Sigh. This is unedited and given the simplest of look overs. I'm sorry but I'm tired. It's like thee am, I'm typing the last of this and watching the 1960's Original Star Trek Series. Lol – It's official, I'm a

Enjoy

The Darkest Magic

Tifa Strifeheart

Chapter Nine

It had taken about a week but he was, for the most part, wholly recovered. For the most part because he still had no idea where Yami was. He was somewhere locked behind his door but the door would not give way. The Dark Magician hadn't appeared again but Yugi was sure that he was still there somewhere in their shared mind watching. Now he was still in the room that he had woken up in. Madam Prophey had brought in his food and, after a tirade about not bothering to waste time poisoning someone that she had just healed, he had eaten it. All the necessary facilities were attached to the main room that he was in and he didn't really lack for anything but he couldn't leave. There was something about the room that was keeping him in. About the entire building. He could see outside his windows and he could open the glass doors but he couldn't get out of it. Some sort of force field stopped his hand short of being out of the window. This imprisonment was getting frustrating and the daily visits from Dumbledore were beginning to grate on his nerves and the only thing that the elderly man had been able to get out of him thus far had been his name. He had a task to complete; being here wasn't helping him. It would have been ore useful if he had been able to explore but the fact that he was trapped here.

He glanced over at the door as it opened; Dumbledore walked in and Yugi stopped his wondering to stare, none to nicely at him. The man had a bundle of cloths in his hands which Yugi recognized were his. He kept the relief that he was feeling off his face as to not give the professor the satisfaction. He had been wondering when he would be able to get out of the stupid hospital gown and into some real cloths and it was all he could do to keep himself from grabbing at them. "Here you are Yugi." Dumbledore set the cloths on what had unofficially been deemed Yugis bed. The younger man walked towards the bed to inspect the garments. He had decided a while ago that Dumbledore was not in himself dangerous - cunning yes, dangerous probably but a threat to him not so much. Not that he could say that he trusted the man any more then he could throw him. "Or would you prefer Mister Mutou?" Yugi glanced up at his amused face before turning away to look at his cloths again not in the slightest bit surprised that he had figured it out, it wasn't as if he was the most inconspicuous person in the world.

"Whichever you prefer is fine." In the corner of his eye he say the elderly man cross his arms, the ghost of a frown flashing across his face.

"But what are you doing here Yugi Mutou? What is a missing person doing in a confrontation between dark wizards and the Ministry?" HE could feel those blue eyes boring into him searching for an answer but he wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of one. If the man wanted to treat him like a prisoner then he would play the role of one. In the corner of his eye he say the wizard being to stroke his beard in short languid movements. "May it have something to do with the sudden passing of a Sugoroku Mutou. A death the was written off as old age because the real cause had never been determined?"

From the moment his Grandfathers name had been spoken his whole body seemed to suddenly be made of stone. He was sure that it was obvious to the old man but he couldn't bring himself to care. He didn't want any of their kind speaking of his grandfather. A rational part of his mind told him that it was very unlikely that Dumbledore would have had anything to do with the attack on the Game Store. He heard a sigh before Dumbledores weight came down on the bed beside his cloths. The Professor was arranging his robes and when the elderly man looked up their eyes met. "Look Mister Mutou, believe me when I say that I mean you no harm. In fact I would think that there are ways that we would be able to help one another." Yugi tried keep the disbelieving look off his face; he failed and Dumbledore nodded. "If you will forgive mister Mutou but I checked the records." Yugis hands clenched around the black fabric. He didn't want to think about this. He had spent all this time trying to forget and this time there was no Yami to make the memoires go away. He didn't want to see the images that ran through his head with the memories. He didn't want to listen but at the same time he needed to know with a kind of sick fascination.

"What did you find out?" Dumbledore sighed.

"He was killed by a wizard using a spell that is forbidden by our kind. It kills instantly." He folded his hands in his lap. "But you knew that didn't you. You knew that it was one of our own. That is why you were in that field that night, isn't that right Mister Mutou?" Yugi just stared at the pile on the bed of cloths on the bed not really seeing them. He knew that there was no need for a response because the man was right and he knew it. He sighed all the resistance leaving his body, his fists finally unclenching. Yami wasn't here and he knew that he would need the aid of someone.

"It's Yugi."

"I'm sorry?" He looked up at the professor.

"Call me Yugi." The old man nodded a small smile coming to his face.

"Very well then Yugi."

"You said that you could help me find the people that did it."

Dumbledore cooked his head. "Not in so many words, I fear." He used a hand to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Look Yugi. I run a school, one that will be resuming soon and as such I must be here." Yugi frowned. "However, my school is on of few magical centers where you can most likely be able to find some sort of starting point. After the disaster at the Ministry I highly doubt that you will be able to get information from there. If you stay here I am sure that you will find something." It was Yugi's turn to think over the others words.

"What is in it for you? What would you want from me in exchange?" Dumbledore gave him a level look.

"I want to understand what it is that happened in that field that night. You don't seem to be a wizard yet you were able to hold your own a muggle." He straightened his glasses never once breaking their eye contact. "To put it simply - I want to know more about you, Yugi." Yugi stared at the old man. He knew that if he agreed he would, in some way, end up regretting it and he also knew that there was no way that his yami would like this at all. But on the other side: this was his best way to find out what was going on and why his grandfather had been dragged into it. He nodded.

"Fine. You have a deal."

Dumbledore didn't start breathing easy again till he entered his office and had the door closed behind him. Absently he pulled out one of the many sweets that he had in his top drawer and popped it in his mouth not even having enough presence of mind to figure out what it was that he was tasting. Yugi Mutou was just a bundle of complexities. There was something about the young man, something that made up for his lacking height and small stature - things that you wouldn't notice when in his presence. He could fill a room by just standing in it. And then there was the fact that he could use magic. He rolled the sweet on his tongue.

There was more to him then what met the eye and whatever it was had caught the eyes of darker wizards. That fact in itself was reason enough not to let him fall into their hands. Though peace had rained over the last ten years he better than anyone knew that the events that had taken place back then were far from order. Could it be merely a coincidence that Yugi appears now? Somehow the young man had some sort of magic and despite the fact that Dumbledore himself had been around the world a number of times he didn't recognize it from it's description. Briefly he wondered if Yugi was also a wizard. He bit down on the hard candy and it shattered.

He was worried about allowing Yugi on the school grounds among the students but from what he had observed Yugi didn't seem dangerous but bitter. That didn't mean that he wouldn't have the man monitored at all hours. If he became a threat to the students he would have to be dealt with promptly. He hoped that that didn't happen, there was much to learn from him. He always thought himself to be a good judge of character and he would follow instincts that had not failed him so far. He nodded to himself. Yugi would stay at Hogwarts where he could keep an eye on him personally, he would have to come up with some reason to have him on the grounds.

Glad that he had come to a decision the headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry turned his thought to other matters; like for example, the new batch of first years that were due in September. He glance down at the short list.

This year was sure to be interesting if anything.

Seto Kaiba sighed, rubbing his temples in a futile effort to stall an oncoming headache. He had been staring at the console at his desk trying to piece this together past events and so far he'd come up with nothing. "Computer, cross-reference by age." He spun his chair, away from the screen and the harsh light digging into his skull.

Jonouchi had disappeared somewhere and he couldn't really bring himself to care all that much. He had been having constant headaches: Jonouchi told him were caused by the use of his 'magic.' Apparently, his body would get used to it with time and usage. Since he couldn't move any faster than he already was, all he wanted was for time to hurry and pass. Not that he was going to admit that to anyone, the mutt least of all. He gave his temples one final knead before dropping his hands back onto the pages on his lap. With more effort than usual he stared at the words on the various news paper cut outs. He had told his assistant that he could have got all the articles on the Internet. Of course Jonouchi hadn't bothered to listen to him: now he had a small pile of newspaper clippings scattered across his desk. He also had a copy of every single one of them on his hard drive. Now looking at the paper and ink was a relief on his eyes from the glare of the screen but that was the only relief.

The articles seemed to be echoes of one another. They were all a testament to what it was that had been happening in the city for the past few months. Since Jonouchi had been able to get him into investigating they had not learned very much. It was more like the attacks had been steadily been getting worse as time passed. Each case had been the same; all the victims were found dead. According to Jonouchi all of the bodies were empty - husks of the people that they had once been. The blond had made him touch the body and he thought he had felt something - yet another thing that he wasn't likely to admit. He closed his eyes against the words. There had to be something. Something that they were overlooking. He needed to think everything they knew through.

Someone - or something - was targeting people in Domino. It was happening in cities around domino but not at the level that it was happening here. It was like Domino was the target, anywhere else that got hit just seemed to be unexpected causalities. The victims themselves had all been the same - no apparent damage done to them physically but more like they had fallen asleep and just passed on. Most of the cases would have been written off as such if there weren't a good number of cases that appeared to have ended in a struggle. That and the fact that most of them were too young to have just passed away. Jounouchi assured him that there was nothing remotely peaceful about the way that the people had 'passed' on. He sighed and looked away from the articles. What in the world could possibly be going on here.

"Mister Kaiba." He would have groaned if he were a lesser man but because he was Seto Kaiba, he just settled on glaring at the intercom on his desk. When the small black box refused to melt he reached for the talk button taking a mental note - with a hint of amusement - to get Jonouchi to show him how to burn things.

"I told you not to disturb me under any circumstances." He just heard her make a scared sound that was very satisfying.

"I- I'm sorry Sir. I-I … There is someone here to see you." Her words came out in a rush as if she were trying to take the blame off of her self. Kaiba frowned even though she wasn't his direct secretary, she knew better than to take his orders lightly.

"I told you to cancel all my appointments and hold my calls. I made it clear that I didn't want to see anyone."

"I know Sir but- this person says that he must see you." He gave the intercom a hard stare. Before he got a chance to say anything however the connection was cut from the other end. He had been in enough sticky situations in his life not to take the suddenness of the action as a warning. Without sparing anytime to think he pulled out the gun that he always kept in the lowest drawer of his desk and made sure that it was loaded and ready. It wouldn't take whoever it was long to get from the floor lobby to his office and he wasn't going to be taken by surprise.

On silent feet, Kaiba moved around his desk. The carpet seemed to eat sound as he crossed the large room. Carefully he pressed his ear against the large wooden doors that led into the hall way. The seconds passed by as he listened intently to the silence. Once he was sure that the hallway was empty he took a steadying breath - one hand on the door knob the other with a firm grip on the hilt of his gun. With trained speed he pushed the door open; his gun at ready.

He never got the chance to use it. His world was instantly a wash of white.

Jonouchi stepped through the automatic double doors Kaiba Corp and the hairs on the back of his arms instantly. His eyes narrowed as he glared at his surroundings looking for the source of his discomfort, I wasn't the woman at the main desk. He glanced two men walking out of the building in a pair of suits, one nodded at him and he eased his expression and returned the nod as they passed. It wasn't the number of people that sitting in the lobby waiting nor was it the janitor sweeping off in one of the corners. He shook his head. Standing here looking around wasn't going to fix things nor would it tell him what the hell had been going on. He hadn't been gone that long but something in Kaiba Corp was different. Something was wrong. Without a glance at the front desk secretary he made his way to the elevators. The waiting on the elevator was excruciating and the crush of bodies around him drove the fact home. Standing in the crowd he knew that something was wrong. There was a feeling that he could not place but the higher up that he got the more defined that feeling got. He was beginning to dread what he would find when he got to the top floor. Worry made the ride up both longer and infinitely shorter. Before he realized it, the elevator had emptied and it was making it's final stop at the top floor.

The elevator doors slid open smoothly and he was instantly alert. His eyes scanned the small lobby in one sweep; his 'shadow senses' sweeping the area for anymore threats. There was the woman sitting at one of the two desks. His was the one on the right and closer to the door. Even as tense as he was he managed a smile as he started towards the woman's desk; even if it was a bit strained. "Hey Mrs. Mikuru. Anything happed while I was out?" 'Light, light. Keep it easy.'

The middle aged woman shook her head. "Nope. It's been really quite. Not a peep from him." She gave him a private smile that he often shared with her about ;the boss.' He could only return it with a pale imitation. Without another word he swept passed her and towards the CEO's office. When he had left, Kaiba had been nursing a headache that he had been enduring for the past few days. He was sure that the prude was going to burst before he got back. The fact that he hadn't was more then a cause for concern. Hell, Jonouchi was downright worried.

He knocked before opening the door; justifying the politeness of the action by not bothering to wait for a response. Kaiba was at his desk, typing rapidly on his computer. The CEO didn't spare him a glace as he walked in and Jonouchi felt something in his gut ease slightly. He was alright. Something was still strange but at least Kaiba wasn't hurt because of it. Finally the brunette looked up at him, eyebrow raised blue eyes sharp. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Jonouchi couldn't hold back the grin that split his face. "Ah, don't tell me that you missed me." Kaiba's other eyebrow joined its mate and Jonouchis grin increased. "I wasn't gone that long. The station had nothing that I didn't already have. And all the autopsy reports were the same for the most recent victims." He plopped down on one of the two chairs that were in front of the large wooden desks with a dramatic sigh for effect.

Kaiba shot him a level look. "You better not end up dragging me down with you." He chuckled; Kaiba glared.

"So… What were you able to do while I was gone? Learn anything?" Kaiba didn't but Jonouchi knew he wanted to roll his eyes.

"I worked. What else do you think I do here?"

He leaned forward. If it was Kaiba saying this… "Any progress? You find anything?" Kaiba leaned back in his chair. If Jonouchi didn't know better, he would have thought that the CEO was confused.

"What are you talking about? What could I possibly be looking for?" Jonouchi stared at him in disbelief. They had been working on this for almost a month now. There was no way that he could have forgotten. And Kaiba didn't joke. Did he?

He stood up. "You have got to be kidding me." He glanced down at the desk, in search for the paper clippings that he had left for the CEO. "We have been working on this for weeks now. What do you mean 'what am I talking about'?" When he couldn't find the clippings he moved around the desk. Ignoring the protests of Kaiba whom he pushed out of his way, Jonouchi opened the three drawers on the left side of the desk in successions and rifled through them. They were gone. All the clippings that he had so painstakingly collected were gone. He turned, blue eyes meeting brown. "Where are they?" Kaiba just glared.

"Where is what?"

He couldn't be serious. "The article clippings that I gave you! The ones on the murders!" Now Kaiba wasn't trying to hide his confusion.

"What are you going on about Mutt?" He sighed and leaned back to sit on the edge of the desk facing his employer. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes for a moment. He knew that something was wrong when he had entered the building. He opened his eyes and focused on the man in front of him.

"Look. A few weeks ago we found the body of this homeless guy. It looked like his soul had been taken from his body. He was dead." Kaiba was giving him a dry look that told him that he didn't believe a word that was coming out of his mouth. "You have to believe me! There are so many people that-" Jonouchi, never one for patience, he reached for Kaiba's wrist to emphasis his point. Their skin touched for only the barest second but it was enough. He pulled his hand away with a muffled cry. He gripped the limb as if it had been burned and in a way it had been. He stared at Kaiba in horror. He thought that something had happened and now he was sure. Now Kaiba was staring at him like he was insane now but now he knew what the problem was. There was something inside of him. Inside Kaiba.

"What happened today?"

Kaiba frowned even through his confusion. "I told you already I've been here working all day since you left." Jonouchi stood up.

"That's not right. Something happened." He stopped his pacing and pointed at Kaiba. "Something happened to you when I left." He dragged a hand through his hair.

"What the hell are you talking about? Damn it Jonouchi" The fact that the brunette was swearing told him enough about how aggravated he was with what he was witnessing. Ignoring his out burst, the blonde did the only thing that he could think of and reached through the scales at his neck and into the power of the shadow realm. Reaching mentally towards Kaiba he frowned when his 'fingers' brushed against the other man. Kaiba shivered unconsciously at the touch but, thankfully, stayed silent. Probably acknowledging the fact that whatever it was he was doing was important - hell Jonouchi didn't know what it was that he was doing but even he knew that it was important. After a moment he felt it there; wrapped around Kaibas head seeping into the skin, the bone and into the brain and wrapping around his spine. Something was there. He wasn't sure what it was but he knew that he couldn't force it off whatever it was. There had to be another way.

He slowly began to come back to himself and frowned. He couldn't do anything about this from the outside but maybe… He swung to face Kaiba. "Where is the Rod?" Kaiba pointed to a drawer that was usually locked on the right side of the desk. "I told you not to let it out of your sight.

"It's not as you can see." Kaiba snapped with a frown. Jonouchi just opened his hand and waited till Kaiba fished the key from his pocket and - ignoring the out stretched palm - reached around the blonde and opened the drawer himself. In it, the Rod lay in the middle of a stand of some sort. Jonouchi snorted at the sight.

"Take it." Kaiba gave him a dry look before reaching into the drawer. He braced himself as he watched long pale fingers reach out and touch the golden surface. As he watched the brunette lift the Rod he started to think that he was wrong; so anti-climactic.

He realized that he was wrong when Kaiba began to scream.

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