The events of this chapter take place before the previous one (Grandpa's party), just letting you know.
You all have been more fantastic than I can say. So I'll stop distracting you and stalling for time and writing words just to fill up the chapter a little because it's honestly not as long as the previous ones and I'm kinda down about that...
BUT enough talking. To the Disclaimer-mobile!
Disclaimer:
Yami Yugi: Good evening, readers, and welcome to another chapter, for which you all have been magnificently patient in waiting. Last time inNever Say Goodbye-
Yami Bakura: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
RN (hides in Yugi's pocket): BAKURA!? What are you doing here?!
Yami Bakura: I told you I'd be back, love. Now that Melvin's out of the picture, I'm free to kill you all I want! NOW DIE!
RN: HALT!
Yami Bakura: *screech* What?!
RN: If you kill me, you'll disappear! And I'll never get to post this on the Fanfiction site, which means it won't be officially recognized and therefore will never happen! You'll be creating a paradox!
Yami Bakura: That's not a paradox-!
RN: Quick, he's distracted! To the Escape-mobile!
Yami Bakura: STOP RUNNING, FOOLS!
Yami Yugi: Not so fast, Bakura! Your opponent is me! Run away, Robin Nightingale! I'll take care of him!
RN: IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII DOOOOOOOOON'T OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWN YU-GI-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!
Chapter 19: Where the Heart Is
It was interesting to note that, once upon a time, hardly a single soul knew the person Yugi Muto even existed. Never the sports player, only average at academics, and most certainly not the ladies' man, indeed, who would want to pay attention to such an unremarkable, average-looking, dwarf of a teen? Maybe some would turn and stare at his hair a bit, but no stranger would look at him for longer than five seconds before making some remark and forgetting about him entirely.
Only once he became the publicly-announced King of Games did Yugi gain his fair amount of public attention. People would now stare and whisper his name, or even stop and ask for his autograph in the middle of the sidewalk. There were a few times he even saw his face on a poster or on television, and though he would merely blush in embarrassment, his friends and family wasted no time in heaping their praise and admiration upon him (Grandpa once spotted a news blurb about the Battle City Tournament and began to shout excitedly for the next minute until Yugi, convinced Grandpa was being attacked, rushed downstairs). And the minute word got out of where he lived, the Kame Game shop was suddenly flooded with people, some of them customers, but mostly Duelists who were trying to get a glimpse of the young Game King or try their luck at a Duel against him.
But oddly enough, he never really got pestered by fans at school. There were certainly a lot more people who recognized him in homeroom, but his classmates were nothing like the crowds that sometimes gathered outside his school or his home after hours.
That is until one morning, when Yugi was suddenly approached by a rush of high school girls, some not his classmates, most of them quite attractive and all of them crowding his desk as soon as he set his stuff down.
Alarmed by the sudden influx, Yugi's mind was transported several years back, and he began to panic over why are all these girls suddenly interested in me, not that I mind completely, but they have absolutely no reason to be this close all at once to some short kid who does nothing but play games all day and why are they all asking about my…brother?
"Sorry…what?" Yugi was struggling to be patient with them, let alone understand what questions they were asking all at once, but he was sure he heard the word futago—twin—in the mix once or twice.
The girl directly in front of him leaned forward, her already-large blue eyes wide with eagerness. "Nee, Yugi-kun, is it true you've got a twin brother?"
The girl next to her shoved her aside and took her place. "Of course it's true. I told you I saw him yesterday!" She turned to Yugi as well, tossing her chocolaty-brown curls over her shoulder. "Say, Yugi-kun, what's he like? Is he as smart as he is handsome?"
"Ooh, ooh, what's his blood type? Is he a B?" A third girl pressed forward before Yugi could answer. "He's got to be a B, since he's so cool and all! Can you tell him I'm an AB? We'll match perfectly!"
"I'm an AB!"
"I'm an AB, too!"
"You are not! Last week you said you were an O!"
"Um…I really don't…" There was no strategy to be made when it came to dealing with girls. Yugi honestly didn't know whether he should answer their questions, be offended that they were asking about his brother and not him, or maybe just enjoy the fact that he was surrounded by fan girls. As it turned out, he wasn't the one to make the decision, much to his relief…and horror.
Something similar to an inferno began roaring up behind the girls, and a demonic, guttural voice crawled forth.
"Hey…girls…why don't you go back to your desks…before I pluck your eyebrows bald?"
The girls squeaked and zoomed away faster than Yugi would have believed humanly possible. They all huddled together in the far corner of the classroom, and Yugi was left with a fiery, irate, and growling Téa before him. It was perhaps his only consolation that those intense, Hell-spawned flames seemed directed at the girls and not him.
It didn't look like she was going to calm down any time soon, with steam blowing from her nostrils with each breath, and it didn't seem particularly healthy to be within ten feet of her. Nevertheless, Yugi reached out a cautious, somewhat trembling hand. "T-Téa…um…"
"Oh, Yugi, good morning! Are you ready for cooking class today? I hear we're going to be making curry!" Bright, cheerful, and friendly—it was positively terrifying how rapid she had upended her previous attitude.
"Er, y-yeah, can't wait," Yugi mumbled, quite taken aback but quickly deciding it wiser not to question it. He began removing his school supplies from his bag, flashing a prompt and pristine smile every time Téa looked his way and trying very hard not to show his teeth chattering in the process.
"Man, I had my hopes, but never did I think to see the day!"
Téa and Yugi waved at Joey and Tristan's approach, and Yugi's smile became more genuine. "What day do you mean?"
Joey laughed heartily and tousled Yugi's hair. "Duh, Yug! The day I'd been trainin' you for since the first day we met! Yer finally popular with the ladies, dude!"
He beamed widely, and somehow managed to not notice Téa's intense death glare currently burning a hole in his head.
"Not that I'm particularly one to agree with Joey, but there's no denying what we saw," Tristan put in, giving Yugi a thumbs up. "I'd say our influence has finally paid off."
"Hey, d'you guys smell smoke?" Joey asked, scratching his head.
Yugi gulped and said hastily, "Uh, well, I wouldn't say that. They weren't here for me, they were asking about Isashi."
"Isashi?" Both Joey's and Tristan's expressions morphed into thoughtfulness, a strange sight for the pair of them at the same time. Both nodded. "Hmm, that makes more sense, actually."
Thanks, Yugi grumbled. He didn't get a chance to express it, however, when Tristan added, "But it's been two weeks already. Why are they all waiting until now to ask to see him? I'd have thought they'd be all over Yugi for him a week ago."
"Do you two even realize how rude you're sounding right now?" Téa growled.
Unaffected by her tone (or perhaps unaware of it) Joey raised an eyebrow. "Whattaya mean?" He leaned in closer, creasing his forehead. "Say, are you okay? Ya look kinda flushed…Yer not ill or anything, are ya?"
Téa shoved him away. "I'm fine," she muttered.
"Do you think Isashi knows he's suddenly the new stalk of the girls?" Tristan mused.
"Are you kiddin'? He's been holed up in the Game Shop this whole time, how's he know anything that's goin' on?"
"Well, actually—," Yugi started, but Joey had already tapped his fist into his palm and cried,
"Hey, we oughta tell 'im! No better way fer him ta enjoy himself in his own body than introduce him ta a few chicks, ya know what I mean?"
Tristan was the only one to laugh in agreement. Yugi, for his part, was far too distracted by the ominous shadow that had taken place in Téa's seat, complete with flickering black flames and bright, red eyes, and a low growling that had started to shake the ground.
At that moment, the teacher entered, and pair cut off their laughing as the class stood and welcomed him. Only Téa didn't look at the teacher as they bowed, her eyes all for a certain blond someone who sat in front of her.
"Téa," Yugi begged, though his instincts screamed at him to stay silent, "not in front of the teacher, please."
The shadow faded back into the shape of his old friend, though he could swear he still saw a scarlet glint in her eye.
"Don't worry, Yugi," Téa grinned sweetly, cracking her knuckles under the desk. "We have judo in an hour."
In the years to come, no student would ever forget the beating that came to be known as the Téa Terror. Legends were told of the terrible judo warrior who once threw her yellow-haired victim halfway across the room and proceeded to twist him into so many knots it took three teachers and a nurse a week to straighten him out again.
By the end of it, the judo teacher had called Téa aside and proclaimed her as the best student he had ever seen in five years.
After school, the three of them were on their way to the shoe lockers (Joey had been sent home early for a sprained spine) when Tristan stopped next to a flyer board, peered at an article, and suddenly let out a loud laugh.
"Take a look at this, Yugi," he called. "This explains all those girls."
Yugi and Téa joined him, and gave collective noises of surprise.
"When did this happen?" Téa looked to Yugi questioningly, and raised her eyebrows when she caught sight of the huge grin of laughter plastered across his face.
"He told me he'd gone to the city," Yugi snorted, chuckles already bubbling up through his chest, "but he never said he got on camera!"
SECRET SIBLING! 'KING OF GAMES' TWIN DUELS IN DOMINO SQUARE!
Grandpa lowered the newspaper clipping and glared sternly at his two grandsons, who sat abashedly in front of him. Or rather, Yugi chewed on his lip, obviously struggling to stifle a grin, while the Pharaoh sat straight-backed in a solemn poise of elegance, eyes cast downwards.
It was almost funny—in fact, Grandpa was just able to keep his glare steady. Still, he had to keep an image; instill the message, and all that. Crossing his arms, he said seriously, "I don't suppose there's much to be said at this point."
Yugi practically fell over with the effort to keep his face straight. Surprisingly, the Pharaoh did not join in his mirth; the former spirit remained in stony silence, gaze transfixed on the floor.
Grandpa creased his forehead worriedly. He'd been afraid the Pharaoh would respond like this…He frowned crossly as Yugi let slip a light snort and glanced at the young teen, who was still silently shaking.
As much he hated to cause sobriety to Yugi, his grandson's casual treatment of the matter wasn't helping. The aging gamer sighed. "You realize this is something of a problem."
The Pharaoh's knuckles whitened, and Yugi genuinely stopped smiling. "What? Why?" the smaller teen asked, his tone defensive over his brother.
Grandpa gestured to the clipping. "It's all there in the headline, son."
Yugi frowned. "Grandpa, the reason you had Isashi go out was so that he could be out. Why is that suddenly a bad thing?"
"Mind your tone, young man," Grandpa reprimanded, and Yugi withdrew, though his frustration didn't fade. "It's not a bad thing that Isashi has had a chance to get out of the shop; far from it. In fact, I gave him the option of going across the city so that he would interact more. But it was supposed to be a gradual introduction. Thanks to this headline, practically everyone in the city knows of Isashi's existence, and so soon after the transference. Who knows if someone might be able to put two and two together?"
"But no one knows of Professor Keichi's experiment! No one except us, and Téa, Tristan, and Joey. How could they possibly know Isashi is the Pharaoh?"
"They wouldn't have to know of the experiment." This time the Pharaoh spoke, garnering surprise from his brother and grandfather. He talked to the floor, and his expression had tightened to anger and regret. "Those we have encountered, and who are familiar with you and I, will recognize my methods, especially when I Duel. I don't believe we will have to worry about people such as Marik and his family, but there are others whom we have crossed that are still out there, and mean much more harm to us. It won't matter if I'm inhabiting your body or this one—they're sure to know it's truly me the moment I reveal too much of my nature."
His eyes shut tight, and he bent over slightly. "Forgive me. I've endangered us all," he said, his voice shaking.
His brother, now concerned, put a hand to his shoulder. "Pharaoh…" Yugi said pleadingly, using his true title for the first time in weeks. "Please, don't say that. You're not to blame, nobody is. You couldn't have prevented this, and besides, you caught a thief! Other people probably wouldn't have done anything, and he'd still be at it today if it weren't for you."
"Maybe that's better." Yugi withdrew, shocked. The Pharaoh sat up a little, opening his eyes. "If I had just continued to walk by, my existence would still be largely unknown, and we'd still have ample time to reveal it. I'd rather let a thief go then put you all in danger."
"That's enough of that."
The Pharaoh jerked his head upwards, meeting Grandpa's gaze for the first time. The old man's glare was much more intense. "I won't abide you spouting all this ridiculous nonsense. There's no way you ever let such criminal unfairness pass by—it's not in your nature. If you can say some reckless sentence like that, then I'm entitled to let you know that we'd rather be in danger than see you be so blind to that kind of injustice."
The Pharaoh's scowl deepened. "But—!"
"Yugi is right," Grandpa continued, cutting him off. "Nobody's to blame. Whether or not we intended it to, this would have happened eventually. The only way we'd ever truly prevent this is by keeping you locked up and hidden in this house for all eternity, and that'd completely waste the point of Keichi's work. Or would you rather disrespect his gift to us?"
The Pharaoh made a noise in the back of his throat, like he wanted to retort, but there was no justifiable way to do so. Yugi admitted silently he was a little impressed. It was a harsh reprimand, but it got the point across. And for once, the Pharaoh had no response.
Grandpa sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck. "I never meant to blame you, Isashi. I only wanted to emphasize that this can't just be shoved under the carpet. We might just have to be a little more careful from now on, and expect that we might be getting a bit more reception than we planned for. At the very least, we'll probably be dealing with this for a few more days."
He nodded to the door to the shop, which just a few hours ago had been more flooded with customers since the time Yugi first became the King of Games. Most of them had walked straight past the merchandise, instead heading straight for Isashi, their excited voices causing such a ruckus that passer-bys outside had all but called the police in alarm. Business for the real customers had been slower than ever before, and likely one or two were lost, perhaps for good, in the process. Needless to say, Grandpa had grown irked, and the entire event had been the main reason for the little meeting they were in right now, all three stressed and weary from trying to shuffle the crowd out the door nearly an hour after closing time. The newspaper clipping Grandpa picked up later (from the pile of many that had been brought in by Isashi's overnight fans) had merely been the cherry on the icing.
The Pharaoh winced. "Sorry about that," he mumbled.
"Mm-hmm," Grandpa replied dryly. He passed a hand over his face, and the irritation faded from his expression. "Well, what's done is done. All we can do now is work with what we have. In all retrospect, it could honestly be much worse, wouldn't you agree?"
He directed this last question to the Pharaoh, who averted his gaze to the side. After a few seconds, he let out a reluctant sigh, and nodded.
"Good." Grandpa rose, and returned his chair to the kitchen table, at which they were all sitting. "Now…"
He snatched up the clipping and crumpled it, much to the brothers' astonishment. He threw it into the paper recycling bin, saying, "Something like this shouldn't prevent you from enjoying yourself, Isashi. If I have to tell you to do anything, I would say just don't go around announcing yourself at every street corner, and I don't think we have to worry about anything like that. Just keep yourself healthy."
He left the kitchen to the shop room, leaving the two brothers alone.
Yugi let out his breath, and grinned in relief. "He's right, you know. We should be out more, enjoying ourselves like we normally do."
He laughed. "Do you know, Joey got stuck in the nurse's office for half the day today. Apparently Téa didn't agree with his idea to set you up with a girlfriend..."
He waited for his brother to respond with some red-faced reply, but when he heard only silence, he slid his gaze sideways. "Isashi?"
The Pharaoh appeared to be reeling from Grandpa's words. He sat stock still, his brow contracted in thought. When Yugi spoke, he lowered his chin into his chest, his gaze once again scanning the floor, but with a far more focused element. Yugi recognized it. The Pharaoh was absorbing what he had learned, using the information to plan his next move.
It was precisely that look that made Yugi's heart go still.
His dread was confirmed when his brother finally raised his head, a determined light in his eye. "Yugi, I need to go to the museum," he said.
Yugi's smile faltered. His mouth suddenly went very dry, but he swallowed and kept his voice light and cheery. "What for?"
Don't say it, please not that, please say anything but the-
"I need to see the tablet again."
He could feel his chest sinking deeper into himself, refusing to expand for another breath. Yet somehow Yugi was able to keep talking. In a small, resigned tone, he replied, "All right. We can head over tomorrow, after school. I'm sure they're closing soon, not many people usually go on Mondays-"
"I was thinking I might go tonight."
Tonight?
A shadow fell over his face, and with a final, small, sigh, his chest settled completely. So soon...already...
The Pharaoh was still talking. "The museum closes at 7 tonight, so that gives me a few hours to properly get there and look at it. There shouldn't be that many people tonight either, which will be perfect."
"If that's the way it's going to be."
It was Yugi's tone that finally jerked around the Pharaoh's attention, and all other thoughts faded when he caught sight of his brother, hunched and looking small, defeated.
"Yugi...?"
Yugi raised his head, and a small, sad smile was struggling on his mouth. "There were still a lot of things I wanted to do with you," he said, his voice quiet, but constant. "There's the school festival coming up this weekend, I was hoping you might come see. And you never tried out that coffee shop you wanted...And it's only been two weeks, so I thought you might want to stay more, but-"
He wasn't aware the Pharaoh had suddenly moved to be in front of him until his brother shook him, snapping out of his babbling. Shocked, Yugi met the Pharaoh's gaze.
His brother's eyes were wide, worried, searching Yugi's face for some sign of an ailment. He gripped his brother by his shoulders, his concern pressing his fingers deep. When Yugi responded at last, the grip relaxed, and the Pharaoh held him more comfortingly. He didn't say anything for a few minutes, but his expression seemed to soften when Yugi looked at him. Both of them waited while Yugi's breathing slowed.
Finally, the Pharaoh asked softly, "Are you all right?"
Yugi nodded. He hadn't even realized he'd been that close to passing out until the cloudy pounding in his head began to subside.
Now sure Yugi was able to sit on his own without falling over, the Pharaoh rose, letting go of him and taking a cup from the cabinets. He came back with it full of water, and pressed it into Yugi's hands. Yugi took a grateful sip, hardly feeling it travel down his throat.
"Sorry," he whispered.
"There's nothing to apologize for," the Pharaoh replied gently. He sat back down, one hand on Yugi's wrist. "You thought I was going back to the tablet to regain my memories, didn't you?"
Yugi's head shot up, fully intending to give some fierce justification, but stopped short when he considered the Pharaoh's words. "I...You weren't?"
The Pharaoh sighed, leaning back. "Forgive me, Yugi. I should have been more specific. At the time I was merely thinking aloud. I wish to go see the tablet to check if it is still able to be seen. Last time, Dartz prevented us from doing anything by encasing it in crystal. Now that he is gone, I wish to see if it has been cleared of the substance. If for some reason it is not, we will have to think of some way to access it once again, or else find another way to my memories."
Yugi could feel his blood settling as he pondered this. That made sense...It was true none of them had gotten a chance to check if the tablet were free or not...
Now a wave of embarrassment began to seep through him. He'd been entirely too hasty and jumped to conclusions. Of course the Pharaoh wouldn't leave just yet...
But what was more, he was disgusted with himself. So quickly had he been willing to accept that the Pharaoh was leaving that he didn't even try to persuade his brother to stay longer. He'd simply...given up.
Have I accepted it at last? Is it...did I...?
"Would you like to come with me?"
"Huh?" Instantly these thoughts faded.
"To the museum." The Pharaoh took the cup and stood. "We could investigate together."
Yugi broke out into a smile. "Sure, that sounds perfect."
"Good. We'll leave in ten minutes."
As the Pharaoh took the cup to the sink, Yugi suddenly remembered something he'd wanted to ask. "Isashi..."
"Hmm?"
"You said if the tablet weren't available, we'd go searching for another way to recover your memories..."
"Yes."
"What will you do if the tablet is available?"
The Pharaoh noticeably stilled, and the water ran over his hands and the cup, though most of it remained soapy. With strangely stiff movements, he set the cup to the side heavily, suds still dripping down the sides, turned off the water, and slowly picked up the dish-washing towel to dry his hands.
He's pausing too long...Yugi could feel his apprehension creeping back, growing thicker with each second of silence.
"...I suppose I'd go home."
A jolt shot through Yugi's body as his heart skipped a beat. So I was right after all...
But it was all dashed away again when the Pharaoh followed up with, "After all, it's not like I'd head into unknown territory without being prepared, would I? Besides, I've got work tomorrow and a coffee shop to visit."
Home...he means the sho-"Isashi! That's mean!"
The Pharaoh laughed. "Forgive me, Yugi. Truly, I did not mean to upset you."
"Have you been taking lessons from Joey or something? When did you start getting so...sneaky?"
The Pharaoh spread his arms in a shrug. "Perhaps it is…how do you put it? 'One of the perks' of getting my own body."
Yugi gave an exasperated sigh and stood from the table. "Let's just go…"
"Agreed, aibou."
Yugi stopped, and looked back. His brother was walking to his side, his gaze friendly and sincere.
"Just a look," the Pharaoh promised.
Though Yugi rolled his eyes, his heart agreed with all it's might.
"Just a look," he echoed.
They would have looked, if there was anything to look at.
Both brothers stood, dumbfounded, at the exhibit, neither one able to come up with any appropriate comment for the roped-off, glaringly blank spot where the Tablet used to be.
Two workmen were cleaning the space, and Yugi approached the rope and called to them. "Excuse me, but where's the exhibit gone?"
"Oh, this one?" One workman straightened, looking to where Yugi was pointing. "Back to Egypt."
"Egypt?!"
"Yeah, didn't you hear? It got covered in some weird, crystalline substance a while ago. Probably some kids' idea of a joke. It took weeks to get it out again. A few days ago we were told it was being shipped back to Egypt. Guess the person who gave it to us didn't think it was safe here anymore. Too bad, but honestly I don't think anyone's going to miss it. It wasn't exactly the most popular exhibit."
Yugi stepped back to the Pharaoh's side, his mouth still open in disbelief. "Egypt…All the way over there…"
"At least we know it's free of the crystals," the Pharaoh murmured.
He called to the workers himself. "Pardon me, but can you tell me who the caretaker of this exhibit was? Who took it back to Egypt?"
"Huh? Oh, well, I don't think anybody really knows, to be honest…Taka, you know who took the exhibit to Egypt?"
"Some Egyptian woman," Taka answered, still wiping the exhibit base. "I didn't see her, but Saito was going on about how gorgeous she was…her 'white dress and black hair and eyes that pierced like the sun…' Heh, I told him he should write a poem."
"Hahaha, did he really say that? I'm going to ask him about that later…His girlfriend's going to be pissed if she ever finds out…"
"An Egyptian woman in a white dress…It must be Ishizu," Yugi whispered.
The Pharaoh nodded. "It's safe, then," he said back. "I suppose now we work on a way to get to Egypt."
"That's going to be expensive," Yugi said, frowning. "It's going to take a while for us to save up for that kind of trip."
The Pharaoh's mouth pulled back in a smile. "Quite a while if we're lucky, eh, aibou?" he asked wryly.
Yugi put a hand to the back of his head. "I guess so," he answered sheepishly.
The Pharaoh turned to leave. "There's nothing more to see here. Let's go home, Yugi."
Yugi grinned. "Home, or home home?"
The Pharaoh chuckled. "Home."
RN: *pant pant* I'm still running...from Yami Bakura...but I can't really...get far...on this...darn...little...lizard...legs...Yami Yugi's got him distracted for now...but I'm still in danger...Whew...There is...a way...you all...can save me...though...and keep...this story...going...and that's...reviewing! Help me...break this...stupid spell...and make me...human...again! Whew...oh, man, I'm gonna die...
RN: IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! How long has it been? Nearly two months?! Geez, how time flies! Except it hasn't for me, I've been so busy, and it feels it takes so long to get to each weekend. And then the weekend comes and I don't even have time to enjoy it! Plus this chapter gave memassive writer's block. I don't even know why, it's always the ones with less action that take longer for me to write. Seriously, there were several days where I opened up the file, scrolled through it a couple times, and closed it. I just couldn't work it out in my head. Finally Thanksgiving break came along and gave me SOME time to take a proper look at it, and I got over this huge bump in the road. And this was the result!...
Honestly, I know you all were probably expecting more. But please don't lose hope! It's only a few more of these kind of chapters, then the real action starts up! Things should move along pretty quickly then. Plus winter break is coming up and I'll get even more time to look at this then! Yaaaaay!