I don't own Yugioh
Telling the Parents
What in the world was going on with Yugi?
The thought repeated itself over and over in Hidekazu Muto's mind as he lay sprawled out on his bed in his small apartment next to his wife, Momose, who was visiting him for a few weeks, leaving Yugi home with his grandfather. The window was open and a cool night breeze occasionally blew through, buffering the light purple curtains and flipping over the papers on his bedside table, but failing to relax his racing thoughts.
He was actually surprised nobody else who knew Yugi, besides Momose, ever mentioned anything. Watching his son dueling on TV and comparing him to his most recent school pictures, he wondered how not one noticed those differences: the hair, the eyes, the height, and even their postures and the air they excluded; Yugi was kind and mostly timid in person, while on TV he radiated confidence and occasionally even cockiness. Momose had also confided in him that Yugi had been talking to himself a lot recently, and Hidekazu's heart nearly punched right through his chest when she let slip that Yugi had nearly died in a fire putting that puzzle Solomon gave him back together. What in the world would possess him to do that? he wondered as he tossed and turned.
Questioning his son over the phone never helped. Yugi had just said that the puzzle was important to him, and when Hidekazu questioned him about dueling, Yugi just said dueling gave him confidence. Hidekazu wasn't fooled. He may not have seen Yugi for a while, but his son had stuttered over nearly every word during that phone call, like he always did when lying or holding something back. He knew there was more to it than Yugi was admitting, but no matter how hard he coaxed, Yugi wouldn't say anything else on the topic. When he'd asked his father, Hidekazu knew Solomon was holding back information as well, even if the old man claimed he didn't know everything. Solomon had just said he wasn't sure if his son would believe his theories, "since they involve magic," Solomon had said with a huff, and refused to elaborate on the matter. It wasn't easy, but eventually the subject was dropped.
He'd heard Solomon's story of when he found the Millennium Puzzle, but had always scoffed at the idea of a pharaoh's ghost saving his father's life and chalked it up to a delusion on Solomon's part from his treacherous guide striking him on the head and nearly sending him tumbling down into a dark and seemingly bottomless pit.
Now a part of Hidekazu was having second thoughts. Only a few days ago, as he and Momose had been enjoying a stroll in a park under a starry sky during a cool evening, strange gray creatures in medieval armor had randomly emerged from crystals scattered all over the city, surrounding innocent bystanders with a weird green star and leaving them comatose on the sidewalk. The peaceful park had descended into pandemonium, with people running in every direction, jumping into the lake and climbing over rocks and benches to escape. He and Momose had managed to crawl underneath a small bridge crossing the creek and avoid the creatures, though Hidekazu could still feel the bridge shaking and trembling as the creatures stomped slowly over it and remembered clenching the support so hard his hands had bled.
He forced the images out of his mind. All of the unfortunate victims were awake and released from the hospital. Everything was fine.
His stomach twisted. Before those medieval armored monsters started running rampant, monsters that appeared to be from that card game his dad and son were obsessed with had spread a reign of terror over the city, crunching the tops of skyscrapers and terrorizing the sky.
Hidekazu didn't believe a gaming company could pull that off, and neither did Momose. Holograms didn't leave claw marks on his work building. No, there was either some crazy geneticist who possessed a love of Duel Monsters experimenting on animals, or—dare he say it—magic was at work here.
He'd confided his thoughts to Momose earlier this evening and, to his surprise and relief, she'd been thinking about the same thing, and both had come to the undeniable conclusion that magic was real.
Of course, this opened up a whole new set of possibilities and ideas. The latest of which involved their son. Ever since Yugi had solved that puzzle, according to Momose, he'd been acting weird, bold one second, his old self the next. Not to mention the times his appearance changed. What little he and Momose knew took them back to Solomon's stories about the Puzzle. He claimed it had once belonged to a Pharaoh and contained magic used by Ancient Egyptians. Unfortunately, they still knew too little about magic to even guess what might be going on with their son.
Momose rolled over, exhausted understanding crossing her face as she saw him awake. "Can't sleep either?"
"No," he replied, his face half buried in his pillow.
"Wishing you could talk to Yugi now that we're at least semi-open to the idea of magic?"
He chuckled without humor. "You read my mind." He sighed. "Would he even talk to us about it?" he asked, spreading his arms.
"Well, we're open to the idea now. And we'll see him in just a little while. We can try," she replied, their unspoken wish hanging in the air as another breeze wafted through the room, heavier than the others. Neither of them noticed the man outside their apartment.
Little did they know, Yugi was wishing for the same thing they were. As he laid down on the yellow leather couch in Professor Hawkins's trailer with the air conditioner cranked to full blast, his thoughts drifted to his parents. On the way back to the city after defeating Dartz, the Pharaoh had shared his memories with him, filling him in on everything that had happened after the Orichalcos captured him. Yugi had realized that on the way to KaibaCorp, the Pharaoh and the others would have flown directly over the city where his parents were. Too bad I wasn't there; I could've called and told them I was flying right over them.
Yugi frowned, trying to dispel the thought. That wouldn't have gone over well; his parents would've wanted to know what he was doing and wouldn't be pleased to learn he had flown all that way because of theories about some ancient magical force. His parents didn't believe in magic, and he knew trying to tell them about the Pharaoh would more than likely result in a car ride to the nearest mental hospital. He knew they knew he was lying when he talked about the warehouse fire and his supposedly different dueling 'attitude' as they called it, but he didn't know what else to tell them. There were a couple of times he'd accidentally wished out loud that he could tell them—the most recent being tonight. Thankfully, only the Pharaoh had ever heard him.
Or so he thought.
Yugi eventually managed to fall asleep after tossing and turning for what seemed like hours in the Hawkins' trailer When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in the middle of his soul room, everything exactly as he'd left it the last time; toys and videogames scattered all over the floor, only this time there was a bed sitting in the corner.
His eyes widened someone knocked on his door. Yugi had been under the impression that the Pharaoh wanted to rest. Maybe he was checking in on Yugi.
Yugi chuckled. Yami was so overprotective. Maybe he could convince the spirit to relax by suggesting a game. "Come in," he called.
It was not the Pharaoh who stepped inside. Yugi froze. "Shadi?" he gasped.
The guardian of the Millennium Items grinned slightly. "My apologies for disturbing you Yugi," he said as he closed the door.
"What's wrong? Was a Millennium Item stolen?" he asked frantically. "I'll get the Pharaoh—"
"No Yugi, the cosmic balance has not been disturbed." Shadi assured him, raising his right hand. "I am here to repay a debt."
Yugi blinked. "A debt?" he asked in confusion.
"Yes," Shadi confirmed. "Do you not remember? You saved my life when I was searching the corridors of the Pharaoh's mind."
He remembered. "Oh, yeah. But you told me and the Pharaoh about the Egyptian God cards and—"
"I was merely carrying out my duty, Yugi," Shadi interrupted. "I still owe you a debt, and now the time has come to pay it." The man smiled gently. "Many times I have observed you and the Great Pharaoh as you have progressed through your journey. Tonight, I heard you wish you could inform your parents of the events of your life."
Yugi blushed. "Yeah, I do. But they don't really believe in magic, so I can't say anything."
"I have observed your mother and father several times as well. Recently, their opinions have begun to change, as a result of the magical events surrounding your latest mission. They now believe that magic exists, and they suspect there is more to your Puzzle than they originally thought."
"They're actually beginning to believe in magic?" Yugi asked, slack jawed.
"They already believe in it Yugi. Do you want to tell them of the part it has played in your destiny?"
"Yeah, definitely!" Yugi exclaimed. "But I don't know what Dad's work hours are now, and I'm not sure how busy Mom is with him…"
"Yugi," said Shadi. "I have brought them here with me. They are in the corridor as we speak."
Yugi's jaw dropped. "No way! Seriously?"
"Yes. I appeared to them and told them I could help answer their questions. After they agreed to trust me, I brought them here, and told them to wait in the hallway while I spoke to someone. Shall I bring them in?"
Yugi hesitated. He wanted so much to tell them everything, to have them know about Yami. Yugi knew how alone the Pharaoh felt sometimes, how weary he was from usually taking charge of situations and taking care of people. He wanted his parents to know Yami and accept him, maybe give the Pharaoh someone he could go to when he felt he couldn't solve every problem on his own and didn't feel he could go to Yugi. This was a chance to give Yami that.
However, he wasn't sure what his parents would think of him. The Pharaoh was a good person who cared about Yugi, but he didn't know what his mom and dad would think when they learned about the Orichalcos. Sure the Pharaoh had gotten him back, and he'd never meant for Yugi to be taken in the first place, but they might only see that Yugi had been taken by something dangerous. Not to mention passing out in the duel with Pegasus, and the whole Battle City tournament. He didn't want his parents to hate Yami.
But he owed it to his mom and dad to tell them, didn't he? Yugi knew that they were worried about him and they didn't deserve that. Besides, maybe they wouldn't blame Yami for what happened. Yugi could tell them how the spirit always tried to protect him, that he'd give his life for Yugi in a heartbeat if needed. When it came right down to it, Yugi wanted to tell them, they wanted to know, and Yami always felt guilty that he made them worry about Yugi.
Yugi turned to face Shadi again. "All right. Bring them in," he said without hesitation.
Shadi nodded and opened the door again, beckoning to his parents.
A few moments later, his mom and dad walked inside, staring in surprise at the room and its contents before their eyes fell on their son. "Yugi!" Momose exclaimed, hurrying towards him.
"Where are we?" asked Hidekazu, still too surprised to move.
"We are inside your son's mind. What you see here represents his heart and soul," Shadi explained, "and it is here where you will see your son's memories and learn."
"His memories?" questioned Hidekazu.
Shadi nodded. "While inside his mind, I can access his memories. However, I will show you only the ones he wishes to share with you," he confirmed. "I will give you time to discuss what you want to share with them," he said, stepping back into the corridor.
Yugi frowned slightly. "What do you guys want to know?" he asked, sitting down on the bed.
Momose sighed as she sat down on Yugi's left side with Hidekazu taking the right. "Well, truthfully, we want to know everything." She shook her head. "There's just so much we don't understand. We didn't even believe in magic until a few days ago."
"And even though we're sure it exists," said Hidekazu, " we don't have a clue how any of it operates. Let alone how much it's a part of your life. We want to know everything." He paused, then smiled. "But we want you to share what you feel comfortable sharing. You don't have to tell us anything you don't want to."
"It's not that," Yugi explained. "I want you to know everything too. It's just that, well…" he trailed off, burying his face in his hands.
"Yes," Momose gently prompted.
"What if…" Yugi glanced at each of them. "What if I told you that, five thousand years ago, an Egyptian Pharaoh used magic to seal his soul away in my Puzzle to save the world. And that when I put the Puzzle together, my spirit bonded with his."
Their eyes bulged.
Momose found her voice first. "And is this spirit, um, friendly?" she asked.
"Yeah, he is." Yugi grinned. "He cares about me and my friends a lot."
"What does he look like?"
"Well, a lot like me actually. Only a little more, um…" he trailed off. How did he explain the difference?
"Wait a minute!" Hidekazu exclaimed. "You look different when you're dueling, we've seen you on TV."
Yugi sighed in relief. "Yeah, he takes over my body during duels most of the time. Don't worry; he never does it without permission. He and I work together."
"Okay," Hidekazu replied slowly. He wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea, but Yugi apparently trusted this spirit, and Yugi likely knew more about this magic stuff than he did. "And some of this magic stuff in your life has to do with him."
"Actually, most of it has to do with him. What I want to tell you involves him a lot, and…" he sighed.
"Yugi?" Momose placed her hand on her son's shoulder.
He didn't look at them. "A lot of stuff's happened, guys. But the spirit of the Puzzle, the Pharaoh—he's my friend. We—me and my friends—we've gotten into a lot of trouble, but none of it was his fault. I don't want you hate him because of some of the things that happened." Yugi pleaded.
Hidekazu and Momose glanced at each other. "We can't promise anything Yugi, not yet," said Momose. "Mostly because we don't know what to think. You have to admit, this is a lot to take in."
"Yeah, I guess," Yugi admitted. "Will you promise to listen to the whole story before you decide anything?"
Hidekazu nodded. "I think we can do that." Momose nodded in agreement.
"Okay." Yugi nodded. Then he called Shadi in.
"You are all ready?" Shadi asked, closing the door behind him. They all nodded.
"I want to show them everything," said Yugi.
Shadi dipped his head, raised his Millennium Key, the ancient object glowing as the room spun and they landed in the Game Shop the day of Yugi's first duel with Kaiba.
Hidekazu and Momose watched in stunned amazement as the events unfolded before their eyes, with Yugi providing a narrative to help them understand what was happening. The first duel against the evil sprit of the Ring left them stunned.
"You okay, Mom?" Yugi asked worriedly. "You know everything turned out all right."
"Yes, I'm fine," she replied, clutching the area over her heart. She grinned when Yugi destroyed the evil Bakura and ended the duel. "You know, you looked cute in that Dark Magician outfit."
"Mom!"
The next major scare was the duel against Pegasus. Yugi snickered as Hidekazu shouted "In your face Pegasus!" when Yugi and the Pharaoh destroyed the toons. His father growled at the man when the Shadow Realm engulfed the dueling arena and Momose nearly choked when Yugi passed out. Both parents smirked as the Pharaoh obliterated Pegasus's Thousand-Eyes Restrict and Yugi announced their victory.
Hidekazu muttered curses under his breath when they came to the duel with a brainwashed Bandit Keith, especially after the warehouse caught fire.
"I couldn't leave the Puzzle behind, Dad, you have to understand that!" Yugi begged.
"I know Yugi. If it had been one of my friends, I wouldn't have budged either."
Yugi knew Battle City would probably give his parents nightmares. As his parents watched his past self duel Rare Hunter after Rare Hunter, he begged his them to not blame Yami for anything that happened, and thankfully, they didn't. "He didn't ask for that to happen Yugi," said Momose, "and it was Marik and the Rare Hunters' choice to stake lives and limbs on those duels. Not his."
Yugi smiled.
Finally, the time Yugi had dreaded showing them came to pass. The Orichalcos. His parents froze in place when Yami played the Seal and struggled to remain standing when Yugi took his place. Yugi feared they would hate the spirit for it. Frantically, he thought of how he could explain the following events to convince his mom and dad to not hate the Pharaoh, since Yugi thought the memory viewing would end there.
To his surprise, it wasn't. "The Pharaoh shared his memories with you, Yugi," Shadi explained. "Therefore your parents can view them as well." But Yugi's parents remained silent until Yugi's soul was returned to his body, where they breathed a sigh of relief. "Is it over?" asked Hidekazu. "Was Dartz stopped?"
"Not quite," said Yugi apologetically.
Yugi could've sworn he heard his mother curse under her breath when the Leviathan rose from the ocean anyway, and later again as its essence refused to die and tried to kill the Pharaoh. Dead silence permeated the room as Yami finally sealed away the black serpent for the rest of eternity.
Finally, the memory viewing was over. Shadi withdrew to the corridor to give them some privacy.
The silence stretched on for what seemed like hours until Yugi couldn't take it anymore. "Guys?" he asked. They glanced up. "Please don't blame the Pharaoh for what happened. It wasn't entirely his fault, and he did everything he could to get me back after it happened. He already hates himself for it, he's already suffered a lot for it…"
Hidekazu raised his hand. "Don't worry Yugi. I'll admit I was angry with him at first, but when I saw him after it happened, I couldn't stay mad. And he went through a lot to save you. I don't hate him," he said sincerely.
"Neither do I," said Momose. "He's done a lot for you, helped you make friends. And I can tell how much he regretted playing that card. And he managed to beat the darkness in his heart. We don't hate him." She smiled gently, honestly.
"You forgive him?" Yugi asked hopefully. They nodded, smiling in reassurance. Yugi sighed in relief. He hadn't expected it to be that easy.
"So," Yugi asked after a while, "are you guys okay?"
Momose smiled tiredly. "I'm not sure, exactly. I think we just need some time to process everything."
"Okay," Yugi replied, glancing down nervously.
Hidekazu noticed. "Hey, don't worry," he said, laying his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "What we saw doesn't change how we love you."
Yugi perked up, grinning. "Thanks. That means a lot."
They fell silent again, much more comfortable than before. Yugi smiled to himself. His parents knew everything now, and they didn't hate Yami for anything, as they could've easily done. It surprised him, but then it didn't. His parents were similar to him when it came to forgiveness.
I bet the Pharaoh would like to hear that, he thought to himself. Hold on…
"Guys?"
"Hmm," they answered.
"Do you want to meet him? The Pharaoh?"
Their eyes bulged. "S-sure," said Hidekazu.
"But how can we? I thought people could only talk to him if he takes over your body," replied Momose.
"We're in my mind," Yugi explained. "And my mind has two chambers. You can meet him here, trust me."
"By entering his room?" asked Momose.
Yugi frowned. "That might not be a good idea. His room's got a lot of traps inside. The hallway's probably our best bet," he said as he pulled them back into the hallway and knocked on the Pharaoh's door. "Wait here. I better tell him what's going on," he ordered as he stepped inside.
Hidekazu and Momose stood in the hallway, feeling increasingly nervous as they waited for Yugi. And the Pharaoh. Despite the memories they'd seen, they didn't know him personally, and they weren't sure what he thought of them.
The door suddenly flew open and Yugi stepped back into the hallway, tugging along a teenager with nervousness written all over his face.
They gasped. Despite seeing him in Yugi's memories beforehand, it still hadn't prepared them for their first face-to-face meeting.
"Guys, meet the Pharaoh. Pharaoh, meet my parents, Hidekazu and Momose Muto."
"Um, hi," said Momose, suddenly tongue-tied.
"Hey." Hidekazu's business leader voice failed him for the first time.
It helped a little to see the Pharaoh was having just as much trouble. "Hello," he began uncertainly.
"Yugi!" a voice echoed throughout the corridor. It sounded like Tea.
"I am afraid it is time to leave," said Shadi, emerging from the shadows.
"What, now?" protested Yugi.
"I am sorry Yugi, but your mind is waking up, and we cannot remain here when it does." With that, Shadi raised his Key and he, Hidekazu, and Momose vanished from the corridor.
To be continued.
Credit for the ideas of Yugi's parents finding out about Yami, the events in Yugi's life, and accepting the Pharaoh go to Youngbountygirl, not me.