I don't own Yugioh. If I did…..but, well, I don't.
…...
Frantically, Tea staggered back and away, still clutching at her abused hand. The thing before her let out a low hiss saturated with amusement and hunger. Oh god, it had taken its hands out of its pockets, and there were claws longer than her fingers, and there were razor sharp, and it was coming after her. Entirely new tears filled her eyes, tears inspired by terror. The thing swiped at her, and, more by instinct than conscious thought, she dropped out of range, flinging herself to her knees as if in supplication. She crawled away, but the thing moved with a swiftness unusual for its size, and a heavy boot pressed her to the ground. Desperately, she scrunched herself into a ball and used her position as leverage to fling herself from beneath it.
The red eyes followed her movements languidly. One distorted hand shot down, seizing her arm, and Tea really did scream as her skin tore and ripped under its claws. With her free hand, she struck at its head, only to recoil with a yell. She stared at her bleeding palm in disbelief. Slowly, the hat fell off the head of her captor, revealing long spikes that waved menacingly. For the first time, the top portion of its face was clear, and Tea almost fainted as she realized it had no skin. Bone glistened wetly as the scarlet eyes glared down at her. It's teeth were not, surprisingly, sharp, but they were massive and thick, colored like granite and presumably as hard.
It laughed at her, drawing her closer. Blue eyes dilated in fright, Tea did what any girl would: kicked it where the sun don't shine and bolted. Giving a bone jarring squeal of rage, the monstrosity darted after her.
Think Tea, the girl admonished herself. What would Yami do? Claws dug onto her back; she watched in transfixed terror as they emerged, glistening, on the other side of her shoulder. The thing was absolutely silent in its pursuit, no warning preceded the pain. She pushed her quivering legs faster, ripping free in the process. Choking back a sob, she continued her flight through the dirty, unfamiliar streets. But of course she couldn't do what Yami could, no magic no cards no mind crush no anything.
What would Joey do? Make some weird noise then charge while screaming and crying the whole time before miraculously coming out on top. Tristan? Ditto. And Tea knew she could not duplicate their actions either. Bakura would summon a monster of his own, Marik would go all psychotic-and honestly she didn't even know why she thought about those two: neither were exactly role model material.
This must be why they wanted me to stay behind, she thought dazedly. She really couldn't take care of herself, couldn't even find her way home without defying all probability and getting killed by a monster. Her parents were going to be so mad. They were going to be so sad, too.
A sudden blow lifted her off the ground and slammed her into a wall. She coughed weakly, tasting salty liquid. She raised her hand to her mouth. It came away painted red.
She kept on running.
The buildings became more and more broken down as she continued. Walls were smashed in; windows shattered and roofs crumbling. The road was paved with irregular cobblestones which caught at her feet. She had been running for a long time, accumulating more and more wounds on her back.
Tea thought the thing might be playing with her, letting her run herself into exhaustion. But to turn around was unthinkable, so she obeyed the little voice screaming in her head (the one left over from cave days and big cats and eyes in the night) and she raced on.
Still, she doubted that the street would go on forever. Hearing a whistling sound behind her, she ducked, and felt claws tangle in her hair. Whimpering, Tea threw herself forward, feeling her hair rip. She spared a look back. The thing had its enormous mouth open in what could only be a laugh, a huge hunk of her hair caught in its grasp. Purely emotional pain welled up in her then, irrational, considering her dire situation, but keen as a knife.
Tea took a chance, gambled with her life as she shot down a side alley. When a brick wall confronted her at the end of it, she lost the bet.
The monster came at her in earnest then, sensing its troublesome prey had been cornered. Eyes wide and glazed, Tea watched it come.
Please, she thought, watching it raise its twisted hand, I don't want this to be the last thing I ever see.
The hand came down.
...
"Hey, when do you think Tea's going to show up?" Tristan asked, eyes glued to the screen of the TV as he battled Joey in the newest racing video game.
"Eh, girls'll be girls," the blonde replied, wholly devoted to the task of trouncing his friend. "She's probably still picking out an outfit. Works for me; I'm not looking forward to telling' her we're leavin'."
Sitting on the couch, Yugi frowned.
Having second thoughts, Yugi? Yami asked from the Millenium Puzzle.
The small boy grimaced. Tea's my oldest friend, Yami, he replied. Even if it is for the best, I hate to hurt her. And besides, I still think she maybe ought to come with us.
The spirit sighed heavily in his mind, and Yugi fidgeted, perceiving imagined disappointment in the sound. Never mind, he thought quickly, hating to impose his worries on the already burdened spirit. Just forget I said anything, Yami. I'm sure you and the others are right. I just worry. You know me.
A heavy pause followed. Yugi, if this is distressing you, then we should discuss it.
Yugi shook his head adamantly, unaware of how it looked to Joey and Tristan, who were not privy to his conversation. Joey nudged Tristan and snickered, then cursed as Tristan took the lead in the game.
Yugi smiled at their antics. Never mind it, Yami, he stated firmly, and before the spirit could question him further, the front door opened with a bang.
"Duke Devlin is here!" shouted their outgoing friend. "Holy crap, it's pouring out there. Completely ruined my hair."
"Dat's the saddest thing I ever heard," commiserated Joey mockingly, and he and Tristan high fived without ever taking their eyes off the screen.
"Yeah, haha," groused Duke, stumbling through the dark storefront. He sat his sodden jacket down on the counter next to a large piece of Tupperware. Unable to resist a peek, he opened the lid and whistled in appreciation at the beautiful cake within.
"You've outdone yourself this time Tea!" he called. "This cake is damn scrumptious looking!"
Tristan's car crashed as he shared a puzzled glance with Joey and Yugi.
"Tea isn't here yet, man!" Tristan answered.
"Yeah, it's actually pretty weird," muttered Joey.
"I thought you said it was because she's a girl and needed to pick out an outfit," Yugi accused dryly.
"True," Joey replied, standing. "But she's runnin' even later than Duke, and I don' even wanna know how long he takes to dress."
"Hey!" Duke yelled, but the objection was playful, and Yugi took a moment to smile at how far they had all come.
The green-eyed duelist joined them in the room, carrying a cake. "So if Tea didn't bake this, then which one of you am I marrying instead?" he joked. His smile dropped from his face, though, as he saw the serious looks his friends wore.
"That cake is definitely from Tea," Tristan muttered. "Which means she was here."
"But why would she leave?" Joey wondered, and then his bright honey eyes darkened. "Yug', you don't think-"
"She heard us talking about her? About how she was of no use to us?" Yugi frowned bitterly, upset at himself and his friends. "Yes, Joey, I do."
Joey swore, and Tristan slumped over.
Duke looked from one face to another. "Wait. What?"
...
The hand tore across her chest and stomach. If Tea had not thrown herself back at the last moment, it would have been a fatal wound. Blood coursed in vibrant red stripes down her body, and she stumbled backwards until her back hit the wall, pain glazing her eyes.
She didn't want to die. Her friends were going to find that cake on the counter, and then they wouldn't find her, and she just knew they would blame themselves. She didn't want to die. She wanted to go with them on more adventures(but they didn't want her). She wanted to graduate school and get married and oh god something more than just turning into a corpse in some no name alley.
The monster before her laughed again, rasping and deep. It waved her hair in front od her face, then threw it in the gutter.
"The challenge is almost over, little one." One step, two step, and it stared down at her, gnashing enormous teeth.
I don't want to die.
With a casual swipe, it knocked her to the ground. Even through the ringing in her head, Tea could hear its laughter.
She didn't want to die.
It laughed and laughed, tilting her head up with one long claw. Numbly, Tea met its eyes. It was laughing, because it found her pain and fear funny, and somewhere deep in her mind, a flip switched on.
"Shut up!" Tea screamed at it. She grabbed its claws with one hand, shrieking as she did, then threw all her weight against it. A loud snap preceded the beast's screech of agony. It swung at her, and Tea took a glancing blow before going low and ramming her head into its stomach.
It stumbled back. Tea, breathing hard, followed through with a kick to its knee.
Tea did not have shadow powers, or years of experience brawling on the streets. She could not punch correctly, or mystically mess with someone's mind.
But she had a dream, and she had spent years honing her body to support that dream. She had labored long hours, every day, flexing her muscles and strengthening them along with her will.
When Tea kicked, those years of work were behind her strike, and the monster's leg snapped like a twig. It fell heavily, a deep whine escaping its throat.
Tea backed away, uncertain of whether or not to run. Just as she decided to flee, a hand snaked out and caught her ankle. Even with an arm and leg broken, the creature still struggled after her. It was trying to lift itself off the ground, she saw, and in a minute it might succeed.
Tea tried to rip her ankle away, but its grip proved too powerful: the only result came in new lacerations on her leg.
The girl grit her teeth. Preparing herself for pain, she raised her free foot and stomped on her captor's head. She screeched as the spikes that adorned its cranium penetrated her foot, one of them passing all the way through. Stubborn though, she raised it again and slammed it down. A noticeable shudder passed along the creature then, and its hand relaxed around her ankle.
Trembling, Tea sucked in a deep wavering breath. She jumped and kicked down at the thing's head. A gruesome crack sounded, and Tea tried her hardest not to look at the way its skull was now lumped and distorted, the way its skin had torn, letting lose a dark purple fluid.
The spikes on its head flopped over listlessly.
She stepped back. One step. Two. (Her mother's voice: Be home tonight Tea, we're having your favorite).
"Am I going home?" she wondered aloud. She dropped to her knees beside the body(just a body now, just a corpse).
"I killed you?" the girl questioned, because this wasn't real; it couldn't be real. She could accept that there had been a monster, could accept that she had been attacked-those things had happened before. But she could not wrap her head around killing it; she didn't want to.
"But I did," the girl reminded herself blankly. Her breath hitched-it was real, she couldn't deny it-and she was overcome by emotion.
"I didn't want to kill you!" Tea wailed to unhearing ears. Her stomach churned, and she was sick where she knelt. She staggered out of the alley, the blood flow from her wounds slowing, but her head reeling.
She stared down at the crumpled form. Dead. Dead, she killed it. Dead, and her fault. She retched again, and staggered away, as quickly as her abused body could carry her.
Her ragged form disappeared into the darkness.
...
Miles away, Yugi and the gang returned dripping into the Game shop.
"I suppose she decided to avoid us after hearing us." Yami sat heavily on the couch, before returning control to Yugi, who immediately leapt up and grimaced at the wet spot Yami had unintentionally left on the cushions.
Joey paced anxiously, his hair darkened by the rain. "I dunno. I don't like this. We checked her house, her job-everywhere we normally hang. I don't like not knowing where she is."
He shared a look with Tristan, who also appeared grim. They knew better than their friends the danger a rainy night could hold for a young girl in the city.
"Tea's smart," Yugi argued tartly. "And maybe you're right that she shouldn't go with us, but at least trust her enough to be able to move around in Domino without holding anyone's hand."
Joey winced, instantly contrite. "Ah, I din't mean it like that, Yug'. Tea's tough; she's given me enough lumps to prove that! I just hate it endin' like this, what with us leavin' tomorrow."
Duke flounced into the room, shaking his head carelessly and bombarding others with water drops. "None of you know how to talk to girls," he opined loftily, earning a playful punch from Tristan. He swatted back. "Look, just leave her a voice message on her cell phone. I haven't been friends with her for as long as you guys have, but I know you all mean the world to her. She'll forgive you. And more importantly, she might bake us another cake when we get back from the tournament!"
Joey and Tristan cheered, and even Yugi cracked a reluctant smile.
Even with the threat of a new menace hanging over them, even with their friend angry at them, it was possible to believe that everything might still be all right.
...
Tea cried and ran, ran, ran, and cried some more, until the ground bucked up beneath her and she fell into a darkness even more impenetrable than the sky.
...
Yay Chappie 2!