Yugi PoV chapter (sorta?)

Imhotep makes a confession about what he was doing during the eclipse.

Yugi checked himself in the mirror one last time. He'd opted for a pair of distressed jeans instead of his usual leather pants, and only the one belt instead of his usual two. He noticed his twin's style was a lot more laid back and decided to pick a casual look that he hoped wouldn't make him appear overly flashy in comparison.

He slipped the light gray zip-up hoodie over the black sleeveless tee he had on. The only thing he stuck with today from his usual leather get-up was his bracers and belted choker.

Yugi made his way downstairs, stopping only to let his grandfather know he was heading out and that he'd be back later. As he made his way out the door, he instinctively began his usual checklist to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, and if he did he wasn't too far to rush back and get it.

"Let's see…Puzzle-"

He stopped in his tracks. It was still an odd thing not feeling the object around his neck. He'd noticed the night before that it had been absent from Atem's as well. He wanted to ask about it, but he was certain he already knew the answer.

Yugi shook the thoughts from his head as he pressed forward with his list, checking his pockets as he did .

"Keys? Check. Phone? Check. Duel Monsters deck? Definitely can't forget that. Never know when Kaiba might strike," he said with a chuckle. "Check. Hmmm…what else? Oh! Wallet!"

He double checked all of his pockets, realizing he'd left his wallet in his room. He quickly turned around and rushed back inside and upstairs, stopping just outside his bedroom door. He could hear a voice singing.

Yugi slowly cracked open the door, and spotted Imhotep with his back turned towards him, obviously having returned and picking out some clean clothes from the ones he'd decided to keep here. Yugi spotted the earbuds that lay nestled in his twin's ears, and realized Imhotep was probably singing along to something on his playlist, albeit a bit loudly, but not out of tune. If anything, Yugi thought Imhotep had a great singing voice.

He wondered if he could sing like that, but then decided that even if he could he'd be too embarrassed to let anyone hear him. Based on the startled reaction Imhotep had as he turned around mid-chorus, Yugi could easily guess that Imhotep felt the same.

"Sorry," Yugi said apologetically as he opened the door the rest of the way and stepped into the room. "I forgot my wallet."

Imhotep was still wide-eyed and clutching his chest as he quickly plucked the earbuds out of his ears with his free hand. "I think I just died…though it could've been a heart attack…I'm not sure."

"You sounded amazing," Yugi commented.

Imhotep took a deep breath to center himself before responding. "Um…thanks?" he said uncertainly.

Yugi smiled. "Really, you did. And you seem to be in a better mood today."

Imhotep shifted nervously. "Yeah. About that. I'm sorry if I came off as short-tempered."

"I kinda understand. Bakura explained that you're weakened during an eclipse. It must be frustrating compared to how things normally are for you."

The other teen sat on his bed, leaning forward with head hung low and hands clasped together.

"Can I ask you something?"

Yugi wasn't certain, but he could swear he was feeling a tightness in his chest almost as if it were his own, even though his own chest felt perfectly fine. He sat on his own bed before answering.

"Of course."

The strange tightness was uncomfortable, and there was nervous anxiety and fear along with it.

"How did you feel when you saw Shae bite Anubis?"

"It was a little scary to be honest," Yugi replied.

The fear intensified, overwhelming the anxiety.

'I shouldn't have said anything! I don't want him to be afraid of me! But then how do I explain why I asked about it? He'll just keep wanting to know! Oh no…what do I do now? * groan * Why did I even bother to bring this up? I'm so stupid!'

Yugi took a deep breath. He had a feeling he knew what was going on with the weird sensation now.

"Even though it was scary, it was mostly because there was a lot going on," he added. He wasn't sure if mentioning that he was hearing Imhotep's thoughts would help matters at this moment. His primary focus was on helping his twin calm down.

There was a slight ease in tension in the uncomfortable tightness.

"So it wasn't so much what she did, but just what was going on in general?" Imhotep asked quietly.

"For the most part."

Yugi could feel the sensation of swallowing hard and taking a deep breath, even though he wasn't the one to do it.

"There's…a reason that…Shae and I both have fangs at all times…" Imhotep said slowly. "She and I…I guess you could say that inside we're split. There's us, then there's…something else. I can't exactly go into much more detail on what that something else is."

"Is it like how it was with me and Atem?" Yugi questioned. He could sense the tension slowly easing up more and more, and the fear had died down in intensity, but the anxiety was still there.

"Kinda," Imhotep replied. "Only that other part…it gets hungry. If we don't feed it on a regular basis, it takes over."

Yugi wasn't sure he liked the direction this conversation was going.

"What do you mean by 'it gets hungry'?"

Imhotep shifted uncomfortably and began to nervously fidget with the back of his neck.

"In a way…it's like…"

Yugi felt the tightness and fear re-intensify as Imhotep swallowed hard.

"...it's kinda like Ammit."

"Ammit?" Yugi asked in confusion. "Doesn't Ammit devour the hearts of those who fail the Weighing?"

Imhotep nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm…a bit confused," Yugi stated.

Imhotep covered his face, groaning loudly. Yugi was certain his twin's heart and chest were ready to burst from the intense amount of pressure he felt.

Imhotep quickly brought his hands down, staring Yugi apologetically in the eyes.

"Last night I devoured the heart of a death row inmate!" he shouted quickly in admittance.

Yugi felt the tension suddenly lift, only to be replaced by a sense of overwhelming fear. He stared blankly, not certain how to respond.

'Oh no…he's not saying anything! He's probably trying to think of something nice to say so that I don't feel like the monster that I am, but at the same time that's exactly what he thinks of me! Why wouldn't he think that?! ShitShitShit! I'm so fucking stupid! I should have left this to Shae!'

Yugi opened his mouth and said the first thing that came to mind.

"Sounds like the other part of you strives for a heart-healthy diet."

He fought hard not to facepalm immediately after.

The uncomfortable sensations suddenly vanished, and he watched as the corners of Imhotep's mouth curved upwards, followed by a snort as the other teen tried to hide a laugh.

"I gotta admit, that's a good one!" Imhotep said loudly as he failed to contain his amusement of the phrasing.

Yugi couldn't help but smile at seeing his twin in better spirits, laughing along with him.

Imhotep calmed his laughter as he looked across the room. "So you're not scared of me or anything? Or think that I'm some sort of monster?"

Yugi shook his head. "It's kinda hard for me to think or feel those things from a confession alone, but since you've explained it to me, it gives me time to properly think about it and prepare myself for the possibility of actually seeing it first hand."

Imhotep's smile faded. "I guess…that makes sense. You can't be afraid if you haven't witnessed it."

"How do you feel about it when you have to do it?"

Imhotep looked surprised by the question. "Me?"

He lowered his head and furled his brow in thought.

"I've never really thought about it. I've had to do it for as long as I can remember. Usually once I step into the room with my…uh…meal…I allow the other part to take over and do what it needs to do. I'm kinda both there and not there…if that makes sense?"

Yugi nodded. He understood. That was pretty much how it was with Atem in the Puzzle. For the most part he left himself fully aware, but he knew that it was possible to remove that awareness. That's how he and Atem had beaten Pegasus in Duelist Kingdom.

"Trust me, I get it."

Imhotep forced a small smile.

"I'm glad someone gets it."

They sat there in awkward silence for a moment before Yugi decided it was probably a good time to switch the mood of things.

"Hey, since you're back and haven't gotten around to getting changed yet, would you be open to the idea of trying something with me?"

Imhotep gave him a very confused look.

"Nothing bad, I promise! I just thought, since we're twins…and you can kinda change your appearance-"

Imhotep had begun to sport a mischievous grin before Yugi had even finished his sentence.

"I love where this idea is going."

Imhotep was singing along to the Panic! at the Disco version of 'Into the Unknown'. He will never openly admit his passion for Disney sing-a-longs (Kat is an anime and cartoon fanatic, so he grew up watching a lot of Disney films)