Welcome to Chapter 2 of Chibis!

Disclaimers: I don't own yugioh. I've think we've made that clear.

Warnings: Cussing.

Author's Note: This chapter was starting out light and cheery, despite the importance to the plot it has, but somehow towards the end, it turned a bit angsty. No idea how that came about, and I tried making it lighter after that, but my hands didn't quite cooperate with me. This would have been up sooner but I accidently lost three whole pages of my writing and had to go back and rewrite them. I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but it was the best I could do.

[speech] = Ryou

[[speech]] = Bakura

Chaper Two: Him

"Ah! Yami! Stop that!"

Giggles could be heard as Jou chased a wet and naked chibi around the Mutou home early the next morning. The amber-eyed teen had been helping Ryou give the two chibis a bath, but unlike Yugi who had started playing in the water as soon as Ryou put him in, Yami didn't seem to like baths. Currently, the toddler was doing a very good imitation of a monkey, climbing over objects and climbing up into high places as Jou chased him around the house.

Unfortunately, none of the others were there to help the poor blonde catch the runaway chibi. Anzu had been summoned home by her parents, on account of not telling her parents about the unplanned sleepover. Honda had to go babysit his nephew while his parents went out with his Uncle and Aunt. Otogi had a business to run. Rafael and other former Doom members had returned to their hotel last night.

Ryou lived by himself, so there was nothing to worry about and the soft spoken teen was able to stay over to take care of Yami and Yugi. Jou, whose father was always so drunk, didn't care to return home to the filthy rundown apartment he lived in his father. It's not like the old man would ever get sober enough to notice his son was missing anyway. He could have been lying dead on the floor of the living room and the man wouldn't even notice.

"I got you!" Jou crowed, snatching the escaping Pharaoh as he climbed out from under the table and tried to make a run for the kitchen. The toddler whined and flailed his arms as Jou carried him back upstairs to where Ryou was washing Yugi in the bathroom. The crimson eyed toddler pouted the entire time he was in the tub, glaring at the yellow rubber ducky that floated along in front in him.

Unlike his normal glare, it didn't look anything like a glare should. It only made him more adorable. Yami didn't appreciate it very much when Ryou squealed at how cute he was making that face and pinched his cheek. Jou held back a laugh and wondered what the normal Yami would say if he knew Ryou had reacted like that. As chibis, Yugi and Yami seemed to have forgotten their former selves.

The tomb robber had assured them that they still had their memories. They were just repressed. The thief had suggested it was a side-effect of the spell. That was the other reason, other than taking care of the 'twins' as the gang had dubbed them, that Ryou was here. Bakura was the only other person who could read hieroglyphs and they were trying to find whatever scroll or tome it was that contained the curse.

They had called Ishizu the day before, but unfortunately: she had museum business to oversee somewhere over in America. Marik had done something, Ishizu didn't clarify what, that got him grounded for the next several months and Rishid had to stay to make sure he didn't sneak out from "house arrest." In other words, they were on their own.

Jou lifted Yami out and started towel drying the toddler as Ryou did the same to Yugi. For some reason, Yami had an attachment to the blonde. But Yami liked Rafael too. If it hadn't been the fact that Yami liked Ryou too, Jou would have said he had a partiality for blondes. He didn't see anything in common with all three of them, except for light colored hair. Maybe that was it.

The doorbell rang and the two teens looked up at each other, pausing momentarily in drying off Yami and Yugi.

"Who could that be?" Ryou wondered. Everyone else in the gang had something to do, and shouldn't be coming around until past noon at the least.

Jou shrugged and slipped a shirt over Yami's head. The chibi pouted, but didn't struggle too much as Jou put on the rest of his clothes.

The doorbell rang again and Jou grumbled, wandering downstairs. Whoever it was, they were insistent. For a moment, paranoia took over and his mind conjured up nefarious villains hunting down Yami, but he pushed it away. Just because the guy was impatient did not mean whoever was at the door was an evil maniac after Yami and Yugi.

His reasoning didn't stop him from going to the hallway closest and pulling out a baseball bat before opening the door and peering out. He sighed in relief when he saw the familiar faces of Rafael, Valon, and Amelda. Granted that he didn't like Valon, and they once upon a time had been after the Pharaoh, but it was nice to open the door to a mostly friendly face.

"Well? Aren't you going to let us in ya dumb dog? Valon asked, scowling at him. The brunette seemed to have taken up Kaiba's tendency to call him anything related to a canine.

Jou opened the door, glaring at the brunette as Rafael stepped through the doorway into the kitchen, ignoring Valon's and Jou's glaring match. Amelda sighed and pulled on his friend's arm as he followed Rafael into the house. There was a creak as Jou opened the closet and replaced the bat.

"What were you doing with that?" Amelda scoffed.

Jou shrugged. "After four years of dealing with a bunch of delirious maniacs coming after Yami . . . well, one gets kind of paranoid. Yami's a little kid now, so if anyone starts coming after him now . . . ." the amber eyed teen trailed off. He didn't need to finish. They knew very well what he meant. As a child Yami was virtually defenseless. He wouldn't be able to fight back.

There was a burst of giggling before a multicolored blur latched onto Rafael's leg. "Bennu!"(1)

Rafael frowned down at him. "Bennu? My name's Rafael," the blonde corrected.

Yami shook his head. "Me no say Bennu's name yet. Me likes Bennu more."

The eldest of the males glanced at the others, who shrugged. Rafael ruffled Yami's spiky hair. "Alright, you can call me Bennu, whatever that means."

Ryou appeared a second later, a fully dressed Yugi in his arms. The British-born teen nodded to the newcomers and carried Yugi into the kitchen. Jou managed to pull Yami from Rafael's leg and the rest of them followed Ryou.

"Would you like something?" Ryou offered as he set about making breakfast. There was a clang as he pulled out a large silver frying pan.

The three shook their heads. "We had breakfast at the hotel," Rafael answered. Ryou nodded and gathered a bunch of ingredients from the pantry and fridge.

Jou had left the room a minute ago and came back with several small boxes in his hands. He set one on the table and others on the floor next to his chair as he took a seat across from the former Doom members. Yami immediately grabbed the box and pulled the lid off before dumping its contents onto the table. Jou moved the now empty box down onto the floor with the others and the four occupants at the table watched fascinated as Yugi and Yami started assembling a 1,000 piece puzzle without even looking at the image on the box.

They were over halfway done when Ryou finished cooking and laid down four plates. Jou threw the remaining pieces back in the box and moved the puzzle off to one side, allowing Ryou to set their food on the table. Yami climbed into Jou's lap and Yugi went to Ryou who had taken a seat next to the blonde. Yugi went for the jelly immediately, making Ryou have to pull the jar away so the toddler wouldn't stick his hand inside.

Yami merely started picking fruit off the smaller plate besides Jou's, and poking at the scrambled eggs as though he wasn't sure if it was edible. Upon seeing Jou scarf down his own, he picked up some with his hands. Ryou made him drop it, and handed the chibi a fork. Yami stared at the fork for a long time before taking it. Instead of using it to eat, however, he started carving hieroglyphics into the wooden tabletop, making Ryou yelp and grab the silver utensil from him.

Yami looked at the white haired male curiously, head cocked to one side. Yugi was giggling in Ryou's lap and too late the teen realized Yugi had succeeded in grabbing the jar of jelly and sticking his chubby fingers inside before licking it off. Purple grape jelly was smeared across the toddler's face and all down his shirt. Ryou sighed in defeat.

"I'm going to go wash Yugi off and get him a new shirt." Picking up Yugi, who squealed as the jar was pried away from his sticky hands, he headed out of the room and up the stairs. Yami was staring after them, head turned to one side as he watched the doorway of the kitchen unblinkingly.

Valon noticed the prolonged stare. "Hey, wots you staring at, kid?"

Yami turned to look back at him, before pointing in the direction he had been looking. "Him," he said simply, before going back to his staring. Everyone glanced that way, but saw nothing.

"Er . . ." Jou started. "Who is "him"?"

"Me no know. But me see through him and he look at me. Me lookie at him back."

The group froze, staring at Yami who didn't seem to notice the tensed atmosphere. "Yami? What does he look like?" Rafael prodded.

"Waving. He go back and forth, like this." He moved his upper body from side to side to emphasize what he meant. "He all blurry too."

"And how long has he been there?" Rafael pressed.

"Puzzle. But he go bye-bye now."

"He's gone?" Jou asked.

The chibi nodded before grabbing a piece of pineapple and downing it, making everyone sigh in relief. Yami seeing things was not a good sign. In a normal child, one might dismiss it as him having an imaginary friend or being an attention-seeking child. But this was Yami. He may have been a chibi, but he still had magic. Not only shadow magic, but ever since he learned his name and started recovering his memories, he's had regular Ancient Egyptian magic as well.

If Yami really had seen something, Jou didn't know what to think. Yami had once explained to him that there were things that existed in the world, hidden by a thin layer of magic, that normal people not gifted or trained in the magical arts could not see. Most of the mythical creatures from legends around the world were real, but dismissed as mere fantasy because most people could not see them.

Magical bloodlines had dwindled since Yami's past life as Pharaoh. Most who had magical powers were either believed to be delusional, locked up in a mental hospital, or had been taken in and trained by others similar to themselves. Jou had been surprised to learn that there was magic outside Ancient Egypt and Shadow magic. Among all their running around the world with Shadow Games that he had never once suspected that there might be people with different types of magic out there.

Jou turned back at the sound of someone yelping, only to discover Yami hanging on the counter with Amelda and Valon trying to pry the stubborn chibi off before he fell and hurt himself. Jou stared at the odd scene for a moment, before spotting what Yami was after. He took the jar of honey down from the shelf and Yami immediately let go, causing the two former Swordsmen to crash down onto the ground.

Valon sat up, rubbing his spine as he glowered at Yami. "For a little tyke, you sure got a strong grip." Yami merely blinked at him, feet swaying from the countertop as he happily licked on the spoon Jou had dipped in honey. Jou hid a grin at the indignant look the brunette gave the chibi Pharaoh.

Meanwhile . . .

Ryou pulled a clean shirt from the box they were using as a temporary wardrobe and carried Yugi into the bathroom. Wetting a washcloth, he set about wiping purple jelly off of the giggling chibi. Unlike Yami, the violet eyed toddler sat still on the lid of the toilet seat, which Ryou was grateful for. Yami would have probably run off by now, and so far, Jou seemed to be the only one who was fast enough to catch him. Well, except for his yami.

[[Well duh, I'm a thief. It's important for thieves to be swift and silent. Sure, the royal pain the ass got years and years' worth of training from lessons as a Prince, but it's kinda useless as he's a kid.]] Bakura chimed in, making Ryou jump at the sudden words.

[What do you mean?]

[[I mean all the trainings' he's received was learned in his teenaged form. As a child, everything is off. He's not as strong, or tall, or as heavy as his teenage self. The only thing that's working out in his favor right now is the fact that he's lighter, and in turn faster.]]

[Oh. Okay, I guess. But if he doesn't have his memories . . . ?]

[[His body remembers his training even if his mind does not. After training for so long it's become an instinctual thing. That's how he could read hieroglyphics and speak Ancient Egyptian.]]

[Like stealing is for you?] Ryou asked innocently, switching Yugi's jelly stained shirt for the clean one, and receiving a mental glare from his yami in response. Ryou shook his head, remembering how he had once cowered when that look was directed at him.

He felt a ping of remorse from his darker half and nudged him before he could retreat into his soul room. [Don't. We need you for the translations, remember? If you go off into your soul room and sulk, you're not being any help at all.]

[[I do NOT SULK!]] Bakura snarled, crossing his arms proceeded to do just that. Ryou sweat dropped at his pouting yami. [[I AM NOT POUTING EITHER!]]

[Whatever you say, my dear yami, whatever you say.]

There was silence; then in a nonchalant voice, Bakura said: [[You know, we might not even be able to find the spell.]]

"WHAT!" Ryou shrieked, making Yugi squeal in surprise as he nearly toppled from his perch. Ryou wrapped his arms around the chibi, rocking him softly to calm him down. [What are you talking about, Kura? How can we not find the spell?]

[[What I mean is that some curses in tomes, once activated, vanish from the book until the effects are deactivated.]]

[But why are the bloody curses in them in the first place?]

[[Magicians put curses on their tomes as a type of insurance against another magic user attempting to read their spells or thievery. If it was opened the wrong way, or the person touching it didn't have a "password", per se, the curse would activate automatically. Some curses killed, but most were just minor curses, in case of accidents or if they wanted to keep the trespasser from escaping.]]

Ryou felt a shiver go through him at his yami's words. Yugi and Yami could have been killed by that curse. He pushed the dreadful thought aside. [So then what? If the spell really is gone, how will we know which tome it was? What if it was a scroll?]

[[It wasn't. A spell of that magnitude would not have lasted that long on papyrus. If it had come from a scroll, the curse would have destroyed the scroll already. Such spells only have enough power to affect the cursed one for one to two days.]]

[What does papyrus have to do with anything?]

[[Papyrus becomes brittle after long periods of time, and powerful magic would burn it up in an instant. Magic needs a strong container. Why do you think so many stories feature gems as a magical source? It's because they're one of the strongest container for magic, and can store a lot of energy. Most tomes containing magic were made of stone, leather, and precious metals - such as the Book of the Dead.]]

Ryou thought for a moment. [Is that why Pharaohs had multiple sarcophaguses made of gold and stone? To contain all the magic inscribed on them?]

[[How wonderful, my hikari has a brain. I applaud you.]]

Ryou's cheeks tinged at the sarcastic remark from his darker half and he shut down his side of the link. However, he could still feel Bakura in his soul room, snickering at him. Just when the tomb robber was being helpful, he had to go and be a jerk again. Go figure.

He picked up Yugi and trotted out of the bathroom, tossing the shirt in the hamper, and went back downstairs. When he reached the bottom of the stairs . . . the sight that greeted him was nowhere near what he was expecting. In the back of his head, his yami was rolling on the floor with laughter.

The living room was in shambles. The couch was overturned. So was the table, with its decorations scattered randomly across the floor. There were small, chibi sized handprints on the sliding glass doors that led out into the side alley. There was something dark and sticky on the television as well.

But that wasn't what had his yami laughing. It was the positions of the other occupants of the house. Valon was sitting in a kitchen chair on the floor of the living room. Or rather, he was strapped to the kitchen chair, by belts, which was lying on its side on the floor. A belt strapped either of the brunette's ankles to the front legs of the chair. His hands were bound by a third belt and tied awkwardly to one arm of the chair.

The sound of banging and angry cursing alerted Ryou to the fact that someone, possibly Jou judging by the words, was locked inside the hallway closet. Leaving Valon for the moment, Ryou went to have a look in the kitchen. For a second, he thought it was empty.

. . . .Until a loud bout of cussing made him look up.

Poor Amelda was pinned to the ceiling by dozens of kitchen knives and silverware. By now, Bakura was howling with laughter with tears streaking down his face with the force. [[HAHAHAHA! Oi! Ryou, have I ever told you that Yami used to be a prankster back when he was a Prince?]]

[Well, isn't that nice to know? Any other interesting tidbit you'd like to share with me before they happen?] Ryou asked dryly, setting Yugi down in a chair, before stalking back into the living room. Strangely enough, Valon had yet to have made any sound, although he was ungagged and he was clearly conscious. Ignoring him, for the second time that day, he went off to search for the culprit.

And not only him. Rafael had yet to be seen or heard and Ryou dreaded to know what prank Yami must have pulled on him.

He stepped through the door into the game shop, flicking on the lights before doing a double take. Rafael was sitting cross-legged on the check-out counter with Yami perched in his lap. Ryou took a moment to take in the odd sight, before stepping forward towards them. Something tightened around his ankle and Ryou only had enough time to look down and see a jump rope wound around his left ankle before he was wrenched upwards and he knew no more.

The first thing Ryou was aware of was that he was lying on a couch, with the other four leaning over him watching him concernedly, and Bakura was snickering for some reason. Yami and Yugi were playing with a ball on the floor in front of the TV. Nothing was out of place in the formerly destroyed living room.

Ryou blinked. "Wha? Jou, how did you get out! You were locked in a closet! And you!" He turned to Valon. "You were strapped to a chair and Amelda was pinned to the ceiling with knives!" Ryou babbled, wondering why none of them were displaying any signs of being pranked. Amelda and Valon at least should have been mad at Yami!

"Um, Ryou, are you feeling alright?" Jou asked, feeling his forehead.

"I'm fine!" Ryou protested, pushing the blonde's hand away.

"Well, you started acting funny," Amelda chimed in.

"Yeah, you came down the stairs and just stopped, staring at something, before you wandered into the kitchen. You started staring at the ceiling for no reason and put Yugi into one of the chairs. Then you came back and went into the game shop and passed out after you flicked on the lights!" Valon told him.

Bakura's laughter turned into full blown hysteria. [[Didn't I tell you Yami was a prankster?]]

[What the heck are you talking about?] Ryou demanded.

[[Yami was a master of illusions. The prank, dear hikari, was on you. You were caught in the illusion the second you stepped onto the stairs.]]

Ryou groaned and fell back onto the couch, earning confused looks from everyone and a not-so-innocent smile from a certain crimson eyed chibi. [And you didn't tell me why?]

[[But yadonshi(2), I just did.]] Bakura replied innocently.

[Before I embarrassed myself would have been nice.]

[[Well that's no fun at all.]] Bakura answered; smirking as Ryou face palmed himself.

After Ryou explained what had happened, making everyone give Yami a scolding look, they decided to take the boys out for lunch and then to the History museum afterwards.

Ryou slid into the booth with Yami and Yugi and gave them a puzzle to work on while the others went to order their food. Minutes later, they returned, and everyone watched the twin chibis assemble the puzzle as they waited for their order.

By the time Yugi and Yami were finished with the puzzle, a waitress had brought them their food and Yami and his hikari clambered down onto the seats beside Jou and Ryou. After they were finished, Ryou started packing away the puzzle in the backpack he had brought to carry it and some other things.

Yami looked up at the sound of barking and stood up in the seat to peer out the window behind him. His keen eyes located the source as a large brown dog being walking by its owner down the street. But that wasn't what caught his attention now. Across the street was a familiar figure.

The crimson eyed chibi tugged on Jou's sleeve and the blonde looked questionably down at him. "Him back again."

"Him? Wait, you mean the blurry guy from the kitchen?" Jou asked, peering out the window to where Yami was looking across the street.

"Yep, yep."

"Huh? What blurry guy from the kitchen?" Ryou asked, confused. Rafael quickly explained the incident in the kitchen that occurred after he left.

[Bakura? What do you think?]

[[I don't know. The Pharaoh might have had the ability to see spirits because of his gift.]]

[But?] Ryou prompted.

[[The fact that he said it was blurry bothers me. If he can see spirits because of the gift, the spirit shouldn't have been blurry. Spirits usually only look that way if they are extremely weak. Plus, there's the fact that it was in the runt's kitchen and now it's here.]]

[You think it's following Yami? And don't call Yugi a runt.]

[[It's possible. He has a very powerful aura, it would make sense that spirits nearby would be drawn to it.]]

[So there isn't a problem?]

[[If it keeps appearing, perhaps. Spirits are usually tied to an anchor, which is an object or specific area, such as the place they died or something precious to them. And they can't travel very far from their anchor. So unless we have something that is its anchor, we might have a cause to be worried. Just tell me if the little pain in the ass sees it again.]] Bakura yawned and closed the door to his soul room, effectively cutting off the link.

Ryou blinked and turned back to the present to find the others waiting for him.

"So?" Jou asked. "What'd he say?"

"That we shouldn't worry too much right now and if Yami keeps seeing it we might have a cause for worry."

"So in other words," Valon stated as he crossed his arms. "He has no idea whatsoever."

"Pretty much," Ryou agreed.

Several minutes later they were walking up the front steps of the History museum, Yami getting a piggyback ride on Jou and Yugi cradled in Rafael's arms. They paid the entrance fee and started wandering through the exhibits. Yami, who had been set down when Jou had fished out his wallet, kept trying to touch the few artifacts not behind the glass cases. Jou grabbed his hand and made sure he didn't stray too close to them. They didn't exactly have the money to pay for it if the kid broke anything.

Finally, after several hours, they wandered into the Egyptian exhibit.

Jou let go of Yami's hand as he leaned over to study the ornate ceremonial blades inlaid with gold and priceless gems in one case. Too busy looking at the swords and daggers; he didn't notice Yami wander off further into the exhibit towards a display in the middle of the floor, with a spotlight trained on it.

Yami walked up to the glass case set on a low table barely a foot off the ground. A long, oddly shaped gold box rested in it, with pictures and hieroglyphics carved everywhere. Curious, the chibi climbed up onto the table, bracing his hands on the top of the glass case as he stood on his tip toes to peer into the golden box. A figure lay inside, wrapped in discolored cloth strips and its arms folded across its chest.

Yami pressed closer to the glass. He knew this person. This person was special. This person was warm and safe and loving and . . . dead.

Jou reached down to grab Yami's hand again, and whirled around upon realizing Yami was no longer standing by his side. He spotted the chibi pressed up against a glass display case, hands desperately clawing the glass as tears dripped onto the clear surface.

There was no one other than themselves to notice the chibi, but Jou hurried over to stop him from possibly breaking the glass. He froze as he reached Yami, staring wide eyed down into a sarcophagus inhabited by a mummy, not paying attention to the others as they came up behind him.

"What's wrong with him?" Ryou asked, setting Yugi down, who climbed up onto the table next to Yami and was now clinging to his dark.

"I . . . I don't know. He just wandered off without my noticing and he came here." Jou answered, reached out to pull Yami away from the sarcophagus. But Yami wouldn't let go the glass case and Yugi refused to let his other half be dragged away from him, making Jou sigh in frustration. He wanted to leave before someone else came.

Rafael rubbed his temples before spotting a sign at the end of the case. Ignoring the others, who continued their attempts to drag Yami away, he went to go look. His eyes scanned the words, before going wide.

"Hey, come look at this."

The others glanced up curiously and circled around Rafael to get a look at the sign.

"This recently discovered mummy is from a tomb hidden in the Valley of the Queens. This mummy belongs to a young Queen by the name of Halima, who is believed to have died of illness. Queen Halima was the royal wife and queen of Pharaoh Aknamkanon, and believed to be the birth mother of the famous Nameless Pharaoh whose tomb and true identity remains undiscovered today," Amelda read, before doing a double take.

Everyone glanced up at Yami before turning to look at Ryou.

"Is it true?" Jou asked quietly. Ryou's hair spiked as he switched with Bakura, who nodded solemnly.

"Yes. Queen Halima was a beautiful woman. She was a gentle soul, kind, but strong. I met her once, before . . . before the Items were created. I think Yami was only five years old when she died."

"Oh. That sucks," Amelda said, glancing at the mummy.

Bakura stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the sniffling chibi. "Come on, let's go. I don't think Yami needs to be seeing his mother being displayed like a piece of jewelry. Khlan(3), let go now. You can't help her." Yami glanced up at him, before releasing his hold on the case and allowing his fellow dark to pick him up.

Without another word, Bakura turned and strode out of the exhibit and the others hurried to catch up, Jou picking up Yugi before he was accidently left behind. The tomb robber didn't stop until he reached a secluded bench beneath the cluster of trees in the park across the street.

Everyone sat in silence for a while as they listened to the soft coos of Yugi trying to comfort his upset dark half. The violet eyed chibi had once again latched onto Yami. Jou fidgeted, unable to just sit there while one of his best friends, albeit a chibi, was miserable.

"I know what'll cheer you up! Icecream!" he shouted suddenly, making the others jump and Yami to blink teary eyes questionably up at him with Yugi hiding behind him, scared by the sudden loud noise. Jou scooped the two of them up, as Yugi still refused to let go of Yami, and started heading towards the Icecream Parlor by the arcade.

Rafael glanced at the tomb robber as he stood; only now, it was Ryou in control. The tall blonde dusted himself off and got to his feet. "You know, your yami is being pretty caring towards the Pharaoh for being someone who tried to kill him for the last three thousand years."

"It's complicated. Bakura's village was destroyed to create the Items. He was the only survivor, and Zorc possessed him, manipulating his emotions until he was driven to revenge. But he blamed the wrong person, Yami's father. When he died, Bakura passed the blame onto Yami. But now, Zorc is gone, and Bakura knows the truth. And Yami was the one who set the souls from his village free. Bakura knows he has a lot to make up for, even if Yami forgave him."

Ryou turned and walked away, leaving behind three mute and stunned men. By the time they finally got enough sense to follow, Ryou was already half-way to the icecream shop.

When they finally arrived at the icecream parlor, Yami and Yugi were running back and forth along the icecream counter, giggling like mad, their eyes wide with wonder. Ryou was sitting alone at a booth while Jou was trying to get the twin chibis under control with a female employee laughing behind the counter at his plight.

The blonde managed to grab Yugi, but Yami dodged his grab and hid under a table. He squeaked as someone grabbed from behind. Crimson eyes looked back to find a smiling young woman with beautiful features. She looked like a runway model with those bright amethyst eyes and her long raven black hair. In truth, she looked like a queen.

Yami stared up at her with wonder in those warm arms and snuggled up to her. Jou ran up to the couple, panting, and smiling embarrassedly at the woman.

"Thanks for catching him."

"It is no problem. I know little kids have a habit of getting in trouble," the woman replied, stroking Yami's cheek softly. There was no sign of the upset chibi Yami had been moments ago at the museum. The chibitized Pharaoh looked happy in her arms, and was practically drifting off to sleep.

She gently kissed Yami on the head and handed her back to Jou. She brushed a short bang out of Yugi's face, making him giggle at the affection. Jou was surprised at how similar their eyes were. They were the same shade of amethyst. Before he could comment on it, the woman had swept past him, but when Jou turned around, there was no one there.

Shrugging it off, he carried Yami and Yugi back over to the counter so they could choose a flavor. Yugi immediately pointed to chocolate, while Yami went for the strawberry flavored icecream. Jou paid for the two cones and carried them back over to the booth where the other four were already sitting. Strangely enough, Dartz's former swordsmen seemed to be looking anywhere but Ryou and the soft-spoken teen seemed to be ignoring them too.

Pushing aside their unusual behavior, Jou went back and got his own icecream, leaving Yugi to crawl into Ryou's lap and Yami to make himself comfortable in Rafael's. The muscular blonde looked amused at the sight of the once regal Pharaoh licking the pink icecream dotted with bits of strawberry. He didn't expect it, however, when Yami dropped his icecream and stared out the window.

Jou walked up with a double scooped cone and a big smile on his face, which faltered as he took in the scene at the table. Yami's icecream was melting in Rafael's lap, but nobody noticed. Instead, everyone's attention was on the window. Confused, Jou looked up, and stared wordlessly at the fading handprint on the glass.

"It's him again, isn't it?" he asked Yami, who nodded, not taking his eyes off of the glass and the figure beyond it.

"That's it! We're going home right now to call Jii-chan." He scooped Yami up and left the icecream shop, the others on his heels.

Jou rummaged around the papers in the kitchen, searching for the scrap of paper with Jii-chan's contact numbers on it. Amelda rolled his eyes at him and pointed to a small piece of paper stuck to the refrigerator by a magnet. The blonde sweat dropped and took the paper, dialing the old man's hotel number first.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Jii-chan it's Jounochi. Listen, we might have a problem." Jou quickly explained the mystertious spirit Yami kept seeing and the handprint on the glass, and about the mummy from the musuem. After Jii-chan promised to be on the next flight he could be after convincing his superiors he was needed home, Jou hung up and sighed. Hopefully, they could get Yugi and Yami back to normal soon and possibly get an explanation for what was going on.

Some of you probably hate me for writing that scene in the musuem, and I swear to you, I have no idea how it weaseled its way into the fic. But now that's its there, I've decided to make it part of my story. Oh, anyone get who the mysterious woman at the icecream parlor was? Heh heh.

I never noticed until I went back to check for mistakes that even though Yami talked, Yugi didn't say a word. Oh, and the way Yami talks is on purpose, so don't review and tell me about mistakes in Yami's speech. He's a little kid, of course he's not going to talk correctly.

(1) Contrary to popular belief, Bennu does not mean 'phoenix.' It's an Ancient Egyptian name meaning 'eagle.' The reasons Yami calls Rafael this will be revealed in the next chapter. (I didn't think a little kid could say Rafael, so I had Yami call him Bennu instead.)

(2) Yadonshi means 'landlord' This is what Bakura calls Ryou in the manga and Japanese anime.

(3) Arabic word meaning 'prince.'

Yugi: Review pease!