Hm...It just sprung to me one night when I was reading other Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfics. Well, enjoy!
Oh, and before I forget...
Disclaimer: Sammi does not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any children's card games. Or any ancient Egyptian artefacts, either. s o b If I did... hehe, the fun I'd have...
Oh, and by the way, if you're looking for a laugh, check our LittleKuriboh or the Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged Series; which I also don't own. It wouldn't be as good if I owned it, believe me.
And to avoid confusion... the passage with "-...- " is a dream sequence.
On with the fic!
Yugi sighed and threw himself on his bed, staring up the ceiling. Why couldn't they understand? Why couldn't they get off his back for once, and let him mourn in piece? Oh, he knew why... because they didn't know what it was like.
Jounouchi, Honda, and Anzu simply couldn't begin to imagine how happy Yugi had been with the Pharaoh around. It was almost like having a brother, really; someone he could trust with his inner most secrets and fears. Someone he could depend on. And the best part for Yugi was having someone who needed him as support every now and then.
Yugi smiled softly, temporarily forgetting the deep ache of emptiness inside his heart. It had been good times, alright, good times... being needed just as much as he needed someone. Because despite how strong and proud the Pharaoh had been, Yugi just knew that Yami would have crumbled if he hadn't had his hikari – his aibou – to guide him through the day.
And that wonderful feeling bathed Yugi in utter bliss, if just for a few seconds. He giggled softly, the sound almost giddy to his own ears. But right now, Yugi didn't care.
He wanted Yami back.
True, he was being a bit hypocritical... just four months ago, Yugi had accepted that the Pharaoh needed to leave; needed to go home. But that didn't mean the parting was necessarily any easier. The duel had been the worst moment of all...
Yugi cringed inwardly as he remembered it so very vividly. And so many times afterwards, just moments after the doors to the afterlife slammed shut, had Yugi wished that Yami had won... gods, why did he have to win? Why did he forget, right at the last moment, what the stakes of the duel were?
I know why, he thought miserably. I focused too much. I... I got lost in the game... my passion won me over. And it sickened Yugi to the core.
He should've let Kaiba duel Yami instead.
But no. He couldn't think like that now. Not now, after everything had happened and there was no changing anything... because Yami wasn't coming back. Not now, not for Yugi... not ever.
Yugi stifled a sob, and hastily wiped formerly unnoticed tears from his cheeks. It hurt so much... gods, why didn't he just let Kaiba duel Yami?! How could he be so stupid and naive?
"Hey, Yug! It's us, man! We were just about to go out to Burger World... you coming?"
And once again, the pain of losing Yami was forgotten, if only for a moment. Yugi wasn't alone... as much as he despised their lack of understanding, knowledge and compassion, he still had his friends beside him every step of the way.
Somewhere in the afterlife, Yugi knew that Yami would be proud of him... for surviving. For smiling.
For living without his other half.
With that information firmly imbedded inside his brain, Yugi sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, a huge, genuine smile plastered to his face as his friends barged into the room – Jounouchi falling face-first onto the floor with an "oomph", with Honda and Anzu rolling their eyes at his clumsiness.
"Sure, Jounouchi!" Yugi beamed down at his disgruntled friend. "I'd love to!"
"That's the spirit, Yug!" his friend cheered as he pulled himself up, grinning like a madman. "Now, let's go get some burgers! Anzu said it's on her..."
"Jounouchi!" Anzu snapped, a red tint to her cheeks. "Take that back. I did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
Yugi closed his eyes and just... smiled. Life was normal; too normal for him. But he'd come to accept that was all it would ever be.
Mou hitori no boku, Yugi mused, blinking open his eyes to watch his friends, know this. I'm not going to give up on life now; I'll keep on living... for us. I just hope that wherever you are, you're happy too...
So much power...
A gnarled, but sturdy hand drew its fingers idly across a stone wall decorated in hieroglyphics. It gleamed a dull gold in the faint candlelight as a pair of dark, almost sooty red eyes stared at the carvings from under a black hood. A chuckle resonated from within.
Oh yes... I can sense it flowing within you...
-The hand removed itself from the wall a tad reluctantly as the cloaked figure turned instead to stare at a raised platform at the front of the chamber. The eyes latched greedily onto the closed golden doors, almost as if they would be forced open by their piercing gaze.
And soon, Pharaoh... so very soon...
Another chuckled echoed around the chamber as the tall figure stepped towards the platform and stared down at an all too familiar stone: with seven Millennium Items safely slotted in place. The gnarled hand reached down into the cloak, and a flash of blue peeked out from within.
...Soon that power... will be mine...
Manic laughter grew in pitch and volume until it turned into a splitting shriek. The gnarled hand waved once more towards the closed doors, and the Eye of Wdjat glowed brightly before they were forced open with a grinding screech, revealing the glowing white of the afterlife. The room was engulfed in a bright light..-
With a shocked cry, Ishizu bolted up from her bed, panting heavily for air as her mind desperately tried to make sense of what she'd seen.
"Wh... what on earth...?" She gasped, clutching a hand to her chest. "Was... was this... a warning?" Deeply troubled, Ishizu closed her eyes and revisited everything she'd seen.
The Millennium Items... Ishizu thought worriedly, still tense and on edge. It must have been a dream... I saw them fall to the depths of the earth with my very eyes.
As her mind supplied that scrap of information, Ishizu slowly started to relax. Yes, she concluded. Most definitely a dream. The Millennium Items are gone... and only the Millennium Necklace has granted me the power of sight.
"Sister?" Ishizu tensed as her head snapped towards the open doorway; realisation hit her as she recognised Marik's bleached hair, sitting untidily around his face. He looked as if a bomb had hit him.
"Yes, Marik?" She inquired quietly, slightly suspicious. Marik never – not even when he'd been whipped as a child – came to her at night; it was usually Rishid that had the honour of comforting her little brother during the night.
Marik regarded her for a second with a strange look in his eyes. After letting out a soft sigh, he walked over to his sister's bed and sat down with a heavy thump on the end of it, staring resolutely down at the floor.
Ishizu frowned. something was very wrong here. Marik seemed... greatly unsettled. Or perhaps a better word would be disturbed.
"Sister..." He began again, before claming up with another sigh. Whatever was troubling Marik, he seemed very sour to let it out.
Slightly irritated at his hesitation yet also concerned at his sudden change, Ishizu sat up a little straighter. Leaning forward, her tanned hand gently placed itself on Marik's shoulder, grazing the hieroglyphics on his back. She paid no mind to the slight flinch that her brother gave: right now, there was something much more important to deal with. "Speak to me, brother." She intoned, squeezing gently.
Marik's eyes wandered up to her own, and then flicked away again in discomfort. "Sister..." he shook his head, looking rather annoyed. "It's probably nothing, but... please humour me."
"Of course, Marik." Ishizu nodded her head slightly, her stomach twisting into knots. She hoped against hope that whatever the problem was, it wouldn't have anything to do with Malik... Marik's alter ego, which she thought to be destroyed at the end of Kaiba's Battle City finals.
"Well..." his voice was so quiet, Ishizu had to lean closer to grasp the words. "As I said, it's probably nothing... I had the strangest dream."
"Go on..." Ishizu once again felt herself relaxing... it wasn't Malik. Well, that was good, wasn't it...?
...If it was, then why was her stomach knotting up even tighter than before?
"There was a cloaked male... well, I couldn't see his face, but from the voice, it sounded masculine." Ishizu froze. No, she thought, horrified. It's not the same dream... it can't be...
Marik continued, unaware of his sister's distress. "You remember where Yugi and the Pharaoh staged the ceremonial duel?" After receiving a nod, he continued, "He was there... but the whole place was coated gold. And the strangest thing was... the Millennium Items were in tact. Which must mean it's a dream.
"This man... he raised his hand towards the doors to the afterlife, laughing insanely. Then, the worst thing possible happened..."
No, Ishizu mentally shook her head. No... it can't be...!
"The doors opened. And... he mentioned the Pharaoh, before everything faded out. But it's nothing to worry about, just a nightmare... Ishizu?"
"Marik," she answered lowly, staring into his confused eyes. "My dear, dear brother... I shared the same dream, only moments ago."
"What?" Marik hissed, withdrawing away from her comforting hand. "But... that would be impossible-!"
"Unless," answered a deep voice from the doorway. Startled, Ishizu and Marik turned towards the owner of the voice – Rishid. His eyes were dark and narrowed, almost as if he knew that something was about to happen.
...Something terrible.
"Unless," he continued slowly, staring into the siblings' eyes. "it wasn't a dream. I, too, saw the cloaked figure at the location of the ceremonial duel."
Marik's eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets. He glanced towards Ishizu desperately, his face clearly reading, You've got to be kidding me!
Ishizu stared back, determined and anxious. "We haven't much time," she concluded, her mind having finally woken up and putting a plan into action. "Hurry, Rishid... phone Yugi. And," she added as she pulled herself up out of bed, "Tell him to hurry – before it's too late!"
Ooh, interesting. Anyone who can guess who the cloaked figure is gets a cookie! And I wonder what on earth this mystery man wants with the Pharaoh? Stayed tuned...
