It was a long time before Atemu managed to get his thoughts in order. By that time, he was painfully late to class, so he skipped and headed for the library. Why on earth would his name be in the encyclopedia?
Let's see…A…Atemu…Atemu…it's not here…of course it isn't. Why would it-wait… Atemu? See…Game King? What the hell
He dove for the G volume, opening it hurriedly and flipping through the pages. Game King had an entire page devoted to it, and a picture. The face on the page looked remarkably like his…no, it was his. Why wouldn't it be?
Game KingAlso: King of Games
The nickname of one of the most famous gamers in history. He first appeared in the gaming world at the age of 14 during the Duelist Kingdom tournament, and won it. He continued on to win the Battle City Tournament, and numerous other tournaments worldwide. Kept a close circle of friends, many of who were world-class gamers themselves. Namely: Joey Wheeler, Mai Valentine, Ryou Bakura, Marik and Malik Ishtar, Duke Devlon, and Seto Kaiba.
Later in his dueling career, it was revealed that the King of Games was actually two 'Kings', the older Atemu Mouto and his slightly younger brother Yugi. Both were gaming geniuses, able to understand and win any game on their first try. Atemu was more widely known, a situation his brother preferred.
Both attended UCLA, graduated, and became successful. Yugi Mouto married Rebecca Hawkins and raised four children. He continued his grandfather's game shop, which is still in operation today. Atemu Mouto became Seto Kaiba's partner, in business and in love. This union brought pair-dueling into the light of popularity. Both Mouto brothers died in a car accident in Domino City. Atemu was 44, Yugi was 42.
The title 'King of Games' has never been given to another gamer since the Mouto brothers. Today, the name 'Game King' is occasionally used to describe one who exhibits an almost superhuman aptitude when gaming, generally similar to that of the brothers. It is considered a great honor to be compared to such a legend of gaming.
See also: Kaiba, Seto; Devlon, Duke; Duel Monsters.
"Yugi…Mouto…Millennium Items…What?" Upon hearing a pair of words he'd never heard paired up before coming from his mouth, Atemu shoved the encyclopedia back into the shelf, grabbed his bag, and bolted. He didn't stop running until he was behind the gym. At this point, his legs froze, knees locked, and he fell. Pictures flashed in his mind.
A deck of cards with images on them…animals and people, and…Matt?
"Mahaddo."
A group of teenagers…who were they?
"J-Joey…Tea…Tristan…"
Strong arms wrapped around his waist, holding him close. "I'll always be here for you. I promise."
"Seto…" There were tears running down his cheeks…why? Who was this Seto, why did he know his name, and since when did he have feelings for any guy, let alone one he'd never met before?
ENOUGH! Give in to me. It is the best for us both.
Uh-oh. Now he was hearing voices in his head. A deep voice that was much like his own, but not, proud and strong.
Stop questioning. You were born for this purpose Atemu. Why else would you have been given my name? The Gods intended you to be my vessel, should the need arise.
"What need? You hurt my best friend, and turned him into someone else! Nothing's happening, except for some crazy dead guy remembering things in my head!" he yelled without thinking.
You think I forced those memories on you? You think I wanted my personal life to be revealed to you? I couldn't remember either. You tried to dominate me as soon as I got in here, and I could hardly remember before that happened. Stop fighting!
"Why should I? If something is gonna happen, which is highly unlikely, that guy who used to be Matt can handle it. He certainly seemed to know about who you are!"
He cannot, and neither can any of the others. Most of them must be woken by me, and I am the only one who knows everything we need to handle the situation. Atemu, I need this body.
"Listen Pops, things are a lot different from when you were alive. We'd know if there was any kind of danger. I don't want to find out how many other people you're gonna mess with, and you sure as hell can't have my body."
Impudent brat! I'm hardly older than you are!
"Right. You died at 44. I'm 17. That's 27 years difference, give or take a few months."
The first time I died, I was 18 years old. I have reverted to that age and form once again. So I am really just a year older, at most.
"First time you-just what are you?!"
Very angry at the moment. You must understand that I will return to death when I am no longer needed. That means, if we succeed, you will return to your body and normal life, and so will Mahaddo's host. With the way you insist on fighting me, you'll probably remember everything, but everyone else will not. Their memories will be pieced together from what happened so that they will be safe from knowing. This shouldn't be permanent.
"You're sure about that?"
The only things I can ever be sure of are gaming and my friends. You are neither, nor is the current situation. However, I can guess that if there is a problem, the Gods will fix it.
"Gods?"
Of Egypt. That was where I was born and raised, as a Pharaoh, 5,000 years before I appeared in Yugi's time. I still worship them.
"So, in actuality, you're at least 5,000 years older than me?" The Game King laughed, and Atemu relaxed a little. This guy was starting to sound less like a psycho and more like some kind of lost spirit, but in a good way.
Something like that. Can I have the body now?
"It's not going to hurt, is it? It looked like Matt was really hurting."
I think that was a selective case, but I'm not making any promises.
"That makes me feel better." Matt grumbled. "Will you get all of my memories too?"
Only the ones I need. At least, I think that's how it should work. I don't need to know every little bit of your personal life.
"Okay then…have at it…uh…what should I call you?" The Game King laughed. "Ooh…don't do that."
Do what?
"Laugh."
Why not?
"Because I think I'm going to hurl."
You're sick?
"Not until you started laughing. Stop." Unfortunately, this made the Game King laugh even harder. Atemu groaned and clutched his stomach, willing his breakfast to stay put. "God, this day keeps getting better and better…"
I didn't intend- the Game King began. Then Atemu gagged. Oh for the love of- sorry Atemu, but I can't stand seeing other people get sick. In a soft whisper Atemu probably wasn't supposed to hear, he added: I hope I don't choke him or something.
Atemu suddenly found that he couldn't move. It was not a pleasant feeling. What made it worse was the fact that it did absolutely nothing for his stomach. It's not working, whatever he's trying to do, he thought, praying he wouldn't throw up anyway. The thought of drowning in his own vomit was not a pleasant one. Then something looped around his throat.
Don't fight me. The Game King murmured. I don't want to damage anything.
The feeling slid down Atemu's throat until it reached his stomach. Then the 'loop' feeling vanished, replaced by a cool, gentle presence that slowly calmed his stomach back down to a manageable level. Then he could move again.
Better?
"What did you do?" Atemu squawked.
It's complicated.
"Try explaining anyway!"
It's…sort of like astral projection, involving a partially physical manifestation, while still remaining intangible to everything I don't want to obstruct my touch. Then I focus on emitting soothing or claming feelings until I don't have to worry about you throwing up any more.
"Wow…"
Told ya. And it's Yami.
"What?"
You asked what to call me. Yami will do just fine.
"Doesn't that mean darkness?"
Mmhm. Can I take over now?
"By all means."
Thank you. Atemu felt like he was falling, and everything went dark. It lightened after a moment, in a patch on the back wall of…wall?
"It's your soul room. You can see what I see through the…window, if you will. Comfortable?" It was Yami's voice again, but somehow much more real than it had been before.
Yeah, I'm fine. In the same way, his own voice seemed much less existent than it had moments before.
"Excellent. Let's go." Yami said. "You can sleep, if you wish. Or do what you will. Explore my mind if you like, but be careful. I've almost lost of few friends in there."
You do realize how strange it is to say that, right?
"Of course. And thank you. This means a lot to me."
Don't mention it. Atemu murmured, and turned away from his view of the 'real' world, intending to explore a little, find out what the inside of his soul looked like and such. Then, maybe he would check out his new companion's mind-soul-whatever it was. No point in remaining in the dark about what was going on.