Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or its characters. I do own my OC, Akunriou / Tory and Kishtoh / Lucca, plus the storyline. I do not own the song 'Real Emotion', it's by Jade from Sweetbox.
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING NOTICES!
MidnightBallad (looks out from behind shield): Are they gone? Good. I hope you'll forgive me if you were ever peeved in the first place. I have a message for T-Bone:
I'll try to make the chapters longer. I thought they were a bit short (only three pages on Microsoft Word)!
Important: If you see 'present' at the start of the chapter, then that means the story is set in 'the now'. If it says 'past', then it is set 3, 000 years ago, back in Egypt.
Present: Canto Amo
Yami awoke in the darkness of the park where he had been battling Lucca only minutes...maybe an hour...ago. And he was saturated: Yami had been soaked to the skin, and rain was pouring down heavily. Pushing himself from the soppy ground, Yami glanced around.
Tory was gone, but her Duel Disk lay next to him. Lucca was gone also, and his Duel Disk was stacked on top of Tory's. There was no sign of a struggle; no marks in the mud, but the rain could have washed them away. Yami grew worried. What if Lucca had kidnapped Tory whilst they were unconscious and watching the memory?
Yami got to his feet, his multi-coloured hair falling into his eyes. He picked up the two duel disks, which glistened with rain. Then he noticed that Lucca had not removed his Duel Monsters deck from it. Glancing left and right, Yami took the cards out and shuffled through them.
He was amazed: every single card was blank! Then how could Lucca have summoned Exodia the Forbidden One?
More questions for Tory... Yami thought to himself, hurrying home through the rain.
- -
Yami arrived back at his grandfather's game shop and hurried upstairs to his room (A/N: I'm assuming that Yugi lives above the games shop, okay?). As he hurried upstairs, he was confronted by his grandfather.
'Yugi!' he gasped, almost dropping the box he was carrying. 'You're soaking! Where have you been?'
Yami sighed. 'His grandfather' had the memory span of a gnat! 'Duelling, remember?'
A look crossed his grandfather's face, and the he nodded. 'Oh, yes. Now I remember! Did you win?'
Yami gave his grandfather a strange look. No, he hadn't one. And he knew Yugi felt stupid about it – why couldn't he have stopped Exodia...?
'Yugi, where's your puzzle?'
The question broke Yami's thoughts like a rock upon glass. Lucca must have taken his Millennium Puzzle! He had to get it back!
Yami literally flew down the stairs. 'I have to go!'
'Yugi! Wait –'
But Yami was gone.
- -
The rain fell heavier as Yami ran down the street, splattering his already wet pants as he ran through heavy puddles. His breath came out in sharp breaths – Yami was running as if his life depended on it. He was trying to find Tory's house.
There was no doubt about it. Yami knew Lucca's face from his memories. Lucca was the present life of Kishtoh, Akunriou's brother. In a way, he was Tory's brother. So, it could be possible for Tory to find Lucca for him.
As he rounded the corner, Yami was met with the sight of five girls all talking out the front of a well-lit house. Yugi instantly recognised one of these girls as Tory. Without waiting, Yami rushed forward.
'Tory!'
All heads snapped in his direction. Tory's face was stunned with shock. 'Ya - Yugi? What are you doing here?'
Yami came to a stop before the five girls, bent over double, panting, and rainwater dripping from his little nose. He looked up at Tory. 'Lucca took the Millennium Puzzle!'
A few of the girls giggled. Typical 'little' boy, playing with his puzzle. Tory, however, bit her lip. 'About that –'
'Hey look, Tor,' one of the girls with high pink pigtails said. 'We have band practice now, so can we wait until later?'
Tory jutted her chin in Yami's direction. 'Can he listen? This is kind of important, I can't kick him out just yet.'
Yami almost yelled out. 'But this is –'
Tory's friends, all of whom seemed to be excited to have another person listening to their band, picking up Yami and dragged him into the house's garage. Tory quickly followed them and dragged the massive door down.
Yami gazed around the cold garage. There was a drum kit set up in one corner, an electric guitar, a keyboard and a microphone on a high black stand. Lying next to the stand was a book entitled: Tory's Songbook. It would make sense that Tory sung – if Akunriou was her past life, then she must have carried on her talent to sing.
The pink-haired girl threw Yami into a plastic seat that was entangled with spider webs. 'Sit here, dude! We'll blow your mind.'
'Uh-huh...' Yami said, confused. 'What's your band's name?'
Tory smiled. 'Canto Amo.'
'Which means?' Yami asked. He didn't know any other language. It sounded Italian.
Tory stepped up behind the microphone. 'It means 'To Sing, To Love' in Latin.'
Yami nodded. He shortly had forgotten about his puzzle. 'So...uh...what are you going to sing?'
The pink-haired girl sat behind the keyboard. 'Real Emotion. Tory didn't write it, but she sings it brilliantly.'
Tory went slightly red. 'Let Yami be the judge of that, Kumi.'
A raven-haired girl behind the drums laughed. She clasped the drumsticks firmly in her hands. 'Sure, whatever. Everyone ready?'
Another girl tuned in her guitar, and the nodded. 'Yep. Tory, Kumi, Shizou – let's play!'
There was silence. Then the song started up, Tory singing alone at first, and then joined by just about every other instrument (A/N: If you know the song, sing! Lalala!):
'What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
I can hear you!
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
Far beyond the hazy borders of my heart,
I could see a place that's something like this,
Every now and then I don't know what to do,
Still I know that I can never go back,
But the things I've seen in those hazy dreams,
Can't compare to what I'm seeing now,
Everything's so different that it brings me to my knees,
And though I know the real world of emotion has surrounded me,
I won't give in to it,
Now I know that forward is the only way my heart can go,
I hear your voice calling out to me,
"You'll never be alone"
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
I can hear you!
And if I find the real world of emotion has surrounded me,
And I can't go on,
You are there the moment that I close my eyes to comfort me,
We are connected for all of time,
I'll never be alone,
And though I know the real world of emotion has surrounded me,
I won't give in to it,
Now I know that forward is the only way my heart can go,
I hear your voice calling out to me,
"You'll never be alone"
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
I can hear you
I can hear you!'
Shizou (the drummer) slammed down hard on the drums as Tory finished. The girls burst out laughing at the end as one of the guitar's strings snapped out of place. Yami grinned. 'That was great!'
Tory went very pink. 'Thanks.' She turned to the others. 'Alright, now can Yugi and I talk?'
The other girls sighed. 'Sure.' Kumi, the keyboard player, said. Tory and Yami went back outside, where the rain had stopped falling and the air smelt like dirt. Tory turned to Yami.
'Where did Lucca go?' Yami demanded straight away, before Tory held out a hand to silence him. She said, 'Don't worry, I took the Millennium Puzzle do that Lucca wouldn't. I was going to come back and give it to you after practice.'
Yami sighed with relief, and Tory went inside. She returned a few minutes later with something wrapped in a brown cloth. Unwrapping it, she handed the golden Millennium Puzzle to Yami. 'There. I kept it safe for you.'
Yami slung the puzzle's chain around his neck, and felt himself bond instantly with Yugi. He had been separated from the boy's body for quite enough, so he returned to the puzzle and left the little boy standing dizzily in front of Tory.
'Are you alright?' Tory asked, as Yugi shook his head to clear his mind.
'I guess...' Yugi said, rubbing his head. 'Anyway, thanks Tory.'
The girl nodded – she seemed worried. Yugi cocked his head. 'Are you okay?'
'I'm a little worried. But I'll talk to Yami later, alright?'
Yugi stepped back and waved. 'Alright, see you tomorrow, Tory. Don't forget, Joey wants to duel you.'
Tory grinned. 'Sure thing. See you!'
- -
MidnightBallad: Sorry if that chapter was boring! I posted a chapter at the same time as this one, so you should be able to go on. The next chapter's heaps better. There's another memory coming, yay! Anyway, don't forget to review.
P.S: Canto Amo is the name of my band (or, at least, it's pending). Yayness!