are EVIL…" He burped loudly.
"You two are definitely drunk!" Yami declared over the loud music, smirking at his two companions while he sipped on a Martini.
The three of them were sitting in a private room at one of the new pleasure houses in Domino city – the rage, really, now that the yamis were ruling. Vice? No… It was PLEASURE and Ra be damned if it was called anything else! Their 'vacation' in Japan was almost over. In fact, Seto had called each one of them at least a dozen times in the last five hours to remind them that their flight to France was at noon the following day. They had, according to the CEO-slash-Royal Advisor, another 'conference meeting' at the royal palace in Fontainebleau – another excuse for getting drunk and fucking with someone – or each other, in yami-language. The palace was classy, and the yamis were privately glad that they had allowed Seto to dissuade them from turning the Eiffel Tower into their office instead. They'd achieved their goal. Earlier that day, they'd strolled into the Kame Game Shop and presented Solomon Motou with the ownership papers of nearly all the gaming industries from Domino City to Osaka and Kyoto. His game shop was now the most popular in the city, and now this? The old man had nearly fainted from shock!
"Bah! You think you're sh…sho tough, Pharaoh!" Bakura said, leaning close to Yami. "Bet you can't hold your lik…liquor…." His face was just inches away from Yami's and he looked rather cross-eyed.
The Pharaoh's eyes flared with an angry fire. "Oh, yeah? Tell you what. You – both of you – order all my drinks for me the rest of tonight – whatever you two have! I'll show you who can't hold his liquor!"
"Tha' s th' sh…shpirit, 'Ami!" Marik said, hitting a button to call a server in. "Three Red Tides… an' be fast, mind ya!"
Yami gulped, trying to finish his Martini with out collapsing. In truth, he was already half-drunk himself, but he had to maintain some decorum. 'Shit. Big mistake, Yami…. Big mistake…'
Three hours, a dozen strong drinks, and not a few bawdy songs later, the trio was stumbling and swaying down the sidewalk of a deserted street in Domino, arms about each other's shoulders for support, Millennium Items glinting in the lamplights, 'singing' (more like inventing new notes!), rather off-key. A limo, and about three-dozen members of their combined security staff, followed unobtrusively fifty meters behind them.
"You… two are… ba..bastards!!!" Yami slurred, leaning heavily on Marik for support as he tried to take another step forward. "Sh…shtupid me… Why'd I ev'r let you talk me int'a th…thish?"
"Ah, quiet dow..down, Phr'oh!" Bakura said, stumbling over a crack in the pavement. "No good complainin' now…"
Marik hiccupped. "Sh…shatishfying, though… ry…right?"
Yami made a funny little noise between a groan and a giggle. "I… hate…both of you…."
"Gl-glad ya feel that way, Phr'oh!" Bakura and Marik guffawed, leaning forward and causing all three of them to stumble into the pavement. "Th'sh'll be one hell'uva hangov'r in the morning…." He hauled himself to his feet and helped Yami up.
Marik blinked owlishly and looked up, not bothering to stand. "'Ey, lookie where we a-are… The K'me G-game Shop!"
Yami and Bakura turned and sure enough, they realized that they were in deed in front of Mr. Motou's shop. They were all silent for a moment, and then, Yami slid down to lean against the wall of the building. Bakura soon followed and Marik heaved himself into an Indian-style sitting position.
"Every time I come by here…. I remember Yugi…" Yami said softly, the slurred quality of his voice fading. "I guess I really do miss him… At the arcade earlier, I even thought I heard his voice…"
Bakura banged his head back against the wall of the building and took a small flask out of his coat. "I know what you mean, Yami… Coming here brought back a lot of memories… I went to the library, and saw a book Ryou used to read – one that I scribbled on 'fore…" He took a long swig out of the flask before handing it to Yami and Marik.
"I saw something Malik wrote on a tree in the park…" Marik chimed in, gulping down some of the brew. "I saw stuff we all wrote…"
Yami sighed and took a long drink as the flask was passed back to him. "Were we right to do what we did? Th' only good thing about taking over the world is that we don't fight that much anymore… Heck! I'm actually starting to like you two morons!"
"Ryou would have been glad…" Bakura muttered, running a hand through his hair. "He always said I should stop picking fights with you two… Actually, just with you, Yami."
Marik drained the flask and tossed it away. "Malik did want to spend at least one day when we didn't start brawling in front of him… Or when he wouldn't have to pull us apart…"
"Sometimes, I wish…" Yami hesitated. It was really rather a delicate topic. "I wish… we didn't have to murder them…"
The door of the game shop burst open and Solomon stumbled out, clutching his head and staring at them in fright. "You… You three… I remember you all now! You're not real, living, people!" In the yamis' drunkenness, their grip on the Millennium Items had slackened. The power of the Ring was wavering on Grandpa Motou. He pointed at Yami. "You… you were my grandson's yami!" He turned to Bakura, then Marik. "And you were Ryou's! And Malik's!" The color drained out of his face completely. "You three KILLED them!!!"
"Grandpa, wait!" Yami cried out, struggling to his feet. "Let me explain!"
Solomon just backed away. "You monsters! You murdered those boys! You murdered my innocent little Yugi!"
"Old man, you go to far!" Bakura snarled. "We had to! Ra, damn it all!"
Something inside Yami snapped. "Stop it… Don't talk like that… YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH! WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH!!!" he bellowed at Solomon. His eyes darkened as he focused his Shadow Powers. "Mind Crush!" As he uttered those words, Solomon stepped back in horror, but suddenly, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slumped down to the ground, unconscious. Yami was breathing heavily. "Bakura… Go on… erase his memory of tonight… and everything about Yugi and the rest again…"
Marik tilted his head to the side as Bakura knelt at the old man's side. "Why not erase everything else about these past two weeks?" It seemed, Solomon's appearance had made them all stone cold sober.
Yami shook his head. "No… I want to keep the promise I made. I don't want our efforts to go to waste."
Bakura stood and dusted himself off. "Yami, it's done."
"Good." His voice sounded flat and monotonous. The tri-color-haired Spirit started to walk in the direction of slowly approaching limousine. "Leave him where he is. Let's go."
"Wait!" a voice called from behind them. Turning, the trio saw Shadi rising out of purple mists and thin air, approaching them. He knelt on one knee and addressed them. "Please, my Lords… I can end your suffering, if you will only permit me!" Before any of them could speak, he hurried to continue. "I can resurrect your hikaris…"
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"You're late, Wheeler! It's all over…" drawled a harsh voice.
Joey had rushed into the meeting chamber, hair disheveled, trying to fasten his sash on properly. He'd frozen at the doorway, seeing that everyone there, naval and army commanders alike were rising to leave.
"What!?" Joey's mouth was hanging open in shock and confusion. "It-it's over? No more uprising?"
The person who'd spoken, the towering, burly, blonde Bandit-now-Admiral Keith sauntered over to Joey, a smirk on his face. "Yep! All done here. Pretty quick, really… It only took a handful of my men to hack up those coward Slovaks! Heh! If you had finished fucking with that Kaiba of yours earlier, you would have been able to watch!"
Joey growled. "I was not fuckin' with Seto! An' if it only took your men to do the job, what the hell are twelve of us doin' here?"
Keith sneered, without warning, grabbed Joey by the front of his uniform, and lifted him up. "Watch your mouth, whore! You didn't have to come! You wouldn't even me in your position now, if those three freaks hadn't put ya here!"
"Watch what you say, Keith!" Joey spat. "Those three 'freaks' are my friends, and I don't think they'd take it too well if they found out tha' you d'cided to pick a fight with me!"
Not one of the other official in the room dared to come between them – out of respect for one and fear of the other. They glared at each other for what seemed like a year, then, Keith lowered his eyes. "Fine!" He lowered Joey back onto the ground and shoved past him, stopping only to hiss into his ear before stomping out of the room. "One of these days… I'll get my way with you whore. And by the time I'm done with you, not even those lunatics or your precious Kaiba will be able to help you!"
Joey made no reply and Keith continued out of the room and down the hall without any interference.
'I meant what I said, mutt… I will have my way with you… just as soon as I get rid of those asshole yamis!' He lurched onto the street and signaled for his limousine to come up. He got in and shortly after, he arrived at a dark looking building that stank severely of vomit, dog shit and other unmentionable things. Even before he could rap on the old, rusty doorknob, the door swung open and he was enfolded in an embrace.
"Hey there, handsome… Work all done?" asked a short-haired brunette in a skimpy blood-red dress that barely covered her panties. High, spiked black boots reached all the way up to her thighs and a spiked collar clung to her neck. "Miss me?"
"'Course, Tea…" Keith replied, pulling the brunette to him for a rough kiss. "What do you have for me today?"
"Mmmmhhhmmm… What have you got for me?" Tea asked, pulling Keith down onto the only couch – quite an unreliably soft model – in the room. Tea held aloft a folded sheet of paper seductively pulled out from her bosom.
Keith patted his pocket and manfully swept her up into his arms, bridal-style. "How about we continue this discussion in the bedroom?"
The brunette devil incarnate giggled wickedly. "Why not? This was the worst place to meet, but at least the bedroom has some rather nice 'complements' I'm eager to use with you…" She cleared her throat and spoke again. "After all, in friendship we are united, are we not?"
"Well, my friendly little consort, let's go have a little of that 'uniting' in bed, huh?"
Tea's answer was to nibble on his ear.
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TBC…
V. Maiden: haha well were almost at the end so were gonna make this quick *points a plastic knife at tristan*
Tristan: *gulp* W-what now?
Ruriko: V.M., you're crazy......... Virtual_Maiden: no im demented *starts waving a 'SAVE THE SQUIRRELS FROM PSYCHOPATH YAMIS!' flag* so how DID you get your quote 'Hell has frozen' on our first chapter
(Ruriko falls to the ground! Tristan sweatdrops)
Tristan: Uhhhh.... I don't know.... I've been aroung the yamis and Seto too long........
Ruriko: (rubbing head) Any other twisted questions?
V. Maiden: ok ok...tch fine, last thing we ALL want to know, how's ur relationship with Ryuuji? *whispers to ruriko* psst shall we ask him if he's good in bed?
Ruriko: *faints* Duuuuuke........
Tristan: Hey! Does she have a crush on MY boyfriend?
V. Maiden: hehe is it THAT obvious
Ruriko: *waking up* Is he? Good in bed, I mean?
Tristan: WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT?!??!??!! *pause* Yes..... He is.....
V. Maiden: O_O...didnt you ever thought of WHY ryuuji was taking so long from being our mystery muse for a...er chappie, he was entertaining someONE.. ooh wait-wait i forgot to ask you are you the senne or uke?
Tristan: THAT'S TOO PRIVATE!!!!!!!!!!!
Ruriko: *faints again, holding up a paper* (on the paper:)
Next up.... Chapter 5: The Chariot
BYE, from, Ruriko ^-^
V. Maiden: gotta go now. excuse ruriko she's just THAT crazy over Ryuuji.... *sees Tristan trying to creep out* hey get back here and be a man helpme carry her!
Seto: Since everyone's either gone nuts, or is busy now.... This is the end of the chapter. Get out of here already!
~End for now~
P.S. Ruriko's Off Limits to Yamis will be updated (the last chapter!) next Friday yet, while Dances of Seduction & Twisted Utopia will have new chapters on the week of May 10 yet. ^-^