Red String

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Summary: They have finally uncovered Yami's memories, but instead of making him whole it seemed to have split him into two—and now Yuugi must deal with two personas in the Puzzle, both equally possessive and unwilling to share. What's a young man to do? Mobiumshipping. YYxYxA

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Warnings:

Yami no Yuugi x Yuugi Mutou x Atem pairing (Mobiumshipping)

Yaoi

Possible lemons, definite limes

And a spoiling of green jealousy and hot possessiveness from our favourite Pharaoh doppelgangers—guaranteed to provide the most satisfying of entertainments. Enjoy.

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Yuugi yawned and stretched his arms up above his head, sighing pleasantly when the kinks in his bones cracked back into place. 'Ahh… Finally. Man, I despise homework. It's the true enemy of high-school gamers around the world, I say!'

When no one responded to his mental whining, Yuugi let his arms fall back to his sides. He casually balanced on the back legs of his desk chair as he looked around his room curiously. 'Mou hitori no boku?'

There was short pause—which Yuugi used to count the number of dark spots on his ceiling—before there came a stuttering, 'Y-Yeah, aibou? How's homework going? You've finished?'

Yuugi rolled his eyes and promptly planted all four feet of his chair back onto the floor. He stood up and stretched his back. 'Yes, Yami, I have. Are you okay? You seem a little out of breath.' How a spirit could sound out of breath was a mystery in and of itself.

'I-It's nothing to concern yourself over.' As if Yami had actually felt the quirk of Yuugi's eyebrow, he feigned a cough and said in a more confident and aloof tone, 'Really. It's just… a few issues that I'm having with the Puzzle. Simple stuff, just some silly chores. Nothing to fret about.'

'Mmhm,' Yuugi hummed, unconvinced. He collapsed on his bed with his arms thrown over his head. 'Would you like some help with whatever you're doing then?'

'No!' Yami said a bit too hastily. However, he quickly found himself. He materialised in front of Yuugi in his transparent form and looked down at the laying youth. 'Seriously, aibou. It's just something I have to do for myself, that's all.' He crossed his arms and forced a sly grin to grace his handsome features. 'But anyway, now that you're done with your homework… how about we play a game?'

Although Yuugi knew what the spirit was trying to do, he smiled anyway and sat up. He crossed his legs on his bed and wiggled further into it to make room for Yami to sit. 'Sounds like fun!' Yuugi quipped cheerfully. 'I'll take you on that, mou hitori no boku.'

Relieved, Yami heavily sat down on Yuugi's mattress, letting the tension ooze out of his translucent body like water. He pulled his leg up to his chest and rested his chin on the knee as he gazed at his aibou comfortably. "What game would you like to play tonight, aibou?" he asked aloud, his voice deep and soft and velvety.

Yuugi grinned brightly. "How about chess tonight, mou hitori no boku? I'll get the chess board."

As the young gamer got up from the bed to rummage his wardrobe drawers for his game board, he missed the intense look Yami was suddenly giving him behind his back. The spirit's eyes were full of adoration, of gentle devotion—but, at the same time, they were hot with the emotions of possessiveness and greed, mixed together pleasantly in order to darken the lavender shade of his eyes.

Yuugi was his aibou—

Yami's aibou—

And he was going to keep it that way.

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Two weeks ago, Yuugi and the group had gone to Egypt on a mission. Isis had told them that there was a way for the former Pharaoh to recover his lost memories, and that they needed to be in Egypt with the seven Millennium Items and the three Egyptian God Cards to unlock them.

Like heroes in a book following a plot already pre-determined, they had gone to Egypt following every instruction to the dot. As a reward, everything seemed to fall into place. Yami was sucked into a stone tablet while the others were made to wait—even Yuugi (no matter how much he argued and yelled and fretted) couldn't seem to follow the former Pharaoh to wherever it was he disappeared to. After days of worrying, however, the spirit had finally returned to them, claiming to have found his lost memories.

But that was all he said about them. After that, after they returned to Japan, Yami hadn't mentioned his past again. It concerned the younger man slightly, especially when Yami wouldn't even let him into the labyrinth he called his soul room anymore. No matter how many times Yuugi had knocked on Yami's door in the Millennium Puzzle, the spirit wouldn't open up. He always had some sort of excuse and Yuugi had no choice but to leave feeling rejected and unwanted.

To compensate for this, however, Yami seemed to become more outwardly affectionate—he would hug him more (sometimes without reason) and he would occasionally reach out to brush a stray tuft of hair from Yuugi's face. His gentle displays of affection minimised the hurt that Yuugi felt. After all, he knew Yami—he knew that the spirit wouldn't do anything that would hurt him. So, Yuugi decided to trust him and wait until Yami was ready to tell him the truth.

Still, Yuugi was curious. Recovering Yami's memories had been their mission for the longest time, after all. The young man wondered why the spirit had suddenly decided that his past was something better left hidden—better left locked away within the confines of the Puzzle—despite every toil and hardship they've been through to get it.

It made Yuugi curious indeed.

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'Yami, would you like to take over for today?'

Projecting himself out of the Millennium Puzzle that rested on the bed, Yami leaned against the young man's study desk and crossed his arms. He asked, "Why, aibou?" His eyes narrowed. "Do you think you'll be in danger during this outing?"

Yuugi slipped on his dark blue shirt and a matching grey vest. He chuckled as he fixed up his clothes. "No, mou hitori no boku, nothing like that." He glanced at the spirit and smiled gently. "It's just that you haven't been out for a while. Don't you miss talking with our friends? I'll let you take over for today, if you want to."

Yami lost his serious look and he smiled at his aibou briefly. But then a thought crossed his mind and he had to force the smile to remain when it threatened to collapse into a scowl; it made the smile look rather edgy. "No, that's quite unnecessary. It's your day, aibou, and I won't interfere." Then to dispel any further words on the matter from Yuugi's mouth, Yami remarked casually, "You should wear a few more bracelets, Yuugi. It'll look good on you. Maybe some silver."

The younger man rolled his eyes and grabbed his shoulder bag; he'd hidden his duelling deck inside one of its pockets instead of his belt—he didn't want to attract any challengers today but it was always good to come prepared. "What's with you and bracelets?" Yuugi mumbled. "I've already told you that it wasn't my style. It's more your kind of thing, mou hitori no boku."

Before they could converse any further, there was a shout from downstairs. "Yuugi! Your friends Jounouchi and Honda are here!"

Yuugi's eyes brightened and he called back excitedly, "Oh! I'll be right down!" He quickly slipped on the Millennium Puzzle around his neck and checked himself in the mirror. "Well, mou hitori no boku? Do I look okay?"

Yami shook his head amusedly. "You always look good, aibou," he reassured with a smirk.

"Thanks," the younger duellist replied, scratching the back of his head modestly. He began to run towards the door after one final check that he had everything. The spirit receded back into the Puzzle.

'Although… a few bracelets definitely wouldn't hurt,' Yami's voice chimed as an afterthought.

Yuugi laughed. "Nice try, Yami. No." He laughed louder when he felt the spirit mentally pout through their mental link.

When he was finally downstairs, he said goodbye to his mother and his grandpa and exited the Kame Game Shop where his friends were waiting for him. The two were also dressed casually, although Jounouchi looked as if he'd put an effort into looking rather 'rugged' today. Yuugi mused that it suited him.

"Jounouchi! Honda! Sorry for making you wait."

Jounouchi grinned brightly at his approach and wrapped an arm around his neck once he was in reach. He playfully rubbed the top of the smaller man's head for a gentle yet reprimanding noogie. "About time, Yuugi! What, don't you want to spend time with us in the amusement park?"

Honda chuckled. "He's probably still embarrassed about what happened last time," he teased good-humouredly.

At the memory, Yuugi blushed. "I-I couldn't help that I was too short!" he said, and then he added, "Plus, I'm definitely taller now. I doubt I'd face that sort of humiliation again."

"Yuugi, you're still pretty short," Jounouchi remarked, his arm still around Yuugi's neck. "So don't get your hopes up too much." He flashed Yuugi a grin to show that he was only joking.

Yuugi pouted cutely but struggled to keep the smile from his face. "Whatever. Where's Anzu?"

His blonde friend finally let go of him and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his baggy pants. He rolled his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. "She wasn't ready yet when we came to pick her up. She should be ready by now though, so we planned to go back to her place after we picked you up."

The young King of Games nodded and grinned, "Okay then, let's go." He adjusted the black strap of his shoulder bag across his chest. "Thanks again you two for coming by."

Honda grinned while Jounouchi sheepishly linked his hands behind his head. "Jounouchi was just too excited today, Yuugi. I mean, I woke up to the idiot hammering on my door!"

Said idiot spluttered and started hastily walking away from them. "W-Whatever! Just shut up, Honda," he growled. But none of his two companions missed the light blush of embarrassment on his cheeks.

Both Yuugi and Honda exchanged a knowing glance and chuckled bemusedly.

"Oi! What's keeping you two over there? You bunch of slowpokes!"

They could actually hear the scowl in Jounouchi's voice and they simultaneously rolled their eyes. With a grin, they started to follow the eager blonde youth. Once Yuugi was walking side by side with his best friend, his hand fisted without his knowing. The young duellist didn't seem to notice his body's wayward behaviour and the action went by unchecked.

The Millennium Puzzle glowed slightly but it also went unnoticed in the bright light of the gorgeous day.

0o0

Yuugi was enjoying himself thoroughly—after all, why wouldn't he? He was tall enough to go on all of the thrill rides this time!

The young man laughed as he walked with his group of friends from another rollercoaster. "That was hilarious! Did you guys hear Jounouchi's scream?"

"I didn't scream!" the blonde teenager screeched, which only served to trigger another bout of keening laughter. "Damn it! Stop laughing at me! I wasn't scared at all!"

"He was the loudest out of everyone there," Honda chuckled. "I could've sworn that he was going to piss his pants."

"Don't be bashful, Jounouchi," Anzu teased, a quirky smile on her face. "You should tell us whenever you're scared. We won't hold it against you, you know."

"Stop it!" Jounouchi hollered, shaking his fists madly at the trio. He whined, "Yuugi!"

The young duellist held his hands up in defence. He tried to look completely innocent but his eyes were shining with amusement, shattering the mask. "What? Don't drag me into this."

"You started it!"

"Really? I was only commenting on what I heard. At least I didn't tell them how you were holding onto my hand as if you thought you were going to die." Yuugi shook his hand in the air loosely for emphasis. "You've got a mean grip there, Jounouchi," he grinned.

Anzu and Honda blinked as Jounouchi flushed red. Then the two laughed some more, tears nearly leaking out of their eyes, while the blonde youth crossed his arms and silently fumed.

Yuugi chuckled slightly but felt bad for his best friend's torment. He suddenly started to feel guilty over his own good-natured teasing. He poked Jounouchi's bare arm and offered kindly, "Sorry, Jounouchi. How about I treat you to some ice-cream to make up for it?"

Jounouchi's pout was still in place and his eyes shone with suspicion. "Double scoop?"

Yuugi's lips quirked. "Double scoop."

A moment passed in silence. Then suddenly, Jounouchi punched Yuugi's shoulder a little harder than what was necessary and smirked, "Aw, I can never stay mad at you, buddy! Lead the way!"

The smaller man slightly winced and rubbed his sore arm. 'Guess I deserved that,' he mused pleasantly. They began to make their way towards one of the ice-cream stores in the amusement park. Yuugi spotted an empty table outside the store and told his friends to wait there as he got them their ice-cream. Once he was in the store by himself, Yuugi let out a happy sigh and said through the mental link, 'This day is going really well. Are you sure you don't want to come out, mou hitori no boku?'

Seconds passed and Yuugi was surprised when no answer came. 'Mou hitori no boku?' He prodded for the spirit through their mental link but it was cut-off completely. Yuugi frowned in concern. He was going to call for Yami again but then the attendant at the counter suddenly called out, "Next!"

Yuugi ordered four different flavoured ice-creams in plastic cups and carried them on a tray back to the group's table. He set it down in the centre and picked up a cup with two scoops of ice-cream—one scoop was chocolate-chip and the other peppermint flavour. He held it out to his blonde friend. "Here you go, Jounouchi."

And then, suddenly and without warning, the barricade that had formed between Yuugi's mind and the former Pharaoh's seemed to collapse. Yuugi was hit with an intense feeling of panic and it nearly made his legs buckle. Jounouchi, not noticing how Yuugi's face paled, grinned happily and reached out to take the ice-cream cup from the smaller man's hand.

"Thanks, Yuugi!"

But when he tried to take the cup away from him, Yuugi's hand remained firm around the item. Jounouchi, along with Anzu and Honda, stared at Yuugi with an eyebrow raised. "Yuugi? You can let go now."

Sweat glistened on Yuugi's forehead as he stared with wide eyes at his hand. He tried to pry his fingers off the cup but they wouldn't move. "Um…"

Jounouchi tugged on the ice-cream cup but still Yuugi wouldn't let go. He frowned. "Oi! Are you okay?"

Yuugi's other hand suddenly shot up and wrapped around the cup as well. Without his consent, Yuugi's hands began to try and take back the ice-cream. The smaller man's eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets—what the hell?

It seemed that Jounouchi was thinking the same thing. "Hey!" he shouted, instantly on his feet. He wrapped his hands around the cup too as he gave a vicious tug. Nobody threatened to take his food away from him—nobody—and he wouldn't even let Yuugi off the hook for something like this! But even as he tugged, he felt a strong resistance from the smaller man that was uncanny for his small stature. "Let go!" the blonde growled. "You bought this for me, didn't you?"

"No, you let go," Yuugi's voice spoke. The young duellist's mind instantly screamed—why was his mouth betraying him now too? "I will not play the servant to some lowly peasant. If you want some of this… whatever it is, then I suggest you either call upon an actual servant of yours or get it yourself."

The trio gaped at him and Yuugi mentally slapped his forehead. 'Yami! It's got to be Yami!' Why was the spirit acting like this? And since when the hell did he learn how to partially possess his body?

Then suddenly, Yuugi seemed to have regained whole control of his body and he quickly let go of the ice-cream cup. Jounouchi still held it, staring at Yuugi as if he'd grown two heads. An awkward silence befell them until Anzu carefully asked, "Yuugi? Are you feeling okay?"

A bark of nervous laughter unwittingly escaped the smaller man's lips. "O-Of course! Why wouldn't I be? I was just fooling around." He shakily punched Jounouchi's arm. "Got you good, didn't I? Eh, Jounouchi?" Then he promptly sat down and started to devour his own ice-cream, stuffing his mouth despite the chilliness so that he wouldn't need to answer any of his friends' questioning eyes. He was still bewildered about the whole episode as well, and when he tried to call for Yami through their mental link, he realised that it had been shut off again.

Then there was a sharp pain in his head and Yuugi stopped eating his ice-cream to tug at his hair in frustration. "Crap! Brain freeze!"

Jounouchi, Anzu, and Honda let the tension fall away at the comment and grinned at each other nervously. They didn't know what happened but Yuugi seemed to be alright. Perhaps their smaller friend was just acting peculiar for the hell of it—it was a stretch, but they didn't know what else to think. Yami definitely had never spoken to them like that before and he certainly wasn't the joking type.

They finished their ice-cream with friendly, light conversation and afterwards went on a few more rides, the incident forgotten. During their quiet times as they lined up in a queue, Yuugi would constantly try to contact the former Pharaoh. But, as per usual, his calls remained unanswered and it frustrated the young man greatly. What kind of stunt was Yami trying to pull?

As the day went by, however, Yuugi's body started to do more peculiar things without his consent. Whenever Jounouchi had grabbed his wrist to drag him to another ride, he'd rip his arm away and find himself glaring at his best friend with a fierceness that he only reserved for his enemies. He'd then regain control again and would smile sheepishly at Jounouchi's baffled expression. Then Yuugi would brush the whole matter off with a few well-placed words and gently tugged the taller teenager to the ride.

He also seemed to act out with Anzu too. He would sometimes find himself recoiling from her touch, even though he desired no such thing. Whenever she called him over with that smile of hers, Yuugi, although he wanted to run towards her, would find his feet moving in the opposite direction. It was frustrating and when his mouth ran off to comment snidely on her appearance, he slapped his hands over his mouth looking aghast. He hated the slightly hurt look that Anzu was looking at him with, but more than anything else Anzu just looked bewildered.

"What do you mean that I wouldn't even qualify to be a dancer on the Pharaoh's royal court?"

'Yami!' Yuugi seethed. Anzu's expression was the last straw. "I-I don't mean that, Anzu. I just… I don't know what's happening," he finally said, his voice exasperated. "Please excuse me." He ran out of the queue for one of the thrill rides, leaving his three friends to stare at his back as he shoved through the line of people. They seemed to understand that he needed time alone to talk to the spirit that resided in his Millennium Puzzle.

Yuugi ran until he was alone behind one of the gaming stalls. It was a rather secluded place, cast in light shadows due to the other tall stalls surrounding him. 'Yami!' he called angrily through their mental link. 'What's gotten into you? Why are you acting this way? Yami!'

There was a thick silence and just before Yuugi could pull his hair out in frustration, his hands suddenly decided to move all on their own again. And they decided to move into the strangest of places.

Yuugi's eyes widened when his hands slipped under his own shirt and started to gently caress his skin. His face instantly flushed red and he tried desperately to remove his hands—but it was useless. No matter how much he willed himself to stop, his hands continued to betray him. They stroked and prodded at his stomach and waist, his fingers teasingly running over his chest. Yuugi's breath hitched when he felt a finger brush over one of his nipples.

'Yami! Stop!'

And then, as if he'd heard him, his hands slipped out of his shirt as if his body had caught on fire. Yuugi let out a relieved sigh but he sucked in another breath when he felt his arms jerk. One of his hands suddenly went to his jaw, caressing his chin, as the other moved to grab the arm and attempted to pull it away. Yuugi's whole body jerked to the side as if he was being pulled by an invisible force. His arm dropped to firmly wind itself around his waist while his other hand moved to pry his fingers off of him. Yuugi's head began to burn and he clenched his teeth together tightly. 'Yam—'

And then there was a shout in his head that definitely wasn't his. 'Stop it!'

Yuugi's eyes widened. He felt his hands being thrown outwards so they stretched out in front of him.

'Why?' came another voice inside his head and Yuugi wondered if his eyes could get any wider. 'I don't want to stop.'

Then Yuugi's hands came back to slip under his shirt again, stroking his bare skin. "Y-Yami?" Yuugi spluttered out loud, disorientated and as confused as ever.

'See?' Yami's voice growled. 'He doesn't like it. Stop touching him.'

'You can't command me to do anything. Besides, my akhu likes my touch. I can sense it.'

Yuugi felt Yami snarl. 'Does he sound like he's enjoying what you're doing? Let him go, damn it!'

Yuugi then felt disgust through the mental link. 'You're such a vulgar man. Is that any way to speak to a Pharaoh?'

Frustration. Anger. 'You're me. I can speak to you however I want. Besides, I would have never thought that my past self was so perverted as to touch an unwilling party!'

Barely repressed rage. 'Well, maybe he wouldn't be so unwilling if he actually knew who I am. It's your fault for keeping me prisoner inside the Puzzle and hiding my existence!'

'Shut up, it wasn't necessary that he knew you—and stop touching my aibou!'

'He's my akhu. I have every right to touch him, and not even you can deny me of this.'

Yuugi felt his body jerking around wildly—one half wanting to touch him while the other seemed hell-bent to keep that from happening. It was a conflicting mess which simply resulted in Yuugi's body thrashing around like a madman; the young man felt an impending explosion in his head as the two voices—similar and yet so starkly different—continued to bicker and argue without any care to how their host was feeling. Yuugi's breath started to come out in quick, short pants and he squeezed his eyes shut tightly—he could feel something inside him beginning to snap.

'If you don't stop this right now, I am going to make sure that you're sealed back into—'

'You dare to threaten a Pharaoh, the beloved son of the gods? I have no choice but to make you pay for your—'

"SHUT UP!"

Yuugi's outburst of pure rage made the Puzzle shine brightly in response. The voices in his head stopped instantly as a sudden surge of power blasted through them, causing an unnatural wind to propagate outwards like the ripples of water after a pebble had disturbed a lake. Yuugi turned his head away from the blast of wind and blinding light, and when he felt the unnatural power die down, he finally opened his eyes—

And was greeted by two spirits gazing at him like deer caught in headlights.

One was Yami and the other was Yami too—except this Yami was darkly tanned and was wearing clothes befitting that of an Egyptian king.

Yuugi felt his jaw drop to the ground at the sight of the doppelgangers standing side-by-side in front of him. His mind was completely blank as he stared at the pair, any coherent thought that tried to form in his mind destroyed by the haze of his shock and incredulousness.

The two Yamis glanced at each other nervously before they turned back to the stricken Yuugi.

"Aibou…" one started.

"Akhu…" the other cooed.

And then Yuugi finally snapped out of his stupor and pointed at the two with a furiously wagging finger, his eyes ablaze.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

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Chapter One: End.

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Translations:

Akhu: Loosely translated into 'light'.