Chapter 2: Deep Connections
"Ahg!" he yelled as he fell down in shock at the site of Yugi, "NO! Yugi has been killed! He's a ghost!"
"Jounouchi, calm down," the spirit said, "I'm the other Yugi that lives within him and the puzzle. Remember?"
Jounouchi, bewildered and scared, tried to form words with his trembling lips. The spirit just stood there until his friend finally got a hold of himself.
"If that's true," Jounouchi said still in shock, "then how come I can see you? You only come out though Yugi."
"That's true, but you've heard me before. Remember when Yugi was trapped in the warehouse fire before battle city?"
Jounouchi closed his eyes and tried to remember.
Yugi was still holding of the Puzzle, and Honda and I couldn't get his off of it. A pin stuck to the dueling arena held it in place, and Yugi himself passed out from the smoke. We tried to use two pipes to break it but…
"Jounouch-kun," I heard, "Use the pipe to pull the pin out."
"Yeah," Jounouchi said getting up, "I heard you tell me to use the pole to pull out the pin that held the Millennium Puzzle."
"Yes."
"Hey! How come you didn't help Yugi today!?" he accused the spirit.
"He was knocked out, but his soul was not disturbed, so I could not take over his body then. Usually, I can still do so even if the puzzle is off, but only to a certain range. I hoped he would have gained consciousness by then, but it was too late. He was too far."
"Wait a second? How come I can see you? I thought Yugi could only see you."
"You have a deeper connection that you think."
"What do you mean?"
"I have experienced times when I can feel people close to Yugi. It's prominent in Anzu, Honda, and even Kaiba, but you, Jounouchi, seem to have the strongest connection to him."
"And that connection is allowing me to see you?"
"Even though I cannot inhabit your mind, you can see and hear me."
Jounouchi looked at the Puzzle he was holding then back at the spirit.
"So what now?" he asked him, "Yugi's gone…"
"But I know where he is."
"Really?! Where?!"
Jounouchi ran to the spirit and tried to grab his shoulders, but found that he was still just a spirit and probably looked crazy trying to grab something that others could not see.
"All I heard was some place called Seattle."
"Seattle?" he repeated, "Wonder where that is…? Anyway, we've got to tell Yugi's grandfather about this. But…"
"What Jounouchi?"
"The bastard who took him left a letter saying that if there is anything on the media about his disappearance, he will kill him for sure. Getting the authorities would only guarantee that."
"Yuuugiii… Yuuugiii…"
Much of the things going thoughts his mind were not really organized, but what he heard took precedence over all the rest. Yugi had awakened half an hour before he heard the voice, but was disoriented at the time. During that time, he tried to first gain composure before he realized that he was tied up with rope at his ankles and wrists, not to mention his mouth covered with duct tape, and then tried to determine where he was.
"Hm. Still a little groggy, are we?" the voice came again, "No problem. The nitrous oxide will wear off soon. Hee. As a matter of fact, I prefer you in this state of gas inducement."
As he squinted his eyes in the near pitch-black room, he suddenly saw a flash of light and heard what seemed to be small gears moving.
"There's one is for the scrap book," the voice said laughing, "But alas, I must use it to get you're one of your friends here. I would say two, but you and Mr. Kaiba aren't exactly in good standing. I certainly hope he will come too. What was his name again? Ah yes… Katsuya Jounouchi. You two seem to be best friends, and that would be just perfect for what I have planned."
He then heard a door squeaking open and saw a bright white light with a silhouette of a person at the edge of it.
"Sleep tight…"
After he heard the door closing, he tried to get up.
Grandpa Sugoroku was about to call the police when Jounouchi showed him the letter.
"My God," he gasped, "If he wanted the god cards, I would have given them to him without hesitation. Anything to prevent my grandson from this…"
Both of them had thoughts like these as Jounouchi and Grandpa tried to think of a solution to the problem. Calling the authorities would only attract media attention. After all, being the world champion of Duel Monsters in both Duelist Kingdom and Battle City would attract the media if an investigation into his disappearance were leaked out. The phone rang, and Grandpa picked it up.
"Moshi moshi," he greeted trying to hide his worry.
"Listen up," the person replied, "You hang up, Yugi dies."
"Nani?!"
"Listen! Just shut up. You want him back?"
"Yes!" he said, getting Jounouchi's attention.
"I said shut up. To get him back, just bring me his duel monster's deck. Ok? I don't care about those fake god cards I heard about, just his deck."
"But they're…"
"I said shut up! I don't care what Malik said…!"
A slight pause came, tensing Grandpa up inside. He then heard a short breath of relieve from the other side.
"Ok, look. I'm sending Seto Kaiba a picture of Yugi with a copy of the letter you found. How hard was that to find, however?"
"I didn't find it…"
"What?! Who did!? Some media guy?! Because, if this gets out…"
"No! One of his friends found it."
"Who!? Mazaki?
Honda?"
"Jounouchi."
Another pause came.
"Is he there?"
"Yes."
"Put him on!" he snapped.
Grandpa pulled the receiver away from his ear and looked over to Jounouchi.
"I think it's the kidnapper. He wants to talk to you."
"Huh?"
The man sat in his swivel chair as he waited for his demands to be met.
"Moshi moshi?" he heard from the receiver.
"Is this Jounouchi?"
"Yes, you son of a…"
"Shut up! And listen well," he snapped again, "I want you to go to Seto Kaiba and personally deliver the deck to me…both of you! He'll know where."
He slammed the phone down hard.