INCONCIEVABLE

Number III

Signs of Something Deeper

The first week of August had begun innocently enough, at least in Yami's mind. When he had woken up that Sunday, he had felt a little bit dizzy, and his face felt reddened. The dizziness wasn't anything unusual for the moment - he had started feeling it during gym class the previous week, and as a result he had almost thrown up at the smell of Anzu's perfume - but his face felt like it was on fire. That was new.

He thought it was the heat in his room, and after putting a fan in his room, followed by a few glasses of water, he did feel better. He even managed to eat some of Sugoroku's lasagna, which, in the past had tasted extremely bland, but for some reason tasted very good on that occasion.

"...Hmm?" Sugoroku laughed at Yami regarding the question of when the old man had changed the recipe. "You've got a good sense of humor, pharoah! Go on, have another helping if you like it that much! You've not been eating well these past couple of days."

Yami didn't tell the old man about what had happened in gym class, nor did he mention how he'd down four glasses of water in less than five minutes. The old man probably would have chalked it up to the summer heat dehydrating the boy's body - and as it was, Yami would have agreed with him. Nothing out of place using that perspective.

On the other hand, what happened Monday threw this theory out the window.

"Mmmm...uuuh..."

Yami was in the bathroom at 4:30 in the morning, his seagreen face hovering over the toilet bowl. His stomach was roiling and boiling, ready to bring up anything and anything that was in it at that moment, be it broccoli or bile.

Mmmph...! The boy grabbed onto the toilet as Sugoroku's lasagna, which had such a wonderful taste going down, came back up with a not-so-wonderful taste. Should not...eat...Italian...uuugh...!

His next round of wretching woke Yugi's grandfather up, who found him in the corner wiping the sweat off of his brow. The next thing Yami knew, he was in his room, downing cups of hot water. By the time he felt like he was in any condition not to throw up, the clock struck eight.

"...Well, this isn't good." The elder Motoh looked at the pharoah, his finger tapping his chin. "Maybe I did put something extra in that lasagna on accident!"

"...Hmm." Yugi let the heat of the water sear his face; it made his head feel better from the throwing up. "I haven't...been feeling all that well, actually."

"You haven't?" At this, Sugoroku blinked. "For how long? If you haven't been feeling right, it may not be a good idea for you to..."

"...I'll be fine, grandfather." Yami tried to give the older man a reassuring smile. "I think it's just the heat getting to this body. I've been outside for gym a lot, I think, is all."

"...Well, if you think you're all right to go to school. But be careful." Yugi's grandfather pat him on the back at this. "You'd better get going, or you'll end up being late!"

Nodding, Yami got dressed, took up his schoolbag and lunch and ran out the door. He calculated that if he ran at the pace he was going the whole way, he'd be able to get in early without being carded by the student council.

A block and a half away from the house, however, Yami found himself needing to stop and take a breath. The pavement felt like it was pitching and rolling under him, and the wall was tilted and blurred.

What the... He almost threw up again from the nausea. What's wrong with me? It's still here...food poisoning... stomach virus...!? What is it!?

Steadying himself on a lamppost for several minutes, he started walking again, this time slowly. Gradually the dizziness wore off, but Yami knew he wouldn't be able to run. Not if he wanted the world to spin like a top again.

I'm going to be late, he thought to himself, annoyed at his body for acting the way it was.I'm going to be so very late. Damnit.

---------

Yami ended up being almost twenty minutes late to school.

"Heheh." Sitting down at the desk next to him, Jounouchi slapped Yami on the back. "Good to see you came, Yugi! We were getting worried when you didn't show up at the first bell. That's not like you."

"Thanks - I just was feeling a bit off so I ended up late," Yami managed a smile. "Hopefully I'll be able to make it through today, since I'll be attending detention this afternoon."

"Trust me! You made it through the first day of school, so you can make it through every day!" Jounouchi gave him a thumbs up. "Even detention! Just doodle if you get bored."

"...I'll keep that in mind."

"And feel better!" Jounouchi had a little gleam in his eyes. "Remember, you and I have a duel at Honda's house, yeah?"

"Of course." A ghost of a smile appeared on Yami's face. "I wouldn't miss it-"

"Motoh!" The sharp voice of the English teacher brought both boys to attention. "Are you quite done talking? Please take out your book as instructed, unless you want bathroom duty this afternoon."

"I...!" Yami's eyes widened, and he quickly bowed his head. "Y-yes, sensei! I'm sorry..."

Yami looked down at his books as the sensei turned back to the blackboard, fumbling for the correct one. Finally he got it out, and he flipped it open with a sign.

"...Now then," The classroom was quiet save for the clacking of chalk on blackboard. "Today's lesson will begin where we left off on Friday, regarding past participles..."

Yami watched as the teacher put her notes on the board, doing his best to write down everything she said and did. However, after sometime, he noticed that his English handwriting was starting to look more like incoherent scribbles than actual letters.

What is... He gave a sigh as he shook the cobwebs out of his head and tried to write again. This is really getting annoying...

"...then you bring this over to form coherency..."

Yami did his best to get through the lesson, but it was a struggle. The dizziness ebbed and flowed, and the strange desire to sleep began to nag at him. But he pushed on, refusing to give in, even as the desire became stronger.

I...slept...long enough! Yami cursed his body as his eyes rolled up to the back of his head. Stay awake, damn you...what is wrong with you...Stay AWAKE!

Yami kept telling himself this throughout the morning, not feeling his eyes close or his head drooping. He kept telling himself not to sleep, but ultimately, it was in his dreams that this happened. In reality, he had already nodded off.

An hour after Yami inadvertently gave in, the math sensei entered the classroom. Usually, he gave the class a cheerful good morning; however, Jounouchi, at his desk, noted that he was looking rather angry.

Uh oh. Jounouchi felt a lump in his throat. We're getting a quiz, aren't we? Oh, shit, we're getting a qui

"Attention, class." The classroom tensed as the sensei spoke. "This morning our office received a call informing us that a student at High School 5 was taken into custody for bringing in weapons to school. Apparently he and several other co-conspirators throughout the different high schools in this city were planning to take their schools hostage due to the increased end-exam entrance fees."

There was a slight murmur in the classroom at this. Jounocuhi's eyes widened at this, and he went to look at his friend for his reaction to this news. To his shock, however, Yami was slumped over in his chair, his breathing heavy. A small snore escaped from his mouth.

Wh-what!? Jounouchi's mind screamed. Wh-what the hell!?

"I have been asked to do a desk check to ensure that no one is carrying any dangerous items." The sensei started towards the first row. "When I come to you, please open your desk and reveal the items placed therein. This will only be a few minutes; we will then start with our lesson. I apologize for having to do this, but I would hope you'd see the necessity for doing this."

The murmur came back from the students, but it was one of relent. One by one the desks were opened, and the teacher filed through schoolbags, papers, and lunch boxes. When he was satisfied, he gave a nod, and moved onto the next student.

"Y-yugi...Hey...!" As quietly as he could, Jounouchi began to poke the pharoah's arm. "Come on, wake up! Teacher's coming around!"

Yami did not respond to his touch, and Jounouchi began to panic as the tsensei finished the first row of students. He was coming towards Yami, giving Yami a frown as he saw that the boy looked like he was sleeping. Jounouchi gave a gasp, and started poking the pharoah harder.

"Yugi...Yugi!?" Soon, Jounouchi's whisper became sharp, and the poke became a very hard pinch on the underarm. "Pharoah!!"

Yami's eyes immediately bolted open, and he managed to collect himself just in time for the desk check. Quickly he opened his desk and allowed the sensei to see his schoolbooks, lunch and Duel Monster deck. The sensei shuffled through his desk, frowning, but seeing that he had no weapons on him, moved on with a nod.

"Mmm." Yami blowed his head while blinking his eyes, as the sensei left the classroom with his checkpad. "I wonder what that was about now? And..." He looked down at his arm. "Did you just pinch me?"

"Of course I pinched you! Sensei just told us he was doing a desk check for...?" Jounouchi stared at the pharoah. "Wait, how long were youasleep, Yugi?! It's almost lunchtime now!"

"...I was asleep?" Yami looked genuinely surprised. "Huh, are you sure? Surely, I thought...I was telling myself not to."

"Yes..." Jounouchi's eyes narrowed. "It didn't work, though. Have you been getting enough sleep, Pharoah? You better be..."

"Yeah, yeah..." Yami rubbed the sleepers out of his eyes in confusion. "I went to bed early last night. I was really tired...I woke up a bit early, though, so..."

With that, Yami gave a slight yawn, and began to take out his lunch. Jounouchi watched as he began to take several bites out of the egg salad sandwich, frown, and then put it back into the box.

"...This doesn't taste right." Mumbling, Yami took out Yugi's little coinpouch from his schoolbag and counted out several yen. "I think I'll go get something from the cafeteria today. Watch my bag, Jounouchi?"

"Yeah..."

Jounouchi looked at the sandwich, than back at the pharoah as he exited the room. Quietly, he picked up the food and bit into the uneaten parts. He took his time munching on it, in order to figure out what it was that didn't taste right to Yami - the texture, the mayonaise, or maybe the egg was expired. Something, anything.

In the end, though, even after taking another bite, Jounouchi couldn't find anything wrong and was almost tempted to eat the whole thing himself. Almost.

What the heck? The half-eaten sandwich was returned, and Jounouchi stared at it, a flicker of concern in his eyes. What's going on, Pharoah...? Are you really ok...?

------------

"...Ugh, that was brutal."

Jounouchi kept his eye on Yami as he came out of detention, having waited even after being dismissed for him. He looked pale coming out of the school building, and his walking seemed somewhat unsteady; his eyes were half-closed and kept drooping.

"You don't have to tell me. I've done detention before." Quickly Jounouchi crooked his arm into Yami's just as he seemed ready to fall over. "What the hell's wrong, Pharoah? You've been acting off all day."

"Mmm." Yami closed his eyes. "I think...I'm sick."

"You think?" Jounouchi scoffed as he led Yami out of the gates. "How about you are?"

"I'll be fine, Jounouchi," Yami muttered. "So I threw up a little this morning."

"What?!"

"...And I threw up again during modern literature. But other than that..."

"So that's why you took forever when you...!" Jounouchi gave him a very annoyed look. "You know, really. You should've gone home, you idiot!"

"But I know why I'm not feeling good," Yami growled in response, feeling his anger suddenly rise. "I had something last night that just isn't agreeing with me. That's all, honestly. There's no need to interrogate me."

"...You better be right."

With that, Jounouchi dragged his friend the three blocks to Honda's house. He was pretty sure that a duel would make Yami feel better - and hopefully take his mind off of the strange behavior of the spiky-haired boy.

These symptoms... Yami looked down worriedly at the ground as Jounouchi rang the doorbell. So unusual. Why am I...

His eyes briefly widened as a terrible thought struck him. It had been almost a month since Yugi, and the Puzzle, had been taken from him; before, they'd never been separated for more than one day. The terrible thought made sense to him the more he thought about it. The timing, the symptoms...

Wh-what if...this body...is reacting to Yugi's absence...by falling apart!?

-----------

"...And now I end my turn."

Jounouchi sat back and watched as the pharoah looked over the playing field with a frown. Jounouchi was leading the duel by 600 life points, and had summoned Kojikocy, which had destroyed Happy Lover with little problem. The blonde also had a face-down card, which denoted a trap or effect of some kind. Drawing a card, Yami looked over what he had in his hand, looked at what Jounouchi had on the field, and nodded.

"Pot of Greed," Yami discarded the magic card and drew. He then took up three cards out of his hand. "I summon Kuriboh to the field, and I lay a card face down."

"...Oh boy."

Jounouchi gave a gulp at this. Not so much at the face-down card Yami was playing, which could probably be destroyed by the Goblin during his turn - at least, that was the hope he was grasping at. But face-down card or no, the Kuriboh was a sign that Yami had something up in his sleeve, and it would be nothing but trouble the next turn - even with Jounouchi having Chasm of Spikes as his trap card. That was a certainty that had been learned by experience - Kuriboh was not a card to laugh at, especially in the pharoah's hands.

Thankfully, Jounouchi's inevitable fate was delayed by the sound of a clanging pot.

"Dinneeer!" Honda cheerfully set the large, steaming pot on the table. "And don't worry, I made plenty for people to have seconds!"

"Um..." Jounouchi sniffed, then plugged his nose. "Wh-what the heck did you make? It smells wierd..."

"Chili!"

Immediately the top came off, and the inglorious creation was revealed. The food was sizzling and burning on the sides, and large chunks of various unknown foods - all blackened - seeped up to the bubbling surface. The smell reminded Jounouchi of raw sewage, and he her to turn away from the table in order not to throw up. It wasn't even red-looking; it was a disgusting green color bordering on brown, as Honda had used what looked like outdated guacamole paste, instead of proper chili mix for the food.

"Hondaaaa!" Jounouchi squeaked angrily as he continued to hold his nose. "That is not chili! That's expired nacho dip!"

"Hey, like you can cook!" Honda glared as he scooped out a soupy ladleful and plopped it into Yami's bowl. "Don't make fun of it! It's delicious, and unlike normal chili it's packed with vitamins and minerals!"

"And also loaded with scores of botulism," The blonde boy muttered in response. "Justwhat did you put in this!?"

"Stuff!" Yami poked at the bowl with his spoon, unsure, as Honda responded. "Let's see. I mixed some curry powder in with lime juice and tofu paste, and then added some lima beans and chicken. Then, I put in some string beans, some leek, some celery, a bit of eggplant, salt, pepper, then while I cooked it I added some squid-"

"Wh-whaaat!?" Jounouchi's eyes bugged out. "What the hell did you do, clean out all the crap from the fridge and dump it in!?"

"Hey! Not crap!"

"Looks like it to me!"

"Hmph!" Haughtily, Honda plopped some into Jounouchi's bowl, causing a piece of it to fly into his hair. "You're just a picky eater."

"Mmmmmmmmm...!" Angrily, Jounouchi wiped his hair out. "It's not pickiness, it's a desire for self-preservation!"

"Just shut up and eat it."

With a growl, Jounouchi stabbed the concoction with his spoon, bringing up a very unsavory-looking piece of food that looked like it was better suited for a nuclear plant. As quickly as he could, he pinched his nose even tighter and threw the grub in. Instantly his eyes bugged out as the taste - which he could only describe as a cross between miso soup, ranch dressing and a vegetable medley gone wrong - kicked in, and he grabbed his napkin and spat it all out.

"Braaaaagh!" The blonde glared at Honda. "This is the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted! Did you baste this thing in sewage!?"

"Hey! I spent an hour cooking it!" Honda growled. "Don't throw my food up!"

"Well, I wouldn't throw your food up if it wasn't gross!"

"You just don't know a good meal when it hits you in the face!"

"Well, it did hit me in the face," Jounouchi glared. "And I think it's the worst thing I've ever tasted, and I hope you dump it into the garbage!"

"Why you-"

"Stupid-"

"BURP!!"

The two immediately stopped their fights just before coming to blows, turning to see Yami covering his mouth. In response, Yami looked at them sheepishly, his face beet red.

"...Phew. Excuse me." Yami's head went down as he wiped his mouth with his napkin. "Sorry, that was rude...just came out of nowhere."

"...Are you ok, Pharoah?"

"Of course." Yami looked at Honda. "Actually, Honda, I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I had another bowl of your chili...stuff."

"Another-!?"

At this, Jounouchi looked at Yami's bowl and nearly fell over. It was completely eaten, to the point where it looked like Yami had taken his finger and rubbed it around the sides of the bowl to get all of the extra 'chili' off.

"G...guh..." Jounouchi's eye twitched. "Are...you...kidding!?"

"Haaaahaa...!" Honda gave Jounouchi a smug look as he made Yami a new bowl, as well as making one of his own. "Two again one. Looks like you've been out-eaten, Mr. Gambler...!"

At this, Honda took a huge bite of his food and gave it a few chomps, only to immediately cough and hack it back up seconds later. His face turned blue as he quickly leaped up from the table grabbed a giant bowl from his cabinets, filled it with water, and chugged it down in three gulps. Then, he took the bowl and filled it again, this time washing his mouth out and spitting the water into the sink after each sip.

"...Hmph." It was not Jounouchi's turn to look smug. "Now who's been out-eaten, Mr. Janitor...?"

"Shut up!" Honda spun his head towards Yami. "Y-yugi, how can you haveanother bowl of that abomination!? I can't even stand it...and I'm the one who made it!! What are youthinking...!?!"

"...I'm thinking..." Yami took another bite and swallowed it, his face still extremely red. "That you both need to get past your gag reflexes."

"Whaaaaaat!?!?"

"And..." Looking around, Yugi wiped his brow. "Is it just me, or...did it suddenly get hot in here...?"

"QUICK, GET IT AWAY!!"

Instantly, the bowl of chili was yanked out from under Yami's place. The next thing he knew, the pharoah was suddenly pinned to the wall by Honda, who was hovering the bowl of water menacingly over his head.

"What the..." Yami squeaked. "What the hell are you doing!?"

"Saving you! Hello!!" Honda brought the bowl towards Yami's mouth. "Quick! Drink this before your insides explode!"

"Why?"

"The chili!" Honda's expression indicated he was dead serious. "Soon it'll boil your intestines and it'll take forever for me to clean it off the wall! I can't take any chances! Drink!!"

"I-" Yami growled. "That does not happen from eating chili!"

"From this one it does! Your face is beet red-"

"I'm fine!" The next thing Yami knew, he was screaming at Honda, his temper shot. "For the love of everything holy, stop acting like I'm a child, and give me my damn chili!!"

Silence. Honda stared at the red-faced pharoah as if snakes had started pouting out his ears. Yami himself was surprised out his outburst; he didn't realize why or how he'd gotten so quickly angered. But it had it's effect; Honda slowly stepped back from the pharoah and put the bowl of water down on the table.

"Uh..." Honda gulped. "Are...you sure...you're feeling ok, Yugi? This isn't like you..."

"I told you I'mfine." Yami felt his ears burning as he grumbled. "I'd just like to have my chili without you acting like it's the end of the world."

"Uh, Honda's got a point, Pharoah." Jonouchi's eyes narrowed again. "Your face is almost purple!"

"Purple?"

"Yeah..." Jounouchi looked down. "You know, maybe...maybe you should go home."

"But I..." Yami felt his anger rising again. Why was he being so emotional over a bowl of chili? "I haven't even finished my...and...our duel..."

"It's ok, man. We can take a rein check on it." Jounouchi turned away. "But...I think it might be a good idea for you to get some rest. You know, with the...with what happened in math class and all..."

"...Whatever."

Yami's eyes narrowed, but he refrained from saying anything out loud as he stomped over to collect his items, as he knew that if he said something he would regret it. Still, the two of them were completely overreacting over the smallest thing. It was just chili, or whatever it was that Honda made, and so what if his face was flushed and felt like he was in a sauna? It was really nothing for i them /i to be worried about.

...Or what if it's...Yugi...

"...Hmph. I'm gone." Before he left, however, he turned back around with a glare on his face. "Honda, you'd better not throw that food out. I'll be coming by to pick it up tomorrow night."

"Wh-" Honda's eyes bugged out. "All of it!?"

"All of it."

The collective groan by Jounouchi and Honda was cut off by the slamming of the apartment door.

---------

Yami walked back towards Kame Game Shop, feeling the nausea start to come over him again. Without a word he took his shoes off and started towards the back of the shop. Looking on from the register, Yugi's grandfather frowned.

"You still look awful, Pharoah," he spoke, his use of Yami's true identity of sign of concern. "You should probably get some rest. You look like you've been hit by a truck!"

"Grandfather?"

"I can close the shop on my own," Sugoroku waved him off impatiently. "Go on now, get going!"

With a sigh, Yami reluctantly obeyed, dropping his school supplies into the bedroom and changing into pajamas. Thankfully, his homework had been done during detention, though , as with many things during the day, it felt like he was pulling his own teeth doing it.

Mmm... Yami almost flopped onto the couch, exhausted. My head hurts...

He flipped on the television, only half-paying attention to the TV Tokyo News as it came on, its various personalities reporting a variety of news reports from all over the world. The Americans did something that angered half the world, as per usual. Toys made in China were recalled for killing children. A business executive for Thai Airlines died after an unidentified tumor ruptured his spleen. Peru was hit by an earthquake, and a hurricane was about to hit Mexico. The Toyo Carps were beaten by the Swallows.

It's things like this that makes people wonder about the world today, Yami thought drearily. I personally feel like taking my head and shoving it into a pot of boiling hot water right now.

Instead, however, he found himself drifting off to sleep as the televisions droned on, and soon, he was slumped on the couch, sleeping once more.

Aah, Pharoah. With a sigh, Sugoroku put a blanket over the teen's still body. I know it's hard, being in this body the whole time. But we'll find the Puzzle. Don't think I've given up on that…..or on Yugi.

He glanced over at the corner at this. Yugi's computer hadn't gotten much use since he'd left, at least not by Yami. Sugoroku, on the other hand, had been using nearly every day since the incident, contacting everyone he knew who would have any interest in finding the Puzzle - or stolen artifacts, for that matter. So far, there had been nothing promising. But he was confident that could change any day.

We will find him…..we will!