Guardians

Note: Thank you all sooooo much! I have 38 reviews, the highest I've ever gotten on one story! You all get a big old cookie! Here's chapter 9, too!

Disclaimer: In case you were still wondering, I don't own Yu-gi-oh (Joey and Kaiba'd be the heroes if I did…) and I don't own the beautiful songs that Karmina feels the need to sing in every single chapter, forcing me to write a disclaimer for every one.

Chapter Nine: Kissing the Raindrops

Karmina sighed and let the rain's gentle caress comfort her as she tried to figure out where to go from here. She didn't know why she'd thought Kaiba would accept an invitation to get out of the office. He just seemed so sad… she thought she could help him, since he knew who she was and all.

How stupid could she get? Whether or not he knew who she was, he was still Seto Kaiba, and he was still a jerk. At least, that's what people said, but she had the oddest feeling that there was more to Seto Kaiba than people thought. He had seemed so… well, so shy… no, not really shy, just… unsure.

"Oh Wingweaver, where are you when I need you here?"

There was no response. She would have to turn to her own mind for the answers. She couldn't think straight in the silence. She had to put her feelings into song, and only then were they plain to be seen. But she didn't know which song would describe what she was feeling inside. It felt so new to her… so different from the loneliness she was used to. Now she actually had to deal with another person.

"Oh… what am I gonna do? This is so… so different. How do I know what's going on inside his head?"

It was a lot harder without someone answering her. She needed help. She needed Wingweaver. But since she wasn't here… Karmina just didn't know what to do.

"What am I supposed to be doing?" she asked the sky.

The answer came to her in the strangest form. There, down the street, was none other than Joey Wheeler from homeroom, the guy she had a major crush on. He was by himself, for once, instead of with Tristan, Yugi, and Tea.

"Eh… hi. I think I've seen ya around… Karmina, right?"

He knew who she was! "Y-yeah. Joey Wheeler, right?"

He nodded and pointed to the sky. "It's gonna pour soon, I think."

Karmina blushed and nodded. Why was he talking to her?

"So… I saw dat competition the other day. You did really good."

Now it made some sense. He liked her voice. He wouldn't like anything else. "Umm… thanks. It… it's just… just something I l-like to do, ya know?"

"Yeah… ya really remind me of dis other girl I know, only not so outgoing."

"Umm… that's nice…"

"I didn't mean dat in a bad way… I just miss her."

"Was she… your… g-girlfriend?"

"No… but I always hoped dat… sorry, you don't care."

"No,no… I-I'd love to hear it… come sit over here." Where had that come from? Had she only stuttered once in that sentence?

"It doesn't matter."

"Of… of course it d-does. I'll listen."

"Well… okay."

Karmina gave her most reassuring smile and lead him to a park bench, hardly believing that this was real.

And that's how she learned the story of Duelist Kingdom, the Battle City Tournament, the Shadow Realm, and the most terrible story of all, the tale of the Orichalcos (A/N: I have no idea how to spell that one, sorry).

"So… you don't know where she is now?"

He shook his head. He looked so sad, and Karmina didn't know what to say.

"I-I'm sure she'll c-come back w-when she's ready, J-Joey. It s-sounds l-like she r-really l-likes y-you."

"I don't know… I just wish I could help her… she's always so sad."

Like I am. "You c-can't help if she w-won't let you. S-Sometimes a g-girl needs a l-little t-time by hers-self."

"Eh… not ta be rude, but do ya have a speech problem?"

"N-no… j-just a l-little s-stammer sometimes. N-nothing too b-bad."

"Oh. It's kinda annoying."

Gee thanks. "Sorry."

"Are you nervous around me?"

Yes, of course you dim wit! "M-maybe a little… after all, I h-hardly know y-you."

"Yeah… I guess you don't really have dat many friends… you're always alone."

Not afraid of hurting my feelings, there, are ya? "I d-don't mind. I g-get a lot of r-reading done."

Joey grimaced at the idea of reading and shook his head. "You can hang with us, if you want."

Hang out with the in crowd? Her? It couldn't really be that easy. Listen to a few complaints and you're in. There had to a catch.

I'll lose Kaiba, and I was just starting to get through to him.

"M-maybe sometime, b-but I have s-something I h-have to d-do."

"You mean hang around wit Kaiba?"

No duh. "No… Well… He's alright… he's l-lonely."

"No, he's a jerk."

He's only a jerk because of the way people treat him. They're only nice to him for his money. It isn't right. "I d-don't think s-so"

He shook his head and stood up. "I've gotta get home. Have a good day, Karmina."

What a strange day it was turning out to be.

End note: Yes, it's short and a little bit cliffie ish, but you'll get over it! Review, and yell at me for it if you must!