The scene in the anime with Kaiba on the tower ready to fall to his death, came back to me. Yugi on his knees, crying out in fear. No, I wouldn't do that.
I vowed then and there never to do that to him.
Once he showed me how through his memories, it was easy enough to give control back to him. But the instant I did, I lost all feeling of life again. No more air, no more warmth, no more heartbeat. But that was alright, because those things weren't really mine, anyway. Not here. At home they were mine, but I was far from home.
-Good! Now come back on your own.-
What? He wanted me to do that again? Didn't he ever get sick of it? The way modern TV made it look, possession was not something people should want, or even allow to happen. Yet here he was, offering to let me, (who was alive last week, I swear) possess him at will. In fact, he was helping me figure out how to do it! That was all kinds of wrong. This dimension is flipped up.
But I did it. My first breath was a little less of a gasp that time. It wasn't that hard to take control from him. But I felt forceful. It was almost too easy to cut him off from his senses. Too easy, to push his soul out of the way, and take the space for my own. I felt mean... Was it that easy for him to push me out of the way when I was the one in control? I didn't think so.
-Ok, this next one was hard the first few times I tried, but after you get the hang of it, it's easier, ok?-
What? There was something else? This was a lot more complicated than the anime made it look... if I hadn't been neck deep in this fandom before I came here, I'd probably be very lost already.
He showed me another memory. I thought I could emulate that. Yes, I could do that. Now just to try it for real.
I "stepped back" and allowed Yugi control again. But this time I didn't 'step all the way back', so to speak. It's really kind of hard to describe. It's sort of like taking one step back, instead of two. Instead of being back in my Soul Room, I was still in Yugi's bedroom. Transparent again...
Yugi turned to look at me. This was the first time I was seeing his real face outside of our soul rooms. Big eyes, as to be expected from this character. But he wasn't just a character. He was standing right in front of me. A person. With likes, and dislikes, and a personality, and a life...
He smiled.
"Cool! I'd say we got that figured out pretty quickly!"
He sat on his bed, (which I now know for fact was very comfortable) and I sat beside him, hoping to start a conversation. I had to get to know him better.
"You can show me memories?"
I shouldn't mention my voice again, but it literally surprised me nearly every time I spoke at that point. It was drastically different from the one I was used to, and that really makes an impact, if it's the one coming out of your mouth.
"Oh, yeah! You don't have to, but if you wanted, to demonstrate, I could show you one of mine and you could show me one of yours?"
I nodded. I had no problem with that. Memory sharing sounded really cool, actually. Wait.
"Maybe you could show me something with him in it? To help me a little..."
Any information I could get about the character I was attempting to play, was better.
"Oh, good idea! Hmm... when's a good time...Got it!"
When I was watching his memory, I could see and hear and feel everything he could at the time. I could even hear what he was thinking at the time.
The one he decided on was a fairly short moment, in which Yugi was trying to better explain his situation to his friends.
I listened closely, wanting any information I could get about these people before I actually had to meet them.
"So, you're sayin' he can hear us right now?" That accent was unmistakeable. Joey.
"Mhm!" 'How many times do I have to explain it before people get it? Ah well... as long as they're friends with him, too!'
"Wait, so if I was to say, 'The Pharaoh is an idiot', he'd hear me?" Tristan said with a smirk on his lips.
"Guys! Yes, he heard you. Besides! You wouldn't want to end up in the Shadow Realm, would you?" Yugi joked. 'Course, we'd never do that.'
"No, no I was just kidding, I swear!"
They all laughed, and then Joey was the first to break the new silence.
"But really, how's it work? Kinda confusing, ain't it?"
Yugi sighed. 'I can't explain it right...'
/Need help?/
There it was. That was the same voice that came out of my mouth now, but that was the real deal. That was the character I was playing. This would be helpful.
-Yes please! I can never explain it right. Maybe they'll get it if you explain it.-
Yugi shifted to stand beside 'himself', so he could watch. He was alright with standing, invisible, beside himself? His friends couldn't hear him this way. They would never know he was there.
They didn't even notice the change, until he spoke.
"It's sort of the same way Yugi can still hear everything you're saying now. It doesn't exactly matter which one of us you can see."
They all looked surprised. He kept explaining, and just as they seemed to be getting it, the memory faded.
If everyone could do this, the world would be a different place. I was sort of in stunned awe still, just at the idea of getting to actually experience someone else's memories.
"How do I show you one of mine?"
I was starting to see the upside of this whole situation. The cool side. The side that didn't scare me half to death.
"Well, fist you've gotta think of one. The stronger the better."
"It can be anything?"
He nodded. This would be interesting. I needed something he'd understand... something that would make sense, even though I'm from a completely different dimension.
This one might work... See, I didn't just role play as this character... I cosplayed as well... so I used to go to conventions dressed as him. Not that I pulled it off. My voice wasn't anything like his, and I looked basically nothing like him, but it was all in good fun. But the kids. The little kids, didn't know that. Maybe that's what I'd show him.
"I've got one..."
"Good. Now focus on it."
Alright, I could do that... I could still see this one pretty vividly in my head... it was simple, but it should be enough...
Suddenly, it was like I got tapped on the shoulder. Only, that couldn't be, because I currently had very little ability to feel. It was like a mental tap on the shoulder... someone was trying to get my attention? I looked back at Yugi.
"Feel that?"
I nodded. How did he do that?
"Concentrate on that, ok? It's hard to explain but not hard to do. All you really gotta do is send it to me. It's pretty simple!"
He was smiling. I had only known the kid for a little while. Not really long enough for any two normal people to judge each other. But this wasn't normal. I was literally tied to his soul...
I closed my eyes and thought about this. So, all I had to do was send it to him... I watched it play in my mind's eye, and I wondered if he was seeing it too. Would he be able to hear what I was thinking at the time, too, like I did when I watched his memory?
I was at a convention, dressed as Yami Yugi. The teenagers who watched the show as kids got a kick out of it, and lots of people asked for hugs and pictures.
And they were a big part of the reason why I did it. But they weren't the whole reason.
A little boy came up to me. His eyes were lit up as if he was witnessing someone famous, or a superhero.
"C-Can I get a picture with you?" He glanced back at his mom, who had the camera. He was maybe 6 years old. Really cute little thing. I smiled, and tried to make it look in-character.
"Of course."
When I activated my toy duel disk, his jaw dropped and he looked even more excited. I pulled the Celtic Guardian from the top of the deck, and posed with it, on one knee, so he could get in the picture too.
He was just a kid. He didn't know that I wasn't really my character. It was like working at Disney World for a day. I lived for the moments when kids recognized me.
His mom got a couple of pictures, and I stood up, back to my full 5'5 with those boots on. He grinned at me, and then a good Thor cosplayer caught his eye. He raced to get a picture, and his mother followed, but not without first turning to me and saying a sincere, "Thank you!"
That was it. Did it work?
"So that's why you chose him to role-play as?"
It worked. I successfully shared a memory with someone. Cool! Beyond cool! Brilliant! Wait. Yugi asked a question, didn't he?
"That was a lot of the reason. In my dimension, this is all a TV show... and when I saw it, I really related to his character..."
That was true. I was a bit of an outcast. It wasn't his strength and confidence I related to... it was his lack of understanding sometimes. His being from another time, and not fitting in.
"You did?"
I nodded.
"Watching his confidence made me feel more confident. My friends say I act like him sometimes."
Seeing Yugi smiling was a lot more common than seeing him with any other expression, I came to realize. But it was always sincere, and always kind.
"Well, we'll get to see if they're right!"
Oh. Oh, right. I still had to RolePlay...
"You'll tell me if I'm doing a good job or not, right?"
"Mhm! See? I told you this would be fun!"
I thought for a minute. I was being selfish. This wasn't all about me, after all. If I felt odd, I'm sure Yugi felt it, too. Because even if I looked it, I wasn't the spirit he was used to.
"Yugi...? Did you have any say in this? This whole game?"
He looked a little surprised at the question.
"Well... to be honest, at first I was against it... You know, cause he'd be gone...But he talked me into it! Said it was just for fun, and that you were nice, and that he'd be back soon enough."
I was nice? He watched me enough to form an opinion? He might have known me a little better than I anticipated.
"But you know... the way it worked out... I know you're different. A lot different. But until you showed me that memory, I couldn't really feel the difference... I think it's 'cause of the way the magic worked. "
That was news to me.
"Oh! But that reminds me! You're probably ready..."
What? Ready for what? Was this going to be like "lesson one" where I was thrown completely off guard and had no idea what was about to happen and-Whoa.
Fog was lifted. A mental wall was broken. Something serious just happened. And I could tell you exactly how Yugi felt about it. Relieved a little. Generally happy. I could tell he was there so much better now. I could close my eyes and still know exactly where he was in the room.
To think, this entire time...
"Sorry...I didn't want to overwhelm you at first, so I mostly closed off my end."
The mind-link. Connection. It had several names and descriptions in the fanfictions... but this... This was something I never thought I'd be able to experience. I didn't think it was possible... or real.
"Y-Yugi..." I looked up at him in slight confusion and complete awe.
He sent me comfort and reassurance.
I felt his emotions before, but nothing like this. Before, it was like I had to really think about it to decide what it was. This was very real, and very there, and very strong. Not only could I feel all or at least most, of his emotions at that very moment, but he could send them to me. He could purposefully think them, and send them to me. Could I do the same? I probably didn't even have to 'send' them for him to feel mine right now. Because I was absolutely stunned. Amazed. A little confused.
Before, I could feel that he was there, and I could even feel emotion from him a little, but this was different.
He mentally poked me again, but this time it felt so much stronger.
-You ok?-
It was so much easier to communicate now... no wonder I had trouble at first...
I sent him confirmation without even having to use words. I could get the hang of this.
He yawned. I spun around to look at the digital clock. 9:55.
"Tired?"
The look of surprise only lasted about a second before he stretched and rubbed his eyes.
"No..."
Heh. This reminded me of a conversation I had a lot back at home.
I could feel how tired he was, but I could also feel that he was trying to hide it. We both knew he couldn't hide it from me.
"Yugi, you know better than that." I said, smiling. Or maybe it counted as a smirk at this point.
"Yeah, yeah you're right... Ok, so-" another yawn, " Maybe I am tired."
I had this conversation a thousand times. My protective side kicked in, I think. The side that made sure all of my younger friends and my little brother got sleep.
"You should get some rest."
His eyelids were falling already. He wasn't going to last long, I could tell. And if I actually put in the effort, and tried to get emotions from our mental connection, I knew he was very tired.
"Are you sure...? I didn't wanna leave you alone so soon..."
He yawned again. It had been a long day for the both of us. Particularly me, but I was sure it was long for him too.
"Yes. I'll be fine."
He sleepily crawled into bed.
"If you're sure..."
He slipped the chain holding the Puzzle from around his neck, and laid it carefully beside him. I felt our connection dull, but only slightly.
"Goodnight..."
I could actually feel it when he fell asleep. Thoughts that I could almost hear but not quite went silent. Emotions quieted down until all I could feel from his side was rest, and peace.
I was standing at the foot of his bed. I walked a couple of steps closer, mostly in pure curiosity. When I was close enough to him, with our mental link open as it was, I could even feel him breathing. Not the same as earlier, but I could still feel it. It was separate from myself, but it was there. It was comforting.
I stood there, beside his bed just watching him for a long time. It dawned on me after a couple of hours.
I wasn't getting tired. No, not a single yawn, or even longer blink than normal. Nothing. Of course...
It was then that I realized that this was going to be a long night.