Sonja's Side

Bakura POV

It ended up that I went with Sonja's crew—apparently, they needed one more person. I was put to the task of carrying karaoke machines around to the private rooms.

I growled a little, thinking to myself. Miriku was helping Yami lift something, seeing as how he was currently forced to work with one hand. Kaiba and Terra were arguing—as usual. Ryou and Mikey were probably still working together back with Damien.

I still couldn't believe it. The CEO, the pharaoh—even my baka hikari had a girlfriend! And what did I have? Nothing! It just wasn't fair!

"Whoa, dude! Watch it!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin. I had been so preoccupied with my thoughts that I had nearly run over a girl. She was a bit shorter than me, and even lankier than I was from the stupid illusion Miriku was making me wear—you could see her bones pushing up against her skin. Her waist-length, bleach-blond hair was wispy and frazzled. Dreamy blue-green eyes looked back at me from behind wire-framed glasses that were a little too big for her face. She wore an immensely faded tie-dye shirt and jeans that were nearly worn through at the knees.

I stared at her. "What're you supposed to be, a hippie?"

Sonja bounced up, grinning. "This is Samantha Parker—also known as Sam. She's going to be the one running the machinery."

Malik eyed her speculatively. "Really? You don't look like the mechanic type."

Sam shrugged nonchalantly. "It's in the blood, dude. My dad's a car mechanic, and my mom builds computers."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah. They want me to have one of their jobs when I grow up—but I'm more of a nature type, you know? I like hiking and camping, man, not sitting around in a cubicle or a garage all day and messing around with machines."

Terra nodded slowly. "And yet, you're the electrician here. You're in charge of all the lights and stereo—for the whole place, not just the stage."

Sam's face broke out into a grin. "It's the karaoke, man—the music. When this place gets rockin' and rollin', I gotta be right there in the middle of it!"

I looked at Miriku. "Heck, she's kookier than you!"

Miriku growled at me, and I sniggered.

Sam looked back at me. "Hey, dude, mind if I give you a hand with that?"

"I guess," I muttered. With a grin, she reached under the karaoke machine—and, to my astonishment, lifted the whole thing up and rested it against her shoulder like it was nothing!

Yuugi stared at her, shock written across his face. "Hunh? How—?"

Sam peace-signed. "Eat your veggies, dude!" With that, she trundled off.

Miriku and Terra looked at each other. "Weird," they said at the same time.

Sonja nodded, grinning apologetically. "She is a bit strange, but she's a genius at electrical stuff. And she's only thirteen, too."

I shook my head. "Whoa. A freak, if I ever saw one."

Yami grinned smugly. "Nature-lover and treasure-stealer—a perfect couple, if I do say so myself."

I growled at him. "Shut it, baka."

"I don't feel like it."

I balled my hands into fists. "Well, I'll make you feel like it, you little—!"

"Bakura!" Malik shouted, pinning my arms behind my back. "That's enough!"

I glared over my shoulder. "Let go of me, Gravekeeper."

"Not until you behave."

I made a face. "But behaving is so boring!" I whined.

Sonja stared at me. "Where the hell did Bakura come from?"

Miriku rolled her eyes. "Umm—YuGiOh, maybe?"

"Well, I know that—but why are you calling him Bakura?"

"Because he acts like him," Yami said quickly, "as you can see."

Terra nodded. "All our Japanese friends nicknamed each other based on the YuGiOh character they're most like."

Sonja nodded, but she still glanced suspiciously at me.

I stuck my tongue out at her. "What're you lookin' at, baka?"

Sonja laughed. "We'd better get back to work. Koran, you go find Sam—she could probably use your help."

"Sure," I muttered, twisting free of Malik's grasp. "Whatever you say." I headed off to one of the private rooms, grumbling to myself.

"Hey, dude!"

I jumped, and whipped around. "Stop doing that!" I snarled.

Sam just grinned at me. "Sorry, dude—the parents say I move like a cat. It's the way I am—my own karma, you know?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, whatever. I'm supposed to be helping you out with something?"

A thoughtful look crossed Sam's face. "I'm having problems installing the sound system—you could help me out with that, huh?"

"Whatever," I muttered, pushing around her. "Just show me where to start—I can figure it out from there."

Miriku POV

"YEEEEOWCH!"

Everyone in the main room looked at each other.

"Gotta be Koran," we said at the same time—and ran for the small room that Bakura and Sam had disappeared into.

Bakura was doing a little jig of pain near the back of the room, blowing on his fingertips, which looked like they had been scorched. His hair was completely fritzed, and the ends stood strait out. Little puffs of smoke floated around the room, and two wires that protruded from a hole in the wall were shooting sparks. Sam was trying to talk to him.

"—stop moving, dude! I can't see what's up if you don't let me!"

Sonja crossed her arms. "All right, what happened here?"

Sam sighed, turning away from Bakura, who was still blowing on his fingers, a look of intense pain on his face. "I told him not to mess with the wires, man—but he fried the connection, and bar-bee-cued himself."

Malik rolled his eyes. "Great. That's just what we needed—the baka tomb robber getting himself electrocuted."

Sam chose that moment to grab Bakura's wrist. He yelped with surprise—and then yelped again when she poured a clear liquid onto his blackened fingertips from a glass vial she appeared to have pulled out of a white bag resting in a corner.

"That stings!" he exclaimed, waving his hand around in the air. "What the hell did you do!"

Sam grinned. "It's just a healing balm, man. Yeah, it stings—but it'll help you heal. You know, the positive healing karma of the aloe fighting the negative karma of the burn, and all of that."

Bakura rolled his eyes, cradling his hand against his chest. "Whatever. Just—don't do that to me again, eco-freak!"

Terra winced. "Harsh much?"

Sam shrugged nonchalantly. "No big. I'm used to it."

Kaiba's eyebrows quirked, but he didn't say anything. I noticed him cast a sidelong glance at Terra—who was deathglaring him, as if daring him to say something.

Dustil bounced over to the wall with the sparking wires. "Do you know how to fix this stuff, Sam?"

Sam nodded. "I just have to bind the right currents. Electro-maniac dude over there tried to connect the wrong wires, and he got fried."

Sonja sighed. "Well, while you do that, we'd better go check on Damien and his group. We haven't heard from them in a while."

Sam shrugged. "Got it, man."

Sonja nodded, and beckoned to us. "C'mon—I don't like it when I haven't heard from my brother in a while. He has a tendency to do stupid things when he's alone."

"So does just about everyone else in this room," Kaiba remarked dryly. "Got a point?"

At that, just about everyone collapsed into laughter.