Everyone go read Tainted Soul, by Ebony Kuroneko!! My telepath-Ryou and mortal-Bakura have main roles, as well as Jonathon and Fate. ^^ And it was because of her that I managed to get this chapter out. Otherwise I'd have been lucky to finish before Christmas. So everyone go give candy and presents and reviews to Ebony-chan! *glomp*

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO, Sailor Moon, or anything else mentioned. A few of the OCs are mine, and a few more are Brood's. MorTae-san owns herself.

Oh yeah! On a side-note, everyone go read my new fic Hot Sands, Warm Arms. ^^ It's an AU romance, in which eight very familiar archaeologists, one Egyptian reis (foreman), and a certain blond-haired chibi get mixed up in the adventure of their lives...

()()()()()

Home Sweet Home

Chapter 8 -- Spirits

Quote of the chapter:

"This is more fun than playing hit-and-run at the Pharaoh's bedroom chamber."
~(Bakura; Serena Arythusa, Yami Bakura Divided By Confusion Equals Algebra)

"Yami, kindly remove your elbow from my face."

"Shut up you insolent tomb raider, I have a headache..."

"Oh, and whose fault is that?"

"Aibou! Not you too?"

"Yugi is right you know, it's your own fault Yami."

"*sigh* Who made this *^$% van so small?!"

"Zorry, but zee limo vould 'ave been too conspicuous."

"Hey, what's that long line up ahead?"

"Zat vould be zee ski jump. Ve are almost to zee rezort."

"And what's all that white stuff?"

"That's snow Bakura."

"Snow? What is this snow of which you speak?"

"You don't know either Yami? Man, that's kind of pathetic. Snow is white, powdery ice crystals that -"

"Wait wait, you mean that freezing cold stuff we have back in Japan?"

"*sigh* Yes Yami, that's snow."

"What?! That hell-made white substance?! Aaarg! Curses on snow clouds!"

"*sweatdrop* Oh oui, 'ee iz Egyptian through and through..."

"You ever doubted it?"

Tea and Yugi exchanged glances with Amoura and sighed heavily. This week was going to be hectic, to say the least...

~*~

Mokuba and Rebecca huddled together on the couch, listening to something banging around upstairs in between the howls of the wind and the crash of the thunder.

//Mokuba,// Seto asked urgently, mentally taking his brother by the shoulders and shaking him. //Do you want me to go find out what it is?//

/Please do,/ Mokuba whimpered. /Seto, I'm scared./

//It's just your mind playing tricks on you.// Seto said, before stepping quietly out of his brother's body. It was dark, and Rebecca had her head hidden in Mokuba's shoulder, so she didn't see the nearly invicible, spectral figure go. Keeping himself transparent and silent Seto stalked toward the stairs and peered up them, listening hard. Yes, there was definatly something up there.

Silently he ascended the stairs and walked around the corner. After all, it wasn't like whatever was up here could hurt him. Yes, there was a figure, a very solid mortal figure creeping down the hall. Slightly amused, Seto leaned up against the wall and chuckled.

At the sound, the figure froze. Almost as if it had been timed, the lights flickered back on, and then off again, allowing the would be "ghost" to catch a glimpse of a very real ghost, dressed in an unmistakable trench coat. At seeing Seto in front of her she backpeddled and screamed at the top of her lungs. Still snickering Seto let himself disappear back into his soulroom.

Rebecca shuddered as she heard someone upstairs scream. "Wh-what...?"

Something barreled down the stairs, still screaming, and all but dived on the couch with Mokuba and Rebecca. This sent off a chain reaction, and within a second Mokuba had two screaming teenage girls in his arms. Having been briefed the instant before by Seto, who was currently laughing hystericly in his soulroom, Mokuba just sighed.

All at once Rebecca realized it was not a ghost that had jumped on her and Mokuba, but a friend (such as she was). Breaking off mid-scream Rebecca sat up and planted her hands on her hips. "Lisa O'Kelley!"

The Irish girl sniffled, still clinging to the front of Mokuba's shirt. Then she realized what she was doing and let go as if Mokuba had been coated in slime. "What do you want? I tell you, I saw a ghost upstairs! He was just leaning against the wall and... and laughing at me!" Tears started to gather in her eyes as she grabbed Rebecca's hands. ""Becca this house is haunted! I saw Kebby-kun upstairs, I know I did!"

Rebecca's eyes were round and she turned to Mokuba. "M-mokuba? Have you ever seen anything strange? After all, you live here."

Mokuba groaned slightly, but couldn't lie. "I have seen Seto around..."

"But of course Seto wouldn't hurt him!" Lisa jumped in, still shivering a little. "Mokuba's his brother! But what about us..."

Mokuba sighed as he felt his right eye twitch. "Lisa, what are you doing in my house?"

Lisa blinked up at him owlishly. "I - I wanted to scare you... But I swear I saw a ghost upstairs!"

Something crashed all of a sudden, and it wasn't the storm. All three of them jumped and clung to each other. /Seto?!/

//Wasn't me kid.// Seto answered, already in false form and sprinting for the stairs. //I'll go see what it was.// Already rounding the landing, Seto saw nothing amiss on the second floor, where Lisa had snuck in through a window, so he rounded the steps and sprinted toward the third, which had used to be where Gozenboru's quarters were, but now it was just an attic. Something may have fallen when lightning struck the house or something. Throwing open the door to the attic/bedroom, Seto screeched to a hault as he came face to face with a figure from his worst nightmares, smirking at him from under heavy brows. On the landing of the third floor staircase the "ghost" of Seto Kaiba faced off against the ghost of Gozenboru Kaiba, with three teenagers cowering below. Seto sighed and balled up his fists, wondering why these kinds of things always happened to him.

//Oh shi-//

~*~

"You're on the wrong side of the road, we're gonna crash!"

"Hell no!" Gwen piped happily as she jerked the wheel around another turn that almost raised her car up on two wheels. "You're forgetting this is America! It's you buzzards that are trying to get me on the wrong side! Now shut up and lemme drive!"

Next to her in the passenger seat of her bright green Thunderbird, Hiro clutched at the seat, sweat streaming from his face and neck. "Gwen you're going to get us killed!" Gwen just laughed at him. Behind, Ishtar and Malik were clinging to each other, and Ishtar was murmering a fast-paced Egyptian prayer to attempt to calm himself. Like anyone could ever be calm with Gwendolyn Kennady driving.

"Almost there!" Gwen chirped, cutting off an old woman on the freeway. Hearing the English curses coming from behind her, Gwen stuck her head out the window and began firing off a few of her own.

"GWEN!!" Hiro reached over to grab the stearing wheel, jerking them back into the proper lane as Gwen pulled her head back in.

"Hey, shove off!" she said indignantly. "I'm driving, not you." She spun the wheel at least two-hundred degrees, slamming on her brakes as she did. They slid to a stop just on the outskirts of a mob of screaming Duel Monsters fans gathered in front of the mall that had been "taken over" for Pegasus Con. Gwen bounced out of the car and began waving, signing a few autograph books thrust her way as she waited for the boys to get out of the car.

"I think... I need... a barf bag..." Malik groaned, slumping back against the seat and clamping a hand over his mouth.

"Oi..." Hiro moaned. "I think she just subtracted about ten years from my life..."

"Do these hairs look gray to you?" Ishtar asked, examining a clump of his spikey blond hair. All three men exchanged glances and sighed, before pulling themselves out of that hell hole of a car.

"Well it's about time!" Gwen shouted at them as she jotted her sig on another piece of paper and handed it to a girl that looked like she was about to faint. Reaching over, Gwen grabbed a bullhorn from a nearby security guard and started shouting into it. She spoke in English, of course, so none of the three men knew what she was saying, but all of a sudden they were the center of a frothing, screaming mass of teens, mostly females. What Gwen had said was "~Hear ye hear ye! Hey people!! You see the blond guys standing behind me? That's Malik and Yami Ishtar! You know, finalists at Battle City and close friends of Yuugi Moto?!~"

And thus the fangirl mobs began.

~*~

Amoura pulled the van to a stop in front of a large, two story stone manor flanked on all sides by pine trees and six-inch-deep snow (of course). Off to the left, through a gap in the trees, a ski lift could bee seen rising upward to the top of the mountain. People laughed and talked as they milled around, some going out carrying skis and snowboards, and some heading back in after calling it a day on the slopes.

Tea pushed open the side door of the van dispite the protests that Yami and Bakura were giving, and she and Yugi began to unload their bags. Amoura also had a pair of skis, since she and her family came up to this lodge once or twice a year she owned her own. Everyone else would be renting theirs.

While the others continued to unload their luggage, Amoura and Bakura went inside the lodge to register. The man behind the counter looked to be in his fifties or sixties, wearing a smart black suit that contrasted against his graying hair. As soon as he saw Amoura come in, shaking snow out of her long green hair, he seemed to brighten up a little. "Ah! Mademoiselle Letazaut! Va-t-elle comment votre famille?"

Amoura grinned as she went over to lean on the counter to talk to the old family friend. "Faisant très bien, merci. Il est bon de vous revoir."

"Et vous aussi. Ils ne sont pas ici?" the manager asked, glancing around in vain for his dear friend Amanda Letazaut.

Amoura giggled and shook her head apologeticly. "Non, je suis ici avec des amis."

Bakura sighed, happy to be in the warmth of the heated lodge. Spying a fireplace over to one side with a nice steady blaze going in it, he went over and turned so it warmed his backside. He was only half-listening to the conversation between Amoura and the manager. Amoura's lessons had been paying off, and he caught about half of what she and the manager had been saying. He perked up quite a bit, however, when he heard his own name.

The manager gestured to Bakura, who was standing by the fireplace looking like he'd died (again) and gone to heaven. "Et celui-ci est-il ici votre amoureux?"

Amoura choked and her face turned bright red. She shook her head, sending her green curls spilling around her shoulders. "Non! Non! Bakura est juste... juste un ami!"

The manager smiled mysteriously, as if he knew something Amoura didn't. "Nous verrons." From there he tackfully moved on into other matters, giving Amoura the key to her family's cabin and leaving Bakura sputtering indignantly by the fireplace. [1]

Amoura was still blushing a little as she and Bakura stepped back outside, and for once Bakura didn't even notice the cold. "What were you two talking about? I heard my name!"

"Ahh... He wanted to know if you were my boyfriend..." Amoura answered truthfully, stopping Bakura in his tracks. After a moment the stunned white haired ex-thief jogged to catch up with her. "And what did you tell him?"

"I said you were just my friend, of course," Amoura said, blushing all the harder. And since she was looking down at her boots, she didn't catch the hurt expression that flickered across his face.

~*~

Ryou took a deep breath as he entered the tomb, savoring the familiar, musty smells. Fleetingly he wished Bakura was there with him, but then he pushed the thought from his mind. Bakura was probably having fun tormenting Yami. Brushing his fingers against the cool metal of the Ring for reassurance, Ryou stepped deeper into the tomb.

Without warning the doors behind him slammed shut with a forboding crash. Ryou jumped and stiffened, straining his senses. He knew someone was in here with him, but he couldn't sense them at all. Either something was blocking his powers or the spirits had the same sort of mental sheilding that Takeo had.

He heard something move behind him and he whirled around, cursing the fact that he couldn't see. A sudden build-up of magical energies that he could sense warned him to dodge before it was too late. Throwing himself to the side, Ryou landed hard on the stone floor and rolled over so that his head was covered by his arms. Not a moment too soon either, as he felt the heat of some attack, possibly a fireball, across his back before it splashed against the wall behind where he would have been standing.

He kept rolling and rolled right back to his feet, standing in a defensive stance for all the good it would do him against unsensed enemies. Over to his left there was a low chuckle. "So tomb raider, it seems you've learned how to dodge in five thousand years."

Ryou jerked slightly, surprised. The pure spite in that man's voice...! He knew Bakura had made some enemies, but this was rediculous! "I'm not -"

"Quiet!" It was a female voice that spoke this time, from right next to Ryou. He squeaked in surprise as she grabbed his upper arm and placed what he assumed was her staff across his neck. "One wrong move and I send 50,000 volts of magical electricity through you, you blasphamus pig."

'My, doesn't this seem familiar...' Ryou thought ironicly. 'Only this time I'm getting attacked by a real live Dark Magician Girl, and not a Dark Magician wannabe.'

Almost as if they had heard his thoughts, Mahaado and Mana, for that's who they were, put aside their magical sheilds, allowing Ryou to get his first good "look" at them. Mahaado seemed to be the more powerful of the two with his pulsing purple aura, but if it came to a fight Ryou thought he could take him down. Mana would be an easy defeat, her pink aura barely stronger then Sailor Moon's. Not that Ryou planned to fight with them.

Now that he could finally sense where the two mages were, Ryou relaxed a little. Mana was standing behind him, holding him in a loose arm lock with her staff, as noted, across his neck. Mahaado was about four feet in front of him with his arms crossed. Ryou shuddered a little at the hate and spite radiating from both of them. What had Bakura done to them, anyway?

Apparently one of the two called up a light from somewhere, because it became obvious that the two mages could see to move around. Mahaado sneered as he stepped forward, uncrossing his arms. He reached out a hand and touched the Ring around Ryou's neck, then he began to growl low in his throat, like an animal. "My Ring! You've destoryed it! What happened to all the power?!" All in one motion he grabbed the Ring and yanked it from around Ryou's neck, causing the chain to cut painfully into Ryou's neck before it finally snapped.

Ryou hissed in pain as the Ring clattered to the floor and healed the cut on his neck without even thinking about it. Mana, however, gasped as she saw the deep cut close over. "M-mahaado?" she asked, her voice trembling just a little.

The Dark Magician had seen it too. For a moment he struggled, not wanting his student to see his shock. Rearing back on his heels for a moment, he back-handed Ryou across the cheek. "When did you learn magic tomb robber?"

Ryou gagged for a moment and then spit out a blob of bloodied phlem. He coughed a little and then spoke. "I'm not who you think I am."

Mana's eyes narrowed. "You expect us to believe that? What should I do Mahaado?"

Mahaado stared at Ryou for another moment, looking into his sightless eyes and getting the queer feeling that somehow this white-haired demon was looking back. Shuddering a little he turned away. "Kill him."

Those were the words both Mana and Ryou had been waiting for. Charging himself with his powers, Ryou had teleported out of Mana's grasp before she even had her spell half cast. Reappearing briefly behind her, he delivered a kick to her side, just enough to knock her down and not enough to really hurt her.

Hearing Mana cry out, Mahaado whirled around, only to come face to face with Ryou, who was glowing slightly. Mahaado sneered and grimmly readied his staff. "So it's a fight you want Bekhura?"

"No," Ryou said quietly, his aura smoldering around him. "It's not a fight I want. I am not my yami. If you'd taken the chance to read my aura you would see that. I don't know what it was Bakura did to you, but fighting me is no way to resolve it, mage. If you take me on I'll win, I can promise you that. I'll defend Bakura's honor to the last."

Mahaado scowled, then grudgingly nodded. "No, you're not the thief king. I do not know why you look and sound so much like him, but if you say you will defend him, then I have no choice but to fight you. My honor, and that of my lover and children are at stake." His eyes narrowed and he charged at Ryou before the telepath could do anything. "Children that your 'Bakura' murdered!!!!"

~*~

The boys managed to fight their way out of the squealing mob, no thanks to Gwen who just sat on the sidelines and laughed until tears swam down her cheeks.

"I. Hate. You." Ishtar said flattly, adjusting the cape that Gwen had made him wear for cosplay. She just stuck her tongue out at him and grabbed Hiro by the hand. "Come on, lighten up! We've got a whole convention to explore before our cosplay is scheduled to begin!" Giggling she led them toward the mall, twirling her purple Witty Phantom fedora around in one hand.

Hiro sourly tapped the staff Gwen had given him against the ground, but followed after his hyper girlfriend. The Ishtars sighed, then trudged slowly after.

Surprisingly, they had a good time. With Gwen translating for them, Malik and Ishtar entered and won a few duels, and Hiro entered and got his butt kicked in a few duels. They went shopping and bought a few new cards each, including a new special edition female Witty Phantom that Gwen paid way too much for but just had to have. They ate, signed a few autographs from young Americans that recognised Malik or Ishtar or both from when Battle City had been televised.

But all too soon it was time for the cosplay.

"Gwen, do not make me do this, because if you do I will ram the Millenium Rod so far down your throat it will come out the other end!" Ishtar hissed as Gwen dragged her three unwilling cohorts backstage.

Gwen just laughed. "I doubt it." she said brightly. "Now come on, I wanna go on stage!"

Since three known celebrities were in this particular sketch, a rather large crowd had gathered where they could see. After conjoling, pleading, and the threat of blackmail Malik and Ishtar stepped up on opposite sides of the stage amidst applause and wild cheers, and not a few bursts of laughter.

Malik was dressed in tight black jeans and a blue trench coat, and his hair was slicked down as far as it would go. He wore a Duel Disk on one arm, but it wasn't turned on. Obviously he was dressed as the former CEO of Kaiba Corp and dearly departed Duel Monsters world champion, Seto Kaiba himself. (And it might be noted that it was a good thing Kaiba wasn't watching, because he would have died (again) of humiliation.)

On the other side of the stage stood Ishtar, his spiked hair dyed a distinctive and easily recognizable black and purple. He was dressed in black leather and a blue cape, with a mock Millenium Puzzle around his neck. He too was wearing a Duel Disk, and his annoyed frown was quite Yami-Yugi-like.

The crowds eventually quieted down enough for the sketch to start, and Malik and Ishtar acted as if they were Yami and Seto, dueling each other once again. "~I call Witty Phantom!~" Malik yelled the English phrase that Gwen had hurridly taught him that morning while trying to get him into his costume.

Grinning widely Gwen bounced up on stage in her costume amidst wild cheers from the male half of the crowd and several flashbulbs going off. Gwen paused to pose for a minute, then assumed battle stance against Ishtar.

"~Ha!~" Ishtar said, trying to play Yami while remembering the scattered English he knew. "~That all you got? Dark Magician!~"

Now the female part of the crowd was cheering as a sullen Hiro stepped onto Ishtar's half of the stage, decked out in a very realistic looking Dark Magician outfit, staff and all. Mahaado probably would have had a hernia if he saw it, but then again Mahaado wasn't here. Twirling his staff around in a rather clumsy way, Hiro yelled "~Dark Magic Attack!~"

Gwen made gagging noices and keeled over, trying not to giggle as she did.

"~No!~" Malik yelled in disbelief as Ishtar smirked at him. "~Not possible I loose again!~"

"~No one beat Game King.~" Ishtar said smugly, turning to smile cutely at the audience. There were more female screams and more flashbulbs, and a moment later someone who looked like a reporter was standing next to him and jabbering in English. Ishtar blinked, as did Hiro and Malik. "Uhhh..."

Gwen climbed back to her feet and began talking quickly. For a moment she and the convention official conversed, and then they shook hands. Gwen turned back to the boys with a wide smile on her face as they stepped off stage. "That was one of the convention organizers. Since we're big celebrities and all, he wanted to know if we'll give a tag-team promotional duel this afternoon on the main stage, two-against-two. He has Duel Disks for us, and I assume you all brought your decks?"

Ishtar and Malik brightened up somewhat and nodded, but Hiro looked worried. "Gwen, you know I'm a sucky duelist. Whoever gets paired with me is sure to lose!"

Gwen's grin widened. "I already thought of that Hiro-kun. You don't have to duel if you don't want to. I have someone in mind that I think will be happy to duel with us. She's an old friend, and I'm sure she's here. You guys do your own thing and I'll go find her. Meet me at the grand stand at 1 o'clock, the duel is scheduled to start at 1:30."

And with that she ran off, a secretive smile on her face, while the boys just looked after her with weirded-out expressions on their faces.

~*~

Mai frowned as she watched Joey from afar. What was that dofus doing now? He was dressed quite unlike he usually did, in shredded jeans and leather. What was he trying to pull? Following him at a distance, Mai was shocked to discover he was headed into the seedy part of Kyoto.

What in the world?

Creeping closer, she listened to him talk to a group of teenagers leaning up against the wall of a broken down old warehouse. "...any idea where I can find him?"

"Sure," one of the kids said, pulling out a lighter to light a cigerette. "The Black Tigers always hang by the old skate park down on 60th street. Dunno why you'd need to talk to them, but that's where they'll be."

"Thanks." Joey nodded and then headed off down the street, but Mai didn't notice. That idiot! The leader of the Black Tigers was the one that had killed Kale! Oh stupid stupid lovable-but-stupid Joey was trying to get revenge for her!

If she hadn't been crying so hard Mai would have laughed.

~*~

"Must I?" Yami whined as Tea dragged him out the door. Both were dressed in the warmest clothes they had brought, plus heavy ski jackets Amoura had graciously bought for them, since none of them had packed to go skiing, for the obvious reason that it was the middle of July. Tea was wearing a stylish light blue jacket, and Yami was in all black.

Tea laughed and again tugged on his arm. "Yes, you must. Come on, you can't go to a ski resort and not ski! Besides, Amoura signed us all up for lessons with professional instructors." Yami continued to grumble, but allowed himself to be led.

The Letazaut cabin was up a small hill from the main lodge, surrounded by a ring of all, old pine trees. Upon first seeing it, Yami had snidely remarked that maybe Madame planted a few of them in her youth. The cabin was built of sturdy logs, and inside had three large rooms. Two of them were bedrooms, and the thrid, the largest, was a common room that functioned as kitchen, diningroom, and livingroom. Tea and Amoura bunked down in one bedroom, Yugi and Yami in the other, and Bakura volenteered to take the couch, which folded down into a bed. A large fireplace occupied almost all of one wall, and a large wood pile was built up out back.

Yami and Tea were the last ones to leave the cabin, and they made their way down the hill and across a small field to where the others were waiting by the ski lift. Bakura, decked out in red and black, didn't look nearly so pessimistic as he had earlier, and had two pairs of skiis, one over each shoulder. As Tea approached he held out one pair for her to take. Amoura, dressed in purple and light blue, was holding her own skiis, decorated with small stars and styalized flowers. And lo and behold, in his gold and gray clad arms Yugi held not skiis, but two snowboards.

Yami halted in shock when Yugi made to hand one to him. "You expect me to ride that thing?!"

"It is eazier zen skiis." Amoura said, shrugging. "And ve zought you might like zee board."

Yami noticed for the first time that the snowboard he was holding was pattered with the Eye of Horus, and that Yugi's had little golden triangles that greatly resembled a certain inverted pyramid. "Where'd this come from?!"

Amoura shrugged and sweatdropped slightly. "Zey vere in zee rental shop..."

"Hey," Bakura frowned and looked around, absently tightening his scarf against the cold. "Where are those instructors you said would be meeting us Amoura?"

The French girl shrugged. "I don't know. Zey zaid - "

She was interrupted by voices coming over the hill from the direction of the lodge. "Kitty-chan, it's cold! What possessed you to get us jobs up here?"

"Suck it up 'Kura." another voice muttered. "And look perky. We're supposed to be professional ski instructors."

"It's too cold to be perky..." the first voice answered sulkily.

The five by the ski lift blinked. Not only were the voices speaking Japanese, but they didn't even have Switz or French accents. If anything, they sounded quite American.

Two women crested the hill, one of them with a pair of skiis and the other with a snowboard under her arm. They both looked to be about nineteen or twenty, but that was where their similarities ended.

Ski-girl had long blond hair pulled back into a low ponytail and tied with a black ribbon, and mischeivious grey eyes. She was dressed in black ski pants, silver boots and a metallic silver coat, with a black scarf and black knit cap. Her gloves were black with grey streaks running through them. Her skiis were polished to a high shine, and were either made of alluminum or had been painted silver. She looked slightly annoyed, and kept sending glares in her partner's direction.

Said partner, snowboard-gal, had blood red hair in a long braid down the back of her dark green coat, and white pants that led down to black boots. A pair of dark green ear muffs and green gloves completed the outfit, and her violet eyes sparkled as she snickered at her partner. A small patch was sewn onto her coat, but no one could really tell what it was. It just looked like a sort of blue blob. A small Sonic the Hedgehog doll was hanging from her belt however, and that gave a clue as to the origin of the patch.

"I'm Kitty," the red-head said, holding out her hand to Amoura. "I'll be the snowboard instructor." She glanced under her lashes at Yugi and Yami, and for some reason that glance, coupled with the little smile on her face (which reminded him rather of Bakura) made Yami feel just a bit uneasy. It was the sort of look that said "I can make your life hell and you bet I will!"

Yugi had no such misgivings, and smiled pleasently. "Nice to meet you."

Kitty nodded and smiled back, then nudged her blond partner in the side. Grudgingly she held out her hand to Amoura as well. "My name's Sakura, I'm the ski instructor, and snow is evil."

"Amen," Bakura and Yami muttered under their breath, causing those nearest them to sweatdrop.

"If you hate snow, why are you a ski instructor?" Tea wanted to know.

Sakura rolled her eyes and poked Kitty in the side with the end of one of her skiis. "Her. Leave it to MorTae-san to drag me up into the mountains so she can drool over Yami and Bakura..." Seeing that her cast of characters was becoming rather mystified, Sakura (or SJ, depending on which dimension she was in at the time) coughed. "Never mind."

Kitty snorted and poked Sakura back. "Come on," she said, leading the way toward the ski lift before Sakura could start an all out poking war. "We're going to take the ski lift to the top of the mountain, and from there the lessons will begin. There are two rest houses, one at the top of the course and one at the bottom, so if you need to go in and get warm feel free to do so, just make sure you let 'Kura or I know first."

"Now then," Sakura said, waving to the man who was running the lift as they all hopped up onto the platform. "I assume Amoura-chan knows how to ride a ski lift?"

Amoura nodded, but looked puzzled. "How do you two know all ov our namez?" she asked reasonably.

Sakura and Kitty exchanged glances and sweatdropped. "Eh... Never mind," Kitty said, as Sakura muttered something about obsession and bishonen. "We've got an odd number of people, so Sakura's going to ride up alone to demonstrate how to get on and off the lift ahead of us."

"Oh no I won't..." Sakura mumbled under her breath. Kitty sweatdropped again as she saw her friend eyeing the handsome man that was just about to board the lift alone. Bouncing over, Sakura turned on the charm. "Hiya! Need some company?"

"Like, totally!" he said, looking her up and down. "Black is so in. I love that ribbon in your hair."

Yugi twitched a little from behind Yami. "Why am I sensing deja vu?" he murmered to himself.

Sakura and her new friend lined up with the ski lift, and as the seat came up from behind them they hopped on, chattering the whole time. "No way!" Kitty heard Sakura squeal just before she was out of hearing. "I love Phantom of the Opera!"

"Oi, fangirls..." Kitty sighed, shaking her head. "Okay, who thinks they've got it?"

"It looks simple enough." Bakura scoffed, his tomb robber arrogance showing through.

Amoura giggled and grabbed him by the hand, pulling him toward where another chair was coming around to be loaded. "Come on zen."

"Woah, wait, hold on a minute Amoura! Ack!"

Yugi laughed and took Tea's hand. "He's right, it does look easy. Shall we?"

Kitty shrugged and smiled that same uncomfortable smile at Yami. "Shall we?"

Yami shuddered slightly. 'Oh gods, what have I gotten myself into now...?'

~*~

Mako suddenly sat bolt upright in his place behind the Game Shop counter. It was storming out, and so he was pretty much stranded in the shop. But he did know a few "friends" just foolhardy enough to venture out into that rainy mess.

Grinning slightly the fisherman grabbed the phone. They may not be the best company, but he could bet they knew how to party!

~*~

Mahaado's last statement acted almost as a shock to Ryou's system. He froze, his mouth open and his blind eyes wide, until Mahaado slammed full-force into his chest. They both went down, and instantly there was this tangle of white hair and purple robe and purple and silver flashes of light. Mana, who had recovered her breath and her staff, could only watch in a sort of morbid facination as the fight went on.

They were rolling around on the ground like cats and dogs, shreiking and snarling in a sort of half-aware primal rage. Somewhere along Mahaado had lost both his staff and his hat, and his short hair stuck up from his head in a shock of wild violet spikes. Ryou's hair had come out of his ponytail and wound around him like snakes, striking at Mahaado's face and hands like whitewashed whips. Anything could be a weapon.

Both were thouroughly immerced in white-hot rage, they'd ceased even to think beyond the imagined indignaties the other had done. Ryou was thinking only of what an insult this mage had paid Bakura. Sure, Bakura had murdered, but he would have never been heartless enough to hurt a child.

Mahaado could only remember how he'd awoken late one night to a soft glow by the window, and rolling over to see that... that monster of a thief with his Ring, and of the fight afterward. The misfired spell and Mana's scream... Shivering to rid himself of the memories, Mahaado managed to get a hand in Ryou's hair and yank.

With a short scream of rage Ryou twisted around, his blind eyes afire with white light. Sencing something of flesh close, he did the only thing he could and bit down hard. Mage-blood spilled into his mouth, and the telepath cried out as the concentrated magic scalded his tongue. He swallowed on impulse, and then gagged as the hot blood burned all the way down. He made an awful face and tried to pull away as Mahaado screamed, half from rage and half from pain, reaching a hand to clamp over the deep wound in his neck, a look of faint horror on his face.

In a burst of purple and grey-gold they flew apart, slamming into opposite walls and staggering to stay on their feet. Each was panting, and neither was unmarked. Scratches covered Ryou's face and arms, and a deep bruise could be seen peeking out from under his shirt where Mahaado's booted foot had caught him.

"Stop it!" Mana yelled from her place on the sides where she clutched both her staff and Mahaado's. "Just stop!" Tears were running down her cheeks as she whirled to face Ryou. "Haven't you done enough?!"

To the surprise of both mages, Ryou was swaying on his feet, a dazed look in his eyes. "You bleed..." he murmered, almost to himself. "Mage-blood is strong... Too strong... It's burning me..." As the two startled magicians looked on, a single tear slid down his cheek, dark, deep red like a tear of blood, and fell to the stone floor, where it hissed like acid. Almost as if that were a cue, Ryou collapsed onto the stone floor amidst the startled, but not quite concerned, cries of Mahaado and Mana.

~*~

[1] - Amoura's conversation went something like this:

Manager: Ah! Miss Letazaut! How is your family?
Amoura: Doing very well, thank you. It is good to see you again.
Manager: And you too. They are not here?
Amoura: No, I am here with friends.
Manager: And is this one here your sweetheart?
Amoura: No! No! Bakura is just... just a friend!
Manager: We'll see.

The grammar may be a little off because I got it from an online translator. I am learning to speak French, but I'm not nearly this good yet. The only one I probably could have come up with on my own is Amoura's frantic denial of "Il est juste un ami!" ^~ Ha, je pareirai.

()()()()()

WSJ: *blinku blinku* Why do my chapters always seem to end with Ryou collapsing for one reason or another? 0o;

^^ And the winner of the Ishtar middle name contest is Sesca3! I'm not going to say which of her suggestions won yet, but she definately takes the prize. Ses, e-mail me in the next few days so I can get some info on you, okay? ^^

Chapter 9: WSJ: (V/O) Snow is bad for you...

Sakura: *blinku* Well that's new...

Kitty: *snicker* I believe all things are possible... except skiing through a revolving door.

WSJ: (V/O) And so are wild parties.

Mako: *hic*

WSJ: (V/O) And evil ghosts.

Gozenboru: *knocks Seto backward down the stairs as Mokubs screams*

WSJ: *sweatdrop* (V/O) American convention goers just might get the best duel they've ever seen,

Gwen: Harpie Lady's Brother!

Malik: Vorse Raider!

Ishtar: *smirking* The Winged Dragon of Ra.

WSJ: (V/O) But Serenity gets a scare.

Serenity: *reading an e-mail* *gasp* Ryou's dying?!

WSJ: ^^ (V/O) All this and more, next time!

God bless minna-san!