Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction / Death Note Fan Fiction ❯ Then came an angel ❯ Tensions Rising ( Chapter 23 )

Chapter 22

 

By Sapadu

 

Koichi emerged from the room she'd... ahem... slept in, the night before, and found her way to the main common, looking for some semblence of breakfast. She found Samantha bent over a table, with her head buried in her arms and with a cup of over-creamed coffee in front of her.

 

"Hangover?" The Drow asked her friend. Sammy made a noise that sounded like 'Gwwargggh.' Meaning 'Go away!'

 

"Sapu-chan, you need to work on your tolerence." Koichi continued, shaking her head and getting some coffee for herself. Sammy threw her mug at Koichi, just barely missing her friends ear. Koichi jumped, but didn't do anything. Sammy raised her head slightly and noted that the blue-haired girl had, instead of getting fully dressed from her nightly activities, pulled on the trenchcoat of one Seto Kaiba. This made the vampire snort.

 

"Megami-chan, you whore." She spat. The mug that Koichi had been holding crunched as she squeezed it too hard. Being in a crabby mood, the Drow turned and threw a transfiguration spell at the purple-eyed girl. The next moment, Sammy had an elephant nose. She blinked before she rose, slowly, with menace.

 

"This, Megami-chan, means war." And within a moment, her wand was in her hand and she pointed it at her friend, muttering something random in Latin- vir, viri, viro, virum, viro... Koichi's clevage became a six-pac, her shoulders expanded, and her hips disappeared.

 

"WHO THE HELL GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO MAKE ME A MAN?!" Koichi shouted back, throwing a few balls of light, Samantha sprouting feathers, wiskers, three different tails, huge lizardly scales growing on her arms, and a pair of chicken wings coming out of her back. Simultaneously, she kept muttering random things in Latin, which made Koichi's nosehair grow out till it touched the floor, her knees twisted around eachother, like her legs were rubber, her pointed ears became like elephants' and she started spouting purple and green smoke from her nose, mouth, and ears.

 

Most of Sammy's hexes didn't work because her headache was so bad (And the fact that Koichi's well placed blubber bell curse had her lips sagging might have attributed to her poor annunciation) but at last, she got a good curse in, just as Koichi let off a final spell. By now, most everyone was awake and watching.

 

Much to her chagrin, Koichi had once again been transformed into Kotori, which left her looking murderous. Similarly, Samantha's entire body had lost all it's pigmentation- her hair was long and white, her skin pale, and her eyes red. There was a mark on her forehead like a weird, third eye.

 

The two looked down at themselves and thought a moment.

 

"Okay... I turned you into Kotori, can we call it even since you turned me into Hinoto?" Sammy asked, looking exasperated.

 

"Even? As in, you don't try to suck my blood once I fall asleep, and I don't attempt amicicide, or turn you into anything worse?" Koichi asked, looking just as upset.

 

(A/N: I have no clue if amicicide is a real word- there's fratricide, sororicide, patricide, matricide, all meaning the murder of brother, sister, father, or mother, so I said amicicide meaning murder of friend.)

 

"Can anything BE worse than the kewpie doll?" Samantha asked, looking distasteful. Koichi snickered, but changed Sammy back, and herself. Everyone was watching in amusment as Sammy collapsed into a chair, massaging her head.

 

"Well, if nobody objects, I've got to leave!" Koichi said, brightly, ignoring Samantha's jibe that she was still a slut for sleeping with Kaiba Corp's CEO. Everyone started to laugh, because she said that JUST as Kaiba himself emerged in search of caffine. The young CEO glared around with a dangerous look.

 

"What are you talking about, you crazy woman?" He asked, with a hint of denial in his voice. Koichi snickered, Sammy hissed something impolite, and Kendalina held in her laughter. A few of the girls made disgusted faces, Joey started catcalling, Yugi looked like he was havig a headache imagining the whole affair, and Mokuba was frowning. Kaiba snorted and left with a cup of tea, when his brother caught his pant leg and tugged.

 

"Seto.... what's that on your neck?" A hand immediately went to Kaiba's neck, covering the red mark that was visible. Kaiba quickly pulled his collar up over it, though everyone could still see the edges. The older of the two brothers went red in the face as Kendalina gave up on holding in her laughter and fell to the floor, positively crying with glee. Mokuba frowned as she gestured him over.

 

"Those, Kuba-kun, are hickeys. Your brother..." Kendalina burst into snickers at this point and Sammy had to finish her sentence.

 

"Is a slut?" Kendalina started to laugh even harder, which meant that's EXACTLY what she'd meant to say. Joey wore a slightly offended expression.

 

"Um... guys... he's only eleven years old..." Tea and Tristan agreed with that, while their point seemed lost on Kendalina.

 

"So?" She asked from her spot on the floor. There was an awkward silence, in which Koichi merrily said her goodbyes, bit Kaiba on the ear, and then skipped out through a dimensional portal with the sound of bells tingling.

 

And then, Kaiba realized she'd taken his trenchcoat with her.

 

Needless to say, both the shinigami on board were completely useless that day.

 

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Ken was awake by ten in the morning, firmly pinned to his mattress by the arm around his waist and the mooka purring happily on his chest. For his part, Ken was too happy to stay there, but his alarm clock blaring from not being turned off was starting to make his ears ring.

 

And his stomach was starting to growl.

 

Ken blearily blinked at the ceiling before turning his head and nudging his bedmate.

 

"Luke... you've gotta wake up." Ken grumbled, his voice croaky from not having water all his twelve hours of sleeping. Luke didn't reply except to slip his other arm under Ken's waist and pull him closer, with the same attitude as a child who was squeezing their teddy bear in their sleep as a parent tried to take it away.

 

It was a parallel that Ken decided he didn't want to analyze. He'd laugh too hard.

 

"Come on... I'm starting to get hungry, and my father will come in to harrass us if we sleep in any later." The Jedi Prince protested, pressing his arms against Luke's chest. The arms tightened, squishing Ken's nose up to Luke's collarbone.

 

At least he was wearing a shirt- their first week of being on Earth, the whole family went to find some Earth clothes so they wouldn't stick out like sore thumbs. As a joke, Ken's mother had pulled out a few shirts for Luke, saying he could use them to sleep in, which had the words 'Property of St. Rudolph's (XXL) Athletics' printed on them. Ken, being his mother's son and thus, quite possessive, had promptly taken a marker, scribbled out 'St. Rudolph's Athletics' and written in his own name.

 

As Ken's nose was now pressed up against one of those shirts, he regretted the marker- it smelled terrible.

 

"Luke... I mean it... wake up!" He whined, pushing against the Jedi Knight's grip. Luke groaned.

 

"No... only your mother is mean enough to do that."

 

"You ARE awake."

 

"No I'm not."

 

"Let go of me so I can turn off the alarm at least." Luke mumbled something into Ken's hair and a moment later the alarm clicked off by itself.

 

Ken frowned for a moment before he realized what Luke had done.

 

"Now, I KNOW that wasn't an appropriate use of the Force."

 

"I don't care." Ken was amazed that Luke had kept his eyes shut through this entire conversation. Almost stubbornly. He pouted.

 

"Zeebo... a little help here..." He whined and the mooka 'kssh'ed into his ear a moment later. Luke's tone changed.

 

"If your mooka bites my ear, I will squeeze you until you can't draw breath." The blond said, in a rather mild tone- usually, when Luke threatened in a half-kidding manner like that, his tone was mild. It was only when he was truly angry that he actually made serious threats- such as when he spent a week sleeping on the couch for the fight Ken had put up on his first day of school.

 

Ken thought over Luke's potentially dangerous warning.

 

"And if you comment how thinking like that will lead me to the Dark Side, I'll do it anyway." The older man continued. Ken continued to squirm.

 

"But I'm hungry. And I feel greasy and itchy too- you know I didn't get to shower yesterday." Ken had at least gotten his chin against Luke's collar by now so his face wasn't being squished. Luke lifted one of his arms just enough to pin Ken's arms to his side. Ken groaned.

 

Two minutes later, the door was opened by Triclops, who looked like he was contemplating harrassing them over sleeping in, but eventually, all he said was that Ken had to be out of bed relatively soon because somone had called to ask if he could come and exorcise something. With this in mind, Luke let Ken up to get dressed and shower, but the thirteen-year-old just barely grabbed a bagel on his way out, despite his earlier protests of being hungry.

 

He was done with the exorcism before noon- someone's stove had been possessed by a youma and was setting their kitchen on fire all the time- but his way home took longer than he anticipated. Ken had just barely turned the corner before running headlong into Sakurazuka Seishirou.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

A/N: I feel like being evil. I'll leave you in suspense for a while.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Sorata opened the door to the dorm he was living in with the other Seals to see a girl with long brown hair and green eyes waiting on the step with a mop and bucket. Sorata blinked at her.

 

"And you would be..." He asked. The girl bowed, deeply.

 

"Hajimemashite! Honda Tohru desu!" She replied, breathlessly, "I'm here to clean the dorms." Sorata frowned.

 

"Um... there's usually a girl who cleans them, here..." He said, slowly, and wracking his brain- this girl looked familiar, and he could have sworn he'd seen her with the usual cleaning maid once.

 

"Ah, hai... Sapadu-san told me that she wouldn't be able to clean for a while, so I... Imo..." Tohru stumbled over Nokoru's name, "Imonoyama-san... asked me to take her place for a few days... and since the building I usually clean is closed from one of the earthquakes..." Tohru's face was very red at this point but Sorata understand, remembering where he'd seen this girl before, as she mentioned Samantha.

 

"Yeah... we heard about that... so it's no problem, c'mon in." Sorata interrupted, ushering her in before she could say more about the earthquake with Kamui near enough to hear about it. Just hearing it being mentioned had made the boy's face fall.

 

Tohru quickly made herself at home, as far as the cleaning went. Garbage was taken out, floors were scrubbed, walls washed, dishes cleaned, laundry washed, dried, and sorted (though those two more because Tohru was used to it from cleaning the Sohma's- Sorata stopped her before she tried to start cooking, too) And then, Tohru went up to the dorm rooms to make beds and clean further. The first two rooms went without problem, but in the third room, Tohru was shocked to see somebody lieing face-down on the bed.

 

The riceball assumed it was a girl from the uniform she wore. Her hair was short, straight, and black, but that was all Tohru could tell, because her face was buried in her pillow.

 

And Tohru then remembered what Tea-san had said about a friend of hers... Yuzuriha...

 

"A-ano... Yuzuriha-san... desu ka?" Tohru asked, hesitantly. The girl turned her head to look and Tohru could see she looked like she hadn't slept in days.

 

"A-a-aaaahh... Hajimemashite... H-honda Tohru desu..." Tohru continued, bowing, wondering if the girl who might be Yuzuriha would let her clean. Yuzuriha just blinked.

 

Tohru shivered from the awkward silence.

 

"Ah... ano... would you mind... if I cleaned in here?" Tohru finally asked. Yuzuriha didn't respond, but continued to stare.

 

(A/N: I just realized that Yuzuriha is acting somewhat like Tsubasa!Kamui... all emotionless and blank.)

 

"Eh heh... eto..." Tohru stammered.

 

"Are you..." Yuzuriha spoke, "Are you... the Honda Tohru... who Tea-chan told me about?" She whispered. Tohru blinked.

 

"Ah... Tea... san?" She asked, "Maybe..." Tohru thought hard about the girl, Tea Gardner, who'd come by school looking for Samantha a few weeks ago. She'd never mentioned that she'd been friends with Yuzuriha.

 

"... Okay..."

 

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Seishirou didn't quite seem to care, nor notice as Ken followed him. He assumed that the boy couldn't be too much trouble.

 

Ken on the other hand, knew who Seishirou was, immediately. A single glance was enough to know who he was, and the Tree immediately wanted him to investigate.

 

:: But why is it so important that I follow him again? :: Ken asked, following the assassin and keeping half an ear open for the Tree's reply. It came, quickly.

 

:: He has a Tree of his own. Or there's a different Tree with it's own Sakurazukamori... either way...:: Then the Tree fell silent.

 

:: Either way...:: Ken pressed.

 

:: I want to meet my BROTHER!:: Tree squealed, in a sing-song, joking voice that Ken had often heard from his mother when she flirted with his father and thought he was in bed. Ken tripped over the hem of his skirt.

 

:: Oh, YEAH RIGHT!::

 

The movement was enough to make Seishirou turn around.

 

"So..." He began, which made Ken freeze, "You must be more than meets the eye to just walk into one of my illusions without knowing it." Ken blinked, looked around, then realized that, indeed, he was trapped inside the illusion of the older Sakurazukamori.

 

However, he kept his wits about him enough to make a witty reply.

 

"Whoever said I didn't know? My mother does this to me ALL the time to keep me on my toes." He replied, grinning. Seishirou returned the cheerful, yet sarcastic grin.

 

"I'm sure your mother is proud of you for being so well abled to take someone like me off guard." He quipped, and Ken was later proud that he didn't flinch at that- he knew his mother would never be proud, unless Ken turned out exactly like her.

 

"So, you would be Seishirou-san, then, correct?" Ken asked, keeping his tone polite, but omnious enough that Seishirou blinked. He looked truly taken off guard, as his white, blind eye went wide.

 

"Whatever gave you the impression that my name is Seishirou? That's a very common name..." Seishirou said, cautiously.

 

"Never mind- you are." Ken noted, with a hint of dry amusement in his voice, which, ironic enough, came from his mother, "I know because you're exactly how Sumeragi-san described you, and either way, you're thinking 'It's that boy I saw Subaru-kun with on Rainbow Bridge'."

 

Seishirou stared.

 

"Don't ask me- even if I knew how I heard people's thoughts like that, Hana wouldn't let me tell you." Ken said, grimly. Seishirou raised an elegant eyebrow.

 

"Hana?" He inquired. A woman stepped out from the shadows behind Ken that were swirling in the maraboshi. She was tall- possibly three feet higher than Seishirou- and abnormally thin. Her clothes were black, and silky, and flowed with her body curves, just like her hair that was gathered in a high ponytail, tied off with sinews and decorated with bones, feathers, and teeth, as it draped down to her knees. Her face looked extremely heavy to be on her neck, and her eyes too large for their sockets- her skin was grayish in shade, and her eyes completely black, like insect eyes, except for bright purple irises. Her ears were oversized and pointed and her fingers were long, boney, with long black claws on the end.

 

"Yes. That's me." She said, bending down and wrapping her four-and-a-half-foot-long arms around Ken's shoulders.

 

"I'd presume you're the Tree who owns him, then?" Seishirou asked, pleasantly. Hana smiled, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth.

 

"Oh, no- that's his MOTHER. But I am awfully attatched to Ken." Hana explained, nuzzling her sharp cheek against Ken's soft one. Ken made a face. Seishirou looked curious at this display.

 

"And... what species of demon are you?" He asked. Hana's dignified nose wrinkled.

 

"Demon? How dare you? I'm a TREE, of course." She hissed, with a flicker of a forked tongue. Ken shook his head.

 

"Seishirou-san, you can tell that she's the Tree, but you can't tell we're not from this planet? I thought you'd be more observant than that. Maybe Sumeragi-san just described you as such because it's second nature to do that for people who you esteem greatly." Ken muttered, with a tone of disgust.

 

"I should say the same of you- We've only just met, and yet you think that there is some relationship between me and Subaru-kun." Seishirou intoned, smirking a little. Ken glared at him.

 

"'Subaru-KUN'? The way I've learned this language is that '-kun' implies closeness." Ken muttered, returning the smirk. Seishirou chuckled and wiggled his finger.

 

"Ah, but that applies only to NORMAL people. I'm hardly an example of the culture." He returned, and Ken and Hana suddenly sported similar grins, which glimmered with mad enthusiasum.

 

"I see... Denial!" The both said at the same time. Seishirou glared, then turned on his heel and walked away. Ken wrinkled his nose and ran after him.

 

"HEY, DON'T YOU TRY AND RUN AWAY FROM ME!" Ken shouted, crossly, pulling up on the hem of his skirt to keep from tripping. Seishirou threw a glance back at Ken and snorted slightly.

 

"Most boys with any sense of shame wouldn't be seen dead in a dress like that." He pointed out. Ken sneered back.

 

"Any man with any sense of shame wouldn't go running away from the person he loves like a dog with his tail between his legs." He returned, which only caused Seishirou to laugh.

 

"The concepts of love and feelings don't apply to one who has no emotions. You, who is of similar lineage to me, should know that." Seishirou lectured, with an air of boredom. Ken continued to follow Seishirou, much like a persistant shadow.

 

"Does it work differently here? Because in our family, the Assassin isn't so much emotionless as their emotions are mixed with logical control, and sometimes the Assassin simply resists that so they can feel normally." Ken panted, holding up his skirt so he could keep running to keep up with the much longer-legged Seishirou. Seishirou continued to ignore the boy, so Ken changed his topic.

 

"And what about the bet Sumeragi-san told me about? He said that you would have killed him if he lost the bet, yet instead, you took his sister? You told him that he was worth nothing to you, and yet you continue to pursue him?" Ken continued to press, with a look on his face as though he was looking through Seishirou's back.

 

"Would you stop using 'yet'? You're too young to be speaking like that." Seishirou noted, offhand.

 

"No- This is the manner I present my speech in, and I intend to change it for no one." Ken snapped, before continuing his musings, "And, funny enough, but you either will deny it entirely, or simply not talk about Sumeragi-san. If you really hated someone, you'd say it, because logic dictates that to be honest about your feelings, you should say them straight out. However, if you simply deny being in love, without saying that you hate someone, that can logically be interpreted many ways. So, therefore..."

 

Seishirou sighed and continued to refuse to respond any of what Ken was saying, though he couldn't deny that the boy's words were very true.

 

"Even if what you say is true, I doubt Subaru-kun would believe you if you plan on telling him." Seishirou threw the final jibe over his shoulder, more to shut Ken up than any real reason. His own Tree told him to stop being such a dickhead.

 

Ken's jabber paused as he tried to think up a clever retort, before he finally realized that Seishirou had given him the last bit of fuel he needed. A triumphant smile spread across his lips.

 

"You're afraid." He said, quietly. It was loud enough and powerful enough that Seishirou stopped in his tracks with those two words. Ken, seeing that he'd finally gotten the upper hand on the older assassin, continued in that vein.

 

"You ARE in love- but you just don't want HIM to know, because you're so proud and self-controlled, it scares you that you have some connection to another person, because up until this point, you've only belonged to yourself, and now that someone else cares for you, there's an unbreakable bond that you can only get rid of by one of your deaths." Ken paused as he reflected on what he just said.

 

"You love him so much, he can only replace you as Sakurazukamori." Ken muttered, his triumphant smile turning into a disapproving frown, "But you're such a coward, you don't WANT to care about if HE loves you or not."

 

Seishirou spun on his foot and grabbed Ken around the throat. Hana's arms split into thousands of branches, all of which made to grab Seishirou, almost in a threatening manner.

 

:: Seishirou, put him down. :: Said the Tree. Seishirou only grunted to acknowledge the Tree's presence.

 

:: No, I'm not kidding- put him down. One, I've met his mother, and she is even nastier than your mother was when she got mad. Two, he, being her son, is even more powerful than that, and he knows it, and he will do something if you even THINK about killing him. And three, this kid is walking around, shamelessly, in a dress. I don't want you messing with him!::

 

Seishirou glared at the Tree as the spirit of the Sakurazuka appeared over his shoulder.

 

Hana blinked at her supposed fellow tree- he looked incredibly like a little human boy, though he was undoubtably much older than he looked. His hair was a bleached gold color, much like wheat was, and his skin pale with only the faintest of healthy pink in his cheeks. His eyes seemed to glow in the darkness of the maraboshi- a luminous, gem-like shade of leafy green, like leaves with the summer sun shining through them. He wore a kimono, very simple, but very elegant, and immeasureably cute.

 

"My father has a stronger choke hold than you, and he's a pacifist. Put me down and stop embarrasing yourself." Ken muttered through gritted teeth. Seishirou glared at him, but released Ken and let his heels touch back onto the ground. Hana chuckled before she unsnaked her arms, forming her usual human shape and stalked over to the other Tree.

 

"You look awfully cute... and familiar, somehow..." She mentioned, pointing.

 

:: Thank you. You're the other Tree, I assume? :: The boy asked, smiling cutely. Hana smiled her eerie smile, all her pointed teeth showing, which the Tree took to mean 'yes'.

 

:: You were talking about the Sumeragi a moment ago...:: Tree continued, to which, Ken nodded, :: Just so you know for next time you see him, everything you said about Seishirou is very true.:: The Tree smiled, being helpful, and Seishirou made a threatening, very uncharacteristic gesture at him. He just smiled, unremorseful.

 

Ken grinned, happily.

 

"In that case, I'll let you go on your way without further molestation, Seishirou-san!" Ken said, brightly, and left the illusion, Seishirou being stuck then with the Tree laughing at him for the whole day.

 

"That went quicker than I expected." Ken sighed, happily. Hana smiled, before she disappeared, to return to the house.

 

In the distance, Seishirou watched as the suspicious character following the Jedi Prince swiftly disarmed him and threw the boy into the back of a car.

 

The Sakurazukamori shrugged and kept walking. It wasn't any of his business.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

A/N: If you can guess who the 'suspicious character' is, you get a cookie.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Samantha awoke some time around eight in the evening. Cursing, she shrugged off her nightgown and pulled on her black dress with a low back and long sleeves. Her eyes were still aching and her mouth still felt like she'd been gargling lighter fluid flavored mouthwash, but at least Mt. Vesuvius wasn't still erupting in her stomach, and her liver didn't seem to be writhing in agony anymore, either.

 

She wandered out into the main room, where earlier that morning, everyone had been laughing over Kaiba being a slut, but now, it was dark and deserted. She blinked and looked around, while futzing with a hair clip shaped like a black butterfly.

 

"If you're looking for everyone, they're all up on the observation deck." Offered one of Kaiba's guards. He had blueish- green hair that was sparse on the top of his head, but it spiked around his ears and temples, like wolf ears, and his face was covered by dark glasses and a line of a beard and mustache. Roland-san, as Sammy addressed him.

 

"Oh? Is there a duel?" Sammy asked, and when her question received a nod, "Who, Roland-san?"

 

"I believe it is Yugi Moto versus Ryou Bakura." He replied with a courteous tone. Samantha's face drooped a little, but she smied politely, bowed, and thanked him with a knee-jerk addition of 'Please regard me kindly', before she found her way up to the observation deck.

 

(A/N: The reason I'm having Sammy go up near the end is because I didn't see any of the episodes in which Yami Bakura faced off the Pharaoh. All I know for sure is when Yami Bakura swaps good Bakura out to protect himself, then switches back and takes the hit from the Egyptian god.)

 

Coiled around the entire ship was a red scaly serpent-like dragon, with a horned head and glowing yellow eyes. Enormous red wings potruded from the beast's back and giant red claws dug into the ship, almost creating the illusion that the dragon was carrying the ship.

 

Samantha popped up behind everyone who was standing around the platform, staring at the duel up on the deck.

 

"So, what'd I miss?" She asked, cheerfully. Joey fell over and then almost stood up to strangle her, but his chivalric morals held him back from choking a girl.

 

"DON'T... JUST... DO... THAT!" He shouted, his limbs twitching, dancing on one foot. Sammy giggled at Joey's display of temper, while everyone else glared at her.

 

"If you must know what's going on, it looks like Yugi is going to throw the duel just because Bakura's injury suddenly reopened. If you ask me, this whole duel has been a complete waste of time." Kaiba butted in- he was standing apart from the group with his arms crossed over his chest, looking on at the duel severely. Samantha ignored Kaiba and continued to watch- Bakura had fallen face first to the platform, and was clutching his arm, making noises as though he was supressing a scream of pain.

 

"BAKURA!" Samantha heard the voice of Yu-gi-oh scream, but he stayed where he was standing. She understood his dilemma- don't attack a friend when an Eygptian god would very easily kill a mortal player, but having to win when the 'whole world' was at stake. Sammy wanted to laugh- how ironic that a former Kamui be reawakened during the same term of battle as a new Kamui. From the back of the group, she heard someone sneer slightly.

 

Sammy turned her head to see "Namu" leaning against the railing that kept people from just falling off the edge of the platform. Of course, from her sources, she knew who he was.

 

And it was through the Solar that she could see the wings sprouting out of his back getting larger.

 

(A/N: Forgive me for my xxxholic and tsubasa moments- but the Solar's personality is largely based on my first impressions from her.)

 

She turned her attention back to the stage, having some difficulty in standing still with such a tense moment, but orders were orders.

 

Besides... Bakura-san...

 

At that precise moment, from the other side of the platform, the Millenium Ring started to glow, and Bakura got to his feet with an insane laugh. Samantha blinked for a moment before realizing it wasn't Bakura, but the Ring.

 

"Oh." She muttered. She didn't hear what the Ring said to Puzzle-san, but whatever it was, be it taunt, order, threat, or otherwise, th e next moment, the God attacked. Samantha's ears twitched and she thought she heard something like a scream, but she couldn't be sure. A blast of light seemed to almost be melting the platform, if anyone was to judge by the smoke rising in the air.

 

The smoke cleared and everyone saw Bakura laying on his back, staring blankly up at the sky.

 

"Bakura!" Yugi had apparently switched back with the Pharaoh and went running as fast as he could across the platform. The others climbed onto the deck as it lowered, except for the guards, Kaiba, Kendalina, and Sammy. Even Mokuba climbed on to check that one of the contestants wasn't injured.

 

"Hey, Bakura- can ya hear me, man?" Joey asked, shaking the British boy by his shoulders. Bakura moaned.

 

"Oi, Jo-kun, if you shake him like that, it'll only hurt him more!" Kendalina called from the sidelines. Sammy did her best to blend into the background as Tristan heaved Bakura onto his back and carried him down the stairs to an infirmary room. She only moved when Kendalina siezed her arm and dragged her down after them.

 

"You sure took your time in wakin' up, didn't ya?" Joey snapped at Sammy, crossly. Samantha gave him her best glare.

 

"Do you know what it's LIKE for me to have a hangover? A vampire's digestive system is different from humans, so all that we eat goes straight to our bloodstream, not to our liver, and so if I drink at all, I immediately get drunk and then have a hangover, because my brain is constantly regenerating itself since I'm already dead." Samantha explained, crabbily. Joey gave her a look and went back down the stairs.

 

Kendalina, being the closest person with a medical degree, was sponging the blood away from the open wound on Bakura's arm, but since it was so deep, almost cutting into the artery, she couldn't do it quickly enough to then stitch it up.

 

"It's just a cut in the arm- why's it bleeding so much?" Duke muttered, looking disgusted and playing with his hair. Kendalina groaned.

 

"It's almost deep enough to get to the brachial artery. We're lucky it's not that deep, but seriously, he's losing way to much blood." She called, before turning to Tristan, holding a piece of gauze to Bakura's cut, "Tan-kun, go get Sammy- she's a healer and'll have this sealed up in a minute." Tristan frowned, but went to find Samantha, who was standing right outside, leaning against the wall, and staring at the floor.

 

"Hey! Didn't you hear her- we need you to heal Bakura's arm." Tristan said, urgently. Sammy didn't lift her eyes from the floor, and shook her head, silently.

 

Tristan stared for a moment, shifting his weight uncomfortably, before pressing again.

 

"Come on- it looks really bad, he might really be hurt unless you come in and help, here!"

Tristan insisted. Samantha still didn't look up.

 

"I can't." She said, simply. Her hair was hanging over her face, so Tristan couldn't see her expression, but he was having a bad feeling, eitherway. Awkwardly, feeling like a little kid semi-tattling on a sibling, he peered back into the infirmary.

 

"Um... Kendalina? She's not coming in..." He called. Kendalina swore.

 

"DAMMIT, SAMMY, GET YOUR COWARDLY ASS IN HERE! 'KURA-KUN NEEDS HELP!" She shouted, causing everyone to flinch. Samantha made a noise as though she was sick.

 

"What part of 'I can't' don't you understand?" She called back, still keeping her gaze firmly fixed on the tiling under her feet. Tristan lost patience and grabbed her arm, giving her a shake.

 

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU CAN'T?!" He demanded, angrilly. Sammy didn't respond, but he did see her eyes go wide for a second before something very, very sharp scratched the other side of his face.

 

"LET GO!" Samantha shrieked, and the minute Tristan's grip on her loosened, she disappeared. The spike-haired boy did a double take and then rushed back in.

 

"She disappeared!" He shouted, sounding slightly hysterical and Kendalina let out a mild (for her) curse.

 

"So... is Bakura going to be okay?" Tea asked, anxiously. Kendalina sighed, still holding the gauze.

 

"Well... He won't get an infection- I garauntee you that..." Kendalina said, in a nuetral tone, "But I can't say he'll live- he's lost enough blood to be really serious and it's still not clotting. Then, there's the chance that I COULD influence his cells to multiply faster and seal up the cut-" There was a general question of 'how', "I can use the Force to do that, same way I fly, make myself invisible, and walk through walls. However, that would need a large amount of energy, and I don't think 'Kura-kun has enough stores of reserved energy to power that- he'd die of exhaustion by the time the wound was healed." Kendalina explained, and Serenity started to bite her knuckles with worry. Joey lost his temper.

 

"Waddya sayin' here: Dat either way, Bakura's dead?" He demanded, taking a step towards her and putting up his fists in an angry gesture. Kendalina thought.

 

"Well... we could try someone giving some blood to keep him supported for the time being... Let me check his blood type..." Kendalina lifted the gauze slightly and caught several drops of blood in the wells on a little petri dish, before she kicked open the case at her feet and pulled out three little bottles . The gray-eyed woman squeezed a few drops of one bottle into a single sample, a few drops of the next in the next sample, and the last bottle into the last. All three samples of blood calcified.

 

"AB negative." Kendalina concluded, triumphantly, "Anybody volunteering?" She asked. Everyone blinked at her, nervously, before Yugi took the initiative and stepped forward.

 

"I know my blood's type O. I could donate." He offered, rolling up the sleeve on his jacket and offering his arm with earnest. Everyone seemed to protest to this, even the spirit of the Puzzle, with doubt that Yugi weighed enough to donate safely.

 

"'Kay, Yuu-kun, but keep in mind you're not going to be able to do much for at least a few hours- you'll need something to up your blood sugar after that, and chances are, you'll be prone to being dizzy afterwards for some time." Kendalina warned with a lecturing waggle of her finger. Yugi seemed to take this well.

 

"That's okay- taking care of a friend is more important, any day. Besides, it's my fault that he's hurt so badly, and it's the least I can do." Yugi replied, frowning just a little. Kendalina smirked and made Yugi lay down in a bed next to Bakura's, pulling out a needle and tube. She frowned and turned to look over her shoulder.

 

"You stay out of this." Everyone frowned at her, "The Tree. She thinks Yuu-kun would make a tasty snack." Kenda explained and everyone could see the narrow face of Hana peering in through a window, a napkin around her neck and her visible hands holding a fork and knife. She looked disconserted that she wouldn't get a meal.

 

The needles didn't seem to bother the unconscious Bakura very much, and while Yugi closed his eyes and grit his teeth, he didn't complain either. After a few minutes the actual transfer started, just in time for Mokuba to enter, looking for all elligible duelists.

 

"It's time to draw for the next duel. Seto wants you all to gather in the common room right away." He reported, giving Yugi and Bakura a dubious look. Everyone looked nervous, but Joey finally stood up.

 

"Tea, you and Serenity stay here and keep Yugi company. Tristan and Duke are comin' wid me, got it?" Joey said, giving his sister's courtiers a pointed look, which neither of them really needed, because they, too, had gotten to their feet. Kendalina also stood up.

 

"Tea-kun, if anything happens, send Serenity to come get me." She instructed. Mokuba piped up at that point.

 

"Don't worry- Kaiba corp doctors are on stand-by here, so they can handle any emergency. Besides, you're in this tournament too, so if you get picked, you won't be able to come back right in the middle of a duel because of an emergency." He informed her, and Kendalina just shrugged, striding out of the room.

 

"Joey!" Yugi called after his friend from his place on his back, "Do your best! We're all here for you!" Joey smiled, turned to give his pal a thumbs up, and then left.

 

'I'm not gonna screw up this time- now, I'm gonna PROVE that I'm a real duelist. And not just for me... but for Yugi, too. He's gonna be cheerin' me on from a hospital bed, and if I don't give the next duel I fight my all, I don't deserve to be called a friend!' Joey determined to himself, clenching a fist.

 

It was just his luck that he had to duel Marik. With a grimace, Joey set his jaw and walked up the stairs to the platform, to see the looming figure that was contestant number 7 at the other end.

 

Marik.

 

Meanwhile, down in the ship below, Tea and Serenity were chatting nervously with Yugi, mostly to keep him from scratching at the itchy IV stuck in his arm, giving blood to Bakura, when Namu walked through the open door. The three looked a little surprised to see him.

 

"I just figured someone should come and tell you that the next duel is Joey versus some one in a cloak." He told them with a friendly smile. Tea and Yugi almost started.

 

"Joey's dueling Marik?" Tea stood up in alarm, and that made Serenity look just as worried. She got up and Tea pushed her towards the door. Namu blinked.

 

"Serenity, you go up and watch your brother- I'll be fine down here." Tea urged. Serenity nodded and went running off.

 

"So, Yugi, what are you doing in here?" Namu asked, turning his attention to the shorter boy laying with his arm at an awkward angle on the other bed.

 

"I'm giving some of my blood to Bakura. He collapsed during our duel and since my ordering the Egyptian God Card that I had to attack him only made it worse, it's my fault, so..." Yugi fell silent and Namu's face remained carefully neutral. He finally smiled.

 

"Well, I hope you and Bakura get better soon. It would be a shame for you to have to stay in a hospital bed for too long." He said, waving and going to watch the duel as he left with false cheer.

 

Tea sat back down and blinked as she watched Namu leave. A moment ago, he'd been wearing a plain lavender shirt but now... she blinked hard and caught a last glimpse as he turned the corner around the door.

 

No, she wasn't seeing things: There were two white, feathered wings coming out of his back. There was even a feather laying on the ground. Tea picked it up, still wondering.

 

"Tea, where'd the feather come from?" Yugi asked her. Tea frowned.

 

"You can see this, too?" She asked. Yugi looked at her a little odd, but nodded, "Did you see the wings on Namu's back then?" She asked. Yugi's look became even stranger.

 

"Wings?" He asked. Tea sighed.

 

"Maybe it IS all in my head- I keep seeing these wings with feathers like these coming out of Namu's back..." Tea explained, twirling the feather in her fingers before putting it in her pocket.

 

"I know. I've seen them too." Said a voice. Tea blinked before both she and Yugi turned to look at the only other occupant of the room.

 

"Bakura? Was that you?" Yugi asked, craning his head slightly, not being able to sit up. Tea stood and went over to check. Bakura's eyes were still closed, and he still looked as pale as ever.

 

"He's still unconscious." She said, with a suspicious glance around, "So... who was that?"

 

The door shut and the lights in the room went out, leaving them in complete darkness.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Joey and Marik exchanged their decks and shuffled for each other, and Marik seemed to be calm and civil while Joey bit his tongue to keep from spitting out something rude.

 

And before long, the duel started.

 

(A/N: Again, I didn't see this episode. It was a long month for me. I'm faking most of this.)

 

In the back row, where most of the other duelists were standing, Kendalina stood up, going rigid for a moment, before she wordlessly stepped out and ran down the stairs. Tristan and Duke watched after her, but shrugged and went back to watched Joey duel.

 

After a few moments there was a tap behind them and they both turned to see a girl standing there who hadn't been there before- they didn't even think she'd gotten on the ship with them. Her hair was white and hung straight down to her elbows, and her posture seemed as though her spine wasn't built right- her neck was hunched over her chest and her hips seemed to stick out to the right, and her shoulders were squashed together. She was dressed in a torn white nighty which made Serenity blush and the boys' eyebrows shoot up, though Mai seemed to think she was over-dressed. Her skin was so pale, it almost looked gray, only compared to the white silk of her dress.

 

"Um... where did YOU come from?" Duke finally asked, frowning and pointing. The girl smiled, lifting her head to reveal eyes that were a deep crimson color, and a mouthful of teeth that were about three inches long, each, and shaped like triangles. There was a noise over the edge of the observation deck, and the girl took off running, jumping onto the stage and making another jump that took her over the other side of the deck. Right on cue, Kendalina came soaring after her, going right through the holograms of Joey and Marik's duel with a shouted 'Don't mind me' thrown over her shoulder, pursuing the girl. Tristan grabbed Duke's arm.

 

"Come on- we're going downstairs to make sure Yugi, Tea, and Bakura are alright." He said, dragging the other boy with him. They made it back down to the lower deck, to see Kendalina wrestling with the girl, a silver glowing lightsaber out, slashing at the more voluptuous of the two, who was counterattacking with her bare hands, her black nails as long and sharp as a set of claws.

 

"Eew..." Duke commented, as the two attacked eachother, reminding the two boys of a cat fight. They both ducked as the girl in white picked up a chair and hurled it in their direction, running in the direction of the infirmary room. Tea was smashed against a wall, blood pooling around her head and Yugi was out of his bed, the IV needle dislodged and stuck in his arm at an odd angle, with Yugi passed out just barely a foot from the bed. Bakura was starting to stir, looking a tad more healthy than he'd been before.

 

"Yugi!" Duke called.

 

"Tea!" Tristan rushed over to see if she was okay.

 

Bakura's eyes opened. There was a glow coming from the Millenium Ring. Neither Duke nor Tristan noticed.

 

There was a thump in the other room, and Kendalina came in, holding a lump of cloth with a single ofuda stuck on it. They looked at her.

 

"It was a vampire." Kendalina reported, with certainty, "And in here, we have two people weakened with lack of blood- easy prey- and a young, virgin girl- ideal prey. It only makes sense." With these words, Tristan checked Tea's neck to see if she'd been bitten. There wasn't any mark. Duke checked Yugi's and saw nothing, and Bakura stood up, seemingly healthy as ever. His throat was clean.

 

"Wasn't Samantha a vampire?" He asked. The Millenium Ring managed to do a perfect imitation of Bakura, this time, turning down his collar and figiting with his shoelaces. Kendalina didn't even notice.

 

"Yeah... why?" She asked, and Tristan blinked, looking guilty.

 

"Man... I feel kinda bad for yelling at her now- I'll bet she didn't want to come in and treat Bakura because she was worried she might have bitten him!" Tristan pulled Tea up and dragged her over to the bed Yugi had been on. Kendalina snorted.

 

"No... there was... a different reason..." She said, derisively, and throwing a dark glance down the hall, "But we should do what we can for these two. Yuu-kun probably fainted from blood loss, so he'll be fine shortly. Tea-kun..." Kendalina strode over and checked Tea's head, "has a concussion from being thrown against the wall. We'll bandage it and get her some ice..." Kendalina pulled out a bandage. Tristan got up to go get ice, and Duke heaved Yugi back onto the bed, rolling him over so he was curled up next to Tea.

 

(A/N: Yes, I'm a Yugi/Tea-shipper. So sue me.)

 

"So... wait..." The Millenium Ring began, keeping his curiosity in check, "Was Samantha behaving strangely before?" Kendalina didn't answer, because she interupted him to call after Tristan.

 

"Tan-kun, don't even think about touching the body in the common- if you do the wards won't work." Tristan peered back around the door with a frown, but then continued.

 

"Anyways... yes, 'Kura-kun, she was... to be precise, Sammy wouldn't come in to heal your arm because she's being a bloody coward over the incident before Shibuya." Kendalina said, looking cross. The Millenium Ring made Bakura blink and searched his memory, frantically trying to find the incident the Jedi woman was referring to.

 

"Shibuya? ... Oh... oh that..." And Kendalina didn't recognize that the look the Ring forced Bakura's face into wasn't the appropriate expression of regret, "It's okay!" The words tumbled out with the false cheer he'd learned so well to fake, "I'm sure she had her reasons... and besides, it's my own fault for not telling her to begin with... Samantha probably is just upset I wasn't being honest with her." Kendalina gave the Millenium Ring a disgusted look, though she thought it was Bakura she was glaring at.

 

"Jesus, you people and your selfless sacrificing. Can't you ever blame someone else for your misfortunes?" Kendalina growled under her breath, taking the ice from a returning Tristan and putting it on Tea's head. Tea shifted a little and opened her eyes.

 

"Ow..." Was the first intelligent syllable to escape her lips, and Kendalina shooed out the boys, telling them to go watch Joey duel and bring back the juicy details for everyone. Tea attempted to sit up, but Kendalina pushed her back.

 

"Something's wrong..." Tea muttered, her eyes still crossed, "Something is really wrong." Kendalina ignored her and kept the ice against the bump on her head. Tea's eyes slipped shut again, and Kendalina chuckled.

 

"Hee hee hee... Yuu-kun's gonna be surprised when HE wakes up." She snickered.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

A/N: I should stop, but I'm on a roll. And I'm making up for not posting for a while.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Ken was not very pleased with his situation- in fact, he was very DISpleased with his situation. Where ever he was, it was dark, though that could be attributed to the blindfold over his eyes, and his head was pounding- someone had hit him over the head with something- and his hands were bound with something and pulled over his head. It was a small mercy, though, he reflected, that he was still on the ground, meaning the person who'd tied him had no intentions of killing him. His ankles and knees were bound together though, and his head felt heavy, as though he was drugged.

 

Which he probably was. Also not good.

 

He couldn't even conjure up an image of his mother getting into a pickle like this to cheer himself up- Kendalina would never be so careless and to let herself get kidnapped, and Ken was not looking forward to the earful she was going to give him when and if they found him again.

 

He just hoped to Yoda it wasn't Luke to find him like this- Ken was already far too reminded of their capture on Scardia by this event, and he didn't want to risk anything that might anger the older man. There were few things that Luke lost his temper over, and this would surely be one of them.

 

And while in that vein, Ken didn't want either of his parents busting in and saving him, either- Kendalina would be disgusted and disappointed, and Triclops apathetic and bland. Neither of which, Ken really wanted.

 

How WAS he going to get out of this, then?

 

Ken had spent the last twenty minutes trying to come up with a plan of action, but all he could think of was the periodic table of elements. But since neither of his parents would come and he sure didn't want Luke seeing him like this, who else was left?

 

Mutou-senpai and the others, perhaps? They'd told him about various jams they'd gotten into and out of together... but this didn't involve them, so who was he to count on their help? Maybe Luke would call for backup and bring in Uncle Takuta and his family, and the Tree would help from there on... but then... how was his extended family supposed to GET to this planet? It had been sheer... coincidence, maybe not, but chance for sure... that his mother had gotten them here. The Tree had said something about a friend of hers wanting them to come here...

 

"I can tell you're awake." Said a low, menacing voice from somewhere around him. Ken gritted his teeth and forced himself to hold in the various curses he'd have liked to spit out.

 

"Oh, so if you knew, why didn't you even say 'Good Morning'?" He sniped back. There was a chuckle, one that Ken didn't like at all.

 

"Because it's not morning, boy." They said. Ken felt a bit relieved that there was at least one person on this planet who didn't assume he was a girl the minute they saw him.

 

"What do you want?" Ken asked, finally, seeing no point in not asking. Maybe if he just kept the man talking, it would stall for time.

 

"Want? I'll tell you what I want..." The voice was much closer... it sounded as if it were right over his head, before a hand reached down and lifted his chin, "I want..." The voice grew closer- right over his ear, "My revenge." It was whispering, with a kind of deadly dispassion that Ken had only heard once before, and it made him shudder.

 

"If you're some supporter of the Empire, you won't get much out of killing me." Ken muttered, as that was the only thing he could think someone would hold against him. The voice laughed and one of the fingers holding up his chin traced the features of his face. Ken felt his arms shake and he had a strong urge to bite the hand if he could.

 

"You must not remember then. Here, drink this." And the hand was gone with something being pressed against his lips. Ken felt something warm and liquid sliding into his mouth and he almost swallowed, before he remembered the truth serum infected tea from Scardia and immediately, almost instinctively, Ken sprayed the mouthful out, a splattering noise telling him he'd soaked his kidnapper, and a trail of saliva dribbling down his chin. The voice made a displeased noise.

 

"You don't seem to want to cooperate." It said, in a disapproving tone. Ken grimaced the best he could.

 

"Maybe if you told me what you're going to do before just forcing something down my throat I'd be a bit more willing." Ken snarled, his face going hot as the words left his mouth and he realized the double meaning behind his words. He hung his head and the voice laughed.

 

"You want to know, then? Very well- I suppose it would be worth it." And Ken could sense there was something on either side of his legs, as though the kidnapper was crouching over him.

 

"My theory is this- that you are a reincarnation of someone I desire to be rid of. However, when reincarnation happens for a soul that has been killed as way of dying in their last life, their memories are sealed, and they only remember through the nightmares they have. I've observed you for a day now, and can tell that you do indeed have these nightmares..." Ken stopped listening- he was trying to hard not to laugh at the man who thought Ken's nightmares of the past were nightmares of a past LIFE- before the hand that had touched him before slapped his face.

 

"You wanted to hear, now pay attention." The voice demanded, "My proposal is this- I want to perform a spell that will remove the memories that YOU hold that are holding the memories of a possible past life in your subconscious, to be sure if you are who I'm looking for. If you cooperate, and you are not who I am looking for, I'll let you go."

 

Ken would have glared, but the blindfold prevented that.

 

"But my memories will still be gone?" He asked. The voice snorted.

 

"Well, of course- it's impossible to retrieve lost memories that are removed by a spell." They said. Ken made a face.

 

"Forgive me for wanting to keep the memories of the people who I care about, but I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request." He sneered the best he could. The voice made a disapproving sound, and then there were footsteps, and Ken suddenly realized he was all alone again.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

When Tatsumi came into their office without a file, but a serious look on his face, Hisoka and Tsuzuki both had a right to be leery of the news he was carrying.

 

"No assignment, Tatsumi-san?" Hisoka asked. Tatsumi shook his head, but adjusted his glasses with solemnity.

 

"Kurosaki-kun, Tsuzuki-san, I have information that I feel concerns you: First of which, the son of one of your newer coworkers has been kidnapped." He said, and showed them a report which had been filled out by someone with very poor handwriting.

 

"Was it... Magami? The son of the Sakurazukamori woman?" Tsuzuki asked, examining the names. Tatsumi nodded. Hisoka snorted.

 

"Well, that happens when you let kids walk home alone. They've got no room to complain." He said, keeping an uncaring facade over his face. Tatsumi's glasses gleamed, threateningly.

 

"That is not the end of matters, Kurosaki-kun. The second piece of information, we have reasons to believe, is linked to the first." Tatsumi said, his tone of voice leaving no room for argument, and Hisoka listened.

 

"The second matter is that Muraki is active in Kyoto, again."

 

Tsuzuki stood up, and strode over to Tatsumi.

 

"Where is he staying? We'll leave as soon as we can." He asked, his purple eyes narrowed, and his voice completely even. Tatsumi gave Tsuzuki an even look, and then sighed.

 

"I'll have that information for you shortly."

 

A/N: I'm up to 23 pages here- I think I'll leave it for this chapter.

 

And now, you'll have to wait to find out what happens.