Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ The Yami Virus ❯ My Guardian ( Chapter 42 )

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My Guardian

Ryou and Marik waited for Aten at the bus depot. Ryou sat on the bench, wringing his hands nervously.

"Did you have a good time at Miranda's last night? How is she doing?"

Marik nodded. "She's doing a little better today. She's still very sore and the medicine the doctor gave her will keep her asleep much of the day. So, I told her that we could take Robbie this afternoon so she can get some rest."

Ryou raised an eyebrow at Marik. "You behaved yourself, didn't you?"

Marik sighed. "Yes, I did behave myself. I'm just really tired. I didn't get much sleep last night. Tristan and Otogi are over at Miranda's again this morning."

"I'll have to visit her later and see if she needs anything."

Marik looked down the street, waiting anxiously. "I hope Aria behaves herself with Umi."

Ryou took a deep breath. "I know she will. Aten had some time away from us. It's only fair that we do the same for her."

The bus arrived and Ryou stood up. The children ran out of the bus with Aten's paintings in their hands. Aten stepped off the bus holding his toy monkey by his chest.

"MOMMY! DADDY!" the chibi Egyptian threw himself at his father and mother.

Marik scooped up the thin child and kissed him quickly. Ryou rubbed Aten's back and kissed him on the cheek.

"How was camp?"

"Tamp Shitting Bear was so mush fun! I painited, I mated a wallet for Unkie Seto's money, I mated a tup for Unkie Tristan's toffee!"

Ryou smiled. "You did? Well, Tristan and Otogi are at Robbie's house."

Aten's eyes widened. "Did Robbie's mommy have her baby yet?"

Ryou and Marik exchanged uneasy glances. "No, baby. She did not. Robbie's mommy lost her baby."

"Where did it go if she lost it? How tould she lose it? It was in her belly."

Marik shrugged. "Robbie's mommy's body decided to have the baby before it was ready."

Aten's jaw dropped. "That tan happen?"

Ryou nodded. "Yes, Aten. Robbie's going to come over this afternoon. He really needs you to give him a big, long hug."

Aten shook his head. "Robbie must be really sad. I'll mate him feel better. I always mate Robbie feel better."

Ryou brushed Aten's hair behind his ears. "He'd like that, sweetheart. Tristan and Otogi are coming over with Robbie when Robbie is done getting dressed and having his breakfast."

Marik put Aten on the ground.

Aten turned to Kenan, who was still hugging his father. "BYE, TEENAN!"

"Bye, Aten!" Kenan shouted.

"Who's that, Aten?" Ryou asked.

Aten skipped beside Marik. "Just a friend I met at tamp. I got his home address so we tan be pan pals! He said it would help my Ingish." Ryou took Aten's other hand and he skipped between his mother and father singing. "I'm gonna see Robbie! I'm gonna see Robbie!"

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

Bakura leaned against the mast, his hair flowing in the wind. Umi was helping his father raise the anchor on the boat.

Aria stood by her father, her brown eyes watching Umi's every movement. She sighed happily. "Umi is really good at sailing, daddy!"

Mako approached Bakura. "Are you sure you want to come with us, Bakura?"

Bakura narrowed his eyes. "I'm making sure your son doesn't have a chance to spawn with my daughter."

Mako threw his head back in laughter and punched Bakura playfully on the arm. "You are funny, my friend! Ha! Ha! Ha! My little minnow knows he is too young to spawn!"

"He had better, Tsunami, or you'll end up being my 'Catch of the Day.'"

Aria ran to the front of the ship, her spiky hair flowing in the wind. She and Umi kneeled at the bow of the ship and watched the vessel cut through the water.

"Daddy and I take this houseboat all over, Aria! One day, I'm going to sail you to the beautiful Carribean! They have some of the greatest sunsets! The sky gets all red and stuff! It's really neat!"

The ship pulled out of the harbor and into the Atlantic Ocean. Aria's eyes widened at the open waters.

Her smile widened as she felt the water splash on her face.

"Little Minnow! Be Careful there!" Mako called to his son.

Umi and Aria stepped back from the bow.

"Watch this, Aria!"

Umi stepped on the bow and spread his arms. He let out a series of high-pitched calls. Aria watched the sea as fish began jumping out of the water. In the distance, she saw some dolphins jumping out of the water.

Aria squealed. "WOW! That is so cool, Umi! How did you do that?!"

Bakura's jaw dropped as he saw the marine life jump out of the water at Umi's command.

"Tsunami, did you teach your son that?"

Mako nodded. "That's right, my friend! My son has learned the ways of the sea. He has learned how to harness the energy of the ocean's many creatures. He is learning well, don't you think, Bakura?"

Bakura's jaw dropped as a whale emerged from the depths and floated by the houseboat. "That is amazing! I've never seen anything like this in my life or my afterlife!"

Mako smiled proudly. "That's my Little Minnow! Just like his daddy!"

Bakura watched the whale submerge itself again. Aria ran back to Bakura. "Did you see that, daddy? Wasn't that the neatest thing you have ever seen? Umi is the greatest!"

Aria ran to Umi, throwing herself at him. Umi fell on his back, Aria on top of him. She leaned over and kissed Umi on the right cheek.

"Aria, come here. I want to give you something," Umi said rolling over and standing up. Umi pulled Aria out of the watchful eye of the fathers.

Umi removed a seashell necklace from his pocket. The seashell was pink and was threaded on a gold chain. Aria's eyes widened.

"Umi, it's so pretty!"

Umi opened the clip on the gold chain. "I made this for you. I hope you like it."

Aria's brown eyes filled with tears. "You…you made that….pretty necklace….for me?" Aria's bottom lip trembled.

"Turn around, little mermaid. Let's see if it fits. I found this seashell myself when I was diving for treasure with my daddy."

Aria lifted up her spiky hair and Umi clipped the necklace around Aria's neck.

"Does it fit?"

Aria didn't move.

Umi stepped in front of her and Aria started to cry. "Why are you crying, Aria? I thought you'd be happy that I made it for you."

Aria wiped her eyes. "I am happy! It's so pretty!"

Aria threw herself at Umi again, kissing him on the cheek.

"I'm glad you like it," Umi smiled, hugging her tightly. "When we get married when we get older, I'm going to buy you a pretty ring to go with that necklace!"

Aria grinned, her canines shining in the sunlight. "This necklace is so pretty, Umi! I'll have to make you something now. I promise you'll like it."

Aria's hair twitched with deep thought. 'What can I make for Umi?'

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

Malik flipped through another book, sighing. He slammed the book closed in frustration.
"WE'LL NEVER FIND A CURE! Damn it! I've looked everywhere! There's just not enough information on the stupid virus!"

Malik stood up and started to vacuum the carpet. When he became frustrated, cleaning was always the answer.

He heard someone knock on the door.

"Come in!"

Tristan and Otogi entered the house with Robbie. Robbie limped up the stairs to Aten's room.

"Aten's not home yet, Robbie. He'll be home shortly."

Robbie sighed and limped down the steps slowly. He sat at the bottom step looking at the front door, watching it intently.

Tristan and Otogi sat on the couch.

"Malik, you look pissed. What's wrong?"

"I've tried finding something…ANYTHING…on the Yami Virus, but I haven't found anything. All we have discovered is about the transfer of energy from yami to hikari and vice versa. We're running out of time."

Tristan and Otogi exchanged glances. "Yami's already gone. I hear Yugi is doing quite well for himself," Otogi said. "Yugi's business has gone up and…he's happy."

Malik sighed, leaning on the vacuum. "If Marik dies on me, I won't be happy. I love him," Malik said with tears filling his eyes. "I don't want the other half of my soul to die."

Tristan gripped Otogi's hand. "I know how you feel, Malik. It's hard when you lose someone you love."

Malik shook his head. "I don't know what I would do without him. Ryou and I would have to raise Aten and Aria if their fathers die."

Tristan left Otogi's side and stepped in front of Malik. He gripped the Egyptian's shoulders in his large hands. "You have to think positive, Malik. You'll find the cure. You just need to be pointed in the right direction."

"If I only knew what that direction was, I would go for it."

Someone knocked on the door again. "Come in."

Robbie stood up, ready to pounce on his friend, when Seto, Joey, Jaimen, and Hayden walked in.

Jaimen saw Robbie sitting on the steps. "Is Aten back from camp yet?"

Robbie shook his head and sighed. "No. I'm waiting for him."

"Wow! Can I wait with you?"

Robbie shifted over and Jaimen sat next to him. Seto, Joey, and Hayden sat on the other seats in the living room.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Seto shrugged. "We're taking Jaimen and Hayden to go shopping.

Hayden bounced up and down excitedly. "The new series of Hot Wheels comes out today! I need them to go with my collection!"

Joey smiled, enjoying the rare excitement of the ten year old. "Yeah, so we're taking the kids out today to get some toys."

Jaimen turned to the other adults. "I'm going to get big boy toys today! When I lived with my mommy, I only had baby toys! I'm going to get toys that big kids play with! I'm so excited!"

Hayden gripped the sides of his chair tightly. "I'm going to be a racecar driver when I grow up! I'm going to be the best racecar driver ever! I need a new racetrack for my toy cars."

The slam of a car door sounded outside and Robbie jumped up excitedly.

"ATEN'S HOME! ATEN! ATEN! ATEN!" Robbie limped to the door and outside.

Aten hopped out of the car and squealed when he saw Robbie. "ROBBIE! ROBBIE! ROBBIE!"

Aten ran and threw himself at Robbie.

Robbie held Aten tightly and kissed his cheek. "I missed you so much!"

Ryou and Marik watched the tears fall down Robbie's face. "They really don't like being separated," Marik whispered to Ryou.

"No, they don't. Poor things. Let's go inside, boys. Come on," Ryou said prodding both boys gently.

Aten's face lit up when he saw everyone there.

"Unkie Seto!" Aten squealed, running to the CEO and hugging him tightly.

"Unkie Puppy!" Aten gave Joey a kiss on the cheek.

"Aiden!" the Egyptian boy squealed, hugging the red-haired chibi.

"Chainmen!" he gasped as he hugged Jaimen tightly.

"Malik!" Aten ran to Malik and wrapped his arms around Malik's waist.

Aten smiled. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We came to see how you enjoyed camp, little guy," Tristan said.

Marik put Aten's bag down and the boy ran to it. He opened the bag and took out the wallet he had made.

He stepped up to Seto and held out the wallet. "I mated this for you, Unkie Seto. See? It's a wallet. You put your money in it. You tan put all your money in it."

Seto reached out for the wallet with shaking hands. His face looked stunned. "You..you made this for me, Aten?"

Aten smiled and nodded. "You tan put all of your piles and piles and piles of money in it."

"What does the 'CK-CK' stand for?"

Aten smiled and put his hands behind his back. "It stands for your name. 'Seto Kaiba-TaibaTorp.'"

Joey put his hands underneath him to prevent him from squeezing the little Egyptian boy until he deflated.

Seto looked at the colors of the wallet and raised his eyebrow. "Thank you…Aten. It's…the best wallet…I've….ever seen."

Aten smiled and reached out his hands. "Tan I have a hug?"

Seto leaned over and hugged Aten tightly. "I'll always carry this wallet with me."

Aten smiled. "Put your money in there! Let me see how it loots!"

Seto removed the money from his wallet and put it in Aten's wallet. Aten looked at the money in the wallet and jumped excitedly. "Now it loots lite real money!"

Aten ran back to his bag.

Joey leaned over to Seto and whispered. "What do you think about your new wallet?"

"It's…………nice."

"Okay. What do you really think about it?"

Seto shook his head. "I think I'm going to have to throw some money at these people to buy coordinated colors for the kids' art project."

Joey shook his head. "Aten can create beautiful masterpieces using Oils and Acrylics. Any other medium and it looks like he's colorblind."

Aten pulled out the cup and stepped up to Tristan. "Unkie Tristan, I mated you this toffee tup for your toffee in the morning."

Tristan reached out for the coffee cup and looked at it. "Oh..it's very nice, Aten. You…you even wrote my name on it."

Otogi snickered at how Aten had spelled Tristan's name. "He killed your name, but the cup looks nice."

Aten bounced up and down excitedly. "Tan I mate you a tup of toffee in your new tup? Please?"

Tristan handed the cup back to Aten. "Sure…if you want, Aten."

Malik lead Aten to the kitchen.

Otogi snickered. "What do you think of your cup, Tristan?"

Tristan shook his head. "It's…….nice."

"What do you really think?"

"It looks like a bunch of colorblind Aztecs threw up on it." (My wife's dad gets credit for this one.)

Otogi shook his head. "Give this boy a canvas and he can blow you away. Give him anything else and he kind of loses it."

Ryou shrugged. "Aten tries."

"Oh, I know he tries."

Aten came out shortly later with Tristan's coffee cup full of coffee.

"I mated this coffee myself."

Tristan snickered and blew on it. He tilted the coffee cup back to drink it and the coffee slid down slowly like molasses.

Aten smiled as he stood in front of Tristan. Tristan cringed as he tasted the coffee.

"How do you lite your toffee?"

Tristan's nose curled and he coughed. "It's very good, Aten. This is the…*cough*….best tasting coffee….*cough*…that I've ever had."

Tristan turned his head to Otogi. He was picking out pieces of clay from the coffee.

Aten grinned. "I learnted a new song while I was at tamp. Do you want me to sing it to you?"

Otogi grabbed the back of Tristan's collar. Joey held Seto's arm.

Aten stepped back from Tristan and stood in the middle of the living room. Aten cleared his throat.

"It's called the 'I am Special Song.'"

Otogi tightened his grip on Tristan's collar and Marik grabbed Tristan's arm.

"You will not squish my son, Coffee-Boy!" Marik growled.

"Otay! It goes lite this!

(sung to "Frere Jacques")
"I am Special
I am Special
So are you, So are you."

Aten saw the wild look in Tristan's eye. The brunet's eye twitched as Aten continued to sing.

"I am very special,
Very, very special…"

Aten saw Tristan extend his hand and the brunet's body shaking with the uncontrollable desire to squish Aten and pound him into the floor.

"So are you!

So are you!"

Tristan bit his lip, then cried out. "I CAN'T TAKE IT! GET OVER HERE , YOU LITTLE EGYPTIAN BOY!"

Tristan jumped to his feet, despite Otogi's grip. Marik, Joey, and Ryou held Tristan back as Aten watched.

"Uh-oh…I'm gonna be stished until I stop breathing again," Aten said backing away.

Seto reached out and grabbed Aten. "Come here, our chibi Egyptian!" Seto squished Aten against his chest, making the chibi squeal happily.

"Uh-oh! Unkie Seto is stishing me!"

"Seto! Give him to me!"

Seto grinned. "Nope! He's mine to squish!"

Seto darted out of the living room and out into the backyard.

Tristan followed Seto out of the backyard.
"Hurry, Unkie Seto, Unkie Tristan is tumming!"

Joey cornered Seto outside. "Give me some squishing time!"

Aten squealed happily as the blond took him into his arms. Joey held Aten against him and pressed his lips to Aten's neck. Aten squealed as Joey blew, creating ripples against Aten's skin.

Joey ran away with Aten in his arms. Ryou ran after Joey.

"Give me back my son, Joey!"

Joey ran into the backyard again. "Nope! He's mine!"

Aten heard Robbie calling to him.

Tristan grabbed Robbie. "Joey! I'll trade you! I'll give you Robbie for Aten!"

Aten breathed heavily from laughing. "Don't do it, Unkie Puppy!"

The blond grinned. "Deal!"

Joey took Robbie and growled in the side of the boy's neck. Robbie laughed loudly as Aten laughed in Tristan's arms.

Tristan squeezed his burden tightly, making Aten go limp into his arms.

"You stished the life out of me, Unkie Tristan!"

Otogi jumped in front of Tristan. "Give me the chibi, Tristan."

"NO! MUST SQUISH CHIBI MARIK!"

Marik crept up behind Tristan and grinned. "You want to squish me, Coffee-Boy?"

Tristan shuddered. "That's a frightening thought."

Marik grinned and wrapped his arms around the tall brunet from behind. "Do you want me to squish you?"

Malik ran to his yami. "I like it when Marik squishes me! You'll like it, too!"

Tristan cringed. "That's an even more frightening thought."

Tristan put Aten down and Joey put Robbie back on his feet.

The Egyptian boy panted as he stood on the lawn. He sat on the grass of the front lawn and fell back, looking up at the clouds.

Robbie sat down beside Aten. "So, did you like camp?"

Aten laid on his side and smiled up at Robbie. "Yeah, this other boy and I had a good time. All of these tids were sit lite me. I sang and mated things for Unkie Seto and Unkie Tristan. I mated you a painting, Robbie!"

Robbie sighed. "Thank you, Aten."

Aten sat up. "You're sad. What's wrong, Robbie?"

Robbie sniffled and rubbed his eye. "My baby brother died when you were gone. My mommy told me that the baby wasn't ready to be born yet."

Aten faced Robbie and put his hand on Robbie's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Robbie."

"My mommy said that we're going to bury the baby by my sister. I wish he didn't have to die."

Aten leaned over and kissed Robbie's cheek. He took Robbie's hand and squeezed it. "Don't be sad, Robbie. Do you know what happens when we die?"

Robbie sniffled. "My mommy said that we go to Heaven if we've been good."

Aten smiled at Robbie. "When we die, our souls go to the Underworld. If we've been good, we are allowed to go past Osiris and enter paradise. When we go there, we tan do anything that we want! Then, we tan tum bat to life if Ra wants us to life another life. Your brother may life later."

"But….but why did God take her?"

Aten shrugged. "The baby's soul wasn't ready to live yet, Robbie. The soul of that baby will tum bat to you. The soul tan tum bat as a friend or tan be your baby when you grow up!"

"But, my baby brother can't be my baby! That would be weird!"

Aten looked up at Robbie. "That's what my daddy told me about dying when he heard about my bad heart. When I die, Robbie, I want to tum bat to you. I don't know what I have to do, but I'll thint of something."

Robbie grabbed Aten and pulled him to his chest, sobbing. "Aten, I don't want you to die on me!"

Aten sighed, nuzzling his cheek against Robbie's chest. "Robbie, I will never leave you. When I die, I'm going to follow you around. I'll always be with you."
Robbie looked into the brown and purple eyes of his friend. "Are you going to be my….guardian angel?"

Aten smiled. "I sure will! You tan tount on it!"

Robbie hugged Aten tightly. "I'd be lonely without you, Aten."

Aten nodded. "So would I, Robbie….so would I."

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

Seto and Joey lead the boys through the Domino Mall. Jay and Joel accompanied them. Seto waited outside the toy store with Donny.

Donny had insisted on going back to work for Seto.

Beside the toy store, Seto watched television screens. Jay stood next to Seto, watching the people pass them by.

Seto narrowed his eyes at the television screen.

[The trial continued today of Charles McGinnis, accused child molestor and sex offender. The jury heard testament from one of Charles' former neighbors, who had contacted the authorities. The woman, whose identity has been protected, contact authorities after she had heard suspicions sounds coming from the house one night.]

Woman: I heard a child screams come from that house late that night. I had heard a child screaming before, but I was afraid to get involved. That night, I was taking the dog outside and I saw Mr. McGinnis flog that poor boy and lock him in that awful closet. Then I called police.

[Several other witnesses have testified on behalf of the accused. One man, Vincent Simmons has claimed to have known him for years…and has denied that Mr. McGinnis would be capable of such cruelty.]

Vincent: I've known Mr. McGinnis for almost fifteen years and this man is not capable of starving a defenseless little boy and forcing him into prostitution! Charlie is a decent guy who is being wrongfully accused!

[Protestors have surrounded the building where Mr. McGinnis is being held. They have signed petitions stating that Mr.McGinnis is a threat to public safety and should not be released.]

Seto narrowed his eyes. "I should have taken Charlie out when I had the chance! Now look at him, Jay. That bastard should be dead! He tried to kill Ryou and tried to threaten me. That asshole doesn't scare me."

"Why don't you let us take care of him, Mr. Kaiba?"

Seto crossed his arms. "Because the authorities are watching me like a hawk. I can't give that son-of-a-bitch what he deserves right now, but someday, Jay, I will have his head removed and placed on my mantle as a trophy. Nobody threatens Seto Kaiba and hurts his family."

[The parole hearing continues tomorrow in Mr. McGinnis' trial.]

Hayden ran out of the toy store. "I got my new track and my new card, Mr. Kaiba! Do you want to see? I got a red one…and a green one…and a blue one…and a yellow one…And look at this! Metallic purple! Isn't it nice? I want to drive a car like this someday."

Hayden looked at Seto with large green eyes. "Do you think I could be a great racecar driver someday, Mr. Kaiba?"

Seto kneeled down to the ten year old. He reached up and cupped Hayden's cheek in his hand. Five years ago, this would leave Hayden kneeling on the floor, whimpering and begging not to be hurt.

Seto's patience had been rewarded with some level of trust from Hayden.

"Hayden Kaiba, you can do anything you want." Seto gave the chibi a smile.

Hayden's freckled face smiled back at him. Hayden reached up and wrapped his arms around Seto's neck. He gave Seto a big hug.

Jay grinned down at Seto.

The CEO hugged his son. After hearing the update on Charlie's trial, he needed his son to hug him.

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