I tried to make it as clear as possible in the last chapter why Yami was acting weird. I believe that I succeeded, but based on the last review I received for this project, there's still some confusion. The Yami in this project is not the Yami from the anime. He's from another version of the same world (specific to the original manga); basically, he's from an alternate dimension.

It will become clearer as the story goes on why I've chosen to do this. There are a number of reasons for this, and they go beyond, "Wouldn't it be cool?"


"You look happy."

Yami looked over at his host as he danced a silver coin through the fingers of his right hand. He smirked, white teeth gleaming in the moonlight cast in through the window. He hopped off the desk where he'd been perched. "Perhaps I am," he said. "What is required has been gathered. The ritual shall be completed, and my work will begin."

"Will this involve a game of any kind?" Yugi asked.

The spirit raised an eyebrow. "That would depend on your definition of a game. By my reckoning? Yes. Several. The common convention would disagree rather vehemently."

"The Yami I know didn't smile half as much as you do," Yugi noted.

"It sounds as though he was not as…at peace with his existence as I am." Yami winked. "I am a vessel for mayet. I speak with her voice, I act with her mind. I strike with her hand."

"Yami never used to talk about the gods. I sometimes thought he didn't believe in them."

"People think the gods require worship. That they require acknowledgment." Yami's translucent face hardened. "The gods need nothing. We are their instruments, and whether we know or acknowledge the hand that holds us does not diminish the strength of its grip on us. Those few who have the courage to face that can…find a certain satisfaction in the knowledge, if they look deeply enough."

"Like you?"

Yami laughed, and that seemed to be his answer.

He flicked his coin into the air, and it seemed to disappear.

"Does this ritual of yours have to do with Kaiba?" Yugi asked, after he'd given up looking for the coin. Yami looked somewhat surprised by this question, but not displeased.

He said, "In a manner of speaking, certainly."

"My Yami didn't talk in riddles so much," Yugi said.

Another chuckle. "He sounds boring."

Yugi's excitement over seeing his partner again had largely faded into sheer confusion. Yami still wouldn't explain just who he was, or where he'd come from. The most he would offer in the form of an explanation so far was, "It sounds to me like the difference is simple: your Yami did not remember his days as a king; I do." Yugi hadn't been sure he believed that, and had mentioned that the Yami he knew had seemed much more…kingly. This Yami had said, "That only proves my point."

The past few days had been an exercise in mental futility. Yugi couldn't figure out anything about the spirit who now shared his body. He hadn't managed to unravel a single one of the man's statements so far. He couldn't tell when Yami was lying and when he was telling the truth.

If he ever told the truth.

"Are you going to need anything from us?" Yugi asked.

"I will," Yami replied, in the same flat, no-nonsense tone he'd used that first day, when Yugi had mentioned his grandfather taking a trip to Egypt. It was the voice of someone who refused argument; it was the voice of a king.

The voice of a higher power.

"…What is it?"

Yami's eyes were sharp, with no traces of amusement. "When the time comes, you will know. I trust that you will answer the call of mayet when it comes to you, Aibou. I have…faith in you."

Somehow, it sounded less like a vote of confidence and more like a threat.

Yugi realized that it didn't matter which one it was. If the former, then he had no choice but to do as asked, because this was Yami—the second half of his soul—and he wouldn't have been able to deny him anything.

And if it was the latter…

Yugi Mutou had no desire to cross a god.


"Mayet" is an alternative spelling for "ma'at" or "maat," the Ancient Egyptian concept/goddess of justice and order.