Disclaimer: See previous chapters.
Chapter 5: Welcome to Domino
A/N: Ugh. I know that I said that I would have this chapter out a week after posting the last one, but two things got in my way. One was a really bad case of writer's block that sat on my brain like a sumo wrestler and the other was a bad Internet connection. For some reason the connection quit working and I had to wait two weeks before I was able to get it fixed. So again, sorry for the delay in this. To make up for it, I made this chapter extra long so that you can have more to read and a chance to learn about just what sort of trouble Yugi and Solitaire are about to get themselves into. Enjoy and I'll see everyone at the end of the chapter.
When his vision cleared, Yugi took a moment to examine his new surroundings. In palace of the delicately carved stone walls of his chambers was now replaced by walls of reddish stone that rose high into the air. A pathway of stone and dirt that led to a closed off area where there were what appeared to be plants lining what was possibly a fence. This path was lined with a few metal cylinders on one side and bits of debris lay scattered at his feet. The other end of the path continued a short distance and then disappeared around the corner of one of the strange buildings. Countless new smells reached his nose and nearly caused his brain to go into overload as it tried to process everything. It was all so different and new to him that for a moment, he actually didn't know what to make of what he was now facing.
"Whoa," Yugi breathed.
"I'm not sure that's the word for it," Solitaire said.
Yugi broke out of his reverie about their new surroundings and looked down at Solitaire. His eyes widened slightly when he saw that Solitaire's normally vibrant scales were somewhat duller than he could ever remember them being. The same applied to her eyes as well as she stared back rather calmly at her companion. His own expression became one of worry and confusion as Yugi tried to understand just what had happened to Solitaire.
"Solitaire, are you okay? What's wrong?" Yugi demanded urgently.
"I'm fine, Yugi, just a little tired from the jump. Whenever I make a jump like that, it drains a good portion of my energy and leaves me looking a little gray. But I'll be okay in a few minutes after I rest," Solitaire explained.
"Oh. Are you sure?" Yugi asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Solitaire nodded," But what about you? How'd you take your first interdimensional jump?"
Smiling slightly, Yugi answered," I'm fine. I've just never felt anything like that before. I could still feel you but everything else around me was just gone. It was like there was nothing else except you and me."
"Then it was perfectly normal. That's how it usually goes the first time and stays that way until you get used to it," Solitaire said as she started to squirm for Yugi to put her down.
Taking the hint, Yugi released Solitaire and allowed her to stand on her own. When she swayed a little, he wasn't so certain that that was such a good idea. Solitaire was still looking a little discolored, so Yugi was more than a bit worried for her health. But despite his misgivings, Yugi could tell that Solitaire was starting to recover from her energy drain. Her balance was starting to steady out and her color was slowly but surely returning to its normal state. Judging from that, there was no doubt that it would only be a little while before she would be fully recovered.
So he would try to make sure that she took it easy until then. The last thing that either of them needed was for Solitaire to suddenly fall ill when they on their own. Being so far away from home, even with Yugi's healing magic as insurance against such things, there would be no one else to help them if something happened. Which meant it would be a good idea for them to pace themselves until they were more familiar with things.
"So we're here now. What do you want to do first?" Solitaire asked after taking a glance around and then back to Yugi.
"Um, explore I guess. We really can't do much else until we get to know this place," Yugi shrugged.
He couldn't help but feeling a little daunted at Solitaire's question. Talking about exploring this new world was one thing, while actually exploring it was another. Beyond what he had read in the scrolls, Yugi really had no idea what they should really do first. There were no forms of life for them to talk with, so questioning anyone about their present location was out of the question. So there wasn't much for them to really do except just look around and see what they could find.
"Exactly what do we explore? All I see is a bunch of dirt, some weird buildings, and a bunch of really weird rocks," Solitaire replied.
She kicked a few at her feet in example. Most just scattered off to the sides and landed against one another in heaps. One more rounded stone took a different course though and rolled to Yugi's feet. In the course of doing so, some of the dirt that coated its sides rubbed off against the harsh surface of the ground. This revealed patches of somewhat bright patches of red and green that shined through a very clear surface. Curious, Yugi bent down and picked up the stone.
Holding it in his hand, he examined it for a moment. The rock he had was actually a perfect sphere shape than any regular rock shape that he was expecting. Other than the dirt that was covering it, there were no rough spots on the rock. When he wiped away a little more of the dirt, he found that the patches of red and green were on the inside of a clear surface. These joined together in a spiral that reached right through the stone from top to bottom.
"Wow. What a pretty rock," Yugi breathed.
"I don't think that's a rock, Yugi. It's too round," Solitaire commented.
"All right. If it's not a rock, then what is it?" Yugi asked.
Solitaire could only shrug at this. Like her Master, her knowledge of places beyond the Shadow Realm was extremely limited. Most of her concepts were based upon hearsay of other palace Monsters and rumors that were spread about by nomads mixed with what little she had learned in the palace library. So the best that she could go with anything was to take a guess and hope that it was right.
"Well rock or not, it's still really pretty," Yugi commented.
"If you say so," Solitaire said doubtfully.
Personally, she didn't see the big deal about Yugi's discovery. While he saw something special, all she saw was a lousy bit of trash that looked like a Summoned Skull had hacked it up. To Solitaire, that was a pretty good sign that what Yugi had found was just a piece of debris that one of this world's inhabitants had tossed aside. Either that or it had somehow broken off from one of the tall buildings that surrounded them.
Regardless of her opinion, Solitaire decided again telling it to Yugi. Since it was his first discovery in another dimension, she saw no reason to spoil his fun. After all, everything here was so new to him that it was exciting and worthy to be explored. So for the moment, she would just let him enjoy himself without worry. There would be time enough for that later when they had to interact with the dominant and possibly civilized natives.
Looking away from Yugi and instead at their surroundings, Solitaire was actually a bit surprised that they hadn't run into any of said natives yet. She would have thought that with all the obvious signs of construction hovering over their heads, there would have been at least one other sign of life besides themselves. But for the moment, all Solitaire had seen was Yugi, herself, and some very odd-looking creatures that she was assuming were insects.
While she was busy contemplating this, Yugi started to wander further down the strange path that they had landed on. At first he had been tempted to investigate the strange plants so that he could study them further and compare them to the ones in the Shadow Realm. But then he changed his mind and instead chose to explore more towards the corner where the path disappeared. Now that he had found one artifact, his former fears had dissipated enough where he was more than ready to find something else and that route seemed to offer more of a possibility to him. Then he could start to build a collect to help him study this world's culture and be able to share this knowledge with Yami when they returned to the Shadow Realm.
His excitement sobered a little at the thought of Yami. No matter what he was doing in order to better himself, Yugi still missed his lover terribly. That was natural enough, since no matter how angry he was at Yami or how much he wanted to prove himself, Yugi still wanted to spend as much time with Yami as possible. They might have had an eternity together, but that couldn't deter the feelings that Yugi had about being away from Yami.
But we'll be together again soon, Yugi promised silently, As soon as I'm done here and can prove to Yami that I can do more than he believes, then we can be together again.
While Yugi considered this, he soon found himself near his destination. The corner wasn't that far off, but something else had caught Yugi's eye. It was a grayish-blue color that stood out greatly against the red stone that made of the high walls surrounding him. At first, it was hard to make out just what it was because it was hidden behind one of the metal cylinders that were against the walls.
Out of curiosity, Yugi stepped closer to investigate. Reaching out, he pulled the object from where it was so that he could get a better look at it. His eyes widened slightly when he saw that what he was looking at was some sort of bag, probably belonging to one of the world's native inhabitants. It was larger than his own by half and was more than twice the weight as what he carried at his side. The design was quite different as well.
While his bag had only one strap and was worn at the side with said strap over the shoulder, this bag had two straps. The length of these straps indicated that it was meant to be worn by a person much larger than himself. It had many more compartments as well, after seeing how many openings there appeared to be on the bag. The material that made what these openings led to was also unlike anything that Yugi had seen before. Where his bag had been made from the shed skin of a Rude Kaiser, this one appeared to be made from some sort of cloth. Cloth that was well worn and tattered in some areas, which showed that the bag he held had either seen a lot of use or was of great age.
Looking it over once more, Yugi decided to take a look inside. He knew that it might be considered rude by the people who lived in this world to look at others' possessions without permission, but his curiosity was still getting the better of him. Besides, he had no intention of removing the contents from the bag. All Yugi wanted to do was to see some of the items that the inhabitants might possess.
Before he could attempt to find a way to open the bag though, a hand shot out and grasped his wrist roughly. Startled, Yugi let out a gasp as the bag was ripped from his grip. A warning growl from whoever had grabbed him caused Yugi to look up to see just what or who had grabbed him. What he met was a pair very irritated looking brown eyes that showed him about as much mercy as a Baby Dragon about to tackle a Skull Servant for a snack.
Those eyes were a part of the face of a creature that was more than similar to himself than Yugi would have ever guessed, despite the fact that his research had told him such. Like himself, the being walked upright on two legs, lacked a tail, and was covered in a lightly tanned skin that lacked either fur or scale. It had only one patch of hair on the top of its head which was a blonde color that reminded Yugi of pale imitation of the Winged Dragon of Ra's scales.
Clothing was a complete opposite of one another. While Yugi wore one of his pale blue travel tunics, the one who held him was dressed in a dark blue jacket and matching pants. There appeared to be what could be a white tunic underneath, but it was hard for Yugi to tell for sure. The white patch was mostly covered by the blue sections of the clothing. Not that it really mattered in the long run just what the creature was wearing. What really mattered were the emotions that burned in the creature's eyes that were directed at Yugi. These seemed to intensify since Yugi had begun to stare at the being and its features.
"Just what the hell do ya think ya were doin' with my stuff, punk?" the creature grated out.
For a moment, Yugi was uncertain of just how he should answer. He knew that he should tell this being, this person, that he hadn't meant any harm. He had only found the bag and was curious to see just what was in it. Yugi had no intention to do more than that, honestly. But the more he looked into those brown eyes, the more the words Yugi wanted to say became lodged in his throat. All he could do was just stand there gaping in fear and confusion.
"You heard me, ya little creep. What were ya doin' with my stuff?" the creature demanded again, tightening his grip on Yugi's wrist.
"Aah!" Yugi yelped.
He tried to pull away to make the slowly growing pain stop, but the grip on his wrist was too tight. Instead the creature just pulled him closer and glared down at him more harshly. Whatever held him obviously wasn't pleased with Yugi's actions. It wanted its question answered and it wanted that now. Any amount of struggling or delay would only make it more determined.
"Jonouchi Katsuya! What are you doing?" a voice demanded from behind.
Slightly startled, the being broke out of its glaring and turned to look behind it. Being much shorter than his captor, Yugi wasn't able to make out whatever had come. All he could sense was the presence of at least two newcomers. Newcomers which provided him with the chance that he needed to break free. So while his captor was distracted, Yugi quickly broke away.
He stumbled away, clutching his still aching wrist to his chest. Yugi could already tell that nothing was broken. The worst that he would probably get was a bruise that he would have to heal with his light magic. He knew that despite being sore, the pain would also pain very quickly since his former captor hadn't had a hold on him for very long. So he didn't have to worry about that either nor did it hold his attention for long.
What did hold Yugi's attention was what he saw when he was able to regain his footing again. To his surprise, the one who had called out to his captor was another of the same species and wore similar clothing. Only this one shaped differently with more feminine features and a less harsh expression on her face. At her side was another like his captor, though this one was not female. It was, after Yugi glanced back and forth between the two, possibly a male of the native species who wore exactly the same outfit as the other.
Neither of the newcomers' attention was focused on Yugi at the moment though, so he able to observe them undisturbed for a moment. Their attention was one the one who had taken hold of him, the brown-eyed one with yellow hair. The female was glaring at his former captor while the other male just stood there with what appeared to be an exasperated expression on his face. The one they were focused on had his back to Yugi, so it was impossible to make out what sort of expression he had at the moment.
"Jonouchi, what are you doing to that kid? Leave him alone," the female demanded.
Turning his attention back to Yugi, the one now labeled as Jonouchi snapped back," Buzz off, Anzu. I'll leave'em alone after I've taught this punk some manners. He's gotta learn not to mess with other people's stuff. So you and Honda just stay out of this."
"Jonouchi!" Anzu called more sharply.
She hoped that it would be enough to get her friend's attention back again and draw it away from the strange child that he was looming over. If she could do that, then maybe she would have a chance to calm him down before he managed to teach the youngster a 'lesson' for whatever he had done. The type of lesson was one that he often gave to younger boys when Jou thought that they were heading down the wrong path. It was nothing that would cause the child physical harm, but it would, in Jou's opinion, that would keep him out of trouble.
He himself had come from a very rocky background. His childhood had been spent dealing with a drunk father, dodging bullies and fighting for his place when he was able to do so. Everything had been fast paced and the only certainty was that you never knew what tomorrow would bring you. It was only through his own determination and a bit of luck that he had managed to get away from that sort of life. Now he was living an existence that at one time would have seemed like an impossible fantasy.
Having made such a good life for himself, Jou had decided long ago to make it his mission to help others in similar situations or who appeared to be heading down the wrong road. Not by giving them money or immediately getting them out of trouble, that just wasn't Jou's style. To him, the only way that anyone would learn to keep on the right track was the same way that he had, through the school of hard knocks. So whenever he had the chance to, he might rough up the delinquents that he came across if they were tough enough or just scare them if what they were doing was something minor.
When he had more or less come across Yugi, that had been Jou's plan. Just by looking at the strangely dressed boy, he could guess that the kid wasn't from this side of town and judging from the way he acted, probably wasn't on the same level as most children either. The most likely scenario was that he had found the bag, saw that no one was around, and then decided just to take it for the kicks. Still, it didn't hurt to scare him a little so that he wouldn't do it again. Then he would stay out of trouble in the future. Too bad for Jou that plan was never going to come to fruition.
Jou never even stood a chance. Before he could so much as move towards Yugi, bolts of crackling electricity struck him across every inch of his body. In shock and pain, he cried out as his body felt like it was being torn apart from every angle. He fell to the ground, writhing in pain as he instinctively started to try to escape whatever was attacking him. It did him little good though, as the shocks continued for several seconds during his struggles.
Finally though, the electricity flow ceased. Jou was not free from its effects though, as he could still feel the aches brought on by the small electrocution and the final sparks that still leapt to life across his body. It was a moment or so before he recovered enough to actually be able to move again and when he did, Jou regretted it immensely. His body ached terribly from the surge that had run through it and the burns that had been left behind.
Biting back a groan, Jou lifted himself up and leaned back against the nearest trashcan for support. He then looked around to see just what had hit him. His numbed mind already knew that what had just happened wasn't just a coincidence. There was no way for electricity to just come out of nowhere and just start electrifying people. So that meant there had to be something else that had caused it. And when he looked to where the boy he had come across was, Jou got a bigger answer than he had bargained for.
Standing between him and the humans was a bristling Solitaire. Sparks crackled off every inch of her body, glittering gold and blue as the intensity of the charge grew. A snarl crossed her face as she slowly advanced on the humans, looking as if she were sizing them up for another attack. They wisely started to back away as she did so, each already fearing just what the electrified beast might do next.
What she did for now was to glare at a still recovering Jonouchi. Her black eyes went to mere slits as she took in the sight of the human. Jaws opened slightly to reveal her fangs and to give off a sharp hiss of warning. Claws on all four webbed paws unsheathed to their fullest length as she crouched forward, extending one paw in a second display of warning.
"If you value your miserable life, then keep your hands to yourself, you stupid creature," she snarled.
Jou's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets at the sound of Solitaire's voice. It wasn't bad enough that he was getting electrocuted by some weird kid's pet psycho dragon creature that had no right to exist, but now he had to listen to it chew him out. This was just too much for his brain to process at once. As such, he nearly fainted from the shock of it all. The only thing that kept him sitting upright was the trashcan that he was leaning against.
Nearby his friends were expressing similar reactions to what they were seeing. When they had first come upon the scene between Jou and the strange child, all Anzu and Honda had intended to do was to break things up until they knew just what had happened. They had stopped in their tracks as soon as the sparks had started flying. Unable to do anything against the electric storm, the two could do nothing but watch helplessly as Jou was knocked back and seemingly fried.
Now they were stuck watching as a miniature dragon was chewing their friend out. Unsure of what to do and out of fear of being electrocuted themselves, Anzu and Honda hung back a little longer. Jou just sat where he was, also afraid that he might have to face a second mini electrocution if he angered the dragon any further. That was how they all remained, in silence, until Yugi decided that enough was enough.
"Stop it, Solitaire. Just leave him alone," Yugi ordered.
The spell was broken with those words. In surprise, Solitaire looked from her prey and back to her friend. But only partially of course, since she wasn't about to make the mistake of letting her guard down among such hostile creatures. She had already done that once since they had gotten to this new world and it had almost gotten Yugi hurt. Solitaire wasn't about to take a second chance until they were on more solid footing.
"Excuse me?" she asked her master.
"I said just leave him alone. You didn't have to hurt him so bad, Solitaire. He was just upset at what I had done. There's nothing wrong with that," Yugi chided.
If this weren't her friend and Master talking, then Solitaire would have seriously given Yugi a piece of her mind. Only a complete fool or innocent could believe that there was no reason to retaliate. These humans had had no right to act the way that they did. Even if they didn't know who or what Yugi truly was, the human should at least have enough decency to give him a chance to explain himself. It was the proper thing to do instead of just launching off into a mindless tirade.
"It's wrong if he tries to hurt my friend for no good reason, Yugi. He should've let you explain, not try to hit you," Solitaire snorted.
Kneeling beside her, Yugi said gently," I know, Solitaire, and I'm glad that you were here to help me. But still, it isn't right to hurt someone to stop them. You could've done something else."
She knew that it was the hikari in Yugi talking right now, so Solitaire bit back another sharp retort. Once again, she knew that his instinctual desire to make peace between arguing parties was already setting in. He saw no real threat in these humans, since from their research, he knew that they had no magical energies as they did. What he hadn't realized and Solitaire had was that even without magic, the humans presented a physical threat that had to be dealt with accordingly when they proved violent.
That was a fact that couldn't be ignored when one was visiting other worlds. One always had to be prepared to face challenges that might involve tough decisions. Decisions that might not always have the best outcomes, no matter what the intentions of anyone else who might be involved. Which was why Solitaire had acted as she had. She knew that when Jou had threatened her friend, then he had to be taught a lesson about picking on someone smaller than himself.
Still, since she didn't want to upset Yugi any further, Solitaire decided not to voice this information. Instead, she just bowed her head and conceded to Yugi's decision to forgive the human. It was his choice after all, since he was the one who had been wronged and simply because he was her master. She would abide by what he felt was right in this situation.
Not that she was going to drop her guard while the human and his companions were still around though. No matter what Yugi said or did, that was something that she was not going to do. Until they had proven themselves to her, she would keep a sharp eye on the group of humans while they were in each other's company. It was another little something that Solitaire kept to herself, just so Yugi wouldn't feel the need to argue over the situation anymore.
Yugi, satisfied that he was able to talk some sense into his companion, just smiled gratefully as he patted Solitaire's crest. Then he turned his attention back to the human. Jou was still crouched against the trashcan where he had propped himself up after Solitaire's attack. He continued to stare at the boy who was quickly becoming the most bizarre and dangerous person that he had ever encountered in his life.
"I'm sorry that Solitaire hurt you. She was just trying to help me," Yugi apologized," I'm also sorry for taking your bag. I didn't know it was yours and was just curious to see what was in it. I hope that was okay."
Jou didn't even try to answer him. He was still trying to figure out just what sort of kid he had come across and why in the world said kid had a talking, electrified dragon as his bodyguard. It just wasn't natural for such an animal to even exist. The only place that someone was supposed to be able to find such things were in books and in the movies. If they were found anywhere else, it was a sure sign that someone was going insane.
He snapped to attention again when he felt someone touch one of his burns on his arm. Looking up, Jou saw that Yugi was now kneeling beside him and was examining the burns that Solitaire's electricity had given him. Though he regretted it afterwards when he felt the pain shooting through him, Jou jerked his arm away from Yugi's grasp. An aggravated hiss escaped him as he tried to clutch his arm to his chest protectively while glaring at the one who dared to touch his bruises.
"What the hell are ya tryin' to do now?" Jou demanded.
"It's partially my fault that you're like this, so I'm going to help you," Yugi explained, taking hold of Jou's arm before he could protest again," Now please, just relax and hold still. This will go smoother if you don't tense up."
Jou looked more than a little dubious at Yugi's instructions. He had no idea what kind of prank this strange boy was trying to pull or even what he was doing with an electrified bodyguard. All that he was certain of was that he wanted to get as far away from the both before something else nailed him. Nearly getting electrocuted once in a day was more than enough to last him a lifetime.
Still, when he looked into Yugi's eyes, a strange sense of trust fell over the teen. He knew that as much as he might want to run, somehow it just wouldn't be right. It would cause him to show a cruelty towards someone who didn't deserve that kind of treatment. So as much as he wanted to resist, Jou did as he was told and remained still while Yugi moved closer to the area where he had been burned.
Placing both hands on the burns, Yugi closed his eyes and started to concentrate. A few seconds passed before a soft, violet glow began to form around his hands. It steadily spread from his hands across the burns on Jou, casting an outline over the injuries that he had suffered. As the burns were healed, the outline steadily began to shrink as the damage disappeared. Soon, there was nothing left to show that there had ever been an injury to begin with.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Yugi removed his hands and surveyed his handiwork. It wasn't one of the most extensive jobs that he had ever done, so he hadn't been forced to expand much energy. But from the look of things, it had come out as flawless as the other times Yugi had used his powers to heal others. Once he was satisfied that Jou was no longer in pain, he looked up to see how the human was doing. What greeted him were three pairs of eyes that were bugging out in shock at what he had just done.
"Is something wrong?" Yugi asked.
"T-hat's impossible!" Anzu squeaked.
"How the hell did you do that!" Honda demanded.
Yugi only looked at them in confusion at first. Was what he had done for their friend really that strange? He honestly couldn't see how it could be. All he had done was to help set right the misunderstanding that he had started in the first place. Then his thoughts started to shift as he realized that their astonishment might have to do with the face that humans probably weren't used to seeing this sort of thing. After all, hadn't the research that he and Solitaire had done said that humans either had no idea that magic existed or thought it was a very rare occurrence.
He groaned inwardly. Yugi couldn't believe that he hadn't forgotten something as important as that. He had been so adamant that he try to blend in with the humans so that it would be easier to coexist with them. It was the only way to make sure that they didn't become afraid of him while he was among them. Now though, thanks to Solitaire revealing herself and then using his powers to heal the human, Yugi that his chance at such a thing had been blown.
While he was busy trying figure out how to recover from this blunder, Anzu and Honda took the chance to get a little closer to Jou and the two strangers. Not close enough where it make Solitaire retaliated, but enough where they could get a better look at just what had happened to their friend. They still couldn't believe what they had seen. It just didn't seem possible that someone would have the power to actually heal another person then and there without the use of medication and bandages.
That brought a million questions to mind as to just what the boy before them really was. There was no way he could be human, unless he was one of those people who were supposed to have 'special' powers that popped up in the news from time to time. The kind of powers that were supposed to allow people to heal injuries and sickness within moments, having great strength above normal humans, and so on.
If that was the case, then this was a once in a lifetime discovery for the trio and for more than one reason. From a medical point of view, Yugi's powers could be used to both further pharmaceutical science and possibly save countless lives in the process. But for people who were seeking financial gain, then it was an entirely different story. Then the intentions were meant only for the gain of a few at the expense of another person.
They might not know anything about Yugi beyond his healing ability and what appeared to be a very kind nature, which wasn't something that they wanted to happen to the boy. So they would do what they could to keep that from happening to him and make sure they kept his ability under wraps. At least until it was possible for them to figure out just who he was and what was going on.
Glancing first at Honda and then Jou, Anzu decided to be the one to ask the much needed questions or at least start things off. Moving slowly, she held her hands up in display to show a still very wary Solitaire that she was neither armed nor had any intention of harming anyone. That her only intentions were peaceful ones and that she hoped that the dragon would understand that. Thankfully, after a moment's consideration, Solitaire seemed to accept Anzu's gesture and allowed her to come closer without fear of attack.
"Um, excuse me?" Anzu said uncertainly.
Looking up at her with startled eyes, Yugi replied," Yes?"
"Thanks for helping Jou and all," Anzu started," Uh, I know this might sound a little strange and kinda rude, but I was wondering…?"
"You want to know about my healing powers, right?" Yugi finished.
"Yes, b-but only if you want to talk about. I-er we're just a little curious. We've never seen anything like that before except in movies and on TV," Anzu blushed.
Yugi had no idea what either movies or TV was, but he understood the girl's meaning. Just as he had read in the scrolls, the people of this world weren't used to seeing the kind of talents that were considered commonplace in his. So it was no question that she and the others were curious to know just what they had encountered. The problem was how he going to explain everything without causing more trouble than he already had. He didn't want to lie to them since he knew that it would create a bad impression if they ever learned otherwise, but he also knew that he couldn't reveal everything.
These people were still strangers no matter how one looked at it, so he had to be careful in what he said. Too much information could be more than they could handle and possibly cause them more harm than good. On the other hand, if he revealed too little about himself or simply ignored their questioning, then he would both create mistrust among the first people that he had met and give a rude example of how his own people acted. So after weighing these options, Yugi decided that there was only one course that he could take. He would tell these people the truth. Enough where they could at least understand but not enough where what they learned could cause any harm.
"I understand what you're asking and why. I suppose I would too in your case. Anything new and unusual can make anyone curious," Yugi replied," But I promise that it's nothing for you to be afraid of. I only use my healing magic to help others and my other skills to protect myself."
"Magic? You call what you just did magic?" Honda asked.
"Yes. What else would you call it?" Yugi replied.
There was no answer from the three standing before him. They were all still trying to comprehend that he called his ability magic instead of power and then his claim that he had other magical abilities besides what they had just seen. Knowing this was making all of their heads spin as they tried to process the information. Something that probably wasn't going to happen any time soon from the almost twitching expressions that the group was starting to exhibit.
"I take it that you don't have another name for magic then?" Yugi sighed.
"N-no. We have a name for magic," Anzu choked out," We just usually see it like you just did. Magic like that isn't real here."
"Oh. Then I guess that's why you were scared. You're not used to seeing it," Yugi nodded.
"We're not used to psycho dragons either," Jou muttered as he lifted himself from the ground and to his feet again.
"Watch it, buster, unless you want another taste of my Glint Strike," Solitaire warned.
"Solitaire, I said no more name calling," Yugi scolded, reaching out to pet his friend's spikes.
"And stop antagonizing the dragon, Jou. It'll be your own fault if you get zapped a second time," Anzu warned.
"You know he won't listen, Anzu. He's got a head harder than rock," Honda snorted.
Now that he knew they weren't going to be attacked, he too had come closer to the rest. Honda now stood near Anzu while Jou was still by the trashcan and the two strangers. Just watching them set off a million questions in his mind that were shared by his friends after they had heard Yugi's confession about having magical powers. Such as if he was human then what was he, where he had come from, and just why he and his electrified dragon had decided to pay a visit to Earth.
Those were the only types of questions that were running through Anzu and Jou's heads. In Honda's mind though, it was an entirely different story. Though he too was wondering just who and what Yugi might be, he was worried about someone overhearing their conversation. With something like this, it could be dangerous if things got out of hand or something just went wrong.
"Maybe we should talk about this somewhere we WON'T attract a lot of attention," Honda suggested forcefully.
The others looked at him and then at each other. What he had said made more than enough sense. Speaking out in the open really wasn't something that they should be doing when it came t this sort of subject. There was no telling just who might be listening or what they might do if they heard anything. And since that was a chance that they weren't willing to take, it was time to move and fast.
"Fine. We can go back to my place and figure this stuff out," Jou said.
Anzu and Honda looked at each other uncertainly. They knew that Jou's home was nearest of the three and definitely had more room, but there were also his housemates to consider. One was energetic and understanding, so they might be able to get him to accept Yugi and Solitaire without any problems. It was Jou's other housemate that presented the major problem.
Around anyone but his two housemates, his mannerism was glacial at worst and surly at best. He downright loathed having to deal with anyone that he considered to be of lower intelligence, which was what he believed to be the case with the majority of the human population. Which meant that most of the time he left those around him either feeling outraged at his behavior or feeling lower than a mold growing in some dark corner. Something which Honda and Anzu really didn't want to expose their new friends to just yet.
"Um, no one else is home, are they, Jou?" Anzu asked uncertainly.
"Nah. Moneybag's at a meeting and the kid's at a friend's house studying. Why?" Jou said," You ain't got a problem with going to my place, do ya?"
"No, no," Honda said quickly.
"Of course not. We just want to be sure that no one else is gonna be around. I mean, we can't take too many chances, right?" Anzu agreed quickly.
"Huh?" Jou said almost stupidly.
"Well, think about it," Anzu continued," We already agree that we have to be careful about who might hear us. Kaiba and Mokuba might be out, but there are still the maids who work there. What if they overhear us?"
Before Jou had a chance to respond, Solitaire snapped," If they do, then we'll deal with it. But standing around like a bunch of starstruck nestlings isn't going to get things moving any faster. So you wanna, then let's just go to this guy's house and be done with it. Otherwise, buzz off and let us get on with our business."
Her blunt words earned a surprised look from Anzu, a glare from Honda, a look of semi-appreciation from Jou, and a sigh from Yugi. The first because she didn't think anyone would ever be that straightforward. The second was just getting annoyed with anything that came out of Solitaire's mouth since it either bordered along insult or condemnation for them. The third because there was finally someone who was agreeing with him, even though it wasn't really intentional. The fourth because he knew that somehow his friend was going to wind up getting into trouble again.
"Okay, you guys heard the dragon. We're goin' to my place," Jou announced.
"Fine, we'll go," Honda sighed as he took off his jacket and handed it to Yugi," But the little guy better wear this. He's gonna get looked at funny if anyone sees him in just a shirt."
"It's not a shirt. It's a tunic," Yugi corrected.
"Shirt, tunic, whatever. Just put this on, kid. You'll get fewer stares that way," Honda instructed.
Yugi looked like he wanted to protest but then thought better of it. If these people claimed that he would receive from their peers because of his clothing, then he would have to believe them. This was their world after all and so they knew it far better than he did. So he took the jacket and slipped it on. Needless to say, the fit really wasn't exact. Yugi was barely over half Honda's height and that left his jacket covering Yugi almost to his knees. Still, no matter no one looked at it, his own clothes were effectively covered from sight.
"All right, let's get goin' then," Jonouchi said as he shouldered his bag and started off.
"Um okay," Yugi agreed, following after the taller.
Anzu and Honda nodded then started after the other two. For a brief second, Solitaire watched them go. She couldn't believe things were going this way. She had no idea if mixing with this particular group would prove to be beneficial or not, but she could tell that it wasn't going to be boring. Especially since the next time the one named Jonouchi tried to hurt Yugi like he had earlier, Solitaire wouldn't just zap him. She would be playing for keeps.
A/N: Okay, I know that I said that I wouldn't bash someone unless I hated them, but this time I made an exception. The semi Jou bashing that I'm going to be doing is at the request of a friend. She's not very fond of Jou and asked me to do something to him in this story. So please, if there are any Jou fans out there, please don't flame me. I'm just doing this to make a friend happy since she's such a big help with getting these stories off the ground.