Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Dueling ❯ Solving the Puzzle ( Chapter 4 )

Dark Dueling

By FlikFreak

 

Chapter Four: Solving the Puzzle

 

~*~

 

The next day at school, Yugi definitely noticed people talking. Before he had gone to the Den, Yugi had felt like and actually been the number one duelist around. Now that Den Duels had come to mind, he somehow felt like a beginner again, and the nostalgia would hardly stop. A few times, some of the students approached him asking to duel, and he consented. Though he always won, people were happy just for a chance to have a game with the legendary Yugi Mutou. The boy assumed this was a warm-up for the tournament during Fall Break, as there was supposedly a great prize in store. Even so, he wanted nothing more than to finish his puzzle at that time.

 

That day at lunch, Yugi was alone in an empty corner of the cafeteria piecing together a few fragments of the puzzle while Jounouchi went to find someone to duel with. It wasn't long before Ryou Bakura decided to join him. “Why aren't you eating with the rest of the kids, Yugi?” He asked. “You could get some dueling practice.”

 

“I can't practice for the Den Duels,” Yugi replied quietly. “Besides, people have been challenging me left and right today. I kind of need a break.”

 

“I can understand how you feel,” Bakura replied. “What's that you're working on, Yugi? Some kind of game?”

 

Yugi smiled brightly. “I'm not supposed to tell anyone about it,” he said quietly, “But it's a puzzle.” To demonstrate his point, he proudly - yet discretely - held up the box it came in.

 

Upon seeing the box, Bakura let out a yelp and ended up spilling his drink (which then stained his uniform) and toppling half of his meal onto the table in recoil. Yugi stared in shock as the boy managed to recover. “W-Where did you get that?!” He asked frantically, doing his best to keep his voice quiet.

 

“Boss asked to see me in his office when we first came,” Yugi explained, eyes still wide from Bakura's reaction. “He asked something about why I came and then gave me this puzzle, asking me to solve it before the end of the tournament for some reward.”

 

Bakura glanced around to make sure no one was looking and leaned forward. “Yugi, no one has ever been able to solve that puzzle.”

 

“Wha-?”

 

“Boss gives that puzzle to the meek people that come in,” The albino explained, his voice low. “Many of them never managed to solve it. When they went to return the puzzle to him, people never saw them again. It was like they never got to leave the man's office…”

 

There was a moment of silence when Yugi stared at the puzzle pieces in his hand. Something like that wasn't possible. The only things the man had in his office were a bunch of cards on his shelves and the golden box, which had been given to him. Was there something he was missing, or was Bakura…no, Bakura wasn't that kind of person…

 

“I'd get rid of that thing if I were you,” Bakura said calmly, “And never go to the Den again.”

 

“But I'm actually making progress!” Yugi protested quietly, holding up the bits of puzzle he had managed to fit together (which wasn't many, but Yugi had taken ages to figure it out). “I really want to finish it…”

 

Bakura sighed, turning away. “If you want to finish it that badly,” he replied, “Then I suggest you do it quick…just don't get your hopes up.” Bakura walked off, leaving behind his lunch tray and some puzzling thoughts for Yugi to ponder.

 

~*~

 

Using my power to sap the innate power of others is deplorable, you foolish mortal. I cannot allow this to continue any further. Soon, the truth shall be revealed. Soon, your entire legion of followers will know where those innocent minds have gone - trapped within your terrible realm, forced into torture and pain.

 

But this boy is not like the others. His excitement and anticipation comes not from the so-called reward that you have mentioned. No…he simply wants to complete something he has begun. He believes this to be a simple game…but that is fine. With what little power I can exert, I will show him the way, even through your vile trickery…

 

~*~

 

The week went by quickly. Yugi and Jounouchi made frequent trips to the Duelist's Den, and eventually the kids at school stopped trying to shy away from them. While it was great to have people accepting casual dueling matches again, Yugi didn't feel up for dueling for a while. His mind was completely focused on the puzzle he had received from Boss. When Saturday finally arrived, people were flocking to the Duelist's Den in droves, and Yugi and Jounouchi were no exception. The main problem was that Yugi might have regained his dueling spirit, but now his thoughts were completely focused on putting the puzzle together. In fact, he was almost done.

 

“Yugi,” Jounouchi finally said, approaching his friend while he went through the new cards he had bought. “You've been sitting in the corner all day. Aren't you ganna have a few duels?”

 

Yugi glanced up from the puzzle pieces, quickly hiding them, and shook his head at Jounouchi. “That's okay,” He replied. “I'm feeling a bit off today, so I'm taking a break.”

 

“You've been `taking a break' all week,” Jounouchi protested. “You feeling alright? Not sick or anything?”

 

“I'm fine,” Yugi insisted. “I'll try my hand at a duel later. School wore me out again today.”

 

Defeated, Jounouchi headed back to the dueling rings. Yugi was making fast progress on the puzzle, each piece slipping in just perfectly. Oddly enough, he felt as though someone were showing him where each piece went. Before long, the puzzle was taking shape. Excited, Yugi became so enamored in completing it that he never noticed the sounds around him or the looks he was getting. Before long, there was only one piece left to slip in place. Yugi eagerly reached into the box, eyes fixed on the puzzle, only to find that he couldn't reach it. Turning his eyes to the box, he found it empty.

 

The last piece isn't here? He thought, disheartened. He slumped against the wall, head hanging low. Bakura was right…I'll never finish it…what'll I do now?

 

“Is something wrong, Mister Mutou?”

 

Yugi pulled his gaze upward to see Boss standing nearby. He was smiling, looking at the puzzle. “Why, you've nearly completed the puzzle! I must extend my congratulations. All you need to do is slip on one more piece, am I right?”

 

The young duelist shook his head. “I can't find it…it's not here.”

 

Boss tilted his head in worry. “Are you sure you didn't drop it somewhere?” he said. “It'd be a real shame after coming this far, being unable to solve the puzzle. There is such a wonderful reward in it for you, too…” He turned and began to walk off toward the dueling arenas. “Take care, Yugi, and good luck finding the missing piece.”

 

For some odd reason, Yugi had the strong urge to glare at the back of the man's head.

 

Standing up and stuffing the box and nearly-finished puzzle in his backpack, he felt his gaze being pulled toward the back rooms, and walked down the hall toward Boss's office. The door of the office opened, and Yugi quickly ducked into a nearby storage room.

 

“…hid it, right, Valon?”

 

A man in a dark cloak nodded. “'course I did. Boss said never to let the kid get his hands on it, right?”

 

Yugi peered quietly through the keyhole of the door, squinting. Let the kid…who? Me?

 

“Well, if the kid finds it and completes the puzzle, you know what we'll be in for…”

 

“Yeah, yeah. I hid it in this storage room over here.” The man gestured toward Yugi, causing him to shrink back a bit. “I don't remember what shelf I put it on, but I hid it so well even I won't be able to find it.”

 

“You idiot!” The other man said. “Now Boss won't be able to find it without using the stone!”

 

Stone…?

 

“Stone? You mean the one that he uses on-”

 

There was a small shout from down the hall, interrupting the two in their conversation. “You two, come here at once. There is a thief at one of the shops and we need to question him.”

 

One of the men sighed. “I hate when he gets that look in his eye,” he groaned, and the two walked off.

 

Yugi let out a sigh and sat down. Jounouchi was right. That Boss person didn't want him to solve the puzzle, and had purposely hid the last piece from him. Thanks to his henchmen, however, he now knew where it was: in the very room he was hiding in. Now the only problem was in finding it…

 

As the thought touched his mind, a dark mist seeped into the room. Startled, Yugi felt his entire body grow stiff, watching as the shadows took a strangely human shape. The boy attempted to speak, but found that his jaw simply would not move. The shadow slunk toward the shelves, and Yugi felt his feet moving on their own accord to follow the figure.

 

What am I doing…? What's going on?

 

The shadow pointed up to the top of the shelf, where Yugi felt his gaze drag upward to. Without a moment's hesitation, the boy once again felt his body moving on its own, as though some force were pulling him toward whatever was there. He climbed carefully up to the top shelf, the closer he got, the brighter something began to shine. A golden light reached out to him, and it was not long before he saw where it was coming from.

 

The last piece of the puzzle!

 

Feeling his body relax again, Yugi clung to the shelves, carefully reaching forward with one hand and swiping the puzzle piece from the shelf and gingerly climbing back down. The shadowy figure seemed to nod and subsequently vanished. Yugi, however, barely noticed. He could hardly believe that this was a piece of the puzzle he was holding in his hand! All he had to do was slip the piece into place and the puzzle would be complete!

 

It was then that doubt began to wash over him. What if it didn't fit? What if the puzzle was just a trick? How would he face up to everyone when they found out he had been hiding nothing all along? Glancing down at his backpack, Yugi sighed, pulling the incomplete puzzle out. I guess there's only one way to find out. Shaking his head in slight disbelief, Yugi slowly slipped the piece of the puzzle into place.

 

It happened all at once. The puzzle began to glow with an immensely bright golden light, and at the same time the shadowy mist grew thicker and thicker at an alarmingly fast rate, threatening to choke the boy indefinitely. The more he tried to breathe, the more he found that he couldn't, and to top it off his vision was becoming clouded thanks to the strong haze. He began to stagger in his movements, feeling something within him rising to the top, brimming over. Whatever it was, he had only one word for it: it was power, and it certainly wasn't any kind familiar to him.

 

What's going on?! Yugi cried mentally, since not only was he finding it nearly impossible to breathe but he doubted anyone would be able to hear him through all of this chaos. Jounouchi! Anyone! Help!

 

But no one heard him. He stumbled forward, clutching his throbbing skull and sinking as though his entire body were suddenly made of lead. Yugi was desperately trying to breathe, though instead of fresh air the shadowy fog replaced what oxygen he needed to stay conscious. The boy's body began to tremble and his eyes shut tightly. In his mind, he heard someone speaking, but he never heard their words. The dark, swarming mist and the gleaming light were causing too much panic from within, and the chaos was feeding off of his panic.

 

As the foreign sensation building up within Yugi halted where it was, the golden light began to fade and the mist vanished. Yugi, unaware of how much of the substance he had already inhaled, too a gasping breath of stale air…though stale air was a lot more welcoming to him now that he could actually breathe. Drained of his energy, the young duelist slumped to the floor in an exhausted heap, blacking out. In his unconsciousness, he remained unaware that the puzzle, clutched tightly in his hands, was still pulsing.