Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Emergence ❯ Missing Something ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: Yugi-oh is the property of Kazuki Takahashi, who is a genius.

Please read Chrysalis before you read this story. Otherwise you might find yourself wondering what the hell is going on. This is the second part of a story arch and while you might be able to understand what is happening, you'd like it a lot more if you read the first part and came back to this later.

(Author's note: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I just needed to get that off my chest. By the confused reviews I have realized that….I'm doing a great job! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Just try and flee innocent characters! I have you where I want you! BWAHAHAHAHAHA. Okay, I'm done now. On with the story.)

Emergence

Chapter 9: Missing Something

~*~*~*

Yugi

~*~*~*

The sun glittered softly through the window, casting fingers of light across the room to gently waken a small lump that sprawled across the bed. The lump twitched as the light nudged it. The lump shifted, hunching and flexing. A soft mutter came from the lump, a hand appeared waving around and finally knocking an innocent alarm clock off the bedside table. The lump contracted and stilled. The light upped the anti sending more light into the room. The lump expanded then pulled itself into a small ball of misery and a small vibrantly colored head emerged.

Yugi sat up yawning and blinking around his room. He smiled as he noted the alarm clock sitting on the floor and bounced lightly out of bed, scooping it up and replacing it on the table. He scrambled over to his closet, tripping over his suitcase. He shoved it aside, wondering why he'd left it there, as he dove in and started sorting through his clothes. In a few moments, he emerged dressed in a old pair of jeans and a red and black tank top. He inspected himself in the mirror, okaying his look as acceptable for spending the day cleaning the shop and working in the stock room.

"Yugi? Are you awake?" Solomon's voice called up the stairs.

"I'm up grandpa. I'll be right down." Yugi called back and snatched his hair brush and scampered out of his room and down the stairs trying to get his hair into some kind of order.

Solomon was standing in the kitchen, making breakfast and talking to a girl who was sitting at the breakfast table drinking a cup of tea. Yugi wondered who she was, she didn't look familiar. She was small, with shoulder length, blond hair, large round hazel eyes and a soft, whispery voice. Must be a friend of grandpa's, maybe she's related to Arthur. He smiled at her as he walked into the kitchen. "Hi!"

The girl smiled up at him, "Hi, Yugi. Are you ready?"

Yugi dropped into his chair, "Huh? Ready?"

Solomon set a bowl of steaming hot rice cereal down in front of him and grinned at the girl, "He was up late last night packing."

"Packing?" Yugi felt confused. "Why am I…"

Solomon frowned, "Yugi, where is your puzzle?"

"Puzzle?" Yugi paused in the middle of spooning heaps of sugar onto his cereal.

"Are you even awake Yugi?" The girl asked leaning over and peering at him curiously. A slight grin peeked around the corners of her mouth.

"Yeah. I'm awake." Yugi actually wondered if he was. The morning had started okay, but breakfast was just getting stranger and stranger. Maybe it's one of those dreams where you think your awake, but then your not, then you wake up and think your awake, and then your not and it just goes on and on.

Solomon laughed and ruffled his hair, "Why don't you go get your suitcase and puzzle while your cereal cools. That way you'll be ready to go once your finished."

Yugi stood up, feeling lost, but went back up stairs. His suitcase was still sitting , waiting for him, but what did grandpa mean, his puzzle. Did the girl want to put together a puzzle? What puzzle? He poked into his closet looking for a puzzle. There was a puzzle of a kitten sitting on the shelf. Or maybe the puzzle of Tokyo Tower? He shuffled through his games. What puzzle? He stepped out into his room and looked at his shelves. Nope, no puzzles. He looked around his room, nope, no puzzles.

His eyes landed on a golden triangular thing that sat on his desk. He picked it up and noticed there was a chain around it, as if it was a really big necklace or something. He looked at it closely, noting the seams and cracks running around it. Could this be the puzzle? Maybe some kind of new three dimensional puzzle? He slipped the chain over his neck and grabbed his suitcase and the puzzle boxes, then headed down the stairs.

The girl was still at the table, now eating a piece of toast. His grandpa was now sitting with her talking about the shop and sipping tea. Yugi stopped, feeling as if he was missing something. What's going on? Am I still asleep? I must be, strange dream though. He dropped his suitcase and stepped into the kitchen.

Solomon smiled at him and motioned to the cereal, "Eat up Yugi."

"Kaiba's letting us borrow a car and driver to take us up to the convention, so we don't have to go on the bus." The girl smiled.

"He is?" Yugi gulped down a mouthful of cereal, absently wondering what the symbolic meaning of cereal was in this dream. Maybe knowledge, food, was he hungry and should have eaten a snack before he went to bed? "Why is he doing that?"

The girl laughed, "It's a bribe. He wants me to find some cards for him."

"Cards?" Yugi contemplated the meaning of cards. Games? Something hidden? Chance.

"Yeah." She took a bite of toast. "I'm supposed to scoop up all the Exodia cards that I find."

"Oh, okay." Yugi gobbled the rest of his cereal. What is a Exodia card?

"Ready Yugi?" Solomon stood up and started clearing the table.

The girl stood up and took her tea cup and plate to the sink. "I'll do the dishes Grandpa, while you say your goodbyes." She took the dishes from Solomon with a smile and started rinsing them off in the sink and placing them in the dishwasher.

"Yugi, now take care while your there." Solomon turned to him and gave him a hug. "Call me this evening and tell me how things are going."

"Uh, sure grandpa." Yugi smiled back, "Do you want me to pick up some cards too."

"No, no my boy." Solomon laughed, "You just go and have fun."

"Sure grandpa." Yugi turned to his suitcase, half expecting it to have morphed into something else. He was almost surprised to see it still sitting where he had left it. This is really a realistic dream. I wonder if I could concentrate and make it turn into something else. Maybe a giant cupcake. He concentrated for a moment, but disappointingly, the suitcase stayed a suitcase.

A strange man in a uniform walked into the room and smiled at the girl. "Are we ready Miss Yuai?"

The girl, Miss Yuai, nodded, wiping her hands on the kitchen towel. "Yep. Why don't you take Yugi's things down."

The man nodded hello to Yugi and Solomon and picked up Yugi's suitcase, which was still stubbornly not turning into a cupcake. Yugi sighed, and watched the man walk out the door.

"Bye, Grandpa." Miss Yuai came over and gave his grandpa a small kiss on his cheek. "Kaiba promised to send the driver to pick us up Sunday evening, so you don't have to worry about us being on the bus."

"That's nice to know." Solomon hugged her gently and gave Yugi one last hug. "You two behave yourselves now." He wagged a warning finger at his grandson. "Don't you do anything fresh, young man."

Yugi blushed, "Grandpa."

Miss Yuai blushed. "Grandpa, stop that."

Solomon patted them both on the head, "Okay, okay. Just behave yourselves."

Yugi and Miss Yuai stepped away and started down the steps. Yugi wondered where they were going and why his classmate Kaiba would let them use one of his cars. It wasn't like he knew the guy, and just who was this Miss Yuai? Yugi pondered the meaning of the strange dream he was having as he walked out of the store and toward the long dark limo that was waiting at the curb.

~*~*~*

Anzu and Mai

~*~*~*

Anzu sat in the stands. It was a good seat. Honda, as a participating racer, had been given free seats for his friends and family and had given them to her, Mai and his new girlfriend Ribbon. They were pretty good seats, not the best, but pretty good. They were slightly to the right of the starting line and far enough up the stands to be under the shade. Mai grumbled a little, preferring to be closer to the track.

Anzu settled deeper into the seat, watching Mai, who was standing near the rail talking to a man in a rather bright, multi-colored uniform. He was leaning very close, eyeing her lover hungrily. Mai flirted back, using her gorgeous eyes, lush gold hair and impressive cleavage to dazzle the guy, who seemed more than willing to be dazzled. Anzu enjoyed watching Mai work. Flirting was an art form to Mai and she was a master.

When she had still hung around with Nina, she had honestly thought they were the hottest thing around. No one could compare to them, they were the zenith of cool, sexy and the complete definition of hot. Of course, she now realized, she was also certifiably insane at the time, but she hadn't known that. Back then, in what she was now considering the dark ages of her life, Mai looked too obvious, harsh, cheap, and false. What guy could want someone so…so…Barbie doll plastic?

She wanted to laugh at herself now. Mai was an artist. She made what Nina and she tried look childishly silly. Yes, the men drooled, they eyed Mai's tempting body, they fantasized about what Mai's pouting lips could do to them, how her hair would feel if they wrapped it around their hands, how her breasts would feel against their palms. Mai would smile into their eyes and wordlessly promise all sorts of things. Things that never would come to pass. Her looks were a tool to get what she wanted, but that's all they were. Once she achieved her goal, she walked away. Mai didn't have to prove how cool she was, how sexy she could be, or how foolish everyone else was. She was complete and confident in herself, and that was the difference between her and what Nina and she had been. They had been trying to prove something. Mai didn't have to prove anything, to anyone.

Anzu closed her eyes and relaxed into the seat, propping her feet up on the back of the seat in front of her. It was a nice day, warm with a hint of a breeze coming in off the bay. Mai was nearby and Honda was, if not exactly close, at least near enough if something happened she could find him easily enough. There weren't a lot of people at the race today either. She never really liked it when there was a large crowd. There were mainly just the die-hard fans littering the stadium and the track personnel. Everything was good, everything was safe. She let herself drift, till a sudden thump in the seat next to her notified her that Mai had returned.

She looked up and noticed that Ribbon had accompanied Mai and was now settling next to her sipping a soda.

"Hi, Ribbon." Anzu leaned forward and smiled at Honda's new girlfriend.

"Hi, Anzu." Ribbon smiled back, putting her cup into the built in cup holder on the seat's arm.

"They're already on the track and they should be starting…" A sudden loud noise and the increased rumble of the engines sounded before Mai finished.

Anzu pulled her feet off the seat and leaned forward, "Which one is Honda?"

Ribbon pointed, "There, number 23."

Mai leaned back in her seat, "Wait a second till they all get sorted out, then you'll spot him."

The racers zipped along the track in a colorful blur, which Anzu couldn't decipher. "What colors was he wearing again?"

"Red with white and black stripes." Ribbon leaned forward, "There he is in sixth. See him?"

"Yep, there's our boy." Mai sighed happily, her eyes tracking every move Honda made. "He's not bad, would have liked a better placement, but not bad."

Anzu carefully counted back six from the guy in the front and finally spotted the brightly colored blur that was Honda. "He's doing great, look he's now in fifth."

"Yeah, but that guy next to him, in the green and white, he's a complete ass." Mai shook her head. "Honda should have stayed as far from him as possible. He likes to make trouble."

Anzu, keeping an eye on her friend frowned worriedly, "What do you mean?"

"His name's Hochi and he likes to play mean." Mai tossed her hair over her shoulder, waving an accusing finger at the green blur, "I know him. He's washed up, so he wants to take everyone down with him, especially anyone new and shows even a trace of promise."

Anzu watched as her friend maneuvered across the track, trying to put distance between himself and Hochi. The green blur went after him, tracking his every move. "Can't they do something?"

"Nope. Hochi pushes it, but he covers himself well." Mai bit her lip as Honda dove into third place, with Hochi hanging close to his side in fourth. "Looks like Honda's got a friend."

The racers flashed past in a loud roar of engines and color, then they were past and circling the track again. Honda was staying tucked in third. Hochi was still at his side in fourth, not even trying to get ahead. The rest of the racers were falling back slowly.

Anzu looked at Mai and saw the worried look on her face. Ribbon was sitting tensely at the other side.

"He can't do anything, right?" Anzu watched as the racers flashed into the far turn.

"Depends on whether he thinks he can get away with it or not." Mai's eyebrows were drawn together. "It's a small race, at a small track."

Anzu looked back, just as the racers flew by again. Honda was creeping up into second. Hochi still flanked him. Ribbon looked like she was holding her breath, leaning forward with her hands on the seatback in front of her.

"Shit." Mai breathed, "He's doing too well. Hochi's sure to go for him. If nothing else then Hochi will get second with one less new rider to deal with later."

The racers shot into the far turn. Ribbon gasped. Mai jumped to her feet. Anzu watched in dread as Honda's bike suddenly jerked hard to the left, then spun to the right, exploding across the pavement like shattered glass, sending a red, white and black figure tumbling across the track like a broken doll flung by an angry child.

"No! Honda!" Ribbon shot to her feet.

"Damn. They had to see that!" Mai was already pushing past Ribbon and running down the steps.

Anzu and Ribbon raced after her, ignoring the announcements and the sudden press of excited people. All they wanted was to get to their friend.

~*~*~*

Kaiba and Jonouchi

~*~*~*

The airport was a lovely place to be. Jonouchi smiled beatifically around him as he strolled past the small quiet bars, the colorful boutiques that sold last minute necessities to harried travelers, and various gaily colored restraints. Kaiba and Mokuba were walking in front of him, heading toward the gate that would take Mokuba away and hopefully deposit him back as a much saner, easier to get along with kid.

"This isn't fair! You're just doing this so you can spend the weekend alone." Mokuba growled, stomping angrily at his brother's side.

"Mokuba, ever since the shooting, you've been acting out. I've noticed. Your behavior isn't just mischievous any more, it's getting down right vicious." Kaiba kept walking, they'd been having this argument for the last twelve hours. "You need to deal with your problems."

"The only problem I have is being sent to Shri Lanka." Mokuba snapped back.

"Your flight boards in ten minutes, do you want anything?" Kaiba glanced over at his seething brother.

"I want to stay home." Mokuba stopped, "I'm not going."

Kaiba grabbed his arm and dragged him down the hall toward the gate. "You're going."

"You can't make me." Mokuba tried to dig his feet into the carpet.

"Watch me." Kaiba easily pulled him along, not even breaking his pace. "It's for your own good, little brother."

Jonouchi still smiled blissfully as he watched the show. In less then one hour, he and Kaiba would be heading back to the mansion for an entire weekend of uninterrupted fun.

~*~*~*

Yuai and Yugi

~*~*~*

Yuai looked out the window at the passing trees. It was a beautiful drive. They were winding through some of the wildest mountains and most unspoiled forests in Japan. Thick, dark trees covered the steep slopes of the mountains, deep rivers wound through narrow canyons, soft wisps of clouds seemed caught in the high peaks like cotton caught in a comb of trees and the air coming through the windows was clean, crisp and scented of rich pine and that unidentifiable woodsy smell that sent little tingles of happy excitement up her spine.

She couldn't wait till they got to the hotel where the convention was. It was supposed to be one of the most picturesque hotels in Japan, set deep in the mountains on the side of a cliff looking out over seemingly endless valleys of untouched forests.

Kaiba had recommended eating at a nearby café when they arrived that was just a short walk down the road from the hotel. He'd stayed there last year during a business conference and had said the only things that had made the whole thing bearable were the accommodations and the food at the café. Apparently the conference had not been one of those bearable things. After living in the same house as Kaiba, she had to wonder what creative way Kaiba had expressed his dissatisfaction about the conference. She wouldn't be terribly surprised if there was a large crater someplace on the hotel grounds, a mute testament of why you don't get a Kaiba annoyed.

Yugi was missing it all though. About five minutes into their trip he'd conked out and had been happily snoring, sprawled across the seat. Yuai thought he looked cute. He had a little smile on his face and every once in awhile he would giggle in his sleep and snuggle deeper into the leather seat. She wondered what he was dreaming about. He looked so adorable. In a weird kind of way, he'd been cute at breakfast, too. He'd looked so lost and she hadn't missed the fact that he'd actually brought down a kitten puzzle from his room. She gently touched his hair, laughing silently to herself. He'd looked like a baby owl, when he first walked in, blinking sleepily with wide, wide eyes, as if he couldn't figure out who she was and why she was there.

The road swung in a turn around the edge of a mountain and a bright vista opened up in front of them. The sun was glinting across a silver ribbon of water down below, with green, moss covered stones clustering along the edge under a canopy of leaves that glistened in the sun. She looked down at Yugi and back at the enticing scene, wondering if she should wake him up to see or if she should let him sleep. She finally settled on shaking him gently.

"Hey, Yugi? Do you want to wake up?" She gave him another nudge and watched his soft violet eyes open. "It's really pretty to see."

He smiled up at her, "Oh, Yuai." He yawned. "I just had the strangest dream…" He blinked around at the interior of the limo for a second then shrugged. "I think I was sleep walking or something."

She smiled and snuggled closer to him. "You were kind of out of it this morning."

Yugi looked down at the ratty clothes he was wearing. They were the ones he wore when he was going to be cleaning, not something he would have chosen to take to the convention. "Yeah, I guess I was." He snuggled closer to Yuai and looked out the window. Then frowned, feeling something digging into his chest, making Yuai wiggle away slightly to get comfortable against him. It was a large upside down gold pyramid suspended from his neck by a plain, ugly, iron chain. It looked gaudy and it was uncomfortable as hell. Why am I wearing this big clunky necklace?

He pulled it off and looked at it. "Why did I bring this?"

Yuai looked up at him curiously. "I don't know. You weren't wearing it this morning and Grandpa sent you back upstairs to get it."

Yugi set it down on the seat across from them, "I wonder why."

Yuai looked back out the window, "Look, magpies!"

Yugi looked and snuggled closer, breathing in the sweet smell of Yuai's hair. "Magpies are supposed to bring good luck."

Yuai sighed, and smiled up at him, kissing his jaw. "I get more good luck? I didn't think that was possible."

Yugi gave her a kiss and they both settled back and watched the mountains unfold all their mysteries as they journeyed farther into the wild.

~*~*~*

Honda

~*~*~*

"This won't hurt a bit." The doctor smiled than quickly snapped Honda's broken arm back into place.

Honda shrieked, then panted for a second, "Liar, that hurt like hell."

The doctor just nodded and inspected his handiwork. The arm was once again straight, and as he ran his fingers up the line of the bones, he could only feel the smooth natural curve that nature intended the human forearm to possess. He set his patient's arm down and did a careful inventory of injuries and treatments: one broken arm, set, still needs to be put in a cast; contusions, abrasions and lacerations; cleaned and bandaged, will need further treatment when patient returned to his office in a few days; one large laceration on left leg; stitched and bandaged; concussion, minor, thank God for helmets or this kid's brains would have been part of the pavement; still need to give the kid a lot of pain meds and some antibiotics. He motioned for the nurse to start putting the arm into a cast. "You were a lucky young man."

Honda nodded at him. The shots they had given him when he'd come in were making things a bit foggy, but other than that he felt okay, a bit loopy, but okay. "Can my dad come in"

"Sure. I think he's right out side. The doctor stepped out the infirmary door and Honda could hear the soft mutter of voices.

Mai, Anzu and Ribbon marched in, his dad poked his head in for a second and waved, then went back to talking to the doctor.

"Nice tumble. Did you practice?" Mai propped her hip against the bed he was sitting on.

"Nope, completely natural talent there." Honda shrugged, then quickly decided not to do that again in the near future.

Ribbon stepped close to the bed and gently touched his arm. "The doctor said you broke it."

"Yep, right about there." Honda cheerfully pointed to a spot close to his wrist. Ribbon didn't look impressed.

Anzu glared at him, "I told you to be careful!" She waved a threatening finger under his nose. "I warned you to take care of yourself out there. Now it's time for you to suffer!"

Honda leaned away from her and her dangerous digit. "What do you mean?"

Mai straightened and grabbed Ribbon, pulling her away, "Time for us to go." She waved cheerfully back as she yanked the startled blond out of the room. "Good luck! We'll be waiting outside till it's over"

"What do you mean good luck?" Honda looked around a bit wildly, trying to figure out what was going on. "Till what's over?"

Anzu narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath, "It's time for…the speech!"

Suddenly, Honda realized what was about to happen. As his eyes got bigger, as his pupils dilated in dread of what was about to happen, he silently thanked Mai for getting Ribbon out of there while there was still time.

"We are friends and as friends we need to stick together. Yes, through thick or thin, when times get rough, that is when our friendship should shine the brightest….." Anzu's eyes bore into his withering soul and the world turned dark. It was the friendship speech from hell, his reward for having that asshole Hochi send him spinning across the track like a crazed top and scaring his friends half to death. "No matter how terrible the problem, we will face it together as true friends, should. We will stand side by side, bound eternally by our true feelings….."

~*~*~*

Kaiba

~*~*~*

The house was abnormally quiet. No Mokuba, racing through the halls yelling. No Playstation binging, bonging and playing silly music. No soft spoken Yuai slipping through the house on quiet cat feet. No slamming of doors. No sudden howls of protest. No explosions, crashes, or scent of burning anything. Just quiet. Peaceful, blissful, sweet quiet.

Kaiba stood in the middle of the living room and took a deep breath. How long had it been since he could say there had been a moment of true quiet in the house? There had been a couple of hours of quiet last week, when Mokuba had to stay late at school for detention. There had been nearly a whole day of quiet two months ago when Yuai had dragged Mokuba off to visit the astronomy lab out over at Domino University. Then there had been that long stretch of suffocating quiet a few months back, that still woke him at night, his hand reaching out to make sure Jo was there.

"Almost eerie, ain't it." Jonouchi stood next to him, looking around the room as if he'd never seen it before.

Kaiba shrugged, "He'll be back quick enough."

"Wanna unpack?" Jonouchi took another look around and noticed that the message light on the phone was blinking. He walked over and pressed the button.

Kaiba shook his head, "Later, right now I've got some work to catch up on, that I was putting off."

Jonouchi nodded as the first message played.

"Big Brother. I am NEVER FORGIVING YOU FOR THIS. DO YOU HEAR ME! NEVER! Oh, and I forgot my favorite shampoo, can you send it to me? Love ya. Bye."

Beep.

"I knew he was going to forget something." Kaiba walked to the staircase, pausing at the foot to hear the rest of the messages.

"Mr. Kaiba, this is Mr. Ichikara from Domino High School. It seems that your attendance record has reached an all time low. Please call your guidance counselor. Thank you."

Beep.

Jonouchi grinned, "I knew it. You're turning into a juvenile delinquent. As an impressionable young man, I should probably stay away from you, 'till you change your slothful, underachiever ways."

Kaiba snorted, turned and began to playfully stalk towards Jo. "Delinquent, huh?"

Jonouchi backed up grinning. "You stay where you are. Your laziness if probably infectious."

"Jo, it's Mai. Honda's been in a accident at the track."

Jonouchi's smile disappeared as he swung around to face the phone.

"We haven't been able to see him yet, so I can't tell you how he is. We're at Domino General in the emergency room."

Kaiba stood behind Jo, his hand on his shoulder.

"His dad, Ribbon, Anzu and I are here. We tried to call Yugi, but he left for that convention, but his grandpa is going to leave a message at the hotel for him to call."

Jonouchi leaned back against Kaiba, eyes riveted to the phone.

"So if you get this, get over here."

Beep.

Jonouchi and Kaiba were already out the door before the ending beep. The door slamming behind them. The last message played to an empty room.

"Hi, Jo. It's Honda. Everything's okay, Don't get your panties in a wad. I got a broken wrist, a couple scrapes and lots of fun medicine. Never realized sunshine was purple before… Anywho, I'll be going home in a couple of hours. Come over then and I'll let you sign my cast. Bye."

~*~*~*

Reviews make the world go around!

DemonandGoddess: You'll have to wait till the next chapter to find out who our mystery guest is. Yep. Yuai is definitely confused and is going to be even more confused in the near future.

Amunra: I bet your even more confused now. Or maybe you can figure out now where things are headed. Hold on, the fun is just starting. ;)

Daebird: Surprises just around the corner…and unfortunately more bad things happening to our favorite pharaoh. If you want to know, I got this whole idea from thinking about Yami and Yugi's relationship. If they are halves of the same soul, just who has what? What does Yami give to Yugi and what does Yugi give to Yami. Think about it…it's kind of fun idea to toss around.