Last Time: The impossible happened, as TK sat down and actually solved the Millennium Puzzle. The results were as expected; Yami and TK now shared one body. After getting the misunderstanding cleared up, Yugi and his friends headed over to TK's apartment to get the Millennium Puzzle back. But when they got there…Yami decided to come out and say hello.


Taking A New Host: Part 3


Yugi was speechless. He was used to being face-to-face with Yami, but never like this. Every time he looked at Yami, it was with his body. Though their personalities were VERY different, they had always shared one body. That's the way of the Millennium Puzzle: one body, two spirits.

Yugi carefully took a step forward. "Yami?"

"I didn't expect to ever see you again, Yugi," Yami said. Sure enough, he still had his uniquely deep voice.

"But that's impossible!" Yugi cried. "It took me eight years to put the Millennium Puzzle together!"

"This one's very resourceful," Yami smirked. "You'd be surprised, Aibou. It was as if he had a guide on his side on that night."

The girl beside TK gasped. "TK?"

Téa stepped in. "Uh…maybe we should explain to that girl just what's happening. She probably thinks she just stepped into The Exorcist or something."

"We can do that after Yami comes back," Yugi replied.

"After I come back?" Yami scoffed. "Last time I saw you, Yugi, you tried to get rid of me for good!"

"I'm sorry, Yami," Yugi apologized. "I was being irrational. I was just thinking about that one time, while forgetting about all the other times you helped us. I guess I forgot just how big a help you were."

"You never would have made it through the Duelist Kingdom without me, Yugi!" Yami shouted. "I taught you how to believe in the heart of the cards!"

Yugi hung his head down. "I know."

"You never would have gotten your grandpa back without me."

"I know."

"And I thought we were friends," Yami said solemnly.

Yugi was feeling terrible now. "We ARE friends, Yami. I just…lost my head. I wasn't thinking straight. I'm sorry. We can talk about it after I put the Millennium Puzzle back together again."

"That's not going to happen, Yugi," Yami muttered. "For that to happen, TK would have to take the Millennium Puzzle apart…and I won't allow it! Has it occurred to you that maybe I LIKE being in this body?"

"Yami, you can't mean that!" Téa gasped.

"You've been in there for less than a day," Joey pointed out. "You've known Yugi for a lot longer than that!"

"That's just it, Joey. I've gotten to know Yugi and, frankly, there's no nice way to say this. Yugi…you've been a bit of a pill lately. And now that someone else has solved the Millennium Puzzle, that gives me a chance to expand my horizons."

The other girl there timidly raised her hand. "Uh…Mr. Yami? Shouldn't you ask TK what HE thinks about that?"

"Uh…whatever-her-name-is is right," Joey said. "You and Yugi were always a team, but you're just a stranger to TK. Ask him what HE wants."

"You make a good point," Yami admitted. "Very well. I will consult with TK."

Yami closed his eyes. Yugi usually went through these sort of things himself whenever he wanted to talk to his Yami. But he wasn't a part of this now. All he could do was stand by and wonder just what TK and Yami were saying to one another.

TK felt like he was having an out-of-body experience. He was used to closing his eyes and seeing his own thoughts. But now he had his eyes closed and was facing someone else. He was facing someone who looked just like him, yet was so different.

// I'm sorry to burden you like this, TK. //

/// You'll understand if I'm a little weirded out by this whole thing. I'm not used to sharing a body with a stranger. ///

// I need to ask a favor of you. It'll be the last thing I ever ask of you. //

/// Do I have much choice? ///

// I'll take that as a 'yes'. TK, I need you to play along with me. I'd like to teach my young Aibou a lesson. //

/// What's an Aibou? ///

// It's a little pet name I have for Yugi. Anyway, I'd like to teach him a harsh lesson that'll hopefully leave him more appreciative in the future. In order to do that, I'll need you to play along with whatever I say and allow me some more time in your body before you take the Millennium Puzzle apart. One day at the most. I promise. It's all I ask. //

TK stayed silent and thought about the proposal. He really didn't know what this spirit was capable of and he didn't want to find out what he could do by disagreeing. So he nodded.

/// Ok, but you promised! I want my life to be normal tomorrow. Uh…about as normal as my life gets, anyway. ///

Yami smirked. // Thank you, TK. Now bear with me and play along with whatever I say. //

TK braced himself. He could sense trouble on the horizon.

Yugi waited anxiously for Yami to finish his inner conversation with TK. It took a while, but Yami finally opened his eyes and got ready to speak again.

"I've talked to TK," Yami said. "We've come to a decision. I'm staying."

Yugi's jaw dropped. "WHAT?!"

"You can't be serious!" Joey added.

"You two don't even know each other!" Tristan pointed out.

"Yami, you can't!" Téa cried.

"Our decision is made!" Yami snapped. "Now I'm going to have to ask you to leave!"

Yami wasn't leaving any room for rational argument, because he was starting to push Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Téa out of the apartment. Before Yugi could even utter another word, the door was slammed in his face.

"He can't do that to us!" Joey growled. Then he sweatdropped. "Can he?"

"I guess he really doesn't want to come back," Yugi said sadly. "He didn't accept my apology."

There was a moment of silence before a smile came to Téa. It looked like she had an idea.

"Maybe there's someone else who can help us," Téa smiled. "It's a long shot, but I think it just might work."

"What's the plan, Téa?" Joey asked.

Téa began to explain her plan to her friends. And it sounded crazy, indeed. No one understood how it was supposed to help at first. Then Yugi figured it out.

It sounded like it just might work.

With that finished, Yami turned around and wandered over to the nearby couch. But he was intercepted by the young girl and a flying pig.

"TK, I know the real you is in there somewhere," she said. "You can't seriously mean that you want this other spirit in your body!"

"Are you Kari?" Yami asked.

Kari blinked. "Yeah, that's me."

"I must ask you to be patient with us," Yami requested. "We know exactly what we're doing." He then shifted his gaze to the flying pig. "And you must be that thing called Patamon."

"That's me," he said.

"Just what are you, anyway?" Yami asked curiously. "Is this some sort of ancient black magic?"

Patamon snickered. "What do you think I am? Out of a Harry Potter movie or something? I'm a Digimon."

"A Digimon?" Yami repeated. "Is that some ancient unknown race?"

Kari sweatdropped. "Uh…Yami, is it? Maybe we should have a seat. I'll tell you all about us and…you can tell us all about yourself…and where you came from…and why you're stuck inside my boyfriend."

Kari led Yami over to the couch and sat him down. He kept his eye on Patamon, looking bewildered all the while.

Kari struggled with where to begin. "Uh…I guess I can explain it all to you…"

"Tell me again why you have his number on speed dial?" Joey asked.

Yugi was also curious as to why Téa had that phone number programmed into her cell phone. But now wasn't the time to bring up such oddities. They had to see if he could help them out. Once Téa dialed the number, she handed the phone to Yugi.

"Hello? … Hi, it's… … Oh, you recognized me. … Um…I don't know how to say this, but…I need your help. … It's Yami. Something's happened with the Millennium Puzzle and it's fallen into someone else's hands. … Yes, that does mean Yami isn't in my body. The problem is he doesn't want to come back. … We were thinking you could help. … Why should you help? … Uh…because if you don't, you'll never get that rematch you've always wanted. You'll go down in history as the #2 duelist in the world. … You'll be here? Great! We're in Odaiba! We'll call you up in a little while and leave you the directions! Thanks a lot!"

Yugi hung up the phone with a smile on his face. He managed to bait him into coming. Yugi knew he couldn't resist helping if he held the prospect of a rematch over his head.

"So he's coming?" Tristan asked.

"He's on his way," Yugi answered.

"What an egomaniac," Joey scoffed. "You know he's just doing this for the rematch. He can't take that loss on his record."

"Maybe he is, but we need him," Yugi pointed out. "He may be our only hope to get Yami back."

If Yami had one fatal flaw, it was that he refused to lose and never backed down from anything, no matter what the odds. It was the only thing Yugi could play up, it was Yami's arrogance. It was his only chance to get him back.

Yami was thinking about everything he had heard. He had heard a lot of mythical stories back in ancient Egypt, but never anything like this. And these stories certainly didn't appear to be a myth. If this Patamon was any indication, they all appeared to be very true.

"There's so little I know about you," Yami muttered. "I thought I had stumbled into the body of a normal boy."

"TK's far from normal," Kari said calmly as she took a sip of tea. "We've faced off against the Dark Masters, Apocalymon, and MaloMyotismon together."

"I see. Those are evil Digimon?"

"Uh huh. They nearly took over our world and the Digital World."

"Hmm…can I have some time to absorb all this, Kari? I'll just be in the puzzle. I'm sure TK would like to see you again, anyway."

Yami just shrugged and decided to let TK handle this. The ancient one had no idea what he was doing in this strange body. He was starting to think he should have gone back with his Aibou.

Kari put her tea down when he saw Yami's expression go blank. "Yami?"

Instead, Kari got a familiar voice. "Kari?"

Kari's face brightened. "TK!"

TK shook his head furiously. "I am NOT used to this!"

"I'm sure you aren't. Are you ok?"

"I feel fine now, but whenever he's out there, it feels like the inside of my body is…crowded. I feel like a spectator in my own mind. I know he hears me and I can still think, but the words aren't mine."

Kari held TK's hand. "You poor thing. It sounds like you've been through a lot. When is this going to end?"

"He says he has an idea to teach that guy a lesson. I just hope he makes it quick. He said it would only be a day."

"I hope it doesn't take long. This is so weird."

"I just want my body back. I want it ALL back!"

Kari felt a soft spot for TK. She stroked his hair back, sending a signal to Patamon that it was time for him to avert his gaze. Patamon turned around while Kari closed her eyes and moved in for a kiss. She gave TK a soothing kiss and held it for almost a minute. Kari was totally caught up in the moment. When she broke the kiss, she got an unexpected response.

"So soft," a deep voice said. "Reminds me of my first wife."

Kari gasped. She hadn't kissed TK. She kissed Yami! He had stolen a kiss from her. Instinctively, Kari reached back and slapped the taste out of his mouth.

"OW!" a whiny voice cried. "Kari, what was that for?!"

Kari gasped again. "TK, I'm so sorry! I thought it was…"

"It was," TK said as he rubbed his cheek painfully. "He went back to the puzzle just before you slapped me. I didn't know you could slap so hard. Have you been working out?"

Kari sighed deeply. "This is going to be a long night."

Yugi waited patiently in front of the motel with Téa sitting right beside him while Joey and Tristan struggled to get a soda out of the stubborn Coke machine. The wait felt like an eternity, but once the wait was over, Yugi knew it would be worth it. It would all be worth it once he had Yami back.

"I hope this works," Yugi muttered.

"I know it will," Téa said cheerfully. "Trust me."

After another five minutes of waiting, a limousine pulled up to the parking lot and stopped right in front of Yugi and Téa. Joey and Tristan pulled themselves away from the Coke machine long enough to notice that the limo had stopped and the door was slowly opening.

"I still can't believe we called this jerk," Joey grumbled.

Yugi sighed. "I'm glad you're here."

The figure, shrouded in the darkness of the inside of his limo, just chuckled. "I'm surprised you actually resorted to calling me, Yugi. You seem so different without your Yami around. But I'll be more than happy to help you get him back if it means getting that rematch!"

The figure stepped out of the limo and out of the darkness, revealing…

…Seto Kaiba.


Next Time: It's a simple plan. Incite Yami to return to Yugi by bringing in a mocking Kaiba. But will it clash with Yami's plan to teach Yugi a lesson? And what happens during the night between Yami and the confused TK and Patamon?


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