Vil's signature spell is still "Fairest One of All", but the rhyme Yugi uses to bring Vil out is more of a verbal trigger than anything.
Yugi thought he could handle Shadi's tricks, vaguely remembering him summoning Jounouchi's shade to rattle him.
Neither he or Vil expected him to summon a shade of Rook instead.
Vil was absolutely shocked, but instead of causing his heart to falter, all it did was inspire unspeakable rage.
How dare he. How dare he?
Shadi knew something was up, because this young man hadn't been present at the museum, but he had used his magic to summon the image of the person closest to the young man who held the Puzzle.
Instead of being shocked, the spirit stared blankly at the other teen without any recognition at all. When he held the Puzzle briefly, Shadi was surprised when the spirit switched back with the young man he was possessing.
"You really, really shouldn't have done that," he commented, almost as if talking about the weather.
"Excuse me?"
"Summoning such a poor recreation of him was the worst move you could have possibly made," said the young man. "He has been pining for his lover for eight years now, so seeing such a piss-poor recreation of him has only sparked his rage."
"Who?" asked Shadi.
The young man turned to face him. His expression was completely flat and emotionless.
He raised a single manicured hand up to his face and intoned an odd phrase.
"Mirror, mirror against the wall...who's the Fairest King of all?"
Shadi could feel the magic in the boy rising, and fear began to fill his heart. This was not the spirit of the Puzzle...this was something else. Something powerful and more controlled than the spirit's magic had been. This was someone or something that had resolve and purpose behind their spells, and it was furious beyond reckoning.
Magic flowed around the teen, and he seemed to almost grow in both stature and power. His hair became a pale blond tipped with lavender, his expression full of calculated arrogance that came from someone absolutely self-assured in their power and skill. His face filled out with age and beauty.
It was hard to equate this beautiful creature with the diminutive teen that had been before him earlier.
This being was a King, one filled with beauty, grace and above all power. The mark of an Item holder blazed on his forehead as he glared contemptuously at the keeper.
"Who..or what...are you?" said Shadi, deeply shaken.
Vil's sneer did not bode well for the keeper. Neither did the aura he was giving off, because he was downright pissed.
He was going to make this keeper regret attempting to taint the memories he had of Rook. It had been bad enough dealing with that holographic one in STYX.
"I...will become your nightmare."
Two hours later...
Yugi found himself consoling his magical persona. Vil had been pining for Rook for eight years now, so seeing that fake attempting to betray him had hurt like hell. He felt zero remorse for the keeper, because he deserved everything he got.
He partially sensed the pharaoh's presence in his room, but they were inside the mirror and it was unlikely he would know how to enter. Shadi had tried earlier, but had been rebuffed rather firmly by the protections on it.
Vil was clinging to his 'civilian' persona like a lifeline. As much effort as he put into his reputation, his heart was surprisingly fragile.
Yugi could sense the pharaoh getting closer, having likely figured out the mirror was the entryway.
He didn't know whether to allow him in or not, with how badly Vil was hurting.
Yami put his hand on the mirror. Vil tensed for a few moments...before he reluctantly allowed the spirit in.
The Pharaoh blinked at being allowed entry, before calmly stepping through.
Where Yugi's room looked like an overturned playbox, and the pharaoh's mind was like an Egyptian tomb, Vil's room was an even mixture of both, with bits of the Pomefiore dorm thrown in for good measure.
His mind was like an Egyptian palace, one decorated with reliefs that looked like it was period correct at a glance, but in reality was his memories painted Egyptian-style. There was a pleasant breezed that kept the palace tolerably cool, but with the scent of flowers growing among the desert sands. In the main room, where Yugi was comforting Vil, there was a grand throne that was almost identical to the one found in the Pomefiore dorm for the housewarden.
However instead of a majestic peacock, it was a grand phoenix in Pomefiore colors. Above it was a stylized Eye of Horus that any Item holder would recognize in an instant.
Vil was in his comfortable clothes, lying on an Egyptian-style couch, with his head on Yugi's lap and his arms wrapped so tightly around his waist that it would be a near miracle for the smaller teen to extract himself without outside aide.
Yugi could see Yami examining the reliefs on the wall. The one that drew his immediate attention was that of a great hunter, stalking his prey. The feathered hat and blond hair with green eyes caused his eyes to widen in recognition. It was clear from the position of the painting that the hunter was held in high regard to the throne's owner, for it was positioned at almost eye level so that it could be seen from almost anywhere in the room. It was painted with such love and care that the subject could pop off the wall at any moment, or so it seemed.
Yami turned to Vil, who was still deeply upset over the whole thing, despite having chased off the keeper and saving Anzu.
After some consideration, he managed to maneuver himself so that Vil was lying across his lap as well. While he was still unsure of this unknown presence in his Aibou's mind, he knew that Vil was as much a part of Yugi as he himself was.
The three sat in silence, with Vil just soaking in their presence and magic.
Nothing was spoken by the three, especially when Yugi woke up the next morning feeling emotionally exhausted, but still somewhat alert.
Yugi was outright twitching, because he vividly remembered this bullshit and was not in the mood to let some bratty kid threaten him with a damn taser.
He stared Mokuba in the eye and asked in a voice that all but screamed how "done" he was with this nonsense...
"Did your brother suggest this? Also, why the tasers? Do you have any idea how easy it would be for these kids to cause irreparable damage to themselves just by touching them?"
"Seto had nothing to do with this! I'm going to make you pay for what you did to him!"
Yugi mentally sighed, before letting Vil take over. It took him almost no time at all to claim every single one of those stupid tasers, because none of the kids actually expected him to react with actual violence.
A few slaps, a twisted arm or three, and a swift elbow to someone's face was more than enough to dissuade them from actually doing anything. After all, they were supposed to threaten and older male into compliance...none of them expected to actually be hurt, or that he wouldn't hesitate due to their age.
Then he turned to a less confident Mokuba, who was just a straight up brat at this age because neither brother had been given any real discipline since Seto disposed of their adopted father years ago.
After all, what bodyguard was going to bother teaching those two idiots responsibility when they had direct control over their paycheck and could be easily fired for actually parenting the two?
Mokuba yelped when he found himself over Yugi's knee and began squalling like a wet cat in a bath as Yugi gave him a long overdue hiding for his behavior. He didn't stop until he saw geniune tears from the kid's eyes, and Mokuba would have great trouble sitting down for several hours at the bare minimum.
"The next time you get it into your head to challenge me, don't drag actual children into it," said Yugi tartly. "I have no problem with accepting challenges to a game, but arming minors with actual weapons is too far."
Mokuba gave a sullen glare, but Yugi could see it did have some impact on the kid. Whether the lesson actually stuck was another story, but for now he backed off.
Considering how useful tasers were, Yugi immediately dumped them in his room in the Shaftlands. They were of much better quality than anything he could get his hands on at the moment, and he was sure he could find a use for them eventually.
If for no other reason that the sheer number of insane people who would be after the Puzzle showing up soon. Having an actual taser could prove very handy in giving the lower level flunkies a reason to back the hell off.
Yugi vaguely recalled this school fair, but couldn't rightly remember why he blacked out and allowed the pharaoh to take possession. Then he saw the entitled seniors wreck their hard work and remembered.
Before Anzu could protest, Yugi put a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't bother, it's not worth it."
"But..." started Anzu.
"Besides, I have an ace up my sleeve that will make our booth the most popular one," said Yugi. "The only problem is I'll be absent during the event because I'll be doing someone a solid."
"What are you planning?" asked another female student. It was clear she was beyond pissed at the senior's behavior.
Yugi had a mysterious smile on his face.
"Just wait and see. But by the time I'm done they're not going to make any money and it won't matter what they try to do."
Anzu glared at the seniors. Then she looked at Yugi.
"Whatever you have to do, do it. I want them to pay," she said flatly.
"You guys take over the spot they gave up. When you have everything set up, let me know so I can get things ready on my end."
When he got the call, Vil smirked.
He was dressed to the nines in his most fashionable outfit, complete with heels and full make-up. His hair was stylishly done, and he wore light jewelry (not the Puzzle) to accent his features. In short, he was going to draw the attention of every person there and damn well knew it.
He strut through the gates rather calmly, and in seconds every eye was on him and him alone. He knew where the booth was located, because he had helped with the new set-up.
Anzu's jaw dropped the second her eyes registered what she was seeing. Vil was taking great glee in how everyone was reacting to him.
"A close friend of mine mentioned his school fair, and asked if I would drop by to drum up some business."
Anzu managed to close her mouth long enough for her brain to catch up, and realize this was the ace Yugi had mentioned.
"No way...Muto knows a super model class hottie?!" said one of the girls in disbelief.
However there was a great deal of dark glee in their faces, realizing that this particular person would absolutely cause a massive rush to their booth.
Anzu looked to Honda.
"We're going to need more help. The second word gets around this guy is here, we're going to be swamped."
Honda nodded dumbly, struck silent by the sheer presence and beauty the other male gave off.
In the span of twenty minutes, there was a massive line to their booth. Not for the admittedly mediocre games, but to see the model and get pictures.
Vil was downright smug, and made it clear he'd take a selfie with anyone who played at least three of the games at the booth.
One of the more studious girls went up to Anzu and said "We absolutely owe Muto for this."
Anzu nodded, and was very eager to learn how Yugi even knew someone this beautiful to begin with. Vil was a bit of a prima donna, but he was polite and treated all the girls with absolute respect.
Near the end of the day, the same seniors who had stolen their spot stormed up to their booth.
"So, which one of you whored yourself out to get him here?" sneered their leader.
Vil gave him a flat look.
"If you must know, Yugi offered to be my assistant for the next month in exchange for coming to his class' booth."
"How do you know Yugi anyway?" asked Anzu, because that was bothering her.
"That...is a secret," said Vil smugly.
Either way the senior was downright pissed, especially when Vil showed up all three days of the festival, making their little game booth the number one seller out of the entire school.
