"Thanks again for doing this, Joey," Mai said as she dropped the blonde off at the game shop.
"No problem, Mai. I just hope it works," Joey said cheerfully as he got out of the car. As soon as the last word was out of his mouth, Mai's cell started to ring. She answered it, then put her hand over the microphone and winked at Joey.
"I think it did work. It's him," she told the blonde, then put the car in drive and blew a kiss to Joey and waved goodbye before she drove off. Joey smiled, glad he could help his friend out. Then, he entered the game shop, glad he could spend the night somewhere that wasn't his father's apartment.
"Hey. In here," he heard Yugi say from the couch. Joey went into the room to find his small friend just sitting there, glaring at the puzzle, attempting to look furious, but failing miserably and looking cute, instead, "Joey, would you please convince Yami that going into the city for a day wouldn't kill him?"
"Wherever you are, spirit dude, I'd listen to Yuge. He sure can whine a lot when he doesn't get what he wants,"
"Hey!" Yugi yelled at what seemed to be thin air. The blonde guessed that the spirit was floating there at the moment and laughing at Joey's comment.
The small teen huffed, nonetheless, thanked Joey for watching over the shop and left.
Where are we going, exactly?
"It's a surprise, spirit, but I know it'll make you happy," Yugi said cheerfully, oblivious to the fact that everyone around him was giving him odd looks for seemingly talking to himself.
Yami sighed and continued floating around Yugi, knowing that his young friend wouldn't bring him anywhere too unpleasant. The spirit was surprised when they arrived at a cafe and sat across from Yugi's grandpa.
"So, Yugi, why did you want to meet here and not back at the shop?" the old man asked, lifting a brow in confusion.
"No reason. I just thought getting out of the shop would do us both well. I also have some questions for you, gramps," the young one said cheerfully, cradling the millennium puzzle.
Switch with me.
He'll help you.
You can ask him anything.
He's the one who found you, afterall.
Yami's heart swelled as his Aibou sent these thoughts through their mind link. He couldn't believe how thoughtful Yugi was being. He was still hesitant, though. He didn't want to accidentally do the wrong thing and cause Yugi to be mad at him again.
Are you sure you want me to take over?
Yami felt Yugi's remorse through their link before he looked up and saw Solomon Mutou. The spirit blinked. He didn't know Yugi could force him to take control like this. He didn't mind, though. His Aibou had given him the greatest gift he could've ever asked for. Though, after what Shadi said, Yami wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the old man's answers. He knew that he needed to, even if he might not necessarily like them.
"It's about the puzzle," Yami said when he saw that Yugi's grandpa was waiting for the questions, "Where did you find it exactly? Was it near here?"
The old man chuckled loudly, shaking his head. Yami's heart sank. How far away was his home? It seemed like he waited a lifetime for the old man to start explaining himself.
"I found it in a pharaoh's tomb in Egypt. I believe it belonged to that nameless pharaoh, who died one year after his rule, though he was said to be the kindest, most loved king ever to rule over Egypt."
Yami's eyes widened as he suddenly felt something flash before his eyes. He had been sitting on a very uncomfortable seat, one made of rock, listening to a guard who was telling him something terrible, something important, something that caused his heart to beat rapidly in apprehension. Then...he was back in his comfortable seat in front of Solomon Mutou, who was looking at him with an odd expression.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," he said, trying to regain his composure.
What was that?
What was what?
Didn't you see that?
See what?
Nothing. It must have just been my imagination.
But, deep down, Yami knew it wasn't nothing, that it was real. That event had happened. He was sure of it. But that couldn't mean...
"Did anyone access it before you?" he pressed on, trying to find any bit of hope that what he just saw wasn't his reality. The old man shook his head once more.
"The tomb was sealed perfectly well. It would be almost impossible to have knocked down the wall and built it back up again with the same eroding rock material, Yugi. No one has seen or touched that puzzle in 5,000 years."
No.
Please...this couldn't have been what Shadi meant.
Yami shook his head. There had to be another explanation.
"If something additional was in the box with the puzzle pieces, who could have left it there?" the spirit tried one last time, then lost all hope as Solomon gave him a final, firm answer.
"It couldn't have been left by anyone other than the ancient Egyptians who sealed the puzzle away," the old man said slowly. Frowning at the devastated look on his grandson's face, he continued, "Are you alright, Yugi?"
Yami tried to force a smile as he nodded. How was he supposed to answer that when Yugi's grandfather didn't even know of his existence? He didn't feel like talking to anyone right now, letting alone explain his presence. To his surprise, he felt Yugi relieve him of the burden as the smaller teen took back control over his body and continued chatting away with his grandfather.
Thank you, Aibou.
With that, the older one closed their mind link, wanting to be left alone for a while. He didn't want to think about the fact that he would be alone for the rest of his life. It is impossible to leave the puzzle when he had no physical body.
When the spirit manifested in his soulroom, he was surprised to find all sorts of weird...contraptions around the maze. Only when he saw that there were booster packs of dueling cards in the middle of the room did he realize what these items were: games. Yami's heart warmed. Yugi must have brought them in here from his own soul room with the hope of cheering the spirit up. His little aibou was so innocent and caring. He was perfect. Yami was so lucky to have wound up with him, especially since he'd apparently be spending the rest of his life with Yugi.
How long will it take for him to get bored of me?
The spirit shook his head, willing the thought to disappear, and started opening booster packs to get his mind off of everything. Miraculously, it worked. Every card, holding some picture of a monster or an event, was a mystery that the spirit couldn't wait to solve. The only problem was that he couldn't read the descriptions on the bottom of the cards, so he had no way of knowing what any of the cards did. He only knew whether or not certain cards were monsters because of the stars they had at the top. He was so engulfed in what he was doing that he didn't even notice Yugi appearing in his soulroom a few hours later.
A soft giggling noise interrupted his concentration. He looked up to find Yugi smiling at him.
"I am so happy that you like them. If you want, we can play a game. I won't be able to give you a real challenge, though. Sorry," his aibou said shyly, then sat down crossed-legged on the floor next to Yami. The spirit smiled widely, nodded, and gestured to the cards.
"Do you mind reading out what they do? We can play, then."
Yugi tilted his head in confusion, then blinked, looked down at the cards, and said "oh."
I can teach you to read if you want.
Yami was touched by Yugi's offer, but confused as to why his aibou didn't just say it out loud. He realized the reason when he was snapped out of his thoughts by Yugi's frantic voice.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you. Please, don't be mad at me," the little one hurriedly said. Yami realized he had been silent for a while, admiring his little Yugi.
"Don't apologize, aibou. I was just thinking about how sweet it was for you to offer. I'd like to take you up on it if you have the time."
Yugi beamed at the spirit and nodded enthusiastically, then started reading the descriptions of the cards as requested. Yami listened in for a bit, then his mind wandered, the intense emotions he felt for Yugi making him blush lightly as he continued to watch the younger one read off the booster packs he got for the spirit.