It
had been a long time since Yami had activated a Shadow Game. Most of his
dealings with the dark realm in more recent years had been instigated by
someone else. However the Shadows were more than willing to answer his furious
call, descending upon the fool of a wizard who dared try to erase his memories
of the previous school year.
The
wizard didn’t stand a chance. The Shadows were hungry and Yami was more than
willing to let them feast. The Pharaoh dragged the truth out of his attacker,
that he had been hired by the International Confederate of Wizards to ‘encourage’
them to return to Hogwarts in September, before allowing the darkness to sweep
him away.
He
knew what had brought this on. They had sent letters to the school just a few
days ago, withdrawing from Hogwarts. With everything that had happened there
during the school year Yami had managed to convince Yugi that it was better for
everyone if they stayed away. Of course if Yugi wasn’t going, Kari and Joey had
no interest in disappearing for nine months of the year and Ombre went where
her hikari went. If Kari wasn’t going, neither was she. Yami had also spoken to
Kaiba who was refusing to go anywhere near that madhouse that they called a
school and would not be sending Mokuba back either.
This
was quite obviously the response to their letters and Yami was ready to destroy
anyone who had agreed that this was a good idea.
For
the first time he was glad that the Puzzle guarded its secrets so carefully.
The wizard had been casting spells when Yami had found him, but the ‘memories’
he had been carefully editing had been fakes, generated by the Puzzle in order
to confuse and confound anyone trying to find anything useful. All the spells had
done was alert Yami to a foreign presence in his mind and give the Pharaoh some
idea of what the enemy was trying to do.
He
slipped out of his soul room, stepping over the body of the mindless wreck of a
wizard and headed for Yugi’s bedroom. His hikari had to be told about this
affront. He knew Yugi would try and talk him out of taking vengeance, but he
still had to be told. When he reached Yugi’s room, however, he found his hikari
led on his bed, pouring over his potions’ text book and frowning at a piece of
parchment.
“Yugi?”
Yami asked, confused.
“Can
you check this for me?” Yugi asked, looking up at him with a hopeful
expression.
“I
thought we weren’t bothering with doing the homework since we aren’t going
back.” Yami replied, dread sinking in as he realised that he hadn’t seen Yugi
for a couple of hours.
“Ah...
uhh, Yami...” Yugi trailed off, looking sheepish as the Pharaoh moved across
the room, “I wanted to talk to you about...” He trailed off as he felt the
Pharaoh’s anger flare up. It wasn’t aimed at him but he was in a foul mood and
Yugi could feel the Shadows just waiting to lash out at the slightest provocation,
“Yami? What’s wrong?”
“Yugi,
I need you to come with me a minute.” The Pharaoh’s anger was obvious in his
tone and Yugi quickly closed his text book, pushing his parchment to one side
and scrambling to his feet.
“Sure,
where...?” Yugi paused, confusion obvious as his darker self pushed him
sitting. “What’s going on?” The hikari asked, worried now. Yami was acting
weird and Yugi didn’t know what was causing it.
“Just
come with me to your soul room.” The Pharaoh didn’t explain. Yugi didn’t need
him to. He trusted Yami without question, acting weird or not, and he took a
deep breath before mentally ‘stepping back’ into the corridor between his mind
and Yami’s.
The
Pharaoh was waiting for him, the powerful spirit’s anger manifesting as an aura
of shadows that roiled and blazed like flames. Yugi didn’t understand what was
going on, or why Yami was so furious when he had seemed so happy earlier, but
he knew he had to try to calm him. He reached out, putting his hand on Yami’s
arm, concerned confusion etched on his features.
“Yami.
Please talk to me.” Yugi ignored the pins and needles in his hand and arm where
they contacted with the dark energy, “What’s happened?”
“There
was someone in my soul room.” Yami explained, hesitating at the door to Yugi’s
soul room until Yugi preceded him and pulled him in after, shaking his head in amusement
at Yami’s actions. No matter how many times Yugi told the spirit who had once
shared his body that he was welcome in Yugi’s soul room any time, Yami always
waited until Yugi had invited him in to enter.
Then
what Yami had said actually sank in.
“Someone
in your...” Yugi’s eyes widened, shock obvious.
“Well,
in the maze that makes it up.” Yami shrugged, already scanning the room and
noting that it looked different from how he remembered it being this morning,
causing the shadows surrounding him to flare up once again for a moment before
Yugi let out a sharp, pained hiss and pulled away from him. Almost instantly
the Pharaoh pulled the power back within himself and opened his mouth to apologise,
only to note that Yugi was looking around his soul room, implications already
sinking in.
“You
think they got in here first.” Yugi suddenly understood his darker self’s anger
far too well.
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