Ah!
Sorry for ditching you guys for so long!
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Enjoy, and thanks to Darkie for looking over this again due to my tendency to write things that don't make sense!
The Power of the Puzzle
(shiai ni yabureru)
- Chapter Two -
--
He has the feeling he is conscious and alert, even though there seems to be a heavy weight on his eyelids. Scratching and tapping noises are audible in the din, and when he is finally able to see he is greeted with the sight of the ceiling...in his room? It has to be his room, and when he raises his front half off the bed (bed?), causing the blanket (blanket?) that was covering him to fall away he can see the familiar array of shelves near him.
"You know, Pharaoh, all this blacking out isn't going to be good for you in the long run." He hears a familiar voice drawl past his peripheral vision.
It is then he realizes that he was still in control of his body...if so, why did he begin thinking he was his other?
"Shut up, Malik."
The Egyptian grins, happy for some response from the person who looked dead as a rock ten minutes ago. Yami notices he is wearing a light pink belly-baring shirt with a few golden chains for decoration and into black cargo pants instead, the clothes he had on while first introducing himself as 'Namu' a little over three months ago. In his soul room, Yugi shifts, now waking up.
/Yami?/
//Yes, Yugi?//
/I'm tired./
Mentally he smiles gently at the shorter one and the Millennium Puzzle's magic pulses gently as they switch. Now he looks more tired than he had a moment ago, and after yawning he notices Malik.
"Oh. Hi, Malik."
Malik waves, a smile on his face. "Hey. You greet people better then the Pharaoh does, you know."
It was this moment when Yami decides to appear beside them in spirit form, playfully whacking the other's head. He scowled, and Malik grinned.
The events of the day before now find their way back to the two Puzzle bearers, and Yugi gasps, remembering how much the other person resembled his – what should have been – long-gone yami.
"Malik – your yami...?"
"Huh? Oh, that." He snorts. "That was just to scare you so you would summon. Alert you to the situation at hand, y'know."
A brief look flashes between the other two, and the way their heads are cocked slightly, the subtle (or maybe not-so-subtle) movements and change of expression tell him that they are deep in conversation. Malik, though, does not interrupt them, simply taking out his Rod and fingering all the grooves in thought.
Without any reason he then turns the rod around so he is grasping the head, the other end pointing towards Yugi. It is clear that he is simply giving it to him in a gesture of friendship, however Yugi looks at the handle cautiously.
/Should I take it?/ he asks, stopping his yami finishing the sentence he is just speaking.
//You decide.//
He glances towards it hesitantly before reaching out to take the handle. When holding it he doesn't seem to sense the pulses of another spirit inside and looks back at Malik.
"Nothing, hmm?"
"Nothing."
Malik smiles and leans forward and his smirk seems to ooze the fact he had proven himself right. "You yourself know how hard it is to stay in someone else's soul room for too long. After all, soul rooms aren't actually made for more than one soul."
"T-that's true."
"But yours wasn't actually a spirit, was it? It was really part of you." Yami points out.
"Yes and no." Grinning, Malik points to his top. "Besides, would evil really wear pink?"
Yugi groans. Yami stares. Malik sighs in response.
"You know the world's going to end when no one can take a joke anymore, but really – I can't think of another way to convince you."
Catching sight of the invisible tension between them, Yugi holds his hands up in a peacekeeping gesture and looks pointedly at Yami.
/We need to trust him, Yami./
//Yes, but – //
/You were the one who told me to decide./ His mental voice is firm, and Yami simply looks away.
"Anyway...wait," Yugi frowns as he recalls something the Egyptian mentioned earlier. "You said something about making us summon, didn't you?"
"Yeah." When the young one hands the Rod back to its chosen, he finds him thinking about where to start.
"Did you feel that the disturbance in the Shadow Realm that was at the end of Battle City seems to have gone out of control lately, as if someone's demanded something of it but can't pay their price?" Yami nods, while his light is confused. Malik takes it upon himself to explain. "The Shadow Realm is where all the souls are kept, but it is actually...sentient, you could say. It's a strong force in itself, and usually when people call upon it they make actual deals with it."
"People? But the only Millennium Item holders now are you, me, Shadi and Ryou." There is a pause. "Don't you think that Ryou should hear about this too?"
"That would be easier, and would save time too," Yami doesn't look at them as he speaks, spiritual face not giving off any further emotion except a poker face and their mind link blocked.
"I'll call him then."
--
At the moment, one Seto Kaiba is currently enjoying his lunch break.
In a way.
He is at his desk, on his laptop. His laptop is showing some kind of information that probably only he would understand, and there is a window open listing the KaibaCorp.'s live share price data. Besides that, the young CEO is sipping a cup of coffee. A strong mocha, to be exact.
As the price jumps down briefly before bouncing back up again, a light suddenly flashes on his phone, alerting him to a call from that channel. He presses it and another near it roughly, both allowing the phone to go on loudspeaker and connecting himself to the call.
"Mister Kaiba, sir," his secretary's rushed voice comes through. "There is a live voice message for you at port thirty-six. Automatically password encrypted systems, code K-1-5-4-7-3-9-1-2, a– "
He quickly punches the disconnect button as she takes a breath after the nine, eyes wide with recognition. He had heard it previously, quite a few times before, but this time he had a sense that this time it was different from the norm, and the presence behind him seems to nod in a way that confirms they felt the same feeling.
On the computer fixated to his desk he easily opens up a window and brings up a screen. The computer he is using is also connected to the KaibaCorp phone network, however by using the computer he is able to record and save whatever the voice message was for future purposes. He accesses the thirty-sixth port, just as his secretary mentioned.
"Password?" A melodious female voice questions through the speakers.
Swiftly and deftly he inputs the one chosen for that day.
1-7-5-9-3 * 8-6-2-4 * 3-7-1-9.
M*O*K. The first three letters of Mokuba, if one traces the path to each number's location on a typical phone keypad, or a keyboard's number pad.
A new voice filters its way through the speakers, the live speech being recorded at the same time.
" – come to our house."
"Well, the soonest would be tomorrow – would that be fine?" asks the second voice.
"Excellent!" The first voice is clearly happy, making a distinctively cheerful sound. "How's ten in the morning? Malik says whatever it is its important, so we'll wait for you and even though our body needs rest Yami seems really fidgety today."
"...I guess..."
"Okay! Ten it is! See you, Ryou!"
Yugi Motou hung up, pleased that everything has gone just as he'd wished.
Yes, I've gone and changed my mind about formatting, again.
Turtule: Please review! We'll give you moaaar cookies!
She means I'm giving them.
Bai bai~
Nikki