Disclaimer:
None of the characters, of either of the respective professional authors, used in this story are mine with the exception of occasional made-up monsters, which will most likely be noted unless I'm feeling lazy. The plot and events in this story however are products of my imagination and occasionally warped sense of humor; therefore, they belong to me, please don't steal them. Harry Potter and all things Harry Potterish belong without doubt to J.K. Rowling. YuGiOh! and all things pertaining to it belong to Kazuki Takahashi-sama. The Matsuda bakery is from Digimon season 3, I don't own that either. The only Yugioh stuff I own are my issues of Shonen Jump containing yugioh manga and the three manga volumes released in English (so far). Oh and my limited edition Red Eyes Black Dragon holographic card I got in the latest issue of Shonen Jump *hugs dragon*. Other than that, I'm just borrowing the characters and places and such. Don't worry I'll give them back when I'm done, *sniffles*.
Summary:
Two years after the events in the Ancient Egyptian Memory RPG story arc and set after Harry's 5th year at Hogwarts, Yugi-tachi discovers the existence of a new type of enemy, one that has a whole new definition of 'dueling'.
Author's Notes:
Yes this is a HP/YGO crossover. Please don't run away screaming in terror, I promise no yugioh characters are attending Hogwarts and no special foreign teachers are showing up either. No one new is getting the Millennium Items and there are no extra items either. There are also no Mary or Marty Sues and no OC's that will dramatically affect the lives of the main characters.
Also, you should be aware, this is not yaoi or yuri. There will be no lemons or limes or implied sexual action. This is also not shonen-ai. I do not hate shonen-ai, but I feel that the number of well-written yaoi fics so greatly outnumbers those of well-written heterosexual or non-pairings fics that I must contribute my efforts to balancing this discrepancy out. If there are passages or events that seem to imply to you shonen-ai then you may take those as you may, but it was not my intent to portray boy-boy relationships. Any such borderline scenes, if they occur, imply only deep friendship from my point of view. If you want to pretend it implies shonen- ai or yaoi, then be my guest, just don't flame me for it.
This fic takes into account events in both the manga and the anime of Yugioh, so there will be things pertaining to the Noa and the Doom story arcs, which are only available through the anime. Also, since this is set in the future of the Yugioh-verse, this will be a sort of AU based on my take on the outcome of the AE story arc and on what I envision the characters and relationships are developing into.
Over the course of this story you will learn Yami's true ancient Egyptian name as stated in the authentic manga. However, since he is no longer the Pharaoh of Egypt I decided to have him choose to continue being called Yami or 'mou hitori no boku' or whatever his friends want to call him, assuming its not an insult (Yami: -_- "stupid tomb robber"). In fact, he's got so many aliases that it's a wonder he doesn't have a bigger personality complex than he already does.
Yes I know. Title sucks. If you can think of a better one let me know and I'll see if it fits.
Oh yeah, and please go easy on the flames. This is my first fanfic I've ever posted, or written for that matter, so tips and hints are welcome, but please don't get angry at me for some mistake I made that I didn't know about.
Okay, yes I am aware that this is a freakishly long chapter. Don't expect them all to be this long though, the characters decided they had to do stuff that I didn't originally plan to have them do and thus pointless seeming conversations were born. If you think I should cut some of it out to make the story better, let me know, I'll see what I feel works best. This should probably be two or more chapters but then I'd have to make up another title and I don't want to do that.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. ^_^
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Notes:
Y to YY = /.../
YY to Y = //...//
Bakura (Y. Bakura) to Ryou = ::...::
Ryou to Bakura (Y. Bakura) = :...:
Seto = 17 years old
Mai = 19
Mokuba = 13
Shizuka = 14
Yugi, Jou, Honda, Anzu, Otogi (Duke) = 16
Aa = a form of yes in Japanese
Hn = affirmative sound, sort of a grunt (Kaiba uses it a lot)
Un = affirmative sound
ni-sama = older brother, said with respect, and in Mokuba's case, hero- worship
onii-chan = older brother, said with respect and affection
baka = idiot
yami = darkness, or just dark
-kun = term indicating friendship
-chan = term of endearment, also used for females younger than the speaker
-san = term of informal respect, sorta like saying Mister or Miss
Oi = a sound Jounouchi uses a lot, kinda like 'hey'
Aibou = partner, companion, but deeper, sorta like soul-mate when used by Yami to Yugi (but not romantically)
Mou hitori no boku = basically means 'other me'
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Harry Potter and The Advent of Darkness
Chapter 1: The Vanishing Darkness
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Domino City, Japan, 5:42 pm, July 9th.
"Tell me again why we're doing this?"
"Ni-sama, that's the fourth time you've asked me that," frowned Mokuba Kaiba as he turned away from the window to look up at the tall young man sitting next to him. Outside the window the buildings continued to slide by as the sleek white KC limo prowled through the quiet evening streets.
"Hn. I'm waiting to wake up and learn the answer has changed." The brunette replied as he folded his arms across his chest.
"Aa," Mokuba nodded, "but you promised Seto."
"That's what I'm hoping will change," Seto Kaiba muttered under his breath. "Are you certain you don't want to go somewhere else? The driver will take us anywhere you want." Kaiba reached over for the intercom button. Mokuba slid off his seat and intercepted his brother's hand.
"Its not that bad Seto, and you know it. Besides, I want to go."
"The driver can drop you off, there's no reason for me to be there." The elder Kaiba leaned back into the leather seat of the limousine.
Mokuba frowned as he dropped back into his seat. "We were both invited, ni- sama. Don't worry it'll be all right. Besides, you need to get out more often. You've been working so much lately I've barely seen you." Mokuba added softly as he looked down at his lap. His gray-blue eyes took on a distant, sad expression as he looked up and added, "I want to spend more time with you and this is a good chance, especially since your school just got out for summer break*. So please come too."
"Aa." Kaiba sighed and dipped his chin in a nod. "But don't expect this sort of thing everyday Mokuba." He added as he locked gazes with his little brother. "It'll be a miracle if this night goes smoothly."
"Aa, but it'll be okay, you'll see ni-sama." Mokuba smiled happily up at Seto, his eyes lighting up.
"Hn." Seto grunted and glanced away towards the window to hide the beginnings of his knowing smirk from his little brother.
There was a soft click sound from the speakers set into the plush walls of the limo. "Seto-sama, we've arrived. I can let you out at the curb, but there is nowhere for me to park to wait for you nearby."
"When we need you, we'll call. Find a place to wait and keep the line free."
"Yes sir." The limo slowed to a halt and the engine shut off. The driver's door opened and shut. A moment later, the door to Seto's right swung open to let in the warm night air.
"Let's go Mokuba."
"Okay!"
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Kami Game Shop, 5:14 pm.
"Tell me again why we're doing this?"
"Honestly! Jounouchi, haven't you been listening at all?" Anzu Mazaki demanded as she straightened up from where she had been crouched, a roll of tape in one hand and a rolled banner in the other.
"Of course I have! I just don't get why that guy has to be here! He'll probably ruin the whole thing and sit there glaring at everyone." Growled Jounouchi as he dragged a kitchen table chair over to the wall and set it down by the window with a thump.
"You know that's not true Jounouchi-kun. This'll be great! You'll see. Anzu, are you almost done with the banner?" Yugi Mutou asked as he walked into the living room of his home above the Kami Game Shop from the hallway. He had just come up the stairs from the shop below them.
"Oi, what'cha got there, Yugi?" Jounouchi Katsuya** asked as he jumped up onto the chair he had pulled across the room and glanced over through his blond bangs at his diminutive best friend who was carrying three large sacks, one in each hand and the third balanced under his chin on his arms.
"What do you think we went out to get Jou?" Honda Hiroto asked as he walked in behind Yugi. He was carrying two plastic sacks with his left arm through the handles, and was balancing a large white box in both hands. "C'mon Yugi, lets get this stuff into the kitchen."
"Aa!" Yugi grinned exuberantly as he followed the tall teen across the room and through the doorway that led into the kitchen. "Its just more food Jounouchi-kun, and the order from the Matsuda bakery." He grinned across at his best friend who was balancing on the chair next to the window on the far side of the room.
"Do you think it'll be enough Yugi? Not everyone is here yet." Anzu asked in a concerned tone as she crossed the room to take one of the sacks from Yugi. "Let me take one of those." Anzu said as she smiled warmly at him.
"Aa, thanks Anzu." Yugi smiled up at her before ducking his head to hide the pink tinge to his cheeks.
"And knowing these two, there might not be enough left by the time everyone gets here." Anzu jerked her thumb at Jounouchi and Honda as she turned to head into the kitchen.
"Don't worry Anzu. I'm sure there'll be enough for everyone, we did buy a lot." Yugi smiled up at the brunette as the two passed into the kitchen. They walked down the small aisle of linoleum that separated the dining table area and the kitchen area. They turned a sharp left and set their bags down on the countertop bar that held stools underneath it next to the box Honda had set down already. Through the opening above it they could see into the kitchen itself. Standing in front of the stove and countertop on the far side of the kitchen, and subsequently guarding the racks of cookies and treats from Honda, was a familiar person. The back of a yellow apron was tied around his waist.
"Good you're back! Now you can help me with these cookies." Ryou Bakura smiled as he turned around to greet his friends. His pale silvery hair matched the smudges of flour on his right cheek and across the bridge of his nose as he smiled brightly at them.
"I thought Otogi was helping you?" Honda frowned as he looked around the kitchen. Zero Otogis were present.
"Well, he was, but it turns out he's um..well.." Ryou stammered thinking of a polite way to put it.
"What he means is, Otogi couldn't cook anything edible if his life depended on it." Jounouchi grinned from the doorway. "He's in the bathroom, trying to salvage his shirt after he got in a fight with a spatula. Spatula won."
"If he needs to, he can borrow one of my shirts. I hope he doesn't mind black leather." Yugi added as an afterthought.
"Don't worry Yugi. It wasn't as bad as Jounouchi says." Ryou smiled at the shorter teen. "But between the appliances declaring war on Otogi and having to let my yami threaten Jou to keep him from snitching snacks, I'm a little behind schedule. I'm glad you and Honda-kun got back. I'll need your help with finishing the treats." He gestured with his cooking spoon to the counter where various cookies, cupcakes, and sweets*** sat in various stages of preparation.
"Of course Bakura-kun." Yugi smiled happily. "Will everything be ready in time though? We all need to be ready when they get here. You too, Bakura- kun. You shouldn't be in the kitchen when he comes inside."
"I know. That's why I need some extra help in here." Ryou smiled. "Don't worry, Yugi. With you and Anzu helping out we'll have everything set for 6:00pm."
"Oi, what about the living room? I can't put everything up on my own ya know." Jounouchi frowned, glancing over at the paper bags set on the low coffee table in front of the television.
"Now, that's something I can handle. No more cooking for me, sorry Bakura- kun. I think I'm more cut out for going out to eat, not making it myself. Besides, the ladies would prefer going to fancy restaurants on dates rather than home cooked meals." Otogi Ryuujin smirked from the doorway behind Jounouchi as he rubbed at his dark olive green shirt with a paper towel. Pausing, he examined the spot he was working on and nodded, deeming it once again cookie batter-less, before adjusting the black vest he was wearing over it.
"Oh really? Didn't you say Shizuka-chan was impressed by my cooking skills, Jounouchi?" Honda grinned turning to Jounouchi. Then he smirked over at Otogi who scowled back at Honda.
"Eh?" Jounouchi frowned and blinked, oblivious to the invisible lightning arcing between the two would-be suitors. 'Since when did Honda cook for Shizuka?' "Wait a sec! Date? Honda! Why you!" Jounouchi lunged for the lanky teen.
"Eh heh." Yugi sweatdropped as he fervently hoped they wouldn't start a fistfight in his kitchen doorway as Anzu twitched beside him.
"Jounouchi! Why don't you and Otogi go finish setting up the living room. Honda, since you can cook, I bet you'll be a great help to Bakura. You, Yugi and I will help you finish up Bakura, okay? I'm sure the two of you can handle finishing the living room, right?" Anzu asked sweetly as she turned to Jou and Otogi, too sweetly. Everyone blinked and sweatdropped before nodding vigorously. Jounouchi and Otogi beat a hasty retreat into the living room.
::Che, morons. You'd think they'd have some backbone by now. Running from a girl.::
Ryou blinked and glanced at Anzu as she calmed down from her near-meltdown. :Oh sure, you can say that when its not you out here facing her wrath.:
::Coward. You'd run from her too if you had a chance, wouldn't you. Pathetic mortals, terrified of a girl. You'd think they were running from one of my pets. If they were, then they'd really have reason to be afraid.::
:Yami, please don't start anything, not tonight.:
::Che. Like I'd bother. Have your fun. It'll be worth it to watch pharaoh-yo do the dishes.::
Ryou sweatdropped as he felt his yami sink once more into the back of his mind.
"Bakura-kun? Is everything okay?" Yugi asked, looking up at the white haired youth standing next to him as he set a jug of juice into the fridge.
"Oh? Oh, yes, I'm sorry, it's just my yami."
"He's not going to try anything tonight is he?" Yugi asked, concerned. "I want everything to go alright tonight."
"No, he says he won't bother. Though he wants me to have your yami do the dishes."
//I do not do dishes.//
Yugi giggled at the mental images their comments conjured.
//I can see those, you know. And its not funny.//
"Yugi?" Ryou blinked as Yugi started giggling softly. 'Must be Yami.'
/Okay, okay. Don't worry. I wont make you do the dishes. Bakura-kun won't either. But I hope Yami Bakura doesn't cause any problems tonight./
//Aa. With grandpa and your mother out of the country we need to prove we're capable of taking care of the house, despite conniving ex-thief kings.//
/Not only that, I want tonight to be perfect. Besides, they both deserve a chance to relax and have some fun with friends./
//Aa, he has precious little time to do so. I hope he can enjoy himself tonight. Do you think he brought his deck?//
/Yami, I don't think a duel will help him relax./ Yugi replied, exasperated.
//Just asking Aibou. Besides, I bet he'd enjoy it.// Yugi could feel his other's grin through their link.
/Probably, but there isn't room in here for a duel, unless you two just use cards and a game mat. Anyhow, we'll have our hands full with Jounouchi in the same room. We don't need more tension./
//Aa. Though I'm sure Shizuka can smooth things over if they get out of hand. She has quite the way with two hardheaded stubborn guys I know.// Yami's mirth traveled down their link and tickled Yugi's mind.
/Do you think he has any idea how much she affects him?/
//He hasn't got a clue. If he did, he might actually panic. Now that'd be a sight to see. I wonder if I can reserve seats.//
/Yaami./
//Well, if you wont come watch with me, I bet Jounouchi'll pay to see him panic.//
/Not if Jounouchi knows who he's panicking over./
//Hmm, got me there. Ah, Bakura-kun's trying to get our attention Aibou.//
/He probably wants you to start on the dishes./ Yugi mentally stuck his tongue out at Yami before focusing on his surroundings once again.
"Yugi? Could you start decorating these cupcakes? When you finish could you start cutting these brownies and rice crispy treats into squares and stacking them on plates." Bakura asked, pointing with his cooking spoon at two racks of cooling unfrosted chocolate cupcakes and the three pans of desserts sitting next to them.
"Aa." Yugi nodded and took up his post at the two frosting bowls, vanilla and chocolate.
"Anzu, could you start putting these chips into the serving bowls that are in the cupboard above the dishwasher, there's dip and salsa in the fridge for them. Then could you start setting the cookies onto platters and put them on the countertop bar over there next to the glasses." Bakura asked as he pulled on an oven mitt and pulled the oven open, taking out a covered dish.
"Un." Anzu nodded as she reached up to the cupboard and started pulling down the serving platters and bowls.
"Oh, what should I do Bakura? Can I help decorate the cupcakes, that frosting looks really good, did you make it yourself?" Honda asked, practically drooling at the site of all the treats. "Ooh! Are those M&M cookies?" Honda asked as he reached for the cookies cooling on the rack next to the end of the counter.
Thwap!
"Eeeowch!" Honda yelped and leaped back cradling his hand. "What was that for Bakura!"
"Baka." Bakura sneered as he glared at Honda, his deep brown eyes reflecting eerily with a reddish light. "I already had this conversation with that blond sidekick, do I need to teach you a lesson in manners as well?" Bakura glared, then shook his head, his bangs swayed back and forth as he did so, seemingly spikier than usual. "Don't touch my landlord's cooking until its ready. Tastes better that way anyhow."
"You! W-what are you doing here, I thought you weren't going to be here tonight." Honda stammered as he took a hasty step back.
"Che, idiot. Just because I don't show myself doesn't mean I'm not here." Yami Bakura glared at Honda as he tried to maneuver to put Yugi, who was watching with mild concern, between them. "Be glad all Ryou had in his hand was the spoon. Next time you try to snitch a cookie it might be a knife. Besides, I'm the only one around here who gets to steal his cooking."
Bakura blinked suddenly, his hair seeming to settle down onto his scalp again as his eyes took on their warm brown hue again. "Eh heh, sorry Honda- kun. I asked him if he could help me defend the food from snitching and he took offense at the idea of others stealing from us, even if it is meant for everyone later."**** Ryou chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head with his right hand.
"Well, now we know why Jounouchi didn't try to snitch anything when he was in here a moment ago." Anzu said as she set down another bowl. "Really though, you shouldn't spoil your appetite Honda. Mai and Shizuka-chan will be back soon. They'll keep warm in the oven right Bakura-kun?" She asked as she turned to face him.
"Oh, yes, they'll be fine in the oven for a little bit. Everyone should be here by then. I do hope traffic isn't bad though." Bakura added as he turned back to the bowl of dough he was dividing into cookie pats on a pan.
"Don't worry Bakura-kun, knowing them there wont be any problems with traffic. He wont let anything ruin tonight." Yugi smiled over at the worried looking teen.
"Hey, Bakura, you never did say what I could do to help." Honda pouted as he gazed longingly at the mounting pile of treats on the counters.
"Oh, right. Could you get out the plates and cups. We'll need them to be all ready for when everyone arrives." Bakura gestured at the respective cupboards lining the walls of the kitchen over the counters.
"I'm hurt, don't you trust me with the treats?" Honda asked as rivers of tears streamed down his cheeks.
"Umm, not really. Sorry Honda-kun, but both you and Jounouchi have the same amount of restraint around food as my yami does around shiny expensive things."
::I heard that you know.:: Yami Bakura's voice growled in his mind.
:Eh heh, sorry?: Bakura sweatdropped. The only response Ryou got was grumbling in the back of his mind, followed by the sound of a door shutting. Ryou winced mentally.
"What!? You mean you don't trust me? Now I'm really hurt." Honda proceeded to sniffle and sob under his arm like the best drama queen Hollywood had to offer. Bakura and Yugi proceeded to sweatdrop. Anzu twitched. Honda didn't notice. Yugi began to mentally prepare an appropriate epitaph for Honda.
//Perhaps you should try to save him before his untimely demise, hmm Aibou?//
/I suppose that would be best. So what's the plan?/
//I don't know. How about saying, "Hey look, its Kaiba in nothing but boxers!" Think that'll get her attention?//
/Umm. I'd prefer not having her think of Kaiba-kun in boxers, in fact I'd prefer not having that mental image either. Maybe I should say, "Hey look, its mou hitori no boku in Dark Magician boxers!"/
//That would imply that you have Dark Magician boxers too. Do you want her to know that?//
/Eeep!/ Yugi felt his cheeks begin heating up as the oh-so-familiar blush returned to his face. /Damn it, there goes that plan./ Yami's laughter bubbled up in his mind at his predicament.
//You did walk yourself right into that one Aibou.//
/Aa./ Yugi sighed. One of the drawbacks of having a strategic genius living in the back of your head is the inability to often come out on top in the verbal teasing department. Of course, when he did get him, he got him good.
//Uh oh, better hurry and rescue Honda, Aibou, or else there might not be much left of him.//
/Eh?/ Yugi mentally came back to the kitchen with a start and glanced over to see Anzu advancing on an oblivious Honda with a large wooden stirring spoon in hand. This sort of thing never boded well for the target of her ire. Time to implement interception maneuvers.
"Uh, Anzu, where did you and Jounouchi-kun put all the packages?" Yugi asked, stepping forward to semi-block Anzu's path to Honda.
"Eh? Oh, we stacked all of them in the back storeroom of the shop. I figured they wouldn't go back there and see them before hand, and they wouldn't get in the way of preparations there either." Anzu blinked over at Yugi, the twitching vein in her forehead diminishing from threat level to mere irritation.
"Ah, that's good. Honda-kun, have you put yours with the others yet?" Yugi asked, turning to Honda hoping to snap him out of his pit of cookie- despair.
"Eh, oh yeah. No I haven't, its still in the living room. I should probably go put it with the others, huh?" Honda replied, suddenly normal again, tears forgotten. "I'll go put it away and hurry back to finish up in here, okay Bakura."
"Okay." Bakura smiled; relieved he wouldn't have to drag an unconscious Honda out from underfoot. "Hurry back though, its getting closer to 6pm and we still have to finish up this last batch of cookies and set all the food out."
Honda nodded before heading out the doorway into the living room. Anzu returned to the chip platters and Bakura smiled at Yugi who grinned back.
"Don't worry everyone. This'll be great tonight. We'll be ready by 6pm, I'm sure of it Bakura-kun." Yugi smiled at his friend who was looking a bit stressed. Bakura smiled back.
Honda came back a moment later, followed by a tall, leggy, blond woman and a petite redhead with green eyes. Honda was loaded down with boxes of pizza and neither of the girls was carrying any.
"Honda-san, are you sure you can carry all of those?" Shizuka Katsuya** asked, looking at Honda stagger under the weight of the boxes.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine Shizuka-chan. This is nothing, I could carry twice this many." Honda grunted from behind the stack of boxes.
"Wow Bakura, you sure know how to set out a dessert spread." Mai Kujaku grinned and winked at the lightly blushing teen. "Anyway, we brought dinner, we aren't late are we? I'd hate to miss tonight."
"Nope, you're just in time to help me and Otogi finish decorating the living room." Jounouchi grinned as he stuck his head in through the doorway. "I can't wait to see the look on his face. Oi, Yugi, do you think there'll be enough places for everyone to be when they get here?"
"Un, there should be. Most of us will fit into the kitchen and then there's the couches and armchairs in the living room too." Yugi nodded.
"Great! That guy better not ruin it." Jounouchi grumbled.
"Oh? You're decorating Jou? Well, don't just stand there looking excited, show me! It'll probably need a lady's touch though. Guys usually have no fashion sense, right Shizuka-chan." Mai winked at Jou's little sister who blushed and smiled behind her fingers.
"Whaat! I'll show you, I'm a great decorator!" Jou cried looking indignant.
"Hey, I helped too you know. You'll see Shizuka-chan, I'm an excellent decorator, much better than Honda or Jounouchi." Otogi pouted at Jounouchi then preened for Shizuka who giggled. Jounouchi just glared at him.
"Well, don't just stand there blocking the door, let's go Shizuka-chan and see their excellent decorating job." Mai grinned as she took the younger girl's hand and pulled her past the two boys, snagging Jounouchi by the wrist as she went.
"Oi, hey Mai, take it easy." Jounouchi cried as he was suddenly tugged backwards into the living room. A light blush dusted his cheeks as Mai came to a stop behind the couch and he glanced down and realized they were holding hands now.
Mai grinned coyly over at him, before winking and looking around. "Well it's a good start, but don't worry, this place will be spectacular by the time we're done with it, right Shizuka-chan?" She winked at the green-eyed girl and smiled.
Shizuka smiled brilliantly back and nodded, "Un!"
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"I don't see any lights on ni-sama, do you think everything's okay?" Mokuba asked as he looked up at the building ahead of them. The limo pulled away from the curb and turned the corner at the end of the block and slipped out of sight.
"Hn, its likely we just can't see them from down here. If there was trouble I'm sure we would have gotten some sort of message about it, we usually do." Seto snorted as he swept up the walkway to the front door of the building. Mokuba hurried after him. When they reached the door Mokuba saw a piece of paper taped to the door.
"Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked in a worried tone. What if the paper was the message of trouble.
Seto took the paper down off the door and unfolded it, scanning it with his eyes. "Hn, its okay Mokuba, just letting us know he's too busy in the kitchen to come down and let us in. See." He held out the paper to Mokuba who accepted it.
"Un." Mokuba nodded. The paper held the familiar handwriting telling them to let themselves in and come on upstairs. "But ni-sama, isn't it dangerous to leave this note here? Yugi-kun is by himself right now with his grandpa and mother out of the country, and his other friends were too busy with family business to have dinner with him tonight, that's why he invited us. A burglar could sneak in and hurt him with the door unlocked."
"Mokuba, I doubt any burglar would escape after breaking in, let alone come close to harming Yugi, not with Yami around. Yugi is probably safer with Yami than he is with his grandfather."
"Aa, you're right ni-sama. Yami would make any burglar want to change professions." Mokuba cheered up at that. "Lets go inside ni-sama, Yugi- kun is probably waiting for us."
"Aa." Seto took hold of the door handle and opened the door to the Kami Game Shop.
The two Kaiba brothers stepped inside the darkened interior of the building. The shop seemed empty and there was no sound from upstairs. Seto let Mokuba lead the way to the back of the store and through the door on the right. They climbed the short staircase to the landing on the second floor and Mokuba reached out and opened the door at the top. They stepped out into a small hallway with doors leading off to the left and right. A few feet ahead and to the left was the open archway that lead into the darkened living room.
"Ni-sama, all the lights are off. Are you sure Yugi-kun's all right?" Mokuba whispered, becoming really worried.
"Hm. Mokuba, check the living room and kitchen. I'll be just down the hall checking the bedrooms. If you see anything, give a shout." Seto frowned as he glanced around the small darkened home.
"A-aa." Mokuba nodded, a feeling of worry growing within him. He turned and stepped forward into the living room, feeling around on the wall beside the door for the light switch he knew was there. Finally finding the switch he flipped it and the lights came on.
"SURPRISE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOKUBA!"
The joyful shouts rang through the whole house as Mokuba nearly jumped out of his skin as Jounouchi and Mai leaped up from behind the couch, Shizuka jumped out from behind the armchair near the window, and the door to the kitchen spilled out an entire crowd of cheering, confetti throwing teens. "W-what??" Mokuba blinked and stuttered in confusion and surprise. A huge banner reading 'Happy 13th Birthday Mokuba-kun!' was stretched across the living room from the wall above the window to the wall near the kitchen doorway. Balloons and streamers filled the ceiling and the corners of the room, while celebration poppers were set off spraying more confetti and streamers into the air above his head.
"Happy Birthday, Mokuba." A mirth-filled, deep voice spoke into his ear.
Mokuba turned in shock to find Seto crouching down behind him with a big grin spreading across his features. "B-but, I thought ... I thought."
"Oi, Mokuba, you didn't think your brother would actually do nothing special for your birthday did you?" Jounouchi grinned from ear to ear from his place with his torso draped over the back of the couch, Mai standing next to him grinning triumphantly.
"I...I figured he'd just been so busy and stressed lately, what with the expansion into Europe that he just hadn't had time." Mokuba confessed blushing in embarrassment.
"Mokuba. I'd never forget your birthday, and I'll never be so busy I wont have time for it either. This has been planned for the past two weeks." Seto smiled at him as he hugged his little brother tightly. Mokuba threw his arms around Seto's neck and hugged back, a huge smile on his face.
"Oi, oi, Kaiba, don't go taking all the credit! The surprise party was Yugi's idea! And we all helped ya know, you didn't do everything." Jounouchi groused, shaking his fist at Kaiba.
"Hn, like I needed your help, puppy." Seto coolly said back. Jounouchi growled and started getting that look that comes right before an explosion.
"But, Kaiba-san, Mokuba-kun would have missed onii-chan if he wasn't here. Then Mokuba-kun's birthday would not be as fun as it could have been." Shizuka frowned slightly as she met Kaiba's gaze.
"Aa, that's true Shizuka-san. Hn, for Mokuba's sake, I'm glad you came," Seto replied as he turned to Jounouchi who looked utterly dumbfounded at this admission, until, "Mediocre One."
//Shizuka one, Kaiba zero. Though I think Jounouchi is into the negatives by now.//
/Must you keep score?/
Jounouchi twitched violently. Everyone else but Kaiba sweatdropped.
Bakura suddenly vanished into the kitchen and reappeared carrying a tray of brownies and another of chocolate chip cookies. "Who wants cookies or brownies? The pizza will be ready as soon as it's taken out of the oven."
Jounouchi turned abruptly and grinned. "Wow those look great Bakura!" And yet another disaster was averted.
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Kami Game Shop, 10:03 pm
"N-no, not that way! Ah! Right! Right! You can do it! Aaaaaah! No! No! No! Alright!! You got it, Yugi!" Jounouchi whooped leaping up and down like a little kid behind the couch.
"That was great Yugi, I've never seen anyone defeat that level so quickly before." Bakura added from his position perched on the right arm of the couch.
"Un, Yugi is great at video games." Anzu smiled over at Yugi from where she sat next to him on the couch.
Yugi blushed bright red and laughed rubbing the back of his head. "Its not that big of a deal guys." He replied as he set the controller down onto his lap.
"What, are you kidding? Even Yami's and Kaiba's scores weren't that high!" Jounouchi crowed.
"And yours was even worse than usual." Seto grunted from his position sprawled languidly in the armchair to the left of the television. He smirked as Jounouchi turned red and growled at him.
"Yami isn't really familiar with the controllers or this type of console games. So its understandable that my score was a bit higher." Yugi smiled at Jounouchi and sent a wave of comforting and soothing emotions to his Other. "I really hope you guys haven't addicted him to console party games."
//I am not addicted. I merely find them fascinating. Are you certain there is no magic involved?// Yami sat in insubstantial form, visible only to Yugi, cross-legged on the floor beside the black consol. He had been staring and poking at it for the past half hour trying to figure it out.
/No magic at all Yami./
//Hmm, yet such a complicated game is contained within this tiny black box. Are you sure we can't get our own?// He looked up at Yugi hopefully.
/No Yami, this console system is way too expensive for my allowance to handle, you know that./
//Aa. Sorry Aibou. Maybe I can persuade Mokuba to let us come over, or perhaps borrow it occasionally.// Yami looked thoughtfully over at Kaiba and smiled softly. //Kaiba-kun actually looks relaxed, doesn't he, Aibou.//
/Un. I haven't seen him smile this much in like forever. I'm glad he agreed to this party. And he and Jounouchi-kun have even managed not to get into a fight./
//Thank Shizuka for that Aibou. She has quite the diplomatic talent. Of course, being a major distraction to Kaiba doesn't hurt.//
/Un, but don't mention that to Jounouchi, he might actually try to punch Kaiba-kun for it./
//Aa.// Then Yami glanced up at the doorway to the kitchen and grinned.
"Hey, are Honda and Otogi back with the pizza yet?" Mokuba asked as he came in from the kitchen with a bowl of vanilla ice cream smothered in chocolate sauce. He plopped himself down at the foot of Seto's armchair after pushing aside the discarded wrapping paper from his birthday presents, and folded his legs Indian style.
"I can't believe you guys ate all of those pizzas and wanted more." Anzu shook her head. "You'll all probably be sick to your stomachs tomorrow."
"Aww come on Anzu, we're all growing teenagers you know. We need plenty of the four basic food groups. Soda, Pizza, Chocolate, and Desserts." Jounouchi grinned over at her.
"You mean the four basic junk foods. I hope you don't eat like that all the time, you'll get fat and then a certain lady duelist will make you diet and sweat off the weight." Anzu grinned slyly over at Jounouchi who paled slightly.
"Eh heh, good point. But don't worry Anzu! I'm totally healthy and full of energy!" Jounouchi grinned making silly body-builder poses.
Everyone but Seto sweatdropped at that. Seto just looked disbelievingly at Jounouchi, unable to comprehend how he could have left himself so wide open for yet another insult and not realize it. However, before he could take advantage of it, Shizuka and Mai came back into the room from the kitchen.
Mai grinned. "Well boys, Anzu, we come bearing gifts."
"Un. Mai-san and I made fruit smoothies." Shizuka held out a tray full of glasses with straws as Mai set hers onto the coffee table that had been moved off to the side under the window to make room for the console. "We have banana, strawberry, chocolate, and orange, who wants what?"
"Ahh, Shizuka! You're a life saver! We were all just about to die of thirst waiting for the pizzas!" Jounouchi hurried over to her and picked up a chocolate shake. The others chose drinks and then Mai and Shizuka took the rest back into the kitchen to put in the fridge for later.
Yugi sat back onto the couch and took a sip of his strawberry smoothie. /Mmm this is good, did you want to try some?/
//No thanks, Aibou. Maybe later though.//
/Still focused on the game console eh?/
//Aa.//
Yugi leaned forward to set the controller onto the floor next to the console when he felt a faint cold, tingling sensation glide across his neck and run down his spine. He shuddered as he felt every hair on his body stand up as a chilly rush flooded across his skin and through his pores to his very core.
"Yugi, are you all right? You looked cold for a moment, want us to turn up the heat?" Anzu asked as she scooted a few inches closer to Yugi and draped an arm over his shoulders as he shivered at the edge of the couch.
"No, its nothing Anzu." Yugi smiled reassuringly up at her, still too disturbed by the strange sensations to fully register the warmth of her arm and thigh pressing against his body through their clothes. "Probably just a draft or something."
"Eh? Are you sure Yugi? It may be summer but the nights still get cold this close to the harbor. We don't mind turning the heat up." Anzu pressed watching Yugi's slender form for any sign of renewed shivers with concern.
"Oi, Anzu's right for once." Jounouchi spoke up, shifting his weight slightly as he hugged his shoulders. "It is getting kinda cold up in here. Did someone open a window or something?" He glanced around the room but none of the windows were open.
Yugi glanced around and noticed that Bakura was looking around with a look that could easily turn into panic on his face, while Jounouchi was starting to look very pale and somewhat spooked. Seto was looking unconcerned at first glance, but his blue eyes were darting around warily before turning to watch Mokuba as he worked on setting up his new laptop. Then Yugi noticed Yami. His eyes were distant and his head was cocked to the side, as though listening intently to something faint with distance.
/Yami, is something wrong? Are you okay?/
//Eh?// Yami jerked back to attention and glanced at Yugi. //Aibou, what's wrong, you look pale?//
/I don't know, I just felt a chill run through me. And even Jounouchi is feeling it too.***** But, Bakura looks kind of scared don't you think? Is there something wrong? You were spaced out for a moment./ Yugi asked, letting a bit of his concern leak down their link to Yami.
//I-I'm not sure Aibou. I thought I heard something for a moment, but I guess not. I don't hear anything unusual right now.// Yami blinked and turned to look at Bakura. //Strange, he does look panicky. What could be going on that could alarm him?//
Yugi slipped off the couch to face Bakura fully. "Bakura-kun, you don't look so good. Is everything okay?"
"O-oh, Yugi. I-I'm not sure. I just suddenly had the strangest feeling. Its probably nothing though." Bakura laughed half-heartedly and rubbed the back of his head with one hand, trying to smile Yugi's concern away.
:Y-yami, did you feel that too?:
::Aa. What in the name of Ra was that?::
:Y-y-you mean you don't know?: Bakura's fear increased closer to panic levels and began to flood their link.
::Stop that you fool! I can't focus if you keep flooding the link like that!::
:S-sorry.:
::No, I don't know what the hell that was. But I intend to find out. Whatever the hell it was, it felt like it was... like it was searching.:: Yami Bakura muttered across the link as he paced back and forth in his soul room twirling a curved dagger around his fingers. 'What was it searching for, and more importantly, who was doing the searching?'
:S-searching? What do you mean yami?:
::Exactly what it sounded like, moron. That was some sort of power searching for something, it tried to go down our link, but it didn't anticipate the defenses I've set against anything trying to force its way into my soul room.::
:S-so, it doesn't know about you then?: Bakura asked, with a tinge of relief flowing down the link to the thief king as he stomped around his soul room. :B-but, do you think it found out about Yami? Yugi said he was out earlier, messing around with the console system.:
Yami Bakura paused in his pacing and cocked his head. ::Pharaoh-yo was out? What the hell, why does that puffed up princeling get to come out at the party and I can't!? That's totally unfair Ryou! Figures, he'd get his way, that bastard.:: Yami Bakura growled, spun around, and flung the dagger across his soul room, burying it in the wooden target board hanging on the far wall.
Bakura winced mentally as his yami's anger roiled across their link, and felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment and guilt. Yami Bakura was right, it was unfair. But the party was for Mokuba-kun and Mokuba didn't really know his yami very well at all. After all, Yami Bakura wasn't exactly the sociable type.
:Sorry.:
::Hnh.:: Yami Bakura grunted and Ryou felt a subtle flow of understanding, if not forgiveness, from his yami.
:B-but, what about Yami?: Bakura persisted, his worry flowing down the link so thickly it was almost palpable.
::Che. Pharaoh-yo may be a stuck up bastard, but he's capable of covering his own ass. I should know. He's done it enough times when I've tried to get the best of him. There's no reason for you to worry, kid.::
:Aa. Thanks yami.: Bakura sent a flood of gratitude down the link.
Yami Bakura snorted. ::Che, idiot.::
"Bakura-kun? Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Yugi asked again. Bakura had spaced out for a few seconds so he knew he had been talking to his yami. Maybe he had something to say about this.
"Oh, n-no Yugi. Whatever it was, its over now and nothing happened so everything must be okay." Bakura smiled over at the young duelist, hoping he would reassure his friend.
"Ah, well, I'm just going to go check on Mai and Shizuka-chan. I hope they aren't plotting anything in the kitchen." Anzu smiled, trying to reassure herself that all was well. Picking up her smoothie, Anzu stood up and walked around the couch past Kaiba and headed for the kitchen. Halfway to the doorway, Anzu froze in mid-step, her glass falling to the floor as all reassurances were flung out the window.
Yugi had turned to watch Anzu stand up and go. She was almost to the kitchen when he took a step back towards his seat on the couch and a familiar and unwelcome rush of power surged into his body once more. However, unlike before, this time the power came swiftly, and aggressively ripped into his very being. Gasping for breath that wouldn't come to lungs suddenly burning with cold, Yugi doubled over, clutching his shirt with one hand over his heart.
"Yugi!!" Jounouchi cried in horror as he saw his best friend double over as his eyes became wide and stricken with pain. Jounouchi grasped the back of the couch and pushed himself up to vault over the obstruction between them.
//Aibou!// Yami cried out at the same moment, surging up from his position on the floor and taking a step toward Yugi, hands outstretched as though to catch and hold him up. He never reached Yugi. A sudden surge of freezing cold energy rushed up from the deepest part of his being. It flooded his entire spiritual form, emanating from his link with Yugi as the pain of his Aibou poured into his mind. This strange power wrapped its tendrils about Yami and then constricted viciously. Yami cried out at the pain of his own body as the center of his being was seemingly ripped apart. His vision blacked out for an instant and when it cleared he found himself on his knees, one arm wrapped across his stomach, the other clutching at his heart, as though to hold his own body together with his hands.
The lights in the living room flickered violently before going out as the television blew a fuse and blacked out the only remaining light in the room. Mokuba cried out in fear as there was a thump from where Bakura had been sitting. Anzu spun around with Yugi's name on her lips as she heard a crash of dishes in the kitchen behind her. All the breath was sucked from her lungs as a cold descended on the entire room that was so complete and pervasive that it almost forced Anzu to her knees. A dim, flickering, sickly greenish light filled the room. Bathing the scene before her in a nightmarish, deathly pallor.
Jounouchi had landed badly on the couch, startled from the plunge into darkness, and had kicked Bakura to the ground from the arm of the couch where he had perched. Bakura was sprawled on his side, using one arm to hold his torso off the carpet. Kaiba was on his feet, Mokuba clutched protectively to his side as he clung to his older brother. But what caught her attention the most were the two figures clearly visible in the nauseous green light, doubled up on the floor in front of the hissing television set.
Both Yugi's were clearly visible, though the somewhat taller of the two was a pale washed out color. But most importantly, both were clutching their chests in agony and gasping for breath, even if one didn't necessarily need to breathe.
"Yugi! Yami!" Anzu cried out as she forced herself to move despite the oppressive cold and dark. There was a thump from behind her as the door to the kitchen swung open. Anzu ignored it in her flight to the closest of the two. Falling to her knees at last beside Yugi's shaking body, Anzu reached out and gripped his shoulders in each hand, leaning forward over his back and pulled him closer to her. "What's wrong!? What is it?" She choked out stifling the sobs that threatened her coherency.
"C-c-cold...h-h-hurts." Yugi stuttered though the pain as his teeth clattered together.
"Wh-what's happening? Yami's visible too!" Jounouchi gasped as he rolled off the couch to his feet. Seeing that Anzu was checking on Yugi, he turned to Yami, unsure if he could help a spirit but willing to try. In two strides he was beside Yami. Jounouchi dropped onto his knees in front of the spirit. "Y-yami?" He reached out tentatively, unsure what he could do to help, before dropping his hand to the carpet again. He glanced over to Yugi and Anzu, his face pale and afraid. "Anzu, w-what...?" Anzu just shook her head, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly as her blue eyes filled with unshed tears, frustration at her impotency to help visible on her face.
/Y-yami...w-what's....it hurts....h-h-help me.../
Yami distantly heard Yugi's desperation, but it was so hard to hear him. What was going on, how could he have trouble hearing his Aibou's voice. He reached for their link hoping to strengthen it and help his light somehow. The moment he touched the link with his energy, agony beyond what he had felt before ripped through his body. Fire raced through intangible nerve endings, sending signals to his mind that his body was in pain, even if he had no physical body at the moment. Freezing cold and searing heat flushed through him in waves that crashed and fragmented into magical shrapnel that tore into his soul and he was sure he was being ripped apart from the inside out. A rush of pain and fire****** bubbled up through his throat, thawing his lungs from the freezing cold that had kept them from moving. Yami shuddered in agony, throwing back his head and screaming in pain, his fists clenching against the carpet as he struggled to hold himself up. His elbows buckled under the force of his shudders and he pitched forward, unable to halt his fall.
Jounouchi reacted automatically, without thinking of the futility of trying to catch a spirit. He lunged forward, his hands darting out and under Yami's chest to catch him before he took a header to the carpet. Only, Yami never reached the carpet. Jounouchi caught him and shifted his grip to his shoulders, pushing him up to a sitting position and supporting his leaning form against his shoulder and chest as he shuddered uncontrollably in pain. Then Jou blinked, and stared, then he shouted.
"Yami! I can feel you! You're physical!" Then Jounouchi blinked again, and added, "Well, sort of." Jounouchi shifted his grip on Yami's loose, collared, black shirt to throw an arm over his shaking shoulders and slide his other hand beneath his chest to support him as Yami doubled over again in pain. He tried not to think about how weird Yami's form felt to his skin. It was like trying to hold onto static electricity packaged in a human shape and held together by an envelope of air dense enough to have form. It was making the hair along his arms and on the back of his hands rise up. He could swear he heard the same sort of crackle you get from pulling apart clothes that have static cling as Yami shifted against his shoulder.
Yami lifted his pain filled, red-hued gaze to Jounouchi and tried to focus through the pain. Before he could even try to react to that news, the pain redoubled, and he arched his back, another scream ripping from his throat. He was sure it was inaudible so he had no qualms about screaming as loudly as he felt like doing. Until there was a clattering of feet from the staircase and Honda and Otogi sprinted into the dimly lit living room, looking ready to kick the crap out of whatever was attacking Yugi to make him scream like that.
"Yugi! Wha... Yami!!?" Honda shouted as he skidded to a halt, Otogi nearly crashing into him from behind. They both stared shocked beyond words at what was going on in the living room.
"O-onii-chan, please do something, please help them!" Shizuka sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks at the sight of the two teens writhing in pain on the floor. Mai was clutching her by the shoulders, her own face pale and her eyes wide in fear and helplessness. Kaiba stood stock-still, staring in shock at the presence of both Yugi's at the same time and unable to bring himself to act in any way. Mokuba clung to his shirt with desperation and terror in his eyes. Bakura had pressed himself back against the coffee table behind the armchair and was watching with horrified, panic filled eyes, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Anzu hovered over Yugi, having pulled his shuddering, gasping and wheezing form almost into her lap. Her tears were leaking from the corners of her eyes as she helplessly stroked the back of Yugi's head in a soothing gesture, while staring in horror at Yami writhing in front of Jounouchi.
Then abruptly Yami wrapped both arms around his stomach and pitched forward across Jou's knees, screaming in agony. Jounouchi barely caught him before he smashed his nose against the carpet on the other side of Jou's legs. At the same moment, Yugi arched his back and threw back his head, screaming in pain as he clutched both hands to his temples. Anzu cried out and grabbed him by either side of his ribcage before he could fall onto his side on the ground. As she tried to steady him, Jounouchi gave a horrified yelp. Anzu whipped her head around to stare at him in confusion. It took her brain a moment to register the reason he had cried out.
Yami's pale, washed-out body was stretching and warping in a horrifying manner. The only thing Anzu could liken it to was chewing gum being pulled and stretched. What terrified her the most, was that if stretched too far, chewing gum had a tendency to break.
"Y-y-yami! Pull yourself together!" Jounouchi gasped as he grabbed Yami's shoulders in a death-grip, determined not to let go if it could help Yami. He lifted his eyes up and locked gazes with the first person he saw, Kaiba. "Damnit Kaiba! Don't just stand there staring you jerk! Help me!" Jounouchi cried, a note of desperation in his voice.
Seto jolted and lifted his eyes from Yami's distorting figure to focus on Jounouchi's face. He stared; his shock was so complete that he was uncomprehending for a moment of Jounouchi's request. Then he seemed to give himself a mental shake, and then nodded. "A-aa."
Seto gently disentangled Mokuba from his shirt and then strode forward to Yami and Jounouchi. He dropped to one knee beside Yami's blurring form and hesitated unsure what he could do. Taking the logical approach to an illogical situation, he noticed that where Yami's form was touching Jounouchi it was fairly stable. So, deciding that contact with a wholly physical person would stop the distortion, Seto reached out and gripped Yami's right arm above the elbow and threw his left arm over Yami's lower back and made a fist in the shirt at Yami's left side. He had to force himself not to flinch at the strange electrical prickling sensation he felt from Yami's form. As long as the mutt wouldn't flinch, neither would Seto Kaiba.
Even as Seto gripped Yami he could feel the smaller ex-Pharaoh's body shuddering in pain as his body continued to distort. Very faintly, Seto could feel something, pulling at him through his contact with Yami. It was hard to describe, a sort of tugging and dragging sensation, pulling at something deep within him that he had never realized was there, until he had had it ripped away from him and sealed away into a card back in what seemed almost another life ago. It clicked suddenly. His soul. Something was trying to pull Yami's soul away.
Yami thrashed violently and Seto nearly lost his grip on him as another pain filled cry was ripped from his throat as his legs were stretched and seemed to twist before snapping back to their normal shape and size. Kaiba growled inaudibly in his throat. Something was trying to deprive him of the only rival worth having; of the only being he respected enough to consider him to be his equal in strategic intellect and gaming prowess; of the only person strong enough to challenge him and drive Seto to succeed and improve. No power on this Earth could try to deprive Seto Kaiba of something and get away with it. Whoever was doing this would suffer, he would see to that. Seto tightened his grip on Yami's arm and shirt and focused on that tugging sensation, fighting against it and pulling back against it as well. The stretching diminished and for a moment stopped as Yami slumped over Jounouchi's arm, eyes wide and unfocused. Seto smirked; this interloper didn't stand a chance against the strength of Seto Kaiba.
Yugi had collapsed against Anzu, whimpering in pain as his hands fisted in his hair and pressed against his temples, as though to stop his skull from splitting down the center. Honda and Otogi had joined her and hovered uncertainly over Yugi, afraid to touch him and hurt him, but unwilling to sit back and watch. Mai and Shizuka stood frozen behind the couch, uncertain what they could do to help and afraid to get in the way. Mokuba had latched onto the next closest person who happened to be Honda. Bakura was shivering violently in fear, as he clutched his knees to his chest so tightly his knuckles were white. Deep within his soul room, the king of thieves was shaken to his core. Anything powerful enough to cause such suffering to the pharaoh-yo was more than a match for someone the pharaoh had always been able to wipe the floor with, not that he would ever admit that out loud. And whoever it was had been searching, and might just decide to search again, and this time find a certain white-haired thief. Ryou's own fear wasn't helping his state of mind either.
"Y-yugi, are you going to be okay?" Anzu asked, her voice quivering with unspoken fears and unshed tears. Then her breath caught in her throat as the greenish light flickered and then intensified, bringing with it a chill wind that seemed to come from no where, yet pushed steadily towards the hallway.
/M-mou hitori no boku...w-wha.../ Yugi opened his eyes from his position practically across Anzu's lap and struggled through the pain to focus on his Other who was only a few feet away being supported on either side by Seto and Jounouchi.
//Aibou...// The agony of feeling the waves of hot and cold power pulling him in two different directions had faded when Yami had felt Kaiba's iron- hard will pulling him and grounding him in the living room. He lifted his right hand and reached for Yugi who was facing him from across Anzu's lap. Yugi reached out with his own hand for Yami's, fighting the strange wind to reach him.
"What the..." Seto began as he raised his head to face into the freezing wind as it picked up and pushed his body backwards and tugged at his clothes. At that moment, both Yami and Yugi screamed as though their very souls were being torn to shreds. Yami doubled up in agony as his body stretched and twisted in the wind while Yugi threw himself backwards away from Anzu and screamed towards the ceiling, his eyes shut tightly against the pain as he gripped his temples. Seto tightened his grip on Yami and then nearly fell into Jounouchi's lap as his semi-physical body became insubstantial. Seto barely caught himself from falling as he shuddered when he felt part of Yami pass through his chest. Jounouchi was not so lucky. He fell over completely and yelped in shock as his head hit the carpet. He was faster to recover than Seto though, as he sprang up to his feet and lunged for Yami. Yami, being insubstantial again, was now floating and was being dragged by the wind towards the wall separating the living room from the hallway, his form distorting and beginning to blur. Yami scrabbled for purchase on something but his fingers would not grip the carpet and slid right through the armchair. Jounouchi snatched at his wrist but his hand went right though Yami's arm and for an instant his arm blurred as though it was smoke Jou had passed his hand through.
//Aibou!!// Yami screamed mentally, his voice revealing his desperation as the wind picked up and howled in his ears, obscuring the cries of his friends. He was thrown backwards into the air like a leaf caught in a storm wind. As the wind grew louder, his vision faded until he could no longer see the stricken faces of his friends, or his Aibou screaming in pain as they were torn apart.
"/Yami!!/" Yugi screamed mentally and physically in response to the faint mental shout from his darkness that reached him through the tearing, splitting pain that filled his body. Then something seemed to shatter deep within him and he screamed as his consciousness fell into emptiness.
"No!!" Jounouchi cried out in horror as Yami was caught up by the wind that licked chillingly past his ears and tugged at his blue t-shirt. Yami was about to slam into the far wall when his see-through form faded away into the darkness as though he had never been there at all.
"Yami!!" Yugi's cry snapped Jounouchi's attention to the other half of the soul that was his best friend. Jounouchi started to get up to his feet from where he had fallen onto the carpet when he saw the Millennium Puzzle hanging around Yugi's neck flash with a brilliantly golden light, so bright that for an instant it overpowered the sickening green light that flooded the room. Then it pulsed with golden yellow energy that rippled outward and pressed against Jounouchi's chest hard enough to make him take a step back. When he recovered and dropped the arm that had shielded his eyes, Jounouchi heard a sharp 'Crack' sound. He focused on the source of the noise and his eyes widened.
The Millennium Puzzle, pieces still glowing with a fading golden power shattered violently and the pieces tumbled to the ground in a starburst of shining pieces. Yugi Mutou crumpled bonelessly to the ground and lay still.
TBC
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* I'm not sure what time Japanese schools have their summer breaks but I'm fairly certain that it's a shorter break than schools in America have. So I'm going to arbitrarily say Domino High school gets out June 28th and starts back up September 4th.
** I know Jounouchi is his last name but since everyone calls him Jounouchi I'm going to treat that as his first name. Since Shizuka is his sister, I'm going to use Katsuya as her last name. If everyone has a huge problem with that then let me know and I'll change Jounouchi to be their last name. It's just less confusing to call her Shizuka Katsuya than Shizuka Jounouchi because the word 'Jounouchi' is always referring to Jou.
*** I'm not certain what sort of things Japanese teens have for sweets and party treats and junk food so I'm going with stuff I'm familiar with. My apologies for unauthenticity.
**** Yami Bakura, Vindictive Defender of the Kitchen! Umm okay, I was full of caffeine and it was late when I wrote that. Don't hate me. o_o; I tried to keep it sort of in character, that he would be upset that someone else was stealing from the Thief King.
***** Jounouchi is easily spooked by ghosts, and spirits and pretty much anything supernatural and creepy that doesn't pertain directly to duel monsters or yamis. I figure he's probably somewhat sensitive to spirits, which is why any mention of them makes him go pale and nearly panic. Maybe he had a bad experience with a ghost when he was little. ^_^
****** The fire is metaphorical. Not real fire, he's not turning into a tiki torch. It's just so painfully hot that it feels like fire. Poor Yami.
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Well, there you have it. My first attempt at a fanfiction, let alone a HP/YGO crossover. Don't worry, I'll be updating again. Might not be really soon, I have some other things to take care of before I can devote a lot of time to this. Let me know what you think of it, and what you think I can do to improve on it. Oh and do not expect all or even most chapters to be this long. I got carried away because I didn't want to bother to think up more than one chapter title right now. Really though, 31 pages should probably be like five two-thousand word chapters, but I just didn't want to break it up.
I had a lot of friend interaction in this to show how things are like when everyone's relaxed and there's no crisis. And to give poor Yami a break, he wont be back with his buddies for a while after this, had to give him some good times to tide him over till reunion time.
Yami: -_-;; //I feel so loved.//
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?: Psst, hey you.
?: Yeah, I'm talking to you.
?: See that purple button down there
|
\/
?: Yeah, that button. That's me.
P.Button: Go on, push me.
P.Button: Do it! Come on! You know you want to.
P.Button: See, that wasn't so bad. ^_^
None of the characters, of either of the respective professional authors, used in this story are mine with the exception of occasional made-up monsters, which will most likely be noted unless I'm feeling lazy. The plot and events in this story however are products of my imagination and occasionally warped sense of humor; therefore, they belong to me, please don't steal them. Harry Potter and all things Harry Potterish belong without doubt to J.K. Rowling. YuGiOh! and all things pertaining to it belong to Kazuki Takahashi-sama. The Matsuda bakery is from Digimon season 3, I don't own that either. The only Yugioh stuff I own are my issues of Shonen Jump containing yugioh manga and the three manga volumes released in English (so far). Oh and my limited edition Red Eyes Black Dragon holographic card I got in the latest issue of Shonen Jump *hugs dragon*. Other than that, I'm just borrowing the characters and places and such. Don't worry I'll give them back when I'm done, *sniffles*.
Summary:
Two years after the events in the Ancient Egyptian Memory RPG story arc and set after Harry's 5th year at Hogwarts, Yugi-tachi discovers the existence of a new type of enemy, one that has a whole new definition of 'dueling'.
Author's Notes:
Yes this is a HP/YGO crossover. Please don't run away screaming in terror, I promise no yugioh characters are attending Hogwarts and no special foreign teachers are showing up either. No one new is getting the Millennium Items and there are no extra items either. There are also no Mary or Marty Sues and no OC's that will dramatically affect the lives of the main characters.
Also, you should be aware, this is not yaoi or yuri. There will be no lemons or limes or implied sexual action. This is also not shonen-ai. I do not hate shonen-ai, but I feel that the number of well-written yaoi fics so greatly outnumbers those of well-written heterosexual or non-pairings fics that I must contribute my efforts to balancing this discrepancy out. If there are passages or events that seem to imply to you shonen-ai then you may take those as you may, but it was not my intent to portray boy-boy relationships. Any such borderline scenes, if they occur, imply only deep friendship from my point of view. If you want to pretend it implies shonen- ai or yaoi, then be my guest, just don't flame me for it.
This fic takes into account events in both the manga and the anime of Yugioh, so there will be things pertaining to the Noa and the Doom story arcs, which are only available through the anime. Also, since this is set in the future of the Yugioh-verse, this will be a sort of AU based on my take on the outcome of the AE story arc and on what I envision the characters and relationships are developing into.
Over the course of this story you will learn Yami's true ancient Egyptian name as stated in the authentic manga. However, since he is no longer the Pharaoh of Egypt I decided to have him choose to continue being called Yami or 'mou hitori no boku' or whatever his friends want to call him, assuming its not an insult (Yami: -_- "stupid tomb robber"). In fact, he's got so many aliases that it's a wonder he doesn't have a bigger personality complex than he already does.
Yes I know. Title sucks. If you can think of a better one let me know and I'll see if it fits.
Oh yeah, and please go easy on the flames. This is my first fanfic I've ever posted, or written for that matter, so tips and hints are welcome, but please don't get angry at me for some mistake I made that I didn't know about.
Okay, yes I am aware that this is a freakishly long chapter. Don't expect them all to be this long though, the characters decided they had to do stuff that I didn't originally plan to have them do and thus pointless seeming conversations were born. If you think I should cut some of it out to make the story better, let me know, I'll see what I feel works best. This should probably be two or more chapters but then I'd have to make up another title and I don't want to do that.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. ^_^
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Notes:
Y to YY = /.../
YY to Y = //...//
Bakura (Y. Bakura) to Ryou = ::...::
Ryou to Bakura (Y. Bakura) = :...:
Seto = 17 years old
Mai = 19
Mokuba = 13
Shizuka = 14
Yugi, Jou, Honda, Anzu, Otogi (Duke) = 16
Aa = a form of yes in Japanese
Hn = affirmative sound, sort of a grunt (Kaiba uses it a lot)
Un = affirmative sound
ni-sama = older brother, said with respect, and in Mokuba's case, hero- worship
onii-chan = older brother, said with respect and affection
baka = idiot
yami = darkness, or just dark
-kun = term indicating friendship
-chan = term of endearment, also used for females younger than the speaker
-san = term of informal respect, sorta like saying Mister or Miss
Oi = a sound Jounouchi uses a lot, kinda like 'hey'
Aibou = partner, companion, but deeper, sorta like soul-mate when used by Yami to Yugi (but not romantically)
Mou hitori no boku = basically means 'other me'
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Harry Potter and The Advent of Darkness
Chapter 1: The Vanishing Darkness
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Domino City, Japan, 5:42 pm, July 9th.
"Tell me again why we're doing this?"
"Ni-sama, that's the fourth time you've asked me that," frowned Mokuba Kaiba as he turned away from the window to look up at the tall young man sitting next to him. Outside the window the buildings continued to slide by as the sleek white KC limo prowled through the quiet evening streets.
"Hn. I'm waiting to wake up and learn the answer has changed." The brunette replied as he folded his arms across his chest.
"Aa," Mokuba nodded, "but you promised Seto."
"That's what I'm hoping will change," Seto Kaiba muttered under his breath. "Are you certain you don't want to go somewhere else? The driver will take us anywhere you want." Kaiba reached over for the intercom button. Mokuba slid off his seat and intercepted his brother's hand.
"Its not that bad Seto, and you know it. Besides, I want to go."
"The driver can drop you off, there's no reason for me to be there." The elder Kaiba leaned back into the leather seat of the limousine.
Mokuba frowned as he dropped back into his seat. "We were both invited, ni- sama. Don't worry it'll be all right. Besides, you need to get out more often. You've been working so much lately I've barely seen you." Mokuba added softly as he looked down at his lap. His gray-blue eyes took on a distant, sad expression as he looked up and added, "I want to spend more time with you and this is a good chance, especially since your school just got out for summer break*. So please come too."
"Aa." Kaiba sighed and dipped his chin in a nod. "But don't expect this sort of thing everyday Mokuba." He added as he locked gazes with his little brother. "It'll be a miracle if this night goes smoothly."
"Aa, but it'll be okay, you'll see ni-sama." Mokuba smiled happily up at Seto, his eyes lighting up.
"Hn." Seto grunted and glanced away towards the window to hide the beginnings of his knowing smirk from his little brother.
There was a soft click sound from the speakers set into the plush walls of the limo. "Seto-sama, we've arrived. I can let you out at the curb, but there is nowhere for me to park to wait for you nearby."
"When we need you, we'll call. Find a place to wait and keep the line free."
"Yes sir." The limo slowed to a halt and the engine shut off. The driver's door opened and shut. A moment later, the door to Seto's right swung open to let in the warm night air.
"Let's go Mokuba."
"Okay!"
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Kami Game Shop, 5:14 pm.
"Tell me again why we're doing this?"
"Honestly! Jounouchi, haven't you been listening at all?" Anzu Mazaki demanded as she straightened up from where she had been crouched, a roll of tape in one hand and a rolled banner in the other.
"Of course I have! I just don't get why that guy has to be here! He'll probably ruin the whole thing and sit there glaring at everyone." Growled Jounouchi as he dragged a kitchen table chair over to the wall and set it down by the window with a thump.
"You know that's not true Jounouchi-kun. This'll be great! You'll see. Anzu, are you almost done with the banner?" Yugi Mutou asked as he walked into the living room of his home above the Kami Game Shop from the hallway. He had just come up the stairs from the shop below them.
"Oi, what'cha got there, Yugi?" Jounouchi Katsuya** asked as he jumped up onto the chair he had pulled across the room and glanced over through his blond bangs at his diminutive best friend who was carrying three large sacks, one in each hand and the third balanced under his chin on his arms.
"What do you think we went out to get Jou?" Honda Hiroto asked as he walked in behind Yugi. He was carrying two plastic sacks with his left arm through the handles, and was balancing a large white box in both hands. "C'mon Yugi, lets get this stuff into the kitchen."
"Aa!" Yugi grinned exuberantly as he followed the tall teen across the room and through the doorway that led into the kitchen. "Its just more food Jounouchi-kun, and the order from the Matsuda bakery." He grinned across at his best friend who was balancing on the chair next to the window on the far side of the room.
"Do you think it'll be enough Yugi? Not everyone is here yet." Anzu asked in a concerned tone as she crossed the room to take one of the sacks from Yugi. "Let me take one of those." Anzu said as she smiled warmly at him.
"Aa, thanks Anzu." Yugi smiled up at her before ducking his head to hide the pink tinge to his cheeks.
"And knowing these two, there might not be enough left by the time everyone gets here." Anzu jerked her thumb at Jounouchi and Honda as she turned to head into the kitchen.
"Don't worry Anzu. I'm sure there'll be enough for everyone, we did buy a lot." Yugi smiled up at the brunette as the two passed into the kitchen. They walked down the small aisle of linoleum that separated the dining table area and the kitchen area. They turned a sharp left and set their bags down on the countertop bar that held stools underneath it next to the box Honda had set down already. Through the opening above it they could see into the kitchen itself. Standing in front of the stove and countertop on the far side of the kitchen, and subsequently guarding the racks of cookies and treats from Honda, was a familiar person. The back of a yellow apron was tied around his waist.
"Good you're back! Now you can help me with these cookies." Ryou Bakura smiled as he turned around to greet his friends. His pale silvery hair matched the smudges of flour on his right cheek and across the bridge of his nose as he smiled brightly at them.
"I thought Otogi was helping you?" Honda frowned as he looked around the kitchen. Zero Otogis were present.
"Well, he was, but it turns out he's um..well.." Ryou stammered thinking of a polite way to put it.
"What he means is, Otogi couldn't cook anything edible if his life depended on it." Jounouchi grinned from the doorway. "He's in the bathroom, trying to salvage his shirt after he got in a fight with a spatula. Spatula won."
"If he needs to, he can borrow one of my shirts. I hope he doesn't mind black leather." Yugi added as an afterthought.
"Don't worry Yugi. It wasn't as bad as Jounouchi says." Ryou smiled at the shorter teen. "But between the appliances declaring war on Otogi and having to let my yami threaten Jou to keep him from snitching snacks, I'm a little behind schedule. I'm glad you and Honda-kun got back. I'll need your help with finishing the treats." He gestured with his cooking spoon to the counter where various cookies, cupcakes, and sweets*** sat in various stages of preparation.
"Of course Bakura-kun." Yugi smiled happily. "Will everything be ready in time though? We all need to be ready when they get here. You too, Bakura- kun. You shouldn't be in the kitchen when he comes inside."
"I know. That's why I need some extra help in here." Ryou smiled. "Don't worry, Yugi. With you and Anzu helping out we'll have everything set for 6:00pm."
"Oi, what about the living room? I can't put everything up on my own ya know." Jounouchi frowned, glancing over at the paper bags set on the low coffee table in front of the television.
"Now, that's something I can handle. No more cooking for me, sorry Bakura- kun. I think I'm more cut out for going out to eat, not making it myself. Besides, the ladies would prefer going to fancy restaurants on dates rather than home cooked meals." Otogi Ryuujin smirked from the doorway behind Jounouchi as he rubbed at his dark olive green shirt with a paper towel. Pausing, he examined the spot he was working on and nodded, deeming it once again cookie batter-less, before adjusting the black vest he was wearing over it.
"Oh really? Didn't you say Shizuka-chan was impressed by my cooking skills, Jounouchi?" Honda grinned turning to Jounouchi. Then he smirked over at Otogi who scowled back at Honda.
"Eh?" Jounouchi frowned and blinked, oblivious to the invisible lightning arcing between the two would-be suitors. 'Since when did Honda cook for Shizuka?' "Wait a sec! Date? Honda! Why you!" Jounouchi lunged for the lanky teen.
"Eh heh." Yugi sweatdropped as he fervently hoped they wouldn't start a fistfight in his kitchen doorway as Anzu twitched beside him.
"Jounouchi! Why don't you and Otogi go finish setting up the living room. Honda, since you can cook, I bet you'll be a great help to Bakura. You, Yugi and I will help you finish up Bakura, okay? I'm sure the two of you can handle finishing the living room, right?" Anzu asked sweetly as she turned to Jou and Otogi, too sweetly. Everyone blinked and sweatdropped before nodding vigorously. Jounouchi and Otogi beat a hasty retreat into the living room.
::Che, morons. You'd think they'd have some backbone by now. Running from a girl.::
Ryou blinked and glanced at Anzu as she calmed down from her near-meltdown. :Oh sure, you can say that when its not you out here facing her wrath.:
::Coward. You'd run from her too if you had a chance, wouldn't you. Pathetic mortals, terrified of a girl. You'd think they were running from one of my pets. If they were, then they'd really have reason to be afraid.::
:Yami, please don't start anything, not tonight.:
::Che. Like I'd bother. Have your fun. It'll be worth it to watch pharaoh-yo do the dishes.::
Ryou sweatdropped as he felt his yami sink once more into the back of his mind.
"Bakura-kun? Is everything okay?" Yugi asked, looking up at the white haired youth standing next to him as he set a jug of juice into the fridge.
"Oh? Oh, yes, I'm sorry, it's just my yami."
"He's not going to try anything tonight is he?" Yugi asked, concerned. "I want everything to go alright tonight."
"No, he says he won't bother. Though he wants me to have your yami do the dishes."
//I do not do dishes.//
Yugi giggled at the mental images their comments conjured.
//I can see those, you know. And its not funny.//
"Yugi?" Ryou blinked as Yugi started giggling softly. 'Must be Yami.'
/Okay, okay. Don't worry. I wont make you do the dishes. Bakura-kun won't either. But I hope Yami Bakura doesn't cause any problems tonight./
//Aa. With grandpa and your mother out of the country we need to prove we're capable of taking care of the house, despite conniving ex-thief kings.//
/Not only that, I want tonight to be perfect. Besides, they both deserve a chance to relax and have some fun with friends./
//Aa, he has precious little time to do so. I hope he can enjoy himself tonight. Do you think he brought his deck?//
/Yami, I don't think a duel will help him relax./ Yugi replied, exasperated.
//Just asking Aibou. Besides, I bet he'd enjoy it.// Yugi could feel his other's grin through their link.
/Probably, but there isn't room in here for a duel, unless you two just use cards and a game mat. Anyhow, we'll have our hands full with Jounouchi in the same room. We don't need more tension./
//Aa. Though I'm sure Shizuka can smooth things over if they get out of hand. She has quite the way with two hardheaded stubborn guys I know.// Yami's mirth traveled down their link and tickled Yugi's mind.
/Do you think he has any idea how much she affects him?/
//He hasn't got a clue. If he did, he might actually panic. Now that'd be a sight to see. I wonder if I can reserve seats.//
/Yaami./
//Well, if you wont come watch with me, I bet Jounouchi'll pay to see him panic.//
/Not if Jounouchi knows who he's panicking over./
//Hmm, got me there. Ah, Bakura-kun's trying to get our attention Aibou.//
/He probably wants you to start on the dishes./ Yugi mentally stuck his tongue out at Yami before focusing on his surroundings once again.
"Yugi? Could you start decorating these cupcakes? When you finish could you start cutting these brownies and rice crispy treats into squares and stacking them on plates." Bakura asked, pointing with his cooking spoon at two racks of cooling unfrosted chocolate cupcakes and the three pans of desserts sitting next to them.
"Aa." Yugi nodded and took up his post at the two frosting bowls, vanilla and chocolate.
"Anzu, could you start putting these chips into the serving bowls that are in the cupboard above the dishwasher, there's dip and salsa in the fridge for them. Then could you start setting the cookies onto platters and put them on the countertop bar over there next to the glasses." Bakura asked as he pulled on an oven mitt and pulled the oven open, taking out a covered dish.
"Un." Anzu nodded as she reached up to the cupboard and started pulling down the serving platters and bowls.
"Oh, what should I do Bakura? Can I help decorate the cupcakes, that frosting looks really good, did you make it yourself?" Honda asked, practically drooling at the site of all the treats. "Ooh! Are those M&M cookies?" Honda asked as he reached for the cookies cooling on the rack next to the end of the counter.
Thwap!
"Eeeowch!" Honda yelped and leaped back cradling his hand. "What was that for Bakura!"
"Baka." Bakura sneered as he glared at Honda, his deep brown eyes reflecting eerily with a reddish light. "I already had this conversation with that blond sidekick, do I need to teach you a lesson in manners as well?" Bakura glared, then shook his head, his bangs swayed back and forth as he did so, seemingly spikier than usual. "Don't touch my landlord's cooking until its ready. Tastes better that way anyhow."
"You! W-what are you doing here, I thought you weren't going to be here tonight." Honda stammered as he took a hasty step back.
"Che, idiot. Just because I don't show myself doesn't mean I'm not here." Yami Bakura glared at Honda as he tried to maneuver to put Yugi, who was watching with mild concern, between them. "Be glad all Ryou had in his hand was the spoon. Next time you try to snitch a cookie it might be a knife. Besides, I'm the only one around here who gets to steal his cooking."
Bakura blinked suddenly, his hair seeming to settle down onto his scalp again as his eyes took on their warm brown hue again. "Eh heh, sorry Honda- kun. I asked him if he could help me defend the food from snitching and he took offense at the idea of others stealing from us, even if it is meant for everyone later."**** Ryou chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head with his right hand.
"Well, now we know why Jounouchi didn't try to snitch anything when he was in here a moment ago." Anzu said as she set down another bowl. "Really though, you shouldn't spoil your appetite Honda. Mai and Shizuka-chan will be back soon. They'll keep warm in the oven right Bakura-kun?" She asked as she turned to face him.
"Oh, yes, they'll be fine in the oven for a little bit. Everyone should be here by then. I do hope traffic isn't bad though." Bakura added as he turned back to the bowl of dough he was dividing into cookie pats on a pan.
"Don't worry Bakura-kun, knowing them there wont be any problems with traffic. He wont let anything ruin tonight." Yugi smiled over at the worried looking teen.
"Hey, Bakura, you never did say what I could do to help." Honda pouted as he gazed longingly at the mounting pile of treats on the counters.
"Oh, right. Could you get out the plates and cups. We'll need them to be all ready for when everyone arrives." Bakura gestured at the respective cupboards lining the walls of the kitchen over the counters.
"I'm hurt, don't you trust me with the treats?" Honda asked as rivers of tears streamed down his cheeks.
"Umm, not really. Sorry Honda-kun, but both you and Jounouchi have the same amount of restraint around food as my yami does around shiny expensive things."
::I heard that you know.:: Yami Bakura's voice growled in his mind.
:Eh heh, sorry?: Bakura sweatdropped. The only response Ryou got was grumbling in the back of his mind, followed by the sound of a door shutting. Ryou winced mentally.
"What!? You mean you don't trust me? Now I'm really hurt." Honda proceeded to sniffle and sob under his arm like the best drama queen Hollywood had to offer. Bakura and Yugi proceeded to sweatdrop. Anzu twitched. Honda didn't notice. Yugi began to mentally prepare an appropriate epitaph for Honda.
//Perhaps you should try to save him before his untimely demise, hmm Aibou?//
/I suppose that would be best. So what's the plan?/
//I don't know. How about saying, "Hey look, its Kaiba in nothing but boxers!" Think that'll get her attention?//
/Umm. I'd prefer not having her think of Kaiba-kun in boxers, in fact I'd prefer not having that mental image either. Maybe I should say, "Hey look, its mou hitori no boku in Dark Magician boxers!"/
//That would imply that you have Dark Magician boxers too. Do you want her to know that?//
/Eeep!/ Yugi felt his cheeks begin heating up as the oh-so-familiar blush returned to his face. /Damn it, there goes that plan./ Yami's laughter bubbled up in his mind at his predicament.
//You did walk yourself right into that one Aibou.//
/Aa./ Yugi sighed. One of the drawbacks of having a strategic genius living in the back of your head is the inability to often come out on top in the verbal teasing department. Of course, when he did get him, he got him good.
//Uh oh, better hurry and rescue Honda, Aibou, or else there might not be much left of him.//
/Eh?/ Yugi mentally came back to the kitchen with a start and glanced over to see Anzu advancing on an oblivious Honda with a large wooden stirring spoon in hand. This sort of thing never boded well for the target of her ire. Time to implement interception maneuvers.
"Uh, Anzu, where did you and Jounouchi-kun put all the packages?" Yugi asked, stepping forward to semi-block Anzu's path to Honda.
"Eh? Oh, we stacked all of them in the back storeroom of the shop. I figured they wouldn't go back there and see them before hand, and they wouldn't get in the way of preparations there either." Anzu blinked over at Yugi, the twitching vein in her forehead diminishing from threat level to mere irritation.
"Ah, that's good. Honda-kun, have you put yours with the others yet?" Yugi asked, turning to Honda hoping to snap him out of his pit of cookie- despair.
"Eh, oh yeah. No I haven't, its still in the living room. I should probably go put it with the others, huh?" Honda replied, suddenly normal again, tears forgotten. "I'll go put it away and hurry back to finish up in here, okay Bakura."
"Okay." Bakura smiled; relieved he wouldn't have to drag an unconscious Honda out from underfoot. "Hurry back though, its getting closer to 6pm and we still have to finish up this last batch of cookies and set all the food out."
Honda nodded before heading out the doorway into the living room. Anzu returned to the chip platters and Bakura smiled at Yugi who grinned back.
"Don't worry everyone. This'll be great tonight. We'll be ready by 6pm, I'm sure of it Bakura-kun." Yugi smiled at his friend who was looking a bit stressed. Bakura smiled back.
Honda came back a moment later, followed by a tall, leggy, blond woman and a petite redhead with green eyes. Honda was loaded down with boxes of pizza and neither of the girls was carrying any.
"Honda-san, are you sure you can carry all of those?" Shizuka Katsuya** asked, looking at Honda stagger under the weight of the boxes.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine Shizuka-chan. This is nothing, I could carry twice this many." Honda grunted from behind the stack of boxes.
"Wow Bakura, you sure know how to set out a dessert spread." Mai Kujaku grinned and winked at the lightly blushing teen. "Anyway, we brought dinner, we aren't late are we? I'd hate to miss tonight."
"Nope, you're just in time to help me and Otogi finish decorating the living room." Jounouchi grinned as he stuck his head in through the doorway. "I can't wait to see the look on his face. Oi, Yugi, do you think there'll be enough places for everyone to be when they get here?"
"Un, there should be. Most of us will fit into the kitchen and then there's the couches and armchairs in the living room too." Yugi nodded.
"Great! That guy better not ruin it." Jounouchi grumbled.
"Oh? You're decorating Jou? Well, don't just stand there looking excited, show me! It'll probably need a lady's touch though. Guys usually have no fashion sense, right Shizuka-chan." Mai winked at Jou's little sister who blushed and smiled behind her fingers.
"Whaat! I'll show you, I'm a great decorator!" Jou cried looking indignant.
"Hey, I helped too you know. You'll see Shizuka-chan, I'm an excellent decorator, much better than Honda or Jounouchi." Otogi pouted at Jounouchi then preened for Shizuka who giggled. Jounouchi just glared at him.
"Well, don't just stand there blocking the door, let's go Shizuka-chan and see their excellent decorating job." Mai grinned as she took the younger girl's hand and pulled her past the two boys, snagging Jounouchi by the wrist as she went.
"Oi, hey Mai, take it easy." Jounouchi cried as he was suddenly tugged backwards into the living room. A light blush dusted his cheeks as Mai came to a stop behind the couch and he glanced down and realized they were holding hands now.
Mai grinned coyly over at him, before winking and looking around. "Well it's a good start, but don't worry, this place will be spectacular by the time we're done with it, right Shizuka-chan?" She winked at the green-eyed girl and smiled.
Shizuka smiled brilliantly back and nodded, "Un!"
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"I don't see any lights on ni-sama, do you think everything's okay?" Mokuba asked as he looked up at the building ahead of them. The limo pulled away from the curb and turned the corner at the end of the block and slipped out of sight.
"Hn, its likely we just can't see them from down here. If there was trouble I'm sure we would have gotten some sort of message about it, we usually do." Seto snorted as he swept up the walkway to the front door of the building. Mokuba hurried after him. When they reached the door Mokuba saw a piece of paper taped to the door.
"Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked in a worried tone. What if the paper was the message of trouble.
Seto took the paper down off the door and unfolded it, scanning it with his eyes. "Hn, its okay Mokuba, just letting us know he's too busy in the kitchen to come down and let us in. See." He held out the paper to Mokuba who accepted it.
"Un." Mokuba nodded. The paper held the familiar handwriting telling them to let themselves in and come on upstairs. "But ni-sama, isn't it dangerous to leave this note here? Yugi-kun is by himself right now with his grandpa and mother out of the country, and his other friends were too busy with family business to have dinner with him tonight, that's why he invited us. A burglar could sneak in and hurt him with the door unlocked."
"Mokuba, I doubt any burglar would escape after breaking in, let alone come close to harming Yugi, not with Yami around. Yugi is probably safer with Yami than he is with his grandfather."
"Aa, you're right ni-sama. Yami would make any burglar want to change professions." Mokuba cheered up at that. "Lets go inside ni-sama, Yugi- kun is probably waiting for us."
"Aa." Seto took hold of the door handle and opened the door to the Kami Game Shop.
The two Kaiba brothers stepped inside the darkened interior of the building. The shop seemed empty and there was no sound from upstairs. Seto let Mokuba lead the way to the back of the store and through the door on the right. They climbed the short staircase to the landing on the second floor and Mokuba reached out and opened the door at the top. They stepped out into a small hallway with doors leading off to the left and right. A few feet ahead and to the left was the open archway that lead into the darkened living room.
"Ni-sama, all the lights are off. Are you sure Yugi-kun's all right?" Mokuba whispered, becoming really worried.
"Hm. Mokuba, check the living room and kitchen. I'll be just down the hall checking the bedrooms. If you see anything, give a shout." Seto frowned as he glanced around the small darkened home.
"A-aa." Mokuba nodded, a feeling of worry growing within him. He turned and stepped forward into the living room, feeling around on the wall beside the door for the light switch he knew was there. Finally finding the switch he flipped it and the lights came on.
"SURPRISE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOKUBA!"
The joyful shouts rang through the whole house as Mokuba nearly jumped out of his skin as Jounouchi and Mai leaped up from behind the couch, Shizuka jumped out from behind the armchair near the window, and the door to the kitchen spilled out an entire crowd of cheering, confetti throwing teens. "W-what??" Mokuba blinked and stuttered in confusion and surprise. A huge banner reading 'Happy 13th Birthday Mokuba-kun!' was stretched across the living room from the wall above the window to the wall near the kitchen doorway. Balloons and streamers filled the ceiling and the corners of the room, while celebration poppers were set off spraying more confetti and streamers into the air above his head.
"Happy Birthday, Mokuba." A mirth-filled, deep voice spoke into his ear.
Mokuba turned in shock to find Seto crouching down behind him with a big grin spreading across his features. "B-but, I thought ... I thought."
"Oi, Mokuba, you didn't think your brother would actually do nothing special for your birthday did you?" Jounouchi grinned from ear to ear from his place with his torso draped over the back of the couch, Mai standing next to him grinning triumphantly.
"I...I figured he'd just been so busy and stressed lately, what with the expansion into Europe that he just hadn't had time." Mokuba confessed blushing in embarrassment.
"Mokuba. I'd never forget your birthday, and I'll never be so busy I wont have time for it either. This has been planned for the past two weeks." Seto smiled at him as he hugged his little brother tightly. Mokuba threw his arms around Seto's neck and hugged back, a huge smile on his face.
"Oi, oi, Kaiba, don't go taking all the credit! The surprise party was Yugi's idea! And we all helped ya know, you didn't do everything." Jounouchi groused, shaking his fist at Kaiba.
"Hn, like I needed your help, puppy." Seto coolly said back. Jounouchi growled and started getting that look that comes right before an explosion.
"But, Kaiba-san, Mokuba-kun would have missed onii-chan if he wasn't here. Then Mokuba-kun's birthday would not be as fun as it could have been." Shizuka frowned slightly as she met Kaiba's gaze.
"Aa, that's true Shizuka-san. Hn, for Mokuba's sake, I'm glad you came," Seto replied as he turned to Jounouchi who looked utterly dumbfounded at this admission, until, "Mediocre One."
//Shizuka one, Kaiba zero. Though I think Jounouchi is into the negatives by now.//
/Must you keep score?/
Jounouchi twitched violently. Everyone else but Kaiba sweatdropped.
Bakura suddenly vanished into the kitchen and reappeared carrying a tray of brownies and another of chocolate chip cookies. "Who wants cookies or brownies? The pizza will be ready as soon as it's taken out of the oven."
Jounouchi turned abruptly and grinned. "Wow those look great Bakura!" And yet another disaster was averted.
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Kami Game Shop, 10:03 pm
"N-no, not that way! Ah! Right! Right! You can do it! Aaaaaah! No! No! No! Alright!! You got it, Yugi!" Jounouchi whooped leaping up and down like a little kid behind the couch.
"That was great Yugi, I've never seen anyone defeat that level so quickly before." Bakura added from his position perched on the right arm of the couch.
"Un, Yugi is great at video games." Anzu smiled over at Yugi from where she sat next to him on the couch.
Yugi blushed bright red and laughed rubbing the back of his head. "Its not that big of a deal guys." He replied as he set the controller down onto his lap.
"What, are you kidding? Even Yami's and Kaiba's scores weren't that high!" Jounouchi crowed.
"And yours was even worse than usual." Seto grunted from his position sprawled languidly in the armchair to the left of the television. He smirked as Jounouchi turned red and growled at him.
"Yami isn't really familiar with the controllers or this type of console games. So its understandable that my score was a bit higher." Yugi smiled at Jounouchi and sent a wave of comforting and soothing emotions to his Other. "I really hope you guys haven't addicted him to console party games."
//I am not addicted. I merely find them fascinating. Are you certain there is no magic involved?// Yami sat in insubstantial form, visible only to Yugi, cross-legged on the floor beside the black consol. He had been staring and poking at it for the past half hour trying to figure it out.
/No magic at all Yami./
//Hmm, yet such a complicated game is contained within this tiny black box. Are you sure we can't get our own?// He looked up at Yugi hopefully.
/No Yami, this console system is way too expensive for my allowance to handle, you know that./
//Aa. Sorry Aibou. Maybe I can persuade Mokuba to let us come over, or perhaps borrow it occasionally.// Yami looked thoughtfully over at Kaiba and smiled softly. //Kaiba-kun actually looks relaxed, doesn't he, Aibou.//
/Un. I haven't seen him smile this much in like forever. I'm glad he agreed to this party. And he and Jounouchi-kun have even managed not to get into a fight./
//Thank Shizuka for that Aibou. She has quite the diplomatic talent. Of course, being a major distraction to Kaiba doesn't hurt.//
/Un, but don't mention that to Jounouchi, he might actually try to punch Kaiba-kun for it./
//Aa.// Then Yami glanced up at the doorway to the kitchen and grinned.
"Hey, are Honda and Otogi back with the pizza yet?" Mokuba asked as he came in from the kitchen with a bowl of vanilla ice cream smothered in chocolate sauce. He plopped himself down at the foot of Seto's armchair after pushing aside the discarded wrapping paper from his birthday presents, and folded his legs Indian style.
"I can't believe you guys ate all of those pizzas and wanted more." Anzu shook her head. "You'll all probably be sick to your stomachs tomorrow."
"Aww come on Anzu, we're all growing teenagers you know. We need plenty of the four basic food groups. Soda, Pizza, Chocolate, and Desserts." Jounouchi grinned over at her.
"You mean the four basic junk foods. I hope you don't eat like that all the time, you'll get fat and then a certain lady duelist will make you diet and sweat off the weight." Anzu grinned slyly over at Jounouchi who paled slightly.
"Eh heh, good point. But don't worry Anzu! I'm totally healthy and full of energy!" Jounouchi grinned making silly body-builder poses.
Everyone but Seto sweatdropped at that. Seto just looked disbelievingly at Jounouchi, unable to comprehend how he could have left himself so wide open for yet another insult and not realize it. However, before he could take advantage of it, Shizuka and Mai came back into the room from the kitchen.
Mai grinned. "Well boys, Anzu, we come bearing gifts."
"Un. Mai-san and I made fruit smoothies." Shizuka held out a tray full of glasses with straws as Mai set hers onto the coffee table that had been moved off to the side under the window to make room for the console. "We have banana, strawberry, chocolate, and orange, who wants what?"
"Ahh, Shizuka! You're a life saver! We were all just about to die of thirst waiting for the pizzas!" Jounouchi hurried over to her and picked up a chocolate shake. The others chose drinks and then Mai and Shizuka took the rest back into the kitchen to put in the fridge for later.
Yugi sat back onto the couch and took a sip of his strawberry smoothie. /Mmm this is good, did you want to try some?/
//No thanks, Aibou. Maybe later though.//
/Still focused on the game console eh?/
//Aa.//
Yugi leaned forward to set the controller onto the floor next to the console when he felt a faint cold, tingling sensation glide across his neck and run down his spine. He shuddered as he felt every hair on his body stand up as a chilly rush flooded across his skin and through his pores to his very core.
"Yugi, are you all right? You looked cold for a moment, want us to turn up the heat?" Anzu asked as she scooted a few inches closer to Yugi and draped an arm over his shoulders as he shivered at the edge of the couch.
"No, its nothing Anzu." Yugi smiled reassuringly up at her, still too disturbed by the strange sensations to fully register the warmth of her arm and thigh pressing against his body through their clothes. "Probably just a draft or something."
"Eh? Are you sure Yugi? It may be summer but the nights still get cold this close to the harbor. We don't mind turning the heat up." Anzu pressed watching Yugi's slender form for any sign of renewed shivers with concern.
"Oi, Anzu's right for once." Jounouchi spoke up, shifting his weight slightly as he hugged his shoulders. "It is getting kinda cold up in here. Did someone open a window or something?" He glanced around the room but none of the windows were open.
Yugi glanced around and noticed that Bakura was looking around with a look that could easily turn into panic on his face, while Jounouchi was starting to look very pale and somewhat spooked. Seto was looking unconcerned at first glance, but his blue eyes were darting around warily before turning to watch Mokuba as he worked on setting up his new laptop. Then Yugi noticed Yami. His eyes were distant and his head was cocked to the side, as though listening intently to something faint with distance.
/Yami, is something wrong? Are you okay?/
//Eh?// Yami jerked back to attention and glanced at Yugi. //Aibou, what's wrong, you look pale?//
/I don't know, I just felt a chill run through me. And even Jounouchi is feeling it too.***** But, Bakura looks kind of scared don't you think? Is there something wrong? You were spaced out for a moment./ Yugi asked, letting a bit of his concern leak down their link to Yami.
//I-I'm not sure Aibou. I thought I heard something for a moment, but I guess not. I don't hear anything unusual right now.// Yami blinked and turned to look at Bakura. //Strange, he does look panicky. What could be going on that could alarm him?//
Yugi slipped off the couch to face Bakura fully. "Bakura-kun, you don't look so good. Is everything okay?"
"O-oh, Yugi. I-I'm not sure. I just suddenly had the strangest feeling. Its probably nothing though." Bakura laughed half-heartedly and rubbed the back of his head with one hand, trying to smile Yugi's concern away.
:Y-yami, did you feel that too?:
::Aa. What in the name of Ra was that?::
:Y-y-you mean you don't know?: Bakura's fear increased closer to panic levels and began to flood their link.
::Stop that you fool! I can't focus if you keep flooding the link like that!::
:S-sorry.:
::No, I don't know what the hell that was. But I intend to find out. Whatever the hell it was, it felt like it was... like it was searching.:: Yami Bakura muttered across the link as he paced back and forth in his soul room twirling a curved dagger around his fingers. 'What was it searching for, and more importantly, who was doing the searching?'
:S-searching? What do you mean yami?:
::Exactly what it sounded like, moron. That was some sort of power searching for something, it tried to go down our link, but it didn't anticipate the defenses I've set against anything trying to force its way into my soul room.::
:S-so, it doesn't know about you then?: Bakura asked, with a tinge of relief flowing down the link to the thief king as he stomped around his soul room. :B-but, do you think it found out about Yami? Yugi said he was out earlier, messing around with the console system.:
Yami Bakura paused in his pacing and cocked his head. ::Pharaoh-yo was out? What the hell, why does that puffed up princeling get to come out at the party and I can't!? That's totally unfair Ryou! Figures, he'd get his way, that bastard.:: Yami Bakura growled, spun around, and flung the dagger across his soul room, burying it in the wooden target board hanging on the far wall.
Bakura winced mentally as his yami's anger roiled across their link, and felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment and guilt. Yami Bakura was right, it was unfair. But the party was for Mokuba-kun and Mokuba didn't really know his yami very well at all. After all, Yami Bakura wasn't exactly the sociable type.
:Sorry.:
::Hnh.:: Yami Bakura grunted and Ryou felt a subtle flow of understanding, if not forgiveness, from his yami.
:B-but, what about Yami?: Bakura persisted, his worry flowing down the link so thickly it was almost palpable.
::Che. Pharaoh-yo may be a stuck up bastard, but he's capable of covering his own ass. I should know. He's done it enough times when I've tried to get the best of him. There's no reason for you to worry, kid.::
:Aa. Thanks yami.: Bakura sent a flood of gratitude down the link.
Yami Bakura snorted. ::Che, idiot.::
"Bakura-kun? Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Yugi asked again. Bakura had spaced out for a few seconds so he knew he had been talking to his yami. Maybe he had something to say about this.
"Oh, n-no Yugi. Whatever it was, its over now and nothing happened so everything must be okay." Bakura smiled over at the young duelist, hoping he would reassure his friend.
"Ah, well, I'm just going to go check on Mai and Shizuka-chan. I hope they aren't plotting anything in the kitchen." Anzu smiled, trying to reassure herself that all was well. Picking up her smoothie, Anzu stood up and walked around the couch past Kaiba and headed for the kitchen. Halfway to the doorway, Anzu froze in mid-step, her glass falling to the floor as all reassurances were flung out the window.
Yugi had turned to watch Anzu stand up and go. She was almost to the kitchen when he took a step back towards his seat on the couch and a familiar and unwelcome rush of power surged into his body once more. However, unlike before, this time the power came swiftly, and aggressively ripped into his very being. Gasping for breath that wouldn't come to lungs suddenly burning with cold, Yugi doubled over, clutching his shirt with one hand over his heart.
"Yugi!!" Jounouchi cried in horror as he saw his best friend double over as his eyes became wide and stricken with pain. Jounouchi grasped the back of the couch and pushed himself up to vault over the obstruction between them.
//Aibou!// Yami cried out at the same moment, surging up from his position on the floor and taking a step toward Yugi, hands outstretched as though to catch and hold him up. He never reached Yugi. A sudden surge of freezing cold energy rushed up from the deepest part of his being. It flooded his entire spiritual form, emanating from his link with Yugi as the pain of his Aibou poured into his mind. This strange power wrapped its tendrils about Yami and then constricted viciously. Yami cried out at the pain of his own body as the center of his being was seemingly ripped apart. His vision blacked out for an instant and when it cleared he found himself on his knees, one arm wrapped across his stomach, the other clutching at his heart, as though to hold his own body together with his hands.
The lights in the living room flickered violently before going out as the television blew a fuse and blacked out the only remaining light in the room. Mokuba cried out in fear as there was a thump from where Bakura had been sitting. Anzu spun around with Yugi's name on her lips as she heard a crash of dishes in the kitchen behind her. All the breath was sucked from her lungs as a cold descended on the entire room that was so complete and pervasive that it almost forced Anzu to her knees. A dim, flickering, sickly greenish light filled the room. Bathing the scene before her in a nightmarish, deathly pallor.
Jounouchi had landed badly on the couch, startled from the plunge into darkness, and had kicked Bakura to the ground from the arm of the couch where he had perched. Bakura was sprawled on his side, using one arm to hold his torso off the carpet. Kaiba was on his feet, Mokuba clutched protectively to his side as he clung to his older brother. But what caught her attention the most were the two figures clearly visible in the nauseous green light, doubled up on the floor in front of the hissing television set.
Both Yugi's were clearly visible, though the somewhat taller of the two was a pale washed out color. But most importantly, both were clutching their chests in agony and gasping for breath, even if one didn't necessarily need to breathe.
"Yugi! Yami!" Anzu cried out as she forced herself to move despite the oppressive cold and dark. There was a thump from behind her as the door to the kitchen swung open. Anzu ignored it in her flight to the closest of the two. Falling to her knees at last beside Yugi's shaking body, Anzu reached out and gripped his shoulders in each hand, leaning forward over his back and pulled him closer to her. "What's wrong!? What is it?" She choked out stifling the sobs that threatened her coherency.
"C-c-cold...h-h-hurts." Yugi stuttered though the pain as his teeth clattered together.
"Wh-what's happening? Yami's visible too!" Jounouchi gasped as he rolled off the couch to his feet. Seeing that Anzu was checking on Yugi, he turned to Yami, unsure if he could help a spirit but willing to try. In two strides he was beside Yami. Jounouchi dropped onto his knees in front of the spirit. "Y-yami?" He reached out tentatively, unsure what he could do to help, before dropping his hand to the carpet again. He glanced over to Yugi and Anzu, his face pale and afraid. "Anzu, w-what...?" Anzu just shook her head, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly as her blue eyes filled with unshed tears, frustration at her impotency to help visible on her face.
/Y-yami...w-what's....it hurts....h-h-help me.../
Yami distantly heard Yugi's desperation, but it was so hard to hear him. What was going on, how could he have trouble hearing his Aibou's voice. He reached for their link hoping to strengthen it and help his light somehow. The moment he touched the link with his energy, agony beyond what he had felt before ripped through his body. Fire raced through intangible nerve endings, sending signals to his mind that his body was in pain, even if he had no physical body at the moment. Freezing cold and searing heat flushed through him in waves that crashed and fragmented into magical shrapnel that tore into his soul and he was sure he was being ripped apart from the inside out. A rush of pain and fire****** bubbled up through his throat, thawing his lungs from the freezing cold that had kept them from moving. Yami shuddered in agony, throwing back his head and screaming in pain, his fists clenching against the carpet as he struggled to hold himself up. His elbows buckled under the force of his shudders and he pitched forward, unable to halt his fall.
Jounouchi reacted automatically, without thinking of the futility of trying to catch a spirit. He lunged forward, his hands darting out and under Yami's chest to catch him before he took a header to the carpet. Only, Yami never reached the carpet. Jounouchi caught him and shifted his grip to his shoulders, pushing him up to a sitting position and supporting his leaning form against his shoulder and chest as he shuddered uncontrollably in pain. Then Jou blinked, and stared, then he shouted.
"Yami! I can feel you! You're physical!" Then Jounouchi blinked again, and added, "Well, sort of." Jounouchi shifted his grip on Yami's loose, collared, black shirt to throw an arm over his shaking shoulders and slide his other hand beneath his chest to support him as Yami doubled over again in pain. He tried not to think about how weird Yami's form felt to his skin. It was like trying to hold onto static electricity packaged in a human shape and held together by an envelope of air dense enough to have form. It was making the hair along his arms and on the back of his hands rise up. He could swear he heard the same sort of crackle you get from pulling apart clothes that have static cling as Yami shifted against his shoulder.
Yami lifted his pain filled, red-hued gaze to Jounouchi and tried to focus through the pain. Before he could even try to react to that news, the pain redoubled, and he arched his back, another scream ripping from his throat. He was sure it was inaudible so he had no qualms about screaming as loudly as he felt like doing. Until there was a clattering of feet from the staircase and Honda and Otogi sprinted into the dimly lit living room, looking ready to kick the crap out of whatever was attacking Yugi to make him scream like that.
"Yugi! Wha... Yami!!?" Honda shouted as he skidded to a halt, Otogi nearly crashing into him from behind. They both stared shocked beyond words at what was going on in the living room.
"O-onii-chan, please do something, please help them!" Shizuka sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks at the sight of the two teens writhing in pain on the floor. Mai was clutching her by the shoulders, her own face pale and her eyes wide in fear and helplessness. Kaiba stood stock-still, staring in shock at the presence of both Yugi's at the same time and unable to bring himself to act in any way. Mokuba clung to his shirt with desperation and terror in his eyes. Bakura had pressed himself back against the coffee table behind the armchair and was watching with horrified, panic filled eyes, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Anzu hovered over Yugi, having pulled his shuddering, gasping and wheezing form almost into her lap. Her tears were leaking from the corners of her eyes as she helplessly stroked the back of Yugi's head in a soothing gesture, while staring in horror at Yami writhing in front of Jounouchi.
Then abruptly Yami wrapped both arms around his stomach and pitched forward across Jou's knees, screaming in agony. Jounouchi barely caught him before he smashed his nose against the carpet on the other side of Jou's legs. At the same moment, Yugi arched his back and threw back his head, screaming in pain as he clutched both hands to his temples. Anzu cried out and grabbed him by either side of his ribcage before he could fall onto his side on the ground. As she tried to steady him, Jounouchi gave a horrified yelp. Anzu whipped her head around to stare at him in confusion. It took her brain a moment to register the reason he had cried out.
Yami's pale, washed-out body was stretching and warping in a horrifying manner. The only thing Anzu could liken it to was chewing gum being pulled and stretched. What terrified her the most, was that if stretched too far, chewing gum had a tendency to break.
"Y-y-yami! Pull yourself together!" Jounouchi gasped as he grabbed Yami's shoulders in a death-grip, determined not to let go if it could help Yami. He lifted his eyes up and locked gazes with the first person he saw, Kaiba. "Damnit Kaiba! Don't just stand there staring you jerk! Help me!" Jounouchi cried, a note of desperation in his voice.
Seto jolted and lifted his eyes from Yami's distorting figure to focus on Jounouchi's face. He stared; his shock was so complete that he was uncomprehending for a moment of Jounouchi's request. Then he seemed to give himself a mental shake, and then nodded. "A-aa."
Seto gently disentangled Mokuba from his shirt and then strode forward to Yami and Jounouchi. He dropped to one knee beside Yami's blurring form and hesitated unsure what he could do. Taking the logical approach to an illogical situation, he noticed that where Yami's form was touching Jounouchi it was fairly stable. So, deciding that contact with a wholly physical person would stop the distortion, Seto reached out and gripped Yami's right arm above the elbow and threw his left arm over Yami's lower back and made a fist in the shirt at Yami's left side. He had to force himself not to flinch at the strange electrical prickling sensation he felt from Yami's form. As long as the mutt wouldn't flinch, neither would Seto Kaiba.
Even as Seto gripped Yami he could feel the smaller ex-Pharaoh's body shuddering in pain as his body continued to distort. Very faintly, Seto could feel something, pulling at him through his contact with Yami. It was hard to describe, a sort of tugging and dragging sensation, pulling at something deep within him that he had never realized was there, until he had had it ripped away from him and sealed away into a card back in what seemed almost another life ago. It clicked suddenly. His soul. Something was trying to pull Yami's soul away.
Yami thrashed violently and Seto nearly lost his grip on him as another pain filled cry was ripped from his throat as his legs were stretched and seemed to twist before snapping back to their normal shape and size. Kaiba growled inaudibly in his throat. Something was trying to deprive him of the only rival worth having; of the only being he respected enough to consider him to be his equal in strategic intellect and gaming prowess; of the only person strong enough to challenge him and drive Seto to succeed and improve. No power on this Earth could try to deprive Seto Kaiba of something and get away with it. Whoever was doing this would suffer, he would see to that. Seto tightened his grip on Yami's arm and shirt and focused on that tugging sensation, fighting against it and pulling back against it as well. The stretching diminished and for a moment stopped as Yami slumped over Jounouchi's arm, eyes wide and unfocused. Seto smirked; this interloper didn't stand a chance against the strength of Seto Kaiba.
Yugi had collapsed against Anzu, whimpering in pain as his hands fisted in his hair and pressed against his temples, as though to stop his skull from splitting down the center. Honda and Otogi had joined her and hovered uncertainly over Yugi, afraid to touch him and hurt him, but unwilling to sit back and watch. Mai and Shizuka stood frozen behind the couch, uncertain what they could do to help and afraid to get in the way. Mokuba had latched onto the next closest person who happened to be Honda. Bakura was shivering violently in fear, as he clutched his knees to his chest so tightly his knuckles were white. Deep within his soul room, the king of thieves was shaken to his core. Anything powerful enough to cause such suffering to the pharaoh-yo was more than a match for someone the pharaoh had always been able to wipe the floor with, not that he would ever admit that out loud. And whoever it was had been searching, and might just decide to search again, and this time find a certain white-haired thief. Ryou's own fear wasn't helping his state of mind either.
"Y-yugi, are you going to be okay?" Anzu asked, her voice quivering with unspoken fears and unshed tears. Then her breath caught in her throat as the greenish light flickered and then intensified, bringing with it a chill wind that seemed to come from no where, yet pushed steadily towards the hallway.
/M-mou hitori no boku...w-wha.../ Yugi opened his eyes from his position practically across Anzu's lap and struggled through the pain to focus on his Other who was only a few feet away being supported on either side by Seto and Jounouchi.
//Aibou...// The agony of feeling the waves of hot and cold power pulling him in two different directions had faded when Yami had felt Kaiba's iron- hard will pulling him and grounding him in the living room. He lifted his right hand and reached for Yugi who was facing him from across Anzu's lap. Yugi reached out with his own hand for Yami's, fighting the strange wind to reach him.
"What the..." Seto began as he raised his head to face into the freezing wind as it picked up and pushed his body backwards and tugged at his clothes. At that moment, both Yami and Yugi screamed as though their very souls were being torn to shreds. Yami doubled up in agony as his body stretched and twisted in the wind while Yugi threw himself backwards away from Anzu and screamed towards the ceiling, his eyes shut tightly against the pain as he gripped his temples. Seto tightened his grip on Yami and then nearly fell into Jounouchi's lap as his semi-physical body became insubstantial. Seto barely caught himself from falling as he shuddered when he felt part of Yami pass through his chest. Jounouchi was not so lucky. He fell over completely and yelped in shock as his head hit the carpet. He was faster to recover than Seto though, as he sprang up to his feet and lunged for Yami. Yami, being insubstantial again, was now floating and was being dragged by the wind towards the wall separating the living room from the hallway, his form distorting and beginning to blur. Yami scrabbled for purchase on something but his fingers would not grip the carpet and slid right through the armchair. Jounouchi snatched at his wrist but his hand went right though Yami's arm and for an instant his arm blurred as though it was smoke Jou had passed his hand through.
//Aibou!!// Yami screamed mentally, his voice revealing his desperation as the wind picked up and howled in his ears, obscuring the cries of his friends. He was thrown backwards into the air like a leaf caught in a storm wind. As the wind grew louder, his vision faded until he could no longer see the stricken faces of his friends, or his Aibou screaming in pain as they were torn apart.
"/Yami!!/" Yugi screamed mentally and physically in response to the faint mental shout from his darkness that reached him through the tearing, splitting pain that filled his body. Then something seemed to shatter deep within him and he screamed as his consciousness fell into emptiness.
"No!!" Jounouchi cried out in horror as Yami was caught up by the wind that licked chillingly past his ears and tugged at his blue t-shirt. Yami was about to slam into the far wall when his see-through form faded away into the darkness as though he had never been there at all.
"Yami!!" Yugi's cry snapped Jounouchi's attention to the other half of the soul that was his best friend. Jounouchi started to get up to his feet from where he had fallen onto the carpet when he saw the Millennium Puzzle hanging around Yugi's neck flash with a brilliantly golden light, so bright that for an instant it overpowered the sickening green light that flooded the room. Then it pulsed with golden yellow energy that rippled outward and pressed against Jounouchi's chest hard enough to make him take a step back. When he recovered and dropped the arm that had shielded his eyes, Jounouchi heard a sharp 'Crack' sound. He focused on the source of the noise and his eyes widened.
The Millennium Puzzle, pieces still glowing with a fading golden power shattered violently and the pieces tumbled to the ground in a starburst of shining pieces. Yugi Mutou crumpled bonelessly to the ground and lay still.
TBC
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* I'm not sure what time Japanese schools have their summer breaks but I'm fairly certain that it's a shorter break than schools in America have. So I'm going to arbitrarily say Domino High school gets out June 28th and starts back up September 4th.
** I know Jounouchi is his last name but since everyone calls him Jounouchi I'm going to treat that as his first name. Since Shizuka is his sister, I'm going to use Katsuya as her last name. If everyone has a huge problem with that then let me know and I'll change Jounouchi to be their last name. It's just less confusing to call her Shizuka Katsuya than Shizuka Jounouchi because the word 'Jounouchi' is always referring to Jou.
*** I'm not certain what sort of things Japanese teens have for sweets and party treats and junk food so I'm going with stuff I'm familiar with. My apologies for unauthenticity.
**** Yami Bakura, Vindictive Defender of the Kitchen! Umm okay, I was full of caffeine and it was late when I wrote that. Don't hate me. o_o; I tried to keep it sort of in character, that he would be upset that someone else was stealing from the Thief King.
***** Jounouchi is easily spooked by ghosts, and spirits and pretty much anything supernatural and creepy that doesn't pertain directly to duel monsters or yamis. I figure he's probably somewhat sensitive to spirits, which is why any mention of them makes him go pale and nearly panic. Maybe he had a bad experience with a ghost when he was little. ^_^
****** The fire is metaphorical. Not real fire, he's not turning into a tiki torch. It's just so painfully hot that it feels like fire. Poor Yami.
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Well, there you have it. My first attempt at a fanfiction, let alone a HP/YGO crossover. Don't worry, I'll be updating again. Might not be really soon, I have some other things to take care of before I can devote a lot of time to this. Let me know what you think of it, and what you think I can do to improve on it. Oh and do not expect all or even most chapters to be this long. I got carried away because I didn't want to bother to think up more than one chapter title right now. Really though, 31 pages should probably be like five two-thousand word chapters, but I just didn't want to break it up.
I had a lot of friend interaction in this to show how things are like when everyone's relaxed and there's no crisis. And to give poor Yami a break, he wont be back with his buddies for a while after this, had to give him some good times to tide him over till reunion time.
Yami: -_-;; //I feel so loved.//
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?: Psst, hey you.
?: Yeah, I'm talking to you.
?: See that purple button down there
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\/
?: Yeah, that button. That's me.
P.Button: Go on, push me.
P.Button: Do it! Come on! You know you want to.
P.Button: See, that wasn't so bad. ^_^