Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Curse of Water ❯ Shades of Aqua ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

By: Miashin

Yar! Chapta twooooooooo!

Errr…random things to note. The pairings for the entire plot of all three stories have been decided. Sadly a lot of people seem to be going single, unless of course you readerswant me to take Kiraa's advice and go and stick Yaoi in her someplace. I really don't want to, Kiraa got all his say in our Digimon fic and I really don't wanna put anything like that here.

However majority public opinion shall prevail, so whatever the vote I'll have ta' follow. Actually I don't, prolly won't, but I'm giving ya the chance fore your opinions.

And while we are on the subject of romance, don't expect much from me. The most you'll ever see in this story is maybe some fluff. So all you lemon loving people are going to have to take your NC17 fandom elsewhere. The purpose of this story is plot. And for the sake of plot I have also kept as many of the original series pairings as I knew off. However, here and there you just might get a shocker so pay attention.

That's all for author notes today, and remember, an apple a day keeps the worm population down.

Key/Legend

“blah”-normal talking

blah-Hikary to Yami mental communication (private)

blah-Yami to Hikary mental communication (private)

blah-general mental communication (non private)

(((blah)))-author notes

Chapter 2: Shadows in Aqua

Bakura shifted uncomfortably as three gazes of concerned eyes pinned him down. Anzu looked him over as if he was about to fall into pieces, Jounouchi and Honda for their part were trying to be a little more discreet about it. Thankfully their gazes were removed from him as Yugi started coughing again. This was the third time since Bakura had started his solo monologue of what he could remember.

“And after that I woke up in the hospital, which was thankfully a whole lot warmer and more comfortable. Doctor said that I had sever hypothermia when they brought me in, kept us there for a day, and then let us back out that Sunday afternoon.” He finished as Yugi quieted down.

“Hey, wait a minute!” Jounouchi stood up pointing a finger right at Bakura's nose and sounding very indignant. “If you got back Sunday afternoon, when did you have time to finish all your homework.”

Behind the blonde Bakura could see Anzu role her eyes and had the distinct impression that Honda beside him was doing the same. “Sunday afternoon?” he tried, eyebrows raised. With a mutter Jounouchi was pulled back into his seed by his brunet neighbor “Not everyone's as slow at doing homework as you are.”

Once Jounouchi had settled, somewhat, attention returned to Yugi. The smallest of the group had taken to staring at the surface of the table, eyes partially glazed over and apparently lost in thought. “Hey Yugi, how much do you remember?” the whispered question came from beside Bakura.

Yugi gave a shudder, showing that he had very well heard Honda though kept quiet for a while. “Well…it got a bit weird, after I hit the water.” He once his contemplation seemed to be complete, though his eyes stayed fixed on the table.

Flashback

Freezing. As soon as he hit the water, Yugi felt like he was freezing. The cold and lightning cut through his clothes and skin, pinning him down, tying tons and tons of wait to him with iron chains. He couldn't move, only sink. Somewhere in the back of his head it registered that the pond was not supposed to be this deep, this cold, this black.

He tried, he really did, tried to swim up, push through the water. But claws closed around him. His throat, his hands, his feet. They pulled down and no matter how much he kicked they would not let go. They cut into his skin bit at his mind and whispered in his ear.

`Breath'

He couldn't, there was water everywhere. If he opened his mouth he'd drown, he'd die. Inside he could feel an equally desperate battle. Two forms, two blue fires cackling, cracking, tossing tongues of flame and sparks at each other. One blocking, the other desperately pushing out, fighting.

Something cracked, like lightning hitting earth. Yugi could hear it, through the water, the dizziness, the panic, a light. His puzzle exploded into a ball of fire in front of him. The talons and claws removed, the chains shattered, and his darker half burst past the confronting power and took over. Yugi gladly gave control to him, the younger couldn't think, couldn't act anymore, only watch.

The claws returned, this time more vicious trailing pain where they touched. Yami threw them off, the millennium puzzle still glowing like a halo of protection, the light biting out, cutting trough chains and unseen hands, slicing darkness and pulling upward toward it's counterpart hanging uncaringly in the sky above.

And then ceased.

Shadows all a round a black shape, curling twisting. A serpent tying around him. New claws, larger heavier, more brutal in nature closed around his throat, dragged him back down, from where he had just been able to struggle from. Opalescent orbs twisting infront of his visions, eyes and lamps. And then a stab, a claw reaching right through him groping for his young charge inside.

Yami gasped, icy blackness and water filling his lungs. A desperate lash to protect Yugi, a dieing attempt at a renewed flicker from the puzzle.

Light, the puzzle burst into pieces, the shadow realm sinking into the water. One monstrosity of nonexistence fighting in the other. And he was released, no hands came to claw at him just plain empty water to sink down into. No energy to struggle, nothing left, all sucked empty by an invisible snake now coiling around something older.

From the depths rose a new shape, a new shadow. Bloodshot eyes focused on him and he landed atop. And then the movement shifted, not down but up. The shadows faded, left to their battle at the bottom of eternity as slowly he was pushed back towards the border, light now shining down. And then the world came back, in a burst of air that refused to enter his lungs, the sharp wind blissfully warm compared to what had laid below.

Strong hands closed around him, pulled him out of the water. Voices, real human voices, echoed somewhere far away. He was turned around, face first into hot snow, a weight on his chest, and the water came out. One breath, two. The voices steadied, real warmth enveloped him, something large and dry, and then he was being moved again. In the distance the sound of sirens.

The darker half fell back, all power exhausted, and Yugi was pulled forward again.

Into a warm room, the light from the reflected snow on the window beside him enough to burn his eyes. He hissed and closed them quickly, turning his head away from the offending brightness before looking out again slowly and cautiously. A small hospital room, the redish hue to all the white gave away the offending shine that had awakened him as the sunset. He was alone, but most importantly he thought, he was safe and warm. And NOT wet.

Flashback END

“Wow, that was…disjointed.” Were the first few words Jounouchi could say once. He was quickly reprimanded by a glare from Anzu and shifted away from the rather dangerous female. She, though, decided against pursuing his punishment in favor of investigating this event. “You said the puzzle broke?”

Yugi nodded, “I'm pretty sure I saw it brake, but it was all in one piece when I woke up.”

“Well the puzzles obviously fine, but what were those things?” Anzu mused. “You said you saw a snake?” Honda quickly added as he leaned forward in interest.

“Well there were four of them actually.” Yugi thought, “There was the first one, the one with all the lights and the fingers. Then there was the snake and after tha-” he was forced to brake off when another set of coughs forced it's way out. But, as if afraid of letting it go on too long, he quickly resumed the explanation, “After that came this other thing, it felt and looked kind of similar to the snake but it also felt a whole lot bigger. And then there was the one that carried me up, the one with the red eyes, it almost looked like a big boulder.”

Jounouchi paled slightly at the explanation, “What if they are real monsters? And all that black stuff, was that the Shadow Realm?”

Yugi thought over it but ended up just shaking his head. “No, it was something like the Shadow Realm, but different. The Shadow Realm did appear, but it was when the other two `things' showed up. But, they might have been monsters, I'm not sure.”

“Well if they are monsters and the Shadow Realm's involved then there's probably some idiot calling it all up. I say we find him and take `em down before things get really bad.” Jounouchi stood up, determined to not allow what happened the previous few times someone had called up dark powers to happen again. But before Honda had to come up to keep the blond from storming right out of the school in pursuit of the perpetrator, Jounouchi fixed his gaze on their pale haired friend, who had been quiet since Yugi had started his narrative.

“Hey wait a minute,” One finger pointed again at Bakura as the blonds eyes took on a suspicious gleam, “how do we know your not the evil Bakura and are just trying to trick us, and that it wasn't you who called up all those monsters to attack Yugi.”

Bakura just blinked up at him, a bit wide eyed in surprise. “Because the Ring doesn't like the cold, so it never shows it's power during winter. That's actually why I moved up here, the winters are colder and last longer.”

“Sit down.” Anzu once again jerked Jounouchi back to his seat before the blonde could formulate a proper reply.

“Calm down Jounouchi, Bakura didn't have anything to do with this. He was just cought up in it, the same way as the rest of us. If we don't trust our friends, who can we trust?” Anzu tried to calm down the volatile situation.

“How about just yourself.” Came the deadpan reply as Kaiba passed their table and Honda wasn't fast enough to stop Jounouchi from jumping at the CEO. “Mind your own business, moneybags!”

Kaiba stopped to throw a glare behind his shoulder, “It is my business when your stupidity cause my company to loose money.”

Jounouchi was preparing to throw another insult out, but paused as the meaning of the statement sank in. “So I take it you didn't get your PDA back.” It was a statement, not a question, and it was delivered with vicious mirth from the blond. Kaiba's glare merely intensified, “I'm not the only one losing money here mutt, and I would think that'd you'd feel it more then me.” With that he turned around and simply ignored the group, proceeding to the very last back table.

Anzu just had her head in her hands, shaking it sadly from side to side, cought between anger at Jounouchi's behavior and sheer exasperation. It was probably a good thing that the bell decided to ring at that precise moment of time, because it gave Honda a good excuse to drag the kicking and screaming Jounouchi from the cafeteria and away from the target of his near homicidal rage.

It was an unnecessary attempt though, as a scream from Anzu was enough to redirect his attention. “Is that blood!”

Yugi had started into another coughing fit and now a couple drops of red flecked the hand that had come up to cover his mouth. “Ack, It's okay.” He rushed to explain, cleaning the hand off on a paper napkin that he stole from Jounouchi's tray. “I just bit my lip.” And sure enough there was a small cut that he quickly moved the napkin to, once his hand was clean.

Anzu however wasn't satisfied with the explanation, “That's it, your going home.” She stood and half pushed half dragged Yugi out of the cafeteria as attempt any excuse he could think off for her to release him. His efforts were slightly hampered by the invisible dark spirit that trailed behind the two and echoed Anzu's decision.

“Scary…” Jounouchi muttered as he watched the pair retreat, not feeling up the helping Yugi against that kind of threat. “Come on let's go.” Honda hefted his bag and helped Bakura up as he tripped slightly over his own feet.

“Careful! Maybe you should go home as well. Not good if you can't even walk straight.” Bakura gave an embarrassed smile to the brunet, “I'm fine, really.” After a critical once over Honda decided to leave the pale boy alone in favor of grabbing Jounouchi to drag him away from the mini ambush he had been setting for Kaiba. Bakura followed behind them, their arguing droned out by the sick feeling in his gut that had nothing to do with the cold. Should he have told about the other things he had seen as well? He really couldn't help it though, he just wasn't as good as Yugi at opening up to people. With a sight he attempted to shake the thoughts out of his head as the trio re-entered their class room, those little things probably weren't worth mentioning.

Minor note: Chapter1 will be going through some minor revisions. Just formatting, grammer, spelling, and such stuffs. Just thought I would let you all know.

Now for REVIEWS!

Dagger Maxwell: Oh wow, you mean there are some people that actually remember this thing from it's first draft stages. Makes me feel loved. Yup, this is how they got sick and you won't believe how hard it was to write that little bridge to water scene. I think I did it over about fifteen or so times before settling on something I liked. And it still needs work. sighs

Abi2: Here ya go.

WildfireFriendship0:Now you know, not that it makes a hole lot of sense.

Mercenary Pen: chews on you duel scene Yar, chapter 1 needs fixing and I'm getting to it. Of course I couldn't let Yugi orBakura take on their Yami forms, thetwo would've beet off the punks and then ripped each other to bits and Ijust can't let that happen...yet.And yes there will be duels in here, but not of the card variety cause I'm just very bad at that stuff.

Scarab Dynasty: Heh, yeah. A while. Like two years since the first release of chapter one. I reserve the right to blame school and bad procrastination habit for that. But yay, I updated FINALLY

And mucho's thankies to all the other people that read my story in the first place and the ones that didn't review. Except those of you who thought it sucked cause, if it sucks, tell me, so I can fix it.