1. It is totally based off the Japanese manga. Firstly because I like the story better (and it is a HELL of a lot different to the Anime, believe me), and secondly because I have the first 30 and the 34th volumes. In Japanese. I can read a bit of it.... working on more everyday. ^_^
2. It's kind of AU before the end of Battle City, where we start off, and will become very AU afterwards. But we'll get to that later.
3. Bakura shall be known as Bakura. (:P) Yami Bakura shall be known as Yami Bakura, or Yami if being referred to by Bakura. For now, at least. ^^ Also, they have a working relationship, and Bakura actually knows what the hell is going on. This is part of the AU-ness mentioned earlier. I'm sure you'll catch on. ^_^
4. Malik is simply schizophrenic. In other words, mou hitori no Malik is not a Yami-no-Spirit.
5. I use bits and pieces of Japanese here and there without explanation, simple things which seem to be in every other fanfiction and you probably know already. Makes it seem a bit more real. However, if it ever gets to the point that I put in whole sentences in, there'll definitely be a good, solid translation. I'd do it in actual Japanese, but I don't know how to get it onto a web page. Yet. ^^ I'm a purist, I have to admit. It really rubs me the wrong way to write yami and y-a-m-i, instead of it's kanji. ^_^() I'm confusing you here, aren't I? I'll shut up now.
6. I tend to write a lot of introspective stuff, and go off on a tangent all the time, so if you're looking for action, you'll have to be a bit patient. I'll get there, but I usually take the long way around. Must have to do with the fact I have absolutely no sense of direction.
7. I'm Australian. Therefore, I speak Australian English. It's somewhere in-between American-English and English-English, if you know what I mean. To us, it's 'colour', not 'color'. I can't think of an example for English-English, but I'm sure you English people will pick it up somewhere. That's why.
On a completely different note, anyone know where you can buy Japanese Manga is Melbourne? I want to keep my collection going.... And it doesn't look like I'll be going back to Japan anytime soon. :(
Many, many thanks to the wonderful Phe-chan, who, despite many commitments,
laziness and not much interest in YGO, conceded to beta for me. *grin* ^_^ *hugs
Phe* She's the bestest.
And, of course, to Darkie-chan, my wonderful muse who doesn't like to talk much.
He's basically the only reason I got off my lazy ass to write this epic in the
first place. ^_^() I have very little confidence in my abilities, so I need
occasional prodding.
If you actually read all that ^, I commend you. It's a lot of crap. Mostly crap
you need to know, but still crap. ^_^()
On with the fic!
Ties of Blood, Ties of Fate, Ties of Soul
By Tyger and Darkdracofire
Rating - currently PG13: language.
Chapter 1
- Jessamyn West
Let it never be said that Malik Ishtal liked the man known
only as Shaadi. Malik Ishtal did not like Shaadi. In fact, Malik Ishtal
positively hated Shaadi. Which is why the second he had seen the elusive
man, he had broken said man's nose. Or at least attempted to. He wasn't quite
sure how Shaadi had managed to get him from running full pelt, his fist millimetres
from said nose to winded, sitting very heavily on the floor with his hands tied
behind his back, so quickly he hadn't seen or felt a thing, but he was 100%
sure it was Shaadi's fault and he was going to pay dearly for it. However, in
his current position, he could do nothing except glare viciously at the man,
which he did with a vengeance. Of course, this being Shaadi we're talking about,
it seemed to have no affect, which Malik found extremely unnerving. When he
glared at people, they were scared, damnit! Often so scared they either ran
away as fast as their legs could carry them, or hid behind the nearest Authority
Figure, be it mother, friend, neighbour, sibling or just someone who looked
considerably bigger and stronger than them.
Malik growled softly to himself. Only one thing to do now.... He tried to move
his arms. If he could just get the Rod....
"Looking for this?" Asked Shaadi, dangling the Sennen Rod in front of his face,
just out of reach. Malik could have sworn he'd seen a hint of a smile on the
stoic man's face. Great, now he was hallucinating as well - Shaadi never
smiled.
"What the? How the fuck did you - Hey, give that back, you bastard, that's MINE!!"
He tried to grab the Rod, but forgot his hands were tied up, tripped, and landed
in an undignified heap on the floor.
"No, it isn't, and that's the problem."
"What the fuck are you talking about? Of course it's fucking well mine!"
"It is, as it appears to you. However.... you were not meant to regain the Rod
after Battle City. It was supposed to stay in the hands of Mutou Yūgi until
it was claimed by it's true owner. However.... Mutou Yūgi's kindness would
surprise even Ra himself.... wouldn't you agree? Anyhow, no matter what has
happened, the Rod must be united with it's true owner, and it most certainly
doesn't belong to you. Besides," He said, frowning ever-so-slightly, "It's not
as though you actually ever desired the Rod."
"No, but that doesn't give you - or anybody - any fucking right to just waltz
in and take it from me, asshole!" Malik deathglared the man, and attempted to
get up, only to find that he couldn't.
"I wouldn't bother if I was you. Quit struggling and I will consider letting
you go immediately."
"Fuck you." Had he been able, he would have added the finger to his comment,
but he had to settle for another glare.
And such it was that the man known as Shaadi acquired the Sennen Rod, and the boy known as Malik Ishtal suffered yet another serious blow to his already shattered pride.
~~~***~~~
Kaiba Seto did not believe in magic. Of course, having seen many of the things he'd seen and experienced many of the things he had been through, he was forced to, although rather begrudgingly, admit that yes, it did exist and that it was proving to appear wildly rampant in at least two of the world's elite duellists. This didn't mean that Kaiba believed in it. If he believed in it, as opposed to simply acknowledging it existed, he'd be forced to admit that there was a possibility, however slight, that either he - or even more concernedly - Mokuba, could possibly have even the smallest scrap of such a power. Magic was Something That Happened To Other People, and he was more than happy to keep it that way. Never mind the fact that he'd both suffered from magic-induced illusions and been put in a comatose state for several months, both after provoking a certain classmate-come-rival of his. He didn't even think about the soul-theft of himself and his brother during Duellist Kingdom. Thinking about it was admitting it had happened. And the strange mid-duel vision-illusions during Battle City.... Kaiba Seto did not like to admit that there was even the slightest possibility that he had a past life with similar circumstances to that of Mutou Yūgi. That would be admitting that there was even a slight possibility that he could somehow have an.... Other like said diminutive duellist, and of course, that was completely impossible. Magic was Something That Happened To Other People. And besides, he didn't believe in reincarnation anyway. How could he be something that didn't exist?
~~~***~~~
Mutou Sugoroku, known to most people as Yūgi's Jiichan,
did believe in magic. However, despite his wizened years (albeit, he
was not as aged as some, but who was he to know?), he had only seen proof of
it's existence once, and he had been a young man then. What he did know, however,
was that for the past few months his grandson had been acting.... odd. Not like
he had been before he had made his new friends, when, though Yūgi had never
said a word, he had known he was being picked on.... No, he was just slightly
- and it was only slightly - different than before. Something had happened
at the end of Battle City.... the finals, which he had been, much to his sorrow,
been unable to attend because his daughter - bless her soul, she worked so hard,
keeping both a full-time, highly stressful job AND attempting to cook, clean,
wash and do for Yūgi all the other things most full-time mothers did for
their sons - had finally succumbed to stress and collapsed at work, and he felt
compelled to be by her side.
So, unfortunately, he had missed it - but that didn't mean he hadn't heard things
- the world of Magic and Wizards was small, especially in Japan, and so the
owner of a shop with as good a reputation as Sugoroku's heard a lot of things
- tales of dark Gods trapped in cards, and the even darker, ruthless beings
who commanded them, and the handful of duellists who could stand up against
them for more than a turn or two.... a class of their own, each an unstoppable
force in their own right, impervious to normal methods or techniques.... so
high up that a new chart had to be invented for them. And the other tales....
tales of magic and darkness, of people being pushed past the point of insanity
and back.... of people being struck down by God and living to tell about it....
though they never did tell, none of those who actually duelled ever breathed
a word about magic, or gods.... or about the worst rumours of all, the ones
people feared even to repeat, of suffocating darkness, and blood running over
gold. They would tell you about the duels themselves.... Yūgi would talk
about Bakura's Occult Combo, and Malik's ruthlessness and how Kaiba (that bastard,
damn him straight to the fiery pits of hell) had finally been defeated.... again.
But it was always just in terms of the cards and the strategy behind it....
never was anything out of the ordinary mentioned, not even for a second. Which
was why Sugoroku knew they weren't telling him something.
Rumors had to start somewhere after all. Which brought him back to how
Yūgi had been acting lately. He seemed.... a little more distracted. Just
a little. He tended to stare off into space a little more than he usually did,
or simply not hear you when you were talking to him. It was only slight, he
doubted anyone else would have noticed, it was only that he'd been looking after
Yūgi for so long that he'd noticed it himself. It worried him. There was
something going on with Yūgi.... his friends knew, he was sure of it. Even
the quiet one, what was his name? Bakura. That boy unnerved him! He was so nice
and polite, but.... every so often, he'd drop by the shop, buy a few cards,
chat with him, chat with Yūgi.... and Yūgi would do something odd,
stare into space, or not watch were he was going and bump into something....
And he'd watch, and either wait patiently for Yūgi to snap out of it, or
ask if he was okay, or whatever it was that the situation required.... But he'd
have a funny glint in his eye, and the corner of his mouth would upturn, just
slightly, to a small smile, as though he knew exactly what was going on, perhaps
more than Yūgi did, it seemed at time, and found it all highly amusing.
He didn't mean it unkindly, you could tell, he just found the whole situation
hilarious. It was very, very unnerving. In fact, now that he thought about it....
Bakura, out of all of Yūgi's friends never was surprised at anything, nor
angry. Often late, often slow, very easily distracted and always extremely apologetic
about it.... but nothing ever seemed to get under his skin. He was a very strange
child, and, Sugoroku realized, one of the main reasons he felt there was a lot
more going on than what he was being told.
Something was happening to his Yūgi, his precious grandson, and he had
no idea what it was. He just wished Yūgi would tell him what was going
on!! Then again, he suspected, at times, he did not even know himself.
~~~***~~~
Sometimes I wonder when they'll finally get it. When the
penny will drop, when they'll break the illusions they've created for themselves
(though not without more than a little help on my part, I must admit), and start
seeing Truth.
But they won't. They'll continue to as the quiet, shy, gentle, polite boy, totally
dominated by my Other. I'm not. It is true that I'm quiet, and polite, but that's
where the illusion ends. I'm not shy, I'm antisocial. I don't see the point
in talking to people. When you've seen what I've seen, been where I've been....
when you know what I know.... the concerns of most people seem so petty....
why even bother trying to live a normal life full of normal worries. It'll never
happen. It can't. As soon as you get settled, get comfortable in the life you're
living.... something will come along and shatter your facade.... and that's
all it can ever be.
Yūgi hasn't realized it yet. He's still trying to be normal, trying to
live on a weekly basis - and he's really doing quite well. But even he's starting
to slip. Only starting, mind, but it's there, lurking.
As for gentle.... that's just a complete and utter lie. I'm not gentle. It's
just stabbing people at school tends to get you expelled, and fast. And finding
a new school is just too much effort, honestly. And other times.... well, my
yami likes stabbing people. I don't particularly like it, but I'm not
afraid to do it if someone's pissing me off. I don't do it around my friends.
I value their friendship too much for that.... because I think that that would
scare them, if they knew. They tend to forget that I'm into the Occult too....
it's rather amusing, really if a little weird. How could they forget something
like that?
And as for being dominated by Yami.... The only sort of real control he has
over me stems from the fact that he practically raised me. Ku.... That would
really freak them out, I'm sure, if they knew that. But what the don't
know wont hurt them.... Because.... they really hate my yami. It's understandable,
I guess. He is a complete and utter bastard, after all. And he's not
to fond of them, either. But, growing up around him, I can't hate him. And that's
not even taking into account that he is, after all, my yami. Who could hate
their other half?
I guess that's what it comes down to, in the end. Why they care about being
normal and I don't. They were raised fully in this world, by people who love
them (with the exception of Kaiba-kun, of course.... and perhaps Jounounchi-kun
as well....), whereas I.... I have been raised half in this world, and half
in another.... a world both more and less dark than the Shadow Realm, the Darkness
of tormented souls, not the same, but still a part of it (for how else would
my yami know of it?), but not a part.... in which any other mortal has trod.
According to the residents, anyway. And, no matter what you say, my yami isn't
a nice guy, by any stretch of the imagination.
I guess that's the difference between us. I've never been normal, and don't
particularly care to be, even if I did know how, whereas they have been....
and don't realize yet that they can no longer be so. They take me as I show
myself to be because they like what they see, it's something they can deal with
without stretching their brain cells to much extent.... and I'm more than happy
to keep it that way. Maybe they will figure it out, someday. But that may take
a very long time.
Or, as my yami would say, maybe I'm just too damn optimistic.
~~~***~~~
I guess the fact I still remember anything other that this
is a miracle in itself, really. Or, perhaps fate, I am no longer sure which.
I'm not sure of much, really. Why everlasting, all-consuming darkness did not
send me mad, but just gave me a long time to think. To repent. To grieve. To
reflect on my past mistakes.... To know my Self so well I no longer have need
of a conscience. No, the darkness was long, agonizingly long, but that was all.
I think, out of the three of us, I was the only one who actually knew what was
happening. Pharaoh.... he had to come, at any cost, no matter what was best
at the time. So, although I knew his experience would be worse than any others....
I told him nothing. Duty such as mine is never easy, especially to one such
as him. But it must be done, for our souls, if nothing else. As for the Thief
King.... he is not who he used to be. I could not leave him to terrorize the
people without Pharaoh's vengeance to keep him in line. Perhaps, now, he has
changed.... though I doubt it.
But for myself, who knew all the risks, why did I come? Because our three souls
are bound together, bound by blood and by fate. I could not stay behind even
if I wished to. I love them too much for that.
I knew of the darkness I would be bound in, for hundreds, perhaps even thousands
of years. I endured it. So why am I bound still? Why am I still imprisoned,
when I can feel my Other, who's light shines so brightly, to me at least, that
in his existence only, it begins to drive the shadows from my soul. I can sense
the Thief King has found his Other, as has Pharaoh, a short time after - I think
it was short, anyway. Time has very little meaning here. Why can they find their
Others, their light, the salvation of their souls.... yet I am forced to wait,
in a state of unknown name. No longer bound by darkness.... but unable to reach
the light.
It is maddening! To know of one's salvation, and not be able to reach it. DAMN
IT! DAMN IT ALL! Damn it all to the jaws of the devourer, and may He take
the souls of those who would stand between me and my Light!!
I don't know if I can take much more of this. This short time of.... in-between....
is doing that which hundreds of times more of solitary imprisonment could not....
Insanity befalls me, and there is nothing I can do now but pray for my salvation.