Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or Supernatural.
Chapter 4
Melanie let out a sigh of relief when she got off the phone with Bobby. Bobby was an experienced Hunter and an old family friend. He had always advised her well and never once had he let her down. Even now, after a decade, he offered her the safety and shelter of his own home for herself and her small family.
Their home, with its various wards and guards, was well protected but, eventually, Melanie knew the beast that had claimed her husband's life years ago would strike at her family while they were away from the safety of their home. She had already noticed a few telltale signs that indicated it was stalking her at work earlier that day and, for all she knew, it would go after Yugi at his school.
Melanie and her husband, Tadaaki Mutou, had been on what should have been a typical Hunting Trip ten years ago when disaster had struck. The creature, which was supposed to be a mere specter, a simple ghost, had been so much more than that. It was a powerful demon that the Mutou's encountered that night.
Her miscalculation of the danger they faced had cost her husband his life and had brought the ire of the creature down on herself and her family for weeks afterwards until she, with the help of Bobby and some friends, had managed to put an end to the monster. The demon had even gone after her young son, trying to possess him, though it was unsuccessful for reasons yet unknown.
They were safe for ten long years and Melanie had foolishly, begun to relax once more. Unfortunately, demons are difficult creatures to truly kill. They can be banished but there was always the danger that, with time, it could return and so it had, or, at least, she suspected it had. Two local Hunters had been killed already in the area trying to subdue the demon and the details of their deaths were painfully familiar.
Though Melanie had left the life after the death of her husband, she kept her eyes and ears open for any hints of danger. She had been raised by Hunters and she knew what was out there. Her husband, her sweet Tadaaki, had not been born into the world of Monster Hunting. His family had come to the United States from Japan when he was a child and they had lived a quiet life. Even so, when she had revealed to him what exactly the family business was, he had not fled from her side. Instead, he asked her to let him help her. She and Bobby had taught him how to handle and eradicate various beasties and ghosts. He had, surprisingly, had quite a knack for it. She supposed it was because of his undying desire to help and protect people. They had been some of the best Hunters in the region for a time.
However, when they were gifted with their only child, Yugi, the couple had become more cautious. They took on less dangerous jobs and stayed local, even considering getting out of the life completely for the safety of their young son. Somehow, that never happened. Neither of the Mutou's could easily ignore the evil going on in the world around them, and they continued their dangerous work in the hopes of making things better for their child.
If she had only known what awaited them that night, she'd have left the case alone. She'd have passed it along to some other, more reckless Hunters. Because of her, her husband was dead, and her son was left without a father at the tender age of six years.
She could never forgive herself for her failure, but she would not allow a similar fate to befall her son. She had cut herself off from the rest of her family and Bobby, painful though it was, fearing any connection to Hunters or anything supernatural. She took a simple, safe desk job at a local company. Her son would never know of what had truly happened to his father and he would be safe. He would not be trained as a warrior like she had been. Yugi would go to school and play games and enjoy his life.
She would not let the dark things of the world invade her son's life.
At least, that is what she told herself over the years. Given the return of the creature that had tried to end her little family ten years prior, she couldn't help but feel that she had failed in that endeavor. It looked like she was fated to be dragged back into the life and she feared what that might mean for her innocent boy.
Yugi would not be able to fight, she was sure. He was far too gentle for that kind of life. Yugi abhorred violence. How many times had he come home covered in bruises from bullies, refusing to stand up for himself and simply taking the beating? He wouldn't even tell her or Sugoroku who had attacked him.
She would not be able to hide this situation from Yugi for long, either, she knew. Her son was far from stupid and she felt that he would determine something was amiss before too long. Of course, she could not know how he would handle the news of demons and evil monsters lurking about. He had, after all, never encountered anything of the sort since the incident when he was little. She was unsure, however, it did not seem that Yugi had any memory of his early encounter with the supernatural.
The sounds of multiple people coming up the stairs to the flat brought her out of her thoughts. She would make plans to flee with her family as soon as possible and would explain more when they made it to Bobby's home where they would be safe for a time.
The door opened, letting in Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and grandpa Mutou. Melanie was surprised and pleased to find that Yugi had brought some male friends over. She had met Tea a few times over the years, but she had yet to meet Joey and Tristan. She had heard about them briefly but knew very little of them and was pleased to find that the other boys were real friends of her son's and not imaginary.
Yugi sheepishly introduced his friends to his mother for the first time, informing her that he had invited the other boys to stay for dinner with his grandfather's blessing. She had not expected company but accepted the news graciously, happy to have a chance to get to know her son's friends a little better.
"Any friends of Yugi are welcome here! It is so nice to finally meet you boys." She offered a genuine smile. Joey couldn't help but notice that she was really quite pretty, though he thought she looked a bit tired and stressed. The dark circles under her eyes gave that away immediately.
"Thanks so much, Mrs Mutou! We will help in the kitchen. Anything you need, Joey and Tristan are at your service!"
Tristan looked less than enthused at being volunteered for kitchen duty but Yugi nodded his agreement. Being the one usually responsible for meal prep in his family, Yugi was quite used to cooking and even looked forward to it.
After the meal, Yugi and Joey play a few rounds of Duel Monsters while the others watched on. Mrs. Mutou knew, of course, that her son was good at the game and held a title of some sort, but she had had little opportunity to really watch him play. She regretted that, suddenly, realizing that Yugi was exceptionally skilled at the game and that it was something he loved. She had been so wrapped up in her job in recent years, trying to rise in the ranks and make a better life for her family, that she had missed much of Yugi's daily life and interests.
Yugi drew a card and chuckled suddenly, bringing her attention back to their game, which was being played out on the coffee table before her. Her son's eyes had an excited glint to them she hadn't seen before.
"Sorry, Joey, but this is it. I play the card 'Soul Exchange' to take control of one of your monster, ''Red Eyes Black Dragon." Joey groaned, knowing what was coming but being unable to stop his inevitable defeat.
Yugi continued, "Next I sacrifice it and my own monster, 'Maho Vailo', alongside your 'Red Eyes Black Dragon' to summon my old friend, the 'Dark Magician!'" Melanie saw how Yugi's eyes lit up as he beheld this particular card. He was clearly very fond of it, though she had no idea why.
"You're wide open, game over. Direct attack to your life points."
Joey put his hands up in surrender. "I swear, Yuge, one of these days, I'm going to beat you." He looked at the clock on the wall, noticing the hour was swiftly approaching nine o'clock. He stretched and yawned, "Not tonight, though, buddy. I need to get home."
Yugi found himself yawning as well and stood to see his friends out, wishing them a goodnight. He locked up behind them and returned upstairs, with his mind on a shower and bed. However, he was stopped by his mother and grandfather, who bid him take a seat instead.
"Yugi," his mother began as she sat in the arm chair nearest him, "your grandfather and I have been talking. We were thinking it'd be great to take a trip together as a family. In fact, I have some family in South Dakota that you've never met."
Yugi's face betrayed his surprise at this news. His mother had never mentioned any family of hers. Ever. She had practically refused to talk about them when he was smaller. He thought it strange, of course, but that was how it had always been. She wouldn't talk about his father, either, after all. At some point he had stopped bothering to ask.
Sugoroku, seeing the confusion on his grandson's face, gave him a reassuring nod and continued where his mother had left off. "You see, your mother was thinking it would be a good time to make the trip to South Dakota so you can get to know some of your family on her side. I've never been, myself, so we thought it would be a nice family trip." Though his words were reassuring, something in the old man's mannerism seemed on-edge and worried.
Yugi nodded in agreement but stayed silent, feeling that something was very wrong but not being able to understand why. He could sense Yami was awake and listening in as well. The Spirit sensed the sudden tension in the room, echoing his host's confusion but not interrupting Yugi's thoughts with his questions.
"Anyway," Melanie interjected, "I know you still have a couple of weeks remaining before school lets out for the summer break, but I spoke with your principal today and they have agreed to allow you to take your exams early, in the next few days."
The boy jolted in surprise at that statement. "You want me to take my exams early so we can take a trip together? Is it really that important? Mom, you've never even spoken about family in South Dakota before." His tone was incredulous as the words left his mouth.
/Seems like a drastic step just to be able to go on a family trip…/ Yami spoke up, unable to hold his thoughts back any longer. His tone sounded concerned and suspicious. He was still on edge from the incident at the school that afternoon.
Both souls peered through Yugi's eyes this time, lending them a more intense look than was usual. Sugoroku noticed that they had caught the Puzzle Spirit's attention and the suspicion in Yugi's eyes concerned him. He gingerly took a seat beside his young grandson. He was grateful that the Spirit protected his grandson and was looking out for the boy, but he was not sure that any of them could protect Yugi from this danger and the elderly man worried what might happen if the Spirit revealed himself to Yugi's mother at this time. Sugoroku put a reassuring hand on Yugi's shoulder, meeting his gaze and willing them both to get the message. "It's going to be alright, Yugi, but this is very important. I know it's sudden, but I need you to trust us. Okay?"
Yugi and Yami both relented at those words. Sugoroku had more than earned Yami's trust and while Melanie was something of an unknown to the Spirit, he doubted the woman would ever bring her son to harm. Why was he so on edge about this? Was he being overly-protective because of the fright they had had earlier in the day?
/It's just a trip, right? It's not like we'll be gone all that long. Maybe someone's dying? I honestly just assumed most of mom's family was dead or something. She NEVER talks about any of them and I've never met anyone from her family./
/Why don't they just say that?/
Yugi shook his head slightly, his eyes out of focus as he discussed the issue with Yami. /I don't know. I don't know what's going on, but it looks like they aren't going to tell us more right now. It doesn't look like we have a whole lot of choice in this so it must be important, like grandpa said./
The boy's eyes cleared as he refocused on his grandfather, who waiting patiently beside him while he finished his internal dialogue. "Okay, grandpa. I'm with you."
Sugoroku felt some of the tension ebb from the room with those words. "Alright, my boy. You should get some rest. You're going to have a busy couple of days ahead of you."
Yugi stood stiffly, glancing uncertainly at his mother and grandfather, before retreating down the hall to his bedroom and quietly shutting the door behind him
The old man shifted his attention to his daughter-in-law, who was now perched uneasily on one of the arm chairs. "I did not expect him to be so…resistant. He's never been like that before," she mumbled quietly.
Sugoroku chucked lightly, "Well, my dear, he isn't a little boy anymore. If you were sixteen and your parents asked you to go off on a trip without an explanation, you'd have had more than a few questions. I'd say that went rather well, all things considered. I hope this is the right decision."
Melanie Mutou stood quietly, "So do I." She shook her head, also disappearing down the hallway and into her own room.
Silent as a shadow, Melanie closed the door to the room she had shared with her husband years ago and threw herself on the bed, immediately missing the warmth of her husband beside her. She wished she had him with her now, more than ever. Their son seemed almost a stranger to her now and she could not help but feel some concern for the way his hand had clutched at the large pendant, the ancient puzzle, that hung from his neck, and the way his eyes seemed to harden as he did so.
"When did you finish that puzzle, Yugi?" she whispered to the still room.
