Yami had been leaning against the cab window, his head resting on his arm. Beside him, Grandpa was giving the cab driver instructions. Once they were moving in the right direction, Grandpa finally sat back and sighed, closing his eyes as he laid against the headrest.
"Is she going to be ok?" Yami asked.
"Yui's strong. She's been through much worse," Grandpa replied, still keeping his eyes close. For many minutes they sat in silence, Grandpa preparing himself for what he would see at the hospital and Yami thinking about their last conversation.
...much less if change involved double-crossing someone like Gozaburo Kaiba. Yet he did, for his family, for Yugi.
"So Yugi's father really did work for Gozaburo? How have I not heard about this from people like Kaiba?" Yami asked, still looking out the window. He heard as Grandpa immediately sat straighter. He could even feel his eyes on the back of his head.
"…Yes... Junior in his youth was a very… ambitious man. While I didn't like where his path was taking him, I couldn't stop him. He left home very early and traveled all over doing... erm, security jobs. He eventually landed in Japan and joined Gozaburo… I think. That time is very foggy for me because it was soon after my cave-in accident.
"Junior then came back years later with a wife and as a very different man. As far as I could tell, he lived two lives and had two names. One he used with Yui and me, and one he used in his… work." Grandpa's gaze fell to the floor as he fidgeted with his old wedding ring. "…He fought very hard to keep those lives separate. Because of that, when Junior wanted to disappear from that world, he had the means to. At the time it felt like I had to watch my son slowly lose what soul he had left just to leave, but at least he was able to abandon one life for another."
"Why, though? What was he like? What did he do for Kaiba?" Yami asked. But Grandpa remained silent and wouldn't talk on the subject again. So the two were forced to talk about other thing, just so the silence didn't crush them.
…
"I'm sorry I scared you all so much," Yui said as the rest of the Muto family surrounded her hospital bed. Junior was sitting beside her, holding her good hand. Her other hand was covered in a cast as she had fractured her wrist falling down the stairs.
"No need to apologize. If anything, we should be thankful that this was your only injury," Junior said as he squeezed her hand.
Yui closed her eyes and sighed. "I was doing so well. No seizures in almost a year. Then, of course, the day you come back, I have one. It was probably because of my lack of sleep."
Yami awkwardly stood next to Grandpa, shifting his weight from foot to foot. The Pharaoh hardly knew what to say. He knew the seizures themselves usually didn't require medical attention like this. Still, since her seizures caused her muscles to stiffen, injuries from falling were an often occurrence for her.
"You were lucky that Junior was home," Grandpa said.
"Oh, come now. It wasn't that bad. I could have taken care of myself if I was alone." Yui said indignantly. "But nonetheless, I'm glad you were there." She said as she used her good hand to pull Junior over to kiss him. Yami didn't know why, but he looked away. It wasn't that the embrace made him uncomfortable. It was more like he felt he didn't belong there. It should have been Yugi in control.
Grandpa nudged Yami in the side, bringing his gaze back to the Muto family. The others had noticed him turn away.
"Embarrassed Yugi?" Yui asked, barely holding back a chuckle. Yami emphatically shook his head, but this only seemed to make her smile wider. "Oh, I can fix that." With surprising speed, Yui reached out and yanked Yami's face towards her. She then showered him in a barrage of wet and sloppy kisses.
"Gack!"
As the two Solomons did their best to hide their laughter, Yami futilely tried to pull away. For being one-handed, her hold was inescapable.
"Oh, I've missed kissing this cute face." She said between each planted kiss.
"Argh, Mom, please!" Yami begged. Finally, she let go, and the Pharaoh ungracefully fell back. As he wiped his face, he thanked the gods that his friends had gone to the shop instead of following them.
A knock on the door then got everyone's attention. A nurse poked her head in and asked for some clarification on the medical record. Junior followed the nurse out so he could see the problem himself. Yami released his held breath when Junior left the room.
After Junior left, Solomon and Yui started chatting. Yami was prepared to fall silent again, unable to keep up with their conversation in a believably Yugi way. This was where Grandpa came to the rescue. He would often ask Yami questions he knew the Pharaoh could answer. Yami was very thankful for the inclusion and happily jumped in when he could. He didn't attempt to hide his voice this time, knowing it to be useless.
"I've meant to ask this Yugi. Why are you doing that voice? Are you trying to show off for your Dad?" Yui asked. Yami had been expecting the question (even discussing it with Grandpa in the cab) and smiled as if he was embarrassed.
"I have a cold. It's easier to talk like this for me." He lied.
"In the summer? Wow, we have the worst luck with our sicknesses today." Yui smiled as she gestured to her broken wrist.
"I heard him coughing earlier. He tried to hide it so he could go out with Junior, but I caught him." Grandpa added with a sly smile to Yami.
"It's not that bad," Yami said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Oh, Yugi. How many times do I have to tell you this? Hiding it will only make it worse." Yui sighed as she shook her head.
"Sorry, ma'am," Yami said. Yui then gave him a strange look. It was a combination of confusion and recognition. Yami worried for a second that maybe he had said something wrong when she spoke again.
"Is that why your dad came back to the shop without you?" She asked. Her eyes seemed to be boring into him.
"No. My friends were heading to the museum, and I followed them. That's where I met Grandpa." Yami explained, knowing full well Yui wouldn't like him leaving Yugi's dad for his friends.
"Really?" She said. As expected, Yui's eyes narrowed. It was the same expression that came to her eyes when Yugi's grades were hurting.
"It was a good thing too, or else you would have been home alone during your fall," Grandpa added. Yui nodded to him and was about to say something else when she had another coughing fit. The two could do nothing for her, so they just had to wait for her to clear her throat.
"True, I just want you to have as much time with your dad as possible. Make time for him, ok?" Yui said.
"Yes, Mom." Yami nodded. Any leftover suspicion Yui had disappeared at the word mom, and she returned to chatting with Grandpa.
As the two started talking again, Yami's thoughts fell on something odd he just noticed. When he wasn't focusing on his words, he had no trouble calling Yui Mom. If it had been Junior in the room, Dad would have been the last word on Yami's lips. At first, he thought it might be because he had seen more of Yui these last few years, but that didn't feel right. She had never done anything maternal towards him before today. It had always been Yugi in control during those times. Yet, the word Mom came so naturally to his lips when she attacked him earlier. This train of thought eventually chugged to a station Yami tried to rarely focus on. Who was his ancient mom? Who was his family?
'Did I even have a family?' Yami asked himself. He strained to pull anything from his forgotten past, but just like every other time, all it gave was another headache. Yami then tried to think rationally about this. 'As a pharaoh, I must have. Or how else would I have gotten the throne of Egypt?' Yami chose to ignore that his parents were most likely related and tried to focus on what they would have been like. Were they good rulers? He hoped they were, just as he hoped he was. What was their relationship with him? Were they distant? Being leaders of a whole nation wouldn't leave much time for family. Yami then looked up as Grandpa told a bad joke, and Yui playfully slapped him for it. Yami smiled at the scene and hoped his family was at least as loving as Yugi's.
No, he didn't just hope. He knew.
Yami wouldn't call it a memory but a feeling deep inside. He was indeed loved in the past. But by who he still had no memory. Yami turned towards Grandpa and watched as he chuckled. When he thought of his Egyptian father or grandfather, he felt that love. That feeling disappeared when he tried to think of a mother or siblings. He also definitely didn't think of Junior when he thought of his father either.
Yui began telling an embarrassing story of Yugi's youth, and Yami listened with increasing interest. This had been a memory Yugi aggressively guarded against his probing. Now that he finally got to hear it, he understood why Yugi had guarded it so. That didn't stop him from laughing with the others. Of course, he had to act embarrassed, but he didn't mind. As he looked at Yui, he could see the true love she had for Yugi, even as another coughing fit racked her body.
'Maybe I can so easily call Yui my mom because I never had one?' Yami thought. He then felt a strange emptiness inside. It was attached to no memories, so the Pharaoh couldn't call it sadness, but what to call it, he had no clue.
Yami was then jerked out of his ponderings by Grandpa's cellphone going off.
"It's the shop. Maybe Yugi's friends are having problems locking up. If you are ok, Yugi and I will go back and check on them." Grandpa said as he got up. Yami quickly followed.
"Ok. I'm pretty sure the hospital's going to let me go today anyway. We'll be home soon anyway." Yui smiled. "Oh, and Yugi, do get some sleep. If your throat hurts, drink some hot lemonade, there's a packet in the pantry. And if you get a fever, I have some medication behind the mirror. Oh! If your cough gets worse, you can even use my medicine, but you'll need a different dose…." Yami told her ok repeatedly, but she just kept finding new things to warn him about. Eventually, he and Grandpa just had to close the door on her after another hasty goodbye.
As they walked out of the hospital, they passed Junior. Grandpa explained what was going on, and Junior waved them off, saying they could take the car if Grandpa wouldn't mind picking them up later. As he spoke, he kept giving quick glances to Yami before hastily looking away. Yami could tell he wanted to also say something to him, but he kept his mouth shut. Yami didn't know if he felt relief at getting to his friends faster or more annoyed at Junior's continued cowardice.
…
"Dat's good. From how frantic you sounded earlier, I thought Yugi's mom was more hurt." Joey said after the two Mutos got back to the shop and explained Yui's situation.
"I didn't know how hurt she was then. I just heard she fell down the stairs and that Junior needed to get to a hospital. My son didn't exactly help with how frantic HE sounded on the phone." Grandpa responded.
"Well, I'm glad she wasn't hurt too badly. We managed to get a hold of the Ishtars while you guys were at the hospital." Téa said as she led the group to the shop's phone. It was off the hook and put in a bowl to amplify the sound somewhat so they could all hear.
"Yami, is that you?" They all heard a male voice through the phone.
"Marik?" Yami asked.
"Ah, there you are! Good to hear from you, though I wish it was under better circumstances. We didn't think we'd be talking about ancient prophecies until you came to Egypt." Ishizu's voice came through next.
"Yeah, we all kinda thought dat," Joey said as he pulled up a chair and the others followed his example.
"We've had everything explained to us, and we've been scouring our archives. Odion even left for Cairo earlier to look for more information. So far, he's found nothing, but we noticed something on the news we thought Solomon could better explain for us." Marik said.
"Me?" Grandpa asked in surprise.
"Yes, your friend Arthur Hawkins helped put together an exhibit on duel monsters in olden times," Ishizu said.
Téa then spoke. "We've tried to contact him too, but I guess he's in a no-contact zone regarding an archeology dig? Rebecca's doing a summer internship, so she wasn't open to talking either."
"Ah, I should have thought to warn you about that. Arthur won't be in a place to answer phone calls for another week. That's why I wanted to go to his exhibit, so I could talk to him about it when he got back from his project." Grandpa explained.
"The exhibit is currently in Domino city, right? Téa and Joey tell me you were there earlier today?" Ishizu said.
"Yes, is this about that tablet with my grandson's likeness on it?"
"Exactly. We do our best to find and know the location of all relics relating to the Pharaoh. We think this one has our answers." Ishizu continued.
"Wait, why didn't you guys tell us about dis tablet earlier? Are dere others dat might have world-ending prophecies on dem?" Joey asked.
"No, err… Not that we know, at least. We honestly thought all prophecies had been fulfilled before this point." Marik admitted. "That tablet was found by Arthur's archeology team during your guys' trip to India. When we saw pictures of it, we thought it was referring to the Pharaoh saving duel spirits from the Great Leviathan. We didn't feel the need to open up freshly healed wounds by telling you guys about it."
Yami listened closely and eventually nodded. "You were right to do that, but what about the tablet has changed your minds?"
"Solomon, Téa tells me you wrote down the museum's description of the tablet. It had a translation on it, right?" Ishizu asked.
"Uh, right!" Grandpa went fumbling into his pockets and produced his yellow notebook. "Have it right here."
"This is something I noticed when I saw the news report about the exhibit. There is a name for each person depicted on the tablet, right? What is over the picture of the Millennium Puzzle wearer?" Ishizu asked.
"Other than Duel Spirit Heroes?"
"Yes, below that."
"Hrmm, ah! It says the Dragon of… Restoration." Grandpa read. "That almost sounds like one of the first duel monsters Arthur and I found in our search of Egyptian ruins. Though, that one was called the Dragon of Destruction."
"Wait, that name sounds familiar to me too." Yami put in, but he couldn't quite remember where he had heard the name. He looked to Grandpa to see the old man's face suddenly fall. He wasn't frowning, but the way his eyes glazed and his shoulder hunched made Yami worried.
"That… that name has a lot of history for our family," Grandpa said in a low voice. Everyone in the room unconsciously leaned forward, Yami especially. Grandpa saw their unspoken plea for more information, but instead of saying anything, he gave a thin-lipped smile. His poker face was back in place, and Yami couldn't read his grandfather anymore.
"One of the first duel monsters you found? Den, why isn't it a card yet? Or do I just not remember it?" Joey asked as he scratched his head.
Grandpa shrugged. "Pegasus did his own research into ancient duel monsters. I guess he didn't think it'd make a good card at the time. It is in circulation now. It's the big black and red dragon advertised with the new packs with the level monsters."
Yami stood straight up, letting his chair fall to the ground. "The new packs?" He breathed. He then ran up the stairs without another word and barged into Yugi's room. Just as when he left it, the unopened packet was on the floor.
"What are you doing, Yami?!" Joey called up.
"Yugi and I were opening a new packet this morning! A packet that has a chance of having this dragon of destruction!" Yami yelled as he picked up the cards. He quickly rifled through them again.
He sighed. 'Just like earlier.' With less urgency, he walked back down the stairs and sat next to Grandpa.
"Well?" Téa asked.
Yami shook his head. "Every packet should have five cards; this only has four, and I don't think it was because the pack was tampered with." He said as he crossed his arms. He then turned to the phone.
"That is… That connection with the Dragon of Destruction is… we'll have to remember that." Ishizu said, clearly confused.
"It might just be a coincidence, though." Marik put in. "Why we asked for the name was because we wanted to see if it was referring to the Pharaoh. Usually, when texts refer to you, no matter the language, they will say some form of 'nameless leader' or 'dark leader' or sometimes just 'dark.' This relic didn't do that. Now Ishizu, and I think it might not be the Pharaoh on the tablet. There is now a good chance that it really is Yugi."
The room went silent. Yami felt as everyone's eyes turned to him. His own gaze fell to the ground.
"What else does the tablet say about Yugi?" Yami asked in a low voice.
"Err… Nothing. Just 'Dragon of Restoration' and 'Duel Spirit Heroes.'" Grandpa said after flipping through his pages.
"That's all we found too…." Marik said.
"We don't even know if this tablet is referring to this event. As Marik said, it could all be a coincidence." Yami exhaled as he leaned back in his chair. Once again, everyone fell silent. Another dead end.
"Hey, that's more than we had this morning, though!" Téa said. "So now we know Yugi was prophesized to save duel spirits. He disappeared with a card that might be this dragon of destruction, and duel spirits have been weirdly silent lately. This is more than we usually have to go on."
Yami couldn't help but smile at Téa's attempt at keeping their morale high. She looked his way and smiled back, a silent thank you and you're welcome between the two.
"And we'll keep searching over here too. We'll call back when we have something more substantial. Don't worry, we're going to get him back." Marik said.
"Feel free to reach out if you have something else too!" Ishizu added. After a few more goodbyes, the Ishtars hung up.
"So, what now?" Joey asked.
"I think it's time for you two to go back home. It's getting late." Grandpa said as he pointed outside at the setting sun. The two frowned but nodded. They started to get up when Yami jumped to his feet.
"Wait!" Yami yelped out. Everyone turned in surprise at his panicked voice. "Is... is that all we can really do right now?" He asked, quickly regaining his composure. "There has to be more."
Grandpa came to his side and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm worried about Yugi too. Just imagining him alone in some strange location has probably shortened my life by another couple of years. But we'll be no good to Yugi if we worry their parents and our family." Grandpa said as he gestured to Téa and Joey. Yami nodded, but he didn't feel any better about it. It felt like he was giving up on Yugi for the day.
"Hey Yuge, err… Yam," Joey said. "I understand too. I'd be willin' to run through all of Domino city to find Yugi if I thought it would help. But I can't do anythin', and dat makes me…." Joey's fists clenched into tight balls. "If I was you, I'd try to talk to dose duel spirits. I know you said dey're not respondin' but make dem respond! If dey know somethin', we have to know too!" He said as he lifted up his fist with his famous Joey grin. Yami looked up to his friend and nodded.
…
Yami and Grandpa followed the two outside and were waving them off when Grandpa's cellphone rang.
"It's Junior. They probably want to be picked up. I'll take this inside." Grandpa said as he went back to the shop. Yami frowned at the thought of dealing with Junior the rest of the night. Téa must have seen his grimace because she stopped and seemed to fight with herself for a bit. Then she turned around and ran back to Yami.
"Is something wrong?" Yami asked.
"No, it's just… This might not be my place, but… I think you should give Yugi's dad another chance." Téa said.
Yami blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"Again, I don't know what happened at the arcade today, but… I've known Yugi's Dad since those three moved in with Solomon. While I don't know him well, I don't think he's the type to deserve your… well… I think you're letting out your anger on Yugi going missing on him."
This surprised Yami even more, so much that he took a step back from Téa. He tried to find something to say, but nothing came to his mouth.
"I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have said anything, but I don't like seeing you like this." She said.
"Like what?"
"So… annoyed." Téa then shook her head. "Maybe I'm reading too much into this. If he rightfully deserves your anger, then let him have it. But I don't want you misdirecting your rage on someone innocent. You know how much that hurts."
Yami's heart constricted at that thought. Oh, he remembered well. Rebecca back during the Seal of Orichalcos had been a megaphone to all his worst thoughts. The idea that he might be doing that to someone else, even if it seemed as justified as Junior's case, hurt.
"…Thank you for warning me," Yami said. Téa nodded and started heading away again before she turned around and gave him a quick hug.
"We are going to get him home." She said before pulling away and running after Joey.
…
After they left, Yami came back to the shop to find Grandpa still on the phone. He silently waited for him to finish, the entire time thinking about what Téa said.
"That's my cue to pick them up. You're welcome to come if you want." Grandpa said.
"I'll stay… But before you go, what did you mean earlier?" Yami asked.
"Pardon?"
"The name Dragon of Destruction. What does it have to do with the family? I can tell you didn't want to talk about it with everyone there, but if it can help Yugi, we have to know." Yami asked.
Another dark shadow seemed to cover Grandpa's face. "It's not my place to share that."
Yami sighed, expecting as much. "It has to do with Junior's past, doesn't it?"
Grandpa remained quiet for a few more moments before picking up his car keys. "Yes, it does. I know I haven't been the most forthcoming with information on that, and I've been doing that purposefully. Please don't take this wrong. I do trust you. I simply don't feel it's my place to tell that story. By the fact Yugi hasn't shared that information with you even though you were in his mind means either my son didn't tell him or Yugi felt like it also wasn't his place."
Yami racked his mind to think of the times Yugi wouldn't let him look at his memories. For the most part, Yugi freely let Yami explore his past.
"That way, you can have some memories to fall back on when you get lonely. Just don't look too hard at the embarrassing memories." Yugi had said. The gesture had touched Yami, but he never really explored too far. It felt like an invasion of privacy, even if he was invited.
"If you must know." Grandpa continued. "I suggest you talk to Junior. I promise he doesn't bite; all he wants to do is please you. Well, please Yugi. We really have to get around to telling those two the truth… Oh, there's too much to do!" Grandpa yelled as he stretched his arms to the sky. "Grr... Well, time to do what I always do when I'm feeling overwhelmed; leave it for tomorrow! See you in half an hour." Grandpa waved goodbye and was off.
Yami chuckled at his new grandfather and felt that ancient love once again in his heart. The feeling disappeared when his thoughts fell back to Junior. Yami's eyes landed on the opened packet of cards. He picked them up and started flipping through them again. Wishing Well, Silent Swordsman, Silent Magician, and a new healing spell called the Tree of Eden.
'I will find you, Yugi. If that means making good with your gutless father, fine.' Yami thought. He then pushed the four cards into a single pile and went upstairs. He walked into Yugi's room and put the new cards on a side table. He then pulled out his own deck. He put that beside the new cards and stared down at the two piles.
'But first I have to talk to someone. Someone that has never failed me.' Yami then pulled a seemingly random card from the pile. Without looking, he knew it would be the one he needed.
"Come forth, Dark Magician!"