Summary:
To the valley door
Does he return?
The warbler
Found his roost among the blooms,
Now scattering and drifting…
- Fujiwara no Kiyosuke (1104-1177)
*I finally fixed the problems with the first 4 arcs of this story, and I'm getting started on my original novels... Now I just need time.
*I would really appreciate any reviews for this story... Please.
* DARK SIDE OF DIMENSIONS HAS RUINED MY LIFE AND I HAVE NO REGRETS (See my Prideshipping One-Shot "Ripples")
*I would like to inform the readers that a lot of research is going towards this story. I dislike anachronisms, so Kaiba Seto's tech is crazy to me. However, everything else is appropriate to the time period, which is currently September 2004. This makes more sense a bit later when we go back to more Gakuen-style chapters. This makes it hard to put out material quickly, but I think it works better for the story that I'm trying to tell, in which the characters do reflect the time and time reflects them.
Chapter 25: "This is the Book of Generations..."
The King stood in front of Mutou Yuugi, Mazaki Anzu, and Jonouchi Katsuya. Devigado stood behind him, her arms still outstretched and reaching towards Mutou Yuugi. He was dressed in a tunic, pants, and boots that seemed to blend into his pants. A wide belt held his tunic to his body. The King had rings on his fingers, two on his left hand and another on his right. His skin was dark, like the sun shone all the time from where he was.
Jonouchi was standing, having jumped as this young man appeared in front of him. He looked to Lady Devigado, who lowered her arms and whose forehead was beading with sweat from the exertion. Anzu stood up slowly, walking over to the woman to help her sit down.
Jonouchi looked to the King, who was looking at his hands, clenching and relaxing them. His eyes were red, though not quite the color of blood; they were more like the cherry candies that his mother used to buy for him when he was little. They held a sense of wonder in them. He wondered himself of this guy could be trusted - because he didn't trust the Other Yuugi as far as he could throw him - but there was a small voice in his heart that told him that this King could be trusted.
It was just the Other Yuugi that he needed to figure out.
"You're the King, then?"
The King looked up at him, smiling gently. "That is what Yuugi calls me."
"Huh..."
"It is good to meet you," the King greeted. He bowed deeply, deeper than Jonouchi had anticipated, and the young man found himself mirroring the same bow. This guy couldn't be the one that he had met when Imori had unsealed the Dragon Cards; his presence was completely welcoming.
"King..." Yuugi stood up and came forward. His eyes were bright and eager. Jonouchi moved a bit to the side, his mouth dropping open as Yuugi leaped forward to hug the King. The King returned the gesture, holding onto Yuugi as though he were afraid of Yuugi disappearing. Jonouchi could almost say that they looked like lovers with how tightly they were holding each other.
"I can finally see you, Yuugi..."
"King, I'm very happy to see you, too."
Their embrace, long-lasting, finally ended when Lady Devigado cleared her throat.
"Now then, young boy-King who ruled over the Nile," she began, shifting in her seat. "You have a body granted to you by another Adapa. It is yours to do with as you wish."
"I humbly thank you for this gift that you have granted upon me, Devigado-kyou." The King bowed and stood straight again. "You are Adapa as well?"
"I am, with my powers given to me by a powerful demon that, perhaps, I may tell you about another day, if you wish to know everything." Devigado smiled. "You might get a headache though; it's a long story that took me a decade to really understand."
"You mean you can't give us any answers?" Anzu's voice seemed lost, small, and terribly powerful as she asked the older woman for answers. "... We wanted to know even more about the Puzzle, the King, and..."
She looked to Yuugi for the name that they had been given. The boy struggled to remember the name.
"The Danava?" The King stepped forward, eyes stern. "Yes, if we can have answers on any of these things, even my own existence, we sincerely wish for them."
The King caught Lady Devigado's line of sight. "Please."
Lady Devigado stood up, her purple hair still in its hold, but her eyes looked frantic. Her mouth formed a small frown. She looked to Anzu and then back to the King. Her violet eyes swam with emotions that held years and years of bondage, tightly kept away so that no-one could see.
The King stepped forward again, beckoning "Adapa seem to hold together, and you are a kind goddess for granting me this gift. For whatever you ask, we wish to know just why I had no body to begin with, at the very least..."
"Hah... You don't know what you are asking," Devigado replied. "But you asked a good question..."
The King blinked, and he felt out of place in front of Yuugi now. "Thank... you?"
"I hate stupid questions, and you asked a good one," Devigado replied. "I can tell you a story that I heard before we moved to this country-"
She looked to Yuugi.
"Before we came to try and solve the Sennen Puzzle ourselves."
There was once a King, who swore fealty to his land, his people, and to the Goodness of the world. When a great Evil came, the King called upon his servants, demons, to aid him. They told him of a way to fight the Evil, and humans took it upon themselves to carry out the demons' will.
The Evil was defeated, and the land entered an era of peace. A young Prince was raised in this Peace, and he was happy, knowing that he'd preserve this Peace. He inherited his father's role, becoming King and knowing his duty.
However, one day an Evil came, greater than they had ever faced, and the young King sacrificed himself for the defeat of that Evil. He was placed in a little gold box, waiting to be found again.
All looked to the King, a boy-King, that stood in the middle of the room. To think that he had sacrificed himself for the salvation of something that they didn't know anything about, a long forgotten kingdom, it was terrible. He would have been young to be called a boy-King. The King sat down on the couch, Yuugi following him, rather closely to everyone else's surprise.
"That... explains some things, I guess." The King sighed, wishing to lean against Yuugi and Yuugi inviting him. They sat on the couch together, as though there was no one else in the room
"And the Danava?"
Lady Devigado nodded. "The Danava is one of the three demons that created the plan to save that Kingdom." She looked to Yuugi, to the Puzzle itself. "You're safe from the Danava's power, if that's what you're worried about; he wouldn't want to hurt you."
"You sure about that?" Jonouchi sighed. "I mean, I saw this demon talk with dragons and he set a man on fire. Is this... Yuugi's hands are connected to this."
Lady Devigado nodded. "And if he hadn't been there? If the Danava wasn't there to protect Yuugi and the rest of you? What would have happened?"
Ice filled Jonouchi's veins. If the Danava hadn't been there... The sound of that convict slapping Anzu, the sight of that dragon that Imori had summoned taking Yuugi's soul...
"I didn't think of that."
The woman smiled. "I know. You're young, and the Danava knows that; it's probably why he doesn't hold it against you."
Anzu nodded. Jonouchi found himself agreeing, though the thought of this demon in his friend still had him anxious.
"Is there anything else you need to know?"
Anzu shook her head, as did Jonouchi. The King looked to Yuugi, who bit his lower lip.
"The Faceless One... Are he and my Other Self the same person?"
Lady Devigado blinked. "The Faceless One and the Danava are the same aspects of the same creature. The Danava is an active demon, more like a human in appearance, and the Faceless One is a monster. In the Kojiki, Izanami supposedly transferred her soul into a human and an animal; the Danava and his siblings went through something similar. The Lord of the Unknown became the Behemoth that ravaged the Earth, the Danava became the Faceless One which is also a terrible sea monster, and the Garuda became the Phoenix."
'Earth, water, and fire...'
"And they won't harm us, right?"
Devigado shook her head. "They would not purposely do so unless they judge that you should die. You have seen what the Danava can do as a judge. Has he ever targeted children or innocent souls?"
There was no answer in affirmation or negation.
"Then you have no worries." Devigado stood. "I gave you all money for your stay here in Kokuro. I called you all early enough so that you may all converse at your leisure. You have money for your ride back."
The woman excused herself, citing a headache and fatigue from her work as reason for her own dismissal.
"Thank you, Devigado-kyou." The King bowed to her again.
Lady Devigado smiled at him.
"Child, you have a long way ahead of you, and you may just be SOL one day, so I'd rather you have a good time right now and to be kind to you. This is my gift to make your life a bit better."
"SOL?" Anzu thought to what that could mean. Lady Devigado said something that left the girl blushing.
"I can have Theodore spend some time with you all, to take you sight seeing." She looked to the King. "I might do you good to have some time in the Sun."
They wandered throughout Kokuro, walking and talking. Yuugi and the King walked close, occasionally bumping into each other. They were watched by Anzu and Jonouchi that decided not to mention anything that would be rude, but they found their friend intertwining his and the King's hands a few times for only seconds at a time.
They would see Yuugi's face, glowing in the sunlight, and the light in the King's eyes was innocent enough that Anzu could see the absolute amazement of the world about him but mature enough that she could see the stray glances to Yuugi's waist. Yuugi welcomed every touch and every glance, Jonouchi biting his lip when Anzu mentioned it.
"It wouldn't surprise me, Anzu, but I don't care if he is or not. I just want him to be happy." Jonouchi looked over to the other two boys.
The King was trying out the pinball machine in Kokuro's smallest arcade - according to the sign in the window - and Yuugi was cheering him on, the machine making wondrous chirps and whirs at the abuse it took on a daily basis. The King went from severely focused to delighted in a few minutes' time, the sound of scores being racked up in correlation to the smile blooming on the young face.
"Really?"
"Anzu, do you like Yuugi?"
Anzu blinked at that, and she never answered him.
The train ride was interesting, with the King asking various times how the transportation system worked, what "diesel" was, and why did people live so far apart from each other. Yuugi had some answers, not all, but he promised to find out for the King. The King only smiled and then quieted himself.
"Why are you here?"
The King turned to Jonouchi. "I don't know, but I do wish to stay with Yuugi, if you find it in your mercy to let me."
When they parted their ways at Domino Station, Yuugi and the King waved good-bye and did not look back.
When Yuugi led the King inside, he stopped his run of speech - "We can start helping you with Japanese and other things. We'll need clothes, because you're taller than me..." - when he saw a notebook on the kitchen table. The notebook that he had written to his other self earlier in the month was laying there.
"Yuugi?"
"It's the notebook where I was writing to the other me."
The King frowned and walked to grab the notebook. "He must have awoken during the night at one point to talk to you, but I don't know why it would be down here. I'd like to think that I'd have woken up if your body had moved."
Yuugi's face felt flushed at that, and the King's cheeks mirrored what his face must have looked like, though the blush was not as apparent on his darker skin. He walked close to the King, his body growing warmer as their bodies seemed to feed their heat into each other. He reached for the notebook, opening it to the page with the newest writing.
Danna-sama, you are truly kind and generous.
For the King to be given a body is truly wonderful, as he is much safer and will be happier outside of the connection of minds that were made between the Puzzle and your Soul's Room. I hope that you two may spend your time well together.
He stared at the paper. He looked then to the King and back again.
"He thanked me for you having a body, but how did he know? He said that you'd be safer here? Is it because of the Shadows?"
The King nodded. "Shadows eat whatever is around them. The Danava himself is made of Shadows, though, so you shouldn't worry."
Yuugi pondered the thought. If the Danava, his Other Self, was made of Shadows, what did he eat then?
"You can teach me what all of that says?"
Yuugi looked up to the King, who was gazing down at the paper. There were some complicated kanji here and there, some kana in places where he would've used kanji. He wondered how often his Other Self saw the symbols, enough that he could understand them and write them, more than what the King could do.
"Yeah... Let's start."
September 8, 2005
"Did you hear?"
"About Karita-sensei?"
"Yeah, he's been gone since yesterday afternoon, they said."
"I heard that he and Bakura-san got into a big fight."
"I heard that Bakura-kun..."
Yuugi hummed at the words, trying to forget them as the day went on. He remembered the cruel things that Karita-sensei had said to Bakura, how Bakura's friends had fallen into comas after paying with him. It was an awful thing for someone to think of and to keep someone afraid of losing friendships to the point of never wanting to make them.
'Are you okay, Yuugi?'
'I'm fine.'
The ways of communication were short, with sentences taking sometimes several tries before they went through. They'd have to become stronger, the King had said, but Yuugi wasn't always so patient.
He sent a flood of cautious anxiety and bravery through the Link of Souls between them.
The King responded kindly, sending reassurance and a thought of Bakura Ryou.
'Visit?'
'Good thought.'
The King wasn't going to be wondering about him coming home a bit later than expected. He sent him a thought of Bakura's address, a gentle affirmation of receiving the knowledge, and the Link faded into sleepiness.
"Oy, Yuugi!" A kind slap to his back was given, with Jonouchi's fingers leaving a small brand of forceful enthusiasm on his back. "What'cha thinking about?"
"Did you hear what everyone is saying about Bakura-kun?"
"It's cruel," Anzu said, "spreading all these rumors that Bakura-kun hurt Karita-sensei. He doesn't heed these, being so new."
"Hey, why don't we go visit? I'm sure that he's lonely, especially since he didn't come to school today." Honda's suggestion presented itself in place of Yuugi's words, but it didn't stop Yuugi from supporting the thought.
"Let's!"
"Is... is it okay if I invite the King?"
Yuugi's friends were silent. Honda, who had not yet met the King, had been told by Jonouchi about him, and he had shown no hostility towards this Spirit that he had not yet met. He nodded and turned to Anzu and Jonouchi, who agreed to it.
"Sure!"
"It might do Bakura-kun some good to meet him, especially since the King is so new to the world."
The King felt strange walking to Bakura Ryou's home. He'd been practicing his kana all day, and Yuugi had sent him small thoughts of the school's happenings and educational things all day. Though the Link of Souls was still weak, their Bond of Souls stronger through their... activities, the communication was still weak.
He listened to Yuugi and Jonouchi talk about the game that Bakura had, Monster World. Anzu talked with Honda about what else they could do for Bakura Ryou, bringing food or doing study groups.
"Study groups would be good." His own voice was strange to his ears. It was new, the sensation of the vibration of his vocal cords.
Anzu agreed with him, her voice high but not grating against his ears. Honda murmured about the days that they could all be available, such as the weekends or Sundays.
"Whatever we do," Jonouchi said, "we need to let him know that we don't care about those rumors at all!"
Yuugi nodded, looking to the King and smiling. There was a trusting sunrise there, and the King loved every minute of it, the light of Yuugi's soul warm against the darkness of his own. His fingers twitched, and Yuugi answered by grabbing his hand. There was so much kindness in those fingers, those smiles, and those eyes.
The King smiled.
The Danava waited, waited for the Baku to start the game.
Chapter End
Title: Genesis 5:1
Behemoth and sea monster from the Book of Job
Link of Souls: The Mind Link that all fics have; allows for the communication between the characters of verbal and visual information
Bond of Souls: The conscious knowledge that our characters will have of another's condition; allows for knowledge of location relative to space between the characters
Monster World: Very much like an RPG
- Roles: Dark Master - Game Master who is the enemy of the players
Players can be: Humans, Faeries, Hunters, Warriors, Nomads (Gypsies in the anime)
Ten-sided die are used to decide moves. 99 is a fumble, a complete miss and may even cause harm to the player. In the lower 10%, a move is considered CRITICAL. 00 is a SUPER CRITICAL HIT, the most powerful move that a player can perform
Comments are greatly appreciated.
NEXT AND FINAL CHAPTER: Bakura-centric