~~~Atarashii's Fic Challenge: What if a simple mistake on Yugi's
behalf causes everyone else--including Yami--to abandon him when he
really needs help the most? The mistake could be anything, including someone gets hurt due to his slight carelessness; the incident where he needs help? Well...that could be a number of things too...anyone up to the challenge?~~~
Author's notes:
I DO NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! I do not even own my own life, so I'm pretty much set...
Hmm.. I've seen several _really good_ entries to
Atarashii's fanfic challenge (read above), so I'm hoping that this
one will be unique and different in it's own way.
Eevee muse: (rolls eyes) Don't worry, it _is_
Besides Atarashii convincing me to get one done, my other
inspirations stem from various fanfics I've read - yes people, I'm
getting ideas from _your_ fanfics! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
NOTE: I changed Anzu's name to "Tea" for a specific reason. My
apology to all non-dubbies.
**********************************************
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{.... Pluto went to the refrigerator and got out the milk and
leftover barbecued chicken. He took a leg and munched on it, after
handing the carton to Jesus. "Anyway, like I was saying, everything is just a
rule for you, isn't it? Can't have any fun or you'll be committing some
sin."
Jesus grinned. "That's not true. See?" He started
drinking directly from the milk carton. "Look what I'm doing!" ....}
- Excerpt from John Carp's "Secondary Characters"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
************************************
Short story - Black, White, and Sometimes Bright Pink
"Wow, it's really him."
"No way, its _the_ Yuugi Mutou?"
A young boy the age of fourteen walked down the bright
linoleum-polished hallways, one hand clutching the straps on his
backpack.
"I heard that he defeated Seto Kaiba single-handedly in
the Championships."
The boy winced, brows furrowing in frustration, as he
quickened his pace. Small footsteps pounded against the ground,
syncopated like the beating of his heart.
"Have you seen him duel? He looks so confident!"
His breaths were coming in jagged gasps now, but not
from the fear or exhaustion his body was used to. The pounding
grew faster, a dull beating drum.
"Yuugi!" A face suddenly appeared in front of the small
boy. It belonged to another taller boy, this one with unruly dirty-
blonde hair, sporting a lanky frame. "Oi, Yuugi. You doing
anything tonight?"
Yuugi swallowed, masking his agitation. Masking that
agony that boiled and burned his blood, calling out with
fathomless anguish. "I-I'm sorry Jounochi. I have a..." His voice
faltered, not sure what to say.
Jounochi simply grinned in response, eyes flashing
momentarily before calming down to a hazy grey. "Its okay,
Yuugi." He muttered, patting his smaller friend on the shoulder
before winking and turning to leave. "I understand."
The smaller boy, Yuugi, watched his best friend leave.
He watched the firm pounding of steps, like a perfect drum
soloist. And, with a defeated slump, he walked away, the
syncopation beating again with a lonely thud.
*************************************
Yuugi looked at his reflection in the mirror. If he stood
up, he could be a little taller. He braced his frame against the
counter, pushing upwards so that his feet hung, elevated body
supported my small, frail arms. There, he looked much better!
He was still too short. The small boy looked around,
perfect spiky hair swinging to one side. It had to be of the
lighting. Yes, the lighting made him look short!
The light went off.
And on.
And off again.
Yes, off was definitely better. That way, he couldn't
really see. Yuugi frowned. But then, he'd have to convince
himself.
With a defeated sigh, the light flickered back on. And
Yuugi left the bathroom, no happier than he had entered.
*************************************
"Hey Yuugi, my man!" Jounochi smiled, heartily
slapping the younger boy on the back as he sat down beside him.
"How's it coming so far?"
Yuugi, having just sat down in the cafeteria admist the
sea of chattering faces, smiled back. "Fine. Great. I'm as happy as
ever. So-o-o-o happy. Yes-sir-ee! Happy as can be!" He began to
sing a bit to himself, the tune oddly reminiscent of various
nursery songs.
Jounochi laughed it away, although it was obvious that
he was no longer sitting as close to Yuugi as he had been. He took
out his lunch, piece by piece, watching his friend do the same.
"What do you have for lunch?" He asked, again trying to make a
conversation.
Yuugi shrugged. He took out an apple, and shoved it in
front of Jounochi's face. "What does it look like?" The younger
boy frowned. "I thought it was an apple, but obviously it's not,
since you're asking me." He then made a face. "Of course, maybe
only I see an apple."
The other boy backed another few inches away. "Erm.
No... I'm quite sure it is an apple." He gulped, wondering what
on earth Yuugi was implying. Had his friend suddenly gone
insane?
"So... how's Yami these days?" Another friendly
attempt made by the taller boy.
Yuugi looked like he was going to lose it right then and
there, eyes flashing an unnatural violet. Strange emotions
flickered in his eyes like a kaleidoscope, eternally shifting,
although the pattern of internal turmoil and agony continued. He
opened his mouth to say something...
.... And then shut it.
And opened it again.
The second time shutting it wasn't as successful. He bit
his tongue.
Jounochi noticed how Yuugi winced, and took it as a
negative sign. The poor boy had probably gotten into another
argument with his Yami. They were becoming more frequent, and
part of him wondered if he should just interfere and tell them to
get a grip with themselves. Jounochi shrugged. Wasn't his affair -
besides, how was he going to explain his problem to anyone else?
~"Gee, Mr. Counselor. You see, I have a friend, and he
has this puzzle which allows him become this ancient Egyptian
pharaoh who was also the King of Games... of course, he always
gets in arguments with his other, and..."~
Somehow, that didn't seem right...
Yuugi took out his sandwich. And he looked at it.
Looked at the salami, ground between layers of thick mayonnaise,
greasy and slightly pink in hue. Looked at his lettuce, limp and a
dull green, oddly resembling the algae from his biology lab.
Looked at his bread, a frothy white, riddled with small holes and
craters, ready to spew out vapors of mold. Or, at least the
bacterial bread yeast it was created from. And he decided that
sandwiches were ugly. Not disgusting; just ugly.
Like everything else.
Jounochi had finished his own sandwich and was
working on his yogurt. He glanced at Yuugi, and then at the fact
that the boy was now fascinating himself by drawing small circles
on his sandwich bread with an imaginary pen. Jounochi blinked,
and continued eating. Not his fault...
But he felt guilty anyway. He should do something.
Really.
Suddenly, Yuugi's salami in the sandwich could stand
no more abuse, slipping out between the loaves of bread with a
greasy splurt. White creamy mayonnaise spilled over the smaller
boy's hand, covering them like a layer of thick Vaseline. The
offended salami lay flat on the ground, suddenly more orange
than pink.
Yuugi made a move as if to pick it up, but obviously he
had other intentions. It was hard trying to suppress his instincts
though. But he tried hard. And he succeeded. He didn't pick up
the object he had intentionally dropped. It was a start.
Jounochi watched as Yuugi started laughing, quietly at
first, but then loudly and deliberately. And the tall blonde-haired
boy came to the sudden conclusion that his friend _was_ insane.
He would have to talk to Yami about this.
*****************************************
Yami wanted to duel.
Yuugi didn't.
But that was only because his other wanted to. You see,
if Yami _hadn't_ wanted to duel, Yuugi would have. In fact,
Yuugi would have protested against anything else.
After all, wasn't Yami-Yuugi Yuugi's opposite?
*************************************
"There you are!"
Yuugi turned around, his height and eye level only
allowing him to catch the waist-down appearance of source of
voice. This time, he didn't blush.
Tea appeared in front of Yuugi, and the small boy made
an effort at looking just at her face. He wasn't a pervert - he just
didn't want to look at her. Or so, he reasoned.
The taller girl appeared to be smiling, asking politely
how Yuugi's day was, what he was doing, and oh, was he busy
this afternoon?
Yuugi heard none of that. He heard instead, what her
words really meant. She was waiting for someone, eyes glowing
with a vibrant eagerness. Yet, the way she regarded Yuugi was
only casual, almost too casual. No, those glowing vibrant eyes
weren't meant for Yuugi.
Of course not. No one liked him anyway. No one even
saw Yuugi Mutou anymore. All they saw was -
"No I'm busy, Tea. But I'll tell Yami that you called.
I'm sure he'll accompany you."
Those beautiful, intelligent, infinitely brilliant eyes of
hers lapsed into momentary wonder. And her equally lovely face
started glowing an unhealthy pink tinge.
Yuugi mentally sighed. Tea _was_ cute. Too cute. He
had had a crush on her since, well, even before he had met Yami.
Yet, he had always been too shy. And now, Yuugi was finding the
speechless Tea very boring. So he did the only thing he could
think of. He left.
Tea watched the younger boy leave, disbelief in her
eyes. What on earth was wrong with Yuugi? It was almost as if
the boy had lost his mind. She continued staring, watching the
small boy walk off. And wondered a bit if she would still be able
to see Yami tonight.
Yuugi walked off in all seriousness, singing "I'm a little
teapot" merrily to himself, ignoring the mounting number of
stares he was receiving. And he paused, realizing that those stares
were Not Good.
And he scowled. Now he had forgotten the next words.
What were they again? Oh yeah.
"... short and stout..."
****************************************
Yuugi didn't even blink as his double appeared right
beside him. He mentally snorted to himself. "Double"? Yeah,
right. As similar as day was to night. They were all blind. Yami
claimed to be the darkness, but in reality, he was the light. For,
everyone saw _him_, but not Yuugi. Not poor, helpless,
defenseless Yuugi. Oh no, Yuugi was the night. No one liked the
night.
Yami was angry now, expression grim and a bit
flustered. His normally spiky hair flopped a bit to one side,
reminding Yuugi of the days when he hadn't put enough hair-
spray in his hair.
The once-pharaoh seemed to be in an internal debate
with himself, occasionally taking deep gulps of breath and
massaging his temples. He was also fidgeting. Yami _never_
fidgeted.
Yuugi sighed. He hated seeing his other so agitated. He
needed his Yami, and now, when he needed Yami the most, the
other appeared to be in some high state of delirium.
The younger boy, coming to that conclusion, took the
necessary steps of recovery.
"It _is_ your fault, you know." He heard himself say.
Yami glared at his counterpart. "Please, Yuugi. Not this
again." He sighed, voice deep and reasoning. "Aibou, if there's
something wrong, please tell me. There's no way to fix it if you
keep on hiding it."
Yuugi blinked. And blinked several times. He decided to
blink some more for extra emphasis. "Am I missing something?"
He asked, voice as neutral as he felt. "I'm quite sure I left out
something."
To his credit, Yami looked unruffled. The once-pharaoh
walked up to the smaller boy, placing his hands on top of Yuugi's
shoulders in a brotherly gesture. Silent and sympathetic crimson
eyes glared firmly into chaotic violet eyes.
Yuugi swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. His heart
thumped noisily in his chest and he suddenly felt a million times
clumsier. Yami _was_ beautiful. Too beautiful for his own good.
And Yuugi almost felt proud that Yami was wearing the exact
same hairstyle as him. In fact, Yami sort off looked like him too.
Yuugi would be proud, if he wasn't busy being absorbed
by his other emotions, that is. Vaguely, Yuugi wondered what it
would be like to taste his other's lips. Kinda soft, he guessed.
Maybe a bit moist. He was hoping cherry. Or strawberry.
Yuugi shook his head. What on earth was he thinking?
No, it _definitely_ had to be grape.
The Millennium puzzle glowed a bit before Yami
disappeared, returning once more in defeat into his Soul Room.
Yuugi blinked, wondering if it was something he said. He really
liked blinking. It was cool.
****************************************
"So... that's all?" After the gigantic lecture, Yuugi was
incredulous at the conclusion. It was _that_ simple?
The other person, a professional-looking man in his late
forties, with a nicely shaven chin and prominent jutting nose,
simply smiled, rather kindly. "That's all." He repeated,
concluding it with a rather serious voice.
Yuugi tried his blinking technique again. "Sorry, but I
don't quite understand."
The professional sighed. Usually, people like Yuugi
didn't understand. Otherwise, why would they go see him? "It's
rather hard to explain, Mr. Mutou." The man searched his mind
for the best words to use. They were chosen carefully, with
effects of each one taken into consideration. "You have a pretty
decent life. But this one person - what's his name again?"
Yuugi looked up from his pondering position. "Yami.
Just Yami is fine."
"Okay," The professional continued. "This person you
call 'Yami' might have done something to make you feel jealous.
You mentioned how he was always better than you and how
everyone liked him right?"
An affirmative grunt responded.
"Well," the man leant back on his comfortable leather
chair, flipping through his notes one more time, making sure he
hadn't left any major detail behind in the examination. " I think
you should confront Yami. Tell him how you feel. What I
understand is that you are a bit jealous about how good he is. If he
really is your friend, tell him that."
Yuugi gave a blank stare. "What if he's not?"
"Not what?" The professional asked.
"Not my friend." Yuugi added.
The professional sighed, before looking face-to-face at
the small boy. "Ever tried making friends with him?"
Yuugi looked flustered. "But he's not- I mean-" His
voice fell, earnest. "I don't think he even notices me, with all
those other friends he has."
The man began taking notes again. He looked up briefly,
adjusting his large glasses. "You mean, you aren't jealous of him?
You're just jealous about the others taking him away from you?"
Yuugi gave the man a blank stare. "How should I
know?"
Now, the professional was getting confused. "But didn't
you say that you want to be noticed by him?"
Yuugi simply scowled, which turned out to be a rather
childish frown. "I dunno - you're the professional."
The man had nothing to say to that. The sound of more
scribbling, the hard ink pen against a sturdy notepad, ensued.
There were no pauses in between.
"Yuugi." The professional began, fresh ideas in his
mind. "Answer me truthfully: do you like Yami?"
"Of course." Yuugi began. "He's my best friend."
"Do you trust him?"
Yuugi hesitated. Did he trust Yami? "Yami would never
do anything against me."
"Does he like you as a friend?"
Another nod.
"Do you see him often?"
Heck, more than he ever wanted to. Yuugi continued
nodding. Nodding was fun!
"Have you ever tried confronting him about your
problems?"
Yuugi stopped nodding. Had he? Had he, in all earnest
tried? A part of him knew that he hadn't. And made a mental note
to talk to his Yami once he got home. To really try. But right
now, he wanted to get his money's worth.
"Yes." Yuugi slumped his head in a dejected manner.
The professional stopped writing. "What did he say?"
Yuugi giggled to himself as he told a fantastical tale
about a time when he had confronted a ..._fidgeting_ Yami and
made his other retreat back to his soul room. Of course, he then
had to explain to the nice man what a "Soul Room" was.
"I... see." The professional psychiatrist finally replied,
scribbling down some final notes.
Yuugi was rather disappointed when he was given a
subscription for some medicine that was supposed to clear his
"hallucinations"
****************************************
Yuugi was angry. Jounochi had started to ignore him, no
longer talking to him at all. At best, the taller boy would sit down
for some lunch, but whenever Yuugi took out his sandwich, the
older boy would slowly back away, muttering something about
having to fetch an apple.
Tea was even worse. Occasionally, when she saw Yuugi,
she would give him a sympathetic smile, as if she knew what was
going on. And when Yuugi walked away, he would always feel
her presence, her gentle eyes staring at him.
Yuugi didn't know Honda as well as he would have
liked to. Note the past tense. And since Honda had this mutual
agreement, they hardly ever met each other. End of story there.
But Yami. Now, Yami was a problem. First of all, his
Yami refused to talk to him. He felt angry at his Yami for
deserting him on a time like this, when he needed to confront his
Yami the most. Honestly, ancient Egyptian pharaohs had no sense
of guilt or self-morale. A part of him wondered if it was because
he had locked his puzzle away. But didn't Yami see that Yuugi
had to? The designs on the puzzle were bothering him. Especially
that ugly eye on the center. Besides, the wearing the entire puzzle
had just been plain tacky, not to mention downright heavy. Yet,
that was no excuse for a friend and companion like Yami just to
desert him. Yuugi snorted. Huh, "friend" indeed.
***********************************
Yuugi took out his lunch bag. And he smiled as he saw
the contents.
"Guess what Jounochi? I got a banana!"
Jounochi muttered something about Yuugi being several,
but the younger boy didn't catch it quite. He was almost positive
that Jounochi had muttered "you are" instead of "you have". But
that was bad grammar, so Yuugi had corrected it. Yes, Jounochi
had muttered something about Yuugi _having_ bananas.
**********************************
Did it really matter what happened to Yami? That was
the question he always asked himself before bed. Poor, poor
Yami. Locked away in an ancient puzzle, and then rescued by
him. Yuugi cackled. Yes, he definitely felt sorry for poor Yami.
He would have continued feeling sorry for Yami, if he wasn't
busy feeling sorry for himself, that is.
So, the puzzle in the locked safety cabinet remained
untouched.
Still, Yuugi couldn't help but wonder why Yami hadn't
even mentioned a word since their last argument. He really
wanted Yami to forgive him and like him again. He had
deliberately remembered a time when Yami had admitted the
puzzle was ugly, but now that he had taken it off, Yami no longer
talked to him. Yuugi humphed angrily. The nerve of that once-
pharaoh. Yami was just too... arrogant!
Cheeks flushed angrily, Yuugi curled into a small
position, soon drifting off into a much desired sleep.
**************************************
"Wake up, silly."
A deep voice, rather soothing and calm, stirred Yuugi
from his dream state.
The small boy yawned, rubbing his eyes and looking
around the room dazedly. Trying to grab his school uniform, he
realized that he was still disoriented, stumbling and falling.
Luckily, someone caught him on time.
Yuugi beamed at his older brother. A lot of people said
they were alike, although Yami had always gotten the popularity
and good looks. But Yuugi didn't care. He was happy for his
brother, and secretly hoped to be just like him some day. When he
had told his brother that, Yami had laughed, saying that he hoped
not.
"Thanks, bro. I can always count on you."
His brother coughed nervously. Yuugi knew it was
because Yami didn't want to look weak. "No problem." Yami
then winked, smirking in his trademark manner. "What's up? You
usually don't fall about like that."
"Its nothing." Yuugi shook his head to clear out the
intrusions. "I just had this really strange dream."
"Oh?" Once Yami was curious, it was very hard for him
to stop until he was satiated. "About what?"
Yuugi sighed, scratching his head confusedly. "It's
really vague, actually. Really weird." He blushed, not really
wanting to continue.
But Yuugi's older brother would give him no privacy.
"Come on, Yuugi. It's just a dream."
Yuugi coughed nervously, but gave in. "Okay. I had this
really weird puzzle that granted me the presence of this ancient
Egyptian pharaoh. What was really weird was that he was once a
"King of Games" and could win at any game he wanted to."
Yami laughed. "Whoah. He sorta sounds like me. The
winning at any game part, I mean."
"Even weirder," Yuugi continued, furrowing his brows
to recall the escaping memory of the dream, "I could summon this
pharaoh and he would protect me. And he and I would switch
places, where he would become me." Yuugi laughed, nervously.
"The funny thing is that his name was also Yami."
His brother laughed, ruffling Yuugi's hair. "Crazy
dreams you have, kid."
Yuugi smiled, and watched as his brother left the room
to allow him some time to pack up and dress accordingly. Of
course, he hadn't mentioned the other part. Yuugi shuddered.
Unlike his dream- Yami, he could always trust his brother. He
loved his brother dearly, and was proud of it. Besides, who on
earth would have friends called "Tea", "Honda", and "Jounochi"?
****************************************
Yuugi woke up, rubbing his eyes. His first instinct was
to grab the Millennium puzzle, usually located right on top of his
night-stand, to the left of his alarm clock. _His_ left, by the way.
But it wasn't there.
And Yuugi scratched his head, confused. He better take
another pill before seeing the doctor again.
***************************************
**************************************
Ending notes:
Zoo: All right. How many of you actually understood the ending?
*grasshoppers chirp in the background*
Zoo: (undaunted) I'm so glad you guys liked it ^_^! Oooh! Give
me some more fanfic challenges! I like these a lot ^.~
Eevee muse: Erm... I think you just used up your 15 years'
supply of fanfic writing privileges...
Zoo: o.O;;; By the way, if you have something negative to say,
give a reason for your negative-ness. It has to be a legitimate
reason, and you have to have understood the fic. Haha.. that's a
good one ^_^
- Positive reviews are always accepted, though!
By the way, extra credits go to Audacity, who is always there to
encourage me through my insanity. Go and read her fic, and
understand that she's insane too! ^_^
behalf causes everyone else--including Yami--to abandon him when he
really needs help the most? The mistake could be anything, including someone gets hurt due to his slight carelessness; the incident where he needs help? Well...that could be a number of things too...anyone up to the challenge?~~~
Author's notes:
I DO NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! I do not even own my own life, so I'm pretty much set...
Hmm.. I've seen several _really good_ entries to
Atarashii's fanfic challenge (read above), so I'm hoping that this
one will be unique and different in it's own way.
Eevee muse: (rolls eyes) Don't worry, it _is_
Besides Atarashii convincing me to get one done, my other
inspirations stem from various fanfics I've read - yes people, I'm
getting ideas from _your_ fanfics! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
NOTE: I changed Anzu's name to "Tea" for a specific reason. My
apology to all non-dubbies.
**********************************************
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{.... Pluto went to the refrigerator and got out the milk and
leftover barbecued chicken. He took a leg and munched on it, after
handing the carton to Jesus. "Anyway, like I was saying, everything is just a
rule for you, isn't it? Can't have any fun or you'll be committing some
sin."
Jesus grinned. "That's not true. See?" He started
drinking directly from the milk carton. "Look what I'm doing!" ....}
- Excerpt from John Carp's "Secondary Characters"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
************************************
Short story - Black, White, and Sometimes Bright Pink
"Wow, it's really him."
"No way, its _the_ Yuugi Mutou?"
A young boy the age of fourteen walked down the bright
linoleum-polished hallways, one hand clutching the straps on his
backpack.
"I heard that he defeated Seto Kaiba single-handedly in
the Championships."
The boy winced, brows furrowing in frustration, as he
quickened his pace. Small footsteps pounded against the ground,
syncopated like the beating of his heart.
"Have you seen him duel? He looks so confident!"
His breaths were coming in jagged gasps now, but not
from the fear or exhaustion his body was used to. The pounding
grew faster, a dull beating drum.
"Yuugi!" A face suddenly appeared in front of the small
boy. It belonged to another taller boy, this one with unruly dirty-
blonde hair, sporting a lanky frame. "Oi, Yuugi. You doing
anything tonight?"
Yuugi swallowed, masking his agitation. Masking that
agony that boiled and burned his blood, calling out with
fathomless anguish. "I-I'm sorry Jounochi. I have a..." His voice
faltered, not sure what to say.
Jounochi simply grinned in response, eyes flashing
momentarily before calming down to a hazy grey. "Its okay,
Yuugi." He muttered, patting his smaller friend on the shoulder
before winking and turning to leave. "I understand."
The smaller boy, Yuugi, watched his best friend leave.
He watched the firm pounding of steps, like a perfect drum
soloist. And, with a defeated slump, he walked away, the
syncopation beating again with a lonely thud.
*************************************
Yuugi looked at his reflection in the mirror. If he stood
up, he could be a little taller. He braced his frame against the
counter, pushing upwards so that his feet hung, elevated body
supported my small, frail arms. There, he looked much better!
He was still too short. The small boy looked around,
perfect spiky hair swinging to one side. It had to be of the
lighting. Yes, the lighting made him look short!
The light went off.
And on.
And off again.
Yes, off was definitely better. That way, he couldn't
really see. Yuugi frowned. But then, he'd have to convince
himself.
With a defeated sigh, the light flickered back on. And
Yuugi left the bathroom, no happier than he had entered.
*************************************
"Hey Yuugi, my man!" Jounochi smiled, heartily
slapping the younger boy on the back as he sat down beside him.
"How's it coming so far?"
Yuugi, having just sat down in the cafeteria admist the
sea of chattering faces, smiled back. "Fine. Great. I'm as happy as
ever. So-o-o-o happy. Yes-sir-ee! Happy as can be!" He began to
sing a bit to himself, the tune oddly reminiscent of various
nursery songs.
Jounochi laughed it away, although it was obvious that
he was no longer sitting as close to Yuugi as he had been. He took
out his lunch, piece by piece, watching his friend do the same.
"What do you have for lunch?" He asked, again trying to make a
conversation.
Yuugi shrugged. He took out an apple, and shoved it in
front of Jounochi's face. "What does it look like?" The younger
boy frowned. "I thought it was an apple, but obviously it's not,
since you're asking me." He then made a face. "Of course, maybe
only I see an apple."
The other boy backed another few inches away. "Erm.
No... I'm quite sure it is an apple." He gulped, wondering what
on earth Yuugi was implying. Had his friend suddenly gone
insane?
"So... how's Yami these days?" Another friendly
attempt made by the taller boy.
Yuugi looked like he was going to lose it right then and
there, eyes flashing an unnatural violet. Strange emotions
flickered in his eyes like a kaleidoscope, eternally shifting,
although the pattern of internal turmoil and agony continued. He
opened his mouth to say something...
.... And then shut it.
And opened it again.
The second time shutting it wasn't as successful. He bit
his tongue.
Jounochi noticed how Yuugi winced, and took it as a
negative sign. The poor boy had probably gotten into another
argument with his Yami. They were becoming more frequent, and
part of him wondered if he should just interfere and tell them to
get a grip with themselves. Jounochi shrugged. Wasn't his affair -
besides, how was he going to explain his problem to anyone else?
~"Gee, Mr. Counselor. You see, I have a friend, and he
has this puzzle which allows him become this ancient Egyptian
pharaoh who was also the King of Games... of course, he always
gets in arguments with his other, and..."~
Somehow, that didn't seem right...
Yuugi took out his sandwich. And he looked at it.
Looked at the salami, ground between layers of thick mayonnaise,
greasy and slightly pink in hue. Looked at his lettuce, limp and a
dull green, oddly resembling the algae from his biology lab.
Looked at his bread, a frothy white, riddled with small holes and
craters, ready to spew out vapors of mold. Or, at least the
bacterial bread yeast it was created from. And he decided that
sandwiches were ugly. Not disgusting; just ugly.
Like everything else.
Jounochi had finished his own sandwich and was
working on his yogurt. He glanced at Yuugi, and then at the fact
that the boy was now fascinating himself by drawing small circles
on his sandwich bread with an imaginary pen. Jounochi blinked,
and continued eating. Not his fault...
But he felt guilty anyway. He should do something.
Really.
Suddenly, Yuugi's salami in the sandwich could stand
no more abuse, slipping out between the loaves of bread with a
greasy splurt. White creamy mayonnaise spilled over the smaller
boy's hand, covering them like a layer of thick Vaseline. The
offended salami lay flat on the ground, suddenly more orange
than pink.
Yuugi made a move as if to pick it up, but obviously he
had other intentions. It was hard trying to suppress his instincts
though. But he tried hard. And he succeeded. He didn't pick up
the object he had intentionally dropped. It was a start.
Jounochi watched as Yuugi started laughing, quietly at
first, but then loudly and deliberately. And the tall blonde-haired
boy came to the sudden conclusion that his friend _was_ insane.
He would have to talk to Yami about this.
*****************************************
Yami wanted to duel.
Yuugi didn't.
But that was only because his other wanted to. You see,
if Yami _hadn't_ wanted to duel, Yuugi would have. In fact,
Yuugi would have protested against anything else.
After all, wasn't Yami-Yuugi Yuugi's opposite?
*************************************
"There you are!"
Yuugi turned around, his height and eye level only
allowing him to catch the waist-down appearance of source of
voice. This time, he didn't blush.
Tea appeared in front of Yuugi, and the small boy made
an effort at looking just at her face. He wasn't a pervert - he just
didn't want to look at her. Or so, he reasoned.
The taller girl appeared to be smiling, asking politely
how Yuugi's day was, what he was doing, and oh, was he busy
this afternoon?
Yuugi heard none of that. He heard instead, what her
words really meant. She was waiting for someone, eyes glowing
with a vibrant eagerness. Yet, the way she regarded Yuugi was
only casual, almost too casual. No, those glowing vibrant eyes
weren't meant for Yuugi.
Of course not. No one liked him anyway. No one even
saw Yuugi Mutou anymore. All they saw was -
"No I'm busy, Tea. But I'll tell Yami that you called.
I'm sure he'll accompany you."
Those beautiful, intelligent, infinitely brilliant eyes of
hers lapsed into momentary wonder. And her equally lovely face
started glowing an unhealthy pink tinge.
Yuugi mentally sighed. Tea _was_ cute. Too cute. He
had had a crush on her since, well, even before he had met Yami.
Yet, he had always been too shy. And now, Yuugi was finding the
speechless Tea very boring. So he did the only thing he could
think of. He left.
Tea watched the younger boy leave, disbelief in her
eyes. What on earth was wrong with Yuugi? It was almost as if
the boy had lost his mind. She continued staring, watching the
small boy walk off. And wondered a bit if she would still be able
to see Yami tonight.
Yuugi walked off in all seriousness, singing "I'm a little
teapot" merrily to himself, ignoring the mounting number of
stares he was receiving. And he paused, realizing that those stares
were Not Good.
And he scowled. Now he had forgotten the next words.
What were they again? Oh yeah.
"... short and stout..."
****************************************
Yuugi didn't even blink as his double appeared right
beside him. He mentally snorted to himself. "Double"? Yeah,
right. As similar as day was to night. They were all blind. Yami
claimed to be the darkness, but in reality, he was the light. For,
everyone saw _him_, but not Yuugi. Not poor, helpless,
defenseless Yuugi. Oh no, Yuugi was the night. No one liked the
night.
Yami was angry now, expression grim and a bit
flustered. His normally spiky hair flopped a bit to one side,
reminding Yuugi of the days when he hadn't put enough hair-
spray in his hair.
The once-pharaoh seemed to be in an internal debate
with himself, occasionally taking deep gulps of breath and
massaging his temples. He was also fidgeting. Yami _never_
fidgeted.
Yuugi sighed. He hated seeing his other so agitated. He
needed his Yami, and now, when he needed Yami the most, the
other appeared to be in some high state of delirium.
The younger boy, coming to that conclusion, took the
necessary steps of recovery.
"It _is_ your fault, you know." He heard himself say.
Yami glared at his counterpart. "Please, Yuugi. Not this
again." He sighed, voice deep and reasoning. "Aibou, if there's
something wrong, please tell me. There's no way to fix it if you
keep on hiding it."
Yuugi blinked. And blinked several times. He decided to
blink some more for extra emphasis. "Am I missing something?"
He asked, voice as neutral as he felt. "I'm quite sure I left out
something."
To his credit, Yami looked unruffled. The once-pharaoh
walked up to the smaller boy, placing his hands on top of Yuugi's
shoulders in a brotherly gesture. Silent and sympathetic crimson
eyes glared firmly into chaotic violet eyes.
Yuugi swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. His heart
thumped noisily in his chest and he suddenly felt a million times
clumsier. Yami _was_ beautiful. Too beautiful for his own good.
And Yuugi almost felt proud that Yami was wearing the exact
same hairstyle as him. In fact, Yami sort off looked like him too.
Yuugi would be proud, if he wasn't busy being absorbed
by his other emotions, that is. Vaguely, Yuugi wondered what it
would be like to taste his other's lips. Kinda soft, he guessed.
Maybe a bit moist. He was hoping cherry. Or strawberry.
Yuugi shook his head. What on earth was he thinking?
No, it _definitely_ had to be grape.
The Millennium puzzle glowed a bit before Yami
disappeared, returning once more in defeat into his Soul Room.
Yuugi blinked, wondering if it was something he said. He really
liked blinking. It was cool.
****************************************
"So... that's all?" After the gigantic lecture, Yuugi was
incredulous at the conclusion. It was _that_ simple?
The other person, a professional-looking man in his late
forties, with a nicely shaven chin and prominent jutting nose,
simply smiled, rather kindly. "That's all." He repeated,
concluding it with a rather serious voice.
Yuugi tried his blinking technique again. "Sorry, but I
don't quite understand."
The professional sighed. Usually, people like Yuugi
didn't understand. Otherwise, why would they go see him? "It's
rather hard to explain, Mr. Mutou." The man searched his mind
for the best words to use. They were chosen carefully, with
effects of each one taken into consideration. "You have a pretty
decent life. But this one person - what's his name again?"
Yuugi looked up from his pondering position. "Yami.
Just Yami is fine."
"Okay," The professional continued. "This person you
call 'Yami' might have done something to make you feel jealous.
You mentioned how he was always better than you and how
everyone liked him right?"
An affirmative grunt responded.
"Well," the man leant back on his comfortable leather
chair, flipping through his notes one more time, making sure he
hadn't left any major detail behind in the examination. " I think
you should confront Yami. Tell him how you feel. What I
understand is that you are a bit jealous about how good he is. If he
really is your friend, tell him that."
Yuugi gave a blank stare. "What if he's not?"
"Not what?" The professional asked.
"Not my friend." Yuugi added.
The professional sighed, before looking face-to-face at
the small boy. "Ever tried making friends with him?"
Yuugi looked flustered. "But he's not- I mean-" His
voice fell, earnest. "I don't think he even notices me, with all
those other friends he has."
The man began taking notes again. He looked up briefly,
adjusting his large glasses. "You mean, you aren't jealous of him?
You're just jealous about the others taking him away from you?"
Yuugi gave the man a blank stare. "How should I
know?"
Now, the professional was getting confused. "But didn't
you say that you want to be noticed by him?"
Yuugi simply scowled, which turned out to be a rather
childish frown. "I dunno - you're the professional."
The man had nothing to say to that. The sound of more
scribbling, the hard ink pen against a sturdy notepad, ensued.
There were no pauses in between.
"Yuugi." The professional began, fresh ideas in his
mind. "Answer me truthfully: do you like Yami?"
"Of course." Yuugi began. "He's my best friend."
"Do you trust him?"
Yuugi hesitated. Did he trust Yami? "Yami would never
do anything against me."
"Does he like you as a friend?"
Another nod.
"Do you see him often?"
Heck, more than he ever wanted to. Yuugi continued
nodding. Nodding was fun!
"Have you ever tried confronting him about your
problems?"
Yuugi stopped nodding. Had he? Had he, in all earnest
tried? A part of him knew that he hadn't. And made a mental note
to talk to his Yami once he got home. To really try. But right
now, he wanted to get his money's worth.
"Yes." Yuugi slumped his head in a dejected manner.
The professional stopped writing. "What did he say?"
Yuugi giggled to himself as he told a fantastical tale
about a time when he had confronted a ..._fidgeting_ Yami and
made his other retreat back to his soul room. Of course, he then
had to explain to the nice man what a "Soul Room" was.
"I... see." The professional psychiatrist finally replied,
scribbling down some final notes.
Yuugi was rather disappointed when he was given a
subscription for some medicine that was supposed to clear his
"hallucinations"
****************************************
Yuugi was angry. Jounochi had started to ignore him, no
longer talking to him at all. At best, the taller boy would sit down
for some lunch, but whenever Yuugi took out his sandwich, the
older boy would slowly back away, muttering something about
having to fetch an apple.
Tea was even worse. Occasionally, when she saw Yuugi,
she would give him a sympathetic smile, as if she knew what was
going on. And when Yuugi walked away, he would always feel
her presence, her gentle eyes staring at him.
Yuugi didn't know Honda as well as he would have
liked to. Note the past tense. And since Honda had this mutual
agreement, they hardly ever met each other. End of story there.
But Yami. Now, Yami was a problem. First of all, his
Yami refused to talk to him. He felt angry at his Yami for
deserting him on a time like this, when he needed to confront his
Yami the most. Honestly, ancient Egyptian pharaohs had no sense
of guilt or self-morale. A part of him wondered if it was because
he had locked his puzzle away. But didn't Yami see that Yuugi
had to? The designs on the puzzle were bothering him. Especially
that ugly eye on the center. Besides, the wearing the entire puzzle
had just been plain tacky, not to mention downright heavy. Yet,
that was no excuse for a friend and companion like Yami just to
desert him. Yuugi snorted. Huh, "friend" indeed.
***********************************
Yuugi took out his lunch bag. And he smiled as he saw
the contents.
"Guess what Jounochi? I got a banana!"
Jounochi muttered something about Yuugi being several,
but the younger boy didn't catch it quite. He was almost positive
that Jounochi had muttered "you are" instead of "you have". But
that was bad grammar, so Yuugi had corrected it. Yes, Jounochi
had muttered something about Yuugi _having_ bananas.
**********************************
Did it really matter what happened to Yami? That was
the question he always asked himself before bed. Poor, poor
Yami. Locked away in an ancient puzzle, and then rescued by
him. Yuugi cackled. Yes, he definitely felt sorry for poor Yami.
He would have continued feeling sorry for Yami, if he wasn't
busy feeling sorry for himself, that is.
So, the puzzle in the locked safety cabinet remained
untouched.
Still, Yuugi couldn't help but wonder why Yami hadn't
even mentioned a word since their last argument. He really
wanted Yami to forgive him and like him again. He had
deliberately remembered a time when Yami had admitted the
puzzle was ugly, but now that he had taken it off, Yami no longer
talked to him. Yuugi humphed angrily. The nerve of that once-
pharaoh. Yami was just too... arrogant!
Cheeks flushed angrily, Yuugi curled into a small
position, soon drifting off into a much desired sleep.
**************************************
"Wake up, silly."
A deep voice, rather soothing and calm, stirred Yuugi
from his dream state.
The small boy yawned, rubbing his eyes and looking
around the room dazedly. Trying to grab his school uniform, he
realized that he was still disoriented, stumbling and falling.
Luckily, someone caught him on time.
Yuugi beamed at his older brother. A lot of people said
they were alike, although Yami had always gotten the popularity
and good looks. But Yuugi didn't care. He was happy for his
brother, and secretly hoped to be just like him some day. When he
had told his brother that, Yami had laughed, saying that he hoped
not.
"Thanks, bro. I can always count on you."
His brother coughed nervously. Yuugi knew it was
because Yami didn't want to look weak. "No problem." Yami
then winked, smirking in his trademark manner. "What's up? You
usually don't fall about like that."
"Its nothing." Yuugi shook his head to clear out the
intrusions. "I just had this really strange dream."
"Oh?" Once Yami was curious, it was very hard for him
to stop until he was satiated. "About what?"
Yuugi sighed, scratching his head confusedly. "It's
really vague, actually. Really weird." He blushed, not really
wanting to continue.
But Yuugi's older brother would give him no privacy.
"Come on, Yuugi. It's just a dream."
Yuugi coughed nervously, but gave in. "Okay. I had this
really weird puzzle that granted me the presence of this ancient
Egyptian pharaoh. What was really weird was that he was once a
"King of Games" and could win at any game he wanted to."
Yami laughed. "Whoah. He sorta sounds like me. The
winning at any game part, I mean."
"Even weirder," Yuugi continued, furrowing his brows
to recall the escaping memory of the dream, "I could summon this
pharaoh and he would protect me. And he and I would switch
places, where he would become me." Yuugi laughed, nervously.
"The funny thing is that his name was also Yami."
His brother laughed, ruffling Yuugi's hair. "Crazy
dreams you have, kid."
Yuugi smiled, and watched as his brother left the room
to allow him some time to pack up and dress accordingly. Of
course, he hadn't mentioned the other part. Yuugi shuddered.
Unlike his dream- Yami, he could always trust his brother. He
loved his brother dearly, and was proud of it. Besides, who on
earth would have friends called "Tea", "Honda", and "Jounochi"?
****************************************
Yuugi woke up, rubbing his eyes. His first instinct was
to grab the Millennium puzzle, usually located right on top of his
night-stand, to the left of his alarm clock. _His_ left, by the way.
But it wasn't there.
And Yuugi scratched his head, confused. He better take
another pill before seeing the doctor again.
***************************************
**************************************
Ending notes:
Zoo: All right. How many of you actually understood the ending?
*grasshoppers chirp in the background*
Zoo: (undaunted) I'm so glad you guys liked it ^_^! Oooh! Give
me some more fanfic challenges! I like these a lot ^.~
Eevee muse: Erm... I think you just used up your 15 years'
supply of fanfic writing privileges...
Zoo: o.O;;; By the way, if you have something negative to say,
give a reason for your negative-ness. It has to be a legitimate
reason, and you have to have understood the fic. Haha.. that's a
good one ^_^
- Positive reviews are always accepted, though!
By the way, extra credits go to Audacity, who is always there to
encourage me through my insanity. Go and read her fic, and
understand that she's insane too! ^_^