Disclaimer: I do not own the show Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its characters! I never have and I never will. I only wish I had the talent to draw an anime comic. ^_^
I finally get a break! I have been so busy, I'm not sure I even know how to relax anymore. My university has been running me ragged this year. I just finished my internship, and I am so ready for Holiday break. Happy Holidays, everyone!
"I'm not a puppy!"
"Will those two never stop!?"
"At least Kaiba asked them to stay over. It's a start." Yugi watched amused as Jou took a swing that was easily dodged by the taller teen. He giggled. "When they finally realize how much they care for each other there is going to be one big explosion."
"I don't want to be there when that happens." Honda laughed.
"Yami, how did Jou summon Crest and Maza? Does he have Shadow powers, too?" Anzu was staring at Jou and Seto glaring at each other.
"So it would appear, Anzu."
"Kaiba lived in the past as Seth. Did Jou live in the past as well?"
"I don't know. I don't remember anything like that, aibou."
Suddenly his head started to pound. It felt like it was splitting in two. A picture formed in front of his eyes. I was of Jou dressed in Egyptian guard armor. He was hugging Kaiba who was dressed in priest robes. The Millenium rod was held in their combined hands.
He blinked. He heard a person yelling in pain. It took him a second to realize it was himself. He cut off the sound with a snap. Everyone had rushed to his side. They were repeatedly calling his name. He unbent his body to stand straight.
/Yami?/
//Yes, aibou?//
/What happened? What's wrong?/ Yugi had latched onto him when he first started yelling. His eyes were filled with worry.
Yami looked at Jou. His mouth turned into a full smile. "Jou, you existed…in Egypt."
"What?!"
" I just had a weird flashback. I think…you were on e of my personal guards."
"Me…guard you…in the past." Jou stuttered.
"The puppy can't even guard his own tail, much less that of a pharaoh."
"Kaiba. Enough for now! We still have a duel disk to find." Yami sighed. If you two only knew. He sent the earlier image to Yugi, who promptly burst out laughing.
/It looks like history is repeating itself, Yami./
//It would appear so.// But, why am I just remembering this? What memories are still blocked from me? Father, what are you keeping from me?
He froze. If Jou and Kaiba were alive then…Yugi…What he alive in the past, too? What can't I remember? What happened?
/Yami are you all right?/
//Yes. I am jus thinking about where Keith could be.// I hate lying to Yugi!
"Yuck! I smell like burst toast." Anzu whined.
"We all do. We still have to find Bandit Keith."
Until then the still present Duel Monsters had been silent. Maza had enjoyed the bantering of his masters earlier. However, he now was ready to say something that would shock everyone, including Oscuro and Kurtan. "Anzu, I want you to concentrate on Bandit Keith. Really focus. Picture him in your mind. Open your mind, and 'see."
"Uh…okay." Strange. Why does he want me to concentrate on Keith? And what did he mean by see? Oh well. I could never forget his ugly mug. She formed his image in her head. She shuddered, yet brought it into focus.
Suddenly the picture changed. She saw Keith sitting in a chair. Out the window he was looking through, she could see the ocean. She could smell it like she was standing right there next to him. It's like I'm really there!
nbsp; She looked down to see a discarded electric bill lying on a small coffee table. "1004 East Ditch Drive. How appropriate for him."
"What, Anzu?"
"His address. 1004 East Ditch Drive"
"Just as I suspected! I was right!" Maza danced around much like his master would in his happiness.
"Huh?"
Oscuro and Kurtan were in shock. Oscuro was the first to recuperate. "Did she just 'see?'"
"Yep!" Maza was twirling Jou much to Seto's dislike.
Anzu was in shock. "How did I do that?"
"You have the powers of a seer, Anzu. It was you. You have also been reincarnated." Oscuro was smiling. Kurtan pulled him against his side.
"Oscuro, what is all this?" Yami demanded.
"Our memories have also been blocked. The time from the Devil monsters to the Sealing has been erased. We know it had to be something terrible to cause the gods to do such."
"Before our memories stop, we know there was a seer in the land, but after our memories restart, she does not. Therefore, somewhere in that time, she dies." Kurtan continured.
"Eep." Anzu snuggled closed into Honda. I lived in Yami's past? Why don't I remember anything like sometimes Kaiba can?
"This is getting creepy. Everyone is coming up with some Shadow power." Jou pulled his jacket tighter around his body.
"I will go get the duel disk. All of you go on home to rest. It has been a long night for all of you. The Devil Monsters can do no harm right now. They can blow up the Shadow Realm as such as they want, but it will return to normal. They cannot destroy a monster, either. Only a monster can destroy itself."
/Then how did Oscuro come back, Yami? After he sacrificed himself for us during Battle City?/
//Lily brought him back.//
/Oh./
"Are you guys sure you will be all right?" Honda clapped his hand on Yami's shoulder
"Yes. Go home. Sleep." Yami lightly pushed Anzu forward. Honda caught her as she fell forward, and then stifled his own yawn.
"Be careful, you guys." Jou was standing by Serenity, who was resting her head on Mokuba's shoulder.
"Hey, Yami…" Seto called as they parted ways
"What, Kaiba?"
"Remember your own advice." Yami blinked, confused. He remembered what he had said to Kaiba but did not know what he meant.
"Huh" Yugi looked between them.
"Later, Yugi." Why would he say that? "Go home and get some rest. Please."
"You sure?"
"Yes. Now go."
"All right, Yami. Call if you need me."
//Goodnight, my aibou. I will see you in a few minutes.//
/Okay./
About five seconds later, Bandit Keith received the biggest shock of his life. Out of a warp hole that appeared in the middle of his living room stepped Yugi Motou. Or so he though…
"Yugi…what? How?"
"I want the duel disk system you never returned to Seto Kaiba."
"What for?"
"So you can't use it. If you do, something bad could happen."
"Like what? Who gave you the right to take it? Are you Kaiba's dog? Did he say fetch? I thought that was the blond fool's job."
"Jounouchi is not a fool! You are trying my patience, Keith. I just want the system."
"No."
Yami sighed. "Don't make me take it from you."
Keith burst out laughing. "You? Yugi Motou? I would like to see you try."
Yami growled. His patience was wearing out quickly. "I am not Yugi."
"Uh…yeah you are."
"No. I am Yami. I am Yugi's other half. I will not explain any more to you. Just give me the disk. Trust me. I can take it by force."
"You look just like Yugi Motou."
"Ugh!" //Aibou, would you come here please? He is being difficult.//
/Okay./
Keith almost fell over in shock as a pajama clad Yugi stepped out of anther hole that appeared. "I'm dreaming!"
"Now, as you can see, I am Yami, and this is Yugi."
"But, I watched the duels. He looked like you, but the name was Yugi Motou!"
"That's because I took over his body."
"Huh?"
//…sigh…Do you mind, aibou?//
/Go ahead. Boy is he in for a surprise./
The puzzle around Yugi's neck began to glow and twist. Yami disappeared. Keith stared as Yugi's features began to change. Violet turned crimson. Black hair streaked blond. The eyes turned slightly slanted. "Now do you believe me, Keith?" Yami's colder, deeper voice came out of the smirking mouth.
"I must still have a hangover! Remind me not to drink at that bar again." Keith shook his head violently.
"Keith! You are not drunk, asleep, or hallucinating. Now give us that dueling disk."
"No."
"Don't make me…"
/Yami, no. You can't/
//Damn. Why not?//
/You just can't. You only send someone to the Shadow Realm if they have done something really bad./
"Don't make me what? What was it…Yami?"
"To be frank…kill you."
Keith paled. Then he grew angry. "You can't kill me. you are too weak!"
//Aibou, he is really tempting me.// Yami's fists were clenched at his sides. His nails dug so hard, he could feel blood starting to seep from the wounds.
/Let me take over. Go do something in your soul room. I t could use a good dusting./
//Har har, aibou.//
Yugi's features warped back to normal. When he next spoke, his softer voice was heard. "Keith, please. Just give us the disk system. Then, we will leave you alone."
"You're Yugi again, right? Your eyes are violet."
"Yes, Keith."
"Good. Then duel me." A weird glint entered his eyes that made Yugi shift uneasily.
"Huh?" Yugi felt Yami echo his shock.
"You heard me. Duel me. But, without the help of that other guy. Just you and me."
"Uh…"
"Where is he?"
"He can come right back if he wishes."
"Then get him out from where ever he is hiding. If he even says one peep, the game is forfeit."
/Yami, come back out. Something is creeping me out here./
As always, he felt a slight tug in his chest as he left the puzzle. His mind instantly picked up his end of creating his physical body. "Happy now, Keith?"
"Yikes! Where did you come from? Is there a trap door, I don't know about?"
"Okay. Listen, Keith. I'm dead. I'm a spirit. A yami. I can go into Yugi's body. I can also have a physical body. I appear when and where I want to appear."
"Whatever." Again the glint entered his eyes. Yami felt unease enter his blood. He palmed Oscuro's card into his hand. "I just need to get my deck. It's in the closet."
"In the closet?" Yugi blinked in confusion as Keith opened the door.
//I don't like this, aibou.//
A click.
"Dark Magician!" Before Oscuro could react Keith had a gun pointed at Yami. He stared at the materialized magician.
"How the hell?" Oscuro moved to attack. "Drop it, magician. I don't know how you got here, or if you are even real, but I won't let you stop me. It should have been me againt Pegasus. Not Yugi…or Yami…whoever it was! With them gone, I can gain my ticket back to glory. I lost everything. Everything! They will pay…with their lives!" A clear look of madness had overcome Keith's face.
"You won't get away with this, Keith." Oscuro had let his staff drop forward to the floor, but now he was using his other weapon. His voice. "You know you won't. Put down the weapon and then give us the disk."
He started to put it down. It was almost to the table.
A seagull crooned.
He leapt back.
He fired.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Oscuro dove into Yami. He was a split second too late.
"Yami!"
"Master!"
/Yami!/ Yami didn't response.
"Oh well. One more to go. Don't move, magician. Wait…they brought you here." Keith sneered. It grew into an evil grin. "I just ground a new talent act. I won't only be the number one duelist again, I'll be rich. I'll own the world. All through little Yugi Motou."
/Yami! Yami! Say something! Please! You can't be dead! You're already dead so you can't die again! You can't leave me! Yami!/ Keith grabbed Yugi and shoved him down to the floor.
//It…It hurts.// Yami's pained reply finally floated over Yugi's mind.
/Go back into the puzzle. The wound will heal there, right?/
//Yes, the pain will remain.// Yugi knew Yami was blocking him from feeling the pain. It was still there as a dull ache. Blood continued seeping from underneath Yami's sprawled body.
/Go!/ Keith had the gun pointed at Oscuro. Without his staff, he was defenseless.
//But you need me.//
/Please./ A haze was forming in front of his eyes as he watched Keith taunt Oscuro. He started to shake slightly.
Yami's body disappeared. As soon as his feet hit the floor of his soul room, he fell unconscious.
"Where did he go?" Keith snarled. He looked back towards Oscuro. "I wonder, magician. If I shot you, would you die?"
Oscuro growled. In this form he could 'die.' He would return to the Shadow Realm as a Shadow sprite. His card would be blank. It could take up to a year to regain his physical form. He would be useless during that time.
"You have done enough. Don't threaten him. You shot Yami. You hurt him. Now you want to hurt Oscuro! I won't let you." Yugi's voice held a strange lit to it.
Keith turned to Yugi with a sneer on his face, but it was dropped into one of shock. He froze. "What…what the hell is that?!"
Oscuro also looked up from where he was kneeling on the floor. He gasped.
Yugi was trembling. Tears were in his violet eyes, and they held a strange dark haze. But, that's not what they were looking at.
They were looking at his forehead.
Keith went to point the gun at Yugi, but was too late.
"Mind crush!"