WARNING: Authoress Miriku Hernandez will have very little time on the computer, due to the fact that she is in the process of moving from Miami, Florida to Bolingbrook, Illinois. This process could take up to two months.
Don't say I didn't warn you!
Reunion
Yuugi POV
I stared off into space, idly tapping my fingers on the counter. This was a slow time of day—one or two people would come in, browse, and sometimes buy something, but usually there were no customers until the business rush at four or five o'clock. Like now, for instance. I was absolutely bored.
That is—until the door slammed open. I jumped, startled, as Ryou ran in. "Yuugi!" He skidded to a halt in front of the counter and bent over, panting.
I raised an eyebrow. His entry had caused quite a racket—the bells had yet to stop jingling. "…Ryou? Did something happen?"
Ryou nodded. He straightened, finally catching his breath. "I saw them out on the street—I almost can't believe it's them—they look so different—but I heard the name—it's got to be them—"
I held up my arms. "Yukkuri! Slow down, Ryou! Now, take a deep breath and tell me what happened."
Ryou looked around, and then leaned forward dramatically. "I think I saw them."
I blinked. "Are you serious? How do you know?"
Ryou furrowed his brow. "Well…I don't know for sure…it sounded like them…and they said the name—Sonja…"
I felt a pang. Sonja… "There are a lot of people named Sonja, though."
"Not here in Japan."
"Who says they're from—"
There was a loud shout from outside. The door slammed open once more, setting the bells off on their ringing racket again. "—and when I saw the clock, everything just clicked, and I remembered why this city looked so familiar! It was so obvious! I knew I could find this place!"
I blinked. The girl standing in the doorway looked absolutely foreign to me. But that voice was unmistakable. She stood there, laughing, not even looking inside yet.
"Miriku?" I whispered incredulously.
Miriku POV
Laughing triumphantly, I stepped into the Kame Game Shop. "I've always wanted to visit this place!"
Looking down the single aisle, I caught sight of two familiar figures. I waved, laughing again at the shock on their faces. "Yuugi! Ryou! It's me, Miriku!"
Ryou's eyes widened even further. "I knew it!" he said faintly.
I looked over my shoulder. "Come on, guys! Yuugi and Ryou are in here!"
The first two into the shop, of course, were Mikey and Sonja. Mikey immediately ran to Ryou, while Sonja slid up to the counter to greet Yuugi.
I smiled as Damien, Marik, Sam, Terra, and Erica entered. Erica stared as Mikey and Ryou hugged, and Sonja gently placed her hand on Yuugi's. "What are they doing?"
"We've all met before," Terra said quietly.
At Erica's shocked expression, I explained. "Last summer, a bunch of these guys popped out of my TV. It's a long story—too long to explain right now." I quickly introduced her to Yuugi and Ryou.
Yuugi looked up at those of us he already knew. "But what happened to you guys?" he asked. "You all look so different!"
Damien shrugged. "No idea."
Ryou laughed, looking at Sam. "Just wait until Bakura sees you!"
I blinked. "You mean, he's not—" I gestured at the Millennium Ring.
Ryou laughed again, fingering the center-most of the five spikes. "No—Yuugi and I wear out Items out of habit nowadays. The two of them never converted back into spirit form."
I felt hope rising. "Bakura—and Yami?"
Yuugi's expression darkened considerably. "Yami. You don't want to see Yami."
I blinked. "What? Why not?"
Ryou and Yuugi exchanged glances. "Nothing. I'll explain it later."
He smiled. "But now—I think it's time for a little get-together. With everyone."
Bakura POV
I lounged on Ryou's couch, absently flipping through channels. There was nothing on—as usual.
/Bakura!
I rolled my eyes. /Whaddaya want?
/What I want you to do is call Kaiba, and tell him to meet us with Mokuba outside the Duel Dome. And I mean, right now! You need to come, too!
I sighed, standing up and turning off the TV. /This'd better be good, Ryou!
He just laughed.
Kaiba POV
Rrrring…
Rrrring…
Rrrring…Automatically, I reached for the phone. "Kaiba."
"'Bout time you answered your damn phone."
I sighed. "What is it, Bakura?"
"I have no idea. Ryou wants you to bring Mokuba and meet us outside of the Duel Dome."
"All right. I suppose I could take the rest of the day off. Give us about twenty minutes."
I hung up before he could respond, and began to pack away my papers. I paused for a moment, smiling a bit at the two pictures on my desk. One was of Mokuba and me. The other was of me—and Terra Cooper.
I touched the picture. Back in her world, the teen twins had dragged us all to a fair, and paired me up with her. She had then dragged me into a photo booth. I looked different in that picture, due to an illusion Miriku had cast—but it was still me.
Terra…
I looked away, sliding the rest of my papers into my briefcase and shutting it with a snap. There was no time to dwell on the past. I had somewhere to be.
Miriku POV
I tapped my foot impatiently, looking around. We were in the middle of the Duel Dome parking lot—but no one else was there.
"Where is everybody?" Damien said in an irritated voice, mirroring my thoughts. "We've been out here for half an hour!"
"Ten minutes," Yuugi corrected, laughing. "You still haven't learned much patience."
"I shouldn't have to!" He ran his fingers through his hair—which straightened immediately afterwards.
At that moment, there was a loud noise. Four motorcycles roared down the street, skidding to a halt just inside the parking lot. On the first were Malik and Anzu Mazaki; on the second were Jonouchi and Mai Kujaki; on the third was Hiroto Honda; and on the fourth was Bakura.
The three men halted the bikes, setting out the kickstands. Malik carefully helped Anzu off of his bike, while the other three slid off with ease and walked over.
Jonouchi blinked at me, and then looked at Yuugi. "Uh…who's dis? Since when do ya have a sisteh, Yuug?"
Yuugi grinned. "I don't."
Bakura raised an eyebrow. "She looks almost exactly like you, runt."
Yuugi pouted. "I'm not a runt! Besides, don't you recognize her?"
Malik blinked. "We're supposed to know her?"
Ryou grinned. "You, Bakura, and Jonouchi are."
I laughed. "Malik, I honestly didn't think you'd forget the time you chased me all around my apartment, trying to kill me!"
Malik's eyes widened. "Miriku!"
I rolled my eyes. "No, it's Kimiru," I said sarcastically, still grinning. "Bakayarou! Of course I'm Miriku!"
Jonouchi blinked. He rubbed his eyes, and blinked again. "Is dat really you!"
I grinned. "Yeah! It's awesome! And most everyone else is here, too! Look—Terra, Sonja, Mikey, Damien, Sam, Marik…"
Malik blinked. "Marik? Wait—why aren't you trying to glomp me?"
Marik grinned toothily. "Did you want me to?"
Malik winced a little. "Not particularly. But some acknowledgement would be nice."
Anzu shook her head. "I'm confused, guys. Are these friends of yours?"
Yuugi grinned sheepishly at her. "Remember last summer when all of us disappeared for a few weeks? And when we came back, we told you the whole story?"
Honda nodded. "We thought you were all off your rockers!"
Ryou grinned wider. "Meet a few of our friends from the other world." He looked at Erica. "…Except her. We don't know her."
"That's Erica Drache," I said quickly.
Terra tapped her foot impatiently. "Where is Kaiba!" she exclaimed.
Anzu blinked at her. "Kaiba? He's coming?"
"He'd better be coming," Bakura grumbled. His arm was around Sam's shoulder. "I wasted at least fifteen minutes trying to reach him."
I looked off down the street—and grinned. "Here he comes now!"
Sure enough, a sky-blue Acura convertible zipped up and into the parking lot. The ragtop was down, and Mokuba was leaning over the side, waving.
As they pulled into a parking space, Kaiba yanked on Mokuba's shirt, pulling the young boy down. He then shut off the ignition, and stepped out.
"Hey, guys!" Mokuba called, running up. "How are you?"
"We're fine," Yuugi replied, a grin on his face. "We have some new people for you to meet—and for your 'nii-san to get reacquainted with!"
Kaiba, who had just approached, raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"
Grinning a little, Damien stepped up to him. "Hello, Kaiba."
Kaiba blinked, completely taken by surprise. "Who—?"
Marik yanked on Damien's arm, grinning cheekily. "All right, Kaiba no eizou, you can back off now!"
Damien rolled his eyes. "It's bad enough when Sonja calls me that!" he complained. "Now you're doing it, too!"
Mokuba stared around at us. "Uh, Seto? Wasn't there a girl named Sonja there when you went to that other world last summer?"
Kaiba nodded. "Yeah—there was…"
Terra elbowed Damien and Marik aside, stepping up to Kaiba. There was an odd, closed-off expression on her face. "Long time no see, Kaiba."
Kaiba's eyes widened for a moment, and then narrowed. "Cooper. How…nice…to see you."
There was absolute silence for a few moments. Then the two of them suddenly collapsed into laughter.
Erica stared at them, and then looked at me. "What the heck is going on?"
I grinned. "Nothing, really. The two of them had a love/hate relationship for a long time. Apparently, they just brought it up—and dropped it again—for old times' sake."
Erica nodded slowly. "I think I get it…"
Looking around as everyone talked and introduced themselves and each other, I noticed that Damien's glance kept wandering over to Anzu, and then flickering back to the conversation. And that, at odd moments, Anzu would glare at me.
Catching her eye the next time she glared, I raised an eyebrow and mouthed, "What?"
Anzu shook her head a little, an angry glint in her eye. "Later," she mouthed.
I sighed. Somehow, I got the feeling it had to do with Yami…
Jonouchi suddenly looked up from where he'd been talking to Sam. "Dis calls fer a celebration, guys! Let's go to da arcade!"
Honda pumped a fist into the air. "I second that motion!"
Yuugi made a face. "You would." He smiled broadly. "I suppose we could go to the arcade."
As we all walked towards the arcade, I dropped behind—as did Anzu. "Okay, so, what's with all the deathglaring all of a sudden?" I asked in a whisper.
Anzu sighed. "It's about Yami. He's…well, if you're going back with Yuugi, then you'll see." Her eyes hardened. "And it's your fault."
I blinked. "…What happened to him?" I couldn't keep the worry out of my voice.
Anzu shook her head. "Yuugi made us promise not to tell. You'll have to see it for yourself when you get there." And she walked off.
I stared after her. What could have happened to him? And how is it my fault?
...I see bad things on the horizon...
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