Thanks to those who reviewed for taking the time to do so. Thanks too those who read. Hope you all enjoy the second chapter.
Here, we meet the one and only guide of our heroes to the magical world. Who could it be? wink
Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Yugi descended the staircase and made his way to the kitchen.
Suddenly, he stopped. He sniffed the air, and blinked. It seemed that Grandpa was cooking breakfast. He peeked through the kitchen doorway.
And saw Ryou setting the table.
The said person looked up, just sensing Yugi's presence in the room. "Good morning, Yugi," he said with a smile, "Your grandfather's managing the shop." He then gestured towards the table, where a plate of perfectly fried eggs and a pitcher of iced water were already laid out, along with two sets of plates. "The bacon's almost done."
Without a word, Yugi sat himself on one of the chairs, a bit dazed. Why was Ryou here?
We let them stay for the night, remember?, he heard his yami say inside his head.
It took him a moment to comprehend. Oh, yeah..., he recalled what they went through just last night. Those stick-waving people…were they another group bent on acquiring the Millennium Items?
As he thought about this, he reached for the plate of eggs. He tipped the plate over his own as he held a fork on another hand. Just as he was about to start eating, he felt a rather painful smack.
"Ow!" he yelped, cradling his hand. He looked up and saw Ryou holding a turner. "What did you do that for?" he exclaimed.
Ryou raised an eyebrow, and in a less than normal voice, said, "Just because you're the one housing the pharaoh doesn't mean that you're going to eat first."
"But I'm not—"
"You keep that egg on the plate and wait for the bacon, and me," he added. "And tell that to his majesty too"
Ah...not actually Ryou then.
Yugi retreated. "Uh…okay, sure, Bakura."
The thief smirked, not at all looking less dangerous armed with a cooking utensil than a sharp dagger. "Good boy."
Yugi, or rather, Yami, glared at him, "I think you should be a bit more grateful to our tolerance of you in this household."
He shrugged. "It was only one night, and besides, I should've been long gone," an annoyed expression graced his face, "Unfortunately, my hikari was set on repaying you for your…hospitality."
Yami rested his head lazily on one hand.
"By making breakfast?"
"What were you expecting? A gift?" he scoffed. "Well, I'm sorry your greatness, but unfortunately, in this world, you won't be getting any offerings from us low-lifes…since you're one yourself."
He scowled but did not talk back.
With another smirk, Bakura went back to cooking the bacon. He poked it uncertainly; Ryou was the cook, not him.
"So…you're confident that you could handle this problem of ours yourself?" the pharaoh's voice said after a few moments of silence.
"More than confident," he said at once. So? It was true, he might not want to face the problem entirely, but a few years of hiding could put anyone off his scent, he thought. Ryou would be whining all the way, but he'll put up with it.
"Hmm…" droned Yami. "For some reason, I have this feeling that you'd be hiding in a hole until the danger's past."
"Yup," he said in an almost cheery tone. He moved the bacon around the pan. How was he supposed to know if it's done? Maybe he should let Ryou out…
Bakura, you're doing it wrong, came the pleading cry of his host, Let me out!
He looked at the strips. He was quite sure that it shouldn't be going black. Fine, fine, he grumbled.
He was about to relinquish control to his other when Yami spoke from his side.
"I think it's going bad…" he said, looking closer. He then looked up at him, "Obviously, Ryou's cooking talent doesn't extend to you."
That statement made him change his mind of allowing his light to take over.
"Really?" he said, his voice low.
Yami looked at him then shrugged, going back to his seat. "Fine, don't listen to me. You're the chef, not me. Do what you want."
Bakura's grip on the turner tightened. He was seriously considering stabbing the pharaoh with it.
"Yugi! Ryou!" came a voice, Yugi's grandfather, "Someone's here to see you!"
Hmph, maybe some other time…
Almost immediately, both boys hurried towards the actual game shop, changing dominant souls on the fly. Both yamis would settle their little fight later.
"Who is it, grandpa?" Yugi asked upon entering, Ryou following close behind him.
The old man pointed at the man on the other side of the counter. The moment Yugi looked at him, he could tell that this was no ordinary man
The first thing Yugi noticed was how the man was looking at them. It was as if he would rather not be here at all. His face, framed by greasy black curtains of hair, was set in a nasty scowl, there was also the hint of a glare in his cold dark eyes. It was clear that this was someone you'd think twice before trifling with. Second was has attire. Yugi was pretty sure no one walks around in a black billowing cloak.
Yugi…came the voice of his other, look at his hand.
He did, and his eyes widened. The man was holding one of those wooden sticks that the men they encountered last night attacked them with. He had his arms folded, but he could just see the end of it poking out of his side.
"Grandpa…why don't you go at the back?" Yugi said, making his voice as normal as possible, praying that his grandfather wouldn't get suspicious.
The old man looked puzzled for a moment, shrugged, then said, "Alright, but call me when you're done…"
Yugi looked over at Ryou and could tell that they both felt the same way, his friend has switched to his other self.
Bakura was staring at the visitor intently, daring him to make a move. One of his hands has disappeared inside his pocket, preparing to summon a monster should the situation arise.
I think we should do that too…his other's voice floated inside his head.
Nodding slightly, Yugi allowed Yami control over his body.
Bakura noticed the change at the corner of his eye, and for a moment, thought about how strange it is to actually fight along side the former ruler of Egypt, along with this thought came a feeling that he couldn't recognize just yet.
"Wise decision…leaving the old man out of our little…conversation," the man spoke, a sneer was evident in his voice, probably rivaling that of Bakura. He looked at both Bakura and Yami for a moment, frowning, before going back to a scowl. "That Egyptian must've been lying when he told me he had no contact with you two. You seem perfectly aware of the situation than I was led to believe."
Bakura's eyes widened. Egyptian? Was this man referring to Marik?
"Now, to business," he unfolded his arms, making no attempt to conceal his weapon.
Yami and Bakura hesitated no longer. They both drew a card, preparing to use it. Bakura took a quick glance at the card he drew, and held back a nasty smile. Man Eater Bug. He might've spared them lasting damage before, and mind you, that was something he rarely, if never, did, but now, he wasn't so generous.
"What the—" the man started, looking at the two teens holding a single card each as a weapon.
Yami was the first to attack. "Spell-Binding—"
"Hey, wait! Yugi, stop!" a voice cried out of nowhere. A very familiar voice.
He stopped himself. And looked past Snape to see…
"Marik?" he managed to blurt out, the tomb robber beside him in no better state than him.
What the—what the hell are you doing with him?" Bakura demanded, referring to the man, who by now had his stick pointed threateningly towards them, completely surprised by Yami's sudden move.
The blonde Egyptian merely sighed. "Before that, could you two just calm down and drop the…uh…cards?"
Yami hesitantly pocketed his card. Bakura made no move to do so.
"I'm not going to lower my weapon until he," he pointed at the man, "lowers his exploding stick."
"This exploding stick is called a wand," he said, nonetheless, he placed it inside his pocket. Bakura narrowed his eyes for a moment. There was just something about the man that exuded something sinister. Finally, after a few moments of staring, he gave in and deposited his card back to its deck.
Yami gave Marik a questioning look.
"I guess we should start over at the beginning?" he said, with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.
Marik nodded, then looked at the robed man.
"I'm Professor Snape—"
"A professor? You don't say…"
Snape glared at the white-haired boy.
Bakuraaa…came a pleading cry from inside his head. Ryou did not want the man taking the first impression of him from Bakura.
The thief snorted mentally, Fine, YOU handle it then, with that he forced control to Ryou, who found himself under the glare of a slightly furious Snape.
"I…uh," he stuttered, silently blaming his other self. Trust Bakura to leave him in the worst situations. "Sorry," he finally managed to mumble.
Fortunately, Yugi went to his rescue, "Professor from where?" he said, both to lead Snape's attention away from his friend and keep the rather bad start to an even worse ending.
Snape looked at the smaller boy.
"A school," he said. "In Europe. Where you're asked to attend."
"Huh? Why?"
"The situation's complicated...I was informed that you were both attacked by Death Eaters?"
Yugi and Ryo exchanged a look, both having no clue what a 'Death Eater' was. "Uh…what's a Death Eater?"
"Those people who chased you. The men in the black hooded cloaks," Marik supplied.
"What do they have to do with us transferring to another school?" Yugi asked.
"They are the very reason that you should consider entering the school," Snape said in a grave tone. "The Death Eaters is a society dark wizards, somehow similar to killers and criminals in your world. And for some reason, they have their eyes fixed on you."
"Wait, how can you be so sure?" Ryou asked, eyes wide.
"Spies of course."
"You were spying on them?"
"No. We were spying on you."
Almost immediately, Ryou's hair flared up, his usual soft spikes becoming more defined. His eyes narrowed considerably as he spoke in a low but demanding voice, "Why?"
Snape noticed the dramatic change of the boy's attitude. "That is not for me to answer," he said firmly. "My only task is to escort you boys to Hogwarts."
"Hog-what?" the tomb robber said rudely, making Yugi cringe. Snape seemed like the someone you wouldn't want to anger. He felt sorry for Ryou. He was sure it would be him that would pay for the tomb robber's actions.
Feeling that he should attempt once more to save his friend, Yugi said, "Anyways, I'm Yugi Mutou, and this is…uh…Ryou Bakura, nice to meet you, professor."
Snape averted his attention to the other boy.
Thank god, Yugi, Ryou muttered mentally.
Bakura snorted, Trust the pharaoh's brat to suck up to the teacher.
Well, there you go. Hope you liked that.
C and C welcomed.
