Author's Note:
If you have been a reader of mine for a while, you might already know exactly what this is, and I do hope it's exciting in some way or another! I've been contemplating something this massive for a long time now, given the positive response to and aged writing of the original, and so this is going to be considered attempt #1 at an actual satisfying and complete "rewrite".
Please don't be afraid to leave reviews, as they're what keeps me wanting to upload chapters!
I hope you enjoy!
When telling a story this large, it's hard to know where to start. Especially when it's been told before.
But any time a story is retold, there are obvious reasons for doing so.
A change of perspective, a new take on the story, or perhaps, the writer wants to revisit the world, or show off new skills.
And as you may know, if you've been down this path before, this story in particular, begins with a game.
"You already accepted the rules, Pharaoh. You can't go back now!"
He'd been tricked. Fooled. And there were few feelings worse to him than knowing he had the wool pulled over his eyes.
"Perhaps if you had given me the entire list of rules from the beginning, Bakura, this would be a fair game."
Injustice. One of the things in this world he despised most. But of course, he should have expected it from the very beginning.
The young man standing across the table wore a sinister smirk, and if anyone else had seen it and been unaware of exactly who he was, they might have laughed. For his age, the expression almost held humor, if it wasn't for the instability present in his eyes. His teeth almost appeared to be sharper than he knew they must have been in reality.
And now, of course, he thought he had the upper hand. What the boy on the opposite side of table didn't want to admit, was that he was right. He did have the upper hand.
This boy's face too, held expressions that didn't match their ages or situations. In fact, if anyone else was watching this, they'd surely laugh. This didn't seem serious, from an outside perspective.
It was an average Japanese apartment, very normal, even containing modern appliances. One of the boys standing there glaring almost hilariously was wearing a school uniform, indicating that he'd have school the next day, and thus, this feeble fight would surely prove inconsequential in these circumstances. School the next day? Surely these boys only had hours left before they needed to be asleep in time to rest before their alarm clocks went off in the morning.
But if one of the few who knew had been watching, their reactions would have been different.
They wouldn't have been laughing.
They would have been scared.
Their many friends weren't here. It was only the two boys, giving each other looks that don't fit well in this setting, in this era, on a bright happy April afternoon in Japan.
What the average person wouldn't notice about this room, had to do with the number of people in it. On the outside, it appeared to be two boys, in an argument after school. Probably over something stupid, like a homework question.
No, what only a few people knew, or would even be able to know, is that this room contained four people.
The two visible ones, and the two who couldn't currently be seen by each other or anyone else who happened to look for them. Very few people would know they were there at all.
One of which was very frustrated at having been tricked. It was the kind of tricked in which the fooled can't take back having been fooled. The kind with consequences.
"You agreed to the game, nonetheless. You agreed to the rules, and now you have to go through with it."
And it was true. The rules, presented to him as vaguely and safely as possible, hadn't sounded that bad.
1.- The game is a tabletop RPG in which we will use game pieces as representations of our soul.
2.- It will be a Shadow Game, giving us the ability to make the RPG feel as real as life.
3.- If player Yami no Bakura wins, player Yami no Yugi will leave him and his host alone so that he may act without restriction or other methods of "insistent pestering", for the next 7 (seven) days.
And the only one that originally concerned him at all,
4.- Player Yami no Bakura will act as "Dungeon Master"
Now, within that set of rules, it certainly didn't seem to be such a bad idea. Their punishment for losing would be to leave them alone for a week? It seemed like he was more involved in getting them out of their hair, than trying to actively hurt them in this one game. And, being Dungeon Master came with it's own rules. Although this RPG would be very very different than your average tabletop, that didn't mean he could act without following the rules of Dungeon Master. And this was a Shadow Game. So it would know, if he dared to cheat.
And so, of course they accepted.
"You didn't say anything in the rules about tampering with memories."
But they both knew these games were like contracts. Once you agreed it was sealed, and there was little to be done. He wasn't panicking yet, no. He wasn't the type to. He could feel his partner's worry, but panic wasn't quite what he'd call it.
They had been in sticky situations like this before. Surely this was no different.
"As Dungeon Master, those things were implied. I should also mention that this game is going to take considerably longer than the typical hour or two."
Another little red flag went up in his head, and he knew that was a very bad sign.
"I'll give you a few minutes before we start so that you can let your little friends know that someone will need to come find our bodies."
He paused, letting that sentence sink in. They'd need to find their bodies? He wasn't suggesting they'd be dead, of course. He was suggesting that this would take long enough that their bodies would need life support in order to be sustained while their souls existed within the game. That made him nervous. It made his partner nervous too.
Yugi sent him a few snippets of memories of how to text Anzu. She'd be the most reliable. Everyone else had the tendency to ignore their phones, especially if distracted by girls or games. He'd used phones before of course, but appreciated Yugi's guidance nonetheless, sending him silent gratitude as he typed the words he knew would make the girl drop everything to check on them.
"Bakura's apartment. As soon as you can. Don't call, just come in. Door's unlocked. Try not to scream, it's not as bad as it looks."
He knew she would probably scream anyways. Most people would. They would appear to be dead, sprawled out on the floor, their bodies useless for the time being.
"I suppose I should tell you where our little story is set. It's set in the middle of America, at least, for a while. There are 7 goals in all, although honestly I don't think that will seem very important to our dear hosts once this first one is set in motion."
What did he mean by that? Almost everything he said had some hidden meaning behind it. Some outside motivation.
Apparently he wasn't quite finished with his threatening pre-game speech.
"Little Yugi, I want you to prepare to be able to relate to your dear 'other self' much more closely than you want to."
Now, that was a confusing sentence. Of course he'd want to relate to his other self! Why would Bakura act like that was a bad thing?
Why would Bakura act like there was something about him that Yugi wouldn't want to be able to relate to?
The rising tide that was his Yami's panic let Yugi know that he might have reason for concern.
The pieces clicked together in the spirit's head like the pieces of the item he was so very trapped within.
/Your memory, Yugi! He plans to take your memory! All of it!/
He was growing more frantic as the moments went on and he realized it was what made the most sense.
That idea scared Yugi a lot. Of course it did. But how was he supposed to react, in front of the amnesiac spirit who's emotions he could feel. And vice versa. If he showed his fear, Yami would feel it. Would it upset him?
-Yami, I'll be ok you know.-
It was strange to see his other half panic like this.
/No, Yugi, having no memory...- it's agony, you don't understand-!/
-I will understand, then.-
Yugi cut off his thought, determined not to fight if he was about to forget him, but also willing to stand his ground.
/I don't want you to understand! I wouldn't wish this on you!/
All of this where no one but them could hear. It wasn't just words being exchanged, although Yugi was hiding his fear to the best of his ability.
Yugi projected his image to float at his side, trying to offer comfort. It wasn't often his confident other half was so scared. He let his ghostly hands rest on the pharaoh's shoulders, knowing that the enemy couldn't see him.
"Are you going to take what little I have?"
He was trying to mask his panic, his irritability, but some of it showed through in his words as venom.
The other boy laughed, not even trying to hide the instability in the sound, seeming to slowly but steadily grow a bit more unhinged.
"You wish. No, your memory will be untouched. Yugi's however..."
He managed to hide the flinch from everyone but his young partner. Yugi noticed.
-Yami, I'll really be ok. I know it's...I see how much it hurts you...but...I'll have you. So I'll be ok.-
The emotion he felt was what would have been behind a sad smile, if they had been alone, and the enemy hadn't been watching.
/You won't remember me./
Yugi knew there wasn't much time left. He also knew he wasn't the only one hiding emotions. There was no reason for them to hide emotions now.
He gently addressed his other half's mental barriers. This was no time to hide.
-Please...before the game starts, I don't want us to hide anything...-
And he felt his hesitance, and then, much to his relief, surrender. The raw fear rushed through him almost as if it was his own. He had to close his eyes, to get through the initial waves. But, at the same time, he surrendered his own emotions.
Knowing his Yami would feel it, he went ahead and admitted in words as well,
-I'm afraid too...-
Before Yami could reply, they were interrupted by the voice that sent them into a little more panic every time they heard it.
"Are you ready?!"
They weren't.
"Game Start!"
Uhg, why did fanfiction always leave off on such cliffhangers every chapter? If only she had time for the next one before school, maybe she wouldn't be daydreaming about YuGiOh all day instead of getting any work done!
In her defense, it was being a really interesting and addicting fanfiction.
Despite being about a really old (and arguably lame) series for kids, she still really enjoyed reading about it in stories like this. She found that fanfiction often went much deeper than the real shows even did into characters and their feelings and plot lines.
Fandom was sort of her life, even at this age, and although she was in many different ones, this was always the one that seemed to pull her back in.
Life was hard, and it was always good to have a little fantasy hanging around, to keep one sane.
She stood up to her full (pathetic) 5 feet, and prepared to enter the insanely boring world of "real people" and all the unfortunate realness that came with that world.
Shoulder length dark brown hair and blue eyes were the first things people always noticed about her.
The older she got, the less she'd be willing to admit how obsessed with these cheesy cartoons she was, but that was ok. She didn't have to admit it to anyone!
Anime was always so much more fun than real life, she thought as she slipped earbuds in for the bus ride.
"Na naaaa na na nana na na na Katamari Damacy" They sang in her ears, helping bring her mood up.
Japanese music was great, she decided, loving the way the words sounded, trying to memorize them, as she slowly forgot about the fanfiction she read just a few minutes ago.