"I'm not going to tell you where to go, Yugi. That would be cheating." Yami flicked a casual glance up from the magazine and muttered quickly. "On your left. The one with the blaster ray."
Yugi sucked in a quick breath and mashed out a combination of buttons as quickly as he could. His character finished his midair flip kick and spun around at the command, flinging a small projectile weapon at the enemy standing a fair distance away from the melee. The missile struck solidly and the blaster discharged, frying its wielder and the ring of backup monsters standing around it.
"Thanks." Yugi exhaled swiftly, releasing the air he'd been cautiously holding. He turned his attention back into the fray, selecting the next line up of buttons that would prove the most effective. "How do I use my explosives again?"
Yami hummed in the back of his throat to show that he'd heard the question, thumbing through the pages and keeping a finger over the spot he had been reading. After a second of quick scanning, he found the passage Yugi wanted.
"Pull up your inventory. You can assign your weapons to different buttons." He read, flipping back to his page with an air of control and faint boredom, as though he found the whole thing tedious and unexciting. Yugi did not miss the undertone, but paid no attention to it. Yami was always bored unless he was the one with the controller in his hands.
"Inventory... Inventory... This one?" A loud bang and a guttural scream made him jump. "Oh, found the explosives! Guess they were already set." He trailed off into incomprehensible mutters as he toasted the creatures one after the other. Cries of "Take that!" accompanied with a sprinkling of slightly maniacal laughter rang through the house.
Yami felt a small grin surfacing at Yugi's enthusiasm. He continued his reading, handing out some interesting tidbits whenever there was a break in the action.
"Did you know that there are secret tunnels that connect themselves to other areas?" Yami inquired, turning a page. "There are at least six hidden treasures in every level, and one tunnel that leads to some sort of room. He looked up again to confirm if Yugi was in one such area, trying to connect the small picture with the screen. "You need a health pack, by the way."
"I don't have any." Yugi muttered, dispatching another group of creatures as they ran toward him. "Geez, these things are everywhere! I could use one of those tunnels right about now. Where are they?" He cast a quick glance over his shoulder, though he couldn't see the inside of the magazine because of the angle Yami was holding it. He looked appalled.
"I can't tell you where the secrets are, or else they wouldn't be secrets!" He snorted.
"What? Come on Yami, they're eating me alive here!" Yugi argued, making a quick grab for the cheats. Yami jerked it just out of reach with a teasing smile. "Ah ah, what did I just tell you? No cheating."
"That's not fair. I bought it, I should at least get to look at it." Yugi had to break off for a moment as another round of enemies dashed up to his prone character and started beating on him. "Besides, how is that cheating?"
"Secrets were not meant to be given away, they have to be discovered. What fun is it if you already know what present you're getting before you even look under the tree?" He settled back down and re-opened his page. "Besides, there is no challenge in beating a game that you already know inside and out."
"Oh yeah, and what about you?" Yugi challenged, still not looking away from the screen. "Are you saying you can't play at all now because you've already looked through the hints?"
"Hardly." Yami frowned, setting the magazine down again. "A good duelist learns of his opponents strategies long before the duel. It perfectly acceptable to watch a few of his duels and mark his tactics before he challenges you, but you can't rightfully ask him in the middle of the duel what he's going to play next."
Yugi rolled his eyes. "This isn't Duel Monsters. It doesn't apply."
Yami laughed and reached over to ruffle Yugi's hair. "Oh Yugi, Duel Monsters applies to everything." He said fondly, a sarcastic smile on his lips.
"You're just making excuses for yourself!" Yugi accused, ducking away from his hand. "You're beginning to sound like Kaiba."
Just enough irritation at that absurd remark crossed Yami's face to make the statement worthwhile. Yugi chuckled to himself, feeling the annoyance directed at him through their link. Yami's concentration broke as he tried to come up with a strong enough rebuttal to that remark; the magazine slipped through his translucent hands. He resisted the urge to sigh in frustration and give Yugi the satisfaction of knowing just how much he had thrown him off balance.
Yugi's hands were a blur as he dropped the controller and made a mad grab for the suddenly free magazine. Yami realized his distraction too late to prevent his partner from snatching the cheats up and scanning them eagerly. The spirit sat back and shook his head, knowing it would be useless to try and take it away now. Yugi's physical body was much stronger than any sort of strength Yami could summon in spirit form.
"Oh very well." He sighed. "I guess I can't keep all the secrets to myself."
"Darn right you can't." Yugi affirmed, the tip of his tongue poking out teasingly. A few seconds later Yugi was happily blasting through the monsters again, fully recharged and pockets stuffed with trinkets and treasures.
Yami watched for a moment before he bent to carefully pick up the magazine once more, focusing his energy into the physical object and willing it to rise for him. Once he had it securely in his hands again he resumed his casual scan of the last few pages.
When it became apparent that Yugi had obtained a familiarity with the controls and the general layout of each level, Yami's interest dwindled and he set down the book for good.
Twisting himself around, he gathered his concentration one more time, lowering himself carefully. He smiled a bit in triumph when his head touched Yugi's lower back and stayed where it was. He did not fancy falling through his partner and giving him a ghostly jolt. Yugi seemed to have grown accustomed to his ethereal touch though; he did not even shiver anymore, used to the light, icy sensation of the not-quite-there presence.
Confident that he could maintain the physical contact even if he dozed off, Yami settled down comfortably and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of explosives, squeals of pain, grunts, and screeching metal-on-metal combat. His head bobbed gently in time to Yugi's breathing, and a light smile kissed his lips.
"Wake me when it's my turn."