Thinking Back and Looking Ahead

When your mind is swimming with many thoughts, it's hard to sleep. But sleep managed to be easy for Emily to come by, given she was always tired from work. At least she knew how Kaiba felt when he was young; always being forced to work with little to no rest. Not through manual labor, of course, but with his schooling. Of course, Emily had no one to blame but herself, given the fact that it's the lifestyle she chose for herself. Not that she had any complaints, but all the same.

One day, she was relaxing in one of the hot springs in the Secret Garden with her friends. Since it was starting to get colder with the change of seasons, the heroes decided that they should take time to come to the Secret Garden and relax in the hot springs. Emily liked the idea. Soaking in the hot water always did relax her. And at least the hot water didn't release any noxious fumes.

"So, guys, I've been thinking," Joey was saying. "On days when I don't have school or need to work, I figured I might as well go to another world where I can not only hang out with friends, but also brush up on my fighting skills. You know, practice archery with Kagome and Link and maybe spend time with my Pokémon. Maybe I'll go to the Xiaolin Temple and ask the Wu-Dai warriors if they can teach me a few martial arts moves. What do you think?"

Yugi thought it was a good idea and had been considering the same thing. Even Kaiba was in agreement. But for Emily, the whole thing fell on deaf ears. Joey tried getting her attention by splashing her. The feeling of water splashing against her face snapped her out of it. "Emily, I'm talking to you," Joey snapped.

The blonde girl rubbed her eyes. "Sorry, Joey. I guess I wasn't listening."

"Evidently," Kaiba replied.

"Are you okay, Emily?" Yugi asked. "You've been really quiet."

"You're always quiet, that we know," the brunette observed, "but is anything the matter?"

Emily decides to come clean. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Care to share?" the blonde lad asked.

Emily figured she might as well talk about it. "I was thinking," she began, "this whole place, the Pure Valley, has existed for eons, like the Shadow Realm. Yet until last year when we first came here, it was sealed."

The brunette cocked his head to the side. "What are you getting at, Briar?"

"Well, we know our ancestors, the Children of Millennia, have been here before us, because the Great Goddess said that she built this place as a safe haven that her children and followers to come to when they needed a place to get away to for safety and comfort," she continued. "And I don't know why, but I suddenly started wondering, did our ancestors have the same adventures we've been having, like going to different worlds?"

Her friends looked at her in bewilderment. "But how could that be?" Yugi asked. "Centuries ago, all the worlds were blended together as one world before it was all divided into many worlds by the power of the Pokémon sovereign Arceus."

"I know and when I realized that, I figured I don't know why I even thought of it," Emily replied.

Joey rested his arms on one of the rocks. "It actually sounds interesting. I sure like to imagine the thought of our ancestors going to different worlds."

"Only we have no way of knowing anything," Emily pointed out. "I doubt our secret headquarters would have a system containing records and archives since our modern technology didn't exist in ancient times." She places her hand close to her chest. "I also wouldn't want to trouble the Great Goddess with something like this."

Yugi asked Kaiba for his opinion. "Kaiba, what do you think?"

He decides to be honest. "I think you should forget it," he tells Emily. "As interesting as it sounds, it's best to just leave the past in the past. True, maybe we could learn something new regarding the history of our ancestors, but this is our time now. I'm not saying we should forget everything we've learned. I don't think our histories are unimportant in any way. Back in Battle City, you guys helped me to realize that learning about our ancient past is crucial to us in facing our destinies and I've come to embrace that. But our ancestors did their part. We can do ours by focusing on the present and what we're dealing with now."

Emily sighed and replied, "I guess so."

"I've learned not to let my past define who I am," said Kaiba. "You guys can do the same thing." He looks at Emily directly. "Briar, in your past life, you were a princess. And though you're that same princess you were back then, do you let that define who you are?"

Emily began thinking about it. It's true that she's a princess, yet she lives the life of an ordinary middle-class girl trying to get by in life. "Yes and no, I guess. Back home I try to live an ordinary life. But when I'm in the other worlds being the hero I am, that's when I be the princess I am. But that doesn't mean I'm letting my past define who I am, does it?"

"Well, like you said, yes and no," said Kaiba. "Yes, because when it gets serious, that's when you take on your true role as a princess. Also, no, because like you said, you live an ordinary life back home because it's also a part of who you really are: a boring, pathetic, civilian struggling to make ends meet." He slightly clears his throat. "No offense."

"None taken," she replied, given he wasn't entirely wrong.

The brunette continued on, "In my case, my brother and I lost our parents when we were young. Then were adopted by Gozaburo Kaiba. He forced me to work myself to the bone so I could run his empire. I know I said it many times before that I succeeded and got where I am today through hard work and determination. But I don't let the cruelty I faced from my stepfather define who I am. Don't get me wrong, I still value the importance of hard work. But I also realized that accepting support and encouragement from friends and family is also just as important. Who I was in the past doesn't define who I am today. That's because each of you guys brought out the best in me and helped me to change for the better."

All of his friends appreciated hearing him say that. "And you changed KaibaCorp for the better too when you turned it into a gaming corporation," Emily added.

The brunette nodded. "It's good to hold on to important lessons from the past. But like I said, we shouldn't let our pasts define who we are. Let's focus on the now and take things one day at a time."

All of his friends agreed. Focusing on the present was the best thing to do right now. There was also no need to worry about the future. Though the heroes do have a lot to think about, the best they can do is take it a day at a time.