So... I guess this is what happens when I actually have free time. I start spewing Yu-Gi-Oh one shots.
(Haha I wrote that about two weeks ago when this was a much smaller project. BUT here it is, good and done. UGGGHHH finally... The plot bunnies are running rampant, my friends. Now, I'm off to read Ch 11 of Roulette. See ya soon KG!)
"Settle in, Kuriboh, it's story time!" the little boy declared as he toddled over to his bed. He had to jump in order to be tall enough to climb onto the sheets, nearly knocking a massive manuscript to the floor. The book was enormous, nearly larger than the boy himself, though that wasn't too difficult. He was practically nonexistent under his mop of colorful hair and big crimson eyes. He was only the size of a four-year-old, where as the book was the size of a small pony. On the front of said book were the words "Yu-Gi-Oh Fanfiction Vol. 1: Property of Atemu" in gilded cursive. With an eager look in his eyes, the boy, Atemu, flipped open the saga, tearing through the various stories. He couldn't decide where to start.
"What do you think Kuri-" He looked up, only to discover his fuzzy friend was nowhere in sight. "Kuriboh?" With a soft coo, the brown fuzz ball transcended the walls of the soul room. The boy sighed in relief. "There you are. Isn't this fun? It's like a sleepover!" Atemu reached across the bed to grab his Duel Monster guardian, and placed Kuriboh in his lap. Slender fingers began absentmindedly twirling through the beast's fur. "But instead of a pillow fight there is only darkness and the Shadow Realm!" Kuriboh shuddered under his touch. How the kid managed to stay so positive was a mystery.
"Now where were we? Oh right!" He looked back down at the page. The story "A True Master" was awaiting him. He cleared his throat. "There's a puppy, trapped and lonely. Oh, my gosh, that's just like me!" Atemu gasped. He felt Kuriboh bristle. "Yes, yes, I know. I have you with me. Now, shush! Poor Jounouchi misses his sister, but his dad won't let him be. Awww! Kuriboh, he doesn't even have a companion like you. Poor guy... SHUSH, I'm reading!" He shouted, as Kuriboh tried to respond. The monster pouted, and growled something about ungrateful humans. Atemu took no notice, entranced in the story.
"He passes time with card games," Yami noted, smiling at this new piece of information, "like someone else I know." The floor of his soul room was nearly coated with decks and game pieces. One of the best parts about being trapped in the Millennium Puzzle was no one telling him to clean up his toys. "As years go by he sits and waits. As years go by... Uh oh..." He glanced over the images on the next pages. They portrayed the blonde boy being attacked, and cowering on the ground in an attempt to protect his vital organs. His dad HIT him? Atemu could only gape at the page in shock. He faintly registered Kuriboh growling at the rather graphic beating.
"A torturous existence... I don't remember this part! He wishes he were dead? Skip ahead, skip ahead!" Hands and claws frantically tore at the pages, turning until they got to a much safer and much happier picture of a couple sharing a kiss. The pair sighed in relief and Atemu continued to read. "But in the end Jounouchi finds a millionaire. Kaiba's got great lawyers... And a thing for golden hair. Lucky dog..." He closed the book and held it to his chest, almost as if in prayer.
"So I know, he'll complete me." Kuriboh looked up in surprise. Who on earth was his master talking to? "'Cause there are prophecies and strictures. I believe the fanfictions I read by candlelight. My hikari and his tachi, will look just like these pictures." Kuriboh grumbled. He doubted that. Things rarely worked out so perfectly. He had a feeling they would be here a little longer. He was going to tell his master that, he really was, when the boy said, "It won't be long now, I guarantee," and sighed. "Year number... Twenty-three." Kuriboh's eyes widened. Had it really been that long already? To him, it hadn't felt long at all, but he was used to spending eternity in the Shadow Realm. It was very clear, however, that Atemu knew exactly how long he had been trapped in the puzzle, and felt every day of it. So Kuriboh decided to let him have his hope. What his master didn't know couldn't hurt him, right?
"I know it's today, I know it's today." Atemu looked to him for confirmation and Kuriboh only nodded.
"Oh, here's a good one, it's a classic!" Kuriboh rolled his eyes. Atemu had said the same thing about every story he looked at for the past week. Of course they were classic. They only had so many books. They've read all of the stories at least fourteen times. But Kuriboh didn't mention any of this. He merely snuggled in his master's hair, gazing down at the pictures in the book below him.
"There's a pre-teen in a coma-" Kuriboh snickered. Atemu looked like an eleven-year-old himself. He shouldn't say that word with so much disdain.
"Glad it's him instead of me." Atemu tried to send Kuriboh a vicious glare, but ended up cross-eyed. It was extremely difficult to look at something directly on your head. Atemu examined the image of a green haired boy locked in a pod amidst piles of wires and circuits. "Pretty sure he's in the matrix. How I wonder does he pee?" He shrugged and began rifling through the story, barely looking at the pages. Kuriboh cried out in protest, as if to say, "Hey! I was reading that!" Once again, he was ignored. This had happened a lot recently. Atemu was slowly becoming enthralled with the fantastical fanfictions he was reading, pouring all his time and attention into them. He had even begun to write his own, detailing his own escape from the Millennium Puzzle. And, to be honest, it was starting to seriously freak Kuriboh out.
"Blah, blah, blah, kidnapped brother, boring, boring, the Big Five. Filler, filler! Been there, read that
Turns out he needs a quick revive," Atemu listed the main points for Kuriboh, assuming that would be enough. "Trust me, I'm just getting to the best parts quicker," he assured his little friend, "Skip ahead, skip ahead..." A smirk played on the boy's lips found what he was looking for. He felt himself sigh. Finally. The happy ending. He cleared his throat.
"But in the end the pre-teen wakes up with a start." Said pre-teen was portrayed was perfect "o" of surprise on his lips as a black-haired boy yanked him in a hug. Mimicking this, Atemu yanking Kuriboh from his perch and wrapped his arms around the protesting puffball. "Mokuba is good at hacking... and melting Noa's heart!" Leaping to his feet, he clutched Kuriboh even tighter.
"So I know, he'll succeed!" Kuriboh did a double take. Who the hell was he? "And my hikari will be blinding." Kuriboh placed his head in his paws.
Oh no, here we go again.
Atemu had become absolutely obsessed with the idea of his hikari. Everyday, he'd ramble on and on about the solver of the puzzle and how perfect he'd be. And Kuriboh was going to throw up if he heard another gushy speech about Atemu "dear little Aibou." He already felt nauseous from trying to balance on Atemu's head.
"As shining as his intellect and manly kohl!" Atemu was beaming now. "I'm his goal, he's my key. He'll get me out of the Ra-damn pyramid. The shadow magic will be binding! About time we set my release date. Seriously, I'm sick of this place. I mean, come on, it's year number nine hundred and fifty eight!" He sighed, and looked down at his hands. "I know it's today, he'll solve it to- OH MY GODS, KURIBOH NOT ON THE CARD GAMES!"
The soul room was silent. Darkness had crept into the walls, draping from the ceiling like tainted ivy. The once-beloved games had seen an end to their glory days. Capsule Monster figurines laid in pieces in the corners, as though they had been launched in anger. Fragments of Duel Monster cards littered the floor like confetti. The furniture was in splinters, feathers from disemboweled pillows piled on the bed, and the stone walls were etched with thousands of tallies, glaring down as a constant reminder of time lost.
Hesitantly, purple eyes peaked out from under the bed. Kuriboh knew it could be dangerous. The longer his master stayed in the puzzle, the more he forgot his past, his purpose, his self. This included Kuriboh. Some days, his master attacked him on sight, as though he had never seen his life-long companion before. A few times, he had even banished Kuriboh back to the Shadow Realm. Atemu had always remembered himself, immediately scrambling to retrieve the banished monster.
He was almost grateful for the trips to the abhorrent realm. Because it was after them that his master was truly back. He would hold the abused furball close, petting him as he had as a child. Kuriboh would be warm and comforted again, purring as his master murmured apologizes and promises that Kuriboh knew would be broken. But, instead, he focused on the warmth of his master, knowing time was a precious commodity. Considering the way his master was deteriorating, it didn't seem like it would be long before he wasn't summoned back. It wasn't something the little monster exactly liked thinking about. But he left his safe haven anyway. He needed to make sure Atemu was okay.
Kuriboh's eyes scanned the room, before widening. His master was nowhere in sight! "Kurrrri, Kurriii?" he called frantically, forgetting the potential danger. He needed to find his master. The only answer he received was the ruffle of pages behind him. The Duel Monster whirled around so fast he almost fell out the sky. The blanket-covered lump on the bed (which he had originally assumed to be a pillow) twitched and Kuriboh found himself face to fur with his master.
Saying Atemu didn't look good would be like saying that the Great Wall of China was a picket fence. It really didn't do the sight justice. The boy had bags under his eyes so dark Kuriboh couldn't tell they ended and the kohl began. His hair was erratic, no longer spiked up out of his eyes, but limply twisted in every direction. Kuriboh couldn't remember the last time his master had brushed it. He seemed thinner, punier, huddled on the bed like this. Though he reached out his hand, offering comfort to fluffy Duel Monster, his eyes never left the book in front of him. He frantically scanned the pages, as though an answer lay in between the well-read lines. A sigh left his lips.
"There's a yami, any yami... Take your pick, they're all like me..." At this he frowned, as though rethinking his statement. "Well, not exactly, I'm still waiting! They're living happily." The scowl deepened. Atemu sat up, crossing his arms over his chest.
"The solution better get here! I want to finally be intact! No one needs these middle bits-" He gestured to the book and accidentally sent it flying across the room in a burst of shadow magic. He looked down at his hand in shock. "Oops, did I do that?" Suddenly, a wicked grin lit his features. Kuriboh could nearly see the idea click into place. Shadow magic shot from his fingertips. The dark essence engulfed the book as it lifted into the air.
"Cut the villains..." Atemu clenched his hand into a fist and pages ripped out of the storybook. The boy smirked. "Cut the vamping! Cut this manga thing! Cut the peril and the pitfalls! Cut Bakura and his ring!" With the picture of a white-haired teen falling to the ground, Volume One was officially destroyed. But Atemu's wrath wasn't yet quelled. With a cackle, he lifted his arms above his head. Kuriboh squealed and ducked back under the bed as the massive collections flew off the shelves. Atemu surrounded himself in a typhoon of literature, the books spinning faster as his speech grew frantic.
"Cut the OCs, cut the AUs! Keep the yaoi, cut the reviews! And the waiting, the waiting, the waiting, the waiting! The WAITING!" He screamed, golden eye of Horus illuminating his forehead. The fanfiction collections flew outward from him, and disappeared into the Shadow Realm with a hiss. He stood still in the middle of the room, panting. Then, with the wave of his head, all the books reappeared, though no longer in their pristine state. It appeared the works had met up close and personal with the Duel Monsters of the Shadow Realm. They were covered in gauges and tears. Two were on fire and one was bubbling with acid. Atemu ignored this. He picked up the nearest non-flaming anthology and hugged it tight.
"But I know, he'll appear..." Surprised by the sudden change in his master's demeanor, Kuriboh popped out from under the bed. Atemu was stroking the ruined novel with absolute love. "Though I seem a bit psychotic," the once-pharaoh admitted. Kuriboh had to bite his tongue to keep from snorting. Atemu didn't notice. He never noticed anything anymore.
"And I use magic now as well, though he won't mind!" Atemu was convincing himself now, trying to regain the confidence he lost in his moment of despair. "I'm a find, I'm a catch! And my hair is quite exotic." He ran his fingers through his hair with a carefree grin that nearly made Kuriboh melt. He had missed that grin...
"It won't be long now, I guarantee. Year number..." Kuriboh mewed as the grin evaporated. Two words and the look of hopelessness returned. The mere thought of that number crippled him. Kuriboh nudged the teen's hand, but he was ignored. His master stepped forward as though speaking beyond the confines of his soul and prison.
"Are you there, Ra? It's me, Atemu," he called out in desperation, willing anyone to hear, "It's me, Atemu!" There was no answer. There never was. So Atemu did the only thing he could think to do. He repeated his mantra, willing it to give him hope.
"Now I know, he'll complete me. 'Cause there are prophecies and strictures! I believe the fanfictions I read by candlelight! My hikari, my hikari and me, will look just like these pictures. It won't be long now, I guarantee." He closed his eyes, forcing himself to say the number that made bile rise in his throat.
"Year number four thousand... seven hundred... and... twenty-three."
Kuriboh frowned as Atemu said the next line. "I know it's today, I know it's today..." It saddened him to think how much longer those words would be said and proven false. "I know it's today, I know it's today..." They were both so lost, Atemu in his words and Kuriboh in his thoughts, that neither of them noticed the faint "clink clink"s that resounded through the puzzle.
"I know it's today."