Tranquility

He found himself once again wandering through the brightly illuminated streets of Domino City. People smiled, greeted each other, but no one offered a warm welcome to him. He walked by several people who chatted along happily, conversing about the day's events, almost as if they had forgotten that the melancholy evening had arrived. Did the street lights shine so brightly, that they could not see the dark indigo colour of the sky, and the stars that twinkled, or was it that no one cared how beautifully dark the night was?

The leaves of the weeping willow trees danced as the wind gently motivated them. He unwillingly let the cold breeze embrace him, and shivered. Walking towards the park where the trees were, he silently watched as couples giggled as they gazed up at the stars. Everyone seemed so happy with their family and friends, and the thought tugged at his heart for a moment. Whatever memories he once had of his loved ones were gone. Voices echoed in his head, each word unclear, and their faces were mere shadows to him, unidentifiable like a water-smudged letter.

A haunting emptiness filled him. Why was it that he was fated to live a miserable life without any comforting memories? There were brief moments when he felt happier, and that was when he dueled alongside with Yuugi. The pressure of competition excited him, and the higher the risks, the better. Sure, it made him seem arrogant and undefeatable, but it was more like his drug then anything else. If it allowed him to escape his depressing reflections, why not? It benefited others too, so it isn't as if what he was doing was wrong...

Straying from the main pathway was a narrow trail leading to the weeping willow trees and to whatever else they concealed behind their branches. Embedded in the ground were rough pieces of sediment rock, and he treaded along carefully towards the trees, so that he won't stumble on one of the uneven stepping stones. It was then, that he heard a soft murmuring. The voice sounded like a young girl's, but he couldn't distinguish it as Japanese-dialect, but the words seemed familiar to him. He brushed the limp vines so he could walk into the inner circle that the trees had obscured, and immediately spotted the source of the murmuring.

She was leaning over a large board that had fifty Japanese symbols, and seemed like she was asking it questions. The girl had her back to him, so he moved closer to spy on what she was doing, and then immediately recognized the game. Strands of her blonde hair stroked the board as she watched as the coin move from one symbol to the other, spelling out words. A candle was shining brightly beside the board, and on the other side of the board, laid a basket of cheery blossoms. The breeze made the dancing flame flicker for a moment, and a single blossom to glide gracefully into the tranquil waters of the pond only meters away. Glancing over to the pond, it was then that she seemed to realize that someone was looming over her.

Startled, she jerked back, her backside brushed against his leg, causing him to fall and land on his rear-end. Lying on the cool earth, she stared up at the stranger, her eyes glowing with ire, but her scowl softened into a light surprised expression as if she had just met up with a long lost friend. Sitting up quickly, she turned to face him, and then gave him a slightly irritated look. "Most people don't appreciate being spied on," she told him bluntly.

Smugly, he replied, "So, are you most people or can I hope that you're exceptional and do appreciate people prying in your life?"

She rolled her eyes, rubbing on a small cut on her arm, and proceeded into light the candle that had gone out when she turned to see him. "Very funny. I'm tempted to say that was a very lame pick-up line... but that would be insulting," she muttered, hastily tossing the coin into the pond.

Another cheery blossom was claimed by the wind, and it twirled in the air before landing on the surface of the water. Distracted by the blossom, she watched as it drifted away to the other side of the pond before turning to face him. Brushing back her straight, blonde hair, she asked, "What's your name?"

"... Yuugi," he said softly after an awkward silence. He was tempted to tell her that he truly didn't know his name, but thought that she would only give him a strange look, so he had given her his host's name. To tell her that he had no memories of who he was would only cause her to run and report him tot he local mental institution. Repeating, but louder, he said, "My name is Yuugi."

She gave him a thoughtful look. "I'd rather call you something else," she complained quietly. "It's a beautiful night—how about I call you Atemu? It means night sun in ancient Egyptian."

Blinking, he just nodded. That name seemed familiar to him too. "And your name?" he questioned.

Restlessly, she stretched out her legs while letting out a small yawn, she answered, "Khepri." Absent-mindedly, she brought the candle from her side and placed it in front of her, so that the candle lit up both of their faces. The wind claimed couple more blossoms, each of them landing on the pond like the ones before them. She watched them sadly, almost as if she was letting something valuable drift away. Almost dreamily, she admitted, "I'm not exactly a local, and calling you Yuugi-san seems a tad awkward. So, I shall you call you Atemu with no honorific, okay?"

"Fine by me. So, where are you from?" he asked breezily, catching one of the blossoms that the parsimonious gale tried to take.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out," she said teasingly.

He gave her an annoyed look, and she merely smiled. There was something about her—appearance, voice, attitude, and all—which was familiar to him. How she smuggled in a slightly smirk every then while talking to him, how she would shyly look away to stare at a wandering blossom... and how she seemed so open with him. Just being with her made him feel a tad bit happier, as the desolate thoughts of the past no longer haunted him so heavily as they did before.

Playing with the edges of her skirt, she drawled, "Have you ever wondered why you're here, right now, instead of somewhere else?"

"Are you trying to psyche me out in a strange attempt to manipulate me into doing something that's in that head of yours?" he asked dryly, and she grinned at his response. "Or, perhaps, you're trying to make a move on me, because I am irresistible?"

Falling into fits of giggles, she managed to force out, "If I wanted to manipulate anybody, I'd have a instrument of harm with me, and no comment about the latter."

"So I'm left to assume that little ol' you want me?" he retorted slyly.

She continued to giggle madly, and leaned forward so her hand would brush over his. Looking up at him, letting some of her blonde hair fall over her face, she asked, "Would you like to help me put all of my cherry blossoms in the pond? It's almost like a tradition." Even though her question sounded innocent enough, there was a hint of sultriness behind her words.

"Sure." There was nothing to lose.

After placing the few blossoms that remained into the peaceful surface of the water, she had murmured something in the strange language before looking up back at him. With a childish grin, she said, "It's late. Wouldn't your guardian be worrying about you now?"

He looked up at the sky. The branches of the weeping willow trees had blocked out most of it, only letting some of the stars visible through the narrow spaces between each branch. Moonlight shone through, giving the pond an immaculate glow, and he paused to think for a moment. "I guess so," he murmured, standing up.

He gave her the same warm smile that he had seen others give to one another on the street, and she returned the gesture. She watched as he left, tempted to call him back, and then turned her attention to the small note floating in the pond. Standing up, she cautiously bent over to scoop it up and read it. The words were smeared by the water, the letters illegible, but she seemed to make sense of the smudged letters. Smiling faintly, she murmured, "So bound by the past I am, but I can see perfectly clear what is to come."

If the folded piece of paper had not been bobbing in the non-existent waves of the pond, it would've said, 'Let go of the past that binds you to this world, forget the present that ensnared you, and open your eyes to the future that lies ahead.'

She blew out the candle, but not before letting it flicker and shine its brightest.

---The End---

I do not own anything mentioned in this one-shot except for Khepri, who is my original character so therefore my property. The game that she was playing when Atemu entered the scene was Angel-san, also called Prophesy-san, and is a game much like Ouija. Dedicated to all of those who have lost a loved one in the war, and to those that have a loved one out in the battlefield now.

Inspired by a picture done by my favourite mangaka that I've turned into a layout, and by Krissy-chan who seems to be absent in my life a lot lately. Apologies to those that were hoping this was going to be something worth while to read, as I should have spent more time on this.

Constructive criticism and flames are more then welcomed, and is expected. Reviews dealing with characterization and plot are gonna be cherished more then the rest.

Innocence Within