Summary, Warnings, and Disclaimer: Well, I dun own Macbeth or Hamlet. Those are the property of dear old Billy Shakespeare. And this chapter is formally dedicated to Skeren Dreamera.
/…/ Duo to Shin
/:…:/ Shin to Duo
[…] Ryou to Bakura
[:…:] Bakura to Ryou
{…} Yugi to Yami
{:…:} Yami to Yugi
:…: flashback
"Don't meet trouble halfway.
It's quite capable
of making the entire journey."
-Stanislaw Jerzy Lec
"All right, he says they're about to start the practical lesson," Ryou murmured softly to Yugi. Since neither of them particularly cared about grades, being far too old for such things to affect them, both the hikaris were much more interested in straining out their senses as far as they could go as Bakura kept up a running commentary on his own class.
As such, with their minds essentially wide open, when the surge of magical power came a moment later they barely had enough warning to stay upright in their seats. Ryou paled sharply, barely registering his yami's yelled [:Holy shit!:], and grabbed the edge of his desk with both hands. Beside him, he could dimly see a multi-hued head bow as Yugi did the same, but he was far too busy weathering the wave drowning his own mind to care.
It was… enormous. So much so, that when it had first crashed over him, the albino was sure it was an attack, but after overwhelming his mind, it had done… absolutely nothing. The magic simply was. It wasn't even really painful, rather similar to having a flash bulb go off in your face when you weren't expecting it.
Hell, if his barriers hadn't been down, it probably wouldn't have affected him even that much.
Cautiously, he straightened up, sending a look of concern over to his fellow hikari. Yugi was leaning back in his seat, a certain whiteness around the lips the only sign he was under the same strain.
"An attack, do you think?" he whispered, keeping his eyes on the teacher.
"No," Ryou answered truthfully. "If it was, we'd both be dead or soulless."
Yugi gave the slightest of rueful nods. "And don't we know it." He glanced over at the rest of the class to see if anyone had noticed the little scene, and was caught momentarily by suspicious blue eyes. The Itemholder looked away almost immediately. "We've gotten soft."
Ryou shrugged, setting his eyes on the teacher, while barely sparing a thought to wonder just what the hell he was talking about. "Well, we haven't really been threatened for four hundred years."
Nodding absently, the purple-eyed hikari seemed about to relax when he suddenly stiffened instead. "Ryou? Can you reach your yami?"
Eyes widening in chagrin, Ryou sent a thought winging through the mind link, only to have it bounce back at him. Apprehensive, he gingerly poked at the bond, recoiling as he felt it full of… static?
"Nothing. I think he's still there, I just can't…"
"Reach him?" Yugi asked, nodding. "It's the same with me. I know Yami's still there, but I can't get through. The magic must be… overloading the circuits, or something."
Frowning, Ryou was about to answer when suddenly a shadow loomed over them. The hikaris looked up to see the teacher standing in front of their desks, and by the scowl on his face, he'd finally noticed they weren't really paying attention.
"Mr. Shiraga, Mr. Tanaka, perhaps you like to share with the class what you find so much more interesting than Macbeth?"
Caught, Ryou opened his mouth in a mostly futile attempt to get them out of trouble, but was stalled as a cool voice rang out on the other side of the room.
"Macbeth, sir? I was under the impression we were studying Hamlet."
As mutters of agreement rose from the other students, the hikaris stared in surprise as Heero, of all people, covered their backs. Scowl deepening, the teacher stalked over to suppress the incipient revolt, and both Itemholders breathed a sigh of relief.
But for the rest of the period, Ryou could feel cold eyes drilling into the back of his head.
Quatre watched in bemusement as the chemistry teacher managed to infuse a sense of exuberance even into something as mundane as a lecture on safety equipment and proper lab procedures. Though, he reflected, studying her face more closely, the notes the class was taking were undoubtedly driven home by the instructor's missing eyebrows.
"Maybe Duo should've gone a bit lighter on the explosives?" he murmured, leaning over to his partner.
Trowa's lips twitched. "She still lives. That is light, for Duo."
Against his will, the Arabian could feel a snicker of agreement threatening to escape. "Good point." If there was one thing they'd learned in the time they knew the American, it was that putting him near explosives, or even potential explosives, was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
Quatre thought back over that statement, and grimaced uneasily. At least, they thought they knew the American. The last twenty-four hours had kind of cast a shadow on that belief.
"I wonder…" he trailed off, not sure if he really wanted to think about it yet.
Beside him, a green eye shone with concern. "Yes?"
The blonde bit his lip. "It's just… was it Duo? Or was it…"
"His yami. Shinigami." Quatre nodded, and, looking thoughtful, Trowa brushed aside his bang for a rare glimpse of both eyes. Serious eyes, at the moment. "Does it truly matter?"
"Well, do we really know Duo?"
"Yes. We do. Just as we know Shinigami." The boy shook his head as Quatre started to protest. "They've never tried to hide what they were. How many times has Duo claimed to be Shinigami?"
After a moment, the Arabian sagged into his seat. "A lot," he said quietly. "And Duo doesn't lie."
Trowa nodded. "The only reason we never noticed is because we never looked closely enough. But tell me, do you trust them? Do you trust them enough to sleep in the same house? To watch their back? Do you trust them to protect the innocents, just as you do?" He leaned forward, eyes never leaving his partner's.
"Do you trust them enough to be their friend?"
Quatre searched within himself, delving deep to find the answer, deeper than he'd ever gone before. And the answer, when he found it, was surprisingly simple. "Yes," he said, looking up into green eyes. "I do."
Trowa smiled, the slightest widening of his lips. "Then that is all you need to know. The rest comes with time."
Smiling back, Quatre's reply was interrupted by the teacher's voice. "Winner-kun, Barton-kun, eyes front, if you please," she called with a cheerful smile. Chagrined, the boys obeyed.
As he listened to the lecture, one last question came to the pilot. "Trowa?" he asked, voice so quiet as to be nearly inaudible. "Where do we go from here?"
A chill passed through him as the other boy answered, and a hand absently came up to press against his chest, just over his heart. "I believe that will be up to Duo."
Sitting there, Quatre never realized that the feeling of foreboding flowing just beneath the surface of his mind didn't come from within, but from without.
What the fucking HELL?! Bakura couldn't help the incredulous thought, watching the scene in front of him. In his long, long life, the thief had seen many things that could be termed 'fantastic', but this had to take the cake.
And possibly the city, if he couldn't figure out a way to stop it.
"What the fuck happened?" the braided boy yelled, gazing wide-eyed at the solid mass of darkness that took up most of the living room. Tendrils of Shadow stretched out from the main body, infiltrating the rest of the house, and outside the window Bakura could see the sky itself beginning to darken, as though a cloud had suddenly passed over the sun.
What the hell makes you think I know?! the yami wondered desperately. It wasn't like it was exactly common for one of his students to be swallowed up by their magic. Hell, these were his first students!
"I think… he's been overwhelmed by the magic," Bakura said uncertainly. "I'm an idiot. I should have taught you how to shield first."
"Forget that," his single remaining student ordered, clutching his braid with white-knuckled hands. "Can you get him out?"
Frowning, Bakura stretched out a cautious hand to touch the swirling Shadows. Since the thief was half-expecting the contact to throw him across the room, he was surprised when instead his fingers sank a few inches into the darkness before meeting stiff resistance.
Withdrawing his hand, the frown deepening into a full-out scowl, the tombrobber stood there as his mind whirled.
Beside him, the teenager was getting impatient. "Well?"
"I have an idea," Bakura answered slowly. "But you're the one that has to do it."
As the Ringholder explained his plan, even while nodding his agreement Shin's eyes never left the Shadows that had engulfed his hikari.
Relena looked up as the sky suddenly darkened, expecting to find a cloud had drifted over the sun. But no, the few clouds that had bejeweled the sky all morning were nowhere near it.
Everything was simply a few shades darker.
Wondering if something was wrong with her vision- I can't be going blind, not before I see him!- she turned to the girl standing next to her. "Excuse me for asking, Saseko-kun, but…" Unsure of how to say it, she gestured upwards.
Confused, the girl looked up and laughed. "Oh, you mean the shadowing? Don't worry, that happens. Maybe once or twice a year. Daddy thinks it's because one of the colonies came between us and the sun, or something," she confided in a conspiratorial whisper.
Relena smiled, just the tiniest bit relieved. Then, one of the most beautiful things in the world caught her eye, and the smile widened.
"Ooh, Miss Relena, is that your limo?" Saseko gushed, bouncing down the front steps and out into the drive.(1)
At first, it was glorious.
There were really no words to describe it. It was all, and nothing. It was life, and death, and the answers to every question he'd ever asked the uncaring world. Enough power to change the face of the earth, and endless whispering voices murmuring the joys of domination.
Then the cold began to soak through his body, chilling his flesh and assembling in his bones as frozen fire. Duo screamed in agony, writhing in the darkness, not even noticing as the screams themselves froze and fell away.Time passed, and the hikari felt his consciousness beginning to falter under the onslaught. Just as he was about to give in, to let himself fade, a voice came through the unending gloom, one he trusted with his life, soul, and sanity.
Letting out a cry of joy, Duo used the last of his energy to reach out to his yami, and felt the darkness take him.
"All right, you know what to do?"
"Yeah, now let's get on with it," Shin growled. "Who knows what the hell's happenin' to him in there."
Even distracted as he was by Duo's plight, the terror-trained pilot couldn't miss the distinctly uncomfortable look that passed over the albino's face. With a mental growl, the yami vowed to return to that particular topic later. Even if… later.
First he had to help Duo.
"Okay, do it."
Nodding, Shin reached out and put his hands on the surface of the darkness. He shouted through the mindlink, ignoring the static as he called Duo's name, forcing his hands inward at the same time.
And for a time, there was nothing. His hands swiftly went numb as he kept on calling, the cries growing more frantic the longer he shouted. Then, abruptly, the static changed, loosening its grip on their mindlink, and he felt a fierce triumph fill him as his benumbed hands seized others.
"Now!" he cried, and the waiting Bakura severed Duo's connection to the Shadow Realm.
As the Shadows dispersed, Shin gently caught the limp and unconscious form of his hikari.
(1) Ironically, as I ended this scene the word count came to 1,666. Do you think maybe the world's trying to tell me something?
Tanaka- doesn't actually mean anything. It's a common Japanese last name, and I chose it to pay tribute to a character in a video game that I liked and who was murdered.
A/N: There. The last couple of chapters weren't really as long as I would have liked, so I refused to post this until I had at least 2,000 words of story.
Lessee, two things to celebrate. First of all, we breached the 200th review, with, I think, AlterEthereal's review. And as stated in the beginning of the chapter, this posting is dedicated to Skeren Dreamera, for nominating Akuryou at The Crossover Awards /grins in utter delight/. It's under the Gundam Wing: Humor category, if you want to go see it.
/rolls his eyes/ She's been bouncing off the walls about that ever since she got your e-mail, you know. It's been… frightening.
Oh, hush! Anyway, with this chapter we start moving into the second part of the story. It'll be a slower for a bit, then pick up the pace again in a few chapters.
Don't forget about tomorrow.
Huh? Oh, right. School's starting tomorrow, and I'm not sure how that'll be affecting my posting speed. I found this summer that despite having more time on my hands, I actually got less writing done than I would have liked, so we'll see.
I could swear I'm still forgetting something… /blanches/ Crap! The most important announcement! Okay, some of you have asked me to write another GW/YGO, with 2xBakura as the main pairing. I have an idea, but to do it I need a co-author, someone who understands how to Duel, cuz I don't have a freakin' clue. If you're interested, say so in a review with your e-mail address, or just send one straight to me. All I'm going to say about it here is that it owes a great deal of inspiration to Elf's Summoning Death, a GW/YGO that puts mine to shame.
Review Responses:
Our thanks to: Ami of Destiny, Crysania Fay, and Selena.
AlterEthereal: /sobs/ I want my asterisks back! Slashes just don't have the same impact…
As for Yami… /shrugs/ I thought of that little fillip at the last second, and basically wrote the scene just so I could put that in. Just couldn't resist.
And who says they've mastered it? /evil grin/
atalante: SoM isn't truly a crossover. I'm just including cameo appearances from other stories because that way, I can avoid making up new characters.
cassy-australia: /simply grins evilly/
gatogirl: /nods in understanding/ That's definitely how my dad would react if he knew what was on here. Not so sure about my mom. I've told her yaoi's really popular, but I'm not sure she knows what it means… God forbid they ever decide to read one of my stories. Even the "safe" ones have child abuse.
Hikaru: Comp crashed? /grimaces in sympathy/ Good luck with that…
IMPROVED Uber Rei Model 06: Well, considering there are only four other GW/YGOs on the site… but thanks anyway! Though if you really want to read a good one, go read Elf's.
Kaori: Well, 'inquiring minds', it's more like torture for everybody. And guess who's coming back into the picture… /smiles a little, evil smile…/
Luna: /points at author's note and grins/ As you wish!
Mithros: Well, it's both really powerful, plus the fact he wasn't expecting it. Kind of like jumping into ice water after someone's told you it's lukewarm.
Nai-Pants: Surprisingly, there are very few things that make me hyper. Skittles and little-to-no sleep being among them.
/looks thoughtful/ Hmm, that has potential…
O-O You really think my writing's like that? But I'm horrible at details! At least, that's what every English teacher I've ever had has said.
Shino Ryu: O-O I have to go through enough of that with the critic in my head, thank you very much!
Skeren Dreamera: Thankyou thankyou thankyou!
/takes a deep breath/ And now that I've gotten that over with… Really? I can't wait to read it if you do.
/looks curious/ Hmm, how shall we punish ?
Triste Nanashi: /looks frantic/ I'm not too late, am I? Answer me! You can't leave me!
Ultra Rodimus: Thx!
/snorts/ Since when are Duo and any Duo-derivatives not in trouble?
As for OZ… /grins in anticipation/
/blinks/ Well, so much for an afterword. Bloody girl runs off to her friend's house and leaves me to finish the chapter… /sighs/
8 August 2004