Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by Kazuki Takahashi.

More Anzu/Tea bashing, slight shonen-ai.

Chapter 8: The Soul of the Duelist

All was silent in the dilapidated village of Kuru'elna. A brunette girl dressed in a black robe stood before a stone tablet with only one spherical groove in it, an amethyst in her hands. Bending to place the precious stone in the slot that fit it exactly, she muttered silently, "Akunadin-sama… I have successfully captured the pharaoh's spirit."

Almost instantly, the surroundings were shroud in complete darkness, as if the spirit of Akunadin was responding, and an eerie purple glow resonated from deep within the jewel. The pharaoh's body lay slumped in a corner of the small room, but it was just an empty, soulless shell. A thick mist formed, diffusing into the boy's skin, Atemu seemed to stir.

-

Pulling himself to his feet, Yugi wondered whether he was alive. For one thing, he felt alive, but he couldn't see a thing. /Is this what death feels like?/ he wondered. The last thing he remembered was Tea's evil cackles, and even then he'd been able to see. Feeling strange because of the loss of his senses for the time being, he tried out his voice, "Is anyone there?"

Jumping as he heard his own quiet voice ring in his ears, it occurred to him that maybe he was alone in that hellhole. How afraid he sounded, so young and pitiful—he felt sickened by his timidity. But there was something quite different about his voice—the slightly lower pitch. He'd heard it so many times but he couldn't tell where he'd heard it before.

/Yami!/ the hikari suddenly recalled that he'd switched bodies with his Yami. /Mou hitori no boku? What's going on now?/

There was no reply from his darkness, it was like they were really separated from each other permanently now. Yugi had never felt this empty in his life, even when Yugi's mind wasn't open to Yami's voice. /Why does this always happen to me? I know that Yami is real, I believe in him. But why?/

Shutting his eyes, Yugi appeared in his soul room, and reached to turn the doorknob that led to the dim corridor between his soul room and his yami's. No matter what he did, it wouldn't budge—he was locked inside with his own very muddled thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, screaming for his mou hitori no boku, he wondered if Tea had anything to do with it—this had all begun when he'd touched the purple gem. This couldn't be part of the pharaoh's birthday celebration, Yugi was sure that no custom would ever include scaring the person having the birthday. It was much too twisted to be true. But at least staying in his soul room was tons better than sitting in the stone-cold darkness.

Forcing himself to be brave, Yugi smiled to himself as he picked up his Kuriboh plushie and sat down on the floor, hugging it delightedly. A smile lit up his face, but his thoughts nagged at him from the back of his mind.

/Why am I stuck in a dark, vast abyss? And I can't even speak to Yami, I'm locked in here./

There came a sharp knock on the metal door of his soul room, and Yami's muffled voice wafted in from outside. Aibou! Is everything okay?        

Yugi could hear Yami banging on the door and turning the doorknob in frustration, and he yelled, /Yami! I'm stuc-!!/

Pondering whether Yami heard him, he felt two clammy, icy hands on his shoulders. Reeling back in shock, he turned to face the person.  She was truly death incarnate. 

The Egyptian Tea was back, and she clapped her hand tightly over his mouth, preventing him from screaming.

"You will sacrifice yourself for my master."

/Pharaoh Atemu?/ his eyes widened in surprise, and realized that she had access only to his soul room because he'd been in Atemu's body.

"No I won't! What do you want with me?" Yugi questioned, feeling his knees tremble slightly.

"I am Akushiko—The Emissary of Obliteration. My master is Akunadin-sama." Tea explained coolly. "Because of you and your cursed high priests, my master has been destroyed in the light. And now, you will pay, Pharaoh."  

/I can't let her know that I'm not the pharaoh. If she finds out, Yami'll be in trouble! And then who knows what will happen./

Yugi inquired further, "So what has your revenge got to do with me?"

Akushiko rolled her eyes impatiently, "You have no idea how important you are. Right now, your body is being possessed by Akunadin's spirit, and he will sow discord between the high priests, throwing the world into darkness once more. As for your soul… Since it has nowhere to go, I'll put it to use in a ritual that will grant me eternal life forever—then Akunadin-sama and I will rule the world forever."

-

Yami tried to concentrate on the television program he was watching—it was some kind of animé called Saiyuki—but his mind couldn't help but wander to his aibou. He'd tried the door to Yugi's soul room earlier, but it was shut tight. Was Yugi mad at him for some reason? Deep down, though, he knew that Yugi would never be angry with him. Somehow, his unease turned into panic, and he wondered whether he was being paranoid. And all of a sudden he felt really silly. Why was he sitting comfortably at home when Yugi could be in trouble?

Leaping up from the couch, the darkness felt strong feelings of concern and worry that he had not felt inside him before. Sprinting with all his might to Kaiba's mansion, trying not to fall over on the way, a thousand emotions filled his mind and heart. If Yugi's life was endangered, he'd never forgive himself.

I don't know what to do. Please be alright, my hikari…

-Flashback [Excerpted from manga Vol. 34: Duel 280]-

A flash of bright light emanated from within the Millennium Puzzle, and Yami saw his aibou sleeping. He looks so peaceful, so cute…

/Mou hitori no boku./ Yugi opened his eyes to see Yami sitting cross-legged on the desk chair by his bed.

Sorry to have woken you.mou hitori no Yugi conveyed as he heard his aibou's voice, blushing slightly, hoping that it was dark enough to camouflage his burning crimson face.

/It's alright, I couldn't sleep myself. It's tomorrow! Maybe we can recover the memories you've been looking for for so long! I'm so happy I can't sleep!!/

Yami looked down, a twinge of worry creasing his brow as he wondered whether he could be with his little hikari in the future, forever. 

Aibou…  I'm the spirit of the pharaoh that was sealed in the Puzzle, and while recovering my lost memories, I met you, my friend. And Joey, Tea, and Tristan…

/Yup!/

I'll never forget our friendship. No matter what happens in the future, I'll remember.

/No matter… What happens…/ Yugi smiled to himself, pl eased. But at the same time, Yami could see that he was slightly shaken by his words. He knew that Yugi had grown rather attached to him, and wouldn't want anything to happen to his darkness.

The memories of our friendship are my most treasured gems. But… what the future holds…

/Mou hitori no boku. Like I assembled the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle… It's now your turn to finish the puzzle of your memories!/

Aibou…

/Until that puzzle is completed, I'm always your aibou!/ Yugi promised, smiling and blushing at the same time, and Yami knew it was a promise he wouldn't break for the world.

Yeah! Yami felt elated that his hikari liked him enough to make such a promise, and gave him a sudden hug, knocking the wind out of his blushing little light.

-

Blinking back tears that threatened to fall any moment, Yami realized that he'd arrived at Kaiba's house. Ringing the doorbell, he saw Kaiba open the door himself.

"Yugi!" Kaiba gasped, as he saw that his best friend looked ready to cry. "What's wrong?"

"Kaiba… I'm not Yugi," Yami [as Yugi] confessed, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

"What do you mean you're not Yugi?!" the ex-high priest exclaimed in surprise. Had Yugi gone mad? He certainly did look like Yugi, he acted like Yugi and everything.

"I'm Yami. You know, the guy you like to duel…" came a muffled reply, as Yami buried his face in his knees, feeling a little embarrassed. But it was not like he could hold back his tears. After all, it was his aibou they were talking about! 

"Yeah, I know, but what're you doing in Yugi's body?!"

"Um. We sort of switched, so he's now in Egypt… And I can't even communicate with him. I think something's gone wrong…" Yami elaborated, sniffing, as Kaiba led him upstairs to his office.

"You said that Yugi's supposed to be in the palace? I can check…" Kaiba consoled, gently pushing him down onto a chair, and thrusting his Blue Eyes plushie into Yami's arms, and added with a grin, "Don't worry, Blue Eyes will make you feel better…"

Yami gave a watery smile, resting his chin on Blue Eyes contentedly, glad to let Kaiba take the lead. As he watched, Kaiba instructed the computer to open DMRPG, which he'd been improving, and the two entered the virtual world.

"Bakura!!" Kaiba shouted in surprise as he saw the silver-haired Millennium Ring holder. "How did you get here?"

Yami, who was still unable to speak confidently and was still cuddling the Blue Eyes plushie, managed to choke out, "Yugi's in trouble."

Ryou nodded, "The other Bakura told me something was going on. The pharaoh was acting weird and going around with orders to attack the people. The real Atemu wouldn't do that. Neither would Yugi. We all know that."

"So what's going on?" Kaiba demanded, slightly confused. DMRPG reflected what was happening for real in ancient Egypt—it had been an accident, and he knew it could have something to do with his past as a high priest. He had just turned on the game one day, and seen so many things that he had not added—like the Kuru'elna Village, and the large stone tablets from which monsters could be summoned…

The three pushed their way through the crowd, and headed for the palace, dressed in regular Egyptian garb, hoping they wouldn't be noticed.

-

"Please stop!!" Yugi cried, as he felt Akushiko's freezing grasp tighten around his throat, tears of fear forming in his eyes. He had no desire of being suffocated in his very own soul room.

"This won't take too long. And thank you, pharaoh, for permitting me the use of your soul. And don't worry, we'll honor your death anniversary… Even though you won't be around, body or soul. "  Akushiko chuckled to herself.

Aibou!! Don't be afraid!the voice of his darkness pierced through Yugi's mind.

/Yami!?/ Yugi was careful not to change his expression, in case Akunadin's disciple tightened her grasp around his neck further, but there was a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Akushiko chanted a few words, and the little light found himself pinioned to the stone wall. There were no visible threads, but something was holding him back. Her grasp tautened around his throat, and he realized that he would not last much longer if this went on.

A sudden burst of pain in his chest made him wince, and he wondered whether he would be dead before Yami found him somehow.

Don't give up! Yugi heard his other self encourage, and tried to take a quick gasp of air. But this infuriated the evil Akushiko and she blasted a beam of dark energy at his heart.

Yugi screamed in pain, gasping and struggling as the dark energy washed over him. Feeling exhausted, his head swam, and he blacked out.

"I told you it would be quick," the evil girl grinned to herself, satisfied with her deeds. Just then, the metal door of the soul room opened, and Yami saw Akushiko beside his aibou.

"Tea? What have you done to my hikari?!" Yami yelled, fury rising.

"So which of you is Atemu? Oh well, either one will do, I'll collect my sweet prize now if it's fine with you…" Akushiko smirked, and reached down for Yugi's collar, and picked him up.

"Don't you dare touch my hikari!!" Yami threatened.

"Who says?" Akushiko gave a most annoying smile, and shot an energy beam at Yami, but it wasn't any use at all, since Yami had experience in the arcane magical arts, and blocked her attack easily with his own shield. Seizing the opportunity while she chanted another spell, Yami utilized his own abilities and sent a beam of purple-black energy at her. "Dark Magic!"

Realizing that she had made a powerful enemy, Akushiko's form melted into the air, and Yugi was left lying on the ground, still knocked out.

Convinced that their threat was no more for the time being, Yami ran to Yugi's side, and pulled him onto his lap.

Aibou, please say something!!Yami shook Yugi gently, warm tears slowly trailing down his cheeks, and falling onto Yugi's face.

/Yami…/ Yugi opened his eyes and grinned in recognition at Yami. /You came./

I was too late…Yami murmured, more to himself than to his light.

/Don't worry. It's not your fault…/ Yugi took Yami's hands in his, and embraced his darkness comfortingly. Yami replied by wrapping his arms around his hikari, who leaned closer.

-End of Chapter 8-

A/N: In case you guys haven't figured out, Akushiko is Egyptian Tea. It's a name I made up myself, it means Demon Death—悪死子. Forgive me if you think it's lame, 'cuz I couldn't think of anything else. Little Yugi is so cute in this chappie, don't know if you guys think so… IMO… Yami is also very kawaii… actually most of the characters are very likeable… Me faves—all in this fic… Heyyy… nobody likes Tea! Not much of a surprise actually… And also, does anyone know how come this character "" and "" doesn't show up in my fic?

Yet another POLL: Yugi X Yami or Yugi/Yami X Tea?

I know the answers, but I need confirmation…  

Azzie: Hehe a lot of fics have HER clinging to mou hitori no Yugi… I think I saw a pic in the manga vol. 37… Not very clingy somehow, but still… I thought it might be too lame, to get Seto and Mokie back together… Glad you liked it! So Seto's a reincarnation of his past self? confused I never was sure about that…

invisible-eyes: Tea is quite an… interesting… character… cough But she fits right in with this fic, that's why I stuffed her in. And since it looks like everyone in Domino City has an Egyptian self, well…

Pharaohs Angel: You changed your screen name! And thanks for your great feedback, every time I put up a new chappie I kinda wonder whether I get flamed… And… you hate Tea too! gives Pharaohs Angel a hi-five along with other anti-Tea readers Sugar IS good… Yum… Sorry to hear you're diabetic… Everyone likes sugar…

Yugi-chan: Everyone who likes Yami/Yugi doesn't like Tea… I wonder why…

THANKS EVERONE FOR READING, AND MORE MANGA SCANS!