Here's this week's Random Story Update.
Ryou: Here's the deal…
Yugi: PhantomBrat will update a random story, or two depending on her mood and what's ready, each week between Sunday and Tuesday.
Malik: We will tell you what story(ies) at the end of each update.
Hopefully it won't be too confusing.
Bakura: Any variation of Update 'requests' WILL push the next update back a day for every one made. so if you wish to see another chapter each Sunday, regardless of which story is mentioned, be aware that you have been warned.
Yami: Enjoy this week's chapter.
Yugi had been told that he would have some company while Atem and Yami went to the mall for the day due to their good behavior. The small boy was nervous because he hadn't interacted with other children his age for some time. He had made friends with Mana, Astro, and Zoron. But they were robots, not human children. Yugi looked around his room and tried to figure out if these strange kids were going to like him and what they might want to do.
He had video games that hadn't been released yet, old board games, his art corner, and the old playroom that hadn't been used in years. The last one was still kept in order by Mana in case Yugi wanted to play in there. A gentle knock on his door pulled Yugi from his thoughts. "Master Yugi, your guests are here," Mana stated. "Meet Ryou and Malik. Boys, this is Master Yugi. I will check on you within the hour in case you need anything."
Ryou and Malik watched as she left before turning to Yugi. "Um," the small boy fidgeted, "hi."
Malik took one look at Yugi and huffed, "you're small."
"Malik," Ryou hissed at his friend. "You promised your sisters that you'd be nice to Yugi."
Yugi sighed as the two friends quietly argued with each other. He pulled open his desk and pulled out an old scrapbook that Ishizu and Isis had given him as a birthday gift after he moved in with his grandfather. He hadn't opened it yet and felt that now was as good a time as any to open the album. Ryou noticed this and was at Yugi's side instantly, "I love pictures. May I look with you?"
"I guess."
Malik dropped his attitude and joined the two. Within seconds, Malik recognized something. "That's the daycare that Ryou and I went to for preschool!"
"I went there for a while," Yugi sighed. "Papa pulled me out because I couldn't handle it. I have a weak heart and there was a 'bug' going around. Papa said that if I got sick, I'd be in the hospital under observation while I got better."
"Hey! That's us," Ryou exclaimed. He pointed to a picture of three boys coloring on the same paper. "All of us."
Malik looked at Yugi and then at the photo, "How old are you?"
"Seven," Yugi answered as he looked at the image. "I've been so ill that it affected my growing. Papa says that my doctors said that I shouldn't worry about it too much. I'll probably get as tall as my brothers…if I'm lucky."
"So what games do you have," Malik pressed.
Yugi looked at his entertainment system and then at the two friends, "Um, nothing you might have heard of…yet. Nothing I have has been released yet. My games are the testers for Papa's gaming division. I've got a few multi-player games that I haven't played yet."
"Awesome," Malik beamed. "Why don't we try those out then?"
As Yugi was reacquainted with his old friends, he never noticed when his brothers returned home. Yami and Atem heard laughter coming from Yugi's old gaming room. Nobody had used it in a couple of years and to hear three different sets of laughter from there made them curious. The two peeked in and saw that Yugi had company for the first time in his short life. The trio was playing an unreleased space-racing game and was having a blast dodging space debris and other various obstacles.
Yami couldn't help but notice that Yugi's guests were the younger brothers of their best friends, Ryou Parkerson and Malik Ishtar. They hadn't seen much of either boy but had heard small details from their friends about the younger boys.
Yugi handed his control over to Ryou and wrote in one of his worn notebooks. Malik noticed this and was curious, "So what are you always writing in that thing?"
"I saw a glitch that'll need attention before the game can be released to the production team," Yugi stated. "If it isn't fixed, the whole game could go wonky. Mahaad asked me to keep an eye on those things."
Atem and Yami watched the trio from the hallway for a few moments longer before heading to their rooms.
I've never seen Yugi so happy," Atem said to Yami as they walked to their rooms.
Yami nodded, "I know. He's got company over today and I don't think it was his idea. Dad must have set him up with those two for a 'play-date'."
"I agree. I just hope that Dad was told that…" Atem froze. "Oh Ra! Ryou had a cold and wasn't at the grade school division yesterday! Yugi's immune system is still unpredictable! Go find Dad and tell him, Yami!"
Ryou excused himself before the tickle in his throat grew into a coughing fit. He hadn't taken his medicine since Bakura and Akefia dropped him off and his older brothers kept the cough syrup with them. He told them that he was still feeling under the weather, but the pair insisted that he got to know Atem and Yami's little brother.
He moaned as he rubbed his left leg. Not only was he not feeling well, his legs were feeling weak again. He wished that he hadn't been in that deadly accident that not only claimed the lives of their sister and mother, but also the use of his legs.
Ryou had been four when the avalanche wiped out their mountain cabin with he and their mother and his twin sister inside. Bakura found Ryou under what had once been the stairwell. Amane and Seri were found in another part of the ruins. Both were dead, but little Ryou was critical. The tiny boy had been battered and bruised; he had hypothermia and was unconscious. His back had been broken, severing all feeling to his legs and taking away his dreams to be a professional ice skater when he grew up.
His older brothers never blamed or hated him for the tragedy as there was nothing they could do to change a thing. Bakura and Akefia searched for someone to help their baby brother recover from the trauma he had suffered instead of giving up on the boy. They came in contact with Isis and Ishizu Ishtar while they lived in London. The twin scientist-doctors offered the brothers a promising new treatment designed to help paraplegics regain the use of their legs. Ryou was six.
After a delicate surgery and a few days of rest, Ryou was complaining that his feet were cold. Bakura rubbed a cotton swab on the bottom of Ryou's right foot and was startled to see his baby brother's foot twitch for the first time in two years. The Ishtar sisters started physical therapy for the boy immediately following the discovery.
Now he was told what he could and couldn't do. Sports were out of the question as his legs had a tendency to give out unexpectedly. He could still go swimming, just not for competition. He met Malik through his doctors when the boy was getting his arm looked over by his sisters. The two hit it off as friends when Malik asked him what he was there for. They were rarely seen apart after becoming friends.
Ryou cried as his legs finally gave out, sending him to the floor. The seven-year-old boy quickly pulled his legs to him just before Yami and Atem came running to find out what happened. He learned of their hatred towards anything robotic and since he had cybernetic material keeping him mobile, Ryou didn't want them to find out.
"We called your brothers and they're on their way to take you home, Ryou," Atem told the boy as Yami picked him up from the floor. "What happened?"
Ryou had to think fast, "My ankle gave out. It hurts." He hated lying, but he was afraid that if they found out that he was really a paralyzed boy using machines to walk, he wouldn't be allowed to play with Yugi again.
Bakura: I counted one update 'request' in the last update. You should have waited until Monday.
I think it's fair to give them a reminder and a clearer warning before enacting the Delayed Updates. Besides, it was a 'guest' reviewer.
Joey: Alright, next week's Random update will be a new, revised version of 'Haunted'.
Ryou: It will be 'T' rated for the first chapter. The old version will be removed to make way for the revision.
Yugi: Until next time.
