QoH: Hey, people! Im baaaack! *e-cricket chirps* Ok, so it took longer than I expected to get this chapter up. Kinda happens when you lose the disk that all your stuff is on. -_-' How embarrassing. And I even had a good share of this already typed up, too! *sighs* Ah well, hopefully I can make it better the second time around. I lose stuff, then it ends up comin out better than what I had to begin with. Tad strange how my writing works like that...
Yugi: How'd you get the rest of it back, anyhow?
QoH: I copied it from Fanfiction.net. Normally, I wouldn't do something like that, but seeing as how it was my story to begin with, and I had no other choice... *shrugs*
Yugi: I hope Yami didn't have anything to do with this...
QoH: He was pretty mad at me... You don't think...?
Yugi: He sent shadow creatures after you, didn't he?
Yami: Just so you know, I didn't.
QoH: *jumps* How long have you been there?
Yami: Long enough.
Yugi: *grins* Well, it was a possibility, wasn't it?
QoH: Er... I'm gonna start the chapter now...
Chapter 8: Pharaoh's Farewell
"Finally... we... made... it!" Yugi gasped, falling against the nearest sturdy surface, which happened to be a mud-brick wall across the path from the Nile, where merchants were loading their cargo into to large boats for export. That girl he'd followed seemed to be in quite a hurry; he'd had to run most of the way, just to keep up with her.
*Her name is Isis.* Yami said, watching her search for the ship she wanted.
*Oh, like the goddess?*
*The very same*
*What's she like?*
*I'll tell you later. Just watch for now.*
Yugi shrugged, *All right then.* He sat on an empty crate near the busy area. Another of those speeding chariots raced by, startling Isis into dropping the bundle she carried. At this point, he glimpsed slight movement in the shadows of several stacked crates like the one he sat on. He turned his head and saw Yami hidden among them. Yugi laughed, *I never thought I'd see the day when you, of all people, hid!*
*Ha ha. I had my reasons for my actions here.*
The pharaoh seemed to be struggling with himself. His hand was braced against the crate, as though stop himself, yet his legs looked ready to spring to her aid. Before he could contemplate the odd position any longer, a sound louder than thunder shook the ground beneath him. Yugi groaned, Oh no, not again. I hate those things...
Several chariots came dashing around the corner, and were heading straight for him. That wasn't the problem, though. He'd already gotten used to being immaterial here; it was Isis who was in trouble. She, too, was in the path, and had no idea. She'd stooped to pick up the worn helmet that had rolled out when she'd dropped her package earlier. In doing so, her cloak parted slightly, and he saw a flash of an old battle costume. For the first time, Yugi wished he was real here. As he was, he could only watch as death rumbled closer by the second.
Just when he was on the verge of full-blown panic, an enshrouded figure darted from his hiding place, yelling "Get down!" to Isis, who was shocked into obeying. Yami threw himself over her just as the first reached them. He raised his hand, and a crackling, dark light shot from it and dropped over them in a protective shield. When the horses, and the chariots behind them, came in contact with the barrier, they veered off, pushed away by the shadow energy. They raced on, none the wiser that their course had been altered.
"Are you all right?" he asked as he slowly stood up, holding out his hand to help her up.
"Yes, I think so." Isis replied shakily, taking his offer and getting to her feet, too, "How can I ever thank you, stranger?"
"That you are safe is thanks enough for me." Yami answered quietly, shrugging deeper into his cloak as he began to back away. He did not want to be recognized, especially by her.
"Wait, where are you going?" she wondered, stepping forward, "I'd like know what I can do to repay you. It's not every day someone saves my life, you know."
"It's not necessary," he clutched his disguise around himself, then wheeled around and took off down the street. Isis stared after him, plainly confused, then shrugged and boarded the vessel after rewrapping her helmet.
I guess this means I get some more exercise. Oh, goodie. Yugi sighed and stood up, not looking forward to another search for the pharaoh. As he turned away from the docking area, however, he noticed the shadows shift slightly in an alley across from where he was. He sighed in relief; at least he was spared from it for the moment. When one is short, trying to keep pace with most people is rather hard work. (QoH: Trust me, I know. I'm all of… 5'2"! lol) Not to mention other certain "disadvantages."
Life when one is not "perfect" isn't usually loads of fun. Yugi couldn't figure out why people were like that. He'd watched people around him, noticing how a large percentage of them appraise whatever (or whoever) they came in contact with, totally basing their judgments on "face value," which, to him, wasn't worth beans. At least, when it came to other people. His own, however, was a different story.
He supposed that was one reason why he'd never told Tea how he felt. He stared up at the azure sky of the desert, reminding him of her with the brightness and clarity as much as the color. He knew that some girls preferred taller guys, but he had no idea what she thought about the idea. How it mattered, he had no idea, but he didn't really want to test the theory. Oh, I know she wouldn't reject me outright, or something like that. She's too sweet to knowingly stomp on my heart like that. Yugi wandered over to the alley where the Yami of the past still stood and leaned against the wall. I just couldn't stand to have her uncomfortable around me, wondering how to act whenever we're together. Somehow, I think that would be worse than if she said that she never wanted to see me again. With the latter, it'd only be my problem, painful, but manageable. The former, on the other hand, would drag her into it, as well.
*How do you know the answer she'd give would be negative, hikari?* (A/N: light, I think) Yami queried gently, *Perhaps, she has the same feelings for you, and just doesn't know how to say it.*
Yugi laughed humorlessly, *Highly doubtful.*
*And why is it so impossible?*
*Yami, you've seen my life!* he retorted, *Why do you think?* Not giving him a chance to answer, he continued, *For as long as I can remember, I've been picked on, pushed around, walked all over, beat up, or just plain ignored.* He slid down the wall to land heavily in the dirt, *Or any combination of the above. How could I not come to that conclusion?*
*I've seen all you have, and more in my past. You want to know what I've learned though observation?* Yami asked seriously, earning nothing more of a response than Yugi dropping his head back against the wall, *The general public is an utter idiot. That's not to say the individuals are that way on their own, but when grouped together, they all put up a front they think the rest of the world wants to see. So, if one acts badly, maybe simply to get attention, others will take after that example. That causes even more to act in the same manner, thinking that it is acceptable. It all snowballs, Yugi. If allowed to continue, it will grow exponentially, until it is a devasting avalanche. Most people are lemmings, they need someone to follow because they don't know how to lead themselves.*
*Ok, I suppose that makes sense. So, you're saying that I was just caught in one of those "avalanches." It, however, doesn't help my problem.*
*It does, but we'll come back to that later. Yugi, I assume you remember the duel in the shadow realm with the spirit from Bakura's Ring.*
Yugi sent the Puzzle a sardonic glance, *That's not something I'm likely to forget any time soon, Yami.*
*I should hope not!* Yami laughed, *I'd be worrying that you were getting Alzheimer's or something if you did. Back to the situation, though. Just before you rushed into that attack on the Electric Lizard, you were talking with your friends. What was said that made you so angry, that you did that without thinking?*
*I figured you already knew.*
*Humor me. I'd like to hear it from your point of view.*
*Fine, then.* Yugi sighed, closing his eyes, *Tea was confused about seeing the two of us, and Joey tried to explain it to her by saying, "Look at it this way, Tea. There are two Yugis. The cool one up there, and the puny one down here."*
*That hurt quite a bit, didn't it?* Yami's voice was quiet, thoughtful.
*Yeah, it did, especially coming from one my best friends.*
*Also because you believe it's true, right?*
*Well, why not?* Yugi drew up his knees and buried his face in his folded arms, *You can be told only so many times that you're worthless before you starts to believe it.*
Yami came out of the puzzle and knelt beside him in his transparent form, "Yugi, you should know that's not true. You are my partner, and destiny would not have chosen someone who was not worthy to be Keeper of the Puzzle." Receiving no answer, he tugged teasingly on Yugi's arm, "Hey, we can't have the Duel Monsters Champion degrading himself, now can we?"
"No, that's you, Yami," he muttered, still avoiding the spirit's probing gaze, "At Duelist Kingdom, it was you who won, not me. I may get the fame and all that, but I don't deserve it. It was always you, never me."
Yami took him by the shoulders and shook him, "Now that is a total load of hooey, and you very well know it!"
"Oh? How so?" Yugi's voice was drenched in sarcasm at this answer.
"You worked just as hard to win back the Kaiba brothers' and your grandfather's souls just as hard as I did, if not more!" Yami answered fiercely, "You were the one who told me we could beat Mai together, when I was ready to concede the match. You said that, with the support of your friends, that we could do anything. You were the one who came up with the Mind Shuffle when we took on Pegasus. It was your absolute courage that won. You took the huge risk of having your very soul shredded in the shadow realm. You didn't care, though. You just wanted everyone else safe, no matter what it cost you. When Pegasus destroyed our Feral Imp while he was in Defense, just to get rid of you, I almost lost it. If I'd been Joey or Tristan, I probably would've forgotten the duel and just jumped him. As it was, I was thinking things that were more fitting for someone like the spirit Bakura's Ring than a pharaoh."
"Oh, really? Such as?"
"A few months of Chinese Water Torture crossed my mind several times, and that was one of the 'nice' ones. I could get into the more 'appropriate' ones, in the Egyptian variety, but I don't think you'd want to know, really. You're my best friend, and I thought I'd lost you there for a while."
"That's another thing," he replied, "If I had been stronger, that never would've happened. It's just a good thing everyone got the idea to try and help from the real world when they did."
"I've known no one stronger than you, aibou. Who else could've done what you have?"
"I never even would've gotten that far if you hadn't been there to help me." Yugi pointed out.
"Maybe, maybe not." Yami shrugged, "But then, I wouldn't have, either. Working together was how we've gotten as far as we have. If it weren't for you, I'd still be just an inanimate object, of sorts. Trust me, five thousand years in a box is not fun."
Yugi laughed, "I guess you have a point. I wouldn't think it'd be that great, now that you mention it."
"The truth is, I rather envy you."
Yugi's head shot up, his eyes wide in shock, "You envy me? Why?"
"In Egypt, I never had real friends, like you have." Yami's expression darkened, "Oh, there were people around me who said they were my friends, but it didn't take me long to realize that they only saw me as an obstacle of be rid of. Everyone kowtowing everywhere I went, and some using that as a mask..."
Yugi frowned, "You mentioned assassins before. Is that what you meant? Did someone try and kill you?"
Yami grinned wryly, "When you're Pharaoh, there's always a risk of that. Most, if not all, pharoahs have probably had attempts on their lives at one time or another. Despite the beliefs of the time, that we were 'gods on earth,' certain power-mad indivuals would still try to seize the throne for themselves. I, on the other, was considered something of a 'special' case. With the Millenium Puzzle, many sought to take control of that, as well."
"A double threat." Yugi scowled, "How nice."
"Well, that contributes to my next point, actually. You find no reason to second-guess every move a person makes. You trust people, no questions asked. I haven't been able to do that for a very long time."
"Yeah, and look where my naiveté got us. The whole thing with that guy who was controlling Bandit Keith was totally my fault. I should have known that whole 'psychic' thing was a trick, but I just handed the Puzzle to him, for pity's sake!"
"Only because he goaded you into it, and I'd already worried you earlier with my talk about the future. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I almost got you killed, Yugi! You stayed when you could've escaped, just to get the Puzzle off the platform."
"I couldn't just leave you there in that inferno, Yami!"
"That's what I've been saying, Yugi. You always think about other people before yourself, no matter what, even when it's your own life at stake."
"I'm just glad Joey and Tristan showed up when they did."
"So am I." Yami looked out over the river, "And I know he'll be back..."
"Yeah..." Yugi agreed solemnly, then laughed as he stood up, "So, are we going back now, or what? If we keep going on like this, we'll get back the way you were talking about, anyway!"
"Good point," he grinned and went back into the Puzzle, *I take this to mean that you're feeling better about all this?*
He half-smiled, *Well, I figure if you had to deal with all that when you lived here, I, being your reincarnation, should be able to handle being away from Tea for a while,* he sighed, *I hope.*
*Well, no one ever said it would be easy, you know. After all, "being away from someone you love is one of the hardest things in the world."* Yami quoted, smiling.
Yugi rolled his eyes, *Been watching "Beethoven the 2nd" lately, have you?*
*Whatever gave you that idea?*
*Speaking of such things, have you been talking to Joey? Hooey?* Yugi laughed as Yami took them back to the present.
~I'll always be here by your side.
I never wanted to say goodbye.
I'm always here if you
change your mind.~
QoH: Whatcha think, people? Sorry about the "Yugi self-bashing," by the way.
Yugi: *twitches* Why did you have all that, anyway?!
QoH: *shrugs* It just seemed to fit.
Yami: *holds Yugi back* Calm down, please. You want her to finish the story, don't you?
QoH: *yawns* Well, it'll have to wait for tonight. I'm rather tired. *stretches*
Yami & Yugi: *glare*
QoH: Hey, it is 1:00 am, ya know! I should have been in bed hours ago. I know I'm a night person, but I need to get up early!
Yugi: You will make me happier in the rest of this, won't you?
QoH: *smiles cryptically* We'll see...
Yami: *sighs* Just get back here and write some more soon, would you?