{.........} = Yami to Hikari

/........./ = Hikari to Yami

Italics = thoughts

) ( ) ( Boldface ) ( ) ( = in the Shadow realm

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Yugi groaned and opened his eyes, what happened? If I passed out in that alley way I should have been killed, so why am I waking up? Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, please let me not have been found by one of the pimps.

Yugi blinked the fog out of his eyes and looked around, okay, well at least I'm not going to have to worry about that... I think. The room Yugi was in looked nothing like a whore house. It looked... well... tomb-like was really the most accurate thing he could think of. The support columns, walls, ceiling and floor were all made of some kind of yellow-brown stone. Along the top of the walls and columns were bands of carvings in what seemed to be hieroglyphics. The piece of furniture that he was laying on, which was some sort of cross between a psychiatrist's couch and a bench, seemed to be the only thing in the room, besides Yugi himself of course. The room was dark; there was enough light to see, but just barely enough. The temperature somehow seemed to be cold, with out actually being so. Oh man, I don't think I like this.

Yugi's head jerked around when a door that he hadn't noticed before opened.

"Ah, you're awake, I'm glad. I was hoping I could talk to you and I would not have liked having to disturb you."

Yugi pushed himself into a sitting position, surprised to find himself in no pain at all. There was always some pain, as he knew that several wounds he had gotten in the past had not healed properly. But now, his body was completely pain free. What-

The shadow that had stood in the doorway walked closer to Yugi, coming into his limited sight range. Yugi gaped; that man- he looks like me! Quickly though, Yugi began to notice differences between the two of them, the fact that the other was at least a head taller than him was the first thing that he noticed but soon other, smaller, differences made themselves apparent; such as that this man's hair, though the same colours as Yugi's own, had more blond in it and was in a slightly different form. The other boy's eyes were red, and his facial features were also different, older-looking and sleek, his eyes more angular. But still, they looked so much alike at first as the hair wasn't exactly common, who could he be?

The darker one sat on the side of the couch-thing that Yugi was currently occupying and spoke; "tell me little one, do you feel well?"

Yugi's eyes drew together slightly with his confusion, "yes I do, thank you, I don't hurt at all."

The other boy smiled slightly, just a little tilting of his lips, but Yugi got the imression that it was a great change for the other, "that is good to know, however I was more wondering if you felt sick in any way? Faint perhaps? I healed your wounds and as such I am glad that there is no lingering pain but I would like to know if there are any after effects of the method I used."

Yugi frowned, "I feel fine... but... healed my wounds?"

The smile extended a little, "yes, I healed your wounds. They were quite extensive for such a young person."

"How? I mean I can tell that you fixed some of the old breaks and scars because I can't feel them anymore."

The boy, though in reality he carried an air of age around him that was nowhere near boyish, sat down next to Yugi. "I used the Shadow's power to do so."

Yugi blinked, "the Shadow's power?"

"Yes, the Shadow's power is my power." He waved a hand at the surrounding area, "all of this was made by that very same power."

Yugi looked around, normally he would think that the young man sitting next to him was either very high or else trying to freak him out, but something was wrong with this place, and his instincts were telling him to trust the other boy. "Okay, so if this place is made of the Shadow's, or rather your, power, then where are we and how did we get here?"

The Spirit's eyebrow rose in interest, the boy had actually accepted that the solid stone walls around him weren't actually stone at all, the Puzzle most defiantly had done its job well.

As the spirit continued to watch the young one on the bed he answered the question, "we are inside the gold puzzle you solved, and the ways we got here differed greatly. You got here after you put the last piece into position, and I got here by coming in after I had healed your body and had taken care of the people that had harmed you."

The boy blinked slowly, "Okay... why don't you clarify some things for me. Why are we in the puzzle, how did you 'come in' here, who are the 'Shadows,' what do you mean 'taken care of' and... and what is your name."

The spirit blinked slowly, one side of his mouth quirking almost unnoticeably, "do you remember the golden Puzzle that you put together?" When the other nodded he continued, "that was my Puzzle. A very long time ago I trapped the Shadows and myself in that item in order to prevent them from consuming my land and my people. Since that long forgotten time, I have mastered the Shadows, bound them to me. As such, their power is at my disposal. When you completed the Puzzle you allowed me to leave that containment, by doing so however you have also joined our souls. Through our link, I can now leave the Puzzle whenever I wish, though I will have to share a body with you for a short while until the Puzzle is stable enough to create my own. As for the Shadows, they are... difficult to explain. They are a source of very strong, very dark, power, however they are not something that can be tamed, and, as such, are usually more likely to consume whomever tries to control them as they are to do the task they are asked to. The Shadows have a semi-consciousness and are, to some extent, sentient; however, they do not truly posses a mind." A sigh, "as I said, it is difficult to explain. As for what I meant by taken care of: exactly that, I took care of them so that they would not harm you again."

The spirit could see the question of 'why' in the other one's eyes and he sighed. "Chosen, I will not allow you to come to any harm if I am in any way able to stop it. My soul is bonded to yours. That means that you are my other half, that not only does my soul's existence depend on your safety, but so does my very sanity, and for me to lose my sanity, even just that which is left after such a long imprisonment, is not something that would be wise for the world. As for my name..." the spirit stopped to think for a moment, frowning, before continuing, "I... I cannot remember."

Yugi blinked in shock he can't remember his name? How long was he in there? Looking at the other, he decided not to ask as of yet, but... "Why did you call me Chosen?"

"Because the Puzzle Chose you to be its barer and I do not know your name."

Yugi blushed slightly, ignoring the 'puzzle chose you' bit for now and replying to the second part, "my name's Yugi, and... if you don't mind I think I'll call you Yami. Is that okay?"

The newly-name Yami smiled slightly, "Yami... it means darkness does it not?" At Yugi's nod he continued, "it will do very well Yugi."

Yugi ginned, "okay, now that that is settled, what do you mean by the Puzzle chose me?"

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