A past remembered

That night was merely the first. Now, every time Yugi slipped under the blankets, the Puzzle spirit welcomed him and the pair indulged in deep and tender lovemaking.

"Since you don't have a name, I will call you Yami. It's the Japanese for Darkness."

"Fitting. I like it."

He could tell clearly when Yami wanted control, now. He usually let him, especially when he was in trouble. Yami's magic was formidable, and they both shared a fondness for games. Yugi's only grief toward his partner was that he tended to be a bit brutal with his punishments.

"It's only an illusion." Yami retorted. "They will be fine."

"Physically. Mentally, that's a different story. Try to be a little gentler next time. Please."

"Pfft, alright. As you wish, partner."

Against the owner of the junky watch shop, though, Yugi had to agree. That stunt deserved retribution.

"We both want to protect those we hold dear. I can tell. When it comes to our loved ones, we are extremely protective. This is one of the many things we have in common."

"We are a lot alike, you and I." Yugi caressed Yami's face. "I still wonder what you are."

"Tell me when you find out. I want to know too."

They shared a kiss and went back to intimately cuddling. Naturally, Yugi never said a word to anyone. Even though Joey, Tristan and Tea were his friends, there were limits. He didn't tell his grandfather either. If his friends' reaction was going to be poor, his grandfather's would be even worse.

"Something's troubling you, partner."

"I have dreams." Yugi sighed as they laid in a bed. "There are people, men and women who bear a mark like mine and wield the scepter I found. It is always a different age, and all of them are powerful mages and I feel a kinship to them, as if I know them. I don't know what to make of it."

Yami caressed his body.

"Do you believe in reincarnation?"

Yugi had never thought of it before. He knew what it was, of course. But… did it apply to him? Were the people of his dreams his past selves?

"I am a very old soul, then. The oldest person I dream of is a young mage in Ancient Egypt."

"Tell me more about these people."

"Well, there was this court mage in a land of everlasting night. He and the king worked together to codify Elemental Magic…"

The next day, Yugi took the Scepter of Silence, went to a quiet beach he knew and started using the spells his dreams had shown him. To his surprise, it felt less like putting theory into practice and more like remembering a skill he had forgotten. Muscle memory, only applied to magic. It bothered him. Not only that, it was a known fact that there were only four Spheres of Magic and people had an affinity for two at most. Yugi, on the other hand, could use spells from all four: Celestial, Nethereal, Elemental and Natural in equal measure. This raised many questions, and the dreams didn't help.

Tristan came to find him after school.

"Yugi, my friend, I need your help."

"Of course. What can I do?"

"Well… You know Miho Nosaka from our class?"

Yugi did. She was a bookish girl of Japanese descent, just like him – Domino City had a fairly important Japanese population since World War Two – who sometimes talked in third-person and wore a yellow ribbon in her hair. Tristan leaned to whisper.

"I have a crush and I need your help to confess. Any idea?"

Yugi barely managed to hide his blush as his nights with Yami came to mind.

"Tristan, do I look like a lady killer? You'll need Grandpa for this."

So, after school, they bade Joey and Tea goodbye and went to the game shop. Grandpa Muto was more than happy to help.

"I have exactly what you need. Here." He handed them a blank puzzle. "Write what you feel on it, then let the subject of your affection piece it together. This is a family classic."

Tristan's eyes shone.

"Perfect. Now… Gah! No, I can't do it. I want to tell her how I feel, but I have no idea to make it romantic. If I just write what's on my heart, she'll never accept my feelings. What could I do?"

"Poems are always a good start, my boy."

"Oh, right. Miho is always interested in Japanese culture. We may be in the States, but a lot of Japanese people live in Domino City. And you're Japanese too. What kind of poetry is common in your culture?"

Yugi was silently happy that his friend asked. Given how the War had ended for the Japanese Empire, the people of Nippon had lost a lot of their culture. Their descendants did their best to preserve what they could, helped in that by various countries and organizations.

"Haikus are traditional Japanese poems that go 5-7-5. Brevity is the soul of wit, as they say." Sugoroku smiled. "This is an excellent idea. Using a poetic style from her culture, especially since she has an interest in it, not only shows you love her but also that you want to know her as a person, instead of just a pretty face."

"Then we'll do that."

In the end, Yugi invited Tristan to his room so they could work on the poem. It took them a while to find the proper words, but both teens were proud of their work.

A yellow ribbon
Catches dreams of courtly love
Shy hearts beat as one
T. T.

To make it even better, they had written each verse in a different color: yellow for the first, blue for the second and red for the last. Yugi focused as he took the pens. For some reason, the memories of his dreams were close to his mind. As with magic, he was able to draw knowledge from them. The result was a penmanship that was much more artistic than his usual scribble. Tristan beamed.

"Absolutely perfect. Now, I just have to gift-wrap it and leave it on her desk. Thanks, Yugi. You're a bro."

"Good luck, Tristan. I hope she says yes."

"Me too."

Unfortunately, next day started with English, whose teacher was Ms. Chouno. The woman was known across the school as the Expelling Witch, and rumor had it the only reason she was still among the staff was because she was sleeping with the vice-principal. It was a lie, of course, the woman never let men touch her. But seducing them was one thing she had down to an art. It helped that she was exceptionally beautiful.

If anyone asked Tea, it was because she put on so much makeup. She and a few others agreed that, for all her beauty, her face could sometimes delve in the uncanny. This was why neither Yugi nor Joey or Tristan had felt even a smidgen of attraction toward their teacher: her beauty was too unnatural.

That morning, after the vice-principal made a remark about one of her failed dates, Ms. Chouno was in a foul mood. She decided to torment some of her students to relieve stress. At the same time, Tristan had let the wrapped puzzle on Miho's desk and was waiting for her reaction. He wasn't the only one. Joey and a few others, who weren't blind and had figured what was going on, had started placing bet and Yugi, just for fun, had decided to play bookie.

"Three soda cans she shoots him down hard." Kujirada offered.

"One bag of Haribo bears she says yes." Tea muttered back.

"Three soda cans and two bags of those marshmallow-chocolate bears you love she says no, Tea." Joey retorted.

Yugi was scribbling on a paper piece, eyes set on the pair. He could feel Yami in his head, looking at the scene with amusement. He felt silently happy that his partner also found it fun. Miho took the package, surprised.

"Uh, a present? Who may have sent it?"

Everyone did their best to avoid looking at Tristan. Then Ms. Chouno entered and the class focused on her. The woman narrowed on the gift.

"My what do we got here? Bringing presents to class? How scandalous!"

She snatched it before anyone could react. The class collectively glared at her as she tore the package and opened the box.

"A puzzle? Entertaining. Is it yours, Ms. Nosaki?"

"No." Miho looked down. "I found it on my desk."

"Very well, then. Who sent it? Report yourself at once."

'You wish, Witch.' More than a few people thought.

"No one? Alright. I will just complete the puzzle and see if I get a name. It seems there is a love confession written."

Yugi shuddered. He could feel Yami's rage in his head, an echo of his own.

"Let me take care of her, partner."

"No. I got this. There's a spell I want to try."

Focusing his magic, he started muttering under his breath. It wasn't easy. The Scepter of Silence was amazing at channeling the mystical energy and he didn't have it on him. He still did, forcing the faint red energy on his teacher through sheer force of will.

noaln zondu adiom mators zondu monons - noaln zondu adiom mators zondu monons

A curse. Ms. Chouno noticed him muttering as he stared. She walked to him.

"Do you have something to say, Mr. Muto?"

Yugi looked her dead in the eyes.

"May your face echo your heart."

And, just like that, her makeup peeled. It fell apart like puzzle pieces, revealing the cruel, ugly face beneath. Mr. Chouno gasped, as did everyone in the classroom. The teacher lost no time leaving. Yugi tried to hide his smile. He could feel Yami's elation in his head.

"That was beautiful!"

There was a beat, then the classroom cheered. Ms. Chouno didn't teach, that day. Tea heard from another girl that she had tried to apply makeup to hide her ugliness but the cosmetics simply refused to stay, either running as soon as they were applied or falling apart like puzzle pieces as soon as she was done. It was equally karmic and awesome and the whole school celebrated – even, if the rumors were to be trusted, some of the teachers. Yugi got a bit of cred from the stunt.

"Don't mess with the short Japanese kid. He's a mage in training and will kick your ass just by looking at you."

Yami laughed at that. As they left class, they saw Miho piece the puzzle together and squeal. Then she looked around and saw Tristan, who was shyly waving at her. They took their distances to give the pair some intimacy, and thus missed the ensuring conversation. It didn't matter because, in the end, Miho took Tristan's arm with a bright smile and Tristan cheered. Tea smiled smugly.

"Pay up, boys."

Joey groaned and left to retrieve money, having neither the candies nor enough to buy them on his person. Yugi went home. That night, as soon as he was asleep, Yami pinned him to a wall and kissed him deeply.

"That was beautiful, partner. I wouldn't have done it another way."

"Glad I got your approval, for once."

Yami nuzzled his neck. Yugi moaned. Soon, they were undressed and lustfully undulating on the bed. Their lovemaking was thorough. They fell asleep in each other's arms and, once again, Yugi dreamed of the men and women with the green mark.

Except, this time, it clicked. The teen woke up with a start, startling Yami.

"Partner?"

Yugi looked at him with horror.

"That… I was right. It was wrong. I shouldn't have done that."

"Why? It felt good, right?"

"Good or not, it was still incest, and with my own twin brother, at that!"

Oh. Wait…

"You know who I am?"

"Yes. I remember, now. You were right, Brother. Those dreams were about my past lives."

Yugi's looks changed. It happened as he talked. First, his skin gained a faint bronze tan. Then his size grew to almost match his. His muscles became more defined, and two long blonde strands framed his face to reach his chest. The most striking change, however, was on his left arm: the forearm and the hand were a prosthesis made of wood, bronze and gold with a honey-colored amber drop atop the hand. Clothes appeared as well, their design clearly Egyptian.

Yami looked appreciatively. On the other hand, he had apparently slept with his twin brother. Yugi was right: it was wrong.

"Can you tell me who I am?"

"Yes, as soon as I'm done coping with what I did. I'm sorry, Brother. Neither of us remembered, so we didn't realize in time. But… I don't love you like this. I care for you. More than anything in the world. But I'm not in love with you."

"I understand." Yami looked down. "There isn't much I can do without my memories, but I know enough of societal norms to understand your distress. Go. I'll wait for you here."

"Thanks."

Yugi woke up in his bed. On the other side of town, Dragon of Silence reared his head.

"He remembered."

"Really?" Shadi asked. "Then it's about time we reunited." A smile crossed his face. "I am glad for your presence. The time between our friends' deaths and the return of their memories is always lonely. It isn't so bad with you around."

"We know."

In his home, Yugi jumped from his bed and hurried in the shower. It was long and warm, the water soothing his muscles while drowning his tears. He remembered, now. He remembered everything. And it hurt. Not just that he had slept with his twin brother's imprisoned soul, but all that had come before and after his imprisonment. Sugoroku knocked the door.

"Yugi? Are you alright?"

"N-Not really, Grandpa."

He left the shower, dried himself and opened the door. Sugoroku instantly understood something was wrong.

"What happened?"

Yugi looked down. His grandfather guided him to the sofa and brewed some sweet tea. The teen sipped it, grateful.

"So, what is going on, boy? How can I help you?"

Yugi hesitated.

"Grandpa... Can I tell you a story?"

"You can tell me anything, Yugi."

The teen nodded, smiling for the first time.

"It is an old story. A very old story, about 3000-year-old. It starts in Egypt, in the court of Pharaoh Akhnamkhanen…"

The Big "Oof". Yeah, sure, both had the excuse of being amnesiac. Still, oops. Next chapter: the origins of the Archmage of Silence.