Author's note: Forgive me. I know I have so many other projects, but this suddenly came to me and I just loved the idea so much that I had to start it (and it's only going to be like ten chapters anyway). It's inspired by the movie The Forgotten, but it doesn't follow the same plot at all – so don't go looking for answers by seeing the movie. I really hope this turns out like I want it to. I'm excited to write it.
JOUNOUCHI NOTE: Jounouchi was on the streets during middle school. Consequently, he picked up a street accent. This is why he's so informal and speaks with poor grammar.
HONORIFIC/NAME NOTE: While I use Japanese plot-points and names, I've omitted the honorifics for simplicity's sake. Also, Yami is mostly called Yami, though he is also referred to as "spirit" and "Pharaoh". ALSO! I kept the American names for cards 'cause I don't know most of the Japanese ones… (sheepish grin)
Summary: How would you feel if one day you woke up and the biggest part of your life was a lie? How would you feel if no one remembered the life-changing events that had taken place, except you? Well, Mouto Yugi's about to find out when he wakes up and no one remembers Yami…
After Yami returns to the afterlife, Yugi begins to miss him more than ever before… so much so, that it starts to affect his dreams. So when he confides in his best friends, he expects them to sympathize, even agree. Instead, he finds that they don't know who Yami is.
So Yugi endures the looks, the stares, the mutters that he's crazy; he goes through therapy, through loss and misery of memories. He is forced to watch as everything he knew is contradicted: no Duel Monsters, Millennium Items, Shadow Realm or even Kaiba.
But someone is behind this… and when Yugi finds out what exactly is going on, there will be hell to pay.
TRANSLATIONS:
-Jii-chan: Grandfather
-Ano: Um
-Daijoubou desu ka?: Are you alright?
-Arigatou: Thank you
Disclaimer: Hikari Daeron does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, its characters or its plotlines. In addition, this work is not a rewrite of the movie The Forgotten, though inspired by it.
The Forgotten
Chapter I
"As memory may be a paradise from which we cannot be driven, it may also be a Hell from which we cannot escape." – John Lancaster Spalding
"Spirit… who are you?"
"… Why do you want to know?"
"Hn." A sarcastic pause.
A sigh. "I knew you'd ask me one day. I don't know where I came from. I don't have any memories."
"… I'm sorry." An embarrassed shuffle. "I shouldn't have brought it up. Let's… let's change the subject."
A hint of a smile. "There's one thing I know for sure. As long as you have the Millennium Puzzle, I'll be here."
"That's enough." Panic simmered behind his words.
"I – "
"That's enough!" He jumped up with something close to a glare.
Silence. "I want to be with you always." Hesitation, then determination, as tears pricked the other's eyes. "Even if I don't get my memory back."
Tears streamed down his face. "Me too… forever. I will give you all of my memories."
Mouto Yugi woke with a start.
"Uh-oh Yugi, you don't look so hot. Rough night?"
Yugi rubbed his eyes and covered a yawn before answering Jounouchi Katsuya. School was about to start, and he, Honda Hiroto and Mazaki Anzu were all hanging around the classroom before the bell rung. "I guess you could say that," he said with a shrug. "I had a dream – well, I guess the right term would be flashback – about the pharaoh again."
Yugi didn't notice his friends trade glances with each other. "They've been cropping up a lot lately, it's really starting to bother me. Hm, I wonder why? Maybe now that he's gone I realize just how much I miss him."
Jounouchi stared at him blankly as Honda said slowly, "What are you talking about, Yugi? What pharaoh?"
Yugi stared at them. Perhaps they had a lapse in memory? But all three of them? And about the PHARAOH? "What do you mean, what am I talking about? C'mon guys, remember? Pharaoh, Ancient Egypt, the Millennium Items… Guys? GUYS?"
Anzu placed a hand on Yugi's shoulder, uncertainly. "Yugi… are you sure you're not thinking of some book or movie plot? What pharaoh? What items?"
Yugi chuckled uncertainly. "Okay guys, joke's over now…" When they still stared at him, he felt his heartbeat quicken. "Are you serious? You really don't remember any of it? Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, Malik, the Puzzle, the God Cards?"
Jounouchi raised an eyebrow. "What cha talking about Yugi? God Cards?"
It was only then that Yugi really started to panic. "What?! Anzu, what about the cartouche you gave him?! Jounouchi, what about Mai?! Honda, you gotta remember being a robot monkey!"
The other three traded glances with each other. Honda muttered, "Robot monkey?"
"WHAT?!" Yugi jumped up, staring at them all in horror. "YOU GUYS DON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING?! What about Pegasus and Kaiba?! Dark Magician and the Blue Eyes White Dragon?!"
They gave him all blank stares.
"NOTHING?!"
"That's quite enough, Mouto," said their teacher's stern voice. "The bell rang a few minutes ago, and you and your friends had the good grace that I was late. Please, take your seat, and calm down."
Yugi stared at him, a blank look of horror on his face, and slowly slid into his seat. He didn't speak to his friends for the rest of the day.
"Hey jii-chan," said Yugi gloomily, entering the Kame Game Shop later that day. His grandfather looked up from where he was polishing a glass case.
"Ano, Yugi, daijoubou desu ka? You look sad."
"It's nothing, jii-chan. You'll probably think I'm crazy too."
"Crazy? Yugi, you have my blood. You're anything but crazy."
Yugi sighed and turned around. "Jii-chan, I'm going to say some words, and you tell me what they mean to you." He took a deep breath. "Pegasus."
"As in the mythological animal?"
"Kaiba."
Blank stare. "What's a kaiba?"
"Duel Monsters."
"Is that some kind of popular new game? It could be great for business!"
Yugi sighed and turned around. "Didn't think so."
He trudged up the stairs wearily, before an idea occurred to him. "Hey jii-chan?" he called down.
"What is it, Yugi?"
"Do we have any photo albums of the past few years?"
His grandfather appeared in the doorway, frowning and scratching his head. "They should be around here somewhere…" He trudged up the stairs and started off down the hall. Yugi followed him. "Hm… not here," said Sugoroku, looking through a closet. "Or here… not in this box either." He turned around and shrugged. "Maybe I put the box in your room."
Yugi nodded. "Arigatou, jii-chan." He climbed the stairs to his attic bedroom and opened the door. He closed the door as he entered, and stopped where he stood.
There were so many memories associated with the pharaoh and this room. He and Yami had spent countless hours here, making their deck, talking, just the two of them. He wished his other half was still there with him now, if only to provide comfort, if not the answers, as he always had.
Frustrated, Yugi kicked a random box that was on the floor. As it spilled open, its contents caught his eye and soon he was on the floor, rifling through countless pictures.
They brought back so much. Here was Yugi and Anzu, not more than four or five years old; here was the first day of high school, as he stood outside it with a grin; here was the whole gang, all flashing peace signs with a grin. Scores of pictures: Jounouchi, his arm around Yugi; Honda and Jounouchi wrestling; the pair stuffing their faces; Anzu giving Jounouchi's sister Shizuka a hug; Jounouchi and his sister smiling; Shizuka and Anzu messing with Yugi's hair; memories after memories flashed before his eyes but…
There was no proof that Pharaoh had ever been a part of his life.
He wasn't wearing the Puzzle in any of his pictures; there were none of Kaiba or Mokuba, not even of Malik, Mai or Ryou. Inspector Haga, Dinosaur Ryuzaki, Kajiki Ryouta, Espa Roba – there wasn't even a trace of the most inconsequential of characters. Neither he nor Jounouchi was holding his deck or a card in any of the pictures; they weren't even wearing Duel Disks. No Isis, no Rishid, no Kaiba limo; nothing from Duelist Kingdom or Battle City, let alone anything from the whole Dartz fiasco. As for the pictures he distinctly remembered being taken of Yami, before he became known as Atemu – they were all gone.
Frantically, he ruffled through the pictures, image after image flashing before his eyes. But they were all normal…!
Panicking, he threw the pictures away from him and curled up in a ball, tears streaming down his face.
No… no! No, how could this be, they were all gone…! His last proof, the final shot that Yami had existed was gone!
But how could this be? Why would anyone want to remove all traces of Yami's life with Yugi? What would they have to gain by breaking him down like this?
"Hey Jounouchi?"
"Yeah?"
"If… if anyone was to call you a dog or a puppy or any variation of that, what would you do?"
The blonde growled. "That bastard! I'd beat 'im to a pulp!"
"But… what if this guy was a lot taller and stronger than you?"
"Well then… I'd still beat 'im up!" Jounouchi got up and waved his arms around threateningly to make his point. He looked at Yugi curiously then. "Why?"
"But what if he was rich too?" said Yugi, ignoring the question.
"Even more so to kick his ass! I'll teach ol' Moneybags a lesson!" (1)
He even uses the nickname he gave for Kaiba without knowing who I'm talking about… maybe there is something in there? "Thanks, Jounouchi."
"Whadd' I do?"
You've given me some hope yet. "… Nothing. Just… thanks anyway."
"Oh great, it's my turn… um, okay, Anzu! Truth or dare?"
Anzu covered her head with a pillow. "Truth, truth! I don't want to do something nasty!"
Shizuka giggled and said, "Don't worry Anzu, Jounouchi would never let anything gross happen around me!"
"And besides, this is Yugi we're talking about," said Jounouchi, ruffling his best friend's hair. "He's too innocent for anything nasty!"
Yugi chuckled and then turned to Anzu. "Alright, who was the last guy – or current guy, if you have one – that you have a crush on?"
Anzu turned red. Yugi had always known that she liked Yami better than him, and he had accepted that. If this worked… "Well, you know Nathan, the transfer? I liked him for a while, when he first came."
"YOU LIKED THAT JERK?!" Jounouchi exploded. "Walking in here and thinking he's a big man, just cause he's American! Bah!"
Inwardly, Yugi groaned. So much for that idea…
Suddenly, Yugi remembered something, and swung around to face Shizuka. "Shizuka, did you ever have the eye operation to fix your eyesight?"
Everyone stared at him, blankly. "There's nothing wrong with my eyes, Yugi," said Shizuka. "There never has been. Are you thinking of someone else?"
Yugi's shoulders dropped. "Oh. Yeah, I guess I was, never mind. Anzu, it's your turn."
"Jounouchi, have you ever heard of a card game called Duel Monsters?"
Jounouchi looked at Yugi with a raised eyebrow. "Duel Monsters? That sounds like the boring-est game on earth. What, is it like Magic?"
Yugi wanted to scream in frustration. "Not exactly. There's three basic types of cards: Spell, Trap and Monster. Each player has a certain number of life points, and your goal is to make those life points zero with your cards."
Jounouchi stared at him blankly. "Yeah? And?"
Yugi bit his lip and breathed slowly. "Well, each monster has a certain number of attack and defense points, and you and your opponent battle with these monsters. The winner of these battles usually takes a chunk out of the loser's life points. It's… sort of hard to describe without the cards."
"Well, does your grandpa sell any of them?"
"Not anymore," Yugi muttered.
"What's that Yugi?"
"No," he said more clearly. "But I'll see if I can get a hold of some cards for you anyway."
He tried drawing things for them, next. He spent hours with a sketchbook, perfecting his skills for weeks. When he got a piece done that he liked, he would show it to his friends… who would stare at him blankly. Frustrated, he would keep trying, drawing countless Duel Monsters: Dark Magician, Blue Eyes White Dragon, Red Eyes Black Dragon, Jinzo, the Egyptian God Cards, Harpie Lady and her sisters, more. When that didn't work, he tried drawing places or things: the Millennium Items, the island where Duelist Kingdom was held, Pegasus's castle, KaibaCorp main headquarters. Finally, he tried people: Pegasus, Kaiba, Ryou, Malik, Mokuba, and finally, Yami himself.
But nothing worked. Every single time, his friends tried to shake him off with worried looks, convinced that he was out of his mind. At first, Yugi tried not to give up hope. After all, it had taken a lot of work to remind Jounouchi that they were friends and of his goal of being a True Duelist when Malik brainwashed him, and he remembered how difficult it was for Kaiba to get Mokuba back when Noa controlled him. So he would have to work at it, that's all.
But as days turned into weeks and the weeks ticked past, Yugi's hope waned and then disappeared. It was no use. Something had happened, and his friends weren't going to remember the best years of their life anytime soon. The conversations were empty of the past. They ranged from, "Jounouchi, do you remember how we became friends?" "Yeah, you protected me and Honda from that bully. We were grateful, started hanging out with you, and realized you were a cool guy." to, "Does 'Kujaku Mai' ring any bells?" "Who?" Yugi soon realized that whatever had happened, he couldn't get his friends to remember.
So he stopped talking about it altogether. It took a lot of effort, but after the last snub – "Yugi, I don't want to sound mean, but… are you sure you didn't just dream this all up or something?" – he knew enough was enough. He went silent if his friends brought up the subject, and didn't mention it to them again.
About a week after he started this new strategy, Anzu pulled aside the other two. "I'm really worried about him guys. This has gone on for a long time. First he tried to 'get us to remember', and then he stopped talking about this altogether. I think it's time we contacted somebody."
(1) I kept that American nickname because it fits in context.
Me: There! It was a little harder to write this than I thought; mostly, my notes are just jumbled dialogues between characters. But I like how this went! So here's to more, I owe other updates I know, and I think I'll go sleep in my fantastically newly painted room with my extra big new bed. (waves) Ta-ta!
