.:Chapter ten - Hook, Line, and Sinker:.

This definitely couldn't end well...

Yami, out of nervous habit, reached up to readjust the small, forgotten machine on his throat, picking at it almost. Being an officer, one has to be observant, so obviously one of them noticed, raising an eyebrow. "What's that?" the man asked, indicating to the technology. It was easily small enough to be brushed off as nothing, but...

Freezing, the prince blinked, his hand stopping its movement completely. Hocrap. "Um..." was the intelligent answer to come from his throat. "The newest technology in translations..." That sure didn't sound too convincing.

Eyebrows were lifted at that. "I've never seen anything like it. What does it do exactly?" an officer asked, looking somewhat intrigued.

Yuugi had almost completely forgotten about the little machine, his mind finding more important things to think about. "I, uh..." Yami began, sighing, hoping that perhaps, if he were nice enough, they would just let his group off, no troubles.

But it's bad to place your dreams so high, for disappointment is always waiting.

"Well, the one in my ears, after I set it, translates any language into one I can understand,"

Mariku had silently snuck up behind them, startling everyone but the police officers who had been facing his direction and had seen him coming. "Actually, it sends a wave through your brain in a type of universal language; one you can understand no matter how you communicate. It's a psychological thing, really."

And now he was being stared at. He blinked, curiously pointing a finger up at himself. "What...? Did Mariku say something he should not have?"

Yuugi, eyebrows raised and mouth open, tried to say something without being rude. (Though he almost blurted, "But you're supposed to be stupid!", which isn't a very nice thing to shout.) "Um... You really know a lot about these, don't you?"

Mariku smiled and nodded, petting Yuugi's hair fondly, like he was a cute animal, there for the pleasure and enjoyment of others. And adorably ignorant of the world. "Of course Mariku does," he responded, sounding a bit proud of himself. "The universe is very nice to understand."

The police officers just gave one another a glance, each making a face to show their thoughts. Yami and Bakura did the same, but secretly between themselves.

"Right..." began the same officer from before. "I'm assuming the one on your throat puts out this 'universal language', so everyone else can understand you?"

The three aliens nodded. "Yes, actually."

There was a pause in which everyone was waiting for what was going to happen next. The police where conversing several things amongst themselves, one finally turning to the three off-worlders and one human.

"I'm afraid you're all going to have to come with us."

---

Yuugi sat in a chair in a room in which people were asking him a few questions. The star-haired boy just insisted that they were his friends, new friends, but friends none-the-less, who had come to stay in the country and had just gotten there previously.

"Did you happen to witness the crime at all?"

Yuugi stared at his hands, wringing them. His heart was pumping furiously and his face must have been flushed. "No... None of us did, but..." he trailed off, glancing over to the side, at a wall with several notices on it. "I was with them when it happened." He explained, nodding to himself. "See, when we got back to the spot, I heard them screaming about how their stuff went missing. They didn't have any money or anything left, so... Me and my friend let them stay at our houses."

The man nodded, sighing and raking over his hair. He looked tired, but determined. "So, none of you actually saw who took their belongings." He summed up, lifting his head from his hand. Yuugi nodded. The man sighed again. "Damn," he muttered under his breath before he sat up straight, leaning back in his chair. "Okay, then. What's your friend's name? The other one who housed these guys?" The question seemed casual enough.

Yuugi scratched the back of his neck. "Hikari Ryou."

The man shook his head. "Not like the name does a lot of good." He leaned forward once more, resting his arms on the table that sat between them both. "Which guys stayed at your house?"

Yuugi shifted his position feeling less and less comfortable. "Yami." He finally answered.

The other nodded again, writing that down on the small notepad he had with him. "Okay, now did he ever say where he was from?" he asked, frowning.

Yuugi blinked and then realized that he had no idea of where that would be at all. After a moment of awkward silence, the gray-eyed teen finally shook his head.

The questioner groaned. "God, do you even know his last name?"

Yuugi felt his face grow hotter before he shook his head again, meeker this time.

"And you've been taught not to let strangers into your home, right?"

"Grampa let him!" Yuugi suddenly interrupted, shutting up after he realized how snappishly he'd defended Yami. He lowered his head and gulped. "He's a nice guy, and he wouldn't have hurt us."

The officer shook his head and set down his pen. "Look, kid, even murderers have nice sides." Yuugi looked like he was about to cut in, so the other quickly added, "Though he may very well be innocent. But for some reason he doesn't seem to have any identification to give us at all. Not where he's from, not his address, not his social security number, nothing!" This seemed to make him even more irritable. "These three have no data in our computers whatsoever. No passport, no plane tickets, no way to show how they got here."

Yuugi started to look pale, the blood that formerly made a living in his face moving elsewhere. He started shaking his head slowly. "Is there any chance your computers are wrong?" he asked, not wanting to think about the fact that Yami, Bakura, and Mariku were invisible to any database.

The man crossed his arms, staring off at the bulletin board on the wall a minute before trailing his eyes back to Yuugi. "Yes, there is a chance that there's just come glitch in the system." Yuugi started to look relieved but that was quickly squashed. "But I'll tell you now that that is a very small chance. The equipment is incredibly precise and for something like this to happen... Well, you can see why we're trying to pry information from you."

Yuugi timidly nodded. There was no way... no way that... that Yami was a bad person, right? Oh, how could he even doubt someone like that! But... there was always the chance...

Another sigh pulled him from his thoughts. "So, you basically know nothing about these guys at all."

Yuugi, as if on autopilot -- not thinking at all -- let his head answer, moving up and down slightly. He didn't answer in words. He was scared to. That would make this situation so much more real.

"They're not bad people, are they?" he finally managed, voice quiet.

The officer shrugged, not really as worried as Yuugi was. "Well, there's no possible way we can tell –- not without a record. Which is why this is becoming more of an issue than the 'he stole our stuff' routine." He picked up his pen again and flipped the page he was one to a fresh one. "We're suspecting that they're here, in Japan, illegally. They don't have any way to prove that they're allowed here. Nothing. And so, we're afraid that we're going to have to make this more difficult." He finally leaned back, throwing down his pad once again. "Which is not something we want to do, because it means more work for us. But for all we know, they could be spies or something. We doubt it's that extreme, but there's something wrong when they're going through so much trouble to hide their identity. We're not even sure they're using their real names."

Yuugi's chair raked across the floor, causing the officer to glance up at him, rough face curious. "I'm sure it's just a glitch." the small teen said, voice firm.

The older man gave him a weary look before closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Can I go, now?" Yuugi asked, starting to edge towards the door. The man nodded, waving him off with his hand.

"Just tell us if you find anything else out about those guys. We'll appreciate it."

Yuugi didn't even bother answering at all, as he was already walking down the hallway, heading towards the main entrance.

---

Yami sat in his chair, his face a mask of calm and collect. His arms were crossed and his body remained still, but his mind was absolutely racing. They were asking so many questions –- they knew he and his comrades shouldn't be there. But he could only pray that they wouldn't realize that his group shouldn't be on the planet at all.

And they were receiving less-than-nice treatment. "How could you not know your own social security number?"

That wasn't a very happy voice.

Bakura, Mariku, and he were all placed in the same room, since they wouldn't answer anything at all while in separate rooms. It was the only way they could get the group to talk at all.

Bakura growled, and was about to snap at them when Mariku butted in. Both the white-haired fiend and Yami prayed to every deity that he wouldn't say anything incrimination or that would get them in more trouble. But so far, he'd been quiet, listening, thinking almost.

"Sir, I have a hard time reading numbers and remembering them," he explained, his voice sounding quiet, gentle, like he was explaining all of this to a child.

The two officers in the room snorted. "And what exactly does that mean to us?"

Mariku tipped his head forward, his bangs covering his eyes. "I..." he paused, thinking up the right way to put this into words. "I see things backwards." He said finally, ignoring the looks Bakura and Yami were giving him. At least they were subtle, though, and didn't draw attention to the fact that he was blatantly lying.

The man frowned, giving the tanned male a strange look. "Like dyslexia?" he finally asked, and Mariku thanked the gods that there was really a disease like that. The alien nodded.

"Yes, dyslexia."

The officers exchanged a glance. "Even so you should still know it." he turned to send a hard look at Yami and Bakura. "What about you two?"

Mariku suddenly interrupted again, just as both were about to answer. "I have to relieve myself," he blurted suddenly, causing Bakura to choke, along with the standing officer in the room.

Both of the law-enforcers conversed through their eyes, before the one seated before the three finally heaved a great sigh and nodded. "Fine. I'll call you an escort."

Under normal circumstances, they would not have to go through the "escort" trouble, but this was not a normal circumstance. Not by a long-shot.

Yami stayed silent the whole time, staring at Mariku with his bloody eyes, sizing the other up. What did he have planned...?

It only took a few moments for a woman to walk in, armed with a few well hidden but conveniently placed defense weapons. Just in case, you know. "Okay, let's go."

Mariku quiet literally jumped from his seat, giving a desperate look to the escort, legs pressing against one another in the typical fashion for people whose bladders had become far too filled. She rolled her eyes and walked out, the alien following close behind.

And now that Yami and Bakura were left alone, it seemed much harder to get information from them.

---

Violet eyes, devoid completely of pupils, darted over everything they passed. Not a detail was missed. Not a word went unheard. He took everything, everything in, and kept it there. And suddenly he was nudged, glancing forward to see the men's restroom before him. Since the woman was, in fact, not a man, she could not go inside. Mariku made it in fine on his own, though.

And the seconds he was inside, he immediately looked for a way out, the door having closed behind him, blocking him from that way.

But it was also protection from the woman's scrutinizing gaze.

He looked around quickly, seeing the many urinals and few stalls at the end. His eyes trailed up, and he noticed a vent on the wall above one of the toilets. He smirked, eyes glowing. He ran to that stall quickly, slamming the door shut and locking it. He quickly removed both of his boots, setting them down before the toilet, where ne might place their feet while sitting, and stood up on the toilet rim and started working to pry away the screws that held the cage on the vent. It took a lot of effort, but he finally got it. He quietly set it aside, crawling up and maneuvering himself against the wall of the stall, allowing better access to the small vent.

There was suddenly a loud banging on the bathroom door. "Did you fall in, buddy?" came the muffled question.

Mariku, still making his escape, turned to shout over his shoulder. "I think something I ate did not agree with my stomach!"

As degrading as it was, it had to be done. Time was very valuable.

There was an overworked sigh, and he could almost imagine the woman rolling her eyes. "Don't take too long!"

Mariku, now almost completely inside the vent, nodded. "I'll try! But it is not my decision! Please forgive me -- I will try to hurry!"

And he was gone.

.:Chapter end:.

What does Mariku have planned? What is he going to do and how will it help him and his friends get out of trouble? And where are Malik and Ryou!

Find out next time. Same fanfiction site, same fanfiction story.

And so you know; yes, I really am colorblind. Not totally, but I can't see certain shades of red or green. I can't distinguish the two from each other, which is why I HATE Christmas-schemed things. Ugh. Apparently I can't see that particular shade of purple, either.

I'm freaking sorry.

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter... I didn't. It hurt. ):

-Cecilia