Echoes of memories

Yugi was getting worried. His mind was having blanks, moments during the day where he lost consciousness and came back sometime after. The problem was that, in between these times, people lost their minds. More worryingly, those people had usually tried to hurt him or his friends, like Sozoji the karaoke player or Inogashira from Class D, or even the ZTV Director. It made him shudder. Why did it happen? He didn't know, but he was getting scared.

At the same time, he was having strange dreams at night. Sometimes, he was a mage at the court of an English king. Sometimes, he was a scholar in Ancient China. Sometimes, he lived in a frozen land of everlasting night, and he and the ruler of the country wrote books after books on magic. He was a boy or a girl, but he always had a specific item with him: a wooden scepter, topped with ivory with gold at the end, four rings in emerald, ruby, diamond and sapphire decorating it. Very often, he had a dragon at his side, white with a fake arm.

Sometimes, he was an Egyptian boy, learning magic along others. Magic was a recurring theme in his dreams. Yugi had once tried to practice what he had learned from them. To his surprise, the ritual had worked.

"I can do magic!"

Magic was known across Earth. Its practitioners were rare, especially with the massive progresses of science, but there were still men and women who openly performed magic. People didn't mind them. A detective used Inquisition magic to find clues others had missed. A nurse used Restauration magic in the intensive care ward when it seemed a patient may not make it. An electrician used Lightning magic to protect himself during work.

Yugi could do magic, but he wasn't really in the mood to delve in the art. He had other problems.

Another dream was him finding himself in a maze-like place with many doors. Those dreams disturbed him more. In them, a presence came behind him and held him tight. The embrace was loving, and the presence had a deep and smooth voice which muttered words of love and care. Yugi always found himself relaxing in the embrace, safe in the knowledge that all was fine.

It disturbed him because, the more these dreams happened, the more the presence's hands wandered down. And the teen was very definitely certain he was straight. But he didn't have the strength to resist. One night, the presence kissed his head and he felt the urge to return it. He woke up with a bundle in his throat and a feeling of sickness in his stomach.

"I. Am. Not. Gay. I am straight, dammit!"

But the presence was so loving, so tender… and he couldn't deny he liked it. He decided to spend time with Tea, Joey and Tristan. There was a new Burger World which had opened nearby. All three boys agreed it would be a good idea to visit. Tea shot the idea down quickly.

"Trust me, the place isn't worth it."

"How do you know? You've been there?"

Tea didn't answer and turned away, blushing furiously. Tristan gave her a look.

"I'm not an expert in girls, but I can tell something is wrong with her."

"Yeah, this isn't like her." Yugi frowned. "Tea, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just – Just don't go to this place."

Alright, something was off. As soon as she was out of earshot, the three boys turned to each other.

"We're totally checking this place, right?"

"Yes. And, if we can find what's upsetting Tea while we're at it, all the better."

So, there they went. Best case scenario, they got a good burger and found what was bothering their friend. Worst case scenario, they got a burger. So, as soon as school was over, they headed there… and found Tea in a server's outfit. Joey crossed his arms.

"What, that's it? You simply work there after school? How is that even a problem? You think you're the only one?"

The words surprised the girl.

"Well… It is a problem. My parents want me to focus on my studies. If they hear I got a part-time job, they'll ground me until the end of school year!"

"Why are you working there?" Yugi asked. "You do it for fun or do you need money?"

"I need money." Tea explained. "You know my dream is to become a ballerina. The problem is that the lessons aren't for free and my parents are against it. So, I joined a club behind their back and I need the money to keep attending."

"Ah. Alright then." The teen grinned. "Our lips are sealed. What's on the menu?"

"Thanks." Tea breathed. "So, we have…"

They had a great time. Right until a policeman entered the shop looking for a thief. The four teens wisely decided to stay out of it. However, Yugi couldn't help but shudder. There was something inside him, a strange mix of his body wanting to move and a presence inside his head that was waking up. He did his best to shut both feelings. At the same time, his mark was faintly throbbing, as if sensing trouble was close.

The policeman first asked everyone to show their ankle since the thief had a bruise there. No one had the injury. Then, on his behalf, Tea's coworker faked having put eggs in a burger. The placebo effect did the rest. One of the patrons started shuddering and tried to leave, only to be caught. He fought back.

In the ensuring scuffle, he tumbled against the server and revealed both an ankle bruise and a spider tattoo. The server retaliated by grabbing the policeman's gun.

"Nice try, but Jiro the Spider isn't caught that easily!"

Then he took Tea's hostage. Yugi flinched as his head brutally ached. He could sense it clearly, now. There was someone else in there, and they wanted control. The teen hesitated. At the same time, his vision blurred, so much that he missed what the criminal was saying. He noticed Tea's eyes were bandaged, though.

"You, the half-pint, get me vodka! And cigarettes while you're at it!"

A vision flashed, that of a different him slamming the ground to cause a localized earthquake. Yugi whined.

"Hey, I asked you something! Hurry or she bites it!"

"You b…"

The presence in his head was overwhelming.

Leave me in command. Don't worry, just let me take control. I will save her and keep her safe. I promise. I will keep both of you safe. Just let me take control.

The presence was loving and caring, just like in his dreams. He couldn't fight it. Between the pain and the flashes of visions, it felt like his head was going to explode.

Fine. Go for it. Just save Tea.

I promise.

I also made a promise… Yugi belatedly remembered as he blacked out. But what did he promise, exactly? He couldn't remember.

He couldn't remember what happened after he passed out either. One moment, he was falling in a tender and loving embrace and, the next, he was outside the shop and the detective was holding both the thief and Jiro, who was deliriously rambling about flames. The teen blinked.

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Joey asked. "You saved our lives. You tricked that guy into playing a Nine-Fingers-Still game, then used some rather impressive illusion magic to make him believe he was burning from his cigarette igniting the vodka. I didn't know you could use magic that potent, or even that you could use magic at all."

"I… I can use magic a little, but I'm not interested in going further than that. I prefer learning about new games. You know that."

"Uh? But I saw it. It was you, Yugi. It was totally you."

'It was the person inside my head.' Yugi bitterly thought. 'But I cannot tell them. I cannot tell them I have someone living in my head, and I can't tell them I may not be straight either.'

Even though he was surrounded with people, he felt desperately alone.

"Let's go home. I don't know about you but I had enough adventure for the day."

"Yeah."

They each went their separate way. As he walked home, a sound drew him to an alleyway. It was empty except for one thing: a scepter.

A scepter he knew all-too-well. It was the weapon wielded by the men and women he saw in dream. As he held it, he could feel a strong familiarity, as if he had used the scepter before. Also, looking back at it, the men and women he dreamed about had the same viridian mark he spotted on his right arm. The teen shuddered as a name flashed in his head.

The Scepter of Silence.

It was the weapon's name. Yugi looked up.

"What is the meaning of this!? Explain me! Please, anyone! Tell me what's going on!"

Atop a building, Shada and Dragon of Silence watched.

"What are you waiting for?" The immortal asked.

"That he is able to block our Pharaoh from taking control. The Scepter should hopefully help him. This is his Signer Artifact, just like the Medallion of Oaths is yours. With the Scepter in his hands, Sinuhe should remember more quickly while massively increasing his magic. But I'm not pointing my nose until he can block our Pharaoh."

Yugi went to bed deeply troubled. His dreams were restless, the men and women appearing to him as clearly as if he had been them. That he couldn't understand their meaning disturbed him. Then he found himself in the giant maze and the presence embraced him.

"Told you I'd keep you safe."

"Thank you. Who are you?"

"I don't know. I cannot remember. Do you?"

"No. You must be the Puzzle's spirit."

The spirit turned him and kissed him deeply. Yugi looked up, but his face was obscured. His hands wandered down. Yugi tried to stop him.

"Don't. It is wrong."

"How do you know?"

"Boys loving each other is wrong."

"It doesn't feel wrong to me. You can feel it as well, don't you? It feels right."

The worst part was that he was right. The two cuddling and kissing didn't feel wrong at all. Yugi shuddered.

"I – I don't know. I never… Not even with a girl. And besides, why?"

"I love you. I watch you from the Puzzle and feel love. I want to treasure you and keep you safe. I don't know why. I just know it feels right."

Yugi looked down, his mind torn. On one hand, society was clear on the matter: homosexuality was not right. On the other hand, everything inside him told him it was fine to give himself to the man before him.

"We are in my head, anyway. It's not like any of this is real."

The spirit chuckled.

"We are in the Puzzle and it isn't physical. That's different. But I can promise you my love for you is real, as is what you feel in my arms."

Yugi closed his eyes. No turning back from this.

"Then take me."

The spirit did. Yugi offered himself to the entity without any remorse. Their lovemaking lasted the entire night.

We are in 1998. Homosexuality wasn't nearly as tolerated as it is today. Just a small reminder.