Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh! or Supernatural.
Chapter 17
Sugoroku had waited patiently as Sam, Dean, and Bobby recounted the entire story to him. They told him of their suspicions about Yugi's behavior and how they researched Yugi's Puzzle for days. He raised his eyebrows in slight interest as they let him in on the secret of the Egyptian magic they used to bind the Spirit of the Puzzle, but the old man barely batted an eyelash as they told him about the strange Spirit that favored Yugi.
That made Melanie wonder. She studied her father-in-law, glad to have something to distract her from the terrible mistakes she had made. She knew for certain, now. They'd made a mistake in confronting Yugi and the Spirit in the Puzzle. There were so many mistakes. It seemed like no matter what choices she made, she somehow managed to fumble. Her decisions had already cost her her husband and now, it seemed, they would cost her son as well.
The elder Mutou waited until his monster-fighting companions finished the entire tale, right up to the point when they discovered Yugi had run off, escaping and trapping them in the study for a short time. Sugoroku stood up from his seat at the kitchen table and stared pensively out the small kitchen window.
"He took my truck, too." Bobby added, wearily. This day had gotten completely out of hand in ways he'd never imagined. One of these days, he thought to himself, he'd learn to let things well enough alone. He was getting to old for this shit.
Sugoroku closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. The elderly gamer gently massaged the bridge of his nose, hoping to head off the developing migraine. He felt his anger building with each new detail. He never should have left. He should have known that the Hunters wouldn't let well enough alone. Now his grandson was gone.
"Of course, he ran away," the old man stated quietly. "What did you really think would happen?"
Sam looked down at his feet guiltily, recognizing that they had pushed the boy to this point. He knew they had acted too rashly and frightened Yugi instead of talking to the boy about their concerns. Dean, however, was studying Sugoroku with confusion. It almost sounded as if Sugoroku already knew something was going on with Yugi.
"Do you have any idea what you have done? What you might have done to Yugi? Thank whatever gods are out there that Yugi did get away, too, because you could have killed him. Them." The old man shook his head in disgust.
Sugoroku continued his tirade, voice building in volume and essentially halting any efforts by the others to argue or question him. "I shouldn't have trusted you lot, not with my grandson. And you, Melanie. You should be ashamed of yourself. Playing with Egyptian magic you don't know anything about? Unleashing it on Yugi? Not even one of you stopped to think of what it might do to Yugi. You Hunters and your one-track minds! You think you see something out of the ordinary and you chase it like hounds. Your own son!" He glared icily towards Melanie, who sat unmoving and shocked by the sudden outburst from her father-in-law.
The room was quiet for a moment as the four Hunters let what Sugoroku words settle in.
Grandpa Mutou sighed, finally, collapsing back into a kitchen chair, his anger suddenly diminishing and leaving him exhausted. "And this foolish old man…should have done something sooner to protect them. It's my fault."
Bobby was the first to work up the courage to speak now that Mr. Mutou's wrathful rant had ended. "Sugoroku," he began calmly, "You knew."
Grandpa met Bobby's gaze evenly. "Of course, I knew. He's my grandson. I'm the one who found the Puzzle. I'm the one who gave it to him…because he needed it…and he needed the Spirit inside of it, as well, almost as much as the Spirit needs him."
"But, Spirits are dangerous! It's not natural. Why would you just sit by and let your grandson be possessed?!" Dean protested loudly. Sam elbowed him hard in the side, trying and failing to silence his brother.
The old man glared at Dean, anger flashing once again in his amethyst eyes. "Dangerous? Yes, I suppose they can be. If you are an enemy, I imagine the Spirit of the Puzzle is very dangerous. But you...don't know anything about either of them. That Spirit would never hurt Yugi. He's a part of Yugi." Sugoroku tugged at his beard irritably.
"The Spirit of the Nameless Pharaoh has been with Yugi ever since he solved the Puzzle. In many ways, they are the same person, even as they are two separate entities. They need each other for balance. They're partners." Grandpa glanced from one face to the other but saw only confusion there. He would need to find some other way to explain.
Melanie stared at him carefully, considering each word as it pertained to her son. It sounded so ridiculous. How could an ancient Spirit be a part of her sixteen-year-old son? It was madness. Nonsense. Yet, Sugoroku's words held conviction. He was not lying. At the very least, he believed what he was saying. Additionally, the Spirit had looked so much like her son that it was uncanny. It had almost been like looking at Yugi five years down the road, with some obvious differences such as his ancient garb.
She wasn't sure she could accept any of this as reality. Surely this was all a bad dream.
Bobby paled, "You don't mean The Nameless Pharaoh? The one who the writings say…"
"Saved the world from the ultimate Darkness? The very same. I know it doesn't make sense, but only Yugi could have solved that Puzzle. It was Yugi's destiny, and responsibility…because Yugi is a part of the Pharaoh just as the Pharaoh is a part of him." Sugoroku ran a hand through his grey hair, a tone of pleading leaking into his voice, "I do not pretend to know all of the answers, but this is not something you can interfere in. Trying to separate them when they're so tightly bound together…we're lucky Yugi…" The old man's voice caught in his throat and Sugoroku fell silent.
"So, when you said that we could have killed Yugi," Sam began, the wheels in his head turning quickly, "you were serious." He sent a meaningful glance in Dean's direction. Dean had enough decency to look momentarily stricken at the news, though he quickly replaced his mask of indifference.
Dean had certainly never intended to hurt Yugi. He cared about his cousin and wanted to free him. His actions, at the time, seemed right, and had been so easy to justify with his past experiences. He had been so sure that a terrible monster was controlling Yugi. A Spirit possessing Yugi could never be a good thing, and yet, the boy had run away and had fought them for the Puzzle that seemingly controlled him.
This was unlike anything Dean had ever heard of before. He had been so sure he had seen it all until he met his little cousin.
He wasn't even sure any of this was possible. It shouldn't be possible. Dean looked down at his hands in shame. He hadn't meant to cause harm, but he had, and he'd been too stubborn to stop and think before he charged ahead. Every instinct had told him to move forward with the plan.
If they were ever able to find Yugi, the boy probably wouldn't want to speak to him again. Yugi had been so hurt, so frightened, and not by the Spirit, but by Dean. Of course, all of this was assuming that the demons out there didn't get to Yugi first.
The eldest Winchester brother opened his mouth to speak for the first time in a long time, "Alright, we screwed up. We get it. I…but that's not what matters most now. Yugi's out there and, Spirit or no Spirit, there are demons on his tail. Who knows how long it will take them to find him. We need to get to him before it's too late."
Sugoroku nodded thoughtfully. "The good news is this: The Pharaoh is a guardian and protector. He will fight, tooth and nail, to protect Yugi from harm. I wouldn't want to be a demon, or anyone else, going up against the Spirit when he's angry." A small frown crossed the elderly man's features, "However, we don't know what their condition is. We will have to put our trust in the Pharaoh for the time being."
Yugi threw his bag on the lumpy bed and sat down heavily beside it. Every inch of his body ached, and he wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep for hours. The teen rubbed the back of his tired neck, finding little relief in the action. The pain was far too deep.
The Pharaoh was spent, too, Yugi could tell. The Spirit barely spoke and Yugi could only just sense his presence. They would be in trouble if they were attacked now, whether the attack came from Hunters, demons, or any other enemy.
Yugi looked around the dingy hotel room and exhaled slowly. He didn't think that his family would be likely to find him here of all places. He'd driven the old truck into Sioux Falls a couple of hours earlier, fighting to stay awake the entire time. It took the effort of both souls to keep from crashing into a ditch. As soon as Yugi had noticed a bus station, he'd abandoned Bobby's vehicle in a parking lot, leaving the keys in the glove compartment. He hoped that Bobby would forgive him for taking it and would be able to find it without much trouble.
Luckily, Yugi found an ATM outside of a small convenience store near the corner bus station. He withdrew as much as he dared, anxious to be carrying a large amount of cash on him. Looking around, he noted that this was probably not the best part of town. He pulled his hood over his wild hair, hoping to disguise his identity as much as possible.
Yugi rode the bus for a good hour, hoping to throw anyone that might have been following his progress. No one had gotten on the bus with him, so he felt like the passengers, at least, were not a threat. The teen pulled his hoodie tightly around him. He didn't sense anything ominous around him, but he couldn't be certain. He was so tired, and the Spirit was barely awake.
As he rode, he took a moment to send a quick text to his grandfather, letting him know he was alright but wouldn't be returning to Bobby's home. He assumed that gramps would have arrived home to hear the story by now. Once the text was sent, Yugi sent a few more texts to his friends in Domino, letting them know that he planned to be home tomorrow. Then, he shut his phone off, just in case. He did not want to be tracked.
Yugi rode the bus close to the airport and was relieved to find an obscure, if questionable, hotel nearby. With any luck, he'd be back in Domino by tomorrow.
The room was small and in need of a good cleaning. The yellowed wallpaper pealed in places and the scent of cigarette smoke was thick in the air. Yugi knew it would cling to his clothes and hair for days. It didn't matter, though. He wouldn't be here long. At least it was shelter and a bed.
/Yugi…/Yami whispered, /We must secure the room. I don't think I can…/ Yami faltered and Yugi could feel his consciousness slipping. They both needed rest. The Spirit could barely communicate at this point and didn't seem to be recovering as quickly as Yugi had hoped. Briefly, Yugi wondered if Yami was struggling to recover because Yugi's own body was drained.
He thought back to what Sam and Dean told him about fighting and repelling demons. Yugi didn't think he'd be able to make one of those demon traps. He and Yami had only seen it once, for a short time, and neither of them had the energy or the tools to try and recreate it anyway. They didn't have holy water, either, and Yami was too weak to cast any of his warding spells. The magic of the Puzzle would offer some protection, but they needed more than that. He wasn't sure how well the Puzzle would work with Yami in his weakened state. The situation was looking increasingly desperate.
That left only salt in their arsenal. Yugi wished he had thought of that before he left Bobby's house. Shaking his head, he stood, groaning slightly, and left his room, closing the door quietly behind him. Thankfully, he had requested a ground floor room. Stairs sounded terrible, and the elevator looked shady as hell.
Moving as quickly as he could without drawing undue attention to himself, Yugi made his way down the hallway and to the small, mostly deserted lobby. There had been an advertisement for free breakfast when he signed in. It was far too late for the continental breakfast by now, of course, but the abandoned dining area still should have what he needed.
Yugi searched a few cabinets and thanked his luck when his eyes finally fell on a set of empty salt shakers, presumably for the dining tables, and a large container of salt. He wondered vaguely if the stuff had to be kosher but dismissed the thought with a shrug. It would have to do regardless. The boy snatched up the container, which was still mostly full, and quietly eased his way back to his hotel room.
Back in his room, Yugi took the container of salt and spread it at the base of the window and doorframe in the way that Sam and Dean had described. It didn't really look like much of a barrier to him, but he supposed his older cousins had more than proven what they were capable of. He shuddered at the recent memory of just how dangerous the Winchesters could be.
Finally, Yugi threw himself on the bed, letting his tired body sink into the mattress with a sigh. He didn't bother to pull the covers back and, within moments, he slipped into unconsciousness.
