Author's Note: Okay everyone, here it is! This is the sequel to "Pharaoh or Freedom?" I guess all I can say is thank you to everyone who made my first story a success, and a HUGE thank you to Merodi no Yami, my buddy and beta. glomp I suggest to all you readers to go read her fic "Shadow of Darkness" when she gets it posted. I've done the beta work for that fic, and I can guarantee that Yami/Yugi fans will be pleased. So here is chapter one of Testify. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, nor any of its characters. I do not own any of Phill Collins' songs or song titles, though many will be used as chapter titles. This will be the only time I say this, unless I borrow more material from other sources.
Both Sides of the Story
"You're going and that's final!"
"You can't make me," he snarled. "This is my life! I won't let you live it for me."
"I am your father, Yugi Mutou," Hishoro said in a low, dangerous voice. "I know what's best for you." The man's gaze became very hard; this argument had gone on long enough. "If you make this difficult, I will force you to go."
Yugi held his father's stare for a long moment. A silent battle raged between the two. The air virtually crackled with tension that had been building up for years. Both stood their ground, unwilling to relent and surrender to one another. In the end, it was Yugi who looked away. He tore his eyes from his father and bolted from the room angrily. Slamming the door behind him, Yugi stalked out of his father's office and stormed up to his room, taking the stairs two at a time.
Hishoro was the owner and president of an international chain of stores specializing in the sale of all types of games. His father, Sugoroku Mutou, was the founder of Kame Game Inc., having opened the first shop in Domino City, Japan. The business had blossomed with its sale of popular games, allowing Hishoro to expand the business internationally after his father had retired. Sugoroku still worked and owned the original shop, but no longer ran the business from the executive office. By acquiring partnerships with both Kaiba Corporation and Industrial Illusions, Kame Games sold Duel Monster and Dungeon Dice Monster products (as well as many hi-tech holographic projectors and video games) in game shops around the world. Having turned his father's shop into an empire, Hishoro believed it was his son's duty - his obligation -- to carry on with the gaming business.
Yugi, however, was merely a freshman entering high school looking to make his own achievements. As much as he loved games, running a business was not his method of choice to enjoy them. He was different from his father, being secretive and free-spirited. His wild black locks, red highlights, and blonde bangs--as strange as they were--fit his personality completely. Smooth pale skin, round features, and wide indigo eyes gave him an air of innocence, purity, and youthfulness. Yugi paused outside his bedroom door and sighed. He didn't need this mansion of a house he lived in to be happy. He didn't need wealth or power to have a good life. He wasn't looking to own the family business. If he were to make it anywhere in the world, he wanted to make it on his own strength. Yugi heaved a sigh, opened his door and stepped inside.
A plush, wine-colored carpet tickled his bare feet as he strode across the room, flopping down on his elaborate four-poster bed. Both the bedspread and the curtains were a smooth cream color that served to lighten the room. His desk, bed frame, and chest of drawers were set with a deep, cherry-wood finish. The walls were a golden sandstone hue, designed to look like the bricks of Egyptian pyramids. It was like walking into the bedchambers of a pharaoh himself. The back wall was decorated with a mural he'd seen in a book of Egyptian history. Hieroglyphs and drawings depicted a scene of a pharaoh and a priest locked in an epic battle of magic. It was said that the creatures depicted in these drawings were what had inspired the creation of Duel Monsters. Exactly why Yugi had chosen to decorate his entire room with an Egyptian theme, he couldn't explain; but the surroundings created an atmosphere that often soothed his soul. A wooden chest--crafted to fit the decor of the room--sat at the foot of Yugi's bed, containing countless puzzles, toys and games.
Yugi sighed. His father would never understand, and he hated himself for not being strong enough to speak out against his father. All that mattered to Hishoro was Yugi's enrollment in a private high school, specializing in business education. Yugi had no interest in the business world. His heart lay in the world of the arts, where he could pursue ways to express himself rather than follow rising sales costs. His deepest love was for music. After much arguing and some influence from Yugi's mother, Hishoro agreed to allow Yugi to turn one of the spare rooms into a recording studio. Using his own pocket money earned from doing odd jobs for his father, Yugi was able to eventually put together enough equipment to satisfy any musician's dream. The only problem...
With his father's influence, Yugi's peers, although fans of the games sold in his family's shop, were always under the impression that he was a spoiled rich boy. Poor Yugi had become a target for ridicule and dislike. People took advantage of him, though Yugi was often too naïve to realize it until it was too late. He was an outcast; no student was willing to associate with him, thinking him to be a conceited, arrogant fool. With no friends and no one to spend time with, any hopes of putting together a band were bleak at best. Sure Yugi could write, compose, and record an entire musical arrangement by himself, but it was lonely work. Not to mention, being a one-man band, it would take Yugi ages to complete a single song, recording each and every part individually. Still, music was his passion.
Yugi glanced at the clock on his bedside table. Glowing red numbers told him it was four-thirty in the afternoon. Maybe he would visit Ji-chan before the shop closed at five. Of Yugi's family, his grandfather was the one person who understood Yugi the most. The old man had never had much love for running a worldwide business, instead opting to stay at home and run his own Kame Shop. Reaching his decision, Yugi stood and opened the door to his walk-in closet. He quickly changed out of the stiff business suit his father insisted he wear to the corporate luncheon earlier into a more comfortable getup of black jeans, boots, and a tight blue suede tank top. He slipped a wristband over his left wrist and an armband over his right bicep. Tossing a glare at the uniform hanging at the far end of the closet--the one he would be wearing at his new school come Fall term--Yugi left the room.
He descended the spiraling staircase into the entry hall. A woman with dark hair and soft purple eyes strode into the room, her arms full with a basket of clean laundry. She was dressed casual in khakis and a simple pink blouse. The woman caught Yugi out of the corner of her eye.
"Oh," she greeted in surprise, "hello, Yugi dear."
"Hi, Mom," Yugi replied. "I'm going to go to Ji-chan's for a while."
Tika Mutoh noticed Yugi's subdued tone and weary expression. She heaved an internal sigh. He and his father had fought again. She would have to speak to Hishoro later. "Okay, Yugi," she replied. "Have a good time. Dinner's at seven."
Yugi nodded on his way out the door. He walked distractedly through the streets and hopped on a bus that pulled up at the curb. Tossing a few coins into the payment bucket, he sat down a few seats back and stared out the window. In his daze, Yugi failed to notice a white-haired boy giving him odd looks. The bus stopped moments later and Yugi got off. He strode down the street two more blocks and paused outside an odd yellow and green building. A small smile wormed its way onto his face. Ji-chan always knew how to lift his spirits. The door chimed cheerfully when Yugi opened it and stepped inside. A spry, elderly man stood behind the counter, turning his bright eyes to the person standing at the door. He smiled brightly, running a hand through his spiky gray hair in surprise.
"Yugi!" he exclaimed, coming from behind the counter and wrapping his grandson in a bear hug. "It's good to see you again. You haven't been over to visit in a while, I was starting to get lonely." Yugi smiled as his Ji-chan winked at him.
"Sorry about that, Ji-chan," Yugi apologized. "Things have been...difficult...at home."
"Your father still bent on sending you to that school?" Sugoroku asked, bustling about the store to straighten shelves and such.
"Yes," Yugi sighed, "he's already sent in the application. They sent the uniform yesterday." Sugoroku shook his head in disapproval.
"I don't know what I'm going to do with that boy," he said. "What about you? Are you going to be okay?"
"What choice do I have?" Yugi admitted. "If I don't go, he'll take away my studio."
Sugoroku put a consoling hand on Yugi's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Yugi," he said. "If there's anything I can do, just say the word, okay?" Yugi smiled and nodded. Sugoroku chuckled merrily, then his eyes widened suddenly. "I almost forgot!" he cried. Yugi blinked and watched his grandfather scurry behind the front desk.
"I found this in the attic a few weeks ago," he muttered, reaching under the counter. When he stood back up, he placed a small golden chest--about the size of a small shoebox--on the counter. "I discovered it in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt on my last archaeological dig. It's been in that attic for almost twenty years."
Yugi's eyes were immediately drawn to the shining golden surface of the carved box. Ancient hieroglyphs and symbols were etched into the gold. The Eye of Horus was engraved on the front where one might put a lock. Yugi ran his fingers delicately over the chest's smooth metallic contours. "What is it, Ji-chan?" he asked, completely enchanted.
"It's an ancient puzzle," Sugoroku answered. "I figured since you have a strange love for both ancient Egypt and puzzles, I'd give it to you to solve."
Yugi opened the lid on the box and fiddled with a few of the golden pieces inside. When his grandfather's words sunk in, he looked up from his examination, hope and excitement dancing in his eyes. "Can I?" he pleaded.
"Of course," Sugoroku chuckled. "The puzzle is yours." Yugi grinned and further examined the chest. His eyes wandered to the underside of the lid, where a small caption of hieroglyphs caught his eye.
"Darkness sleeps within.
Piece together the past and present
And two souls will join as one."
"Huh?" Yugi blinked. Had he just read...ancient Egyptian? The best archaeologists in the world were just beginning to understand the complex meaning behind simple hieroglyphs. Yet...Yugi had understood the words on this strange box as if he had written them himself.
"Something wrong?" Sugoroku asked.
Startled, Yugi blinked rapidly and shook himself from his befuddled thoughts. "Huh? Oh...uh...no. I'm fine Ji-chan." Yugi gently snapped the lid shut and tucked the chest under his arm carefully. "Domo-arigato, Ji-chan!" he laughed. Sugoroku chuckled also as he gave his grandson another hug.
"You're very welcome," he replied. "Now you'd better get going, it's nearly six thirty."
"Okay, Ji-chan," Yugi said. "I'll come by and a few days and let you know how it's coming along."
"Just don't tell your father I gave it to you," the old man warned.
"Yeah," Yugi laughed, "I'll never see it again if he finds out. Bye." Sugoroku waved goodbye while Yugi made his way swiftly back to the bus stop.
The trip back home was a blur to Yugi; his mind was focused entirely on the contents of the golden box tucked beneath his arm. When he did arrive home, he stopped suddenly in front of the door. Yugi listened closely for the sound of his father's voice in the hall. There was nothing. Carefully, he twisted the doorknob and stepped inside. With a quick glance, Yugi bolted up the stairs, ran down the hall and shut himself in his room. He set the box on his bed and went back to the door. He peeked his head outside and saw his mother at the other end of the hall coming out of the den.
"I'm home, Mom," he said, before closing the door.
"Okay, Yugi," she called back. "I'll start dinner in a few minutes."
Yugi clicked the lock on his door, ensuring no one would barge in unexpectedly. Grabbing his remote, he turned on his stereo and set his CD changer on random. The volume was low enough to allow him to concentrate, but loud enough to provide some background music. Yugi sat on his bed and opened the golden box once again. Inside glittered what must have been a thousand golden pieces. He grinned. Now this was a puzzle. Yugi emptied the pieces out on his bed and set to work.
After nearly thirty minutes of non-stop puzzle-solving and little progress, Yugi rubbed his eyes stressfully. Damn, this thing was tough. There were so many pieces, and none of them seemed to have any particular shape. He'd gotten, what, a dozen pieces together? The edges stuck out at odd angles and looked as if it were an origami sculpture gone horribly wrong. Well, at least he was sure now that this was a three-dimensional puzzle. He rubbed his eyes again and delved back into fiddling with the tiny gold pieces.
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Yugi opened his eyes. He was inside a tent of some kind, lying on a small cot. He sat up and looked around, eyes falling on the silhouette of a young man. The man was dressed in thin slacks and a vest draped over strong, broad shoulders. Yugi would have moved to get a closer look at the man's face, but found that he wasn't in control of his body. It was like watching a movie, only inside the body of another.
"You're really going, aren't you?" he heard himself say in a despairing voice. The man froze, as if he had been hoping to leave without being noticed. His shoulders slumped as he continued to dress himself.
"Yes. My people need me. The Shadow Games must be stopped," he replied. Never before had Yugi heard a voice so deep and rich. Smooth and bold as dark chocolate, Yugi found it intoxicating. Although Yugi was looking at his face, there was a shadow cast over it, preventing him from seeing his features. Still, the anguish and despair peeled off him in layers. Who was this faceless man? Why was he so sad? Why was Yugi so sad? Yugi felt his body get up and fling itself at the man standing in the doorway. He flung his arms around the man in a desperate embrace.
"Please--" he heard himself say, "don't leave me!" The man said nothing, but held him tightly as they both cried. Unspeakable sadness filled Yugi's heart at the thought of this man leaving, but why? He felt the man reach out and tilt his chin up.
"I'm sorry, aibou," the man choked out. He seemed almost unable to speak. "I--I have to go." Where was he going? Was he in danger? WHAT WAS GOING ON?!
The scene faded into obscure shadows, then reconstructed again moments later outside of a small village in the desert. A crowd of faceless people stood behind them, but Yugi's attention was focused on the taller man beside him. They stood hand in hand, facing each other. Yugi could feel the tears running down his cheeks like streams of hot wax.
"So this is it then?" he whispered. Yugi felt his body trembling, fear for the safety of the one who called him 'partner.' "This is good-bye?" Yugi felt something in the other's demeanor soften.
"For now little one, yes," he answered, "this is goodbye." He felt a warm hand come up and wipe away his tears as he began to sob. The hand moved to cup his cheek, then tilted his head up to look into the man's eyes. This time, instead of a dark shadow, Yugi found himself staring into a pair of deep garnet eyes. Yugi was hypnotized by the inner flame of passion and determination that burned within them. "Remember my vow to you--" The man took Yugi's hand and placed his palm flat against his own bare chest. Although Yugi was just an onlooker, he could feel the powerful throb beneath warm flesh. Yugi felt comforted somehow by this. He threw his arms around the man in one final, desperate embrace. Shock made its presence known when the man tilted his chin again and swept Yugi into a passionate, soul-searing kiss. While Yugi took the time to gawk, his host melted into the kiss, pouring everything he had into it. He felt himself trying to cling on as tightly as possible. Slowly, the kiss ended and ruby eyes fixed on his once again.
"You have nothing to fear," the man whispered. "No matter where I am, my heart is with you." He leaned in and placed one final, gentle kiss on Yugi's lips. This time, Yugi allowed himself to bask in the feeling along with his host. Whoever he was, this man loved him very much, and Yugi felt a fierce determination to return the favor. The man began to pull away, and--"
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"Yugi? Yugi! Are you awake? Dinner's ready!"
Yugi jolted awake, scattering the pieces of the puzzle across his bed and onto the floor. He looked around groggily, trying to figure out what had happened. The clock next to him read seven forty. Had he...fallen asleep? His mind floated back to the strange man he'd seen. 'A dream?' he thought. Confusion crawled its way onto his features. It had seemed so real. He could practically hear the man's voice echoing in the back of his mind, feel the stranger's fingers drying tears from his eyes, and that kiss...
The purple-eyed teen blushed. Their kiss had been so powerful. Could it all have truly been a dream?
"Yugi? Are you all right in there?" his mother asked again. Yugi jumped, startled by the sudden interruption of his thoughts.
"Y-yeah," he replied, trying to regain his composure. "I'll be there in a minute." Yugi rolled off his bed and scooped up the golden puzzle pieces that had fallen on the floor. He dropped them with a dozen 'plinks' into the chest and set the small completed portion on the top. Snapping the lid shut, Yugi placed it on his bedside table and made his way downstairs to dinner--his mind completely elsewhere.
Who was that man?
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Something stirred in the shadows. The lone spirit of an ancient king dangled helplessly from thick dark chains within the labyrinth of his prison. How, or why he hung there even the man could not recall, for it had been so long since he'd seen light. He knew nothing of who or where he was. All he knew was the darkness and pain that surrounded him.
His eyes cracked open, clouded with millennia-old despair. He had grown used to the dizzying surroundings of the darkness. Endless staircases leading to a thousand doors climbed every which way on all sides of him. The only focal point was the chains from which he hung. What had cursed him to this fate, he wondered. How long had he been here? How long would he remain here? A distant memory floated before his eyes. The images drew an anguished cry from the spirit, leaving him to sob brokenly as they faded away. As soon as the memory came, it was forgotten again, and the man was left to weep without knowing what caused his sadness.
He thrashed about in a fit of despair. How much longer would he be tortured with memories he would forget the second after he remembered? What had he done to warrant such a cursed fate? It wasn't fair...all this suffering...what was it for?! The man ceased his struggles, letting the darkness overwhelm him as he fell into deeper sorrow. He was on the verge of giving up. What was the point in holding on if it only gave him false hope? Why did he keep on fighting? What did he have to fight for? The man lifted his head and looked around at the many doors in the labyrinth wall. His red eyes suddenly widened.
...Something had changed. A thought--a memory--drifted into his mind. A young boy with soft indigo eyes, pale skin, and a wild mane of black, red, and blonde hair. The memory consisted of nothing but the boy's face. Who was he? Why was he so familiar? He gasped as he felt the chains binding him loosened minutely. The air around him warmed a fraction of a degree, and the cloud of darkness around him became just a little bit lighter.
Was it finally happening? Would...would he actually be released from this eternal darkness? The changes stopped suddenly, remaining at their present--and somewhat less bleak--state. The spirit sighed. No, he couldn't get his hopes up. This could just be another trick of his mind. He remembered the boy's face again, not noticing when a single tear streaked down his face and murmured the only other thing he could remember--a single name.
"Yugi..."