A/N: Chapter 2 has been completed! On a side note, this story takes place just after Duelist Kingdom, right before the encounter with Rebecca Hawkins. Ratings and reviews are always appreciated!
When Charlotte finally awoke again, she was immediately aware of two very obvious circumstances; for one, the growling of her stomach surely could have woken up a hibernating bear, and secondly the seventeen year old had absolutely no idea where she was. Someone's bedroom, that was pretty obvious; if not a little small, it still looked to be pretty comfortable, outfitted with all the sparse essentials of anyone going through puberty (which meant Charlotte's rescuer had to be at least somewhat close to her own age, give or take a few possible years) including but not limited to a desk and chair, a near floor length mirror and the comfortable bed which the stormy eyed teenager was currently sprawled out on. Which was all well and good she noted, but where exactly was she, and who had put her here?
"Hey, glad to see yer' awake; we were startin' to worry ya'd never wake up, y'know?" Managing to sit up with a mildly irritated grunt of exertion, after taking a few minutes to look over the figure now leaning in the doorway, it was more than Charlotte could do to expel a sigh of relief and allow the corner of her mouth to twitch up into a half smile of sorts. "I mean I knew ya said ya didn't know much Japanese but c'mon, fallin' asleep outside an electronics shop? Least you coulda' done would have been to find a hotel or somethin'."
"Hush up," Charlotte groaned with mock annoyance. "I told you I speak Japanese, not read it; you're just lucky I didn't wind up in some gang hideout or something." But regardless of where she'd ended up, seeing the tall, somewhat lanky blonde in person for the first time was quite reassuring. "Anyway, it's good to see you Joey; I heard about your placing in Duelist Kingdom, congratulations on taking second. I trust you got enough money out of that to help with Serenity's eye operation?" Even though the online barrier between Charlotte and the blond had been long reaching it hadn't stopped Joey from boasting about how he'd taken out some of the greatest duelists in Japan, so naturally Charlotte learning about the final placing for Pegasus' tournament had been only a matter of time.
"Yeah, she's doing good; I'll have to introduce ya' to her sometime. But enough about that; sounds like yer pretty hungry huh?" Smiling rather sheepishly, Charlotte ruffled up her already messy hair.
"Starving; enough to practically eat my dueling deck." The teen admitted, thinking fondly of the set of cards kept safe and secure in the inside pocket of her less then element friendly coat. "But first I was wondering, where exactly am I? I mean don't take it personally but I really don't think this is your room."
"Nah, this is my friend Yuugi's room; ya' already know about Yuugi, right?" Charlotte merely nodded; kind of hard not to know about the King of Games, winner of Duelist Kingdom. "Well anyways I was tellin' him how it was weird that ya' hadn't shown up yet so I figured ya' must have gotten lost or somethin'; I mean we took all this time to set it up so ya' could come out for a visit. So I was plannin' on going out to look for ya' and Yuugi wanted to come along, said two pairs of eyes were better than just the ones I've got. And wouldn't ya' know it, he found ya' all curled up on the side of the road!"
"Well then I'll have to thank him." Charlotte was quick to agreeably decide. "Though it goes without saying I'm glad you helped him out; it was you who carried me here, right?"
"Ah, well..." The blond stuttered, rubbing his neck with a blush. "It wasn't that big a thing, I'm just glad you're okay is all." Charlotte had more or less been expecting that answer; in the time she'd gotten to know Joey, the American had quickly learned just how earnest and quick to help a friend he was. In any case, that made it no surprise that Charlotte had gotten along with him as fast as she had. "Anyway, Yuugi'll want ta' know yer' awake now, so I'd better go get him."
"No need, Joey; I'm already here." So then, this was Yuugi; he certainly was a small little thing, with quite possibly the most interesting hair Charlotte had ever seen (though in a way it was strangely becoming of him). "You must be Charlotte, right? Joey's told me quite a lot about you so it feels like we're already friends in a way." Moving to shake the younger boy's hand, immediately Charlotte decided this was a person she could easily get along with; it had to be in those eyes, deep purple, seemingly perpetually smiling and full of so much honesty that the taller girl knew she could entrust everything to him if need be without worry of betrayal. "I'm Yuugi Motou; it's nice to officially meet you and not hear everything about you through Joey; from what I hear you're a pretty good duelist, too."
"Aha, well I'm sure Joey exaggerated a lot; I can duel but I'm sure compared to the King of Games I'm nothing special." Taking a firm hold of the offered appendage and giving it a firm shake, Charlotte smiled. "I'm Charlotte Langspur; thanks for going with Joey to look for me. I mean, you didn't have to."
"Well that's what friends are for, right? And speaking of friends…" Unable to help from unconsciously covering up her stomach when it growled ridiculously loud, Charlotte tched with a soft blush. "What kind of a friend would I be if I didn't get you something to eat? If we can keep enough food around here to feed Joey, I'm sure we've got enough to at least stop your stomach from growling like that."
"Hey now, I don't eat that much! Do I?"
"Are you sure it's not a problem? I mean, I wouldn't want to take anything from you just because I haven't been able to pay for a good meal for a while."
"It's not a problem, I'm happy to help."
"Hey! Why won't anyone answer my question?"