A/N: Hey, everyone! To anyone who is actually reading this, here is the third instalment in my "Together" series!
This is from the point of view of Thanatos, Yugi's step-brother and the second eldest of the four siblings. The rating is probably a stretch but just in case Thanatos says something not safe for little children's ears, the rating is T.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or Greek/Egyptian/Roman Mythology.
I'm Watching You, Spirit
I don't trust you, Spirit.
Hehehe…you're surprised by my presence, aren't you, Spirit of the Puzzle? Oh don't be so shocked. You really aren't helping your case, here. You're not only evil but you're stupid too. Hmph. Typical.
Oh for the love of Juno, of course I can sense you! Would you stop getting so hung up on that point, little ghost? Every time I'm near you you're always so focused on the fact that I know you're in their. Every time! I am the son of the Roman God of Death! All spirits, souls, ghosts, ghouls or whatever you wish to call them are under my control. You are under my control! But I doubt you would believe in my father's existence or my powers; you are an Egyptian spirit, after all.
Or at least a very confused soul stuck in an Egyptian artefact.
Whatever powers you and your prison possess are hiding that information from me. No matter; my brother will release you soon and all that information will be laid out for me. That leads me back to the main reason I am here; I do not trust you, nor do I like the fact that you will be staying with us once Yugi releases you from his puzzle.
Don't think I didn't feel your enthusiasm and excitement just then, Spirit! I may be slightly sympathetic to your current predicament but I will not allow you to corrupt or damage Yugi's soul! He is one of the few creatures in this world with nothing but goodness and light in their souls and I will not have you destroying that. I will reap your soul from that stupid puzzle myself and banish it to the Underworld if you even think about harming my brother. Do not think I won't just because Yugi believes you deserve to be free; my brother's anger does not last long when it comes to me. Actually, it doesn't last long when it comes to anybody except those who harm his siblings.
I can hear your thoughts to a degree from here and I don't like them. He is not your utsukushī hikari
or your kichōna kyūseishu you possessive Kiseichū! That's what you are, isn't it? A life sucking parasite! Or what you will be, when you're released.
I am of half the mind to smash this puzzle and dump the pieces in Tartarus so you will never be released, Spirit, but I won't because Yugi will know it was me and I couldn't bear the kicked puppy look he'll give me when he discovers I destroyed the puzzle he has worked eight long years on and has almost finished. Yes, now don't feel so smug! I am seriously contemplating ending that undead existence of yours, no matter what Yugi says!
It is a shame that Yugi's soul is so generous and life giving because then I wouldn't have to put up with you. But then, I suppose, I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't so perfect.
Oh for the love of the gods, stop being so surprised all the time! How am I supposed to lecture you into staying in that blasted puzzle of yours far away from my family and my older brother if you keep acting like this is all news to you!? For Letus' sake, you are going to be a pain in my ass, aren't you? Maybe I should just destroy you now…
AHA! So you can feel fear! You can panic! HA! Much better than that stupid shocked vibe you had going, I say. Just for having a different emotion other than surprise I'll leave you alone…for now.
Yugi has saved my life hundreds of times – more than I've saved his which is, well, never. He's not weak – I can't believe that everybody (including you, a spirit who has never personally met him) thinks he's weak! Yugi has endured verbal and physically abuse from our parents and bullying from our peers for years and hasn't broken. He still greets everyone with an honest, happy smile everyday no matter how they treat him, asks how they're doing and if they're okay. Hmph. I don't understand how he does it. I just give everyone the cold shoulder. I don't understand. I probably won't ever understand but I guess that's just how Yugi is.
You should not underestimate my older brother when you awaken, damned spirit. He may seem like a precious porcelain doll that cannot stand up or defend itself without shattering like glass but I can assure you, Yugi could send everyone who's ever hurt him to the emergency ward in the hospital or the morgue without too much struggle. That's without using his powers. Hell rises every time Yugi uses his powers to punish those who harm us – Layla, Lykos or me. You may be darkness – evil, madness and the embodiment of hell – but even you would at least be slightly horrified by Yugi's power.
And he was only using his ex-mother's powers; a virgin (well, ex-virgin) goddess who does not partake in violence, only in family. I suppose when she disowned him, too horrified and disgusted by having a child out of rape, that she did not realise the effects that would have on his psyche.
Having the god of evil and a goddess of war adopt you via a blood ritual which makes you their biological child probably doesn't help. They do love him though, even though they don't show it.
His powers frighten him too, especially when they get out of control. Like the time when I was beaten up in an alleyway and these asshats were trying to kill me because I bumped into them late at night. Yugi went mental. And fire-happy. He burned them from the inside out and laughed. Yugi – the one person who hates violence and hurting others – laughed at the sight of my attackers burning alive. Yet, the moment we got home and he laid me on the couch to sleep, he spent the rest of the evening crying and saying sorry. In all my life, all the souls I've seen and stories about their deaths, I've never heard a soul who could commit a deed like he did – the way he did – and be so remorseful.
He comes to me to talk about it sometimes, often saying he can hear their souls wailing in his ears at night. That worries me the most. Yugi's ex-mother had no connection to death or the Underworld whatsoever. His adoptive mother is a goddess of war, fire, dance and a few other things but she has no connection to the Underworld either – sorry, Afterlife. His adoptive father's domains include storms, desert, chaos, evil and war but once again no specific ties to the Afterlife and the dead. I wonder if his consort has blessed Yugi quietly – or cursed him more likely – as Yugi assures me none of his direct immortal family has any ties to death.
Layla and Lykos hate watching Yugi use his powers on others – they fear it; they're terrified of him – and I think that breaks Yugi the most. No, I know that breaks Yugi the most; the two people who he seeks to protect more than anything or anyone in this world are afraid of what he can do – of who he is.
But he's never scared me.
Don't get me wrong, Yugi can be downright terrifying – you're worst fucking nightmare if you mess with us – but he is the sweetest, purest, gentlest and most loving person you will ever meet. He wouldn't harm anyone if he had the choice but anyone's conscience would be slightly screwed up if they went through what he has been through. But despite the fact he could raise hell on Earth, I could never be scared of Yugi. Yugi would never harm me or Lykos or Layla – yet they fear him. It's irrational and completely stupid!
They disappoint me, I guess, and I wonder if that is what has caused our relationship to strain.
I'm sure Yugi knows this – he knows us too well – and I know that – despite the fact he's hardly ever home and when he is, he's coping the full brunt of Mum and Dad's abuse – he knows that we've been fighting. He knows that I tend to sleep on the couch most nights until he gets home and either drags me to bed or falls asleep beside me just because if I stay in our room, I'll snap and do something I'll regret. And to Lykos and Layla who have been our driving force – our hope and our lives – that is something I cannot do. I can't control my anger but I can control who I'm around when I lash out. But I think he's too tired – too bloody exhausted – to try and fix something that he doesn't know how to fix. He believes he's the reason why I'm distancing myself from them – he's not – and he would try and change himself just to please us. I won't let him though. He's destroyed himself enough for us – he's done enough. Now it's our turn to solve a problem; for once.
I don't trust or like you, Spirit, but I can feel a connection that has built between you and Yugi, just by him working on this puzzle and talking to you. Yes, it concerns me and as much as I'd love to play exorcist, I have a feeling you might be able to change things for the better; save him from what is to come. My brother may be strong but even the strongest stumble and fall along the way.
I'm going to need your help, Spirit, but I'll be watching you.
A/N: Like? Hate? Please leave your thoughts in a review and have a good day/night!
Legend:
Utsukushī hikari = beautiful light
kichōna kyūseishu = precious saviour
Kiseichū = parasite
