Darkness in Their Eyes
It was midnight when Ushio arrived at the school. The school looked eerie and intimidating at such a time but he didn't pay it much mind. Ushio was more than capable at taking care of himself. No, right now his biggest concern was Yugi. The midget had wanted to meet him here in the dead of night.
His dark eyes glanced around before finally falling onto the very person he was meeting. Yugi was sitting down casually as he cradled something gold in his hands. Before Ushio could even focus on it, the smaller boy spoke up.
"It's nice of you to come, Ushio-san."
Chills moved down Ushio's spine. Something about Yugi was... different compared to before. The way he stood radiated confidence and gave an impression of him being taller. It seemed dignified even, as opposed to the timidity most had come to enunciate him with. The teenager's gaze swept over Yugi's unique and erratic hair down to the boots that completed his black and buckle-clad outfit. Ushio could have sworn that Yugi had less gold in his hair and his wide, amethyst eyes couldn't be anything like these sharp, garnet ones. Even his voice was stronger with the fortitude he seemed to have scrounged up from who-knows-where.
Ushio shrugged it off. This was Yugi, there was no one else it could be. And he wasn't going to let some weakling scare him.
"I gotta hand it to you," he began with a grin. "You decided to pay up! That lightens my mood. Don't know why you're wearing a costume but whatever." He held his hand out. "Cough it up already! The money!"
"I have it right here." Yugi held up the bills with a smirk. "However, I seemed to have brought four-hundred thousand by mistake."
F-four-hundred...
"But there is a catch." The smirk that was on Yugi's face had become sly as he noticed the hungry look in Ushio's eyes. "Just paying you would be rather boring so we're going to play a game."
"A game?"
"Yes, but it isn't just any game. It's a Shadow Game." Yugi rested his hands in his pockets. "What about it? If you win, you get even more then two-hundred thousand yen. Not a bad trade, don't you think?"
"Interesting..."
"To play the game, we only need one tool." Yugi pointed at him. "The knife you're hiding, Ushio-san."
"Hm..." Ushio pulled out the knife and handed it over. If this new Yugi decided to attack, he'd be overpowered by the taller male in no time. Ushio really didn't get it though, the money and the knife? What sort of game was this guy cooking up?
"These are the rules." Yugi demonstrated by putting the stack of money on the back of one of his hands and held the knife with the other. "The players take turns placing money on top of their hand, and then stab the money with the knife. All the money on the knife goes to that player, and the opponent takes their turn with the remainder." He set them back down. "The game will end when there are no more bills left and the one with the most money at the end is the winner. Also..." Yugi shot him a look. "If you stab your hand then you automatically lose the game and give all of your winnings to the your opponent. Doesn't that sound like fun?"
Ushio chuckled at the sheer guts this kid had as he nodded in turn. He wondered though if it was possible if he met the wrong Yugi. Is this even Yugi?
"One more thing... If you lose or break a rule, you will recieve a Penalty Game*."
"Then let's get playing," Ushio stated. He brushed off Yugi's warnings without much thought. He'll win no matter what. This game was easy.
A start escaped Ushio as something dark rose from the ground. It twisted and writhed as though it were living and began engulfing both him and Yugi. "Wha–!?"
"It's a Shadow Game, Ushio-san." Yugi looked completely unconcerned by the dropping in temperature. Even as the dark aura being emitted from this thing was raising the hair on the back of Ushio's neck and bringing goosebumps onto his arms; the smirking expression on Yugi's face did not change.
Maybe... Maybe he did meet the wrong Yugi.
"Don't think that you can get out of this. You agreed to it and the shadows don't approve when a Shadow Game is disrupted. Neither one of us are allowed to leave until there is a winner." He crossed his arms as a smug expression settled over his face. "Now, who's first?"
A quick game of rock-paper-scissors and Yugi was the first to go.
"It looks like I'm up." Yugi placed the money on the back of his hand and grabbed the knife. Almost instantly, a tall and dark form rose behind him and clamped a hand around his wrist. It seemed perfectly justifiable to Ushio that he would take a step back as he gaped at the shadowed figure.
"W-what is that!?"
"Hm?" Yugi looked up from the game to see Ushio staring behind him in horror. He didn't seem bothered by the hand on his wrist. "Oh, that? Think nothing of it; they will neither help nor hinder us. They're here to ensure that we do not fake our way out of this. Although I am curious to see what form yours takes."
He immediately turned around to see if there was a tall, shadowed figure behind him. He relaxed a bit when he saw that there wasn't. That midget was just yanking his chain.
Grumbling under his breath, Ushio stood in front of the game across from his opponent. If what he said was true, then he had no choice but to play.
Yugi rested the tip of the knife in the center of the first bill. Concentration formed on his face as he forced the knife through. Ushio waited in anticipation; for either his turn or for Yugi to actually stab himself. Perspiration actually decorated the shorter teenager's brow as he tried to shove the knife through the wad of bills while ignoring the other hand that clung to his. Finally, he held up the knife and a few bills were attached to the blade.
"Less than ten bills," he hummed, although he did not sound particularly disappointing like Ushio had expected. "I had tried to use a lot of strength but not much had stuck..." He past the knife to the larger male with the blade held in his fingers. "It's your move."
Ushio placed the money on his hand and took the knife. It looked easy enough. He brought held the knife just above the center. Almost as soon as the tip touched the first bill, a hand clung to his own wrist.
Ushio jumped when contact was made. It was cold and clammy, as though it had been submerged in ice cold water for a long time. His breathing amplified in his ears as his eyes darted to the hand connected to him. It was a sickly gray with four knobbly digits ending with piercing black talons that easily succumbed his wrist and overlapped it's own digits. He could hear the rasping air as it blew warmth into his ear. And to make matters worse, three other hands made their appearance around him, two seeming to provide some sort of support as the claws dug into the table, and one curling almost possessively towards the bills. Wanting.
"I see, so that's what your true self looks like. It's as corrupted as I imagined."
'True self... What is he talking about? This thing?'
A part of Ushio wanted to look around and see this thing. To know what is considered his true self. On the other hand, he was terrified. Especially when a forked tongue– no, two forked tongues could be seen dancing in his peripheral vision.
"Money..." It rasped, it's gravelly voice making him shudder in disgust. "Money money money...!"
"Go ahead and play, Ushio-san. Be careful though, for if you get too greedy, you will use too much strength and stab all the way through. The point of this game is to control your greed–!"
"Shut the hell up," Ushio snapped. His eyes widened when the monster's voice, croaky and deep, hissed in unison with his own. And yet Yugi was still smug.
"Let's get back to the game, shall we? It's still your turn."
He grit his teeth and looked down at the money. All he had to do was get as much bills as possible and win this stupid game. It was simple. Easy. And yet, he was hesitating because he didn't want to stab his hand.
"Moneymoneymoneymon–" went the monster.
He stabbed hard enough that the money nearly wrinkle into wads and pulled the knife away. He may have been sweating as well but at the moment, he was more focused on other things.
"Hahaha! Check it out!" Ushio ignored the monster as it let out disgusting huffs of laughter. True to Yugi's word, that thing did not help or hinder him at all. It's almost as though it wasn't there. "I have more than a hundred thousand! And look at my hand, not even a scratch! Using more strength is fine!"
Neither Ushio or the monster noticed the flash of knowledge darting through Yugi's garnet eyes as his smirk, which had slackened in interest of watching his opponent, came back in full force. "Yes, but as the game progresses, it will become harder and harder to control your strength."
A few more passes between the two of them confirmed what Ushio had thought earlier. This game wasn't hard. And all this money would be his.
"Mine! Mine! Mine!" the monster crowed, and this time Ushio paid it no mind. His mind and the monster's were in sync. Yugi passed over the knife as he now owned a couple more crisp bills. Ushio took it with glee and held the knife up. All he had to do now was take it easy and he'd wi–
'Why... why can't I relax my hand!?'
The sweat that had beaded on Ushio's face started dripping as he strained to even try forcing his grip to slacken. Despite his attempts, his hand was iron-clad as it held onto the knife. If he doesn't relax soon, he'll lose the money and stab his hand.
The monster's fingers that loitered around the bills rose and wrapped around it's other digits. Ushio could feel more force apply to his grip as well. What the hell!?
"That monster is your true self," Yugi reminded him. "It does not help nor hinder but it does make sure that you use all your strength if you cannot control your greed. And right now, that seems to be the case."
The teenager clenched his jaw. He might not get the money without stabbing his hand but there is one other thing he could do. And that will be to attack Yugi!
Ushio swung the blade downwards onto Yugi. All he caught was a grin as the midget hopped out of the way. Ushio blinked when he noticed an eye glowing on Yugi's head. He had to be imagining this, right? It's all just one big, bad dream.
"Just as I thought, you couldn't follow the rules." Yugi's tone was condescending. "This eye can see nothing but what is in your heart. And you, Ushio-san, are nothing more than a greedy bully who had hurt my friends and tried to steal money from myself." He pointed directly at Ushio. "Penalty Game: Mercy of Mammon*!"
And just like that, the shadows surrounding them had disappeared. Not that Ushio could see it. The world he was seeing became full of money. Coins and bills filled his sight and for a moment, he thought that he was in heaven.
"Oh wow! Money!" He reached out to grab them. "Hahaha! Money money money money!"
"My... moneeeey."
A loud thud sounded behind Ushio. He froze and turned around, the money that floated in the air being temporarily forgotten. His eyes widened with horror when he saw a monster bigger than him glaring at at him. Ushio could tell by the gray skin and taloned fingers that this was the creature that was once behind him. And it looked awful.
It's large head took up a quarter of it's body. Needle-like were upturned in an ever present grin as it's pale eyes lacked pupils of any kind as it stared at him. Black horns protruded from the skull and curved upwards as yet another face was placed in between it's brows with a smaller set of horn escaping its own. It's body, also thin but covered in muscle, had three more faces on it's chest and one more between the legs as all six of it's arms clung to countless bills from where it balanced precariously from it's two feet. It's two forked tongued flickered as it released a furious hiss before lunging at Ushio with frightning speed. One hand latched around the throat while the other held his limbs before he could even do anything. All he could do was flinch when the monster's warm, reeking breath met his face.
"Don't. Touch. My. Money!"
The next thing Ushio knew, his body was being ripped apart.
Meanwhile, Yugi was watching as Ushio screamed behind him as the hallucination happened in his mind. "Let's hope that this will banish the darkness in your heart, Ushio-san. Greed is a very unbecoming sin to fall into so perhaps this can teach you to be generous and fair."
He stepped away from his senior as he walked to the school entrance. "Now I should return the money..."
Yugi yawned as he walked onto the school campus. There was a big commotion happening near the entrance but he couldn't find it in him to go look, instead heading inside the school building. He couldn't remember having ever fallen asleep last night, having woken up to find himself in bed for the first time this week. Usually he was always so busy working on his treasure and all he could remember was placing the last piece of the puzzle into it's empty slot. He was even wearing the choker he had once bought but never actually had the guts to wear it out in public. Now that it was on, he didn't want to work on taking it off.
'The Puzzle,' he thought with a wide grin. He had finally completed it after eight years. All that frustration and perseverance were worth it. He smiled delightfully to himself.
"Hey, Yugi."
He blinked, finding Jonouchi lounging around the corner with his arms crossed as bandages and bruises littered his face.
"Jonouchi-kun!"
"How are your injuries?"
"Fine..." Jonouchi was actually asking a sincere question? "How about you?"
"I feel fine. Speaking of which..." Yugi furrowed his brows. "I also brought a treasure today. Want to see it?"
"Yeah!"
"Haha, sorry. My treasure's 'is in plain sight but you can't see it'."
'What's that mean?' Yugi wondered. Seeing the puzzled expression on his face, Jonouchi chuckled.
"It's Yujo*! Yugi and Jonouchi are visible but our friendship is invisible."
Yugi stared at Jonouchi as his mind raced. Jonouchi considered him a friend? After all those years of teasing?
A smile overcame Yugi's face as he felt that his eyes were beginning to tear up. His body was still sore from the beating he had gotten yesterday but this had to be the best day of his life. "Yeah!"
Jonouchi's cheeks flushed as embarrassment covered his face. "C'mon, we gotta get to class!"
And with that warning, he began racing down the hall. Yugi stared as one of Jonouchi's shoes slipped off his feet and landed on the floor. He picked it up and chased after his classmate as he held the shoe up as though it were a banner to their friendship.
"Hey, Jonouchi-kun! You dropped your shoe!"
"Gah! Dammit!"
Yugi and Jonouchi were walking to school. The chatter of other students as they spoke to their friends filled the air and they were no different.
"J-Jonouchi..." Yugi's cheeks were tinged with pink as he clutched the straps of his backpack. "Did you see the video?"
"Huh? Oh, that. Well I squinted but..." To prove his point, he narrowed his eyes into slits before growling in frustration. "I couldn't see the important stuff! The blur got in the way!"
"Oh..."
"You want to watch it? I can lend it to you some time."
"Eh? Y-yes!" The blush on Yugi's face spread even further.
Both paused when they noticed a van sitting in front of the school with Z TV imprinted on the side.
"Huh, there's a television van parked outside the school gate," Jonouchi mused. "But why...?"
"Maybe a celebrity or a super famous idol is coming!" Yugi exclaimed excitedly. Honestly, it was the only thing he could think of. Jonouchi had on a huge grin.
"Yeah! That must be it, Yugi!"
Smiling as well, the shorter teenager approached the van. "I'll take a look."
"Trying to catch an idol?"
Jonouchi's joke fell on deaf ears as Yugi tried to peer in. He couldn't see a thing through the glass. "Hey, Jonouchi! I think it's a one-way window, I can't see anything!"
From inside the van, a camera flashed and a set of eyes watched as Yugi and Jonouchi retreated into the school, excited with the prospect of meeting an idol.
"That face..." The person chuckled. "He'll be the star of my next project!"
An attractive woman stood in front of the camera with a microphone in hand and a polite smile on her face. "Good morning, everyone! It's time for the morning show, 'Survival Morning'. Today, our camera will get the exclusive scoop. Get ready for a flashback to your school days." She motioned to the school behind her. "Now the school behind us has a serious problem with bullying... After this, Reporter-san will go to the bullying scene."
"Cut! Wrap it up," the director ordered. He smirked to himself as he watched the newswoman from his chair. "Very sexy." He turned to face the pimply face wash-up that was holding the camera beside him. That loser could definitely pass for a teenager. Heck, he probably was. "Assistant director, come here."
"Sir?"
The director handed him a photo. "Find this schoolkid and bring him here."
The assistant grabbed the photo puffed with amusement. "Yeah, this kid sure looks bullied. What a sap."
"For this project, he's the perfect star," the director stated. "Beat the kid up at the specified place and we'll catch it on camera. Easy as pie." He grinned. "The viewers requested a documentary on violence so the network figures that it is sure to boost ratings."
"Um... is it really alright to film people getting beaten up?"
"Heh, you still don't get it..." the director ran his hand over his goatee. "How many years have you been in this business?"
"Half a year."
"From now on, you'll be my apprentice."
A quizzical look appeared over the assistant's face.
"And you will be filling the role of a bully in front of the camera."
Meanwhile, in class 1-B, Jonouchi and Yugi had voiced their thoughts to Anzu.
"An idol," she repeated in disbelief.
"Sure is." Jonouchi was sitting lazily on the desk. "And the evidence is that TV van parked outside the school gate. Tell her, Yuge."
"W-well yeah..."
"If that were true, then someone would have seen this idol and I haven't heard anything about it."
"Moron, she's probably hiding. I'd say that she's probably disguised as a student! But I'm going to get her alone and unmask her."
"J-Jonouchi-kun," Yugi began, trying to placate his laughing friend. "That's... You shouldn't say that so loudly..."
"But think, Yugi! I can make a killing photo of her!"
"That's a crime!" Anzu snapped as she jabbed a finger at Jonouchi. "They'd throw the book at you!"
"There's no penalty for stripping!" Jonouchi shouted back in an equally loud voice. Both were immune to the stares directed their way. And Yugi just let it happen as he rested his hands behind his head as he tried to puzzle out the TV van. Anzu did have some points...
The bell rang and Jonouchi and Yugi walked side-by-side, both lost in thought about the TV van.
"Tch, Anzu doesn't know anything," Jonouchi began. "Yugi, let's go find that idol!"
"Um..." He really did want to believe that there was one. "Maybe the TV van really is here to cover something else..."
"Not you too!" Jonouchi shot him a betrayed look before stomping off with a hmph. "Fine, forget you. I'll search by myself. It's not just a dream, Yugi, you just got to believe! I'll prove you wrong!"
"Ah, Jonouchi-kun..." Yugi watched him hurry down the halls with fiery determination nipping at his heels. 'I guess I said the wrong thing...'
"Yugi-kun!"
Furrowing his brows when a voice he didn't know spoke up, Yugi turned around to find a stranger looking down at him. "Um, who are you...?"
"My name is Fujita."
"I see..." Yugi bowed his head, unable to help the timidity that came with meeting new people. Maybe if Jonouchi had stuck around, he wouldn't have seemed so shy. "N-nice to meet you."
"Yugi, have you heard?" Fujita grinned and for a moment, it was giving the diminutive teenager all kinds of bad feelings. "There's an idol in this school?"
And like that, Yugi's shyness had vanished into thin air as a hopeful smile passed over his face. "Wow, there really is?"
"That's right!" Fujita looked up and down the halls at the passing student body before dragging Yugi over to a reclusive corner and lowered his voice. "I think that the two of you will get along... so tell you what, I'll introduce you. Since the idol and I are pals and all.
"Okay!"
It almost hurt to think that he would be beating this kid up but his job was on the line. It's this Yugi brat's fault for being so naive.
"I'll tell them to meet us behind the gym. Oh, and be sure to come alone. They're a bit shy."
Yugi nodded excitedly as he watched Fujita walk off with his hands in his pockets. To think that he would be meeting an idol.
'Should I bring flowers...?'
It had taken Yugi a little longer than he had expected to buy flowers. There were a bunch of different types such as roses and carnations but he had eventually settled on a bouquet of white anemone. The cashier herself had told him that white anemone symbolize sincerity and that's definitely what he wanted to show the idol.
His excited steps slowed to a walk when he noticed Fujita standing behind the gym alone with a rather impatient look on his face. Yugi speculated that it's because he took too long but where was the idol?
"About time," Fujita began brightly. Yugi suppressed a shiver as he approached and noticed the dark grin on his face.
"Fujita-san..." He made an effort of looking around. "Where's the idol?"
"Well, the truth is–" Fujita cut off as he leaned close to Yugi. "Wait, I hear someone coming?"
"Huh?" Yugi strained to hear. Maybe it was the idol–
Wham!
All thoughts drifted from Yugi's mind as Fujita's fist went and connected with his jaw. He barely even focused on the fact that the flowers had slipped from his hand as Fujita easily held up his small form with the familiar leering smile. How could he have forgotten that that same smile use to be on Jonouchi's face not too long ago?
"Moron, there isn't any idol," he sneered. He hit Yugi again. "And there never was!"
"Hey! Wait just a dang second!"
Before Yugi or even Fujita knew it, Jonouchi was there with a camera in hand shoving the other bully away from his smaller friend. "Yugi, you okay!?"
He took in Yugi's ruffled appearance and made note of the two red marks on his face that was already starting to bruise before turning his wrathful glare onto the one who had hurt him. Before Fujita could even think about getting away, the front of his shirt had been wadded up the the taller, more frighting blond's hand as his other fist was pulled back threateningly.
"You creep, what'd you do to my pal!? I'll kill you!"
"I-I didn't want to do it!" Fujita was sweating bullets now. This was way more than he signed up for. He didn't want to lose his job but he also didn't want to get hurt! That midget was suppose to be easy pickings. "The director made me..."
"Director!?"
"That's enough."
Both Jonouchi and Fujita turned their heads to find a sleazy man in a had smiling at them. "Fujida, I'll take over from here."
'So even Fujita-san's name was a lie...' Yugi thought as he forced himself to sit up.
"You..." Jonouchi let Fujida go and the male went scurrying away as quickly as possible. "You made him do this to Yugi?"
The director merely smiled in response. Growling hatefully at the man, Jonouchi then turned to help Yugi to his feet. "You okay?"
"I-I'm sorry, I wanted to see the idol," he admitted softly.
"Only because you believed the lies that these creeps were telling you."
"Cut!" As the director spoke, Jonouchi glared at him yet again. "We don't need to film this teenage drama. It's a waste of film."
"Why'd you do this!?"
The director smiled cruelly. "Yugi-kun was unlucky enough to be chosen for the role of a bullied child. It's really unfortunate, just a bad roll of the die. But thanks to him, we filmed a great episode. The audience will feel so sorry for him! Yugi-kun, you're a hero! A hero of my broadcast, that is."
"You jerk! I'm gonna kill you!" Jonouchi advanced on the man and grabbed him by the shirt just as he did Fujida. Instead of looking worried like he expected, the director released a series of chuckles.
"While you're beating me up, the cameraman will be catching it on tape!"
"What the–!?" Jonouchi's attention became focused on the camera. The director's smile widened. That was just what he was waiting for.
He raised his knee and slammed it viciously into the blond's gut. It took the air from his lungs and the teenager soon found himself on the floor.
"Jonouchi-kun!" Yugi cried as he hurried to his friend. The director watched all of this with cold eyes and a grin.
"Do you get it?" he sneered. "You can't resist the camera. With it, you're faces will be held up to the public's scorn!"
Yugi propped Jonouchi upright. His other hand clenched into a fist as he heard the director walk away with his crew as he laughed. The Millennium Puzzle around his neck flashed brightly. With the Eye of Anubis on his forehead, Yugi pushed himself to his feet and smirked darkly as he watched the director go. The man didn't even glance back.
"Haha, but don't worry! Your faces will just be blurred out."
Nightfall descended upon the Z TV broadcast station. Director Rushiu* was in the parking lot as his work hours ended and fished through his pockets for his keys.
"Director, the episode you put together is staggering," his coworker claimed.
"Haha, you know me, Fumihara-kun." He pulled out his keys and began unlocking the car. "Just give them the bait and they'll always bite."
"I suppose so.. Well, goodnight."
As his coworker walked off, Rushiu pulled on the handle of his car. Hell, maybe next time they'll be able to kill someone on camera. Wouldn't that be a thought.
A gasp left him as his peripheral vision caught something in his mirror. Whirling around, Rushiu caught sight of that Yugi kid from earlier. He unintentionally released a breath of relief.
"It's you," he grumbled. "Dammit kid, it's in the middle of the night. Don't tell me that you want an actor's fee."
Yugi had his arms crossed as he regarded the man for a moment before speaking. "You have stumbled across the domain of my heart and mind."
Rushiu started as the space around them progressively darkened into the color of deep purple. He blinked a couple of times, wondering if he was just tired enough that his mind was playing tricks on him. "Therefore, you must become my opponent. In a Shadow Game..."
"A Shadow Game..." he repeated lamely. It sounded like something a child would cook up. And yet, peering at Yugi, Rushiu could tell that he was entirely serious about this. Something about this kid was different from before. Both in appearance and personality.
"We will play using this." He watched as Yugi pulled out a small die from within his pocket. "Since the era of Ancient Egypt, dice have been used to determine men's fates. At the time, they were called 'astragalos' and were made from the hoof bones of animals. Unlike modern dice, they crooked and rounded."
"Tch, I never said that I wanted to play. I'm going home, brat." Rushiu turned away from Yugi and back to his car. He blinked when he saw that it was gone. As a matter of fact, the entire parking lot was gone, replaced with a writhing dark wall that surrounded them on all sides. "What the hell?"
"A Shadow Game takes place within the furthest reaches of the Shadow Realm. It can be called it's own bubble, separated from the true thing."
Yugi was smirking as Rushiu whipped around to face him. There's no way this thing is real. He's ill magining this, he has to be... right?
The teenager must have taken whatever expression was on his face for something else. "There's no need to worry. I had weaved the shadows with you in mind so the atmosphere should not cause you harm. Now let us play this game of fate."
"...Alright," Rushiu grumbled. He wasn't sure about this Shadow Game– Realm –whatever, but if beating Yugi means that he can see his car, he'll take it. For all he knew, his mind could have concocted all this up. It seems like it's time to stop watching movies for a while.
"The rules are simple. After I roll the die, if you roll a lower number, you win. If the number is the same as my own, then you will still win. The only way that you will make it out of here unscathed is to play the game and winning." His smirk darkened. "And if I win, you will suffer a Penalty Game."
"What? That's stupid," the man growled. "How am I suppose to win with those odds!?"
Yugi didn't deign to answer. Instead, he raised his hand up and dropped the die. "Let's begin."
The die rolled with a soft click-clack before rolling to a stop with six dots facing upwards. Rushiu laughed at his chances. "A six! I automatically win! Haha, I don't even have to roll the die!"
"Yes, luck certainly seems to be in your favor..." Yugi smirked. "But the game isn't over yet."
The director clicked his tongue in annoyance as he knelt down and picked up the die. What was even the point if he was going to win regardless? What a stubborn guy. Just watch, Rushiu will wipe that smug look right off that brat's face.
"Have it your way," he sneered. Standing upright, Rushiu chucked the die at Yugi with all the force he could muster. "And while I'm at it, I'll leave a hole in your face!"
A dark purple shadow appeared behind Yugi and brought a staff down in front of him just before it hit his face. The die smacked against it harmlessly before clattering towards the floor. Rushiu didn't care to look at it or even waste a second thinking about it. He wanted out. To go home and sleep. For all he knew, that shadow thing was just his imagination.
"I win," he called, turning to walk away. "I rolled a one."
He was waiting for the shadows to dissipate or something when Yugi spoke up.
"Now you will recieve the Penalty Game."
The director whipped around to find the smaller teenager grinning darkly as he held onto the gold pendant around his neck. He looked down to peer at the die, having known that he rolled a one. Instead, the die had broken into two, one half having a one and the other half a six.
"I rolled a seven!?" he exclaimed.
"Director-san, be ready to come across your true self! Penalty Game: Lens of Obscura*!"
Multiple hisses sounded in near sync behind Rushiu's back. He felt something move across his legs and looked down. To his horror, a reptilian tail was wrapping around him, bounding his legs together to prevent escape. Small, hard spines were protruding from the back of the tail, following the rest of it out of his line of sight. Rushiu went to turn around to see what it belonged to when a pair of hands clamped firmly on his shoulders. He cried sharply when he jerked his head back to catch a glimpse of them. The they were black and scaly, just like the tail, with six digits connected to the palms. Another pair of hands grabbed him beneath his jaw and forced him to look upright. Even then, Rushiu could feel the tail binding his legs together in a rather crushing way and fear clutched his heart in it's icy embrace as he was forced to look up at the face of whatever was behind him.
Correction, faces.
His heart stuttered as five gray faces looked down at him, each one baring shark-like fangs at him as something black oozed from their teeth. They didn't even have lips and their eyes were a bright red with slits. There were no shoulders or a neck on it. Instead, a large pile of body mass is what supported it and where it's arms came from with scary spines covereing nearly every layer of it. Sweat covered Rushiu's face as his chest thrummed a hundred miles a minute.
'Wh-what is this!?'
The creature lifted one hand from his jaw and raised it to his face. Rushiu's eyes widen in terror as it lingered near one of them and traced the outline of one. Then a scream tore from his lips as it's forefinger into his eye and twisted.
He had thought that this pain was bad enough before this monster moved on to his other one.
"Aaaauuuugh!"
He tried writhing away from the monster's grip, away from the torture, but it held fast and he barely budged an inch. All he could do was cry as it happened. And cry he did, right in front of a still smirking teenager.
Then the monster was gone. Rushiu could feel is just vanish as he fell to his hands and knees. He pressed a hand to his face as he looked around wildly. An attack like that, he knew in the back of his mind, should have left him entirely blind. Instead he could still see. He's alive and he still had his sight. He brought his gaze up to where Yugi was. To glare at him, to curse. To do something. Instead, his eyes widened in horror.
Everything was blurry. He could barely tell Yugi apart from the gray background and that kid was loaded with color.
Raising his hand to his face, Rushiu saw that it was true for that too. In fact, he nearly had it pressed against his face and he still could barely see even a resemblance of it.
"Director-san, you twisted the reality in front of the camera to suit your own needs," he heard Yugi say. "Therefore, you have recieved punishment from your true self and will now see the world through it's eyes. Heh, a fitting end for a cruel man like you."
Yugi turned and walked away from the defeated man. His footsteps rang throughout the parking lot as a victorious smirk resided on his face. To be able to see the world and yet not see a single thing in it. It sounds like a very difficult thing to live with. And yet another win for himself.
"Hey, Yugi," Jonouchi grinned. He held up a VHS tape with the words Hardon High written on the side. "Be happy, I brought the goods."
"Yay! Thanks, Jonouchi-kun!" He tossed it to Yugi. "I'll watch it tonight!"
A hand clamped around it before it even had time to brush Yugi's fingertips. Both him and Jonouchi cried out in horror as Anzu was reading the name of the tape. "What's this interesting movie?"
"A-Anzu!" Yugi cried out. There were many times when he was glad for her knack of swiping things out of mid-air but this definitely wasn't one of them. She began walking to the school witb a smile. "You guys should let me borrow it."
"Noooo!" Jonouchi and Yugi howled in unison as they chased her towards the school. "Give it back, Anzu!"
*Penalty Game is a punishment given to whoever loses or cheats in a Shadow Game. Millennium Item holders can use it to inflict supernatural punishments.
*Mercy of Mammon is a vision where Ushio's true self, Mammon, punishes him repeatedly for touching his money. It represents Ushio's greed and the cost of what he would do for and with it. The hallucination is temporary.
*Yujo comes from the combined name of Yugi and Jonouchi. A pun on their names to show their friendship.
*Rushiu is the incorrectly translated Japanese name of Lucius. It was originally meant to be Rushiusu but I ditched the last two letters because I thought it looked funky. Lucius is the name given to the director in the English dub.
*Lens of Obscura is a punishment given by Rushiu's Obscura. The snake-like entity with four arms represents Rushiu's near-sightedness and twisted self, using whoever he could to get what he wanted. As a result, his punishment is taken from moments in television where scenes are blurred heavily for reasons such as hiding identities.
Thinking of true selves and tweaking Ushio and Rushiu's Penalty Games were a little more challenging than I thought. Ah, and the Confidence levels will not be taking place for a good while. I have a reason as to why but I will not disclose it until the time comes.
~foxchick1 - I hope that I don't disappoint!
~Guest - It will go all the way to the main storyline of the Yu-Gi-Oh! series. Which... will be a lot of chapters, but I'm prepared for it. The Millennium Items also have a unique ability that no one else will be able to mimic within the Shadow Realm and I look forward to showing it off. Buuuut that might not happen until the Battle City arc... Everyone's Persona and Arcana had already been decided and I'm curious to what other people's guesses would be regarding Yugi's Persona.
Don't forget to vote and comment! Thank you very much for reading!
