AN: Happy New Year! I hope you all had a pleasant holiday, and here's to 2016 being awesome! Without further ado, here's chapter 8! I hope you guys like it!
Chapter 8: The Light Within The Darkness
His smile, his laughter, and all of his energy as he pulls the next card out and sets up a play that catches Ryuzaki off guard captivated Atem. He couldn't stop staring as Yugi continued to duel, Atem's face lit up from finally being able to stand on the sidelines and watch. Yugi was powerful, determined and a lot stronger than he remembered.
Fate had brought Yugi and Atem together through the Millennium puzzle and the more Atem recalls how it all started, the more distant that life became. As he tried to fit into current times and get used to life, the memories of how Yugi and Atem truly met faded away. After watching Yugi duel however, all those memories came back. The feeling of fear and rejection when Yugi first put the puzzle together, to the last few moments before Atem returned to the afterlife rushed through his head.
When Yugi side glanced at Atem and saw the confused expression on his face, concerned washed over his. He shouted his next attack almost too deliberately snap Atem out of his trance and when Atem looked up, Yugi smiled widely at him with closed eyes. Yugi turned back to his opponent and defeated him with a strategy Atem had never seen before. Every move he made, made Atem feel like the cards represented their progress together. From fear and darkness, to light and victory, the final play Yugi used against his opponent he swore was put together for him.
Atem tried to question him about it after the duel but Yugi kept changing the subject back onto him and the question died. Did Yugi really make a strategy up using cards that represented everything they had gone through or was Atem just reading far too much into things? Overthinking was always something he was guilty of doing but the more he saw of Yugi in the present day, the more he felt like he was being read. His every move, every feeling exposed without a single thought. Duelling Yugi in the upcoming tournament was going to be quite the challenge.
"Atem!" A loud voice came followed by the feeling of a hand against his shoulder, "Snap out of it, before we both get into trouble!"
Atem blinked and leaned off the counter to see his coworker concerned. He looked up at the time and couldn't believe he was zoned out for nearly an hour.
"I'm sorry…Just a headache," Atem lied as his coworker sighed in relief and continued cleaning.
"We have to get this place ready for tomorrow night…if Nosaka catches even a spec of dirt…" She mumbled as Atem nodded and began assisting his coworker, "Why is the museum being opened so late tomorrow anyway? I don't understand the connection…"
"Not a duel monsters fan?" Atem asked as she shook her head side to side, "Ah…that explains it. The creator of duel monsters based the card game off of ancient Egypt…so it's no surprise they are hosting a segment on it tomorrow before the tournament starts."
"I guess that's why Domino is so noisy lately…" She sighed, "Every time there's a new duel monsters thingy…the city just goes nuts. I don't know how that stuff interests you, it's not like it effects your real life…it's just a card game"
Atem looked over at his co-worker and bit his tongue, the urge to explain the true meaning of it wanting to escape his lips. He decided it'd be best if he continued to clean away from her for a while as he really didn't need yet another person at the museum who hated him.
Atem decided to grab sushi on his way home to surprise Yugi and Grandpa with his first ever paycheque. He smiled finally being able to do something for them since he got back. The words of his coworker echoed in his mind, however, and he couldn't help but feel frustrated.
As he approached the game shop he noticed the door was wide open despite the closed sign being hung. Grandpa had a meeting with old friends so it shouldn't have been opened anyway. Atem placed the takeout food on the counter at the entrance to the game shop before shutting and locking the door behind him silently. This wasn't the first time someone broke into the game shop and he wasn't about to let them go unpunished. He looked around the counters and saw papers and scattered items throughout but nothing damaged or looked to be stolen. He hesitated for a moment as he heard rustling coming from the house portion of the shop.
Without the millennium puzzle he no longer had any of his abilities, just himself. If he attacked the robber and lost, he'd be gone from this world again with no coming back this time.
For the first time since Yugi's soul was taken, he felt real fear. He couldn't even recall what individuals do in this scenario without any abilities and tried to think back to what Ishizu taught him.
It was muffled, but he could hear a yell coming from the living room. He'd recognize that voice even at its current pitch and ran into the next room, the fear leaving his body and fury replacing it.
"I'll ask you one more time…That damn Gold thing you used to carry…where is it?!" The man spat, clenching Yugi's throat tightly with his hand. Yugi was about a foot off the ground, slammed up against the wall with full force. Atem trembled in anger at the doorway. He had thought banishing the millennium items would mean people would stop hunting them for it. He was foolish to think coming back wouldn't have a price to pay.
Yugi however, continued to plead, "It's gone…I don't have it…"
The man was dressed all in black, conveniently wearing a ski mask to prevent them from recognizing him. His arms were massive, almost ripping through the tight black clothing he had on. Atem looked around the room but his eyes narrowed in on the gun the robber began to pull out. Atem saw the look in his eyes, gripped his fists and rushed forward.
With all the force he could muster he grabbed the small table lamp and struck it against the robber's wrist holding the gun causing him to release it in pain.
"Why you-" But before the robber could object, Atem raised the lap again and struck him hard in the side of the head causing the robber to drop in turn, dropping Yugi.
When Atem was sure the robber was out cold he dropped the lamp and knelt down beside Yugi.
"Are you alright?!" Atem asked placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Y-Yes…thank you…" Yugi coughed, "I just got home through the backdoor and he blindsided me…"
"I'm sorry Yugi…" Atem sighed looking down to the ground as Yugi shook his head.
"You saved me…why are you sorry?" Yugi said, "It's not your fault"
"He was after the millennium puzzle…" Atem slowly stood up and looked back at the unconscious robber, "Again…because of me you were targeted. I wonder what sinister organization he works for…probably a cult or another group brought in from the tournament hunting the god cards…Don't they understand they're gone from this Earth?!"
"A-Atem…s-stop…! It…has nothing to do with you!" Yugi pleaded as he slowly crept up the side of the wall to stand, "He's…just a robber…Atem…He was after the puzzle…because it was made out of solid gold"
Atem turned to look over at Yugi as he nodded, "…it's probably worth a million or more yen in gold alone…he was after it to sell it, not because of it's power…He probably would've attacked us to try and steal Grandpa's rare collection of artifacts if he'd known about it…Atem, it's not your fault"
Atem still had his fists clenched and sharply looked away, "who…do you call to remove this individual from our lives"
Yugi would've giggled if Atem wasn't looking so cross at the way he asked that, I'll handle it"
Atem leaned against Yugi's bedroom doorway as Yugi finally fell asleep. The police came quickly and after several questions, statements and assessing Yugi physically, they left with the robber. Yugi was physically okay but took hours to relax enough to sleep.
Despite Yugi reassuring him constantly that the incident wasn't his fault, he couldn't help but feel responsible. Maybe it wasn't quite like it was before where people were after the items to destroy the world but someone was still after it for a purpose and hurt Yugi in the process.
Atem couldn't help but carry his thoughts down a negative path. It seemed like since the beginning he was putting Yugi in danger just for knowing him, and felt powerless this time to fully protect him. He luckily caught the man off guard this time, but what about next time?
"Good to see he's asleep…" Sugoroku whispered from behind Atem, "…Can I talk with you downstairs?"
Atem followed Sugoroku into the kitchen where he poured both of them a hot cup of tea and gestured for Atem to sit.
"I wanted to tell you how much I'm thankful to you for rescuing Yugi…" Sugoroku began, "I can't bare to think what would've happened if you weren't here."
"That maybe it wouldn't have happened at all…" Atem sighed crossing his arms. Sugoroku looked up from his tea with a confused expression.
"The robber wasn't here because of you…" Sugoroku mentioned but Atem shook his head.
"Ever since I entered your grandson's life, his life has always been at risk…He and all of you have nearly died many times due to my legacy, my mistakes…" Atem sighed deeply rubbing his eyes with his left hand.
"Atem…Listen, I can't begin to imagine what your life has been like…but don't you think you're blaming yourself a little too much?" Sugoroku questioned as Atem looked over at him, "I see the looks you give us…and I've heard enough of what happened over the past few years to know you've been shouldering a lot of this…but why?"
"What do you mean by why?" Atem asked, "It's the millennium items, the god cards and my power that started a lot of this…"
"The millennium items and duel monsters sure…but you? That's not necessarily true Atem," Sugoroku advised, "Aren't you a victim of circumstance just as much as us? You were shouldered with a burden you did not create…it was created by others before you, and yet you were tasked to fix it. Three thousand years later…Fate brings you and us together to help finish what you started to fix so wouldn't that make us the same?"
Atem looked down as Sugoroku continued, "Rather than punishing yourself repeatedly for circumstances outside your control…why not focus on the positives that are in front of you."
"Such as?" Atem asked, "I get yelled at my job daily and do meaningless tasks for little pay…I a more educated on most of the historical cultures yet am constantly told I'm wrong…to the point where your grandson helps me vanadlize my own place of work just to set the historical records straight. I can't seem to find the positive yet…"
Sugoroku chuckled loudly, "Welcome to the 21st century Atem. You are going through what any young person your age would be…you're more normal than you think,"
"21st century eighteen year olds hate their jobs and can't find meaning in their existence?" Atem questioned as Sugoroku laughed.
"Yes, Atem. It's a common issue that I'm sure if you ask more people your age…they would say similar," Sugoroku nodded, "But one big positive has been sitting in front of you…Yugi."
Sugoroku cleared his throat and lowered his voice before continuing, "…Yugi took your death hard. It was like he lost a piece of himself. His marks slipped and he questioned his own future much like you're doing… When you were around Yugi seemed to focus more, and pushed to accomplish more. He became the world's top duelist, and even had goals for graduating high school….after you were gone, he was down and questioned a lot about himself, much like you are…"
Sugoroku put his tea glass in the sink and placed a hand on Atem's shoulder, "You are going through what he was…when you returned, that spark came back…maybe you should talk to him about why that is?"
Sugoroku gave a few comforting pats of the shoulder before heading upstairs leaving Atem sitting in the kitchen alone.
He stared at his cup of tea as he thought about what Sugoroku said. He finished it quickly and proceeded up the stairs deep in thought. Since he came back his thoughts seemed to circle around the same topic and in a matter of moments, Sugoroku made him re-think what he had been feeling this whole time.
As he walked past Yugi's room, he peaked in to see him still sound asleep. Sugoroku asked him to think of the positives and he was so focused in how much he hated his job and progress to immediately think about the one person he struggled to be without.
"Despite everything…Yugi," Atem whispered knowing Yugi couldn't hear him but continued anyway, "…I'm so happy we met. I'll never regret that"
As Atem whispered those words out loud he felt incredibly happy. Going over what Sugoroku said to him and everything, Yugi was always there. Atem reflected on the times they laughed, the conversations they had together and everything they did together.
It was there, staring him in the face the entire time and he didn't know it. Whether it was because he never had felt feelings like that before, or other priorities got in the way he was shocked it took him this long.
He heard a tap like noise coming from his bedroom and quickly snapped out of his train of thought. He slowly emerged in his room and flicked on the light but nothing was there. He sighed, definitely feeling he was still edgy from earlier.
He sat on the bed when a louder tap was heard. He looked towards the window this time and cautiously looked outside.
"Anzu?!" Atem exclaimed before opening up the window. He paused for a moment, remembering what Yugi told him, "Uh…sorry, Yugi's room is on the other side"
"N-No…um…I meant to hit yours," Anzu blushed and fidgeted, "Could we talk?"
"I'll be down in a minute" Atem nodded feeling overjoyed that it was him Anzu wanted to talk to. He wondered what she wanted so late at night as he headed outside to meet her.
Chapter 8 end.
AN: a little bit more of back and forth than I normally do but there was a lot to get out this chapter! Sorry if it felt a little bit rushed and less reflective. We are officially one chapter away from the climax of the story, woo-hooooo!
