Hey everyone! Sorry to keep you waiting! The more reviews I get, the faster I'll update!
.
Cassandra Pegasus - I got the problem sorted out, I think. Hopefully it won't happen again.
Shibby-One - Boy, you sound like a lot of fun. Sorry for making Ryou sick, but it sets up for the next story, when everyone goes to Egypt (yes, I'm one of THOSE authors!)
Keiko Crawford - Nee-chan, if you're gonna be like that, I won't send you any more advanced chapters. You'll have to read them like everyone else and send me more reviews! *evil grin*
Serefina Moon - ^_^ My friend! Welomce back! I'll help you with whatever you want! I'm always ready for a bud like you!
Kuso Netaba - Yes, I think most major fans hate the American names. The girl's name is Nazo, which means "mystery" or "enigma".
.
Hope you all enjoy this chapter! I'll update soon!
.
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yami: Last time on Yu-Gi-Oh!, Bakura is still feeling terrible after being separated from his yami two months ago. Someone stole Yugi's cards, but Nazo returned them. My question is why?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 3
The Hikari Disease and Nazo's Challenge
"One thing I'll say for her," Ryou joked. "She certainly has a sense of interior design!"
Yugi snickered. He and Ryou had never entered Isis' office before. Statues of Baset and Osiris guarded her door while various Egyptian gods lined the window frames and her desk. The wallpaper consisted of hieroglyphs, the furniture was made of dark mahogany, the carpet was sandy in color, and all of the posters were made of papyrus.
"Kind of over-done, ne," said Yugi, fingering a small camel statuette on the desk.
Isis entered her office, dressed in her native garb. "Vessel of Pharaoh! My security guard said 'someone with wild hair' arrived for me, but I didn't think it was you!"
"Actually Isis-san, we both wanted to talk to you," said Yugi, standing up. "You remember Bakura."
Isis sent a rather cold glance at Ryou. "Of course."
Ryou gulped. "You first," he whispered to Yugi.
"Hai," Yugi nodded. "Isis-san, do you know of any others who are searching for the god cards?"
"No, I do not. Why?"
"They were almost taken from me earlier today. Luckily a girl named Tanaka Nazo found them."
"Tanaka? As in Tanaka Hitoshi?"
"I don't know. If he's rich, it may be her dad."
Isis stepped over to her file cabinet. "Rich is an understatement. The man works as head executive of Kaiba Corp.'s intercontinental relations department." She took out a folder and scanned the pages. "Tanaka travels all over the world on business for Kaiba, and collects rare antiques."
"How did you know all that," asked Ryou.
"Because," said Isis, pointing out a picture in her papers, "he happens to be a major benefactor for my exhibit! I've never met him personally, but he sends in monthly checks worth several hundred thousand yen!"
Both Ryou and Yugi stared at the man. "He doesn't look much like his daughter, if that's the case."
"Either way, I suggest keeping a watch over the girl." She put away her folder. "If Tanaka is after the god cards, Nazo is in a perfect position to steal them from you."
//She didn't before,// said Yami to Yugi.
/She still might,/ he replied.
"You had something to ask me, Bakura," asked Isis cooly. She remembered the teen as host of an evil spirit whom had tried to destroy her younger brother.
"Yes, I have ma'am." Ryou described his symptoms and his suspicions of his ailments being connected to a spell. "Do you think its possible?"
At this, Isis' eyes darkened. "I'm sorry," Ryou added quickly. "Did I upset you?"
"My brother," she said softly, "is very ill also." Ryou and Yugi gasped. [!!] "His symptoms are similar to yours. But he cannot move very much. He cannot get out of bed on his own! Rishad tends to him at my home."
"My God," exclaimed Ryou.
"What's the connection," asked Yugi.
Isis' eyes slowly appeared, shimmering with suppressed tears. "He, like you Bakura, was the host of an evil spirit from the past. Only his spirit engulfed his heart many years ago, so his illness is worse. That is the only conclusion I can make!"
"Or both Yami Marik and Yami Bakura performed the same spell," suggested Ryou.
"I do not think so. Neither knew much magic aside from that of their respective Items. No … This is a far deeper magic."
Yugi's eyes unfocused, trying not to think of an innocent person endure such pain because of hosting an ancient spirit.
//Yugi …//
/Don't say anything Yami./
//Yugi, you know the last thing in the world I want is for you to suffer needlessly. This quest of mine may take many years. At your request, I'll move on to another host body for your sake.//
Yugi put a hand on his Puzzle. /Forget it, Yami. I made a vow to protect the Puzzle and help you find your memories. I never back down from a promise to a friend. Never!/
.
.
Two more weeks passed. The days remained crisp, and the snow fell with more ferocity. As February began its reign, so did girls with small charms and trinkets, wishing for boys to ask them out for Valentine's Day. Although dating in school wasn't allowed, the students discarded their facades to prepare for the holiday.
Still, the teachers pressed for more homework and tests. Teachers took advantage of the excuse to distract students to recharge their brains for spring testing. Yugi-tachi rarely found time to practice dueling or continue their search for Yami's past. Ryou actually fainted during a particularly bad math session, where the professor slapped their knuckles with a ruler if they took too long answering a question.
Yugi offered to help him to the nurse's office. This was a mistake, as many boys made fun of tiny, scrawny Yugi helping to carry the taller but scrawnier Ryou! Luckily Jonouchi and Honda glanced at the classmates threateningly, silencing them.
Once he dropped his friend off, Yugi took his hall pass and started back to class. As he passed by one of the windows, he noticed a staff member dragging a student out into the parking lot.
"Nn? I wonder what that's all about!" He glanced from side to side, making sure no hall monitors were around, then slipped out the nearest door to watch.
Yugi crouched behind cars and made his way closer to the two lone figures. He now recognized the tall, broad shouldered man as Bioshen, a custodian with a bad reputation for disappearing on the job. He threw the struggling girl against a car and growled at her. "You better not tell ANYONE what you just saw, you hear me bitch!?"
"All I hear," said the voice of Tanaka Nazo, panting in pain, "is a load of hot air from a pot smoker and a coward!"
"You can't prove anything!"
"Oh? Then why are you so nervous about me telling anybody?" She gave a small chuckle. "Besides I have all the proof I need right here." She held up a bag of something. To Yugi, it looked like pencil shavings. "I snatched it from inside your pocket."
The man's face contorted with rage. He reached down and grabbed a knife from his boot. Simultaneously, Nazo took something out of her inside coat pocket. So when Bioshen held out the knife, she held out a pair of dice.
"What're you-"
"Lets play for it," she suggested, rolling the dice between her fingers. "Higher number wins. If you win, you keep the pot and can kill me. If I win," her voice softened dangerously, "you get to play a Penalty Game."
In an instant, Yami appeared out of the Puzzle and on top of the hood of the car separating Yugi from behind Nazo. Invisible to all but his hikari, he leaned over the hood, attempting to get a better look at this girl.
"And what say I kill you now?"
"I have 200,000 yen in my locker. I'll open it for you if you win."
"A bag o' pot and 200,000 yen? You serious?"
"Very." She moved the dice around her fingers. "Shall we play?"
The man loosened his grip on the knife. "Sure! You can start! Ladies first an' all!"
"You're such a gentleman," she sneered. She blew on the dice, shook them, and threw. They rolled on the ground before stopping. One had a three, the other a six.
"Nine," she stated. "Tough to beat. But I'm sure you can!"
"Watch me!" He tried to grab the dice, but missed. Nazo laughed. "You're so messed up from drugs, you can hardly see straight!"
"Big deal," he growled, finally grabbing the dice. "I don't need perfect sight to roll higher then a stupid nine!" He threw the dice. They landed and rolled on the hood of the car Yami sat on. He watched the dice and Nazo very closely. She held up her left hand and stared at the dice, as if willing them to move a certain way.
When they stopped, one had a one, the other a one. Snake eyes!
The man banged his fist on the car in anger. The dice shook and moved. One showed a five, the other a six. "Eleven," he cheered. He turned around, the knife held up. "Looks like I win."
Throwing caution to the wind, Yugi ducked under the car and out the other side, right in front of Nazo, shielding her. "Leave her alone!!"
Nazo's eyes widened. "What th-?"
"I won't let you hurt anyone, Bioshen!"
The custodian gaped at Yugi. Nazo stepped around the youth and knocked the knife out of his hand, taking advantage of the distraction. Yugi caught it and threw it away. Nazo kneed Bioshen hard in the gut. He groaned and slumped over.
"That was great," exclaimed Yugi.
"Stand back, Moto," she advised. Yugi froze. She took off her left glove, revealing a flat, gold bracelet with a reversed Egyptian eye symbol grooved into the front. "You lost, asshole," she said. "Penalty game: Mind Recall!" She placed her palm on his forehead.
Bioshen's pupils disappeared. His body stiffened, curled, and convulsed. Heaving breaths blasted from his mouth, and smoke rose from his nostrils.
Yugi took several steps backwards in shock. He remembered Yami talking about the Shadow Games, but never had he seen its affects!
Bioshen gave a final lurch of smoke, and gave a scream that sounded more like a gurgle. He rolled over, twitching and sobbing uncontrollably under a car. The words he muttered were indistinguishable.
Nazo straitened up and put her glove back on, as if men constantly convulsed in front of her. "Moto Yugi, ne?"
"Hai," he responded.
"So, you're the supposed World Champion?"
"Well … I've won a few competitions …"
"Duelist Kingdom and Battle City were pretty huge competitions, Moto. I've wanted to meet you for quite a while." She turned around. "And that's not even including the Doom gang, the Black Clown's game shop, Kaiba's game-"
"Are you stalking me or something!?!"
"No, I've just heard a lot about you. That's all, King of Games." She folded her arms. "I wanted to challenge you to play a game against me."
"Sorry, but I don't-"
//Hold it, Aibou! This woman's power intrigues me.//
"Forget it," Yugi said, more to Yami then Nazo. "I don't gamble my life without a reason."
"I'm not asking for your life! Just a friendly little game. And hey, yours doesn't come with a penalty."
"Why not," asked Yugi, staring at the twitching man.
"You haven't done anything wrong," she replied simply. The bell rang, and she started back to the building. "If you're still interested, meet me at the vacant lot out on 3rd and Cherry Street at 9 tonight. Tell no one."
.
.
That night, Yugi put on his blue jeans, black boots, dark-blue long-sleeved T-shirt with a Duel Monsters logo, and red arm warmers. "I'm not too sure about this whole situation, Mou hitori no boku," said Yugi while dressing.
Yami's form leaned against the doorframe. "The lot is within shouting range of a packed apartment building. If things get out of hand, we can yell for help. Don't forget your belt."
"Still . . . I'd feel safer if I called Jonouchi or Honda."
"They'd only stop us," said Yami shaking his head. "This girl may be dangerous after all. Its cold tonight, Aibou. Better get your jacket."
"Un! But what if she turns it into a Shadow Game?"
"I'm counting on it."
Yugi stopped dead in the act of reaching for his jacket. "Are you crazy!?!"
"I've never heard of the Penalty Game called 'Mind Recall'. Nor have I heard of an eighth Mil. Item." He walked over to the bed in order to examine Yugi. After all, whatever Yugi wore, he'd be wearing! "However, I sense that the power of the game is much less than those of the Puzzle."
"Meaning . . ."
"Meaning that they are only temporary."
Yugi fastened the belt around his neck. "You're not gonna lose on purpose, are you?"
Yami looked shocked. "Absolutely not! I want to try 'Mind Recall' on her! My Puzzle can do any game I desire! Besides, I'm a quick enough learner."
"I know that!" Yugi picked up the chain attached to the Puzzle and put it on. "Okay then. Here goes nothing!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yugi: Ohaiyo minna-san! Yami and Nazo battle using regular cards, and things get a little out of hand. At first hings seem to be going well, but then Yami does something unthinkable .... accidentally says he likes her!
Next time on Yugioh, "Yami and Nazo's First Battle; Crazy 7!
.
.
.
Enjoy! I finished writing up to chapter 10 already, so after some feedback, I'll update again!
.
Cassandra Pegasus - I got the problem sorted out, I think. Hopefully it won't happen again.
Shibby-One - Boy, you sound like a lot of fun. Sorry for making Ryou sick, but it sets up for the next story, when everyone goes to Egypt (yes, I'm one of THOSE authors!)
Keiko Crawford - Nee-chan, if you're gonna be like that, I won't send you any more advanced chapters. You'll have to read them like everyone else and send me more reviews! *evil grin*
Serefina Moon - ^_^ My friend! Welomce back! I'll help you with whatever you want! I'm always ready for a bud like you!
Kuso Netaba - Yes, I think most major fans hate the American names. The girl's name is Nazo, which means "mystery" or "enigma".
.
Hope you all enjoy this chapter! I'll update soon!
.
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yami: Last time on Yu-Gi-Oh!, Bakura is still feeling terrible after being separated from his yami two months ago. Someone stole Yugi's cards, but Nazo returned them. My question is why?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 3
The Hikari Disease and Nazo's Challenge
"One thing I'll say for her," Ryou joked. "She certainly has a sense of interior design!"
Yugi snickered. He and Ryou had never entered Isis' office before. Statues of Baset and Osiris guarded her door while various Egyptian gods lined the window frames and her desk. The wallpaper consisted of hieroglyphs, the furniture was made of dark mahogany, the carpet was sandy in color, and all of the posters were made of papyrus.
"Kind of over-done, ne," said Yugi, fingering a small camel statuette on the desk.
Isis entered her office, dressed in her native garb. "Vessel of Pharaoh! My security guard said 'someone with wild hair' arrived for me, but I didn't think it was you!"
"Actually Isis-san, we both wanted to talk to you," said Yugi, standing up. "You remember Bakura."
Isis sent a rather cold glance at Ryou. "Of course."
Ryou gulped. "You first," he whispered to Yugi.
"Hai," Yugi nodded. "Isis-san, do you know of any others who are searching for the god cards?"
"No, I do not. Why?"
"They were almost taken from me earlier today. Luckily a girl named Tanaka Nazo found them."
"Tanaka? As in Tanaka Hitoshi?"
"I don't know. If he's rich, it may be her dad."
Isis stepped over to her file cabinet. "Rich is an understatement. The man works as head executive of Kaiba Corp.'s intercontinental relations department." She took out a folder and scanned the pages. "Tanaka travels all over the world on business for Kaiba, and collects rare antiques."
"How did you know all that," asked Ryou.
"Because," said Isis, pointing out a picture in her papers, "he happens to be a major benefactor for my exhibit! I've never met him personally, but he sends in monthly checks worth several hundred thousand yen!"
Both Ryou and Yugi stared at the man. "He doesn't look much like his daughter, if that's the case."
"Either way, I suggest keeping a watch over the girl." She put away her folder. "If Tanaka is after the god cards, Nazo is in a perfect position to steal them from you."
//She didn't before,// said Yami to Yugi.
/She still might,/ he replied.
"You had something to ask me, Bakura," asked Isis cooly. She remembered the teen as host of an evil spirit whom had tried to destroy her younger brother.
"Yes, I have ma'am." Ryou described his symptoms and his suspicions of his ailments being connected to a spell. "Do you think its possible?"
At this, Isis' eyes darkened. "I'm sorry," Ryou added quickly. "Did I upset you?"
"My brother," she said softly, "is very ill also." Ryou and Yugi gasped. [!!] "His symptoms are similar to yours. But he cannot move very much. He cannot get out of bed on his own! Rishad tends to him at my home."
"My God," exclaimed Ryou.
"What's the connection," asked Yugi.
Isis' eyes slowly appeared, shimmering with suppressed tears. "He, like you Bakura, was the host of an evil spirit from the past. Only his spirit engulfed his heart many years ago, so his illness is worse. That is the only conclusion I can make!"
"Or both Yami Marik and Yami Bakura performed the same spell," suggested Ryou.
"I do not think so. Neither knew much magic aside from that of their respective Items. No … This is a far deeper magic."
Yugi's eyes unfocused, trying not to think of an innocent person endure such pain because of hosting an ancient spirit.
//Yugi …//
/Don't say anything Yami./
//Yugi, you know the last thing in the world I want is for you to suffer needlessly. This quest of mine may take many years. At your request, I'll move on to another host body for your sake.//
Yugi put a hand on his Puzzle. /Forget it, Yami. I made a vow to protect the Puzzle and help you find your memories. I never back down from a promise to a friend. Never!/
.
.
Two more weeks passed. The days remained crisp, and the snow fell with more ferocity. As February began its reign, so did girls with small charms and trinkets, wishing for boys to ask them out for Valentine's Day. Although dating in school wasn't allowed, the students discarded their facades to prepare for the holiday.
Still, the teachers pressed for more homework and tests. Teachers took advantage of the excuse to distract students to recharge their brains for spring testing. Yugi-tachi rarely found time to practice dueling or continue their search for Yami's past. Ryou actually fainted during a particularly bad math session, where the professor slapped their knuckles with a ruler if they took too long answering a question.
Yugi offered to help him to the nurse's office. This was a mistake, as many boys made fun of tiny, scrawny Yugi helping to carry the taller but scrawnier Ryou! Luckily Jonouchi and Honda glanced at the classmates threateningly, silencing them.
Once he dropped his friend off, Yugi took his hall pass and started back to class. As he passed by one of the windows, he noticed a staff member dragging a student out into the parking lot.
"Nn? I wonder what that's all about!" He glanced from side to side, making sure no hall monitors were around, then slipped out the nearest door to watch.
Yugi crouched behind cars and made his way closer to the two lone figures. He now recognized the tall, broad shouldered man as Bioshen, a custodian with a bad reputation for disappearing on the job. He threw the struggling girl against a car and growled at her. "You better not tell ANYONE what you just saw, you hear me bitch!?"
"All I hear," said the voice of Tanaka Nazo, panting in pain, "is a load of hot air from a pot smoker and a coward!"
"You can't prove anything!"
"Oh? Then why are you so nervous about me telling anybody?" She gave a small chuckle. "Besides I have all the proof I need right here." She held up a bag of something. To Yugi, it looked like pencil shavings. "I snatched it from inside your pocket."
The man's face contorted with rage. He reached down and grabbed a knife from his boot. Simultaneously, Nazo took something out of her inside coat pocket. So when Bioshen held out the knife, she held out a pair of dice.
"What're you-"
"Lets play for it," she suggested, rolling the dice between her fingers. "Higher number wins. If you win, you keep the pot and can kill me. If I win," her voice softened dangerously, "you get to play a Penalty Game."
In an instant, Yami appeared out of the Puzzle and on top of the hood of the car separating Yugi from behind Nazo. Invisible to all but his hikari, he leaned over the hood, attempting to get a better look at this girl.
"And what say I kill you now?"
"I have 200,000 yen in my locker. I'll open it for you if you win."
"A bag o' pot and 200,000 yen? You serious?"
"Very." She moved the dice around her fingers. "Shall we play?"
The man loosened his grip on the knife. "Sure! You can start! Ladies first an' all!"
"You're such a gentleman," she sneered. She blew on the dice, shook them, and threw. They rolled on the ground before stopping. One had a three, the other a six.
"Nine," she stated. "Tough to beat. But I'm sure you can!"
"Watch me!" He tried to grab the dice, but missed. Nazo laughed. "You're so messed up from drugs, you can hardly see straight!"
"Big deal," he growled, finally grabbing the dice. "I don't need perfect sight to roll higher then a stupid nine!" He threw the dice. They landed and rolled on the hood of the car Yami sat on. He watched the dice and Nazo very closely. She held up her left hand and stared at the dice, as if willing them to move a certain way.
When they stopped, one had a one, the other a one. Snake eyes!
The man banged his fist on the car in anger. The dice shook and moved. One showed a five, the other a six. "Eleven," he cheered. He turned around, the knife held up. "Looks like I win."
Throwing caution to the wind, Yugi ducked under the car and out the other side, right in front of Nazo, shielding her. "Leave her alone!!"
Nazo's eyes widened. "What th-?"
"I won't let you hurt anyone, Bioshen!"
The custodian gaped at Yugi. Nazo stepped around the youth and knocked the knife out of his hand, taking advantage of the distraction. Yugi caught it and threw it away. Nazo kneed Bioshen hard in the gut. He groaned and slumped over.
"That was great," exclaimed Yugi.
"Stand back, Moto," she advised. Yugi froze. She took off her left glove, revealing a flat, gold bracelet with a reversed Egyptian eye symbol grooved into the front. "You lost, asshole," she said. "Penalty game: Mind Recall!" She placed her palm on his forehead.
Bioshen's pupils disappeared. His body stiffened, curled, and convulsed. Heaving breaths blasted from his mouth, and smoke rose from his nostrils.
Yugi took several steps backwards in shock. He remembered Yami talking about the Shadow Games, but never had he seen its affects!
Bioshen gave a final lurch of smoke, and gave a scream that sounded more like a gurgle. He rolled over, twitching and sobbing uncontrollably under a car. The words he muttered were indistinguishable.
Nazo straitened up and put her glove back on, as if men constantly convulsed in front of her. "Moto Yugi, ne?"
"Hai," he responded.
"So, you're the supposed World Champion?"
"Well … I've won a few competitions …"
"Duelist Kingdom and Battle City were pretty huge competitions, Moto. I've wanted to meet you for quite a while." She turned around. "And that's not even including the Doom gang, the Black Clown's game shop, Kaiba's game-"
"Are you stalking me or something!?!"
"No, I've just heard a lot about you. That's all, King of Games." She folded her arms. "I wanted to challenge you to play a game against me."
"Sorry, but I don't-"
//Hold it, Aibou! This woman's power intrigues me.//
"Forget it," Yugi said, more to Yami then Nazo. "I don't gamble my life without a reason."
"I'm not asking for your life! Just a friendly little game. And hey, yours doesn't come with a penalty."
"Why not," asked Yugi, staring at the twitching man.
"You haven't done anything wrong," she replied simply. The bell rang, and she started back to the building. "If you're still interested, meet me at the vacant lot out on 3rd and Cherry Street at 9 tonight. Tell no one."
.
.
That night, Yugi put on his blue jeans, black boots, dark-blue long-sleeved T-shirt with a Duel Monsters logo, and red arm warmers. "I'm not too sure about this whole situation, Mou hitori no boku," said Yugi while dressing.
Yami's form leaned against the doorframe. "The lot is within shouting range of a packed apartment building. If things get out of hand, we can yell for help. Don't forget your belt."
"Still . . . I'd feel safer if I called Jonouchi or Honda."
"They'd only stop us," said Yami shaking his head. "This girl may be dangerous after all. Its cold tonight, Aibou. Better get your jacket."
"Un! But what if she turns it into a Shadow Game?"
"I'm counting on it."
Yugi stopped dead in the act of reaching for his jacket. "Are you crazy!?!"
"I've never heard of the Penalty Game called 'Mind Recall'. Nor have I heard of an eighth Mil. Item." He walked over to the bed in order to examine Yugi. After all, whatever Yugi wore, he'd be wearing! "However, I sense that the power of the game is much less than those of the Puzzle."
"Meaning . . ."
"Meaning that they are only temporary."
Yugi fastened the belt around his neck. "You're not gonna lose on purpose, are you?"
Yami looked shocked. "Absolutely not! I want to try 'Mind Recall' on her! My Puzzle can do any game I desire! Besides, I'm a quick enough learner."
"I know that!" Yugi picked up the chain attached to the Puzzle and put it on. "Okay then. Here goes nothing!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yugi: Ohaiyo minna-san! Yami and Nazo battle using regular cards, and things get a little out of hand. At first hings seem to be going well, but then Yami does something unthinkable .... accidentally says he likes her!
Next time on Yugioh, "Yami and Nazo's First Battle; Crazy 7!
.
.
.
Enjoy! I finished writing up to chapter 10 already, so after some feedback, I'll update again!