Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Club 0013 ❯ New Game? ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Usual disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or
Sailor Moon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"…Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face."

*********************

Chapter 2: New Game?

"How's our patient?"

A petite girl with dark turquoise hair turned towards the source
of the voice before looking back towards the person lying on the bed. She
was wearing nursing robes, and was currently checking the IV tube
attached to the patient. "Not good, I'm afraid. He's lost a lot of blood, and
it doesn't seem to be regenerating."

The other person, a tall short-haired sandy blonde, sighed,
shaking her head. "How bad is 'not good', Ami?"

The 'nurse', Ami, put away her glasses, taking out a clipboard of
paper on the side. "His heart is weakening by the moment, his blood
circulation is minimal, there's almost a vegetative response in brain
activity. If this continues, not enough oxygen will get to his lungs."

The sandy-blonde whistled in a low tune. "In other words, he's
already dead."

Ami glanced at the small patient on the bed, feeling a deep pity
for the child. He had not even seen the prime of his life, and already, he
was to be taken away. Her dark blue eyes traveled from the patient's face
to the exposed neck, where twin puncture wounds lay vertically. "What I
don't understand is why he's not recovering. Even infants who have
suffered the bite from a vampire usually live, no matter how severe." She
frowned, contemplating while she studied the boy, from his small childish
frame to his strange hair, with blazing golden hands and spiky layers of
crimson.

"Bet you Bakura's behind this." The other deduced, bored look
on her face. "Frankly, I'm surprised that Bakura actually was decent
enough to not drain they boy dry. His victims usually don't survive to tell
the tale."

Ami sighed. "I don't like this at all. I found this kid exposed to
the public on a nearby alley. Good thing I was able to find him and clean
off all his blood before anyone else did - can you imagine what the
reaction of the public would be?"

The other chuckled dryly. "You worry too much. The Authority
will definitely cover it up. You know how they work." She sneered
disdainfully at the mention of the name. "I can't believe that humans
would buy into all that Authority crap."

"It's all about power, isn't it?" Ami proposed, knowing the
answer already. "Two sides. One light. One dark. And both with such
radical plans, locked in their Game of control." She looked at her gloved
hand, flexing it absently. "Look at this hand, Haruka. It's a _human_
hand. It's a hand just like any other human out in that Authority-ridden
society. Yet, if I am a human and can notice these things, why doesn't
anyone else?"

"It's as you said." Haruka, the other, reasoned. "There are two
sides. We've managed to escape from the blinding Light of the Authority
to actually accept the reality of the Dark. As pawns of the Dark, we must
fight. Fight for our rights and freedoms. Fight against the Authority. The
Game of the struggle against their conformity will be ours to win."

Ami said nothing, but turned her gaze to the sleeping patient.
"Poor child." She murmured, stroking the boy's soft crimson hair. "Little
do you know that your life is disappearing with every breath you take."

"So?" Haruka raised an eyebrow. "Now that we know he's
virtually almost dead, what are you going to do with him?"

The blue-haired girl paused, internally debating with herself,
chewing her bottom lip anxiously. Finally, she sighed, one of solemn
decision and regret. "Even if he lives, there's no way we can just turn him
back to the Authority. There's no normal life left for him anymore. "

"There's no life for him if he becomes one of us either." The
taller blonde interjected.

Another sigh. "Yes." Ami finally admitted. "But I sense a
powerful soul within him, one that will give us what we are missing. One
of possibility."

Haruka glanced dubiously at the boy. "Do you think he can even
last ten seconds, with such a frail body and naïve mind?"

"You know he can't." The nurse grabbed a jacket, turning to
leave the door.

"Where are you going?" Haruka demanded, surprised by the
sudden action.

Determined deep blue eyes shone back. "I'm going to ask
permission to get him a Talisman."

Haruka's eyes widened. "But…" She spluttered. "Even if he got
the permission, he… it… there's no Talisman that will fit such an
innocent… child!"

Ami responded in a flat tone. "You are forgetting the Talisman
of Possibility."

If it was possible, Haruka's eyes widened even further.
"Masaka…" She commented, holding one hand against the table to steady
herself.

"Yes." Ami replied, tone harsh and cold. "Also commonly
known as the Millennium Puzzle. If my prediction about the boy is true,
then another Game King will arise again."

"And the stakes between the Game of Light and Darkness will
also rise." Haruka concluded, tone solid and morbidly foreshadowing.

*******************************

They say that dreams reflect your innermost desires. They say
dreams represent images of what has occurred, altering them to the
distortion of the dreamer's will. Yet, those dreams are lies. True dreams
lie in the power of the unconscious and in the power of understanding.

~ Yuugi looked at the gigantic seascape in front of him. He was
standing on a grassy cliff, high above a sparkling deep-blue ocean as the
wind tossed his hair, filled with the lingering scent of seaweed.
The cloudless blue sky shone overhead like a sapphire jewel, the sun an
endless point of light, infinitely bright.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

Startled, Yuugi turned around to towards the source of the
comment, to lock eyes with the most exquisitely beautiful face he had
ever laid eyes on, made even more so by his remembrance of her. "You
are- you are-" Yuugi frowned, trying to place a name on her. "Are you an
angel?"

Light chiming laughter rang out, soft and powerful. "Perhaps. In
this Dream, I can appear as whatever you wish me to be."

Yuugi thought about that intently. "I think I would like you to be
an angel." He concluded, innocence in his voice.

Here, the angel only smiled. "Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn't
be one, would I?"

"I guess not." Frankly, Yuugi was confused, not sure of what she
was trying to hint at. He decided to be blunt and open with this beautiful
angel. "Umm.. why are you here anyway?"

The angel spread her large wings out wide, some of the feathers
scattering with the wind, making her figure even more majestic and
impressive. "What is my purpose? Ah. That is always the question that
people ask. What is the purpose of everything?" Large sapphire orbs
gazed into Yuugi's eyes. "I come here to give you a choice."

The moment those words faded, Yuugi's mind snapped. He was
no longer in this beautiful dreamland seascape, but instead, plunging
headfirst into an endless black pit, a fiery inferno churning and dancing
around him, the flames licking his body. Even as he was falling, he could
hear a dark voice chant "Game over" over and over again, until the sound
was unbearable and Yuugi screamed for it to stop.

And, as fast as it came, it was over. Yuugi was back on the cliff-
top, eyes dilated with fear as he gasped uneasily.

"A choice." He croaked, voice unsteady. With a strange sort of
jerky nervousness, he licked his suddenly parched lips before breaking
into insane laugher. "Choice. Are you trying to mock me? There are no
choices in this world, except those that others choose for you."

The angel didn't move any closer to the smaller boy, but her
presence seemed to grow and multiply until she seemed vastly infinite.
"I'm not asking to make a choice for you, Yuugi. I'm asking _you_ to
choose."

Yuugi took in a few breaths, trying to calm himself, and calm his
strange outbursts of anger. He contemplated on what the angel had just
said, and more on what she really meant. Had she meant all that she had
said? Or had she said more than she had meant? Another deep breath
ensued as Yuugi found himself simply to confused to contemplate any
further. "What options… do I have, in this… choice?"

"Possibility." One word was all that needed to be said. "You can
either have Possibility," here, she pointed to herself, touching her heart,
"Or, a definite End." And here, she pointed to the sea that lay at the
bottom of the cliff.

Yuugi snorted derisively. "Yeah. You're letting me choose
between either death or joining you? You're no better than Bakura was."

Once-sapphire blue eyes clouded into stormy darkness. "What
seems evil is not always meant to be so, Yuugi. Bakura, too, had the same
choice offered to him."

Yuugi looked at the sea, at its power, its deceptive calmness. He
knew that beneath those depths was a snare waiting to snap, waiting to
claim him for his prey. And yet, this angel - did he really want to be
trapped even further, forced to obey what the angel desired? "What
happens if I chose neither, if I just want to go back to my original life?"

"I'm afraid that someone has already taken that choice from
you." The angel bowed her head, golden hair shimmering in disturbance.
"I'm sorry."

He could end it all. A shadow was creeping over Yuugi, one of
indifference and personal agony. He knew that in the deepest recesses of
his mind lay the turmoil that Bakura had created, sealed for fear of
understanding. Yuugi wondered if he ever wanted to release it. An End
would definitely put an end to that.
"What would you do if you were me?" The boy's voice was simple and
plaintive.

The angel hesitated. "I would choose the path with the most
Hope." She finally replied. "For even in the darkest corner of the mind,
there is always Hope."

Yuugi nodded, finally coming to sudden conclusion, showing no
regret but a determined resolution. "Then, I choose not your Hope, but
your Possibility. For only in possibility is there hope."

And the angel smiled. "Thank you." Gently, she spread her
wings out towards Yuugi, slowly walking towards the child and covering
him under her feathery touch.

Yuugi felt a heavy object fall on his chest, and he looked down
to see a large golden pyramid-shaped object, tied loosely to his neck by a
simple brown rope. A light-headedness filled him as he gazed at the
strange necklace, lost in the design of a single Eye emblazoned on one
side of the golden pyramid.

The angel crouched down until she was face-to-face with Yuugi.
"Keep this Talisman, Yuugi. For this will show you the path of your
choice and this will grant you your Possibility. But remember: this
Talisman is only Possibility - nothing more. You must treat it
accordingly."

Yuugi nodded, clutching the large object with both hands. It
glowed vaguely, warm to the touch. "Does this talisman have a name?"
He asked, curious.

Here, the angel laughed, as unexpected as the question Yuugi
had fired. "Yes. It has had many names. Does it really matter?"

"No." Yuugi admitted. "But I was just curious - "

"- I know." The angel interrupted, smiling enigmatically. "But if
you want, you may call it the Millennium Puzzle." Here she paused,
contemplating. "Yes, it likes to be called that."

"The Millennium Puzzle." Yuugi repeated. What failed to grasp
beyond his dreaming mind the source of the name. ~

Simply said, in a dreaming mind, one cannot fully distinguish
between what is possible only in reality and what is possible in dreams.

*****************************

Yuugi woke up to a strange mechanical beeping sound. Slowly,
he blinked a few times before groaning and attempting to turn over. This
proved to be a costly error as a sharp pain shot up his hand. Startled, the
small boy glanced towards the source of the pain, raising his hand a bit to
see a thin visible tube sticking from it. Immediately, Yuugi panicked,
trying to pull or rip it off.

"Don't take it off!" A voice warned, deep and firm to the tone.

Yuugi looked around, trying to identify the source. There was no
one in this room. Confused, he looked again, searching the closed
doorway and then behind the bed he was lying on. No one. Shrugging and
dismissing the matter, the boy began ripping of the bandages that sealed
the strange tube in place, ignoring the small jolts of pain.

"You're going a good job of killing yourself." The same voice
commented. "If you keep it up, you might just succeed in dying, knowing
your poor condition."

Irritated, Yuugi snapped at the voice. "Well, if you're so smart,
why don't you tell me what this is!" Here, he pointed towards the tube
with his free hand, not having the time to speculate whether he was crazy
or not for talking to no one.

"It's called an IV tube, and they were commonly used about
2000 years ago, basically to sustain enough food an nutrients in your
body." The voice continued, in a lazy drawling tone. "By the way, you
_are_ talking to yourself, you know. Well, technically."

Yuugi wondered if they really did have this technology 2000
years ago. All he remembered from his history textbooks was a rather
primitive understanding that the humans of the past had been extremely
ill-ridden and faulty, often catching strange illnesses or "colds". Since his
society never suffered from illnesses or problems in health, he really
didn't understand the entire "health care" concept beyond the words of a
textbook. Usually, when humans lost blood, they would automatically
recover. To damage a human beyond recovery was unheard of. And that
was exactly, Yuugi deducted, what Bakura had done.

"Smart kid." The voice muttered, continuing some words in a
language Yuugi didn't understand.

Yuugi was still confused. "If I'm talking to myself, how come I
can hear you?"

The voice, although physically invisible, seemed to shrug. "You
might be hallucinogenic."

"I got a better answer." Yuugi concluded. "Since you can hear
my thoughts, that means that you must be me - or, at least a part of me.
Therefore, I can't see you because you are part of me. But since you're so
different, I can talk to you. Which makes you a separate part of me."

"Perhaps." Was the glib reply. "But I do have a physical form,
you know."

Yuugi looked around for the umpteenth time. "I don't see it." He
said.

"Over here. The mirror." The voice responded, sounding
exasperated by now.

Yuugi turned to one side, careful not to dislodge the strange "IV
tubes", as the voice had called them. Expecting to find a reflection of
himself, he saw someone else glancing back, arms crossed around his
chest. Yuugi jumped back in shock, almost falling off his bed.

The reflection in the mirror smirked. "But you are right. Just
because I have a physical manifestation doesn't mean that I'm real. I'm
only real through you."

Yuugi stared at the strange reflection in the mirror. The
reflection _did_ look a lot like him, albeit somewhat taller and physically
mature in posture, with almost cruelly glaring crimson eyes and
shimmering golden bangs that matched each streak of spiky crimson hair.
As the reflection smirked in an odd half-smile, Yuugi could see what
seemed like a sharp white tooth poke out from the upper lip.

"Then… do you have name, or are you 'Yuugi' too?" Yuugi
asked, confused. Again, he couldn't understand how this reflection could
be even part of him if he was so different.

"I'm only different because you've never been in touch with
your Darkness." The reflection muttered. "And if your name is Yuugi,
then yes, I would be called Yuugi too." Another coy smile followed. "I
told you. I am essentially you, after all. Just your other side. The side that
you keep hidden."

"The side I keep hidden." Yuugi echoed, frowning a bit. "My…
Darker side?"

"I guess you could say that." The reflection nodded.

"Then I know what to name you." Yuugi answered, smiling a
bit. "If I'm innocent and unaware, then I am the Light. You are the foil to
my light, my Darkness. Therefore, I shall call you… Yami. Yami-Yuugi."

The newly named reflection shrugged in indifference. "If you
want it, then so be it, Aibou."

"Aibou?" Yuugi questioned.

"I'm your yami, so I must protect the light. In my protection, I
claim you to be my soul bonded, my Aibou."

"Uhh.. okay." Frankly, Yuugi was confused at the term, but
treated it as a positive word. "I guess." He yawned, suddenly tired.

Yami-Yuugi looked at the younger boy from the mirror and
frowned. "You're pathetic, you know."

Yuugi was too tired to protest, rubbing his eyes to keep himself
awake. "How so?" Even his words were a bit slurred.

Yami-Yuugi muttered something that sounded suspiciously like
'stupidly naïve' before dropping what he had planned to say. "Forget it.
Go get some rest. You're just wearing yourself down."

"Mmm." Yuugi nodded sleepily, having not really heard what
his yami had said. He snuggled into his blankets, without a care for the
world. "G'night."

Yami-Yuugi looked at the glowing Puzzle on Yuugi's neck
before disappearing into the recesses of Yuugi's soul, the secluded part
where his darkness lived. As he did so, a strange glowing pattern, in the
same design as the "eye" on the puzzle, glowed on Yuugi's forehead
before disappearing altogether, back to where it came from. The rest was
simply history.

******************************

Yuugi woke up, shivering slightly despite his sweating body. His
body felt like it was on fire, heated with the deepest lava pits while frozen
by the depths of the coldest arctic storm. Even worse, a strange hunger
was building inside him, gnawing his stomach like an empty black hole,
desiring only to consume, to be filled. The boy groaned, curling into a
fetal position in order to dissolve the nauseous hunger. He blinked a few
times to steady his wavering vision, as everything seemed to change into
one massive blur. Vaguely, a part of him realized that those "IV tubes"
were no longer connected to his hand. Let's just say that that vague part
of him was also grateful.

//Idiot// A voice muttered in Yuugi's head.

Yuugi started. He quickly glanced at the mirror, but saw only his
startled refection back.

//I'm in your mind// The voice, no doubt Yami-Yuugi,
commented. //It saves your energy this way.//

Yuugi felt his body prickling with oversensitivity, almost like a
million dull-edged needles were forcefully driving themselves on his
skin. He shuddered, still sweating and freezing.

//You're starving yourself.// Yami-Yuugi
commented.

Yuugi tried to talk, but found himself too weak to mutter
anything beyond the simplest moan. His muscles twitched almost
uncontrollably, causing the small boy to collapse back into bed. Vaguely,
he could hear his yami curse in his mind.

//Yuugi.// Yami-Yuugi said, voice dangerous. When he got no
response, he tried again. //YUUGI!!//

/Mmm?/ Having no energy left, Yuugi voiced the comment
weakly in his mind.

//Listen to me, Yuugi. There's something that you're missing,
kind of like lacking something… its complicated to explain but
basically… umm… ah hell!// Yami-Yuugi gave up trying to explain
things the 'gentle way'. //Just follow my instructions and close your
eyes.//

Yuugi did so, without too much difficulty. /'Kay/ He weakly
responded.

//Yuugi, I'm going to… take control of your body. Can you let
me do that?//

The small boy stiffened a bit at that comment, even through his
delirium. Take control? This was unexpected. Yet, if his yami was
essentially him, then there wouldn't he any arm, right? Yuugi hoped so.
/All right./ He finally consented.

A grunt came from the other side of the conversation, and
suddenly, Yuugi felt a strange disconcerting feeling, as if he was
suddenly plucked from his body and set into a strange room bathed of soft
white light. True, he was still dizzy and nauseous, yet, the "room"
sheltered him from the physical world of his body, a cozy sanctuary
where he could still see from his physical body's eyes, yet watch
indirectly the actions of his body. Like observing someone else taking
control for him. However, seeing that he was still alive and had a
conformable room in to sleep in, Yuugi curled into a small ball, promptly
drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

Yami-Yuugi stumbled a bit as his darker soul manifested itself
into the body. He had managed to change the physical structure slightly to
the shape he wanted it, although he was unsure whether it was him who
made the change, or the body which responded to him and changed.
Either way, Yami-Yuugi was grateful that he wasn't delirious - and also
that he wasn't some odd two feet high like Yuugi - which would make
his task-to-be easier.

Brushing one experimental hand over his hair, Yami-Yuugi was
amused to see that it stood up so stiffly. It had been a while since he had
acquired a physical form, and this new one was both intriguing and
familiar. Almost… right.

Before he had become Yuugi's yami, he had always just been an
essence, unaware and uncared for. The origins of his creation or even life
in the past - assuming that he had had one - were completely unknown,
or simply shrouded in mystery. What was known was that he _was_ a
form of Darkness, often becoming the other half of a Chosen individual,
one that excelled in a certain power. Yet, the last one that had been
Chosen for him had failed, one that compared to Yuugi, was a leviathan
to a seal. And yet, this body fit him like a second skin, the physical form
and alter-soul oddly echoing in familiarity. Yami-Yuugi decided to
contemplate on that when he had the time. Right now, there were more
important matters at hand.

Gratefully, the sole window the room was unlocked, and Yami-
Yuugi easily slid it open, leaping out the window, a good five stories
above the ground. Any normal person would have perished from the fall,
but Yami-Yuugi was far from normal. The Millennium Puzzle around his
neck being to glow softly, and the symbol of the "eye", the Sennen eye,
emblazoned itself upon his forehead.

Yami-Yuugi landed on the ground with the grace of a panther,
scanning with weary crimson eyes the scene around him. Things had
changed since last time, and he would have to be on alert for the changes.
Briefly, he touched the pointed incisors that often pierced the soft flesh of
his lips, almost in awe. Yes, things had definitely changed.

With inhumane speed, he ran, footsteps making no sound along
the pavement. It was just a bit past sundown, marked by the lazy golden
streaks that shot vainly against the night sky. The time when his kind
arose to hunt their prey. He would have to hurry to avoid their contact, as
he knew his presence would only cause chaos.

Briefly, Yami-Yuugi looked around, trying to spot human
contact. Upon realizing that he was on an empty street, the darker Yuugi
leapt with ease into the air, onto the rooftop of a two-story building, not
even grunting with effort. He then took off, gliding over rooftops in a zig-
zag fashion, dark-blue cloak billowing behind him with a life of its own.

Two minutes and half a city later, Yami-Yuugi landed with the
same grace on the tattered outskirts of a small suburban community, nose
held in the air in search of a scent. He closed his eyes, concentrating as
the currents of wind relayed to his senses a million pieces of information.

"Hey you there."

A voice interrupted the yami's thoughts, although he already
knew about the presence. He ignored the comment, eyes still closed in an
almost meditative state.

Yami-Yuugi didn't open his eyes until he realized that he was
being pulled by the front of his shirt, until he was face to face with a
snarling figure. His crimson eyes flashed for a moment in anger, but then
easily suppressed it, never losing his indifferent expression.

"What are you doing out at a time like this?" The figure who
was holding him was a tall man, easily almost twice the height of Yami-
Yuugi. "Don't you know it's dangerous at this time?"

Yami-Yuugi shrugged, playing the naïve and innocent.

"Man," The person continued, "If the Authority catches you at
this time, you are SO dead."

Yami-Yuugi remained silent.

The person shuddered a bit in the darkness. "Geez, its really
cold." He then set Yami-Yuugi back on the ground, rather roughly. "All
right kid, you better get home. Next time, I might not be here to warn
you."

Yami-Yuugi remained where he stood.

"Are you deaf, kid?" The man was getting angry. "I said,
move!"

Eerie crimson eyes glowed like twin coals, blazing with a
strange hunger. They challenged the dull black eyes of the other man,
unrelenting.

"Do you play the Game?" Yami-Yuugi asked suddenly, voice
firm and darkly commanding.

The other person looked at him with a mixture of confusion and
fear. "G-Game? What game?"

Yami-Yuugi continued to glare, judging and analyzing the taller
man like a prize. "The rules are simple. You choose any challenge you
want and I accept. If you win, you get whatever prize you claim. If I win,
I get whatever price I claim."

The other looked at him like he was insane. "And what if I
refuse?"

Fangs glistened from under ruby-red lips. Yami-Yuugi grinned.
"There is no refusal."

Mesmerized, the man trembled, trying to stay tough. "Well then,
I challenge you to this game." He took out a large gun by his belt,
clicking off the security. "I fire three shots. If you don't die within three
shots then you win." He felt that the boy would definitely refuse such a
challenge, as guns were considered both dangerous and lethal.

Yami-Yuugi simply shrugged indifferently. "As you wish." And
he leapt towards the taller man, panther-like.

The man with the gun reacted immediately, firing one shot after
another. The sound of each bullet echoed and rang along the empty
streets, emitting hollow sound as each one bounced harmlessly off the
floor. The man's aim was true, and his ability to move and react to Yami-
Yuugi's motions almost inhumane.

Yet, Yami-Yuugi was faster, sliding along the darkness like a
shadow, his cloak and dark clothing blending subtlety amongst the depths
of the alley. Only his glowing eyes and the strange glint of the puzzle
around his neck revealed his position. Another volley of shots rang out,
and Yami-Yuugi leapt into the air, landing horizontally against a firm
wall and using it as a boost to gain momentum. He twisted in the air as
more bullets rained past him, falling silently onto all fours and then
quickly backflipping over the man. Faster than the eye could follow,
Yami-Yuugi had the man pinned down against the ground, wrenching the
taller man's arm over his back with inhumane strength. The gun clattered
and skidded harmlessly against the rough pavement away from the two.

"I think you've had more turns than you vouched for." Yami-
Yuugi whispered quite neutrally into the man's ear. He brought his mouth
closer to the man's ear, smelling and enjoying the obvious fear as the man
realized that he couldn't even move a finger under the yami's influence.
Cruel lips formed into a smirk as Yami-Yuugi pulled the man's shirt
collar down, revealing a sweaty and rather odourous neck. But he didn't
care. He didn't have the time to choose.

For a moment, Yami-Yuugi stepped away a bit from the man,
almost in revulsion. The man relaxed as Yami-Yuugi loosened his grip,
thinking that he had been spared.

But the world was a deceptive place, and everything in it an
illusion. Yami-Yuugi sneered, and suddenly, his hands tightened around
the jaw, nails burying into the skin and drawing points of crimson blood.
A desire was burning within him, fueled by the same desire of his 'other'.
With the last remains of his self-control, Yami-Yuugi glared at the face of
the foolish man.

"I won."

And then, with the reflexes of a snapping serpent, he buried his
fangs into his prey, loosening his hold a bit to let the blood gush warmly
into his mouth. The liquid carried lingering scents of sweat and grime, but
the taste was ecstatic, sweet and reviving like a spring of infinity. Yami-
Yuugi pushed his weight against the body, forcing more liquid to travel
towards the neck, like squeezing a tube of paste. He knew that the man
would be internally screaming, begging, pleading, and most of all, numb
with fear and pain. And Yami-Yuugi enjoyed every moment of it.

Yet, pleasure is a short-lived thing, and everything that begins
must always end. With a great reluctance and control that surprised even
himself, Yami-Yuugi pulled away from the limp body of the man. He
licked his lips, washing them over his teeth to taste the last remains of the
succulent liquid. Snorting disdainfully, Yami-Yuugi looked at his
unconscious prey, wondering what to do. He pulled closer to the man
again, ignoring his desire for more. No, this man had to live; otherwise, it
would arouse to much suspicion. Placing his index and middle finger
against the two puncture holes on the neck, Yami-Yuugi closed his eyes,
invoking his ancient magic, a power that supposedly died millennia ago.
The Puzzle glowed in response to Yami-Yuugi's command, and he stood
there, fingers pressed against the man's neck bites as time passed. Then,
rather abruptly, he stood up, jostling his ruffled cape so that it fell neatly
behind his back. And, as quickly as he had come, he disappeared, leaving
nothing in his wake.

The once-unconscious man woke up, rubbing his aching head
while wondering what on earth he was doing lying there in the middle of
an alley. His head was pounding like a million hammers set to a gigantic
anvil, and a he felt drained, as if he had lost a lot of blood.

"Last time I go out to drink that this time." He muttered,
stumbling a bit as he tried to walk. The tall man pulled his collar up
against his bare untouched neck, shivering a bit. "Brr… it is just me, or is
it getting cold?" And with the same strain of ignorance, he stumbled and
ambled away, walking in a rather mystifying zig-zag pattern.

****************************
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~

**Anzu says:**

Anzu: In this chapter, we learned that uh… Zoo can't spell? (reads script)
Oh yeah, we learnt _that_ in the last chapter, when she kept on spelling
Jounochi's name wrong.

Jounouchi: See! She did it again!

Anzu: (sweatdrops) Aaaaanyway, the moral for this chapter is "if you're a
vampire, don't eat anyone really sweaty, cause they might give you bad
breath."

(Image of Yami at a grocery store buying some Trident)

Anzu: (sighs and throws away script) I can't believe I'm doing this,
considering that none of us is getting paid overtime.

Yami: (pops in) We're not? Then, what is this contract for anyway?
(points to contract he's holding with a GIGANTIC golden official seal at
the bottom)

Anzu: (reads the contract) " Trident corporation, in association with
YuGiOh!, has hired YuGiOh, aka Yami-Yuugi, to promote their sales
services through public advertisement." (frowns) Trident? Zoo works for
Trident?

Zoo: I do?

Anzu: -_-;;; I guess that Trident finally found out about the stupid Yami
fan-people.

(The 'stupid Yami fan-people' - mainly girls but some guys - run Anzu
over in their frenzy to buy Trident)

********************************