I'm so glad this fic has had such a good reception so far! Your reviews make me smile :)

Here's the next installment of Echoes of a Jealous Creature. Enjoy!

"What do you want, Pharaoh?" The title was spat from the Other's mouth with utter disgust.

The demon stared at Yami from the darkened room in which he'd been found. His fierce crimson eyes all but glowed in the supernatural shadows engulfing the room. The Pharaoh was hardly fazed. He stood his ground, just outside the door.

"I want you gone, but it doesn't matter what I want," he remarked. "Yugi's taken a liking to you for some unfathomable reason."

"He's taken a liking to me because it's only natural," the Shadow replied. "We're his yami."

"I'm his yami," the Pharaoh said through gritted teeth.

Suddenly those shining eyes were merely an inch from his face. A feral growl rumbled deep in the Other's throat.

"Well since we're both you I would have thought that title applies to me as well," he snarled.

Yami remained silent. They glared at each other for a tense moment, neither of them certain for how long. Eventually, the Pharaoh saw fit to break the silence.

"Yugi has asked that we… get along," he told the Other.

The spirit stepped back and regarded Yami. He looked down.

"I sense you don't like the idea of that," he murmured.

"I've already told you that it doesn't matter what I think." Yami would be civil – losing his patience would only prove a point that wasn't his. "Yugi wants to get to know you and he doesn't find you a threat."

"So I'm not going to be spending tonight locked away again?" the Other asked with mock politeness.

Yami's gaze narrowed. "Not tonight. But-" He loomed over the shorter spirit, eyes shining. "-all this means is now you'll have me breathing down your neck every step you take. You will not harm Yugi. If you even think of—"

"How dare you," the demon shot back. "I wouldn't dream of hurting Hikari. His light is so pure it would be unspeakable to taint it."

That didn't make the Pharaoh any more comfortable than he was before. If anything, it further roused within him that strange feeling he was trying to ignore. Before he could retort, a loud knock echoed through the dark chamber. Both spirits snapped their attention to the huge iron door that served as the entrance to the Puzzle.

Yugi, they both thought at once.

The Other bolted. After taking a fleeting moment to register what had just happened, Yami – fuming – raced after him. The door was slammed in his face but he shouldered it open without a thought. Yugi looked up when he saw the Pharaoh.

"Hey," he smiled. "I could sense you guys were angry. I wanted to make sure you weren't killing each other."

"We weren't, Yugi," the Other cut in as Yami was about to respond. "I feel we're going to get along very well from now on."

His crimson orbs flashed at the Pharaoh, and the man gritted his teeth. Had he really been this petty when he was first released? Surely not. Surely he hadn't been so ridiculously desperate for light that he would cling that badly. The Shadow began to lead the boy back into his soul room, and Yugi glanced back at Yami for a moment. Naturally, the spirit followed.

Other Yami sighed, almost sounding relieved as he crossed the threshold into the bright, pastel-coloured room. How very pathetic. He whispered something to Yugi – whose arm he had already grabbed – and the boy smiled in return. There was yet another mock furtive glance in Yami's direction. How very pathetic indeed.

"I don't think you quite finished showing me around your beautiful room, Yugi," the Shadow mentioned. "There are so many wonderful things here."

Yami was sickened.

"Right, uh…" Yugi frowned. He stopped and turned to face both spirits. "This is going to get confusing if I call you both Yami."

"Well I'm Yami," the Pharaoh pointed out. "He's just… a Shadow."

The Other bristled, but the spirit ignored him.

"Pharaoh," Yugi sighed. "That's insensitive."

Yami blinked. He failed to see how it was insensitive if it was simply the truth. His hikari was so defensive of someone he barely knew. If he hadn't despised the Other, he'd be proud of the young one's compassion. He realised the boy was waiting for him to say something.

"I… apologise, Aibou."

Well that was far more painful than it should have been.

Yugi turned to the Shadow. "You need your own name. What do you want?"

The Other smiled. "I'm sure anything you think of would be perfect, Hikari."

"Well… you're Yami's past, right?"

"In essence."

"So you're like a memory," Yugi thought out loud. "A memory… what about Kioku?"

Memory. Yami's eyebrows furrowed at the light's choice of name. He himself would have gone for something much more fitting… like Oni. It was far easier to think of the Shadow as a demon than a memory.

The Other grinned, "I love it, Yugi."

Of course he did. Apparently he worshipped everything that came from their hikari. The Pharaoh almost outwardly groaned; he only stopped himself when he realised Yugi was watching him expectantly. He obliged.

"It's very thoughtful, Aibou," he smiled thinly.

Yugi beamed and Yami felt just a little better.

The Pharaoh could no longer deny the fact he was insanely jealous of his doppelganger. He stood glowering, watching his Yugi show the Other around his soul room. He hadn't said much since they'd begun their ridiculous little tour, and had hardly moved, either. He just waited in the corner of the room, arms crossed, glaring at 'Kioku' and wondering how much longer it would be before his hikari realised the Shadow was clearly of ill intention. It was, after all, quite obvious to Yami. Those insane stares and constantly caressing hands were hardly arguable as anything but completely wrong in his opinion. How the light didn't notice was lost on him.

But Yami knew the envy he felt towards his double wasn't helping him keep an open mind. Yugi was his hikari. They'd built an unbreakable bond over countless adventures and here was a psychopath who'd earned the boy's trust in hours. Kioku was certainly more forward than the Pharaoh had ever dared to be. Their values of boundaries were immensely different. But Yami was the right one, wasn't he? It was wrong to enter another's soul room unannounced, surely? It wasn't right to touch so much and ask all those questions and throw reverence to the wind.

Yami stood there for hours before the pair was finished and Yugi yawned, admitting he was feeling tired. The spirit moved to leave when the Other made him even angrier.

"It's so dark in the Puzzle… and lonely. There's no chance I could stay here, is there Yugi?" he asked.

How dare he.

"Uh…" Yugi scratched his head awkwardly. "If it's alright I sleep better on my own…"

The boy clearly had no idea how to answer.

"He needs proper rest," the Pharaoh interjected. "He can't sleep if he's disturbed by another being."

Kioku didn't even regard Yami. "Alright, Hikari. I understand."

Then he did something the Pharaoh could have killed him for. Without warning he moved forward and wrapped his arms around Yugi in a warm embrace. Yami's blood boiled. He stepped forward, but stopped when his hikari's arms slowly moved to return the hug.

"Goodnight, Yugi," Kioku cooed.

He gently pulled away and strode out the door. Yami looked at Yugi with concern, but the boy shrugged and smiled in encouragement.

"He's not hurting me, Yami," he insisted. "He's just lonely."

The Pharaoh set his jaw and nodded stiffly. "Sleep well, Aibou. Goodnight."

And with that he followed his doppelganger out the door, unsure of what to say to either of them. Regardless, he felt his whole body relax now that the Other was back in the Puzzle. Watching him, waiting to rescue Yugi from trouble for so long was exhausting. But he'd never let Kioku know that.

So what do we all think of this Other Yami? His name?

See you next week!