The Shadows of Friendship: - Spirit of the Puzzle first description

Nightmare Moon couldn’t help but watch in fascination as the light from the Puzzle died down to reveal her opponent not only still standing but transformed.

The young mare, once a unicorn, now stood as a tall, proud and furious alicorn. Sharp, ruby red eyes glowered at her as she took in the change. The ex-unicorn was taller now, her mane and tail both wilder and longer. The other alicorn’s wings were battle damaged, to the point Nightmare Moon somehow doubted the other would be able to lift off of the ground. Despite their ragged appearance however, they still looked regal, sweeping back over the other alicorn’s back and hanging down. The feathered wings somehow reminded Nightmare Moon of the capes that some of the nobles had worn before her imprisonment.

“So,” Nightmare Moon started, with an amused and slightly vindictive smile, “My sister had another alicorn hiding in the wings? How long did she make you wear that disguise? Weeks? Years? Centuries?”

“She didn’t.” Shadows swirled around Twilight as she replied, eyes narrowing slightly. Nightmare Moon’s own Shadow magic flared up in response, the two powers clashing in a blaze of dark purple light that lit up the entire room, casting their shadows in about six different directions. “Now return the sun, Nightmare Moon, before I have to make you.”

Shaman King Mix? Part 2

“But I thought Shamans were people who interacted with the world of spirits.” Solomon froze at the door to his Grandson’s hospital room, “So why did he call me one?”

Shaman. Now that was a title he hadn’t heard in years. He supposed it was one that, in a way, it was one that applied to him, since he could, in fact see and interact with ghosts, a fact he had discovered when he’d been rescued by the spirit of a King who had looked rather like Yugi.

“Well, you do have Yami.” Tea’s voice replied, “I suppose that might be why…”

Solomon had researched what it could mean, discovered what it meant and had kept it to himself, having never wanted the responsibility that had come with it and he hadn’t been sorry when the same gift had failed to show up in his daughter.

But it appeared it had, as Solomon had feared when Yugi had started talking to himself and his grandfather had seen the spirits that haunted Yugi and his friends, skipped a generation and was fully awake in his Grandson.

Finding out now was a nightmare. With the Shaman King Tournament coming up, Shaman from around the world would be heading to the Japan and even if Yugi wasn’t involved as a combatant, his guardian ghost, this ‘Yami’, was apparently powerful enough to attract attention.

He had no idea how to train his Grandson to defend himself. He would just have to hope that no one else came after Yugi for his spirit.

“Maybe.” Yugi sighed, “I think that’s the first time anyone’s come after me with a sword though.” And on that note Solomon pushed open the door and the conversation stopped. “Hey Grandpa.” Yugi smiled nervously from his hospital bed, well aware that Yami had darted into the Puzzle the instant the door handle had turned.

“I’m relieved you’re alright.” Solomon said, shutting the door behind him. “But from what I heard, it sounds like I have some explaining to do. You should bring your guardian ghost out so we can talk.”

“I…I don’t know what you mean.” Yugi stammered as Tea gave Solomon a startled look.

“Don’t lie to me, Yugi.” Solomon scolded his grandson, “I overheard the tail end of your conversation, I know that the person who attacked you called you a Shaman. Now, bring out your guardian ghost.”

Yugi looked nervous but he nodded and his eyes went blank for a moment or two, then the ghost who lived within the Millennium Puzzle appeared and bowed to Solomon.

“Grandpa, this is Yami.” Yugi said nervously, “He’s been my protector since I completed the Millennium Puzzle.”

Yami bowed to Solomon. The old gamer hid a smile at the spirit’s posture. The ghost, who looked incredibly like his Grandson, was nervous, not that anyone but a gamer of the highest calibre, or someone who could read micro expressions, would be able to tell. The spirit turned to Yugi and the pair of them, Shaman and guardian ghost, looked at each other for a moment or two, then Yugi looked at his Grandfather.  

“Yami says…”

“Let him speak for himself, Yugi.” Solomon held up a hand to silence his Grandson, earning himself a startled look from both lookalikes.

“It is an honour to meet you.” Yami said, unsure whether his voice would be heard by the master gamer.

“The same, though I believe I have met you before.” Solomon’s reply made Yugi jump, Yami look confused and Tea to give him a startled look. “In fact I believe I’m the one who led you to Yugi.”

“You… led Yami to me?” Yugi looked confused. “I mean, I know you gave me the Puzzle, but I thought Yami was dormant before I completed it…” Yugi paused and gave his Grandfather a strange look. “How can you even see or hear him?”

“This isn’t my first run in with spirits, Yugi.” Solomon told him, “The man who attacked you was a Shaman, just as I am.”

“You, Grandpa?” Yugi looked shocked.

“That’s not quite true.” Solomon considered, “I have the abilities but none of the training. I didn’t find out until my early forties that I had them, probably brought on by one too many near death experiences, and nowadays I’m too old to teach any new tricks.” He sighed, “It would be better to say that I have the potential.” He looked at Yugi, “You however, appear to have mastered integration without any training at all.”

“What is integration?” Yami asked. “Our attacker mentioned it, but we don’t know what it is.”

“Integration… it’s the joining of a Shaman and a ghost within the Shaman’s body. Like when you take control of Yugi’s body.” Solomon explained. He paused and considered the spirit carefully, “You’re Egyptian. Yami is a Japanese word, so what is your real name?”

“Yami.” Tea spoke up, confused by the turn of events, but, since this wasn’t the weirdest thing that had happened to them, she wasn’t too worried. She just wished she could see Yami and hear him as Yugi’s grandfather could, “His name, at least nowadays, is Yami.”

“Nowadays?”

“Yami doesn’t remember anything of his previous life.” Yugi gave his dark a small, slightly sad smile, “Everything before I completed the Puzzle is a complete blur. It’s part of the reason he’s still here, I think.”

“No name, no afterlife.” Solomon nodded, understanding. “So you have no memories of your tomb? Or of your time on the throne?”

Yami shook his head. “No. I don’t. I wish I did but…”

“It must be something to do with the Puzzle’s completion then.” Solomon thought carefully, “Because I once met you in your tomb, before I took the Puzzle box.”

“You did?” Yami looked astonished, “I… I have no memory of that.”

“I did. In fact that was the first time you saved my life.” Solomon nodded, “You helped me after I’d been shot by one of my guides and asked me to look after your Puzzle, which I did until some monster,” And he gave his Grandson a look that caused Yugi to smile slightly, “Found it and tried to put it together, then I passed it on to him.”

“And I’m glad you did.” Yami received a grin from his hikari that he returned in the form of a small smile, “Life with Yugi is rarely boring.”

“It’s only going to get more dangerous from here on in.” Solomon warned. “With the Shaman King Tournament coming up, more Shamans are going to come looking for powerful spirits and you were, according to legends, one of the most powerful Pharaohs of Egypt.”

“Then just being around will put Yugi in…” Yami turned to his hikari, whose hands went protectively to the Puzzle.

“No, Yami. I won’t shatter the Puzzle. I won’t lose you to protect myself.” Yugi’s determination was something that made his Grandfather proud, even as it frustrated the Pharaoh who wanted nothing more than the safety of his partner even above the return of his memories, and amused Tea.

“If you’re serious about keeping Yami, then you’re going to need training.” Solomon told the determined sixteen year old who hadn’t long come out of hospital after being trapped in that fire, “As you are, you couldn’t hope to defeat a Shaman who has trained for the tournament.”

“As to that…” Yugi started, then bit his lower lip and shut up.

“What?” Solomon demanded.

“I think Yugi’s referring to the Shadow Games.” Tea said carefully. “They kind of give him and Yami an edge over anyone bigger and stronger than them.”

“Shadow Games?” Solomon asked, staring at his Grandson, “You’ve…” Well that explained why, for the last two years, ghosts had been avoiding their house. The Shadows were dangerous, especially to unprotected souls, and he didn’t doubt that most ghosts wouldn’t want to risk it.

“It’s a… talent of mine.” Yami smirked slightly, “I don’t play them very often, but when I do it’s always for a good reason.”

“It was how we got away from the Shaman that attacked us today.” Yugi added in Yami’s defence, “He’d have had my head otherwise.”

It would have worried Solomon that Yugi spoke so calmly of someone trying to kill him, if it hadn’t been for the way that Yugi’s hands had balled into fists and the slight shudder that had coursed through his Grandson when he’d spoken of the attack, all subconscious of course, Yugi was trying not to show he was afraid in front of Tea and his Grandfather.

“Not all Shaman will agree to play your games, Yami.” Solomon warned, “You won’t be able to rely on that forever.”

Silence fell for a few moments, then Yugi spoke up. “If I want to protect Yami. I need to be stronger.” Tea and Solomon almost missed Yugi’s quiet murmur, “I’m not strong enough to protect us from Marik, and I’m not strong enough to protect us from this new threat either.”

“Who is Marik?” Solomon asked, concerned by Yugi’s shift in mood and the scowl that blossomed on Yami’s face when Yugi mentioned the name ‘Marik’.

“The fire? In the warehouse? The one that I nearly…” Yugi took a deep breath. “His name is Marik. He’s another Millennium Item wielder, like me but without the guardian.” He gave Yami a small smile, but the Pharaoh didn’t return it, remembering far too easily how ineffective he’d been in that fight, “He holds the Millennium Rod. It lets him control people’s minds. His possessed slave caused the fire that nearly…” Yugi shuddered and Yami’s hand went on his shoulder.

‘I’m sorry, Yugi. I’ve brought so much trouble down on you.’

The hikari leant into the touch and let out a small, sad sigh. “It’s not your fault. You don’t seek those who want us dead. They seek us.”

“If I’d known how much trouble the Puzzle would cause, I would never have given it to you.” Solomon admitted, “But it’s yours now, and as long as you,” He looked at Yami, who stared back, “Promise to guard him until his death, I will not take it away.”

“I would never abandon Yugi.” Yami promised.

“Good.” Solomon nodded, “Now, this training you want?” He turned back to his Grandson, who looked up at him, “I might know someone who might be able to help. At least with your Shaman training.”

“You do? But I thought you didn’t have any training.”

“I don’t. And I don’t know if the contact number I have for her is still valid.” Solomon warned, “And even if it is, she might not have anyone available to send, not with the Shaman tournament coming up.”

“What is the Shaman tournament?” Tea asked, “You’ve mentioned it before.”

“And the Shaman that attacked said that was why he wanted Yami.” Yugi chipped in.

“I’m not sure of the exact details.” Solomon answered, “But every five hundred years a tournament is held to find the most powerful Shaman, the Shaman King. The winner of the tournament supposedly gains the ‘Great Spirit’ as his guardian ghost, and with it the power to do whatever they want.”

“Whatever they...” The implications weren’t lost on Yugi and Tea, the latter of whom had had enough of power crazed lunatics chasing her friend around. “But isn’t that dangerous?” Tea asked.

“Incredibly. The difference between victory and defeat is often a Shaman’s life, but the tournament has to be held, for every five hundred years a pair of comets pass the Earth, heralding the coming of a great catastrophe. It’s the duty of the Shaman King to stop it from happening and guide the world into a new age.”

“No.” Tea caught the look on Yugi’s face and glowered at her friend, “Even if you had the training, which you don’t, you have enough on your plate with all the Millennium Item wielders who keep coming after you, without inviting a whole new load of trouble.”

“Tea’s right, Yugi.” Solomon nodded, “Even with training you couldn’t hope to beat some of the Shaman entering the tournament. Not when they’ve trained their entire lives for this and you’ll have a month at best before it kicks off properly. You probably won’t even get tested for entry.”

“Tested?” Yugi asked curiously.

Solomon let out a heavy sigh, “I don’t know the full details, but my friend might. I’ll give her a call. But Yugi,” He gave his Grandson a sharp look, “Promise me you won’t go looking for other Shaman to fight.”

“I never go looking for fights.” Yugi protested, “They always start it.”

“Make sure it stays that way.” His grandfather replied, “Now if you’ll excuse me I have a phone call to make.”

With that Yugi’s grandpa left the room, leaving a rather confused pair of teens and a confounded spirit to work out what the hell had just happened.

Shaman King mix?

‘Yugi!’

Yami’s warning gave Yugi just enough time to jump back and narrowly avoid the incoming attack. “Who’s there?” The hikari demanded.

A dark chuckle made Yugi take a step back. Yami nudged at his mind, wanting control, but held back from seizing it when Yugi sent the mental equivalent of a head shake. “Where’s your guardian ghost, Shaman?” The teenager who stepped out of the darkness asked.

“I’m not a…” Yugi yelped and ducked under a second attack, “Shaman.”

“You have to be.” His attacker disagreed, taking another swipe at Yugi. “I saw you integrate with your guardian ghost earlier.”

“Integrate?” Yugi wondered as he willingly relinquished control to the Pharaoh who was just itching to make the man attacking his hikari pay.

‘We can work it out later.’ The Pharaoh promised as he darted out of reach of the attacker’s weapon. The spirit considered their attacker carefully. “What do you want?” He demanded, further irritated when the man smirked.

“Instantaneous integration.” He looked impressed, “You’d make a valuable addition to my team. And with the Shaman Tournament coming up, I need every strong spirit I can get. Now, abandon your host, or I will kill him to take control of you.”

‘Stay in your Soul Room, Yugi.’ Yami growled. “I won’t let you harm my partner. Nor will I ever bend to another’s will.”

“You’ll have no choice once your host is dead.”

“If Yugi dies, the Puzzle will shatter and I will return to the darkness.” Yami snorted, carefully scanning the area for something he could use to defend them, “Yugi is the only one who will ever be able to work with me.”

“If your wimpy host could complete the Puzzle and it’s the Puzzle that holds your spirit,” Their attacker raised his blade again, causing Yami to tense up, waiting for the coming attack, “Then I’ll complete it once I kill him!” The sword lashed out but Yami was faster, ducking under the attack, rolling and grabbing a pipe from the side of the road, bringing it up and round in time to stop a swing that had been meant for Yugi’s neck.

“I. Won’t. Let. You. Kill. Yugi.” Yami bit out as he strained against the blade. For such a small guy, their attacker had a lot of upper body strength and Yugi, for all his magical strength, did not.

Magic.

Yami lashed out with his magic, blasting the guy into a wall, mentally cursing himself for not thinking of it sooner.

“I’m impressed.” The guy smirked as he picked himself up. “I didn’t see that coming.”

“I challenge you.” Yami said, changing tactics, calling the Shadows, which danced around him and his opposition, waiting to play, though only the most sensitive could sense them at the level Yami had summoned them. “To a game of my choice. If I win, you’ll leave and never come back. If I lose, I will go with you willingly.”

“Yami, no!”

‘Have faith, Yugi, I won’t lose.’

“A game?” The man looked around, eyes sharp, as if he could sense the magic swirling around them as clearly as Yami could. “That’s all it would take?”

“One simple game.”

“I doubt anything involving the darkness around us could be classed as simple, but go on.”

‘He can sense the Shadows…’ The attitude Yami presented to his opponent wasn’t the same as the tone of his mental voice, as he pulled a pair of dice out of his back pocket. “A game of luck.” He tossed a die to his opponent. “All you have to do is roll higher than me three times out of five and you win. The only other rule is that neither player can attack the other while the game is in play.”

“That’s it? You’re risking everything on the roll of the dice?” The guy looked shocked.

“Scared?” Yami taunted.

“You. Wish.” The guy snapped.

“Then I’ll roll.” Yami rolled his die, which landed on a three. “Your go.”

There was a soft growl before the guy rolled his die, which was swiftly followed by a smirk as it landed on a four. “One down.”

“There are many more rounds yet.” Yami snorted, ill- amused by the guy’s arrogance. He could feel Yugi’s support at the back of his mind as he rolled again. “Let’s see you beat a four.”

“Easily.” The guy’s words didn’t match the roll of his die, which landed on a three. “Oh well, there are three more rounds…”

He was less confident after the next round, when he failed to beat Yami’s roll a second time.

“Last chance.” Yami smirked, already sensing the shift in the magic as his opponent made up his mind about something. The Pharaoh rolled his die.

A five.

The attacker dropped his die and darted across the field, sword in hand, striking out in an assault intended to run Yugi through. Yami shifted just in time, turning the killing strike into a stab that, while not fatal, was still serious.

The guy came in for a second attack as the Pharaoh hissed in pain and his hand went to the wound, applying pressure, shutting the link between him and his hikari off to prevent both the pain seeping through and Yugi from seeing what was about to happen.

The Shadows rose, knocking the guy off of his feet.

“Not only did you break the rules,” The Pharaoh’s tone was dark, angry, terrifying, “But your roll wasn’t enough to beat mine. You lose and for your cheating I call on a Penalty Game.”

“A what?” The guy scrambled backwards, away from the pissed off King.

Yami raised the hand that wasn’t stemming the blood flow, “Mind Crush.”

The guy collapsed and the Shadows vanished.

“Yugi!”

Yami sank to his knees, gasping in pain as, at Tea’s call, the focus that had held him through the Shadow Game broke.

“Yuge!” Joey and Tea darted down the alley.

“Shit Yuge, what happened?” Joey asked, wincing in appreciation when he saw the blood seeping through Yami’s fingers and quickly working out what he could use to help as Tea pulled out her mobile.

“He attacked me.” Yami replied unsteadily, feeling woozy. “Won’t be doing that again.”

There was a vicious satisfaction to the Pharaoh’s tone that made Joey cringe inwardly. On the one hand, anyone who hurt Yugi deserved whatever they got, on the other Yami had a real mean streak (and that was putting it nicely) whenever Yugi got hurt.

“Was it the Puzzle again?” Joey asked quietly as Tea gave the ambulance directions.

“I… no…” Yugi, who had slipped back into control the moment Yami had reopened the link, cringed when he made the mistake of moving. “No. It wasn’t the Puzzle. At least, not at first.”

“What do you mean?” Joey asked.

‘Yugi!’ Yami’s voice rang in his head, ‘There’s another one!’

Yugi struggled to his feet, looking around. “Where? Yami, where?”

“Yuge?” Joey asked.

‘Let me…’ Yami didn’t have to finish his sentence as Yugi stepped aside, giving the Pharaoh control. “Who’s out there?” Yami challenged, looking around, dizzy but not willing to let someone else get the drop on them.

“Easy, spirit.” Someone in Native American clothes stepped out of the darkness at the other end, “I mean no harm to your host.”

Joey stepped between Yami and the guy, “You with that guy?” Joey indicated the male on the floor.

“I was supposed to test him for the tournament. But it appears that will no longer be necessary.” The new guy didn’t sound too unhappy about that.

“Test?” Joey asked.

Whatever the Indian was about to say was lost in the sound of sirens, the arrival of which made the teens look over their shoulder and by the time they looked back, the Indian was gone and so was the body of the attacker.

“Where’d he go?” Joey yelped.

They didn’t have time to answer as the ambulance crew took charge.

Then there was no time for questions at all.

Ennead: What if there had been the spirit of a Pharaoh in the museum when the exhibit was on?

Khayu didn’t want to be here but there was no choice.

When he’d been ripped out of the afterlife it had hurt more than anything he had experienced in life and he’d spent months raging at those who had desecrated his tomb and ripped his body out of its resting place, ending up, against his will, at a ‘museum’ in ‘Domino’ where his body had been put on display and  left for visitors to gawk at, while he had been left in a horrible state of being that had left him separated from the rest of the world, unable to be seen or interact with those who were living.

It was torture. To be forced to go through this ‘non-life’ when he had been through Anubis’s Judgement and earned his place in the afterlife and he had been furious for weeks, even as he took in everything that had changed in the, apparently, thousands of years since he had been on the throne, his anger slowly getting blunter and blunter as time passed and he had no one that he could rage at, since no one could see or hear him.

By the time his body had been put on display in Domino museum, his anger had boiled down to a simmering anger and that too had all but disappeared when a man from Egypt, his homeland, one who called himself Shadi, had dealt with those who had invaded his tomb and given him another thing to focus on. He remembered the tales of the Age of Shadows and the ‘golden treasures’ that had kept Egypt safe from invasion, but he had never thought that he would see them for himself.

Yet alone two of them.

He still didn’t know exactly what had happened between the man from Egypt and the girl was who clearly a local, but it had ended with Shadi returning the ‘Millennium Puzzle’ to the girl before making what was obviously a hasty retreat and the girl, who had looked frightened, leaving quickly without a second glance at anything.

He hadn’t expected to see either of them again, so when the girl, golden treasure hanging around her neck, had returned with a friend a couple of days later he’d found himself more interested then he otherwise would be. Normally he would ignore what was going on around him, using the time to freak out the museum staff or explore the local area since there was nothing else he could do, but when he’d heard the girl’s name being called, he’d found himself wondering why she had returned.

He’d wandered across the museum to join them, unable to add anything to their conversation but curious as to what they found so fascinating considering that they’d spent almost a full day here not that long ago, only to walk in on what was the oddest conversation he’d ever heard.

“Are you sure you’re alright with this?” The girl, a small but rather cute teen with multicoloured hair and royal purple eyes, was asking her friend, “I mean my Other Self can be...”

“It’s fine. It’ll be interesting to say the least.” Her friend, a tall, heavy set blonde haired, brown eyed male, possibly her guardian or lover, maybe both, reassured her, “Besides it might jog Oneesan’s memories.”

The girl nodded, took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The golden treasure glowed for a moment and the girl appeared to gain an inch in height. When her eyes opened, they didn’t look the same. Instead of the soft purple that they had been a second ago, they were a harsh red.

“Oneesan.” The friend bowed to the girl, an odd expression on his face that was somewhere between respectful and nervous.

“Jonouchi.” The girl nodded back as her friend straightened, “You don’t need to bow. I can’t hold a higher rank than you if I don’t remember what my rank was.” She looked around, her eyes resting on Khayu, startling the Pharaoh for a moment and making him wonder if she could actually see him, before moving on around the room, confusion slowly becoming more and more obvious on her face, “Where are we and why did you want my attention?” She asked quietly, causing Khayu to have to edge closer to hear.

Jonouchi snorted, amusement clear, “Yugi wanted me to escort you around the museum. She hoped that the Egyptian exhibit might help you remember something.”

Khayu blinked at the girl, confused considering that he had thought that she was Yugi, as the girl nodded her understanding, looking a combination of grateful, amused and wary as she turned to examine the exhibit. Khayu found himself slightly grateful when her eyes darkened when they rested on his body.

“Something wrong, Oneesan?” Jonouchi asked her, noting the slight change in the girl’s attitude.

“I don’t remember why, exactly,” She said, wandering over to the case and resting a hand against the glass, Khayu following, intrigued by what she had to say considering that she was acting odd, at least by the standards of people he’d seen so far, “But something about having him on display like this feels wrong. Really wrong. This poor person...” The girl let out a frustrated growl, “I wish I remembered...”

“I know.” Jonouchi sounded sad for her, “But that’s why we’re here. To see if you remember anything.”

“If I could just remember my name...” The girl sighed, “I could go without the rest of it if I had that.” She paused and looked at the blonde male, “Not that I mean to sound ungrateful...”

“No, I understand.”Jonouchi waved it off, “I wouldn’t like to be in your shoes. Thousands of years ahead of yourself and without your name or memories...” Jonouchi shuddered.

“I owe Imoto-chan far too much.” The girl breathed, shivering herself, her voice just audible, “Without her I’d still be nothing but a lost spirit, wandering around in the dark.”

“Yugi’s special.” Jonouchi nodded his agreement, earning himself an amused look from the girl as Khayu stared at her, wondering what she meant by her words. “Where do you want to start?” He asked, gesturing around at the exhibit.

Oneesan hesitated for a moment, her eyes resting on the spot where she thought she’d seen someone, “If I might, Jonouchi, I’d rather go around on my own for a while, but if you could keep your guard up I’d be grateful. I think we’re being watched.”

“You can call me Jou, you know.” The teenager told her as he shook his head, then he paused, “Watched?” He asked, looking around sharply and not seeing Khayu, who was right in front of his eyes, “By who?”

“I don’t know.”

Jou let out a soft growl. He wasn’t a fan of Oneesan’s ‘I don’t knows’. They sometimes led to trouble. “I’ll give you some breathing room, but I’ll stay close by, okay?” He asked, giving the room a second glance and wondering what the spirit of the Puzzle was seeing that he wasn’t.

“Thank you.” The girl gave the teen a small, tense, smile and darted off ahead to look at the rest of the exhibit.

Khayu followed her, far more intrigued by the girl than her friend, who was as good as his word, keeping a big enough distance that Oneesan had space, but close enough to get involved if trouble struck, reminding Khayu of his own bodyguards and making him wonder who the girl was to need such a protector.

The Pharaoh took a few steps back, not wanting to distract the girl any further, for now at least, not until he’d worked out how to communicate with her, and watched her as she carefully examined every piece, drinking in the culture, seeing everything as if it was for the first time.

From what he could gather of their conversation it could well be. He didn’t understand all of it, but from what he could gather this girl, the one wandering around the museum’s Egyptian exhibit, wasn’t the same one as the girl who had been here just the other day but that didn’t make sense…

Still that wasn’t the part that confused and interested Khayu. The part that did that was the talk about ‘Oneesan’ being thousands of years ahead of herself, without her name and memories. If she’d been a ghost like him, he might have asked if she was from his time, but she was very much alive.

Of course this was unless she really was a ghost like him, but Yugi was allowing her to use her body.

It was a fanciful notion, or it would have been if he hadn’t been one himself. He had never really believed in the tales of those who had fallen coming back as angry spirits to harm those they had left behind until he had been ripped from the afterlife and left in the world of the living as no more than a shade.

The question was if Yugi could see and hear ‘Oneesan’, whoever she had been in life, would she be able to see him? She certainly hadn’t seemed to when she’d visited the other day, yet Oneesan had definitely looked at him. In fact she’d warned her friend that someone was watching…

Oneesan’s eyes flickered around the room as she moved to the next case, still confused as to why she felt like they were being watched when she couldn’t see anyone around. Not any more anyway. There was definitely something odd around here, but she didn’t know what and it was putting her on edge. She could have just been being paranoid, but somehow she doubted it.

She had SEEN someone around, a man with short black hair in strange clothes that had been in a very similar style to some of the clothes on display and golden jewellery, and quite frankly she was concerned that he was a friend of Shadi’s. It was part of the reason why she wanted Jonouchi close. After the stunt Shadi had pulled, Oneesan didn’t want Jonouchi left on his own, nor did she particularly fancy getting dragged into another Shadow Game.

Still, even with the odd feeling hovering around it was interesting to see everything from the dig in Egypt, even if she still wasn’t certain that having them on display like this was a good thing. Though they weren’t reawakening any of her memories, it was interesting to read the plaques by each display and learn a little more about her culture with each one. Some of the information on them she had felt like she was supposed to know, some of it had been completely unknown but it had been a good plan on Imoto-chan’s part, even if it hadn’t worked quite the way that she had hoped.

As she reached the last of the cases she looked around again, wary of leaving her sister in control while she still had that odd feeling but when the only person she could see in the room was Jonouchi, she sighed and ushered her friend out of the room, glancing back for a moment or two and wondering how much of the information in there she should know and if she’d had things like the ones in the exhibition room when she’d been alive.

“Was it helpful?” Jonouchi asked, catching Oneesan’s look.

“Yes and no.” Oneesan admitted. “I felt like I should know some of it, but nothing came back to me. It was like learning it all over again and I don’t even know if this Pharaoh was from the same dynasty as me. Still, I thank you for your patience.”

“I had nowhere to be.” Jonouchi shrugged as they headed for the exit, where the museum staff were ushering people out of the door for the end of the day. “And if it helped…”

“It did.” Oneesan nodded, glancing around, not sensing anything and relaxing slightly before speaking again, “And I’ll say goodbye now.”

With that she left Yugi in control.

Jou was thrown by the abruptness of the exchange and he wasn’t the only one, Yugi blinked around, trying to get her bearings, having been shoved into control a little more forcefully than usual and a little dazed by the experience. “Did it help?” She asked Jou finally as they started making their way home, oblivious to the fact that they had a stalker.

“She said it helped. Then she pulled a switch and vanished.” Jonouchi shrugged, “She was acting a bit stranger than normal though. Thought we were being watched.”

Yugi glanced around, worried that there might be someone following them, but she couldn’t see anyone unusual among the evening shoppers.

“Of course if we are being followed, I’ll protect you.” Jou postured absurdly, earning himself a giggle from Yugi, “What?” He asked mock innocently, just causing Yugi to laugh harder, calming down quickly when her ribs started aching.

“Sorry. Sorry.” Yugi waved it off, a grin on her face even as she cringed, her hand going to her side.

“Zero respect.” Jonouchi half jokingly grumbled as he kicked a can on the ground that bounced down the road and rolled into an alley way.