Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Hostile Takeover ❯ Chibi Picasso and the Midnight March ( Chapter 32 )

Aten: I wwuff weffewers!

Aria: *hands out plushies to reviewers* You guys are the best and PUSHIES FOR EFFERYBODY!

Lady Elfskye: Seto will come out ok, but he'll be in the shadow realm for a little bit.

ssjgoddesschico: Well, they know seto is missing, but beyond that, nothing else.

IYYASHI: No, Seto isn't getting hurt in the shadow realm. Aten and Steven meet up in 3 or 4 more chappies.

Dragondreamer: Hayden's come a long way with Joey. It's just Kaiba's turn now.

Shadow of Light: When kids are sick, they want that close contact. Aria's technically still a baby.

Marik Ishtar: We'll see Seto soon. He took him to the Shadow Realm.

joeyrules: aww, thanks Emily.

Setharo07: Aten, Robbie, Aria, and Umi are adorable. I'm so glad you love my fics! This series will continue until the kids reach adulthood.

Malik lover and anzu basher: *Squishes sad Yugi* aww..he needs a hug. *plushies beat up Steven plushie* Aten: TAKE THAT YOU *censored*! Everyone: OO

Amane Bakura: Since Yami was pharaoh, he still thinks he's all that and a bag of chips. Yeah, you can have Yami's spleen. *hands spleen* Eww…gooey.Eventually aria and Hayden will kinda get along. They may call a truce.

Aria will protect her little brother at the end.

Super JM: I know. Aten and Hayden are going to be good friends as they get older. Everyone needs a confidant.

Crazy Kins: Hope you like your plushies!

Maruken: I thought the black crayon idea was good. It was better than using red.

Valea: Bakura will try to stay strong.

bakachibi voidfox: I will! Seto will come back, but not for a while.

Elizabeth marie rose: Cullen is still alive. He's ok. I'll bring him back when I get the kids out of the school.

Chibi Picasso and the Midnight March

Aria laid in the bed cuddling her M&M's plushie against her chest. The plushie and her face were the same red color. Ryou took her temperature. It was still 100 degrees. Ryou took a cold, damp rag and ran it along her forehead and her chest to cool her skin down. The little girl gave a pitiful little whimper as the cool rag touched her gently.

//How is she, Ryou?//

/She's burning up. If her fever goes any higher, I'll have to take her to the hospital./

"Mommy? I need the bucktet again."

Ryou held out the bucket and held back her hair as she threw up again.

//That's the third time tonight!! I'm going to kick Yami's ass into his next afterlife when I get my hands on him!//

Aria lifted her face out of the bucket. Ryou wiped her mouth with a clean towel and the chibi laid down on the bed again.

Ryou went to the bathroom and cleaned out the bucket.

//Ryou?//

/Yami?/

//I love you.//

Ryou dropped the bucket into the sink and leaned over the sink. A river of tears streamed down his face. Marik's whimpering could be heard from inside his room and a loud sob came from him. In Ryou's room, Aria began crying again.

//Ryou……//

/The crying won't stop!/

//I know, baby. I wish I could be there.//

"Mommy!"

Ryou ran into his room and found Aria laying on her side with tears in her eyes.

"Mommy? I want to see my daddy"

Ryou looked down and bit his lip. /Yami?/

//Hikari?//

/Our daughter wants to talk to you./

//Do you want to try. Ryou? It hurt you to try before.//

Ryou's hand went up to his chest. /This is going to be very painful, Bakura./

//I'll try to keep it short. Can we really do this? Yami sealed me in here.//

/One of us has to be in there at all times. We have to try this, yami. I want to try this for Aria's sake./

Bakura nodded. //Ok. We can try.//

"Baby girl, I'm going to let you speak to daddy."

"Is it going to hurt again?"

Ryou nodded. "It will, baby girl. I'll try to keep daddy out as long as I can. When daddy goes away, you may see mommy trembling a little. But, I'll be ok, alright, baby girl?"
Aria took Ryou' hand. "You can hold my hand, mommy. It won't hurt as much."

Ryou smiled down at his daughter and kissed her forehead. "I love you, baby girl."
Ryou closed his eyes and entered his soulroom. Ryou stood outside Bakura's door. He slid open the window.

/Ready, yami?/

//I love you, Ryou.//

/Me, too./

Ryou touched the lock of the door and gathered the power of the Millennium Ring. The door swung open and Ryou was shoved inside. Bakura escaped.

Bakura appeared in front of Aria. Bakura's teeth clenched as he felt the pain of his hikari in his soulroom. A hikari did not belong in a yami's soulroom, so it caused a great deal of discomfort. A yami was not a hikari, so the energies were different.

"Daddy!" Aria wrapped her arms around her father. "'I missed you, daddy! I love you! I was afraid you left me forever!"

"I'd never leave you, sweetheart. I told you before, my daughter, that I love you more than anything in the world. You are my treasure. It hurts me to see you so ill, baby."

Bakura brought Aria and clutched her against his chest. Bakura looked at his daughter laying in his arms. Aria reached up and touched Bakura's face. "My daddy…I love my daddy."

Bakura leaned down and kissed her fevered forehead. "I love you, my baby girl."

Aria let out a hacking cough and Bakura brought her up so she could touch his cold face.

"Daddy cold," Aria whimpered as she nuzzled into his cheek.

/Yami…..I don't know how much longer I can stay here……Hurts./

Bakura closed his eyes. A single tear crept down his cheek. It was hard for Bakura to let her go. He didn't want to let go of her just yet. He had only held her for only a few minutes! This was going to most likely be the only time he would get to hold her. The process was too painful for Ryou to do this another time.

"Daddy? Why are you crying?"

"I have to let you go, baby girl…….and I……don't want to."

Aria nodded. "I understand, Daddy. Mommy will love me while you are gone. You go back in mommy's head."

"Aria……I love you. Never forget that, my angel."

Aria took Bakura's face in her hands and pulled him down for a kiss. Aria kissed Bakura gently on the cheek and sighed.

"Love my daddy."

/Yami……./

"I have to go, baby girl."

Bakura put Aria on the bed and tucked her under the sheets. Bakura closed his eyes and retreated to his soulroom. He opened the door to his soulroom and Ryou was thrown out and Bakura was thrown back in. The iron door slammed shut behind Bakura.

Ryou appeared in front of Aria gripping his head and shivering from the cold of the soulroom. Aria gripped Ryou's hand.

"Hold my hand, mommy. It won't hurt as much."

Ryou shuddered as the feeling in his body returned. Aria reached over and stroked her mother's hair with the other hand.

"I love my mommy."

Ryou slowly calmed down, his heartbeat returned to normal. "I love my………"

"Mommy?"

"Yes…angel?"

"Bucktet……" Aria covered her mouth.

************************

Ryou went downstairs for another cup of tea. The sun hadn't risen yet. It was only the middle of the night. Ryou put the sugar in his tea when he heard Aria's shrill cry pierce the air.

Ryou's head dropped and he gave a yawn. He used the stained countertop to keep his balance. He sipped his tea with exhaustion and climbed the stairs.

Ryou yawned as he entered the room, trying not to drop his tea or drop to the floor sleeping.

Aria needed him now. She was still sick, her fever still blasting.

//Ryou, are you ok?//

Ryou put his tea on the bedside table and took the crying little girl into his arms. He rubbed her back and rocked her.

/So tired……/

"I know you aren't well, baby girl."

Aria rubbed her hot cheek against Ryou's shoulder. The sick little chibi cried quietly as her tiny fingers clutched onto her mother's bathrobe. Ryou's eyelids felt that he had heavy weights attached to them.

Aria's little body began shivering and she cried loud enough to crack all the mirrors in the house. Ryou clenched his eyes tightly, his heart splitting in two at his daughter's illness. /'None of my concern,' he says! I wish he was here right now!/

//If he was here right now, I'd kick his smug, pompous, royal pharaoh ass!//

Ryou carried her up and down the hallway, rocking her, singing to her, and holding her gently. Ryou returned to the room and sipped his tea and continued carrying her around the house until dawn when Aria finally fell asleep.

Ryou laid beside her and closed his eyes as dawn finally came.

**************************

Robbie waited for the gate at the school. Aten's "Unkie Puppy" had brought him to school. Aten ran to the school yard. Aten ran to Robbie excitedly. "Wobbie! Wobbie! Dess what? Tum peetle wan to tee my painings affer kool!"

"Paintings? You paint?"

Aten nodded. "Me and Unkie Puppy paint and daw todetter."

"I didn't know you painted, Aten! You are a good drawer, though."

Aten's eyes lit up. "Weawwy?"

Robbie nodded. "Yes!"

Aten smiled and squealed. He wrapped his arms around Robbie again. "You my bessest fend, Wobbie!"

"Aten….can't….breathe!"

Aten released Robbie. "Towwy, Wobbie."

Umi ran up to Aten. "Aten, is Aria in today? I can't find her. I have something for her!"

"You do? What you dot fer my tisser?"

Umi pulled out a duel monsters card. It was an 'Umi' Field Magic card. "This was supposed to be for her. It was for her to remember me."

Aten and Robbie's eyes opened wide. "I teen dat in Unkie Yugi's Dame Top!"

"This is mine. I have two more on my daddy's boat!"

Robbie looked at the card. "I wanna duel, too, someday! I want my deck to be full of machines! Machines are so cool! I got a letter from my daddy and he got me the Decayed Commander card! I know he's not a machine, but he's a military card! I want those cards, too! And Oni Tank 234!" (No, people, Robbie is not Chibi Keith.)

Aten nodded. "I wanna wearn ow to pway dull monners! I hafta det weawwy, weawwy good! But I know what tard I wan in my desk!"

"Deck, Aten," Robbie corrected him.

"My daddies duel and my mommy, too! My Auntie Yami duels and he is weawwy hard to beat! Dat's why I haff to det good! I hafta dull my Auntie Yami! And I dawna use my Basic Incest tard!"

"'Basic Incest?' Don't you mean Basic Insect?"

Aten looked between the two boys, his ears turning red from embaressment. "Towwy. I ted it wong, din't I?"

"It's 'Basic Insect,' Aten," Umi said as the schoolbell rang.

"Don't worry about it, Aten. You'll get it! Just keep practicing!"

Aten smiled and followed Robbie to the classroom.

**********************

Joey returned home and went to Seto's office. "Where could he be?"

Joey picked up the phone and dialed Seto's cell phone number. There was no answer. He sat down at Seto's desk and dialed Ryou's phone number.

A tired Ryou answered. [Ryou speaking.]

"Ryou? Did you get any sleep last night?"

Ryou yawned. [No. I was up all night carrying a crying child around the hallway.]

"Little princess had a rough night, huh?"

[You don't know the half of it, Joey. I never seen a child puke so much! Luckily I have her asleep beside…ouch.]

"What? What's wrong?"

[Nothing.]

"Oh. Sorry, Ryou. I just wanted to check up on the little rugrat."

Ryou started to snore. "Hey, Ryou! Wake up!"

[Oh my word! Sorry…Hello?]

"Ryou, it's Joey. You fell asleep on me, man!"

[Oh my! I'm sorry! What were we talking about again?]

"Nothing, man. Go to sleep."

Ryou yawned and started to mumble and the connection was cut.

Joey shook his head. "Poor Ryou."

**********************

Joey picked up Aten after school. He took Aten to KaibaCorp and changed his clothes. Joey put him in a black suit and black bow tie. Joey brushed his hair out and put little gold buttons on Aten's white cuffs.

"Why I dess wike diss?"

Joey kneeled before the chibi in the mini-business suit. "Aten, these people are important. These people want to see your artwork and if they like it, they will buy it from you."

"Die it?"

"No, Aten…Buy…as in give you money for your paintings!"

Aten cocked his head to the side. "Buy painings for namey?"

Joey nodded. "Yes, for money!"

Aten's eyes opened wide. "I tould dive da namey to mommy!"

Joey nodded. "Exactly! Just talk to them, Aten. I'll be right here with you."

Aten looked up at Joey. "You no weave me?"

"No, Aten," Joey whispered, hugging the chibi.

************************************

Joey received a call that the gallery experts had arrived. Joey took Aten's hand and tried not to laugh at the look that would be on the people's faces when they saw the "tall, brooding" artist.

The elevator doors opened and their jaws dropped to the floor at the sight of the chibi in a business suit.

"Here, ladies and genteman, is your artist."

Aten lifted his head shyly. His feet shifted uncomfortably. "Hewwo…."

One woman gave a chuckle. "Mr. Wheeler, if this is a joke, we are not laughing."

"It's not a joke."

"He's only a little kid! Someone his age can't draw what we saw up there yesterday!"

The man shook his head. "We come here expecting to see the artist, not some three year old kid!"

"You wike my painings?" The chibi asked quietly.

"Son, did you paint those pictures yourself or did Mr. Wheeler help you?"

"I pained dose pishers mytelf. Unkie Puppy teened de bushtes for me."

Another woman leaned down and smiled at him. "What is your name, little cutie?"

Aten smiled and extended his hand to her slowly. His hand shook nervously. "My name is Aten Bakari Ishtar Ibn Mawik. Ahlan wa sahlan."

The woman smiled. "What did you say?"

"I ted, "My name is Aten Bakari Ishtar, ton uff Mawik. Peas be wif you."

"Peas?"

"Oh…He meant to say Peace, Ms. Collins."

She giggled. "What a little cutie! Is he yours, Mr. Wheeler?"

"No. Babysitting."

The woman smiled. "Nice to meet you, Aten. My name is Mrs. Collins."

Aten smiled and took her hand. He put the back of her hand to his forehead. "Hewwo. I'm Aten."

"Can we see your paintings, Aten?"

Aten smiled and bowed before them. "Tum Tee my painings!"

The elevator doors opened and Joey and Aten took the group to their art studio.

They looked at Aten's paintings. The man turned to Joey.

"How could he do this? I bet he can't even tie his shoes let alone draw a painting of this much grace and poise!"

Aten turned to the man. "I pained dat pisher, tir. It tooked me a wong time."

The man saw an empty canvas in the corner. "Ok. Let's prove it. Would you mind if we do a little test, Mr. Wheeler?"

Joey shook his head. "No."

The man brought over a canvas. "Paint this picture again, Aten. Let's see if you can make it look like this one."

Aten brought his stool over and looked at his drawing of an Egyptian tomb, complete with treasure.

It took Aten about an hour to complete the picture. Every shade and every placement of color was exactly the same as the original. The group stood around in amazement.

"How could you….copy the painting inch by inch?" one woman asked.

"Both paintings look exactly the same!" one of the women gasped.

Mrs. Collins looked at Joey. "Did you teach him painting?"

"No, he's been drawing for only a little while."

"I'm amazed at his progress!"

Aten signed the bottom with hieroglyphics.

"What is that?" Collins asked.

"Dat's my mame in Hinneygyphics."

The group stood in a circle and talked amongst themselves. Collins turned to Joey. "We would love to have a couple of Aten's paintings in our museum. However, your show is already booked. The next time we have a show, we would love to have Aten's paintings in the gallery along with yours!"

"Weawwy? You wike my pishers?"

Collins. nodded. "We love your paintings, Aten."

Aten blushed. "Tankoo, Mrs. Towwins."

"No problem, cutie. We have to prepare the gallery, Joey. Are you bringing your paintings to us tomorrow?"

"You got it!"

The group left and Joey brought the chibi into his arms. "That's our chibi Picasso!"

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