Amoura: >.> You zcare me Mizz Ezz-Jay...

WSJ: :p Glad to hear it 'Moura-chan! ^^v Well, the freshman year is nearing its close. Not yet though. Still a few more chapters left. ^~ So stay tuned!

Amoura: ....You zound like a badly-filmed commerzzial...

Disclaimer: YGO isn't mine, it belongs to the great and glorious Kazuki Takahashi-sama (you know, I once had a dream that Kazuki-sama asked me to marry him... Oo;; He was intresting... He looked like a cross between Mako and Shen Bakura... *twitches*). Amoura & co belong to Brood. Gwen, Scott, Hiro, ect, belong to me. ^^

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Yamis of Tokyo U: Freshmen

Chapter 17: The Legend of Destiny and Fate

Ryou groaned and opened his eyes, mumbling something about hitting Fate over the head the next time she got him to do a spell of that magnitude. Hiro chuckled at this from his place at the desk. "Feeling any better Ryou?"

"Anyone catch the licence number of that bus?"

Hiro chuckled again, swinging around in the desk chair to face the telepath. "Sorry, no. It was just some crazy woman by the name of Jalila. Bakura explained about her." he went on, frowning slightly. "What a crazy story..."

"How much did he tell you?" Ryou asked, seized with a sudden and unexplainable panic.

"All of it, hikari." Bakura said as he walked into the bedroom to sit down on his own bed, across from Ryou's. Ryou started to say something, and Bakura held up a hand. "I know, I know, but Shaadi, Yami, and your father all agreed with me. Gwen, Hiro, Scott, and Amoura are our friends, and they deserve to know who, and what, we really are. Besides, don't you think Fate let them keep their memories of the fight for a reason? Everyone else has forgotten."

"They know everything?" Ryou asked, momentarily stunned.

Hiro nodded. "Yup. Everything from the Millenium Items to the Shadow Realm to the Locking Rituals. Although I can't say I understand half of it..." He shook his head wryly and stood up as there was a knock on the door. "Well, that's probably Gwen." He grinned widely. "She's trying to talk me into coming to visit her in Cali this summer."

Ryou and Bakura both rolled their eyes as Hiro moved out into the small livingroom of their dorm. He opened the door and was surprised to see not only Gwen, but Amoura as well. He nodded a greeting to the French girl as he and Gwen started off down the hall, bickering about the cost of an airline ticket and how in the world were they going to get this by their parents? Amoura grinned and shook her head, then walked into the dorm bedroom.

"Amoura!" Ryou said happily. "I thought it was you!"

"Like you could mistake her for anyone else." Bakura said, wrinkling his nose at him playfully. "Didn't you once say that all auras are unique?"

"Well, yes," Ryou chuckled. "What's up Amoura?"

Amoura hesitated a moment, glancing shyly at Bakura. The white-haired ex-yami got the idea and nodded. "I'm going to go find Yami. He still owes me money."

This caused both Amoura and Ryou to pause. "What?"

Bakura grinned widely, showing off the fangs he still had, even as a mortal. "I bet him 2000 yen that we'd have to tell Amoura, Gwen, and Hiro about the Millenium Items by the end of the year. We're cutting it a bit close, but a bet's a bet and he owes me 2000 yen." He grinned again, waved jauntily, and left the dorm, closing the door behind him.

Amoura stared after him a moment, and Ryou frowned at something amiss in her aura that he couldn't quite place. "Amoura?"

Amoura gave him a watery smile, though he couldn't see it. "I 'ad promized Tea zat I vould come and talk to you avter zee play, but now I do not zink it iz nezzizzary..."

"What do you mean?" Ryou asked, beginning to get a bit worried at the whistful tone in her voise.

She sighed and looked down at her hands. "You zee... Oh ziz iz zo embarrazzing! I zink I am in love vith your brozzer- vell, I guezz he iz not really your brozzer, but-"

Ryou cut her off, sympathy in his smile. "Ah, I see." he scratched his chin. "This is a bit difficult to explain... You really think you're in love with Bakura?" At Amoura's nod he pursed his lips in thought and sat silent for several minutes. Finally Amoura could not stand the silence any longer and burst out,

"But never mind R'ou! Tea told me all about Bakhura, and he even admitted to mozt ov it ven he waz telling Gven and Hiro and Scott and I about you. He even zaid zat he uzed to beat you, alzough ve could never believe zat."

"It's true." Ryou said quietly. Amoura looked at him, started. "After I first received the Ring, he'd beat me nearly every night. It took knocking me blind and nearly losing me to the Shadow Realm to finally get him to care. But then, that's what's important, isn't it? That he cares now. Amoura, I don't blame you for loving him. In fact, I think, given time, he could very well fall in love with you.

"But you need to understand a couple things first. Bakura's original life, in Egypt, was an extremely hard one. He was forced to give up his only child to his bitter enemy to raise. He lived in the desert with his lover, robbing tombs. Yes, he had a wife. Yes, he loved her very much. But she's dead, five-thousand years dead, and he could learn to love again if you give him time."

"Zo vhat do I do?" Amoura asked quietly, her eyes full of hope.

Ryou grinned, almost impishly. "Amoura, you don't really want to spend all summer in France without any of your friends, now do you?"

Amoura's face brightened in understanding. "Oh no, zat vould be 'orrible! Vould you and Bakhura like to zpend a few veekz vith my family in France? Avter I azk my mama, of course."

Ryou blinked, and then smiled. "Thank you for the invitation, but I can't. I already promised my martial arts sensei that I'd come back to the school and help teach all summer."

Amoura looked down. "Oh. I do not zuppoze Bakhura vould come zen, if he iz zee only vone..."

"Not necissarily." Ryou said. "Why not invite a few other good friends, besides Bakura?"

"Ah! Zat iz a good idea! I could ask Yami and Yugi to come vith me."

"They'd like that." Ryou said, grinning widely. "Do that."

"I vill." Amoura said, delighted at the prospect of the summer to come. "Zank you zo much R'ou!"

"Don't mention it." Ryou said. "Just make sure you have fun for me, 'kay?" He winked as Amoura got up to leave, and she giggled at him. "Ve vill."

It was several hours before Ryou was awarded another visitor. His father tapped quietly on the door, and then entered. "Ryou?" he asked quietly. "You asleep?"

"No tou-san," Ryou said, sitting up in bed and smiling at Shen. "I wasn't. Anything wrong?" He'd senced a fragment of something in his father's mind, worry and wonder and a good deal of puzzlement.

Shen scratched his head and sat down next to his son on the bed. "That's part of the problem, I'm really not sure. During the battle, when you were hurt and I came looking for you, who was that woman next to you? The one with the wings?"

Ryou's face lit up in a grin. "Ah, that was Fate-sama. Each of the Millenium Items has an Element, a guardian, if you will." He zoned out for a minute and his voice went slightly flat, as if reciting something by rote. "Fate for the Millenium Ring, for the boy who was Fated to have it. Hatred for the Millenium Rod, for its holder knows no love. Time for the Millenium Puzzle, for the Pharoah stands immortal. Death for the Millenium Tauk, for it can see the future, past death's hold. Desire for the Millenium Eye, for above all its owner desires a lost love. War for the Millenium Scales, for they were created to delay one. And Passion for the Millenium Ankh, for its holder is passionate about what he must do."

"So Fate is the guardian of the Ring?"

"Slightly more then that." Ryou amended. "Goddess of the Ring, is more like it. She actually helped Yami create the Ring, forging it in the Fires of Destiny herself."

"Fires of what?" Shen asked, confused. "What's the difference between Fate and Destiny?"

Ryou chuckled and leaned back against his pillows, and gestured for his father to get comfortable. This would be a long explination. "The Fires of Destiny, along with the Waters of Love and the Shrine of All Knowledge, are places in Purgatory. From what I understand, the Fires give you a little taste of Hell, the Waters a little taste of Heaven, and in the Shrine you are judged and then sent to your final destination, be it Heaven or Hell Proper."

"Right, but that still doesn't explain the difference between Destiny and Fate."

"Hold on, I'm getting there. Have you ever heard the Legend of Fate? No? Well, it tells the stories of two sister goddesses, Fate and Destiny. Fate was the older, and Destiny the younger. Fate was wiser as well, and wanted to see what being human was like. So she became human, and her sister Destiny, who had always been jealous of her, killed her while she was in a vulnerable, mortal state. Of course Fate came back, and condemned her sister to burn forever in the Fires of Destiny.

"That legend is mostly true. I say mostly, because there's a few facts that whoever first wrote down the legend got wrong. Fate and Destiny weren't sisters, they were cousins, and they were the same age to boot. They weren't mortal, but they weren't goddesses either. I think they were sprites, but I'm not sure. Anyway, they both trained to be mages, Fate in the magic of Order, while Destiny trained in Chaos. Any guesses where this is going?

"They travelled eventually to the mortal plains, where they had to pass one final test as humans. And, predictably," Here Ryou paused to roll his eyes. "They went to Ancient Egypt. Like in the legend, Destiny killed Fate, using her wild magic. Thankfully though, a certain Pharoah was able to resurrect Fate, and in turn she cursed Destiny to burn in the Fires. To thank Yami for helping her, she then forged the Ring in her cousin's flames and swore to always protect whoever held it. The gods and goddesses were so impressed, they granted her goddess status as well.

"And Fate's kept her word. Bakura and I have met her a couple different times now, although this was the first time in our realm. Usually she just comes to us in dreams or visions."

Shen openly oogled at his son, since he knew Ryou couldn't see, and therefore couldn't take offence. Finally he managed to say "So the other Items have goddesses too?!"

"Oh no, not all of them." Ryou said. "I've seen them all, but haven't really met any except Fate. Fate, Passion, and Desire are goddesses, while Time, Hatred, and War are gods. Death is... something else, I think. I'm not so sure what."

Shen continued to stare, and then, all at once, shook his head, trying to get back to the original subject of his visit. "When I saw Fate from a distance, she looked familiar to me somehow..."

"Well, you did know about Bakura before you met him, could you possibly have known about Fate too?"

Shen shook his head again. "I only knew that the Ring carried a spirit because of your mother. She never said anything about a guardian goddess!" He sighed and stood up. "Probably just some weird sort of deja vu. Now get some rest, okay Ryou? Oh, and your sensei called. He wants you at the dojo two weeks from Monday, the day after you get out of school, okay?"

Ryou groaned slightly, but nodded and chuckled good-naturedly. "Hai. See you soon tou-san."

Shen waved at Ryou, and as he left the building he passed Joey going the other way. They greeted each other, and Shen left to get back to work. Joey headed for Ryou's dorm. As soon as he knocked, there was a small chuckle, and then "Come on in Joey." Ryou chuckled again. "So many visitors, so little time... What brings you here?"

Joey smiled, but then his face turned serious. "My sister."

"Ah..." Ryou's expression wilted slightly. "Well, I expected this sooner or later." He sat up straight and smiled at Joey. "So go ahead."

"Glad you understand." Joey said, his mouth curving upward into a slight smile. "In the absence of our father, who is currently and hopefully forever in jail," Joey's snort showed his oppinion of that. "I've had to look out for Serenity. I would've anyway. I mean come on! I'm her big brother. She deserves a man who will treat her with respect, and love her unconditionally. She deserves someone with honor and a strong sence of family. Someone kind and brave, who isn't afraid to put himself in danger if it means protecting others, even if they don't know that they're being protected."

Ryou started to say something, but Joey held up a hand. "No, let me finish. I've known you for a little over four years now Ryou, and I've considered you a friend for at least three. You've proved yourself over and over again, from rescuing Serenity from the Shadow Realm and letting me tag along, all the way down to healing her of her wounds yesterday. You've protected her, and me, on too many occations to count. I know you love her, and the fact is that she loves you too.

"There's really no denying it. As much as I don't want to lose my sister, I'm glad you're the one she's chosen, pal."

Ryou blinked, his eyes misty. "Joey, I - I don't know what to say..."

Joey's eyes too were slightly tearful as he smiled. "Say you'll protect her."

"I will, I always have, and I always will."

"Say you'll love her."

"Forever and ever."

Joey's smile had turned decidedly wavery as he clamped a hand on Ryou's shoulder. "Say you'll make her the happiest girl in the world."

"I will, I promise Joey. I promise."

"Then that's really all there is to it," Joey stood up abruptly, wiping the tears out of his eyes. "She loves you, I know she does. Take care of her." He turned to go.

"Joey?"

Joey paused in the doorway to the dorm. "Yeah Ryou?"

"She loves you too, you know."

Joey smiled quietly. "Yeah, I know."

After he'd left, a vision floated across Ryou's minds-eye. Mokuba Kaiba and Lisa O'Kelley dressed in white gi's, attempting to beat the crap out of each other while Rebecca Hawkins looked on and laughed. Hiro and Gwen, both dressed in bathing suits, snuggled together on a beach towel in the sand, while a soaking wet Malik ran up with a surf board tucked under one arm. Serenity at a desk in what was obviously a hotel room, writing a letter to someone. Amoura, Tea, and Yugi standing on a Paris street, with the Eiffel Tower in the background, laughing as Yami and Bakura danced by, sword-fighting each other with long loaves of French bread. This caused Ryou to chuckle slightly, and knew then that summer would turn out just fine.

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WSJ: ....Short chapter... ^^v Well, only one more chapter and the epiloge to go before we move into Home Sweet Home. So stay tuned! ^^

Chapter 18: Now that most of the summer plans have been organised, it's time for graduation! Isis and Scott are now out of school for good. ^~ Yay. Mako, Bandit Keith, and Rex all get summer jobs, and Scott figures out what to do this fall. As for Shaadi and Isis, they have some plans of their own...

God bless minna-san!