Chapter 12: - SHIELD and SWORD
The next morning Joey was woken up by Yugi's mother, who shooed Aiko out of the room and poked Joey, who sat up and blinked at her blearily as she moved over to wake her son, when he didn't respond to being poked, she shook him lightly.
"Mum?" Yugi asked, half opening his eyes, confusion reigning as she moved back and let him sit up slowly. "Morning." He said as he took in the fact he was in his bedroom.
"Are you alright?" Kaiya asked, concerned for her son, who seemed a little dazed.
"Just tired." Yugi said, blinking at the alarm clock, which said 5:30, and wondering why his mother had woken them before Aiko could.
"What happened last night?" His mother asked as she pulled out a set of clean school clothes and passed them to her son, who was pulling himself out of bed slowly and had put the Millennium Puzzle on already.
Yugi's eyes darted to Joey, who had pulled himself out bed and had been picking up his clothes. "There was a Clow Card," Joey caught the look and interjected, "It was called The ARROW. It was an offensive card, so we had to catch it as quickly as possible, before someone got hurt, otherwise we would have told you where we were going."
Kaiya frowned and looked at her son, "You're not injured are you?" She asked, concerned that that might be the reason.
"No," Yugi shook his head, noting that Yami was fast asleep still, "ARROW didn't touch me." He paused at the look from his mother, "Honest. I just used up a lot of magic last night, more then I usually do, so I'm still tired."
Kaiya sighed, "You're sure you're alright?"
"I'm ok." Yugi nodded, "I'm just…" The last word was interrupted by a yawn, but his mother got the idea.
"And the Clow Card?"
"Sakura sealed it." Joey shrugged, being deliberately vague. Kaiya frowned slightly but didn't say anything and Yugi was too tired to catch it.
"Have a quick wash, then I need to take the pair of you to school early." Kaiya urged the pair of them towards the bathroom.
"The pair of us?" Joey asked with a frown. "But I don't go to..."
"School is compulsory," Kaiya chuckled at the blonde's complaint, "If you're staying here, you have to go to school. I could get into a lot of trouble otherwise. At least you'll be in the same school as Yugi, right?"
"I suppose." Joey sulked.
"I'll be back in a minute." Kaiya told them, "I want you washed and dressed by the time I get back, okay?"
"Yes Mutou-San." Joey nodded.
"Yes Mum." Yugi nodded, waiting until the bathroom door was shut before turning to Joey, "How did I get back to the house?" He whispered, "Last thing I remember was passing out on the school roof."
"Yami got you home." Joey filled in, "But I need to fill you in on something that happened last night."
"ARROW." Yugi nodded, "Is that why Yami's so tired?"
"Dunno. Yami didn't really do much." Joey shrugged, "We fought ARROW before we got to the school. Sakura sealed ARROW but it was another mage who defeated it. He took the card."
"Another mage?" Yugi yelped, then looked at the door, quickly washed and got dressed, then turned back to Joey and whispered, "Are you alright? He didn't hurt you did he?"
Joey snorted, "We're fine. He nearly took a chunk out of Yami though. " Joey washed his own face and pulled his t-shirt on.
"Why?" Yugi's hand went to his Puzzle as Joey got dressed.
Joey didn't get to answer his question or ask any more of his own as Yugi's mum knocked on the door. "You ready boys?"
"Tell me more later?" Yugi whispered to Joey.
"As long as you tell me what happened with the games." The blonde nodded.
"Deal." Yugi nodded and then opened the door. "Ready."
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Joey wasn't the only new student starting at Tomoeda Elementary that morning.
Li Syaoran had joined their class as well and had spent the greater majority of the morning glowering at Yugi and Sakura.
Not that Yugi seemed to be aware of Li's dislike, the eleven year old was having trouble staying awake, yet alone paying attention to Terada-Sensei or noticing anything else.
"Yugi?" Sakura asked, after they'd finished their lunches and checked no one was around to hear her, letting Kero out of her bag as she did so, "What happened last night?"
Yugi, who'd put the Puzzle on the moment they'd settled under the cherry blossom tree, and poked Yami, who protested for a moment then Yugi had a feeling, like Yami was stretching and paying attention to what was going on around him, before answering, "I played Shadi's games. That's about all I remember."
"What do you mean?" Sakura looked confused, a lot more had happened last night...
"Yami couldn't play the games; Yugi had to do it on his own." Joey explained, remembering what Yami had said last night, "Yugi wasn't awake for the thing with Li."
"The new guy?" Yugi looked confused. "What about him?"
"He's a descendant of the mage who made the Clow Cards." Sakura told him. "He can call the elements. We ran into him when we fought ARROW last night. I sealed it but it went to Li, because he defeated it."
"He gave it back though, right?" Yugi asked, biting his lower lip.
Sakura shook her head. "He claims that the Clow Cards are his right. He wants them."
"Why?" Yugi paused, frowning slightly, "What could be so important?"
"Yuge..." Joey sighed, trying to ignore the look he was getting for shortening Yugi's name, "His family were attacked."
Yugi blanched slightly, "By who?"
"By a Shadow Mage." Joey continued, noting the way the boy started. Obviously Yami hadn't told him when Yugi had been wearing the Puzzle between getting to school early, getting Joey's uniform and class starting.
"Oh." Yugi blanched further, "Are they alright?"
The silence told Yugi volumes and hung heavily in the air.
"Was it Shadi?" Yugi asked quietly.
"The guy had a 'Millennium Eye'. It reads minds." Joey shook his head as Yami sent a negative over the link. "He used it to put them in comas."
Silence again.
Yugi didn't really know what to say. There wasn't really much he could say. He didn't know enough about his type of magic to suggest anything that might help and Yami wasn't much better.
"You did win, right?" Kero asked, breaking the silence, "Last night, I mean."
"Yeah. Both games." Yugi nodded, thinking about how he'd won the second game. "At least I think so, I passed out when the Dark Magician left, but I'd completed Shadi's task so..."
"Dark Magician?" Tomoyo asked, which of course left Yugi to explain about the Duel Monster.
Sakura started off paying attention but got distracted when she noticed Li was hanging around, watching them. She clutched her bag tighter, thinking of the captured Clow Cards within.
"Ignore him." Sakura started slightly at Yami's tone, turning to look at Yugi only to find the Pharaoh had borrowed control for a moment. "He's probably trying to psyche you out."
"Yami, hi." Sakura nodded respectfully, "Are you alright? You were exhausted last night..."
"I'm ok. I used a lot of my magic trying to break through the barrier Shadi put between Yugi and I." Yami shrugged, "Thank you for protecting me last night."
"You're welcome." Sakura smiled, blushing slightly, having not heard a 'thank you' from the Pharaoh before. She'd gotten one from Yugi on multiple occasions, but never from Yami.
The lunch bell cut off any further conversation.
Yami relinquished control to Yugi as his friends headed inside, and the hikari took the Puzzle off and shoved it back in his backpack.
Or would have done had Li not darted forwards and seized it from him, causing Yugi to scramble to his feet, glaring at the boy as he tried to snatch it back. "Give that back!"
"Why should I?" Li demanded. "Why should I let you corrupt the cards any further?"
"Corrupt the... I don't know what you're talking about!" Yugi protested, "I haven't done anything to the Clow Cards!"
Before Li could respond, someone had climbed the fence, snatched the Puzzle from Li's hand and gotten between the two boys.
"It's not nice to take something that doesn't belong to you." Toya scowled, having vaulted the fence when he'd seen the kid take the Puzzle, and handed the Item back to Yugi, who put it on quickly, switching with a rather miffed Yami.
"Get out of my way." Li snapped back angrily.
"Now now," Yukito joined his best friend on the Elementary school grounds, interrupting what was sure to be an interesting argument, "There's no need to fight..."
For some obscure reason, Li went bright red, stammered something and darted off.
"You alright, Mutou?" Toya asked, glancing at the Puzzle and noting the way Yugi cradled it protectively.
"I'm ok." Yami nodded, forcing his temper down and letting Yugi take over so he could calm down.
"Thanks, Kinomoto-San." Yugi bowed, trying to calm his own nerves, feeling rather foolish for letting the Puzzle slip out of his hands.
Toya just waved him off and Yugi darted inside, hoping he wasn't too late to class.
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"You were lucky." Joey complimented Yugi as the five of them headed for the little toy shop that sold the latest fads, "Back home they would have given us detention if we were even two minutes late, yet alone five."
Yugi, who was still tired from yesterday and had a headache because Yami was trying to keep himself awake due to Li's earlier actions, in case of a repeat, just shrugged, wanting nothing more than to go home, "I suppose they let Li and me off, because he's new and I looked nervous."
Nervous wasn't the word Joey would have used, and, after hearing what Li had done at lunch time was keeping an eye out for the Chinese mage.
"We won't be long." Tea promised, having not missed the fact Yugi had been falling asleep all day. "But I know you wanted to get some..." She trailed off as they reached the shop and spotted the cute little brooches in the window.
Two of their classmates, Rika and Chiharu, where already there. They were giggling and squeeing over the badges they had purchased, a cheerleader's baton and a tiny sword, which they showed to the girls, who immediately wanted their own.
Joey rolled his eyes and Yugi chuckled as he purchased five booster packs with his saved up pocket money and passed two to Joey. They opened them carefully, looking through the cards as the girls decided.
The three girls finally picked one each; Tea taking a ballet shoe shaped badge, Tomoyo taking a brooch shaped like a cat and Sakura taking a badge that was shaped like the wing insignia that adorned a lot of her costumes and clothes.
The boys walked slightly ahead of the group of girls, comparing cards, half tempted to go on ahead as the girls giggled about something or other that they had no interest in, and though they turned to bid farewell to Chiharu, they had no idea that something was happening until Sakura yelped.
Yami took control and blocked the sword which had, somehow, appeared in Rika's hand, with a Legendary Sword he'd called from a card that Yugi had picked up earlier, using up energy he could ill afford to use.
Luckily for him, Sakura called her staff and interposed herself in the fighting just in time to protect him from a blow that had gone under his guard and had been arcing towards his unprotected midriff.
Joey pulled Yami aside as Rika, possessed by The SWORD if Kero was right, fought viciously, sending Sakura backwards. Tired or not, the Pharaoh would have stepped forward again to help her, except that Joey had already taken the sword from his hands and done just that.
As good a fighter as he was, Joey wasn't a swordsman and was losing badly until he got a lucky shot in that knocked the girl down, giving Sakura a shot at disarming her.
Sakura did so and sealed The SWORD away.
Joey yelped in surprise as the Legendary Sword he'd been holding disappeared almost instantly and Yugi sat down heavily.
"You ok, Yuge?" The blonde asked before cringing slightly, remembering he was talking to the Pharaoh from the Puzzle, not the boy whose room he shared.
"I'm ok." Yami attempted to wave his concern off, concerned that he hadn't had enough energy to keep the Legendary Sword 'in play' and had had to use Yugi's to keep Joey armed, meaning the light had fallen asleep and Yami didn't have enough energy to switch and let one of them stay awake.
Simply put between last night and today's events, they had nothing left.
"If you're too tired to come over..." Tomoyo bit her lower lip, as Joey gave Yami a hand to his feet, wondering how much she should push it. It was only a small problem, in fact if she hadn't been convinced that a Clow Card was to blame, she wouldn't have even asked Sakura to help her deal with it, she was, after all, perfectly capable of dealing with non magical problems herself.
"Sorry. Last night took a lot out of us." Yami apologised, feeling more than a bit useless and considerably guilty.
"And Li didn't help." Sakura nodded, understanding.
"No. He didn't." Yami's tone made Tea wince and Joey chuckle.
"Someone's grouchy." Joey grinned, amused by Yami's mood. "I think someone missed their afternoon nap." He teased, deciding he could get away with it because Yami was too tired to do anything to him and he was sure that Yugi wouldn't let the King get revenge later.
The Pharaoh objected to being treated like a five year old, especially by someone over five thousand years his junior, but since he couldn't deny that sleep was needed and soon, he let Joey get away with it this once. "I apologise, Tomoyo." The Pharaoh half-bowed, making the video wiz blush, "But I don't think I would be much use to you as I am."
"You sure you're alright?" Tea asked, not oblivious to the fact that Yami had yet to switch back.
"I'm fine." Yami promised as they headed back to Yugi's place, but didn't say much else, prompting Tomoyo to start up a conversation with Sakura in order to fill the silence. It wasn't they disliked Yami and they had, in fact, over the last couple of weeks, almost gotten used to the fact that Yugi was possessed. With everything else that was going on in their lives, it was just one more weird thing to add to the ever expanding list of weirdness, however it was true that they weren't sure how to treat the former Pharaoh.
Tea did have one question she just had to ask him though, which she did just a couple of houses down from Yugi's. "Do you mind when we call you Yugi?"
Yami paused before answering, having never really considered it. He'd answered to Yugi easily before CHANGE had separated him and his hikari for a short period of time and, though the separation had finally allowed them to talk face to face, there were times when they did act and think as one. On that note Yami had his answer, "No, Tea, I don't mind." The Pharaoh said as they reached his front gate, "This is his body after all, and a lot of the time, when we act nowadays, we're working as one anyway…"
Except last night but that had been Shadi's fault.
"So you're ok if we treat you and Yugi the same way?" Joey asked, having wondered much the same thing himself, especially considering that he was going to be living with Yugi for the foreseeable future, until Mutou Kaiya found his mother at least. "I mean, I'm not going to forget you're you, but I don't need to treat you like an Emperor or something, right?"
Yami smiled slightly, though his emotions were sliding all over the place behind the mask he showed to Yugi's friends, "No Joey, it is fine if you treat me the same way you treat Yugi. All of you are good friends to him."
Just as he hoped to become to them, but he left that unspoken. He was, after all, five thousand years, or more, older than the children and he didn't expect them to treat him like a friend, when he was, in fact, dead. Just Yugi's acceptance of and trust in him was enough for the former Pharaoh.
"Now if you don't mind." Yami pulled Yugi's house keys out of his pocket.
"We'll see you tomorrow." Tea nodded, the others following her lead, other than Joey.
"Later, Yams." He nodded to the Pharaoh, half wishing he could stay at Yugi's house as he didn't know the girls very well. He had promised to go however and, unlike Yami, didn't have a good excuse to duck out.
Yami gave Joey a confused look, which gave way to an amused smile, "Later Joey, good day girls." With that the Pharaoh ducked inside.
"Yams?" Tomoyo chuckled, amused as they headed for her house.
"What? He needs a nickname if he's gonna be treated the same as Yuge." Joey shrugged, confused as to why Tomoyo found it so funny.
"Do you know what a yam is?" The girl asked, still smiling broadly.
"A Pharaoh from ancient Egypt?" Joey replied, confused.
"No, Joey. Well yes now, but a yam is a type of vegetable, a bit like a sweet potato."
"Oh." The look on Joey's face was enough to set the other two girls off as the boy wondered if he could get Yugi to avoid telling his dark what a yam was, since Yami, apparently, had no clue.
It took Sakura and Tea a few moments to calm down, but once they had, Sakura turned to Tomoyo. "So what was it you were saying before class about a Clow Card?" She asked, having meant to ask at lunch time but having been distracted by Li.
"I think there's one in my house." Tomoyo nodded, having wondered when someone would bring it up, since everyone had been rather distracted all day, "My mum has a box that holds her most precious items in, and there's something in there she wanted to show you," She looked at Sakura, who blushed, "The thing is we have the key but every time we try and open the box the key slides right off the lock."
"Slides off?" Joey frowned, "You sure you've got the right key?"
"It's the right key, it's just there's something shimmery protecting the lock. I'm just glad Mum hasn't noticed it."
"Something shimmery?" Tea asked, wondering what it could be. There was a muffled sound from Sakura's backpack that sounded suspiciously like Kero, but they couldn't hear what he said properly.
"I think the peanut gallery has something to say." Joey commented with a small grin as Sakura glanced around, took off her backpack and opened it enough for Kero to stick his head out.
"Peanut gallery?" Kero glared at the blonde, who just chuckled at him. "No respect." The Guardian of the Clow Cards complained.
"Sorry, Kero." Tea apologised for Joey, giving the blonde a dirty look and getting a grin in return, "What was it you were trying to say?"
"What Tomoyo is describing sounds the SHEILD card. It was designed to protect important or magical objects." Kero explained, keeping a sharp lookout for anyone else on the streets, glad that they'd finally reached the quiet roads around Tomoyo's, rather large, house. "It's a defensive card, so you shouldn't have any trouble with it, especially now you have SWORD."
"What were you doing during that fight?" Tomoyo asked, suddenly aware that Kero hadn't been out of Sakura's bag since lunch.
"I would have suggested something but I was a bit busy being squashed by school books and lunch boxes." The teddy bear replied grouchily, "Not that…" He stopped and ducked into the bag as someone walked out of a shop behind them.
"Of course the real question," Joey startled the girls by saying, talking as if he was continuing a conversation they'd been having before hand, "Is why they like you so much." He said, looking at Tomoyo.
"Oh, it's not just me." Tomoyo chuckled, as they reached the "Hana liked Tea and…" The man who'd been behind them went into a house, "BUBBLE liked everyone. The only one that the Clow Cards tend to avoid is Yugi."
"Hana?" Joey asked, amused.
"FLOWER showed up at my dance recital." Tea informed him, having been rather irritated at the time. "And flooded the stage with roses. Pink ones."
"How big was the stage?" Joey asked as they headed inside.
"Think of Yugi's room. Then double it in length." Tomoyo advised as she guided them to her room and got the box, putting it on the table as the others closed the door behind them and sat down.
"That's a lot of roses." Joey's tone was one of awe at the thought.
"And we had to move all of them by hand." Sakura nodded as Kero clambered out of her backpack and examined the box. "We had a lot of help though from Toya and the other stage hands."
"Does your brother work everywhere?" Joey asked, catching Kero when the bear attempted to slap the box and the recoil sent him flying off the table. The blonde had heard that Toya worked in the Aquarium, at the library, in a toy shop and now, apparently, he worked back stage at the dance school where Tea studied.
"He just does part time work wherever he can get it." Sakura shrugged, turning her attention to the shield that had formed around the box and slipping the ribbon attached to the Key of Clow over her head. "SWORD, you said?" She asked Kero, who nodded.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Tea asked as Sakura called her staff, thinking of the battle earlier, "I mean SWORD possessed Rika…"
"It belongs to Sakura now." Kero's tone was dismissive, as if the thought shouldn't have even crossed Tea's head, aggravating the girl. "It won't happen."
"Positive." Kero nodded. "See?" He indicated the Cardcaptor as her staff transformed into the sword Rika had been wielding earlier and brought it down on the glittering bubble of blue, white and green, causing it to part in the middle and causing it to return to its true form, a huge pure white wing with a red jewel embedded into it on a gold shield.
"Return to the guise you were meant to be." Sakura told it, SHEILD shifted slightly to the right, attempting to float away then it converted into a card and floated into Sakura's hand.
"That's another two." Tea grinned as Tomoyo attempted to open the box and let out a relieved sigh when it opened without a hitch.
"How many are there in total, again?" Joey asked as the box opened to reveal a bunch of dried flowers.
"There's fifty two in total and Sakura has…" Kero cut off and ducked under a cushion and Sakura hid her sword under the sofa, as Daidoji Sonomi, Tomoyo's mother, entered the room with a tray of cakes, smiling delight when she saw the box was open.
"How did you lot manage it?" She asked, taking the bouquet out carefully.
"There was something stuck in the keyhole." Tomoyo lied easily, "Once it was clear the key went in easily."
"Those are beautiful flowers." Sakura said, admiring how the bunch still looked gorgeous, even dried.
"This is the bouquet from when your mother, Nadeshiko, got married." Sonomi said with a small, slightly sad smile, "Nadeshiko loved cherry blossoms. She always said she'd name her first daughter after them." She gently offered the bouquet to Sakura, who held them carefully but tightly, closing her eyes. She could almost feel her mother's prescience, looking over her.
"If you don't mind." Sonomi said, looking around at the group and putting the flowers back, "I'll make dinner tonight." She paused and looked around, "Isn't Mutou-kun with you? I bought enough cake for everyone…" Concern clouded her features.
"Yugi wasn't feeling very well, so he went straight home." Joey answered before the girls could.
"Are you Wheeler Joey?" Sonomi asked, looking the blonde over.
"I am." Joey nodded, still feeling a little awkward around the girls, "I hope I'm not an inconvenience."
Sonomi shook her head, "Tomoyo told me you were coming." She smiled at him, "If you'd like," She addressed the whole group, "Once you've all eaten, we can make some cakes to take home, Yugi might feel better if you take him a present."
"Really?" Tomoyo smiled, delighted, "You're done for the day?"
"I've emptied my schedule completely for the rest of the day." Sonomi promised, "So I'm free all evening."
"That's great." Tomoyo grinned.
"Thank you very much." Tea smiled, liking the thought of taking cakes home and knowing that Yugi, who was a big fan of sweet things, especially after working with his magic, would appreciate the thought. She sometimes wondered if Yugi was aware of how much they all - well the girls at least, she couldn't speak for Wheeler-San - worried about their friend.
"Well hurry and eat." Sonomi gestured for them to carry on, "I'll be in the kitchen when you're done." With that she darted out the door, giving Kero a chance to come out of hiding and Sakura a chance to convert the sword back into the Key.
"Well one good thing came out of Yugi being tired." Kero said as he landed next to the cake. "There's a piece for me now."
"Kero!" Sakura protested, trying not to laugh at the shamelessness of the Guardian of the Seal.
"Well at least he won't be trying to steal mine." Joey mock glowered at the plushy guardian as Sakura wrote her name on the two cards she'd captured today and added them to her ever expanding deck which now totalled twenty two cards.
"He normally gets half of Sakura's or Yugi's anyway." Tomoyo advised him, "And then tries to steal everyone else's."
"Well you're not getting mine," The blonde advised the bear and proceeded to eat.
And on that note, the others started on their cake.
"Mum?" Yugi asked, half opening his eyes, confusion reigning as she moved back and let him sit up slowly. "Morning." He said as he took in the fact he was in his bedroom.
"Are you alright?" Kaiya asked, concerned for her son, who seemed a little dazed.
"Just tired." Yugi said, blinking at the alarm clock, which said 5:30, and wondering why his mother had woken them before Aiko could.
"What happened last night?" His mother asked as she pulled out a set of clean school clothes and passed them to her son, who was pulling himself out of bed slowly and had put the Millennium Puzzle on already.
Yugi's eyes darted to Joey, who had pulled himself out bed and had been picking up his clothes. "There was a Clow Card," Joey caught the look and interjected, "It was called The ARROW. It was an offensive card, so we had to catch it as quickly as possible, before someone got hurt, otherwise we would have told you where we were going."
Kaiya frowned and looked at her son, "You're not injured are you?" She asked, concerned that that might be the reason.
"No," Yugi shook his head, noting that Yami was fast asleep still, "ARROW didn't touch me." He paused at the look from his mother, "Honest. I just used up a lot of magic last night, more then I usually do, so I'm still tired."
Kaiya sighed, "You're sure you're alright?"
"I'm ok." Yugi nodded, "I'm just…" The last word was interrupted by a yawn, but his mother got the idea.
"And the Clow Card?"
"Sakura sealed it." Joey shrugged, being deliberately vague. Kaiya frowned slightly but didn't say anything and Yugi was too tired to catch it.
"Have a quick wash, then I need to take the pair of you to school early." Kaiya urged the pair of them towards the bathroom.
"The pair of us?" Joey asked with a frown. "But I don't go to..."
"School is compulsory," Kaiya chuckled at the blonde's complaint, "If you're staying here, you have to go to school. I could get into a lot of trouble otherwise. At least you'll be in the same school as Yugi, right?"
"I suppose." Joey sulked.
"I'll be back in a minute." Kaiya told them, "I want you washed and dressed by the time I get back, okay?"
"Yes Mutou-San." Joey nodded.
"Yes Mum." Yugi nodded, waiting until the bathroom door was shut before turning to Joey, "How did I get back to the house?" He whispered, "Last thing I remember was passing out on the school roof."
"Yami got you home." Joey filled in, "But I need to fill you in on something that happened last night."
"ARROW." Yugi nodded, "Is that why Yami's so tired?"
"Dunno. Yami didn't really do much." Joey shrugged, "We fought ARROW before we got to the school. Sakura sealed ARROW but it was another mage who defeated it. He took the card."
"Another mage?" Yugi yelped, then looked at the door, quickly washed and got dressed, then turned back to Joey and whispered, "Are you alright? He didn't hurt you did he?"
Joey snorted, "We're fine. He nearly took a chunk out of Yami though. " Joey washed his own face and pulled his t-shirt on.
"Why?" Yugi's hand went to his Puzzle as Joey got dressed.
Joey didn't get to answer his question or ask any more of his own as Yugi's mum knocked on the door. "You ready boys?"
"Tell me more later?" Yugi whispered to Joey.
"As long as you tell me what happened with the games." The blonde nodded.
"Deal." Yugi nodded and then opened the door. "Ready."
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Joey wasn't the only new student starting at Tomoeda Elementary that morning.
Li Syaoran had joined their class as well and had spent the greater majority of the morning glowering at Yugi and Sakura.
Not that Yugi seemed to be aware of Li's dislike, the eleven year old was having trouble staying awake, yet alone paying attention to Terada-Sensei or noticing anything else.
"Yugi?" Sakura asked, after they'd finished their lunches and checked no one was around to hear her, letting Kero out of her bag as she did so, "What happened last night?"
Yugi, who'd put the Puzzle on the moment they'd settled under the cherry blossom tree, and poked Yami, who protested for a moment then Yugi had a feeling, like Yami was stretching and paying attention to what was going on around him, before answering, "I played Shadi's games. That's about all I remember."
"What do you mean?" Sakura looked confused, a lot more had happened last night...
"Yami couldn't play the games; Yugi had to do it on his own." Joey explained, remembering what Yami had said last night, "Yugi wasn't awake for the thing with Li."
"The new guy?" Yugi looked confused. "What about him?"
"He's a descendant of the mage who made the Clow Cards." Sakura told him. "He can call the elements. We ran into him when we fought ARROW last night. I sealed it but it went to Li, because he defeated it."
"He gave it back though, right?" Yugi asked, biting his lower lip.
Sakura shook her head. "He claims that the Clow Cards are his right. He wants them."
"Why?" Yugi paused, frowning slightly, "What could be so important?"
"Yuge..." Joey sighed, trying to ignore the look he was getting for shortening Yugi's name, "His family were attacked."
Yugi blanched slightly, "By who?"
"By a Shadow Mage." Joey continued, noting the way the boy started. Obviously Yami hadn't told him when Yugi had been wearing the Puzzle between getting to school early, getting Joey's uniform and class starting.
"Oh." Yugi blanched further, "Are they alright?"
The silence told Yugi volumes and hung heavily in the air.
"Was it Shadi?" Yugi asked quietly.
"The guy had a 'Millennium Eye'. It reads minds." Joey shook his head as Yami sent a negative over the link. "He used it to put them in comas."
Silence again.
Yugi didn't really know what to say. There wasn't really much he could say. He didn't know enough about his type of magic to suggest anything that might help and Yami wasn't much better.
"You did win, right?" Kero asked, breaking the silence, "Last night, I mean."
"Yeah. Both games." Yugi nodded, thinking about how he'd won the second game. "At least I think so, I passed out when the Dark Magician left, but I'd completed Shadi's task so..."
"Dark Magician?" Tomoyo asked, which of course left Yugi to explain about the Duel Monster.
Sakura started off paying attention but got distracted when she noticed Li was hanging around, watching them. She clutched her bag tighter, thinking of the captured Clow Cards within.
"Ignore him." Sakura started slightly at Yami's tone, turning to look at Yugi only to find the Pharaoh had borrowed control for a moment. "He's probably trying to psyche you out."
"Yami, hi." Sakura nodded respectfully, "Are you alright? You were exhausted last night..."
"I'm ok. I used a lot of my magic trying to break through the barrier Shadi put between Yugi and I." Yami shrugged, "Thank you for protecting me last night."
"You're welcome." Sakura smiled, blushing slightly, having not heard a 'thank you' from the Pharaoh before. She'd gotten one from Yugi on multiple occasions, but never from Yami.
The lunch bell cut off any further conversation.
Yami relinquished control to Yugi as his friends headed inside, and the hikari took the Puzzle off and shoved it back in his backpack.
Or would have done had Li not darted forwards and seized it from him, causing Yugi to scramble to his feet, glaring at the boy as he tried to snatch it back. "Give that back!"
"Why should I?" Li demanded. "Why should I let you corrupt the cards any further?"
"Corrupt the... I don't know what you're talking about!" Yugi protested, "I haven't done anything to the Clow Cards!"
Before Li could respond, someone had climbed the fence, snatched the Puzzle from Li's hand and gotten between the two boys.
"It's not nice to take something that doesn't belong to you." Toya scowled, having vaulted the fence when he'd seen the kid take the Puzzle, and handed the Item back to Yugi, who put it on quickly, switching with a rather miffed Yami.
"Get out of my way." Li snapped back angrily.
"Now now," Yukito joined his best friend on the Elementary school grounds, interrupting what was sure to be an interesting argument, "There's no need to fight..."
For some obscure reason, Li went bright red, stammered something and darted off.
"You alright, Mutou?" Toya asked, glancing at the Puzzle and noting the way Yugi cradled it protectively.
"I'm ok." Yami nodded, forcing his temper down and letting Yugi take over so he could calm down.
"Thanks, Kinomoto-San." Yugi bowed, trying to calm his own nerves, feeling rather foolish for letting the Puzzle slip out of his hands.
Toya just waved him off and Yugi darted inside, hoping he wasn't too late to class.
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"You were lucky." Joey complimented Yugi as the five of them headed for the little toy shop that sold the latest fads, "Back home they would have given us detention if we were even two minutes late, yet alone five."
Yugi, who was still tired from yesterday and had a headache because Yami was trying to keep himself awake due to Li's earlier actions, in case of a repeat, just shrugged, wanting nothing more than to go home, "I suppose they let Li and me off, because he's new and I looked nervous."
Nervous wasn't the word Joey would have used, and, after hearing what Li had done at lunch time was keeping an eye out for the Chinese mage.
"We won't be long." Tea promised, having not missed the fact Yugi had been falling asleep all day. "But I know you wanted to get some..." She trailed off as they reached the shop and spotted the cute little brooches in the window.
Two of their classmates, Rika and Chiharu, where already there. They were giggling and squeeing over the badges they had purchased, a cheerleader's baton and a tiny sword, which they showed to the girls, who immediately wanted their own.
Joey rolled his eyes and Yugi chuckled as he purchased five booster packs with his saved up pocket money and passed two to Joey. They opened them carefully, looking through the cards as the girls decided.
The three girls finally picked one each; Tea taking a ballet shoe shaped badge, Tomoyo taking a brooch shaped like a cat and Sakura taking a badge that was shaped like the wing insignia that adorned a lot of her costumes and clothes.
The boys walked slightly ahead of the group of girls, comparing cards, half tempted to go on ahead as the girls giggled about something or other that they had no interest in, and though they turned to bid farewell to Chiharu, they had no idea that something was happening until Sakura yelped.
Yami took control and blocked the sword which had, somehow, appeared in Rika's hand, with a Legendary Sword he'd called from a card that Yugi had picked up earlier, using up energy he could ill afford to use.
Luckily for him, Sakura called her staff and interposed herself in the fighting just in time to protect him from a blow that had gone under his guard and had been arcing towards his unprotected midriff.
Joey pulled Yami aside as Rika, possessed by The SWORD if Kero was right, fought viciously, sending Sakura backwards. Tired or not, the Pharaoh would have stepped forward again to help her, except that Joey had already taken the sword from his hands and done just that.
As good a fighter as he was, Joey wasn't a swordsman and was losing badly until he got a lucky shot in that knocked the girl down, giving Sakura a shot at disarming her.
Sakura did so and sealed The SWORD away.
Joey yelped in surprise as the Legendary Sword he'd been holding disappeared almost instantly and Yugi sat down heavily.
"You ok, Yuge?" The blonde asked before cringing slightly, remembering he was talking to the Pharaoh from the Puzzle, not the boy whose room he shared.
"I'm ok." Yami attempted to wave his concern off, concerned that he hadn't had enough energy to keep the Legendary Sword 'in play' and had had to use Yugi's to keep Joey armed, meaning the light had fallen asleep and Yami didn't have enough energy to switch and let one of them stay awake.
Simply put between last night and today's events, they had nothing left.
"If you're too tired to come over..." Tomoyo bit her lower lip, as Joey gave Yami a hand to his feet, wondering how much she should push it. It was only a small problem, in fact if she hadn't been convinced that a Clow Card was to blame, she wouldn't have even asked Sakura to help her deal with it, she was, after all, perfectly capable of dealing with non magical problems herself.
"Sorry. Last night took a lot out of us." Yami apologised, feeling more than a bit useless and considerably guilty.
"And Li didn't help." Sakura nodded, understanding.
"No. He didn't." Yami's tone made Tea wince and Joey chuckle.
"Someone's grouchy." Joey grinned, amused by Yami's mood. "I think someone missed their afternoon nap." He teased, deciding he could get away with it because Yami was too tired to do anything to him and he was sure that Yugi wouldn't let the King get revenge later.
The Pharaoh objected to being treated like a five year old, especially by someone over five thousand years his junior, but since he couldn't deny that sleep was needed and soon, he let Joey get away with it this once. "I apologise, Tomoyo." The Pharaoh half-bowed, making the video wiz blush, "But I don't think I would be much use to you as I am."
"You sure you're alright?" Tea asked, not oblivious to the fact that Yami had yet to switch back.
"I'm fine." Yami promised as they headed back to Yugi's place, but didn't say much else, prompting Tomoyo to start up a conversation with Sakura in order to fill the silence. It wasn't they disliked Yami and they had, in fact, over the last couple of weeks, almost gotten used to the fact that Yugi was possessed. With everything else that was going on in their lives, it was just one more weird thing to add to the ever expanding list of weirdness, however it was true that they weren't sure how to treat the former Pharaoh.
Tea did have one question she just had to ask him though, which she did just a couple of houses down from Yugi's. "Do you mind when we call you Yugi?"
Yami paused before answering, having never really considered it. He'd answered to Yugi easily before CHANGE had separated him and his hikari for a short period of time and, though the separation had finally allowed them to talk face to face, there were times when they did act and think as one. On that note Yami had his answer, "No, Tea, I don't mind." The Pharaoh said as they reached his front gate, "This is his body after all, and a lot of the time, when we act nowadays, we're working as one anyway…"
Except last night but that had been Shadi's fault.
"So you're ok if we treat you and Yugi the same way?" Joey asked, having wondered much the same thing himself, especially considering that he was going to be living with Yugi for the foreseeable future, until Mutou Kaiya found his mother at least. "I mean, I'm not going to forget you're you, but I don't need to treat you like an Emperor or something, right?"
Yami smiled slightly, though his emotions were sliding all over the place behind the mask he showed to Yugi's friends, "No Joey, it is fine if you treat me the same way you treat Yugi. All of you are good friends to him."
Just as he hoped to become to them, but he left that unspoken. He was, after all, five thousand years, or more, older than the children and he didn't expect them to treat him like a friend, when he was, in fact, dead. Just Yugi's acceptance of and trust in him was enough for the former Pharaoh.
"Now if you don't mind." Yami pulled Yugi's house keys out of his pocket.
"We'll see you tomorrow." Tea nodded, the others following her lead, other than Joey.
"Later, Yams." He nodded to the Pharaoh, half wishing he could stay at Yugi's house as he didn't know the girls very well. He had promised to go however and, unlike Yami, didn't have a good excuse to duck out.
Yami gave Joey a confused look, which gave way to an amused smile, "Later Joey, good day girls." With that the Pharaoh ducked inside.
"Yams?" Tomoyo chuckled, amused as they headed for her house.
"What? He needs a nickname if he's gonna be treated the same as Yuge." Joey shrugged, confused as to why Tomoyo found it so funny.
"Do you know what a yam is?" The girl asked, still smiling broadly.
"A Pharaoh from ancient Egypt?" Joey replied, confused.
"No, Joey. Well yes now, but a yam is a type of vegetable, a bit like a sweet potato."
"Oh." The look on Joey's face was enough to set the other two girls off as the boy wondered if he could get Yugi to avoid telling his dark what a yam was, since Yami, apparently, had no clue.
It took Sakura and Tea a few moments to calm down, but once they had, Sakura turned to Tomoyo. "So what was it you were saying before class about a Clow Card?" She asked, having meant to ask at lunch time but having been distracted by Li.
"I think there's one in my house." Tomoyo nodded, having wondered when someone would bring it up, since everyone had been rather distracted all day, "My mum has a box that holds her most precious items in, and there's something in there she wanted to show you," She looked at Sakura, who blushed, "The thing is we have the key but every time we try and open the box the key slides right off the lock."
"Slides off?" Joey frowned, "You sure you've got the right key?"
"It's the right key, it's just there's something shimmery protecting the lock. I'm just glad Mum hasn't noticed it."
"Something shimmery?" Tea asked, wondering what it could be. There was a muffled sound from Sakura's backpack that sounded suspiciously like Kero, but they couldn't hear what he said properly.
"I think the peanut gallery has something to say." Joey commented with a small grin as Sakura glanced around, took off her backpack and opened it enough for Kero to stick his head out.
"Peanut gallery?" Kero glared at the blonde, who just chuckled at him. "No respect." The Guardian of the Clow Cards complained.
"Sorry, Kero." Tea apologised for Joey, giving the blonde a dirty look and getting a grin in return, "What was it you were trying to say?"
"What Tomoyo is describing sounds the SHEILD card. It was designed to protect important or magical objects." Kero explained, keeping a sharp lookout for anyone else on the streets, glad that they'd finally reached the quiet roads around Tomoyo's, rather large, house. "It's a defensive card, so you shouldn't have any trouble with it, especially now you have SWORD."
"What were you doing during that fight?" Tomoyo asked, suddenly aware that Kero hadn't been out of Sakura's bag since lunch.
"I would have suggested something but I was a bit busy being squashed by school books and lunch boxes." The teddy bear replied grouchily, "Not that…" He stopped and ducked into the bag as someone walked out of a shop behind them.
"Of course the real question," Joey startled the girls by saying, talking as if he was continuing a conversation they'd been having before hand, "Is why they like you so much." He said, looking at Tomoyo.
"Oh, it's not just me." Tomoyo chuckled, as they reached the "Hana liked Tea and…" The man who'd been behind them went into a house, "BUBBLE liked everyone. The only one that the Clow Cards tend to avoid is Yugi."
"Hana?" Joey asked, amused.
"FLOWER showed up at my dance recital." Tea informed him, having been rather irritated at the time. "And flooded the stage with roses. Pink ones."
"How big was the stage?" Joey asked as they headed inside.
"Think of Yugi's room. Then double it in length." Tomoyo advised as she guided them to her room and got the box, putting it on the table as the others closed the door behind them and sat down.
"That's a lot of roses." Joey's tone was one of awe at the thought.
"And we had to move all of them by hand." Sakura nodded as Kero clambered out of her backpack and examined the box. "We had a lot of help though from Toya and the other stage hands."
"Does your brother work everywhere?" Joey asked, catching Kero when the bear attempted to slap the box and the recoil sent him flying off the table. The blonde had heard that Toya worked in the Aquarium, at the library, in a toy shop and now, apparently, he worked back stage at the dance school where Tea studied.
"He just does part time work wherever he can get it." Sakura shrugged, turning her attention to the shield that had formed around the box and slipping the ribbon attached to the Key of Clow over her head. "SWORD, you said?" She asked Kero, who nodded.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Tea asked as Sakura called her staff, thinking of the battle earlier, "I mean SWORD possessed Rika…"
"It belongs to Sakura now." Kero's tone was dismissive, as if the thought shouldn't have even crossed Tea's head, aggravating the girl. "It won't happen."
"Positive." Kero nodded. "See?" He indicated the Cardcaptor as her staff transformed into the sword Rika had been wielding earlier and brought it down on the glittering bubble of blue, white and green, causing it to part in the middle and causing it to return to its true form, a huge pure white wing with a red jewel embedded into it on a gold shield.
"Return to the guise you were meant to be." Sakura told it, SHEILD shifted slightly to the right, attempting to float away then it converted into a card and floated into Sakura's hand.
"That's another two." Tea grinned as Tomoyo attempted to open the box and let out a relieved sigh when it opened without a hitch.
"How many are there in total, again?" Joey asked as the box opened to reveal a bunch of dried flowers.
"There's fifty two in total and Sakura has…" Kero cut off and ducked under a cushion and Sakura hid her sword under the sofa, as Daidoji Sonomi, Tomoyo's mother, entered the room with a tray of cakes, smiling delight when she saw the box was open.
"How did you lot manage it?" She asked, taking the bouquet out carefully.
"There was something stuck in the keyhole." Tomoyo lied easily, "Once it was clear the key went in easily."
"Those are beautiful flowers." Sakura said, admiring how the bunch still looked gorgeous, even dried.
"This is the bouquet from when your mother, Nadeshiko, got married." Sonomi said with a small, slightly sad smile, "Nadeshiko loved cherry blossoms. She always said she'd name her first daughter after them." She gently offered the bouquet to Sakura, who held them carefully but tightly, closing her eyes. She could almost feel her mother's prescience, looking over her.
"If you don't mind." Sonomi said, looking around at the group and putting the flowers back, "I'll make dinner tonight." She paused and looked around, "Isn't Mutou-kun with you? I bought enough cake for everyone…" Concern clouded her features.
"Yugi wasn't feeling very well, so he went straight home." Joey answered before the girls could.
"Are you Wheeler Joey?" Sonomi asked, looking the blonde over.
"I am." Joey nodded, still feeling a little awkward around the girls, "I hope I'm not an inconvenience."
Sonomi shook her head, "Tomoyo told me you were coming." She smiled at him, "If you'd like," She addressed the whole group, "Once you've all eaten, we can make some cakes to take home, Yugi might feel better if you take him a present."
"Really?" Tomoyo smiled, delighted, "You're done for the day?"
"I've emptied my schedule completely for the rest of the day." Sonomi promised, "So I'm free all evening."
"That's great." Tomoyo grinned.
"Thank you very much." Tea smiled, liking the thought of taking cakes home and knowing that Yugi, who was a big fan of sweet things, especially after working with his magic, would appreciate the thought. She sometimes wondered if Yugi was aware of how much they all - well the girls at least, she couldn't speak for Wheeler-San - worried about their friend.
"Well hurry and eat." Sonomi gestured for them to carry on, "I'll be in the kitchen when you're done." With that she darted out the door, giving Kero a chance to come out of hiding and Sakura a chance to convert the sword back into the Key.
"Well one good thing came out of Yugi being tired." Kero said as he landed next to the cake. "There's a piece for me now."
"Kero!" Sakura protested, trying not to laugh at the shamelessness of the Guardian of the Seal.
"Well at least he won't be trying to steal mine." Joey mock glowered at the plushy guardian as Sakura wrote her name on the two cards she'd captured today and added them to her ever expanding deck which now totalled twenty two cards.
"He normally gets half of Sakura's or Yugi's anyway." Tomoyo advised him, "And then tries to steal everyone else's."
"Well you're not getting mine," The blonde advised the bear and proceeded to eat.
And on that note, the others started on their cake.