Disclaimer: I now own about 4 episodes of Yugioh abridged, but that in no way means I own Yugioh :P
I'm not going to apologies for the annoyingly late update, even if I AM sorry it has to be so late, but if I apologies that means I'm going to try to change. And for me to get updates up sooner it would mean my grades would slip and as much as I love this story my grades are more important because they are my future. So as much as it pains me to say it updates will come when they come. I'm still writing and have LOT'S of ideas for this story so don't worry I'm going to push through to the end of this story even if it kills me.
Getting that out of the way I can't express how much I love you readers, epically you reviewers, you keep me up beat and give me so many GREAT ideas. This story really has become my break from all the crazy stuff in my life.
Well enough with sappy talk here's the next chapter!!!!
Once again thank you Kit for editing!!! You are my angel and even if we don't seem to be able to talk as much as we use to I think about you all the time :D
Oh wicked child," cried the witch, "what is this I hear? I thought I hid you from the world, you have betrayed me!"
-Repunzel
"What are you doing out here?"
Gwyn looked up from mud castles she was building to see a sarcastically smiling Arina. Even thought her smile indicated happiness, her eyes were sharp with threatening anger. "I'm making mud pies." Arina's smile grew thinner as she raised a slim eyebrow.
"Have you been talking to anyone?"
Mutely, the small blonde shook her head. Arina's smile turned into a frown. Gwyn blinked, unsure of what she'd said wrong. For a moment, Arian looked like she was going to strike the young girl, but then her face calmed down and she straightened up. Gwyn gave a mental sigh; Emi wasn't the only one who found their uncle's girlfriend slightly creepy.
"Today I didn't see anyone, but yesterday I saw a man in the woods over there," the blonde said in hope that she could gain Arina's favor and maybe feel more comfortable around the older woman. In a flash, the bleached blonde had roughly grabbed Gwyn's arm, pulling her up, her long manicured nails digging into the girl's skin.
"Did you talk to him?" she hissed. Quickly, the blonde shook her head, her purple eyes wide with shock and fear. "You better not, you little wretch. If I ever catch you talking to anyone, I swear I'll hurt you so bad you'll wish you were dead." Gwyn winced, trying to fight back the tears that were threatening to come. Arina's scowl turned into a wicked grin as she noticed the blonde's pain. "Aw, does that hurt? Well, you better keep your mouth shut, little girl, or there will be worse pain coming your way."
With that, she shoved the young girl forward and walked smoothly away, leaving the poor confused Gwyn in the mud fighting back tears.
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Gwyn had never been a very talkative girl, but it almost seemed like every passing day that we lived at our uncle's, she retreated more and more into herself. I have never been as observant as Emi, but even I noticed when our younger sister started to get thinner and would hardly talk, even to us. I hated the feeling of being so helpless and unaware of what was going on in my already-shy sister's life.
The day that we left that horrid place, Emi and I swore that we would always try to help Gwyn to become that cute, amazing little girl we had know so well before all the horrible things that had happened at our uncle's. We hoped that maybe, someday, other people would be able to see the beautiful, shining star that our youngest sister is.
"So then Mir slides down the banister just as Seto walks in, I swear I was going to die right there." Tito laughed as he watched Emi intently telling yet another story about her sisters.
"You really do love them, don't you."
Emi blinked, pausing. "Huh?"
"Your sisters."
Emi felt her cheeks redden. "Is it that obvious? Sorry, I tend to talk about them a lot…."
The black-haired man, laughed shaking his head. "Well, yes, but don't worry. I enjoy hearing about them."
"Do you have a family?"
"Yes. as a matter a fact. I have a mother, father, twin sister, and older sister."
"Oh? You're a twin?"
Tito nodded. "Yep, in a family of girls; even the cousins are girls. My family is very close and so it was more like I had five sisters instead of two." He laughed at this, shaking his head, a sweet smile on his face. Emi couldn't help smiling along; there was always something wonderful about seeing people express their love for their families.
"Where are they now?"
Tito's gaze went back to Emi's as he ran his fingers through his jet-black hair. "Oh, they live a few hours from here, sometimes I go visit them on the weekend." Emi could see the longing in his eyes; she knew that feeling of missing someone you really loved.
"Well, if you ever can't make it and need some loud annoying girls to hang out with, you're welcome to come visit us. We've already adopted one boy from Mir's school; I'm sure my sisters would love to have another brother."
The black-haired boy smiled, his green-hazel eyes sparkling with happiness at the offer. "I'll take you up on that." Emi beamed along with him.
"Good."
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"I like him, he's nice." The three girls were just getting ready to go to bed when Gwyn randomly spoke her mind. Turning over so that she could face her sister, Emi propped herself up with her elbows.
"Who?"
"That Toe guy."
Emi smiled. "I like him, too."
The younger blonde snuggled closer to her older sister. "Why do you like that Toe guy?"
"It's Tito, and I like him because…" Emi paused. She was laying on her back, her eyes fixed on the ceiling, memories of that dinner playing back in her head. "I… I'm not sure. I guess cuz he's so nice to me and really cares about others." She stopped for a moment as she turned onto her side. "Did you know he has two sisters? One of them is his twin. He told me his twin was his best friend in his whole life."
Gwyn smiled in the dark, but Mir just snorted, "I like Seto better."
The youngest's smile turned into a scowl. "Well, I just want Sissy to be happy!" Emi laughed.
"You just like his money more."
"Well, you know what they say, money can buy happiness."
Gwyn wrinkled her nose at her older sister's comment. "Huh?"
Emi chuckled. "I thought the saying was 'money can't buy you everything.'"
"Well, I'd be happy with all that money."
"I wouldn't."
"Well, Gwyn, that makes you much smarter than your sister."
"No, it makes her poorer."
"Does that mean you're going to marry Seto?"
"Nope, you are."
Emi sat up. "Ok, I'm curious, how do you think me getting married to Seto is going to make YOU rich?"
"Well, the way I see it, you guys will be so in love that you won't really care about the money—as it is, Seto spends it willy-nilly anyway—so while you guys are doing the whole romanticness, I'll buy myself a house by the beach and spend my life reading books and playing duel monsters without a care in the world."
"What if I want Seto to spend his money on me?"
Mir snorted at this. "Since when have you EVER wanted ANYONE to spend ANY money on YOU?"
"True."
"Seto kind of scares me," Gwyn whispered. "His eyes seem so empty."
" Besides, if I married Seto, all we would do is fight until the day we died."
"No way! You guys would just have little disagreements every once in a while…."
"Isn't that fighting?"
"You know, Mir, you're kind of using Sissy for your own pleasures."
"Own pleasures? Someone's been spending too much time with Ryou…."
"Not as much as you, Mir. The fact that he comes over here like almost every day… he really can't get enough of you, can he?"
"I'm not going to reply to that comment."
Emi yawned, pulling the covers over herself. "Whatever. Good night, you two."
"Good night."
"Night."
Both blondes fell asleep a few moments later, but Mir was still awake, staring up at the bunk over her. (It was supposed to be Gwyn's, but she never slept in it.) Slowly, the brunette turned so that she could see her two sisters sleeping peacefully in the bed.
"Emi? Emi, are you still up?"
Nothing.
Mir smiled in the dark. "I want you to be happy, too." Then, turning over, she went to asleep as well.
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"What about this shirt?" Téa asked, holding up a light blue, long-sleeved shirt with a large glittery star printed on the front. Mir glanced up from the rack she was shifting through. The girls had been waiting for the guys to meet them at their favorite pizza place, but they were late because a few of the males had needed to get some new first-view shooter game. So Satra has suggested they go check out the thrift store that was across the street.
"Meh, it's ok, looks like something you would wear." Téa wrinkled her nose. eyeing it. unsure about Mir's comment.
"What does that mean?"
"Nothing, just, it looks like something you would wear, you sure you don't already own it?"
Serenity laughed lightly as she put back a pink skirt she had been looking at. Mir sighed as she looked over a black-and-purple-striped sweater, "Why are we here again?"
"Because this place is AMAZING!" Satra's voice shouted from behind a mound of clothes. On top of one of the racks was a handmade sign that read "discounted." Mir raised an eyebrow as she read the sign.
"This is a thrift store, how can you discount already discounted clothes?"
"Oh, you'd be surprised," Téa snickered, pulling out a long black shirt that could also possibly have been a rather short dress. It looked like it used to be covered in sequins; now it had large beadless holes.
Mir laughed, taking the dress/shirt from Téa and holding it up, batting her eyes. "Doesn't it flatter me?"
Serenity giggled as she took the blue sweater and two skirts she was going to get. "I think we should get ready to go th—"
"AHHHHH! I found it!" The three girls turned to see Satra emerge from the piles of clothes holding up a black hat with a dice print on it. Mir raised an eyebrow as she eyed the tacky hat. Satra beamed as she turned to the other three stunned-beyond-words girls, hugging the hat. "Isn't this the most amazing thing you have ever seen?"
"That's one way to put it," Mir said.
"Satra, that thing is hideous," Téa remarked, wrinkling her nose.
"It reminds me of Duke," Serenity giggled, trying to think of something nice to say. Satra blinked, confused at the brown-haired girl's remark.
"Who?"
"Oh, some guy who's friends with Yugi. I'm surprised you don't know him, he's got this pretty big fanclub." Mir said, filling her friend in. Satra shrugged, holding up her new treasure.
"I'm not into fanclubs, and poo on you guys! This hat is soooo sexy." Then, flipping it onto her head, she started to moon-walk backwards, singing "Sexy Back."
Around this time, the boy they had just been talking about decided to show up. Satra, who was still singing and walking backwards, didn't see him until she backed right into the black-haired guy.
"Oh, uh, hi."
"Hi."
"Hi, Duke."
"Oh, hello, Serenity, I saw you guys were in here and I figured I'd tell you that the guys are on their way here," Duke said, thumbing lazily toward the front door. Even though he was talking to everyone, his eyes were on Serenity.
"SWEET! PIZZA TIME! Hey, I'm going to buy this hat and meet you guys there!" Satra said, jumping up and almost hitting Duke with her new hat.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Téa cried, horrified. "You're not REALLY going to BUY that hat, are you?"
"Heck yeah! It makes me want to break-dance." Wtih this, the strawberry blonde spun around, doing a few moves. Duke laughed, his hands in his pockets.
"I've never met you before, do you go to our school?"
"Yeah, I'm Satra, I sit by the oh-so-famous Mir."
"I'm Duke, nice to meet you," Duke said, taking Satra's outstretched hand.
"Well, I want to get these pants, so I'll come with you to get your hat, Satra. We'll meet you at the pizza place, k?" Mir said, holding a pair of jeans with a faded flower on the right pocket.
"Oh, I have to get my stuff, too," Serenity said, as if suddenly remembering she had clothes with her. Téa smiled at her friends.
"I'll go save us seats and meet you guys there."
Duke nodded. "Sounds like a plan, I'll stay with the girls just in case."
Satra glanced at Duke, then laughed, "You don't have to worry about us; my brothers taught me what to do when I meet a creep: Turn the other way and run your heart out, screaming."
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Mir sighed as she dropped her books onto her desk, then sat down in her chair. Another long day at the grind. It was still early, so most of the kids weren't at school yet, or waiting outside so they could talk with friends. Wearily, Mir folded her arms over her desk and rested her head on them.
"Hey, sleepy." Mir opened one eye to see Satra standing over her, grinning. "You tired?"
"How could you tell?"
The light-redhead laughed lightly as she sat down on her desk. "You ready for the tests today?"
"Ugh, no." Sighing, Mir pulled out her notebook and started to leaf through her notes. Satra frowned slightly, but smiled when the brunette turned back to her.
"Want an M&M?" The strawberry-blonde asked, holding up the bag. Mir gave a weak smile, taking some.
"Does anything ever bother you?" the brunette asked, more to herself then to her friend. Satra just grinned.
"I have a good luck charm with me today."
"A good luck charm?"
"Yep. I'll show it to you after school; I don't want the teacher taking it away, then I wouldn't have any luck."
"Uh, ok."
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"Hey, Bakura, wait up!" The white-haired teen turned at the sound of Satra's voice.
"Oh, good morning, Satra, how are you?"
The strawberry blonde smiled. "Good!" Suddenly, her face became serious. "Hey, I was wondering if you had talked to Mir lately? She seems kind of down." Ryou's brown eyes grew wide as he thought about it. Mir had seemed really tired lately, and he had been noticing that she hadn't been her usual joking self. He hadn't really been able to visit her much because of all the tests they had been doing, and the fact that Mir never seemed to be around much. Turning to Satra, Ryou smiled, keeping his thoughts to himself; he'd address his concerns with the brunette after school.
"Now that you mention it, she does seem really tired. I'll ask her about it after school if you'd like."
Satra's smile stayed the same but her eyes seemed to light up at the white boy's response. "GREAT! Hey, did you hear about that street performance festival thing they are having at the park this weekend? It sounds so cool! I think I'll try to talk my brothers into taking me…. Oh, look at the time, I better go to class, see ya, Ryou!"
The white-haired boy smiled and waved as the red-haired girl ran off. It wasn't until she was out of sight that he realized that she had just called him Ryou.
----------------------
"Hey, Mir, what's up? That test today was a killer, huh." Mir looked lazily up to see Hunter—surprise there. Mentally rolling her eyes, she tried to fake a smile.
"Hey, Hunter."
"So I was wondering, they are having this thing at the pa—"
"MIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRR! I almost forgot to show you my good luck charm!" Both teens turned to
Satra, who came bounding up, a huge smile on her face. The hyper redhead skidded to a stop, then reached into her bag. "TADA!" she sang, holding up her new black dice hat. Placing it on her head, she spun around, almost hitting Duke, who was just walking by with Serenity, Tristan, and Joey.
"Hahah, oh, sorry, we just keep bumping into each other, don't we?" Satra giggled, backing up slightly.
"Yeah, I guess we do."
"Nice hat," Joey snickered. Next to him, his sister giggled.
"You like it?! It's my good luck charm," Satra said, happily as she pulled it off, twirling it around her hand.
"Looks like something Duke would wear," Tristan laughed. Mir snickered.
"That's what Serenity said." At this, Tristan looked slightly upset.
"Great minds think alike," Satra said, putting her hat back on as she eyed Tristan and Serenity.
"Well, we're going out to eat, do you guys want to come?" Joey asked. Mir smiled then shook her head.
"Sorry, but I have to go pick up Gwyn at drama," Mir said, smiling she gave a halfhearted wave and she started to walk off. Hunter nodded toward the group of teens and then f0llowed—to her dismay—Mir. Satra looked around, then ran after her friend and her friend's stalker.
Ryou met the trio as they were walking outside. Satra seemed to be chatting away about some dance-off she'd had against her brothers. She was fiddling with a rather outrageous-looking hat as both Mir and Hunter listened. Ryou smiled, waving as he walking over to meet his classmates.
"Hey, Ryou," Mir said, nodding toward the white-haired boy. Satra grinned, beckoning her classmate to join them with a wave. Hunter merely nodded. Suddenly, Satra looked down at her watch, then screamed.
"AHHHHH! I have to go!" Pivoting, she bolted toward her home, only stopping briefly the turn and wave back, yelling, "See you guys later!"
Hunter watched as Satra ran off. Shaking his head, he then turned to his classmates. "That is one strange girl."
Mir's eyes grew hard as she spoke. "Well, that's just part of her charm," the brunette said with a touch of annoyance. Hunter, who didn't get the hint, snorted.
"Is that what we're calling it? I thought it was called annoyance."
Mir's purple eyes flashed as she turned to Hunter. "Well, that's what I call it. Excuse me, but I have to go pick up my sister at drama."
"I'll walk you over there," Ryou offered, taking a step toward Mir. Hunter cut in front of the white-haired boy.
"It's ok, I'll walk her there."
Mir didn't even give Ryou a moment to reply, whirling around, her eyes flashing. "No THANKS! I'm not a little girl! I can walk myself!" she snapped. Then, pivoting, she marched away. Both boys stood in shock for a moment, then Ryou gently pushed past Hunter.
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"Gwyn, your dress is done!"
The young blonde looked up to see Cam and her older sister Chiharu walking over. Both older girls were in the play with Gwyn, and the blonde had gotten to know them very well. Cam, the one who had spoken, was holding up a frilly blue dress that Gwyn would be wearing for a party scene in the play. Behind her younger sister, Chiharu smiled. "You're going to look so cute in this dress," she said, excitement ringing through her voice.
"Yeah, no kidding! Our costume director is soooo good! Hey, is Mir going to be coming today?" Cam asked, her blue-green eyes sparkling with the same excitement as her older sister. Since Mir would come hang out at the theater whenever she wasn't in trouble, both Cam and Chiharu had gotten to know her very well. And since both girls were very happy and easy to get along with, it hadn't taken long for the two sets of sisters to become close friends. Gwyn shrugged as she took the dress from Cam.
"I hope so. She said she would if she didn't get into trouble with Manon."
Chiharu rolled her eyes. "Gosh, that must be such a pain."
Gwyn nodded. "I'm going to put this on."
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"Hey, Mir!" The brunette turned to see Cam standing in the lobby of the theater dressed in a rather loud outfit that consisted of a long puffy tunic, a purple vest, gold leggings, and a goofy looking jester hat. Mir snickered; the outfit slightly reminded her of Satra's hat. She wondered if Satra and Cam would get along. Probably.
"Nice outfit."
"Haha, thanks. It's just my costume, but it's fun to wear. You should see Gwyn, she looks so cute!"
"MIR!"
Mir looked up to see Gwyn running toward her. Cam was right: She was really cute, all dressed up in a frilly blue dress with large blue satin bows in her blonde hair. Her makeup was all done up so that she looked like a little porcelain doll. Behind her, Chiharu laughed.
"She looks like a little dol—oh my GOSH, Cam! Whatare you wearing?! "
Cam laughed, brushing imaginary dust off her leggings. "My costume."
"I think you just blinded me."
"Geez, thanks, sis."
Just then, one of the tech boys came out. "Hey, Cam, we're doing your scene in five. Oh, and Chiharu, your mom needs some help with some of the costumes." Both sisters nodded and then, with a quick goodbye, ran off. Once they were gone, Gwyn turned to Mir. "Are you ok? You look a little upset."
The older girl just shrugged. "Naw, I'm fine, just a little tired from running here, hey, you look really cute. I bet you Mokuba would love to see you all dressed up like that."
"Thanks," Gwyn giggled unsure of why her sister was brining up her black haired friend. She was about to inquire about it when a young white-haired boy caught her eye as he walked into the building.
"Ryou!"
"Oh, hello, Gwyneira, you look so pretty. I hope you don't mind me stopping by to visit," he said, smiling at the young blonde, but as he spoke, his chocolate eyes flickered to Mir. Gwyn glanced from Ryou to her sister, confusion written on her face.
"Uh, I have to get ready, my scene will be coming up soon… Are you guys going to watch?"
"That's why I'm here," Mir said, rolling her eyes. "What did you think I was going to do? Just come, say hi, then leave?"
Ryou nodded, agreeing with Mir, but he didn't say anything until they were both seated. "Are you feeling ok?" Mir nodded, her eyes still on the stage, not saying anything—also not remarking that Gwyn had just asked that same question—so Ryou continued, "I mean, if I ever did anything to bother you, I'm sorry." Mir laughed humorlessly, turning to her white-haired classmate.
"Ryou, I don't think you could EVER do anything to bother me. And you don't need to say you're sorry, I shouldn't have snapped." Giving a frustrated sigh, Mir ran her fingers through her hair. "I've been losing my temper a lot lately…. Ugh.." Ryou's brown eyes watched the brunette; she looked so frustrated and upset. Satra was right: Their friend really seemed down lately.
"Is something bothering you?" he asked, hoping to maybe find a way to make her feel better. Mir shrugged.
"Not unless you can make Manon disappear, find a way to help me keep my mouth closed, and make Hunter leave me alone." At this, Mir sighed, resting her chin on her hands as she leaned forward. Ryou watched her as he wracked his brain for a way to make her feel better. There must be something that would cheer her up! He just had to think of something. He just had to.
"Hey, did you hear about that street performance festival thing they are having at the park this weekend? It sounds so cool! I think I'll try to talk my brothers into taking me…."
"Hey, Mirati, would you like to go to the festival? It could be fun."
Mir frowned. "I'm not sure I'm ready for another large group outing." The last time the gang had hung out, Hunter had just happened to show up and started on this rather awkward speech about being all alone or something like that. Then he forced himself next to Mir and talked to her the whole time.
"Well, then, why don't we just go?" Ryou suggested, smiling his normal happy-go-lucky smile. "Satra told me about it, and it sounded like so much fun." Mir couldn't help but smile along with him; it was so easy to feel better when she was around Ryou and his docile, cheery personality.
"Ok, sounds like fun."
Uhhgggg personally I don't really like this chapter, it's soooo… filler. Anyway I'm thinking of starting a story in Satra's perspective. Kind of like her POV of A Red Rose and this one :D I have some really cute ideas. What do you guys think?
Also Chiharu and Cam are based off two of my best friends from VA. I felt like Gwyns drama practices would seem more real if I had her make a few friends so I added them into the story. They probably won't show up much in this story but maybe in the next one (if there IS a next one)
With that said ON TO REVIWERS!!!!
Lightest'Ink: well I love killing people with laugher XD it's my way to rule the world –evil laugh- haha yeah poor Seto getting all … Jealous? And yes Hunter really doesn't have a chance, poor guy.
Claamchowder: :D thanks I'm so glad I am still somewhat able to update I know it isn't as fast as before but I'm going to keep trying :D
Desert.Moon: thank you!!! You too, may this year be better than the last, may we learn from our past mistakes, make new friends, become closer to the ones we have, and become closer to the people we were made to be :P
Happy Hour123: thank you, I try to keep up, it's hard but I'm trying :D and thanks you too
PB-Queen-101: hahaha are serious? It's such a MESS!!! But thank you so much for all your help!!! I can't describe how wonderful it was for you to do that for me!!! Your amazing
Reiko The Awesome: Yeah their date was interesting to write and I could just SEE Mir saying that XD
comet7: Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think of this chapter I'd love to hear your input :D
I can't tell you guys how much reviews give me ideas so the best way to keep this story updated faster. So send me your reviews!! I love hearing from you!!!
-Liz (Element girls)