Wow, I'm surprised I've finished this chapter so fast, considering I'm writing another fic at the same time. Although this chapter is shorter compared to the other two.
Disclaimers: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh
Warnings: Cussing. I think so far, the only warnings you're ever going to get for this fic is warning for cussing. Wait, there's mentions of someone getting shot in this chapter.
AN: I'm surprised only one person got or even bothered to guess who the mysterious woman in the last chapter was. I'm kind of put out by that.
Chapter Three: Wings
The TV screen flickered with soft light, casting its glow across the group of passed out teens sprawled across the furniture. Dead to the world, no one noticed the back door slide open and a graceful figure slip through the glass doors into the house. The figure paused, dressed in dark flowing robes that swirled around her in the gentle breezes coming in through the open door. None of the teens stirred.
The hooded figure walked quietly past them and glided up the stairs towards an open doorway. Two small children lay curled in the nest of pillows and blankets on the bed. The smallest of the twin-like chibis was lying sideways against his dark, cheek resting on the other's back. The elder of the two lay on his stomach, fingers entwined in the soft folds of fabric surrounding him, his soft breathing moving his hikari's head up and down with every gentle rise and fall of his chest.
The figure smiled softly at the twins and sat on the edge of the bed, gently caressing their soft cheeks and brushing slender fingers into the long strands of their silken hair. Crimson eyes blinked sleepily up at the figure and crawled to his knees, making his other roll away and whimper at the loss of his pillow. Fingers stroked the small chibi's back, a soft voice singing in a language long forgotten by the present, lulling him back to sleep.
Crimson eyes blinked sleepily, but the child resisted the lull of sleep, and climbing into the figure's warm lap, cooing happily. Arms wrapped around him, and he pressed deeper into the warmth and safety of those loving arms. Only then, did he allow the soft voice to pull him away to the realm of dreams.
The figure smiled softly, kissing the forehead of the child she cradled. The figure stood, and set the slumbering child back into the circle of pillows and blankets. From around her neck, she pulled something and gently looped it around the crimson eyed teen's neck. From her robes, she took out a cloth wrapped box and set it inside the nest. Brushing her fingers across the smaller's cheek, she leaned down to place a soft kiss to his forehead, causing a curtain of raven black hair to spill from her hood.
She turned to look out the window, her eyes narrowing at the blurry figure out on the street before turning back to the larger of the two chibis. "Sleep well, my sweet prince," came the soft whisper before a breeze circled around the room. When the breeze was gone, there was no sign of the robed figure anywhere.
"Man, I'm starving!" Jou pulled open the cupboard, only to find it empty and continued to rummage around the kitchen for something edible. "Dere ain't nothing ta eat!" he finally said, after thoroughly searching the kitchen.
"Well there would be if somebody hadn't ate it all," Anzu pointed out, dragging the moaning blonde out of the kitchen by his ear.
"Anzu!" Jou whined, trying unsuccessfully to pull her harsh grip off of his ear. She let go and he tumbled to the floor due to being off balance trying to free his ear from the lone female of the group. He rubbed his back as he stood, Honda laughing at him.
Anzu and Honda had come around to the Game Shop barely an hour after Jou called Jii-chan, and getting permission from their parents for a week long sleepover at the game shop from their parents. Anzu's excuse to her parents was that Yugi was sick and as his grandpa was out of town, Yugi needed someone to help take care of him.
Honda's parents on the other hand, had decided to go on another honeymoon for their upcoming anniversary, and didn't mind that he was going over to a friend's house. Unfortunately, Otogi had been dragged out of town by his father on a business trip and wouldn't be back for several days.
Like the night before, Rafael and his two companions had gone back to their hotel for the night. But not before helping to explain the events of that day, everything to Yami seeing a blurry spirit to the incident at the museum, at which Anzu had nearly squeezed the life out of Yami trying to comfort him, and finally, the call to Jii-chan. Needless to say, Yami had started to steer clear of Anzu whenever she was nearby.
"Why don't we just go out for breakfast?" Honda said reasonably.
Ryou nodded in agreement and went upstairs to get Yami and Yugi ready. Yami was reluctant to move from the warm cocoon he had somehow made in his sleep. As a result, the chibitized Pharaoh was tangled in layers of blankets. Yugi was giggling at them the whole time Ryou was trying to untangle Yami when at last, Yami was freed.
The part albino dug through the box-turned-wardrobe for clean clothes for the twins. He changed Yugi first, as the hikari was more compliant than his darker half. Fortunately, Yami didn't do much except whine when Ryou started dressing him. As Ryou slipped his pajama top off, something glinted around his neck and Ryou frowned at it.
A thin gold chain, interwoven with multiple chains that were strung through several amulets that looked to be carved out of green, blue, and red stones was looped around Yami's neck. Some were Ancient Egyptian symbols he recognized, such as the ankh, the Eye of Horus, a lotus, and several other eyes that weren't quite the same as the Eye of Horus, among other things.
Curious about them, he prodded his slumbering yami awake, and felt the dark stir.
[[What is it?]] Bakura snapped, irritable. Sleep was not a necessity for the spirits, unless they had seriously exhausted their energy reserves, but it was a luxury they indulged in. Bakura certainly loved his sleep, and from Yugi had said: Yami loved to sleep too. "He's like a cat," Yugi had told him once, referring to the Pharaoh.
Pushing aside the mental image of Yami with large fluffy cat ears and a tail with a large gold bell tied to the end of it by a thick red ribbon, he asked his dark about the significance of the amulets.
[[Symbols of protection]] Bakura grunted, before slamming his link shut and promptly going back to sleep. Ryou sweat dropped at his yami, realizing he didn't even ask him where the necklace of amulets had come from. Glancing back down, he wondered where Yami had gotten it, before having to fight with the image of cat features and bells on the crimson eyed chibi blinking adorably up at him in utter confusion.
Ryou blushed as he realized Yami was still half naked and was glad Bakura was not awake to tease him about his modesty again. The hikari quickly slipped on his shirt and picked Yugi up to head downstairs with Yami at his heels. For some reason, Yami preferred to walk everywhere unless he got tired or sleepy, unlike Yugi who preferred riding in the stroller or being carried.
Ryou twisted the knob of the door and yelped as he took a step forward, one foot hanging over a dark chasm that went deep down into the unknown. The rational part of his mind told him that this was not real, that it was not possible to have a twenty foot wide stone chasm where a three foot wide hallway would be.
Flushing at the knowledge that he had been fooled again by Yami's illusions: he sent a scolding look towards the chibi and sent a thank you to whatever gods were up there that Bakura was still sleeping and unaware that he had been pranked again. The thief would have never let him forget it.
After half an hour of arguing on where to go, they chose a small café several blocks away from the Kame Game Shop as it was cheap and within easy walking distance. Yugi was once again in the baby stroller and Yami was bounding along happily by Jou's side again. Though this time, the blonde made sure to keep the chibi between him and Honda in case he decided to run off again. You never knew with Yami.
They found a booth and started looking through the menus after ordering their drinks. Yami had been doing Sudoku puzzles in a booklet Jou found lying forgotten beneath the counter, and he seemed to be quite good at them too, when he suddenly tugged on Jou's sleeve. "Bob back again." (1)
"Bob" had been a name Honda had jokingly called the blurry spirit yesterday evening when the events of the day had been recounted to him and Anzu. Sadly, Yami had in the room at the time, and the name had stuck with him. Jou didn't think it was appropriate to be calling a possibly dangerous spirit stalking the Pharaoh Bob, but Yami had looked at him with big watery eyes and Jou had caved.
Jou sighed. "Ignore him, Yami. Maybe he'll go away we don't pay any attention to him."
He thought back to the phone call from Jii-chan earlier this morning. Some idiot had attempted to smuggle an Ancient Egyptian artifact through the airport, and now the whole place was on lockdown until everyone was checked for any more artifacts by the paranoid Egyptian government. As a result, flights were delayed until tomorrow afternoon, at the least.
"Okay. But Bob not waving anymore."
Jou blinked in surprise and turned sharply towards the chibi. "What do you mean he's not waving anymore?"
"Bob not blurry. He not moving back and forth no more. He just dark and see through. No face." Yami answered, looking up at Jou before going back to his Sudoku. Honda was playing peek-a-boo with Yugi across the table, making the chibi giggle as the bell to the small café dinged and the three swordsmen walked in with an old friend.
Jou jumped up with a large grin on his face as he rushed forward to meet her. "Mai!"
"Hey hun," Mai greeted cheerfully as she embraced the honey eyed blonde. Over her shoulder, he and Valon cast hateful glares at each other. "Long time no see. Now what's time I hear about the Pharaoh and Yugi being turned into Chibis?"
No sooner had she spoken than something was clinging to her leg, and Mai looked down to see one of the most adorable things she had ever seen in her life. A chibitized Pharaoh with crimson eyes. "Well aren't you just the cutest thing?" The busty blonde scooped him up and cuddled him, pinching his cheeks and cooing over him, making the males of the group scowl at the attention Yami was receiving.
Mai carried Yami back over to the booth, where she stole Yugi from Honda and started showing him the same treatment she did Yami. Honda rolled his eyes at her. Even Mai was going googly-eyed at the twins. It was ridiculous. Sure, they were cute, but that didn't mean everyone had to go gaga on them.
Jou was staring at Yami and wondering once again if Yami was attracted to those with light colored hair. So far, everyone Yami had immediately attached to was blonde or white haired. A bit embarrassed, he pointed this out to the others.
Ryou stared at him for a moment before his hair spiked and Jou was looking at the tomb robber. "Are you honestly that dense?"
"What do you mean? It sounds like a plausible theory to me," Amelda said, shrugging. "I mean, he's latched on to Rafael the moment he saw him, same with Mai. From what I heard, Yami went to Jou first. And when Jou's not holding him, he goes to either you or Rafael."
Bakura sighed in irritation before digging around in the jacket he wore, and pulled out his dueling deck. Taking two cards from the deck, he lay them face up on the table. "These two are mine and Ryou's favorite cards. Diabound for me, and Change of Heart for Ryou. You three have your decks, right? Pull out your favorite cards."
Confused, they did so, Mai setting down Harpy Lady, Jou showing his Red Eyes Black Dragon, and Rafael placing his Guardian Eatos on the table.
"See anything in common with all of our cards?" the thief asked.
Everyone frowned, before Anzu came to sudden realization. "Wings," she breathed. "They all have wings."
"Thank you! At least one mortal here has a brain."
"What does this have to do with anything?" Amelda asked, glancing between all the cards and back to Yami, who was looking at them with interest.
"There's a reason these are our favorite cards. It's because they're our Ka, a representation of our soul. Yami can see people's Ka. Why do you think he calls you Bennu?" he asked Rafael, before gesturing to the blonde's card. "Your Guardian Eatos' wings are that of an eagle's. Bennu means eagle in Ancient Egyptian."
Rafael's eyes widened at the explanation, glancing down at his card. He had always felt a connection to the card ever since it had been given to him all those years ago on the cruise. At the time, he's always assumed it was because his family had given it to him, and it was one of the only things he had left of them.
"But why does he like people that has Ka with wings?" Mai asked, confused.
Bakura snickered. "Heh. There's a certain someone from his past that has winged Ka, but without his memories, all Yami remembers is his love for that Ka's wings. It's no wonder he wonder he went to the Mutt first. His Ka is a dragon just like the royal pain in the ass's koi was. Plus, he's almost as stubborn as him."
Before anyone could say anything, Bakura was gone, leaving a blinking Ryou in his place. Everyone glanced at each other, confused on who this mysterious "koi" was. Jou almost had half a mind to ask Yami who it was, before realizing Yami didn't remember his past.
Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, gears were turning in Rafael's head as he thought on what Bakura had said. He was starting to suspect he knew exactly who this "koi" was. He just wondered how long it would take for the others to figure it out.
The little bell on the café chimed cheerfully as two men entered the shop. Distracted by the arrival of their food, no one noticed the way Yami shrank back in his seat as the two men swept their gazes around the café. They ordered at the counter and sat down in an empty booth in the corner, surreptitiously keeping an eye on everyone. But only Yami noticed their watchful gazes.
Several minutes later, the bell rang again and a man stepped into the café and slipped into a booth. By this point Yami had slid out from under the booth and started to frantically tug on the nearest person's legs, trying to get their attention. Valon shook his leg, annoyed by the crimson eyed chibi's tugging.
"Cut that out, runt, I'm trying ta eat!"
"No no. Bad people. Wanna go home now," Yami whined, before climbing back under the table and climbing onto Jou's lap, tugging his shirt. "Home. We go bye-bye now. Wanna go. Bad people. They're bad people. Bad bad."
Ryou's eyes widened, and then they were no longer Ryou's.
Bakura slid out of the booth and grabbed Anzu's arm, pulling her out of the booth and grabbing Yugi with his free hand. "We. Are. Leaving. Now," the tomb robber hissed between clenched teeth. Utterly confused, the others hurriedly summoned the waitress and paid the tab and chased after the thief who was already outside the café and setting a fast pace towards the Game shop.
Bakura didn't stop until they were in the Game Shop before everyone turned on Bakura, demanding to know an explanation. Bakura looked about ready to murder someone at that point.
"Are you people deaf? I just explained to you how the brat can see Ka!"
"That doesn't have anyth-" Jou paused, remembering all the times Yami had shrank away from people out on the streets. "Wait, you said that Ka were reflections of people's souls. And if he can see people's souls . . ."
". . . He can see whether or not people are evil," Honda finished.
"But, if he has that ability, then how come he hasn't been able to use it before?" Anzu asked, confused.
Bakura rolled his eyes and pushed Ryou back into control. [[I swear these people get more idiotic by the day.]]
Ryou blinked; a habit of his when they switched, and looked at the crowd of expectant faces. "Um, Bakura says it's one of those cases where the ability goes away after childhood."
"So when the chibi curse is lifted, he won't be able to see Ka anymore?" Rafael questioned, settling on the couch and helping up Yami who snuggled up to a pillow next to him. Ryou shook his head.
"Eh well, nothing we can do about that," Jou commented, flopping down on the couch and claiming the remote. Several minutes later, he and Honda got into a fight on what show to watch. It was only Rafael's arm curling around the small chibi that kept Yami from being crushed by the two teens rolling around playing keep away with the remote.
There was a loud thud as they rolled off one end of the couch, and smacked right into Yugi who had been playing with the ball left there from yesterday morning. Tears glistened in his large amethyst eyes as his lips trembled. With a faint hiss of air, the chibi watched as his toy deflated under the weight of the two rough housing teens. A loud wail rent the living room as Yugi burst out into tears.
A second later, Honda and Jou found both of their ears being yanked on harshly. Crimson eyes glared at them, actually intimidating for the first time after being chibitized, before twisting their ears and an electric shock ran through them. Both of them yelped and rolled away from the chibi pharaoh who ignored them in favor of hugging his upset hikari.
A second later, a certain tomb robber burst out laughing. Everyone looked questionably at him, and in response, he pointed at Jou and Honda. Their eyes followed his finger, before the rest of them were laughing as well. Both of the teens looked at them, utterly confused.
Valon smirked at Jou, "I've always known you were a golden retriever."
"What?" Jou snarled, before catching sight of Honda. He stared at the large brown monkey style ears poking out where his normal ears.
At the same time, Honda glanced at Jou, and did a double take at the large fluffy yellow dog ears sticking out of his best friend's head. That was when both of them were wearing the same expressions. Both of their hands reached up and there were two shouts of shock when they discovered their new furry appendages.
Bakura rolled his eyes at them. "Idiots. What did you expect to happen? You made his hikari cry. You didn't really think getting shocked was going to be the extent he was going to do? Be glad he only morphed your ears, instead of your whole body."
A second later, another shock ran through them, and Jou and Honda yelped as two tails sprang from the seat of their pants. "Oh, it seems I spoke too soon. You're still changing," Bakura amended, smirking as they ran around the room in panic.
Yugi looked up, rubbing his eyes as they ran past them like a pair of chickens with their heads chopped off. Jou tripped over the coffee table, crashing to the ground.
"Arrf!" Jou clamped a hand over his mouth in horror at the dog-like sound that he had just made. There was a chittering noise and Honda clapped both hands over his own mouth, eyes wide. Giggling broke the silence, and everyone looked to find Yugi clapping his hands as he laughed, tears gone. Not a second later, there was a tingling and the ears and tails vanished from two surprised teens.
Bakura snorted. "Morons. Are you forgetting that Yami can create illusions? He can't really morph anyone's body parts." Both teens grinned at each other sheepishly.
Hours later, the group was seated around the table. At one end, Valon and Mai were dueling each other using one of the old dueling mats Jou found Yugi's room. Rafael and Anzu were seated on the couch with the twins. Yami had fallen asleep curled around a cushion and using Rafael's leg as a pillow. Yugi was playing with a Rubik cube next to his dark. Anzu was flipping uninterestedly through the channels of the TV before pausing on the news.
The news reporter was saying something about the mysterious disappearance of one of the museum's artifacts. In the corner of the screen, there was a picture of the missing artifact, a necklace adorned with various amulets carved from green, blue, and red stones. The newsman went on to talk about the new Ancient Egyptian exhibit it was from, found inside the sarcophagus of a recently discovered queen.
Ryou frowned at the screen. He had seen that necklace before . . . . His head whipped around to look at Yami and he scrambled over to pull the cushion away from the chibi. Yami yawned at him and blinked at him with sleepy eyes as Ryou reached into his shirt and pulled out the necklace he had seen this morning. He had forgotten all about it.
"Yami! Did you take this from the museum?" he asked, once his suspicions were confirmed. Everyone was glancing between the television screen and the necklace around Yami's neck. Crimson eyes blinked blearily at him as the chibi shook his head. "Then where did you get it?"
"Mommy gave it to me," Yami answered, yawning and falling back to sleep. The room was silent as they glanced at each other.
"Uh, guys?" Honda's voice interrupted the silence. The group turned back to the TV screen where the newsman had switched over to a female reporter speaking in front of the very same café they had ate at. A group of three men had robbed the place not long after they had left, and one man had been shot.
Anzu shivered, remembering the time she had been held hostage at Burger World by a prison escapee, before Yami had played a Shadow Game with him and almost set him on fire with a lighter(2). And it was thanks to Yami that she had not been in a similar situation.
[I can't believe I'm letting you do this.] Ryou moaned as his yami as the thief scaled up the museum walls with ease. Their shared body was dressed in dark blue outfit complete with a hood, their hair tucked carefully under a black ski cap. Where Bakura had gotten the clothes from, Ryou had no idea, although he suspected it wasn't the first time they had been worn.
[[Hey. You said you wanted the necklace returned to the museum. We can't exactly walk up to the police and turn it in. We'd have to explain where we got it, and they'd suspect we stole it to claim a reward. At least this way, the necklace gets returned and I get to do something fun for once.]]
[Don't you dare steal anything.]
Bakura rolled his eyes and called upon the shadows. They responded to his thoughts and they sank through the roof of the museum and into the Egyptian exhibit. Bakura easily disabled the alarms and replaced the necklace in the case it belonged in. When he was finished, he reset the alarm and the shadows carried him back through the roof.
The next morning, museum staff stared dumbfounded at the missing necklace resting innocently in its case among the other jewelry.
THE END! Nah, just kidding. I've still got several more chapters to go. I hope everyone was just amused by this chapter as I was.
(1) There was a point in our childhood when my sister went through an odd phase of naming everything Bob. I got sick and tired of calling him "the blurry spirit" all the time. Well, he's not blurry anymore, but still.
(2) Episode 2 of Season Zero. If you haven't watched them, then go to YouTube. Just type in season zero and it'll come up. The episodes are in Japanese, but don't worry, they're English subbed. 4kids never dubbed it because of how badass it is. I fricking love season zero Yami, which is why I have Yami with crimson eyes. In season zero, Yami's shadow games actually drive people insane and kill them, rather than just sending them to the Shadow Realm, and the games he uses to play them aren't always Duel Monsters. I think the only Shadow Game he plays that was actually Duel Monsters was against Kaiba. Btw, Kaiba has green hair in season zero. I find it hilarious.
Thank you for reading. Review Please! They make authors happy.