Chapter 4 - A Familiar Face

            The breakseemed to pass quickly as I was actually enjoyed the time off.  Kaiba seemed to pop up every now and then,but never causing any havoc, just to be his ornery self.  Everyone was choosing their classes andcomplaining if they couldn’t get any good ones.  Bakura was the only one who seemed to have gotten what he wantedbecause he would be starting graduate school. It seemed that today’s choice of entertainment would be videogames.  Everyone hooked up their controllersand battled each other in Halo all night long; so long that they all slept aslate as Molly the next morning.
            “Oh man, myeyes are burning,” Joey said.  “I can’teven remember who won.”
            “Who stayedup the longest?” Tea said.
            “Hold on asec,” Tristin said rubbing his eyes. “You’ve all got ‘loser’ written on yourforehead.”
            “Don’t betalking Tristin, you’ve got one too,” Joey stated.
            “Wait aminute,” Bakura said.  “Where’s Molly?”  Bakura turned around to see the bedroom doorclosed and locked.”  I think I get itnow.  Molly won and put herself out ofharm’s way by locking herself in the room.”
            “How’d youdo it?” Joey asked.
            “Bysleeping so late everyday,” Bakura explained. “She built up enough energy to stay up later than the rest of us.”
            “Tricky,tricky,” Tristin said.
            I must say Iadmire Molly’s strategy; pure genius without her opponents even aware.  And ensuring her safety in a locked room isjust a finished touch.  It took a whilefor everyone to get ‘loser’ off of their heads, but luckily Molly only used a Crayola,washable marker.  Tea wanted to head outfor a club that evening, so everyone dressed for clubbing and headed out.
            I had beento the place they chose before with Tea. It was somewhat of an arcade as well as a hang out for teens.  Tea was challenging people left and right atDance Dance Revolution until she needed a break form dancing so long.  There were a few duelists sitting around atthe tables challenging one another.  Iwas still enjoying my time off from Duel Monsters, but listening to them, I ratedtheir strategies, able to figure out who would win and who would lose.  Yugi had asked if I would like to duel,probably distracted by my narration, but I chose to pass on the opportunity.
            After along night, everyone was worn out and decided to head home.  It was the dead of night and everyonewobbled from fatigue as if in a daze. Yugi kindly asked if I would take over for the walk home just because I wasn’tin the same state of mind.  So seeing noharm in it, we switched places.  Once I couldsee the extremely dazed expressions on everyone’s face, I thought it best tokeep a close eye on all of them.  Mihohad already fallen asleep and hitched a ride on Tristin’s back.
            “Oh man, I’mpooped,” Tea said.
            “Me too,”Bakura said.  “But I’m not about to askmy Yami to see me home in one piece.”
            “Good thinking,”Molly said.  It didn’t sound likesomething she would normally say, but fatigue can do things to the mind.  It may have been my imagination, but thesound of footsteps was coming from behind me. Taking a head count I realized no one could be behind me from our group,so I turned my head to look, but no one was there.  But the sound returned again, so I used the Millennium Puzzle asa mirror to glace behind.  Sure enoughthe shadowy figure of a person was there. I spun around and ran at lightening speed to catch the stalker offguard.
            “Atemu? Who’sback there?” Joey asked watching me attack.
            “Ahh! Don’thurt me,” a familiar voice said.
            “Marik?” Iasked in shock.  Dragging him outtowards a streetlight, Marik’s cowering face came into view as I finallyrealized who had been following us.
            “Marik?!”Joey asked.  “I though you said you wereon our side now!”  What’s the big dealsneaking up on us?”
            “I reallywasn’t trying to scare you,” Marik explained. “I need help.”
            “Sneakingaround in the shadows, following us, I’d say you do.” Tea said.
            “No, it’snot like that,” Marik said.  “Ishizu’sbeen kidnapped! The guy had a gun and I didn’t know what to do.  Then I saw you guys passing by and I ran forhelp.  I’m afraid he’ll hurt her.”
            “No Yami,please don’t!” Bakura started to beg. But it was too late.  Yami Bakuraappeared and had taken over Bakura.
            “Let’s gokick some butt Atemu,” Yami Bakura said.
            “Since whenare we some kind of team?” I asked, confused.
            “Noquestions, we’ve got work to do,” he continued.
            “This way,”Marik said as all of us began to follow. Everyone’s sleepiness had worn away as we headed off to face troubletogether.
           
           

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