Egyptian Sorcery
By AlantisB
Chapter Two
"It is our actions that make us who we are far more than our abilities."
–Dumbledore
After breakfast, (chocolate chip hotcakes drowning in syrup—Yugi's favorite), Meioh decided that he would take his young charge for a tour around the mansion he had named Eye of Ra. Yugi had no objection, he was practically bouncing in excitement at the very idea of it. He led the boy to his bedroom and pointed out the closet where his clothes were kept then left him alone to change.
Yugi opened the closet and his mouth formed an 'O' of surprise. Inside from wall to wall were several punk outfits his grandfather had never let him wear. Despite his friends' insistent thoughts of him being youthfully innocent, he was into punk spikes and buckles, leather and other bondage-y clothing that his grandfather never approved of.
When he moved in with his grandfather, the old man had stopped the leather hot pants and the tight, muscle exposing shirts and the spiked collars and bracelets. But when his grandfather wanted Yugi to dye his hair back to black and no longer spike it, Yugi put his foot down and refused.
"Yugi, I won't have you ruining the household name with your outrageous hair colors and style! This rebellious behavior has to stop now. I told my daughter not to let you choose your own way of doing this and I see that I was right to think so." Grandpa folded his arms, staring down the younger boy.
"But grandpa," he remembered saying. "Please, I like my hair this way. If you won't let me wear the clothes I want, at least let me choose how I want to fix my hair. I promise I won't go out and buy any more spikes and buckles if you let me. I'll even stop fighting if you want. Just please let me wear my hair this way."
His grandpa's face softened and he sighed. "Alright Yugi, you can wear your hair like that if you want to. I'll hold you to your promise not to fight, do you hear me?"
Yugi had nodded reluctantly and mumbled a "Yes sir."
In his last school, he had gotten into numerous fights from bullies trying to pick on him because of his height and child-like features. He never started the fights and didn't really like to fight but he had to. When the bullies had stopped verbally abusing him, they moved on to beating him up.
He wasn't going to stand for it, however. Not really knowing quite how, he would fight back guys twice his height and weight without himself getting hit too much. He wasn't going to roll over and let someone beat him up just because he was different.
When his mother found out, she had gotten very angry and locked him in his room for two weeks only letting him out to go to school and driving to pick him up as soon as the bell signaling that classes were over rang. The two weeks were long and hard, he had trouble talking to his other punk friends and they were getting pissed off at him and soon left him alone when he was finally able to hang out again. Two days after he had stopped being punished, his mother died in a car crash just off of the Nerima distract, the doctors and police said she had run into a building when two kids ran in front of her car and she swerved to avoid them.
So he had stopped wearing his leather and his buckles and spikes. Sometimes he was able to sneak a leather shirt under his school uniform and wear a buckled necklace, but that was it. He missed those clothes. Now he had a closet full of the clothes he had once loved and cherished! Yugi's face bloomed into a full-fledged, blinding smile.
This being in "another world" stuff might be an interesting change of the norm, wouldn't you say Yami?
Yes it will be. You better change so that we can explore our new home, aibou.
Oh! Right, I forgot. Yugi sent a smile to his other.
He quickly changed into a pair of dark blue leather pants and a leather sleeveless shirt with buckles going down the middle. Yugi put on the boots he had found in the closet and a buckled collar he had found on the hanging rack in the closet.
A knock sounded from behind the door. "Are you ready for the tour, Master Yugi?" Meioh asked through the door.
"Just a minute!" Yugi called back.
A minute later, Yugi opened the door to see Meioh leaning against the wall, a small leather-bound book in his hands and half-moon spectacles perched on his nose. The former Dark Magician looked to be reading an old book, the leather was worn at the edges and the Egyptian symbol of the Eye of Ra was etched on the front cover.
Meioh looked up from his book, and gave his young master a small smile. He snapped the book closed and it disappeared with a puff of purple smoke. He tucked his glasses inside his shirt and stood up properly. "Are you ready to explore your new home, Master Yugi?"
"Yes! I can't wait to see the whole thing, is it big?"
"Well," Meioh looked thoughtfully straight ahead for a moment. "I suppose. On the outside, the house looks as big as the Game Shop since the clearing is very small. But the inside, from what I have explored so far, seems as large as one of the small pyramids in Egypt. Not the three big ones, that would be larger than most buildings today, but the smaller prayer temple ones."
Yugi's eyes widened. "Oh! How is that possible?"
"Magic," Meioh replied simply, as if it explained everything. Perhaps it had.
*
For the next few days, Yami and Yugi settled in their new home. The two of them would explore the house, Yugi doing the walking while Yami would map out the house in their shared mind. Meioh thought that it was a bit eccentric for his masters to walk around all day and do nothing but note what room was where and what hall led to what room but he said nothing about it. He guessed that maybe it was a challenge to keep them both occupied until he started the training lesions.
While his charges were mapping the house, Meioh spent his time reading his spell book -which kept having new and frighteningly simple Latin spells appearing in unwritten pages that were never there before. Sometimes he would test the new spells and felt a wave of satisfaction when he completed the spell correctly with his staff. With each new page in his book, there seemed to be a spell for just about everything. It was an exciting challenge and he thought that maybe he should have his charges learn these spells before continuing onto the puzzle magic. This way they could get a feel of their magic before they attempted to tap into the magic of items.
After the third day, Yugi walked in the sitting room and plopped down in a chair next to him. Meioh looked up at the young boy, raising an eyebrow in a questioning manner. "What can I do for you, Master Yugi?"
Yugi sank further into his chair as he sighed. "Meioh, where's my deck? I know you have it since I can't find it. I'm starting to get bored and there's nothing to do. The only way I know I could pass time is to think up new combinations for my strategy."
Meioh put his book down on his lap and took off his glasses to rub at the bridge of his nose. "You can't have it at the moment, I'm sorry but it's too dangerous."
"What do you mean?" Yugi frowned. "I always carried my deck around before, I don't understand."
"Masters, listen closely." Meioh had a serious expression dotting his face. "You know that we are in a new world where magic is freer than it is at home. This means that your deck is hosting more power. Master Yami, you know some of the Shadow Games where you and Pegasus had to duel there and use only your own magic to summon the monsters and to keep them there. Master Yugi, you couldn't hold the monsters because you were not trained in your magic where Master Yami obviously had been in a past life.
What you don't understand is the fact that here there is more magic to play with- which means that the deck monsters could easily free themselves from the Shadow Realm if the user of the deck has no control over their magic energies. We cannot have that! How could this world handle the release of the Shadow Games again? You would be stuck in the same situation as before, my masters, and I cannot allow that. You must train before you get your deck back."
"Then train us!" Yami was in control now, his voice deep in his anger. "You have done nothing for three days—leaving my other and I to find a way to entertain ourselves. I will not sit here and do nothing when there are things that must be done, Meioh."
Meioh sighed. "Give me another few days. I have yet to finish looking over the new spells in my book. Since you both have mapped out the house, why don't you explore the forest? Perhaps something in there will keep you entertained until dinner. Then we can discuss what we shall do if we need to venture further than these woods and out into this world."
Yami Yugi stared at him for a moment before nodding in acceptance. He didn't like the fact he was going to have to sit around and do nothing, but his other seemed a bit excited at the prospect of going outside for a change.
He said we can go out?
Yes aibou.
Great! It should be fun.
I'm sure. Yami sounded almost sarcastic.
Yugi sent him a reassuring smile. It will be! You've never climbed a tree before, you'll like it.
Outside the house, the forest was like walking into a dream. He had never seen a forest before, not really. Duelist Kingdom didn't count because he wasn't taking the time to sit around and admire nature. Now that he had the chance and he wasn't in a rush he liked the atmosphere of the forest. There was always some type of sound, an insect buzzing in his ear, birds chirping, lots of different things going on about their daily lives in one big giant community.
He itched to go out into the woods and find the perfect tree to climb to show his other half the finer points of childhood. And what was stopping him? Yugi realized that with his own monster as his guardian, he almost had free rein of what he wanted to do and no one could tell him any different! He could dress the way he wanted, eat what he wanted, and play games all day long whether it was a physical game or a mental one. No one could stand in his way. Yugi felt a grin coming on and didn't stop it from showing.
Without another thought, he dashed into the woods like a deer on speed as he raced in between bushes and trees. Sometimes he would slow down to glance at the scenery but he mostly wanted to run. He was free! It felt so good to drop the chains he had put on for his grandfather and the chains he carried around for his new friends.
He was himself, with his other half, and his own monster guardian- no one to hide his true self from anymore. Well, Yami knew who he was since he was himself, in a way, and therefore knew his own nature. This was confusing in its own right and would give Freud a headache, Yugi was sure it would. Yami was like a split personality but when manifested changed his body to suit him.
I thank you for that obviously underestimated thought, aibou.
Yugi smirked, his face losing that shockingly sweet beat-me-up expression. He almost looked like Yami, without the full confidence. You're welcome Yami! Glad to help you in your teen-life-crisis.
No more prime-time TV for you.
Meanie! Yami grinned.
A twig snapped loudly in the suddenly quite forest, breaking Yugi out of his thoughts and his ran came to a full stop. He looked in the direction the sound came from and a dark shape moved in the shadow of the trees. He held his breath, wondering what the noise had come from and worried still if it was some kind of forest creature that could harm him. A black furred shape shifted into the light and Yugi's eyes widened, it was a—
"Dog? What's a dog doing out in the middle of nowhere?"
The dog looked terrible. Its fur was matted with dirt and twigs, and you could see its ribs through the layers of skin and fur. The poor thing was starving and seemed too weak to move much farther. Two feet from him, the dog collapsed unconscious from dehydration and starvation. Yugi gasped and reached out toward it.
Careful aibou! You don't know if the dog is rabid.
But Yami! Look at it, it seriously needs some help. I don't see any foam or anything that shows he's rabid.
It's a wild dog.
No, I don't think so. But it might be abandoned. Can't we just take it back to the house and help it?
I don't know. We still don't know where it came from.
Please?
Yami sent the feeling of a mental sigh. Alright! But first sign of it being dangerous, we get rid of it. And don't get too attached aibou, Meioh might not let you keep it.
Thankyou-thankyou-thankyou-Yami chuckled as he switched with his other.
He picked up the dog, startled at how light it was despite its size. His other was right. This dog was in poor condition and would die without any help. No matter how much he mistrusted the creature, he couldn't let an animal suffer for his thoughts alone with no ground of fact to base it on. Together with his worried other and the dog lying nearly dead in his arms, Yami set out back for the house walking as quickly as possible with hope that he would make it in time to save the creature his other was fond of.
*
"Well, the bad news is the dog is suffering from starvation, malnutricion, dehydration, and a mild cold." Meioh stated as he came out of the room they were using for the sick dog. It was across from Yugi's room because the boy wanted to be able to check up on the dog whenever he felt he needed to.
Yugi chewed on his lip and glanced back at the room. "The good news," he lingered hopefully, wanting to know if there was any.
"The good news is, with plenty of rest and susentence, he will be on his way to a full recovery." Meioh smiled gently as his young master's smile brightened up his young face. It was a happy smile, he was glad he made his master happy. Perhaps the dog will keep the two of them busy while he learned the new spells?
"Meioh?"
Meioh looked up, not even aware he had been staring at his feet in thought. "Yes, Master Yugi?"
"Can we keep him? Please? I promise I'll watch out for him, and feed him, and do all the other stuff he needs done. Just let me keep him please?" Yugi begged.
How could anyone resist a face like that? He sighed. "Fine, but take good care of him."
"I will! I promise!"
Yugi went into the dog's room and sat down on the bed next to it. He started to pet the tangled fur gently, watching the soft rise and fall of its chest.
What will you name him?
Yugi frowned in thought. I don't know. I never had a pet before.
A name is something that defines the character of a creature and describes the creature itself.
I don't know enough about him to name him Yami! Maybe I could call him Rags, because his fur is so loose it looks likes he's wearing some.
That sounds like a good name, I suppose. Will you call him that?
I think I will. My dog Rags, Yugi smiled. It has a nice flow to it.
That it does aibou.
Then that will be his name! Rags.
Go tell Meioh the name of your new dog, so that he may know what to call it when it wakes up.
Okay.
As Yugi left the room, a pair of brown eyes enveloped under a curtain of dirty black fur stared after him, a question lit in its eyes.
TBC