Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction / Death Note Fan Fiction ❯ Then came an angel ❯ On the Battle Ship ( Chapter 22 )

Chapter 21

 

By Sapadu

 

I'm sorry this took so long, but I've been waiting for a response. *Sigh* since no one's reading this, I guess that means I can screw it up totally and not give a shit.

 

Bakura couldn't quite comprehend how he got HERE. A moment ago, he'd been with Miss Kendalina trying to get Tea, Yugi, and that other girl out of the rubble at the Shibuya convention center, and now, he was here, at Domino docks.

 

The best solution to his predicament was to look around, blink, and wonder how he'd gotten here. That wasn't helping much.

 

Bakura stared down at his reflection in the water. Maybe his feet had carried him here in accordance with his subconscious desire to suicide...

 

Nah...

 

The thing was, whenever Bakura just suddenly 'woke up' and found himself in a place other than he remembered being a few seconds ago, it usually meant the Spirit inside the Millenium Ring had taken over. The Ring, however, was unusually quiet, right now.

 

Ripples in the water broke the reflection Bakura was staring at, and he looked up to see a ship pulling in. He gasped and backed away, slightly.

 

'About time, too.' He heard the Ring suddenly speak up. Panicking, Bakura reached for the knot on the cord to pull the Ring off, but too late- the Ring had already taken over.

 

Something was afoot here.

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

Yuzuriha hadn't left her room all day. It had even Subaru worried about the girl, but a day that she refused the pocky someone offered her was a day that meant the world was, indeed, coming to an end.

 

A week after Kusanagi had died, Tea came by the dorm, wearing all black (though, since Domino's temperatures were up in the high seventies, her clothes looked about as slutty as a student could get away with) and her purse slung over her shoulder. Arashi greeted her at the door and told her Yuzuriha was upstairs, refusing to come out of her room.

 

"Has she been eating or anything?" Tea asked, sounding genuinely concerned. Arashi shook her head, looking gloomy.

 

"Well, maybe I can cheer her up- that's why I came here anyway..." Tea offered, and Arashi told her where Yuzuriha's room was.

 

It was easy enough to get in- Inuki seemed to know it was Tea coming, and he opened the door, whining as though begging for someone to cheer his mistress up. Tea tiptoed in and sat on the edge of Yuzuriha's bed, where she was laying, face-down, with the pillow over her head.

 

"Yuzuriha... look... I know it's hard... and it hurts..." Yuzuriha sniffled from under her pillow, "But... I don't think Kusanagi would have wanted THIS to happen..." Yuzuriha didn't answer, so Tea kept talking.

 

"Kusanagi... he... what he did, he gave his life so you could keep living... and he would have wanted you do be happy... and move on... and maybe find someone else... another person who you could love... who could see Inuki, too...

 

"But... staying cooped up here... is that really... happiness to you? Because everyone's worried about you- the girl downstairs... um, isn't Arashi her name?... she looked really scared that you weren't eating... and Kamui and Yugi and Mr. Sumeragi are all worried about you, too...

 

Yuzuriha didn't seem to find this information interesting.

 

"Inuki here seems like he wants you to get out- he was the one who let me in, so I'm sorry for invading your privacy but... Yuzuriha... we all care about you!" Tea was starting to cry, in sheer frustration, "Please... couldn't you come out... and see the sun again?"

 

Yuzuriha didn't answer.

 

Tea stayed with her all day- because that was all she could do. She truly was helpless.

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

A/N: I am kind of bullshitting how long this tournament is going on but... the WB showed only one episode a week in the Marik saga here- it FELT like the Battle City thing went on for months.

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

The last day of Battle City was wrapping up- clouds loomed over the sky of Domino City, a chilly wind nipped the air, and Joey felt an air of foreboding come over him. Mai was safe from that creep who'd tried to kidnap her after her duel, but Marik was still out there- he'd only recently tried to use him and Tea to kill Yugi and take the Millenium Puzzle, which was something Joey vowed to himself would never happen again.

 

Yugi was acting like something was bothering him, and Tea was more quiet than usual, but Joey thought it was just him- maybe Yugi really was mad at him for being taken over like that... and knowing Tea's enormous crush on the shorter boy, she was probably really pissed at him, too. Honest to God, the only two who DIDN'T know about Tea and Yugi's flings for each other were themselves.

 

Joey could almost feel a tail hanging between his legs, like a kicked puppy.

 

Inside the stadium, the air seemed thicker than usual- only he, Yugi, Kaiba, Mai and the guy who helped Bakura... Namu, wasn't that his name?... were the only finalists there. Mokuba, Tristan, Duke, Serenity, and Tea didn't count.

 

(A/N: I just realized that in informal Japanese, the word 'Namu' means 'Name'... o-kaaaaaaaaaay... and in the Japanese version, none of the cast NOTICED this?)

 

There were footsteps behind them, and everyone turned to see Bakura walking towards them. A Duel Disk was attatched to his arm, his hair was pressed flat from lying in the hospital all day, and he seemed to be walking unnaturally straight.

 

"BAKURA!" Tea gasped, turning around to see their British classmate up and about, even after they found him at the docks with his arm all bloody. All present gasped and ran over towards him, except Kaiba and Mokuba- though the older brother probably didn't give a damn while the younger most likely was being polite.

 

"Bakura! What are you doing out of the hospital? You shouldn't be walking around with your arm hurt like that- are you sure you're okay?" Yugi asked, looking considerably worried. Bakura blinked for a second, before laughing, in a rather carefree manner that Joey had never heard before. Not since Duelist Kingdom, at any rate...

 

"Oh, don't be silly, Yugi- I'm fine. See?" Bakura poked the bandage around his arm, which made everyone squirm, "It doesn't hurt at all, really!"

 

Joey fought to keep his stomach down as Bakura poked right where his arm had been cut- somehow, all his reassurances of being fine seemed to be accompanied with a sort of false cheer which made Joey want to throw up.

 

"Are you really sure you're alright?" Asked Namu, looking concerned. Bakura blinked upon making eye contact, and then seemed to recognize the foreigner.

 

"Oh, yes- you're the one who helped me: Thank you for your help, I'm sorry to have troubled you." Bakura bowed slightly, and Namu bowed back, with an awkward 'It was no trouble at all.'

 

"Oh, Yugi, and Tea, are you two alright after the accident at Shibuya? Have you both recovered alright?" Bakura changed the subject quickly, and both Yugi and Tea seemed rather taken aback.

 

"Oh... um... yeah, I'm okay." Yugi stammered. Tea didn't get a chance to respond, because Joey interupted.

 

"WHAT? WHAT ACCIDENT? Yug, you an' Tea didn't get hurt, didya?" Joey asked, grabbing his friend by the shoulders. Just when he'd promised to never let them get hurt again, they get caught in some accident. And from how Bakura had asked, there'd apparently been some damage done.

 

"There was an earthquake at the Shibuya convention center. Don't worry, Joey- it was a completely spontaneous thing, there was no way you could have known..." Yugi seemed to be reading Joey's thoughts of impending guilt and self-pity, but hearing the word earthquake didn't calm him very well.

 

Joey drooped, feeling thoroughly miserable. Tea also seemed to get what was going on inside Joey's head and patted him on the back.

 

"It's okay Joey- nobody's mad at you for what happened at the docks. And if any of us seemed like that, Yugi and I have just had a lot to think about since the earthquake, that's all..." Tea reassured him, with a friendly smile. Joey perked up, feeling a bit better.

 

"Speaking of things to think about, Tea, how's Yuzuriha? You went to see her the other day- is she any better?" Yugi asked, changing the topic again. Joey's ears perked up- he recognized that name.

 

"Yuzuriha? Dat black-hair girl wid de dog no one else can see?" He asked, not meaning to be mean, and nobody, thankfully, called him on the dog remark.

 

"Yeah... she was in the earthquake too... and so was this guy called Kusanagi... I think he was her boyfriend or something..." Tea explained, before quieting, "He died in the earthquake. She's not taking it too well." Both Yugi and Tea looked rather haunted. Serenity gasped.

 

"He DIED? But the T.V reports said nobody was injured!" She protested, but Tea interrupted.

 

"I know that's what they said, but Yugi and I got hurt quite a bit, and he was buried under so much of the rubble, I wouldn't be surprised if they hadn't found his body, even by now." Tea explained, though nobody except Yugi realized that she was essentially lying through her teeth.

 

"So Yuzuriha's still depressed, den?" Joey confirmed, and Tea nodded, sadly, "Well, we're just gonna hafta go an' cheer 'er up after da tournament!" Joey said, with newfound vigor.

 

"I don't know, Joey- she wasn't even eating. Not even pocky." Tea looked worried, even hurt. Tristan gave a mock gasp.

 

"Wow- the day that girl doesn't eat pocky is, like, the end of the world." He commented.

 

Bakura made a noise, his eyes momentarily disappearing behind his bangs.

 

"Somedin wrong, Bakura?" Joey asked. Bakura looked back up with another cheerful smile.

 

"Just a little cough, that's all." He reassurred them, chipperly.

 

(A/N: Only Ring-san gets the joke about the end of the world.)

 

Then his Millenium Ring started to glow. Everyone's eyes went wide. One of the pointers was pointing directly behind Bakura.

 

"What's going on?" Tea asked, and Yugi gasped, his eyes going wide, Yuzuriha forgotten for the moment.

 

"Another Millenium Item is near!" He whispered.

 

Somebody behind Bakura made a clearing throat noise. The white-haired boy jumped, and turned.

 

A tall, hooded man with broad shoulders and a forbidding stature was standing right behind him.

 

"Do you mind? You're blocking the entry way." He said, in a low, rumbling voice, and in his hand, he carried the Millenium Rod. Everyone who'd been privy to the event at the docks gasped.

 

'It's Marik!' They all thought. Marik strode right past them, right over to Kaiba, seemingly here on business, and business alone, but he did throw a look at Yugi's Millenium Puzzle. Yugi shivered and almost involuntarily shrunk under his glare.

 

Joey shot a glare at Marik, which he ignored as he strode past.

 

The tension was broken by two female voices arguing somewhere on the side of the stadium.

 

"YOU HAVE NO SENSE OF DIRECTION- GIVE ME THAT MAP!"

 

"Bite me."

 

"I JUST MIGHT- I HAVEN'T HAD ANY BLOOD TO DRINK FOR A MONTH!"

 

"You do realize I don't have any blood in my veins, anymore than YOU do, right? It's a side effect of being dead."

 

"Actually, Kenda, that's just VAMPIRES. Regular dead people have blood and a pulse, except zombies."

 

Everyone turned to where they heard the voices coming from. They didn't have to look far- just beyond a stone's throw, Samantha and Kendalina were squabbling over a map, before Kendalina looked up, blinked, and put the map away.

 

"Oh... Sammy, we're here." She said. Samantha blinked, looked around, and seemed to agree, before Kendalina started talking again.

 

"See? I told you beating people up was the best way to get these cards!" She bragged. Samantha crossed her arms and glared at the older woman.

 

"Kenda, I wouldn't have let you kick that guy's ass if he hadn't tried to snatch my purse." She reminded her. Kendalina made a scoffing noise.

 

"SO WHAT?" She didn't seem to think it was a big deal that she'd beat someone up for the locator cards they had. Samantha rolled her eyes.

 

"Samanta? An' ain't that the crazy Kendalina woman? 'ey! We're over here!" Joey called, waving, and Samantha seemed all too glad to stroll right over to them. Kendalina went over to Kaiba, ready to start arguing her way into the finals.

 

"Heyya! How're y'all doin'?" She bounced, with a bigass grin spreading over her face, making everyone sweatdrop.

 

"I could ask you." Tea pointed out, "Last time we saw you, you were mad as hell and holding a sword as long as your arm." Samantha merely grinned, baring her fangs, before turning to Bakura with an equally evil grin.

 

"Just FYI, Ring-san, your imitation of Bakura-san sucks ass." She said. Everyone blinked between her and Bakura before doing a double take. Bakura's hair spiked and his voice deepened to a growl.

 

"Oh, really? Who are you to tell that to me?" The Ring snapped, looking irritated. Everyone took two steps back, except Sammy, who defiantly put her finger and thumb, shaped like an "L" on her forehead.

 

"Please- your shoelaces are untied, your jeans are wrinkled, and your shirt collar is turned up. Bakura-san would never let such sloppiness go unchecked." Samantha scolded.

 

"Bitch." The Millenium Ring snarled. Samantha bared her teeth in a nasty smile again.

 

"Flattery will not sway me." She warned, "But remember- I shalt always have the Holy Microwave." THAT made the Ring jerk backwards five steps and he waved his hands in random kung-fu defense positions before everyone glared at the Ring.

 

"Bakura, if you can hear me, please don't take the butt-whooping I'm about to give you personally." Joey warned, clapping a hand onto the Ring's shoulder and aiming a punch. After a few minutes, Tristan joined in, while Yugi and Tea sat on the sidelines, sweatdropping, and Sammy wandered off to help her partner, completely uncaring as to the fate of the Millenium Ring.

 

"Okay, Set-kun... I REALLY didn't want to have to stoop to this..." Kendalina whipped out a video tape.

 

"What's that?" Mokuba inquired. Kendalina sneered.

 

"This, otouto-kun, is a copy off the security cameras of a bar, when your brother was sixteen, getting drunk for the VERY first time." She replied, with a kind of triumph in her voice. Kaiba's eyes bugged out.

 

"Someone... TAPED... that?" He gagged. Kendalina was starting to take a very wicked edge in her sneer. Kaiba gulped.

 

"I've got two and a half hours footage of you, shakin' it like you don't care, the address of a few paparazzi individuals who have been DYING to get dirt on you since you were BORN, and NOTHING to lose." Kendalina concluded. Kaiba was glaring, fit to kill.

 

"Now, Kenda... is that really necessary?" Sammy scolded her partner lightly, walking up to her, "I mean, it may be effective, but REALLY? Something that's more the here and NOW would be a bit more to the point. And we can then use that tape for future use." Samantha wiggled her finger at Kendalina, who raised her eyebrows.

 

"Oh... whaddya have in mind?" She asked. The group that wasn't beating the living shit out of the Millenium Ring turned around and looked on with interest as Samantha, swiftly and deftly, reached out, unhooked Kaiba's belt buckle, and pulled the strap of leather out of it's loops within about two seconds. Everyone's jaws dropped and eyes bugged out to see Kaiba immediately hold his pants up and go chasing after Samantha for his belt. Finally, just as the two finished their second lap around the stadium, Sammy popped her head off, stuffed the belt down her esophogus, and secured her head firmly back on her neck. Kaiba looked about ready to throttle her.

 

"Let us on, or you don't get it back. To make it fair, Kenda and I won't even WIN any of our duels." Samantha bargained. Everyone seemed to find this an odd bargain, but Kaiba still looked suspicious. Mokuba stepped up to the plate, rather that let his brother's reputation go on the line.

 

"As Commissioner of the Games in this tournament, I'm going to have to ask why you're participating if you will willingly throw your duels in the Finals." He asked, sounding rather official for an eleven-year-old. Kendalina chipped in, here.

 

"We're really here more as safety inspectors than anything else- there's someone among your passengers who's been stealin' peoples souls, tying up knots at the Ministry, and just generally causing mayhem. We're here on a job, but we don't need to win the crown- just get on board the ship." She explained, lighting up a cigarette. Mokuba blinked, thought it over, consulted his brother, then said that was reasonable enough.

 

"Saa... howsat, Sammy- I got us on WITHOUT bloodshed or humilitation of..." Kendalina stopped, because Samantha had regurgitated up the belt and was staring at Mokuba with a bit of a dazed look.

 

Nobody saw anything but a blur as she pounced.

 

"KAWAII DESU!" She squealed, practically squeezing the air out of Mokuba as she hugged him. Kaiba's eyebrow twitched. Kendalina chuckled.

 

"Oh yeah... Sammy has a magnetic attraction to really cute kids. I think it comes from her spending her whole life playing 'older sibling' to SOMEone or another." She explained, chewing on her cigarette, before giving Mokuba an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, 'Kuba-kun, but you're screwed: She's gonna be glued to you like white on rice for a while."

 

As Mokuba went pale, everyone snickered.

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

On board, after everyone (including a mysterious woman decked out all in pale cream garb, complete with veils and jewelry) had climbed onto a large blimp with a dueling platform on the roof, the first thing to catch Joey's attention was the smell of food wafting through the halls.

 

Apparently, dinner was a free for all, all-you-could-eat fest.

 

At this time, everyone filled their plates and went to the rooms they'd been assigned. Kendalina and Samantha had both said something singularly odd about 'making their own space', to which Kaiba said he'd messily murder the both of them if they did any damage on board that jeopardized the tournament.

 

Kendalina had laughed while Samantha went off to fill a bowl with food.

 

It was at that precise moment that Tea approached Samantha.

 

"Um... Sammy, since you and Kendalina don't have any room to go to, right now, why don't you come in to eat with us?" She offered, hesitantly. Samantha blinked and frowned at her. It was then Tea noticed she was filling a bowl, but there was no soup.

 

"And... uh... why the bowl, when we're next to... the... uh... steak..." Tea's voice trailed off as she noticed Sammy holding a ladle, carefully filling her bowl with the blood that was running from the steaks.

 

"Eh?" Samantha asked, oblivious to Tea's apparent disgust and the fact that her fangs were poking over her lower lip. Tea grimaced and, holding her stomach, found her way to a toilet.

 

After dinner found practically everyone communing in Joey's room- Tristan and Duke battling it out for Serenity's affections, Joey shouting at them in his overprotective!brother stance, and the girls sitting on the side lines, watching with the same interest as golf spectators, when Yugi came in, with his hands over his head.

 

"Um... guys...?" He got their attention at once, "We've all got to go out into the main common." He explained, beads of sweat running from his forehead.

 

The reason why was self-apparant, as Samantha was standing behind the boy with a sniper rifle pointed at his head. Everyone else quickly put their hands in the air and walked out to where Samantha directed. Already, everyone else was assembled, even Kaiba and Mokuba, the former of the two looking sour.

 

(A/N: Before I continue, when I say "Marik" I mean Odion when he's pretending to be Marik and Namu is the real Marik. Everything clear? Good.)

 

"Marik" was over in the corner, sulking, Namu was seated at a round table, twiddling his thumbs and avoiding the eyes of the strange woman, who, with her veil off, turned out to be Ishizu Ishtar. Mai was drumming her fingers on the table top, Bakura had regained control of his body and was sitting with his eyes on the floor, and Kendalina was distributing what looked like shot glasses.

 

"I hope you realize that with everyone secluded right here, Marik may try to control someone again." Yu-Gi-Oh had appeared at Samantha's elbow, but the American girl smirked and shook her head.

 

"Don't worry about that- I had a little chat with him earlier, warning him not to try and pull anything." There was a click and Samantha held up a small handgun. The Pharaoh made a face.

 

"I'm so glad you're on our side..." He muttered, almost sarcastically, to which, Sammy chuckled, before answering with an evil grin,

 

"Then why don't you smile when you tell me that?" The Spirit of the Millenium Puzzle shivered and didn't answer.

 

As everyone sat down, Samantha put away her gun and counted heads, then frowned.

 

"There's two extra seats- one's mine... who's missing?" She asked. Kendalina made a gesture.

 

"Sammy... behind yo-"

 

"SAPU-CHAN!"

 

Everyone blinked to see Samantha laying facedown on the floor with a blue-haired, pointy-eared girl sitting on her lower back.

 

"Ah... yes... Konban wa, Megami-chan." Samantha's voice was muffled into the floor.

 

"I have GOT to have a talk with security about who they let on this ship." Everyone heard Kaiba mutter. Somebody stifled a snicker with a cough.

 

"AM I LATE?" Koichi asked, getting off of Samantha to let her breathe. The Drow was dressed completely in black leather, except for her studded belts and collar, and her boots were lace up. Sammy shook her head and appropriated a chair at the table. Kendalina stood up.

 

"Alrighty, y'all's! The reason we gather here tonight is for a bit of an icebreaker game- since we're all gonna be cooped up on this ship for a while, we might want to know more about everyone so that we don't have a crisis on this ship. So... what we're gonna do is play a game called 'I've Never'!"

 

This was received with various odd looks.

 

"Now, the basic game play is this- one person stands up, says something that they've never done, and everyone else who HAS done this thing has to stand up and take a shot.

 

"For example, if I were to say I'd never blown up the kitchen..." Kendalina was interuptted by a loud snort from Samantha, "I said 'IF', damn it, IF I said I'd never blown up the kitchen, all the people who HAVE blown up their kitchens would have to stand up and take a shot.

 

"Naturally, lying is not permitted, and TRUST ME..." Kendalina tapped her temples with a forefinger, "I can tell... but you can always come up with a really crazy 'I've Never'."

 

Given how fast Kendalina talked, Sammy was quite sure nobody had understood a word she'd said.

 

"Are we all good? Alrighty then, let's go!" Kendalina grinned, "I'll start with... I've never bitten somebody NOT related to me by blood." Everyone blinked at the addition to the statement, but Samantha, Joey, Koichi, and Namu stood up, all of them taking shots, without question.

 

Koichi went next with never having been to Eygpt, a wicked grin on her face. Samantha, Namu, Ishizu, and "Marik" stood to drink, while the Spirit of the Millenium Puzzle looked as though he were pondering whether or not HE counted for that, not having any memory of the sandy country.

 

"Yes, Puzzle-san, you DO count for that. As would Ring-san, if he wanted to join." Koichi said, reading his thoughts. The Pharaoh grumbled, but stood and took a shot with as much dignity as possible. Bakura stayed in his seat, mumbling something about the Ring not wanting to risk another beating.

 

"Sammy, you've been to Egypt?" Tea asked. Sammy held up two fingers.

 

"Only for two weeks. I was a trouble maker. Now, my turn..." Samantha stood, thought for a second, then snapped her fingers, "I've never back-talked to my father." Everyone except Koichi and Kendalina looked like they sincerely doubted this, but Kaiba, Mokuba, Joey, Tristan, Duke, Mai, Namu, "Marik", and Kendalina all stood to drink.

 

"Why's that something to be proud of for you?" Joey asked as he sat back down. Samantha grinned, devilishly, and didn't answer.

 

Bakura mentioned that he'd never NOT done his homework, to which Koichi, Joey, Tristan, and Yugi all stood to take shots- Yugi kept switching off with the Pharaoh inside the Millenium Puzzle depending on the 'I've Never', and thus their tolerance was twice that of Joey and Tristan, who were already starting to feel tipsy.

 

Mokuba stood, professing to never have played DDR, and Koichi, Tea, Samantha, and Serenity drank. After his little brother, Kaiba took his turn, with never having told a deliberate lie. After the catcalls died down, Koichi, Sammy, Kendalina, Joey, Tea, Namu, "Marik", and Bakura all drank.

 

"I've never had sex." Ishizu said, tonelessly, not even bothering to stand. A few people squirmed at her utter lack of expression, but several, including Kendalina, Koichi, Sammy, and Kaiba stood to take their shots. After sitting down, everyone stared at Mai, who looked like she was contemplating reaching for a few more shots. At the looks everyone was giving her, Mai explained.

 

"Working around drunk, rich guys every night on a casino cruise ship, you're GOING to get picked up at SOME time." Before she took her turn, with never having walked into a sliding glass door.

 

With Koichi in the lead, Joey, Tristan, Serenity, Tea, and Yugi stood up to take shots. Joey, with a nervous laugh, stood to take his turn.

 

"I've never crashed a car." He proclaimed, looking proud of this achievement.

 

"Hoo boy..." Koichi muttered, getting to her feet and taking a shot.

 

Yugi stood for his turn, saying he'd never deliberately cut himself enough to bleed (A few people made faces, as Yugi said this with a cheerful smile) and again, Koichi stood to drink, as did Kenda, Bakura, "Marik", Namu, and, amazingly, Serenity got to their feet. As she sat back down, Joey's sister hicupped slightly. Joey looked shocked.

 

"Sis, you've cut yourself?" He asked, horrified. Serenity waved her hand.

 

"It was an accident, Joey." She said, sounding just a little off. Everyone could see a scar on her thumb. Yugi blushed and said he'd meant on purpose, but Koichi waved it away as Tea stood up, saying she'd never been mistaken for the opposite sex. There were a few chuckles as people stood to take shots, though Sammy pondered if she counted, because technically, at the time, it WASN'T a mistake. Koichi poked her in the ribs.

 

"Get up, Sapu-chan. If 'Kuba-kun'll admit it, you can have enough guts to do the same." Samantha faked a sigh and stood to drink with Koichi, Mokuba, Bakura, Duke, and Namu. The vampire sat back down grumbling about a stupid gender-switching curse.

 

Tristan proudly proclaimed that he'd never opened someone else's e-mail, ignoring Joey's jibe that it was because he'd never had access to anyone's e-mail account but his own. Koichi, Kendalina, and Kaiba all stood to drink.

 

"Hacker." Mai teased Kaiba as he sat back down, ignoring her. Namu stood up, looking confused as to what to say.

 

"I've never...." And then he fell silent.

 

"Done much." Koichi whispered to Samantha, who understood completely why. Namu shot them both a glare, but continued.

 

"I've never... erm..." Again, there was a long pause, before Namu seemed to decide, "I've never played 'I've Never' before." Several hiccupping members of the group stood- Joey, Tea, Koichi, Kendalina, and Serenity, but the younger Wheeler sibling said last time, it hadn't been a drinking game.

 

Duke stood to take his turn and somehow came up with never driven a golf cart through his school. Koichi laughed, stood, took her shot, while Tristan and Joey dragged Yugi into drinking with them. Kendalina looked doubtful, finally asking Yugi if he could have even reached the pedals, but Bakura came to his defense saying that Joey and Tristan had been the ones driving and had just brought Yugi along for the ride.

 

As "Marik" stood up, everyone who had been controlled or been around when someone else had been controlled backed away, wondering what he could say.

 

"I've never been to America." He said. Koichi, Duke, and Samantha all got to their feet and took shots. Duke raised his eyebrows at the two girls.

 

"Really? Where?" He asked, curiously. Koichi mentioned she was from Oregon and Samantha commented that she'd been born and raised in a small town on the edge of lake Michigan in Wisconsin.

 

"Was it nice there?" Serenity asked, trying to be nice. Samantha pulled a face.

 

"It SUCKED!" She complained. Everyone laughed, as Kendalina stood and feeling evil, said that she'd never been killed in a crucifiction-like manner. Samantha snarled something impolite at her (the liquor was mellowing her tongue) and stood to take a shot.

 

This made everyone more curious.

 

Koichi stood and took her turn.

 

"I've never killed a person in cold blood." Kendalina, Samantha, the Pharaoh, and Namu all drank to that. Samantha took her turn by saying she'd never been turned into a lead minature in a board game. While shooting her dirty looks, Tea, Joey, Tristan, and Yugi all stood to drink, as did Bakura.

 

(A/N: And for the less astute readers, if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm going by the manga on this portion, while ignoring significant details *coughDeathTcough*)

 

Bakura took his turn with a pause, before finally deciding,

 

"I've never taken the Lord's name in vain." Everyone blinked, never having realized that Bakura was Catholic, though he explained that it was only because everyone in his family had been baptized, but nobody even went to church anymore. Still, chuckling, Sammy, Koichi, Kendalina, Joey, Tristan, Duke, Namu, and "Marik" all got to their feet and drank.

 

Mokuba stood, thought for a moment, then decided to be bold and proclaimed he'd never been arrested for his T-shirt. Koichi somehow managed to take her shot while simultaneously laughing her ass off, as did Sammy, Joey, and Mai.

 

"I've never spent a day riding in an elevator, terrorizing everybody who climbs aboard." Kaiba said, shooting a pointed glare at Samantha, who stood, shamelessly and took a shot with Koichi, Kendalina, Tea, and Namu.

 

Ishizu again remained seated as she declared she'd never woken up next to somebody who she couldn't remember the name of. Everyone laughed as Koichi groaned and stood, for the third time in a row and took a shot, but everyone looked surprised as Kaiba did the same. They didn't stop staring for a while.

 

"Is there a problem?" The young CEO asked, with an edge in his voice hinting that there WOULD be very soon if they didn't stop staring. Mai stood, took one look at Ishizu, and then came up with a rather clever 'I've Never'

 

"I've never gone through an entire game of 'I've Never' without standing up, once." Ishizu went red in the face, but reluctantly took a shot. Namu and Koichi snickered, and Sammy had the feeling that they weren't the only ones who'd been unnerved by Ishizu's total lack of drinking in the game.

 

By now, most of the newbie drinkers were getting REALLY tipsy- Tea herself was having difficulty standing up to take her turn, and hicupped three different times as she tried to stammer hers out.

 

"I've nev-hic-er... never... hic... I've never r-hic-aised... raise the dead... hic... and made the-hic-m... do the can-hic-can..." That was as far as she got, because Tea tripped and fell sprawled in Yugi's lap. Koichi stood, took her shot, and then proceeded to sit back down and laugh her ass off at Yugi, whom was blushing fiercely and attempting to get Tea off his lap without pushing her onto the floor.

 

(A/N: Such a gentleman, isn't he?)

 

Finally, taking some pity on their pal, Tristan and Joey stood and helped Yugi haul Tea's drunk ass back into her chair, but that didn't stop her from drunkenly resting her head on the shorter boy's shoulder. Yugi blushed, but managed to stammer out that he'd never skipped class. Joey, Tristan, Kendalina, Koichi, Sammy, and Mai all took shots. Joey took his cue from Mai and said he'd never pierced his ears, to which Namu, "Marik", Ishizu, Kendalina, Sammy, and Mai all took shots. At this point, however, Joey was quite close to his drunk limit, so opted to slither out of his chair and onto the floor, pretending to have fainted. Tristan muttered something along the lines of 'pussying out', the liquor having also apparently loosened his tongue, but stood and took his turn by saying he'd never fed someone's soul to an anthromorphic tree.

 

Kendalina snarled something incoherent at him, stood, drank, then sat back down in a huff. Everyone blinked at the strange syllable that she had spat.

 

"It's Corellian." Samantha explained, and when they turned questioning gazes on her, she continued, "And you don't want to know what she said." Yugi and Bakura laughed, being the only ones there who were really truly sober- even Koichi and Kendalina were starting to look a little dazed.

 

(A/N: All these author's notes are getting really tedious, huh? What Kendalina said, for those who are curious, is roughly along the lines of 'Go F*** yourself')

 

Serenity got up to say she'd never cross-dressed and Koichi again bullied Samantha into taking her shot, and Bakura, Namu, and "Marik" stood as well, while Joey shot up then sat down almost as soon as the drink touched his lips.

 

"I've never T.P.ed an entire Walmart store." Duke said, throwing a suspicious glance at Samantha and Koichi, who had already started pouring their shots, but both apparently remembered the occasion just as they were swallowing the liquor, and thus sprayed everyone with rum coming out of their noses. Everyone skittered away from the table, except Ishizu, who apparently would rather retain her dignity than avoid the spray of liquor, and after that, the game was put on pause for about fifteen minutes while everyone laughed.

 

Then, after a pause, Namu stood and proclaimed that he'd never kissed someone the same gender as him. Kendalina chuckled and stuck her tongue out at Sammy, who stood and took a few shots, considering ALL the times she'd kissed other girls, while Tristan rolled his eyes, stood, took a shot, and then sat back down. Tea, Serenity, and Mai also took shots, not caring because everyone was grilling Tristan about it.

 

"Look, it was a truth or dare thing, OKAY?" He snarled, with a glare. This sent most of the girls and Mokuba into a fit of snickers. And then "Marik" took his turn.

 

"I've never been pulled over." Koichi swore, stood, and took a shot, while Duke drank to that as though it were an honor. Kendalina sat, pondering for a while, before she figured it wasn't fair for her to chicken out JUST because the cop hadn't been able to CATCH her.

 

"And, while I'm up here, I've never gotten so drunk that I did a strip." Kendalina sat down.

 

"Kenda..." Samantha said, with her face flat on the table. The Jedi Princess smiled, pleasantly.

 

"Yes, dear?" There was a long pause.

 

"I hate you." Samantha finally said, in a very mild voice. Kendalina snickered.

 

"Stand up and drink, you whore." She snorted, and Samantha stood to drink, along with Kaiba, Mai, and a bright red Ishizu. Everyone erupted into catcalls.

 

"It wasn't really a strip... it was more of a raindance." The Egyptian woman said, attempting at some self-respect. Koichi snickered.

 

"A naked raindance." Ishizu glared at her before continuing.

 

"Yes, but it didn't work." Ishizu said. Everyone blinked again before Bakura, as well read as he was guessed,

 

"Eggbeaters?" Ishizu nodded, going an even deeper shade of red and hanging her head in shame. Everyone looked rather disturbed by the fact that Ishizu was more humiliated by the fact that her raindance went wrong than by the fact that she'd been NAKED at the time.

 

Koichi, giggling like mad, got to her feet and said she'd never trapped someone in a revolving door as a method of torture to extract information from them. Samantha drank to that with Namu and the Pharaoh.

 

"Sapu-chan, you've done a hell of a lot more shit since last time we played." Koichi commented as Samantha's forehead hit the table with a thud. Sammy made a gagging noise.

 

"Yeah, but I'm gonna have one hell of a hangover in the morning." Samantha informed her, and everyone pointed and laughed as Sammy wobbled to stand up for her turn.

 

"I've... never..." Samantha took a breath between each word, keeping a hiccup down each time, "Been unwittingly built inside of a snowman." Koichi got to her feet to drink, as did Tristan, dragging Joey to his feet to 'take his drink like a man', while Yugi had no problem whatsoever admitting that he'd been made into a few snowmen when he'd been in elementary school.

 

"Um... what's a snowman?" Namu asked, looking a bit less tense now that he was a few shots in. Samantha stood up with her wand, which Koichi snatched out of her hand, and summoned a pile of snow herself. It was only because he was four shots in that Kaiba didn't protest to the huge pile of snow. Samantha made a hapazard snowman, who's head fell of immediately, before seeming to realize what Namu had implied.

 

"You've never made a snowman." The Egyptian shook his head, and Sammy's liquor-bright eyes lit up, "So... I'm your senpai, then?" Namu frowned and critically regarded the mound of snow.

 

"... Senpai, you really SUCK at this." He finally said, at which point everyone except Ishizu and "Marik" fell out of their chairs laughing. Tea and Mai were on the floor, rolling in gales of drunken laughter, Joey was clinging to the back of his chair, and even Kaiba's sides were shaking as he tried to keep his brother from falling over and hurting himself. Duke hefted himself onto his knees with his elbows resting on the table as Bakura said he'd never been in a paintball war before, to which Koichi, Sammy, Tristan, Yugi, and Mokuba drank. Mokuba volunteered he'd never deliberately inhaled a jar of mustard or other really hot, spicy food (on the condition of knowing it would fry his sinuses) and Koichi, Kaiba, Kendalina, Joey, Bakura, and "Marik" all stood to take shots. Mokuba seemed to find this honestly interesting.

 

"Didn't that hurt?" He asked Bakura, who shivered and put his hands over his nose, as though protecting his nostrils, before Kaiba said, in a hiccupping voice that if he ever caught Mokuba with his nose in a jar of raw spices, he was going to GET it. Everyone giggled, seeing Kaiba so thoroughly trashed.

 

"I've never... hic... never had... hic... a job as a waitress..." Kaiba swayed before sitting down. Serenity giggled and Sammy made a noise much like Tohru would have made.

 

"Kaiba-san really is drunk..." She muttered, as Tea, Mai, and Bakura drank. Everyone stared at the British boy before Yugi said,

 

"Oh... so THAT was the cross-dress incident, huh?" Bakura nodded, going red.

 

Ishizu swore on her drink that she'd never slept with a teddy bear. Sammy, Kenda, Yugi, Bakura, Joey, and Kaiba all drank to that. Mai stood and said she'd never stolen cookies, to which almost everyone else took a shot. Tea was passed out in her chair by now, so Yugi went, paused for a second, then let the Pharaoh take over- he apparently had something good in mind.

 

"I've never," He declared, proudly, "Lost a shadow game." At this moment, the Millenium Ring decided he wanted to join the game.

 

"That can be rectified." He snarled. The two would have gone into fighting stance, but there was just enough liquor in both bodies that they couldn't summon more than the energy necessary to switch places with Bakura and Yugi.

 

Kendalina watched all of this with feigned interest before she announced that she was going to bed, and Mokuba, being eleven and two shots in, already had enough alchohol in HIS system to be pushed to bed by his brother, whom seemed to have gotten the proverbial stick out of his ass. Serenity also went to bed, dragging a half-conscious Tea after her and Namu, who added 'drinking' was his next 'I've Never' (the less coherent ones who didn't realize it WASN'T his turn took shots) turned in early as well.

 

"Sissies- all of you!" Koichi called over her shoulder, being used to staying up well into the morning during parties. Sammy kicked her friend in the shin, her head resting on the table.

 

"Hangover kicking in already?" The Drow asked, speculatively. Sammy groaned.

 

"I would like to see you try and kill someone in cold blood- you just look like you don't have the spine to do it." Mai commented, making her glass ring as she traced the lip with her finger. Samantha peered up at her over her arms.

 

"If anyone messes with me tomorrow while I've still got this hangover, you will see me kill in cold blood. I'm a rather nasty bitch when my head aches." She warned, before Koichi pushed her off to go to bed, as well.

 

"Wait, you and Kendalina still don't have a room to stay in..." Yugi said, standing up. Koichi rolled her eyes and reluctantly got up and trudged after Samantha. She returned shortly after, giving no explanation, but everyone assumed she had 'made room' as Kendalina and Sammy had spoke of earlier.

 

"So... now what?" Kaiba asked the Drow, while the two Millenium Items spirits glared at eachother. Koichi smirked.

 

"Now." She said, pulling out an extra large bottle of Ramune, "If you take a shot, you have to strip, too."

 

There was a long silence.

 

"Oh goodie..." Somebody said, but nobody knew WHO...

 

To be continued.

 

A/N: I'm going to end and post this now... yeah... good idea.

 

Megami-chan, if you don't read this and tell me it was hysterical (lie if you have to), I'm going to kick your ass. Because PMS-ing girls have a right to do that.