DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: My deepest apologies for how long it's taken me to update this story. I've been writing it alongside of another fic, however I had to re-evaluate that when I realised the next chapter of that one would spoil the ending of this story. I've decided to focus on this fic for now, so updates should come a bit faster. Meanwhile, updates to my fic 'Hearts, Souls and Shadows' will resume when this fic is completed.
AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: I've uploaded 4 chapters at once, starting with 'Chapter 12: The Storm Breaks'.
Tournament of Shadows
Chapter 12: The Storm Breaks
by Shadow's Mirror
Just after 3am on the fifth day of the Domino City Treasure Quest Tournament, the first day of the Finals, the storm that had been threatening the city for the past couple of days finally broke.
Of the competition participants that were still in the city, only one slept through the entire deluge of wind and rain that battered the city for the rest of the night. The others, and many of the other especially skilled duelists in the city, woke up at some point because of it. The tension in the air was simply too much to not disturb ones so sensitive to it.
Yugi woke just as the storm started. He blinked sleepily, a small frown crossing his face in the moments before he realised what had woken him. He rolled over to glance towards his bedroom window and was unsurprised to see the shadowy figure standing there, already in physical form and looking out into the night. "How bad is it?" His soft voice was barely audible over the storm.
Yami glanced over at his partner's voice, unsurprised that he had woken already. "Very. It is not merely the storm, either. The Shadow Magic has been unsettled for some time already, as you know, however tonight... I have never felt it so stirred up before." He frowned thoughtfully. "Or have I?"
"Yami?"
The dark spirit shook his head slightly. "It feels oddly familiar to me. As you know, I have no memories of my time in the Puzzle, as it was broken into pieces until you reassembled it and woke me. Perhaps something like this has happened before. That would explain not only my feeling of familiarity, but also the reaction of the Shadow Monsters."
Yugi nodded, immediately understanding. "They haven't seemed particularly worried, have they? I'd say they were tense, but not from worry. It's more... anticipation, maybe?"
"That seems right, yes," Yami agreed. "Whatever is going on, it is especially strong tonight."
Bedcovers rustled as Yugi sat up. "Should we do anything?" His voice betrayed his nervousness and Yami quickly moved to sit on the bed beside him, pulling him into a side hug almost before he was settled there.
"At some point, probably. However, right now I believe it would be best for you to simply sleep. Tomorrow... today, rather... is likely to be quite long. Hopefully we will know what we need to do, when we need to do it."
Yugi nodded again. "Sounds good to me." He leaned into his dark half's warmth for a few precious moments before Yami released him. Instead of just lying down again, though, he wiggled back to the far side of the bed. "You should sleep too, you know." He smiled slightly as he felt the covers lift immediately and the mattress move, before his partner's deeper voice confirmed his response.
"I will try." Yami gently pulled the smaller boy into his arms to give him what comfort he could. Not only was the air thick with tension, but the storm was physically unsettling in its ferocity. Despite that, though, the two of them were soon sleeping soundly again, cocooned in the warmth and safety they found in each other's presence.
At the same time, across the city, Ryou also woke as the storm began. He didn't have to open his eyes to know that his dark half was already out, however. He could tell by the string of low (but not quite low enough) curses in Egyptian coming from the windowseat. He sighed softly. "So it will be today, then?"
"Huh? Ryou? You awake? What was that? Sorry, I can barely hear myself think over this wretched storm."
Ryou had to admit that Bakura had a point. The storm was only just starting but it was already louder than his soft voice. He repeated what he'd said, louder this time.
"Ah. Yeah. I'd say so. In more ways than one. It feels like the Shadow Magic is gearing up for something big, too."
"Too?" For some reason, that struck Ryou as an odd thing for his yami to say. "You think they are separate?"
"Hmm?" He'd heard him that time; he just wasn't sure what Ryou meant.
"You said 'too'. You do not think whatever is going to happen here today is connected to the Shadow Magic being so strange lately?" Ryou sounded curious.
Bakura looked out into the night, watching the storm for a few moments as he gathered his thoughts. "I'll admit, I'm not a big believer in coincidence, but I'm not seeing a connection. Not yet, anyway. The Shadow Magic doesn't normally affect the weather here. It's possible the tension we've all been feeling was just this perfectly natural storm building up."
"... Bakura, if you are trying to reassure me that we are not in very deep trouble, you are doing a terrible job of it." Ryou was very careful not to focus too much on the thought that it was really rather sweet of his darkness to try such a thing. Their mental link was open and he'd learned from past experiences that thoughts of that sort usually made Bakura rather grumpy.
The dark spirit winced slightly. He hadn't really expected that to work, but for Ryou to actually say something about it meant that he truly had been more transparent about it than usual. "Yeah. Well."
He turned away from the storm and looked across the room. His eyes were adjusted to the darkness, but even so he could barely make out the bed, much less the person in it. Except for the light patch where Ryou's hair was. He could see that easily. "It wasn't a lie!" Even to his own ears, that sounded far too defensive. "I mean... I really don't see any connection between the Shadow Magic being weird lately and what's been going on here during the tournament. If anything, I'd say it's the other way around. Someone's been using the Shadow Magic here, but it would have been a lot harder for them with it being like it is. I can't see anyone deliberately making it harder for themselves like that."
That was true, for the most part. He hadn't lied. He had just not mentioned the niggling thought in the back of his mind that maybe the Shadow Magic being difficult to control right now was only for those who might oppose whatever was going to happen.
Because, ever since he'd seen the children whose souls had been stolen during the tournament, something had been bothering him. The amount of Shadow Magic it would take to do such a thing was not minor. Considering how hard it was to control that magic right now... Stealing those souls should have been impossible.
That was why the part of his mind that specialised in coming up with duel strategies had been whispering to him with growing insistence that it would be a very powerful tactical advantage if someone's opponents couldn't use the Shadow Magic, while they still could.
Yeah. That was not something he really wanted to think about too much. Especially since it would filter over to Ryou's mind as well. He'd managed to keep the notion from him so far. He'd do his best to keep it that way. His light had more than enough to worry about already.
His light had also just said something that he'd missed completely due to his 'not' thinking about all this. Shadows.
"What did you just say? No, hang on. I'll come over there. It's too hard to hear anything over all this." He made a vague waving motion at the window as he stood.
Although it was an excuse, it was also true. The storm was getting worse by the minute and his light was usually very soft-spoken. As he padded across the room to Ryou, Bakura sighed. "I'm not looking forward to going out in this."
Ryou nodded. "Neither am I. It is still early, though, isn't it? Maybe the storm will pass by morning." He sounded as doubtful about that as Bakura was.
"Maybe. So..." The yami plopped onto the side of the bed and looked at his light. "What did you say before?"
"Oh. I asked if it was possible that the storm was a result of a card being used. But I guess that's not likely, right?"
Bakura started to reply, but then paused to give the possibility more consideration. "There are a few cards that could do this, but I should be able to sense if that was the case. Clouds have been building up for the past couple of days, too, so it's not like this has come out of nowhere. I'd have been more surprised if the tournament had ended before we got a storm. You do make a good point, though. Considering everything else going on, it is a possibility."
"Just not a very likely one." Ryou nodded.
"Yeah." Bakura noted that his light sounded not only reassured, but sleepy. "Go back to sleep. It's just a storm. Nothing to worry about."
"All right." Ryou was quiet for so long, Bakura thought he'd already dozed off, but then the boy quietly spoke up again. "If you're going to watch the storm some more, take a blanket with you. It's cold by the window."
The dark one smiled. "I'm in spirit form, so I'm fine. Anyway, as much as I enjoy watching a good storm, it's too dark to see much out there. I'll go back to my soulroom and work on some strategies for the tournament." He was mentally rubbing his hands together with glee at the thought, but a spark of emotion through their link caught his attention. He shifted slightly so he could get a better look at Ryou's face. He looked calm but... Oh. Right.
Sometimes he forgot Ryou actually liked having someone else around. He got lonely easily. Stressed, too.
Guess it wouldn't hurt to keep him company for a little longer. Maybe try to calm him down a bit, too.
"Anyway, whatever's happening, it's probably just some idiot going after the Puzzle again. Nothing for us to be concerned about. You know how it goes. They'll challenge Yami to a duel and he'll turn it into a Shadow Game, which he'll win and the world will be safe again, until the next time, and so on." He shrugged and grinned wryly. "It's so predictable by now it's almost boring. How many times has this happened?" He was rewarded for his attempt at humour with a soft chuckle from his light.
"I lost count after the sixth time. You have a point. It's a bit odd, really. Four of the Millennium Items are in this city, yet it's always the Puzzle that people go after."
Bakura smirked. "Normally, I'd be annoyed that the Pharaoh gets all the attention, but since I happen to know he finds that sort of thing really irritating... and I'd find it even more so... he's welcome to it!"
Ryou softly chuckled again, then made a soft sound of enquiry as he felt the bed dip with a sudden weight. "Bakura? I thought you were going back to your soulroom? You just took on physical form, didn't you?"
"Yeah. Change of plan. I've been going over strategies every night since the tournament began. I could do with a bit of a break. Can't see much of the storm, but I can listen to it." He moved as he spoke and Ryou squeaked softly in surprise as he found himself unexpectedly sharing his bed with his dark half.
"So, to listen to it, you need to be... like this?" Not that he minded at all. It was rather nice to have someone with him, especially with the storm raging outside. He could feel Bakura's warmth all along his side.
"Yeah."
Bakura gave no explanation, but his reply was so confident that Ryou decided not to question him further about it. Besides, he sort of understood already. It was really nice listening to the storm while being warm, dry and comfortable. Having someone to share it with made it even better.
The yami smiled smugly to himself when his light's breathing soon evened out to the slow pattern that meant he was sleeping soundly again. He decided to wait five more minutes before going back to his soulroom, just to be sure that Ryou didn't wake up when he did so.
Within three minutes, Bakura was also asleep.
Malik and Marik both stirred just after the storm began.
Marik's eyes went wide and he whimpered softly at the loud noise, only stopping when his light hugged him so tightly he could barely breathe, let alone whimper. He hugged the smaller figure back and buried his face in the crook of Malik's neck. "Noisy. Scary."
He paused a moment to think over what he'd just said, wondering if he needed to add anything else, before he remembered that it hadn't been the storm that had woken him. "Sister Isis just had a vision."
Malik rubbed his yami's back gently as he hugged him, trying his best to calm Marik down. "It's just a storm. It's okay. We're safe." He blinked as the rest of his other's words registered. "Oh. A vision? Was that what woke us up?"
"I think so." Marik snuggled into his light's warmth and thought for a moment. "Yeah. The storm was already going so it wasn't that."
"Huh. Well, she'll tell us in the morning if it was important. We should go back to sleep. We're having pancakes for breakfast, so we'll have to be up early in case Odion forgets the honey, syrup, whipped cream and chocolate sauce."
"Okay." Marik nuzzled his light's shoulder, happy at the reminder of the delicious breakfast Odion would make for them. Then he remembered something else. "Do you think Sister Isis will let us go get our penguin after the contest?"
The day before, he and Malik had spotted a very nice plush penguin in a claw machine at a local arcade. Isis had promised they could try for it the next time they went there, but Marik was worried someone else would get it if they didn't go back soon.
"I'll ask her but we might have to wait until tomorrow, if it's raining too much."
"Oh." Marik was disappointed, of course, but he nodded slightly. "I don't like getting wet."
"I know." Malik hugged him more and nuzzled his hair, which made Marik giggle softly.
They were asleep again long before their bedroom door opened and Isis looked in on them, her eyes betraying her concern far more than usual.
Isis had indeed had a vision. The kind that caused her eyes to snap open and her hand to go instinctively to the Millennium Necklace resting on her collarbone, despite her certainty that she had taken it off before going to bed.
The vision had left her so shaken, she had been unable to gather the strength or will to move from her bed for some time and her first action upon finally doing so had been to go and wash her face, to try and calm herself down. It had worked, but Isis had been unable to resist the urge to check on her brothers and ensure they were all safe and sound.
Odion was sleeping soundly. Not surprising, since he was wearing a pair of fluffy pink earmuffs that were clearly working well to cancel out the noise of the storm.
Malik and Marik were also asleep; although Isis was sure the storm had woken them at some point. They were cuddled so tightly together that she couldn't tell where one ended and the other began. They had not been like that when she had checked on them earlier in the night, on her way to bed. She closed their door very quietly and stood in the hall for a moment, considering what action she should take.
Although the vision had woken her from a deep sleep, she knew it had not been a dream. She recalled every detail of it, including the unique feeling that always accompanied her visions. Often, her visions came to pass without any move on her part. Sometimes, they showed her what path she should take, or what sequence of events needed to occur. But this vision had been different. It had been a warning.
Isis only hoped she could work out exactly what the vision had been warning about, in time to do something about it.
Knowing she would be unable to sleep again that night, Isis fetched a small snack for herself from the kitchen before settling down in the overstuffed chair in the corner of her bedroom to work through her vision.
This was definitely a situation worthy of three double chocolate cupcakes.
How fortunate that Odion had baked a batch the evening before.
The Kaiba mansion was far too impressive, and soundproofed, for a measly storm to disturb any of its residents.
Unfortunately, the security system managed to do what the storm could not.
All of the mansion's inhabitants were woken the moment the first lightning strike hit, thanks to a series of very loud alarms that blared through every room, hallway and stairway in the place.
Kaiba was already in the hall in the bedroom wing, heading towards the room just down from his, when Joey opened the door on the other side of Kaiba's room and poked his head out to look around. "Hey Kaiba! What's going on?" Even Joey had to speak louder than normal to be heard over the din.
The brunette teen stopped and glanced around at the call. "Wheeler." He was about to retrace his steps but paused when the blonde shook his head and hurried to join him, instead. "Sorry for the noise. A lightning strike hit a tree on the grounds and accidentally set off five motion sensors, two heat sensors, an infrared camera and..." He listened for a moment with a slight frown. "I believe the klaxon is a power supply alert. The security team are already looking into the situation, in case there is more to it. I am going to check on Mokuba, and then I will go hear their report."
Joey blinked and looked impressed. "Wow. That's a lot of stuff to be set off at once." He grinned. "Want me to stay with Mokuba until it gets sorted out? I could play a game with him or something. Keep him distracted. I doubt any of us will get back to sleep for a while and that storm going on out there is..." His grin faded to a worried look. "Wild." The word was spoken so quietly, Kaiba had to lean in slightly to hear it.
He nodded once. "That would be helpful. Thank you. Mokuba is not bad with storms, exactly, however..." He shrugged and resumed walking, this time with Joey keeping pace beside him. "The alarms tend to unsettle him. I will return to him when I have finished with Security." He glanced at the blonde teen. "I agree with you about the storm." His voice was also very quiet. "Although it was not unexpected... the ferocity of it is more than I anticipated."
"Yeah." Joey grinned again as he glanced back at Kaiba. "Wanna bet we all get dragged into something weird during tomorrow's tournament?" He had one eyebrow arched as he made his challenge.
Kaiba considered for a moment, then sighed heavily. "I believe the odds would be against me, if I did so."
The two teens traded knowing looks, in a rare moment of shared agreement that their universe could always be relied upon to throw weird stuff at their group at the most predictable times. Like during major tournaments.
"So... Someone trying to take over the world again or do you think we'll get something different this time?" Joey almost sounded like he was looking forward to it.
Kaiba shrugged. "I neither know, nor particularly care. As long as we get a few answers along with whatever trouble it results in."
"I hear you." Joey nodded and suddenly looked serious. "Not to mention those kids waking up."
"Indeed."
On that note, both teens traded another serious look then continued on down the hall in silence.
The sounds of the storm even penetrated the rooms and corridors of the Domino City Hospital.
Avril, always a light sleeper, woke within minutes of the wind rising into a howling gale.
She wasn't surprised by it. The storm had been gathering for the past couple of days and the tension in the air had been obvious for all that time. What she felt now that it was beginning, however... A slight frown creased her brows.
Anything that invoked such an ominous heaviness to the air was bound to be highly problematic.
Rina, normally quite a sound sleeper, woke a few minutes later, as the rain began to come down hard and loud on the hospital roof.
She growled her annoyance at the situation, so quietly that Avril almost missed it. Other than that, neither sound nor movement betrayed Rina's state of consciousness.
The air in the room shifted, as if the tension was suddenly fighting something else for dominance.
Callie, highly sensitive to the atmosphere around her, stirred as the battle pulled her up from the depths of sleep.
She opened her eyes as the first rumble of thunder echoed through the Domino City skies.
Avril and Rina stirred, their attention turning away from the storm to focus on their friend as Callie immediately sat up. Before they could say anything, though, she smiled gently and opened her arms.
Suddenly, Callie was no longer alone.
The little girl who threw her arms around Callie's waist and sobbed into her chest was maybe 8 years old with wildly tousled black hair that showed she had likely been woken from a restless sleep. Her bare feet peeked out from beneath the hem of her pale pink nightgown as she curled up in Callie's lap, the pink lace and ribbon trimming her short sleeves fluttering as she shivered.
Callie's arms went around the small body and she lowered her head to speak so softly the other girls could barely hear her words over the storm raging outside. "It's okay, sweet one. You're safe. We're safe. It's just a storm. It can't hurt us."
Avril and Rina silently watched as their younger friend dealt with the child's terror with skill gained through long hours of experience. This wasn't the first storm the four of them had spent together, but it also wasn't only storms that left the poor child shaking and sobbing so badly she couldn't speak. She was such a timid child that anything particularly loud, scary or emotional would terrify her. They'd both lost count of how many times they'd watched over this same scene.
They'd even been there the first time it had happened, two years earlier.
Callie's reaction now was very different to that time. Back then, it had taken all her effort to clutch the child close as she'd cried along with her. Now, she comforted the little one with her words as well as her warm and comforting hug. One hand rubbed soothing circles over the child's back and it was only a matter of minutes before the little girl began to calm down. Another minute and she was sitting quietly in Callie's lap.
"It is just a storm. It cannot hurt us." Callie's words were a little louder this time. Avril and Rina knew she was speaking to them as much as the child.
Rina grinned. "Of course it can't." She didn't try to keep her voice down. Over the storm, no one outside the room could hear anything they said, even if they were trying to. "No matter how much it tries, we'll stand against it. Together."
The little girl looked over at Rina and nodded. Just once and she said nothing in reply, but the lack of hesitation in her nod spoke volumes.
Avril smiled gently at the child. "Will you stay with us here, tonight?"
There was a pause as the little girl considered, but then she nodded once more before looking up at Callie. "It's okay, right?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, but they all heard it as clear as if she'd shouted. It was the same skill most duelists learned, so they could call out their cards over the sounds of the most unruly of audiences.
Callie smiled and nodded. "Of course, Emi. Always." She hugged the little girl closer.
The child's sweet smile seemed to light up the whole room.
The rain was an incessant pounding on balcony doors already shaking in protest again the roaring winds.
Each peal of thunder gave rise to an urge to look outside for the herd of stampeding elephants that were obviously passing through the night skies, but the crack of lightning that came closer each time made burrowing beneath the covers seem like a far better option.
After the third time, Mai sighed heavily. "I'm disappointed."
Nyc blinked and turned her head to face the other bed, where Mai was supposed to be sleeping. She arched an eyebrow that she knew her friend couldn't see, but would surely hear in her reply. "You think the storm could do better?"
There was a sound that would have been a snort of laughter from anyone other than Mai Valentine. "I meant the hotel, hon. For a luxury 5 star place, I expected the soundproofing to be a lot better."
"Oh. Good point." Nyc winced at the sound the next strike of lightning made. "I think that one hit something."
Mai hummed in agreement as she sat up, one hand running through her tousled blonde hair, mussing it even more. "Ugh. There's no way I'm going to get back to sleep now."
Nyc wasn't quite as willing to give up on the idea. "What time is it?"
"Uh... Just after three." Mai groaned as soon as she said it.
That settled it. Nyc burrowed into her bed more firmly and pulled the covers over her head. "It's too early to get up. Wake me for breakfast."
The non-snort came again. "You really think you can sleep through this racket?"
"I'm determined to at least give it a good try!"
In place of a reply, Nyc heard rustling sounds, then footsteps moving across the room. "Good luck. I'll be over here when you fail miserably. Since I'm awake anyway, I might as well deal with that last batch of proposals."
Nyc snickered at that. "I think you're the one who needs the luck." She closed her eyes, one hand moving to lightly touch the thin silver bracelet she wore even while sleeping.
Mai had her turn to snicker when the other girl joined her a few minutes later. "That was quick."
The brunette girl shrugged and grinned back. "Yeah, well. It's more fun over here. Besides, I had a thought about your little... problem." She gestured to the not-inconsiderable stack of letters Mai was sorting out. "Maybe you should tell Joey how many guys are proposing to you. He strikes me as the protective sort." Her grin was now full into smirk territory.
Mai's eyes widened for a moment at the unexpected suggestion, before they narrowed as she gave the idea proper consideration. "Huh. You might have something there, hon. Maybe I should." She smirked back.
As the two girls burst into laughter, the bracelet glinted on the second girl's right wrist.
Across the city in another hotel room, the lightning arcing across the sky lit up a pale hand holding the curtain to one side just a little, and a pale arm beyond that, but that was its limit. The rest of the slender figure remained untouched by the light, standing off to one side of the balcony doors, watching the light show from the depths of the shadows there.
After every flash, the figure would glance back over one shoulder to the bed on the other side of the room.
Each time, seeing the one still sleeping soundly there, the figure would let out the softest sigh before turning back to watch the storm's display. Those moments were the only relief in the visible tension that held the figure in a merciless grip as the storm continued, but the figure did not move away. As if bewitched by the crackling light in the night skies, the figure in the shadows remained silently watching through the storm's entire passage.
Only when the storm finally eased, just before six o'clock, did the figure finally stir. The hand holding back the curtain released its hold and pale arm lowered back into the shadows. The figure moved silently towards the bed, then froze as the sleeper stirred.
Evian stretched as he woke slowly. He blinked awake and then glanced around the room. Nothing was out of place. No one else was there. He smirked as he stretched again, in an unusually good mood.
He'd slept well and was glad of it, since it was going to be quite a busy day for him.
The first day of the Domino City Treasure Quest Tournament Finals was about to begin.
To be Continued...