Title: The Value of Sin
Author: Phoebe Delos
Series: Yu-Gi-Oh! DM
Story Summary: Yuugi and his two friends go to a long abandoned cabin to fulfill a dying grandfather's final wish… But why are they there? What is soa important about this strange, eerie house? …and what will be the cost of finding out?
Story Rating: T for dark, scary imagery and language.
Spoilers: No real spoilers for canon, beyond certain details of Yami no Yuugi's true identity.
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! isn't mine. Neither is Catan. Or chess. Or chess strategies.
Notes: And here we have part two! The next release will probably be the last, by the way, and I've started trying to 'schedule' my release dates, so barring a huge unexpected delay, the last part should be out June 11.

:: Part Two ::

"What's with you two?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you're both acting weird."

"I guessed that much," Ryou countered with a smile, which he never lifted from the cards in his hand. "But I still don't know what you mean by that."

"I mean that… Ryou," Katsuya emphasized, nerves and concern meshing together unpleasantly in the form of frustration when his boyfriend still wouldn't meet his eyes, much less offer anything beyond that vapid smile. He was holding him at arm's length, and Katsuya knew it - knew Ryou probably knew it - but still… The white-haired man insisted on shaking his head without looking up.

"Just a second, I think I finally decided… Yes." Putting down a number of his other cards, Ryou turned over two to show his roommate and boyfriend. "I have a brick and a lumber, either of you want them for a couple of ore?"

"What? It- No," Katsuya huffed, irked on a personal and competitive level. But before he could steer the conversation back to his point, Ryou focused on the third player sitting at the table.

"And what about you, Yuugi-kun? …Yuugi-kun?"

Yuugi… didn't look up. He just kept staring at his own cards, eyes dark with distraction, flickering the subtlest bit with the weight of the thoughts bouncing around his head.

He only stirred when Ryou shook his shoulder. "W-what?" Yuugi blinked the stars from his eyes as his friend repeated himself.

"A brick and a lumber for two ores, would you like to trade?"

"O-oh… Sure."

"W-wha-" Katsuya gawked as cards traded hands, recovering too late to do anything but make his best friend jerk as he yelled. "Yuugi! Don't you realize he's going to win?!"

"…huh? How do you-" Yuugi started, only to stare blank-faced as Ryou picked his other cards and dropped two grains and three ores in the 'bank' pile in exchange for a city marker- And swapped it with one of his settlements.

"And that's another victory point, which brings me to ten, and that makes it my game! Haha, I didn't think that would actually work."

"Aaaah-" Katsuya groaned, dropping his cards onto the Catan board to rub a palm over his face. "I was just one sheep away from finishing my last settlement and point!"

"-sorry, Jounouchi-kun…" Yuugi mumbled, a flush rising up his cheeks. Even if he was playing against them both, he couldn't deny the shame of walking right into that.

Why would Ryou be going for so many ores, if he wasn't about to build a city?

"Haha, it's alright, Yuugi-kun," Ryou tried to assure, but Katsuya cut in with a shake of a head and a heavy frown.

"No, it isn't… I mean, losing a game's fine and all, but this isn't like you, Yuugi. This is exactly what I was talking about: Neither of you are paying attention tonight!"

"Excuse me, but I think one of us just won this game. And both of you are good enough players that I don't think I could do that if I wasn't paying attention."

"I know that, Ryou," Katsuya sighed, scratching an impatient hand through his hair. "But even if Yuugi's the one staring off into space, you're just as bad, and I want to know what's eating at both of you."

Ryou turned to Yuugi, the confusion on his face painting him soundly baffled, but the shortest of the three just dropped his eyes to his hands, still clutching his Catan resource cards.

And Katsuya just looked on, his frown growing deeper by the second.

Silence filled the little sitting room… Until, finally, something broke it.

And all three boys jerked back at the deafening thud from the other room.

"What the hell?!" Katsuya cursed, frustration lining his shock as he stood up, fists clenched tight… only to slowly loosen as he easily found the source of the sound. "How… how did-"

"That's not good," Ryou observed, remaining sitting as Yuugi struggled to his feet to follow Katsuya into the main room, to stare side-by-side with him at the fallen loft ladder.

"...sheesh, Yuugi. Shouldn't a main house ladder like that be nailed down or something?"

"I thought it was…" Yuugi breathed, turning to stare up at the second floor as Katsuya gasped and heaved with the effort to pick the thing up.

"Whelp, if we can find a tool box, I'll make sure it is now- Geez, Ryou? Can you give me a hand, here?"

"Certainly." The white-haired man was there in a moment, aiming the ladder at the loft opening as Katsuya supported its weight… And Yuugi looked awkwardly on, rolling on his heels.

"I'm... going to take a bath. Sorry about this, guys."

"Yeah, no problem, Yuu- Hey wait!" Katsuya belatedly protested, turning his head just in time to see Yuugi disappear through the sitting room into the bathroom. "-he never even answered me!"

"It didn't look like he was going to, anyways," Ryou pointed out, his would-be reassurance earning a flat look from the blond supporting the ladder.

"You don't have much room to talk, you know."

"Oh, are you going to keep trying to interrogate me? Pity," Ryou hummed, letting go as the top of the ladder hit the upper landing and settled back into place. "I was hoping we could rush the repair and check out that loft up there."

Katsuya... Slowly lowered his gaze, half-hopeful and half-wary as he searched for some confirmation of Ryou's meaning.

His boyfriend just kept smiling at him in that same, exact manner though… And Katsuya broke the silence with a defeated sigh.

"You play dirty, Bakura."

Ryou just smiled.

He didn't know what to tell them.

Yuugi stared into the handshower like it might give him some long elusive, missed answer… Then finally dropped the shut-off spout to sigh and run harried hands through his hair.

He just couldn't do it… How the hell was he supposed to tell his friends what he had seen?!

Because, even if he told the truth… Even if Yuugi admitted that he himself wasn't sure if it was real, or if he was just losing it under the pressure of old ghosts and fresh grief, he was certain of his friends. Katsuya would be scared out of his skin, and Bakura… Well, Bakura would probably just be fascinated, if he were at all himself. Because Katsuya was right- He had been acting weird, ever since they made it to the cabin… But that was really the least of Yuugi's worries. He was caught on the fact that he had finally cracked… Or they were in a house with something dark, that attacked maids, and between the bus schedule and the snow, they were stuck there until morning- If not longer, by the look of that storm.

How could he tell his friends, and make them live with the same helpless anxiety?

"-how do you play that game?"

He sucked in a breath, one hand shooting up to hover over his mouth.

He had said that, but again... He hadn't.

Yuugi tossed the shower spout to the tiles and, with nowhere else to turn, or run, he rushed to the sink.

Dark red eyes met… 'his' as he looked into mirror.

...nothing happened. Yuugi stood there, stiff as a board, anticipating and fearing what his own hands might do or where his feet might take him, if he would have a chance to scream and warn his friends before he cut them down, and… The thing did nothing but stare at him, and twitch a muscle in his neck to tip the head to a curious angle.

"Are you not going to answer?"

To be honest, Yuugi didn't even remember the question. And when the red eyes repeated it, he was no less confused. Why would he care-

"-very well, then." The invader straightened his head again, the vague hint of interest in his eyes dying away as he stared, the same way he had in the oven, just before the lights came on. "Did Sugoroku send you?"

"What-" Yuugi started without thinking, discovering only by his success that his jaw would work for him, too- His own voice coming out of the same mouth within an instant. "How do you know my grandpa?"

"He brought me here," the voice answered, understanding and confusion sliding in pieces through his gaze- While unseen, shock ran through Yuugi's. "To this house, years ago."

"W-why- And moreover how-" He was a thing in Yuugi's skin, a… What he had to think was a ghost, sliding in and out of the living. How could his grandpa have brought something like that anywhere?!

...and...why…

"I saved his life," was the answer given, a twitch running through Yuugi's shoulders until he shrugged for the mirror- Only to lean forward and rest his elbows on the sink, the better to stare directly into those eyes.

Yuugi would have jerked back, if he had the choice.

"He poked in places he shouldn't have, and I got him out of his own mess… And in return, he promised to help me." The eyes shifted away, across the room in a lazy sort of inspection that Yuugi could not see- Once he wasn't facing the mirror. He was the one looking around, after all. "He brought me here, to this house, so that he could come to me regularly. At least once a year."

-his fishing trips? Yuugi thought, but did not say. He just listened as the ghost turned his head to face the mirror again… To face him again.

Him and his suddenly narrowed, glinting eyes.

"It was never enough… But it was more than what I had had in some time. My first rest was built to draw in the greedy, the wicked and the blasphemous, all looking for gold and riches… But it meant little once the world forgot my name, and where I lay. Even thieves will not break into a treasury they do not know exists."

Yuugi, had no idea what the hell he was talking about.

But he could feel it, a dread running up the back of his legs. A certainty that he might yet understand, if he listened… rhat he really, really didn't want to know.

But his mouth still wouldn't open- Save for the ghost.

"So imagine my shock, when he came in with the rare thief," the voice went on, all low, lulling poisonous tones. "Oh, Sugoroku had his own darkness sticking to him - pride, arrogance, contempt - but most do, and his were the sins of humanity… His company reeked, though, so I took them quick enough."

"W-what-?" Yuugi tried to interrupt, but his words were overridden by that other voice spilling out of his throat at the same time.

"They tried to kill him first, though, so I looked at him… And saw an opportunity… I told him- I would give him life, and wealth as well, if he would help me. If he would keep me safe, but bring me somewhere I could seek out more darkness… More sacrifices."

The final word jerked through Yuugi, and he tried to pull away- But he got no farther than an inch before the ghost slammed him back, plastered his stomach against the counter edge in his bid to stare at him.

He let him speak, at least. "W-what do you mean, sacrifices?"

"Sinners," the thing breathed, never blinking, never letting Yuugi look away from him and the dark glint in his eye. "Sinners, and their sins… Every cruel, heartless thing that a person does to blacken their own heart… I need that darkness. I need those black hearts… And for years I have lost count of, Sugoroku has helped me do it. Brought the worst he could find to my door… And walked away, never to look back."

No, Yuugi wanted to scream. His grandfather- That kindly, laughing man who practically raised him?

He would never do such a thing! Never leave people to, to-

He didn't even really know what this demon did to them!

"But he hasn't come this year," the ghost breathed, the faintest hint of emotion - Concern? Worry? Fear? - rolling across a brow and a mouth Yuugi could feel shift. "I have had to rely on sheer luck, and selfish little maids, and that is not near enough... Where is he?"

"He's dead." Yuugi, barely whispered it, terror numbing the grief that usually would have risen up from his gut with the words. "He got sick, and… But he would- He would never do this."

"He understood. He knew why it was necessary," the thing countered, his expression emptying out oddly. Perhaps it was just the prolonged proximity they had had through the mirror, but Yuugi could see a difference. There was something unique about it, the flatness of the ghost's expression now. It looked more like a cover, than true disinterest. "But if he is dead… You say you are his blood?"

The sink counter cut uncomfortably into Yuugi's gut as he bent forward, falling nearly to his elbows at the ghost's will so that the thing beyond the mirror and within him could look him, near 'nose-to-nose' with that same searching, invasively curious look in his eyes Yuugi had seen in the oven.

"He was getting old, I knew he would have to find a replacement somehow, at some point…" the thing whispered, Yuugi's breath fogging the glass. "He must have sent you."

Yuugi jerked back, glared blindly through sudden tears at his own reflected, naked form. "He would never do that!"

"Yuugi?!"

The young man jerked, turned to the door as someone knocked.

"You alright in there?! What the hell-"

"-it's fine!" Yuugi called, just as he heard the doorknob shaking. He swallowed, forced back the bile that had risen in his throat to say- "I just, saw a spider! It freaked me out!"

"...jeez, man," Katsuya huffed, just as the door went still. "Don't scare us like that!"

"Right!" Yuugi called, only to remember himself and turn, back to the mirror.

His eyes were his own again when he looked, and though he went still, waited a breath for something to control him again, or speak, nothing happened…

But still…

He rubbed his own arms against the cold, staring at mirror as he mumbled it again. "Right…"

"Oh my go- Guys! The storm's stopped!"

"Really?" Ryou leaned back from the sitting room table to get a look out of the window as his boyfriend held the curtain open. "Well, I'll be."

"Pffft, what sort of reaction is that?! Come on!" Katsuya complained good-naturedly, dropping the curtain as he came over to grin at the two. "We've been cooped up in this place for days, aren't you tired of it?!"

Tired wasn't exactly the word Yuugi would use, but he certainly didn't counter that. He just finished moving his rook and turned to grin up at the excited blond. "It has been a long three days, huh?"

"Pssh- Tell me about it. No offense, this place is great, but I'm starting to miss civilization- And the chance to actually walk around more than a ten foot room."

"-on that," Yuugi started, dropping his gaze to the chess board to better cover the lie in his casual tone. "I think we've pretty much met Jii-chan's wish by now, whatever his reasons were. If you want… Would you like to go back today? We should be able to get out of here before another storm sets in."

"...seriously?" The shock behind the answer prompted Yuugi to look up, but before Katsuya's surprise could turn to full relief, Ryou cut in.

"But, we'd probably have a devil of a time getting back into the dorms in the middle of the break," he pointed out, frowning- Even as he took one of Yuugi's black pawns. "And I doubt there's anyone around in administration we can talk to- Not this close to New Year."

"Still-" Katsuya started, only to flounder as he struggled to find a comeback.

He wasn't going to suggest they stay at his place, after all.

The failure of an answer clearly irked him, though, and before he could fall into full frustration, Ryou stood up.

"Why don't we just go for a walk, Katsuya? I saw a hiking trail when we arrived, and you can stretch your legs- And when we come back, we can all have lunch and talk about it some more. Maybe we'll have thought of something else by then."

"Well, yeah, that sounds nice, but…" Katsuya trailed off, skirting a worried look Yuugi's way.

It was easy enough to see his concern, though, and Yuugi just grinned- Even as his back prickled with nerves. "It's fine, Jounouchi-kun. I've got the teevee and some cards to keep me busy, and I can start lunch."

"Yeah, but…" Katsuya scratched his ear in that uncertain way that made Ryou and Yuugi both smile fondly, the latter shaking his head and motioning to the door.

"Go ahead, go explore the mountain and come back and tell me about it- And get some kisses out of your system while you're out there. It'll help keep you warm."

Katsuya sputtered right out of his uncertainty, face going pink as he tossed Yuugi a sour look.

He didn't counter or protest, though, just harrumphed and made for the closet- Missing it when Ryou shot Yuugi a thumbs up and mouthed a grinning thank you behind his back.

Yuugi just grinned right back, tossing the two a wave as they finished bundling up and went out the front door, throwing casual farewells over their shoulders.

The instant the door closed, Yuugi dropped his hand, and his smile.

...he had played it too safe.

He had been fighting the urge to tell the two what happened for days, and thought- If he could just get them out of the house, and then explain-

But, not yet, it seemed… And now he was alone.

Violet eyes flicked across the room, searching for… Well, nothing he could see. It wasn't out there, after all. It was in him.

And when his hand rose without him willing it mere seconds after the door closed, he wondered if it had ever even left.

"That was a decent try," his mouth said, as his left hand moved to reset the chessboard to its starting point. "But it's probably for the best that your friend stopped you. It wouldn't have worked, even if they agreed-"

"I'm not going to help you," Yuugi cut in, slapping down the words like a card he had long ached to play- Which was true. He had been waiting for a chance to say it since that first night, as he started up at the rafters in the loft, listening to Katsuya and Ryou breathing beside him. He hadn't made any sense of what was happening, or how his grandfather was involved, but he did know one thing at least: He was not going to help this thing.

But the spirit said nothing more than "Oh?" in answer, and Yuugi would have glowered, had he use of his mouth. But the ghost was busy with it, going on as he fiddled with the black king. "That is too bad… I don't think you'll like the consequences of that."

"And how would you like it if I just left?" He could do it, too. He had the keys- He could pack up their bags, shut the house down, lock it up, and go out and meet the boys on the path- Tell them they were leaving now. They would fight and question and never let him live down such weird behavior, but he could do it. They wouldn't insist on staying, not if he was vehement about it.

...but the ghost didn't answer. Not for a few seconds, then a full minute, then two…

"Fine," Yuugi snapped, moving to rise and do just that- But his legs wouldn't move.

They stayed spread out beneath the table, limp and relaxed, and not at all numb. He could even feel the usual pressure in his left knee… But nothing.

...then, they did move.

Yuugi stood, moved casually across the sitting room, through the main space, and back into the kitchen- Without him ever prompting it.

The only thing that remained under his control was his heart and pulse- And they both screamed as his hands opened a drawer and pulled out a steak knife.

"You are far more useful to me alive than dead," the voice said, playing with the handle and blade with loose, casual fingers- A sweat breaking out on the palms from nerves that weren't his own. "And honestly, I would hate to have to sacrifice you… You don't have near the darkness I would need."

"Don't I?" Yuugi breathed, honestly shocked that he was even allowed to speak. But even that grim victory shriveled up when the thing tilted his head and-

It hurt.

It was like someone was drilling through his very skull, but it didn't hurt physically, it was- It was within him in some place that went much deeper than bones and blood. But whatever and wherever it was, something was invading it, and-

"A touch of lust," the voice mumbled, and Yuugi could have cried for how the sound of it comforted him, it was such a needed distraction. "A dash of envy, sloth… Far, far too much hatred of self. But that's a rather grey sin, I can't make much use of it. No, no- I'd hate to have to take your heart. You are far too good for me, 'Yuugi'."

What-

Yuugi couldn't even get the word out properly, but the moment he even thought it, the 'drill' pulled away, and he was left dizzy and sore within himself as the ghost shook his head, dropping the knife onto the counter.

"The others aren't much worse, either, from what I have seen. So, I will make you a deal. I will not hurt you, or your friends, as long as you do not fight me and remain in the house."

"I have to go in two weeks," Yuugi, astonishingly, managed to get out, the words slurred as he fought for balance within himself. "School-"

"I will not hurt you as long as you remain in the house," the voice repeated, as if he hadn't heard him. "And we will talk anytime you are alone… And I suggest you make that often. I will, honestly, try my best to convince you to help me… I only have so long myself, after all. But you and I both want you to walk out of here, Yuugi… But I can only allow that if I know you'll come back."

"With people for you to kill."

...the voice did not reply.

Yuugi shut his eyes, pained by how much relief he felt that he was capable of even that, and sucked in a steadying breath. He, he couldn't fight this thing physically, but- "And what if I convince you to let me go, and to stop killing people?"

"That won't happen."

...Yuugi, blinked at the countertop, the knife still glinting on its surface.

He hadn't said that, the way Yuugi would have expected. The words were firm, with no room for a debate… But they weren't smug, or arrogant, or even callous.

The ghost had sounded… grim.

"But… We... I, don't have any right to judge people, or punish them- To send them to their deaths just because they're bad." Yuugi would have liked to have sounded determined, just as steady as the ghost, but his argument came out stumbling, at a loss.

Still, the other person within him did not scoff, or ignore him.

No, as the ghost turned Yuugi's back on the knife, and the kitchen, he asked, "And what about stopping them?" But before Yuugi could even think to reply, the other shot a second question at him.

"What happened to your leg?"

Yuugi… stumbled.

Internally, of course. Outwardly, the ghost guided them back into the sitting room, and took a seat in Ryou's former spot, on the white side of the chessboard- Carefully arranging Yuugi's legs to minimize the pain that naturally shot up his back with the move.

But even that physical reminder of what the other asked didn't break through Yuugi's hesitance. He just… He didn't know why, but he always felt shame at that story. Not for what he did, not at all, but… That he, hadn't been able to do more. That he had been so powerless. He didn't like talking about it.

But the ghost was patient. Once they were settled, he rested Yuugi's hands on his thigh and leg and, just sat there. For all purposes, he might well have been gone, but Yuugi just knew, somehow, that he was still in there… Waiting.

Finally he swallowed, and spoke.

"I was stabbed, in the leg, when I was in high school."

"Why?" The ghost asked, taking over his mouth for a brief moment, but leaving him free to shrug his own shoulders.

"Because I wouldn't pay him… Ushio." The hall monitor… He had beaten Yuugi's classmates and then demanded payment for it- After beating Yuugi, too, for getting in the way.

And though Yuugi had found some surprise cash in his bag that night, that had to be from his grandfather… He had put it back. Didn't meet the bully.

It wasn't his place to use his family's money to buy himself out of trouble.

But he paid for his refusal the next day, when Ushio cornered him in a closet and buried that knife in his leg.

He left him there to bleed out… And if Katsuya hadn't suspected, hadn't followed, Yuugi probably would have bled out.

The real irony was, it cost his family more to keep him in the hospital, than it would have to pay Ushio.

"When I and my family made a complaint to the principal, Ushio claimed that I was lying- That I was covering for Jounouchi-kun, who actually stabbed me, and threatened to kill me if I didn't blame Ushio instead," Yuugi went on, the story trailing to a close without him - or the ghost - ever moving. He said in the exact same spot, hands resting in the same place on his legs, as he finished. "The school believed him, over Jounouchi-kun and I… Said that it simply had to be the former gang member who did it, and not the honor student. So they expelled him… Jounouchi-kun." And Yuugi finally moved, raising his arms to wrap them tight around himself, clutching the back of his ribs. "And Ushio got away with it… He didn't chance coming near me for the rest of the year, but still… I was worried that Jounouchi-kun - and Honda-kun, his friend who Ushio also beat - would hate me for it, for helping me and what came of it… But they didn't. Jounouchi-kun just thanked me for helping him in the first place, and stuck by me… Eventually, Honda-kun became my friend, too. And Jii-chan gave Jounouchi-kun a job in our shop. He still works there… Or, did." They, still weren't sure what they were going to do with the shop, after all…

...but the important thing right then was that ghost, and the fact that it was still not speaking.

Yuugi began to wonder if, maybe, he had left at some point. The idea irked him - he had gone out of his way to share something that personal, after all! - and prompted him to prod a bit by saying, "Punishing him wouldn't solve anything, though. Jounouchi-kun should have been let back into school, but hurting Ushio wouldn't give me back my leg."

"-and if he stabbed others after you? Hurt them and took their money?"

Yuugi's mouth shut with the end of the ghost's question… And did not open again at once.

Yuugi had no reply… He could only swallow past his own conflict.

The other within him did not take advantage, though, or drag out the point. He waited… Or at least, focused elsewhere.

The ghost reached out with Yuugi's left hand, moved a white pawn, and carefully spun the board around.

"Your move."

Yuugi's eyebrows quirked up, and he stared warily at the game. "...King's Gambit?"

His lips twitched into a smile, though he himself didn't form it. "You know it?"

"Of course, I'm more curious how you know this game." And, if it was safe to actually play a game with a ghost. "...you're not going to steal my soul if I lose or something, are you?"

"You think you're going to lose?" The counter was playful, teasing- But Yuugi remained tense, hands still… Until a sigh broke passed his lips, and his shoulders slumped. "I promised I wouldn't hurt you, remember?"

Unless I leave, Yuugi countered, but only in his head- And he finally reached up to move his mirroring black pawn up to the ghost's.

His lips twitched again with a smile- An approval, apparently, for his acceptance of the ghost's opening. And he rewarded his 'host' with a belated answer. "Your grandfather taught me."

Yuugi's eyes widened a bit… Then softened, a strange mix of hurt and warmth running through him as he said, "He taught me, too."

His head nodded- And really, it was getting to feel way too natural, someone else moving his body. But he wasn't about to complain right then, as the ghost turned the board again and considered his options. Instead, he took the opportunity to ask-

"How much sin is too much, anyways?" His left hand stilled just over a white pawn, catching to listen as Yuugi went on. "I mean, you said I have sins, too, but… How do you pick when someone's bad enough to deserve… What you think they deserve?"

"...everyone has sin in their heart," he breathed with that other voice, his hand finally moving to slide a second white pawn up beside the first- Leaving it vulnerable to Yuugi's own. Still King's Gambit, then. "But in some, the light outweighs the shadows… While in others, the shadows outweigh the light."

"But, there is still usually light, right?" Yuugi insisted, even as his hand turned the board again for his play. "I once saw Ushio help a girl with a broken leg down the stairs after some bullies stole her crutch… He is a greedy, cruel man, but he is also capable of good. And you would have sacrificed that charity with his sin, right?" He waited a moment, then when no reply came? He moved. "Bishop to c5."

He felt his own breath catch with the shock- King's Gambit Declined.

A hum came up from his throat, but nothing more… Save a simple "If it is necessary" that Yuugi… didn't really understand.

Why exactly was the ghost doing this?

He wanted to ask, wanted to demand the same openness from the being… But when the ghost rushed to turn the board and move his white knight into place, pushing through with his gambit, he instead found himself asking, "What is your name?"

The ghost's movements stuttered for just a breath, and then he turned the board back. "I don't remember."

"...you don't remember?"

"I have been doing this a very long time," the voice explained, a strange mix of apology and defense running through his voice as he sat back up. "It's your move, Mutou Yuugi."

"How did you know my last- Right, Jii-chan." He would like to say it was quite a gamble on his part, since Sugoroku could have been his mom's dad, but well. He was right.

And he could practically sense the impatience for him to continue, to make his move, and so Yuugi sighed, and gave in with only the weakest of counter demands.

"Fine… But will you promise to stop scaring us, if I go along with this 'talk when we can' thing?" He would never help the ghost kill people, but if the spirit wouldn't hurt them as long as Yuugi stayed and talked to him, maybe he could figure out something-

"-what do you mean?"

Yuugi stalled, his hand still on the king's pawn he had just moved. "...scaring us? You know, knocking all of the pots over, and the ladder, and then last night when the lights went out and all of our food and dishes were on the floor?" That had been really, really eerie, too… Because they hadn't heard anything crash or shatter in the two seconds the lights were out. "And this morning, all of the windows and doors burst open at the same time, even though the wind was just coming from the east."

There was, a long pause… But Yuugi tried to dismiss it, remind himself that the ghost had already shown he could be really quiet. He just turned the board around, sat back, and waited.

"...that wasn't me."

Yuugi blinked, frowning at the board. "-what did you say?"

"I didn't do those things," the ghost claimed, making his move as Yuugi's heart lodged up in his throat. "Pawn to c3."

"You think Yuugi's really gonna be okay?" Katsuya sighed, rubbing his gloved hands together and blowing into them as he trailed behind Ryou up the path. "I swear, Ryou, something weird's going on around here, and you can ignore it all you want, but I know you feel it, too."

"Isn't that natural, though?" his boyfriend countered, smiling at him over his shoulder a breath before leading the way further up the mountain. "A lot of people are supposed to have died up here- Especially in the last few years. I think a ghost or two is perfectly natural."

"-Ryou," Katsuya hissed, earning nothing but a chuckle for the nerves clearly beneath his voice. "I get you take ghosts as a given, but you go looking for them all of the time! And have you ever seen anything like what's going on in that house?!"

"Well, no- But maybe that's just bad luck finally running out?"

"Bad luck… And if you've never seen anything like this, and you do think it's legit, what do you think they're going to do, huh? Are we just gonna keep losing power and dishes, or are they gonna hurt us?"

"Of course not. Spirits are the killed," he emphasized, giving the blond a patient, reassuring smile as he stalled his steps. "Not the killers."

Katsuya snorted, but it was a weak gesture at best, like he couldn't decide if he should feel comforted or weirded out… But a couple seconds of staring at his boyfriend, and he just sighed, reaching out to take his hand and tug Ryou along. "If you say so- Just don't go crying to me if we end up tossed in the basement with a raving ghost."

"Yuugi's cabin doesn't have a basement, Katsuya."

"Whatever."

Ryou laughed, and the two went on their way… Missing the partially covered lump in the snow, just to their left off of the path.

The slumped figure of a young woman, an apron tied about her waist, blood frozen to her face trailing down from her empty eye sockets.