Disclaimer: ^glances around, looking for the Guardian^ I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or .hack//SIGN! I do own Ashkari, but that's not important… ^sees the Guardian approaching, followed by Tsukasa, and runs^
Unknown Identity
Chapter Nine: Strange-Eyes
"Yami…" Yugi whispered through parched lips. "Take over…" Yami took over instantly, worried for the safety of the young one. He was weakening, his body dying through lack of sufficient food. The water was making him sick, as well, which wasn't helping matters. On top of it all his leg refused to heal properly.
They had been alone in the forest for almost two months now, and twice Yami had had to break his leg in an attempt to get it to fuse correctly, but it kept growing back crookedly. Yami knew that if the leg didn't heal properly Yugi would never be able to run fast enough to evade predators or catch prey, and that would be his downfall. But he also knew that continually having to break it again would have the same result.
Many times Yami had been tempted to see if the power of the millennium puzzle would take them back to Domino City, but he knew that he too was still far too weak. Besides, without the final piece the puzzle was nearly useless, just more dead weight for Yugi to carry. While in one of his rare dark moods he had actually told Yugi to throw the puzzle away, to rid himself of its bothersome weight, but the young one had refused.
"That's as good as destroying you," he had said. "I can't do that."
It's strange, Yami thought, how Yugi began to trust me so much faster this time than before – before Yami Bakura stole his memory. It's almost as if he really does remember that I mean him no harm…
A few more weeks passed. Yami was now in control most of the time, allowing Yugi to take over for short periods but never letting him get too tired. After all, the young one would need his strength for when he was gone. Yugi was spending quite a bit of time with the Duel Monsters deck in his soul room, and Yami had a feeling that he had ventured across the hall to talk to the Dark Magician more than once. More than a feeling, actually – the Dark Magician had actually spoken to him about it the last time he had been in that cold Hell.
"Young Yugi was here again today. Would you like me to keep him out next time?"
"No," Yami had said, shaking his head, "don't bother. He needs the company. With his body this weak, one of us must be in control all the time, and he is uncomfortable talking to me while I'm in control. As a matter of fact, let him wander around if he wants to. Just don't let him get hurt."
"But Yami!" the Dark Magician exclaimed. "He would be invading your own mind!" Yami just smiled.
"I keep no secrets from my other, Dark Magician," he said. "If anything, it may help him to remember. He needs to find himself before we return to Domino City. It wouldn't do for the Game King to return without knowing who his own friends and family are, after all." The Dark Magician had nodded, but before he could speak another word Yugi had all but begged Yami to take over.
Yami's thoughts snapped back to the present as he heard a sound in the bushes. He stood wearily, trying not to let his weakness show in case it was a predator of some kind. Then a dark face appeared almost in front of him, and he tried to take a step back in surprise. Unfortunately, that was easier thought than done with a broken leg, and he fell flat onto his back.
What is it? Yugi demanded from his soul room. He had learned how to monitor Yami's emotions and knew when something was happening, but like all others he couldn't know every detail. He depended on Yami to be his eyes while in his soul room. Even his mental voice is weakening, Yami could not help but thinking.
Natives, Yami replied. But not the same as the first bunch we ran into. This group seems more curious than anything else.
Do you want me to take over?
No, I can handle this, Yugi, Yami said. He smiled inwardly – here he was, always trying to look out for the young one, and yet Yugi still worried about his health. Yami turned his mind back to the matters on hand.
"Who are you?" he asked clearly and slowly. The native bent over and his face hovered only inches from Yami's. He seemed fascinated by something, but not the puzzle – my eyes and hair! I'd almost forgotten how strange they are… Yami thought for the first time in months about his appearance. With red, black, and blonde hair sticking out in every direction and violet eyes, it was no wonder the native was confused.
Sure enough, the native reached out and touched his hair. Then he grinned wildly and began to dance. More natives appeared from the foliage, and they too touched Yami's hair and began to dance. Then something heavy crashed against his head and everything went black.
Yami? Yami, what happened? Yami! Yugi called frantically, wondering why he suddenly couldn't feel the presence of the spirit. He burst out of his soul room and glanced down the hallway – no one there. Suddenly glad he had begun leaving the door to Yami's soul room open, he walked in – and tripped over a prone form lying on the ground.
"Yami!" he exclaimed. He flipped the spirit over and gasped when he saw that he was covered in bruises and scrapes, and the occasional burn. His clothes were torn as well. He called for the Dark Magician and told him to look after Yami while he took over. The Dark Magician nodded, and Yugi took control of his body for the first time in days.
It was horrifically painful. He hadn't realized just how weak he had become, and now it seemed that the "curious" natives Yami had told him about before disappearing were doing everything within their power to make him weaker.
"Stop…" he moaned. Their antics ground to an immediate halt, and they stared at him in amazement. Apparently they had thought him dead.
"You speak," one of the natives said in heavily accented Japanese.
"Of course I speak!" Yugi cried. "Why – " He broke off, suddenly wondering if perhaps there was something he should know that Yami hadn't been able to tell him. He fell silent and stared at the native.
"You live." Yugi just nodded this time.
"But you dead."
"Dead?"
"You drowned, two moons ago. You dead in tree, one moon ago. You dead on ground, one sun ago. You dead, now now." Yugi shook his head.
"No, I'm not dead," he said. "I was asleep, or maybe unconscious. I wasn't dead."
"You dead."
Yugi sighed. "I was not dead, and that's final," he said. The native seemed to get the point, because he stopped insisting that Yugi was dead. Instead, he put his face right next to Yugi's.
"You Strange-Eyes."
"I'm what?"
"You Strange-Eyes."
Yugi shook his head, still confused. "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're saying."
"He's saying you have strange eyes, and that your name is now Strange-Eyes," the explanation came in perfect Japanese. It was a tall woman, obviously at home in the forest but not a native. Her skin was too pale, her build all wrong. "But I'm not sure it's your eyes you should be named for – your hair is stranger."
"My hair?" Yugi parroted blankly. His hand found its way to his head and traced his somewhat unruly hair. "What's strange about my hair?"
"Well, it goes all over the place, first of all. And besides, it's three different colors! Come on, don't tell me you haven't seen your reflection before?"
"Not that I can remember," Yugi said mournfully. He struggled to get to his feet, and the Japanese-speaking woman extended her hand and helped him up. "Tell me, why are you all so interested in me all of a sudden?" he asked.
"The chief likes you," she said, shrugging and motioning that they should start walking. "Apparently he thinks you worthy of being in our tribe, since you've been able to survive on your own for over two months."
"Has it only been two months?" Yugi said quietly. The woman didn't hear him.
"By the way, my name is Ashkari," she said. "In the native language, it means One of Many Tongues."
"One of Many Tongues," Yugi repeated slowly. "Okay, so what's that supposed to mean?" Ashkari laughed, the first time Yugi ever remembered hearing true laughter. Yami usually just smiled. He took a step away from her in alarm.
"Don't worry, I don't bite," Ashkari assured him. "I was brought into the tribe years ago. They found me wandering around the forest by myself. I suppose I was lost, or something – I really don't remember. I don't care, actually. At any rate, I could speak three or four languages fluently, and I've learned several more since then, so they called me the one who could speak in many languages, or One of Many Tongues." She shrugged. "I can read and write most of them, too, but they have no use for that."
"Can you read maps?" Yugi asked suddenly.
"Yes, if I had any to read," she said. "But there aren't any civilizations except for native villages for hundreds of miles in any direction. That's too far to go for just a map."
"I see," Yugi said, his hopes falling again. For a moment he had thought she might be able to tell him where they were, but that didn't seem to be the case. Suddenly he stumbled and fell.
"Strange-Eyes!" Ashkari called in alarm. "What's wrong?"
"I'm just a bit weak, I'm afraid," he said. "I may have survived on my own for two months, but not very well." He smiled grimly.
"Well, I don't think the chief will really care one way or another," Ashkari said, pulling him up by the arm. She was surprisingly strong. "I think he just likes your eyes – although he doesn't fancy your hair much." She scowled at his hair.
"Why doesn't he like my hair?" Yugi asked, confused.
"In our village, all men are supposed to have short hair," she explained. "Only women are allowed to grow their hair long. But as long as you cut it, he won't care."
Yugi shrugged. "I don't suppose it matters much to Ya – I mean, me, but I'll have to think on it a bit." Almost slipped up there! I'll have to be more careful from now on – I doubt the chief will like me much if I tell him that I've got a spirit inside of me. And I think I should try to become part of the tribe – after all, I'll have much better chances of survival, and I can spend more time helping Yami if I don't have to worry about my physical body as much…
A/N: ^winces^ Okay, that ends really badly…but I don't feel like rewriting it now, so ^shrug^ it'll have to live. And I don't know what 'ashkari' means, as far as I know I made it up…but it works for my purposes ^grin^