Rays of Sunshine Chapter 1: The Unchosen
Yay! New story! Yay! New category! Yay! Outlast still isn't writing. In fact he's actually let me know to basically take over the mantal of the account, so if any of you are from my other stories... I'm Outlast now. So yeah-... Uh, digressing. I know this story isn't exactly the most original plot from the get go, at least from what I've heard, but not to worry it'll grow its wings and fly soon enough! But enough of my pointless rambling, enjoy my first foray into Yu-gi-oh!
(Edit: I did some work on this chapter about a day after it first came out. As I reread it the night before I realized that this just wasn't as enjoyable to read as I thought it was when writing. It felt like more of a checklist than a flowing narrative. The main character's thoughts darted from plot point to plot point with no real prompting, almost as if he was aware someone was reading it. I've tried to edit those sections to be much more smooth in terms of narrative pace and flow. Hope you like it!)
"It's always darkest before the dawn..." - Thomas Fuller
"And it looks like it'll be another hot one for the residents of Topica City this upcoming weekend! So be sure to stock up on sunblock, because that sun's gonna be smiling down at us for the foreseeable future!"
A hand pressed the air conditioner button, it's owner letting out a disgusted groan as the words of the newscaster on the old tv screen filtered through it's decade old speakers, just barely louder than the equally old air conditioning unit which whirred away at full power, desperately working to bring some semblance of cool air into the humid and musty room.
"Of course. Why not? It's not like we're not already dying of the damn thing anyways..." The voice of a young man mumbled in the gloomy darkness as its owner threw the covers off his body and ran a hand through his short black hair, wiping the sweat from his brow before letting it fall limply back onto his bed, which itself was drenched with sweat.
If there was one thing Aidan could say that he well and truly hated, it was the sun.
It wasn't that he had heliophobia or anything that physically prevented him from being bathed in its rays. In fact he used to love the sun.
But now? He just... couldn't stand the sun. It was too bright. Too cheery for him.
While it seemed like some people thrived off of the bright glow of that obnoxious ball of fire hanging in the sky, to Aidan it only served to illuminate the most troubling aspects of him. Pale skin that burnt far too easily. Check. Sedentary and isolated lifestyle far from the rest of the populace? Checkaroo.
What was the point of the sun nowadays anyway? 'Oh, it provides light and warmth' most sane individuals would say, and to them Aidan had only one response; he would rather take heat lamps and electric blankets any day.
Of cours failing all of that, chances were at the end of the day you or someone you knew probably had a Shadow Creature capable of giving you a roasting that you'd never forget.
"And don't forget duel fans!" The TV speakers blared out over the sounds of the overworked air conditioner, prodding for Aidan's attention, "The next Shadow Games championship takes place tomorrow night at 8, here on KCN! Who will win?! The Flame Swordsmen or the Mythical Imps?! Tune in to find out!"
Ah, and speak of the devil. The Creatures of Shadow. Those damn things. Creatures from a different realm that willingly attached themselves to the soul of an individual, usually in early adolescence, while taking on human form in order to accompany their 'Chosen' throughout their lives.
In a way they were a person's shadow made manifest, hence their rather ominous title. They tended to choose their masters based on the human's personality, and so they were often viewed as extensions of the self. Always there by your side if they could at all help it.
They, along with a host of other strange phenomena accompanying them, had first popped up just over 20 years ago at the turn of the millennia and quickly began carving themselves a place in society, although not without some initial growing pains. While they had existed for as long as he had been alive Aidan did have faint memories of when they were first being integrated into society at large after the initial few years of wary acceptance, though he had been little more than a baby at the time so his recollection was no doubt spotty at best. What he did remember though was how excited he had been as a child as he waited for his own Shadow to arrive.
His parents had actually been quite receptive to the idea of him eventually receiving a Shadow, and even praised him for the patience he displayed as he waited.
And waited...
And waited...
He waited for years, holding out hope far longer than he should have, not helped by the constant insistence from friends and family to just wait 'a little longer'. But with each birthday that passed, the more apparent it became even as he fought against the truth he knew in his heart to be staring him right in the eye.
He had not been chosen to be followed by a Shadow. He was an outcast in the world that had been birthed over the last two decades. The forgotten of society. He was 'Unchosen'.
It was actually quite ironic, Aidan thought as he raked his fingers through the mess of dark hair atop his head, someone who'd ended up being so adept at living in the shadows, both figuratively and literally, shunned by the very creatures theorized to have been birthed from it's bosom.
Perhaps that, in a way, was why he despised the sun so. Because it forced him to confront that hard truth whenever he gazed down to see his shadow cast in the midday glow. It was only his shadow that stared back at him. Just his, without another to stand beside it.
Bzzt!
The sound of his phone buzzing ripped Aidan from his sea of thoughts, forcing his dark amber eyes to quickly scan the Caller I.D as he lazily retrieved the device from his bedside, which was strewn with a myriad of empty food containers and discarded receipts for various goods that had no doubt been long used and discarded.
It only took a tertiary glance at the screen got Aidan to realize his disturber was none other than Aiko Takame; an extremely close friend of his since early childhood. For as long as he can remember the two of them had been friends, almost siblings even.
Even after they had graduated highschool a year prior she still made the effort to come around and drag him into the waking world whenever she had the chance. Unfortunately, or fortunately in Aidan's opinion, she had less time to come around recently due to her classes and so Aidan was left to his own devices for weeks at a time.
"Aiko?... What's up?"
"Hey! You finally decided to pick up huh?" Aiko's voice filtered through from the other end, sounding as cheery and life filled as ever, with each word practically dripping with positivity. A near direct contrast to Aidan's own.
"...What's up?" He repeated as he finally willed himself to sit up, retrieving his TV remote to silence whatever asinine commercial was playing in the background.
"I'm just calling to see if you've eaten yet today." She answered simply. It was routine for the two; she would call, ask if he'd eaten, and he would provide her with a halfassed answer usually along the lines of-...
"Why's it matter?"
"It matters because if you haven't then Link and I will come over there to make sure you do."
Aidan sighed, Aiko and her stupid Celtic Guardian. He remembered the day he had appeared so well. The two of them had been playing Zelda at Aiko's place back during their elementary school years when a massive rainstorm blew in as if from seemingly nowhere, which in turn sent a rather large dead branch that Aiko's uncle had been neglecting to cut away crashing through Aiko's bedroom window and sailing towards the two of them. Of course that branch thankfully never reached them, stopped short by the massive longsword of the Celtic Guardian, and a few chaos filled minutes later an extremely giddy Aiko had herself her very own Shadow, which she had quickly dubbed 'Link'.
Silent as a stump, strong as an ox, amazing with a sword, and a bit thick in the head at times. Aidan could easily see the resemblance.
"Yeah? That a fact?"
"We've done it before Aidan-... Don't think we won't again." Aiko's voice carried a clear tone of warning. It was a tone she had developed over the years almost exclusively due to Aidan's stubborn streak.
"Well bad news for you then. I haven't. Now leave me alone."
"Hey! No! I just said-..."
"My apartment door's locked."
"I'll just have Link kick it in."
"I put a Spellbinding Circle up. If he tries it he'll just end up getting his foot stuck." Aidan explained, glancing over to the door to indeed see the faint outline of the pentagram like design glowing faintly against the wood, "I'm going back to sleep if there's nothing else."
"Not until you eat!"
"Make me."
"I will!-... Look... Just..." Aiko sighed loudly over the phone before the edge in her tone vanished, replaced by what sounded like genuine concern, "Can at least go and take a nice walk outside or something. Get some fresh air for once?"
"...Its cloudy as all hell out Aiko-..." He mumbled as he glanced over to a small consul which showed a small chibi-like cloud under the 'current weather' tab. "I doubt the damn sun would even reach me right now."
"Sun?... What're you talking about? It's nearly 10 at night-..." There was a long pause, "Aidan... How long has it been since you left your apartment?!"
"...I dunno..." Aidan silently cursed as he glanced over to his blackout curtains. He should've paid more attention to what time lock of news he'd been listening to. Aiko would grill him on this one the next time she saw him in person... "A week? Give or take a few days."
"A week?! You haven't left your apartment in over a week?!"
"Look-... Why's it even matter? It's not like I'm hurting anyone else doing this."
"It matters because you're hurting yourself! Do you want some sort of horrifying skin disease or S.A.D before you even turn 25?!"
Aidan's tongue clicked against the top of his mouth; he was relatively sure he already had S.A.D, and in a big way, "I'm in just fine shape-..."
"Yeah, on the outside maybe. But just using a treadmill and lifting weights doesn't mean you're healthy... Honestly if you took care of the inner you as well as you took care of the outer you you'd be so much-..."
"Different?"
"...Happier."
Happier? Really? That's what she wanted? He had been plenty happy as a child, and look how that had gone.
Each and every day he would fall asleep with a big old naive smile on his face, ready to greet his newly arrived Shadow that would no doubt arrive in the middle of night as Link had, only to wake up disappointedly alone each and every morning afterwards.
Then to top off his growing disappointment at the lack of a Shadow, his parents had ended up separating just after his 8th birthday, and it certainly hadn't been in the most amicable fashion either. His ass of a father had stormed out with all the grace an elegance of a bull in a china shop, leaving behind a bruised up soon to be ex-wife and several expensive statuettes and vases in pieces.
And in the end that happy child had become jaded, after witnessing not only everyone else gain what could be viewed as a friend and partner for life, but his own family fracture and lose one of their own. Where everyone else gained a partner and friend he only lost a father.
"Listen, how about this, I'm done classes for the week tomorrow." Aiko's voice snapped him from his thoughts, "Why don't we meet up for lunch or something?"
"Can't."
"Why?"
His explanation was swift and rehearsed, "I'm practicing my spell work."
"You're good enough with them." Aiko pushed, clearly used to Aidan's evasive tactics.
"Maybe I just want to research more complicated incantations."
"Says the guy who can set and forget a fully fledged Spellbinding Circle."
"Not all of us have a Celtic Guardian who can wrestle a bear at their beck and call!" Aidan hissed between gritted teeth, his anger rising with each passing moment, "Some of us have to rely on ourselves!..."
"I wish you'd stop with that."
"With what?"
"You know I'm here if you ever need me, and so is Link... We haven't abandoned you yet, and we have no plans to so-..."
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. Bye."
"Aidan, wait!-..."
Click!
His phone hit the desk a moment later, clattering against a stack of old chicken sandwich boxes, accompanied by the loud flump of his body hitting his clothes covered mattress once again.
As he let out a loud groan of annoyance, Aidan found himself glancing over towards his kitchen where a sachet of instant rice sat proudly on the small bar-table like kitchen counter, as if gazing over to him.
He could... He should...
But as hit head hit the pillow once more he knew for a fact that he wouldn't.
What was the point? He should just go back to bed.
And he did just that.
However, as he shifted he could have sworn his bed creaked softly in protest, as if annoyed at the extra weight laying atop it.
Wait... Extra weight?
Damn it.
Aidan felt his stomach drop. Was he gaining weight? That had to have been one of the last few things about himself that he took pride in. It was true he hadn't exactly been eating food that was the healthiest in the world but he didn't think he'd actually been gaining weight from it.
Oh well, that just meant he'd be on the treadmill for an extra hour or two for the next few weeks. No big deal, he thought as he drifted off into a dreamless sleep, it wasn't like he had anywhere he had to be.
At the time he would have never guessed that that small shift in weight was the universe's first and only warning that his life had finally, after years of waiting and disappointment, changed forever...