Warnings: Weirdly, though it's Season Zero Yami Yugi... there's no warnings on this.
Length: 1800 words.
Time Period: Same AU as the other Mari(k)onette oneshots – this is set shortly after the events of Mari(k)onette: Today Never Ends.
It's not necessary to read them all in order, though it probably helps a little bit. If you wish to read all eight one-shots in the order in which they were written (the order that gives you the best story arc out of it), you can find all of them on my profile - use this order:
Mari(k)onette: Yesterday Never Forgets
Mari(k)onette: Today Never Ends
Mari(k)onette: Tomorrow Never Comes
Mari(k)onette: That Never Happened
Mari(k)onette: Loyalty Never Works
Mari(k)onette: Memory Never Dies
Mari(k)onette: Gambling Never Pays
Mari(k)onette: StopStart, PlayPause
Handicap: 'There are three rules that will apply to all fics this round:
1. I must state what one typical/logical path of the particular ship might be, or a common path if there is one (for instance, Mai is likely to be tortured or lose her memory if the pairing is Illusionshipping)... and then do the exact opposite.
2. All my stories in this round have to take place in one single AU created from a nightmarish combination of the two most crack AU ideas I have written down over the last four rounds. The stories must take place in the same AU, and need to reference each other somehow – the catch is that I currently don't know whether I will get my desired adopt pairings or not, and I can only write two of the fics at any one time (I have to do the first two before I can take on the third, and after that can only take one adopt pairing at a time.) The stories must be able to be read as individual one-shots.
3. The story must be written in an unusual POV and/or tense.'
Feedback: Always appreciated, XDD. Concrit is like the most, though. I guess a question for this one would be 'Have I reached sufficient cuteness levels?'.
POV Used: Various, because I seem to enjoy mixing up my POVs these days – predominantly, it's a series of diary entries, but there's whole weird third-person thing going on and I just don't even know anymore.
Pairing To Be Inverted: Cavaliershipping (Yami Yugi X Rebecca) is... well, I suppose if you don't think of Yami Yugi as being a three–thousand year old guy, it's kinda cute. And of course, the mental image of Rebecca bossing Yami Yugi around the kitchen is a somewhat tempting one.
But to invert it, all you really need to do is flip Yami Yugi back to his Season Zero/early manga days... and voila, you've got a pretty horrible shipping on your hands.
That's of course the way I think of the majority of YYugi pairings, unfortunately enough. So, I'll invert it a second time, and try to make this cute... with Season Zero Yami Yugi.
Mari(k)onette: Memory Never Dies
The window was first shattered years back; every time Domino High has attempted to get it fixed, it's been blown apart again. The alarm's long stopped howling out calls into the night; the neighbours took axes to it an age ago.
By day, It hides, though it does not know why; usually in a disused closet under the stairs. By night, It stands upright in the school chapel, pretty much because it can, bowing its head in...well, whatever you'd call a demon's prayer.
And pray It does. It can pray for many things, too – when It remembers to, It can pray for I ts kin, Yami: Bakura and Yami: Marik; for without them it is lost, with little idea on where to turn next. It can stand here, right on this odd little platform Its host says is called an 'altar', and It can pray to remember what exactly Its last order was.
It can pray that It will not be discovered tomorrow.
For years, this forms a perfect arrangement. No–one wants the Second Puppet, not even the Second Puppet wants Itself. It is not like the bored teens who sit in chapel every day, It is aware of that much. They can all 'read' and 'write' and remember; It cannot remember. They speak of 'food', 'steak' and 'sausages', and It can only eat the tarantulas It has managed to cultivate in its cupboard. Sometimes, its host tells It to pull out a wad of cards (It can never remember where the hiding spot is afterwards), and It does – then there is a feast, as It falls upon the curious little things It summoned from a higher plane with teeth gnashing and hands rending.
In short, Its life is peacefully dull.
One night, a siren begins to wail. It looks around, a little taken aback by the loud noise; but the friendly whisper of his host tells It not to worry; this is a special sort of siren, strapped to the top of a special sort of car. Sure enough, the sound fades away into a dying whine. And so It settles down, and all is quiet.
For a full six point seven five two seconds.
"Yugi?"
It turns towards the girl who has so rudely interrupted its gorgeous silence, eyes flashing murder. It takes a confident step forwards; It will certainly give this one a game to remember...
But remember what?
The head tilts in confusion; in Its struggles to break free, the shadows have burnt out part of Its brain – there is a huge chunk of something called 'memory' missing. It looks at the girl again; she is rather old to be holding a teddy bear, Its host notes. As if to prove this statement, she bares her teeth at It.
"Yugi! It's you!"
Yugi?
It knows the response for that name. Sort of; It said the sequence of sounds way back, back when It bothered to clean the mix of dirt and blood from under Its fingernails. "We are... I am... we're...I'm not... We are not Yugi."
She stares at It for a long moment. "Come on, let's go! I've got a plane for America, it's leaving soon, and there's room for two!"
And so saying, Rebecca Hawkins takes the creature's hand before it can disagree, leading It away from those who seek its head.
Dear Diary,
Today, I found my idol again – yes, I found Yugi Moto! I took him home and everything! He does not remember me – but he will in time, I'm sure. I will tell him all about everything that happened, and he will listen. We're going to America, too – Daddy's going to let him come, and it's going to be great!
Dear Diary,
Today, we landed on the runway at last – the plane to America was REALLY noisy. Weird thing, though, the inside went really dark when we got away from Japan. I could have sworn that there was something chasing us at one point, I was really scared, but it only lasted a few minutes. Daddy seemed to be really worried, but he still told me everything was going to be just fine, and it was. My Daddy's the best!
Anyway, I spent the rest of the trip chatting with Yugi. He seems really confused about the past; he doesn't remember any of it. I asked Daddy if I could bring some of his Japanese friends along, but he got really angry and said no, no, no, I couldn't have that, those guys were bad news. I don't really understand it, but I'll go along with it for now. Yugi's always the one I wanted most, anyway.
Dear Diary,
Today was Yugi's very first day at school. He couldn't do any of the sums, though, because he couldn't remember anything. The others laughed at him, so I don't think he's going back to school. One of the big boys thumped him, so he's sulking in his room now. I should go and talk to him.
Wow, Diary, what a night! I can barely think straight, let alone write!
Yesterday, you know how Yugi was all sulky in his room? Well, when I went in there, he was gone! Daddy and I followed his footprints through the garden, around the big gate – and guess what, they led us straight to the school! Daddy said it was too dangerous for me then, he snuck in and came back with Yugi. He looked really worried, and told me he was going to call an ambulance – would you believe it, it was that big boy who thumped Yugi out there, and he'd gone absolutely crackers! He was throwing all the leaves on the sidewalk around like they were money or something. (1)
Anyway, so I took Yugi back to my place, and asked him what happened. He gave me this really weird look, but he didn't say anything more. So, I asked him again, and again, and again, and then he said he didn't remember. His face was really red, though.
I think he's falling for me!
Dear Diary,
It happened AGAIN! Since I'm trying to get his memory back, today we went to one of those awful Burger World places. We were just sitting there, when all of a sudden, a guy dressed up as a cowboy from a comic convention across the road came into the shop and mockingly threatened the shop owner! He didn't really mean it, of course, but Yugi thought he did! He ordered everyone out of the shop, and then I don't know what he did, but there was a great big explosion and out he came, perfectly unharmed.
I'm so happy he's all right, I just hope Mister Cowboy was okay as well.
Dear Diary,
I know they say 'bad luck comes in threes', but this is ridiculous! I mean, yesterday these big boys showed up to my class, and told the kids that they couldn't have the spot we'd been originally assigned for the school fete. They wanted to make pancakes there, and they said that all the teachers agreed with them, so we swapped spots.
...And today, they were all in hospital, except for the biggest of the big boys. They're still trying to find the pieces of his body – they're all over the place! Ewww!
Daddy got really cross when he heard about that. He told Yugi off, so he's sulking in his bedroom again.
Dear Diary,
Yugi's really popular at school now. Ever since he predicted that fire at that guy's house, he's had girls all over him. I got really angry with him when that happened, but he pushed me away. He seems to be more confident now, and...well, maybe I was wrong when I said I thought he had a crush on me.
But oh happy day! He said that today, I would meet the perfect man of my dreams, and swoon before him! Isn't that wonderful? I feel like a princess. I wonder who it's going to b*;;::''
It walks through the night, the body in a wheelbarrow. The chloroform It took from the chemistry class worked well; she has indeed swooned before her beloved, just as It predicted.
But It can't remember what came next. Frowning a little, It tips the girl out onto the cold, hard floor of the kitchen, staring down at the frail little thing – and words leap into its mouth:
"And here, we have a sleeping beauty." It stares for a long while at her, waiting until her eyelashes flutter. She lets out a childish gasp of shock when she sees It, and It smiles in the near dark. "You swooned before me, did you not? My powers of prediction are infallible."
Rebecca says nothing, just grabs It and crashes Its lips against hers. Its host tells it not to struggle or headbutt the girl; apparently, this is a good thing. So, It waits, and It lets Its host guide its lips, and the girl whines a little in delight.
And a little chunk of Its memory comes back, and It purrs in ecstasy.
Weeks flit by; and It crouches at the back of every one of Rebecca's classes, quietly working away at a little puzzle or game while she learns all sorts of things. To her, It's every bit a possession as her teddy bear is; and It's just happy to have a mistress at last. Its host makes sure that It steers Its lips correctly at night, that It touches a little sensitive spot on her neck to make her giggle.
But the deaths go on and on, and it soon becomes clear that It cannot stay forever. Rebecca's dad catching them in one of their evening 'sessions' is the last straw.
It's a strange ride back home, just one month after it all started. Rebecca has grown undeniably close to It; and Its host has certainly become very attached to the girl. As for It itself... well, It will miss not having a mistress any more.
Just before they part, during that tearful goodbye in the airport every family dreads (or secretly enjoys, if the loved one is more 'one' than 'loved', she gives It something very special.
"Daddy gave me this, but... you know. Remember me by this, okay?" It lowers its head, letting her slip the rough cord over Its neck. The golden pendant glitters in the sterile light of the airport– and It remembers.
Yami: Yugi remembers everything, his brain healed by the strength of the Millennium Item around his neck. And she laughs when she realizes that he remembers, and they embrace. The jet takes off in just half an hour, and it's the final call; so eventually, she walks away, leaving him to sit with his back against the wall and soak in the mixture of bitter and sweet that is remembrance.
'Incredible' doesn't even do it justice.
Notes:
1. Each of the weirdo incidents in this section resembles a similar weirdo incident with Yami Yugi in the early manga, aka Season Zero for those of you who watched that anime. Can you pick them all?
UAB
I... just realized what a ridiculous amount of writing I've done this round. Six in one week, six. And if you count the seventh and eighth, that makes for a grand total of over thirty-one thousand words, in just ten days... I know I listed all the final stats on Adopt Ship Four (Mari(k)onette: Loyalty Never Works), and the whole awful story of how it happened is over on Adopt Ship Six, but the ridiculousness of what I did is just starting to sink in now. Looks like without limits set on the number of pairings I could take on, I went nutso bonkers, dodging tests the whole way.
I'm nothing if not prolific, it seems - but now, looking back, I'm actually wondering if running eight fics over ten days was really the best idea I could have had. My entries are certainly quantity, but are they quality? I think not... Not that I can really think straight after all that I've done.
...Man, I hate perfectionism.