Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Ryou Bakura: Harbinger of Trouble ❯ Sit down to Nostalgia ( Chapter 7 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Takahashi does, and it's an awesome show. It just needs some aliens in it to be extreme.

 

Ryou hadn't truly expected Sami to get overly angry at them, but she was obviously pissed off by what Malik had asked. She had already gotten very far ahead by the time he and Malik began to walk across the expansive plain before them. The horizon was darkening already, that darkness beginning to stretch across the sky in wispy strips. Ryou had called for her to be careful, but she proceeded to ignore him. That stung a little, but he didn't know what else to do. He had little to no experience with dealing when a woman was mad at you. Malik looked at her retreating form, brows furrowed as though he were trying to figure out just what had made her so angry with both of them. Finally, he looked at Ryou, frowning.

 

“I'm not apologizing to her,” he stated, as though Ryou had told him to do so, “If she wants to be this bitchy, we might as well let her.” Ryou didn't want to point out that it was actually Malik who had gotten angry first. That wouldn't have helped. But he did want to stress that making someone like Sami mad might get them killed. Especially from her. He remembered she still had a knife and a sword on her.

 

“You know, if we die, technically it'll be your fault,” he stated, and Malik's mouth dropped, “She likes her secrets, but she does want to protect me. Now that you offended her, we don't know what she'd do. If we do die, it's your fault for pissing her off.” Malik wanted to argue, wanted to tell him again that Sami was probably insane, but that wouldn't have changed Ryou's opinion. He convinced Malik to join them, anyway. Obviously, he liked Sami enough to trust her with their lives, something Malik couldn't say the same for. Malik just sighed. If he had any hope of living, he had to be her friend.

 

“Sami, please just tell us what's wrong,” he said, almost unwillingly. Ryou didn't think Sami would listen, but to his surprise, she stopped. She turned, and Ryou saw she'd drawn her sword. Silently, he wished she'd put it away. One wrong word, and it wouldn't take much for that sword to personally shake hands with his heart.

 

“I thought you were sure I was insane,” she retorted coldly. Malik rolled his eyes, wishing she hadn't thrown that back in his face. Ryou decided he ought to play diplomat before someone really did get killed.

 

“He's sorry. We're both sorry. We just want to know why you're upset with Algon,” he replied gently, “Did something happen there?” Sami sighed. She didn't want to tell them, but she couldn't blame them for being curious. She sat down, and patted the ground next to her. Ryou sat beside her, and Malik just flopped on the ground across from her. For a moment, she said nothing. Then, she spoke, looking at them both seriously.

 

“I've been living in Algon since I was small,” she told them, “I'm a Chesier. At least, I believe I am. When I was small, I was taken in by a human family. My mother was kind, but my father… he thought I was a monster. He couldn't look at me, couldn't even speak to me, without turning it into a fight. And neither of my sisters seemed particularly happy with me, either.” Ryou's lips thinned. So she had been adopted. That happened often; he couldn't see the problem yet.

 

“So you hate it because you have a crappy family?” Malik asked, raising a confused brow. Sami almost laughed; obviously, he didn't see the problem either. But she shook her head.

 

“No, no, that's no reason to leave,” she replied, amused, “I left for a very different reason. I left because everyone else thought I was some sort of monster, too. I was different, but not in the way you think. My difference was that I could actually use magic. Many people dream of it, even fake it sometimes. But I actually could. It was an awkward position to be in.” That made a little bit more sense. Ryou had often heard some cities had trouble accepting something as impossible as actual magic. Algon had to have been one of those places.

 

“Did they take advantage of you?” he asked her. She shook her head again.

 

“No. Some actually thought it was pretty cool,” she said, chuckling before she grew grim again, “But many, especially adults, feared me. Even at a younger age, I possessed a level of power that not even normal Chesiers have. Many wondered why this was. My mother tried to tell me it was all right. That it was just an influx. But my father… he wanted me out before I was eighteen years of age.” Ryou frowned. Whoever her father had been, he sounded like a real asshole. Even Bakura gave a silent nod of agreement. Malik seemed the most disturbed by it; where he came from, the only way to get out of a family was to break tradition or die.

 

“That's stupid!” he exclaimed, pounding a fist on the ground, “All kinds of non-humans have been here for thousands of years! So what if you're strongest than them!? People need a damn backbone anyway!” Sami just smiled weakly. That made her feel a bit better to hear. But, she still was upset. Obviously, no one else had agreed with that notion, however noble.

 

“Magic's a difficult term to grasp. It could be blamed for any number of things no one can scientifically explain otherwise,” she replied, “People fear what they know least. And, unfortunately, people know very little about magic.”

 

“But can't you teach them?” Ryou asked, and Sami gave him a questioning glance, “I mean, magic's not evil. Can't you show them it's good?” Sami's smile widened slightly. It wasn't a happy smile. It was a smile that told him she'd tried that already. There weren't enough decent examples to prove it.

 

“Unfortunately, around the time I came into adulthood, the Mystics had already settled around here,” she replied slyly, “Cities suffered badly. It wasn't a good time to go telling people that it wasn't so bad, that they were just misunderstanding it. No, I'd have had my wings blown off for that, either from humans or from Mystics.” Malik just snorted. That was a casual answer for something so grim. But Ryou didn't find it amusing. No, something like this was terrible. Not because of Sami's past, but it obviously meant something. And Sami knew it, too. Why else would she leave to go after them?

 

“But then, if they were afraid of magic, what does that have to do with us?” he asked her, “Why leave to go and kill another source of magic?” Sami hummed. That was the answer she didn't want to give them. Her grin broadened as she patted her sword.

 

“Some magic is evil, Ryou. Some magic is so evil, that it never should have existed,” she replied darkly, negating her smile, “Long ago… I made the mistake of learning of it. I never practiced it, but I knew what it was. When I was sixteen, alone, I set out to find it. My little sister had come home in a fright, unable to explain what she saw by the river near Algon. But I knew what she'd seen. Monsters. Terrifying monsters. I killed them, but by myself, the magic wouldn't die. It was then that I saw the citadel. Looming in the distance, I could only sense the weak pulses of evil magic there. But I was weak. I could do nothing.” Ryou frowned. He was glad to know no one drove her out on purpose. But she had gone intentionally, and she'd gone for them. For the very people she didn't like.

 

“Then what?” he urged, excited to hear the rest. Sami just patted his head, looking at him proudly.

 

“Three years later, when I'd finally told my family I was leaving to storm this citadel, I amassed a brave group of soldiers to help me get there,” she replied, her voice growing in strength, “Together, we walked the streets to kill the evil that was threatening this world. Together, we would destroy it and finally set this world right. And together… we failed. Monsters ransacked the city. One had slammed into a large truck, causing it to swerve to where we stood. Many didn't survive the impact. Only I awoke in the morgue, where it had been assumed I was dead.” That sent a wave of shivers up Ryou's spine. A morgue. She had ended up in a morgue. It was the perfect disguise. She was free to go around and kill this evil with no danger to her loved ones. And yet, it haunted her.

 

“So that led you to that castle,” Ryou concluded, and Sami nodded, “But I still don't get it. What does that have to do with me? Or Malik? And why does that mean we have to go to Algon?” Sami tilted her head, thinking about those questions. She didn't have answers for them, but she could try to answer nonetheless. She tapped the purple steel of her sword.

 

“That, I haven't figured out yet,” she said cryptically, “And I might never, but that's not a problem right now. The problem we're facing is time. Mainly, the lack of it. It's only a matter of time before those Mystics try for Algon. I've heard they devastated Duran not too long ago. I'm worried Domino would be next.” And with that, she stood up. She had told her tale, but it didn't shed too much light on what was currently happening. Not that Ryou actually expected it to. He asked specifically so he could understand why Sami was doing this. He just wished he understood why he'd been targeted. Was it over the Millennium Ring?

 

“So, if they're magical, like you, are they coming after us because of our items?” Ryou asked her, wondering if that had anything to do with it. Sami hummed, and then shook her head. Her response couldn't have been more definite; she was positive the items, if she knew anything about them, had absolutely nothing to do with this.

 

“No,” she replied, “At least, I highly doubt that's it. It's been some time since those items surfaced. The last time was when the Mystics were formed. That was the last record any of the Espers had of them. I don't believe the Mystics know of them, and if they do, they haven't caught any of the others yet.” Ryou and Malik both froze, looking at her. From how she spoke, she knew of the items quite well. That was puzzling. Then, Ryou remembered what Bakura had said. She looked young. That didn't necessarily mean she was. For all they knew, she was over a thousand years old. And if that was the case, Ryou heard Bakura faintly say she was good looking for being so old.

 

“Sami… how old are you?” Ryou asked suspiciously. The question clearly was expected at some point, because she gave a smile that was just a bit too knowing, just a bit too broad.

 

“…twenty-one,” she replied. Ryou's eyes widened. Twenty-one! No wonder she treated him like a child. He was barely seventeen years old. She chuckled a bit too quickly for his comfort before starting ahead again. Malik just patted Ryou on the back. Then, he grinned, looking at the boy.

 

“Twenty-one, eh?” he teased, “A little old for you, isn't she?” Ryou nudged him hard in the ribs angrily, obviously not liking the joke. Malik snorted, and then asked, “Do you actually believe her?” Ryou frowned slowly. The truth was, he didn't know what to believe. She was either telling the truth and just knew way too much, or she was lying to them. He didn't know which was right.

 

“…I believe what she said about Algon,” he replied slowly, carefully, “But not what she said about her age. She's older than that, Malik. I know she is.” He told Malik about the split second in which he saw a much older version of Sami… and somehow, he told him it wasn't quite the same as her. Malik listened intently, and then looked at the woman's retreating form. Something did seem kind of off with her, now that he thought about it. Knowledge was important, but to know what she knew about magic… not even Ishizu knew much about magic, and she studied it.

 

“Hmm… well, until she feels like getting the stick out of her ass, we'll pretend she's twenty-one,” he said, shrugging, “Besides, it doesn't matter right now. All I care about is getting into, and subsequently out of, Algon. We should do that easily, right?” He hadn't expected Sami to hear him from their distance, but somehow, she had. She turned just so slightly.

 

“Depends on whatever's left,” she said simply, “If they ransacked it already, we're screwed so deep, it won't be funny.” Ryou didn't like the sound of that, and crossed his fingers that Algon was okay. Malik decided to drill Sami a bit more on her family life, seeing as how he didn't believe she was completely without relatives. And, as a matter of fact, she wasn't. She had one relative: a sister named Katt.

 

“She and I were separated as kids,” she was saying calmly, almost cheerfully, “I don't remember my parents, but I remember her. Of everyone, she's the reason I've started trying to look for the Mystics here. She's the one that spotted them first, and told me about them five years ago.” Ryou tilted his head. That meant she wasn't working alone, something that he found relieved him. He didn't like the thought of her taking down an entire race by herself. But did that mean she wasn't going to need his help now?

 

“Are you going to look for her?” he asked her. Sami nodded grimly, as she led them up a steep hill.

 

“Yes. She's very much like me. She can use magic, and she's good at sneaking around. Her help will be invaluable to get back into Sylatone castle,” she replied slyly, “And, yes, in case you are curious, she is my age.” Ryou shivered. Not because there was a possibility of another crazy non-human running around, but because Sami was actually planning on going back to where they had just escaped from. That was the stupidest tactic he'd ever taken, but she seemed to understand what she was getting into. Malik, of course, was too focused on the fact that she even had a sister.

 

“You have a twin!?” he demanded, exasperation flooding his voice. Sami nodded again, but this time, she was amused. Malik was obviously terrified of the thought of another one of her around.

 

“Yes, though we look nothing alike, and act very little alike. While I'm very cynical to humans, and not trusting of them, she is rather kind,” she told him, and was happy to see him relax on that note, “I hadn't thought of introducing you, but if you tag along afterwards, despite my warning, you might meet her.” An odd grin began to form on Malik's face, one that Ryou was acutely aware of. Seems like he liked the thought of a kinder, not-so-similar version of Sami.

 

“Were you really going to introduce us?” Ryou whispered to Sami, secretly pointing out Malik's look. Sami's eyes narrowed flatly. She knew exactly what that look meant. Ryou didn't blame her for disliking it.

 

“Now that I think about it, I'm not sure it's wise,” she replied flatly, making Ryou grin, “I'll need her help, but I certainly don't trust that thing you call a best friend.” Ryou actually laughed at that point. He didn't particularly trust Malik, either. The boy rarely showed interest in women, but when he did, the interest was profound. Tea was able to attest to that one.

 

“I'm sure it won't be…” Ryou suddenly frowned. If Sami had a sister, and that sister was the one who originally found the source of the disturbance Sami was fighting… did that mean that sister knew who she really was? Wondering if that's true, he asked her, “Sami, will your sister tell me who you are?” Sami looked at him critically, and all traces of gentleness seemed to fade. She obviously didn't like the question.

 

“You are a persistent one,” she commented, almost coldly, “Why do you want to know who or what I am? Isn't what you see just good enough?” Ryou shivered from the anger that was apparent in her voice. Realistically, that was good enough for anyone. But this whole trip was unrealistic. He shook his head.

 

“No,” he replied gently, “Sami, I want to know. I want to know what this has to do with me and who you are.” Sami snorted shortly. Then, a smile formed on her face. She nodded.

 

“Fine,” she let her wings spread wide, purple light reflecting off of them, “As I've said, I don't know entirely myself who I am. But I am a Chesier. A powerful one, and I know things that I shouldn't know. That I technically couldn't know. But I know them. I know very little about myself, and for some reason, that's fine with me. And, I don't know why you're tangled up in this. And that's all you'll get.” Ryou frowned. That barely shed any light on her at all. It was basically what Bakura told him, just worded slightly differently. He sighed. So much for that. Sami took the ensuing silence as an okay to move ahead, and she led them on. Malik followed her, but Ryou was preoccupied now. He couldn't figure out why Sami didn't want to tell him everything. Not that it concerned him, but he was curious. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe she was suspicious. Ryou wouldn't know, and as he tried to think of it until he slammed unexpectedly into Malik's elbow. He nearly staggered back, holding his nose for fear that it was now broken. Only a tiny tendril of blood leaked out.

 

“What the hell!?” he demanded through his hands, looking up. Sami and Malik had both stopped. Before them stood two large, rusted iron gates, standing on walls that had long since crumbled. Now that they were so close to the city, it was inevitably darker out. Which was unnatural; according to Ryou's watch, it wasn't even four in the afternoon. He looked around quickly, wondering what could've caused such a terrible feeling he was beginning to get. It was as though something were watching them, but nothing was there. He glanced at Sami. She looked defiant as she stood in front of the gates, sword in hand, the tip of the blade touching the ground. She looked upset.

 

“…I never thought I'd ever drag my ass back in here,” she said, in an odd monotone, “I never imagined this would be part of my travels.” Malik patted her back. He might not have liked her, but he did respect her, and he knew something was wrong. He just didn't know what it was.

 

“Will you be okay?” he asked her. She hesitated, and then slowly nodded, sheathing her sword.

 

“I'll be fine. I'm just dumbfounded, that's all,” she replied calmly, and took a step forward, “Let's go, friends. I sense a dark presence here.” That was enough for either Malik or Ryou. Even if they couldn't sense it themselves, they didn't need to. If Sami said something was wrong, they believed fully that something was wrong.

 

-----------------------------(End Chapter)

 

After passing the plains, and after finding out from Sami why she had come through the castle and why she's even there at all, Ryou now wonders just what he has to do with any of this. Unfortunately, Sami doesn't appear to have that answer. But just what does he have to do with this? What is the presence Sami feels in Algon? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!