Small Note

Sakura: I'm so happy I finally found some time to write this. So without any more delay please enjoy this new chapter of Childhood Returns…

Chapter 7: Anything But Ordinary

Solomon watched as his granddaughter ran around the kitchen cooking dinner for herself and Ryou, who he had found out, was coming over later that evening. The young adult had come home a nervous wreck and Grandpa couldn't help but worry about her. It took a while for the girl to explain everything to him, but he took his time and gave her time to explain it all.

Yuugi explained how she had went out with Mokuba and Seto to enjoy a nice lunch, when Anzu texted Yugi. Always one to worry about her friends Yuugi told her grandfather how she finished her lunch with her friends, before hurrying to the mall to see her other friends. It was there she learned from Anzu and the others that the truth about Yuugi would soon be revealed in an engagement party planned by the Sennen family.

The elderly man had no idea how to respond to that right away and he really wasn't given any time to talk to Yuugi about it before she asked to borrow some money to run to the grocery store. Solomon did not question the girl about it and had allowed her the money to go shopping.

When Yuugi had returned home she went straight to work in the kitchen and it was not until after Solomon had closed down the shop at five did he have a chance to talk to Yuugi about what was truly going on.

Solomon sat at the table with a cup of tea made by Yuugi and watched her work. The food smelling delicious and it made him realized how much he missed Yugi's cooking around the house. "Are you sure you wish to tell Ryou the truth? What about the others?"

Yuugi checked the noodles on the stove, before moving over to finish making the pie for dessert. "The truth is going to come out anyway if they read it in the magazine after the engagement party. I want to tell them myself before the party so it is less of a shock. Ryou is the most caring person I know in our group and I know she won't judge as quickly as the others. If Ryou can handle the news and give me time to explain, then hopefully the others will be as easy."

"In all this madness, have you talked to Atemu about the engagement party?" Solomon questioned since it was the Sennen family that made the decision to have the party.

Yuugi shook her head with a sigh and turned to look at her grandfather. "No and I really need to sit down and ask him about it. I thought we wouldn't have any secrets between the two of us."

Solomon stood up from his spot and moved over to his granddaughter. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sure he has a good reason behind it. Just do not just the gun and let him explain himself. It may not be as it seems."

Yuugi agreed. "I can't lose him again grandpa. It would kill us both."

"I know things will work out for both of you." Solomon offered her a smile, before moving away from her and fetching his tea. "I'll be in the living room if you need me."

Yuugi watched her grandfather leave, before turning back to her cooking. She sure hoped the night turned out in her favor.

By the time six o'clock rolled around, Ryou was standing outside the Kame Game shop. She had gone to the side door when she saw the shop was closed and knocked on the side door. It took a minute before Solomon opened the door to greet her.

"Nice to see you again Ryou, please do come in…" Solomon held the door open for her.

Ryou bowed her head in thanks and made her way toward the living room. As soon as she was standing in the room she could easily smell Yuugi's cooking. "Yuugi it smells great!" She called out to the other since she knew Yuugi was in the kitchen.

Yuugi walked out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a wash cloth. "I'm glad you agree. The food is ready if you are hungry."

Ryou nodded her head and headed into the kitchen. She took a seat at the small table, while Yuugi started to put the food on the table. There were rolls, noodles, fried rice with steak, and a few vegetables on the side. Yuugi got them some soda to drink, before she too took her seat.

Solomon grabbed his plate that Yuugi had already made him that was on the counter. "If you girls need anything I will be in the living room." He said before taking his leave.

The two girls waited until he had left before digging in. Ryou took one bite and felt like she was in heaven.

"I swear Yuugi you have the best cooking around. Whoever you marry will be one lucky guy."

Yuugi blushed at the comment. Atemu had already fallen in love with her cooking and she was sure he was already missing it since he had told her that a few phone calls ago after she had returned to Domino. "Thanks, I figured someone had to learn to cook around here or it would be take-out every night with grandpa."

They giggled at that, before quieting down to eat.

It was not until they were half way through the meal that Yuugi decided to get to the point of asking Ryou over.

"Hey Ryou...?"

Ryou looked up at Yuugi. "Yeah…"

Yuugi took a deep breath knowing she needed to get it over with. "There is something I need to tell you."

The albino could tell by the serious tone Yuugi had taken that whatever she had to say was important. "What is it?" She asked.

"If I were to tell you a secret could you keep it from the rest of our friends, until I was ready to tell them."

Ryou agreed. "If you wanted me to I would keep it a secret, but I have to know what it is."

Yuugi sat her fork down and look Ryou in the eyes. "I haven't been completely honest with you or any of our friends with who I really am."

This took Ryou off guard. "What?"

"It's nothing serious like I'm in witness protection or anything." Yuugi clarified. "My grandpa is really my grandpa, but I haven't told anyone who my parents really are."

"Who are they?" Ryou dared to ask.

Yuugi pulled a photo out of her back pocket and handed it to Ryou. "I'm sure you will recognized them."

Ryou took the photo from Yuugi and her eyes widen when she saw who was in the photo. Yukari a well-known super model stood with her husband Hiroshi a well-known guitarist and a way younger Yuugi was sitting on Hiroshi shoulders. Yuugi had her arms resting on Hiroshi's head with a smile on her face.

Yuugi looked off to the side not daring to look at Ryou's face. "I lived the beginning of my life with my parents, until a decision was made for me to move here and be with my grandfather. No one really knows that Yukari and Hiroshi have a daughter except close friends and family." Yuugi explained.

Ryou handed the photo back. "I don't want to be rude or anything, but how do I know you are telling the truth."

This got a little laugh out of Yuugi. "I figured anyone would say that, but there is no denying that my grandfather is Hiroshi's father. Plus a while back there was a story in the magazines when I was five that I was not Hiroshi's daughter. It has been long forgotten, but I found it on the internet if you want to look at it."

Ryou shook her head. "No that is fine, but why would you keep this from all your friends?"

"I was not sure what you would think of me. Plus I wanted friends to be my friends, because they wanted to not because I was famous due to being the daughter of the famous Mutou couple." Yuugi looked down at the photo in her hands. "I love my parents and they can't help but be who they are, but it's hard being their daughter sometimes."

The conversation seemed to have ended there as a moment of silence took over, but after a while Ryou found her voice again. "I probably would have been afraid to talk to you if I had known you were famous." Ryou joked.

Yuugi smiled at her friend. "I hated keeping this a secret, but I had to tell you the truth to see how you would react before I tell the others."

Ryou nodded. "I just don't get why you are telling me this now."

Yuugi sighed remembering there was more to tell Ryou. "There is a second part to this confession…" She reached around her neck to pull out the chain that held her engagement ring out from under her shirt. "I'm sure you won't believe this, but since you heard that Atemu's fiancée will soon be reveal I thought it was best to tell you now." Yuugi took the ring off the chain and put it on her finger. "I'm Atemu's fiancée."

Ryou sat there for a minute trying to piece together what she had just learned. "You are kidding me right?"

Yuugi shook her head and tried to stay serious. "I didn't tell anyone because it had happened so sudden, plus none of you knew who I really was. I knew none of the others would believe me if I told them, but Ryou somewhere deep down I know you believe me."

"So you are the childhood friend Atemu's getting married to?"

Yuugi nodded. "I used to be close to Atemu, before some things happened and I had to leave to come here. I honestly thought I would never see Atemu again, but when I went back to Tokyo to see him we somehow got engaged." She smiled at Ryou. "I'll be honest with you that I have loved Atemu all my life, so when I got the chance to go back to him I jumped at it. Atemu and I were both hurting being apart."

Ryou continued to look at Yuugi like she was crazy. "I have a feeling there is more to this story…"

Yuugi agreed with her. "There is, but it's something personal with me and Atemu and I just don't think I'm ready to share it with anyone."

"Any way you can prove this to me?" Ryou asked, she wanted to believe Yuugi, but there was just something holding her back. Everything she thought about Yuugi seemed to be a lie and she really didn't want to lose a good friend.

Yuugi got out her cell phone and dialed a number. It rang a few times before a familiar voice answered.

"Honey, I'm about to go eat dinner with my parents."

"That is fine Atemu, but there is someone who I want you to talk with."

"Huh?"

Yuugi handed the phone over to Ryou, who looked like the phone was going to bite her. "It's alright…"

Ryou carefully took the phone into her hands and answered it. "Hello…"

"Who is this?"

Brown eyes widen as Ryou couldn't believe who was on the other end of the phone. There was no denying she knew that voice, because she had heard it a good amount of times when Atemu was interviewed on TV. "Uh… is this Atemu Sennen…"

"Yes, who is this?"

"Ryou a friend of Yuugi's…"

There was a chuckle. "Ah I see Yuugi has told some of her friends the truth. It's nice to talk to you Ryou."

Ryou nodded even though Atemu couldn't see it. "It's nice to talk to you too." She quickly handed the phone back over to Yuugi, not believing she had just talked to the future CEO of Sennen Rock Records.

Yuugi couldn't help but laugh at Ryou's reaction as she took the phone back. "I think you scared her Atemu…" She said into the phone.

"I'm not that scary am I?"

"No, but thanks for talking to her... Ryou wasn't sure if I was telling her the truth about us being engaged."

Atemu sighed through the phone. "I guess you saw what has been put all over the magazines and news."

"Yes and I will talk to you about that later, bye sweetie." Yuugi hung up before Atemu could get another word in and looked toward Ryou. "You okay?"

Ryou ran her fingers through her hair. "I can't believe I just talked to Atemu Sennen…"

"I figured that would be your reaction, but I hope that helps you believe what I'm saying to you."

Ryou looked up at Yuugi. "I guess I can see now why you wanted to keep everything a secret. By knowing the Sennen family you would have everyone wanting to be your friend."

Yuugi agreed. "So are you mad at me?"

Ryou shrugged. "I'm a little hurt that you would hide this from your friends, but I can understand why."

Yuugi breathe a sigh of relief. "This is why I wanted to tell you first. I knew you would be gentle with me and not jump to conclusions."

Ryou reached across the table and patted Yuugi's hand. "A secret like this is not worth losing a friendship. You had your reason for hiding this from us. The others may take longer to understand, but I'm sure they will be glad you are finally telling them the truth."

"I'm sure as long as I have your support I will be okay. My next step is just figuring out the best time to tell them." Yuugi confessed glad that one of her friends was out of the way but worried about the others.

Ryou smirked, which was very unlike her. "You know you could tell them the truth, but keep it still a secret that you are engaged to Atemu."

Yuugi looked at Ryou confused. "Why?"

"Think about it, once you tell them who your parents really are. You can let them know you can get them into the engagement party. Anzu and Malik are dying to go to it, but since they have no connections they can't." Ryou smiled. "Plus you can have Atemu beside you when you tell them that you are engaged to him. It would make it more believable."

Yuugi couldn't believe that Ryou had just come up with that plan. "You are a genius Ryou!" She quickly got up from her seat to go to Ryou and hug her.

Ryou returned the hug. "Always there for a friend."

Once Yuugi had returned to her seat, they continued their meal, which had gone cold, and Yuugi continued to tell Ryou about Tokyo and the Sennen family. It felt good to Yuugi to have someone else besides Mokuba and Seto who knew the truth.

"So I never came over here to fix a pair of pants did I?" Ryou asked.

Yuugi shook her head. "I had to get you over here somehow."

The two couldn't help but laugh at that.

Sakura: I feel like this chapter was short, but I wanted to wait until the next chapter to let Yuugi tell her other friends. Plus next chapter will have Atemu explaining to Yuugi why he didn't tell her about the engagement party.

Yumi: Review!