KaChak

by kawaiiyuugi

“It's a sound like....” KaChak Yuugi has been puzzling over this mysterious sound following him, that no one else can hear. What does it mean and where is it coming from?

KACHAK.

I stopped abruptly and gripped my backpack straps tighter than usual. As I turned cautiously, I pursed my lips slightly, in an attempt to prepare myself for...

Nothing.

It was always like that. KACHAK. And then nothing. I turned back to Jyounouchi and Honda, who walked slightly ahead of me, never mind that they were still walking while I was standing still. "Jyounouchi-kun? Honda-kun? Did you hear that?"

Jyounouchi turned back to face me, slinging his book bag over his shoulder in the process; "Hear what, Yuugi?"

I glanced behind me once more, clenching my fingers around the straps, before cautiously walking to join Jyounouchi and Honda. I lowered my head, "That clicking sound… Like a camera…"

Jyounouchi let out a mischievous laugh, "Maybe there's a star at our school."

Honda shook his head, rolling his eyes, "There's no star, Jyounouchi."

Jyounouchi clenched his free hand into a fist, "You don't know that. Someone famous could go to our school!" He turned to me, "Right, Yuugi?"

"Well, I—"

That wickedly mischievous grin crossed his face again, "Remember the last time there was a star at our school, Yuugi?"

"Jyounouchi, there's no star…" Honda shoved his free hand into his pocket, shaking his head slightly.

"You weren't even there," Jyounouchi knocked his fist against Honda's upper arm.

"But, there wasn't a star, Jyounouchi…" I lowered my voice, not wanting to bring up old issues.

Jyounouchi began laughing, more cheerfully than before though, "That director was just trying to fool us. There was really a star."

Honda slouched as he stared at Jyounouchi in disbelief, "Now you're just being delusional."

Jyounouchi raised his fist once more, "I'm telling you, it was a star!"

I turned behind me one more time. It was always that way… KACHAK… and then nothing. I turned back to Jyounouchi and Honda… But at least when I turned around again, those two were arguing about something. I laughed to myself; their cheerful arguments took away my anxieties.

The rest of the walk had continued like that… Jyounouchi and Honda arguing about random things, and then I would try to stop them, as usual. I shook my head with a small laugh. That probably is the best thing about having close friends.

I stepped up to the door of our game shop and put my hand on it lightly, "I'm ho—"

KACHAK.

I pulled my hand back from the door quickly as I tuned abruptly.

Nothing.

I put my hand to my forehead as I opened the door slowly. Maybe Jyounouchi and Honda were right… Maybe I was just imagining it. I let out a low sigh, "I'm home…"

"Welcome home, Yuugi."

I looked up to my grandfather's smiling face, giving him a somewhat forced smile, "Hi, Grandpa, I'm home."

He turned his head slightly as he set his hand down on the counter, "Yuugi, where is everyone else?"

I tightened my grip around one of the straps or my backpack, "Oh… there's a test tomorrow… We all decided to go our separate ways today…" I lowered my head slightly, "I'm going upstairs to study for it." I put my hand to my forehead as I walked past him quickly. That sound … I wouldn't be able to hear it inside our house.

"Study hard, Yuugi…" my grandfather replied.

I nodded as I put my hand on the handrail and sped up the twisting stairs. Fifteen more steps down the hallway… I thrust open the first door on the left, breathing a sigh of relief at the familiarity. Shelves of toys, games, and books… The bright yellow bed sheets… The desk filled with textbooks and a lamp…

I pulled the chair out from the desk and collapsed into it, dropping my backpack on the floor in that same instant. I let out a sigh as I lay my head on the desk, closing my eyes.

That sound… The sound that was almost like a camera… the sound of a flash… Yet no one but me ever seemed to hear it…. Was it a sound coming from far away… or was it because someone was taking a picture of me?

I clenched my hands into fists lightly. What a strange thing to do…

I was the small and quiet person in the classroom…. I had no very close friends. Everyone overlooked me, like I did not even exist… But when I solved the Puzzle, I made many friends and met the other me… I rose my head slowly, putting a hand on the puzzle. That's right… The other me was the strong duelist… No, the strong person everyone looked up to and admired. Me too… I looked up to him too.

I released my grip on the puzzle and pulled the golden box, where it had rested in pieces only a short time ago, toward me. I ran my fingers along the hieroglyphics momentarily, before opening the lid and grabbing my deck from inside. I aimless shuffled the deck for about ten minutes as I stared out the window. The cards slipped against each others' slick surfaces.

I set the deck on my desk and drew the first card from the top. "Black Magician…" I uttered into the silence as I stared at the intricate colors and detailing on the monster image.

I set the card on the table slowly and rose my head to look out the window once more. Yes… It was the other me who deserved that kind of adoration…

I began drawing cards aimlessly from the pile and setting them face up on my desk. "Queen's Knight… The Greedy Kettle… Binding Hexagram Curse… Curse of Dragon… Fusion… Kuribo….Sealing Swords of Light…"

What did I have? What sort of thing made me the type of person that someone wanted to chase after? I was the one who was always running after others… latching on to their shadows in the hopes of grasping their admirable traits…

"Maha Vailo…"

KACHAK.

I stood hurriedly, knocking over my chair in the process. The card I had been holding fell to the floor. I whipped my head from side to side. The door was closed, so was the window… The room seemed to be completely empty….

"That sound…."

"Partner?"

I turned to face the other me before putting my hand to my head once more. "Other me…"

"Is something troubling you?" He put his hand to my shoulder.

I nodded my head slowly as I turned to face him. "I keep hearing this sound… like a camera…." I turned to look out the window, "But then no one hears it but me…"

He crossed his arms, "A camera?"

I nodded, "Like the sound of a flash going off."

He cocked his head slightly, "During the day?"

I let out a sigh and lay my head on my hands once more, "And for some reason it's me it's happening to…"

He put his hand on my shoulder again, "Partner… I've felt someone around too… It's a very small presence… But there's someone there…"

I rose my head quickly and turned to face him, "You do think there's someone there…"

He nodded and stared out the window, seeming to search the empty sky surrounding it, "There is someone following us…"

"Why?"

He crossed his arms again, a slight scowl crossing his face.

"Other me?"

"They've been following you?"

I nodded.

"It could be a new enemy…."

I gripped the puzzle, "A new one?"

He shook his head, "They would get better results if they forced our hand with their deck instead of a camera."

I opened my mouth to respond when the phone rang. I turned toward it and then turned back to him.

His gaze ignored mine, and focused on the window once more.

I walked to the shelf and picked up the phone, "Hello?"

"Yuugi, I need your help with my deck."

I put my hand to my face, "Jyounouchi-kun?!"

He laughed, "Did I forget to say it was me?"

I shook my head, "The test tomorrow… Shouldn't you be remembering the test?"

"You aren't studying either, are you?"

I lowered the phone a little and turned to look at the other me. I shook my head slightly, "Well, no…"

I was sure the laugh that responded was accompanied by a large grin, "Then why should I? I'll just play hooky tomorrow and pretend to be sick."

"But your health is your saving grace."

"That's an old wives tale, Yuugi. Anyone can catch a cold."

"I guess so…" I turned back toward the other me.

This time he faced me directly. He gave a shot nod.

I nodded in response, "Yeah… The other me and I will go out soon. Where do you want to meet?"

"The school?"

"How about the town square, by the clock?"

"Sure thing, Yuugi. See you."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone and looked back at the other me. "Other me… What if…"

He looked out the window once more then looked at the cards strewn across the desk, "Let's go, Partner."

I lowered my head and put my hands to the puzzle, it let out a flash.

The flash subsided and I rose my head and turned back to the window. Some sort of enemy… with a camera. I put my hand to the puzzle, "Partner?"

"Other me?" he asked.

I shook my head as I pulled the cards back together into the deck, "Let's go." I paused momentarily to pick Maha Vailo off the floor before I walked to the door.

I opened it slowly, hoping I could sneak out without my mother or grandfather catching me. I slipped down the stairs and peered into the shop cautiously. It was empty…

I tiptoed through the shop, to avoid being noticed and reached the front door. I pulled it open cautiously and peered outside. My grandfather was there, sweeping… in the exact direction I wanted to go. I let out a sigh.

I'll just slip out the door quietly and go around then. Going down a street probably won't make a difference.

I opened the door enough so that I could squeeze through and tiptoed across the front of the game shop. Unfortunately, the door closed louder than I wanted it to; my grandfather turned around.

"Yuugi?" he called.

I quickly ducked behind the other side of the game store, stopping to catch my breath. All that time I'd spent on Jyounouchi's "television program" heists was finally becoming useful. I peered around the corner slightly; he seemed to have gone back to sweeping. I took in a deep breath.

How did he know it was me? Yes… I am the only one who leaves this house on a regular basis… And true, there is only one other person who looks like me but…It could have been a customer… that he would have seen walking toward the store… I hung my head momentarily as I let out a sigh.

I snuck another quick glance around the corner; he had gone back to sweeping. I stared at him for a few more moments, making sure he was focused on sweeping, and then I bolted from the corner. My shoes clacked loudly against the sidewalk and I could feel my face forming a slight scowl.

"Weren't we trying to sneak out, other me?"

"Sneaking takes too long," I responded, ducking behind the next closest building in the process. I gripped the wall, turning around slowly to make sure he was still sweeping.

There he stood, sweeping. I let out a sigh of relief.

I slipped my deck into my jacket pocket, feeling a bit sad that it was the only place I could put the cards… Since I was so concerned with getting out of the house without being noticed, I forgot to stop and grab the duel disk. I let out a sigh and clenched my fist a little. That should have been the first thing I grabbed when Jyounouchi mentioned cards.

"I used to keep my cards in my backpack."

"Why would you do that, Partner?"

"I had no where else to put them."

"Won't that hurt them?"

"You just put them in your pocket."

I crossed my arms, "I had no where else to put them. And it's your pocket too."

"Other me…" His voice resembled something like a whine.

I checked on the cards once more and turned back to him, "Partner, let's go see Jyounouchi-kun."

He nodded.

After the whole sneaking out of the house situation, I was running late as it was. I guess now it didn't really matter whether or not I ran. I didn't really care if the random people on the street knew I had snuck out of my house… or that I was running late…

I checked the cards once more.

KACHAK.

I turned quickly. Was that the sound my partner had mentioned? The sound like a camera flash… and then utter silence?

I checked every direction a second time. There really was nothing. I shook off my sudden shock and ran in the direction of the town square, and the clock.

About sixteen blocks later, I finally stopped to catch my breath just short of the center of the square. The clock loomed overhead, casting a long shadow across the ground. And leaning against it was Jyounouchi. These days it seemed like he was early for almost everything… school excluded, of course. This time though, I was probably very late. Sneaking around and hearing odd camera flashes will do that to a person. I managed to catch my breath and walked over to Jyounouchi.

Jyounouchi cocked his head slightly to look at the clock, "There he is… Ten minutes later."

I stopped to lean over and catch my breath once more, "Ten minutes is better than nothing with everything that happened."

"What, did you sneak out of your house?" A large grin covered his face.

I turned my head slowly, trying to avoid eye contact as much as possible.

He began laughing loudly, in a way that befitted only him. "You did?" His laughing continued.

I clenched my fists momentarily, "But there was also this sound."

He stopped laughing abruptly, "A sound?"

I nodded, "Like a camera flash going off…"

Jyounouchi put his hand behind his head, "You heard it too?"

I unclenched my fists, "So… you've heard it then?"

Jyounouchi removed his hand from his head, letting out a slight sigh, "I haven't heard anything… But Yuugi was talking about it earlier…"

The momentary elation in my face dropped; I could tell by the slight change in Jyounouchi's expression as he reached his hand toward his jacket pocket.

"Anyway…" he mumbled slightly, "My deck?" He produced the pile of cards from within the pocket.

I smirked to myself, "See, cards in the jacket pocket."

"Huh?" Jyounouchi gave be a bewildered look.

I shook my head as I pulled my deck out of my own jacket pocket, "It's nothing."

Jyounouchi and I sat at a bench to the side of the clock; discussing decks, after all, is something that takes a bit longer than five minutes. Ideally, we should have been sitting inside my house with lights on, drinking tea or cola… That's where we usually did this sort of thing, at least… But when the people inside the house have conflicting views on whether it's better to focus on studying or Duel Monsters, it's better to avoid the issue entirely and leave the house to go sit in the town square.

Jyounouchi began pulling out a few cards from his deck, "Do you think if I use this combination…"

I turned my head away from him. There was a rustling in the bushes… So there was something here…

"Yuugi…?"

I turned back to him, "Sorry, Jyounouchi-kun."

He shook his head, "The camera again?"

I shook my head and picked up the cards he was laying out, "No, it was nothing." I examined the cards momentarily. "The problem with this card is that if you rely on it for your entire strategy, you're setting yourself up to lose. If it's destroyed, your strategy goes with it…" I examined the next few cards, pulling two from the selection, "The problem with these two is that their effect only works when they're both on the field… It's dangerous to have one and not the other."

Jyounouchi nodded. "And this one?" He held a card out to me.

"This one…" I paused momentarily, "This one is…"

KACHAK.

I let the card drop out my hand, "That sound…" I turned to find it, and having no luck, I turned back to him, "Jyounouchi-kun…"

He shook his head, "No, I heard it too." He stood up.

I followed him. Finally, someone heard it besides my partner and me.

Jyounouchi rustled his hands through the shrubbery beside the bench. He put his hand behind his head as a slight scowl covered his face, "How can a person hide in here anyway?"

I stood beside him and stuck my hand into the bushes as well. They could… if they were a small person… I could probably hide in these bushes if I really needed to… My hand hit a slick object. Out of curiosity, I grabbed it, "Jyounouchi-kun, I found something."

"Me too."

I turned to look at him in surprise. He held a Polaroid photo in his hand. I looked down at my hand, and I held one as well.

Jyounouchi stared at both the items we held, "But… why a photo?"

I put my hand to my chin, "The sound of a camera flash…" I removed my hand, "I see, it wasn't the flash, it was the image printing…"

"That sound?"

I nodded. "See, not a flash, partner…"

"They're both cameras, other me…"

Jyounouchi examined the photo in his hand. "Explaining card strategy must make you very happy…" He held the photo out for me to see.

It's true; there was this slight euphoric smile on my face. But I did like games the best. I gave a brief smile.

KACHAK.

I turned my head quickly, and then shook it off. Whoever was taking the pictures was still here, somewhere… I returned my gaze to the picture in my other hand. It was my partner, laughing with Jyounouchi and Honda. I lowered my head, "Partner?"

"Other me?"

I put my free hand on the puzzle; it emitted a bright flash once more.

The flashing subsided as I rose my head and looked at the picture again. A smile crossed my face.

KACHAK.

I placed the two pictures together and turned to Jyounouchi, "Let's go, Jyounouchi."

Jyounouchi was taken aback for a moment, but then he smiled slightly and nodded. He walked back to the bench and collected his cards together, putting the deck back into his pocket.

He turned to face me as I picked my deck up from the bench. I looked at the photographs momentarily before placing them on the now empty bench. One last smile crossed my face as I released my hand from them, "Next time you want a photo… just ask."