Disclaimer: I do not own Lilo and Stitch and I didn't invent the Yu-gi-oh card game played in this chapter.

Thru New Eyes

Chapter 10

Last Good Day

The weekend had finally come, and Richie was brimming with excitement. Today would be the day he would finally win a tournament, and the girl of his dreams would be there to watch him do it. He got up early and ran out the door, barely having time to say good bye to his mother, who was in the den doing aerobics. He got to the store in record time, it wasn't even open yet, but the owner was already there, and having known Richie for all the other weeks he had come in early, he let him in.

"Hey, Richie, you're earlier than usual." Michael said as he unlocked the door.

"I'm really excited about today. I built a new deck last week; one that I'm sure will win me the tournament." Richie replied as he walked inside.

"It should, after all the time and effort you spent trying to put it together." Jon called out from the back of the store, where he was setting up extra tables. "How long did it take you to get a hold of those cards?"

"A couple of months. But it was worth it."

Richie took a seat in the back while Mike and Jon continued to get ready to open. Mike's Hobbies had been on the island for about 3 years, when Michael moved from the mainland. He saw the lack of places that the average gamer could hang out, so he decided to open a game store with another friend, Jon, who had lived on the island previously.

Less than an hour passed when someone knocked at the door. It was still too early for anyone to show up, and Mike looked out the window to see a small blond-headed child. He immediately turned and yelled. "Jon, the kid got out again."

Jon put down what he was doing and sighed. "3…2…1…" Right after one, the phone rang. Jon picked up the receiver. "Hello Aunt Betty… Yes, Chance is right outside…No, that's alright, I'll bring him home. The store won't open for at least another thirty minutes…Alright, see you in fifteen."

Jon put down the receiver and went to open the door, where he was greeted by the little boy. "Hi Jon!"

"Chance, how many times have you been told not to leave the house without letting your mom and dad know where you are?" Jon stated as the little boy walked in the store.

"I dunno, five? Anyway, I need to talk to you." Chance said as he looked up at the poster announcing today's event.

"For the last time Chance, the tournaments are for kids 8 and older, you know that. You can play when your birthday comes up. We'll even make sure we'll hold one that day. Okay?"

Chance looked up at Jon with a look he didn't like. It almost looked as if the boy was afraid. "Chance, is something wrong?" Jon asked.

"It's about that." Was the boy's reply.

Jon sighed again as he turned to his partner. "Mike, I'm going to take Chance home. I should be back by tournament time."

"Should be? The tournament's in 2 hours, how long does it take you to take the kid home?" Mike replied as he looked up from the register.

"He has a name Mike. And he needs to talk to me about something." Jon replied, somewhat angry.

"Alright, don't worry about. I'll see you when you get back." Mike said as he shut the register. "Owen ought to be here in a minute anyway, ready to go on about what he saw on TV last night, or the newest anime, or what have you, like always."

As if on cue, a larger man stepped thru the doors. "Hey guys! You'll never guess what I saw last night." He then turned to look down Chance. "He get away from his parents again? I swear, as dotting as your aunt and uncle are Jon, they sure can't keep track of their boy." Owen said as he patted Chance on the head.

"He's got wanderlust, just like his cousin." Mike said as he picked up a box from under the counter.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going to take the little adventurer home. See you guys in a bit." Jon said as he took Chance's hand.

To everyone's surprise, Chance turned around to look at Richie. He stared at him for a second, as if confirming his identity, when he said "You must be Victoria's boyfriend!"

Richie turned red as a beet, while Owen broke out in laughter, and Jon put his hand on his forehead. "Chance, what have I told you about those kinds of outbursts?"

"But it's true. His name is Richie and Victoria gets really funny when she talks about him."

Before Jon can even say anything, Chance points to Richie's card box, which has his full name on it.

"I told you Mike, the Force is strong with this one!" Owen said as he was able to stop laughing.

"Don't start Owen. It's too early for this." Was Mike's only reply.

"Okay, that's enough Chance. We need to talk, remember?" Jon said as he looked down at the boy.

"Yeah, you're right." Chance replied as his tone became somber. "It's important."

As the two left the store, Owen took a seat near Mike, where he had forgotten all about what has just transpired, and went off on a list of topics from primetime TV to computer games. Mike just listened as he continued his work, adding or correcting information when he saw fit. Richie, however, could not get over what that boy had said. He was undoubtedly the same boy Victoria would often baby-sit. Did he know something about Victoria, about her feelings? Maybe he got into her diary and read it. In any case, this strengthened his resolve in the end. If Victoria liked him, perhaps he could win more than a tournament today.

Meanwhile, the topic drifted as someone else entered the store. "I hope I'm not too early." The brown haired girl asked as she walked in the door.

"Naw, we just opened for business. The tournament won't be for another hour or so, but feel free to just hang around." Mike said as he glanced over to the door. He didn't recognize her, but Owen did, and proceeded to let Richie know. In the most embarrassing way possible.

"Hey, kid. Your girlfriend's here." he said, causing Richie to shoot up, almost out of his chair. Owen just snickered. "A little jumpy there?"

Victoria saw Richie, and Richie saw Victoria. Both turned pink in embarrassment. Mike meanwhile popped Owen on the head.

"Oww, what was that for?" Owen asked.

"Just because a seven year old screams something, doesn't make it true. Now quit teasing them." Mike replied.

"Yeah, we're just friends." Victoria said as she sat down on the other end of the table from Richie.

"Yeah, what she said." Richie said, although he was disheartened by it.

"I don't know. Chance isn't an ordinary seven year old." Owen replied.

"Chance was here? He said that?" Victoria stuttered out. Oh great. Richie already knows that I watch Chance regularly. Why did he have to scream out that I loved Richie right to his face? I'm not sure I'm ready yet. But I guess it's now or never. I have to do it today. I have to tell him I like him.

Meanwhile Mike had replied to Owen. "No, Chance isn't ordinary. He's about as far from ordinary as a kid can get."

Owen just had to laugh. "Nope, but that's a good thing."

"It is?" Mike replied. "The boy gets up in the middle of the night to climb on the rooftop. He shows up here at odd hours pestering Jon. And I swear that kid talks to himself."

"A lot of people do that." Richie said, now becoming interested in the conversation.

"And answer themselves too." Owen added.

"Yeah, but I've watched him sit in a corner for hours, talking to himself every now and then. I really think that kid thinks someone is there." Mike said as he started to pull items out of a box to shelve.

"It's called an imaginary friend. A lot of kids have them." Victoria replied. Richie could tell by her tone of voice that she didn't like the topic of conversation.

"Listen, I say we drop this now. Jon doesn't like it when people talk about Chance." Mike said as he continued shelving.

He doesn't like it when people talk about Chance like he's a freak Victoria thought to herself. Chance has trouble at school with bullies; his parents have him in and out of therapy, and almost everyone who knew him considered him at the very least 'quirky'. But Victoria knew better. Chance was smarter than any little kid she had ever met, and possibly the happiest. He had his quirks, but so does every other child.

"No, you don't like it when people talk about him." Owen replied. "I remember when your ex-girlfriend came in."

This set Mike off. "Shut up or I will throw you out!"

"Fine. Be that way. I'm going over here to look at the new manga." Owen said as he got up from the chair.

After about 30 more minutes, the store was full of gamers of all ages ready to participate in the tournament. Mike had calmed down and apologized, and everyone was getting ready for the tournament, when Chance reappeared at the door.

"Hi everyone!" He said as he walked inside.

Mike looked over his shoulder. "What the? Did you get away from Jon too?"

"No, his parents want me to watch him for the day. It seems his usual babysitter had things to do today." Jon said as he stepped in right behind Chance.

"Make sure to remind him to stay out of the way." Mike said as he closed the register.

"He knows." He then turned to Chance. "Now Chance, you just stay out the way of the players, ok? You can go play video games in the back if you want."

"Naw, something special will happen today, and I don't want to miss it." Chance replied.

Mike just rolled his eyes, and Owen looked amused. "Well, then we won't want to miss it either." he said.

Richie looked at the boy with interest, and then turned to Victoria. "Um…Victoria, does Chance have psychic powers?"

Victoria turned to look at him. She then turned to look at Chance. "I don't know. I guess he might. Anyway, I know why Mike doesn't like him."

This really got Richie's interest. "Why? How did you find out?"

"Owen told me the last time I brought Chance here. It's because Chance predicted Mike's girlfriend breaking up with him. One day she walked in, and he just looked at her. He frowned and called her unfaithful. Then everything went downhill. It caused her to admit she was cheating, and that it was over between them."

Richie turned to look at Chance, who was in turn looking at them, like he was expecting something to happen. He then turned back to Victoria. "Ok, now he gives me the creeps."

"Richie, how can you say that about him?" She turned away from him only to see Chance looking directly at them, only to turn away moments later.

"Ok, so he has his creepy moments. He's still a good kid. If I ever have children, I hope one turns out like him."

At the mention of children, both blushed and looked away from each other. Meanwhile, Jon stood in the middle of the back area. "Ok everyone, let's get this game started!"

"Ok, Stitch, so where are we going again?" Sora (Lilo) asked as the pair walked thru the forest.

"It's a party to celebrate a special event for another pair of experiments." Stitch replied.

"Oh, I figured Clip would have told me sooner if she was…"

"No, Lilo, not them. And I'm sure she would have told you before me if that happened." Stitch replied as he continued to lead her thru the forest. After a moment, the pair came on a clearing filled with gathered experiments. At the clearing's end were several targets of various sizes and shapes.

"Ok, I'm confused, what's going on here?" Sora asked as she looked over the group. At least 50 experiments were already here, and more were gathering.

"Didn't you tell her Stitch, today was my babies' special day?" a voice called out from behind them.

"Bonnie?" Sora said as she turned around. "I thought their birthday wasn't for another 3 months?"

"No, no not their birthday. Today is when the twins show everyone what they can do. Their powers have shown up!" Bonnie said, happily.

"That's wonderful, Bonnie. I'm sure their father is really proud."

Bonnie and Clyde were the first of the experiments to have children, Bonnie having given birth to twins about 2 years ago, a little after all the experiments had been found. Clyde had named them Jesse and James, after another famous outlaw. Being the first baby experiments ever, they were dotted on not just by their mother and father, but also Jumba and many of the other experiments (who would literally fight to see who got to look after the tykes when Bonnie and Clyde needed a break). Although Jumba had calculated that the twins would have similar powers, the twins had far different personalities.

James looked a lot like his father, except his coloring, which a blend of green and brown. He was outgoing and talkative, and never stopped getting into trouble. His sister, Jesse, on the other hand, favored her mother in almost ever respect, save that one of her hands seemed almost metallic. She was shy and quiet, unless she wanted something. Then she would usually have her daddy get it for her, but was not above manipulating another one of the adult experiments that would often visit.

At the moment the twins were with their father, who was giving them a last minute pep talk. Clyde was beaming with pride at his twins' accomplishment, much like he did the day they were born.

"Alright kids, let's show everyone what you two can do." Clyde said.

"But Daddy, there's so many people. I'm scared." Jesse said as she looked over the crowd. There was well over 30 experiments that had come to see them, and the usually shy Jesse was overwhelmed.

"I'm not scared Daddy, I can do anything!" James said with his usual confidence.

"Yeah, cept stop wetting the bed." Jesse replied, now irked at her brother.

"I do not!" James replied, getting in his sister's face.

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

This probably would have continued on had their father not stepped in. "That's enough, don't make me get Mommy."

"Ok, Daddy." The two replied in unison. They then shot each other mean glances when their father turned his back.

A few minutes later everyone had gathered in a circle around the clearing while Bonnie and Clyde lead the twins to the center, in front of the targets.

"Ok kids; show everyone what you can do." Clyde said as he patted them on the back.

The two then backed away as the children faced the targets. James' arm cannon began to charge with a faint glow, while Jesse's hand reformed itself to look like a green blaster.

"I bet I hit more than you." James said as he took his first shot. The blast itself wasn't that powerful, as it merely scorched the target.

Jesse scowled at her brother before turning to take a shot of her own. It hit in just about the same place, but actually broke off a piece of the target. "Neh neh. I broke the target."

"Only cause I hit it there first. Copycat." James replied as he took another shot. It hit one of the standing targets, a soda bottle, and knocked it backwards. "Neh neh."

"Oh yeah." Jesse took another shot and missed completely.

"Hah, you missed!" her brother mocked.

Jesse turned around and pointed her arm at her brother. "Oh, yeah. I bet I won't miss you!" She fired and hit James in the arm. James let out a cry of pain, he wasn't that hurt, but it really stung. He then shot back at her and hit her in the stomach. Pretty soon what had started as a display of the twins abilities turned into a demonstration of how neither of them could get along very well. Bonnie and Clyde rushed in to pull their children apart before they really hurt themselves (or the bystanders).

"Stop that this instant young man!" Bonnie said as she tried to hold down James' arm.

"She started it!" he replied as he tried to wiggle free.

"Daddy, he was being mean!" Jesse cried out, trying to convince her father to let her go.

"You were both being mean." Clyde replied as he held his daughter's hand back.

The crowd meanwhile couldn't help but snicker. They were a chip of the old block alright, just like their mom and dad.

Meanwhile Stitch and Sora looked over at the scene with mild amusement. Stitch turned to her. "Yep, those two are gonna turn out alright."

"Really? How can you tell?" Sora asked, puzzled at how this outburst could be 'alright'.

"Cause Bonnie and Clyde really care about how they turn out. You see how fast they stepped in to stop them from fighting? I was worried that they would just let them have at each other. I mean, they usually aren't the most responsible experiments." Stitch replied.

"I guess you're right. Jesse and James did change Bonnie and Clyde in a lot of ways. They stopped stealing and found a use for their talents in the real world."

"Yeah, I guess kids change things." Stitch said as he laid back on the grass.

Sora meanwhile turned back towards all the chaos. Bonnie and Clyde had just gotten the twins to calm down and were making them apologize. She sighed for a moment, then turned back to her boyfriend. "Stitch."

"Yeah Lilo, what's up?" he asked as he looked thru the tree line to the bright Hawaiian sky.

"What do you think our children will be like?"

This quickly got his full attention. "What…what do you mean, Lilo?"

She smiled and giggled at his reaction. "You sound surprised. I mean we can't have kids now, like most of the experiments, but I will want them someday. I want to start an ohana of my own."

Stitch sat back up and turned to face her. "I don't know Lilo. I mean, ya, we will have kids someday, but why are you thinking about it now?"

Sora merely had to point to the two experiments chastising their kids to remind him.

"Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense." Stitch replied as he looked down at the pair.

"So, what do you think they will be like?"

"I don't know. I guess they might have one or more of our powers, and I hope they will be able to self-morph so they can lead normal human and experiment lives."

Sora shook her head. "No, no, that's not what I meant. I mean, what do you think their personalities will be?"

Stitch looked absolutely dumbfounded. "I have no idea Lilo. I mean, wouldn't they have to be a little older before we would know that?"

Sora just smiled and turned her gaze to the sky. "We can always imagine what they will be like. I mean sure we might be completely wrong, but they say the apple never falls far from the tree."

This made Stitch think for a moment. Then he put his paw up to his head. "Then we are in big trouble."

This made her giggle again. "You think they will be just like us, huh? Always in trouble and worrying their family sick?"

A moment passed before Stitch answered. "No, I don't think so. With us it was different, with experiment hunting and all. I hope our kids will have a much quieter life."

"Yeah, me too. I want them to be safe and not have to worry about them. But if they are anything like us, they will look for trouble. And you know it."

Stitch just shook his head. "Yeah, we're going to be in for it when we try to start a family."

"But that doesn't mean we can't look forward to it." Sora said as she looked back down at the clearing. By this time Bonnie and Clyde had gotten their children to apologize to one another and were directing them to on which target to shoot, so one wouldn't get credit for the other's shot.

Stitch smiled as he turned back to watch Jesse and James show off. "No, it certainly doesn't."

Myrtle Evans was doing something she swore she would never do: she was going into a game store. She personally thought that these games were played by losers who lived with their mothers, but she had been thinking. She thought back on how bad she had treated Richie. They used to get along great when they were little, but she had always had to stick up for him. And it wasn't his fault he fell for Victoria: she could personally attest to the fact that love was blind.

But it didn't change the fact that Lilo was dangerous, more dangerous than anyone knew. She also wasn't sure Richie knew the real truth; in fact she was pretty sure he didn't. Richie had more common sense than to hang around alien creatures that could possibly hurt him. The incident in the cafeteria was probably no more than Richie's hormones making him stick up for Victoria's 'friend', although she finally had to admit she had been a little harsh on him since he moved back.

So that was had brought her here. These card games were obviously important, and she figured she would give him a few words of encouragement. That way she could show that he was still her brother, and no matter how mean she seemed, she really wanted the best for him. And Victoria, as much she hated to admit it, was also right about one thing: she'd been using Richie as an outlet for her hatred of Lilo. Well no more, from now on her anger would be directed at Lilo and Lilo only.

As she entered the store, she saw several people gathered around one table. It looked like the game was already almost over. Oh well, I can always check and see if Richie made it to the finals, this game seems to be his life. The only person to even acknowledge her presence was a small boy sitting in the back of the room. He turned to look at her and immediately frowned. His gazed followed her as she walked to the gathering of people.

What a creepy little kid. What's his problem?

When Myrtle got closer, she saw that Richie had indeed made it into the finals. She couldn't help but snicker when she saw his opponent. I guess this is to decide who's going to wear the pants in this relationship.

At first Richie hadn't been able to believe his luck. He had made it to the final round. He quickly changed his tune, however, when he found out Victoria had made it too, and that she would be his final opponent. His nerves were frayed when the pair sat across from each other. Should he throw the match, or would that make him look like a coward? If he won, would that upset her? He had even been too nervous to shake her hand at the beginning of duel. Jon had waved it when he realized that Richie was already a nervous wreck. And then there was Chance. Ever since the duel started, every time he looked up, he would be staring at them. And there was something with his eyes; he could have sworn they were blue when he got there, but now they seemed green. But he didn't have the nerve to ask Victoria about it, he had already figured out the kid was a hot button with her. Instead he spent all his focus on the duel, trying his best to keep his calm, and it was working well enough; they were tied one and one. But it had come down to this: Victoria had 1600 life points left. Problem was he had only 1000, and he had nothing on the board but two face downs due to a card that had wiped his half clean of monsters. If she attacked now, she would win. Except for the fact he had a card that if he used it, it would turn her attack back on her, and he'd win. He looked at Victoria's face; she was extremely excited because she thought she was going to win. She had tried her hardest to win, if that little kid was better than this, than the rumors had to be true, and Greg and Nathan had been made a laughing stock by a second grader. She declared her attack. It was now or never.

And wouldn't you know it, he panicked. By the time he knew what had happened, Victoria had been declared the winner.

"Better luck next time Richie. That was fun." Victoria said as she started picking up her cards. In the process, she accidentally knocked over his only two face downs, Transcendent Wings and Flute of Summoning Kuriboh. "Wow Richie, I you only had had another one in your deck, you would have won."

"Yeah, I guess bad luck on my part." Richie said as he scratched his head. This however revealed his hand to Greg and Nathan, who were right behind him.

"Wait a second; you did have Winged Kuriboh, right in your hand. Why the heck didn't you play it?" Greg said, astonished.

"I guess I froze up." Richie meekly replied.

"More like you let her win." Nathan said, shaking his head. "Let your heart come before your head. Sad."

Victoria looked at Richie in his eyes. "Did you really let me win?"

Richie quickly turned his head down and blushed. "I…I…you looked really happy that you were going to win."

Myrtle picked this moment to finish making her way to the table. "So you lost huh Richie. Oh well, always another day I guess."

Richie quickly spun around. He had never expected in a million years his sister would ever set foot in a game store, much less watch him play.

"He didn't lose, he let her win." Greg said as he started to pack up his things. "Whooped."

"What? You let her win? Why Richie?" Myrtle said astonished.

"Well, she…" Richie began to reply.

Myrtle quickly interrupted him. "Please tell me you're not going to let her walk all over you. Why don't you show a little backbone?"

Victoria had had enough of Myrtle's bullying, and decided to put an end to it once and for all. In a way Richie never expected. She reached across the table and turned Richie to face her, then planted her lips right on his.

She held him there for a full five seconds before letting him go. The room immediately burst in to a combination of gasps and whistles as Richie fell back into his chair with a blissful look on his face. Victoria then turned her gaze up to Myrtle. "There, I guess you won't be telling your brother what to do anymore. Girlfriends outrank bossy sisters."

Myrtle was absolutely livid. It wasn't the fact that Victoria had kissed her brother, it was the fact she had the nerve to say that to her face right afterwards. "Why you little BITCH!"

"MYRTLE LISA EVANS!"

Everyone turned to the door to the see the source of the voice. There stood a tall red-headed man in a Marine uniform. Myrtle looked like a deer in headlights. "Daddy?"

Richie immediately snapped out of his daze and shot around. "Dad?"

End Chapter 10

Next Chapter

Unforgotten Memories