One word fer youse: Review.
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Chapter 1
"...Yami?" Yugi asked his partner one day as they were sitting outside, the grass damp under Yugi's hands as he leaned back on his palms. There was a slight shift in Yugi's mind as Yami prepared to answer.
"Yes," replied the Pharaoh. "What is it?"
The place in which this conversation was beginning was Yami's own Soul Room. Yugi wandered through it, awed; fascinated by the immense walls that dropped into darkness above and below the walkway, the brown, dusty corridors that led in all directions, the hidden trapdoors and pulleys that would crush the mind of anyone who tried to break through. He brushed his hand along one wall, tracing the faded hieroglyphics with a finger.
At the same time, he could feel the wet grass soaking through his clothes, feel the cool breeze playing with his bangs. The two sensations- walking ancient paths through someone else's mind, the earthy smell and playful winds of the Real World- were like two transparant pictures superimposed on top of eachother. It was a strange feeling at first, but Yugi learned to cope with being in two worlds at the same time.
"What is it?" Yami repeated, following Yugi down a path that he had walked many times before. He knew where it led to, so he didn't bother to stop his partner. He watched Yugi's childlike demeanor as he spun and craned his neck, trying to take in all the secrets, all the hidden memories that Yami had locked away. Yami had a faint, tolerant smile on his lips, but so far nothing had been able to make him crack into a full-sized grin.
Yugi turned and looked at him, head cocked slightly to one side. "Well," he said, finally standing still, "I was just wondering..." He scuffled the dust underfoot with a sneaker.
"...if you had any particular favorite room," he finished. He looked up.
Yami walked the last few feet to his partner. He seemed unusually gentle today; less like the harsh, unforgiving Duelist Yugi had come to know, and more like... More like Anzu, almost. Perhaps he had been waiting for Yugi to bring up the subject.
"...Heh..." Yami chuckled softly. He took a step so that he was slightly further along the pathway than Yugi was. "Come and see," was all he said. Yugi obediantly trotted after him, his steps clumsier and more awkward than Yami's smooth, unruffled glide.
Yugi felt a chill as they walked down the length of the corridor, but put it down to the lack of central heating.
The path opened up into a small chamber lined with pillars, which Yugi looked at with interest. "So is this where your favorite memory is?" "No," Yami replied. "It is but one of many unlocked recollections..." He strode to the wall at the opposite end of the room, Yugi following.
As they got closer, Yugi could see that the wall was broken by a thin crack that extended into the shape of a large, square stone, that had served as a door. Peering at it, Yugi noticed a strip of darkness at the bottom of the stone, which apparently lifted upwards when the mental mechanism was activated. It had only swung up a few inches, however, and Yugi was forced to get down on his hands and knees in order to peer under it.
"There is precious little to see," Yami told him. "Many a restless night have I traversed the length of this chamber, if only to bend down and catch but a glimpse of my lost past." There was a faint rustling sound, almost as though Yami had been about to let out a sigh.
"I am fond of this chamber in particular," he remarked, without sentimentality apparent in his voice. "I know not why... But it attracts my heart like desert moths to a burning flame." He shrugged, imperceptibly.
Yugi squinted into the shadows beneath the door...
He scooted backwards, almost tripping over himself. Yami raised an eyebrow. "Is something amiss?"
Yugi's eyes were wide. "N-no... I was just surprised..." he stammered. "I think I saw something moving under there, in the dark space beyond the door..." He got up, shakily. Yami still looked puzzled.
"I have set my eyes upon that dark space ever since I was aware of my own existance," he said, fixing Yugi with his calculating gaze. "And never before have I seen the meanest ghost of a movement within those shadows."
Yugi considered stooping down and checking again, but there was something vaguely menacing about that gap and so he decided to stay away from it. Yami, however, seemed to have no such trepeditions, as he was currently surveying the room with his usual cool stare.
Trying to forget what had just happened, and being unusually successful at it (it was as if the dark space had sucked the memories right out of his head), Yugi picked himself up and brushed mental dust from his clothes.
Looking around, and spotting something that made his skin tingle very slightly, Yugi wondered if Yami had noticed the scarlet streak that seemed to have been slashed upon one wall of the room. The mark was a little to the left of the giant stone door, and Yugi wondered why he hadn't noticed it before.
"Hey... Yami..." Yugi murmured, without knowing why. Yami turned, his face holding a look of expectancy. "Yes?" Feeling a chill of apprehension, Yugi gestured to the streak. "...Yami... What is that?" he whispered.
Yami apparently couldn't see what the urgent expression on Yugi's face was for, and Yugi himself wouldn't have been able to tell why he was acting so nervously. Yami looked blankly at the spot Yugi was pointing at. "...What is it you want to indicate to me?" Yami asked, peering into thin air. "It's nothing more than a blank wall."
Later, while the two were exiting the chamber, Yugi thought he felt someone watching him and spun around. There was, of course, nothing there, but he could have sworn that whatever it was behind the great stone door had been spying and listening to the two ever since they had entered the room.
But Yami had said that he had never seen anything move below the door before in his life, and he had been there for millenia.
On the other hand, Yami hadn't been able to see the red streak on the wall, either...
Shaking off his feelings of misapprehension, Yugi hurried to catch up with his partner and failed to think any more of the incident for the whole week.
If only he had known...
~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1
"...Yami?" Yugi asked his partner one day as they were sitting outside, the grass damp under Yugi's hands as he leaned back on his palms. There was a slight shift in Yugi's mind as Yami prepared to answer.
"Yes," replied the Pharaoh. "What is it?"
The place in which this conversation was beginning was Yami's own Soul Room. Yugi wandered through it, awed; fascinated by the immense walls that dropped into darkness above and below the walkway, the brown, dusty corridors that led in all directions, the hidden trapdoors and pulleys that would crush the mind of anyone who tried to break through. He brushed his hand along one wall, tracing the faded hieroglyphics with a finger.
At the same time, he could feel the wet grass soaking through his clothes, feel the cool breeze playing with his bangs. The two sensations- walking ancient paths through someone else's mind, the earthy smell and playful winds of the Real World- were like two transparant pictures superimposed on top of eachother. It was a strange feeling at first, but Yugi learned to cope with being in two worlds at the same time.
"What is it?" Yami repeated, following Yugi down a path that he had walked many times before. He knew where it led to, so he didn't bother to stop his partner. He watched Yugi's childlike demeanor as he spun and craned his neck, trying to take in all the secrets, all the hidden memories that Yami had locked away. Yami had a faint, tolerant smile on his lips, but so far nothing had been able to make him crack into a full-sized grin.
Yugi turned and looked at him, head cocked slightly to one side. "Well," he said, finally standing still, "I was just wondering..." He scuffled the dust underfoot with a sneaker.
"...if you had any particular favorite room," he finished. He looked up.
Yami walked the last few feet to his partner. He seemed unusually gentle today; less like the harsh, unforgiving Duelist Yugi had come to know, and more like... More like Anzu, almost. Perhaps he had been waiting for Yugi to bring up the subject.
"...Heh..." Yami chuckled softly. He took a step so that he was slightly further along the pathway than Yugi was. "Come and see," was all he said. Yugi obediantly trotted after him, his steps clumsier and more awkward than Yami's smooth, unruffled glide.
Yugi felt a chill as they walked down the length of the corridor, but put it down to the lack of central heating.
The path opened up into a small chamber lined with pillars, which Yugi looked at with interest. "So is this where your favorite memory is?" "No," Yami replied. "It is but one of many unlocked recollections..." He strode to the wall at the opposite end of the room, Yugi following.
As they got closer, Yugi could see that the wall was broken by a thin crack that extended into the shape of a large, square stone, that had served as a door. Peering at it, Yugi noticed a strip of darkness at the bottom of the stone, which apparently lifted upwards when the mental mechanism was activated. It had only swung up a few inches, however, and Yugi was forced to get down on his hands and knees in order to peer under it.
"There is precious little to see," Yami told him. "Many a restless night have I traversed the length of this chamber, if only to bend down and catch but a glimpse of my lost past." There was a faint rustling sound, almost as though Yami had been about to let out a sigh.
"I am fond of this chamber in particular," he remarked, without sentimentality apparent in his voice. "I know not why... But it attracts my heart like desert moths to a burning flame." He shrugged, imperceptibly.
Yugi squinted into the shadows beneath the door...
He scooted backwards, almost tripping over himself. Yami raised an eyebrow. "Is something amiss?"
Yugi's eyes were wide. "N-no... I was just surprised..." he stammered. "I think I saw something moving under there, in the dark space beyond the door..." He got up, shakily. Yami still looked puzzled.
"I have set my eyes upon that dark space ever since I was aware of my own existance," he said, fixing Yugi with his calculating gaze. "And never before have I seen the meanest ghost of a movement within those shadows."
Yugi considered stooping down and checking again, but there was something vaguely menacing about that gap and so he decided to stay away from it. Yami, however, seemed to have no such trepeditions, as he was currently surveying the room with his usual cool stare.
Trying to forget what had just happened, and being unusually successful at it (it was as if the dark space had sucked the memories right out of his head), Yugi picked himself up and brushed mental dust from his clothes.
Looking around, and spotting something that made his skin tingle very slightly, Yugi wondered if Yami had noticed the scarlet streak that seemed to have been slashed upon one wall of the room. The mark was a little to the left of the giant stone door, and Yugi wondered why he hadn't noticed it before.
"Hey... Yami..." Yugi murmured, without knowing why. Yami turned, his face holding a look of expectancy. "Yes?" Feeling a chill of apprehension, Yugi gestured to the streak. "...Yami... What is that?" he whispered.
Yami apparently couldn't see what the urgent expression on Yugi's face was for, and Yugi himself wouldn't have been able to tell why he was acting so nervously. Yami looked blankly at the spot Yugi was pointing at. "...What is it you want to indicate to me?" Yami asked, peering into thin air. "It's nothing more than a blank wall."
Later, while the two were exiting the chamber, Yugi thought he felt someone watching him and spun around. There was, of course, nothing there, but he could have sworn that whatever it was behind the great stone door had been spying and listening to the two ever since they had entered the room.
But Yami had said that he had never seen anything move below the door before in his life, and he had been there for millenia.
On the other hand, Yami hadn't been able to see the red streak on the wall, either...
Shaking off his feelings of misapprehension, Yugi hurried to catch up with his partner and failed to think any more of the incident for the whole week.
If only he had known...