Merodi no Yami: -_- Every time I write a chapter, I get myself more depressed.
{{Naito: -_- Me too.}}
You? Why do YOU care? I'm just upset because I'm not writing as much description in my story as I should be.
{{Because I'm the one that always ends up reading it.}}
*rolls eyes* Yeah, whatever. So, ok everyone! Here's your Memorial Day present! I actually had most of this done last week, but there was a flashback which I wasn't sure how to write – keep in mind that half of this story will probably be edited once I write the prequel to this next year…yeah, IF I ever finish this one. *sigh*
*Goes off to read reviews* ….OW!!!
{{*looks over shoulder* Hmm?}}
*sniff* W-Wolfy-chan hit me! T_T Sh-she got mad at me for not liking my own writing!
{{*blink* o_o…GOOD ONE, WOLFSPEAKER!! ^_^ *SMACK* Hey!}}
That's it. I've had it.
{{Wha? What's with you?}}
You know where you're going now?
{{*shakes head* Do I want to know?}}
*snaps fingers – Naito is in leather pants only…again*
{{O_O Oh Ra no….}}
Yep. You're going to Ko-chan's to get out of my hair.
{{NO!!! HIKARI!!! RA, I BEG YOU, ANYTHING BUT THAT!!!}}
Are you going to behave? Will you be nice?
{{T_T *nods reluctantly*}}
*smiles brightly* OK! Well, thanks goes out to the following people:
tati
Chaos Dragon
Ko-Chan
Yugi
She-Elf
Moerae
Wolfspeaker
Towairaito Zoon
…for reviewing!! And, as I stated last time, the rest of this story is dedicated to Ko-chan and co. Not a whole lot of wise-cracks here, since the spring marching band (which I'm in) went to the Indy 500 this past weekend and marched in two, two-mile long parades. _ And had to high-step it for half of the time…stupid, stupid band directors…. At least we had some fun. So, I'm tired. 'Nough said.
Disclaimer- Question 43: A duck is to Naito as Yu-Gi-Oh! is to M-n-Y. What is the relationship described here? Answer: NOTHING. I do not own the series or it's characters…but I do own the 3rd and 4th DVD set of YGO in its original Japanese, with subtitles!! ^_^ I just got the 4th box a few days ago…I love the Nightmare Penguin, 'cause he teases Anzu! Haha! There's something Naito and I both enjoy, Anzu/Tea bashing, and now they actually have it in the anime!! Yes!!! ^_^_^ Ok, now that none of you know what I'm talking about, I'll be going now….
Warnings: Um, yeah – nothing to warn you about besides poor descriptions. If you've gotten this far and haven't realized that this is a Y/Y fic, well….
Ok, everyone! Prepare yourself! Here comes the next chapter! For better…
{{…or worse.}}
*glare*
[ blah blah blah ] – thinking
/blah blah blah/ - Yugi talking
//blah blah blah// - Yami talking
{blah blah blah} – Merodi talking
{{blah blah blah}} – Naito talking
blah blah blah - flashback
Note: I know my format sometimes seems to be changing…please just bear with me; sometime it will all get sorted out!
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Where we left off last time (…ok, it's not because I'm not forgetful – I'm just plain stupid…):
…
The two raced down the stairs as echoes of Yugi's screams came up to greet them. There were the beginnings of a coppery smell in the air as Yami propelled himself downward, praying to every god he knew that Yugi would not be dead before they arrived. Finally reaching the bottom, he sprinted toward an open door, only to stop and stare at his surroundings. Merodi arrived seconds later; the girl nearly recoiled in shock at what lay before them.
The floor seemed nearly painted with blood as Yugi laid on the floor, unconscious. A figure loomed over him, smiling as he watched the substance seep out of the numerous wounds on the teen's back; several ribs poked out from Yugi's chest, and his left arm hung at an unnatural angle.
The figure raised his eyes; cobalt blue meeting fiery red.
"Why hello, Yami. Long time, no see."
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Chapter 11 - Interruptions
"Oh, not so happy to see me? I'm hurt; I think I'm going to cry," Naito continued mockingly.
Yami clenched his teeth in anger, furious. There would be hell to pay; Yami honestly did not want to fight his brother – he was family, after all – but Yugi came first, above all else. If looks could kill, the blue-haired brother would have died on the spot for even daring to hurt his hikari. But either Naito was used to this expression or wasn't paying attention as he continued aloud.
"It looks a little familiar, doesn't it, Onii-chan? Surprised? That was no dream of yours, Yami, but a foreshadowing of what was to come. Too bad you weren't smart enough to realize it."
Yami's eyes widened slightly, but he kept silent. With his back to her, Merodi watched as Yami placed a hand behind his back, shielding it from Naito's view. The hidden palm began to glow as he growled softly in reply.
"Naito…."
"Though I'll admit," he started again with a hint of disappointment, "You got here sooner than I expected-"
Naito stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing that Yami wasn't alone as Merodi stepped forward, a look of sadness in her eyes. Stepping back slightly in shock, Naito brought a hand to his head quickly as unwanted memories began to resurface.
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"My Lord!"
"What is it?" Prince Naito snapped, already annoyed by the events of the day. The robbers, whom he had arrived to escort back to the city in custody, decided that they weren't going to leave without a fight, and had unceremoniously rebelled against the Pharaoh's troops. Naito hadn't wanted any bloodshed, but it seemed inevitable. He warily eyed a dead robber that laid in the sand next to him as he sighed – now, not only would he be bringing back prisoners, but also bodies which required preparation for burial. He waited for the leader of his forces to reply, staring into the man's brown eyes coolly.
"My Lord, all those who dared to defy Upper Egypt have been captured."
"You sure? You've checked everywhere?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"Good. Take their weapons and throw them in there." Naito gestured to a small house-like structure, built from mud, brick, and wood, which the robbers had probably stolen on a previous excursion. "Burn it."
"Yes, my Lord."
The men worked swiftly; soon, the building was engulfed in flames. His work finished, the prince turned to mount his ride when suddenly a horrible scream came from behind him. Whirling around, he faced the burning structurE, this time struck with horror as he heard the scream again.
It was a woman.
And she was burning to death, inside the house his men had just set fire to.
"You fools!" he yelled as he rushed forwards towards the flames. "You didn't check to see if anyone was still inside??"
He didn't wait for an explanation as he ran around the building, looking for a safe entrance. Stopping at a glass-less window, he peered inside, stopping himself from backing away from the intense heat the flames gave off. The screaming had stopped, and he could see the girl lying on the dirt floor, barely conscious. Disregarding the danger to his own life he leapt through the window, avoiding the remains of the broken weapons as he scooped up the girl and knocked down what was left of the door. Running through the flames, he emerged from the structure and ran a safe distance away from the inferno, before depositing the girl on the sand.
She certainly didn't appear to be one of the robbers, or related to any of them. Rather, she seemed…foreign. Her face seemed cut differently from most Egyptians, and her hair was a peculiar brown color which shimmered in the sun. Even stranger was the feeling that he knew her from somewhere, that he was connected to her somehow. He started as the girl groaned, leaning forward a little bit as she opened her eyes to see her rescuer. Blue met silver as Naito held her head gently, subconsciously wondering why he was concerned for a foreigner such as herself. "Rest now, child. You're safe – are you ok?"
Ignoring his question, she smiled slightly, barely uttering the words "Thank you" before closing her eyes again. Naito was just about to call over one of his priests to care for her when suddenly she let out a long sigh, and breathed no more. Shocked beyond surprise, the prince quickly tried a resurrection spell, hoping to catch her spirit in time. Nothing.
Naito rose from her side moments later, angry and upset as he ordered his men to bring her body with them, returning to the city. Something had died in him that day, and that mysterious girl would forever haunt his memory....
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Suddenly, Naito brought a hand down to point as his voice shook slightly.
"What is SHE doing here?"
Both were a little surprised at his last question, but Yami never bothered to answer as he whipped his hand out from behind his back, taking advantage of the situation. The red ball of energy hit his brother square in the chest as Naito flew backwards, taken completely by surprise. His flight was brought to a halt as he made contact with a wall, creating a large crater in the concrete before sliding down to the floor, unconscious. The other two stared for a moment before Yami turned quickly, rushing to Yugi's side.
[Come on, Yugi. You can't be dead, not now, not yet.] Kneeling down next to his aibou, Yami cast an eye over his injuries. Blood continued to flow slowly out of the wounds on Yugi's back, while the place where his arm had been broken was quickly starting to turn blue and black. Swallowing his panic, Yami quickly turned to Merodi as she kneeled beside him. Wordlessly he grabbed her arm, dimly noting her shock as he began to draw light energy from her; somewhere in his mind, he sighed – he was glad that he was able to draw on her power in order to heal Yugi, but it only confirmed that which he had hoped was false – Merodi was now a hikari, and Naito her yami. This could be a problem.
Pushing all other thoughts from his mind, Yami focused on his aibou's form, closing his eyes as he let his hand travel over Yugi's body. As a white energy encased the prone figure, Yami opened his eyes slightly to watch as the wounds slowly began to heal themselves up, the color slowly returning to his aibou's pale face; excess blood quickly disappeared, while the guardian noted with relief that Yugi's pants had been clean from the start.
[At least I got here before Naito could get that far. But still, you shouldn't have had to endure this, aibou.] He mentally scowled at himself as he watched Yugi's arm and ribs slowly shift back into their original position. Not hearing a slight shift behind him, Yami let go of Merodi as he turned Yugi over once the bones were finally in place. [He's healed, for the most part, but he's still weak – we need to get out of here before anything else happens.] He felt a small smile creep across his lips as he looked down at Yugi's pale yet beautiful face, as he moved to pick him up and carry him out of the building to safety.
He was forced to stop when suddenly Yami yelled in pain as a sword of blue energy cut down onto his shoulder. Feeling the blade remove itself, Yami turned to see Naito grinning at his brother's misfortune, a wild, uncaring look in his eyes which faintly reminded him of Bakura and Malik.
"Come, Yami. Let's finish this – now."
Merodi suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder as she turned to look at the person kneeling next to her.
"Merodi, take care of Yugi."
The girl at the past-Pharaoh in shock. "What? What are you doing?!"
"I'm going to fight him."
Merodi was about to protest, but seeing that fire in his eyes convinced her to stay quiet. Nodding slowly, she watched as Yami got to his feet, stepping a safe distance away from Yugi before summoning his own blade. The past-pharaoh could feel the crackle of energy within his own hands while it slowly sapped him of his own power, but he paid it little heed.
[Brother, you have brought this upon yourself. I can forgive what wrongs you may have committed in the past, but no more. You've caused Yugi more pain than he should ever have to bear, and I cannot stand for that. I can only hope now that you have prepared yourself for the consequences.]
Naito made the first strike, rushing towards him in a cut from the right. Yami easily parried it, pushing the attack off and aiming for the shoulder. The attempt was just as swiftly blocked as the previous one. From there the battle continued, soon escalating to a heated pace as each side parried and attacked with precision. Beads of sweat began to run down their faces as it raged on, while Merodi watched worriedly from the sidelines.
Tearing her gaze away from the battle at hand, the girl turned as she heard a soft groan escape from Yugi's mouth. Gently grabbing his hand, she looked at him sadly, wishing that there was something she could do for him, or for Yami. She felt guilty, not being able to help either of them, knowing that it was her damned curiosity that had started all of these problems in the first place. If only-
/…ugh…Itai…what's going on?/
Merodi started for a second, then replied quickly, {Shh, Yugi. Rest; you're hurt.}
[Ok, maybe I shouldn't have said anything,] she mused as Yugi's eyes snapped open in response to her mental voice.
/Merodi? How can I hear you?/ was the first thing that came to the teen's mind as he turned to look at her.
{Well, I'm taking a guess here, but I seem to be able to tap into mental conversations when there's physical contact.} She squeezed his hand gently, emphasizing her point. {That's how I was able to hear in last time – Yami had grabbed my arm suddenly.}
/Yami…./ Yugi's eyes widened as he looked at her, slightly panicked. /Yami, where is he? Is he hurt? What happened?/
Merodi shook her head. {He's not hurt or dead yet, Yugi. When he and I got here, you were already unconscious. Yami managed to knock Naito out for a little bit while he started to heal you, but soon Naito attacked him and challenged him to a fight.}
/No! Yami!/ Yugi struggled to get up, but the girl quickly restrained him.
{No, Yugi, don't! You're not in any condition to get up; you're still very much injured. Don't worry; Yami will have Naito running for the hills in no time.} She smiled, but felt no such reassurance in her heart – from the looks of it, this duel was a fight to the death. If Naito won, she would never be able to bear losing Yami and Yugi. But if Yami won…the thought of seeing Naito die evoked a strange sadness in her that she couldn't rid herself of.
While she was pondering this, something clicked in Yugi's mind as he gasped mentally. Merodi refocused her attention on him, concerned, as he heard one of Naito's earlier comments play over again in his mind.
Yami's name means darkness, doesn't it? Did you know that mine, Naito, means night? Sort of like the shadow of darkness, if you will….
/No…he's wrong. /
{What? Who's wrong, Yugi?}
Yugi turned to look at her again. /Naito. He's wrong. He's upset about things that happened between himself and Yami back in Ancient Egypt. But…but he's confused. I don't think he really wants to hurt anyone, including Yami, in reality – Merodi, he thinks his name means Night. He's upset because he sees himself as the 'shadow of darkness,' Yami's shadow./
{But…that's not what his name means.}
/I know! Merodi, you have to tell him!/
Merodi blinked, looking up at the battle that raged on behind her. By manipulating the Shadow Realm, they had begun switching dimensions rapidly in order to throw the other off; one moment they would be right next to her, then in a flash of light they disappeared, only to reappear just as quickly on the other side of the basement. Suddenly the two were in the middle of the room, swords crossed in stalemate as the "energy swords" sizzled from the contact. The brothers jumped away from each other quickly and stood, glaring at one another.
[Well, it's now or never,] she told herself, taking advantage of the slight pause in action.
{Naito!}
The yami's eyes widened as he turned to look at her, growling softly. {{Brat, what do you want?}}
Merodi ignored his impatient and fierce tone, continuing. {Naito, listen to me! You're name doesn't mean 'night'!}
{{What are you babbling about, you bitch?}}
{Naito, LISTEN! You've got it all wrong! You aren't Yami's shadow! 'Naito' means 'Knight'! As in, 'knight in shining armor'! Understand?}
For the first time, Naito let his guard down as he stood, shocked beyond belief. It was as if everything he had been fighting for, all his ideals, his revenge – they no longer made perfect sense. Dumbfounded he stared at the floor, as waves of confusion crashed against his mind.
[W-what? My name means…Knight? But father…and the others…he said…. She must be lying. That has to be it. But what reason does she have to lie? Why does she even care? Why do I care? Does this really change anything, knowing my name means something else? Why should it matter?]
Naito looked up at his brother, who was eying him as he waited for the next attack.
[Yes. Yes, it does. Who am I? For Ra's sake, who am I?!]
Upset and frustrated with this new information, Naito let out a frightening yell as he rushed towards Yami. The past-pharaoh, unaware of his brother's realization, thought only to take him down as he ran forward to meet Naito's blade with his own. The two blades met once again, this time letting off an eerie glow on contact with each other. Yugi and Merodi sat stunned as the brothers' weapons suddenly disappeared in a flash of light.
[Huh? What is this?] Yami thought as he looked around, trying to figure out what happened. [Why did they suddenly disappear? I know we were both running low on energy, especially from all that dimension-jumping, but-] Yami froze, staring at his brother. Naito seemed to have realized the same thing as he stared back, shocked. As if from a distance, he could here the High Priest warning him from the past:
"To use these mystical swords requires great power, Lord Yami. You must use this spell most carefully."
"Why is that?"
"Because it is said that if two of these swords cross, they may open up a pathway to the Shadow Realm. Not serious enough to bring about our destruction, but any opening to that dark place can bring about great and unwanted changes."
[Oh no.]
Sensing the sudden surge of power in the room, Yami whirled around to where Yugi lay. He stared as spied a dark circle beginning to grow on the floor behind the two figures. He ran forward as the abyss expanded rapidly, yelling to the other two.
"Yugi, Merodi, get away from there! NOW!"
Not understanding what Yami was panicking about, Yugi stammered a "Huh?" before he felt the floor beneath him suddenly disappear. Both he and Merodi yelled in surprise as they fell downwards, quickly swallowed up by the darkness. Yami ran to the edge of the hole (which had stopped growing) and stopped as he stared into its murky depths.
[No. Not again.] Yugi did not have enough power to withstand the threats of the shadow realm, even when he was unharmed – in his condition now….
"Naito!" he barked. He turned to look at his brother, who also stared at the hole with a blank expression on his face. "Naito, we need to go rescue them! Come on, we haven't much time!"
His brother blinked. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up. 'We'? Exactly who is this 'we', Yami? You can go get your precious little prince if you want, Onii-chan, and I'll seal the opening myself while the three of you are gallivanting around in there. We still have a battle to finish, if you've forgotten. But if you're really that enthusiastic about death, by all means, go after him."
"And what about Merodi?"
"Hah, that brat? Who needs her? She can't do anything useful."
"Except keep you alive."
"What?"
Yami rose to his feet, facing his brother. "You're a yami now, Naito. You can't live without your hikari."
"What are you on, Pharaoh? I'm human, just like you."
Yami shook his head, annoyed with his brother's blatant disregard while Yugi and Merodi were both down there in need of his help. The guardian would have already gone down there, but after his battle with Naito his magical energies had been drained; it would be a task to simply get Yugi back; there was no way he'd be able to bring both teens out of the Shadow Realm on his own. And though he hated to admit it, the only one that could help him now was the one he had been fighting only moments before.
"Being human doesn't mean anything, Naito," he replied with a sigh. "You're a yami – you're magically bonded to the one that is deemed your hikari, whether you like it or not. If Merodi dies in the Shadow Realm, you're bound to follow. …Of course," he said, eyeing him, "a hikari doesn't need their yami to survive, since both Merodi and Yugi were born to this time and place. Maybe I should just kill you now and get the both of them."
"Hmpf. Don't try and kid yourself, Onii-chan. If you really believed that you could go after both of them and bring them back, you wouldn't be standing there, trying to persuade me to go with you." He smirked as Yami glared at him, confirming his suspicions.
"Are you coming or not?" the other asked through his teeth, furious that he had to cater to Naito while Yugi and Merodi were desperately in need of help. His anger flared further as his brother "hmm"ed, looking up at the ceiling as he tapped his chin with a finger.
"I don't believe what you're telling me, but if retrieving her means getting to see all of you die in the Shadow Realm, then so be it," he finally replied as an evil grin crossed his lips. Yami could care less about what Naito wanted though – already he could feel his link with Yugi weakening with each passing second.
"Fine. Until we're out of there, we work together. Truce?" he asked, extending a hand to his brother.
Naito stared at the offer for a moment. Truth be told, he didn't know what to think anymore. True, he still wanted to exact revenge on his brother, but his reasons no longer seemed founded. Ever since Merodi had made that stupid comment, he was no longer sure of himself. Maybe if he got her back and tortured her for a while, he could get some answers. Shrugging, Naito stepped forward and grabbed Yami's hand. There would be time to kill him later.
"Truce."
Yami nodded, breaking off the shake quickly as he turned back towards the dark hole in the floor. Naito stepped forward, looking over the edge as he muttered something about heights before soundlessly jumping into the abyss.
Yami stared after him for a few seconds, then stepped forwards to follow him.
[Hold on, aibou, I'm coming.]
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Ok! So they're finally all in the Shadow Realm!! I promise, I have more ideas of how I want this to go, so the next chapters should be much better!
{{Pfft. Right. And Egypt isn't ruled by the pharaoh.}}
Um…Naito? They're not anymore.
{{WHAT???}}
I think we need to get you a history book…there are no more pharaohs in Egypt…there's a nice big government set up over there now. I thought you said that you were "all-knowing"? *smirk*
{{-_-…*mockingly* Look, I'm a Toaster Strudel! BITE ME.}}
_ No thank you. *opens portal* Ok, in you go.
{{What? *is picked up by MnY* AIBOU, PUT ME DOWN!!! I ORDER YOU!!}}
Oh? Ok then. *tosses Naito through*
{{*on other side* Ugh. *has landed on floor, looks up* Rrrr – HIKARI, I-!}}
*far off voice, squeals* NAITO-CHAN!!!
{{O_O…I know that voice…it can't be…AIBOU!! YOU DIDN'T SEND ME TO KO-CHAN AGAIN!?!?!?!}}
*smiles* ^_^ Have fun, Naito! I have final exams coming up to work on – I'll be back later. *starts closing portal*
{{AIBOU!! O_O_O_O}}
Don't worry, you can still use e-mail!! ^_^_^ *portal closes*
*Sigh* There, that's better. Ok, please, all of you – review? ^_^
p.s. – Naito's e-mail address: dark_prince_of_egypt @ juno.com . In case you were wondering. ^_-
