AN: I saw 40 episodes of the Japanese version of Yugioh. To say that it
completely screwed up my interpretation of the show -which had been
compiled from a combination of the dub, websites and fanfiction- would be
an extreme understatement. Who knew a different language could make such a
difference?
I did manage to convert my skeptical friend into liking the show, which I count as a major achievement. It only took a year's time too. I feel proud.
Naturally, any helpful (i.e. critical, encouraging, ego-boosting?) reviews would be appreciated, even though it would only be encouraging me to postphone my assignments further... -- Then again, those reports aren't that important...
...If you haven't been scared off yet, please read the following chapter!
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by whoever owns it, which does not happen to be me.
Chapter 4: Leaving light for darkness
Light is a concept commonly paired with safety and life, things humans are drawn to by some invisible genetic magnet. So when the fickle light is more dangerous than unchanging dark, you head straight for the latter, right?
Yuugi awoke slowly halfway through the night, wrapped in shadows. Though the curtains were drawn, an eerie crimson glint told him that the room's other occupant had also relinquished sleep, though to do what he was not yet sure. About to fling aside the covers, he froze as a stair creaked outside. Someone else -apart from himself and the dark- was in his house. Fingers, still unresponsive from his long sleep, tactlessly teased his katana from its obstinate sheath.
Footsteps passed his door without opening it. He heard every hesitant sound clearly; the floor wasn't made from glass without reason. Only he could navigate the house without making the glass chime, though he was not the only one to hear the blunders of another. A low hiss sliced his nerves, though it was inaudible compared to the clicking of claws upon the fragile surface. He could only hope that his floor remained relatively unharmed: glass floors were expensive, and he was not exactly rich.
'Worry later,' berated the training instilled from years before. He slid onto the ground and over to the only source of light, instinctively trusting 'Yami' to help him. The other watched him approach with interest, though he did not move from his vigil beside the door. Red tracked Yuugi effortlessly, though the intense darkness all but suffocated human eyes. A sun-gilded hand was offered, and taken with an ease usually only present in that which has been oft practised despite a failure of sight.
The door smashed open, and a sharp tug pulled the slayer from the path of splintering wood and into the embrace of darkness. Smoke streaked past him, and monsters screamed, but he didn't hear them. The magic surrounding him was too overwhelming to allow sound to distract. He could foresee himself succumbing to such a power, and forced himself to push away. The darkness did not flicker, as he turned and disembowled the third demon, not waiting to see what it was. A deft flick of his switchblade sent blood into the ugly, gurgling mouth and rot spread through.
"The rest have fled," murmured the soft voice of the shadow. He stepped over to the decomposing corpse, whole compared to the dusty remains of his own victims. He watched the mortal body fade to dirt, then turned to the hunter cleaning his blades. "Why did you leave?" A pause. "I do not like your power," Yuugi confessed, feeling that he could not lie. "It is too... attractive." "That is the first time someone has referred to the shadows as such." "How many have faced them and lived?" countered the hunter. He sighed at the corpse. "It's time to find a new base."
"Will you come to my home?" "W-what?!" "I have seen your home; it is only fair that you see mine. Will you come?" "Hai," replied Yuugi slowly. "Then pack and we shall leave."
"Why do you have a motorbike?" demanded the slayer, shouting to be heard. "You cannot expect me to carry you everywhere," Yami replied, amused. "It would be very tiresome." "... I'm not that heavy." The comment was met with a barely audible chuckle, and a contemplative silence reigned, broken only by the monotonous drone of the motorbike.
The bike swerved into a parking lot and rested next to a similar one, only red instead of black. Pulling off the abnormally large helmet, Yami pulled the backpack off his indignant passenger and unlocked a door. Pouting, Yuugi followed through the door and into an elevator, then onto a well lit corridor. His guide handed him a key, instructed "37" and knocked on number 36.
Both doors opened at the same time; a head of soft white peeked out curiously. "Yami-kun," greeted Ryou, pushing the door open further. "Is..." "Do you have any extra food?" asked the shadow, slightly sheepish. "I have a guest, and no food in the pantry except two minute noodles." "Sure, just wait a minute." He disappeared. Yelling, loud but not harsh, sounded before Ryou returned with a large plate of yakisoba, looking slightly flustered. "Here you go. Enjoy." "Arigatou, Ryou-kun."
Pleased, Yami entered his own apartment and nearly bumped into his new flatmate. "Yuugi?" "Your apartment's so lavish," breathed the slayer, staring at velvet curtains, leather sofa, plush Turkish rugs covering wooden floorboards, and giant TV. "How much money do you have?" "Barely enough to pay bills. Having Bakura around is useful for some things." He set their meal on the ornate coffee table and dug several remote controls from beneath the sofa. "TV, DVD player, VCD player, VCR, stereo, LD player. Put on something to watch while we eat, and we can play on one of the consoles later."
After finding two pairs of unmatching chopsticks, he tossed them into the living room, landing one pair neatly on the table and another onto Yuugi's nose. "What do you want to drink?" "Coke and Raspberry Fanta." Rolling his eyes, Yami filled a mug with mostly Coke, then added a dash of the Fanta, before mixing a mug of Coke, Lift and Lime Fanta for himself. Taking them into the lounge, he found the hunter watching the first episode of .hacksign.
They ate without incident, save the occasional case of mistaken drink identity. Though it may be difficult to confuse a hieroglyph-covered mug and a teddy bear-infested mug in normal circumstances, the affects of watching anime were quite drastic. It also did not help that they were sitting within close proximity of what could potentially be their long lost twin; as with all family reunions, this one was rather awkward when nothing intellectually challenging occupied them.
Food gone, Yami cleared away the plate and chopsticks, washing and drying both before refilling the mugs; Yuugi waited patiently and settled into his new environment, thinking about his host. They were so caught up in their thoughts that they didn't realise the wrong drinks had been poured into each mug. They sat in a dreadful, stifling silence, until the shadow jumped up and connected the Nintendo Game Cube. Grabbing two controllers, he shoved one into his guest's hand and booted up the console.
All should bow down to the social power of Super Smash Brothers Melee.
They were surprisingly even, though Yuugi had never touched a video game in his life. Laughing as his Pikachu chased Yami's opposing Link with a giant hammer, he grimaced as a CP Donkey Kong grabbed his character and jumped off the building. "He can't do that!" Unholy amusement glinted in crimson. "Of course he can." Cursing when his own character was sent flying by a beefed-up CP Jigglypuff, he directed a harmless glare at Yuugi, who was rolling on the floor, disregarding his poor electric mouse.
Simultaeneously, they agreed to team up against the computer. Link and Pikachu vs. Donkey Kong and Jigglypuff. Together, they sent the opposition -and sometimes each other 'by accident'- sailing away, stars and chirping birds appearing plentifully. Neither noticed the time ticking away as they proceeded to bulldoze their way through their opponent's ninety-nine lives with relish. Clicking, gleeful shouts and laughs, curses and heavy breathing, Fanta and Coke...
... an annoying alarm clock, a soft couch as a pillow and a shadow as a blanket. His internal watch and training screeched at him to get up, but he found the sound stifled as his make-shift quilt clung tighter when he so much as thought of moving. He resigned, though mentally the slayer argued that he had put up an adequate fight. It was just so cold outside, and he was still tired from that damn ambush in the school... surely he deserved a rest from all that crazy fighting, ne?
Crimson peeked open, showing confusion as black leather filled their view. Starting, Yami blinked at the shiny expanse of soft sable without comprehension. Travelling up, they saw a black shirt, the tips of golden bangs, pale yet full lips, and lidded amethyst eyes. The coffee table struck his back with a loud rattle... or was it the other way around?
"Must've fallen asleep," he mused aloud, cursing when he realised the console was still on. Poor Link and Pikachu had been standing there for the past couple of hours, celebrating, before he turned the machine off as quickly as he could. Grimacing, he glanced at the calender on the wall and swore. Beneath the painting of Anubis were a collection of papers: fees for rent, water and telephone.
'I know I vowed not to ask Bakura to help me pay my next set of bills, but surely this is a special circumstance,' debated the shadow mentally, with only a little panic. 'That little bit I saved from my last job won't cover what I have to pay, especially if we keep using electricity like this..."
"Yami?"
He looked at the slayer, who had sat up and was rubbing his eyes tiredly. Not wanting to worry him, he asked, "Coffee?" "That yawn would be nice." Taking the given excuse before more questions could be asked, he entered the kitchen and brewed the drinks, putting two sugars in Yuugi's and one in his own. Carrying the two cups back into the lounge room, he found the other teen looking through the bills. The cups were set on the table.
"I saw you looking at these before. It's only fair that I pay half the bills if I'm staying here, right?" "Don't worry about it. I've got... enough..." "For this month maybe." Slender hands lifted up another piece of paper, one that Yami had forgotten was tacked to the calender: update of his bank account. "I'll just get another job then," he shrugged. "You've got enough to worry about."
Black flashed angrily as Yuugi stalked to the table, sat and sipped his beverage with jerky movements. The darkness could not help but be impressed by the speed in which his guest moved as he sat and drank his own more gracefully.
"I don't want your charity," bit out the hunter. "I don't want to be dependant on you, at all. That would simply be disastrous. I don't even know you, and now I'm living in your house." It was difficult to tell whether he was irritated with his host or with himself. "But I can accept that, even if instincts never worked well for me before. Yet now you say you want to pay for both our living fees. That I cannot tolerate. At all." Draining his cup and standing, Yuugi issued his ultimatum. "We're splitting the bill, or I'm leaving."
"This is important to you?" "Hai. If you can't grant me such a freedom, then I will go elsewhere. There are enough empty houses around to rent. Especially with all the recent deaths," he added cynically. Sighing, he reseated himself. "It's easy to lean on someone else and not do anything yourself. I never want to become one of those leeches, but it's so easy to wish... You're like a temptation to that kind of lifestyle, but I don't want it." 'Not now, at least,' amended Yuugi mentally. "I hope you can understand that."
They stared at each other for moments. "You... no." Yami smiled as he stopped his words. "I suppose you couldn't actually want to leave. Not now." Yuugi gave a ironic wisp of a grin at the choice of words. "I'll let you pay half, if you extend me the same courtesy." Pausing briefly to gauge the other's reaction, he continued, "Let me help you hunt."
Ominous silence reigned. "Nande kuso?!" "I watch your back, you watch mine," explained the shadow rapidly, hoping to express his logical ideas before Yuugi could storm out. "We could get more than twice as many of the demons, in less time. Don't you want to wipe them out, or at least make the city safer than it is now? Who knows, maybe you'll even get to retire before your eighty." "The whole point of wanting to pay my own bills is for INDEPENDENCE," snapped the furious teen. About to snarl more harsh words, he stopped at the other's expression.
"Working together isn't so bad," Yami whispered, wistful. "We already did last night." "That went really well; I ended up sleeping against a couch with you on top of me," muttered Yuugi, though lacking any previous acidity. Looking away, he reluctantly conceded, "I suppose I could try having a partner for a while. Then I can get rid of you if I want." Rolling his eyes at the happy expression in his new partner's eyes, he grumbled, "Consider yourself on probation then." "Hai, hai, aibou."
"W-what did you call me?" "A. I. Bou." "... do NOT call me that in public." "Hai. Aibou."
But then you realise just how much you come to rely on the constant darkness, that which is always there but not always shown. By that time, you'll never want to let it go, even if the damn thing kills you.
End Chapter 4
I did manage to convert my skeptical friend into liking the show, which I count as a major achievement. It only took a year's time too. I feel proud.
Naturally, any helpful (i.e. critical, encouraging, ego-boosting?) reviews would be appreciated, even though it would only be encouraging me to postphone my assignments further... -- Then again, those reports aren't that important...
...If you haven't been scared off yet, please read the following chapter!
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by whoever owns it, which does not happen to be me.
Chapter 4: Leaving light for darkness
Light is a concept commonly paired with safety and life, things humans are drawn to by some invisible genetic magnet. So when the fickle light is more dangerous than unchanging dark, you head straight for the latter, right?
Yuugi awoke slowly halfway through the night, wrapped in shadows. Though the curtains were drawn, an eerie crimson glint told him that the room's other occupant had also relinquished sleep, though to do what he was not yet sure. About to fling aside the covers, he froze as a stair creaked outside. Someone else -apart from himself and the dark- was in his house. Fingers, still unresponsive from his long sleep, tactlessly teased his katana from its obstinate sheath.
Footsteps passed his door without opening it. He heard every hesitant sound clearly; the floor wasn't made from glass without reason. Only he could navigate the house without making the glass chime, though he was not the only one to hear the blunders of another. A low hiss sliced his nerves, though it was inaudible compared to the clicking of claws upon the fragile surface. He could only hope that his floor remained relatively unharmed: glass floors were expensive, and he was not exactly rich.
'Worry later,' berated the training instilled from years before. He slid onto the ground and over to the only source of light, instinctively trusting 'Yami' to help him. The other watched him approach with interest, though he did not move from his vigil beside the door. Red tracked Yuugi effortlessly, though the intense darkness all but suffocated human eyes. A sun-gilded hand was offered, and taken with an ease usually only present in that which has been oft practised despite a failure of sight.
The door smashed open, and a sharp tug pulled the slayer from the path of splintering wood and into the embrace of darkness. Smoke streaked past him, and monsters screamed, but he didn't hear them. The magic surrounding him was too overwhelming to allow sound to distract. He could foresee himself succumbing to such a power, and forced himself to push away. The darkness did not flicker, as he turned and disembowled the third demon, not waiting to see what it was. A deft flick of his switchblade sent blood into the ugly, gurgling mouth and rot spread through.
"The rest have fled," murmured the soft voice of the shadow. He stepped over to the decomposing corpse, whole compared to the dusty remains of his own victims. He watched the mortal body fade to dirt, then turned to the hunter cleaning his blades. "Why did you leave?" A pause. "I do not like your power," Yuugi confessed, feeling that he could not lie. "It is too... attractive." "That is the first time someone has referred to the shadows as such." "How many have faced them and lived?" countered the hunter. He sighed at the corpse. "It's time to find a new base."
"Will you come to my home?" "W-what?!" "I have seen your home; it is only fair that you see mine. Will you come?" "Hai," replied Yuugi slowly. "Then pack and we shall leave."
"Why do you have a motorbike?" demanded the slayer, shouting to be heard. "You cannot expect me to carry you everywhere," Yami replied, amused. "It would be very tiresome." "... I'm not that heavy." The comment was met with a barely audible chuckle, and a contemplative silence reigned, broken only by the monotonous drone of the motorbike.
The bike swerved into a parking lot and rested next to a similar one, only red instead of black. Pulling off the abnormally large helmet, Yami pulled the backpack off his indignant passenger and unlocked a door. Pouting, Yuugi followed through the door and into an elevator, then onto a well lit corridor. His guide handed him a key, instructed "37" and knocked on number 36.
Both doors opened at the same time; a head of soft white peeked out curiously. "Yami-kun," greeted Ryou, pushing the door open further. "Is..." "Do you have any extra food?" asked the shadow, slightly sheepish. "I have a guest, and no food in the pantry except two minute noodles." "Sure, just wait a minute." He disappeared. Yelling, loud but not harsh, sounded before Ryou returned with a large plate of yakisoba, looking slightly flustered. "Here you go. Enjoy." "Arigatou, Ryou-kun."
Pleased, Yami entered his own apartment and nearly bumped into his new flatmate. "Yuugi?" "Your apartment's so lavish," breathed the slayer, staring at velvet curtains, leather sofa, plush Turkish rugs covering wooden floorboards, and giant TV. "How much money do you have?" "Barely enough to pay bills. Having Bakura around is useful for some things." He set their meal on the ornate coffee table and dug several remote controls from beneath the sofa. "TV, DVD player, VCD player, VCR, stereo, LD player. Put on something to watch while we eat, and we can play on one of the consoles later."
After finding two pairs of unmatching chopsticks, he tossed them into the living room, landing one pair neatly on the table and another onto Yuugi's nose. "What do you want to drink?" "Coke and Raspberry Fanta." Rolling his eyes, Yami filled a mug with mostly Coke, then added a dash of the Fanta, before mixing a mug of Coke, Lift and Lime Fanta for himself. Taking them into the lounge, he found the hunter watching the first episode of .hacksign.
They ate without incident, save the occasional case of mistaken drink identity. Though it may be difficult to confuse a hieroglyph-covered mug and a teddy bear-infested mug in normal circumstances, the affects of watching anime were quite drastic. It also did not help that they were sitting within close proximity of what could potentially be their long lost twin; as with all family reunions, this one was rather awkward when nothing intellectually challenging occupied them.
Food gone, Yami cleared away the plate and chopsticks, washing and drying both before refilling the mugs; Yuugi waited patiently and settled into his new environment, thinking about his host. They were so caught up in their thoughts that they didn't realise the wrong drinks had been poured into each mug. They sat in a dreadful, stifling silence, until the shadow jumped up and connected the Nintendo Game Cube. Grabbing two controllers, he shoved one into his guest's hand and booted up the console.
All should bow down to the social power of Super Smash Brothers Melee.
They were surprisingly even, though Yuugi had never touched a video game in his life. Laughing as his Pikachu chased Yami's opposing Link with a giant hammer, he grimaced as a CP Donkey Kong grabbed his character and jumped off the building. "He can't do that!" Unholy amusement glinted in crimson. "Of course he can." Cursing when his own character was sent flying by a beefed-up CP Jigglypuff, he directed a harmless glare at Yuugi, who was rolling on the floor, disregarding his poor electric mouse.
Simultaeneously, they agreed to team up against the computer. Link and Pikachu vs. Donkey Kong and Jigglypuff. Together, they sent the opposition -and sometimes each other 'by accident'- sailing away, stars and chirping birds appearing plentifully. Neither noticed the time ticking away as they proceeded to bulldoze their way through their opponent's ninety-nine lives with relish. Clicking, gleeful shouts and laughs, curses and heavy breathing, Fanta and Coke...
... an annoying alarm clock, a soft couch as a pillow and a shadow as a blanket. His internal watch and training screeched at him to get up, but he found the sound stifled as his make-shift quilt clung tighter when he so much as thought of moving. He resigned, though mentally the slayer argued that he had put up an adequate fight. It was just so cold outside, and he was still tired from that damn ambush in the school... surely he deserved a rest from all that crazy fighting, ne?
Crimson peeked open, showing confusion as black leather filled their view. Starting, Yami blinked at the shiny expanse of soft sable without comprehension. Travelling up, they saw a black shirt, the tips of golden bangs, pale yet full lips, and lidded amethyst eyes. The coffee table struck his back with a loud rattle... or was it the other way around?
"Must've fallen asleep," he mused aloud, cursing when he realised the console was still on. Poor Link and Pikachu had been standing there for the past couple of hours, celebrating, before he turned the machine off as quickly as he could. Grimacing, he glanced at the calender on the wall and swore. Beneath the painting of Anubis were a collection of papers: fees for rent, water and telephone.
'I know I vowed not to ask Bakura to help me pay my next set of bills, but surely this is a special circumstance,' debated the shadow mentally, with only a little panic. 'That little bit I saved from my last job won't cover what I have to pay, especially if we keep using electricity like this..."
"Yami?"
He looked at the slayer, who had sat up and was rubbing his eyes tiredly. Not wanting to worry him, he asked, "Coffee?" "That yawn would be nice." Taking the given excuse before more questions could be asked, he entered the kitchen and brewed the drinks, putting two sugars in Yuugi's and one in his own. Carrying the two cups back into the lounge room, he found the other teen looking through the bills. The cups were set on the table.
"I saw you looking at these before. It's only fair that I pay half the bills if I'm staying here, right?" "Don't worry about it. I've got... enough..." "For this month maybe." Slender hands lifted up another piece of paper, one that Yami had forgotten was tacked to the calender: update of his bank account. "I'll just get another job then," he shrugged. "You've got enough to worry about."
Black flashed angrily as Yuugi stalked to the table, sat and sipped his beverage with jerky movements. The darkness could not help but be impressed by the speed in which his guest moved as he sat and drank his own more gracefully.
"I don't want your charity," bit out the hunter. "I don't want to be dependant on you, at all. That would simply be disastrous. I don't even know you, and now I'm living in your house." It was difficult to tell whether he was irritated with his host or with himself. "But I can accept that, even if instincts never worked well for me before. Yet now you say you want to pay for both our living fees. That I cannot tolerate. At all." Draining his cup and standing, Yuugi issued his ultimatum. "We're splitting the bill, or I'm leaving."
"This is important to you?" "Hai. If you can't grant me such a freedom, then I will go elsewhere. There are enough empty houses around to rent. Especially with all the recent deaths," he added cynically. Sighing, he reseated himself. "It's easy to lean on someone else and not do anything yourself. I never want to become one of those leeches, but it's so easy to wish... You're like a temptation to that kind of lifestyle, but I don't want it." 'Not now, at least,' amended Yuugi mentally. "I hope you can understand that."
They stared at each other for moments. "You... no." Yami smiled as he stopped his words. "I suppose you couldn't actually want to leave. Not now." Yuugi gave a ironic wisp of a grin at the choice of words. "I'll let you pay half, if you extend me the same courtesy." Pausing briefly to gauge the other's reaction, he continued, "Let me help you hunt."
Ominous silence reigned. "Nande kuso?!" "I watch your back, you watch mine," explained the shadow rapidly, hoping to express his logical ideas before Yuugi could storm out. "We could get more than twice as many of the demons, in less time. Don't you want to wipe them out, or at least make the city safer than it is now? Who knows, maybe you'll even get to retire before your eighty." "The whole point of wanting to pay my own bills is for INDEPENDENCE," snapped the furious teen. About to snarl more harsh words, he stopped at the other's expression.
"Working together isn't so bad," Yami whispered, wistful. "We already did last night." "That went really well; I ended up sleeping against a couch with you on top of me," muttered Yuugi, though lacking any previous acidity. Looking away, he reluctantly conceded, "I suppose I could try having a partner for a while. Then I can get rid of you if I want." Rolling his eyes at the happy expression in his new partner's eyes, he grumbled, "Consider yourself on probation then." "Hai, hai, aibou."
"W-what did you call me?" "A. I. Bou." "... do NOT call me that in public." "Hai. Aibou."
But then you realise just how much you come to rely on the constant darkness, that which is always there but not always shown. By that time, you'll never want to let it go, even if the damn thing kills you.
End Chapter 4