DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi. Olwen and Elfin are original characters belonging to Vash is my Angel and are mentioned here with her knowledge, permission and approval. The song 'Can you Feel the Love Tonight' was written by Elton John for the movie 'The Lion King', which is copyright to Disney.
Chapter 9: The Ninth Show
By Shadow's Mirror
Show aired July 25, 2005
D. Human checks his camera and nods to the Dark Magician. "It's all ready to go! Now we just need Shadow's Mirror and we can start taping the show." He pauses for a moment, then hesitantly adds, "Are you sure she's going to come tonight? She's rescheduled this at least ten times so far."
The Dark Magician nods and smiles serenely as he leans back in his comfortable armchair. "Oh yes. She will be here. Gaia is escorting her personally." He and D. Human trade smiles at the thought of the strong young knight, with a reputation for being one of the most stubborn of all the Shadow Monsters.
"She won't stand a chance." D. Human hums cheerfully as he gets out another video in preparation for the extra long interview that the Dark Magician has planned.
Before the mage can respond, a portal of swirling black shadows appears on the far side of the room. Gaia the Fierce Knight steps out of the darkness and smiles at them. "I have returned."
"So we see." The Dark Magician arches an eyebrow and stares in bemusement at the pair of black sneakers kicking the air in front of the Knight. His eyes travel up over a pair of trim ankles to where black velvet billows around the lower half of the figure Gaia is carrying over his shoulder. "I take it that Shadow's Mirror attempted to reschedule this interview again?"
Gaia scowls and nods. "She certainly did. But I told her that she was just being silly and brought her here anyway." He smiles with a sweetness to rival that of any light's. "Where do you want her?"
"Ah... Just there if you would not mind." The Dark Magician gestures to the other chair positioned in front of the fireplace and watches in silent amusement as Gaia carries his bundle over.
As the knight turns around to face the chair, the top half of his captive comes into the mage's line of sight and the source of the soft thumping sounds he'd been wondering about is revealed. Shadow's Mirror pummels her small fists ineffectively against the knight's back until he suddenly bends forward, depositing her into the chair with a solid whump. She pushes back the hood of her cloak, which had fallen over her face while being carried, and glares at him.
"Thank you so much for carrying me around as if I was a sack of potatoes!"
Gaia grins at her. "You are most welcome." As she makes inarticulate sounds of rage, he nods politely to the Dark Magician. "If there is anything else, please do not hesitate to call me. I am pleased to have been of assistance to you, Dark Magician."
"Thank you Gaia." The mage waits until the knight leaves, and his urge to laugh subsides, before turning his head to smile at his guest.
"Greetings, Shadow's Mirror. Thank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed again tonight."
The girl sighs and shakes her head. "I should have known you would find a way to get me here." She scowls at the mage and then sighs again, her scowl becoming a wry smile. "But honestly, did it have to be Gaia? He has all the tact of a herd of stampeding camels."
The Dark Magician chuckles softly. "My apologies for that. Considering how many times you have rescheduled, I felt that a little... persuasion... might be needed."
"Persuasion? Is that what they're calling it now? I call it being unfair to busy authoresses." A twinkle in Shadow's Mirror's eyes reveals that she is not as upset about it as she seems.
"Busy? Ah! Is that why you have not graced us with your presence for so long?" He leans forward as Shadow's Mirror winces and shifts in obvious discomfort. "How long has it been now? Six months?"
"Seven." D. Human's overly-cheerful voice comes from off-camera. "She was here at Christmas."
"So she was." The mage nods his thanks to D. Human for his help and then fixes Shadow's Mirror with a sad look. "Seven months since you last agreed to be interviewed. That is a very long time. Are you, perhaps, becoming bored with us?"
"Oh no! Nothing like that!" Shadow's Mirror is quick to respond. "It's just been a very busy year for me so far."
"So busy that you have not had time to write at all? I have noticed that you have posted only two stories since your impressive six story Christmas update, and they were some time ago. Would you care to tell our audience about them?"
Shadow's Mirror nods. "Actually, those stories are part of the reason why I haven't written anything in so long. You see, the day after my Christmas update, my computer died and I lost everything I had done during the eight months before that. The hardest part for me was that I lost several stories and chapters that I was working on for a New Year update. Once my computer was repaired, I managed to rewrite two of them. 'Anniversary' and 'Crosswalk' had been the last things I'd worked on and I still remembered them well enough to rewrite them. But the others were a great loss to me. Since then, I've found it very difficult to write. Every time I start something, I find myself trying to recreate something I lost and then I get frustrated because I can't remember the others well enough to rewrite them."
The Dark Magician leans forward and gently pats her knee, his voice soft and heavy with sympathy. "I am sorry. How many stories did you lose?"
The girl thinks for a moment. "I was working on six things at the time. I had one finished story, which was 'Anniversary'. I also had about two thirds of 'Crosswalk' written. Those were the two I rewrote fairly easily. I also lost the dialogue for the first chapter of a new series called 'The Counselor', the second chapter of a companion piece to 'Library' called 'A Life for a Life', I had started chapter three of 'Visitors' and I had the first chapter and two sections of dialogue for a special story called 'At the Beginning'. That last one and the chapter of 'Life' hit me the hardest. I'd worked very hard on both of them and I was devastated at their loss."
"I see." The Dark Magician nods and pats her knee again. "I must admit, I am a little surprised. You said at one point that you would not be working on anything new until you had some of your existing stories finished, and yet all of the stories you just mentioned are new, with the exception of 'Visitors'. I believe that refers to your Inu Yasha story, 'Visitors to a Feudal Fairytale'?"
Shadow's Mirror nods. "That's the one, yes. I did say that, true. Most of my ongoing stories are at points now where they are very difficult to write. I'm having considerable trouble with some of them and I've found that the most effective way to get inspiration for my ongoing stories is to work on other stories. Short one-shots like 'Anniversary' get me into the right frame of mind to write but they also give me a bit of a break from my ongoing stories. Considering how much work I put into my longer stories, the short fics are a welcome relief."
The mage slowly nods, looking thoughtful. "I can see how tiring it would be if you were to work on your ongoing fics constantly, without a break. However, it has been so long since you last wrote anything... May we expect to see something from you soon? You said that one of the things you lost was the second chapter to a companion piece to 'Library', yet I do not recall your posting the first chapter. Will we be seeing that at some point?"
"Yes, you certainly will be." Shadow's Mirror grins and leans back in her chair. Her grin widens as the silence stretches and the Dark Magician begins to fidget in his seat.
He sighs. "Will you tell us a bit about it?" He gives her a long-suffering look as she chuckles.
"Oh, I suppose I could." The girl's eyes twinkle with mischief. "As I said before, it's a companion piece to 'Library', something like 'The Cinderella Spell' was to 'Source'. It's not necessary to read one to understand the other, but it provides more background information on a particular aspect of 'Library'. I've had the first chapter written since around chapter ten of 'Library', but I wanted to get a bit more of it written before I posted it. I wasn't sure if it was a chaptered fic or a one-shot, at that point. Now that I'm sure it's a chaptered fic, I can post the first chapter."
The Dark Magician leans forward eagerly, his eyes gleaming with interest. "So you will be posting that chapter soon?"
Shadow's Mirror nods and smiles. "So soon that it's already been posted as we speak!" She winks at the delighted mage.
"Wonderful! I look forward to reading it! 'Library' started off, I believe I am correct in saying, as a Yugi and Yami fic, but has since incorporated the other characters also. Is this companion story about a character in particular?" The Dark Magician can barely sit still, he is so excited about a new story.
The girl chuckles. "It's about two characters, in a way. 'Life' is similar to 'The Cinderella Spell' in more ways than one. Not only is it a companion piece to a longer story, but it focuses on the Shadow Monsters rather than on the Duelists."
The Dark Magician beams at her. "Is this about me?"
Shadow's Mirror laughs. "I believe you will be in it at some point." She winks at him.
"Oh it sounds like a wonderful story!" The mage continues to beam at her, obviously very happy to be in the story at some point. After a moment, he settles down enough to continue with the interview. "You include the Shadow Monsters fairly often, often creating lives and facts about them. Is there a reason for that?"
"To me, the Monsters are just as much a part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! world as Yugi or Bakura. There are so many stories about the Duelist characters that finding a plot or an idea that hasn't already been used by someone else is very difficult. Writing about the Monsters isn't as popular and you can do so much more using the Shadow Realm as a background, rather than Domino City. Also, because there isn't nearly as much official information about the Realm and the Shadow Monsters, it means that a writer can be more creative when it comes to things like a Monster's personality or life within the Shadow Realm. Also," Shadow's Mirror grins, "I rather like working with the Monsters. They're fun to write."
The Dark Magician smiles at her. "Why thank you. So 'Life' is about the Shadow Monsters. Do any of the Duelists make an appearance in it?"
Shadow's Mirror considers for a moment. "I don't believe so. In fact, I'm expecting to receive similar reviews for the first chapter as I did for the first chapter of 'Hearts'. There were a few readers who asked me when the Duelists were coming into it and who suggested that having original characters in the first chapter wasn't a good idea. Any reader who is after a fic purely about the Duelists or where every chapter is set in a recognisable setting using recognisable characters will be unhappy with me over 'Life'. I'm hoping that there will be some readers who will stick with the story despite that."
The mage blinks at her. "Oh really? Why do you believe readers will be unhappy with you?"
"Most of the story is set in a small European country. The first chapter sets the scene and the main characters come into the story in the second chapter. At first glance, I'm sure most people will go 'huh? Is this really a Yu-Gi-Oh! story? It's not even set in Domino City!' I don't want to give away too much about the plot so I'll just say that yes, it is a Yu-Gi-Oh! story and yes, there will be characters from the series in later chapters. I will also say that 'Life' is very similar to 'Hearts' in a certain way. But what that way is, I'm not telling because it would give too much away for both stories." Shadow's Mirror's eyes twinkle as she pokes her tongue out at the Dark Magician.
"Tease." The mage sighs and smiles slightly. "It sounds like an interesting story. You seem to enjoy setting your stories in unexpected places."
Shadow's Mirror chuckles. "Yes, I do. I don't want to be a writer that always does the expected. I like doing the unexpected so that when I do the expected, it isn't expected and so comes as a surprise." She smiles serenely as the mage blinks and tries to work out exactly what she just said.
"Ah. I see." The Dark Magician looks very confused but he carries on with the interview anyway. "Shadow's Mirror, it has been quite some time since you last wrote anything. You mentioned before that you had been busy and that you had found it difficult to write without dwelling on what you had lost, does that mean that you have not been able to write anything in all that time?"
"Yes and no." Shadow's Mirror shifts more comfortably in her chair and turns her head, staring into the fire for a moment while she composes her thoughts. When she looks back at the mage sitting opposite her, the girl's eyes are sad. "After rewriting what I could, namely 'Anniversary' and 'Crosswalk', I tried to figure out what to do about the other things I'd lost and I realised that I couldn't remember enough about them to rewrite them. It was as if that realisation sapped my urge to write. I tried and I spent hours just staring at a blank page. If I don't feel like writing, I can't force myself to write. I had exhausted myself working on the Christmas update too, which didn't help. So I took a little break."
The Dark Magician arches an eyebrow. "Six or seven months is your idea of a 'little break'?"
Shadow's Mirror chuckles and shakes her head. "My break was about a month, but when I tried to write again... that was when I found myself dwelling on my lost stories. Every time I started to write a chapter of an ongoing story, I'd have to stop because it wasn't what I wanted to be writing. But what I wanted to write, I couldn't write at that point. So, since then, I've been waiting."
"Waiting until what you wanted to write came to you?" The Dark Magician smiles at her in sympathy.
"That's right." Shadow's Mirror sighs and looks down at her hands, folded neatly in her lap. "It's been very frustrating for me." Her voice is so soft that the Dark Magician has to lean forward to hear it.
He pats her knee gently and his voice is kind. "I am sure it has been. When I asked you if you had written anything recently though, you answered 'yes and no'. Were you speaking about the two stories you had rewritten or dare I hope that you have been able to resume writing?"
Shadow's Mirror looks up and smiles at the mage. "A couple of weeks ago, I had some free time and I felt the urge to read through some of my Yu-Gi-Oh! fics. One of the ones I read was the first chapter of 'Life'. I finished reading it and I was about to close the file when the opening lines of the second chapter were suddenly in my mind. A few hours later, I had the second chapter rewritten. It's not the same as it was when I lost it, but I'm happy with it."
The Dark Magician smiles at her. "Oh that is wonderful news! Congratulations! So will you be posting both chapters at once, then?"
"No. I'm just posting the first chapter for now." Seeing the disappointment on the mage's face, Shadow's Mirror smiles and explains. "I want to get a bit further in 'Library' before I get too far into 'Life'. The two are connected and I don't want to spoil either of them."
"Ah! Understandable." The Dark Magician leans back in his chair and raises an eyebrow. "So does this mean that you are able to write again now, or are you still finding it difficult?"
A mischievous smile curves Shadow's Mirror's lips. "The only difficulty now is the fact that most of my ongoing stories are currently simmering. The only one that's come to the boil so far is the next chapter of 'Hearts'." She waits patiently for her words to sink in. She is not disappointed.
The Dark Magician smiles and begins to nod, then pauses as her words hit him. His eyes widen and he blinks at her in shock, then a bright smile lights up his entire face. "You mean... Have you finished it? Is it being posted soon? Oh my, this is marvelous news!" He is practically bouncing in his chair.
Shadow's Mirror's laughter ripples through the room. "Yes it is finished, I have already posted it and yes, it is marvelous news."
Eagerly, the Dark Magician leans forward. "Tell us about it!"
The girl laughs again and nods. "All right, but just a little because I don't want to spoil it. Chapter five basically brings the story up to what will be the first of the main chapters in the fic. It's a transitional chapter so there's not much action or excitement in it. But on the bright side, it's the last background chapter. The next chapter is where things start getting explained and things become more interesting. I'm really looking forward to writing it. I've had it in my mind for well over a year now, so I know how it goes. Hopefully that means that it won't be long before it comes off simmer."
The Dark Magician's eyes are shining with curiosity and interest. "Oh that next chapter does sound good! I do believe you are critisising your work somewhat harshly, however. I have not found your story to be dull at all."
Shadow's Mirror grins at him. "You are so good for my ego. Seriously, I know there will be some readers who will wonder if the only thing Yu-Gi-Oh! related in that fic is the fact that it involves the use and control of Shadow Magic, and I just hope that readers give it a chance and stick with it. There will be recognisable characters coming into the story, but not for a while yet."
"Have you received any negative comments about that?"
"A few, yes. Some people seem to believe that Yu-Gi-Oh! stories should be about the characters from start to finish and they shouldn't have any original characters at all." Shadow's Mirror wrinkles her nose and sighs. "All I can say is that those readers who stick with that story will eventually realise that it is one of my main stories for a reason. I hope that when they realise what I've done in it, they'll go 'oh wow, I would have never guessed that'. Assuming that anyone is still reading it by the time I get up to that point," she adds with a wry grin.
The Dark Magician smiles at her. "Oh, I am sure there will be those who, like myself, have become curious over the many mysteries in that story. Such as the reason behind the lack of character names and the lack of description in regards to the characters and the mysterious items mentioned."
Shadow's Mirror smiles. "Oh I do hope you're right. I'm having a lot of fun with that, although it does make it more difficult to have to keep writing 'the magician's son' instead of his name."
Chuckling, the mage nods in agreement. "Yes, I can well imagine. So, that is two chapters that you have written recently then? Do you have anything else for us or is there anything coming soon that you wish to tell us about?"
"Hmm..." Shadow's Mirror smiles slightly. "Well, I have also posted chapter nine of 'Interview' and I'm planning on re-reading 'Library' so I hope to have a new chapter of that finished soon, too. Apart from that... well I do have a one-shot that's been posted, as well." Her eyes twinkle with mischief.
The Dark Magician arches an eyebrow and leans forward eagerly. "A new story? Oh how wonderful! What is it called? What is it about?"
The girl arches an eyebrow in return. "You know, you could just go and read it yourself." The mage pouts and gives a pleading look, causing Shadow's Mirror to laugh as she shakes her head. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I get enough of The Eyes from Ryou, Yugi, Malik and Rin from Inu Yasha." She grins. "I was just kidding. The story is called 'A Spring Musical'. Actually, it's not new. I wrote it some time ago. I didn't want to post it on its own though, and since I didn't have anything else finished until now..." She shrugs.
The Dark Magician nods. "So what is it about? It sounds like something similar to 'Gift' or 'Talent Show'. Is it a sequel? Or perhaps it is one of those stories that incorporates a song?"
Shadow's Mirror smiles and nods. "A song fic. Yes, it is. It's also very unusual. I don't normally write Alternate Universe fics, but this one is most definitely AU. It also has the dubious honour of having one of the most confusing author's notes of any fic I've written, purely because it is so difficult to explain what it is and where it came from."
"Oh?" The mage blinks. "Would you care to elaborate?"
The girl leans back in her chair, shifting to get more comfortable. "For some time now, I've been involved in a very good and very intense Yu-Gi-Oh! RP chat. It's set on a world created by my best friend, Vash is my Angel, who is a genius when it comes to creating fascinating and interesting original characters, as well as a world that is so detailed and so realistic that many of the situations have brought me to real tears. 'A Spring Musical' was written as a gift for Vash. She asked me if I would write a fic about Bakura, who I am playing in the RP, and one of her original characters, a Dark Elf named Olwen. I must admit, he is my favourite out of all her characters. I can't get enough of him." She grins as she admits to her Olwen obsession. "Anyway, I don't think she expected what I ended up writing. The scene just popped into my mind and I couldn't resist writing it."
The Dark Magician shifts slightly, as if he's not quite comfortable with the topic. "I see. So... you said it is a... song fic? What is the song?"
Shadow's Mirror's eyes gleam as she smiles serenely. "The song is 'Can you Feel the Love Tonight', from Disney's 'The Lion King'." She chuckles at the look of shock her answer receives. "Yes, that was pretty much Vash's reaction too. Although... that could have been because it wasn't only Bakura and Olwen in the fic."
The Dark Magician is obviously in shock. "You mean... you wrote a romance between Bakura and a Dark Elf named Olwen?" He stares at her, his normal composure shaken.
"Oh no!" Shadow's Mirror shakes her head. "It's not in a romantic sense. More in fun, because Bakura is so protective of Olwen and that strikes a certain someone as being rather amusing." Her eyes twinkle. "I'm not saying who that certain someone is though, that would spoil the story."
"Well at least it is not a romance." The Dark Magician sighs in relief and Shadow's Mirror chuckles.
"Somehow, I can't see Olwen standing for having a romance written about him, let alone one with Bakura." Her eyes gleam as she watches the Dark Magician closely.
The mage nods thoughtfully. "True. He is rather stubborn when it comes to seeing Bakura as anything other than a nuisance." The Dark Magician freezes, his eyes going wide as he realises that he just crossed a line he had been determined not to cross. "Oh dear... I mean... That is how many people see Bakura, so Olwen is no doubt like that also." He smiles weakly at Shadow's Mirror.
"How is Elfin?" The girl grins at the agitated mage.
"Incredible." The Dark Magician gets a dreamy look on his face for a moment, then tenses as he realises what he just said. "Oh dear." He frowns at her. "I thought that we were not going to discuss those AU events in these interviews?" He shifts uncomfortably.
Shadow's Mirror chuckles. "We're not. I just couldn't resist." She winks at the mage as he blushes.
The Dark Magician quickly changes the topic. "Returning to the subject of your stories... With a new ongoing story, 'A Life for a Life', starting, will that not place more pressure on you as a writer?"
The girl snuggles into her comfy chair and considers the question carefully before replying. "I'm hoping that it will ease the pressure, actually. I've found that if I have a few stories going at once, then at least one is usually doing something interesting at any particular time. It's very rare for all of my stories to be simmering at once. It also gives me a break from working on the same story chapter after chapter."
"I see." The Dark Magician nods. "You are updating 'Hearts' and 'Interview' now, what of your other ongoing stories? How are they progressing? You mentioned earlier that the next chapter of 'Visitors' was among those lost. Are you rewriting it?"
Shadow's Mirror thinks for a moment. "Let's see... 'Hearts 5' has just been finished but 'Hearts 6' is very close to coming off simmer, already. 'Interview 9' has just been finished and I'm not expecting the next one of that to come for a while. 'Library' is getting stirred as soon as I leave here, so hopefully I'll have a chapter of that out soon. 'Shadows 4' is close to coming off simmer too. 'Source' is at a very difficult point at the moment. I'll see what happens with 'Library', 'Hearts' and 'Shadows' and then I'll give it a bit of a stir and see if anything interesting happens. 'Life 2' is written and I'll post it at some point in the near future. In my other fics, 'Nightmare' is on hiatus, 'Tournament' is being a pain in the tail and still simmering and 'Visitors'..." Shadow's Mirror winces.
"Oh dear. I fear that expression does not bode well." The Dark Magician leans over and pats her knee, earning himself a smile.
"I really regret not leaving that fic as a one-shot. It was complete. I got the second chapter with great difficulty. I had to drag out every word of what I got written of the third chapter and to be honest, I wasn't very upset about losing it. That's how bad it was." Shadow's Mirror shudders at the memory of the horrible chapter. "It's on simmer at the moment. Hopefully when it comes off simmer again it will be much better than the original attempt."
The Dark Magician nods and smiles at her. "I feel sure that it will be. So that means that you have now rewritten three of the six stories or chapters that you lost and you are going to rewrite 'Visitor's also. What of the other two? They were new stories, am I correct? Will you be rewriting them?"
Shadow's Mirror considers for a moment. "That's a difficult question to answer. I wasn't really sure about 'The Counselor' as a project, to begin with. The dialogue came to me for chapter one and it struck me as being something along the lines of my fic 'Conversations', in writing style not in plot. It's not really striking me as being an interesting fic and it's really just a very long set-up for a single punchline. I'm not sure it would be worth the time and effort to write it. I think it's going to be one of those stories that will be reserved for working on when I'm really bored, just to entertain myself." She grins, but then her smile fades into a very sad look.
"Shadow's Mirror?" The Dark Magician looks at her in concern, but she shakes her head and manages a small smile to reassure him that she is all right.
"The other fic is a different matter." She leans back in her chair and turns her head, staring into the fire as she speaks. "The one I miss the most... 'At the Beginning' was my timeline, transition and explanation fic. It was supposed to set the scene for all of my Yu-Gi-Oh! fics and bridge the gap between the events in the series and what happens in my stories. I had the first chapter written and I was very happy with it. But what hurts is the loss of the two conversations that I had for later chapters. I loved them when they came to me and they came so long ago that I can't remember them now. All I can remember is how perfect they were. I don't know if I can ever rewrite any of that fic. It's the one that haunts me. Whenever I write something, I keep getting glimpses of it. But they're always so intangible that I can never grasp it." She sighs and looks at the Dark Magician again. "I will be rewriting it. But not for a while."
The mage nods, understanding in his eyes. "Of course. Do not push yourself. Those of us who love your stories will wait patiently for as long as we must, for all of your stories."
Shadow's Mirror smiles slightly and nods. "Thank you."
The Dark Magician stretches slightly and considers. "The hour grows late. Was there anything more you wished to say before we conclude this interview?"
The girl's smile becomes a grin. "Just one thing... I'm back!"
The Dark Magician laughs softly and nods. "Shadow's Mirror, thank you for speaking with us today."
Shadow's Mirror smiles and nods in return. "Dark Magician, thank you for having me here." Her eyes twinkle with mischief. "So... when are you going to ask Elfin to become your bonded?"
As the camera shot fades slowly into black, the last thing seen is the deep blush staining the Dark Magician's cheeks.
