Chapter Four

The group traveled and traveled. Finally, they reached a small town.

"Yes, a village! Now I can finally get a proper bath!" Anzu cheered.

Nervously, Jou and Honda checked their wrists. It seemed they were afraid of being chased out again.

"Okay, they don't know we're fugitives, they don't know we're fugitives." Jou muttered.

"Yeah, it's gonna be okay, it's definitely gonna be okay, we're-" Honda trailed off, smiling nervously.

"Guys, would you calm down? They have no way of knowing what you are, so shut up!" Anzu snapped impatiently. "Come on!"

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"Aaah." Jou sighed happily as he flopped onto a bed, despite how crude it was. "Finally, someplace to stay, a real home!"

"That man sure was nice to give us this house." Yugi observed.

"Well, he did say he was leaving anyway. Kinda weird though. What a coincidence that just as we arrive, someone leaves! Lucky for us, eh?"

Yami mentally shook his head at Honda's statement. 'Lucky is not what you would call this if you knew the truth.'

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"Did you do it?" A rather snooty voice inquired.

"Yes, master, I have sold that house to the group. They so easily believed me, thinking I was leaving the village and I had no use for the house. The fools!"

"Very well. Now, it is up to Yami to keep them there so it will be easier to keep track of them, till he gains Yugi's trust." Bright eyes glittered. "And then. . .that's when we'll strike."

The man in front of him bowed. "Of course, master."

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Night, once again. Yami was again up (probably tired from staying up all those nights, eh?) debating whether or not he should risk reporting to his master.

'Naah. Yugi will hear me.' Sighing, Yami looked up at the moon, which was now a thick crescent. 'Yugi must have great power if Master is so interested in him. I wonder what will happen to Yugi once Master extracts that power. It certainly had a great effect on me when Master did that to my magic, even if it was temporary.'

*Flashback*

"No, master, please!" Yami was on his knees, begging. An action he rarely performed.

"Fool! Idiot! Because of you, that last mission failed! Failed, you hear me?! I do NOT accept failure!" Yami winced at the booming voice. Cowering down, Yami asked in a shaky voice.

"W-what w-w-will you d-do m-master?"

Bloodshot eyes turned to look on the spikey haired boy. "I won't kill you Yami. No, you are a too valuable mage to lose." Yami gave an audible sigh of relief but stopped abruptly when his master chuckled that slightly insane laugh of his. "But I will not allow you to go unpunished."

Yami stiffened once again.

The master's face twisted, as Yami realized this was his way of smirking. "Tell me Yami. Have you ever had your magic taken from you before?"

Yami shook his head, trembling.

"Hmm. I have once. And I'll tell you this, my servant, that I did not enjoy it." Slowly, the Master's hand reached out and began to glow. Yami felt a strange pulling sensation.

Suddenly, with a burst of light, a blue, clear, wispy substance shot out of Yami's mouth and into the master's outstretched hand.

"Urk. . ." Yami lay on the ground, twitching violently. Never before had he felt this sensation, this agonizing pain. Fire seemed to race through his veins, showing no mercy. Through his slitted eyes, Yami could glimpse the Master smiling slightly. In his hand, he held a small model of Yami, only it was clear blue.

"How do you feel, Yami? Painful, isn't it? And not only that, but if I wished to, I could take this little figure representing your power, and crush it, thus destroying your power forever. That way, you would never be able to get your magic back."

Yami whimpered.

"Fail me again, and I WILL keep your power, permanently might I add. Understood?"

Yami nodded, clutching himself tightly in pain.

**End flashback**

'I suppose Yugi will have to go through that, only he won't get his power back.' Strangely, the mage felt disturbed by that thought. It didn't feel right for someone as pure as Yugi to go through that torment.

Not until a few seconds later did Yami realize someone was waving a hand in front of his face.

"Hello? Hellooooooooo? Earth to Yami, come in!!" With lightning speed, Yami's hand shot out to grasp the other's hand. "Stop that. It's rather annoying."

Jou made a face, wrenching his hand out of Yami's grasp. "You could have just _said_ so. Man, it was almost like you were sleepin' wid yore eyes open, or something'! Ya looked freaky!"

The mage just scowled.

"What are you doing up?" 'Geez, it seems like I can never get a single night of peace!'

Jou shrugged. "Just getting some water. I'm hot. You gotta problem wid that?"

"No."

"What are YOU doing up? Seems like you were up practically every single night, accordin' to Yuges!"

"Thinking."

Jou scratched his head. "Eh? Thinkin'? You got odd hobbies there. Thinkin' makes my head hurt. Well, g'night." Jou trudged back to his room, yawning.

Arms crossed, Yami resumed staring at the moon. 'Should I summon master on my scrying mirror? He will want to know about Yugi's powers developing. But. . .I can't risk Yugi hearing me again. Unless. . .'

Yami sat up, an idea in his head. 'Of course! I'll just teleport myself outside, where Yugi can't hear me. Why didn't I think of that before, I _am_ a mage.'

And Yami did just that, teleporting a few yards away from the house.

Reaching into his pocket for the mirror, Yami felt nothing. Panicking, Yami began to search around to see if he had dropped it. 'What?! Where is it? I thought I had it!' Glancing at the house, the mage mentally slapped himself. 'Damn, it must still be in the house. Guess I'll have to go back for it.' With a pop, Yami returned to the house.

Once inside, he looked around. 'Where is it. . .if Yugi finds it, he might figure out what it is! No telling how strong his powers are now, even if he doesn't realize it!'

"Yami, are you looking for this?" Yami jumped about a foot in the air, as he stared wildly at Yugi who was holding his mirror.

"Ah! Er, hi Yugi!" Yami smiled nervously. 'Crud. Yugi will definitely be suspicious of finding me awake two nights in a row.'

"Let me guess. You were thinking again, right? Is that why you're up?"

"Uh. . .Y-yeah."

"I see." Yugi gave a little smile. "If you're wondering, I was up because again, I couldn't sleep. You know how I told you last night how I felt my senses sharpening?"

Yami nodded.

"Well, not only that, but I seemed to have gained some sort of sixth sense. It sounds kind of crazy, but I start sensing things in other objects, or even living things around me."

Yugi examined Yami's scrying mirror, making Yami nervous. 'No, no, don't look at that, no. . .'

"Like last night for example. You dropped this," Yugi held up the mirror. "Mirror thingie. When I picked it up, I felt some sort of flare. Not physically, but more like in a mental way. Crazy, huh?"

Yugi handed Yami back his mirror. "Sorry I didn't return it right away. I just wanted to observe it, to see why it made me feel that way."

Inwardly, Yami sighed in relief. 'That was close. Lucky for me, Yugi didn't examine it long enough to find out it's real purpose.'

"Why are you telling me all this?" Yami was curious to know how Yugi seemed to trust Yami, a stranger who he just met a few days ago, enough to talk freely and say things that he wouldn't normally want to mention. Especially the topic about his dead parents.

Yugi shrugged good naturedly. "I don't know. I know you're practically a stranger and all, but I feel that I can trust you."

'Great.' Yami thought sarcastically. 'He says he trusts me when he doesn't know I'm only here to steal his power. Just great.more miles to go on the guilt road. Great.'

"Mom once said," Yugi gulped, but continued on, determined not to let any painful memories distract him. "Mom once said that I always seemed to know who to trust and who to avoid."

"Oh."

"I suppose you could call that some intuition of mine. And, this intuition just tells me that you're a good person at heart."

Yami was a little shocked to hear that. "M-me?? A g-good person at h- heart?" he stuttered. 'He wouldn't be saying that if he knew what terrible things I've done.'

"Sure. I remember once, Daddy was giving another one of his many lectures to me." Yugi's eyes filmed over, most likely remembering his father.

"He said things like how on the outside, some people may seem horrible and cruel. But on the inside, they're really just lost souls who are confused and maybe even hurt from many of life's twists and turns. And all they really need, is kindness and compassion from others to show them that they're not alone. That people care about them. You know, just a little push to get them going in the right direction. Daddy said how I was able to distinguish those kind of people and show them the kindness they needed. All because of this intuition of mine; because I give them a chance to prove who they really are."

Yami stared at this boy next to him. 'Is that how Yugi sees me? As some 'lost soul'? Why would he think that?'

By now, Yugi was looking up at the stars sadly. "Mom and daddy used to tell me how the stars would give you comfort when you're feeling down. But I suppose that was some child's thing."

Yami couldn't help but comment. "You miss them, don't you."

Yugi nodded. "But I try not to dwell on the past. Both mom and daddy said never to cling to what already happened, only that I should prepare for what will happen."

'Wow. He must've had really wise parents.'

Yugi chuckled. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this. I never talk about my parents to Anzu-san, and I've known her longer."

". . ."

"Well, I suppose I should get to bed. You should too." Yugi returned to his bed with a good night.