QoH: Hey, it's me again! ^_^ How's everyone? Guess what? I finally get to delve into Yami's past! Yay!
Yami: Come again?
QoH: Oh, I hinted about it in my first chapter, remember?
Yami: Yes, but I didn't think you'd actually go through with it.
QoH: 'Course I am! Not gonna leave all my fans wondering about you, ya know.
Yami: *snorts* First of all, since when do you have fans?
QoH: *eyes narrow* You're really pushing it...
Yugi: *whispers to Yami* Didn't you forget something...?
Yami: Oh...
QoH: ^_^ That's better.
Yami: *sighs* Why me...?
Yugi: -_-' My thoughts exactly...
Chapter 7:Memory Lane
Yugi stared dully at the ceilling as he lay on his bed, thinking about all Gary had said. It had been a rather philosophical ride home, really. Yugi knew he was right, but even so, all the reassurances in the world didn't stop him from being a lonely mess.
*Yugi, you've been like this for hours,* Yami's mildly worried voice echoed through his numb head, *I think it's time we took a walk.*
"What for?" Yugi muttered listlessly as he rolled sluggishly over, burying his still-wet face in his arms.
*Not even bothering to mind-link, eh?* Yami sounded vaguely amused, then used his shadow powers to pull Yugi to his feet, *Come on, up you get.*
"What's the point, though?" Yugi sighed, closing his eyes and running his hands through his hair, "Everywhere I go, I see her face. This whole town's just full of memories."
*True, but you wouldn't want to be a pile of mush when she comes back, do you?* Yami replied calmly, *We don't know exactly how long she's going to be there. Who knows, she might be back in less than a year. As such, you can't will yourself into an early grave by lying in bed all the live long day.*
"I suppose you have a point," he said as he trudged downstairs. Evidently, Grandpa had gone to the store, according to the note on the table, anyway. He wrote that he was going out himself and would be back soon.
*Don't I always?* Yami grinned a tad smugly at his success.
*Funny.* Yugi rolled his eyes as he put his shoes on and walked out the door, *So, where to now, then? This is your little excursion, after all.*
*First, we have to go to the park, to your favorite place, to be exact.* That was all Yami would say on the subject for the moment, despite Yugi's attempts to convince him otherwise as he walked along the sidewalk.
Finally, he gave up after ten minutes of silence from the spirit, *Oh, fine, then! Geez, do you pull that mysterious act on purpose, or is that just built in?*
*I'd think, by now, you'd have some patience, Yugi,* Yami teased lightly, laughing, *Momentai, young one, you'll find out soon enough.*
When he reached the cave and squeezed through, he brought the puzzle to eye-level, "All right, we're here, now spill."
*We needed to be in a place where you wouldn't attract attention.* Yami answered, smiling slightly, *Had someone found you staring at nothing they could see, it would've raised awkward questions.*
Yugi threw up his hands and went to turn on his flashlights so he could actually see something beyond his nose., "Oh, please! That doesn't help at all! I had that much figured out already, you know."
*You might as well save your batteries. You won't need any light on your end for this.*
"There you go, being cryptic again!" Yugi shook his head as he plopped down against the wall, "Sometimes, I swear you do that just to annoy me!"
Yami grinned, *Well, it's a good thing you're sitting, because your feet would've gotten quite tired after this.* He waved his hand, and, abruptly, Yugi wasn't seeing the inside of his cave anymore. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the relentless sun of the desert. He blinked in surprised when pyramids came into focus in the hazy distance.
*Err...how'd we get to Egypt, all of a sudden?* he frowned, bewildered. He turned around in a circle, taking in his new surroundings, just in time to see a team of horses bearing down on him, not two feet away, "KYYAAHH!!!!!"
Stumbling in a clumsy attempt to get out of the way, he fell to his knees. Just then, he had the extraordinarily creepy experience of the horses, and the chariot behind them, passing straight through him. *Yami...what just...happened....here...?* he gasped, clutching his racing heart.
*By Osirius, don't have a coronary, aibou!* Yami laughed, *There's nothing to worry about! You're in my memories, and being a simple observer to what has already transpired, nothing can harm you. Though, along that same path, you can do nothing to change it. It's much like watching TV in your world. You see it happening, but as you are not really there, you have no control over it, and it has none over you.*
Yugi picked himself back up after he caught his breath, *All right. I guess that makes sense. One question, though. WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?!?!*
Yami covered his ears, *Do calm down, please. I'm getting to that.*
Yugi scowled and crossed his arms, *Fine. Go on, then.*
*We're here because I figured you could use a new perspective on your current predicament.* Yami explained, *Remember the advice I gave you the day Tea's letter came?*
*What's that got to do with anything?* Yugi wondered for a moment. Then, it clicked, *Oh, I get it. You're going to show me what happened in your situation!*
*Exactly.* Yami closed his eyes in concentration, *Now, this is probably going to feel a little odd, but in a few moments, you should see me walking toward you.*
Yugi nodded and began scanning the vicinity for the familiar figure as the dust settled. Soon, Yami rounded the corner, though he wasn't garbed in the royal clothing Yugi expected. Actually, he looked more like a peasant from the dusty, all-encompassing cloak he wore. He doubted anyone else would've recognized him for what he was. Yugi, himself, only did because of the spiritual tug toward him. *You're right,* he commented to the present-day Yami, *this is weird. Why are you wearing that dingy thing? Escaping your bodyguards?*
*You could say that.* Yami replied, chuckling, *Going out in my formal attire always attracted far too much attention for my liking. So, to remedy that, I used that when I want to go somewhere by myself.*
*Clever.* Yugi said admiringly as he started following the incognito Egyptian king, *Where'd you get it? I doubt many people would have the nerve to give their pharaoh something like that.*
*I know!* Yami laughed, *My more "blunt" approaches were all shot down, so to speak. So, I had to resort to picking up what I could find on the street. Only problem was, somehow, they always seemed to find them. I went through five cloaks before I found this particular one.*
*Why didn't you just pull rank, or something?* Yugi asked, highly amused at the idea of Yami rooting through garbage, *I thought pharaohs were all-powerful, and all that. The descendants of the gods, if I remember my history class correctly. Wouldn't they practically live to make you happy?*
*Normally,* Yami grimaced wryly, *However, they also lived to "protect" me. From everything, unfortunately. From losing my sandals, to (imaginary or not) assassins.*
*What fun!* Yugi grinned tauntingly, *Were you allowed to feed yourself, at least?*
*Ha ha,* Yami returned sarcastically, *You're a real comedian, you know that? I happened to have drawn the line before they could start feeding me like I was some helpless little infant.*
*All right, already!* Yugi laughed and raised his hands, *I surrender! Where's your "past self" going, anyway?*
*You'll see.*
Finally, after what felt like forever, Past-Yami seemed to be stopping. Where they were, though, Yugi had no idea. He looked around and saw only crowded buildings, nothing that would attract a pharaoh's attention, as far as he could see. Before he could ponder this any longer, he heard a female voice come from his left.
"I know, Mother. Don't worry, I'll be fine, really." The owner of the voice was backing out a doorway, looking back into the recesses of the shadowy structure. She, too, was dressed in an over-sized traveling cloak. She carried a bundle in her arms.
Yugi looked back where Yami had been, but he was gone. Yugi sighed in frustration, *Oh, wonderful. How're we going to find you now?* He thought about that for a second, then laughed ironically, *Ok, that's just plain strange. Here I am, asking a five millennia-old spirit of some Egyptian royal inside me (who I happen to be the reincarnation of, no less) how to find himself inside his own memories! Not to mention that said memories were previously unknown to said royal. Some life I lead...*
*Yes, well it's rather odd for me, too, you know.* Yami replied, his attention obviously elsewhere.
*Hey, what's got you so distracted?* Yugi wondered, still looking around for whatever it was they were here for, *And where are you, anyway? How am I supposed to figure this out if I can't even find you?*
*We've already found our first destination.*
*Uh huh. What, pray tell, would that be, then? I'm certainly not following your logic.* He waved his hand at their surroundings, *All I see is a bunch of crowded, dusty buildings.*
*Take a closer look,* Yami explained, smiling at Yugi's bafflement, *actually, our purpose is walking away right now, and if you don't hurry up, you just might not see what I wanted to show you.*
Yugi looked around, *But the only sign of life is that girl walking down the street....* Everything suddenly fell together then, so easily, he wondered how he didn't see it before. *Hold on just one second! She's why we're here?* He asked, looking at the girl moving away from him.
*I think you know the answer to that. Now, are you going to follow her before we get to your time...the hard way?*
Yugi shook his head, sighing as he did as asked, *You have some sense of humor, Yami....*
QoH: ^_^ Gettin' more interestin isn't it?
Yami: *glares, shadow powers crackling*
Yugi: *pokes QoH* Um...why are you still here?
QoH: What? *follows Yugi's line of sight* Oh, him. Nah, he won't do anything.
Yugi: I don't think he much cares about your warning right now...
QoH: *eyes the spirit warily* Think so?
Yami: *advances slowly* He's right...
QoH: O_O *whispers* Holy guacamole... *bolts for the door*
Yugi: *peers out the window* She's running like demons are chasing her. *eyes Yami*Wait, they probably are...
Yami: *smirks* Something like that...
Yugi: *frowns* I hate to ruin your fun, but we need her back halfway sane, all right? She still has to finish the story.
Yami: *sighs* Oh, if you insist... *turns away*