Zypher: Hey all, I come back with another Halloween story for you all. This was the other idea I had in mind from last year's poll and decided 'Hey, why not put it up for those that wanted to see the YGO/Coraline crossover'. So ta-da, here is it. Hope you enjoy it.

Summary: Yugi moved into a nice little apartment complex that wasn't out of the ordinary except for the neighbors and one secluded neighbor that has moved out from his apartment except spare instances. Making new friends, he also learns of another world hiding behind a door in his room. He finds something magical but ignores stories that could save his life from these new guests.

Disclaimer: Don't own YGO or the movie Coraline. End of story.

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Ensnared in Shadows

Chapter 1

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It was a dark night and no sounds were heard in the lone room. A light was lit but the bulb flickered on and off every once in a while. A deadly claw flicked the lightbulb and it was left lit and the figure smirked before looking towards the window as an item floated towards it. The window opened by itself and he grabbed the doll that drifted in, moving away and started on his work. Taking it apart and leaving only the shell of what it once was. The person chuckled softly as he worked on the next masterpiece. The doll was slowly being formed into a new one, this time becoming a little boy with an interesting hairstyle and small purple buttons for eyes. Another stepped into the room, shadows made by the lighting showing an eerie figure.

"How interesting. Is this the new one?" he questioned and the first, still making the doll, nodded. "Yes. He might just be the one we've been looking for. But we'll see the moment his curiosity leads him here." he spoke as he finished and smiled. "Perfect." he whispered as he stood, moving back over to the window and released the doll back to whence it came.

"Now, to wait..."

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The yellow cab pulled up to the rural-side apartment complex and Yugi stepped out from the car. It was a long ride but it was well worth it as he looked to the decent place that would soon become his new home. He grabbed his bags and paid the cab driver before heading in. He checked in with the landlord, who was skeptical about giving him the key but did so anyway and left him to do as he wished. "Hmm, jii-chan should be here soon with the moving truck, guess I should see how things look here." he murmured before heading up to the designated floor of his new living arrangements. When he stepped onto the floor, he shivered at the state of the hall but bravely ventured forward. "Huh, you think for such a decent place on the outside, it would look a little better inside." he murmured, adjusting the strap of his duffel bag on his shoulder as he reached his apartment and opened the door, heading inside.

He saw that the place was nice looking enough, a few things here and there could be fixed but other than that, it was perfect for the young man. He headed over to drop his things in the bedroom before coming back out. He spotted something peculiar and would've went to see it a little closer if his phone didn't decide to go off right at that moment. He jumped before running a hand through his hair, heart pounding over nothing. "Oh jeez...this place is getting to my head." he murmured as he answered the call, seeing it was his grandfather telling him that they were waiting outside. He nodded and said he was coming down before leaving. He made his way down to the bottom floor and handed his grandfather the key to the apartment. "My place is up on the second floor. I'm going to take a look around, kay?"

Sugoroku chuckled and nodded. "Alright. I'll have the boys move everything inside and help unpack. If I find the pots and pans, I'll make you a treat."

Yugi nodded before heading off to the back, coming across on of the hall windows and saw there was an extensive backyard there. Not a very well managed one but he did want to take a look around to see what the area had to offer, seeing as it was way out for such rates that were manageable for him and was peaceful. Not far from the apartment, a pair of blue eyes watched in silence as Yugi came walking by before following behind him. Finding a branch on the ground, he grabbed it, humming softly to himself as he brushed off the leaves before walking further into the garden, listening to the soft tap as the branch end bounced off the stone wall that he walked by. Finding another path, he followed it, heading deeper and deeper into the area behind the apartment. Not far behind was the mysterious figure, following along the higher ground. A misstep caused a rock to fall, making Yugi jump before looking up and seeing nothing.

"Anyone there!" he called but received no answer. He huffed, taking the rock and tossed it back up, getting an angry yowl from an animal that he probably hit. "Oh no! I'm so sorry!" he called before continuing on. "So stupid! This place may look a little creepy but I should be over getting scared by every little thing. I feel like such a kid." he muttered to himself. Yugi soon reached a dead end, the only thing there being a couple of sakura trees and not much else. "Hmm, that's all that's down here? Seems like nothing much." he murmured as he walked forward a little. He was completely unaware of the person sneaking up behind him before the person leap out with a roar, startling him and causing him to stumble back.

The man chuckled softly. "You're quite easy to scare, huh?" he commented and Yugi blushed embarrassingly. "That isn't funny!" he cried, stomping a foot childishly on the ground. The male stopped chuckling and nodded. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But you better be careful. Do that again and you might fall into that well."

Yugi jumped off the spot as the lavender eyed male walked forward, taking an old branch and used it to pry off the old wooden top that covered the well. "See? Don't you know, the Sakura Hills Apartments was an old site for some locals that believed in magic and stuff? I heard rumors of two guys that lived there that still know a little about those rumors. Says they had a cat too. All black with striking blue eyes."

Yugi hung off his every word before shaking his head. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. There he is now." he said as the cat walked over to them, moving over to the lavender-eyed male's side and rubbed against his leg. "I see, and who are you anyway?" Yugi asked.

"Oh right, I didn't introduce myself yet. "I'm Malik, Malik Ishtar. Weird name, I know but my superstitious sister said that it was going to be important in someway. I'll never understand her." he murmured. Yugi gave another nod, looking between him and the cat. "Seems like everyone here is a little superstitious. Oh, and I'm Yugi. Yugi Motou."

"Oh yeah. Just wait til you meet the neighbors. The one guy I was telling you about. Said he and his brother never left the apartment. Never learned why but they never did." Malik said before he started walking off. "Oh, and for the record, that twig you're holding. It's actually poison oak." he added before walking off, the cat following behind him. Yugi gasped as he dropped the stick and sighed. "That's going to leave a rash later." he murmured before looking back to where the well was. Taking a pebble, he dropped it down and waited to hear the resounding plop of it hitting water. It took a couple seconds before he heard it and whistled. "That's deep. Better stay away from here." he murmured before stepping back and decided to head on back to his home to see how the unpacking was going.

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When he got back, he saw someone sitting outside, working on his laptop. The guy, surprisingly, was a dragon and looked really into his work to be bothered with a simple hello but what was the harm in trying. "Um, hello. How are you?" The male didn't answer and Yugi sighed. "I'm Yugi. I just moved here. If you're one of the neighbors, I would be happy to get to know you a little." he spoke, trying once more to get the man to talk. He looked to the smaller male before him with crimson eyes and gave a soft snort before closing the laptop and stood.

"You should leave while you can." he muttered before heading inside.

Yugi watched him go with a baffled look and scratched lightly at the palm of his hand. "Weird." he whispered to himself before making his way inside. After eating and getting a little unpacking done, Sugoroku offered to stay the night so he could help Yugi with more of the unpacking tomorrow. Yugi agreed, wanting to have a close relative with him to make it through the night until he was settled in. After dinner, the two got a good night's rest before getting up the next morning the start on the work they had waiting for them. "Hey, Yugi! Something was left here for you." His grandfather called as he walked in with a small item wrapped in newspaper.

"Something for me?" he questioned as he took it.

'Hey Yugi,

I found this hiding away in my sister's trunk. It just screamed to me about giving it to you so I brought it over before she could see. Hope you like it.

Malik'

"Hmm." Yugi unwrapped the item more, revealing it to be a small doll that looked remarkably like him. "How..." he whispered, wondering how Malik's sister would have a doll looking exactly like him down to the tiniest details. "Maybe that whole magic thing is real here." he murmured. "So, who's it from?" Sugoroku asked. "A friend, I guess you could call him. Met him yesterday."

The elder nodded. "Well, why don't you explore around a bit. I'll get a few things moved out of the way for you." he replied and Yugi nodded before walking off, still holding the doll in hand. He took a moment to look about his apartment, finding new things he missed before and a couple things he knew needed to be fixed when he had the chance. "Let see...new windows, new wallpaper and paint. Gonna need to find myself a place to work out here soon if I want to get all of that fixed." he murmured, sitting the little rag doll on the table as he moved over to the window and looked outside to the gloomy day. 'Maybe if I ask the landlord, we could see about making a garden. A garden of tulips sound nice...' he thought to himself.

"I better go help my grandfather now..." Yugi turned back to the table to find the doll was gone. "Hey, where'd it go..." Yugi looked everywhere before hearing a plop and turned to see the doll sitting on the floor behind a half filled box. "Ah, there you are." Walking over, he went to pick it up before spotting what he saw the day before. "Oh yeah...forgot about this..." he murmured, sliding the box out the way to see the spot fully. There, covered in wallpaper, was a small door. Lightly touching the door, he wondered if there was a key somewhere. He stood and headed into the kitchen, looking through a couple drawers before finding one that held one lone key. "Ah, this must be it." he whispered as he grabbed it and headed back into the room, running past his grandfather in the process. "Whoa, what's your hurry, Yugi?" he asked.

"Nothing, jii-san!" he called as he knelt beside the door and tore a seam through the paper before unlocking and opening the door, curious to see what was behind it. Seeing it was nothing but a bricked up wall, he sighed. "Darn, I thought I would have a nice place to put some personal things..." he murmured as Sugoroku came walking in. "So, what's the hurry earlier?" he asked. "Oh, I found this door and wanted to see what was behind it. It seemed so out of place in here." Yugi explained.

"Guess it must've been something to lead to another apartment or something like that but boarded it up when they renovated this place. It is a couple centuries old." Sugoroku answered. "Now come on, you can put your things away and I'll have to leave. I'll call you in a couple days to see how you're fitting in here."

Yugi nodded and followed his grandfather after picking up the little doll.

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After seeing off his grandfather, he closed and locked the door before sighing. "Hmm, now what to eat..." he hummed as he went digging through a box that had a couple things that he had back at home. He found a instant cup of noodles and decided on that for the night. Boiling water and preparing the cup, he sat down on his bed and ate the noodles quietly, looking around quietly. "Well, despite it's shortcomings, it looks like a nice place to live." he murmured softly to himself as he finished the noodles and set the cup on the side table. He scratched his palm a little and sighed, knowing he'll have to get some ointment soon for the rash. He set the doll on the chair beside the bed and smiled a little before laying down.

"Goodnight." he whispered before drifting off. As the night went on, the unlocked door in the living room opened and something wisped out from the brick. Yugi was sleeping peacefully before hearing a soft squeak and rose out of his slumber. 'Oh man, don't tell me I have mice already.' he thought as he looked under the bed and saw a little jumping mouse there, squeaking cutely before hopping off. Yugi watched it before hopping out of bed and ran after it. "Hey! Come back here!" he called softly as he chased it down the stairs and into the living room. He looked about, wondering where it gotten too that fast before seeing it slip from under a chair and squeaked again before hopping for the partially open door and slipped inside. Yugi chased it and knelt beside the door, opening it but instead of meeting bricks that closed it off from the other apartment, he saw a long, vibrant tunnel leading to a light at the end.

'What the...'

The boy looked around the room, wondering exactly what was happening but decided to see what it was all about. So crawling in, he made his way down the tunnel towards the other door that was at the end of it and when he got to it, he pushed it open and crawled out, only finding himself in a replica of his own living room. "Huh..." Amethyst eyes looked about, seeing nothing out of the ordinary before sniffing the air lightly, smelling something good coming from the direction of the kitchen. "Who's cooking? Jii-chan wouldn't come out this late just to fix dinner for me." he murmured as he headed for the kitchen, hearing soft humming as he stepped into the kitchen and saw tri-colored hair like his own standing beside the stove.

"Um, excuse me? Sir?" he called softly and the other stood straight before turning to him, revealing beautiful cerise eyes but the odd thing was one was dulled...as if it was looking into a soulless person's eyes. "Ah, just in time for dinner, I see. Prompt as always, little one." he said, smiling softly. "Who are you? And why is your eye...your eye..."

"Dulled? Oh no need to worry yourself about that. As for me, they call me Atemu." he said as he slipped on some oven mitts. "Now why don't you fetch Aquarian for dinner. We have a lot of good things tonight." Yugi blinked at the introduction and the offer of dinner. "Um...ok?"

"You'll find him in the study. You should know where that is."

Yugi nodded as he stepped back out and walked down the familiar halls that resembled his own apartment and soon heard a few keys of a piano being tapped and stepped inside, seeing the back of the person he met before. Ears perked up at the sound of him entering and turned. "Well hello, Yugi-kun." he said with a soft smile. "Um, hi." he greeted, waving lightly. "Do you play?" Aquarian chuckle as he turned. "Nah, nah. I don't play the piano. The piano plays me." he said as a mechanism within the piano opened it, revealing gloves which slipped over his hands and he turned, playing the piano with practiced ease.

"Making up a song about Yugi-kun. He's a peach, he's a doll, he's a pal of mine. He's as cute as a button in the eyes of everyone who laid their eyes on Yugi-kun." he sung before pulling his hands away, leaving the gloves to play themselves. "When he comes out exploring, Ate and I would never ever make it boring, our eyes will be on Yugi-kun." he finished. Yugi smiled and clapped softly before walking over to him. "That was nice. Well, Atemu told me to come get you for dinner."

"Ah, dinner. Who's hungry, raise your hands." he said and the glove did so as well, making him chuckle softly and Yugi joined him before he stood and they headed off into the dining room where the table was already set with delicious food and Yugi was stunned at what laid on the table. Atemu waved to him before ushering him into a seat, Aquarian taking a seat on the other side. They said their grace and Yugi looked to the food before looking to Atemu. "Go on, eat. I'm sure your little belly is asking for more than just some noodles." he said. Yugi nodded before reaching to get a leg from the roast and took a bite, humming in delight and Atemu smiled. Yugi piled on some more food to eat and did so to his heart's content.

"Would you like another roll? Some peas? Corn on the cob?" Aquarian suggested.

"I am really thirsty."

Atemu nodded. "What would you like?" Yugi pondered before looking to him. "Strawberry smoothie?" He nodded before looking up as the chandelier lowered down, showing it was filled with different drinks and stopped on Yugi's drink of choice. He took the glass and poured some in before the two stood and walked over to him, Aquarian taking his plate while Atemu set a cake before him. He looked down to it and like magic, candles and words appeared on it, revealing a simple message saying 'Welcome Home'. "Home?" Yugi asked softly and looked up when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. "We've been waiting for you for a while, Yugi-kun." he said. Yugi blinked before moving to stand. "Really?"

"Yes, we have indeed. Now if you're all done, how about we play a game?" Atemu suggested, fingers tapping on the table before him. "A game?" Aquarian nodded. "Yes, a game. Like hide and seek, in the rain." he spoke. "Rain?" A crash of thunder was heard as a downpour began outside suddenly, making Yugi jump as he looked to the door showing the outside before looking to the two that offered him such hospitality. "Well, that would be nice and all but I am quite tired."

"Oh, is it because of the mud?" Atemu asked.

"Oh mud, we love mud. Mud baths, mud facials, mud pies. And it makes for such a nice healing ointment for something like poison oak." Aquarian continued. Yugi gasped softly, touching the spot where the poison oak rash was and wondered how they knew. "But if you're tired, you can retire for the night." With that said, Yugi was led up the stairs and back to his bedroom, finding it to be so much different than what he had back in his actual home, still not knowing what this similar world was called or how it existed. He climbed into his bed, watching in awe as little origami cranes flew about and a little fox plush move all on its own. Atemu moved over to a shelf and pulled a jar from the top before walking back over, opening the lid.

"Oh, the mud." Yugi murmured as he felt a dab of the cool mud rubbed over the spot of poison oak. "There, that should clear it right up." Atemu whispered before covering the younger teen. Yugi yawned softly before laying down and Atemu took a seat in the chair beside him. "Hmm, this was nice. The best end to such a quiet day." he murmured. Atemu smiled at the praise before running a hand over his forehead lightly. "See you soon, little one." he whispered as the other began to drift off in a soothing slumber.