Chapter 9

Lucy's POV

Mom was driving me home. I sat in the back seat with my head against the window and my foot awkwardly up on the other side of the seat. I felt the cold air of the night chilling the window, along with my cheek.

"So…what exactly happened to your ankle?" mom asked.

I couldn't tell her the truth. She would definitely overreact, as she always does. She would make sure I was watched every second of the day, or she'd home-school me again. I can fight my own battles. "Oh, I was just running – trying to get home really quick so I could rest after my long first day – and I tripped and hurt myself…of course."

"Where did Bakura come into play then?" She seemed very curious about him.

"He saw me trip. I fell not too far from his house, so he helped me out and let me rest there."

"But, sweetie, our home is on the other side of the city…how did you get close to his house if ours is the other way?"

Oh shit! Think of something quick! Think of something QUICK! "Uh, well, I still don't really know the city. I know I should get a map or something, but I suppose I just took a wrong turn somewhere and wound up in his neighborhood." If that didn't fool her, maybe my awkward laughter afterwards did.

"Good thing you did."

"Yeah, I got pretty lucky…" And it was a good thing he was there, or else I would have been stuck there for goodness knows how long. And who knows what might have happened.

I reflected on the amount of luck that I had – at least at the end of every bad thing I'd experienced. Bakura basically saved me. Sure, the man in the purple cloak saved me from those two, but he left me. Maybe he didn't realize I was hurt?

After that, we were left in silence, except for the sound of cars driving by. I couldn't have asked for anything better…until the beautiful silence was broken by my mother's voice, "So, Bakura's kind of cute, don't you think?" I could see her smirk in the rearview mirror.

"MOM!" Honestly! I hate when she does this…

"Oh, come on, Lucy! You're sixteen! You've never had a boyfriend—"

"That's because we keep moving!"

"Not this time. Now I'm working at one of the most productive and famous companies in Japan. It's a good job, and it's stable. It's good to be in business sometimes, Lucy. We're not moving." I wanted to believe her, but she has said this more than once before…

"Now back to you," she continued, "You're sixteen, Lucy. You're not even trying to get to know people anymore."

"Actually, I'm going out with friends tomorrow."

She looked absolutely speechless (I saw her face in the rear-view mirror), "You are?"

"Yeah. I made a friend in history class, Téa Gardner. She introduced me to her other friends at lunch, and she and her friend Yugi are taking Bakura and I to the new museum to look at the ancient Egypt exhibit."

"So…like a double date?" she asked that with way too much hope in her voice.

"No, mom. We're just friends. All of us."

"Oh…okay. I was going to ask if you wanted to go with me to the museum sometime, but I suppose you've spent enough time with your mother…"

Aw no! Now I feel bad, "We can go some other time! I'm sure I'll want to go more than once." No matter how much time I spend with her, no matter how annoying she can be, she's still my mom.

She smiled, "Sounds like a plan."

Our drive was peaceful after that. I may have even fallen asleep. When I walked inside, I heard our answering machine beep. We must have gotten a new message while we were out.

Mom went into the living room to watch TV, and I clicked the "play back" button. Bakura's voice came up, "Um… hi, Lucy. It's Bakura…" even over the phone, he sounded awkward, "I'm going to be a little late tomorrow. I have to speak with someone beforehand. Go with Téa and Yugi, I'll catch up later. Bye."

Okay, no problem with that. I'll get to talk to Yugi and Téa more. Maybe Yugi could tell me more about the Millennium Items…

I wonder how late Bakura will be... and who is he going to talk to? Well, it's none of my business. Something must have just come up and he had to chat.

"Hey Lucy!" my mom called from the living room, "Your new museum exhibit is on the television! And so are the people who brought it over...looks like they're from Egypt too!"

I ran over and plopped next to her on the couch. The people on the TV were clearly from Egypt. They looked like it. Ishizu Ishtar, a tall woman with sleek black hair and big, green eyes, was tanned and was wearing a necklace – it looked similar to the Items I've seen Bakura and Yugi wearing…could she possess a Millennium Item as well? For something I've never heard of before, they seem to be rather popular all of a sudden…especially for Japan.

Ishizu started to announce the opening of the exhibit, "And we would especially like to invite Seto Kaiba to this exhibit…"

The sound of her voice faded away as I saw a boy in the background trying to sneak away. He was tan too. His hair was a blonde, like the sands of Egypt were. His eyes were a soft violet, only to be enhanced by the purple hood he was pulling over his head. I felt like I knew him…and then it hit me. "Oh my god…!" I let it slip out of my mouth.

"What's wrong, hun?"

Excuse-making powers ACTIVATE! "Oh, I'm just looking at all of the stuff they have. It's a massive collection."

I had to find out who that was. He's the one who rescued me. I'm sure of it! "I wonder who the poor kid is that's sneaking out. He looks really shy…"

"Oh! His name came up a second ago. He's that woman's brother. It was like Mark, but different."

Ishizu's voice came in again, "my brothers, Marik, Odion, and I have travelled overseas to bring these artifacts to share with Japan alone."

"Marik!" my mom said, "That was his name!" Yep…that's my mom…

"Marik…" I repeated is name so I wouldn't forget. I needed to see him, but what would I say when I did?