DISCLAIMER: Yuugiou/Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters belongs to Takahashi Kazuki.
I really like the partnership going on between Yuugi and the pharaoh; it really shows their close and deep connection. This oneshot, my second fic of the series, actually, takes place sometime before Yuugi and the others go to Egypt in the last arc. If there are any fics similar to this, what a coincidence.
Some of you may view this as puzzleshipping. Some of you may think otherwise. But no matter which way you look at it, as you read it, I hope you'll enjoy. =)
MY PARTNER
Blinding light.
"Turn end."
Duelist against duelist.
"My turn. Draw!"
The duel disk vanished from the opponent's left arm.
"—Yuugi…"
He walked away, his back turned.
"Mou hitori no… boku…?"
Yuugi fell on his knees.
Tears.
"If I were you…"
Amethyst orbs snapped open. Broad back leaning against the cracked bricks of his large empty room, Mou hitori no Yuugi's bowed head jerked. This cold, unsettling sensation pricking his being—it wasn't echoing from the hard walls of depicted ancient guide to the afterlife enclosing him. Rather, what had awoken him must be originating outside, powerful enough to penetrate these thick though worn-out walls. Arms across his chest unfolded themselves with a start.
Aibou.
Almost leaping from his resting position, he quickly strode through the familiar pitch-black darkness in the vast space without fail and pushed the door open. The uneasiness only grew. Not even bothering to shut his door bearing a golden eye symbol, he just paced to reach Yuugi's, which was just right across him. The door that was usually left ajar, as though to warmly invite anyone as a guest to come in.
The door that was now shut.
"Aibou," he called, waiting for any response from Yuugi from the other side.
Nothing.
"Aibou," he tried again, this time urgently. When nothing happened, his face creased and his fist knocked hard against the polished door. "Can you hear me, Aibou? Answer me!"
Silence.
And it got him worried. A lot. Yuugi was not all right; the strong vibes from him that had reached the nameless pharaoh's tomb of a room had drawn the latter out of his rest, pulling him in begging to come to his partner's side. The older duelist turned the doorknob. And again. And again. Why wouldn't the door open? If Yuugi needed him so much right now, then why wouldn't he let him in? He pounded the door faster and more loudly this time. "Aibou! Open the door!"
Then, as though he was finally heard, the door moved by itself. As the scenery slowly unfolded itself before his view, for the first time, he realized that he was actually about to enter someone else's private room. Yuugi's room. A few times he had gotten a glimpse but never really looked. It wasn't as though his refusal was due to pride; respect and privacy were also of great importance to him, especially when it came to his partner. Despite sharing the same physical body, there still existed a line that defined the border of their opposite minds. Minds that delved deep into the real nature of each owner's character.
And also for the first time, he was about to probe this foreign yet also familiar territory of character that was Yuugi's room. Foreign, because it was anything but similar to his own dark, intimidating one; familiar, for everything he saw reflected the same gentle and kind Yuugi he knew. Greeting him from the cheery yellow floor were scattered toys—a huge dice, a plastic turtle, some kind of a miniature rake, building blocks of various shapes and sizes, a robot. One step forward and he was already inside. He further studied the room. Even more toys. A ball plus a set of colorful balloons on one side, a car model with a green stuffed animal on the other. Unadulterated, exuding innocence and a child's passion for games. Indeed, this room belonged to Yuugi.
Except.
Mou hitori no Yuugi froze.
Except that right now everything about this room hardly matched the figure, the owner, at its very center. A motionless boy mirroring the Egyptian spirit's outer shell, on his knees with his small shoulders drooped, an uncharacteristically blank look on his face.
As though caught in a trance.
"Aibou!" The pharaoh rushed past the litter of toys to reach Yuugi's side. He knelt down to the latter's level, worry consuming him at once. His partner had what most people would describe as soulless eyes, regardless of the fact that this Yuugi before him was already the very soul itself. A more accurate description would be there was no life in those dull amethyst orbs, as though they were staring ahead without actually seeing at all. The pharaoh took hold of the boy's lean arms. "What happened to you?"
No response.
Mou hitori no Yuugi shook his partner. "Aibou, snap out of it." When his partner didn't even stir, he shook him even harder, and when Yuugi only remained limp, worry turned into alarm. Suppressing it, he attempted once more to shake the boy back to his senses. "Wake up! Aibou!"
Nothing.
His grip on Yuugi's arms tightened at this. Aibou…
"Mou hitori no… boku…"
A faint sign of consciousness surfaced on Yuugi's eyes, much to the Egyptian's relief. But the voice of the former had sounded just as weak and flat. "Aibou."
Yuugi's head slowly lifted to look at his partner's face, violet orbs almost not recognizing. "You're still… here?"
"Of course." The question, though, came as a complete surprise. "Where else would I be?"
And finally light of recognition appeared in those dazed eyes, only to be replaced by confusion. "But I saw you leave… just now."
Leave? Mou hitori no Yuugi was startled at this. Even more so when the other duelist began to tremble in his grasp and stared down. "What's the matter?"
"C-Cold…"
Cold? He wondered what his host exactly meant by that. In here? But this room encasing them radiated gentle warmth. And it certainly couldn't mean being cold in the physical sense; inside this body, they were both souls, after all. But whatever it was, it must be the same coldness that had awoken him in the first place. No, it was the same coldness. He inwardly frowned. What could he do to stop his partner from shaking?
Yuugi continued to quiver. "I—I really thought you were leaving. And I'm afraid, not of the possibility but that—that there would be no other choice left for me but to accept that you would."
Cold. Cold with fear, he finally realized. It had literally gotten Yuugi shaken up and the nameless ruler could see why. While the future was still unclear to him, he had already anticipated all possible consequences his regained memories would throw at him. But in the end, given that his lost identity was the original reason holding back his long-lived soul from moving on, he could only face one result that was actually more factual than just possible. Yuugi must be aware of this as well, though he still wasn't yet ready for it. Whatever he had exactly seen that had emphasized this unpreparedness, it must have been enough to leave him in a stupor. "Listen to me. I'm here, just right in front of you." He wanted to say he would never leave but couldn't. As much as he wished to stay, at the same time his soul also longed for final peace. Three thousand years had already denied it of that.
"But you never looked back at me. You didn't call me Aibou anymore, only just by my name, like… like I'm no longer your partner."
And he understood.
Aibou. It wasn't just an ordinary word. Behind this simple name was a great significance that only the two of them lived on. The spark that started their continuously growing and solid partnership. The first time the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle ever called Yuugi Aibou was after they had worked together to defeat Pegasus through their Mind Shuffle strategy. Until then, Yuugi had been nothing more than his host, his "other self". Just Yuugi.
"Aibou," he uttered, and he saw Yuugi's large eyes grow even wider with hope, as though he were holding on to that single name. "All these things you have told me, tell me, did you see them in a dream?"
Yuugi cast his gaze down in uncertainty, the tremors never stopping. "I don't know. Maybe. It's… It's like how I normally would dream except that my brain has nothing to do with it. L-Like it's not my body with the mind that actually experiences it but really me. If it's not a dream, then I don't know what it is."
"Ah." A dream that seeks beyond unconsciousness, probing what the soul actually feels or wishes to find. Did Yuugi wish to know what awaited them both when they embarked on the Egyptian spirit's journey to recall all that he had forgotten?
"It doesn't make much sense. The scenes were not even complete. Just... Just fragments that kept on flashing in disarray." Yuugi looked up. "But Mou hitori no boku, I want to understand all that I saw in my dream." Then his eyes lowered slightly. "If I don't, I might not get over this fear."
"You will understand," he reassured. "We will. If you really did see me leaving in your rest, then I won't go until we achieve this."
For a moment, there was silence. Then the trembling slowly ceased until nothing seemed to be left of that coldness. Then Yuugi finally got on his feet as his "other self" removed his hands. "Thank you, Mou hitori no boku. I'm quite okay now. I don't get much what that dream means, but now I can somehow sense that this isn't just about me." For a while he seemed contemplative. "In a few days' time, we're going to Egypt to know your past. Maybe when we get there, we'll get a better picture."
"Aibou…"
Round eyes locked themselves with sharp ones. "To get your memories back is what I want. But even if that were not to happen, what I've said before won't change. For you, I will give all of my memories."
As mine of you won't change no matter what happens to me, Aibou. But perhaps if he were not to regain the fragments of his memory, it might be possible that he wouldn't have to…
"No, Mou hitori no boku." Somehow Yuugi had sensed even the slightest hesitation in him. "I do not wish for you to hold yourself back for me, no, because of me. If there's anything far worse than you no longer remembering me in the future, it would be that I made you lose your chance to come face-to-face with who you really are. I don't think I'll be able to handle it when that happens."
Something inside Mou hitori no Yuugi snapped at those words. "How dare I forget you, Aibou! I won't allow it!" How could Yuugi even conceive such an idea? It was beyond imagination, something truly, horribly, absolutely forbidden. No amount of past memories would ever overshadow those golden moments he had and would have with his partner. Losing his own soul in a Dark Game would be much preferable to losing such treasured moments. The day he no longer knew Yuugi would be the day he would no longer be able to forgive himself. Then, upon seeing Yuugi taken aback by his outburst, he softened his voice. "Never, Aibou. Not even in a million years."
Finally Yuugi slowly formed a smile. "Thank you, Mou hitori no boku." For a while he fell silent before tears started to glisten in his eyes.
Mou hitori no Yuugi frowned. Those weren't physical tears. It was really coming from the soul, Yuugi's gentle soul, just right before him. But what really bothered him was that they never slid down, as though Yuugi were holding himself back. Was his partner thinking that, by openly crying in front of him, it was a display of weakness on his part? The nameless pharaoh, for one, would not be the person to make such an accusation.You taught me the courage of tenderness, Aibou. Until I lost you, I hadn't realized how even more painful it was not to cry. Even the gods on his side wouldn't truly know how torn he had been in his suffering, how many tears he had shed—all out of insurmountable guilt, grief, and loss. To cry now was not a bad thing; so what was exactly happening to Yuugi? "Why are you restraining yourself?"
Yuugi blinked, then blinked again. "I just fully realized how time is running out. As I did, I recalled in my dream how you looked like you regret nothing, even leaving. But then I remembered you also saying to me…" He swallowed.
The pharaoh patiently waited.
"If I were you, I wouldn't cry."
And it left him stunned. What did that statement hold for him to utter that, even in merely a dream? Why did he sense an unrecognizable yet powerful significance those words bore? Could it be that in the future…
"So I'm not going to cry now." Yuugi wiped away whatever soul tears lingered in the corner of his right eye. "More than ever, I have to remain firm and strong for you. I may not be as strong as you, Mou hitori no boku, but I'm more than willing to give it my all."
"No, Aibou." Mou hitori no Yuugi rested his hands on his host's small shoulders. "You are also very strong. I hope you realize that." And maybe, even stronger than the pharaoh himself. I may be the one dealing with most of the duels, but without you there, without your support, I would surely lose. Because of you, I never felt afraid. If only Yuugi knew how even more weak his "other self" had grown when the soul of the former had been taken away, the consequence itself the price of the pharaoh's already existing weakness. Brushing off his partner pleading and reining him in, hungry for power, yielding to his heart's darkness, sacrificing his loyal monsters one after another without hesitation for the sake of victory—all these and more had only left him with nothing more than an empty shell of his tangible soul, lost to wander in helplessness without Yuugi's guidance and support. But despite the grave error he had committed against Yuugi by not listening to him, the boy had pushed him out of the cursed seal, his reassurance leaving him a huge impact with just simple words: "I believe in you, Mou hitori no…boku…"
Believing. Caring. Looking out for each other. In the eyes of an outsider, these were the ultimate reasons for their successful partnership. But they knew better: the two souls tied to one body complemented each other. Where one's strength ends, the other's own begins. Where one's weakness lies, the other's strength compensates for it. The link that tied them together was greatly reinforced by this striking yet strong balance, a link with the toughness of a chain. Your pain is my pain. When you suffer, so do I. And when you win, it's my victory as well.
"Someday I will," Yuugi said, and his "other self" removed his hands. "But right now, I promise to help you using whatever strength I have, and I'm not going to stop until we find your memories. Until we fulfill this, we'll always be partners, right?"
"Yes, Aibou."
"And when that time comes…" A hint of sadness played on Yuugi's big eyes for a while, then faded away. "You'll be free from me."
"…Yes."
Silence reigned.
"Well, I'm okay now," Yuugi spoke finally, really smiling this time to prove it. "Thank you for stopping by, Mou hitori no boku. I'm sorry for causing you the trouble."
Mou hitori no Yuugi shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry for."
"But you were resting already before this happened. You need it more than I do."
"What good would rest be for me knowing how troubled you are, Aibou?"
For a while, Yuugi appeared to be at a loss for words. And then he smiled again. "Well then, let's both rest now." He made his way through the litter of toys until he reached an empty spot just next to the wall and lay down. But when the other spirit didn't bulge from where he stood, the shorter boy looked up at him questioningly. "Mou hitori no boku?"
"When I see to it that you're really sleeping well, I'll go back."
And the smile returned. "Thank you again. Good night, Mou hitori no boku." Yuugi's big eyes slowly closed.
For a while, the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle didn't move, choosing to watch Yuugi from his spot. Then, when the time felt long enough, silent footsteps took him right to where his host lay, and he knelt down on the latter's side just as quietly so as not to disturb him. As he leaned down just a little, his observant gaze turned slightly gentle. Yuugi's soul seemed calm now, content yet still radiating warmth and innocence. Reassured that his partner was finally at peace, Mou hitori no Yuugi slowly rose and in silence walked his way across the floor of scattered toys until he was by the door.
"…I'm not going to stop until we find your memories. Until we fulfill this, we'll always be partners, right?"
Forgive me, Aibou. He closed his eyes. I lied.
"And when that time comes… You'll be free from me."
Amethyst orbs slowly opened. Then for one final time, he looked back.
Because even if I move on to the afterlife, you'll still be my partner.
Always.
-The End
So how was it? Please leave a review, dear reader. It would mean a lot to me. Thanks!