Greetings, my dears! I hope you all have had a marvelous week! Thanks so much to HermioneSakuraGardner07, Aya El maghrabi, EgyptianSoul.88, Numinous-Alqua, and Bfunky for your kind reviews! I loved hearing from you all; it gives me a lot of determination to try and make this a good story for you all to read!
Speaking of which, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
I do not own Yu Gi Oh.
Tea was not having a good week. First she had gotten in that argument with Yami-well, technically, first they had been attacked by Marik, and even before that she had been forced to do battle with a monster, but for Tea, the argument with Yami was the most awful of those events.
Then finals had come, and she had buried herself under textbooks and notes while Ryou did much the same. Conversation in their apartment had regressed to weary grunts as they both labored over their work, subsisting off of coffee and sheer will power.
In addition, in the times she tore herself away from her books to visit her friends at the GameShop, she hadn't noticed any improvement in Yugi. He still seemed as disconnected from reality as ever, despite Isis's assurances that he would soon revert to normal.
Sadly, Mokuba had also had to cancel on their get togethers, since the Setos had decreed that with Marik running around the boy didn't need to be leaving their house(coughmansioncough) any more than absolutely necessary. Tea truly enjoyed spending time with the brilliant boy, and she missed seeing him.
On top of all of that, the girl had begun to feel paranoid. It wasn't surprising, given that she was fighting in two battles against two separate threats, but it was very annoying. It had begun fairly benignly: a small prickling on the back of her neck every now and then. But the sensation became more frequent, and it grew in intensity. It felt as though she were being watched, and at the strangest times too.
While doing the dishes, she would suddenly get goosebumps, sensing a presence observing her.
Throwing a textbook across the room in a fit of frustration, she would abruptly hunker down in her chair, blue eyes nervously peering about in search of an unseen intruder.
Slipping under her covers at night, she found herself staring miserably at the ceiling, unable to shake the notion that someone was staring at her, judging her.
Needless to say, between finals, worrying about her friends, and her new found paranoia, the poor girl did not sleep much that week, and by the time Saturday rolled around, she was too exhausted to be relieved about being done with school.
Joey and Tristan, however, more than made up for her lack of excitement, and had decided to throw a party to celebrate the end of the term. Because magical threats to end the world not-with-standing, they still weren't going to miss a chance to rejoice in the beginning of summer.
Which was how Tea found herself crammed into the GameShop Saturday evening when she really would have preferred being in bed. She had gone shopping that morning, picking up a few food items to contribute to the party, as well as buying some personal things for herself. She had just enough time to drop her things off at the apartment before heading over to the party, and her injuries, while almost healed, still ached from all of her walking.
"Paaaaaarty!" shouted Joey, exploding into the room with a twelve pack of soda swinging in his hand.
"Suuuummer!" bellowed back Tristan, throwing a whole bag of chips into the air.
"I'd better go get the vacuum cleaner," Grandpa Motou muttered to himself, but his lips twitched upwards in a grin, betraying the amusement he felt at the antics of the boys.
Tea couldn't help smiling as well as she looked over the gathering. Amazingly, Isis, Rishid, Duke, Malik, Mai, Tristan, Joey, the two Setos, Mokuba, Yugi, Ryou, and Yami had all managed to squeeze comfortably into the living room of the house, and the air was filled with chatter and the music Joey had blaring from the stereo.
It was a relief to see Malik again, even if she wasn't particularly close to the boy. She had known the whole affair with Marik had really thrown him off, and seeing him out and about interacting with people showed he was on the way to recovery. Admittedly, he wasn't talking to anyone aside from Rishid or Isis, but progress was progress.
Too weary to jump into the thick of things, Tea leaned against the wall and took the opportunity to watch her friends interact. Ryou had been dragged away by Duke to dance with Mai and Joey. Both of the blondes appeared to be trying to outdo the other in terms of insane dance moves, and Yami hovered around them both, protecting breakable furniture from their antics.
Not for the first time, Tea wondered if the world would be able to survive the offspring of Mai and Joey, if they ever got around to confessing to each other their rather obvious feelings. Any potential child of theirs would probably be blonde, feisty, flirty, and punch happy.
Such a train of thought got Tea wondering where they would all be in the future. Tristan had his job lined up for him, and Joey and Mai were sure to continue dueling. Duke would probably invent more games, or become a movie actor or something equally glamorous. Ryou…she wasn't sure what Ryou would do. Something amazingly intellectual, she was sure. The shy boy had an unbelievable mind.
Mokuba would probably be doing something incredible as well. He had all the brilliance of his older brother(s), and the ambition to turn that genius into whatever he wanted. Tea wasn't certain she wanted to know what the Setos would get up to in the coming years. She wasn't even certain they would ever revert back into one person, which meant they could get up to twice the trouble. They'd probably declare themselves emperors of the universe or some such pretentious act.
Isis, Rishid, and Malik would likely continue comuting back and forth from Egypt to further her work with museums. Her name had become big in the historical scene as well, and a promising career awaited her. Aside from that, Tea wasn't really sure what the siblings would do. But they would probably remain in contact with Yami(him being their long awaited Pharaoh and all) which meant Tea would be able to keep touch with them as well.
Which brought her to Yami. The Setos had been bribed to provide him with the necessary legal papers to prove his existence in the modern world, and so he now officially existed in the eyes of the government. However, he was still far behind in terms of understanding the technologies of the new age as well as the societal structures. But he, like so many of her other friends, had mental abilities far beyond those of most of the world. It might take him a while, but he would catch up.
Tea shifted uncomfortably, reminded again of the current tension between herself and the former spirit. Ryou's explanation of Yami's perspective had alleviated all of her anger towards him, but she still didn't know how to bridge the gap that had formed between them. It sounded childish, but she refused to apologize. She had worked too hard to build herself back up, to restore her faith in herself and to accept the challenge thrust upon her. Apologizing, especially when she felt no guilt over her actions, would only invalidate her self-esteem.
Tea never wanted to lose the friendships she had, but she did want to change the dynamic of those relationships. She refused to be shoved back onto the sidelines, left to wonder whether her friends would be alright or not while they did all the fighting.
Joey and Tristan seemed fine with her changes, but Yami most certainly did not. His refusal made her a bit angry, but mostly it made her sad. The poor boy seemed to think the entire world rested on his narrow shoulders, and thanks to that, he had the worst hero complex she had ever heard of. Every time someone so much as stubbed their toe, he felt guilty, and Tea wasn't sure how to convince him that it was okay to accept help from his friends.
"Hi Tea!" chirped a voice at her elbow, and Tea blinked in surprise, then beamed down at her oldest friend.
"Hey Yugi," she smiled softly. "How are you doing?"
He tilted his head, bangs falling over his gently lilac eyes. "Better, I think," he replied, bouncing slightly on his heels. "The whirling songs are getting quieter, flying away to happier skies. I'm more me again."
Tea hugged him gently. "That's good, Yugi. That's really good."
He hugged her back, thin arms wrapping around her back. "You're more you now too," he whispered into her ear. "So much more you. I was worried before, because you were falling away into the cracks of routine. But this is better." He pulled back from her, taking her hand as he did. Tea's breath caught as he ran a thumb over the stone in her palm.
"This is more difficult," he said, and his eyes went a little bit further away, reflecting unseen light. "But it is the right time, if we make it so. And you will be you, and I will be me, and stories don't end so much as they set the stage for a new one."
Tea stared at him, at a loss for words. "Yugi," she whispered, trailing off.
He just smiled at her, patted her hand one more time, and turned and walked back into the throng of partiers.
"When did you grow so big?" Tea asked quietly of his retreating back. And then she smiled, because growth was a thing both heartbreaking and mending, melancholy and beautiful, and she had never been so proud of anyone in her life.
That feeling of pride diminished when Joey oh so accidentally bumped into the Setos while dancing and started a slapping fight that he very quickly lost. Mokuba took the chance to slip away from his brothers' watch and headed over to her.
"Hey Mokuba," she greeted him, charmed by his beaming smile. "How've you been holding up with the dynamic duo over there?" She nodded her head at the Setos, who were both standing over Joey's prone form and smirking while Duke cackled in the background, using a flustered Ryou as a prop.
"Honestly?" Mokuba grinned ruefully. "It's both amazing and horrible. Half of the time they refuse to admit the other exists, and the other half they're scheming together or screaming at each other, or, even weirder, having civil conversations with each other."
Tea blinked rapidly. "That does sound alarming," she agreed. "They don't….talk over coffee and newspapers do they?"
"The coffee, yes," Mokuba answered. "Newspapers, no. Seto has people who screen recent events for the most important happenings and email their findings to him to read every morning."
"Please don't be offended," replied Tea dryly. "But that's, to borrow your phrasing, both amazing and horrible."
The boy quirked a grin at her. "I miss hanging out with you, Tea," he said suddenly, his smile growing a bit sad. "No one just talks to me like you do."
Tea felt her heart squeeze in her chest at the loneliness in the boy's eyes. "I miss you too, Mokuba," she told him. "But it makes sense that your brother..brothers don't want us spending time together right now. After all, Bakura and Marik are probably pretty mad at me."
Oddly enough, Mokuba brightened at the turn in the conversation. "Oh yeah," he grinned. "Seto showed me the footage of the fight. You were awesome, Tea!"
The girl's mind blanked. "Wait," she requested, holding up a hand. "How does your brother have a recording of that?"
Mokuba smiled with all the innocence of a baby bunny holding a grenade. "Oh, Seto has cameras everywhere," he said confidently, and Tea slumped back against the wall.
"Tell it to me straight, Mokuba," she entreated. "Is he planning to take over the world? Is the Earth going to be renamed Kaiba Planet?"
The boy just laughed, which was far from reassuring, but she laughed too, anyways. After all, there were worse people to rule the world, and in the meantime, there was a party to enjoy with her friends.
So she danced with Joey and Tristan and made small talk with Isis and her brothers, and she ganged up with Ryou to get revenge on Duke for leaning on him earlier while Mai cheered them on. She even held a short conversation with the Setos, which went something like so:
"Nice to see you guys again!"
"What, Gardner, gave you the impression I wanted to hear your voice?"
"Or see your face?"
"….see you guys later."
Tea also started a conversation with Yami, which, while almost just as short, went much better.
She sidled up to where he was standing, once more alternating between hovering over the breakable items in the room and keeping a close watch on Yugi. She giggled to herself quietly; he made such a proper host!
"Nice party," she grinned teasingly at him, trying to conceal the nervousness fluttering about beneath her sternum.
The tall youth glanced askance at her, his lovely crimson eyes reflecting the same anxiety she felt. Oddly enough, the sight reassured the girl. It helped to know that he had the same feeling as her, and she smiled as some of the tension left her body.
"Thanks," he responded politely, carefully measuring out each word. "I, ah, do not know much about holding celebrations. However, Joey seemed to find it acceptable, so…" he shrugged, and they both looked over at the outgoing blonde, who was talking animatedly with Mai.
"Well, Joey may not have passed geometry, but he does pretty much set the standard for parties, so I'd say you accomplished your mission," Tea chuckled at Yami's resigned expression.
"Really," the Pharaoh sighed. "If he put half the energy into school that he does into fighting with Kaiba-"
"Then he'd have graduated with honors already," Tea finished, and they shared a laugh of mutual fondness for their friend.
When their last chuckle had trailed away, Tea mustered her courage, facing Yami fully.
"I know that things are weird," she began, cursing mentally when her voice squeaked on the final word. "But I just want you to know that you are, and always will be, one of my precious friends."
She said it with all the sincerity in her heart, with every ounce of affection that had built up in her for the Egyptian spirit during the years they had known each other. And Yami, hearing the truth and love in her voice, found himself blinking back moisture from his eyes.
He opened his mouth to reply, but found that words failed him. But Tea knew his answer from his silence, and she hugged him impulsively, wrapping her slim but strong arms around him and holding on tightly(as if maybe just through her arms she could hold him together, as if maybe just that could save the boy who had to be a man who had to be a hero).
Gently, cautiously, he hugged her back, and Tea knew from the fragility of his touch that he still believed her something to be protected. But Rome wasn't built in a day, and for now, this reconciliation was enough.
She left the party feeling better than she had in a long time, laughing over the events of the night with Ryou as they walked back to their apartment.
The streetlamps were pools of light on the ground, and they ran through the intersecting darkness to each one, laughing at their child-like game. And if the impetus for their antics was more adult in nature, born from a fear of wait might be waiting in the shadows, well then they were also mature enough to embrace their moments of happiness.
"So," Tea smiled slyly as they walked through their front door. "I noticed Duke mistook you for a table more than once this evening."
Ryou colored abruptly, and Tea stifled a delighted guffaw at how the blush was heightened by the contrast of his snowy hair.
"I'm hardly surprised," he commented wryly. "Duke has ever had a propensity for using people as he sees fit. I recall an incident with Joey and a dog suit?"
"Oh yes!" chortled Tea. "We were all so mad at him at the time, but in hindsight, it was hilarious! Also, I took pictures for blackmail, which is always a plus."
"Why Tea," deadpanned Ryou as he sat down on their sofa. "You're such a closet delinquent."
"You've figured it out!" joked Tea, getting them both a mug of hot chocolate from the kitchen. "All the dance practice was just coverup for my illicit activities."
"For shame, Tea," Ryou chided, taking a long sip of his drink.
"I'm a wannabe ballerina by day and a criminal delinquent by night," Tea retorted sarcastically. "I have no shame."
"Terrible." Ryou shook his head at her in mock reproval. "Just terrible."
"Are you sure you want to say that to the person holding the marshmallows hostage?" Tea asked, wiggling the bag of the fluffy treats just out of his reach.
"A valid point," drawled Ryou. "But are you sure you want to threaten the person who was going to make you pancakes tomorrow morning?"
Tea handed over the marshmallows very quickly, and Ryou dropped three into his mug with a victorious smile.
They sat in comfortable silence for a long while, shoulders brushing as they drank their hot chocolate. It was a pleasant quiet, and they both ruminated on simple and happy things, like what they thought they might do the next day, or whether or not they needed to do laundry or shopping.
They bade each other good night as the hour struck midnight, both retiring to their respective rooms with content smiles etched on their faces.
Unfortunately, Tea's peace of mind was not long-lived. From the second she stepped into her room and closed the door behind her, the strange sense of being watched crept back over her. It abated when she went to the bathroom to change into her pajamas, but it returned full force as she went back to her room and flopped down on her bed.
She turned out her lamp and stared up into the darkness. Despite how tired she was, the girl could not grab ahold of the slumber she so dearly needed. Someone was in the room with her; she could feel it. Someone was there.
And, in the way minds are prone to do when overtaxed, her brain ended up presenting her with a terrible idea: something was beneath her bed. Had she been less weary, perhaps she could have forced the notion away. But the thought circled around and around in her head, and she instead fixated on it.
Tea breathed in and out, quietly cursing her overactive imagination. There was nothing beneath her bed. There was nothing beneath her bed. She struggled to convince herself of this for several minutes, then sighed, giving up the fight with her paranoia.
Just one look, one indulgence of her stressed out brain, and then she'd go to sleep.
Nimbly, the girl swung her upper body down off the bed, lifting the covers to peek into the dark space beneath her bed frame.
Mad purple eyes stared back at her, and Marik bared his teeth in a grin.
Her scream woke up dogs half way across the city.
AN: Peek a boo Marik! Sorry this chapter was a bit slow; things'll pick up in the next one. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!
I hope you all have a wonderful week!