Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Cat of the Lilac Eyes ❯ Chapter 17: Trials ( Chapter 17 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Sailor Mini Venus 
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 01.18.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.5K | Visits: 272 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 01.18.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.5K | Visits: 272 | Status: Completed
Shiro: This is the longest chapter so far. I feel like I crammed so much stuff into this one that it's a little overwhelming. However, the next chapter is rather short, so I have to make up for it somehow.
Disclaimer: If you still think that I own Yu-Gi-Oh by this point in the story, then that's a sad sad thing. I do own all OC's in this story and the plot.
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Surrounded Ashling at the kitchen table are tons of flowers, wires cut to a certain length, special tape for said wires, fern-like plants, and everything else she needs to make the wristlets, corsages, and boutonnières for Tama and Ryou’s wedding.
Malik looks up from whatever it is he’s doing on the couch. “It’s your own fault, Ashling. Afterall, you’re the one who told Tama about making those in one of your classes for homecoming.”
Ashling glares at Malik. “Not. Helping.” She growls out. “What are you doing over there anyway?”
“My résumé.” Malik replies. “Ishizu says they need some help at the museum so I’m going to apply for a job there.”
Ashling mouths, ‘oh’ before returning to her work. Five seconds later however…
“Ow! Curse you to the seventh depth of Hell you damn wire!”
Malik looks up from his résumé again and watches in amusement as Ashling continues screaming at the cursed wire and then storms off to call Damian to get him there to help her.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Over at the Bakura house things are extremely tense as Ryou’s father is returning hom. All five of the current inhabitants are in the living room. Yume’s sitting on the couch with Yasu, wrapped up in a blanket, asleep in her lap. Bakura is sitting beside his wife and baby girl and is staring at the floor. His eyes don’t betray what he’s thinking about. Tama’s sitting in the recliner, her lilac eyes watching a nervous Ryou pace back-and-forth.
“We have to tell him.” Tama says.
Ryou nods distractedly. “Yes, I know.”
“Ryou.” This time Ryou meets her gaze. “we have to tell him everything.”
Ryou stops pacing and makes a choked noise. “Everything?”
-Ding dong!-
Everyone except Bakura jumps, startled by the loud noise and Yasu wakes up crying. Tama sweat drops when whoever’s at the door begins continuously ringing the doorbell which has yet to be tampered with by the yami’s. With a sigh, the tri-color haired girl gets up and walks out of the living room and down the hall to the door. She opens said door and is not surprised to see her brother standing there. Surprisingly though, Damian isn’t with him.
When Tama questions him about it as they walk down the hall to the living room, Kiba smirks and tells her how Ashling called their black-haired friend and threatened him until he promised to go over and help her with ‘the cursed wires’. Tama then questions herself on whether it was a good idea to let Ashling handle the flowers and then decides the blonde girl will be just fine.
Now there’s six people in the living room only now it’s less tense with Kiba there to lighten everything up.
Then the door opens and the house falls silent. Ryou stops his pacing and Tama gets back up from her hair and stands by him.
“It’ll be okay, Ryou.” She whispers. Her hank seeks out Ryou’s hand and she squeezes it reassuringly.
Ryou gives Tama a half-hearted smile in return as his dad stops by the door frame.
“Ryou.” His father says.
“Father.” Ryou replies, finding a strength he had forgotten. “We need to talk abo-”
“Who are they?” His father interrupts, looking at the other four occupants of the room, his eyes landing briefly on Yasu.
Bakura lifts his head up, mahogany eyes fixed in a glare. “Bakura Khalid, sir.” He sneers mockingly.
Yume gives him a warning look before looking back at Mr. Bakura, keeping her gaze and voice neutral. “I’m Yume Khalid. Bakura’s wife.”
Kiba stands up with a smirk on his face.
“You…” Mr. Bakura almost growls, recognizing the 22-year-old. “You’re her brother.”
Kiba gives a mocking bow. “Kiba Muto, at your service.”
Tama’s gaze flickers between her future father-in-law and her brother, hoping Kiba won’t start anything. Her prayers are answered when Ryou speaks up.
“Father.” Ryou says, raising his voice. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“Well, what is it?”
“You might want to sit down, Mr. Bakura.” Tama cautions.
Mr. Bakura frowns. “I’ll stand, thank you.”
Yume rolls her eyes and mutters, “It’s your funeral.” under her breath.
Ryou and Tama launch straight into explaining who Bakura and Yume are and why they’re there and then they finish with telling him they’re engaged.
“I think you killed him.” Yume comments, noting Mr. Bakura’s rather blank expression. “Not that I care, really.”
“Well at least he didn’t go berserk like me and dad did.” Kiba remarks, remembering when Tama told them about Yume.
Tama gives her brother a look. “Kiba, you’re really not helping.”
Kiba raises his hands up in defense and surrender. “Okay, I’m sorry! I just don’t like him.”
Yume glances at the still-in-shock Mr. Bakura. “I don’t blame you.”
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
“…and when he finally came to his senses he turned around and walked out of the house. He’s back now but has barricaded himself in his room with a bottle of brandy.” Tama tells Malik over the phone. “So how are you and Ashling doing? I hear she had to get Damian over there to help her . I’m not going to regret asking her to do this, am I?”
Malik laughs. “Don’t worry. Those two did a good job considering all the screaming they did at the wires. They were so loud that Ashling’s cat ran upstairs and buried himself under the covers of my bed. I nearly sat on him earlier!”
This time it’s Tama who laughs. “Poor Allan.” She says sympathetically. “That reminds me. I need you and Ashling to take care of Bast while we’re on our honeymoon. Can you guys handle her? She’s a real spitfire at times and I don’t trust Bakura and Yume alone with her.”
“We’ll be happy to.” Malik replies. “Ashling’s a big cat person. I’m sure she’ll like her.”
“Allan! Get your furry butt down here and tell me where you hid my wristband!!!” Ashling can be heard screaming in the background.
“Malik, what’s going on over there?” Tama asks.
Malik sighs. “It’s nothing. Ashling has just lost her wristband again and is blaming her cat for it. It’s sort of an everyday thing now.”
“Okay…” Tama sounds unconvinced by her cousin’s reply, but accepts it none-the-less. “So, what are you doing this week? Ryou’s trying to figure out the best day to go get your formal wear for the wedding.”
“Tomorrow’s good.” Malik replies. “Ashling’s chaperoning Mokuba’s class field trip to the zoo with Yugi and Joey. Is Seto going with them? Yugi mentioned it but I wasn’t sure.”
“He is.” Tama confirms. “Mokuba guilt tripped him into it and from what I’ve heard, Yugi and Joey cornered poor Ashling.”
“ALLAN!!!”
Malik sighs again and covers the mouthpiece of the phone. Muffled yelling can be heard before Malik takes his hand off. “Tama, I’ve got to go. Ashling’s gone and caught something on fire in the kitchen while chasing Allan. Talk to you later.” He hangs up before Tama has a chance to reply.
Turns out the “Kitchen Fire Incident”, as Marik dubbed it, was caused by Ashling releasing a rather violent spark of Shadow Magic due to her temper. When Malik finally figures this out, he pulls Ashling outside for her first lesson.
When the yami’s started teaching their hikari’s they discovered that each hikari could meditate better in a certain ‘zone’. Ryou does better sitting under a tree in the shade; Malik’s zone is sitting or laying out in the bright, warm sun; Tama does better in a cool forested area and it’s best if she can sit in a cool body of water; and Yugi’s zone is anywhere he feels safe as long as he has some sort of puzzle he can work on with his eyes closed. (Like a Rubix cube for example.)
So since meditation is the main part of learning control for Shadow Magic, Malik and Marik have to try and figure out what Ashling’s zone is.
Marik suggests fire which Malik immediately nixes, recalling how Marik nearly nlew up his room in their old underground home in Egypt when fire was placed near him.
Then Marik comes up with a smart idea for once and suggests they ask Ashling where she’s most comfortable or relaxed.
After getting over his initial shock of Marik being smart, Malik agrees and the two talk to Ashling about it. The blonde girl’s zone turns out to be a little unusual, but fitting for her. Hers is a comfortable area with a warm fuzzy blanket wrapped around her and music- preferably rock or country- playing.
Malik guides her through the meditation while Marik lays down on his bed, after checking for Allan, and proceeds to steadily throw a bouncy ball against the wall.
“How much longer?” Ashling mumbles, her eyes still closed.
Malik sighs. “Another twenty. No talking.”
Ashling heavily sighs and lays down and snuggles into the blankets around her, letting the music take her drifting away. While she’s meditating for the next twenty minutes, Malik picks up a book he recently found and reads some of it. When the twenty minutes have passed, he marks his page and sets the book aside and says, “Ashling, the time’s up.” He looks at her in puzzlement when she doesn’t even move. “Ashling?” Malik questions.
“She’s asleep.” Marik tells his hikari, still steadily throwing the bouncy ball at the wall. “She fell asleep about ten minutes ago.” He looks up and over at his hikari as a grin spreads across his face. “Hikari-pretty, can I wake her up?”
Malik’s eyes flicker from Marik to the bouncy ball to Ashling and then back again. “Alright, go ahead. Don’t blame me for the consequences.”
Still grinning, Marik catches the ball and throws it across the room in Ashling’s direction. Malik just sighs for the fourth time that day and turns away, waiting for the explosion that’s sure to happen. Much to his surprise, the only thing he hears is a ‘thunk’ as the ball hit’s the wall above Ashling’s bed. The ball promptly goes back to Marik’s hand, most likely controlled by a small amount of Shadow Magic.
This process of throwing the ball at the wall is repeated a few times until a disappointed Marik gets tired of it. Marik catches the ball one final time and then sticks it into his pocket.
“You haven’t given up, have you?” Malik questions.
“Marik just tosses his hikari a smirk. “Not by a long shot.” Now he rolls off the bed and walks across the room and then sits down beside Ashling. Then he stares. It’s an unwavering stare that can crack even the hardest people. Including, but not limited to, THE Seto Kaiba.
Ashling twitches in her sleep, somehow sensing Marik’s stare and closeness. Then she rolls over, muttering something about “catnip cheese socks”. At least, that’s what it sounds like.
/I thought you were going to wake her up./
/./I am. This stuff takes time and patience. I have to annoy her first and then when I’ve succeeded I can wake her up with a BOOM!/./
/Then do so./
/./Patience././
Marik then takes a feather out of his pocket and proceeds to use it to tickle Ashling on the nose and on one of her ears. Ashling sleepily lifts a hand in an attempt to brush it away and Marik pauses for a moment before resuming his assault. This time Ashling sneezes and mumbles, “Go ‘way.”
Marik happily grins and puts the feather back into his pocket. “Kitty-pretty…” He whispers. “Wakey, wakey.”
Malik raises an eyebrow at his yami’s actions and crosses his arms over his chest. Waiting for the explosion he knows will soon come.
Ashling twitches in her sleep and then falls still when Marik is quiet. The blonde yami then grins and takes a deep breath, lowering his face until he’s right by Ashling’s ear. “BOO!!!”
Ashling yelps loudly and jumps away, her eyes briefly changing to crystal blue. She lands a few feet away and growls, glaring at Marik. “Mariku Ishtar…!”
Marik just continues grinning and gives a small quick wave before taking off out of the room. Ashling leaps to her feet and chases after him, waving a fist in the air and yellow at the yami. Malik sighs, a little annoyed by the havoc his yami has once again caused, and follows the two to make sure they don’t blow up anything, as that’s usual the outcome of Marik’s little plots.
Malik eventually gets Ashling to calm down and gives Marik the job of chopping fruits and vegetables for dinner. Marik happily takes the job and winds up making a big mess.
They don’t have too many problems for the rest of the day, although Ashling doesn’t forgive Marik until dinner.
Ashling gets up early the next morning in order to prepare for the field trip with Mokuba’s class. She also begins to think of some way to get back at Marik for his ‘lets be stupid and wake Ashling up’ joke. She finds herself unable to think of anything good and so she resolved to ask Yugi, Joey, and Mokuba for help.
Malik wakes up about the time Ashling is leaving and he stops her on her way out. “You’re leaving early.” The blonde boy comments. “Don’t you want breakfast?”
Ashling jerks her black bag further up on her shoulder. “I’ll be fine. Joey’s picking me and Yugi up and then we’re going to go grab some burgers for breakfast and then go to Mokuba’s school.”
“Burgers for breakfast… that had to be Yugi’s idea.” Malik mutters, shaking his head.
Ashling smiles, one hand on the door. “Actually, it was my idea. Yugi just agreed with me and therefore we overruled Joey’s complaint.” She asks a joking evil laugh at the end, which makes Malik rolls his eyes in amusement.
“Have fun with whatever you’re plotting and make sure it’s good enough to surprise my yami.” Malik tells her.
Ashling’s smile grows brighter. “That I shall!” Then she’s out the door without another word.
-Honk! Honk!-
“I’m coming, Joey!”
Malik sighs and continues on to the kitchen, knowing Marik will be up soon and will want waffles. As Malik doesn’t trust his yami with the toaster, especially not after what happened last time, he now toasts his yami’s waffles.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Ashling glares at Seto, who’s sitting next to her working on something on his laptop. Yugi and Joey are in the seat across from them and two teachers are behind those two. Mokuba is sitting behind Ashling and Seto and is happily playing with a hand-held video game.
Sensing Ashling’s glare, Seto takes his eyes off his laptop and fixes an icy glare on her. “What?”
“Will you please put that thing up?” Ashling hisses. “It’s really bothering me that you’re doing work when you should be preparing to have fun.”
Seto ignores her and turns his attention back to typing. “Some of us have a company to run, Phoenix.”
Ashling growls deeply in her throat and looks to Yugi for help. “Yugi, please switch seats with me! Rick boy here is driving me insane!”
Yugi just sighs. “Ashling, we’re suppose to set a good example for the ninth graders. I don’t think switching seats while the bus is moving is a good example. Besides Kaiba isn’t doing anything.”
“Yes he is…” Ashling grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest. “Would you prefer it if I strangle him instead of switching seats?”
Yugi gives Ashling a look. “Ashling, there’s just a little while left. You can survive twenty more minutes. I’ll sit with him on the way back if it’ll make you feel better.”
Ashling nods albeit reluctantly. “Fine. Thanks Yugi.”
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The rest of the trip passes without any problems. The two ninth grade classes are split into six groups and divided amongst the two teachers and four older teens. In fact, it’s not until the four older teens and their groups meet up to head back to the bus that something happens.
“Did you guys hear ‘bout da tiger dat almost escaped?” Joey asks. “Me ‘n my group were two cages away when it happened.”
Ashling and Yugi look at Joey in surprise while Seto just listens with feigned disinterest.
“A tiger?” Ashling questions. “No, I didn’t hear anything about-”
“It’s escaped!” Someone yells. “The tiger escaped!”
Joey and Yugi’s hands move instinctively toward their decks, as much of the trouble they’ve been in centers on Duel Monsters. Ashling and Seto seemingly toss aside their differences and work together on getting the kids out of the way to the best of their ability.
Out of the corner of her eyes, Ashling catches a flash of orange going toward a crowd. Something inside her wind snaps at this time and her eyes change to pure crystal blue and her pupils become cat-like. Without even thinking she runs into the tiger’s path with her arms spread wide. “STOP!” She roars.
To everyone’s amazement, the tiger does what the 19-year-old says and stares at her in what appears to be shock.
“You don’t want to hurt anyone.” Ashling tells it. “That will make things a lot worse for you.”
The tiger says nothing to Ashling for a moment, sending the blonde girl into a quick moment of panic.
“What are you?” The tiger asks in a deep voice.
Ashling breaths a sigh of relief. “I’m human.”
The tiger eyes the mark on the back of Ashling’s hand and does something that could translate into a snort. “Lady Bastet’s chosen. You’re the ‘neko tenshi’.”
“Ashling!” Yugi yells as several zookeepers surround the tiger.
Ashling thinks quickly and decides to ask, “What’s your name?”
“I go by Silverfang.” The tiger replies before being led away.
Yugi runs over to Ashling and grabs her arm, a strange expression on his face. “Ashling, lets go.” He says, tugging her toward the others who have begun heading back to the bus. “What was that about, anyway?”
Ashling glances up at Yugi and sighs. “I’ll explain later. After we get back.”
Yugi frowns. “As long as you explain what’s going on and why you were talking to a tiger.”
“I will.”
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Ashling sighs heavily as she collapses onto Malik’s bed. “Explaining everything to those four was harder than I thought.” She murmurs to herself, closing her eyes, which are still crystal blue and cat-like. “Hopefully I won’t have to go through that again. I know I most likely will but…” She rolls over and breaths in Malik’s scent which permeates the pillow and blankets. “I really don’t want to. It takes far too long to explain.”
“Ashling?” Ishizu questions, opening the door. “It’s time for dinner. Are you coming?”
Ashling lifts her head and nods. “Yeah, I’m coming.” She frowns when she notices something different about Ishizu and is unable to pin-point what it is. Then it hits her. “Ishizu, where’s your Millennium Necklace?”
“I believe it has chosen a new owner. I awoke this morning to find it gone.” Ishizu replies. “Perhaps it is for the best.”
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Serenity sets a glass of water on her bedside table like she does each night. It’s only after she sets it down that she notices a golden object sitting there on the table. She picks it up and runs a finger over the golden eye in confusion. ‘Isn’t this Ishizu’s? What is it doing here?’ Serenity frowns and carries it out to the living room where Joey is at with his back facing her. “Joey? I found this in my room. Doesn’t it belong to Ishizu?”
Joey hides something in his hand and turns around to face his sister. His honey brown eyes widen when he sees the Millennium Necklace clasped in her hands. Joey glances down at the Millennium Key in his hand and frowns. ‘What is going on, here?’
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Tama breaths out shakily and smoothes out the skirt of her dress for the 20th time in the past five minutes. Yume walks up beside her hikari and rests a tan hand on her shoulder. “Relax.” She says gently. “Everything will be fine.”
Besides Tama and Yume, Serenity, Ishizu, and Rebecca are also in the room. With the exception of Tama, each of the girls are wearing dresses of light blue.
Ashling bustles into the room at this time, clad in an ankle length dress of forest green. In her arms are several boxes of flowers as well as Tama’s bouquet. “Falling apart already?” She teases lightly. “Well, at least you’re not quite as bad as Ryou is. When I left the boys were still trying to convince him you’re not going to run away.”
“Just wait until yours and Malik’s wedding.” Yume defends her hikari. “You’ll be just as afraid and nervous as Tama is.”
Ashling blushes and says nothing else, instead busying herself with helping Yume, Ishizu, and Serenity with their wristlets.
“Knock, knock!” Mokuba cheerfully calls through the door. “Am I allowed to come in?”
“Come on in, Mokuba.” Ishizu says, knowing there’s not much Tama can say through her nervousness.
Mokuba steps into the room with a basket of white flower petals. He’s dressed in a dark blue tuxedo that’s about the same color as his eyes. “Delivery for the flower girl!”
Rebecca walks forward with a smile and takes the basket from Mokuba. “Thank you, Mokuba.”
Mokuba inclines his head. “It’s no problem.” Then he looks over at Tama, who’s becoming more fidgety by the minute. “You look beautiful, Tama. Ryou’s really lucky to have someone like you.”
Tama weakly smiles. “Thanks.”
Mokuba waves it off. “It’s no problem. Now, your dad is waiting for you and everyone else is ready to go.”
Tama turns to Yume. “Is it time already?”
Yume nods. “It is.”
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Shiro: You know, that sounds like a horrible place to end a chapter, but I'm sure you all can guess what comes next. Do you really think I'd create havoc on their happy wedding day? No, havoc and chaos is reserved for Ashling and Malik.
Bast: Just a few more chapters left, folks! Just like with DOTSL, we're only going to chapter twenty which is why everything's so condensed and rushed.
Keitaro: But fear not! For there is a sequel to come! The name shall not yet be divulged, but we're hoping that it will turn out very interesting. The pairings for it shall not be told at all, instead we're going to let everyone guess. The standard 'Of the Light' )for that's what we have named the trilogy( pairings will apply, but other than that...
Kitsune: We have a schedule already arranged for the rest of the story. On Sunday )tomorrow(, chapter 18 will be posted. Chapter 19 will most likely be posted on either Tuesday or Wednesday and Chapter 20 will most likely be posted either Thursday or Friday.
Kyle: Once we reach the end of this story, we're taking a break to attempt to finish the other fanfictions currently posted. The sequel will most likely be posted before the end of this month. For sure it'll be posted before the end of next month.
Disclaimer: If you still think that I own Yu-Gi-Oh by this point in the story, then that's a sad sad thing. I do own all OC's in this story and the plot.
-C-A-T--O-F--T-H-E--L-I-L-A-C--E-Y-E-S--C-A-T--O-F--T- H-E--L-I-L-A-C--E-Y-E-S-
Chapter 17: Trials
“Ow!” Ashling yelps when she pricks her finger for the umpteenth time with a wire. “Damn it! How the hell did I get stuck making these things again?!”Surrounded Ashling at the kitchen table are tons of flowers, wires cut to a certain length, special tape for said wires, fern-like plants, and everything else she needs to make the wristlets, corsages, and boutonnières for Tama and Ryou’s wedding.
Malik looks up from whatever it is he’s doing on the couch. “It’s your own fault, Ashling. Afterall, you’re the one who told Tama about making those in one of your classes for homecoming.”
Ashling glares at Malik. “Not. Helping.” She growls out. “What are you doing over there anyway?”
“My résumé.” Malik replies. “Ishizu says they need some help at the museum so I’m going to apply for a job there.”
Ashling mouths, ‘oh’ before returning to her work. Five seconds later however…
“Ow! Curse you to the seventh depth of Hell you damn wire!”
Malik looks up from his résumé again and watches in amusement as Ashling continues screaming at the cursed wire and then storms off to call Damian to get him there to help her.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Over at the Bakura house things are extremely tense as Ryou’s father is returning hom. All five of the current inhabitants are in the living room. Yume’s sitting on the couch with Yasu, wrapped up in a blanket, asleep in her lap. Bakura is sitting beside his wife and baby girl and is staring at the floor. His eyes don’t betray what he’s thinking about. Tama’s sitting in the recliner, her lilac eyes watching a nervous Ryou pace back-and-forth.
“We have to tell him.” Tama says.
Ryou nods distractedly. “Yes, I know.”
“Ryou.” This time Ryou meets her gaze. “we have to tell him everything.”
Ryou stops pacing and makes a choked noise. “Everything?”
-Ding dong!-
Everyone except Bakura jumps, startled by the loud noise and Yasu wakes up crying. Tama sweat drops when whoever’s at the door begins continuously ringing the doorbell which has yet to be tampered with by the yami’s. With a sigh, the tri-color haired girl gets up and walks out of the living room and down the hall to the door. She opens said door and is not surprised to see her brother standing there. Surprisingly though, Damian isn’t with him.
When Tama questions him about it as they walk down the hall to the living room, Kiba smirks and tells her how Ashling called their black-haired friend and threatened him until he promised to go over and help her with ‘the cursed wires’. Tama then questions herself on whether it was a good idea to let Ashling handle the flowers and then decides the blonde girl will be just fine.
Now there’s six people in the living room only now it’s less tense with Kiba there to lighten everything up.
Then the door opens and the house falls silent. Ryou stops his pacing and Tama gets back up from her hair and stands by him.
“It’ll be okay, Ryou.” She whispers. Her hank seeks out Ryou’s hand and she squeezes it reassuringly.
Ryou gives Tama a half-hearted smile in return as his dad stops by the door frame.
“Ryou.” His father says.
“Father.” Ryou replies, finding a strength he had forgotten. “We need to talk abo-”
“Who are they?” His father interrupts, looking at the other four occupants of the room, his eyes landing briefly on Yasu.
Bakura lifts his head up, mahogany eyes fixed in a glare. “Bakura Khalid, sir.” He sneers mockingly.
Yume gives him a warning look before looking back at Mr. Bakura, keeping her gaze and voice neutral. “I’m Yume Khalid. Bakura’s wife.”
Kiba stands up with a smirk on his face.
“You…” Mr. Bakura almost growls, recognizing the 22-year-old. “You’re her brother.”
Kiba gives a mocking bow. “Kiba Muto, at your service.”
Tama’s gaze flickers between her future father-in-law and her brother, hoping Kiba won’t start anything. Her prayers are answered when Ryou speaks up.
“Father.” Ryou says, raising his voice. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“Well, what is it?”
“You might want to sit down, Mr. Bakura.” Tama cautions.
Mr. Bakura frowns. “I’ll stand, thank you.”
Yume rolls her eyes and mutters, “It’s your funeral.” under her breath.
Ryou and Tama launch straight into explaining who Bakura and Yume are and why they’re there and then they finish with telling him they’re engaged.
“I think you killed him.” Yume comments, noting Mr. Bakura’s rather blank expression. “Not that I care, really.”
“Well at least he didn’t go berserk like me and dad did.” Kiba remarks, remembering when Tama told them about Yume.
Tama gives her brother a look. “Kiba, you’re really not helping.”
Kiba raises his hands up in defense and surrender. “Okay, I’m sorry! I just don’t like him.”
Yume glances at the still-in-shock Mr. Bakura. “I don’t blame you.”
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
“…and when he finally came to his senses he turned around and walked out of the house. He’s back now but has barricaded himself in his room with a bottle of brandy.” Tama tells Malik over the phone. “So how are you and Ashling doing? I hear she had to get Damian over there to help her . I’m not going to regret asking her to do this, am I?”
Malik laughs. “Don’t worry. Those two did a good job considering all the screaming they did at the wires. They were so loud that Ashling’s cat ran upstairs and buried himself under the covers of my bed. I nearly sat on him earlier!”
This time it’s Tama who laughs. “Poor Allan.” She says sympathetically. “That reminds me. I need you and Ashling to take care of Bast while we’re on our honeymoon. Can you guys handle her? She’s a real spitfire at times and I don’t trust Bakura and Yume alone with her.”
“We’ll be happy to.” Malik replies. “Ashling’s a big cat person. I’m sure she’ll like her.”
“Allan! Get your furry butt down here and tell me where you hid my wristband!!!” Ashling can be heard screaming in the background.
“Malik, what’s going on over there?” Tama asks.
Malik sighs. “It’s nothing. Ashling has just lost her wristband again and is blaming her cat for it. It’s sort of an everyday thing now.”
“Okay…” Tama sounds unconvinced by her cousin’s reply, but accepts it none-the-less. “So, what are you doing this week? Ryou’s trying to figure out the best day to go get your formal wear for the wedding.”
“Tomorrow’s good.” Malik replies. “Ashling’s chaperoning Mokuba’s class field trip to the zoo with Yugi and Joey. Is Seto going with them? Yugi mentioned it but I wasn’t sure.”
“He is.” Tama confirms. “Mokuba guilt tripped him into it and from what I’ve heard, Yugi and Joey cornered poor Ashling.”
“ALLAN!!!”
Malik sighs again and covers the mouthpiece of the phone. Muffled yelling can be heard before Malik takes his hand off. “Tama, I’ve got to go. Ashling’s gone and caught something on fire in the kitchen while chasing Allan. Talk to you later.” He hangs up before Tama has a chance to reply.
Turns out the “Kitchen Fire Incident”, as Marik dubbed it, was caused by Ashling releasing a rather violent spark of Shadow Magic due to her temper. When Malik finally figures this out, he pulls Ashling outside for her first lesson.
When the yami’s started teaching their hikari’s they discovered that each hikari could meditate better in a certain ‘zone’. Ryou does better sitting under a tree in the shade; Malik’s zone is sitting or laying out in the bright, warm sun; Tama does better in a cool forested area and it’s best if she can sit in a cool body of water; and Yugi’s zone is anywhere he feels safe as long as he has some sort of puzzle he can work on with his eyes closed. (Like a Rubix cube for example.)
So since meditation is the main part of learning control for Shadow Magic, Malik and Marik have to try and figure out what Ashling’s zone is.
Marik suggests fire which Malik immediately nixes, recalling how Marik nearly nlew up his room in their old underground home in Egypt when fire was placed near him.
Then Marik comes up with a smart idea for once and suggests they ask Ashling where she’s most comfortable or relaxed.
After getting over his initial shock of Marik being smart, Malik agrees and the two talk to Ashling about it. The blonde girl’s zone turns out to be a little unusual, but fitting for her. Hers is a comfortable area with a warm fuzzy blanket wrapped around her and music- preferably rock or country- playing.
Malik guides her through the meditation while Marik lays down on his bed, after checking for Allan, and proceeds to steadily throw a bouncy ball against the wall.
“How much longer?” Ashling mumbles, her eyes still closed.
Malik sighs. “Another twenty. No talking.”
Ashling heavily sighs and lays down and snuggles into the blankets around her, letting the music take her drifting away. While she’s meditating for the next twenty minutes, Malik picks up a book he recently found and reads some of it. When the twenty minutes have passed, he marks his page and sets the book aside and says, “Ashling, the time’s up.” He looks at her in puzzlement when she doesn’t even move. “Ashling?” Malik questions.
“She’s asleep.” Marik tells his hikari, still steadily throwing the bouncy ball at the wall. “She fell asleep about ten minutes ago.” He looks up and over at his hikari as a grin spreads across his face. “Hikari-pretty, can I wake her up?”
Malik’s eyes flicker from Marik to the bouncy ball to Ashling and then back again. “Alright, go ahead. Don’t blame me for the consequences.”
Still grinning, Marik catches the ball and throws it across the room in Ashling’s direction. Malik just sighs for the fourth time that day and turns away, waiting for the explosion that’s sure to happen. Much to his surprise, the only thing he hears is a ‘thunk’ as the ball hit’s the wall above Ashling’s bed. The ball promptly goes back to Marik’s hand, most likely controlled by a small amount of Shadow Magic.
This process of throwing the ball at the wall is repeated a few times until a disappointed Marik gets tired of it. Marik catches the ball one final time and then sticks it into his pocket.
“You haven’t given up, have you?” Malik questions.
“Marik just tosses his hikari a smirk. “Not by a long shot.” Now he rolls off the bed and walks across the room and then sits down beside Ashling. Then he stares. It’s an unwavering stare that can crack even the hardest people. Including, but not limited to, THE Seto Kaiba.
Ashling twitches in her sleep, somehow sensing Marik’s stare and closeness. Then she rolls over, muttering something about “catnip cheese socks”. At least, that’s what it sounds like.
/I thought you were going to wake her up./
/./I am. This stuff takes time and patience. I have to annoy her first and then when I’ve succeeded I can wake her up with a BOOM!/./
/Then do so./
/./Patience././
Marik then takes a feather out of his pocket and proceeds to use it to tickle Ashling on the nose and on one of her ears. Ashling sleepily lifts a hand in an attempt to brush it away and Marik pauses for a moment before resuming his assault. This time Ashling sneezes and mumbles, “Go ‘way.”
Marik happily grins and puts the feather back into his pocket. “Kitty-pretty…” He whispers. “Wakey, wakey.”
Malik raises an eyebrow at his yami’s actions and crosses his arms over his chest. Waiting for the explosion he knows will soon come.
Ashling twitches in her sleep and then falls still when Marik is quiet. The blonde yami then grins and takes a deep breath, lowering his face until he’s right by Ashling’s ear. “BOO!!!”
Ashling yelps loudly and jumps away, her eyes briefly changing to crystal blue. She lands a few feet away and growls, glaring at Marik. “Mariku Ishtar…!”
Marik just continues grinning and gives a small quick wave before taking off out of the room. Ashling leaps to her feet and chases after him, waving a fist in the air and yellow at the yami. Malik sighs, a little annoyed by the havoc his yami has once again caused, and follows the two to make sure they don’t blow up anything, as that’s usual the outcome of Marik’s little plots.
Malik eventually gets Ashling to calm down and gives Marik the job of chopping fruits and vegetables for dinner. Marik happily takes the job and winds up making a big mess.
They don’t have too many problems for the rest of the day, although Ashling doesn’t forgive Marik until dinner.
Ashling gets up early the next morning in order to prepare for the field trip with Mokuba’s class. She also begins to think of some way to get back at Marik for his ‘lets be stupid and wake Ashling up’ joke. She finds herself unable to think of anything good and so she resolved to ask Yugi, Joey, and Mokuba for help.
Malik wakes up about the time Ashling is leaving and he stops her on her way out. “You’re leaving early.” The blonde boy comments. “Don’t you want breakfast?”
Ashling jerks her black bag further up on her shoulder. “I’ll be fine. Joey’s picking me and Yugi up and then we’re going to go grab some burgers for breakfast and then go to Mokuba’s school.”
“Burgers for breakfast… that had to be Yugi’s idea.” Malik mutters, shaking his head.
Ashling smiles, one hand on the door. “Actually, it was my idea. Yugi just agreed with me and therefore we overruled Joey’s complaint.” She asks a joking evil laugh at the end, which makes Malik rolls his eyes in amusement.
“Have fun with whatever you’re plotting and make sure it’s good enough to surprise my yami.” Malik tells her.
Ashling’s smile grows brighter. “That I shall!” Then she’s out the door without another word.
-Honk! Honk!-
“I’m coming, Joey!”
Malik sighs and continues on to the kitchen, knowing Marik will be up soon and will want waffles. As Malik doesn’t trust his yami with the toaster, especially not after what happened last time, he now toasts his yami’s waffles.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Ashling glares at Seto, who’s sitting next to her working on something on his laptop. Yugi and Joey are in the seat across from them and two teachers are behind those two. Mokuba is sitting behind Ashling and Seto and is happily playing with a hand-held video game.
Sensing Ashling’s glare, Seto takes his eyes off his laptop and fixes an icy glare on her. “What?”
“Will you please put that thing up?” Ashling hisses. “It’s really bothering me that you’re doing work when you should be preparing to have fun.”
Seto ignores her and turns his attention back to typing. “Some of us have a company to run, Phoenix.”
Ashling growls deeply in her throat and looks to Yugi for help. “Yugi, please switch seats with me! Rick boy here is driving me insane!”
Yugi just sighs. “Ashling, we’re suppose to set a good example for the ninth graders. I don’t think switching seats while the bus is moving is a good example. Besides Kaiba isn’t doing anything.”
“Yes he is…” Ashling grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest. “Would you prefer it if I strangle him instead of switching seats?”
Yugi gives Ashling a look. “Ashling, there’s just a little while left. You can survive twenty more minutes. I’ll sit with him on the way back if it’ll make you feel better.”
Ashling nods albeit reluctantly. “Fine. Thanks Yugi.”
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The rest of the trip passes without any problems. The two ninth grade classes are split into six groups and divided amongst the two teachers and four older teens. In fact, it’s not until the four older teens and their groups meet up to head back to the bus that something happens.
“Did you guys hear ‘bout da tiger dat almost escaped?” Joey asks. “Me ‘n my group were two cages away when it happened.”
Ashling and Yugi look at Joey in surprise while Seto just listens with feigned disinterest.
“A tiger?” Ashling questions. “No, I didn’t hear anything about-”
“It’s escaped!” Someone yells. “The tiger escaped!”
Joey and Yugi’s hands move instinctively toward their decks, as much of the trouble they’ve been in centers on Duel Monsters. Ashling and Seto seemingly toss aside their differences and work together on getting the kids out of the way to the best of their ability.
Out of the corner of her eyes, Ashling catches a flash of orange going toward a crowd. Something inside her wind snaps at this time and her eyes change to pure crystal blue and her pupils become cat-like. Without even thinking she runs into the tiger’s path with her arms spread wide. “STOP!” She roars.
To everyone’s amazement, the tiger does what the 19-year-old says and stares at her in what appears to be shock.
“You don’t want to hurt anyone.” Ashling tells it. “That will make things a lot worse for you.”
The tiger says nothing to Ashling for a moment, sending the blonde girl into a quick moment of panic.
“What are you?” The tiger asks in a deep voice.
Ashling breaths a sigh of relief. “I’m human.”
The tiger eyes the mark on the back of Ashling’s hand and does something that could translate into a snort. “Lady Bastet’s chosen. You’re the ‘neko tenshi’.”
“Ashling!” Yugi yells as several zookeepers surround the tiger.
Ashling thinks quickly and decides to ask, “What’s your name?”
“I go by Silverfang.” The tiger replies before being led away.
Yugi runs over to Ashling and grabs her arm, a strange expression on his face. “Ashling, lets go.” He says, tugging her toward the others who have begun heading back to the bus. “What was that about, anyway?”
Ashling glances up at Yugi and sighs. “I’ll explain later. After we get back.”
Yugi frowns. “As long as you explain what’s going on and why you were talking to a tiger.”
“I will.”
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Ashling sighs heavily as she collapses onto Malik’s bed. “Explaining everything to those four was harder than I thought.” She murmurs to herself, closing her eyes, which are still crystal blue and cat-like. “Hopefully I won’t have to go through that again. I know I most likely will but…” She rolls over and breaths in Malik’s scent which permeates the pillow and blankets. “I really don’t want to. It takes far too long to explain.”
“Ashling?” Ishizu questions, opening the door. “It’s time for dinner. Are you coming?”
Ashling lifts her head and nods. “Yeah, I’m coming.” She frowns when she notices something different about Ishizu and is unable to pin-point what it is. Then it hits her. “Ishizu, where’s your Millennium Necklace?”
“I believe it has chosen a new owner. I awoke this morning to find it gone.” Ishizu replies. “Perhaps it is for the best.”
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Serenity sets a glass of water on her bedside table like she does each night. It’s only after she sets it down that she notices a golden object sitting there on the table. She picks it up and runs a finger over the golden eye in confusion. ‘Isn’t this Ishizu’s? What is it doing here?’ Serenity frowns and carries it out to the living room where Joey is at with his back facing her. “Joey? I found this in my room. Doesn’t it belong to Ishizu?”
Joey hides something in his hand and turns around to face his sister. His honey brown eyes widen when he sees the Millennium Necklace clasped in her hands. Joey glances down at the Millennium Key in his hand and frowns. ‘What is going on, here?’
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Tama breaths out shakily and smoothes out the skirt of her dress for the 20th time in the past five minutes. Yume walks up beside her hikari and rests a tan hand on her shoulder. “Relax.” She says gently. “Everything will be fine.”
Besides Tama and Yume, Serenity, Ishizu, and Rebecca are also in the room. With the exception of Tama, each of the girls are wearing dresses of light blue.
Ashling bustles into the room at this time, clad in an ankle length dress of forest green. In her arms are several boxes of flowers as well as Tama’s bouquet. “Falling apart already?” She teases lightly. “Well, at least you’re not quite as bad as Ryou is. When I left the boys were still trying to convince him you’re not going to run away.”
“Just wait until yours and Malik’s wedding.” Yume defends her hikari. “You’ll be just as afraid and nervous as Tama is.”
Ashling blushes and says nothing else, instead busying herself with helping Yume, Ishizu, and Serenity with their wristlets.
“Knock, knock!” Mokuba cheerfully calls through the door. “Am I allowed to come in?”
“Come on in, Mokuba.” Ishizu says, knowing there’s not much Tama can say through her nervousness.
Mokuba steps into the room with a basket of white flower petals. He’s dressed in a dark blue tuxedo that’s about the same color as his eyes. “Delivery for the flower girl!”
Rebecca walks forward with a smile and takes the basket from Mokuba. “Thank you, Mokuba.”
Mokuba inclines his head. “It’s no problem.” Then he looks over at Tama, who’s becoming more fidgety by the minute. “You look beautiful, Tama. Ryou’s really lucky to have someone like you.”
Tama weakly smiles. “Thanks.”
Mokuba waves it off. “It’s no problem. Now, your dad is waiting for you and everyone else is ready to go.”
Tama turns to Yume. “Is it time already?”
Yume nods. “It is.”
-C-A-T--O-F--T-H-E--L-I-L-A-C--E-Y-E-S--C-A-T--O- F--T-H-E--L-I-L-A-C--E-Y-E-S-
Shiro: You know, that sounds like a horrible place to end a chapter, but I'm sure you all can guess what comes next. Do you really think I'd create havoc on their happy wedding day? No, havoc and chaos is reserved for Ashling and Malik.
Bast: Just a few more chapters left, folks! Just like with DOTSL, we're only going to chapter twenty which is why everything's so condensed and rushed.
Keitaro: But fear not! For there is a sequel to come! The name shall not yet be divulged, but we're hoping that it will turn out very interesting. The pairings for it shall not be told at all, instead we're going to let everyone guess. The standard 'Of the Light' )for that's what we have named the trilogy( pairings will apply, but other than that...
Kitsune: We have a schedule already arranged for the rest of the story. On Sunday )tomorrow(, chapter 18 will be posted. Chapter 19 will most likely be posted on either Tuesday or Wednesday and Chapter 20 will most likely be posted either Thursday or Friday.
Kyle: Once we reach the end of this story, we're taking a break to attempt to finish the other fanfictions currently posted. The sequel will most likely be posted before the end of this month. For sure it'll be posted before the end of next month.