Original Yu-Gi-Oh Series
Parallel
Chapter 053
Originally Written: Saturday, April 23, 2022 902PM to 1025PM
. . . . .
Yugi watched Amane's slow, calculated approach. Yami Marik stood next to her, his arms folded. His dark brown tank top seemed to accentuate his bronze tanned skin. He was taller than her, but not by much. He wasn't much taller than Bakura either, so it was expected.
"Yugi Moto. The number one Duelist on the planet." She brushed strands of dark blue hair behind the skin of her incredibly pale ear. Her hair was just as thick and poofy as Bakura's, if not more so. Her white dress touched the floor, and the tips of white heels peeked out from the fabric. Bakura told him she always dressed in white, but she was anything but pure.
Yugi tapped his feet on the park bench he was sitting on. He was sitting on the back, with his feet on the seat. "Amane Bakura, baddest wannabe bitch in all of Domino City." He knew she was staring right at the eye on his forehead. "I heard through the grapevine that you really want to play a game with me."
"I do." Amane sung, twirling strands of blue hair around her finger. "But you're a bit under dressed for me to consider playing against at the moment."
"But that's the game." Yugi grinned, his purple eyes slowly turned red. "You want my puzzle right? If you find it within a week. Seven days. It's yours."
"I hope you're not wasting my time with your prank, Yugi Moto. I know where you really live." She pulled at the lock of hair as she frowned.
"I know where you hang out too. You're quite the squatter." Yugi tilted his head to the side like a partial nod, "But there's no catch, besides the usual." He tapped the eye on his forehead. "You find it. It's yours. You don't find it, well, you know what will happen."
"That's it?" She asked again, just to be sure.
"That's it." He spread his arms out wide. "I hope you'll play my shadow game with me. It's the only chance I'm giving you. The range limit is Domino City's borders. It's not outside this city."
Amane laughed. An eye appeared standing out against the pale skin of her forehead. "You're dead, Pharaoh! Kul Elna will finally be avenged for my dearest, Bakura!"
"You have to find the puzzle first!" Yugi dropped into a swirling portal of black to the sound of Amane's deranged laughter.
. . . . .
The sudden chill that hit him in the morning snapped Joey out of a comfortable sleep. The most comfortable sleep he had in quite a while at that. He rolled out of bed in reflex, half asleep. He sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. It took him a half hour splashing hot water on his face to realize what the chill was.
Tristan once brought up what it felt like watching a Shadow Game. Recently, he asked Joey what it felt like being in one. Not to be rude or insensitive, but so he could better protect Joey.
Joey rested his hands on the sink and looked at his reflection in the mirror. "Two weeks huh? What the fuck is goin' on, Yug'?" He sighed and splashed more water on his face. "Trusting you." He grabbed his toothbrush and decided to start his day. He was up anyway.
Around noon, Tristan showed up with his bike. He handed Joey his gun, and a good amount of ammunition for it. Tristan had a lot of guns, but this was his favorite. Joey looked at the weapon. "Nyeh? Ya gonna hafta explain dis one."
"You didn't turn on your tv yet today did you?" Tristan grabbed the remote.
A news reporter spoke of the strange dark clouds encompassing Domino City. No rain came with the clouds. Only a chill that left Domino's residents feeling cold and melancholic.
Joey set Tristan's gun on the table. "Da fuq? It ain't supposed to do that..."
"Where's your dad?" Tristan asked, grabbing a bottle of water from Joey's fridge.
"Still 'sleep." Joey scratched an itch on his head while he focused on the tv. "Why?"
"Bakura told me some shit I didn't like, and it took me too long and a call from Arkana to realize I wouldn't like it. I don't think there's any stopping it either." Tristan scoffed. "I'll take your dad, and you'll get moving."
"Moving?" Joey looked at Tristan in confusion.
"They don't care about us, Joey." Tristan spoke in a deadpan voice. "You held Yugi's puzzle around your neck and didn't die. That thing doesn't even like us touching it."
"What did Bakura tell you?" Joey looked at the gun sitting on the table. They all had taken turns randomly trying to touch Yugi's puzzle since he solved it. It shocked or burned them. When he broke Marik's control during the tournament, he hadn't realized the thing hadn't burned him like it used to. But thinking about it now...
"To trust him. And that I'd see him in two weeks. Well, it was two and a half weeks when he first said it." Tristan took a swig of water. "I thought he was going on vacation like Yugi's parents were."
"You mean ya weren't expecting a shadow game outta nowhere?" Joey muttered. "We get in one like every other week."
"Yea, but why is this one fuckin' City Wide? We're gonna go find Yugi, but we're gonna make sure our families are safe first. Arkana's advice. We're gonna meet up with Tea after."
Joey shook his head. "Two weeks." He looked at Tristan. "Trust them." He put the holster and gun round his waist.
"Joey, I'm giving you the bike for your protection, but they need us." Tristan grabbed his shoulders.
"Stop freaking out. They already got us, man. It'll be over by the time we find them anyway. So we focus on here instead or whateva." Joey held a fist against his chest. "Like we always do."
Tristan eventually sighed, and walked over to the phone. Joey packed a light bag while Tristan made plans. Sitting on Tristan's bike, he looked at Domino City, in the general direction of the Kame Game Shop. "Trusting you, Yugi." He turned around and drove the other way.