Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Club 0013 ❯ Learning to Duel ( Chapter 3 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Chibizoo 
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 01.12.2003 | Pages: 8 | Words: 4.5K | Visits: 191 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 01.12.2003 | Pages: 8 | Words: 4.5K | Visits: 191 | Status: Completed
Author's notes:
I do……………………….*ahem* NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh!
Note: ~ this represents a dream/dream-flashback sequence ~
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"To dream, ay, perchance to dream…"
****************************
Chapter 3: Learning to Duel (A/N: It's not my fault - my Eevee muse
absolutely refused to edit it for me when she realized that I had
originally called it "To Duel or Not to Duel" *scratches head* I wonder
why not…)
Often, the best dreams are the ones that disappear upon the
touch of reality. They are the ones that grip on the unconscious spirit of
the soul, echoing a thousand soothing whispers in a universally hidden
language. If that was the case, then Yuugi had just had an excellent
dream. The young boy stretched in his bed, sleepily rubbing his eyes as
they slowly opened themselves, squinting against the morning rays of
the sun. It was a beautiful day, as Yuugi could see through a massive
window that covered a good one-fourth of a wall. Vague shapes of
children flew past the window, and Yuugi could hear snatches of their
conversation, although it was, of course, menial.
The small boy shook his head. Was life just like that - every bit
as menial as it seemed? Was there even a purpose to life? True, Yuugi
had everything he could possibly desire: friendship, excellent school
grades, perhaps the only thing that had hindered his life was lack of
height, although his society made sure that he was treated equally.
So, and again he found himself traveling back to the same
question - why should he change? Why would he want to leave his
idyllic, perfect, life, with idyllic, perfect people? And since the
Authority gave him both protection and shelter, shouldn't he be grateful
for it?
And yet, he wanted more… he knew that the Authority was
hiding something, a secret he was only beginning to grasp at. It was a
puzzle, really. The Authority was hiding a vital piece of information
veiled by their utopia, which Yuugi could only snatch at, puzzle piece by
puzzle piece. And none of them connected quite properly.
//You've got a very analytical mind, you know.// A familiar
voice commented in Yuugi's mind.
Yuugi made a face, blushing a furious scarlet. He had forgotten
that his Yami was still there. It made him embarrassed to know that his
darkness could pick up everything he was thinking. And he didn't even
know his Yami that well!
//You will.// Yami-Yuugi seemed to smirk as he said this.
//Looks like I'll be stuck as part of you from now on.//
Yuugi scratched his head. /No offense or anything-/ He began,
wondering how he should word his comment.
//-None taken// Yami-Yuugi interrupted with a mental smirk.
/Anyway/ The "light" continued, /I know that you are my
Darkness and everything, but how did you suddenly appear? More so -
why?/
Yami-Yuugi shrugged, the mental image appearing in Yuugi's
mind. //I wish I knew.// His voice bored into Yuugi's mind, tone dead
serious. //Everyone has a Yami, but only a few are chosen to _realize_
their Yami. In a way, when I was re-created, you lost some of your soul.
That was the part in conflict with your naïve heart - the darkness. That
darkness manifested itself into me, and gave me a personality as well as
an awareness of the life around me. Without part of your soul, I would
be still dormant, living within the Millennium Puzzle. //
Yuugi jumped a bit, startled. /You mean, you _lived_ in the
Millennium Puzzle?/
The darkness sent a tone of confirmation. //I have lived there
longer than your great, great, great -// He paused, deciding that that was
too many "greats" for him to say, //Anyway, as long, if not longer than
your ancestors. Although I have seen brief periods of light, none were as
brilliant or as remarkably promising as yours'. That's because you are
my true Aibou, the only one worthy of my presence.//
Yuugi simply gawked. /You mean, you've been part of others
too? ./ He proclaimed, musing a bit on the complications of such an idea.
It was too hard for his brain to figure out. /How long have you waited
for me, anyway?/
//About 8000 years// The darkness proclaimed, sounding
nonchalant.
Yuugi's jaw dropped lower. /That's…/ He paused, trying to
remember some of his history by counting back on the timeline. /That's
since the time of the Ancients!/
// I believe that it was called Ancient Egypt// His Yami
corrected, delving into Yuugi's memory bank to retrieve the mutual
information.
/Egypt!/ Yuugi repeated. He frowned. The country had ceased
to exist about 1500 years ago. Well, his Yami in essence _was_ older
than that… /Hey, did you ever have a life before you became ..uh..
dormant in that Puzzle?/
//Perhaps.// Yami-Yuugi seemed to genuinely not know, or was
just good at faking it for some undisclosed reason. //All I know was that
I was once Pharaoh//.
Yuugi blinked. /A what?/
//An Egyptian king was called Pharaoh back in the old days//
Yami-Yuugi sighed. //But that life is over. When you sacrificed part of
your soul to create me, the past "me" was destroyed. In short, you are
the "original Yuugi" while I became something like the "soul that has
merged with Yuugi", therefore your Yami. You understand now?//
Yuugi sighed. His head was spinning madly. /Yeah. I guess/ Of
course, he could only guess.
The Millennium Puzzle glowed a bit, and suddenly, Yami-
Yuugi was standing beside his "light", the darker half blinking a few
times to get adjusted to his surroundings. Of course, seeing this, Yuugi
reacted accordingly. That is, he shouted in surprise and proceeded to
scramble out the door.
Yami-Yuugi watched, amused, as Yuugi tripped over his
covers in his blind panic. He yawned a bit, stretching out lithe, sinewy
arms, revealing a pair of glistening incisors complementing his ivory
teeth. Then, cat-like, he stared at Yuugi, dark crimson eyes unblinking.
"I don't see why my appearing here surprises you so much, considering
all the other things that have happened." He remarked, voice dripping
with an amusement his face didn't show.
Yuugi struggled to untangle himself from the mass of blankets,
managing to successfully tie himself into a blanket-made knot. "Well, its
not everyday you see your other 'self' suddenly appear in front of you
like a person!" Yuugi remarked, venting his shock and embarrassed
anger at the gigantic blanket-knot, currently happily enveloping his
body. Of course, that only made things worse.
Yami-Yuugi blinked, eyes still fixed on his Aibou. The boy
looked absolutely ridiculous, swathed in his blankets, enclosing him like
a mass of bandages. "I didn't want to interrupt your own body, so I
created an illusionary one of my own. Its no fun being cramped in my
Soul Room all the time"
Yuugi stopped struggling, pondering in awe at what his Yami
had said. "So… your body isn't real?"
Yami-Yuugi shook his head. "Only as real as the person
believes."
Yuugi looked at the slight depression on the bed that his Yami
was creating by sitting, and he shrugged. "You look real enough to me."
Like some motion-sensitive serpent, another coil of blanket, managed to
successfully cover Yuugi's eyes, and the small boy squealed in protest.
Yami-Yuugi laughed, coming out in a harsh bark. Not because
he wanted to, but because he had not laughed in such a long time. It
felt… good - vaguely pleasing. His laughter faded into his trademark
smirk. "You know, Aibou, you look like a…" Here he paused, eyes
losing focus as he delved into Yuugi's memories. "Ah yes! You look
like a mummy!"
Yuugi frowned, growling a bit. "Hey! If you were a supposed-
to-be-dead Pharaoh, you're the one that should be a mummy!" He
wondered somewhere if there was some strange irony God playing
havoc with him, leaving him exposed to some bad Egyptian humour
when he didn't even deserve it.
**Somewhere, in an alternate dimension, the respectful and
exaltedly wonderful (Eevee muse: *WHACK*) author sneezed,
wondering if she was coming down with something. **
Amused crimson eyes stared back. "Nah." He commented,
enjoying the ludicrousness of the situation, and even more his newly-
found superiority. "Besides, you look like the exact type of character
who always gets picked on."
The struggling stopped. The words hit Yuugi with the force of a
sledgehammer, bringing him back to reality. Everything had gone
wrong. And now - now even his Yami, who had claimed to be a part of
him was less promising than he had hoped for. They had all said that he
was too easy a target. And he was - although only the strict Laws of the
Authority saved him. Yet, the Authority had failed. The _real_ reason
his Yami was here was because of… someone…
~ Silvery hair glittered like dull steel under the moonlight. Eyes
furrowed in darkness bore into Yuugi like a feline trapping its prey.
Yuugi was cornered - he was trapped - he had nowhere to go. Nowhere.
Absolutely nowhere.
Warmth gushed into Yuugi's lips, and he found himself hard
pressed as he backed himself away as far as possible. This time, there
was no sanctity. He felt everything. The smooth edge of slightly tender
lips forcing his own parched lips to crack and reveal the delicate inside
of his mouth. The caress of a tongue not his own running playfully along
his teeth. The strange, acrimonious taste of blood falling into his mouth,
as refreshing as salt water. He tasted every bit of it, as it spurted into his
mouth, warm and teeming with the essence of life. And yet, he refused
to swallow it, helplessly suppressing the bile in his throat as the salty,
slightly sticky-sweet taste pressured against his taste buds. He tried to
scream, spitting some of it out, the liquid dribbling down his chin,
soaking his teeth with an unnatural crimson. And then, forced hands
clamped his jaw shut, and Yuugi swallowed out of reaction, a reaction
not to bite his tongue. In that single moment, the liquid oozed down his
throat, trickling as it fell, setting his throat on fire. The pain didn't stop
until every last bit of it had seeped into his stomach, where it froze his
very intestines with a chill air. Yet, that was only a beginning of the
pain.
Bakura wasn't finished yet… oh no - he had just begun~
A stinging sensation on his cheek jerked the small boy back
into reality. Instinctively, Yuugi brought one hand to his sweltering
cheek, icy hands cooling the stinging pain. The small boy stared at his
Yami.
Yami-Yuugi glared at his Aibou fiercely, one hand still held
poised in the air, as if permanently stuck in the after-effect. His glare
softened as he realized the pain he had inflicted on his "light". "Look,
I'm sorry." He hesitated, biting his lip uncertainly while looking at the
ground. "I can't allow you to wallow on your self-pity, and even more
on the events of the past." Here, the darkness sighed, eyes closing in
anguished remembrance. "If you dwell only on your past, how can you
see to the future?"
Yuugi ignored his other's attempts to make him feel better.
How could his Yami possibly understand? He snorted, a derisive snort
most unlike himself. What was there to dwell on? His life had been
ruined, just by a single event, his reputation marred for life. What's more
- he had trusted Bakura. Tears began to sting his eyes, pooling around
his lids and threatening to spill. The small boy bit his lips, trying to
suppress his agony.
Another ear-shattering slap ensued, this time, both Yuugi and
Yami-Yuugi staring at each other in shock. Yami-Yuugi was faster to
recover, withdrawing his stinging red palm.
"Stop it, Yuugi." He muttered, each word tense and suppressed.
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself. It's not your fault, and it never will be."
Trust was a fickle thing, wasn't it? Gone one moment as fast as
the westerly wind. Yuugi wondered when his Yami would abandon him.
After all, he was too tainted. The tears, no longer able to defy gravity,
spilled out, large translucent pearls that dripped onto his shirt, creating
perfect dark blue circles on his normally light-blue jacket. "It- it-" He
began, stuttering through his tears and internal agony.
~ The fire burned on all sides of him, locking Yuugi into a trap
built on the inferno of Hell. He heard a voice, deep and consuming,
laughing in glee as he frantically searched for an escape. The flames
glowed with an unnatural red, the same red as his tainted blood. And it
grew, encompassing him like an inferno, scorching his body, scorching
his soul. Yuugi screamed out in agony as he felt a million claws tear at
his flesh, enhanced by the intense heat of the fire, the fire that stung with
the icy chills of the Arctic and burned with eternal punishment.
Suddenly, it came, in the form of a hulking dark slave-master,
eyes glowing an eerie yellow. On one hand, it brandished a whip made
of the same eternal flame, screaming a silent voice of condemnation. It
was Punishment.
Punishment raised its whip, testing its accuracy on a nearby
rock-infested corner, reducing the corner to a sizable dent. Yuugi
whimpered, the tears falling non-stop as they blurred his vision. It was
soon - very soon. He would soon get the punishment he deserved.
The whip came falling down, emblazoned with flames….
Yuugi closed his eyes, wishing for innocence and eternity…
The whip cracked painfully once…
And nothing happened.
Yuugi opened his eyes. There was no pain. He blinked. Was
this the bliss that eternity promised?
"Hell, no."
The voice was startlingly familiar, and Yuugi saw… himself,
doubling over in pain, a jagged gash running across his back, the painful
mark cutting through fabric and skin until it had seared pink flesh. Now,
the flesh burned a dull black, the strange smell both putrid and revolting.
Yuugi almost screamed as he watched himself suffer.
… and then realized that it wasn't him.
Dark crimson eyes glared into the soft lavender ones. The not-
Yuugi looked up, one hand pressed against the deepest opening on the
gash, brows furrowed painfully in a valiant attempt to ignore the pain as
streams of blood ran between his fingers.
Yuugi gaped, only realizing now what his Yami had done.
"You said that you weren't real!" He shouted angrily, a new batch of
tears running down his cheeks as ran over to his Yami, embracing the
taller body.
Yami-Yuugi managed a faint grin, canines glistening in the
unnatural light. "Only as real as you want me to be."
Yuugi's eyes widened, and he backed away in fear. "Please."
He muttered, voice barely reaching past his constricted throat. "Stop it!
Please just leave me alone!" With that final command, he broke down,
sobbing quietly to himself. He waited, expecting this nightmare to end
and another to take its place.
Yet, nothing happened.
Yami-Yuugi looked at his light, drawing himself closer despite
the pain. His eyes were now clouded over in agony, despite his calm
demeanor. "Yuugi. Why do you hate me?"
Yuugi looked up. Why did he hate his Yami anyway? "Because
- because you'll only betray me, like everyone else. "
"Do you hate yourself?"
Yuugi nodded his head vehemently.
"Why?"
"S-someone…" Yuugi's voice hushed over, almost in awe.
"Someone…" He began sobbing again, lost in his own internal agony.
He felt so dirty, so unclean, as if his whole body was simply a used dirt
cloth. He was worthless.
"Aibou. Listen to me."
Yuugi ignored the strange voice.
"Aibou."
Yuugi ignored the strange warning voice.
" AIBOU!"
Yuugi wanted to tell the voice to be quiet. It was giving him a
headache. But then, he stopped. Why did it matter what he wanted? He
was worthless… he was insignificant… so insignificant…so…
…. Yuugi's eyes snapped wide open as he felt a familiar
pressure being applied to his lips, robbing him off all thought. He
choked back a scream, realizing with a sinking heart the repeating
pattern of his nightmare. Again, his heart called out in agony…
And then, realized that it _wasn't_ Bakura.
And that he didn't feel violated at all.
Yami-Yuugi drew back from the kiss, never leaving his
crimson eyes off Yuugi's. He said nothing, but simply watched.
Watched carefully the expression on Yuugi's face.
Yuugi stared, stunned, torn between screaming in agony and
asking for more. Finally, his body compromised by dropping himself
ungainly to the ground. Curing to a fetal position, Yuugi could only stare
at his Yami while voicing a single word.
"Why?"
Yami-Yuugi put a finger to his Aibou's lips before he could say
more. "There is no why. Only a because." He sighed, holding the small
boy into a tight embrace. "Yuugi, you are my Chosen. I knew that from
the moment I saw your soul that you were the one I had been looking
for. You can't leave me now, just like you can't stop breathing or
wishing, or hoping something of some sort. Even the most desperate,
dying man will wish something with their last breath. So wish now,
Yuugi. Wish for something. "
Wish? What was there to wish? The more Yuugi thought of it,
the less choices he found himself in. What did he wish for the most? "I
wished that this had never happened - that I had never met Bakura-"
Yuugi stopped himself halfway, the taste of his Yami's lips still
lingering within his heart. He remembered the simple delight his
darkness had given him, and even more, what his Yami had promised.
He remembered the soft feathers of his angel, and the joy of discovering
the Millennium Puzzle. And he remembered his own "puzzle", most of
the pieces still hidden by the Authority, still waiting to be solved.
And he tried again.
"I wish for a new chance. To start again. To forgive and be
forgiven. To forget." He touched his heart briefly, wishing the pain
away. His Yami was right. He could only get what he wished if he
looked to the future and stopped dwelling on the past. Now was the time
to change. No was the time to accept.
"And I also wish…" Yuugi turned to his darkness. "That you'll
be by my side, no matter what."
The Sennen Eye glowed on Yami's forehead, a startling,
brilliant yellow hue. With a burst of magic, eye commanded a spell of
brilliant light, chasing away the darkness like the sunrise against the
night. Then, everything was still again. ~
Yuugi up from his position on the ground, realizing that he was
back in his room. As he started to wonder what happened, the dream
rushed back into him like a snap elastic effect.
"You all right, Aibou?" A deep, soothing voice asked, forever
promising. "What's wrong?"
Yami-Yuugi's voice contained a strange ignorance, as if he had been the
audience of some show he missed.
Yuugi looked at his Yami, rubbing away the last of his tears.
"Oh… It was nothing. I- I think I just had a bad dream."
Yami chuckled. "Yes. Bad dreams can be painful, especially to
the eye of the dreamer."
Yuugi stared into the crimson eyes of his other, and wondered
briefly if his Yami had actually kissed him. Surely, his other wouldn't
have gone that far… and yet, he longed for it.
Yami-Yuugi's eyes sparkled almost mischievously before
turning back into their serious hue. "I guess, like a dream, everything has
to move on."
"Yes." Yuugi confirmed. "Everything must move on. For as
long as there is possibility and a future, there is hope."
Yami-Yuugi nodded, this time breaking into a genuine, perfect
smile. And then, much to Yuugi's amazement, began laughing. As in,
rolling-on-the-bed laughter. Yuugi blinked. Several times, actually,
wondering what on earth had possessed his Yami. _This_ was supposed
to be his darkness? Still incredulous at his 'darkness', Yuugi stood from
his seat on the ground, eyes never leaving his Yami. If _that_ was his
Yami, how naïve was he?
There needed to be no answer as Yuugi 'eeped' and realized
with a sinking heart that he was still swathed in blankets. Anything else
was resolved with a loud "Thump!".
******************************************
//We ll, I think you're healthy enough// A dry voice remarked as
Yuugi stared outside the window, large light-violet eyes pressed against
the glass, leaving finger and face-prints on the smooth, cold surface.
Yuugi's eyes lit up. /Really?/ He then looked around, as if
expecting to be suddenly denied his freedom. Of course, no one came.
The small boy frowned, thinking deeply. /I don't get it./ He finally
confessed. /I thought that this might be someone's house, but there's
been no one here since I woke up./
//Hnn.// Came Yami-Yuugi's reply. //There probably _is_
someone there. If not, then how did you get on the bed, and where did
the Puzzle come from?//
/An angel/ Yuugi stated, then realizing that his Yami was lost,
sent his other a mental pulse of information, explaining his dream and
the golden-haired angel.
Yami-Yuugi mused over that for a while, not bothering to
speak as the pair lapsed into a moment of silence.
Suddenly, the door behind Yuugi slammed shut, and the boy
jumped in surprise, jerking his head towards the offending sound. By the
doorframe stood a petit young woman, possibly no older than eighteen,
wearing brisk white nursing robes with a pile of prim towels in one
hand. Yuugi could only stare at the intruder, coming to the conclusion
that he _had_ been living in this lady's house.
The woman, much to Yuugi's surprise (and Yami-Yuugi's
amusement), took no heed of the small boy, and proceeded to stuff the
towels neatly in a nearby closet, humming a bit abstractly to herself.
Tidy blue hair, trimmed rather short, bobbed back and forth as she
worked, moving with a strange unity.
Taking some time to wonder whether or not Yuugi should
disturb this strange lady, he finally decided. With uneasy shuffling steps,
the boy made his way to the blue-haired woman, poking her gently on
the arm to get her attention.
"Hello there." Large dark-blue eyes turned to meet Yuugi,
sparkling with a pleasant tone. "How may I help you?"
Yuugi, in turn, fidgeted. "Erm… thanks for letting me stay at
your house… " He began, not sure of what to say. If it hadn't been for
this lady finding her, he might have been stuck on the streets, dead by
now. And yet, he didn't want to cause her any more trouble. "I'll be
taking my leave now."
As Yuugi turned to leave, he felt himself restrained by a tug on
his arm. The small boy looked back, to see the woman holding onto his
wrist gently. She smiled, softly and pleasantly, showing no hostility.
"You're welcome back any time you want." Was the reply in an equally
gentle voice. "Please." She added softly, before letting go of Yuugi's
hand.
Yuugi nodded, although he really had no intention of doing so.
"I-I'll think about it." He muttered, surprised as his own geniality.
//Yeah right// Yami-Yuugi snorted in his mind. //After this,
we're outta here!//
"You might just want to come back one day." The woman
spoke, her tone deeper and wiser than it had been, as if containing a
hidden secret one could only grasp at. "There are some things you might
want to learn later. And clues to the secret your are looking for."
"Um, okay." Yuugi didn't fully trust this mysterious stranger,
but she seemed to contain an aura of hidden wisdom and inner strength,
like his angel. Just by instinct, he was drawn to liking and believing her.
"But, what secrets are there?"
The woman didn't reply to the question, but frankly ignored it.
"There are dangers that you can only grasp at." She began. "You must
look out for the traps, and always trust those who care for you. The
Game has begun, and there is no escape now."
Yuugi could feel his Yami mentally narrowing his eyes at that
comment. //Game…// Muttered Yami-Yuugi, although more to himself
than to his other. //Could this possibly have anything to do with the…
Authority?// The last word had been hastily placed in, as if covering
another word that the darkness didn't want to disclose.
Of course, Yuugi didn't notice. /I think…/ His mind briefly
played into flashback mode, and out again. /I think we're about to
discover it, whatever it is./
//Hmph.// Yami-Yuugi said nothing more, retreating back into
silence.
"Please." The woman laid a friendly hand on Yuugi's shoulder,
ice-cold. "Take this with you, if you ever want to find me again. Simply
come back to this place and show this card." Her eyes flashed a bit in
warning. "And don't lose it! Doing so may prove to be more harmful
than you think."
Yuugi accepted the small white card, rather plain in
appearance. There was no writing on it whatsoever. Shrugging, he
clutched the card in one hand, the other opening the door, bidding a last
farewell to his kind benefactor.
Only when Yuugi left the small, conformable-looking house,
done in a rather old-fashioned style with its slanted shingled rooftops
and whitewashed walls, did he remember something he had forgotten to
mention. If his benefactor had rescued her, did he give her the Puzzle
too? If so - where had it come from, and more so, what was going to
happen?
The small boy turned back towards the house, only to realize
that it wasn't there anymore. Simply said - the area looked like a cluster
of trees and grass, claiming rather guilefully to never have supported any
house of any sort. Yuugi gaped out loud, staring at the house-that-never-
was, wondering if he had dreamt it all.
//I doubt it.// Yami-Yuugi frowned in his mind, his tone rather
suspicious and disproving.
Well, if his Yami was here, then it had to be real, Yuugi
reasoned. The second piece of information that gave it away was the
blank card, still caught in the clammy-cold grip of his hands. Now, he
looked at the face of the strange shiny plastic of the card again, turning it
over for inspection. And, as if on command, a series of words blurred
and formed on the surface, written in a bold dark red, much like the
colour of his Yami's eyes.
Yuugi gaped for the umpteenth time today, reading the scant
words out loud.
"Club oh-oh-one- three."
*****************************************************
End notes:
BTW, "oh-oh-one-three" translates to '0013'. You knew that, ne?
Also, sneezing is a Japanese superstition, claiming that whenever
someone sneezes, it's a sign of someone else talking about them. ^_^
Whew! Took me three chapters to reveal the significance of my title, and
I'm not done yet! In case you're wondering, I was going to do a "Yami-
Bakura says" but I didn't exactly want Yami-Yuugi ripping his guts out
in my story. Maybe somewhere else -_-;;;
I do……………………….*ahem* NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh!
Note: ~ this represents a dream/dream-flashback sequence ~
****************************
"To dream, ay, perchance to dream…"
****************************
Chapter 3: Learning to Duel (A/N: It's not my fault - my Eevee muse
absolutely refused to edit it for me when she realized that I had
originally called it "To Duel or Not to Duel" *scratches head* I wonder
why not…)
Often, the best dreams are the ones that disappear upon the
touch of reality. They are the ones that grip on the unconscious spirit of
the soul, echoing a thousand soothing whispers in a universally hidden
language. If that was the case, then Yuugi had just had an excellent
dream. The young boy stretched in his bed, sleepily rubbing his eyes as
they slowly opened themselves, squinting against the morning rays of
the sun. It was a beautiful day, as Yuugi could see through a massive
window that covered a good one-fourth of a wall. Vague shapes of
children flew past the window, and Yuugi could hear snatches of their
conversation, although it was, of course, menial.
The small boy shook his head. Was life just like that - every bit
as menial as it seemed? Was there even a purpose to life? True, Yuugi
had everything he could possibly desire: friendship, excellent school
grades, perhaps the only thing that had hindered his life was lack of
height, although his society made sure that he was treated equally.
So, and again he found himself traveling back to the same
question - why should he change? Why would he want to leave his
idyllic, perfect, life, with idyllic, perfect people? And since the
Authority gave him both protection and shelter, shouldn't he be grateful
for it?
And yet, he wanted more… he knew that the Authority was
hiding something, a secret he was only beginning to grasp at. It was a
puzzle, really. The Authority was hiding a vital piece of information
veiled by their utopia, which Yuugi could only snatch at, puzzle piece by
puzzle piece. And none of them connected quite properly.
//You've got a very analytical mind, you know.// A familiar
voice commented in Yuugi's mind.
Yuugi made a face, blushing a furious scarlet. He had forgotten
that his Yami was still there. It made him embarrassed to know that his
darkness could pick up everything he was thinking. And he didn't even
know his Yami that well!
//You will.// Yami-Yuugi seemed to smirk as he said this.
//Looks like I'll be stuck as part of you from now on.//
Yuugi scratched his head. /No offense or anything-/ He began,
wondering how he should word his comment.
//-None taken// Yami-Yuugi interrupted with a mental smirk.
/Anyway/ The "light" continued, /I know that you are my
Darkness and everything, but how did you suddenly appear? More so -
why?/
Yami-Yuugi shrugged, the mental image appearing in Yuugi's
mind. //I wish I knew.// His voice bored into Yuugi's mind, tone dead
serious. //Everyone has a Yami, but only a few are chosen to _realize_
their Yami. In a way, when I was re-created, you lost some of your soul.
That was the part in conflict with your naïve heart - the darkness. That
darkness manifested itself into me, and gave me a personality as well as
an awareness of the life around me. Without part of your soul, I would
be still dormant, living within the Millennium Puzzle. //
Yuugi jumped a bit, startled. /You mean, you _lived_ in the
Millennium Puzzle?/
The darkness sent a tone of confirmation. //I have lived there
longer than your great, great, great -// He paused, deciding that that was
too many "greats" for him to say, //Anyway, as long, if not longer than
your ancestors. Although I have seen brief periods of light, none were as
brilliant or as remarkably promising as yours'. That's because you are
my true Aibou, the only one worthy of my presence.//
Yuugi simply gawked. /You mean, you've been part of others
too? ./ He proclaimed, musing a bit on the complications of such an idea.
It was too hard for his brain to figure out. /How long have you waited
for me, anyway?/
//About 8000 years// The darkness proclaimed, sounding
nonchalant.
Yuugi's jaw dropped lower. /That's…/ He paused, trying to
remember some of his history by counting back on the timeline. /That's
since the time of the Ancients!/
// I believe that it was called Ancient Egypt// His Yami
corrected, delving into Yuugi's memory bank to retrieve the mutual
information.
/Egypt!/ Yuugi repeated. He frowned. The country had ceased
to exist about 1500 years ago. Well, his Yami in essence _was_ older
than that… /Hey, did you ever have a life before you became ..uh..
dormant in that Puzzle?/
//Perhaps.// Yami-Yuugi seemed to genuinely not know, or was
just good at faking it for some undisclosed reason. //All I know was that
I was once Pharaoh//.
Yuugi blinked. /A what?/
//An Egyptian king was called Pharaoh back in the old days//
Yami-Yuugi sighed. //But that life is over. When you sacrificed part of
your soul to create me, the past "me" was destroyed. In short, you are
the "original Yuugi" while I became something like the "soul that has
merged with Yuugi", therefore your Yami. You understand now?//
Yuugi sighed. His head was spinning madly. /Yeah. I guess/ Of
course, he could only guess.
The Millennium Puzzle glowed a bit, and suddenly, Yami-
Yuugi was standing beside his "light", the darker half blinking a few
times to get adjusted to his surroundings. Of course, seeing this, Yuugi
reacted accordingly. That is, he shouted in surprise and proceeded to
scramble out the door.
Yami-Yuugi watched, amused, as Yuugi tripped over his
covers in his blind panic. He yawned a bit, stretching out lithe, sinewy
arms, revealing a pair of glistening incisors complementing his ivory
teeth. Then, cat-like, he stared at Yuugi, dark crimson eyes unblinking.
"I don't see why my appearing here surprises you so much, considering
all the other things that have happened." He remarked, voice dripping
with an amusement his face didn't show.
Yuugi struggled to untangle himself from the mass of blankets,
managing to successfully tie himself into a blanket-made knot. "Well, its
not everyday you see your other 'self' suddenly appear in front of you
like a person!" Yuugi remarked, venting his shock and embarrassed
anger at the gigantic blanket-knot, currently happily enveloping his
body. Of course, that only made things worse.
Yami-Yuugi blinked, eyes still fixed on his Aibou. The boy
looked absolutely ridiculous, swathed in his blankets, enclosing him like
a mass of bandages. "I didn't want to interrupt your own body, so I
created an illusionary one of my own. Its no fun being cramped in my
Soul Room all the time"
Yuugi stopped struggling, pondering in awe at what his Yami
had said. "So… your body isn't real?"
Yami-Yuugi shook his head. "Only as real as the person
believes."
Yuugi looked at the slight depression on the bed that his Yami
was creating by sitting, and he shrugged. "You look real enough to me."
Like some motion-sensitive serpent, another coil of blanket, managed to
successfully cover Yuugi's eyes, and the small boy squealed in protest.
Yami-Yuugi laughed, coming out in a harsh bark. Not because
he wanted to, but because he had not laughed in such a long time. It
felt… good - vaguely pleasing. His laughter faded into his trademark
smirk. "You know, Aibou, you look like a…" Here he paused, eyes
losing focus as he delved into Yuugi's memories. "Ah yes! You look
like a mummy!"
Yuugi frowned, growling a bit. "Hey! If you were a supposed-
to-be-dead Pharaoh, you're the one that should be a mummy!" He
wondered somewhere if there was some strange irony God playing
havoc with him, leaving him exposed to some bad Egyptian humour
when he didn't even deserve it.
**Somewhere, in an alternate dimension, the respectful and
exaltedly wonderful (Eevee muse: *WHACK*) author sneezed,
wondering if she was coming down with something. **
Amused crimson eyes stared back. "Nah." He commented,
enjoying the ludicrousness of the situation, and even more his newly-
found superiority. "Besides, you look like the exact type of character
who always gets picked on."
The struggling stopped. The words hit Yuugi with the force of a
sledgehammer, bringing him back to reality. Everything had gone
wrong. And now - now even his Yami, who had claimed to be a part of
him was less promising than he had hoped for. They had all said that he
was too easy a target. And he was - although only the strict Laws of the
Authority saved him. Yet, the Authority had failed. The _real_ reason
his Yami was here was because of… someone…
~ Silvery hair glittered like dull steel under the moonlight. Eyes
furrowed in darkness bore into Yuugi like a feline trapping its prey.
Yuugi was cornered - he was trapped - he had nowhere to go. Nowhere.
Absolutely nowhere.
Warmth gushed into Yuugi's lips, and he found himself hard
pressed as he backed himself away as far as possible. This time, there
was no sanctity. He felt everything. The smooth edge of slightly tender
lips forcing his own parched lips to crack and reveal the delicate inside
of his mouth. The caress of a tongue not his own running playfully along
his teeth. The strange, acrimonious taste of blood falling into his mouth,
as refreshing as salt water. He tasted every bit of it, as it spurted into his
mouth, warm and teeming with the essence of life. And yet, he refused
to swallow it, helplessly suppressing the bile in his throat as the salty,
slightly sticky-sweet taste pressured against his taste buds. He tried to
scream, spitting some of it out, the liquid dribbling down his chin,
soaking his teeth with an unnatural crimson. And then, forced hands
clamped his jaw shut, and Yuugi swallowed out of reaction, a reaction
not to bite his tongue. In that single moment, the liquid oozed down his
throat, trickling as it fell, setting his throat on fire. The pain didn't stop
until every last bit of it had seeped into his stomach, where it froze his
very intestines with a chill air. Yet, that was only a beginning of the
pain.
Bakura wasn't finished yet… oh no - he had just begun~
A stinging sensation on his cheek jerked the small boy back
into reality. Instinctively, Yuugi brought one hand to his sweltering
cheek, icy hands cooling the stinging pain. The small boy stared at his
Yami.
Yami-Yuugi glared at his Aibou fiercely, one hand still held
poised in the air, as if permanently stuck in the after-effect. His glare
softened as he realized the pain he had inflicted on his "light". "Look,
I'm sorry." He hesitated, biting his lip uncertainly while looking at the
ground. "I can't allow you to wallow on your self-pity, and even more
on the events of the past." Here, the darkness sighed, eyes closing in
anguished remembrance. "If you dwell only on your past, how can you
see to the future?"
Yuugi ignored his other's attempts to make him feel better.
How could his Yami possibly understand? He snorted, a derisive snort
most unlike himself. What was there to dwell on? His life had been
ruined, just by a single event, his reputation marred for life. What's more
- he had trusted Bakura. Tears began to sting his eyes, pooling around
his lids and threatening to spill. The small boy bit his lips, trying to
suppress his agony.
Another ear-shattering slap ensued, this time, both Yuugi and
Yami-Yuugi staring at each other in shock. Yami-Yuugi was faster to
recover, withdrawing his stinging red palm.
"Stop it, Yuugi." He muttered, each word tense and suppressed.
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself. It's not your fault, and it never will be."
Trust was a fickle thing, wasn't it? Gone one moment as fast as
the westerly wind. Yuugi wondered when his Yami would abandon him.
After all, he was too tainted. The tears, no longer able to defy gravity,
spilled out, large translucent pearls that dripped onto his shirt, creating
perfect dark blue circles on his normally light-blue jacket. "It- it-" He
began, stuttering through his tears and internal agony.
~ The fire burned on all sides of him, locking Yuugi into a trap
built on the inferno of Hell. He heard a voice, deep and consuming,
laughing in glee as he frantically searched for an escape. The flames
glowed with an unnatural red, the same red as his tainted blood. And it
grew, encompassing him like an inferno, scorching his body, scorching
his soul. Yuugi screamed out in agony as he felt a million claws tear at
his flesh, enhanced by the intense heat of the fire, the fire that stung with
the icy chills of the Arctic and burned with eternal punishment.
Suddenly, it came, in the form of a hulking dark slave-master,
eyes glowing an eerie yellow. On one hand, it brandished a whip made
of the same eternal flame, screaming a silent voice of condemnation. It
was Punishment.
Punishment raised its whip, testing its accuracy on a nearby
rock-infested corner, reducing the corner to a sizable dent. Yuugi
whimpered, the tears falling non-stop as they blurred his vision. It was
soon - very soon. He would soon get the punishment he deserved.
The whip came falling down, emblazoned with flames….
Yuugi closed his eyes, wishing for innocence and eternity…
The whip cracked painfully once…
And nothing happened.
Yuugi opened his eyes. There was no pain. He blinked. Was
this the bliss that eternity promised?
"Hell, no."
The voice was startlingly familiar, and Yuugi saw… himself,
doubling over in pain, a jagged gash running across his back, the painful
mark cutting through fabric and skin until it had seared pink flesh. Now,
the flesh burned a dull black, the strange smell both putrid and revolting.
Yuugi almost screamed as he watched himself suffer.
… and then realized that it wasn't him.
Dark crimson eyes glared into the soft lavender ones. The not-
Yuugi looked up, one hand pressed against the deepest opening on the
gash, brows furrowed painfully in a valiant attempt to ignore the pain as
streams of blood ran between his fingers.
Yuugi gaped, only realizing now what his Yami had done.
"You said that you weren't real!" He shouted angrily, a new batch of
tears running down his cheeks as ran over to his Yami, embracing the
taller body.
Yami-Yuugi managed a faint grin, canines glistening in the
unnatural light. "Only as real as you want me to be."
Yuugi's eyes widened, and he backed away in fear. "Please."
He muttered, voice barely reaching past his constricted throat. "Stop it!
Please just leave me alone!" With that final command, he broke down,
sobbing quietly to himself. He waited, expecting this nightmare to end
and another to take its place.
Yet, nothing happened.
Yami-Yuugi looked at his light, drawing himself closer despite
the pain. His eyes were now clouded over in agony, despite his calm
demeanor. "Yuugi. Why do you hate me?"
Yuugi looked up. Why did he hate his Yami anyway? "Because
- because you'll only betray me, like everyone else. "
"Do you hate yourself?"
Yuugi nodded his head vehemently.
"Why?"
"S-someone…" Yuugi's voice hushed over, almost in awe.
"Someone…" He began sobbing again, lost in his own internal agony.
He felt so dirty, so unclean, as if his whole body was simply a used dirt
cloth. He was worthless.
"Aibou. Listen to me."
Yuugi ignored the strange voice.
"Aibou."
Yuugi ignored the strange warning voice.
" AIBOU!"
Yuugi wanted to tell the voice to be quiet. It was giving him a
headache. But then, he stopped. Why did it matter what he wanted? He
was worthless… he was insignificant… so insignificant…so…
…. Yuugi's eyes snapped wide open as he felt a familiar
pressure being applied to his lips, robbing him off all thought. He
choked back a scream, realizing with a sinking heart the repeating
pattern of his nightmare. Again, his heart called out in agony…
And then, realized that it _wasn't_ Bakura.
And that he didn't feel violated at all.
Yami-Yuugi drew back from the kiss, never leaving his
crimson eyes off Yuugi's. He said nothing, but simply watched.
Watched carefully the expression on Yuugi's face.
Yuugi stared, stunned, torn between screaming in agony and
asking for more. Finally, his body compromised by dropping himself
ungainly to the ground. Curing to a fetal position, Yuugi could only stare
at his Yami while voicing a single word.
"Why?"
Yami-Yuugi put a finger to his Aibou's lips before he could say
more. "There is no why. Only a because." He sighed, holding the small
boy into a tight embrace. "Yuugi, you are my Chosen. I knew that from
the moment I saw your soul that you were the one I had been looking
for. You can't leave me now, just like you can't stop breathing or
wishing, or hoping something of some sort. Even the most desperate,
dying man will wish something with their last breath. So wish now,
Yuugi. Wish for something. "
Wish? What was there to wish? The more Yuugi thought of it,
the less choices he found himself in. What did he wish for the most? "I
wished that this had never happened - that I had never met Bakura-"
Yuugi stopped himself halfway, the taste of his Yami's lips still
lingering within his heart. He remembered the simple delight his
darkness had given him, and even more, what his Yami had promised.
He remembered the soft feathers of his angel, and the joy of discovering
the Millennium Puzzle. And he remembered his own "puzzle", most of
the pieces still hidden by the Authority, still waiting to be solved.
And he tried again.
"I wish for a new chance. To start again. To forgive and be
forgiven. To forget." He touched his heart briefly, wishing the pain
away. His Yami was right. He could only get what he wished if he
looked to the future and stopped dwelling on the past. Now was the time
to change. No was the time to accept.
"And I also wish…" Yuugi turned to his darkness. "That you'll
be by my side, no matter what."
The Sennen Eye glowed on Yami's forehead, a startling,
brilliant yellow hue. With a burst of magic, eye commanded a spell of
brilliant light, chasing away the darkness like the sunrise against the
night. Then, everything was still again. ~
Yuugi up from his position on the ground, realizing that he was
back in his room. As he started to wonder what happened, the dream
rushed back into him like a snap elastic effect.
"You all right, Aibou?" A deep, soothing voice asked, forever
promising. "What's wrong?"
Yami-Yuugi's voice contained a strange ignorance, as if he had been the
audience of some show he missed.
Yuugi looked at his Yami, rubbing away the last of his tears.
"Oh… It was nothing. I- I think I just had a bad dream."
Yami chuckled. "Yes. Bad dreams can be painful, especially to
the eye of the dreamer."
Yuugi stared into the crimson eyes of his other, and wondered
briefly if his Yami had actually kissed him. Surely, his other wouldn't
have gone that far… and yet, he longed for it.
Yami-Yuugi's eyes sparkled almost mischievously before
turning back into their serious hue. "I guess, like a dream, everything has
to move on."
"Yes." Yuugi confirmed. "Everything must move on. For as
long as there is possibility and a future, there is hope."
Yami-Yuugi nodded, this time breaking into a genuine, perfect
smile. And then, much to Yuugi's amazement, began laughing. As in,
rolling-on-the-bed laughter. Yuugi blinked. Several times, actually,
wondering what on earth had possessed his Yami. _This_ was supposed
to be his darkness? Still incredulous at his 'darkness', Yuugi stood from
his seat on the ground, eyes never leaving his Yami. If _that_ was his
Yami, how naïve was he?
There needed to be no answer as Yuugi 'eeped' and realized
with a sinking heart that he was still swathed in blankets. Anything else
was resolved with a loud "Thump!".
******************************************
//We ll, I think you're healthy enough// A dry voice remarked as
Yuugi stared outside the window, large light-violet eyes pressed against
the glass, leaving finger and face-prints on the smooth, cold surface.
Yuugi's eyes lit up. /Really?/ He then looked around, as if
expecting to be suddenly denied his freedom. Of course, no one came.
The small boy frowned, thinking deeply. /I don't get it./ He finally
confessed. /I thought that this might be someone's house, but there's
been no one here since I woke up./
//Hnn.// Came Yami-Yuugi's reply. //There probably _is_
someone there. If not, then how did you get on the bed, and where did
the Puzzle come from?//
/An angel/ Yuugi stated, then realizing that his Yami was lost,
sent his other a mental pulse of information, explaining his dream and
the golden-haired angel.
Yami-Yuugi mused over that for a while, not bothering to
speak as the pair lapsed into a moment of silence.
Suddenly, the door behind Yuugi slammed shut, and the boy
jumped in surprise, jerking his head towards the offending sound. By the
doorframe stood a petit young woman, possibly no older than eighteen,
wearing brisk white nursing robes with a pile of prim towels in one
hand. Yuugi could only stare at the intruder, coming to the conclusion
that he _had_ been living in this lady's house.
The woman, much to Yuugi's surprise (and Yami-Yuugi's
amusement), took no heed of the small boy, and proceeded to stuff the
towels neatly in a nearby closet, humming a bit abstractly to herself.
Tidy blue hair, trimmed rather short, bobbed back and forth as she
worked, moving with a strange unity.
Taking some time to wonder whether or not Yuugi should
disturb this strange lady, he finally decided. With uneasy shuffling steps,
the boy made his way to the blue-haired woman, poking her gently on
the arm to get her attention.
"Hello there." Large dark-blue eyes turned to meet Yuugi,
sparkling with a pleasant tone. "How may I help you?"
Yuugi, in turn, fidgeted. "Erm… thanks for letting me stay at
your house… " He began, not sure of what to say. If it hadn't been for
this lady finding her, he might have been stuck on the streets, dead by
now. And yet, he didn't want to cause her any more trouble. "I'll be
taking my leave now."
As Yuugi turned to leave, he felt himself restrained by a tug on
his arm. The small boy looked back, to see the woman holding onto his
wrist gently. She smiled, softly and pleasantly, showing no hostility.
"You're welcome back any time you want." Was the reply in an equally
gentle voice. "Please." She added softly, before letting go of Yuugi's
hand.
Yuugi nodded, although he really had no intention of doing so.
"I-I'll think about it." He muttered, surprised as his own geniality.
//Yeah right// Yami-Yuugi snorted in his mind. //After this,
we're outta here!//
"You might just want to come back one day." The woman
spoke, her tone deeper and wiser than it had been, as if containing a
hidden secret one could only grasp at. "There are some things you might
want to learn later. And clues to the secret your are looking for."
"Um, okay." Yuugi didn't fully trust this mysterious stranger,
but she seemed to contain an aura of hidden wisdom and inner strength,
like his angel. Just by instinct, he was drawn to liking and believing her.
"But, what secrets are there?"
The woman didn't reply to the question, but frankly ignored it.
"There are dangers that you can only grasp at." She began. "You must
look out for the traps, and always trust those who care for you. The
Game has begun, and there is no escape now."
Yuugi could feel his Yami mentally narrowing his eyes at that
comment. //Game…// Muttered Yami-Yuugi, although more to himself
than to his other. //Could this possibly have anything to do with the…
Authority?// The last word had been hastily placed in, as if covering
another word that the darkness didn't want to disclose.
Of course, Yuugi didn't notice. /I think…/ His mind briefly
played into flashback mode, and out again. /I think we're about to
discover it, whatever it is./
//Hmph.// Yami-Yuugi said nothing more, retreating back into
silence.
"Please." The woman laid a friendly hand on Yuugi's shoulder,
ice-cold. "Take this with you, if you ever want to find me again. Simply
come back to this place and show this card." Her eyes flashed a bit in
warning. "And don't lose it! Doing so may prove to be more harmful
than you think."
Yuugi accepted the small white card, rather plain in
appearance. There was no writing on it whatsoever. Shrugging, he
clutched the card in one hand, the other opening the door, bidding a last
farewell to his kind benefactor.
Only when Yuugi left the small, conformable-looking house,
done in a rather old-fashioned style with its slanted shingled rooftops
and whitewashed walls, did he remember something he had forgotten to
mention. If his benefactor had rescued her, did he give her the Puzzle
too? If so - where had it come from, and more so, what was going to
happen?
The small boy turned back towards the house, only to realize
that it wasn't there anymore. Simply said - the area looked like a cluster
of trees and grass, claiming rather guilefully to never have supported any
house of any sort. Yuugi gaped out loud, staring at the house-that-never-
was, wondering if he had dreamt it all.
//I doubt it.// Yami-Yuugi frowned in his mind, his tone rather
suspicious and disproving.
Well, if his Yami was here, then it had to be real, Yuugi
reasoned. The second piece of information that gave it away was the
blank card, still caught in the clammy-cold grip of his hands. Now, he
looked at the face of the strange shiny plastic of the card again, turning it
over for inspection. And, as if on command, a series of words blurred
and formed on the surface, written in a bold dark red, much like the
colour of his Yami's eyes.
Yuugi gaped for the umpteenth time today, reading the scant
words out loud.
"Club oh-oh-one- three."
*****************************************************
End notes:
BTW, "oh-oh-one-three" translates to '0013'. You knew that, ne?
Also, sneezing is a Japanese superstition, claiming that whenever
someone sneezes, it's a sign of someone else talking about them. ^_^
Whew! Took me three chapters to reveal the significance of my title, and
I'm not done yet! In case you're wondering, I was going to do a "Yami-
Bakura says" but I didn't exactly want Yami-Yuugi ripping his guts out
in my story. Maybe somewhere else -_-;;;