Jackalshipping (Jonouchi Katsuya/Shadi)

. . .

At first, he thought he imagined him. Thought that the swish of white robes was nothing more than a twisting of a late snow as the flakes danced from the sky in tail end of February. That the bulk of a turban was nothing more than the rolling of mid-March fog. Why would that man be here? He should have disappeared at the end of the pharaoh's passing, his role over. And if Jonouchi had anything to say about it, good riddance. An ally he might have been at the end, but his arms could not forget the weight of the plank on his back as he tried desperately to hold Anzu off from certain death, death that that man had threatened her with by placing her entranced body in such danger. His legs could not forget the tremble as he had tried to hold himself on the side of the building and Anzu to safety above him, his fists could not forget the tremble as he had seen those flat eyes for the first time

It wasn't until April that he was forced to admit that he was not seeing imaginary ghosts—he was seeing real ones.

The rain misted over the windows as he stood at the edge of the shoe locker room, fiddling with his phone. He had forgotten his umbrella. Again. He was trying to convince Anzu to skip student council and let him share her umbrella home, with little success. She wasn't responding to her texts anymore; probably turned her phone to silent while she was in her meeting. Ugh. Overachiever. Maybe he could grab Ryo after he was done with cleaning duty. He never forgot his umbrella, and could probably be persuaded to share—or better, he might have an extra one like he did last week. He was such a mom friend; Jonouchi had no idea how he fit so much into his bag but he always seemed to have exactly what someone needed at that second. What kind of nerd actually carried a sewing kit with them?

His eyes flicked up from his phone, vaguely hoping that the rain had let up enough for him to make a break for home.

And there he was.

Jonouchi swore, taking an involuntary step back. His school bag dropped to the floor with a thump as his other hand slid out of his pocket, curled into a fist in an automatic reaction.

The man stood at the gate, his cloak fluttering softly in a faint spring breeze. Other than that, he was entirely motionless. A pillar of white robes and dark skin outlined against the darkening gray of the day, as still as though he were carved out of marble. Jonouchi hated to admit the slither of unease that slid down his spine at the sight of him. He squeezed his eyes shut once, opened them. The man did not disappear.

He was not imagining this.

Jonouchi hesitated for another moment on the threshold. Could he just...ignore the man? Could he pretend that he couldn't see ghosts?

His fingers curled up at his side.

No. No he couldn't. He needed to know what was going on.

He shoved his phone into his pocket and retrieved his school bag, pulling it over his head in a makeshift umbrella. The water pelted him anyway as he stepped out into the rain. Water sloshed into his shoes as he jogged across the courtyard, towards the motionless ghost. Jonouchi tried to fight down the rising anxiety in his throat as he approached, as though flat, pale green eyes came into focus. He would not be intimidated.

It was not raining around him. Jonouchi realized that with a jolt as he came within five feet of the motionless ghost, only to find that the rain had stopped. But when he looked over his shoulder, he could still see drops sending ripples across puddles. It was only here, in a circle around the man, that there was no rain.

Jonouchi let his school bag fall to his side, tucked it under his arm. He flipped his coat tails back so that he could shove his hands into his pockets. Unconsciously, he took on the same stance he normally did when he was getting cornered by a street gang. Shoulders back and broad, head held up, bangs falling strategically over his eyes so that he could be glowering from the shadows. Refusing to look small, no matter the unease twisting his stomach.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Jonouchi wasn't about to start the conversation, anyway. If this creep wanted something, he could say it straight out.

After a beat, the man finally blinked. His flat, pupil-less green eyes found Jonouchi.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to approach me."

Jonouchi tried to still the shudder he still felt at that emotionless, monotone voice. He drew himself up a little higher, taking some comfort that he had the advantage of height over Shadi. If that meant anything at all against a ghost.

"The hell do you want?" Jonouchi said. "Ain't you supposed to be dead?"

"My spirit was supposed to pass over to the next realm, yes. Once the danger had passed, and the Pharaoh had restored balance."

"Then why the hell are you here?"

Shadi's lips pressed together, the only motion in his entire body.

"Something had changed. Things are different. What should have remained buried may yet be uncovered."

"Speak plain, bastard. I don't speak cryptic."

Shadi blinked once, and Jonouchi had to resist the urge to step back.

"The Items do not yet rest," Shadi said. A real chill passed down Jonouchi's spine.

"You mean...what do you mean? Somethin's coming back? Something's coming to—try and destroy the world again?"

"I fear that may in fact be the case."

Jonouchi's hands rolled into fists in his pockets, but it was mostly to quell the shaking. What did that mean? The Millennium Items were coming back? Why?

"And why're you coming to me with this?" Jonouchi managed to get out through gritted teeth. "Why haven't you gone to talk to Yugi?"

Shadi moved, finally, turning himself to fully face Jonouchi. His cloak billowed around him like a swath of fog. When he looked up, he met Jonouchi's eyes full on. He did not answer for a moment, merely studying Jonouchi with those impassive eyes of his. His expression did not change.

"The pharaoh's former vessel has an odd magnetism," he said finally. "One that draws defenders to his side with ease."

He looked down at the ground, as though considering a thought in his head.

"Much like a pharaoh attracts guardians, or how a god attracts the heaven's jackals to his side."

Once more, his eyes rose to meet Jonouchi's.

"I chose to speak to you first because you are the Vessel's jackal, Jonouchi Katsuya," he said. "And I have no doubt that the guardian must know what his charge is up against, in order to best defend it."

Jonouchi felt his chest seizing up with uncertainty, unease, worry, his mind immediately jumping to Yugi, his tiny friend with the kind smile and the warm laugh. Danger—Yugi might be in danger again.

"And I see that I have made the right decision," Shadi said, inclining his head. "Already your mind goes to the one you are determined to protect."

Jonouchi's whole body tightened. It took a moment for him to adequately fill his lungs with a breath, fill himself up with air, and then let it out slowly.

"What are you really doing?" Jonouchi said quietly. "You don't do shit unless it has some benefit to you. What are you really doing here?"

Shadi met his eyes with the same passivity as before.

"I tell no lies, not today, Jonouchi Katsuya," he said. "With the pharaoh's passing, only the Vessel remains to defend us. And you are my best option to defend the Vessel."

He stepped back, his cloak fluttering.

"I seek only for the safety of this world. I will do what it takes to preserve it, as long as I am condemned to walk this earth."

His eyes flicked up to meet Jonouchi's one last time.

"And I have decided that you will be integral to that cause."

He paused.

"Continue to protect him. As you always have already."

And then he was gone.

For a moment, nothing happened.

And then the rain returned, filling in the space where once they had stood. Jonouchi did not move to cover his head. He let the rain pour over him, plaster his hair to his eyes as he let his head sag back and his eyes turned towards the sky.

Yugi's...jackal...

Jonouchi bit gently on his own tongue with the thought. Then he smirked. Shook his head.

"Fine," he said. "Not like I would have done anything else, bastard."

. . .

A/N: Ayyyyy, how y'all doing? In case it might not have been obvious, this shot was meant to reference the new movie coming out April 23, sort of a "what if Shadi knew that shit was gonna go down and decided to warn some of them before it happened?" With all my hype I couldn't help but try and tie it in, and I don't regret it because this is the first shot for this project that I've really enjoyed writing for a long time. :) Hope you liked it too; next up is Itemshipping (Yami no Yugi x Seto x Ishizu).