Moien! It's been a while since I wrote for The Boy And The Warrior, so long that I had to look back and see where I was!
''Yugi, I want you to tell me right now if you know anything about what's happening to Bo." I said worriedly. We were inside a janitor's closet.
"Mira, I swear if I knew anything about what was going on, I would've told you already." he said. I could see in his eyes that he was telling the truth. He looked just as shocked at today's events as I was.
"And you're 100% positive?" I asked. He nodded. We exited the closet.
"Well, then there's only one thing I can think of. We have to go to the library.''
Library
"Come on! Where is it?" I muttered, practically running along the book shelves.
"What are we looking for, exactly?" Yugi asked.
"We're looking for a book on Japanese Yokai. It's all we have to go by." I said. After minutes of searching, Yugi pulled out a dusty old red book with Japanese writing on it.
"Is this the one?" he asked.
"Yes! Let me see it." I replied, taking the book and flipping to the index, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"I, I, I,... Here it is! Page 573..." I muttered, flipping to the page.
"Here we are! Ikiryo: A Japanese monster or spirit manifestation of a living person's extreme resentment or other negative feelings. Also known as a grudge spirit, these spirits are near impossible to contain and banish. They will act on one's resentment towards an individual and make their thoughts truth by torturing the resented one, most of the time without the knowledge of the host."
"That's horrible!" Yugi said.
"The only way to destroy an Ikiryo is to find the host and make sure that he or she banishes his or her bad feelings." I said, closing the book.
"You think I have an Ikiryo inside me? But I don't have any resent for her!" he said nervously.
"It's all I can think of. If it's not an Ikiryo, then I have no idea what's going on. There's instructions for a seance in this book. We should perform one tonight and see whether or not we can make things right." I said.
I checked out the book and headed to my post. After an uneventful day of watching over the town, we went back to my apartment and prepared for the seance.
"...Mira, why are you dressed like that?" Yugi asked, sticking red, blue, and green tallow candles on a round table. I was clad in a long white gown and had a headband with a triangular piece of paper stuck in it. My hair was down and brushed.
"The book said that this outfit was good for channeling spirits. Besides, this is my favorite gown!" I said, twirling around in a circle. I took a piece of chalk and drew a pentagram on the table.
"According to the instructions, we'll need an object of the assumed host's possession. Is it okay of we use that necklace of yours?"
"The Millennium Puzzle?"
"Is that what that's called? I was going to suggest your choker, but that works too." I said.
He looked a little pained as he removed the Puzzle from his neck and placed it gently in the middle of the table.
"This seance isn't going to destroy the Puzzle, right?"
"What? No, I don't think so. Not unless something drastic happens." I said, lighting some incense and placing them over bottles of water, the scent of sand wood filling the air. I turned off the light and started the incantation.
"Boetius furanarī o ba~tsu shita Ikiryo, watashi wa anata wa watashitachi ga anata ni hanasu koto ga dekiru yō ni watashitachi no mae ni hyōji sa reru yō ni tanomu!"*
Suddenly, the candles and incense went out. The Puzzle started to glow and rattle. I bright, almost blinding golden light filled the room. When it subsided, I couldn't believe my eyes.
Floating above the table was a transparent man who looked like Yugi if he were a few years older. He looked stern, with his narrowed eyes. He was kind of hot. Yugi was in a bigger shock than I was.
"How and why have you drawn me out of the Millennium Puzzle?" His deep voice filled the room.
"Are you the Ikiryo that punished a girl by the name of Boetuis Flannery?" I asked.
"I am not an Ikiryo, but I did give a Penalty Game to a girl named Boetius Flannery."
"A Penalty Game?" I muttered, thinking hard. I remember reading about something like that a while ago, but I couldn't remember what I had read.
"Y-Yami? Could that really be you?" Yugi asked nervously. The spirit turned to face him. The spirit's face seemed to light up in pure elation.
"Aibou?"
"Mou Hitori no Boku**! You remember me!" Yugi cried in joy. If the spirit wasn't intangible, Yugi could have tackled him to the ground in a hug.
"I take it you two know each other?" I asked.
"We were the best of friends when he was bound to the Puzzle, but he had to leave so he could pass on." Yugi explained. "It's so good to see you again!"
"The feeling is mutual. I never thought I would see you again!"
I smirked. These two shared a bond unlike any I had ever seen before. I was tempted to call it love, but I barely knew these two.
"You know, it's not everyday I witness a relationship like yours." I said. Yugi blushed.
"What? But we're not..."
"I've never seen such a strong friendship between two people before. It's so inspiring." I said. Yugi let out a sigh of relief and laughed nervously.
"Now back to business. While its nice that you gave Bo what she deserves, it was very wrong. Is there any way to fix it?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't take back a Penalty Game. The only known way to remove a Penalty Game is to kill me, and I'm already dead."
"There's got to be another way! It's my fault she even picks on me in the first place!" I said. Then something dawned on me. The Keepers. Maybe they knew something about this!
"Alright, I have an idea. But it's my last resort. The Keepers have collected more knowledge than anyone. Maybe one of them knows how to remove a Penalty Game!"
"The Shadow Games existed more than 5000 years ago. It's highly unlikely that they possess knowledge of the Shadow Games." Yami said.
"But that"s just it! The Keepers have kept the secrets of all the lands, from the names of Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs to the secret of silk for the Chinese Emperors. If anyone knows about the Shadow Games, its them!" I said.
"If you knew about this, why was it your last resort?" Yugi asked.
"Because they're huge jerks. If you don't do something just the way they tell you, they'll never trust you again. But that's another story. I say we go there tomorrow and see if they have a solution." I gave the couple a pained look.
"We need to end the seance now. Yugi, say goodbye to your friend for now."
"Do I have to?" he asked. I gave him a stern but sad look. Those eyes of his were almost at tears.
"Tell you what. As soon as I find a way for Yami to have a physical body or bind his spirit to an object, you'll be the first to know. But until then, we'll have to have regular seances. Does that seem fair?"
"I guess so." he said. he gave Yami one last attempt at a hug. "Goodbye Yami! I'll see you soon!"
"As will I." Yami said. Maybe it was just me, but the faintest smile seemed to play upon his lips. I clasped my hands in prayer and read aloud the chant to send Yami back.
"Seishin, watashi wa anata no kyūkeisho ni modotte suru yō ni irai suru. Watashi wa, watashitachi o hōmon shite itadaki arigatōgozaimasu."
The Puzzle began to rattle again. Another flash of golden light filled the room. When it subsided, Yami was gone. The candles and incense mysteriously relit themselves.
"Well that was an adventure and a half, huh Yugi?" I said happily. But Yugi didn't look so good. He was just staring at the floor on the verge of tears.
"What's wrong, Yugi?" I asked.
"It's been so long since I've seen him...He hasn't changed a bit..." he murmured. Tears spilled from his eyes.
"Yugi, don't cry. We'll see him again very soon, I promise. But for now, we both need a good night's rest."
I erased the pentagram on the table with my hand and blew out the candles, picking them off the table. When I took the candles back to their cabinets, I saw Yugi take the Puzzle from the table and put it around his neck.
I learned today that spirits were real. But I also learned that Yugi was a very fragile person. It only took so much to break him. I had to be careful.
I know, corny ending. This would have been up sooner, but I was at summer camp with no feasible Internet.
