Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Do You Dream of Me? ❯ Riddles ( Chapter 17 )

Disclaimer: If I owned Yu-gi-oh, there would be more puzzleshippy goodness! (Not that there isn't a lot anyways…)

I'm very sorry, but I'm swamped until Wednesday. So… don't count on updates this weekend. This is technically last weekend's chapter. Sorry, but I've got 3.5 days to read 10 books and write 12+ pages.

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-Can I stay awake this time, Yami?- Yugi asked shyly. -I want to help you, like you help me. I won't let Shadi take you away!- He looked up, eyes determined.

--…Master!-Yami's eyes shown with gratitude. His Master wanted to keep him! -Whatever you wish, Master. Always.-

Yugi smiled. Yami wanted his help! He relaxed into the arms holding him. -I think time is up…-

Yami smiled. -Shall we go then?-

Yugi laughed.

Yami walked up to the roof and walked out on it, heading towards Shadi who stood in the middle. Then he spotted…

-Anzu!-

--Mazaki-sama!-

She was… on a board held up by ropes tied to little statues. They were the only thing keeping her from falling off the edge of the building.

As he saw, Shadi smirked. "Then let's begin the game… the Trial of the Mind!"

Yami, outraged, turned to him. "Shadi! How dare you put Mazaki-sama in danger! You're not going to use her in our game!"

"I am, Yugi. If you lose this game, it will mean the girl's death."

Yami almost snarled. Master was worried! And Mazaki-sama… Mazaki-sama was kind to Master. He wouldn't fail them both!

Shadi's face lost its cruel expression. "Before I explain the rules, I want to say one thing… about the Millennium Puzzle…"

"I don't know how you got your hands on the Millennium Puzzle, let alone how you managed to complete the puzzle that no one has been able to solve for 3,000 years. You seem to think it is a coincidence… But that is wrong."

"The Millennium Puzzle chose you! After waiting over 3,000 years…"

`It chose Master… why? I couldn't have asked for anyone better, anyone more deserving of my service, but I can't think that it would have taken my wishes into account…' Yami thought desperately.

Yugi gently touched his face to snap him out of it. -Are you alright?-

Yami smiled. Master could always make him feel better. -I'm fine. Don't worry about me, Master. I'm fine as long as you are.-He hugged the warmth to him.

Shadi continued. "My bloodline too… has been chosen to wield the power of the Millennium Items."

Yami bared his teeth at the mention of them. "I've heard enough. Don't you dare try to say we're some sort of allies when you attack us! Shut up and start the game! Tell me the rules!"

"Don't be afraid…Yugi."

Yami froze.

"Somewhere in your heart, you are afraid of that power. You fear the unknown power of the Millennium Puzzle."

`No, it is what I do know about it that I fear…'

"Yugi… that is the weakness of your heart. The proof lies before you!"

As Yami watched, horrified, cracks appeared in one of the statues holding Anzu up.

Then, it shattered! A rope went flying, leaving Anzu supported by only three!

-Anzu!-

--What in the world? One of the statues broke on its own?!-

"Yugi… didn't you realize the game has already started? The girl is standing on the bridge of life! It is supported by four ropes attatched to four Ushebti. The Ushebti were buried to serve the Pharaohs- their name means `those who answer.' But these Ushebti are the reflection of your heart! Yugi! When you show the weakness of your heart… the Ushebti will answer that weakness and break, one by one!"

Yami recoiled. `My fear of the puzzle… no! I will not lose and doom Mazaki-sama!'

-Don't worry, Yami!- Warm hands gripping him tight, pulling him out of the nightmare. -I won't let you go back to that! I won't! Don't be afraid, please?-

Anything for Master. He gripped him like a lifeline, the feel of the body against his own reassuring him that he was safe.

"And when the four Ushebti that reflect your heart all shatter and fall… the girl will fall as well. Now there are three!"

`That won't happen.' He would win. For Master. Master held his heart. It was protected. It would not break, in his gentle hands. And if it did, he would put it together again.

"But, Yugi… this is a game. Let me explain how you can win."

"The four ropes holding the bridge of life are strung through the ring of the Millennium Key! The Millennium Key is supported by an Ushebti that reflects my own heart! In other words,if you can break my heart's Ushebti before your heart's three Ushebti break… the Millennium Key will travel down the rope and reach the girl's hand!"

Yami looked puzzled. `Why would I want the Item near Mazaki-sama again?'

Shadi explained. "If a person who has been redecorated by the Millennium Key touches it, they return to normal! The girl's life will be saved, and I will lose!"

"Do you see? The one whose heart shows weakness loses the game!"

"Let's get on with it." Yami smirked. `It is impossible that I lose, when I fight for Master!"

-Good luck, Yami!-

"Let us begin!" Shadi announced.

Suddenly, he smirked and the roof beneath Yami began to crack. Hands reached out! Yami tried to avoid them, but they were everywhere, gripping with more than human strength. `Stay calm…'

"Yugi! This is the first stage of your heart's weighing! Answer my riddle!"

Shadi's smirking was getting annoying. Yami refused to be psyched out, even if he was aided by… don't think about it!

"What creeps on the ground and clings to the pillars? Then you will know what surrounds you!"

`Struggling won't do any good, I have to solve the riddle to win…' Yami withdrew into Master's mind.

`The pillar I cling to is my Master, and I am Yami… darkness…'

He opened his eyes. "Shadow!"

Shadi frowned. `How did he… so fast!'

"Heh heh. Somehow you managed to clear the first stage, but I was just trying you out! The next stage is even harder! Can you keep your heart strong?!"

Once again, the roof seemingly cracked. A huge hole appeared, with glowing… eyes in it.

Hands reached out and grabbed Yami. `Restrained… again…'

Before he could panic, remembering the Puzzle, he felt his sweet Master soothe him. -Master…--

-You're welcome.-

"You cannot escape, Yugi."

"I already figured that out from the last illusion." Yami muttered under his breath. He made his Master laugh! Yay!

Shadi sensed he was not managing to psyche Yami out. "The Shadow Game… Concentration or Death!"

Nine stone plates flipped up in front of Yami. "Guess what the odd tile out depicts! Here is you clue: the plates are a mirror of a monster!"

-Concentration… you make pairs!-

Yami smiled. -And mirrors reflect. Hands, eyes, ears…--

-But… is the single one the mouth or nose?-

--There are two nostrils.-

"Mouth." Yami said. And the illusion disappeared.

Shadi frowned. "Yugi… you have done well to beat my second game. But this is the final stage! This challenge will be much more difficult than the ones so far!"

-Bring it on!-

Yami smiled. -But we must not merely survive ourselves. We must attack Shadi's heart to win.-

"Let me introduce your opponent!" Shadi announced, his worry turning to anger. How could this one be defeating him a second time!

Yami was startled. "Jounouchi-sama!?"

-Jou! Did Shadi brainwash him too?-

--Don't worry, Master. We'll free him as well. But this is probably another illusion.-Yami smiled covertly.

Moving impossibly quickly, the Jou snatched the Puzzle. But Yugi's grip kept Yami with him.

--An illusion. Even enchanted, Jounouchi-sama could not have avoided my guard.-

The Jou chuckled cruelly.

"That image of your friend is created from a memory in the other Yugi's heart. The `friend' who bullied you in the past has been reborn before your eyes!"

`The Jounouchi-sama from before? Who was cruel to Master?'

"I caught a glimpse of those memories when I visited your soul. Even if you have forgotten, those painful memories will always remain in your heart… no matter how much time passes."

Yugi had started to shake. Yami comforted him, holding him in his arms and stroking him to give him sensation to hang on to, as Yugi had done for him when he was trapped in nightmare. -Sshhh Master. Jounouchi-sama will never be cruel to you again.-

Inside, he was seething. `How dare Shadi look into Master's heart! How dare he try to wound him!'

"Yugi! In the final stage, you will play the Game of Death against your friend!"

Roof tiles once again fell away, in a rough circle around the Jou and Yami.

"Let me explain the rules! You will take turns throwing the Millennium Puzzle like a die! For each throw, your opponent must move two squares in the direction the tip of the puzzle points! The first one to force his opponent into the pit wins!"

Yami growled softly. He knew what Shadi was trying to do.

"Now, Yugi! Let me see you defeat that painful memory!"

--Don't worry Master, Jounouchi-sama won't harm you.-Yami nuzzled the quivering form in his arms. -I promise.-

Yugi looked up. -You promise.-

Yami nodded. -I swear it, my Master. Watch.-

The Jou looked contemptuously at the Puzzle. "This is your greatest treasure, Yugi? Watching you makes me sick! Only a girl would care about a box!" He said, smiling cruelly.

Yami gripped his Master tighter, but… he was fine.

Yugi smiled sweetly. -I trust you, Yami.-

Yami nuzzled him desperately, his gratitude almost bowling Yugi over. Gratitude, happiness, caring, and…

Shadi looked like something had NOT gone according to plan. His Ushebti… there was a crack in it!

The Jou continued. "You want this puzzle back? They you got to beat me at this game."

Yami kept a poker face.

"Fine. I'll go first." Jou threw the puzzle. "It points over there! Yugi! Two squares toward the pit!"

Yami took them.

"It's you turn, Yugi!" The Jou held out the Puzzle.

"I won't play this game with you, Jounouchi-sama."

Shadi sneered.

"… Then you pass?! My turn again!" The Jou threw the Puzzle again. "Again toward the pit!"

Yami was now standing one step away from the depths.

"Last chance… depending on how the Puzzle lands, this time you might fall in the pit! You can't… want to pass again…"

"I pass!" Yami said firmly.

Shadi yelled, shocked. "Are you throwing the game?! Do you admit defeat?!"

"Defeat?" Yami laughed. Had the cracks in Shadi's Ushebti grown wider? "You're wrong, Shadi. It's trust. I trust Master's friend."

`Even if this is an illusion… in a Shadow Game, the symbol is the thing. An image of Jounouchi-sama would no more harm Master than he would.'

"You `trust'." Shadi laughed. "Yugi, it seems you are unable to defeat your past. You LOSE! What I was testing in this final game… was the weakness of your heart in trusting too much!"

Yami rolled his eyes.

Shadi continued vehelemently. "Trust is more easily broken than Ushebti! In the end, friendship is nothing but weak hearts clinging together for solace. True strength of heart is the ability to believe in yourself, needing no one!"

Yami's eyes widened. -Has… has he never known kindness?!-

Yugi was feeling sad for him two. Yami hugged him again.

"If you had sent your friend to the pit, you would have gained true strength… Now throw the Puzzle for the last time! End the game!" He yelled at the Jou.

Who stood still, an aloof expression on his face.

"Wha… why don't you throw the puzzle!" Shadi yelled, panicking.

The Jou turned to look at him, smiled… and disappeared. The Puzzle landed in Yami's hands.

He had won. As he knew he would. What would happen now? He looked towards Mazaki-sama, and gasped. -The ropes… they're fraying!-

-Anzu!-

Suddenly, from beneath Anzu they heard a grunt of effort, as if someone had taken the weight of the board on their own shoulders. "Anzu, I'm here! Everything is going to be all right!"

--Jounouchi-sama!-Yami smiled.

-Jou!- Yugi cheered.

Shadi watched in shock. And the cracks widened.

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Whew!

Um… Yami does not want to be Yugi's equal. If Yugi is stronger than Yami, he can defend Yami against the Puzzle. If he is an equal, then he is in danger from it and Yami being with him means Yugi might end up being imprisoned too. Not to mention Yami's freedom being only as long as the Puzzle allows. Yami's elevation of Yugi is, like a lot of things, a coping mechanism he has to deal with his fear of being tortured for the rest of eternity. There's also the gratitude dimension, of course.

And Yami… he wasn't aware enough to think or anything in the puzzle. And he doesn't even know if he was ever human… that feeds into his desire to be a thing. People are expected to be able to look out for themselves: precious possessions are guarded.

Read my fic Deny thy Father… I don't see Bakura as a real baddie… just unaware of what really happened.