Well, I'm back because I got the reviews I demanded ^_^ Thanks people! And the number I got...9...that's WAY better than how I did with "Shadow Turned Light," as I only got 2 reviews for my first chapter then.
Kaiba: Yeah, cause you were a tiny little nobody that had never been heard of before.
HCG: _ Shut up!
Slash: Well, it's true!
HCG: *dryly* Geeze, great job. You call yourself muses? HAH!
Karma: *shakes head* They really are hopeless. Forget them.
HCG: Right! Okay, quickly, a few notes:
Daricio~ Yup, it's no problem using your idea. It actually fit in quite well with the mood I was trying to present, so *shrugs.* And I'm glad I made you happy ^_^
Magical Mage~ Why's being first a bad thing? I would consider it great. Well, in any case, you weren't first--Silver Fang beat you to it. So don't worry!
Silver Fang~ Nyah, big cheesy smiles always get me x_X Here's the next chapter! (Duh XD)
And, finally--
HCG: o_O;; Wow, WSJ reviewed for ALL my stories, not just this one...cool! And sorry about the long-ness, I didn't expect it to get that long! O_O;; *reads STL review* And you hugged NR Bakura too x_X that won't turn out good..
NR Bakura: *randomly popping out of Negative Realm gate* What is WITH all you people and hugging me?! I'm getting sick of it! WSJ, Aibou....
HCG: ¬_¬;; People like you. Don't complain. You aren't supposed to be here either...*shoves him back into the N. Realm*
NR Bakura: I'm not done ye--*gets cut off as the NR Gate closes*
HCG: *sighs* You'd be surprised how annoying he can get even WITHOUT being an insane tomb robber -_-;;
Kaiba: *taps foot impatiently* We ARE waiting for you to get a move on with this chapter, you know.
HCG: ^_^;; RIGHT! Kaiba, will you do the...er...honors?
Kaiba: *nods* HCG doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of us. Only Slash and Karma belong to her. Which is good, because even WITHOUT being owned by her I'm still in major trouble at the moment, so--
HCG: That's enough, Kaiba -_-;; Okay, people, enjoy!
Notes:
/word/ ~ Yugi to Yami in mind link
//word// ~ Yami to Yugi in mind link
italicized words are thoughts and memories/dreams
Negative Chaos
Chapter 2: Negativity
Yugi stood among the scattered remains of what had once been flowers for several minutes, still not quite believing what had just happened. Even he knew he should have been used to such odd occurrences, but even so, he couldn't make himself comprehend this new trouble that had sprung up before him within minutes.
Something wrong with the Shadow Realm...he thought to himself slowly. He had never thought that Realm of such power and terrifying might could be effected so badly so as to act in this way. It just didn't seem possible. And yet...here he was, the evidence of a Duel Monster's attack around him, with his yami unable to return to his own soul room.
His latest thoughts brought him back to Yami's predicament. He asked his question again, though he already knew the answer. "Are you absolutely sure you can't return to the Puzzle?"
His darker half nodded quietly, moonlight glittering off the golden collar of Yugi's costume as the movement came to be. "I'm very sure."
The young Hikari sighed and shook his head to clear away his thoughts again before speaking. "Well...if that's the case, we had better head home before we draw too much attention. People are sure to notice if a near twin of mine suddenly shows up at the party."
Again, Yami nodded, and Yugi quickly picked his way up the path towards the Kaiba mansion, trying not to step on thorny bushes and flowers as he went. Yami followed, almost looking as though he was gliding instead of walking, and Yugi once again had that odd thought that Yami should be the one in charge.
When the Hikari reached the large glass doors leading back into the party room, he turned to face the ancient pharaoh behind him, once again breaking into speech. "Okay. I'll go in here and tell my friends I'm leaving early. You go around the mansion and meet me at the front door."
Yami raised an eyebrow. "Have you seen how big this place is, Aibou? It might take a while."
Yugi shrugged. "We've got quite a bit of time, you know."
His darker half sighed before turning to walk along the walls of the gigantic building. "Very well. I'll meet you as soon as possible."
Yugi chuckled momentarily before the seriousness of the situation sank down on his shoulders once more. He sighed tiredly before sliding the French doors open and stepping through into the heart of the party once more.
Music, fast and loud, washed over him as soon as he entered. Colors and movement made themselves equally present to his senses, and he blinked despite himself. He shook his head again quickly, then moved off through the crowd of dancers to find his friends.
He found Ryou sooner than he had expected--the boy and his costume stood out easily against the rest of the people in the room. Quickly, Yugi called him aside and located the rest of his friends, signaling them to meet him back at their small gathering of chairs against the wall.
"There you are, Yug'," Joey said, grinning slightly, as he reached the rest of the already assembled group. "We were looking for ya. Where'd you run off to so fast?"
Yugi muttered to himself before saying out loud, "Nowhere in particular." He hastened to change the subject. "Listen, guys, I'm going to have to leave for tonight. I...er...promised Grandpa I wouldn't stay too long."
"Yugi, you've barely been here!" Tristen protested, sitting down on a chair as he spoke. "What's the rush?"
"I just have to get going, that's all." This time, Yugi noticed unpleasantly, there was a rather frantic tone in his voice.
Joey must have picked up on Yugi's worried sound, because he said suddenly, "You want me to go home with ya, too? I really don't have to stay, you know." He chuckled slightly, attempting a half-hearted joke. "Kaiba looked pretty mad in any case; if I stay too much longer he'll probably bite my head off."
"No, don't worry Joey," Yugi said, forcing a cheerful tone into his voice. "Really, I'm fine. And if anything happens, I've got Yami with me to protect me--so you don't have any need to worry."
"You sure?" The blonde sounded skeptical, and he was frowning slightly as he glanced down at his friend.
"I'm positive."
Joey shrugged, though the skeptical look did not leave his eyes. "Alright. But if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me out of here."
Yugi nodded, grateful for his friend's caring words--even if he wouldn't be accepting them. "Right. I'll see you guys tomorrow at school, then."
The group waved goodbye, Joey still watching suspiciously, but Yugi had already waded through a small group of dancers and was heading for the door before the teen could have reacted. The tall teen sighed, shrugged, and went to join the dancers as a new song began to play, soon loosing his worried look as it was replaced by a happy, fun-loving one.
Yugi reached the front doors with as much speed as possible, tearing them open and dashing outside before even the waiting butler could react. He breathed in a fresh, clear lungful of air and sighed, feeling slightly more relaxed.
"Yami?" he called hesitantly, looking around the grounds in front of him. It was dark, with the moonlight casting shadows in unfriendly places and causing the imagination to jump to frightening conclusions.
Halloween really makes you think in odd ways, he thought to himself, slightly annoyed that he could be thinking such childish thoughts at this point and time.
There was a rustling from Yugi's left side, and he whirled around quickly despite himself. "Who's there?"
"It is only me, Aibou," he heard a calm, familiar voice say. The owner was unveiled as he stepped from the bushes into the moonlight, revealing Yami and nothing more.
"You scared me," Yugi muttered faintly, scolding himself again for thinking in such a jumpy way.
"It is understandable, Yugi," Yami said kindly, picking up on his charge's thoughts through their mind-link. "You were just attacked by a monster, so you are bound to think in more defensive ways."
"I suppose," the lighter soul of the two murmured. There was silence for several seconds until he suddenly said, "Well....should we go?"
He didn't wait for an answer before turning and walking off down the path to the road, though he knew his Yami would have agreed. The darker spirit, in turn, fell into step behind his Aibou, again seeming to glide along the hardened concrete of the walk in a rather eerie fashion.
The walk home was slow, and almost completely silent. Yugi wasn't sure what his yami was up to, but he, for one, was deeply immersed in his own thoughts. He found himself desperately wishing for answers. Why had the Shadow Realm denied Yami his soul room? What had made it attack him with a Duel Monster? He sighed, knowing the answers would not be coming, but hoping for them anyway.
After what seemed like only seconds, the pair reached the darkened windows of the Game Shop. Yugi guessed that his grandfather had gone to bed rather than waiting up for him, as he was expecting his grandson to return far later than his actual arrival time. Sighing again, this time in frustration, he unlocked the door to the Shop and entered, pacing up to his own room.
He entered his room quietly, so as not to disturb his grandfather in the next room, and walked over to his bed. He sat down and rested for a few minutes, still running thoughts over in his head hundreds upon hundreds of times, as Yami entered after him and quietly stood in the middle of the room.
After several minutes, Yugi finally stood up once more, walking over to one of his drawers and removing a pair of pajamas. He quickly changed, taking off the elegant robes of his costume and exchanging them with the loose-fitting, comfortable nightwear. Once done, he hung the Egyptian costume in his closet and stretched out on his bed, thinking.
Abruptly, Yami spoke. "I still cannot reach the Puzzle." The spirit groaned in annoyance, moving to sit in a chair by the bedside. His clothes had not changed, as he was in a physical form, and so he still wore the golden-and-violet robes with it's fine golden jewelry.
Yugi sighed again. "You'll just have to keep trying." He thought for a second, then asked quietly, "Should I try checking your soul room?"
"It's worth a try," the darker half muttered, sitting back in his chair.
Yugi nodded, closing his eyes to help him concentrate and transporting himself to the corridor of the mind that had been constructed when a second spirit had come to inhabit his body. He quickly trotted over to a door of heavy iron, a foreboding-looking entrance with the Eye of Horus carved on it's front.
Carefully, the boy tried to open it, but the door would not budge. Now confused, he pushed again, this time harder. Again, nothing happened, and the lighter soul began to grow worried. Even if Yami did lock his soul room door to his charge, which was rare, Yugi still had the ability to open it, the door existing in his own mind. He shoved with all his strength for one last time on the metal, but the door still refused to move.
Sighing, Yugi closed his eyes and retreated from the mind corridor, returning to his body as his physical eyes snapped open. He blinked and sat up on the bed, turning to face his yami.
"Well?" the ancient pharaoh asked, frowning at his aibou's worried, confused look. "What did you find?"
"Your soul room...it's locked," Yugi explained, his own frown growing on his face. "Locked?" Now Yami looked confused. "But I wasn't the one who locked it...it should be open!"
Yugi shrugged. "It wouldn't even open when I tried to force it," he muttered glumly.
Yami sighed, shaking his head. "I know the Shadow Realm is involved in this. It's that Realm that's blocking me, I know it."
The young Hikari blinked, and a question burst forth before he could stop it. "What happened back there? At Kaiba's mansion, with the Silver Fang?"
Yami blinked, organizing his thoughts quickly before speaking. "I thought about it during the walk home," he said slowly. "I think...I think the Shadow Realm's powers are overflowing."
Yugi looked surprised. "Overflowing? What do you mean?"
Yami sat back further in his chair as he explained. "Each magical item and area has certain limitations. They can only hold so much magic--they don't have endless supplies. Even the Puzzle has these limitations--just very broad ones, allowing the Item to take in quite a bit of magic." He frowned before continuing. "The only problem is," he said slowly, "that if the limits to a magical item or place are reached, the powers within the item will begin to overflow. It's like when you fill a glass up with too much water--the glass can't hold it all, and the water spills over the edge. The items and places can't take too much magic, or it will overflow to try and balance the powers out."
"So you think that Silver Fang was a result of Overflowing magic?" Yugi asked, slightly disbelieving.
"That is indeed what I believe." Yami looked more than worried now. "The Shadow Realm should be able to take quite a bit of magic, but with all the problems we've been having lately--people being sent to the Shadow Realm, duels concerning the Monsters, the over-use of Millennium Items--it makes quite a bit of sense that the Realm may have gathered too much energy. It has to get rid of it somehow, and it's decided to overflow it's magic into our own Realm." His worried tone deepened, his forehead creasing with his frown. "That Silver Fang was created from the Shadow Realm's powers--did you see how it was made out of shadows when I banished it? The magic must have worked it's way into this Realm and re-created the monster here. And perhaps another effect is this strange block that won't allow me to return to the Puzzle."
Yugi nodded carefully, the reasons for the odd occurrences that night finally making sense--for the most part. His thoughts also hardened; if something was wrong with the Shadow Realm, it would be up to himself and his yami, with the help of his friends, to set the problem right. The thought was a frightening one--the Shadow Realm was never a power to be trifled with, if it could be helped--but his sense of duty was there and as strong as ever, and Yugi could not abandon a task he knew he had to face.
Suddenly, something the pharaoh had said triggered the young Hikari's memory. He started slightly as he almost heard that mysterious voice that had called to him two nights ago in his Shadowdream. "The Balance is becoming unstable for you once more, Worthy Light. Be very careful." Could this have been the problem in the Balance the voice had talked of?
Yugi shook his head slightly at the thought. He doubted something concerning the Shadow Realm would qualify as a problem; after all, when he had been summoned to mend the Balance, it had had nothing whatsoever to do with the Shadow Realm.
That's not true, a tiny voice in the back of his mind whispered. What caused all the trouble in the Negative Realm to begin with? The Shadow Madness. And what caused that? The Realm that is now causing you your own troubles.
Shut up! Yugi hissed in reply, aware that he was talking to his own mind and not Yami's, but not caring. I don't want to think about that!
Obediently, the little voice of reason swept back and away from Yugi's thoughts, leaving him alone with his darker half. As if to make absolutely sure, however, he shook his head once more and erased the thoughts of the Shadowdream warning from his head.
"Still a block," Yami interrupted, unaware of what was going on in his Hikari's mind. "And a strong one at that. At least I can sense it now, though." He sighed, allowing a few golden bangs to spill over the golden band at his forehead and into his eyes. "From the level of it's strength, I doubt it will be letting up any time soon."
Yugi yawned and blinked before returning his gaze to his darker half. "That strong? But that would mean that this 'overflow' of magic is really powerful!" A worried look mixed with his tired one as he stared over at his yami. "What are we supposed to do about it?"
Yami shrugged, making even the casual response seem graceful in the robes he still wore. "I don't know, or at least at this moment. We'll just have to wait until I can return to the Puzzle before we can try to discover anything else."
Yugi nodded, yawning again. "Alright, I suppose it makes sense. In any case, it's all we can do at the moment."
The ancient pharaoh chuckled slightly at his charge's weary yawns and suggested calmly, "Perhaps you should get some sleep. You've had a tiresome day, and there is no need for you to stay up in order for me to return to the Millennium Puzzle."
"I know," Yugi muttered, his voice softer from fatigue. "I just feel like I should be staying up, that's all. I want to see as much as you do how strong this block is."
Yami nodded quietly after a moment's hesitation. "Very well then," he said slowly, "stay up if you wish. I will let you know when the magic begins to weaken."
"Thanks," the lighter half of the two replied, breaking into a small grin.
For three and a half hours the two sat in near-darkness, making no sound and moving not an inch. Twice Yugi nearly fell asleep sitting up on his bed; when he wasn't trying to wake himself up he sat with chin in hands, and elbows balanced on knees. Yami looked more like a statue than anything else, sitting straight-backed and staring exactly ahead of himself as if he was focusing intently on the desk across the room. The only way to possibly notice his aggravation with the temporary Shadow-spell block was by his breathing; every time he tried to break the block and failed, his breath would race for a few seconds before slowing to an almost unnatural rate.
As Yugi was beginning to drift off for a third time, his darker half suddenly stood straight up, whirling to face the Millennium Puzzle still around Yugi's neck with a hard stare.
"What's the matter?!" The young Hikari yelped, startled out of his near-stupor by the sudden movement and half-recoiling over the bed towards the wall in natural reflex. Noticing that Yami had not moved from his new position, Yugi hastily sat back in his original position and tried to slow his heart-rate.
"The block has lessened," the ancient ruler said softly, still eyeing the Puzzle carefully. "I think I could break through it if I tried."
"So try!" Yugi said, a slightly relieved and eager tone forcing it's way into his voice without him meaning for it to be there.
Yami nodded and closed his eyes, concentrating. Within seconds, his entire physical form began to dissolve and fade away, and Yugi had the odd feeling that his mind had gotten a bit more tightly packed now that a second mind had returned to it.
/It worked?/ he asked skeptically, not sure if this was another trick of the Shadow Realm or not.
//For the most part, yes,// Yami replied slowly. //I got into my soul room easily enough, but the block is still trying to force me out. I may have to fight it for a while before it weakens completely.//
/Ah,/ Yugi muttered, a slight wave of fatigue filling his mind-link.
The pharaoh picked up on the feeling instantly. //Yugi,// he said gently, but firmly, //go to bed. I don't need you to stay up anymore, and you have to go to school tomorrow, remember?//
Yugi had actually forgotten after all the events of the day, but he did not feel the need to argue with his spirit guardian's advice and so did not complain. Instead, he crawled into bed slowly, pulling up the warm covers to his chin and muttering tiredly through the mind-link, /Right...'night, Yami./
There was a chuckle from the other half of the link as the spirit replied. //Good night, Aibou. May your dreams be protected from your fears.// A phrase he had taken up saying ever since the first of the Shadowdreams Yugi had been through; he didn't know why he had adopted it, but he knew it made his charge feel safer, so he had continued to use it.
Even though, at the moment, that same charge had not heard a word of the reply, already fast asleep.
Yami chuckled again, sighed, and then turned to ward off the ever-present Shadow-spell block that was still attempting to dislodge him from the Puzzle. It was going to be a long night.
* * * * *
Yugi woke the next morning feeling as though he hadn't slept in a week. He had only gotten a few hours' rest to begin with, and to add to his troubles, Yami's exhaustion from battling the unusual block on the Millennium Puzzle had passed on to him. He frowned, still greatly fatigued, and pulled on his school uniform mechanically, not even noticing that he was done until he found himself halfway out into the hall towards the kitchen.
His grandfather greeted him cheerfully, asking how the party had been last night and if he had had fun. Yugi answered with a half-hearted grunt, unable to summon enough strength to say more. His grandfather, taking the response in a completely different way, laughed and said something about how "kids these days should look after their health and get more rest, not stay up all night partying." Perhaps, had he been feeling more energetic, Yugi would have argued, saying that he had only been at the party for a few hours, but he felt that it wasn't important and set about to the enormous task of forcing his breakfast down his tight throat. He didn't want to eat, he wanted sleep.
He blinked in surprise as he heard the familiar tap at the glass doorways of the Game Shop, and hastily dragged himself up from his half-eaten breakfast to go to the door, opening it and admitting Tea. The girl smiled, looking quite energetic, and quickly asked if Yugi was ready to go to school. Another barely-audible grunt from the shorter teen was all she could make out before he had disappeared into the Game Shop, reappearing moments later with his book bag slung over one shoulder.
"'Bye, Grandpa," the young Hikari muttered sleepily, half-waving to the man organizing the counter behind him in the shop. His grandfather nodded, again cheerfully, and Yugi started off with Tea towards the school, guessing that he would fall asleep before first period was finished that morning.
Tea observed her friend carefully before asking, "Uh, Yugi? What happened last night?"
The question caught the boy off-guard. He started before hastily trying to cover his surprise, muttering slowly, "What do you mean?"
Tea frowned. "You know perfectly well what I mean. Last night you left the party early, and you looked as if you'd fight a person if they tried to get in your way. What happened?"
Yugi shook his head, disagreeing--or at least appearing to. "Nothing happened. Don't worry, Tea. I just had to get home to Grandpa...he was expecting me back early, that's all. I told you that."
Tea blinked, trying to erase the slightly skeptical look that had been settling over her features. She wasn't sure she believed her friend--she practically knew that something had happened last night, and it had frightened him badly--but if he didn't want to talk about it, she wasn't about to press him. Nevertheless, she kept a careful eye on him during the rest of their walk to school, watching for signs of nervousness or fear.
As they approached the school and nothing out of the ordinary had happened, however, Tea began to doubt even her own suspicions. Maybe she had just been over-reacting, and nothing had scared Yugi at all. She frowned to herself again before finally erasing the thought from her mind completely.
When they had passed through the courtyard and were approaching the school doors, Joey suddenly burst out of them and darted towards the pair, grinning. "'Ey, what's up, Yug'?" He asked, smiling.
"Nothing much," Yugi mumbled, relieved to see that his emotionless grunts had evolved into actual words. "How about you? How was the party?"
Joey blinked for a second as the questions were neatly reversed and returned to him before slowly beginning to answer them. "Oh, I'm fine, too. And the party was great!" He grinned suddenly. "Hey, guess what? Remember the costume contest Mokuba was telling us about last night?"
Yugi nodded, managing to look slightly interested. "Yeah, I remember. Who won?"
Joey laughed. "Only the obvious. Ryou won by a mile, although a few of the other students around here came pretty close." A small grin, concealing the quick frown of concern for his friend, formed on his face. "You would've won if you'd been there, you know. Why'd you leave anyway?"
Yugi sighed, sounding tired. "Nothing of interest. I just had to get home, that's all. Why are all of you guys asking me about this?"
Joey looked a bit taken aback, but he spoke quickly. "Just 'cause we're concerned, that's all. You looked pretty worried last night. We wanted to know if anything was wrong so we could help."
Yugi smiled the smallest bit. "Thanks, Joey, but like I said last night, nothing's wrong. You don't have to worry at all."
Joey frowned again, but before he could say more the bell rang, signaling first period. Yugi silently thanked luck that the bell had rung at that precise moment, for he could see on his friend's face that the boy had been about to ask further questions about his sudden leave at the party the night before. Instead, the taller teen only frowned and headed off to his first class, Biology, while Yugi turned and headed in the other direction towards his Geometry class.
The first half of the day passed rather uneventfully, or as much of it as Yugi was awake to see--several times in his classes he nearly fell asleep as he listened to the gentle drone of the teachers' lectures. At one point he even tried to contact Yami through their mind-link to see if the spirit was faring any better, but apparently the pharaoh had retreated into his soul room to rest up and regain the energy he had lost during his struggle against the Shadow-spell. Sighing, the Hikari had returned his attention to the lectures, only to nearly fall asleep once more and receiving an angry word or two from the teacher for doing so.
He practically sighed in relief when the bell rang for first lunch, snatching up his back-pack and nearly diving for the doorway out of his science room. He walked as quickly as he could towards the cafeteria, which turned out not to be that fast due to his exhaustion, and all but collapsed into his chair at his friends' lunch tables.
"Hey, Yugi," Tristen greeted, digging into the hot lunch from the food line up at the front of the room.
Yugi nodded, showing he had noticed his friend, before folding up his hands on the table and resting his head on them wearily.
Joey seized the opportunity to try his questioning on his friend once more. "Yug', what happened to make you run outta that party so quick?"
"Nothing," the Hikari replied, his voice sounding slightly more awake. "Nothing happened, I can assure you of that."
Ryou, across the table, blinked in surprise and focused his level gaze on his fellow Light being. "I'm not so sure you can, or you wouldn't be avoiding the question so much."
Yugi sighed, withdrew his head and hands from the table, and spoke again, pulling his lunch out from his book bag. "There's nothing wrong, guys. I'm serious."
Joey frowned before a resolute, hard look came onto his face. "Fine. If you won't answer me, I'll ask somebody else." He turned, sweeping his gaze over the lunch room carefully, before spotting a familiar figure and grinning. "Bingo. Kaiba was out there too last night."
Yugi blinked in surprise and found himself in a trap. If he tried to stop Joey from asking Kaiba what had happened, his friends would know something was up and would pressure him for answers. He frowned slightly before nodding to his friend. "Fine, ask him if you want."
Joey stood up quickly from the table and carefully picked his way across the maze of chairs and tables, face focused on Seto Kaiba, who was currently making his way for the double doors that marked the exit from the room. He caught up to the company-owning teen a few seconds before he would have left the room and tapped him on the shoulder.
Kaiba spun around, glaring irritably at one of the people he despised most. "What do you want?" he hissed, tapping his foot impatiently.
"'Ey, Kaiba," Joey tried, attempting a cheerful approach. "Just wondering and all, but what exactly happened last night at that party of your brother's that had you and Yugi so shaken up?"
Seto frowned for a minute before his eyes widened ever so slightly, showing a small amount of surprise. The emotion quickly hardened into the teen's usual angry, superior look, and he snapped rudely, "Shut your mouth and stop asking me before I have to put a muzzle on it, Wheeler!"
Joey bristled but held his ground, though there was no hiding the harsh tone that now slipped into his voice. "What gives, Kaiba? I just asked a question!"
The teen CEO whirled around, heading out the doors even as he hissed, "If you want to know, ask your friend. I, however, am not talking to you about things that don't concern you." Before Joey could protest, the double doors snapped shut behind the second teen and Joey was left standing, annoyed and muttering to himself.
The blonde gave the double doors one last glare before returning to his friends, mumbling under his breath. He started to hammer Yugi with more questions, but Tristen held up a hand to silence his friend. He pointed to the smallest teen among them, saying quietly, "He's asleep, poor guy. Must've stayed up late last night, whatever bugged him."
Joey raised an eyebrow in surprise as Tea continued. "We should let him get some sleep. Whoever has a full lunch at the same time as he does can wake him up before the next class starts."
This turned out to be Tristen, who agreed to stay in the lunchroom with the Hikari next to him, who was slumped forward on the table, head resting on arms and sleeping peacefully despite the noise.
The four teens remaining who hadn't fallen asleep used the remainder of the first lunch period to chat, avoiding Yugi's odd predicament while sticking to conversing about more normal things, such as the latest test scores and which History teacher was meanest.
Eventually, first lunch ended with the trill of a bell, and Tristen was left with the still-slumbering Yugi. He sighed and took out a book he was supposed to be reading in one of his classes, deciding to catch up so as to actually know what the teacher was talking about. When his and Yugi's full lunches ended, Tristen placed the book back into his rather messy binder, shook the boy beside him awake, and headed off to his next class.
Yugi, feeling much more refreshed, headed off to his next class as well, which turned out to be his Ancient Cultures class. He had a relatively interesting lesson before moving onto his final class of the day, French.
As the bell rang one final time to signal the end of the day, Yugi gave a tired smile of happiness and slung his book bag over his shoulder once more, trotting down the hall towards the entrance to the school. He sighed as he trooped down the steps and into the court yard, for once glad that none of his friends would be coming over that day.
Or perhaps, he thought with surprise, he was wrong--for Joey was sprinting across the court yard towards him, his own bag clutched under his arm as he tried to catch up quickly.
"Yugi, wait up!" the blonde panted, reaching his friend a few seconds later. "I'm walking home with ya today."
Yugi blinked in curiosity. "Today? But you have soccer practice today, don't you?"
Joey grimaced. "I'm supposed to have it. I'm kinda skipping."
The shorter of the pair was shocked. "You're what? But you never skip any of your sports practices!"
"Usually," Joey admitted. "But I'm kinda worried about you today, so I figured I'd walk home and see if you'd explain what happend to you last night."
Yugi sighed in vexation. "You just don't give up, do you?"
The other teen grinned. "Nope. I'm very determined, Yug', and you know it."
The Hikari stepped out onto one of the streets, crossing it so as to reach the sidewalk on the other side. "Well, I'm sorry, Joey, but there's nothing to tell." He shrugged.
Joey frowned. "You can't shake me off that easy, Yug'. I know something's wrong, and I'm not letting up until you tell me."
Yugi sighed and turned around one of the corners onto another street. "This is going to take a while, then."
"Aw, com'mon, Yug', you just gotta tell me--"
"I can't when there's nothing to tell, Joey!" This time, Yugi wasn't pleased to see, his voice had a tone that practically screamed, "liar!"
"But if there's something wrong, then me and the others want to help!"
The shorter of the two turned around another corner and muttered, "Well, if you want to help, then stop asking me to--"
He cut off suddenly as he felt his yami brush at his mind with their shared link. //Yugi?//
The lighter half quickly concentrated so as to converse with his dark side more easily. /What's the matter, Yami?/
//Good...// the pharaoh sounded worried, and vaguely relieved that Yugi had answered. He suddenly seemed to realize a question had been asked, as well. //What's the matter? Well...it really depends on how you look at the problem...//
/What do you mean?/ the Hikari's curiosity was plainly sensed through the link, as well as his confusion.
//It's just...there's an odd power signature nearby, but a familiar one as well.//
Yugi frowned, now interested. /Familiar? Do you recognize it?/
//Indeed I do.// The spirit's tone darkened, and the worry sensed through the link increased. //Yugi, it's the same power signature that appeared when you went to that...that Negative Realm.//
The surprised flowed openly and unchecked through the mind link as Yugi spoke. /It's what?! Yami, do you think it's a Realm Gate?/
//Perhaps,// the ancient pharaoh muttered, somewhat evasively. //In any case, it is very strong, and it is very close as well.//
/Do you think we should go check it out?/
//I do not know, Aibou. Though I would rather not be separated from you again, as it did last time, nor have you forced to enter it.//
Yugi recalled the Shadowdream distantly, recalling the words the mysterious voice had told him. It said I didn't have to go help the Negative Realm again, because nothing was wrong there, he thought to himself slowly. He relayed his thoughts through the mind link to his yami. /I don't think we have to worry about that./
//How can you be so sure?//
/I just...just know. From those Shadowdreams./
//Ah.// The worried feelings being emitted from Yami increased the smallest bit, yet his relief seemed to grow as well. The Shadowdreams never lied; if they had said Yugi would not be leaving this Realm again, they would be absolutely right.
Yugi broke off from his mind conversation with his yami as he heard the sounds of his friend next to him. "Yugi? What's up, dude? You look completely zoned out."
Yugi shook his head to clear away his thoughts. "I'm fine, Joey. I was just talking to Yami."
Joey's suspicious look intensified. "About what?"
"Wellllllll..." Yugi frowned slightly, then decided it couldn't hurt to tell Joey what he himself had just been told. "Yami says he thinks there's strong magic nearby, and it's similar to when the Negative Realm Gates were opened before."
Joey blinked, shocked. "You mean that a Negative Realm portal might be nearby?" Yugi nodded, and his friend continued. "Man, if one of those things is around here again, we'd better steer clear of it. What it did last time wasn't exactly welcome, and I doubt that we'd want it again."
The Hikari next to him sighed, frowning. The voice in the Shadowdream had said that the Balance was becoming unstable...was the Balance trying to fix things by summoning those from other Realms again? He shook his head once more, not entirely sure, before allowing Joey to direct him down the next street--according to Yami, in a direction away from the portal.
Unfortunately for whatever plans the blonde teen might have had, Yami suddenly exclaimed in surprise. //Now the power signatures seem like they're coming in front of us!//
Yugi blinked. /It changed? How is that possible?/
The darker spirit within him sighed. //I'm not sure, but I'm beginning to get suspicious.// He gave Yugi a new direction to turn in, away from both of the areas where the power signatures had been sensed, with Joey following behind once the whole problem had been explained to him.
They were doing well, seeming to have escaped the power of that mysterious portal they could sense and not see...when Yami yelled again in frustration. //It's in front of us again!//
Yugi felt another wave of shock roll over him, even as he relayed the message to Joey. It was as if the energy was following them...or maybe herding them...
Abruptly the Hikari adopted a resolute look and walked carefully towards a nearby alley, where Yami could sense the new source of power. With Joey following, looking apprehensive, he stepped into the darkened space and looked around.
At first, nothing at all was within the ally beyond it's scattered trash and dirt. Then, quite suddenly, the air seemed to split down in a line, slowly caving in on itself and opening up into a hole in the air. It gained a silvery color, as if it was both solid and liquid all at once, and shimmered brightly. Shadows poured out of the bottom of the portal and rolled restlessly below the opening in the air, yet they did not reach for Yugi and his friend as they had done the first time the portal had been encountered. Instead, they simply...waited.
Suddenly, the portal seemed to bulge, it's silver color pushing outwards as if it wanted to snap off into the air and fade away forever. It soon changed to look as if somebody was trying to force their own way out, hammering on the back of the bright Gate that moved, but did not open.
"Oh, God," Yugi hissed suddenly, coming to a realization. "We're not going in...somebody else is coming out!"
It was true, as Yami--looking through Yugi's eyes--and Joey could easily see. Each watched carefully, anxiously, wondering what would happen...
Without warning, the silver of the portal seemed to snap in half, allowing the figure behind it to crash out of the Gate onto his back. He slid a few inches, as if he had been shoved out forcefully, before raising himself up in a quick, fluid movement and allowing something metallic and shiny to flash from his hand towards the portal he had just exited from.
The portal seemed to shrivel up back into the air quickly, withdrawing it's shadows and disappearing within seconds. The item thrown at it collided into the brick wall behind what had once been the portal instead, sticking into a small crack and quivering, but not moving. Yugi noted with surprise that the item was a knife, sharp and dangerous-looking.
"Damn it," the figure muttered, pulling himself to his feet and going to retrieve the weapon he had thrown. His back was turned, so Yugi couldn't place him by features, but there was something very familiar about his voice...
The person, meanwhile, had reached the wall where his dagger had come to rest. He raised his hand slightly and grasped the handle, pulling the small weapon from the wall and tucking it gently up one of his sleeves, no doubt in a hidden sheath, where it was easily accessible. This done, he turned around completely, and Yugi held back a gasp of shock as he recognized the figure fully.
The figure had deep, piercing blue eyes and dark brown hair, which looked quite nice against his fair skin and tall height. Though he was thin, there was a well-built look about him, and there was no question that he was quite strong and intelligent. His clothing reflected his personality almost perfectly; he wore a dark blue shirt over black pants, black boots producing from the ends of them. A deep, rich black trench coat swept over his powerful frame, with sliver and blue flames crawling up the arms from the wrists and the ankle-length material that brushed back against the wind. In fact, when wind did blow, it looked as if the flames were really dancing, really alive.
The figure faced the two across from him somewhat calmly despite what he had just gone through. He brought his level gaze to face the Hikari directly opposite him, looking him over quickly before saying easily, almost lazily, "Ah, Yugi. Interesting to see you once again."
Yugi stared across at the figure he knew all too well in amazement. After several seconds of pure, absolute silence, he muttered softly, "K-K-Kaiba?!"
* * * * *
HCG: Nyah, and I'm done with chapter two!
Kaiba: ^_^ Yay, I'm in the fic again!
HCG: Weeeell, technically it isn't you.
Kaiba: Oh, what the hell. Do I care?
HCG: *dryly* Probably not. *sighs* Anyway. Yugi falling asleep at the lunch blocks is actually based of me (again). I didn't fall asleep at lunch, but before first period started I was reeeeally tired (from staying up all night WRITING, can you believe that?) so my friends told me to catch twenty minutes of sleep, and that they'd wake me up when classes were about to start. So I did ^_^
Okay, now, I am completely exhausted because it's 11:14 at night, and writing takes a lot out of you. I could have been lazy and gone to sleep two hours ago like I wanted to, but I wanted to get this chapter out to all you people who've been waiting for over a week. See how devoted I am to all of you?! SEE?!
Karma: ¬_¬;; You are tired.
HCG: _ Shut up! *falls over suddenly from exhaustion*
Kaiba: o_O;; Okay, well...Reviews, please! HCG found that her last threat to not write until she got reviews worked so well...that she's doing it again. So if you wish to see what happens next, for the love of God review!