Keiko - Yes, Nee-cchan, you will hate Mrs. Tanaka even more by the end of this chapter.
Lislis - X) Don't worry, there will be more YugiXAnzu fluff in the sequal. There'll be plenty of everything in the sequal! One thing I excel at is SUSPENSE!!
Serafina - I think you'll like this one, Serafina-chan. Yugi gets to act particularly heroic, but not as much as he will in the sequal! ^_~
Matthew - Hello again! Wow, you came back! Thank you! Please send me your e-mail address so I can notify you right away when I update. As for Yugi, um, I consider Yugi to be a bit more gentlemanly than Yami. Heck, I didn't kiss my boyfriend until we'd dated a couple of times.
Bardock: That's because you suck!
Una: *hits Bardock over the head with a rubber duck* Don't worry though. =^_^= They'll definately kiss soon!
Strawberrylover - Finals are this coming week. I'm really supposed to be studying for them now! *looks at workbook next to her* I will as soon as I finish this. My term paper is done! But, yeah, hope YOU did well at least.
digigirl - "Gets what he deserves"? ^_^ You tell me!
.
Bardock: Una-san, inquiring minds want to know...
Una: What is it now?
Bardock: Is Nazo based on you?
Una: No.
Bardock: WHAT?!?
Una: So set the record straight, Nazo is mostly based on Yami, Jonouchi, and some friends of mine. The only things in common Nazo and I have is our love of games, low self esteem, and thinking Yami is sexy.
Yami: 0_0 *chest swells with pride* Thank you!
Una: I, on the other hand, would not date someone so short-tempered, arrogant, and slightly psycho.
Yami: -_-
Bardock: This from the girl who drools everytime she sees Vegeta-sama?
Una: Again, sex appeal only.
Yugi: That's enough, Bardo-kun. Let's get on with the story.
Bardock: BUT WHO DOES UNA LIKE!?!
.
/Yugi thought-speak/
//Yami thought-speak//
///Nazo thought-speak///
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yami: Last time on Yu-Gi-Oh, Aibou and Anzu went out on their date without much result-
Yugi: EXCEPT that now I know she loves me! And I encouraged her to follow her dreams!
Yami: Yeah, but no kiss!! Now he's off to investigate the Tanaka house.
Chapter 13
Never Piss Off the Heir of the Shadow Games!
The car was parked in the driveway already when Yugi rushed up. He could hear a commotion going on inside. He raced up to the door and peeped in the window.
Through the fine curtains, Yugi saw a man, Nazo's father, drunkenly yelling at Nazo, who stood taller and prouder than Yugi had ever seen her before. "Stupid bitch," he yelled at her. "I travel thousands of miles to see Kaiba, and the cards ain't even there!!" He snapped his belt threateningly. "Any idea where they are, Nazo-chan?"
Nazo almost smirked. "Up your ass and around the corner?"
Mr. Tanaka struck Nazo hard with his belt. Yugi yelped. 'Oh God! He actually hit her!'
"Tell the truth, bitch," he barked, snapping his belt again. Then he added in a mocking tone, "I don't like it when you lie!"
"Then I won't. I'm not saying a damn thing." She kept that strange smirk on her face, almost as if she thought her father's actions were amusing.
"Nazo," reasoned her mother, who stood several feet away from the scene. She too had encountered that belt a few times, and did not want to do so again. "Darling, tell Daddy where the cards are. He's the head of the house. You must respect him."
Nazo chuckled darkly. "Respect him? How can I? I HATE him!"
Mr. Tanaka kicked her in the face, so she fell to the stairway. "I don't fucking care if you hate me!! You got me fired from Kaiba Corp., you worthless bitch! You think you can stand up to me? You're nothing!"
Yugi was so terrified he froze. All he could do was watch the scene.
"Wrong!" Nazo flipped her hair out of her face, and Yugi saw the dirt from the father's shoe imprinted on her swelling cheek. "I'm not afraid of you anymore! I'm worth a Hell of a lot more than you ever will! I have people now who value me as a queen!"
Mr. Tanaka hit her with his belt three times. "Crazy, ranting, bitch!! You'd better fucking fear me!! I'll kill you!!"
Yugi flinched each time. 'WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo!?!' He tried opening the door, but of course it was locked. 'I gotta help her!' He pounded on it. "What's going on in there," he yelled, trying to get the man's attention divided.
The whole family froze. Nazo tried to get up, but Mr. Tanaka quickly gagged her with the belt and dragged her by it up the stairs by it. Mrs. Tanaka waited a minute before walking slowly, casually, to the door. "Hello," she called. "Someone there?"
"Open the door," Yugi demanded.
"Why," she asked casually, in the rich-white-woman voice.
Yugi sneered. "She's your daughter! How can you let him do that?!"
"Silly boy," said the woman off-hand, her voice choking up slightly. "He's the man of the house. What he says goes. Nazo's only getting punished for her disrespect."
A surge of hatred consumed Yugi's mind, and his face nearly glowed with rage. This woman cared more for herself than protecting her daughter. Protecting Nazo should be her instinct! 'Damn her!!'
.
Yami, lying down in a corner of his soul room, awoke with a start. He sensed something foreign in Yugi's mind: Hatred! Yami turned to the door of his partner's soul room. 'What?'
Then he heard something he definitely did NOT expect. He clearly heard Nazo's voice. ///YAMI-SA!! TASKETEYO!!!///[1] Then he heard her high-pitched, muffled scream.
//NAZO!!//
.
/NAZO!!/ Yugi's head snapped up when her heard the scream. It came from the second floor. Without saying a word to Mrs. Tanaka, he dashed towards the backyard. A gate separated him, so he tried to hop over. No use, too short. He turned around, hopped onto the hood of the car, then the roof of the car, grabbed hold of the gutter, and swung his legs over the fence. He lost his balance on his landing and fell hard in a sitting position.
"Ite ite ite ite ite," he groaned. "I think I broke my ass!!"
//Aibou!? What's happening?!//
Yugi and Yami both heard another short scream from the second floor. Yami didn't need to be told anymore. Yugi, his hatred towards Nazo's parents returning, and the adrenaline rush that came with it, got up and scanned the yard for inspiration.
//Over there!// Yami pointed to a lattice, and Yugi jumped on. He'd forgotten about the pain numbing his rear, about being the worst in his PE class, about being so small and weak… All that mattered was saving Nazo. Once level with the windows, Yugi called to Yami's spirit. /You look in those two windows, I'll check these two!/
Yami couldn't help but be impressed by Yugi's spirit. 'He's showing more confidence than ever! What drove him to this?'
Yugi climbed to the first window. 'Nazo hasn't screamed in a while. Hope she's okay!'
Yami floated to his first. Nothing but the master bedroom. He started to move to the second, but he sensed Yugi tense. /Yami! I found them!/ Yami glided over and gaped at what he saw.
They were in Nazo's bedroom. Nazo held her head, which had been newly marked by the belt buckle. Mr. Tanaka had just finished pulling off her skirt. Nazo shook the stars out of her eyes, and realized what her father was about to do. She reached for her glove to use her Bracelet, but Mr. Tanaka grabbed a letter opener from his pocket and held it to her throat. "Move and you die!"
The window shattered. Wind rushed in and blew the man away from Nazo. Yami stood on the lattice, his pupils red pin-pricks, and the Eye of Horus glowing on his forehead. "No one," he roared, shaking the house in his fury, "touches my wife!"
.
Bardock: *interrupting story* Okay, now that would scare the shit outta ME!!
.
The next thing Tanaka knew was nothing. For an entire minute, he could not hear, see, feel, or sense anything. All he could do was think - and fear! In his logical, sadistic mind there was no explanation for what had happened, except that he's finally had a stroke!
Then, within the darkness appeared a single glowing light, no bigger than his fist, in the shape of the Eye of Horus from Egyptian mythology. "What the fuck izzat?"
"This," came a haunting voice in the dark. "can only be seen by those who trespass on my soul… and the souls of those I protect." Yami's form brightened, so they both appeared to stand in total blackness. "Your quest for power ends in nothing but hollow arrogance, which can be broken easily. Your heart is so filled with anger and hate, you lash out more dominance over something, anything, to calm it. You attack the women near you, because they are naturally inferior. Most societies believed this, even mine did."
Tanaka got to his feet. Alcohol, fear, and anger gave him enough strength for that. "Who the Hell are you?"
"Me?" The smirk on Yami's face made the man take a step back. "I am many things at once, yet have to true identity. Regardless of my personal feelings, I am the Heir to the Shadow Games."
In a blink, Yami appeared an inch away from the man's face. "As one who protects Nazo, it would be my pleasure to rip you apart piece by piece and make sure you feel it until only your heart is left. But, as overseer of the sacred Games, I cannot without permission from the gods."
"And - and how does that work?"
Yami's smirk widened to an evil grin. "You must beat me in a game."
"That's it?"
"Accept, if you dare."
Tanaka sneered. As powerful as this boy looked, he was only a boy. What harm could a little game be? "Tanaka Hitoshi never backs down!"
"Yoshi!"
Yami floated backwards a few yards, and revealed a lit grid of tiles two feet by two feet separating them. At the corner of each square intersection was a small circle. Each player began on opposite corners of the entire grid. The sky turned to dark purple, making it easier to see.
"This game is similar to 'Make the Square.' Each of us rolls the ten-sided die in our hands and move one space up, down, or sideways the number of times that comes up." Tanaka noted the die that materialized in his hand. "Once four corners of a tile have been stepped on, the tile will disappear. You cannot step on the same corner twice, nor on a tile for balance. If you fall in, you lose. The object of the game is to force your opponent to fall into the darkness by trapping him. This requires both strategy and luck with dice roll. Understand?"
"Sure! I've played this game! Never liked it much before either…"
Yami held up his die. "Lowest roll goes first." He dropped the die. "An eight. Your turn."
Tanaka dropped his die. "Ha! Seven is lower!"
Yami pointed a warning finger and his grin widened to psychotic. "Be careful! You may back yourself into a corner by stepping on the wrong tiles!"
Tanaka ignored the boy and took his seven spaces in such a way as to make three tiles drop. Right-up-left-up-right-up-left. Indeed they did fall into the oblivion, and the edges where they once stood glowed a soft blue.
"Ore no tanu." [2] Yami took his eight, but did not have any tiles drop. Up-right-up-right-up-up-right-up. His trail glowed red.
Nazo watched from the sidelines and tried to work out Yami's strategy. He'd obviously worked one out, but what exactly was his plan? 'He's apparently starting to divided the field in almost half diagonally, while my father is making out a plan as he goes along. I think he's trying to work out some possible traps.' She glanced at Yami's demonic eyes. 'Does he always get like this?'
/Only when he's battling someone he hates./
Nazo's head snapped around. "Yugi?"
/You can see me too?/
"Am I not supposed to?"
Yugi gaped at her. It was about then she realized he looked semi-transparent. /This is weird! Normally only Yami and Keiko-san can see me when I'm in spirit form. Maybe its because we're in the Shadow Realm. Or maybe your Bracelet is reacting in some way./ He scratched the back of his head in thought. /That's why we heard you call for help outside. Try thinking out words, only act like you're talking to me./
///Like this?///
/Yep! Now you can think-speak to us!/
///Ookaayy… This is bizarre…/// She watched the players move across the board some more. ///Do you know what Yami's strategy is?///
/Un! I get it exactly./
///What is it?///
//Aibou.// Yami's eyes darted to the pair of spectators. //Let Nazo figure it out herself.//
Nazo made a "keh" sound, but agreed to Yami's challenge. She stared hard at the board, willing herself to work out a pattern. When only the obvious showed (Yami continued only moving diagonally upward), Nazo played out in her mind where he'd end up. ///Oh! I think I get it! As long as he keeps ahead of my father, Yami will end up on the side with all of its tiles, while Daddy ends up on the side with all of the holes. That way, anywhere he steps, a hole will stop him from going on and he'll lose. Right?/// She turned to Yugi. ///Yugi?///
Yugi started to breathe through his mouth, and he wiped clear sweat from his brow. /You're right. Its an obvious strategy, but Tanaka-san is too arrogant to realize its brilliance./
///Are you okay? You look like you've run a mile!///
/I'm starting to feel the affects of the Shadow Realm's dark energy. If I were in control of my body, it'd be worse. I can last a little longer though. I just wanna watch this play out./
///Kinda risky, isn't it?///
Yugi shook his head. /No way! I trust Yami. He wouldn't let me do anything I couldn't handle./
Yami smirked as Mr. Tanaka made yet another hole. The pharaoh had listened in on the entire conversation. He was not surprised Nazo figured out his strategy. The ultimate genius of it was that it WAS quite simple.
Tanaka almost tripped as he made one more hole. 'Good,' he thought. 'If that dumbass steps on that corner right there, he'll be surrounded by falling tiles! All I gotta do is chase him over here and-'
"I win," said Yami, taking one more step to the corner of the board.
Tanaka whirled around. "Nani? But you only made a fuckin' line!"
"Yes, but that line now traps you on your side of the field. If you had taken me seriously from the start, or perhaps if you were entirely sober, you would have noticed." Yami folded his arms. "All that's left is for me to decide how to punish you."
Tanaka scanned the board. Sure enough, Yami's plan was flawless. "You tricked me!"
"He never cheats," said Nazo smugly. "Sad. You're not in control of your own life anymore!" She laughed.
Tanaka roared, and charged at his daughter like a wild beast. Yugi looked to Yami for instructions, but the pharaoh did not move. Instead, he spun his die around and between his fingertips. Just before Tanaka reached Nazo, Yami threw the die between the man's legs and along the edge of one of his hole traps. It rolled and rolled, finally ending on a corner activating a trap, with the number 1, and Eye symbol, on top.
It took two seconds before the man realized there was no ground beneath him. Wildly, he grabbed the edge of a tile and hung for dear life. "Help," he screamed. "Help me! Nazo-chan, help!"
Nazo walked to the edge and peered down. Her father, he man who had beaten her, sexually harassed, and verbally abused her for two years, now sniveled at her feet for her help. A great surge of power filled her, and Tanaka saw the upside-down triangle symbol glow on her forehead. She grinned, her eyes filled with the purple fire Yami so admired. "Game over, Daddy! See ya in Hell!" With that, she kicked his fingers loose, and listened with conviction as his screams died away in the abyss.
The game board disappeared, and Yami walked over to his two treasures. /Awesome game, Yami!/
"One question," said Nazo. "Why didn't you try to stop him from climbing up?"
"Yugi said so already. It wasn't anything you couldn't handle on your own. Besides," he said, stroking the bangs from her face, "you may have needed just that."
Nazo placed her hand on his chest, and felt his heart racing. "Maybe. What an extraordinary person you are, Yu-Gi-Ou." [3]
He smirked. "As are you, Yu-Gi-Ouhi." [4] He bent down, and they began to kiss passionately. This lasted a minute, until they both felt unease through the mind-link and looked up.
Yugi gave a nervous laugh. /Heehee!! I think I'll be going into my soul room, thanks!/ He disappeared. Yami and Nazo only laughed. //Let's get out of here!//
.
.
Mrs. Tanaka didn't know what to do. When she arrived in Nazo's room to see what had happened in the 'earthquake,' she came across a large, black-purple cloud. Should she call the police? The National Guard? Ripley's Believe It Or Not?
She paced back and forth in the hallway for half an hour before the cloud dissipated. She hurried back to see what happened. Her husband lie dead on the floor, a look of pure terror frozen forever on his face.
"Bye bye, Mother Dearest!"
Mrs. Tanaka caught only a glimpse of Nazo and a boy with wild hair before they both jumped out the window. She rushed over to stick her head outside, and saw them float to the ground. Then, like living ghosts, they sprinted off into the darkness together, hand in hand.
Nellie the maid heard thumping upstairs. "Nazo-sma," she called. "I forgot my purse! Have you seen it?" She opened the door and screamed.
"Nellie," said Mrs. Tanaka, "quick, call the police! A teenage boy murdered my husband and kidnapped Nazo!"
[1] - "Yami-sa! Tasketeyo!!" = "Yami, my love! Help/Save me!!" "-sa" is a suffix used to address a spouse. This shows Nazo and Yami consider themselves spiritually married.
[2] - "Ore no tanu" = "My turn" "Ore" is a form of saying "I" in a very egotistical way, which Yami really uses. Yugi uses "boku", which is very humble.
[3] - "Yu-Gi-Ou" - The correct spelling for "King of Games."
[4] - "Yu-Gi-Ouhi" - "Queen of Games", in case it wasn't obvious!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yugi: *laughs nervously* Heehee... One thing I'll say for Yami, out of all the times he's played Shadow Games with people and killed them, this is the only time he's gotten caught! Unfortunately, this one time might earn ME a lifetime in jail! What am I supposed to do? At least my friends are here to help me!
Last chapter: Escape to Egypt; The Beginning of a New Adventure!
.
Bardock: *whining* You call THAT action!?!
Una: Well, more than usual.
Bardock: That's nothing!! No lives at stake 'sept that bastard!
Yami: And I'd rather keep it that way for a while!
Yugi: Here here!! Let's keep mortal combat to a minimum!
Yami: *whispers* Is that possible with Una?
Una: The sequal will have loads more in it. Lots of humor, action, history, fluff, romance, drama... After all, someone actually dies in it!
Bardock: EVERYTHING is in this damn sequal!! When are you gonna fuckin' put it up!?!
Una: Well, I was thinking about writing up a prequel first explaining the events that happened in ancient Egypt with Pharaoh Yami, Shukura, Prince Naeem, Priest Seto, and Lady Kei. That way, when there are flashbacks, I can direct readers to that... And Keiko-neechan is writing it jointly with me...
Yami: Meaning how long? Get to the point!
Una: I'm not sure.
Reviewers, what do you think? The prequel is more for your benefit! And I've already written three of four chapters of it.
How long should I wait until I start the sequal? Until the prequel is finished and published? Towards the end of the prequel? Just wait a month? Two months? Or forget the prequel? Your choice.
Lislis - X) Don't worry, there will be more YugiXAnzu fluff in the sequal. There'll be plenty of everything in the sequal! One thing I excel at is SUSPENSE!!
Serafina - I think you'll like this one, Serafina-chan. Yugi gets to act particularly heroic, but not as much as he will in the sequal! ^_~
Matthew - Hello again! Wow, you came back! Thank you! Please send me your e-mail address so I can notify you right away when I update. As for Yugi, um, I consider Yugi to be a bit more gentlemanly than Yami. Heck, I didn't kiss my boyfriend until we'd dated a couple of times.
Bardock: That's because you suck!
Una: *hits Bardock over the head with a rubber duck* Don't worry though. =^_^= They'll definately kiss soon!
Strawberrylover - Finals are this coming week. I'm really supposed to be studying for them now! *looks at workbook next to her* I will as soon as I finish this. My term paper is done! But, yeah, hope YOU did well at least.
digigirl - "Gets what he deserves"? ^_^ You tell me!
.
Bardock: Una-san, inquiring minds want to know...
Una: What is it now?
Bardock: Is Nazo based on you?
Una: No.
Bardock: WHAT?!?
Una: So set the record straight, Nazo is mostly based on Yami, Jonouchi, and some friends of mine. The only things in common Nazo and I have is our love of games, low self esteem, and thinking Yami is sexy.
Yami: 0_0 *chest swells with pride* Thank you!
Una: I, on the other hand, would not date someone so short-tempered, arrogant, and slightly psycho.
Yami: -_-
Bardock: This from the girl who drools everytime she sees Vegeta-sama?
Una: Again, sex appeal only.
Yugi: That's enough, Bardo-kun. Let's get on with the story.
Bardock: BUT WHO DOES UNA LIKE!?!
.
/Yugi thought-speak/
//Yami thought-speak//
///Nazo thought-speak///
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yami: Last time on Yu-Gi-Oh, Aibou and Anzu went out on their date without much result-
Yugi: EXCEPT that now I know she loves me! And I encouraged her to follow her dreams!
Yami: Yeah, but no kiss!! Now he's off to investigate the Tanaka house.
Chapter 13
Never Piss Off the Heir of the Shadow Games!
The car was parked in the driveway already when Yugi rushed up. He could hear a commotion going on inside. He raced up to the door and peeped in the window.
Through the fine curtains, Yugi saw a man, Nazo's father, drunkenly yelling at Nazo, who stood taller and prouder than Yugi had ever seen her before. "Stupid bitch," he yelled at her. "I travel thousands of miles to see Kaiba, and the cards ain't even there!!" He snapped his belt threateningly. "Any idea where they are, Nazo-chan?"
Nazo almost smirked. "Up your ass and around the corner?"
Mr. Tanaka struck Nazo hard with his belt. Yugi yelped. 'Oh God! He actually hit her!'
"Tell the truth, bitch," he barked, snapping his belt again. Then he added in a mocking tone, "I don't like it when you lie!"
"Then I won't. I'm not saying a damn thing." She kept that strange smirk on her face, almost as if she thought her father's actions were amusing.
"Nazo," reasoned her mother, who stood several feet away from the scene. She too had encountered that belt a few times, and did not want to do so again. "Darling, tell Daddy where the cards are. He's the head of the house. You must respect him."
Nazo chuckled darkly. "Respect him? How can I? I HATE him!"
Mr. Tanaka kicked her in the face, so she fell to the stairway. "I don't fucking care if you hate me!! You got me fired from Kaiba Corp., you worthless bitch! You think you can stand up to me? You're nothing!"
Yugi was so terrified he froze. All he could do was watch the scene.
"Wrong!" Nazo flipped her hair out of her face, and Yugi saw the dirt from the father's shoe imprinted on her swelling cheek. "I'm not afraid of you anymore! I'm worth a Hell of a lot more than you ever will! I have people now who value me as a queen!"
Mr. Tanaka hit her with his belt three times. "Crazy, ranting, bitch!! You'd better fucking fear me!! I'll kill you!!"
Yugi flinched each time. 'WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo!?!' He tried opening the door, but of course it was locked. 'I gotta help her!' He pounded on it. "What's going on in there," he yelled, trying to get the man's attention divided.
The whole family froze. Nazo tried to get up, but Mr. Tanaka quickly gagged her with the belt and dragged her by it up the stairs by it. Mrs. Tanaka waited a minute before walking slowly, casually, to the door. "Hello," she called. "Someone there?"
"Open the door," Yugi demanded.
"Why," she asked casually, in the rich-white-woman voice.
Yugi sneered. "She's your daughter! How can you let him do that?!"
"Silly boy," said the woman off-hand, her voice choking up slightly. "He's the man of the house. What he says goes. Nazo's only getting punished for her disrespect."
A surge of hatred consumed Yugi's mind, and his face nearly glowed with rage. This woman cared more for herself than protecting her daughter. Protecting Nazo should be her instinct! 'Damn her!!'
.
Yami, lying down in a corner of his soul room, awoke with a start. He sensed something foreign in Yugi's mind: Hatred! Yami turned to the door of his partner's soul room. 'What?'
Then he heard something he definitely did NOT expect. He clearly heard Nazo's voice. ///YAMI-SA!! TASKETEYO!!!///[1] Then he heard her high-pitched, muffled scream.
//NAZO!!//
.
/NAZO!!/ Yugi's head snapped up when her heard the scream. It came from the second floor. Without saying a word to Mrs. Tanaka, he dashed towards the backyard. A gate separated him, so he tried to hop over. No use, too short. He turned around, hopped onto the hood of the car, then the roof of the car, grabbed hold of the gutter, and swung his legs over the fence. He lost his balance on his landing and fell hard in a sitting position.
"Ite ite ite ite ite," he groaned. "I think I broke my ass!!"
//Aibou!? What's happening?!//
Yugi and Yami both heard another short scream from the second floor. Yami didn't need to be told anymore. Yugi, his hatred towards Nazo's parents returning, and the adrenaline rush that came with it, got up and scanned the yard for inspiration.
//Over there!// Yami pointed to a lattice, and Yugi jumped on. He'd forgotten about the pain numbing his rear, about being the worst in his PE class, about being so small and weak… All that mattered was saving Nazo. Once level with the windows, Yugi called to Yami's spirit. /You look in those two windows, I'll check these two!/
Yami couldn't help but be impressed by Yugi's spirit. 'He's showing more confidence than ever! What drove him to this?'
Yugi climbed to the first window. 'Nazo hasn't screamed in a while. Hope she's okay!'
Yami floated to his first. Nothing but the master bedroom. He started to move to the second, but he sensed Yugi tense. /Yami! I found them!/ Yami glided over and gaped at what he saw.
They were in Nazo's bedroom. Nazo held her head, which had been newly marked by the belt buckle. Mr. Tanaka had just finished pulling off her skirt. Nazo shook the stars out of her eyes, and realized what her father was about to do. She reached for her glove to use her Bracelet, but Mr. Tanaka grabbed a letter opener from his pocket and held it to her throat. "Move and you die!"
The window shattered. Wind rushed in and blew the man away from Nazo. Yami stood on the lattice, his pupils red pin-pricks, and the Eye of Horus glowing on his forehead. "No one," he roared, shaking the house in his fury, "touches my wife!"
.
Bardock: *interrupting story* Okay, now that would scare the shit outta ME!!
.
The next thing Tanaka knew was nothing. For an entire minute, he could not hear, see, feel, or sense anything. All he could do was think - and fear! In his logical, sadistic mind there was no explanation for what had happened, except that he's finally had a stroke!
Then, within the darkness appeared a single glowing light, no bigger than his fist, in the shape of the Eye of Horus from Egyptian mythology. "What the fuck izzat?"
"This," came a haunting voice in the dark. "can only be seen by those who trespass on my soul… and the souls of those I protect." Yami's form brightened, so they both appeared to stand in total blackness. "Your quest for power ends in nothing but hollow arrogance, which can be broken easily. Your heart is so filled with anger and hate, you lash out more dominance over something, anything, to calm it. You attack the women near you, because they are naturally inferior. Most societies believed this, even mine did."
Tanaka got to his feet. Alcohol, fear, and anger gave him enough strength for that. "Who the Hell are you?"
"Me?" The smirk on Yami's face made the man take a step back. "I am many things at once, yet have to true identity. Regardless of my personal feelings, I am the Heir to the Shadow Games."
In a blink, Yami appeared an inch away from the man's face. "As one who protects Nazo, it would be my pleasure to rip you apart piece by piece and make sure you feel it until only your heart is left. But, as overseer of the sacred Games, I cannot without permission from the gods."
"And - and how does that work?"
Yami's smirk widened to an evil grin. "You must beat me in a game."
"That's it?"
"Accept, if you dare."
Tanaka sneered. As powerful as this boy looked, he was only a boy. What harm could a little game be? "Tanaka Hitoshi never backs down!"
"Yoshi!"
Yami floated backwards a few yards, and revealed a lit grid of tiles two feet by two feet separating them. At the corner of each square intersection was a small circle. Each player began on opposite corners of the entire grid. The sky turned to dark purple, making it easier to see.
"This game is similar to 'Make the Square.' Each of us rolls the ten-sided die in our hands and move one space up, down, or sideways the number of times that comes up." Tanaka noted the die that materialized in his hand. "Once four corners of a tile have been stepped on, the tile will disappear. You cannot step on the same corner twice, nor on a tile for balance. If you fall in, you lose. The object of the game is to force your opponent to fall into the darkness by trapping him. This requires both strategy and luck with dice roll. Understand?"
"Sure! I've played this game! Never liked it much before either…"
Yami held up his die. "Lowest roll goes first." He dropped the die. "An eight. Your turn."
Tanaka dropped his die. "Ha! Seven is lower!"
Yami pointed a warning finger and his grin widened to psychotic. "Be careful! You may back yourself into a corner by stepping on the wrong tiles!"
Tanaka ignored the boy and took his seven spaces in such a way as to make three tiles drop. Right-up-left-up-right-up-left. Indeed they did fall into the oblivion, and the edges where they once stood glowed a soft blue.
"Ore no tanu." [2] Yami took his eight, but did not have any tiles drop. Up-right-up-right-up-up-right-up. His trail glowed red.
Nazo watched from the sidelines and tried to work out Yami's strategy. He'd obviously worked one out, but what exactly was his plan? 'He's apparently starting to divided the field in almost half diagonally, while my father is making out a plan as he goes along. I think he's trying to work out some possible traps.' She glanced at Yami's demonic eyes. 'Does he always get like this?'
/Only when he's battling someone he hates./
Nazo's head snapped around. "Yugi?"
/You can see me too?/
"Am I not supposed to?"
Yugi gaped at her. It was about then she realized he looked semi-transparent. /This is weird! Normally only Yami and Keiko-san can see me when I'm in spirit form. Maybe its because we're in the Shadow Realm. Or maybe your Bracelet is reacting in some way./ He scratched the back of his head in thought. /That's why we heard you call for help outside. Try thinking out words, only act like you're talking to me./
///Like this?///
/Yep! Now you can think-speak to us!/
///Ookaayy… This is bizarre…/// She watched the players move across the board some more. ///Do you know what Yami's strategy is?///
/Un! I get it exactly./
///What is it?///
//Aibou.// Yami's eyes darted to the pair of spectators. //Let Nazo figure it out herself.//
Nazo made a "keh" sound, but agreed to Yami's challenge. She stared hard at the board, willing herself to work out a pattern. When only the obvious showed (Yami continued only moving diagonally upward), Nazo played out in her mind where he'd end up. ///Oh! I think I get it! As long as he keeps ahead of my father, Yami will end up on the side with all of its tiles, while Daddy ends up on the side with all of the holes. That way, anywhere he steps, a hole will stop him from going on and he'll lose. Right?/// She turned to Yugi. ///Yugi?///
Yugi started to breathe through his mouth, and he wiped clear sweat from his brow. /You're right. Its an obvious strategy, but Tanaka-san is too arrogant to realize its brilliance./
///Are you okay? You look like you've run a mile!///
/I'm starting to feel the affects of the Shadow Realm's dark energy. If I were in control of my body, it'd be worse. I can last a little longer though. I just wanna watch this play out./
///Kinda risky, isn't it?///
Yugi shook his head. /No way! I trust Yami. He wouldn't let me do anything I couldn't handle./
Yami smirked as Mr. Tanaka made yet another hole. The pharaoh had listened in on the entire conversation. He was not surprised Nazo figured out his strategy. The ultimate genius of it was that it WAS quite simple.
Tanaka almost tripped as he made one more hole. 'Good,' he thought. 'If that dumbass steps on that corner right there, he'll be surrounded by falling tiles! All I gotta do is chase him over here and-'
"I win," said Yami, taking one more step to the corner of the board.
Tanaka whirled around. "Nani? But you only made a fuckin' line!"
"Yes, but that line now traps you on your side of the field. If you had taken me seriously from the start, or perhaps if you were entirely sober, you would have noticed." Yami folded his arms. "All that's left is for me to decide how to punish you."
Tanaka scanned the board. Sure enough, Yami's plan was flawless. "You tricked me!"
"He never cheats," said Nazo smugly. "Sad. You're not in control of your own life anymore!" She laughed.
Tanaka roared, and charged at his daughter like a wild beast. Yugi looked to Yami for instructions, but the pharaoh did not move. Instead, he spun his die around and between his fingertips. Just before Tanaka reached Nazo, Yami threw the die between the man's legs and along the edge of one of his hole traps. It rolled and rolled, finally ending on a corner activating a trap, with the number 1, and Eye symbol, on top.
It took two seconds before the man realized there was no ground beneath him. Wildly, he grabbed the edge of a tile and hung for dear life. "Help," he screamed. "Help me! Nazo-chan, help!"
Nazo walked to the edge and peered down. Her father, he man who had beaten her, sexually harassed, and verbally abused her for two years, now sniveled at her feet for her help. A great surge of power filled her, and Tanaka saw the upside-down triangle symbol glow on her forehead. She grinned, her eyes filled with the purple fire Yami so admired. "Game over, Daddy! See ya in Hell!" With that, she kicked his fingers loose, and listened with conviction as his screams died away in the abyss.
The game board disappeared, and Yami walked over to his two treasures. /Awesome game, Yami!/
"One question," said Nazo. "Why didn't you try to stop him from climbing up?"
"Yugi said so already. It wasn't anything you couldn't handle on your own. Besides," he said, stroking the bangs from her face, "you may have needed just that."
Nazo placed her hand on his chest, and felt his heart racing. "Maybe. What an extraordinary person you are, Yu-Gi-Ou." [3]
He smirked. "As are you, Yu-Gi-Ouhi." [4] He bent down, and they began to kiss passionately. This lasted a minute, until they both felt unease through the mind-link and looked up.
Yugi gave a nervous laugh. /Heehee!! I think I'll be going into my soul room, thanks!/ He disappeared. Yami and Nazo only laughed. //Let's get out of here!//
.
.
Mrs. Tanaka didn't know what to do. When she arrived in Nazo's room to see what had happened in the 'earthquake,' she came across a large, black-purple cloud. Should she call the police? The National Guard? Ripley's Believe It Or Not?
She paced back and forth in the hallway for half an hour before the cloud dissipated. She hurried back to see what happened. Her husband lie dead on the floor, a look of pure terror frozen forever on his face.
"Bye bye, Mother Dearest!"
Mrs. Tanaka caught only a glimpse of Nazo and a boy with wild hair before they both jumped out the window. She rushed over to stick her head outside, and saw them float to the ground. Then, like living ghosts, they sprinted off into the darkness together, hand in hand.
Nellie the maid heard thumping upstairs. "Nazo-sma," she called. "I forgot my purse! Have you seen it?" She opened the door and screamed.
"Nellie," said Mrs. Tanaka, "quick, call the police! A teenage boy murdered my husband and kidnapped Nazo!"
[1] - "Yami-sa! Tasketeyo!!" = "Yami, my love! Help/Save me!!" "-sa" is a suffix used to address a spouse. This shows Nazo and Yami consider themselves spiritually married.
[2] - "Ore no tanu" = "My turn" "Ore" is a form of saying "I" in a very egotistical way, which Yami really uses. Yugi uses "boku", which is very humble.
[3] - "Yu-Gi-Ou" - The correct spelling for "King of Games."
[4] - "Yu-Gi-Ouhi" - "Queen of Games", in case it wasn't obvious!
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Yugi: *laughs nervously* Heehee... One thing I'll say for Yami, out of all the times he's played Shadow Games with people and killed them, this is the only time he's gotten caught! Unfortunately, this one time might earn ME a lifetime in jail! What am I supposed to do? At least my friends are here to help me!
Last chapter: Escape to Egypt; The Beginning of a New Adventure!
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Bardock: *whining* You call THAT action!?!
Una: Well, more than usual.
Bardock: That's nothing!! No lives at stake 'sept that bastard!
Yami: And I'd rather keep it that way for a while!
Yugi: Here here!! Let's keep mortal combat to a minimum!
Yami: *whispers* Is that possible with Una?
Una: The sequal will have loads more in it. Lots of humor, action, history, fluff, romance, drama... After all, someone actually dies in it!
Bardock: EVERYTHING is in this damn sequal!! When are you gonna fuckin' put it up!?!
Una: Well, I was thinking about writing up a prequel first explaining the events that happened in ancient Egypt with Pharaoh Yami, Shukura, Prince Naeem, Priest Seto, and Lady Kei. That way, when there are flashbacks, I can direct readers to that... And Keiko-neechan is writing it jointly with me...
Yami: Meaning how long? Get to the point!
Una: I'm not sure.
Reviewers, what do you think? The prequel is more for your benefit! And I've already written three of four chapters of it.
How long should I wait until I start the sequal? Until the prequel is finished and published? Towards the end of the prequel? Just wait a month? Two months? Or forget the prequel? Your choice.