Well... life happened. This chapter is all over the place because I wrote it over several weeks and it was in fact intended to be longer but ah~ life as a young single momma + college sometimes becomes really messy, heh (I am a bit death inside, help).
Anyways, updates should go back to normal from now on. Reviews are always welcome!
Side note: If you ever feel like my OC Tesem is getting a bit Mary Sueish I won't deny that she is intentionally a bit of a badass but do remember that this franchise had a man capable of stopping a gun with a game card, a girl that under 15 yo was already a Master hacker and a young woman/duellist who was also a kung fu expert who crippled and un-crippled Sugoroku with just a hit to the back... I think I can get away with a little self-indulgence xD
Bitter with a touch of honey, her morning coffee tasted so glorious that her enjoyment of it felt almost sinful.
Her guardian would frown at her near addiction to the caffeine-heavy beverage but alas he had been summoned early to work that morning leaving the kitchen free for the crime to be committed without his knowledge.
Humming a nondescript tune she stood from her perch and went to fetch herself another fix, having still about twenty minutes left before she had to leave for school.
We are remarkably happy today, hm?
"Mhm." she answered out loud, not feeling the need to dissimulate the interaction with the voice in her head while home alone. "Knowing you aren't wrong in the head apparently does that to you."
You sure about that? A taunt but not without humor. Tesem chuckled.
"I guess it would depend on who you ask." She slurped noisily and let out an exaggerated sigh of appreciation.
Indeed.
Happy was honestly a massive understatement. Upon confirming that indeed there was a whole other entity inhabiting Yugi's body her mind was quick to stir away from all the possibly fate changing implications to instead focus on one sickeningly optimistic thought.
If Yugi's headmate was real then there was a chance that the voice she heard was also real. She wasn't crazy… Or maybe they both were and thus she wasn't alone in her madness. She could live with either scenario.
This sudden acceptance prompted that nameless persona to make itself more present in the back of Tesem's consciousness, its voice invading her thoughts so naturally now that it was hard to envision its absence.
Tesem could understand now how Yugi could accept someone else into the most intimate part of his being so openly. Solitude felt near impossible with a headmate sharing your every thought. The void that had stayed nested in the centre of her heart ever since she awakened to pain and darkness diminished into insignificance. Even if its haunting echo lingered —letting her know that it wasn't entirely gone— she still felt content.
Off to school now?
"Yeah." Swiftly she slung her bag over her shoulder, placed her empty mug on the sink and took off with light upbeat steps.
The way to their highschool was now so familiar that she had requested Anzu to stop going out of her way to meet up with her half-way, allowing the kind girl to go back to her previous routine of stopping by Yugi's place so they walked to school together instead.
The egyptian teen didn't wish to be a nuisance and although something about it made her chest constrict and her throat go dry she would be loath to get in the middle of an old friendship that was there way before her arrival.
Only a blind person wouldn't see the chemistry there, likely built over the years from many shared experiences and bonding memories. Tesem would be lying if she said that it didn't cause her some level of jealousy but such feelings were forcefully pushed back to be dealt with later. Her mood was too good to let it be spoiled by childish highschool drama.
As if drama could really be avoided through wishful thinking alone.
Before even reaching their homeroom an oddity made itself apparent through the excited whispers of more than one gathering of jittery girls, mostly blushing juniors that weren't even in their year and had no business loitering in that particular hall.
She glanced around, seeking the familiar visage of either Honda, Jonouchi, Anzu or Yugi to ask them about it, despite the close-knit nature of their crew they somehow still managed to be always up-to-date on the newest gossip.
As if summoned, the four of them emerged from the lazy flow of students, the last two looking a bit worn as if they had to rush on their way over to make it in time.
Tesem quirked a brow at them, the weird behaviour from the girls momentarily forgotten as they made their way into their homeroom and settled in their usual desks. "Morning everyone. Yugi, did you oversleep? How unchivalrous of you to force Anzu to rush like that." She tossed with a mischievous smile, not believing for one second that the brunette could be the one responsible for their delay.
While the handsome boy blushed and shook his head sheepishly the blue-eyed girl answered with a soft chuckle. "Not this time. We side-tracked to visit this new game store that just announced its opening. It had Yugi's grandpa feeling under the weather so we wanted to check it out."
"Mr. Muto doesn't appreciate the competition?"
"Not when they are stealing all his customers with a shiny new game called DDM." Yugi sounded sad about his family's distress but his tone didn't hold any animosity toward the source of it. Tesem silently wondered if the boy was actually capable of holding a grudge.
"You mean Dungeon Dice Monsters?" Jonouchi added, tilting his head to one side.
"How do you know about it?" Honda inquired curiously.
"There was an advertisement in the newspaper this morning."
"What? You read the newspaper, Jonouchi?" Anzu said, making everyone but Katsuya himself snicker, the blonde instead regarding them with a disgruntled look that reminded Tesem vaguely of a frowning gorilla.
Honestly if Jonouchi just took a break from having the most hilarious reactions perhaps their friends would lay off their constant teasing.
"I deliver them for extra cash and I happened to read a few headers…"
Their conversation went on a tangent about the school's rules, a subject which had her huffing and pouting at the absurdity of certain limitations enforced upon the students. Perhaps things were that much different wherever she had been born but she felt that people their age were old enough to stop being treated as children. Somewhere, sometime 16 had been considered the beginning of adulthood, a proper age to marry, drink and basically take charge of one's life. .
A slight commotion in the contiguous classroom had them abandoning their musings to check out what had what sounded like a bunch of excited female students making such a ruckus.
They walked upon the strangest of scenes, with a previously unseen classmate playing tricks with several dice effectively driving quite a few chicks crazy either with his skill or his looks.
The boy was good looking, there was no denying it. His verdant gaze was quite striking next to the more common brown and black hue of most Japanese guys but in her opinion emeralds weren't nearly as compelling as amethyst. Or rubies.
She placed her hand over her mouth and turned away to privately grimace at the intruding thought. Of course you had to have a thing for the dark brooding type with an ego greater than their height.
We do. Those words held such finality they gave her no room to counter them with an on-the-spot excuse.
"Oh Gods." She mumbled against her palm. So much for denial. How many of her embarrassingly lascivious thoughts had that alternate persona heard? Probably all of them.
Even if she was into the man it didn't matter. Hormones and an appreciation for what was undeniably aesthetically pleasing didn't make up for the animosity still lingered and her eyes still remained focused on Yugi-kun even if there was a whole other sea of uncertainty left to cross there.
A gentle nudge against her side brought her back to the issue at hand and upon facing Yugi's inquisitive expression with a smile that said 'all is good' she looked back at the developing scene with a furrowed brow.
Jonouchi, the poor impulsive bastard, had naively fallen for a rather clever trick with a dice and a cup. The wound to his pride was instantly worsened by the scathing remarks of Otogi Ryu's army of simps, something which finally pushed him into making the reckless choice of challenging the new student to a duel.
The young entrepreneur rose to the challenge, flaring like a peacock with every single word as he spiced the duel with rules of his own and a dangerous bet.
She stepped forth and placed a placating hand on Katsuya's shoulder but Yugi actually beat her to it, stating the many reasons why agreeing to such a thing was a mistake. "It isn't worth it." She added quietly, casting a harsh glare at the simpering fangirls, basically daring them to speak up against her friends again.
"Guys, wasn't I the second place in Pegasus' tournament? I know what I am doing."
"After school at my shop's arena then."
Well damn. She had a bad feeling about the whole thing but it seemed that after all she wouldn't get to support her friend in person as her first shift at the shop had been arranged for that same afternoon. "Let's just go back to class." With her mood slightly soured and a burning need to put a bunch of people in their place she for once was grateful for the distraction their lectures provided.
The rest of the day proceeded uneventfully and when the bell rang announcing the end of the day's classes she ruefully waved her friend's goodbye and rushed along the path to Yugi's home where the elderly man already had a few small chores ready for her.
Only a few minutes into arranging the merchandise in the tall displays and she couldn't help but notice that the man looked extremely apprehensive and fidgety behind the counter. She could take a pretty accurate guess at what was causing such behaviour but she figured that asking was the polite thing to do.
"What is bothering you Mr. Muto?"
His disposition softened for her in an instant but the hardness brought by concern still peeked through from behind his purple gaze. He scratched at his nape and smiled apologetically, a gesture so similar to his grandson's that she couldn't help but smile.
"Am I being that obvious? I guess it is this new game store…"
"The one that opened a few blocks away? Yeah Yugi told us about it. We met the owner at school, he is a sassy brat about our age. I think his name was Otogi."
His eyes widened until they were as large as saucers and his tongue was quick to somewhat childishly slander the boy he didn't know in person but at the moment represented everything bad in the world to him.
She glanced around at the empty store. They had been open for up to an hour and still not a single soul had come in. An idea struck her.
"We could go check out the place. Today's clients seem to have been ensnared by their novelty so perhaps we should take the chance to scout the competition."
.oOoOoOo.
"Take your hands off of me!"
She had come up to the front of the large store with Sugoroku in tow but upon seeing their friends engaged in what looked like an unnecessarily heated duel projected in large screens she had requested the old man to stay put so she could sneak her way inside.
A crash and a grunt were heard as she dug her heels into the carpet to slam a very disgruntled security guard against the wall. The impact wasn't enough to make him release her but it still startled him enough to make his grip slack, letting her drag herself out of the elevator and into the arena floor with the man still clinging to her.
"Sire I am so sorry, this crazy girl just won't go back out with the other fans."
"I am not a fucking fan." She dropped the f bomb in a hiss, breathless from the struggle and irritated beyond care for propriety. Something within her became dangerously agitated and progressively more violent as she started to lose her patience. "I know them, just unhand me already." Else I will—
"Let her go already. That is no way to treat a lady."
Tesem nearly scoffed at the gallant undertone the owner of the whole place tried to print into those words. She harshly pulled herself away from the underling when his hands hovered a second too long, not quite believing that she wasn't a threat to his employer even after being told otherwise. I am a menace to you. Her eyes seemed to say as they glared daggers at his face.
She purposefully avoided looking at the arena and the duellists poised on the platforms as she made her way to Honda and Anzu, allowing the ongoing game to resume without further interruptions.
"Tesem, what are you doing here?"
"The store was pretty much deserted and Mr. Muto wanted to check the competition out…" She explained without further detail, much more interested in what was going on with them.
Her icy gaze fleeted over to where Jonouchi stood, held hostage by the enemy's fangirls, wearing a dog costume of all things.
Her fists balled tightly as she heard the reason for it all. The bastard who fashioned himself as a casanova had pinned Yugi into agreeing to a bet with unreasonable terms by humiliating his best friend.
A low blow but an effective one. Coaxed out by the challenge that other red-eyed persona had emerged to accept an all-or-nothing deal and it was now up to him to rescue both his friend's pride and his own. It was a miracle that Ryuji Otogi wasn't already burning in an imaginary hell or crippled for life.
Fools. She wanted to scream at both boys for being so reckless and so goddamn prideful. Not every challenge had to be met, sometimes avoiding a fight was the intelligent thing to do.
Heroes don't live long lives. For some reason the voice sounded sad.
The sharp jibes coming from the obnoxious girls stole her attention from the game and her inner questions. They mindlessly echoed the insults that were born from Otogi's lips like a cawing flock of crows circling around poor Katsuya. It was nerve-wracking and Tesem already found herself grasping for reasons not to show them just how much more a strike hurt compared to their childish bullying.
As if sensing her building tension Honda placed a palm against her shoulder carefully, shaking his head when she turned to look back at him.
"We can't say or do a thing, he gave his word and he must endure anything for a week unless Yugi wins."
"But this is downright abuse." Jonouchi would live, his hide was tougher than that of almost everyone else, perhaps even tougher than hers, however it still didn't sit well with her to just watch as he was stripped of his dignity for the amusement of a downright sadist.
She brushed Honda's hand off amiably and walked toward Jonouchi with an obstinate air, gaining ground on the pestering flock of fangirls who gave her the dirty eye as she came by his side.
"What do you think you are doing? This dog belongs to Otogi and us for the time being."
Her upper lip curled up and she regarded those girls whose name she didn't even know with such hatred they faltered in spite of having the number advantage on them. "But I don't. I am seeing a group of jerks mistreating my friend and I am free to react to that as I damn well please. Their bet doesn't protect you from me."
She hooked an arm around Jonouchi's waist, challenging the pouting females with a boundary drawn with her presence. They had just seen her get physical with a security guard, they better not doubt for a single second that she would indulge in some more violence if they continued to get on her nerves.
Yes, give us an excuse…
They backed down, a nice stroke to her ego that brought a mocking smile to her lips.
A grateful flash of teeth distracted her. Her blonde friend's charm was still undeniable even beneath the ridiculous dog costume as his own arm wrapped around her shoulders, the friendly display of affection driving the edge away from her grin. "Thanks girl."
"What are friends for?"
.oOoOoOo.
If anyone had harbored the slightest doubt that Yugi would win the game… well they were officially a moron. As infuriating as he may be, the alternate persona inhabiting the puzzle had his arrogance justified to some degree because when it came to game strategy he was undeniably a genius. No initial disadvantage or dirty strategy was too great for him to deal with.
In her opinion he could do with a little less sass but in the end even she had to congratulate him on his success after saving Jonouchi from his bad decisions. His readiness to put himself on the line for a friend was nothing less than commendable.
It also had to be said that it was admirable how easily he could grant forgiveness to his rivals and foes, although she suspected that Yugi was majorly responsible for that. Tesem herself wasn't as keen on forgiving and forgetting but even if reluctantly she eventually caved and joined everyone in their mingling with the shop owner and his entourage.
"It is surreal how he keeps taking people in in spite of everything." She thought out-loud once she found some privacy on her way home.
How did he manage to see so much good in everyone? Even in this guy who had threatened and humiliated his friends, or Kaiba who at some point had no qualms in risking Yugi's and his grandpa's life for a grudge… And then herself, who had early on proven to be more than capable of lying her way through life.
Light is precious but also vulnerable. The voice in her head interceded thoughtfully.
That was true, pure goodness was a thing of fiction, real life required some level of dark intent for survival to be possible, if only to avoid being taken advantage of by someone with lesser morals.
Maybe that is why they are together. Yugi needed the darkness he provided. No more was said but something lingered in the following silence, a hint at some secret not yet ready to be disclosed.
"Yugi's darkness, huh? His Yami..." Something just clicked and her lips curled up as if she had just solved a particularly daunting puzzle. The japanese word felt quite fitting as a nickname, better than 'other Yugi' anyways as in her mind the two boys were nothing alike.
The spirit better like it, because she would start calling him that even if he didn't.
.oOoOoOo.
It had started like an uneasy feeling in her gut, a prevailing tension like that of having forgotten something important, the feeling of it nagging at you for the rest of the day with ever growing urgency.
Her rational mind had kept such a feeling at bay on the way to school but at the door of the classroom a shriek pierced through the usual school-day racket, so shrill it had her covering her ears only to realize that the sound wasn't coming from her surroundings.
What is wrong? Her own mental voice sounded shaky as the noise continued to rattle her very core, driving her half-way to madness as the pitch continued to climb impossibly higher. Her pulse raced, thrumming against her skull and she was forced to seek purchase on the wall just to steady herself.
No answer came immediately but she felt a tug from within that led her back out into the hallway.
The barrier between them faded for just a moment and realization came as words that weren't entirely her own slipped past her lips. "Yugi is in danger." Not a question, just pure certainty.
Jonouchi and Honda who were just arriving overheard and shot her alarmed inquiries as she moved past them and started sprinting the way opposite to where they were expected to be. She didn't make out the words and didn't stall to know, something told her she couldn't afford to.
He is in danger. He is in danger. He is in danger — those words repeated over and over in her head like a fire alarm, so overbearing she didn't quite notice when the two teens started chasing after her, matching her pace with no little effort as she flew across the yard and into the street.
In her haste she nearly ran right past Anzu but the brunette caught the sleeve of her jacket with a grip made vicious by a similar desperation than that which coursed through the egyptian girl's veins.
"Guys something happened, a stranger stole the puzzle. Yugi chased after him and asked me to get help but I don't know where they went and I am afraid he may be in trouble."
We must protect the Sennen item. We must. We must. We must.
Tesem resumed the motion that her friend had halted, her own fingers curling around the other's pale hand to force her to march forth. "Take us to where you lost them, please."
Something in her voice gave no room for hesitation and together the four of them continued, allowing Anzu to take the lead at a hurried pace that wasn't nearly quick enough in the near hysteric girl's mind. Honestly if they weren't all preoccupied with their long-time friend's safety they would have spared a minute to worry about Tesem, the girl looked like she was very much about to have a panic attack.
They came upon the abandoned divination post of the now confirmed scammer and found a series of arrows seemingly pointing them to their destination, deliberately placed for them.
She could have laughed at the audacity if only the urge to tear the culprit's head off wasn't so great. It could very well have been a trap but since they had no other leads down the trail of breadcrumbs they went.
It wasn't long before they noticed something was wrong. Sometimes the signs made no sense, making them go in circles and forcing them to backtrack until the way forward was simply impossible to find.
They had to stop and ponder their options, but every second felt like an hour and Tesem's legs just wouldn't comply when told to stay still. So while the other three tossed potential plans of action between themselves she paced around the narrow street, approaching the red arrows pasted on the walls as if somehow the repeated print would suddenly whisper a solution to their plight.
In a way it did.
She inhaled deeply, frowned and sniffed the air again. It was a ludicrous idea but she could swear there was a lingering fragrance attached to the signs, something like lotion or perhaps hand cream with distinct lavender notes. Approaching several of the adjacent markers she became certain, they all had the same scent and it was likely that it came from the hand that last tampered with them... Perhaps she was just going crazy but she somehow could tell which were placed last, the smell becoming stronger down the line.
It was a long-shot, but it was something. Trust our instincts.
"I think this is the way."
Concerned as they were the trio hadn't noticed her odd inspection and lifted their eyebrows at the certainty in her voice.
"How do you—" Honda began to inquire but Jonouchi silenced him by placing a hand on his shoulder.
"We have no time to argue. If you are sure about this Tesem then let's go."
Their feet slapped the pavement filling the empty alleyways with an uncharacteristically loud ruckus. Whoever had decided to lead their friend there had picked the best location, secluded, devoid of activity and simply hard to access without prior knowledge of the destination. Still she pressed on, guided by what could very well be just a hunch or even a delirium.
She was no bloodhound, just a teenager with a few strange quirks but still her choice of direction was confident up to the point when smoke came laced with the floral perfume, then she was certain of their direction and scared beyond caring if her friends could match her speed or not. Eventually Anzu couldn't and she started to lag behind.
"Go call the firefighters, we will find Yugi!" someone instructed as their group was once more reduced to three.
Ahead, just a block away, a steady rise of smoke swirled up to the heavens, shifting from a thin grey ribbon to a thick black column at an alarming speed.
"Yugi!" The three of them started to call as they came upon the warehouse, trying to confirm that their friend was inside. No reply.
Fear's invisible hand tightened its hold around her neck and Tesem could no longer speak nor breathe, even thinking was near impossible, there was only action, the drive to break through the barriers between her and the puzzle.
Honda and Jonouchi started hammering the door with all their might and even though they were definitively stronger than her the thing wouldn't budge. Her eyes snapped up. A fire escape, the ladder was risen but not beyond reach. She swallowed thickly and stepped back. When she spoke she basically forced the words out of her dry throat. "Guys, give me a hand."
A short sprint and a makeshift step provided by Jonouchi's joined hands gave her enough impulse and she made it up. The metallic structure creaked loudly in protest, weakened by neglect but still sound enough to hold her weight.
She climbed up and rushed to the emergency door to find it was also locked but luckily the window wasn't. She forced it to slide open and hot smoke poured out into her face, making her squint and cough.
A second was all she could spare to let the danger and the madness of it all settle in before she slipped into the raging inferno.