Chapter One: Old Memories
Summary: After spending a few hours of looking through pictures of them when they were younger, Hailey, Luna, Yugi, Joey, Seto, Malik, and Ryou find themselves wishing they had given their parents less trouble as children as they face the tough challenge of taking care of their now-five-year-old, spirits. What chaos will ensue, and will they be able to get their darker halves back to their real age before summer ends?
Author's Note: This idea has been floating around in our heads for ages and we have finally gotten around to writing it. I hope you enjoy it!
Hailey was going around the house, trying to gather pictures of her and Luna as kids, getting ready for the others to arrive. Hali, who had been upstairs chatting endlessly on the phone with Yami, came in. "Why are we doing this anyway? Half of us don't even have proof we were kids." She snapped, annoyed.
Hailey sighed and rolled her eyes at her spirit's ignorance. "I told you already, Hali! I thought it would be fun if everybody got together and discussed how we used to act as children!" she repeated for the umpteenth time that morning. "And besides, the pictures might help stir some of your memories of when you were a child."
"It might…" Hali replied thoughtfully. "When are they supposed to get here?"
The doorbell rang before Hailey could answer that question. "I bet that's them." Hailey said, going and answering the door. Seth, Seto, and Mokuba were on the other side, standing on the front steps. "Come on in, guys." She said, standing aside.
Seto and Seth passed without comment but Mokuba went up to Hailey and said, "Where's Luna?"
"Right here," Luna called, heading downstairs with a box full of old pictures, her spirit, Lena, following behind.
"Luna!" Mokuba cried, running at her and hugging her around the waist, causing the box in her arms to go flying and the pictures to scatter.
"Mokuba..." Seto growled, annoyed at his brother's immature behavior.
"No, it's all right." Luna said, smiling down at the boy. "Could you help me pick up these pictures?"
"Sure!" Mokuba exclaimed, and helped his baby-sitter pick the scattered pictures up.
Just as they were gathering the last of the pictures, the doorbell rang again. Hailey opened the door and found Joey along with a brunette girl, whom she took to be his sister.
"Hey, Hailey. You've met my sister, Serenity, right?" Joey asked, gesturing to the brunette.
"Nice to meet you, Serenity. Joey's told me so about you." Hailey said, hugging Serenity in greeting.
"He's told me a lot about you guys too. Especially his girlfriend." Serenity said, teasing her brother.
"'Ren!" Joey snapped, turning several shades of red.
Hailey giggled. "Come on in, Kaiba's already here. We're waiting for the others though."
"Rich boy's here?" Joey snapped, looking around. Seto was sitting coolly on the couch, ignoring the recent guest to arrive. He led his sister in and sat down as far away from Seto as physically possible. Joshia appeared, glaring at Seth.
Just as the guests were seated, the doorbell rang. Hailey answered it and found a pair of bleach-blond tan male teens, side by side, with a raven-haired female behind them.
"Malik, Marik, Ishizu, good to see you. Come on in." Hailey said, standing aside to let them in.
"Is the Pharaoh here yet?" Ishizu asked, looking around as she entered.
"Not yet, we're only waiting on Ryou and Bakura and Yugi and Yami." Hailey said. "The rest are here."
Ishizu entered, following her brother, and sat down. Not long after they arrived, the doorbell rang again. This time it was two white-haired males, one wearing a sinister sneer on his face. "Is the baka Pharaoh here yet?" He asked.
Hailey sighed. "No, but don't give him any trouble either, Bakura!" She snapped.
Bakura growled, but didn't argue. He followed his lighter half to the living room and sat down in the chairs provided.
Just as Hailey was about to close the door, she spotted Yugi and Yami dragging a big box up the walkway to the door. "Sorry we're late," Yami panted. "But Yugi insisted on bringing a whole box of it. Who knew he had so many…" he muttered, gesturing to the box they had been dragging.
"Hey, it's not my fault my parents and Grandpa insisted on taking pictures of me every second!" Yugi snapped at his spirit.
"Hey Joey, Joshia. Come here and help Yami and Yugi!" Hailey called into the living room.
Joey and Joshia hurried over and helped drag the box over to the couch and sat down panting. "All right, we're ready."
They were all soon seated, looking through the photographs. "Oh, I have one that's funny." Bakura commented, holding up a picture.
Ryou took one look at the picture and tried to grab it from Bakura, but due to his size and quickness, the latter of the two managed to pass it on to Malik. "Hey!" the younger boy snapped, frowning.
Malik took one look at it and laughed. "Ryou, I didn't know you had trouble with spraying things!" He said, his face full of mirth.
"Give me that!" Marik snapped, snatching the picture from his lighter half. He was only able to keep from laughing but a few seconds upon seeing the picture.
"Let me see it!" Yugi insisted, taking it from Marik. He snickered upon seeing it and passed it to Yami.
"Was the guy next to you on fire?" Yami smirked, trying to hold back laughter, passing it to Hali.
Hali took it and laughed. "Yeah, you got him pretty well soaked."
By the time it had passed around the group, Ryou was beat red. It finally reached Seth and the teen fell off the couch, he was laughing so hard. The picture was of a small white-haired boy, looking up at a tall figure beside him, the only part visible was from the waist down but a dark stain on the person's pantleg.
Bakura took it back, still laughing. "His father told me that when he was younger, he had trouble with his aim. He hadn't quite gotten the hang of aiming at the toilet yet."
The group finally calmed down, wiping tears from their eyes and getting off the floor, as the case was for Seth and they went back to looking at pictures. Luna held up one picture and started laughing. Upon odd looks from the others she said, "My silly Neko."
Hali took the image from her and laughed. "Are those leaves?" She asked, passing it to Hailey.
"I remember this, and yes, those are leaves." Hailey said, passing it to Lena.
"He was always an odd cat…." Lena said, shaking her head.
The picture was finally passed to Ishizu and she laughed. "Reminds me of what you used to do, Malik." She said, nudging her younger brother.
"I did not!" Malik snapped, turning red.
"Yeah, that's why leaves were always missing from the house plants." Ishizu said, still teasing her brother.
The picture was of Neko sitting on a table, chewing on a plant leaf.
The picture was put away and the group continued to look through the pictures.
Luna picked up a picture and began laughing. "Neko was a crazy cat. He still is." She commented, glancing at the shorthaired cat that had just entered.
"Meow?" Neko asked, twitching his ear.
Luna giggled. "Yes you are. You're such a handsome boy." She scratched his ears as she handed the picture to Hailey. She reached for another.
Hailey took it and laughed. "I remember this." She said, handing it to Yugi.
The group passed the picture around. It was a picture of Neko batting at a meatball in a bowl on the table. Not long after it was returned to the box, Luna started laughing again. "You're still as much a moocher now as you were as a kid, Hailey."
Hailey snatched the picture away from Luna. "Hey! I didn't mooch!" She handed the picture to Yugi without thinking.
"Yes you were!" Yugi laughed. Hailey dove to grab it but he passed it on. Both pictures returned to Luna.
Bakura picked up a picture from Ryou's box and laughed. "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" He called, passing it to Seth.
Ryou caught a glance at it and tried to snatch it back. "Hey, give that back!"
The group played keep-away from Ryou until he finally managed to snatch it back. It was Ryou as a child who had frosting all over his face accompanied by a sheepish grin.
Luna picked up another picture, still giggling up a storm. "This part of you hasn't changed, Hailey."
"Hey!" Hailey cried, snatching it back. It was a picture of Hailey as a child, face red and teary.
Serenity grabbed a picture Joey had set aside and laughed. "I remember this!" She said. It was a picture of little Serenity on her brother's chest, trying to force a carrot down his throat.
Joey glanced at it. "Yeah, I remember you tried the choke hold on me afterward. Sadly, you couldn't get your arms around my neck."
Serenity smiled. "You were the wrestling fanatic, you were always using moves on me when Mom wasn't looking."
Joey frowned. "I had to in order to deal with you."
Bakura found a picture of Ryou drinking a glass of chocolate milk, but there were bubbles on the surface. "You preferred to blow bubbles rather than drink your milk." He mused.
Ryou snatched the picture back, glaring. "None of your business what I did." He snapped, angrily.
The next picture Luna picked up happened to be a picture of Neko eating petals off a daisy. "You silly little nut." She mused, scratching Neko's ears more.
Ishizu took the picture from her and laughed. "Reminds me of what Malik used to do." She said, handing it back before Malik could snatch it away.
Yami found a picture from Yugi's box and laughed. "He still wets the bed sometimes." He chuckled passing it on.
"I do not!" Yugi exclaimed, turning bright red. The picture was of a younger Yugi standing by his bed in his pajamas, the front of his pants wet and the bed sheet soaked. He was holding a teddy bear and sucking his thumb.
Joshia grabbed the picture Joey was attempting to hide behind his back. He took one look at it and laughed. "You were a nudist back then!" He chortled.
"Let me see that!" Hailey said excitedly, snatching it from Joshia before Joey could take it back. "Hey, I think I remember you doing something like this, Luna! Where is it?" She handed it to Yami as she dug through the box to find the picture.
Seto looked up, interested at the sound of the words "Luna" and "nude" completely forgetting that it would be a picture of her as a child. "Let me see that." He snarled, snatching the found picture from Hailey's hand. With a growl of disappointment, he tossed it aside.
"It wouldn't be a recent picture since I don't do that anymore." Luna reasoned.
Ishizu found a picture of Malik pulling at her hair when they were kids. "This kid had a tough grip when he was little."
"Yeah, had to have one or you'd drop me." Malik snapped back. "You were butterfingers, sis."
Luna continued to look through the pictures in her box, ignoring the sibling fight that was imminent. "Aha! We have another Hailey one. This time when she liked getting dirty!"
Yugi perked up at the sound of it since he knew she hated getting dirty. He snatched the photo away and saw that Hailey was playing in the mud in it. "Yeah, not at all like she is now!" He chortled, only to get hit in the head by the nearest pillow Hailey could reach. "Ow!"
t was not long after that that Hailey got her revenge. She picked up another photo and waved it in the air. "I remember when you liked to pull on things all the time!" She cried.
With a cry of fury, Luna tackled her sister, attempting to get the picture away from her. "Give that back!" To prove the point, Luna grabbed a shock of Hailey's brunette hair.
"Ow! Let go, let go!" Hailey cried trying to get her to pull away, but only succeeded in her hair being pulled harder.
"Ladies, as much as we like seeing you do that." Joey said, slightly annoyed. "Let's get back to what we came here for."
Luna finally let go and sat back down on the couch, looking away from her sister. Hailey did the same and they continued to look through the pictures.
It was finally Mokuba's turn to embarrass his brother. "I found one on my big bro!" He said, waving it in the air.
Seto saw the picture and growled, eyes closed. "You show anyone that and I will-"
Too late; Mokuba passed the picture on to everyone who laughed their heads off at the picture of Seto getting scolded as a child for what appeared to be an excess of poking.
Suddenly, Yami gave a cry of disgust as he tossed a photo onto the table. "Yugi, that's disgusting!"
The picture was of Yugi mingling in a pile of trash from a tipped-over trashcan. "You didn't have to throw it!" Yugi cried, hiding it.
Hailey sighed, amused, at the next Luna one she found. "I remember Mom was very unhappy with you when she found out you had used her expensive makeup for this picture. But Dad thought you looked so adorable and took a picture before taking you to get cleaned up."
Luna took the picture. "Yeah, that was fun though." She smirked. The picture was of Luna in a large dress, which would fit a grown woman, necklaces hanging down to her ankles, what looked like clown makeup, and huge, boat-sized shoes.
Mokuba laughed again at another. "Big bro, what kind of stuff were you mining for in this one? Green gold?" He said, holding up the picture.
"Give me that!" Seto snapped, reaching for the picture, but Mokuba was too quick and passed it to the others.
Luna picked up another and laughed, "Here's another one. Did your hair taste good?" She asked Hailey, passing it to an eager Yugi.
"Yeah, did it?" Yugi asked, chortling.
Hailey glared at Yugi and snatched it back.
Serenity found another picture of her as a child looking in what looked like telling someone Joey broke something. "I was a real tattle tale back then." She chuckled.
"Yes, I couldn't get away with anything…" Joey said, glaring at his sister, though the corners of his mouth were twitching slightly, threatening a smile.
"I heard Grandpa say that Yugi did that too." Yami commented, to Yugi's annoyed look.
"Yeah, about my cousins!" Yugi snapped. "They did the same to me!"
Mokuba found another picture of Seto, this time eating something green. "Were they tasty?" He asked, showing the others the picture.
"No, now give that back!" Seto ordered, snatching it away without giving his brother time to answer.
Serenity found another picture of Joey, this time, covered from head to toe in tomato sauce. "Mom always said you got more food on you than in you." She snickered.
"Did not!" Joey growled, putting away the picture.
Yami was looking through some more pictures and came across one of Yugi wiping something red across his face. "What was that?" He questioned Yugi.
"I had a runny nose! I was wiping it on my sleeve, all right?" Yugi snapped.
Joey laughed at the next one he found. "Hey, I was pretty good at spitting back then. I could hit my mom in the eye at twenty paces."
"Though Mom didn't like that." Serenity mused. The picture was of Joey barely visible through some filmy type substance on the lens as the picture was taken. "That's where he spit; on the lens."
The group chuckled as they looked through the boxes again. "Hey Luna, you got in big trouble in this picture. What was it for?"
"I called you a big poo poo head…" Luna muttered, flushing red.
The group laughed again. "Ryou you were quite a screamer back then." Bakura chuckled, holding up a picture. Ryou was lying on his back, mouth wide open, looking frustrated.
"Oh shut it, tomb robber…" Ryou snapped.
"And you wouldn't believe it, but it seems the great CEO was a bit of a daredevil as a kid." Seth smirked, finding a picture of Seto climbing the shelf where the television stood.
Seto snatched the picture so quickly that it tore in half. "Good riddance." He snapped, annoyed.
"I remember Mom and Dad could put anything in front of you and you would eat it, Malik." Ishizu commented, finding a picture.
"Yeah, whatever." Malik grunted, annoyed.
Hailey looked at the clock. "You guys better get home, it's getting late. So we'll hang out tomorrow?"
"Sure!" Joey called as the group headed out. "Don't call us, we'll call you!"
Luna chuckled as she shut the door. "Joey's an idiot," she said, shaking her head.
As the spirits went to bed that night, one thing was all on their minds. I wish I knew what I was like as a child.