Guess what? I saw that I didn't post Chapter 25. So you get double your pleasure and double your fun!
Sorry this chapter took so long. The end of school was horrible! I kept having to worry about possibly taking finals! Also some friend and relationship problems. But here's this chapter, and now that it's summer so I'll have more time to write. Not that much, but more is better than less right? (Also resisting the urge to start another fic) I also apologize. No humor in this chapter; at all. Also, there's a flash back that has nothing to do with the story, and there's really nothing about the sleepover here, but I had to get the Kaiba brothers back in here somehow.
BakuraxRaven: Yey! One reviewer! And a new one! I'll try to make more Bakura parts, just for you!
NOTICE: After an executive decision, I've decided that there are going to be NO PAIRINGS! I repeat, NO PAIRINGS IN THIS FIC! I've thought long and hard about this, and because so many of you want so many different pairings, I've just decided to have no main pairings and just lots of fluff and embarrassing stuff for everyone! XD This will also help me because I don't have to worry about all the people getting the right amount of attention, who she's gonna choose, and just getting in some fluff now and then. Also, because, to me, Nami has been seeming a lot like a Mary-Sue, which makes me feel like I'm not doing my job and distracting from her personality, which does happen sometimes, I admit, but there is a limit.
Disclaimer: Don't own. Leave me alone with my dreams!
Nami sighed and dropped her sleeping bag onto the floor of Mai's apartment, sinking to her knees and collapsing against it. Out of her lazy and dropping eyes, the witch looked at piles of stuff the demon made her bring for the sleepover, things ranging from clothes, homework, food, personals and even an assortment of magical items all stored in a trunk.
She gazed up with her half shut eyes at the demoness who was carrying a box and bag into the kitchen, "Remind me, why did I bring all this stuff?"
Mai glanced over her shoulder and smiled, almost forced, "Why, you need all this for a sleepover of course."
Now, poor little Nami had never been to a sleepover before, and therefore had no idea what you did, what you needed, or even what one was. All she knew was that you slept, preferably over somewhere.
She nodded and lean against her rolled up temporary bed as Mai walked into the kitchenette and placed all the food away into cupboards and the refrigerator. The young witch listened to the clamor of pots and pans and thought about her home as imaginary smells flowed through the air.
The little five year old tiptoed passed the doorway and took a quick peek inside, seeing the back of the tall heads peeking over the couch. She was quite sure they were intent on watching the source of the multi-colored flashing lights against the walls.
Risking a giggle, the girl held up her baggy sleeve to help muffle the noise and continue down the hall, to the last door on the right. She held her breath as she entered the giant tiled room, covered with pots, pans, counters and cupboards, lining each and every wall, all bathed in a cloak of the navy night.
Smiling, she skipped over to a island in the center and grasped two legs of a tall stool and started to push. A loud screeching noise sounded and she froze, holding her breath and listened. After a few seconds, no other sounds were heard, save for the soft chirping of crickets though the walls and windows of the house.
The five year old sighed and wiped her forehead and returned to the task at hand, this time opening her hand, palm up and puffed her cheeks, blowing. Little specks of sparking dust flew off and landed on the chair, shining bright before disappearing.
She smiled and giggled to herself again and pushed the stool once more, the legs now sliding silently against the white tiled floor. Once she had pushed it up against another counter, the little girl grabbed onto the top most support bar and placed her feet on the bottom one, climbing all the way to the top and sat resting her butt against her calves on the cushion.
Bringing her index finger to her lips, the young one sat in thought, looking at all of the jars, canisters, boxes and bags of ingredients laid out all along the marble top. Once she found one that was appealing, she reached out with her small hands with stubby little fingers and grasped the jar.
Pulling with all her strength, the clay pot was heavier than it seemed, and with one swift tug, it fell crashing to the floor, shattering into hundreds of pieces. The girl looked over the side of the stool at the fragments and then to the doorway. Another silent moment passed before she was sure no one heard.
Swinging her legs over the edge, the little girl turned around and climbed back down, placing one foot behind the other until she safely reached the floor. She avoided stepping on any clay pieces and began to gather the green herbs in her hands.
After a second, she stood up straight and dropped all of the bounty back to the floor. The five year old ran over to the door, bouncing over the fragments and reached the doorframe, leaning against it and peering down to the left, the direction she came.
The coast was clear, so she took a few steps back and held out her hand again, blowing the little speckles of dust into the air. Just then, the wind chime in the window rang out a sweet tune and wind flew into the room, causing the dust to turn around and float behind her as she made her way back to the counter. It landed on the ground in front of her, and when her sock clothed feet touched it, her legs flew out from under herself and she crashed to the ground like the pot.
The small child sniffed and tried to hold back the tears that formed in her eyes, holding the back of her head and whimpered. Convincing herself she wouldn't cry, the girl stood up and brushed herself off, sniffing and wiping the snot away from her nose.
Once again, she kneeled down and picked up as much of the green plants as she could, stuffing her hands full before she climbed up the stool again, dropping most of the herbs anyway. When she reached the top, the girl placed the rest of her hoard on the counter.
Over the next hour, the toddler repeated all the steps, grabbing jars and pots, but most of them ended up on the floor, so she'd go down and pick up the spoils and bring them back up until she had a small pile of plants in front of her.
She sat down on the stool and panted, the hard work up climbing up and down was taking it's toll, and her throat was dry and parched. So, she decided to take a little snack break and climbed down the stool. Grabbing the legs, she pushed it back over to the center island and struggled to climb back up. There was a pink cup with faded pictures of princesses on it and a lid.
Picking it up, the little girl sipped out of the hole in the cover and smiled at the sweet apple juice. After a nice long, refreshing drink, she put down the sippy cup and slide down the side of the stool and placed it back on the other side, climbing back up to examine her treasure.
Looking to her right was the stove, and on top of that, an old and partly rusted cauldron. It looked like it had been in service for a long time, for all over were crusted spots of leftover solutions. Gathering all of her ingredients, she dumped them inside and wiggled her nose, a small fire lighting underneath the pot.
The little girl took a large wooden spoon and over the next few hours, sat there patiently, stirring the contents as it turned into a thick, bubbling liquid. A few feet from the counter was a wide open window, the sounds of crickets chirping and the wind chime playing it's soft mid-night melody as the moon's pale white glow fell through the window like a sheet.
Her droopy brown eyes closed for a moment, before she snapped them back open, only to have them droop again. She leaned against the spoon and slumped down, drifting off into her little dream world, filled with all her hopes and dreams.
The next thing the little girl knew, there was screaming and pain all around her. Her chocolate eyes shot open to see fire burning all around her body. Through the licking flames, the silhouettes of her family were seen, running around the room and screaming her name.
In one swift move, an aging woman held out her hand and swept it to the side, the fire instantly vanished, leaving the burnt looking kitchen behind, revealing her wrinkled, but fuming face. She felt like screaming, but her throat was completely dry and the pain from the fire burning her arms and legs made her go slightly numb with the throbbing and fear.
"What is wrong with you child!" the woman spat, "What have you done!"
The poor kid couldn't say a word, sitting there, half curled up into a ball and staring with wide, wet eyes. The wrinkled woman continued to glare, and the two other adults beside her had managed to stay pretty quiet, standing there on edge next to the elder. There was one woman and a man, both were around the same age, late thirties or early forties. When the old lady yelled at the girl, it didn't seem to bother them, they were just relieved the five year-old was alright.
"Speak child! Speak now and tell no lies!" the elder yelled again.
Darting her eyes to the cauldron, the girl remained quiet, but the woman saw the move. She stomped over to it and with a wave of her hand, it picked itself off the floor and replaced itself onto the stove, showing the sticky and burnt solution all over the floor.
"I-I…" she stammered, tears flowing freely down her rosy cheeks, "I just wanted to help you, Obaa-chan! You're sick, you have a cold! I just wanted to help!"
The grandmother glanced up from the muck and into the eyes of her granddaughter. They were filled with fear but worry, and she looked down at herself.
The moment she had heard the fire start, she raced out of bed and down the stairs. She knew what the child was doing all along; how she had climbed over the walls of her toddler bed, snuck down the stairs not-so-quietly and preceded to break almost every jar of herbs she owned to make something that would have killed her anyways, just to try and help.
The old woman sighed, stepping forward and watching as her kin flinched away from another yell. Wrinkled hands wrapped under her armpits as she was lifted into the air and pulled into a soft and loving hug.
"You are definitely my granddaughter. You may be klutzy, ignorant, stubborn and horrible at magic to boot, but you have the heart of a Satoru. I will make a fine witch out of you yet."
"Nami!"
A swift kick to the gut caused her to fall over and snap her chocolate eyes open, sitting up straight and looking around frantically, ready to summon magic.
"Thank god! I thought you were dead!"
She looked up to see Mai standing above her with a tense posture, before she sighed and slumped her shoulders. The witch gazed around the room to find it cleaned up, having been messy when they arrived, two sleeping bags rolled out on the floor and a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table.
"I make us some snacks and fixed the place up a bit while you were sleeping." Mai said, looking at her puzzled look, "I was worried though. You wouldn't wake up when I called."
"Oh, sorry." Nami realized the demon was watching her, "I was having a dream."
"What kind of dream?"
Two pairs of eyes met, and she noticed a strangely serious look in Mai's eyes. It made her slightly nervous, but it wasn't anything that embarrassing, so there'd be no harm in her knowing, right?
"It wasn't really a dream, sort of a nightmare, but mostly a memory." When the temptress got more comfortable on the floor, Nami realized she was welcome to continue her story; it felt good, "I was about five years old. My grandmother had caught a cold; being so young, I didn't understand why she rested in bed all day, or what was going to happen to her.
"I was, am and always will be as stubborn as an ox, so, even though I knew almost nothing about magic, I went on a quest to cure her. I've seen my grandma and mom make potions before, and even Keiko could do it, so I got the craziest idea that it wasn't that hard.
"I remember sneaking out of my room one night and going into the kitchen. I threw a bunch of herbs together and tried making a potion, but I feel asleep while it was boiling. The next thing I remember is waking up to a giant fire. I saw my mom, dad and grandma on the other side, yelling at me.
"My grandma put out the fire and yelled at me, telling me how stupid I was. But then she realized that I was just trying to help and forgave me." I finished.
"That's pretty amazing." Mai said, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth.
She blushed, "Not really."
The demon sat up and spread her arms wide, stretching out before she laid down on her stomach on top of the comfy sleeping bag, "You should get changed. You don't want to fall asleep in your uniform do you?"
Nami nodded, but got a weird feeling pricking at the hairs on her neck. Mai was acting strange; not only in her voice, also the fact that the blonde followed her to the bathroom. Her excuse was that she needed to get something in her room, but there was no sound of footsteps past the bathroom when the witch closed and locked the door.
After she'd changed into purple shorts and baggy tank top, she gathered up her belongings and walked out of the bathroom, surprised that Mai wasn't there, but then again, demons were famous for their speed. She found the owner of the apartment in the living room, laying on her side on the couch, jumping onto her feet when Nami entered the room.
"You're okay!"
Now her suspicions were assured, "Why wouldn't I be?"
Mai bit her lip but kept quiet. Nami crossed her arms and glared at her, watching as the temptress squirmed uncomfortably.
One look into those chocolate eyes and she threw her hands in the air, "Fine! Fine. I'll tell you. Just don't get mad."
She silently marked an X with her finger over her chest and sat down on the floor without a word of complaint. Mai sighed and ran her fingers through her long golden hair, twirling her fingers through it for a second while gathering the words.
"Well, I know what just happened was very traumatizing, and we don't know if either Kaiba or Mokuba will do it again, so I wanted to watch you. The whole purpose of this little sleepover, I guess. We're all kinda worried about what they'll do."
"I see…"
The seconds ticked by on the clock as the two stared each other down. Now that Mai pointed out the danger, Nami felt nervous, unlike before. She felt uncomfortable in the silence, strange thoughts like, "Did I just hear something breathe?", "What was that?" and others entered her mind.
The door bell rang and the witch jumped five feet in the air, a ball of sparkling magic in her hand as Mai carefully opened the door. There stood the male population of the little group, minus the Kaiba brothers, slightly damp from the rain, standing in the entrance way of the little apartment with their own sleeping bags and a sack of belongings tucked under each arm.
Tristan cast a weary look at the magic swirling in her hand and she snuffed it out into her palm, but stepped aside from the doorway to let them in, a rather puzzled look on her face. The boys walked in and Yugi and Joey jumped on the couch, making themselves comfortable while Yami took the bags of food into the kitchen, Bakura finding his trademark spot leaning against the wall while Tristan closed and locked the door.
"Ah, err, what are you guys doing here?" The witch looked around the room, taking in each face in turn.
"Why should you care? This isn't your apartment." Bakura replied snottily.
Nami jumped back a grabbed her pillow, holding it tightly against her lower abdomen and partly covered her legs were her super short pajama shorts stopped, "I'm not sleeping here with you perverts! I don't care if this isn't my apartment!"
"She's right," Mai turned towards Bakura, "Maybe you guys should sleep outside."
"Mai!" Joey scolded, "Shush!"
"She already knows, Jou-kun."
"I would've known even if she hadn't told me! It's kinda obvious when Mai invites me over for a sleepover, won't leave me alone for three seconds, and then you come over!" Nami stuck her nose in the air.
"Actually, we do this all the time," Yami spoke, entering the room, Nami falling over with embarrassment, "Us demons consider things different than you humans. The gender barrier isn't as big."
"Still, I'm surprised you figured it out Nami-chan. But I guess it wasn't that hard to figure out now that I think about it." Yugi said to himself.
The witch felt the vein in her forehead throb, but she resisted the urge of hitting them all, "I really appreciate this, I really do, but I don't need your protection. Besides, what about the Kaiba brothers? Shouldn't you be more worried about them than me?"
"Those two can take care of themselves. We know that for a fact. We don't know how you handle under the pressure of vampires after you." Tristan said quietly, moving the curtains to the side of the window and peeking out.
She stomped her foot, causing everyone to look at her, "So you're just going to abandon them like that!"
"Abandon…?" Yugi echoed.
"Those two need more help than I do! I don't know what you're going to do, but I'm going to help them!"
Throwing aside the pillow, she ran towards the door and threw it open, running outside and down the hallway in her bare feet, short pajama bottoms and baggy t-shirt through the dark corners of the corridors. The girl made it out to the entrance to the dorms before she stopped running and looked around, her breath coming out in puffs of steam as the rain gently fell down on her.
In an instant, an aura appeared behind her. Nami whipped around, her hair flying and sticking to her face, to see Seto standing there, his face even paler than usual with his cold blue eyes now turned black. He was standing very lazily, his shoulders slumped and head bowed a bit; his hair and clothes a little wrinkled and shifted, slightly wet from all the water, but the bulging veins in his white hands showed how hard he was trying to restrain himself.
"What are you doing here?" he whispered.
"I was going to ask you the same thing."
"Nami…" She turned again to face Mokuba, his head bowed almost as if he was ashamed, "We're dangerous. Go back to where it's safe."
"Then what are we waiting for?" her warm hand slipped into the child's freezing one, "Let's go."
Mokuba looked up in surprised, but still refused to move. His brother's icy stare didn't leave the witch's form as she smiled softly at the youngest vampire, giving a comforting squeeze on his hand.
"Why don't you understand?" Seto said, his voice starting soft, then raising in intensity, "We're trying to save you from ourselves! It'd be better off if you never met us! Just leave us alone before you get hurt!"
"We're trying to do this for you Nami!" The youngest Kaiba added, "We might hurt you and we don't want that to happen!"
"Do you…"
Mokuba stepped back, "Huh?"
"Do you want to hurt me?"
He gapped, opened his mouth, then shut it and looked away, "Of course not. I would never…"
"Then we're fine." Pure confidence rang through her voice.
Seto looked up at her with surprise. His once childlike blue orbs were glistening with that similar innocent light, as they did before he turned to darkness. Mokie also gazed up at his with his still childish, round eyes with his mouth open wide.
"I understand how you feel… sort of," Nami removed her hand from his and placed it on his shoulder and smiled softly, "I don't want to hurt you either, but you did come here first. I'm more of a guest then you are here, in this school, and even on this earth, so you can do whatever you want."
Mokuba's long bangs covered his emotion-filled eyes as his shoulders began to shake. She looked on curiously and glanced at the older brother, who remained as shocked and frozen as ever.
"But I'm a monster!"
Nami dropped her hand from his shoulder and backed away, "What?"
"I'm a monster! How could you possibly be friends with a monster like me! I kill and eat your kind all the time, and you want to be in the same room with me!" Mokuba pushed her away and ran into the woods, tears flying from his eyes and leaving a trail behind him.
She stood there and watched as the little boy ran off, the tears plopping to the ground almost slightly, but they're glow shining with the moon's light. Behind her, Seto stared intently, watching as she breathed in the night air and slumped her shoulders, sighing, deeply in hurt.
"You don't understand. We're dangerous." Seto stated, softly, but firmly.
The witch slowly turned around to face him, her wet hair sprawled all over her face, "You're not the only one, " And when he looked puzzled, she continued, "You're not the only dangerous one. I guess all of us here at this school are dangerous, in their own little way. Including me. Never forget that." She ended with a little smirk; cute, but not intimidating.
"That's not the only reason is it?" She shook her head.
Nami's gaze drifted downward as she kneeled down closer to the ground, idly playing with the little pebbles, "My Baa-chan said there's no such thing as a lost soul. Just a soul that is hiding, or can't be found yet. Before coming here, I've only met a few demons, ones that my brother knows. And when I looked at them, they all seemed really sad. Baa-chan said it's because they are lost and can't find their way back home, but that I could help them. That it's my job to help them."
Kaiba smiled, "And what if they don't want to be helped?"
She stayed silent.
Seto let out a full laugh, laces of weariness seen through the disguise, "You just leave them be? Let them live how they want?"
"It's not my place to say," The girl shrugged truthfully, "Some demons were born naturally that way, and want to stay that way, but, being the goody two-shoes that I am, I just try to help everyone."
"Even us." He mused.
There was a moment of silence before Seto's eyes went wide once again. Even though her back was to him, he could still smell the metallic scent on the air as he took a step backwards in fear. She didn't even turn around, but instead held out her left arm, the one where the towel was previously wrapped around her hand to stop the bleeding.
The towel had been removed and she pinched herself hard so that it began to bleed again, a small trickle running down her finger. Her eyes were held tightly shut as she looked away from the blood, bracing herself for whatever pain might come.
After a second, when no movement was made, Nami whispered, "Go ahead. I know you're hungry. Just… do it and get it over with!"
She heard his footsteps in the gravel until they stopped right next to her and he kneeled beside her, taking her hand in his and bring it up to his face, slowly licking the drop of blood sliding down her arm, sending shivers down her spine. Then, she felt the towel being reapplied to her hand as he gave it back to her, giving a soft smile.
"I don't take charities." He smirked and walked off through the edge of trees.
Nami thought she heard his deep voice murmur through the brush, then a sudden slicing through the air, something thick and wet spraying all over the bark of the trees. After that, she turned away and held her head between her knees, rocking slightly back and forth, trying to get the vivid animations created from the sounds out of her head.
There was silence in the Courtyard for a few long moments, until a hand lightly touched her shoulder, causing her to jump tremendously. Seto smiled lightly, already looking much better, almost back to his usual pale self, behind him was Mokuba, a stray drop of blood sliding down his cheek. She stared at him with wide eyes; her face turning a bit green and he chuckled, wiping the blood off.
"So… we understand each other?" Nami said, clutching her head tightly, still trying to get over the blood.
The elder Kaiba nodded, Mokuba not knowing what they talked about, as he slipped his arms underneath her legs and behind her head, carefully holding her bridal style. The poor girl continued to try to pry herself away from her dizziness, but in an instance, all three were standing in front of Mai's apartment. The vampire gently set her on her feet and opened the door.
Inside sat everyone else, and the first thing Nami's brown eyes saw was Joey . He was staring at her, his mouth bulging with a large rat's tail hanging down like a stray spaghetti noodle, before he sucked the whole thing into his mouth.
Nami blinked at him, turning as green as fresh tree leaves in summer, then she dashed into the bathroom and slammed the door without another word.
Yeah, I feel really bad, but after some council from my brother, I've been told to wrap up some other stories of mine, so I might not work on this one for a while. Also because I'm going on vacation. But, I'm incredibly sorry that this still wasn't the sleepover! I never write out outlines, so everything just is written as it comes. (Partly why it takes so long, but I couldn't write outlines even if I wanted to) I'm really going to try and work really hard this summer typing to apologize to you, my loyal fans, and I'll get giving you some inside scoop to the dirtiest demon secrets next chapter! Along with what that paper thing about 10 chapters ago. Again, I'm really sorry! I'll start writing right away!
