Rian sat back with a sigh and a smile. He had perfected his deck. "The supreme strategy..." he whispered into the darkness. He had been working all night by flashlight to develop this deck; to incorporate his newest card...
The Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon.
The funny thing was he had inherited the Shining Dragon card from Seto Kaiba– the owner of the only copy of the Shining Dragon. He hadn't known Kaiba well, but Kaiba had watched Rian duel once or twice. Rian had gotten home after school the day before to find a note and an envelope on his deck. Strangely enough he couldn't remember much about the school day... but he forgot about the lack of memory completely when he discovered that the envelope contained three copies of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, and the most powerful dragon card he knew of: the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon. In numb shock he had read the note.
Dear Rian,
After the fatal accident involving my brother Mokuba, I have nothing to live for... I will end my life soon, but I trust no one to look after my most powerful cards. To my eyes, the only person whom I think has even a chance of defeating Yugi Moto in a duel– aided by my onslaught of Blue-Eyes, is you. Therefore, I leave you these five cards. Use them well.
– Particularly to achieve the defeat of Yugi Moto.
Farewell,
Seto Kaiba
Rian had accepted this without much hesitation, unquestioning of Kaiba's decision, both to commit suicide as well as the decision to give him the five Dragon cards. Now, aided by Rian's own specialization in dragons, Rian had the ultimate deck to use. There was no way he could lose, he thought.
The next morning he could do nothing but glare at Yugi at odd moments. Rian decided early on that he would not take on Yugi yet– he would wait, for one thing to watch Yugi and discern his strategy, but also to duel a few times with his deck, get used to the ins and outs of it. At lunch he spied out the dueling tables. He noticed with unconcerned curiosity that Yugi and his band of friends were not at those tables, but across the lunchroom, talking amongst themselves. Oh well, he thought, I can wait to crush Yugi. Five minutes into the lunch hour he chose his target. He walked up to the kid nonchalantly. "Hey," he said to him. "Wanna duel later?" The kid looked up in surprise, then nodded. "Sure!" he said, a little too loudly. "Where?" Rian winced for a second from the kid's volume then crouched down. "You've got a duel disk still, right?" The kid nodded. "After school, meet me behind Room 23. Bring your duel disk and your deck. Winner will get the rarest card from the other's deck." The kid nodded again and repeated his instructions. "After school, behind Room 23. Bring the duel disk and my deck, loser loses his rarest card." As Rian started to go, the kid asked him, "Four thousand Life Points?" Rian nodded in reply and walked off to eat his lunch.
After school ended Rian made his way to the empty lot behind Room 23. As he came within five yards of the gate to the lot he took out his duel disk from his backpack and strapped it on. When he got inside the lot he pulled out his deck, shuffling it as he squared off with the kid. The two glared at each other as they shuffled, finally slipping the deck inside the duel disk. Before they powered up, though, the kid approached him. He extended his hand, saying, "I'm Miar. Pleasure to meet you."
Rian glared down at the kid, who stood at least four inches shorter. "I'm Rian. Let's just duel," he said, shaking hands stiffly with the boy. The boy shrugged and stepped back, powering up his disk. As the hologram projectors slid into place, the boy shouted across the lot, "Shall I go first?" Rian shouted back "Yes," and drew his starting cards. When he saw them he smirked. "Lord of Dragons, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Sonic Bird, Paladin of White Dragon, and Polymerization," he whispered to himself. "Perfect." To the boy –Miar– he cried, "Prepare to LOSE!" The boy took a step back in surprise.
"We'll just see about that..." he cried, sliding a card into the disk. "I'll play this monster face-down," he called. Rian laughed maniacally. Inside a part of him wondered what had come over him, but for the moment he didn't worry. Miar looked at him oddly and yelled, "Go ahead."
"All right," Rian shouted. He drew his card and grinned widely as he drew a Blue-Eyes. He laughed again and played his Sonic Bird. "This is the beginning of one of my best combos, Miar." "Huh?" The boy said.
"I summon the Sonic Bird, collecting from my deck the White Dragon Ritual. I then play the White Dragon Ritual, sacrificing my Sonic Bird to summon the Paladin of White Dragon. Then I use the Paladin's special ability to summon a particular monster from my deck."
The boy squinted at him in confusion. "What monster?"
"A monster that before now was only ever used by one man. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" As he spoke the giant dragon materialized before him, looming over Miar. The Dragon roared as the boy stuttered. "Th-th-the B-blue-Eyes?! How, how did you get it?!" Rian chuckled at his confusion but ignored his question. "Blue-Eyes, attack his face down monster! White Lightning!" The white fireball erupted from the dragon's mouth, decimating his face-down monster. Miar gasped and spluttered in shock as his card, a Prevent Rat, was blown away. Numbly Miar drew and placed another monster face down. Miar waved at Rian to take his turn, staring at the ground in shock. Rian drew, happily staring at the grinning face of the Pot of Greed. "I play Pot of Greed," he said to the mute boy, "and I draw..." He drew his two cards, smiling as he picked up his third Blue-Eyes and the Flute of Summoning Dragon. He looked at Miar over the tops of his cards and laughed maniacally again. "Ah," he said quietly to Miar, "Yet another of my great combos." The boy sighed.
"First, I summon the Lord of Dragons. I then play Flute of Summoning Dragon to special summon two dragons from my hand. And I choose to summon two more Blue-Eyes White Dragons!" Miar's gaze snapped to the two materializing dragons. "Y-you have three?! How?" Rian picked up a newspaper from his backpack. On the front page was a picture of Seto Kaiba hanging from a rope. "Seto Kaiba, CEO of KaibaCORP committed suicide last night," he read from the article. "He just did me a favor; gave me a gift." Miar's jaw dropped. "Blue-Eyes, annihilate his monster." One of his dragons attacked the monster, and he directed a second to attack directly. The white fireball blasted Miar's short body and he staggered back a pace. Miar stared at his counter in numb trauma as it counted down to show only a thousand Life Points remaining. "Go ahead," Rian said, crossing his arms. "Take your turn, what good it do you." Miar drew and placed one monster face-down again, all the while staring up at the three menacing dragons before him. He whispered, "Go ahead."
Rian laughed and drew. "YES!" he cried as he drew the one card he'd been building up to. He pointed at Miar across the lot. "Here is where it ends, Miar! First, I play the magic card Polymerization to fuse my three Blue-Eyes to form the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon." Miar dropped to his knees, whimpering as the Dragons were sucked into a vortex and reemerged as the three-headed giant.
"But I'm not finished Miar. Next I sacrifice my Ultimate Dragon..." Miar looked up in shock. "To summon the greatest Dragon known to duelists. The Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon!" The three-headed dragon reared back and roared, exploding into pixels. Within moments the dragon was replaced with the enormous silver-plated dragon– the pride of Rian's deck. When the dragon solidified, Rian ordered it forward.
"Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon! Attack Miar directly with your Shining Neutron Blast!" The electrified blast tore through Miar's body, and when the dust cleared, Miar lay back on the ground, nearing unconsciousness. Rian powered down his disk and approached Miar. He leaned over to look him in the face. "Your rarest card?" Miar reached up, handing him a trap card that Rian didn't look too closely at. "No one learns of this... right?" Miar nodded. Rian started to turn away, then stopped and looked back at Miar again. "Oh, and pleasure to beat you." He walked away smirking, stopping only to pick up his backpack and take one last look at Miar.
On his way home he heard whispers of the fiasco over Kaiba. Some praised him, and Rian smiled slightly at the sounds. Then he heard the end of the praising sentence: "thank goodness... that Kaiba's gone. He was such a jerk." Rian stopped in his tracks at that. How can they say that? He thought. He was kind to me, in fact he's done me a great service! He looked around for a moment, but couldn't identify any speakers, so he continued on home. As he walked on he looked at the trap card the kid had given him and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Bottomless Trap Hole?!" he cried out loud. Heads turned to face him and he swallowed. "Oh, hello," he said quietly, waving at them. "Sorry about that..."
Yugi sat at his desk, staring blankly at just under half-a-hundred Duel Monsters cards lying strewn over the desktop. Twenty years, and still most of life didn't make sense. A minute passed and to his non-surprise, none of the cards did anything remarkable. In frustration he laid his forehead down on the desk. He sighed. "How could this happen..?" he whispered to the Dark Magician, which by chance was right in his line of sight. When a finger tapped his shoulder he sat up ramrod in his chair. "Huh– wha–?" His eyes crossed as he stared up at a couple cards sticking to his forehead. With a sigh he pulled them off and put them down on the desk. He turned around to face the owner of the finger, and he stared into crimson eyes. "Hullo," he said. The man before him sat down on the bed. "What is wrong Yugi? You didn't even like Kaiba." Yugi sighed. "Maybe, but it just doesn't make sense. Why would he just go suicidal like that? What will happen to Mokuba?"
Yami sighed. "I don't know."
Yugi put his head in his hands. "Maybe we can find him?"
Yami sighed. "The last thing I expected to be doing was trying to do a favor for a Kaiba."
"Still, we ought to do something..." Yami stood as Yugi spoke, muttering into his palms. Yami nodded, though Yugi couldn't see it, and he put one hand on Yugi's shoulder. Yugi jolted at the sudden contact, and looked up gratefully at his doppelganger. Yami leaned down to whisper into Yugi's ear. "Can Mokuba wait, though? I had plans for tonight..." Yugi smiled in spite of himself. "Hmm.... sounds appealing... but I really think we should go find Mokuba."
Yami sighed, but complied, placing one hand on the front of Yugi's puzzle. A flash of light and a rush to Yugi's head and Yami was gone. Yugi ran his thumb over one side of the puzzle as he regained his breath. He sighed and left the room, leaving the Game Shop and wandering down the city streets, looking for the KaibaCORP headquarters.
Rian chuckled. Replace one card, and the strategy changed. I didn't think my deck could get better, and yet... now with the Bottomless Trap Hole I got from Miar, I'm UNSTOPPABLE! He laughed as he sifted through his deck for the fifth time.
Over the course of the next two weeks, he dueled nine more times, never messing with Yugi. He won every time– needless to say. Only two times out of the ten duels he didn't get his Shining Dragon on the field. Some duels he got good cards, some he didn't. But none of the duels ended with him changing his deck as he did with the trap from Miar. And each time he made sure no one got wind of his key cards.
When Yugi reached KaibaCORP, he stared up seventeen stories. "Wow..." he said to himself. He entered the building and asked the man at the desk if he could speak to Mokuba. The man had gaped for a minute and a half before giving him directions. As Yugi started to walk away, the man said to him, "Y'know, you seem taller on TV." Yugi looked back and flashed the man a smile before continuing upstairs. Once out of earshot he sighed. The number of times he had been told that was starting to get just way too high. Of course, there was no way to explain to people that during duels he grew about six inches due to an alter-ego assuming control of his body. He could only imagine how incredibly fast he would be locked up.
He held a brief discussion with Yami as he climbed the stairs to the eighth floor.
Are you sure this is a good idea, Yugi?
Why not?
I have a bad feeling that this won't end very well.
Yugi sighed in frustration. When he reached the eighth floor he took two lefts, a right, and another left. He knocked on the door he now faced. He ran one hand through his hair and waited. "Go away!"
Huh?
"Mokuba?"
"Go away!"
"Mokuba, it's Yugi Moto!"
After a moment Yugi heard a click and the door slid open an inch. "Yugi?"
Yugi smiled. "Can I come in?"
Mokuba sniffed and took Yugi's wrist, pulling him inside and having him sit down inside the room. Yugi almost immediately crossed his legs under him, sitting tailor style. Mokuba wasn't facing him, instead he was at a desk, kneeling in front of it almost like it was an altar. Yugi looked up at him in surprise before going over to him. As he approached Mokuba hung his head. He bowed down to the floor, covering his head with his arms. In shaking hands Mokuba held a picture. Yugi picked up the frame in his slender hands and examined the picture.
It must be them... years and years ago...
Yami nodded– although how Yugi knew it he had no guess. Something that blew Yugi away, though, was that Seto was actually smiling. He had never seen Kaiba smile.
A strange sound interrupted his thoughts and Yugi scanned the room for the source, only to discover that it was Mokuba. He kneeled next to him, setting aside the picture. A low muttering reached his ears and he leaned in close.
"What am I gonna do? He– he promised he'd never leave me... what do I have left?"
He... he promised. Yami's voice sounded harsh in his mind. He promised Mokuba he'd never leave. If there's one thing we've learned about Kaiba, it's that he doesn't forsake his family. Yugi nodded mentally. That settles it. Something's wrong.
"Mokuba? What's the last thing you knew of Kai– Seto?"
Mokuba stopped sobbing and wiped his eyes. "I dunno... He was leaving for something... Going out to meet someone..."
Yugi felt the change before it began. Slowly Yami emerged, only somewhat. "Where was he going... Mokuba, try to remember. This is very important."
He sniffed, and Yugi waited as he concentrated. "I think he said... he was gonna meet one of his–your classmates, but I don't think he said which one. And then he never came back..."
"I smell a rat..." Yami growled.
"What're you gonna do?" Mokuba asked, looking up hopefully at Yami. Yugi melted, and Yami retreated. Yugi sighed. "I don't know yet, Mokuba. But I'll let you know when I figure it out." His gaze drifted up, past Mokuba's head. "I find it very difficult to believe that Seto would just commit suicide, for no apparent reason..." He looked back at Mokuba. "But I'll figure it out."
Yugi sighed as they walked home. Against Yami's wishes, Yugi had offered for Mokuba to come home with him and spend the night. Also against Yami's wish, Mokuba accepted. When the two got back to the game shop, Yugi set Mokuba up in a spare bedroom near his. It was already late, so his grandfather was asleep already. Mokuba went to sleep quickly and Yugi sat up in bed, leaning against a couple pillows. He sighed.
I don't understand it. Kaiba wouldn't do something like that...
He lay down on the bed finally, arms crossed behind his head. He tucked himself under the sheets, wearing only a pair of pajama pants. He sighed, finally drifting off to sleep– and into his dreamworld of the puzzle.
Yami found him sitting on one of the sets of stairs, his legs dangling over the edge. Yami hopped up next to him, sitting next to him, one arm wrapped around him. With a grateful sigh Yugi lay his head on Yami's shoulder. Yami decided to ignore all the annoyed questions he was burning to ask his lighter half. Instead he groaned and pulled Yugi closer.
I just don't get it. Why would Kaiba make such a decision?
I don't know. This is all very strange. And it's happening so quickly.
Yugi nodded in agreement and pulled his knees up to his chest.
What do you plan to do about Mokuba?
Yugi looked up at Yami's impassive face, guessing that there was more to that comment; that Yami really was not happy that Mokuba was their new roommate.
I don't know. I really don't know. Huh?
What is it?
I don't know... I felt something... just a second.
Yugi shook himself from the dream, only with great effort keeping perfectly still in reality. He looked to his left, where he had felt the something. He almost shrieked in surprise as where nothing had been when he had fallen asleep was a small person with black hair. When he realized who it was Yugi almost cried of relief. He noted with interest that Mokuba had wrapped Yugi's arm around himself before lying down. Yugi smiled at the sight and rejoined Yami.
It's Mokuba, he explained when he was in the all-too-familiar puzzle, looking into Yami's blood-red eyes.
Mokuba?
Yes, he's lying right next to me.
I have to wonder how often he's done that with Seto.
I only wonder if Seto allows it. And if Mokuba realizes it's me, and not his dear brother.
Yami growled in his throat and scooched Yugi into the crook of his arm again. Leaning back against a wall Yami relaxed, Yugi's head on his chest. As Yugi started to doze, Yami leaned over and kissed him lightly on the forehead. In his half-asleep state Yugi smiled and fidgeted, trying to find the most comfortable position.
Yugi woke first. When the sunlight fell on his face he fidgeted, blocking the sunlight from his eyes. He groaned and sat up, only at the last moment remembering who was with him and avoiding waking the small boy. He got up and had just finished dressing for school when Mokuba woke up. He sat up rubbing his eyes and looked around the room. On his second pass he became slightly frantic.
"Huh– what? Where am I?"
Yugi knelt by the bed.
"Mokuba, don't you remember? You came home with me last night."
He nodded. "That I remember... but– did I come in here during the night?"
Yugi chuckled and nodded. "C'mon, we gotta get you back to KaibaCORP."
Mokuba nodded and stood.
On his way to school Yugi dropped Mokuba off at the KaibaCORP building. "Mokuba, if you want to come back to my house tonight you're welcome to– but either way I'll get you news as soon as I can." Mokuba nodded before disappearing indoors.
Little more than two weeks passed without any news. Then Yugi heard strange news. One of his classmates had vanished. At the same time, a supposed pro duelist had surfaced. "He calls himself the Dragonkeeper." Joey explained on their way to lunch. "He's been massacring local students for two weeks with these mystery dragon cards." Joey's face contorted to anger. "Whoever it is, we'll crush him, right Yug'?" Yugi nodded blankly. When he got his lunch he walked over to the dueling tables.
"Hey," he called. "Anyone here know anything about this Dragonkeeper?"
All around the tables heads were shaking. Except one. A small stuttering boy whose body shook violently at odd intervals crept up to him and whispered into his ear. "M-Meet m-me behind R-Room 23 after s-school and I'll t-tell you what you n-need to know Y-Yugi."
As he walked back to his friends Yami spoke up.
Hmm.
I know what you mean.
This is very strange...
Yugi nodded as he approached Joey Serenity, Tea and Tristan.
"Yugi?"
"What?"
"Who are you nodding to?"
A slight blush crept to his cheeks. "Um, no one," he mumbled, rubbing one side of the puzzle with the tip of one finger.
It was the third day Rian hadn't been in school. The strange thing was that he had vague memories of being there... and yet messages were being sent to his parents that he hadn't been at school. He also found a round crystal and chain in his desk drawer and a long black cloak he didn't remember owning. He found drawings of dragons all over the floor of his room... but he didn't recall drawing any of them. That evening found him sitting on his bed, staring at the most recently found drawing. This one wasn't solely a dragon. It was a Blue-Eyes... but this one had Seto Kaiba in the foreground. He was looking smug.
In frustration he slammed the picture down on the floor by his bed. He put his head in his hands and scowled at the floor.
Hey, look down.
Rian stood up in shock. "Who are you? Where are you?"
I'm you... I'm in you.
"NO!"
Rian, look down at the floor. Next to your duel disk. Pick up the paper.
He did, and he found yet another picture on the floor. This one didn't have any dragons at all... only Kaiba. He scanned the whole page before throwing it down in fear. This one had Kaiba holding a rope–a noose. Even worse, he was staring at the rope not in want– but in anger. And then Rian noticed the second figure. It was a rear view of the second person, but he was holding a gun on Kaiba, and he had what appeared to be chin-length red hair. In a panic Rian reached up and checked his own hair color, something he had never really worried about before now. It was red.
Rian's parents raced to the door of his room when they heard his scream. They hammered on the door, but it was locked.
"Rian! Open the door!"
"NO! NO! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! I COULDN'T HAVE–"
His father pounded the door. "What's impossible?!" He shouted. Rian's parents gasped at the sound of crashing glass. Rian's father finally pried the door open, to find that Rian's window had been smashed, his beloved duel disk and deck were gone.
And Rian was nowhere to be seen.
Yugi met the boy after school behind Room 23. He was astonished to find an empty lot. "Hello?" he cried out.
He will not show up.
Yes he will, Yami, just give him a couple minutes.
Yugi was right, within a few minutes the small shaking boy from lunch staggered into the lot.
"Greetings, Y-Yugi."
"Hullo."
Let me handle this...
All right.
As the boy stopped to de-snag his pant leg he missed the soft glow of golden light that came from the small duelist he had come to meet. When he stood up again to face Yugi he did not notice the drastic change in height, instead he just stuck with what he had planned to do.
"Y-You seek the D-Dragonkeeper? I was the first to duel him– but by his old name."
"Tell me who the Dragonkeeper is."
"That I c-cannot do. When the Dragonkeeper beat me, he made me promise not to identify him to anyone, n-nor to t-tell any of the cards that are essential to his strategy.
"I s-should warn you, Y-Yugi, he is coming for you. And he holds cards that only have b-been ever held by one man... s-someone you knew w-well.
He will c-come for you– eventually. And when the Dragonkeeper deems the time right and opens the g-gates of hell and heaven to destroy you... I only hope you've used my clues well and are ready f-for the attacks of light you s-shall b-behold."
And the boy walked away, skirting the gate where he had been snagged before.
Before Yami retreated again he growled in frustration. "What is that supposed to mean?!"
I don't know... but I have a feeling the days of relaxation are over.
Did they ever begin?
Rian had begun to gain his memories– the ones he had been missing for so long. It seemed that for each lapse he had before, he now was having a dream to remember what had happened. For instance, he discovered that he had robbed a handful of stores at gunpoint to buy money for cards. But he didn't understand why he couldn't remember them in the first place!
The most important dream, to his eyes, was the one involving Seto Kaiba. He now understood the truth about the suicide.
Rian stood in an elevator, going up to the seventeenth story. When there he wandered around, finally finding Kaiba. "Hey, buddy," he called. Seto looked at him and flashed the closest thing to a smile he could give. "Just a minute," he called back. "Just gotta get this in order." Rian sat down on a bench and nodded. "'Kay." After a couple minutes Seto wandered over to him. "Hey, c'mon. Let's go." The two of them rode the elevator down to the ground floor and left the building. Rian glanced over at Seto, noting with interest that he was wearing an outfit similar to the one he had worn at Battle City: black pants and white shirt, and he still wore the white cloak embroidered with 'KC.' After a moment Rian noticed a deck clipped to Seto's belt. He pointed at it, asking, "Do you take that everywhere?" Seto glanced down and fingered one of the corners. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" Rian shrugged. "Just asking." Rian led them into a dark alleyway.
"Hey, Seto?"
"What?"
"You still got that Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon?"
"Sure, why?"
"Oh, no reason."
Seto turned away for something Rian couldn't see and didn't care about. In a fluid move he pulled out a noose he had knotted before leaving home and wrapped it around Seto's neck, looping the end of the rope around a beam overhead. Rian stepped around in front of Seto and watched disinterestedly as he clawed at the rope biting into his neck as his face started to go different colors. "Why, Rian?" he asked. As he started to go blue his attempts at getting free became weaker. Minutes passed and he was dead. Rian sifted through his deck, removing the three Blue-Eyes and the Shining Dragon. He chuckled as he walked home and wrote a fake suicide note from Kaiba and slipped the cards into an envelope. He set them on the desk and then left the room.
When Rian 'viewed' this memory, he was appalled. The thought that he could –and did– such a thing shocked him. And yet– there was a feeling, a rush, that he had felt when he was in the thick of the events. It was like a drug, it was short-lived and addicting. He needed more. He eventually decided the best way to do such a thing was to duel. So he took advantage of the strange objects he had found in his room. He snuck back into his room and took the cloak and the crystal. He also nabbed some materials he would need. For the next thing he needed was a dragon-type helmet. When he completed it he reveled in its beauty. It was a lot like a Blue-Eyes' head, but it had aspects of a number of other dragons like the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Curse of Dragon. The crystal he dubbed the Dragonstar and he wore it around his neck whenever in his Dragonkeeper disguise.
Mokuba hadn't intended to go back to the Kame Game Shop that evening, but something drew him there, and about seven o' clock in the evening he found himself on the shop's back doorstep, holding up the collar of his jacket to keep out the chill and the rain. Yugi's grandfather answered the door.
"Hullo?"
"Mr. Moto?" The man smiled kindly. "Mokuba! Yugi's been expecting you. He's in his room." As Mokuba walked inside he asked, "He's been expecting me?" He nodded, "Hai."
When Mokuba reached Yugi's upstairs room, he heard voices and stayed outside for a moment to listen in. Eavesdropping may not be polite, but this was one weird conversation.
"No news. No news! Not about Kaiba, not even about this Dragonkeeper!" That voice Mokuba recognized as Yugi's. The next, though, was strange to him. It was deep and rough, but faintly similar to Yugi's voice.
"This is getting out of hand, Yugi. We need to take action. If this Dragonkeeper is trying to make a name for himself, eventually he'll come after us."
Us? Mokuba thought.
"Maybe, but how are we going to find him? We don't even know who he is!"
"That may be true, but perhaps the appearance of the Dragonkeeper is linked to the disappearance of your classmate– perhaps even to Kaiba's death."
"Hmm. Maybe..."
"Who's missing from your class?"
"Well, Rian is in an exchange program or something..."
"Where?"
"I'm not sure, actually. I don't think anyone knows."
"Sounds suspicious to me."
"True... what was that?"
As Mokuba leaned against the door to hear better, he gasped. The door clicked and swung open. What Mokuba didn't see was Yami hiding in a corner. Yugi looked down at him as he fell over the threshold of the room.
"H-Hi."
"Hi, Mokuba." Yugi glanced into one corner of the room before picking up Mokuba and helping him inside. "I had a feeling you were coming..." Mokuba looked around in confusion. "Where's the other guy?" Standing behind Mokuba, Yugi's face went dead white. "W-What other guy?" "I heard another person in here, I'm sure of it!" "O-Oh, th-that... um."
To Yugi's great surprise Yami stepped out of his hiding place.
"It's okay, Yugi. It's about time we told somebody." Mokuba's jaw dropped. "W-Who is that?!"
"Mokuba, this is my– um– friend, Yami." He kneeled down to face Mokuba on eye level. "What I'm going to tell you will seem utterly ridiculous, but you have to just believe me. Please?" Mokuba nodded.
"Yami is an ancient Egyptian pharaoh whose soul was sealed into my Millennium Puzzle." He lifted up the puzzle to emphasize. "A few years ago I put together the puzzle and released him, and since then we've worked together and dueled together."
As he spoke Yami put one hand on his back, rubbing it slightly and giving him the courage to continue. "Together we've faced a lot– Pegasus, your brother, Marik, and even the ancient Egyptian sorcerer Anubis. You remember the incident with the Pyramid of Light?" When Mokuba nodded he continued. "Yeah, that was Anubis' doing. Anyway, That's why sometimes I look taller and sound different."
Yami nodded, saying, "That's right."
Mokuba said nothing for long minutes. When he finally did speak, he whispered, "You tried to tell us... Seto and me. You did– in the chopper years and years ago... but Seto wouldn't listen. And he told you not to keep telling me such stories." He looked up. "But now I understand. It wasn't just a story... it's true." He quieted for a moment, deep in thought. "But why are you telling me all this anyway?"
Yugi looked up at Yami. "That's a good question... Yami?" Yami sighed and answered. "Because we –that is I– felt that somebody ought to know, plus I feel that something like this will give you something to do and think about besides your brother." Mokuba hung his head. "Right..." he whispered. "This is just so bizarre. If I didn't have the visual evidence I wouldn't believe it." Yami chuckled. "You sound like Seto." He looked up. "I do?" The two almost-twins nodded in unison and Mokuba giggled at the sight.
Rian drew a card and smiled evilly. "I'll use Polymerization to fuse my three Blue-Eyes White Dragons together to form the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" He chuckled, feeling that familiar rush of adrenaline that he loved. "Then I sacrifice the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon for my ultimate monster: the Blue-Eyes SHINING DRAGON!" The all-powerful dragon materialized before him and his victim paled to a shade of bright ivory. "MY DRAGON! ATTACK HIM DIRECTLY!" Rian laughed so hard his sides started to hurt as the boy he had challenged keeled over, his rarest card held loosely in one hand.
Rian walked over and plucked the card from its former owner's lifeless fingers. "I'll take that..." he said, pocketing it. Wait a minute... he thought. Lifeless? He looked over again at the boy's face.
A red liquid trickled from the corner of the boy's mouth. Oh my god! He reached over and traced one finger over the boy's mouth, then looked at his fingertip. Oh my god! It's blood! How did that happen? He placed his fingers at the boys wrist, searching for a pulse. Nothing! He tried the boys neck. Nothing! Not a beat! Oh my god! Did I kill him?
Oh please. A Duel Monsters card can't kill a person.
But– but– he's dead!
I said a card can't kill a person... I never said I couldn't.
What?!
Hey, hey. I didn't kill him, per se. It's your beloved Dragonstar. It's making your dragons more real than you –or Kaiba– ever thought possible.
NO! I–I–I....
Rian squeezed his eyes shut. He stood up and turned away from the boy.
Don't go stuttering at me. And don't you dare tell me you didn't enjoy it.
I-I– I did... but, no! You can't make this something...
You enjoyed it. Say it. SAY IT!
AUGH! I ENJOYED IT– I ENJOYED KILLING THAT BOY!
What will we do next then?
When the voice in his head asked this question his eyes snapped open, their normally blue color tinted with black. When he spoke his voice was deep and gravelly, very unlike the soft vocals he normally had. "Yuuuuuu–gi..." he growled.
Yugi was pressed against the wall, every nerve on edge. His entire attention was focused on one thing: every place their bodies were crushed together. Lips, breasts, thighs, even their hands. At least, Yugi's wrists were pinned against the wall by the man's hands. As Yami deepened the kiss Yugi moaned in ecstacy. He couldn't put into words how much he had missed this. Within the fog cloaking his mind he couldn't feel the buttons of his shirt disconnecting from their fabric prison.
THUNK, THUNK
Yami broke away and growled in frustration. What was that?
Yugi giggled at the utterly exasperated tone Yami was using through their link as his face went slightly pink.
The door. Somebody's knocking.
Yami sighed and stepped back. He looked down a couple inches and smiled. You might want to do something about that though... he said, pointing at Yugi's shirt. Right, Yugi giggled, yanking his jacket on and holding it shut before opening the door. "Mokuba?"
Mokuba went pink and fidgeted on the doorjamb. "Sorry to bother you, Yugi. But I found this note under the door."
"Thanks, Mokuba." Yugi took the note in his hand and watched Mokuba walk back into his room. Yugi turned back into the room and closed the door, sliding off the jacket and flopping onto his bed.
"This is odd," he said quietly as he scanned the note. "Here, see what you make of it."
Yami took the note and examined it, one hand trying to unbutton his shirt.
yugi,
you have something i neeD. i am veRy upset with you. you Are the cause of my problems. i need revenGe. therefOre, i require for you to meet me behiNd room 23 tuesday, four weeKs from now. i nEEd to sPEak to you about some things. i need to defeat you in a duel. for his sake. be theRe.
Yami looked up when he finished reading it. "This is really strange." He handed it back to Yugi. "What are all the capital letters for?" Yugi examined the page again. "I didn't notice those before... hmm." He stood and went to his desk, taking out paper and a pencil. What Yugi didn't notice was Yami's stifled moan at his still halfway removed shirt. Yugi sat and copied down each capital letter in sequence.
"D, R, A, G, O, N, K, E, E, P, E, R."
Yami began to pace slightly, thinking aloud. "Now we just have to figure out if there's a code or something."
"Yami..."
"Secret meaning behind the letters..."
"Yami!"
"Acronym, perhaps..."
"Yami!"
"What?!"
"Look." He held up the paper, on which was clearly spelled out 'DRAGONKEEPER.'
Yami sat down hard on the bed. "Oh... well, at least now we don't have to worry about finding him."
Yugi smiled grimly. "Yeah, I guess."
Yami smiled rather seductively and stood, practically towering over Yugi, still sitting on his desk chair. "We can worry about him later though, right? Can we finish what we were doing?"
To Yami's satisfaction Yugi's face went about three different shades of red and he smiled, before setting down the note and his slip of paper and stood.
Now Rian couldn't go home. Instead he lived in the park, often perching in the tree branches. One such night he was perched in a willow, nestled among the branches. As a chill breeze blew by he wrapped himself up in his cloak, his helmet hanging near his head, his Dragonstar clutched in one hand. That night Rian soon recovered the most disturbing and the first of his memory lapses.
Rian was walking home after school. As he walked past the back of Room 23 a voice called out to him.
Hey... Rian!
What in the name of...?
Rian! Look in the grass two and a half feet to your left and forward six inches.
What? He thought.
He had done as the voice requested, and there he found a round crystal on a silver chain.
What in the name of...? he thought again. All the same, he tucked it into his pocket and continued home.
At that moment Rian sat up with a start, almost falling out of the tree. What in the name of every god in Ancient Egypt was that all about? He curled back up and clutched the Dragonstar again, only after eyeing it in confusion. Oh well...
