Hum dee dum. I lied.
Disclaimer: Yugioh and Harry Potter still don't belong to me. I'm working to correct that. Shh. Don't say anything. ^_- I also don't own the M&M trademark, though they're fun to eat. This story is purely for enjoyment and produces no revenues or money of any kind; therefore I have nothing to give you should I be sued.
My Notes: (I am the author after all)
Well, here we go again. I am determined to make this shorter than last one, simply because I wont go insane if I use smaller chapters. Damnit, shorter yes, but still longer than I had intended! Grrr. Those conniving Bakuras! This is all their fault, Yami Bakura wouldn't shut up!
Feel free to email me with hints or tips or suggestions. No flames please, my house is quite flammable.
I fixed the problem with anonymous reviewers. You shouldn't have to sign in or have an account to review my stories now. Rejoice all ye lazy and/or un-accounted peoples! I'll rejoice too cuz now I get more reviews. YAY! ^_^
Did anyone have trouble figuring out which Bakura was talking or acting? Do you think I need to be more specific? Do you think anyone was way too far out of character? I tried to keep them true to their characters, while taking into consideration that two years have passed since the AE Memory RPG story arc. Y. Bakura is probably going to be the most out of character character. This chapter is testimony to that.
I'm not sure when Harry and co. are going to show up, might take a couple of chapters depending on where I decide to stick the first Harry scene I have in my head. He might show up in this one, not sure yet cuz I haven't written it yet. We'll see by the time I post this.
Just so you all know, I have no idea how big this story is going to get. I know how it's going to end, and I have plenty of cool scenes and ideas in my head but I gotta figure out ways to string them together. Which, if last chapter is any indication, could cause massive chapter inflation.
If anyone wants to, feel free to create fanart for my story. Unfortunately, I have nowhere to post any such fanart. However, if you have a place to put it, let me know where it is and I'll direct readers to it. Unfortunately, I seem to have no discernable talent for drawing; therefore, I will not even try to subject you to my poor attempts should I ever make any.
I feel so loved! *sniffle sniff sob* So many wonderful reviews and it hasn't even been more than a few days yet!
Anyway, here's chapter two. Enjoy. ^_^
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Harry Potter and The Advent of Darkness
Ch. 2: Picking Up the Pieces
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Seto Kaiba had a plan. A great plan. In fact, his plan was perfect. All it required was the proper implementation. In fact, if he were to write his plan down, it would go something like this:
Step 1: Wake up diminutive duelist.
Step 2: Assist diminutive duelist in reassembling funky gold puzzle, if said duelist even gives him enough time to assist before said funky puzzle is repaired.
Step 3: Ascertain presence, or lack thereof, of pint-sized rival.
Step 4: Use global resources to track down perpetrator of pernicious act.
Step 5: Assuming aforementioned lack thereof, determine location of aforementioned perpetrator's possession of aforementioned pint-sized rival and proceed to liberate. Assuming continued presence of said rival, skip to step 6.
Step 6: Proceed to punish and painfully defeat aforementioned perpetrator.
Step 7: Hold aforementioned perpetrator down while aforementioned rival administers personal brand of justice to perpetrator until perpetrator is no longer able to pose a threat.
Step 8: Laugh at aforementioned perpetrator's plight and proceed to make a dramatic exit with aforementioned rival.
Suffice it to say, Seto Kaiba was furious. Without proper implementation he could not complete the plan. And unfortunately for Seto, for once, he had no idea how to proceed with implementation. In fact, currently he was unable to even fulfill step 1 of his plan, let alone step 4.
Domino Hospital, 4th Floor, July 10th, 10:05 am.
Seto Kaiba pushed open the door to Room 426 and walked in like he owned the place. Sometimes being a rich and influential CEO had drawbacks. Like this morning when his major shareholders had insisted on keeping the pre- arranged meeting at 7:00am to discuss the proceedings of the concurrent expansions into England and France of Kaiba Corporations. And sometimes, he added as he glanced around the room, being rich and influential had advantages.
The hospital room, originally designed for six patients, had been re- arranged and re-decorated upon Kaiba's explicit orders. The previous occupants had been moved into different rooms, and chairs and end tables from the closest waiting room had been moved into the room. The five extra beds had been pushed closer together and toward the back end of the long room to make room for the additional furniture. Only two of the beds were currently occupied.
Jounouchi Katsuya was sprawled on his back on one of the beds that had been moved, snoring almost soundlessly with his mouth wide open. His bed was the closest to the only bed that had not been moved. He was still wearing the dark blue jeans and light blue and white t-shirt from last night. His sneakers were on the floor beneath the bed. Strangely enough, the collar and shoulders of his blue jacket were visible beneath the light hospital blanket draped loosely over his body. The other four beds looked slept in, but not made.
The sixth bed was more or less centered in the room, up against the wall across from the door. Morning sunlight streamed in through the cracks between the blinds, illuminating the figure slumped over the end of the bed. The figure lying in the bed lay in alternating, distorted bands of pale gold light and soft shadows.
Anzu Mazaki sat in one of the waiting room chairs, leaning forward onto the foot of the bed, her arms folded beneath her head as she faced away from the door and towards the bed's occupant.
"Shh. Don't wake them Kaiba-san. Anzu-chan just fell asleep an hour ago." Shizuka spoke up softly from where she sat in another armchair beside the left-hand wall of the room.
Seto glanced over to her and nodded. "Aa." He walked over to the foot of the bed and frowned down at the figure under the sheets.
Yugi Mutou lay quietly in the bed. There was no movement of his eyes beneath their lids to indicate dreaming, nor was there any twitching or stirring to indicate the return of consciousness. His face was pale; lacking its own color, it took on the gray-blue of the shadows or the pale gold of the sunlight instead. Aside from the steady rise and fall of his chest beneath the sheet and the quiet steady beeping of the heart monitor beside the bed, he might as well have been a corpse.
Kaiba's eyes narrowed slightly. It did not fit him. He had never, in all the time he had known him, seen the shorter teen so...so...inanimate. Yugi had always read like a book. Whether it was happiness, sadness, fear, or confident determination, Yugi had always expressed his emotions to anyone and everyone. He had always been in motion of some kind, always moving forward in some way. Nothing had ever deterred that motion, until now. It did not fit him. Seto's fist clenched.
"She's been up all night. Even when the rest of us slept, she stayed by his side." Mai spoke up softly from Kaiba's right.
Seto glanced over to her and grunted softly. "Hnh." Then turned away from the bed, his sleeveless white trench coat flaring out slightly as he walked away from the bed and approached the cluster of waiting room furniture. "Has there been any change?"
"No, nothing." Honda growled, plunging his fist into the padded arm of the couch he was sprawled on.
"Doctor Ishida came by half an hour ago. He and Doctor Morizoku both agreed. There's nothing wrong with him that they can see from any of the tests they've run. No reason for his state at all." Otogi spoke up softly from the armchair facing Shizuka's, the couch to his right against the wall. He turned his head to face the bed to his left and gritted his teeth. "No damn reason." He hissed between his teeth, his hands clenching at the ends of the armrests.
"Kaiba-san, where is Mokuba-kun?" Shizuka asked in an almost-whisper, looking up at the tall teen with worried green eyes.
"He went to the estate to search for any relevant news on what happened last night." Seto replied, his voice low, but his blue eyes held a hint of concern that his little brother was currently out of his sight.
"Your house? Couldn't you have searched on your laptops from here?" Mai asked sounding confused. "I thought he would have come back with you."
"I have a highly advanced computer system located at the estate. It would produce far more sophisticated search results than any laptop could." Seto replied matter-of-factly. "Mokuba went there in the limo instead of staying during that meeting those ... people ... insisted I attend." Kaiba hissed the last part. It wasn't politic to insult the major shareholders no matter how asinine they were. "He should be back before noon. Once he's given the computer system instructions, any information it discovers can be relayed to my laptop."
"Well, that's something at least." Otogi spoke up. "Did you see Bakura out there?" He indicated the hallway.
"No." Seto glanced around the room. "I assumed he was in here."
"No. He left to get some coffee about fifteen minutes ago. He should be back soon, don't you think?" Otogi said, turning to face Honda.
"Aa. Unless...you don't suppose...his yami took control." Honda frowned, starting to look concerned.
Shizuka frowned. "Why would Yami Bakura-san come out at a time like this? Do you think he is concerned about Yugi-san?"
"No. That guy isn't like that. He doesn't care about anyone except Ryou, and that's only because he needs his body to get around." Honda scowled. "He's probably off gloating over what happened last night." He growled as he glared at the wall across the room.
"H-honda-san, aren't you being a little cruel? He wouldn't be so mean. How could Bakura-san stand his yami if he was so awful?" Shizuka stammered, looking unsure and confused.
"Hunh. I don't think Ryou has much of a choice in the matter Shizuka-chan. That guy has always been bad news, right from the start. I wouldn't put anything past him. For all we know he had something to do with this." Honda gestured angrily towards the bed.
"Hey now, come on Honda. I know I haven't known either of them as long as you have, but Bakura wouldn't let his yami do something like that. I mean, I know that yami of his is no prizewinner when it comes to being nice, but you don't really think he was involved in that, do you? Besides, Yugi believed in Bakura. He trusted him, didn't he?" Otogi asked, frowning at Honda as he noticed Shizuka's distressed look.
"Aa, he trusted Bakura, but that yami of his isn't the sort of guy anyone should trust." Honda frowned turning to Otogi.
"Oi. Quit talking like that. Yugi isn't gone ya know. Don't talk about him like he isn't going to wake up." Jounouchi growled as he sat up in his bed. "And that was before, you know. Stop talking bout Bakura like that. You were there too." He scowled as he slid out of the bed to his feet. Jounouchi stretched before padding across the room to them, his socks muffling his feet.
"Yeah, I was there too, and so were you. You saw him then, didn't you? Even then, that guy was a real bastard. He probably is off gloating right now over what happened to Yami. You know he's always hated him. How do we know he didn't help out somehow last night." Honda growled getting to his feet and staring Jounouchi down.
"That was before, things are different now. You know he's not the same as when we first met him. Anyway, Ryou trusts him enough to keep him around and so does Yugi; that should be enough. Besides, he hasn't really tried anything serious in nearly two years. Give the guy a break, Honda. If Malik can have a second chance, then he can too. He may be a bastard sometimes, but he's no evil incarnate." Jounouchi shot back, locking gazes with his friend and daring him to deny it.
"Fine." Grunted Honda. "I still don't trust him though." Jounouchi glared at him. "But I wont call him on it. We'll see if he deserves that second chance or not." Honda sighed and turned away, sitting back down.
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Domino Hospital, 10:06 am.
The sound of running water echoed through the white tiled bathroom.
::Stop that, its not helping.::
Ryou Bakura lifted his eyes from the sink to look into the mirror. His reflection stared back at him, eyes slightly puffy and red around the edges, the hair framing his face damp and his bangs dripping water to join the droplets clinging to his skin. He blinked and the face in the mirror shifted slightly. Dark brown eyes, glinting with reddish light replaced his own as his darker reflection's hair lifted from his scalp, water no longer weighing down the insubstantial strands.
::You think this is going to help? Che.:: Ryou's reflection sneered back at the pale haired teen. ::Stop being so weak. Poor little host, crying your eyes out like it'll make a difference. It never does you know.:: Yami Bakura growled at him.
:I-I d-don't want to lose anyone. W-what if he doesn't w-wake up? What if Yami's g-gone forever?: Bakura shot back, tears threatening to start again.
::You really are a moron aren't you.:: Yami Bakura growled. ::You honestly think that spiky-headed fool is just going to roll over and give up? If it was that easy, I certainly wouldn't be in this bathroom watching you cry your eyes out, now would I?:: He scowled, frowning as his eyes went distant for an instant.
:N-no.:
::I didn't think so. Now stop wasting time. We've got better things to do than try to fill a sink with your own personal waterworks.::
:I-is there anything w-we could do? To, y-you know, help them?: Ryou asked hesitantly, unsure of the reaction he would get.
::Who knows. But we certainly won't find out, rotting in this bathroom, now will we?::
:Y-you mean you'll help?: Ryou asked hopefully a hint of disbelief in his voice.
::Idiot. You honestly think I wouldn't try to figure out what the hell is going on here? Anything that can do that to the pharaoh-yo is a threat to me. If I hadn't set up those defenses against intruders, it would have found me too, and then you'd be laid up in a hospital room too; and me...I'd probably be in whatever predicament that idiot is in right now, minus the ring shattering of course, but still. You know, for such an all- powerful son-of-the-gods, he sure can be stupid.::
:W-what do you mean?: Ryou asked uncertainly.
::Stupid, Ryou, lacking intellect. That's what it means. I can't believe I could never defeat him if he's such a fool that he doesn't even keep defenses against attack. I knew he had an inflated ego, but I never suspected it was that big.:: Bakura grumbled to himself. ::But that's beside the point. That power could attack again, and next time we'd be the target, it seems to have a penchant for yamis and their little hosts.::
:B-but what can we do, we don't know anything.: Ryou asked, confusion and despair rippling down their link to his yami.
::We know some things. You need to use your brain more and your tears less, idiot. Whatever it was, it seemed a lot more interested in the resident ex-mummy than in the puzzle. After all, only the mini-pharaoh can put the damn thing together. It's no good to anyone in pieces, except maybe when pawned. On top of that, it'll only work for the owner if they win it in a game, I should know. Since you were too busy being scared out of your wits, let me fill you in. There was no game involved last night, no shadow magic either. Whatever happened last night, it wasn't after the Millennium Items, just the yamis in them.::
:W-what does that mean yami?: Ryou asked.
::How the hell should I know?! I'm just telling you what we know, not what we don't. It could mean any number of things. For all we know some stupid mortal was holding a séance and asked for a pharaoh.:: Bakura snorted.
:Even if we know this, what can we do yami?: Bakura asked, worry creeping through to his darkness.
::Simple. Probably the most basic rule any good thief has to follow; strike first. If you don't, then you're the one being stolen from.:: Bakura smirked at his other half.
:But yami, we wouldn't even know where to strike. Besides, its already too late for that, we've already been attacked. Yami and Yugi ...:
::I meant us, not them. That power doesn't know about me, which gives us the advantage of surprise. Of course, if we stay in here so you can mope, it'll be a moot point. That power will probably strike again and this time we'll both be paying for reacting instead of acting.:: The reflection of his darkness scowled back at Ryou from within the mirror. ::Now get yourself moving and go back to sleeping-beauty's room. If I'm going to find out what happened, we'll have to question your little friend. Pharaoh- yo too, once the puzzle's put back together. The more we know, the better prepared any strike we make will be.::
:Aa.: Bakura reached out and turned off the faucet. He dried off his face and hands with a paper towel and turned to look at his reflection, once more his own, in the mirror. Judging that he looked as normal as currently possible, he tried out a smile. Ryou nodded, then turned and picked up the tray of coffee cans* sitting on the counter before leaving the restroom.
A few minutes later as he walked up to the door to Room 426, he discovered that it is impossible to open a door without hands. Therefore, he resolved to knock, with his foot no less. Just as he was balancing on his left leg and aiming with his right he heard a familiar female voice raised in surprise.
"...Bakura-san stand his yami if he was so awful?"
Bakura blinked in surprise and hesitated, foot still poised.
"...think Ryou has much of a choice.... That guy has always been bad news,.... I wouldn't put ... past him. ...he had something to do with this." Honda's voice, filled with suspicion, was unmistakable even through the door. Deep within him, Bakura felt his darkness shift uneasily.
:Y-yami ...:
"Hey now, .... I know I haven't ... long as you have, but Bakura wouldn't let ... something like that. I mean, ... of his is no prizewinner ... being nice, but you don't really think ... in that, do you? ... , Yugi believed in ... trusted him, didn't he?" Otogi's reprimanding voice reached Bakura's ears as he set his right foot down upon the white linoleum floor. Despite the words, Bakura could detect an anxious note hanging on the end of that question.
"... trusted Bakura, but that yami ... isn't ... anyone should trust." Honda's angry voice replied.
:Y-yami, I-I'm sure its just ...: Bakura started.
::Don't patronize me.:: Bakura flinched as his darkness's voice snarled out at him. ::We both know it's the truth. Never trust a thief, let alone the greatest of them all. Everyone should know that by now.:: Despite his yami's words, Ryou could feel a mix of conflicting emotions through their link. Buried deep within, Ryou could detect just the barest hint of the pain that spawned them. Ryou searched for something, anything to say to that. But before he could, Jounouchi's voice touched his ears.
"Oi. .... wake up. .... Stop ... bout Bakura like that. You...."
"Yeah,.... You saw him then,.. ..guy was a real bastard. He probably ... gloating ... what happened to Yami. ... always hated him. How ... know he didn't ... last night." Honda growled back at the slightly sleepy voice.
::Heh, he's got me all figured out, doesn't he, my little landlord. I am the Darkness after all. It's my purpose in life to see the pharaoh-yo suffer in every way possible, after all. Everyone knows that.:: Yami Bakura's voice cut sharply into Ryou's mind.
:Y-yami. That ... that's not true. H-he's wrong.:
::I said stop patronizing me!:: Ryou flinched as his yami's shout lashed out through their link. He could feel his darkness's anger and resentment flare straight through to his own heart. Ryou clenched his fist; he refused to back down, not on this.
:I-I'm not yami. ...I trust you.: Ryou's whisper flowed down their link to his yami, accompanied by a flood of emotions, jumbled, but resolute. Yami Bakura shifted slightly within his mind, but said nothing.
"... things are different ...not the same as ... first met him. ... Ryou trusts him ... so does Yugi; ...enough. Besides, ... hasn't ...tried ... two years. Give the guy a break, ... Malik ... a second chance, then he can too. ... be a bastard ... he's no evil incarnate." Jounouchi's voice, more coherent this time, spoke up again.
:I'm not the only one either yami.: Bakura added softly.
"....don't trust him though." "... wont call him on it. ... deserves that ...chance...." Honda's voice filtered through, sounding resigned.
:Yami?: Bakura sent, worried that he hadn't heard anything from his other yet.
::What the hell are you waiting for, idiot?! The coffees are getting cold.:: Yami Bakura sneered from his soul room.
:A-are you all right ...?: Bakura asked, concerned at this change.
::Che, our questions wont get answered out here you know. Besides if I'm going to have any fun teaching that interloper not to mess around in the Thief King's territory, then we're going to have to hunt it down first. And that requires going through this door and facing all your little buddies. So quit stalling and go in already.:: Bakura grumped as he settled back in his light's mind.
:Un.: Bakura smiled slightly before turning once again to the door.
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"Stop that, both of you." A stern voice reprimanded. "Do you think fighting about each other is helping anything?" Anzu scowled at Jounouchi and Honda as she sat up and turned to face them. "We're all upset, but that's no excuse for turning on our friends. If anything, we need to stick together right now. We need to be ready for whatever happens next. We can't do that if we're at each others' throats."
"A-aa." Honda nodded looking abashed as he dropped his gaze, unable to meet Anzu's blue eyes. "B-but ...grrr ... I hate this!" Honda snarled slamming his fist into his palm as he whirled to face the bed. "Just waiting! I hate feeling so helpless. I just ... I want to do something about it! If only ..."
"Hey man, I know how you feel. But until the bastard that did this shows his cowardly face, we can't beat his ass down. We don't even know if Yami is okay or not. Last night .." Jounouchi trailed off, his hand resting on Honda's shoulder. "We have to wait for Yugi to wake up. We need to know for sure before we find that guy." He finished turning to the others with determination in his eyes, daring them to gainsay him.
"Jounouchi-kun is right. We need to know more about what happened before we can act. And we can't leave Yugi-kun alone right now, even if we knew where the villain is. The way he is right now, it would be dangerous to leave him alone. Even my yami agrees. There could be another attack while we were gone hunting that enemy down." A soft voice spoke up from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Bakura nudging the door closed with his hip as he balanced a tray full of coffee cans in his arms.
Bakura smiled slightly and held up the tray. "I brought drinks for everyone." He paused, glancing at the bed and lowering the tray as his expression fell. "There's no change?"
"No, no change." Mai spoke up, watching the small figure in the bed with veiled purple eyes.
Ryou frowned slightly and sighed. "I had hoped ... while I was gone ..."
"We're all hoping Bakura-san." Shizuka smiled at him as she took the tray from his arms and set it down on one of the waiting room end tables. "Anzu- chan, maybe you should try to get some more sleep. We'll be quiet this time." She smiled at the brunette girl as Anzu leaned back in the chair beside the bed, running a hand through her hair.
"No, its alright Shizuka-chan. I-I want to be awake when Yugi wakes up." Anzu smiled over at the smaller girl, the hair on the right side of her head was pushed up and to the side awkwardly from sleeping on her arms.
"Un." Shizuka nodded before taking a seat in her own armchair again. Seto grunted and claimed the armchair in between Shizuka's and the couch. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back as he eyed the two by the bed as Anzu shifted her chair closer to Yugi's head and surreptitiously slipped her fingers around his.
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Warmth. It was the first sensation that registered to his mind as he hovered in a vast empty darkness.
'Where was it coming from? Everything was so cold. It had always been cold ... hadn't it?'
He shifted slightly in the darkness. 'It hadn't always been cold ... had it?' He was sure he could remember when it hadn't been cold. When there had been something other than darkness and cold. If he just tried hard enough, he was sure he would remember.
Maybe, maybe if he opened his eyes he would remember. When had he shut them? 'Had they always been shut?' All was darkness, there was no need to open eyes in the darkness. But, he wanted to open his eyes; he wanted to see. He was sure there was something he needed to see. 'But what?' He stirred within the darkness, struggling to open eyes that refused his commands.
'What was that?' A voice, there was a voice, somewhere. 'Whose voice? Who is that?' Who was there in the darkness with him? There hadn't ever been anyone with him before. He had always been alone, ... hadn't he? 'No, that's not right. There were others. There had been others. He had not been alone, had he? 'Why am I alone now?'
Warmth. It wrapped around his hand. It seemed to travel up his arm, infusing him with strength. The cold was chased away. It fled from his body, draining out of him as the warmth suffused him. 'There.' On his face as well. Light, touching his eyelids. There was light.
'Was the darkness leaving?' Fear shot through him at that thought. "Why? Why am I afraid of losing the darkness?' He wasn't sure, but he knew it was important. There was something ... something he needed to remember. 'But what?'
He struggled to move now. Everything was so difficult, like moving through molasses. He fought against the lethargy. He needed to see, to remember.
'Wait.' There was something. He could almost remember something. He struggled harder; he had to know. Then, as if a wall had shattered before his mind's eye, he could see despite the darkness. He could remember.
He had not been alone. He had never really been alone. And for years now, he had never felt so loved and wanted before in his life. He could remember everyone he cared about, and who cared about him. He could see them. Their smiling faces. Everyone.
His grandfather, his purple eyes lighting up as he smiled at him as he walked in through the door when he came back from school.
His mother, a smile lighting up her face as she checked on him before bed each night.
Anzu, her blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight as she waved from the bus stop, calling to him so he won't miss the bus. Anzu, opening her eyes and smiling up at him as she woke up from her duel with the evil penguin, her eyes lighting up with joy at seeing him. Anzu, concern filling her eyes as she pleaded with him to be careful as he walked through the doorway that would take him to the portal to Atlantis.**
Jounouchi, his brown eyes sincere as he promised him that they'd always be friends, no matter what, in that tunnel during Death-T before stage 4. Jounouchi, a big grin splitting his face as he asked him to strike, reassuring him that there were no hard feelings and that they were still friends.***
Honda, a thankful smile on his face as he stood up and thanked him for trying to protect him, but willing to face the consequences for the love letter puzzle in Ms. Chono's classroom. Honda, ensuring he was safe, even at the cost of his own safety in Death-T-3, smiling to reassure him.****
Bakura, smiling gently as he offered himself as a sacrifice to save him and the others from his yami. Bakura, smiling weakly but happily as he met his gaze and telling him that he's never had friends like them before.*****
Mai, trying to hide her smile behind her hand from across the campfire. Mai, turning back to give him a thumbs up and a wink before leaving the arena. Mai, smiling and laughing with Shizuka as she hugged Jounouchi and grinned at everyone from the hospital bed.******
Otogi, looking up with wide green eyes, unable to believe he still wanted to be friends after everything. Otogi, cheering him on from the sidelines.*******
Seto, glancing back for a moment, thanking him for helping to save him from the virtual world. Seto, blue eyes meeting his gaze as the rock platform touched down, surprise registering on his face at his taking up his duel for him. Seto, a familiar smirk lifting the corners of his mouth as he saluted from the cockpit of his dragon jet and told him he'd send them a message when the American Kaiba Land was finished.********
Mokuba, smiling hopefully up at him as he promised to stop Pegasus. Mokuba pleading for help with tears in his gray-blue eyes to save Seto from the Big Five. Mokuba's grinning face as he jumped out shouting 'Surprise! Happy Birthday Mokuba!'
Shizuka, green eyes bright as she smiled at him, taking in every bit of the scene, able to see at last. Shizuka, smiling as she laughed at Jounouchi's antics.
And Yami. Yami, deep purple eyes wide in surprise and touched with dismay as he insisted they had to keep their minds separate to win. Yami looking up as his hand caught Yami's and lifted him up to stand in his new memory room to see all their friends there, still urging him not to give up. Yami, looking on in alarm and fear, unable to prevent the dissolving of his limbs and torso into the darkness. Yami, eyes softening as he smiled when he promised to be Yami's Aibou forever. Yami, the pharaoh, looking up in surprise as he floated next to him, offering his hand and his own soul's power to summon Ra to defeat Diabound. Yami, the pharaoh, lifting his head, meeting his eyes as he stood between the Evil God and his fallen Other, the pharaoh.*********
Yugi could remember again. All of them, all of his friends, his family. The darkness and the last clinging vestiges of the cold fell away to light and warmth. As he felt himself rising up to the surface, towards the warmth, a thought struck him. 'What happened?'
And then it all came rushing back to him. Mokuba's party, the strange sensation, the pain! Yami, his pain filled eyes locking with his own, his hand reaching for Yugi's. The wind that came and the pain, the searing loss! Yami's voice, so faint and fading...
"Yami!"
Yugi's eyes snapped open, his body lurching up from its prone position, hand reaching for the familiar weight of the puzzle.
His hand grasped empty air, his fist landing against his chest. Yugi blinked blearily at his surroundings, trying to force his mind to understand where he was.
"Yugi!" A chorus of happy, surprised cries filled his ears as he realized he was in what looked like a hospital room, except for the extra furniture. He was suddenly glomped by two slender arms from his right as a brunette head buried itself against his shoulder. He was nearly bowled over by the force of the hug.
"W-what? Anzu?" Yugi gasped his cheeks turning red when he realized who had grabbed him.
"Oh thank God! We were so worried." Anzu's muffled, choked whispers reached his ears faintly. Anzu pulled back a second later and smiled brightly at him, her eyes closed to hide the gathered tears that her voice had given away.
The moment Anzu pulled back, Yugi found himself tackled from his left, and if not for a black-haired blur of energy that threw its arms around him from the right, he would probably have ended up on the floor.
"Yugi! You're alright! C'mere you! You had us all worried!" Jounouchi practically shouted as he grabbed Yugi in a friendly hug/headlock and proceeded to give him a light noogie.
"Aaaack! Jounouchi-kun ... gah! Stop that!" Yugi gasped in surprise, trying to be heard over the exclamations of everyone else in the room as he squirmed in his best friend's over enthusiastic welcome back.
"You idiot! Cut that out before you strangle him, Jou!" Honda laughed as he tried to drag Jounouchi off of the pint-sized convalescent.
"I'm so glad you're okay Yugi-kun!" Mokuba grinned up at him as he released Yugi from the spontaneous hug he had given him. "Ni-sama's glad too, right?" Yugi glanced down to the end of the bed where Seto stood, looking aloof.
"Hn." Seto grunted, glancing at Yugi. His deep blue eyes betrayed the relief that his mouth refused to acknowledge. Yugi smiled back at him. Seto 'hmmph'ed under his breath and glanced sharply away to the corner of the room as though it held the secret of life within its pale shadow.
Yugi felt a weight settle onto the foot of his bed. Peering out from under Jounouchi's arm as Honda and Otogi pried him off of Yugi's head, he could see Mai and Shizuka had settled one on either side of the bed.
Mai grinned and winked at him. "Good to see you're feeling better Yugi. You were starting to have us worried."
"Aa. We were all worried Yugi." Bakura spoke up from behind Anzu as Otogi nodded from behind Jounouchi, beside Honda.
"Un. You are feeling better, right Yugi-san?" Shizuka asked, her green eyes gentle with concern.
"Aa. I don't hurt anywhere if that's what you mean. But ..." Yugi glanced around at everyone and at the empty table beside his bed. "Where's my puzzle?"
TBC
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Dum dum dum!
Where indeed? 0_0
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//----------------------------MWUAHAHA! Just kidding I'm not that evil.---- ---------------//
"Aa. I don't hurt anywhere if that's what you mean. But ..." Yugi glanced around at everyone and at the empty table beside his bed. "Where's my puzzle?"
"Uh ... um." Jounouchi paused, hesitant.
"Yugi, the puzzle broke." Anzu said softly, apprehension tingeing her voice.
"Aa." Jounouchi concurred.
"W-wha-what?" Yugi asked, his voice quivering with barely restrained fear.
/Yami?! Yami!? Mou hitori no boku!!/ There was no answer. No reassuring sensation of his Other's mind in the back of his own.
"D-don't worry Yugi! We picked up all the pieces. We checked the whole place twice to be sure." Jounouchi hurriedly assured as he saw the growing alarm and fear on Yugi's face. Quickly he reached up and unzipped the blue jacket he had been wearing all this time. "I kept them safe for you so you could put it back together." He added as he reached under his shirt and pulled out a lumpy drawstring pouch from around his neck that clinked softly.
"You should probably start putting it back together Yugi." Bakura spoke up then. Yugi glanced up at him. "Don't worry, we'll wait." Bakura smiled down at him understandingly.
"W-we tried to put it back together. But, none of the pieces would stay together, even if they looked like they might fit. Bakura said it was because only you can put it together." Anzu spoke up, looking apologetic.
"Thanks you guys." Yugi smiled gratefully up at them as he took the proffered pouch from Jounouchi. Shifting on the bed to sit cross-legged under the sheets, Yugi up-ended the pouch and spilled out the glittering golden pieces into his lap. Soon the room was filled with the soft clinking of metal pieces as everyone took a seat to wait for its completion.
The minutes ticked by on the large wall clock, playing a steady counterpoint to the clicking of the puzzle pieces as they slid into place.
Contrary to the first time Yugi had completed the puzzle, this time the minutes flew by as the pile of golden jigsaw pieces once again assumed the form of a pyramid. It seemed as though the third time's the charm as the puzzle's completion progressed apace. In less than half an hour the puzzle was nearly complete.
"Nearly done Yugi?" Jounouchi questioned from his perch on the edge of the bed at Yugi's left side.
"Un. Just this ..."
Click. Clink.
"And give this a turn like that."
Clack. Clink.
"And then this one ..."
Clink.
"And then the last piece here.... Hey, Jounouchi, this one always seems to be the last piece I put in." Yugi smiled fondly as he turned the puzzle over to show the large hole in the side of the puzzle where the eye piece should go.
"Aa. That's the piece I gave back to you in the very beginning, huh Yugi?" Jounouchi grinned, speaking softly to not disturb the other whispered conversations around the room.
"Un!" Yugi grinned brightly up at him. Turning back to his puzzle he reached into the pouch to pull the last piece out.
His hand kept reaching.
"I-it-it's missing! The last piece ... it's missing!" Yugi's face paled in horror as his violet eyes went wide in alarm as he frantically scanned the bed and sheets and even the floor beneath the bed.
The empty black eye of the Millennium Puzzle stared back sorrowfully at him as Yugi hugged his arms to his chest and tried to stifle the panicked sobs as he bent forward over the puzzle in his lap.
TBC [For real this time.]
//--------------------MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I'M EVILER!!!!!!----------------- ----//
* He got them from a vending machine. In Japan they have vending machines with almost anything in them, hot or cold. Some even have underwear for sale in them. 0_o
//--------ALERT!! SPOILERS FOR MANGA AND ANIME ARCS BELOW--------------- -------------------------------READ AT OWN RISK!!--------------------------- -----------------//
** The duel with the penguin took place during the Noa arc in the anime. The penguin was actually one of the Big Five from Kaiba's company who was trapped in a virtual reality cyberspace world. If Anzu lost, the penguin member of the Big Five would have taken her body for himself. During the duel, if you lost life points your body was frozen in ice bit by bit. Anzu won, but passed out after, and woke up to Yugi taking care of her after the ice had been removed from herself. During the Doom arc, Atlantis rose from the ocean and the villain, Dartz, went through a portal in the Doom temple that led to Atlantis. Yugi, Seto, and Jou followed in order to defeat the giant Orihalcos God serpent that was keeping everyone's souls hostage. Anzu stopped Yugi before he entered the portal to talk to him. He was going to switch to Yami, but Anzu told him he didn't have to because she wanted to talk to Yugi, and tell him to be careful and come back.
*** In the manga, Kaiba set up a Death-T tournament of games that Yugi had to go through to save himself and his friends from Kaiba and his henchmen, as well as get justice for Kaiba having put his grandfather into the hospital. It had 5 levels and in 3rd he thought Honda had been killed by Kaiba's evil giant tetris game. At that time he hadn't acknowledged Yami's presence and would black out whenever Yami took control. His friends also didn't know about Yami. Losing Honda made Yami start to take control, but Yugi fought it, afraid that if Jou and Anzu knew about the 'other person' inside him they would leave him. They noticed something wrong and got him to confess about the 'other him' and his fears. Jounouchi told him that even if there was another Yugi, they'd always be friends. In the anime during Duelist Kingdom, the finals were Yugi vs. Jounouchi. Yugi and Yami didn't want to finish Jou off because Jou was fighting for his sister's chance at eyesight again. But Jou reassured them that it was okay, and he had no hard feelings about losing to Yugi and Yami.
**** In the manga Honda had a crush on a girl named Miho. He bought a puzzle that you write a love letter on, break up into its pieces, and give to the object of your affection from the Kami Game Shop and had Yugi write it because he was so nervous. Jou slipped it into Miho's desk but a mean teacher found it and demanded to know whose it was. Both Yugi and Jou claimed they wrote it and put it in the desk respectively, and the teacher planned to expel them both. Honda stood up and claimed it was his note on it in order to get them out of trouble for his sake. During Death-T level 3, Honda got his jacket caught under a giant tetris block and couldn't escape. Instead of trying to free himself, he chose to make sure Yugi got to safety before the exit was blocked.
***** In Duelist Kingdom, the first encounter with Yami Bakura ended when Ryou, who was sealed into the Change of Heart card, took over Yami Bakura's monster and told Yami and Yugi to attack him to end the duel and save the souls of everyone else who were also trapped in monster cards. Mwuahahaha! That last part is from part of my own imagined ending to the AE arc. Dunno how it really ends yet. If you're good little reviewers I'll write it in later in full as a flashback. ^_-
****** Mai shared food with them during Duelist Kingdom around a campfire. Mai was defeated by Yami/Yugi in Duelist Kingdom and told him they'd definitely duel again and to be ready to do his best against her next time. Mai and Shizuka played a trick after Battle City by Mai pretending not to have woken up when Yami Malik was defeated. Jou thought her soul had been lost and everyone was upset till Mai started laughing and hugging Jou, teasing him about being worried about her.
******* After the Dungeon Dice Monsters mini-arc Otogi was surprised that after having made Jounouchi wear a dog costume and having accused Yugi of cheating, Yugi still wanted to be friends with him. Just some duel during Battle City where Otogi was on the sidelines cheering.
******** At the end of the Legendary Heroes virtual world arc Seto sort of thanked Yugi for coming to save him from the Big Five. During the Noa arc, Seto was defeated by Noa in a duel that ended in Seto being turned into a statue. Yami/Yugi challenged Noa to finish the duel with him in Seto's stead because Seto had chosen to forfeit the duel by summoning the blue eyes instead of sticking with the twilight zone dragon in order to make Mokuba break free from Noa's brain washing. Noa agreed thinking there was no way they could win but he lost and Seto was released from the statue state. When he woke up and saw the floating platforms they had dueled on descending he was confused and surprised that Yugi had stood up for him like that. At the end of Battle City/Tower, Seto leaves for America to open a new Kaiba Land and reclaim the dream of a gaming paradise for under- privileged kids that he lost when fighting Gozaburo Kaiba to get control of Kaiba Corp. As he flew off in his Blue eyes white dragon shaped jet, he saluted Yugi and friends and told him they were going to America and would send for them/send them a message when Kaiba Land was completed.
********* During Duelist Kingdom when Yugi proposed the Mind Shuffle plan. During the Noa arc when Yami/Yugi was battling Noa, all his friends were turned to stone and Noa was trying to get him to give up because he had lost everything. Then Yugi appeared before him in his mind and took him into his soul room to show him a new door that had appeared. This was a new memory room that had been made since Yugi solved the puzzle. Inside were all the spirits/memories of their friends who told him not to give up and to keep dueling because they believed in him and in that he could win. During the finals of Battle City/Tower, Yami Malik set up a shadow game where as life points were lost, their other halves were devoured by darkness, piece by piece. Before AE in the manga, Yami was worried about what would happen after he got his memory back. He was worried he would return to the afterlife, or nothingness or something and was sad to think of losing Yugi and everyone. Yugi told him that until the time came that they would part he wanted to be his Aibou forever. In AE arc, pharaoh had used up all his power to summon Osiris to stop Thief King Bakura's Diabound, and Osiris was defeated badly wounding pharaoh. Then Yugi's spirit arrived and told him that he had the other half of pharaoh's power in him and they linked hands to tap into Yugi's power and summoned Ra to defeat Diabound. During fight in AE arc with Evil God Zoku, pharaoh is badly wounded and falls to his knees. He can't keep Mahaado's [Dark Magician's] monster form in the real world anymore and has no more defenses. Zoku is about to crush him when Yugi, Jou, Anzu, and Honda fly in and land in front of him to protect him from Zoku.
//--------------END MANGA/ANIME SPOILERS------------------------------------ ----------// //-----------------------------Its safe now, you can look------------------- ------------------------//
Okay, I swear this chapter was hijacked. That whole middle part is not at all what I started out to do in this chapter. Hard as it is to believe, I think the Bakuras and Honda and Otogi teamed up to steal the show and get more page time. Then the Bakuras and Honda kicked Otogi out. I think I went overboard with Y.Bakura. I really think he's out of character in this chapter but I couldn't get him to shut up. Eventually I'm going to explain why I have his character changed so much, but I don't know if everyone will agree that it's a good reason.
Hehe. I just couldn't resist making you think I stopped there, where he's asking where his puzzle is. It's such a perfect evil cliffhanger line.
Well, looks like Harry didn't make it into this chapter either. We'll see about next chapter.
Harry: "I sure hope so, so far you have a disclaimer for stuff you haven't even used yet."
I swear I tried to make this chapter shorter. I really did. But then there was the hijacking. And Yugi decided to do some soul floaty stuff when all I had planned at first was his hearing whispered voices and waking up to see his friends. Oh well, 8,235 words is shorter, comparatively, than ch. 1 is.
Anyway, that purple button is down there for a reason. Please review. All you people without accounts can review now too.
See you later people. This time for real, don't expect a chapter so soon. My fingers are getting sore from typing so much.
Ja ne! ^_^
Disclaimer: Yugioh and Harry Potter still don't belong to me. I'm working to correct that. Shh. Don't say anything. ^_- I also don't own the M&M trademark, though they're fun to eat. This story is purely for enjoyment and produces no revenues or money of any kind; therefore I have nothing to give you should I be sued.
My Notes: (I am the author after all)
Well, here we go again. I am determined to make this shorter than last one, simply because I wont go insane if I use smaller chapters. Damnit, shorter yes, but still longer than I had intended! Grrr. Those conniving Bakuras! This is all their fault, Yami Bakura wouldn't shut up!
Feel free to email me with hints or tips or suggestions. No flames please, my house is quite flammable.
I fixed the problem with anonymous reviewers. You shouldn't have to sign in or have an account to review my stories now. Rejoice all ye lazy and/or un-accounted peoples! I'll rejoice too cuz now I get more reviews. YAY! ^_^
Did anyone have trouble figuring out which Bakura was talking or acting? Do you think I need to be more specific? Do you think anyone was way too far out of character? I tried to keep them true to their characters, while taking into consideration that two years have passed since the AE Memory RPG story arc. Y. Bakura is probably going to be the most out of character character. This chapter is testimony to that.
I'm not sure when Harry and co. are going to show up, might take a couple of chapters depending on where I decide to stick the first Harry scene I have in my head. He might show up in this one, not sure yet cuz I haven't written it yet. We'll see by the time I post this.
Just so you all know, I have no idea how big this story is going to get. I know how it's going to end, and I have plenty of cool scenes and ideas in my head but I gotta figure out ways to string them together. Which, if last chapter is any indication, could cause massive chapter inflation.
If anyone wants to, feel free to create fanart for my story. Unfortunately, I have nowhere to post any such fanart. However, if you have a place to put it, let me know where it is and I'll direct readers to it. Unfortunately, I seem to have no discernable talent for drawing; therefore, I will not even try to subject you to my poor attempts should I ever make any.
I feel so loved! *sniffle sniff sob* So many wonderful reviews and it hasn't even been more than a few days yet!
Anyway, here's chapter two. Enjoy. ^_^
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Harry Potter and The Advent of Darkness
Ch. 2: Picking Up the Pieces
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Seto Kaiba had a plan. A great plan. In fact, his plan was perfect. All it required was the proper implementation. In fact, if he were to write his plan down, it would go something like this:
Step 1: Wake up diminutive duelist.
Step 2: Assist diminutive duelist in reassembling funky gold puzzle, if said duelist even gives him enough time to assist before said funky puzzle is repaired.
Step 3: Ascertain presence, or lack thereof, of pint-sized rival.
Step 4: Use global resources to track down perpetrator of pernicious act.
Step 5: Assuming aforementioned lack thereof, determine location of aforementioned perpetrator's possession of aforementioned pint-sized rival and proceed to liberate. Assuming continued presence of said rival, skip to step 6.
Step 6: Proceed to punish and painfully defeat aforementioned perpetrator.
Step 7: Hold aforementioned perpetrator down while aforementioned rival administers personal brand of justice to perpetrator until perpetrator is no longer able to pose a threat.
Step 8: Laugh at aforementioned perpetrator's plight and proceed to make a dramatic exit with aforementioned rival.
Suffice it to say, Seto Kaiba was furious. Without proper implementation he could not complete the plan. And unfortunately for Seto, for once, he had no idea how to proceed with implementation. In fact, currently he was unable to even fulfill step 1 of his plan, let alone step 4.
Domino Hospital, 4th Floor, July 10th, 10:05 am.
Seto Kaiba pushed open the door to Room 426 and walked in like he owned the place. Sometimes being a rich and influential CEO had drawbacks. Like this morning when his major shareholders had insisted on keeping the pre- arranged meeting at 7:00am to discuss the proceedings of the concurrent expansions into England and France of Kaiba Corporations. And sometimes, he added as he glanced around the room, being rich and influential had advantages.
The hospital room, originally designed for six patients, had been re- arranged and re-decorated upon Kaiba's explicit orders. The previous occupants had been moved into different rooms, and chairs and end tables from the closest waiting room had been moved into the room. The five extra beds had been pushed closer together and toward the back end of the long room to make room for the additional furniture. Only two of the beds were currently occupied.
Jounouchi Katsuya was sprawled on his back on one of the beds that had been moved, snoring almost soundlessly with his mouth wide open. His bed was the closest to the only bed that had not been moved. He was still wearing the dark blue jeans and light blue and white t-shirt from last night. His sneakers were on the floor beneath the bed. Strangely enough, the collar and shoulders of his blue jacket were visible beneath the light hospital blanket draped loosely over his body. The other four beds looked slept in, but not made.
The sixth bed was more or less centered in the room, up against the wall across from the door. Morning sunlight streamed in through the cracks between the blinds, illuminating the figure slumped over the end of the bed. The figure lying in the bed lay in alternating, distorted bands of pale gold light and soft shadows.
Anzu Mazaki sat in one of the waiting room chairs, leaning forward onto the foot of the bed, her arms folded beneath her head as she faced away from the door and towards the bed's occupant.
"Shh. Don't wake them Kaiba-san. Anzu-chan just fell asleep an hour ago." Shizuka spoke up softly from where she sat in another armchair beside the left-hand wall of the room.
Seto glanced over to her and nodded. "Aa." He walked over to the foot of the bed and frowned down at the figure under the sheets.
Yugi Mutou lay quietly in the bed. There was no movement of his eyes beneath their lids to indicate dreaming, nor was there any twitching or stirring to indicate the return of consciousness. His face was pale; lacking its own color, it took on the gray-blue of the shadows or the pale gold of the sunlight instead. Aside from the steady rise and fall of his chest beneath the sheet and the quiet steady beeping of the heart monitor beside the bed, he might as well have been a corpse.
Kaiba's eyes narrowed slightly. It did not fit him. He had never, in all the time he had known him, seen the shorter teen so...so...inanimate. Yugi had always read like a book. Whether it was happiness, sadness, fear, or confident determination, Yugi had always expressed his emotions to anyone and everyone. He had always been in motion of some kind, always moving forward in some way. Nothing had ever deterred that motion, until now. It did not fit him. Seto's fist clenched.
"She's been up all night. Even when the rest of us slept, she stayed by his side." Mai spoke up softly from Kaiba's right.
Seto glanced over to her and grunted softly. "Hnh." Then turned away from the bed, his sleeveless white trench coat flaring out slightly as he walked away from the bed and approached the cluster of waiting room furniture. "Has there been any change?"
"No, nothing." Honda growled, plunging his fist into the padded arm of the couch he was sprawled on.
"Doctor Ishida came by half an hour ago. He and Doctor Morizoku both agreed. There's nothing wrong with him that they can see from any of the tests they've run. No reason for his state at all." Otogi spoke up softly from the armchair facing Shizuka's, the couch to his right against the wall. He turned his head to face the bed to his left and gritted his teeth. "No damn reason." He hissed between his teeth, his hands clenching at the ends of the armrests.
"Kaiba-san, where is Mokuba-kun?" Shizuka asked in an almost-whisper, looking up at the tall teen with worried green eyes.
"He went to the estate to search for any relevant news on what happened last night." Seto replied, his voice low, but his blue eyes held a hint of concern that his little brother was currently out of his sight.
"Your house? Couldn't you have searched on your laptops from here?" Mai asked sounding confused. "I thought he would have come back with you."
"I have a highly advanced computer system located at the estate. It would produce far more sophisticated search results than any laptop could." Seto replied matter-of-factly. "Mokuba went there in the limo instead of staying during that meeting those ... people ... insisted I attend." Kaiba hissed the last part. It wasn't politic to insult the major shareholders no matter how asinine they were. "He should be back before noon. Once he's given the computer system instructions, any information it discovers can be relayed to my laptop."
"Well, that's something at least." Otogi spoke up. "Did you see Bakura out there?" He indicated the hallway.
"No." Seto glanced around the room. "I assumed he was in here."
"No. He left to get some coffee about fifteen minutes ago. He should be back soon, don't you think?" Otogi said, turning to face Honda.
"Aa. Unless...you don't suppose...his yami took control." Honda frowned, starting to look concerned.
Shizuka frowned. "Why would Yami Bakura-san come out at a time like this? Do you think he is concerned about Yugi-san?"
"No. That guy isn't like that. He doesn't care about anyone except Ryou, and that's only because he needs his body to get around." Honda scowled. "He's probably off gloating over what happened last night." He growled as he glared at the wall across the room.
"H-honda-san, aren't you being a little cruel? He wouldn't be so mean. How could Bakura-san stand his yami if he was so awful?" Shizuka stammered, looking unsure and confused.
"Hunh. I don't think Ryou has much of a choice in the matter Shizuka-chan. That guy has always been bad news, right from the start. I wouldn't put anything past him. For all we know he had something to do with this." Honda gestured angrily towards the bed.
"Hey now, come on Honda. I know I haven't known either of them as long as you have, but Bakura wouldn't let his yami do something like that. I mean, I know that yami of his is no prizewinner when it comes to being nice, but you don't really think he was involved in that, do you? Besides, Yugi believed in Bakura. He trusted him, didn't he?" Otogi asked, frowning at Honda as he noticed Shizuka's distressed look.
"Aa, he trusted Bakura, but that yami of his isn't the sort of guy anyone should trust." Honda frowned turning to Otogi.
"Oi. Quit talking like that. Yugi isn't gone ya know. Don't talk about him like he isn't going to wake up." Jounouchi growled as he sat up in his bed. "And that was before, you know. Stop talking bout Bakura like that. You were there too." He scowled as he slid out of the bed to his feet. Jounouchi stretched before padding across the room to them, his socks muffling his feet.
"Yeah, I was there too, and so were you. You saw him then, didn't you? Even then, that guy was a real bastard. He probably is off gloating right now over what happened to Yami. You know he's always hated him. How do we know he didn't help out somehow last night." Honda growled getting to his feet and staring Jounouchi down.
"That was before, things are different now. You know he's not the same as when we first met him. Anyway, Ryou trusts him enough to keep him around and so does Yugi; that should be enough. Besides, he hasn't really tried anything serious in nearly two years. Give the guy a break, Honda. If Malik can have a second chance, then he can too. He may be a bastard sometimes, but he's no evil incarnate." Jounouchi shot back, locking gazes with his friend and daring him to deny it.
"Fine." Grunted Honda. "I still don't trust him though." Jounouchi glared at him. "But I wont call him on it. We'll see if he deserves that second chance or not." Honda sighed and turned away, sitting back down.
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Domino Hospital, 10:06 am.
The sound of running water echoed through the white tiled bathroom.
::Stop that, its not helping.::
Ryou Bakura lifted his eyes from the sink to look into the mirror. His reflection stared back at him, eyes slightly puffy and red around the edges, the hair framing his face damp and his bangs dripping water to join the droplets clinging to his skin. He blinked and the face in the mirror shifted slightly. Dark brown eyes, glinting with reddish light replaced his own as his darker reflection's hair lifted from his scalp, water no longer weighing down the insubstantial strands.
::You think this is going to help? Che.:: Ryou's reflection sneered back at the pale haired teen. ::Stop being so weak. Poor little host, crying your eyes out like it'll make a difference. It never does you know.:: Yami Bakura growled at him.
:I-I d-don't want to lose anyone. W-what if he doesn't w-wake up? What if Yami's g-gone forever?: Bakura shot back, tears threatening to start again.
::You really are a moron aren't you.:: Yami Bakura growled. ::You honestly think that spiky-headed fool is just going to roll over and give up? If it was that easy, I certainly wouldn't be in this bathroom watching you cry your eyes out, now would I?:: He scowled, frowning as his eyes went distant for an instant.
:N-no.:
::I didn't think so. Now stop wasting time. We've got better things to do than try to fill a sink with your own personal waterworks.::
:I-is there anything w-we could do? To, y-you know, help them?: Ryou asked hesitantly, unsure of the reaction he would get.
::Who knows. But we certainly won't find out, rotting in this bathroom, now will we?::
:Y-you mean you'll help?: Ryou asked hopefully a hint of disbelief in his voice.
::Idiot. You honestly think I wouldn't try to figure out what the hell is going on here? Anything that can do that to the pharaoh-yo is a threat to me. If I hadn't set up those defenses against intruders, it would have found me too, and then you'd be laid up in a hospital room too; and me...I'd probably be in whatever predicament that idiot is in right now, minus the ring shattering of course, but still. You know, for such an all- powerful son-of-the-gods, he sure can be stupid.::
:W-what do you mean?: Ryou asked uncertainly.
::Stupid, Ryou, lacking intellect. That's what it means. I can't believe I could never defeat him if he's such a fool that he doesn't even keep defenses against attack. I knew he had an inflated ego, but I never suspected it was that big.:: Bakura grumbled to himself. ::But that's beside the point. That power could attack again, and next time we'd be the target, it seems to have a penchant for yamis and their little hosts.::
:B-but what can we do, we don't know anything.: Ryou asked, confusion and despair rippling down their link to his yami.
::We know some things. You need to use your brain more and your tears less, idiot. Whatever it was, it seemed a lot more interested in the resident ex-mummy than in the puzzle. After all, only the mini-pharaoh can put the damn thing together. It's no good to anyone in pieces, except maybe when pawned. On top of that, it'll only work for the owner if they win it in a game, I should know. Since you were too busy being scared out of your wits, let me fill you in. There was no game involved last night, no shadow magic either. Whatever happened last night, it wasn't after the Millennium Items, just the yamis in them.::
:W-what does that mean yami?: Ryou asked.
::How the hell should I know?! I'm just telling you what we know, not what we don't. It could mean any number of things. For all we know some stupid mortal was holding a séance and asked for a pharaoh.:: Bakura snorted.
:Even if we know this, what can we do yami?: Bakura asked, worry creeping through to his darkness.
::Simple. Probably the most basic rule any good thief has to follow; strike first. If you don't, then you're the one being stolen from.:: Bakura smirked at his other half.
:But yami, we wouldn't even know where to strike. Besides, its already too late for that, we've already been attacked. Yami and Yugi ...:
::I meant us, not them. That power doesn't know about me, which gives us the advantage of surprise. Of course, if we stay in here so you can mope, it'll be a moot point. That power will probably strike again and this time we'll both be paying for reacting instead of acting.:: The reflection of his darkness scowled back at Ryou from within the mirror. ::Now get yourself moving and go back to sleeping-beauty's room. If I'm going to find out what happened, we'll have to question your little friend. Pharaoh- yo too, once the puzzle's put back together. The more we know, the better prepared any strike we make will be.::
:Aa.: Bakura reached out and turned off the faucet. He dried off his face and hands with a paper towel and turned to look at his reflection, once more his own, in the mirror. Judging that he looked as normal as currently possible, he tried out a smile. Ryou nodded, then turned and picked up the tray of coffee cans* sitting on the counter before leaving the restroom.
A few minutes later as he walked up to the door to Room 426, he discovered that it is impossible to open a door without hands. Therefore, he resolved to knock, with his foot no less. Just as he was balancing on his left leg and aiming with his right he heard a familiar female voice raised in surprise.
"...Bakura-san stand his yami if he was so awful?"
Bakura blinked in surprise and hesitated, foot still poised.
"...think Ryou has much of a choice.... That guy has always been bad news,.... I wouldn't put ... past him. ...he had something to do with this." Honda's voice, filled with suspicion, was unmistakable even through the door. Deep within him, Bakura felt his darkness shift uneasily.
:Y-yami ...:
"Hey now, .... I know I haven't ... long as you have, but Bakura wouldn't let ... something like that. I mean, ... of his is no prizewinner ... being nice, but you don't really think ... in that, do you? ... , Yugi believed in ... trusted him, didn't he?" Otogi's reprimanding voice reached Bakura's ears as he set his right foot down upon the white linoleum floor. Despite the words, Bakura could detect an anxious note hanging on the end of that question.
"... trusted Bakura, but that yami ... isn't ... anyone should trust." Honda's angry voice replied.
:Y-yami, I-I'm sure its just ...: Bakura started.
::Don't patronize me.:: Bakura flinched as his darkness's voice snarled out at him. ::We both know it's the truth. Never trust a thief, let alone the greatest of them all. Everyone should know that by now.:: Despite his yami's words, Ryou could feel a mix of conflicting emotions through their link. Buried deep within, Ryou could detect just the barest hint of the pain that spawned them. Ryou searched for something, anything to say to that. But before he could, Jounouchi's voice touched his ears.
"Oi. .... wake up. .... Stop ... bout Bakura like that. You...."
"Yeah,.... You saw him then,.. ..guy was a real bastard. He probably ... gloating ... what happened to Yami. ... always hated him. How ... know he didn't ... last night." Honda growled back at the slightly sleepy voice.
::Heh, he's got me all figured out, doesn't he, my little landlord. I am the Darkness after all. It's my purpose in life to see the pharaoh-yo suffer in every way possible, after all. Everyone knows that.:: Yami Bakura's voice cut sharply into Ryou's mind.
:Y-yami. That ... that's not true. H-he's wrong.:
::I said stop patronizing me!:: Ryou flinched as his yami's shout lashed out through their link. He could feel his darkness's anger and resentment flare straight through to his own heart. Ryou clenched his fist; he refused to back down, not on this.
:I-I'm not yami. ...I trust you.: Ryou's whisper flowed down their link to his yami, accompanied by a flood of emotions, jumbled, but resolute. Yami Bakura shifted slightly within his mind, but said nothing.
"... things are different ...not the same as ... first met him. ... Ryou trusts him ... so does Yugi; ...enough. Besides, ... hasn't ...tried ... two years. Give the guy a break, ... Malik ... a second chance, then he can too. ... be a bastard ... he's no evil incarnate." Jounouchi's voice, more coherent this time, spoke up again.
:I'm not the only one either yami.: Bakura added softly.
"....don't trust him though." "... wont call him on it. ... deserves that ...chance...." Honda's voice filtered through, sounding resigned.
:Yami?: Bakura sent, worried that he hadn't heard anything from his other yet.
::What the hell are you waiting for, idiot?! The coffees are getting cold.:: Yami Bakura sneered from his soul room.
:A-are you all right ...?: Bakura asked, concerned at this change.
::Che, our questions wont get answered out here you know. Besides if I'm going to have any fun teaching that interloper not to mess around in the Thief King's territory, then we're going to have to hunt it down first. And that requires going through this door and facing all your little buddies. So quit stalling and go in already.:: Bakura grumped as he settled back in his light's mind.
:Un.: Bakura smiled slightly before turning once again to the door.
//-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------//
"Stop that, both of you." A stern voice reprimanded. "Do you think fighting about each other is helping anything?" Anzu scowled at Jounouchi and Honda as she sat up and turned to face them. "We're all upset, but that's no excuse for turning on our friends. If anything, we need to stick together right now. We need to be ready for whatever happens next. We can't do that if we're at each others' throats."
"A-aa." Honda nodded looking abashed as he dropped his gaze, unable to meet Anzu's blue eyes. "B-but ...grrr ... I hate this!" Honda snarled slamming his fist into his palm as he whirled to face the bed. "Just waiting! I hate feeling so helpless. I just ... I want to do something about it! If only ..."
"Hey man, I know how you feel. But until the bastard that did this shows his cowardly face, we can't beat his ass down. We don't even know if Yami is okay or not. Last night .." Jounouchi trailed off, his hand resting on Honda's shoulder. "We have to wait for Yugi to wake up. We need to know for sure before we find that guy." He finished turning to the others with determination in his eyes, daring them to gainsay him.
"Jounouchi-kun is right. We need to know more about what happened before we can act. And we can't leave Yugi-kun alone right now, even if we knew where the villain is. The way he is right now, it would be dangerous to leave him alone. Even my yami agrees. There could be another attack while we were gone hunting that enemy down." A soft voice spoke up from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Bakura nudging the door closed with his hip as he balanced a tray full of coffee cans in his arms.
Bakura smiled slightly and held up the tray. "I brought drinks for everyone." He paused, glancing at the bed and lowering the tray as his expression fell. "There's no change?"
"No, no change." Mai spoke up, watching the small figure in the bed with veiled purple eyes.
Ryou frowned slightly and sighed. "I had hoped ... while I was gone ..."
"We're all hoping Bakura-san." Shizuka smiled at him as she took the tray from his arms and set it down on one of the waiting room end tables. "Anzu- chan, maybe you should try to get some more sleep. We'll be quiet this time." She smiled at the brunette girl as Anzu leaned back in the chair beside the bed, running a hand through her hair.
"No, its alright Shizuka-chan. I-I want to be awake when Yugi wakes up." Anzu smiled over at the smaller girl, the hair on the right side of her head was pushed up and to the side awkwardly from sleeping on her arms.
"Un." Shizuka nodded before taking a seat in her own armchair again. Seto grunted and claimed the armchair in between Shizuka's and the couch. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back as he eyed the two by the bed as Anzu shifted her chair closer to Yugi's head and surreptitiously slipped her fingers around his.
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Warmth. It was the first sensation that registered to his mind as he hovered in a vast empty darkness.
'Where was it coming from? Everything was so cold. It had always been cold ... hadn't it?'
He shifted slightly in the darkness. 'It hadn't always been cold ... had it?' He was sure he could remember when it hadn't been cold. When there had been something other than darkness and cold. If he just tried hard enough, he was sure he would remember.
Maybe, maybe if he opened his eyes he would remember. When had he shut them? 'Had they always been shut?' All was darkness, there was no need to open eyes in the darkness. But, he wanted to open his eyes; he wanted to see. He was sure there was something he needed to see. 'But what?' He stirred within the darkness, struggling to open eyes that refused his commands.
'What was that?' A voice, there was a voice, somewhere. 'Whose voice? Who is that?' Who was there in the darkness with him? There hadn't ever been anyone with him before. He had always been alone, ... hadn't he? 'No, that's not right. There were others. There had been others. He had not been alone, had he? 'Why am I alone now?'
Warmth. It wrapped around his hand. It seemed to travel up his arm, infusing him with strength. The cold was chased away. It fled from his body, draining out of him as the warmth suffused him. 'There.' On his face as well. Light, touching his eyelids. There was light.
'Was the darkness leaving?' Fear shot through him at that thought. "Why? Why am I afraid of losing the darkness?' He wasn't sure, but he knew it was important. There was something ... something he needed to remember. 'But what?'
He struggled to move now. Everything was so difficult, like moving through molasses. He fought against the lethargy. He needed to see, to remember.
'Wait.' There was something. He could almost remember something. He struggled harder; he had to know. Then, as if a wall had shattered before his mind's eye, he could see despite the darkness. He could remember.
He had not been alone. He had never really been alone. And for years now, he had never felt so loved and wanted before in his life. He could remember everyone he cared about, and who cared about him. He could see them. Their smiling faces. Everyone.
His grandfather, his purple eyes lighting up as he smiled at him as he walked in through the door when he came back from school.
His mother, a smile lighting up her face as she checked on him before bed each night.
Anzu, her blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight as she waved from the bus stop, calling to him so he won't miss the bus. Anzu, opening her eyes and smiling up at him as she woke up from her duel with the evil penguin, her eyes lighting up with joy at seeing him. Anzu, concern filling her eyes as she pleaded with him to be careful as he walked through the doorway that would take him to the portal to Atlantis.**
Jounouchi, his brown eyes sincere as he promised him that they'd always be friends, no matter what, in that tunnel during Death-T before stage 4. Jounouchi, a big grin splitting his face as he asked him to strike, reassuring him that there were no hard feelings and that they were still friends.***
Honda, a thankful smile on his face as he stood up and thanked him for trying to protect him, but willing to face the consequences for the love letter puzzle in Ms. Chono's classroom. Honda, ensuring he was safe, even at the cost of his own safety in Death-T-3, smiling to reassure him.****
Bakura, smiling gently as he offered himself as a sacrifice to save him and the others from his yami. Bakura, smiling weakly but happily as he met his gaze and telling him that he's never had friends like them before.*****
Mai, trying to hide her smile behind her hand from across the campfire. Mai, turning back to give him a thumbs up and a wink before leaving the arena. Mai, smiling and laughing with Shizuka as she hugged Jounouchi and grinned at everyone from the hospital bed.******
Otogi, looking up with wide green eyes, unable to believe he still wanted to be friends after everything. Otogi, cheering him on from the sidelines.*******
Seto, glancing back for a moment, thanking him for helping to save him from the virtual world. Seto, blue eyes meeting his gaze as the rock platform touched down, surprise registering on his face at his taking up his duel for him. Seto, a familiar smirk lifting the corners of his mouth as he saluted from the cockpit of his dragon jet and told him he'd send them a message when the American Kaiba Land was finished.********
Mokuba, smiling hopefully up at him as he promised to stop Pegasus. Mokuba pleading for help with tears in his gray-blue eyes to save Seto from the Big Five. Mokuba's grinning face as he jumped out shouting 'Surprise! Happy Birthday Mokuba!'
Shizuka, green eyes bright as she smiled at him, taking in every bit of the scene, able to see at last. Shizuka, smiling as she laughed at Jounouchi's antics.
And Yami. Yami, deep purple eyes wide in surprise and touched with dismay as he insisted they had to keep their minds separate to win. Yami looking up as his hand caught Yami's and lifted him up to stand in his new memory room to see all their friends there, still urging him not to give up. Yami, looking on in alarm and fear, unable to prevent the dissolving of his limbs and torso into the darkness. Yami, eyes softening as he smiled when he promised to be Yami's Aibou forever. Yami, the pharaoh, looking up in surprise as he floated next to him, offering his hand and his own soul's power to summon Ra to defeat Diabound. Yami, the pharaoh, lifting his head, meeting his eyes as he stood between the Evil God and his fallen Other, the pharaoh.*********
Yugi could remember again. All of them, all of his friends, his family. The darkness and the last clinging vestiges of the cold fell away to light and warmth. As he felt himself rising up to the surface, towards the warmth, a thought struck him. 'What happened?'
And then it all came rushing back to him. Mokuba's party, the strange sensation, the pain! Yami, his pain filled eyes locking with his own, his hand reaching for Yugi's. The wind that came and the pain, the searing loss! Yami's voice, so faint and fading...
"Yami!"
Yugi's eyes snapped open, his body lurching up from its prone position, hand reaching for the familiar weight of the puzzle.
His hand grasped empty air, his fist landing against his chest. Yugi blinked blearily at his surroundings, trying to force his mind to understand where he was.
"Yugi!" A chorus of happy, surprised cries filled his ears as he realized he was in what looked like a hospital room, except for the extra furniture. He was suddenly glomped by two slender arms from his right as a brunette head buried itself against his shoulder. He was nearly bowled over by the force of the hug.
"W-what? Anzu?" Yugi gasped his cheeks turning red when he realized who had grabbed him.
"Oh thank God! We were so worried." Anzu's muffled, choked whispers reached his ears faintly. Anzu pulled back a second later and smiled brightly at him, her eyes closed to hide the gathered tears that her voice had given away.
The moment Anzu pulled back, Yugi found himself tackled from his left, and if not for a black-haired blur of energy that threw its arms around him from the right, he would probably have ended up on the floor.
"Yugi! You're alright! C'mere you! You had us all worried!" Jounouchi practically shouted as he grabbed Yugi in a friendly hug/headlock and proceeded to give him a light noogie.
"Aaaack! Jounouchi-kun ... gah! Stop that!" Yugi gasped in surprise, trying to be heard over the exclamations of everyone else in the room as he squirmed in his best friend's over enthusiastic welcome back.
"You idiot! Cut that out before you strangle him, Jou!" Honda laughed as he tried to drag Jounouchi off of the pint-sized convalescent.
"I'm so glad you're okay Yugi-kun!" Mokuba grinned up at him as he released Yugi from the spontaneous hug he had given him. "Ni-sama's glad too, right?" Yugi glanced down to the end of the bed where Seto stood, looking aloof.
"Hn." Seto grunted, glancing at Yugi. His deep blue eyes betrayed the relief that his mouth refused to acknowledge. Yugi smiled back at him. Seto 'hmmph'ed under his breath and glanced sharply away to the corner of the room as though it held the secret of life within its pale shadow.
Yugi felt a weight settle onto the foot of his bed. Peering out from under Jounouchi's arm as Honda and Otogi pried him off of Yugi's head, he could see Mai and Shizuka had settled one on either side of the bed.
Mai grinned and winked at him. "Good to see you're feeling better Yugi. You were starting to have us worried."
"Aa. We were all worried Yugi." Bakura spoke up from behind Anzu as Otogi nodded from behind Jounouchi, beside Honda.
"Un. You are feeling better, right Yugi-san?" Shizuka asked, her green eyes gentle with concern.
"Aa. I don't hurt anywhere if that's what you mean. But ..." Yugi glanced around at everyone and at the empty table beside his bed. "Where's my puzzle?"
TBC
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Dum dum dum!
Where indeed? 0_0
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//----------------------------MWUAHAHA! Just kidding I'm not that evil.---- ---------------//
"Aa. I don't hurt anywhere if that's what you mean. But ..." Yugi glanced around at everyone and at the empty table beside his bed. "Where's my puzzle?"
"Uh ... um." Jounouchi paused, hesitant.
"Yugi, the puzzle broke." Anzu said softly, apprehension tingeing her voice.
"Aa." Jounouchi concurred.
"W-wha-what?" Yugi asked, his voice quivering with barely restrained fear.
/Yami?! Yami!? Mou hitori no boku!!/ There was no answer. No reassuring sensation of his Other's mind in the back of his own.
"D-don't worry Yugi! We picked up all the pieces. We checked the whole place twice to be sure." Jounouchi hurriedly assured as he saw the growing alarm and fear on Yugi's face. Quickly he reached up and unzipped the blue jacket he had been wearing all this time. "I kept them safe for you so you could put it back together." He added as he reached under his shirt and pulled out a lumpy drawstring pouch from around his neck that clinked softly.
"You should probably start putting it back together Yugi." Bakura spoke up then. Yugi glanced up at him. "Don't worry, we'll wait." Bakura smiled down at him understandingly.
"W-we tried to put it back together. But, none of the pieces would stay together, even if they looked like they might fit. Bakura said it was because only you can put it together." Anzu spoke up, looking apologetic.
"Thanks you guys." Yugi smiled gratefully up at them as he took the proffered pouch from Jounouchi. Shifting on the bed to sit cross-legged under the sheets, Yugi up-ended the pouch and spilled out the glittering golden pieces into his lap. Soon the room was filled with the soft clinking of metal pieces as everyone took a seat to wait for its completion.
The minutes ticked by on the large wall clock, playing a steady counterpoint to the clicking of the puzzle pieces as they slid into place.
Contrary to the first time Yugi had completed the puzzle, this time the minutes flew by as the pile of golden jigsaw pieces once again assumed the form of a pyramid. It seemed as though the third time's the charm as the puzzle's completion progressed apace. In less than half an hour the puzzle was nearly complete.
"Nearly done Yugi?" Jounouchi questioned from his perch on the edge of the bed at Yugi's left side.
"Un. Just this ..."
Click. Clink.
"And give this a turn like that."
Clack. Clink.
"And then this one ..."
Clink.
"And then the last piece here.... Hey, Jounouchi, this one always seems to be the last piece I put in." Yugi smiled fondly as he turned the puzzle over to show the large hole in the side of the puzzle where the eye piece should go.
"Aa. That's the piece I gave back to you in the very beginning, huh Yugi?" Jounouchi grinned, speaking softly to not disturb the other whispered conversations around the room.
"Un!" Yugi grinned brightly up at him. Turning back to his puzzle he reached into the pouch to pull the last piece out.
His hand kept reaching.
"I-it-it's missing! The last piece ... it's missing!" Yugi's face paled in horror as his violet eyes went wide in alarm as he frantically scanned the bed and sheets and even the floor beneath the bed.
The empty black eye of the Millennium Puzzle stared back sorrowfully at him as Yugi hugged his arms to his chest and tried to stifle the panicked sobs as he bent forward over the puzzle in his lap.
TBC [For real this time.]
//--------------------MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I'M EVILER!!!!!!----------------- ----//
* He got them from a vending machine. In Japan they have vending machines with almost anything in them, hot or cold. Some even have underwear for sale in them. 0_o
//--------ALERT!! SPOILERS FOR MANGA AND ANIME ARCS BELOW--------------- -------------------------------READ AT OWN RISK!!--------------------------- -----------------//
** The duel with the penguin took place during the Noa arc in the anime. The penguin was actually one of the Big Five from Kaiba's company who was trapped in a virtual reality cyberspace world. If Anzu lost, the penguin member of the Big Five would have taken her body for himself. During the duel, if you lost life points your body was frozen in ice bit by bit. Anzu won, but passed out after, and woke up to Yugi taking care of her after the ice had been removed from herself. During the Doom arc, Atlantis rose from the ocean and the villain, Dartz, went through a portal in the Doom temple that led to Atlantis. Yugi, Seto, and Jou followed in order to defeat the giant Orihalcos God serpent that was keeping everyone's souls hostage. Anzu stopped Yugi before he entered the portal to talk to him. He was going to switch to Yami, but Anzu told him he didn't have to because she wanted to talk to Yugi, and tell him to be careful and come back.
*** In the manga, Kaiba set up a Death-T tournament of games that Yugi had to go through to save himself and his friends from Kaiba and his henchmen, as well as get justice for Kaiba having put his grandfather into the hospital. It had 5 levels and in 3rd he thought Honda had been killed by Kaiba's evil giant tetris game. At that time he hadn't acknowledged Yami's presence and would black out whenever Yami took control. His friends also didn't know about Yami. Losing Honda made Yami start to take control, but Yugi fought it, afraid that if Jou and Anzu knew about the 'other person' inside him they would leave him. They noticed something wrong and got him to confess about the 'other him' and his fears. Jounouchi told him that even if there was another Yugi, they'd always be friends. In the anime during Duelist Kingdom, the finals were Yugi vs. Jounouchi. Yugi and Yami didn't want to finish Jou off because Jou was fighting for his sister's chance at eyesight again. But Jou reassured them that it was okay, and he had no hard feelings about losing to Yugi and Yami.
**** In the manga Honda had a crush on a girl named Miho. He bought a puzzle that you write a love letter on, break up into its pieces, and give to the object of your affection from the Kami Game Shop and had Yugi write it because he was so nervous. Jou slipped it into Miho's desk but a mean teacher found it and demanded to know whose it was. Both Yugi and Jou claimed they wrote it and put it in the desk respectively, and the teacher planned to expel them both. Honda stood up and claimed it was his note on it in order to get them out of trouble for his sake. During Death-T level 3, Honda got his jacket caught under a giant tetris block and couldn't escape. Instead of trying to free himself, he chose to make sure Yugi got to safety before the exit was blocked.
***** In Duelist Kingdom, the first encounter with Yami Bakura ended when Ryou, who was sealed into the Change of Heart card, took over Yami Bakura's monster and told Yami and Yugi to attack him to end the duel and save the souls of everyone else who were also trapped in monster cards. Mwuahahaha! That last part is from part of my own imagined ending to the AE arc. Dunno how it really ends yet. If you're good little reviewers I'll write it in later in full as a flashback. ^_-
****** Mai shared food with them during Duelist Kingdom around a campfire. Mai was defeated by Yami/Yugi in Duelist Kingdom and told him they'd definitely duel again and to be ready to do his best against her next time. Mai and Shizuka played a trick after Battle City by Mai pretending not to have woken up when Yami Malik was defeated. Jou thought her soul had been lost and everyone was upset till Mai started laughing and hugging Jou, teasing him about being worried about her.
******* After the Dungeon Dice Monsters mini-arc Otogi was surprised that after having made Jounouchi wear a dog costume and having accused Yugi of cheating, Yugi still wanted to be friends with him. Just some duel during Battle City where Otogi was on the sidelines cheering.
******** At the end of the Legendary Heroes virtual world arc Seto sort of thanked Yugi for coming to save him from the Big Five. During the Noa arc, Seto was defeated by Noa in a duel that ended in Seto being turned into a statue. Yami/Yugi challenged Noa to finish the duel with him in Seto's stead because Seto had chosen to forfeit the duel by summoning the blue eyes instead of sticking with the twilight zone dragon in order to make Mokuba break free from Noa's brain washing. Noa agreed thinking there was no way they could win but he lost and Seto was released from the statue state. When he woke up and saw the floating platforms they had dueled on descending he was confused and surprised that Yugi had stood up for him like that. At the end of Battle City/Tower, Seto leaves for America to open a new Kaiba Land and reclaim the dream of a gaming paradise for under- privileged kids that he lost when fighting Gozaburo Kaiba to get control of Kaiba Corp. As he flew off in his Blue eyes white dragon shaped jet, he saluted Yugi and friends and told him they were going to America and would send for them/send them a message when Kaiba Land was completed.
********* During Duelist Kingdom when Yugi proposed the Mind Shuffle plan. During the Noa arc when Yami/Yugi was battling Noa, all his friends were turned to stone and Noa was trying to get him to give up because he had lost everything. Then Yugi appeared before him in his mind and took him into his soul room to show him a new door that had appeared. This was a new memory room that had been made since Yugi solved the puzzle. Inside were all the spirits/memories of their friends who told him not to give up and to keep dueling because they believed in him and in that he could win. During the finals of Battle City/Tower, Yami Malik set up a shadow game where as life points were lost, their other halves were devoured by darkness, piece by piece. Before AE in the manga, Yami was worried about what would happen after he got his memory back. He was worried he would return to the afterlife, or nothingness or something and was sad to think of losing Yugi and everyone. Yugi told him that until the time came that they would part he wanted to be his Aibou forever. In AE arc, pharaoh had used up all his power to summon Osiris to stop Thief King Bakura's Diabound, and Osiris was defeated badly wounding pharaoh. Then Yugi's spirit arrived and told him that he had the other half of pharaoh's power in him and they linked hands to tap into Yugi's power and summoned Ra to defeat Diabound. During fight in AE arc with Evil God Zoku, pharaoh is badly wounded and falls to his knees. He can't keep Mahaado's [Dark Magician's] monster form in the real world anymore and has no more defenses. Zoku is about to crush him when Yugi, Jou, Anzu, and Honda fly in and land in front of him to protect him from Zoku.
//--------------END MANGA/ANIME SPOILERS------------------------------------ ----------// //-----------------------------Its safe now, you can look------------------- ------------------------//
Okay, I swear this chapter was hijacked. That whole middle part is not at all what I started out to do in this chapter. Hard as it is to believe, I think the Bakuras and Honda and Otogi teamed up to steal the show and get more page time. Then the Bakuras and Honda kicked Otogi out. I think I went overboard with Y.Bakura. I really think he's out of character in this chapter but I couldn't get him to shut up. Eventually I'm going to explain why I have his character changed so much, but I don't know if everyone will agree that it's a good reason.
Hehe. I just couldn't resist making you think I stopped there, where he's asking where his puzzle is. It's such a perfect evil cliffhanger line.
Well, looks like Harry didn't make it into this chapter either. We'll see about next chapter.
Harry: "I sure hope so, so far you have a disclaimer for stuff you haven't even used yet."
I swear I tried to make this chapter shorter. I really did. But then there was the hijacking. And Yugi decided to do some soul floaty stuff when all I had planned at first was his hearing whispered voices and waking up to see his friends. Oh well, 8,235 words is shorter, comparatively, than ch. 1 is.
Anyway, that purple button is down there for a reason. Please review. All you people without accounts can review now too.
See you later people. This time for real, don't expect a chapter so soon. My fingers are getting sore from typing so much.
Ja ne! ^_^