Okie dokie, so this really was something I pulled out of my left ear. Anywho, here's the next chapter.
Shadow
Chapter Two: Ambushed!
When Yugi wasn't running Relay Races with his friends, he usually participated in the sprinting events. Now he was glad that he did. As he shot toward the finish line, he heard the darkness drawing closer and closer, its voice hissing in his ears.
Give usss your shadow, mortal…
The roar of the crowd grew stronger, but it barely reached Yugi's ears. He sped forward, leaving Marik in the dust. On his face was a look of absolute terror. The finish line was right in front of him, but that was no longer his goal.
And with that shadow, our power will grow ssstronger…
Yugi tore past the finish line, and the hissing ceased as the crowd cheered. Yugi spared a glance behind his back. The dark puddle…whatever it was…was gone. Slowing down his all-out sprint slowed to a slow run, then a jog, and eventually a walk. He could barely catch his breath, and forced himself to breathe slower and calm down.
Marik soon caught up to him. "Way to go!" He said, more shocked than congratulatory. "You could have beaten everyone in the Olympic Games with speed like that!"
But Yugi was less interested in his speed. "Didn't you see that dark thing?"
Marik paused. "Dark…thing?" He echoed. "I guess not."
Confused, Yugi shook his head. "I guess I imagined it. It really freaked me out…"
"No wonder you were going so fast," Marik replied, smiling in hopes of cheering the boy up.
"Hey, Yugi!" Jounouchi cried. He, Honda and Bakura were jogging up to him, followed by Otogi. They all seemed surprised. "You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
It wasn't a ghost I saw… "I'm fine," Yugi said, chuckling nervously.
"You beat the district record by quite a bit," Bakura said. "Everyone's going ballistic."
"I did?" Yugi asked. Everyone promptly stared at him like he was crazy. Taking the hint, the boy immediately smiled. "No way!"
Honda, whom wasn't quite as tired as everyone else, gave a huge sigh of relief. "Why don't we head to the concession stand? I don't know about you, but all that running made me thirsty."
It was odd to see two of the Senet High track runners hanging out with the four best of Domino High, but people didn't stare for too long. The six of them had all ordered a drink and headed to the stands to watch a few more events. It wasn't long before someone passed them by.
"Nice work at the Relay Race, Yugi!"
Yugi was still shaken from what he had seen, but he passed a nod to the newcomer. "Thanks, Anzu."
Otogi leaned forward to see who was talking. "You're Anzu Mazaki, right?" He asked. "The high jumper for Domino High?"
Anzu nodded a bit stiffly. She didn't like Senet High very much – Yugi was almost in the middle of one of the fights once, and she didn't let a grudge go very easily – but she could still tell when a friend was a friend. "Yeah, that's me."
Otogi waved. "I'm Otogi Ryuuji. I heard about you from Marik. I just wanted to ask-"
"High Jump will start in ten minutes. All participants please head to the arena."
While Otogi felt his words hanging in his mouth, Anzu seemed somewhat relieved for the chance to leave. "Sorry, I have to go!" She said, sending a playful wink in Otogi's direction before turning to Yuugi. "You should head home; it's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"I can't stay and watch?" Yugi asked, blinking. "Everyone else is staying…"
The brunette sighed, putting a hand on her hip. "You know that's not what I meant, Yugi!" She said. "You've got to head back to the game shop and get ready for tomorrow, remember?"
The boy hung his head. He knew precisely what Anzu was talking about. "Ah, right…" He stood and brushed off his pants. "I guess I'll get going then."
"Hang on a sec."
Yugi turned around to see Marik behind him. "Your Grandpa owns that game shop on Takahashi Street, right?"
"Yeah."
"Mind if I come visit tomorrow? I've got enough allowance saved up, so I figured I'd stop by and get something, but I didn't know you lived there,"
Yugi rubbed his head sheepishly. "I'll look forward to it. Maybe I can get Grandpa to give you a discount."
Marik laughed. "Take care, Yugi!"
"You too!" Came the reply. With a final wave, Yugi left his new friend.
It really wasn't that late, but Yugi had a lot of chores to do at home. With his jersey still on, he walked down the sidewalk quietly. Today should have been a good day. He had broken the district record for the relay race, and by a decent amount. He had made new friends that shared his feelings for the school rivalry. He should have been happy, but instead he was completely unsettled. That darkness that had followed him…it had scared him so badly he had run for safety instead of for the race. It had hissed in his ears and pursued him, and then vanished. What did it mean by his shadow…? Did it mean some kind of darkness, or maybe something within him?
Yugi shook his head and stared at the ground, the sun burning brightly in the sunset before him. It couldn't have been real. That sort of thing might happen in a weird sci-fi movie or whatever, but not in real life.
Give usss…
Yugi paused. The hissing again…where was it coming from?
It is uselessss…give us your shadow, mortal…
The boy turned around to a familiar and frightening sight. A dark pool on the ground stretched toward him. Eyes widening, Yugi turned back around and fled at top speed. He knew he couldn't keep it up this time, however; he had already used a good amount of his energy to escape during the Relay Race, and adrenalin would only take him so far this time. He had to find a place to hide…
For some reason, however, Yugi was running out of energy much faster. The pool of darkness caught up to him much faster than before. After only a short time of running, Yugi's energy was entirely sapped and he nearly collapsed to the ground. Even so, he knew he had to keep running. Going off of pure adrenalin, he made it to town and turned to run down a large alley, hoping to lose the dark enemy.
It was still after him.
Yugi backed away from the darkness, having nowhere to run. For the first time he saw it with his own two eyes. It was like some sort of puddle, alright…but it didn't rise off of the ground. It approached him slowly, as though savoring every moment of the boy's fear. And the puddle was very dark. In fact, it was even darker than the shadow that he was casting upon the ground.
Wait. His shadow…
Before he had time to contemplate, tendrils of darkness shot out of the puddle and latched onto Yugi's arms, preventing his escape. The boy desperately pulled at the hold, but it was no use as the pull on them was strong. More tendrils hovered over the shadow he cast on the ground and plunged into it. Yugi's eyes widened considerably as he began to feel a strange sensation of loss overcome him. It was like pain, and it was painful, but more than anything it was a mental pain.
Power…!
Yugi clutched his head when he could reach it, and began to sink to his knees, screaming. No one heard him.
Thisss power…is ours!
"No!" Yugi cried. "Let go! Let go!"
There was an explosion of black, followed by a shriek as the puddle raced away. At that moment, Yugi felt something being torn from him. His mind tumbled into an endless abyss as all five of his senses gradually numbed.
Takahashi Street is a reference to Kazuki Takahashi, the mastermind behind the Yu-Gi-Oh! series.
