Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ XX09 ❯ Section 0.3 ( Chapter 3 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Author's notes:

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh. If I did, I wouldn't make freaky Yami-Yuugi
Halloween costumes with PURPLE pants and shirts - ALL connecting!

Warning: Lack of violence (Due to PG-13 rating). Think outside the box.

***************************************

Entry 0.3


True, the city lived up to its name. There were bits of shattered cement splayed
as far as the eye could see, splinters of ruined buildings and raw metal littered or
propped in skeletal arrangements. They drooped and slanted at odd angles, some
glossy though most unnaturally dull and silent.

'This is the dead land', the buildings seemed to say in their sullen shadows.
'This is the land of the lost, the graveyard of lost souls.'

Yuugi shuddered, pulling his eyes away from his surroundings. Even with the
warm sun shining forcefully against his face, he felt so cold and alone. The glorious
beauty and affection of the sun did nothing to hide the darkness underneath.

The small boy instinctively pulled closer to Jounochi, seeking the comfort of
the taller figure as if he could draw upon the other's confidence. To Yuugi, the
desolate city was no more than a carefully planned mask: there were invisible eyes
watching him as he walked, judging his every step, and he knew there was nothing he
could do. He was exposed, and now, he could no longer hide.

Even Anzu could feel the sudden tension, her body tensing, sharp ears
pricking up nervously. The only one who didn't seem bothered was Jounochi, though
almost nothing bothered the blonde hybrid.

"J-Jounochi." Yuugi whispered in a soft, subdued voice. "How much further is
it?"

The lycanthrope scratched his head thoughtfully. "Eh." He finally confessed.
"Maybe a couple more minutes?"

Yuugi nodded, lapsing back into silence. He continued to trail the two others,
though his mind was distracted, thinking about the Game, and about _it_. The small
boy wondered what _its_ real name was, or perhaps it never had one. Was _it_ really
as evil and horrible as everyone thought? Maybe it too had a purpose, just like how
life, death, peace, and war balanced themselves out. Maybe it was meant to be there,
and the entire plight about destroying it just a vain and aimless quest…

"Did you say something?" Anzu's ears pricked at the sound, her cat-like eyes
gazing straight into Yuugi's partially closed amethyst ones.

Yuugi started, shaking his head. "N-no…" He faltered, upon sensing the
other's curious and confused glance. "Did you hear me say anything?"

Yet, the feline-human only shook her head. "Never mind. I must be hearing
things."

Jounochi grinned impishly, giving Anzu a playful shove. "Looks like you're
getting old, Anzu dear." He exclaimed, ducking a punch from the other.

Yuugi watched the pair, romping around playfully, though visibly older than
the boy himself was. He smiled, enjoying the sight, the aura of happiness surrounding
the pair even in the moment of tension. Perhaps, there never was a reason to fight the
darkness or evil, but there was a meaning to it.

The struggle would not be in vain. If he really had the power to do it, Yuugi
would prevent these smiles from disappearing. Smiles that opposed the darkness and
defied the glares of the eyes.

*************************************

"This is it."

Jounochi pointed to a distance a few meters from where he stood. There was
nothing special about that particular point, save a thin pillar jutting from the center,
though it was easily shrouded by layers of concrete and debris.

The lycanthrope ducked his head to avoid the overhang just by his head,
extending his hand to the small boy. "Come on, Yuugi. I'll help ya in."

Yuugi looked at the pillar dubiously. He didn't quite understand how he was
supposed to get in, not to mention someone of Jounochi's size. And from the looks of
it, the pillar seemed all-too solid.
"I-I don't know." He whispered, backing away involuntarily.

"Don't worry." Anzu gave the boy a reassuring smile of encouragement. "It's
fine, Yuugi. Just take Jounochi's hand."

They were currently in a confined space consisting of various slabs protruding
from the dirt, tapering into a makeshift ceiling. Clumps of moss hung upside down on
some of the platforms, and occasionally, Yuugi could hear the intermittent drip-drip
of invisible raindrops pattering onto the cement floor.

Still hesitative, Yuugi placed his smaller hand into Jounochi's palm, feeling
the other's warm, calloused fingers wrap around his own. He was immediately pulled
into the lycanthrope's grasp, so that he stood, half-lying against Jounochi's chest. It
was slightly dizzying as the wolf-human began to move, the world around Yuugi
jangling in disconcerted ups and downs.

A whoosh of chill, stagnant air hit Yuugi straight on, and suddenly, the smaller
boy was not looking at the enclosed pillar, but rather, at a strange and dank
underground tunnel.

"Scared, kiddo?" Jounochi's warm voice murmured right by Yuugi's ear in a
low, soft rumble.

Yuugi quickly shook his head, stumbling slightly as the wolf-human set him
down with a soft thud. The cement below him was moist, covered in a strange
glowing layer of algae, slippery to the touch. He looked around, jagged head bobbing
in continuous circles.
"Where are we?"
The small boy's voice echoed down the long corridor. Unlike the Shelter, this
place was clearly abandoned and unused, somehow unnaturally kept and preserved
even through all the time and damage.

Jounochi said nothing, simply gesturing for the boy to follow. There was the
swishing and rumbling of water, informing Yuugi that the dark trail beside him was
not a solid path but a stream of impenetrable liquid. The small boy felt himself
involuntarily gulp, stumbling a bit in the shrouded darkness to catch up to the other's
slightly gleaming golden frame.

"Here, hold on to my hand." As if sensing the boy's doubt, Jounochi extended
his rough hand once more for Yuugi to hold, and grasped the small hand with an
affirmative squeeze of reassurance. "I'll lead you there."

Yuugi could just slightly hear Anzu trailing behind, her feet almost silent even
inside the sensitive underground tunnel. Her eyes had lit up in the darkness, making
her appearance almost spectral, and all-too eerie. The boy shuddered - those eyes…

~~

The eyes were watching him. They were all around him, lashing, vibrating, pulsating
their intense red. And most of all, they laughed at him, enjoying his uncontrollable
fear.

They were many.

He was only one.

And he was alone….

~~

Jounochi suddenly came to a stop, halting in front of what seemed like an
ordinary, bland-looking wall. The blonde-haired lycanthrope began scrutinizing the
barrier, running an experimental hand down the damp grooves and bumps as if
looking for a secret signal. His fingers came to a stop at a point near the lower left
corner.

Through his feeble eyesight, Yuugi was only able to make out the occasional
blur of greys and whites, though he could hear a grating sound from where Jounochi
had stopped to examine the wall. The grating grew into a full fledged rumble, a
sudden noise that jarred against the silence and sent tremours of echoes fleeting down
the long, abandoned corridor.

There was another scraping sound and then, Jounochi's golden frame seemed to have
disappeared altogether into the darkness. Yuugi gave a slight start in shock, though he
was reassured by Anzu's restraining hand.

"Wait. He'll come back." She spoke, even her calm voice vibrating
against the still air.

The dark-grey tunnel seemed to grow more menacing, arched back hunching
over to close Yuugi and Anzu in. Yuugi felt himself give an involuntary shudder; the
darkness was threatening to swallow them up.

Jounochi seemed to be taking forever. Yuugi felt his heart coil tighter as every
second past, building into a strained knot of tension. And then, there was always that
consistent doubt and fear. Where did Jounochi go? What if Jounochi had forgotten
about them? Or worse, what if-?

Another nagging voice played in the boy's mind, echoing louder than even his
own thoughts.

'What if you gave up at this moment, because you lost faith in the people who
believed in you?' The voice demanded, sounding surprisingly cynical and harsh. 'If
you have no hope in those who believe in you, why should they have hope in you?'

Yuugi closed his eyes. He had to believe in the others, and most of all, begin
to believe in himself, to have at least a bit of confidence and strength. If Anzu and
Jounochi weren't scared, than why should he be? True, he was only a small, helpless
boy, unable to protect even himself, but if he didn't start trying now, he never would.

The small boy could not destroy his fears, but he could ignore them. And so,
he gazed listlessly at the darkness around him, engaging his mind in a restless cycle of
possibilities. He dared not give up the hope that the others had for him, though
he himself lacked such faith.

At long last, Jounochi's gleaming head emerged from the darkness, followed
by the rest of his body. The lycanthrope gave a slight shake before trotting towards
Yuugi and Anzu, giving them a thumbs-up.
"It's good. I've got everything arranged."

Anzu gave a sigh of relief, nudging the smaller boy to wake him from his
slight daze. Jounochi then beckoned Yuugi into a pitch-black crevice on one side of
the seemingly impenetrable wall.
"This way."

Slowly, and hesitantly, Yuugi clambered inside, feeling the icy-cold cement
slightly scratch his back, making him involuntarily shudder, though not from fear. He
vaguely wondered how Jounochi had managed to fit through such a tight opening.

Anzu was the last to squeeze inside, and now, there was no light save the
consistent glow of her blue-green eyes. Everything else had to be relied on by ear,
from the tap-tapping of Jounochi's feet, to the thin breaths all three exhaled.

The makeshift ceiling and corridors seemed to narrow out further, so that
Jounochi was forced to duck, trotting slightly on all fours. Now that Jounochi was no
longer blocking the front with his frame, Yuugi could see a slight distance in front of
him. In actuality, the correct word would not be "see", since virtually all the small boy
could take in was the darkness. He could, however, sense and approximate the
distance ahead of him simply by gazing blankly in front of him. It was more of an
intuitive feeling, and it left him slightly reassured.

There was a point of light at what had to be the very end of the narrow
passageway. At first, the signal was weak, pulsating and flickering erratically like a
dusk-moth's wing. Slowly, the light grew stronger, the bead growing into an orb, and
finally into a noticeable torch, lighting the sides around it in an eerie yellow-orange
glow. There was an oaken door on the right of the torch, firmly sealed shut, reeking of
mystery and solitude.

Jounochi came to an abrupt halt, this time at the door. The blonde-haired
lycanthrope tapped on the wooden plank exactly three times, the sound reverberating
in firm, hollow thuds. He then turned to Yuugi.
"Well, this is it kid. The rest is up to you."

The aura of reassurance created by Jounochi and Anzu suddenly disappeared.
Once again, Yuugi felt empty and alone, but utmostly, scared. He flashed his
uncertain eyes at Jounochi, though the other refused to meet his gaze.

"It's all right." Anzu spoke up. "Remember what we promised? We'll come
back for you, no matter what."

And even then, Yuugi still bit his lip in hesitation. The door looked so
uninviting. He didn't want to separate from his protective escorts that were always
there to surround and reassure him.

'If you can't stand it now, how are you supposed to continue later?' The
nagging voice demanded inside his mind.

Yuugi shook is head. Now, he was hesitant instead of reluctant. True, he was
still afraid that Anzu and Jounochi would never come back, and he would be alone,
but it was as the voice had previously said. If he couldn't trust the others, then why
should they trust him in the first place?

"No." Yuugi muttered, much to Anzu and Jounochi's confusion. When the
boy realized what he had said, he quickly rephrased himself. "It's okay. I'll go." He
bit his lip nervously. "Just-just don't forget about me, okay?"

Jounochi chuckled, putting a hand on the boy's head to ruffle his hair good-
naturedly. "How could we ever forget someone like you? You mean more to me than
you'll ever know, kid."

But Yuugi knew. He knew how much he meant, how much he was valued in
front of their eyes. With a last nod, the boy walked towards Jounochi's beckoning
frame, putting his hand on the doorknob. The golden-haired lycanthrope gave Yuugi a
final pat on the head before slowly retreating back into the darkness and away.

Now, Yuugi was by himself. Alone, afraid, but not abandoned. He knew that
they would come back.

The boy leaned his small body towards the door, slowly twisting the rusted,
metal knob.

*********************************

The door opened ever so slowly, cracking a single splinter of light through the
thick darkness. Slowly, a pair of large amethyst eyes peered from the crack into the
shadows below.

"Come in." A gruff voice proclaimed from inside the dark room. There was a
scuffle and a click before the darkness suddenly burst into dim light, revealing a thin
childish figure standing in the center. Upon realizing that the door hadn't moved since
the splinter of opening, the creature harrumphed again, flat reptilian eyes boring into
the pair of meek amethyst ones half-hidden behind the door. "I said - come in!"

Slowly, ever so painfully, the door opened. There stood, in the doorframe a
petite figure, smaller even than some of the rat-humans. He had a crown of dazzling
scarlet hair, complete with jagged gold bangs. His face was a smooth, creamy
complexion, not even a single blemish warping his fragile face.

The hybrid hissed as he took a good look at the figure in front of him.

"S-someone told me to come and see you." The figure murmured, bowing his
head so that the golden bangs covered his frightened expression. "Th-they told me
that-"

"-Yes." The other interrupted, quickly stepping behind the figure to firmly
close the door. "I remember now." He sighed, closing his eyes. Finally, the time had
come. After all those years, after all this waiting, the single precious instrument was
finally in his hands.

The small figure gulped loudly as he felt the cold reptilian eyes analyze him
like a prized possession. Yet, a part of him knew this was the truth. He was
invaluable, indisposable, and most of all, the last hope any of them had. They had all
warned him of this before escorting him here.

"So..." The reptile-human sat back on his desk, tongue flickering slightly
against his lips. "You are..." His voice trailed off, throat constricting from both
excitement and awe.

At long last, the small figure looked up. He was still scared, but there was a
strange glint of determination in his crystal-clear eyes. Slowly, ever so slowly, he
nodded, feeling a slight weight rise and fall in his chest.

"Yes. I am the last human."

***************************************

How reclusive did one have to be to be able to live in such an isolated place?

That was the first and predominant thought that occurred in Yuugi's mind as
he once again found himself treading down the bleak hallways. In actuality, the path
was no more a hallway than the lizard-human leading him a tour guide, though it was
good enough for the boy's active imagination.

The lizard-human would occasionally turn around to gaze at Yuugi with
strange, judgemental eyes. The small boy felt himself squirming under the gaze,
diverting his attention to look everywhere but at the other. It made him feel like a
porcelain doll: valuable, and unmistakably fragile.

Yuugi's gaze darted quickly to the lizard human's walking figure. The hybrid
had a torch in one hand that illuminated the darkness within a three-metre radius. The
small boy sneezed a few times from the cold, each noise echoing harshly off the
opaque walls.

The lizard-human's eyes softened slightly. "Don't worry." He reassured, in his
sibilant, accented voice. "It's not much longer."

"W-why does he live here alone?" Yuugi asked, sniffling slightly and wiping
his nose with a scratchy sleeve.

"You mean, Seto?" The lizard-hybrid acknowledged Yuugi's nod. "He's been
living here since who-knows-when, even before my grandsires were born."

Yuugi's eyes widened at that statement. "Yes, but why alone?"

Here, the lizard-human snorted. "I guess you could say that Seto Kaiba is like
you. The last of his kind. He doesn't want others to know of his existence, and so, he
hides from it."

Yuugi mouthed a silent 'oh', though he said nothing past the comment.
Briefly, he wondered what it would be like if he just gave up and spent the remainder
of his life isolated, like Seto did. Yet, this Seto was willing to help Yuugi. Maybe this
was the cyber-droid's purpose, just like how Yuugi's final purpose was to overcome
_it_.

'But what are you going to do after that?' A voice nagged, rather
pessimistically in his mind. 'After this is done, do you still have a life or a reason to
exist?'

The small boy shook his head to clear such thoughts. Now was the time to
focus on the present, not to get absorbed in a possibility of the clouded future.

Yuugi was suddenly interrupted from his thoughts by a series of loud raps.
The lizard-human had his snout pressed slightly against the cement, tapping the wall
with his blunt claws.

A concrete slab protruded from the wall, revealing an open passage. There was
nothing behind the door but darkness.

Nodding a bit in satisfaction, the lizard-human turned around to face Yuugi
once more. "This is where I leave." He bowed slightly, in polite apology. "Even I am
not allowed past this door."

Yuugi's eyes widened. "You've never met Seto either?" He asked, half-
incredulous. A part of him felt slightly used, being consistently shipped from one
person to the next.

"Consider it a privilege I will never have, then." The lizard-human chuckled.
With no more than that, he turned to leave, taking the torch and warm glow of the
light with him, and leaving the small boy in the darkness.

Yuugi wanted to call back the lizard-human and exclaim his uncertainty.
He stopped, reasoning that the hybrid had left him was because he was safe. Yuugi was
convinced that the lizard-human wouldn't have let even a hair on the boy's head get harmed.

Yet, that did not convince the boy that the darkness that lay behind the door
was safe. He stumbled slightly in the murky-grey gloom around him before placing
his hand on the concrete doorframe. Slowly, inch-by-inch, he slid through the
doorway, feeling ridiculously exposed. The hairs on the back of his neck tingled in
ominous foreboding, making him tremble slightly.

"H-hello?" Yuugi whispered, though this time, his voice did not echo, but
rather, died seconds after. "Is anyone there?"

A muffled rustle responded in reply, breaking into a series of mechanical
clicks. There was a louder click and suddenly, a pool of brilliant, artificial light broke
the darkness.

Yuugi squinted slightly, bringing an involuntary hand to his eyes. Everything
around him began to adjust, forming discernable pieces of furniture or endless piles of
metal. Wires, even more thickly distributed than those in Jounochi's room, scattered
across the entire area like thick spider webs, connecting to various pieces of humming
machinery.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

Yuugi started at the sudden sound. It was a firm voice, grating in
tone. The small boy immediately pivoted his head, trying to locate the source.

"Of course." There was a rather derisive snort. "Pathetic. You humans are
always the same. Relying so much on your own judgement."

The small boy began involuntarily backing away from the voice, hand edging
towards the doorframe. "W-what do you mean?" He asked, wavering in confusion and
a slight fear.

"Perfection, that's what I mean." The voice grew in frustration, almost ranting.
"When you humans decided to create your wonderful masterpieces, you abandoned
all sense of self-righteousness for pride. You corrupted your judgement with power
and hunger, always seeking to advance yourself while destroying those who disagreed
with you."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Yuugi shot back. The small boy
was slightly angry now, not understanding why this voice, this Seto, continued
blaming him for something he did not do. "Maybe I _am_ a human, but that doesn't
mean that I am exactly like the rest of them! You should not make a judgement on an
individual based on the majority of its kind!"

A pause. "Smart words." The voice quipped tartly. "But you might speak only
lies. I trust no one."

"I'm not asking for your trust." Yuugi finally replied, somewhat exasperated
by the hostile tone. "I'm not asking for anything. I was _sent_ here by others, and had
hoped you would help." The boy glared defiantly at the space around him,
challenging the voice, heart pounding weakly. They had said that Seto was the key to
finding about the Game. If this Seto abandoned him…

"Fine. The exit is right behind you."

Yuugi could have sworn that the voice sounded smug. He hesitated, knees
buckling weakly in refusal, before slowly turning away and facing the doorframe in
grim acceptance. The darkness outside looked dank and uninviting, a strange twist
from before.

"Or, you can accept my little challenge."

Yuugi was unsure whether his heart leapt or plummeted at the last statement.
His mind raced. A challenge? What did that mean? What was he supposed to do?
Uncertainty began to cloud his mind.

Yet then again, what did he have to lose?

"What challenge?" The small boy's voice sounded meek and timid,
diminished even by the ever-consistent humming of machinery. "What do you want?"

The voice began to chuckle, a low rumble that turned into full-fledged
sardonic laughter. "What do _I_ want?" It asked, slightly unbelieving. "What do
_you_ want?"

Yuugi was taken aback. What did he want? Was it to defeat _it_ once and for
all, and bring a peace to this scantiful community he did not belong to? Or was it to
fulfill his purpose of existing? Or maybe… it was to create a false illusion of
worthiness.

The small boy opened his mouth. His mind raced over the billions of wants,
the desire to be recognized, accepted, understood, and for once, to belong. Even his
mind was alien to him, leaving him in a fog of confusion and defeat.
"I want…" He began, before closing his mouth, frowning slightly. "Why
would you care?"

And then, the brilliant light burst into darkness, the machinery screeching into
a sudden silence.

***********************************

The first thing that occurred to Yuugi was the absence of all sensations. He
couldn't see, he couldn't hear, and, he realized with a jolting shock, he couldn't move
or sense anything. It was as if he was completely in a state of disembodiment, mind
separated from all his senses and even his own body.

Struggling proved worthless. In the darkness created by his mind, the
struggling was only a futile behaviour to ease his frustration. He could do nothing!
How was he to do anything, when he could not receive any information save only
those stored in his mind? How could he live with only memories?

No. He wouldn't let himself panic. He knew he was being tested. Even as his
mind began to doubt even himself, he knew he at least had a firm anchor to grasp on.

Yuugi was alive. In a sense. He was aware, and he was conscious. He had to
stop relying on his environment, and instead, attune his senses to his mind. In this
state of complete isolation, Yuugi could only turn to himself for guidance.

:Clever boy. Figuring out things yourself:

Yuugi ignored the voice. Now was the time to concentrate on creating the
senses. If his mind was his only resource, then he would use it. He would _imagine_ a
reality for himself.

Slowly, the world of nothingness began to fabricate, to meld into visions
created by memories and imagination. There was a flat, planar ground stretched
beneath him as far as the eye could envision. Above him loomed an impassive sky-
blue ceiling, and jutting from every angle of the visualized walls were piles upon piles
of stairs. They jutted in awkward positions, some upside-down, some sideways, and
some even spiralling in a perpetual, unending arc. There were stairs that lead to doors,
stairs that lead to more stairs, and even stairs that ended the moment it was created.

In reality, it would be an impossible vision, but this was a realm created by
Yuugi's mind, where anything it imagined was possible.

Yuugi convinced himself of his own body and feelings. He gave himself the
form he had always seen himself as: a petit, small boy, with slightly unruly jagged
hair and large, violet eyes. Even his clothing was memorized and reiterated to
perfection, the Puzzle still dangling firmly at chest-level.

And now, with his reality constructed around him, with the images flashing so
vibrantly, each one projected firmly by his mind, did he begin realize the truth.

This was a virtual reality. This was a world within his own world, sparked
only by human imagination.

This was the Game.

Yuugi now turned to face Seto. He did not know what the other truly looked
like, but he began to envision an image in his mind. It was an impulsive image
assembled by assumptions, but it would do as an icon for the invisible voice always
surrounding him.

A tall figure stood several meters away from Yuugi, twice the height of the
small boy himself. This figure appeared human, from the precise brown hair to the
serious steel-blue eyes. And then, there was the feeling of awe, of power and
dominance that the figure created.

Seto Kaiba smiled, moving his hands and gazing at his created figure with a
mixed gaze of approval. Though Yuugi had envisioned the body, he was by no means
in charge of the being.

"I see. Of course you need something to recognize me by." He chuckled,
folding his arms over his chest, long navy jacket rustling slightly. "Interesting…
choice."

Yuugi, however, was concerned in other matters. For some reason, this
imaginary world tugged at his heart, filling him with an instinct for longing. He
hastily tried to ignore the foreign emotion. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Why did you choose to be who you are?" Seto retorted, eyes unchanging. "I
am only here to watch you."

"Watch _what_?" Yuugi asked, exasperated. "What is there to watch?" He
looked around, at his makeshift world. "This is just a dream-world; a fantasy world I
have created. I don't see what's so wonderful about this, or even my creating this."
The small boy sighed again, slightly impatient. "Can I return to the normal world
now?"

"Maybe." The other's response was, in the least, demure. "Only if you answer
my question."

However, Yuugi's mind was still young and innocent, and he suspected
nothing. "Go ahead." It was the invitation to an unexpected challenge.

Seto smirked, the smile plastered wryly on his face, eyes still unchanging, not
even flickering the slightest in emotion. "Tell me. What is your name?"

Yuugi immediately opened his mouth to respond. "My name is-" He was cut
off by his own doubt. No. His name couldn't be Yuugi. It was only a pet name created
by Jounochi and Anzu.

A bit of despair crept into his consciousness, the vision around him darkening
a touch in correspondence. The sky-blue ceiling seemed to have shifted to a slight
murky-grey.

How should he know his name, when his memories were so firmly
barricaded? He could not remember any past events, and the few memories he
retrained were only shallow remarks, his first impression of a completely different
society.

Yuugi bowed his head in shame and embarrassment, a slight flush developing
against his fair skin. "I-I don't remember."

"Yes." Came Seto Kaiba's sarcastic remark. "Of course you don't. Naturally,
you don't."

Anger and resentment flashed in Yuugi's mind. He briefly lost control of his
reality, everything plummeting once again into nothingness before blurring and
reconstructing itself into its previous picture. Was it fair to ask someone something
they had no control over? He couldn't remember his name because he forgotten.

And then, perhaps Seto had expected him to bluff.
"My name," Yuugi stated, drawing as much posture as he could with his petit
frame, "Is Yuugi."

The other seemed unamused. "A name. I don't want any name, I want your
_true_ name."

There was no real answer to this question. Any name that Yuugi offered would
immediately be rejected, because no name could ever hold the title of being "true" or
"pure" in the other's eyes.

It was a perfect, perpetual hole in logic.

"Your true name isn't Seto." Yuugi finally stated bluntly, trying to confirm the
conclusions in his spinning mind.

Seto smiled. "Perhaps."

"And I am not Yuugi." The small boy already knew that. He furrowed his
brows, deep in thought. "But I am real, aren't I?"

"Perhaps." Another enigmatic reply.

Time seemed to lapse on forever. Yuugi could feel and literally see himself,
deep in thought, trying to ponder over the truth of the statement. What was Seto trying
to prove?

A strange, impulsive feeling began collecting in his consciousness. It burned
at the back of his mind, demanding to be released, to fly among this make-believe
world and correct his confusion. This feeling had taken a semi-solid form, a shadowy
presence barely restrained by glittering bars of mental will. Yet, Yuugi was afraid of
this world, afraid of this feeling, and he refused to accept it.

'You do not exist in this world' The shadow behind the cage whispered, voice
tempting. 'You do not belong here. Set me free and I shall help you fly.'

Yuugi felt his resolve dwindling. The presence immediately seized the
moment, breaking apart his determination with a single wrench, twisting his mind
under its influence.

It was as if he had plunged into a pool of limitless awareness. He could _see_
things he had once been oblivious to, the sensations twisting his mind and warping his
thoughts. And the world around him began to shift once more.

The spindly, delicate strands of staircases had elonganated and expanded,
separating from their labyrinth to meld into a shapeless mass at certain, distinct
points. They stretched out in an impressive length, a gigantic, nameless structure. But
most of all, their new shape mirrored the ornament hanging around his neck.

"I have solved your riddle." He suddenly exclaimed, eyes not wide and
uncertain but suddenly serious and determined. Now, he understood. Now, he was in
control. "I am nameless. I do not exist in reality." He suddenly stood straight, bearing
his form tall and proud, slim figure poised and regal.

He was not Yuugi anymore. In this Game, in this reality, Yuugi, the small,
innocent, helpless boy, did not exist. True, the Game might be just an imagination, a
limitless replica of the real world. Yet, the power of the Game lay in its ability to
warp reality.

The Game had changed him.

"My Game name is Yu-gi-oh."

************************************

Seto Kaiba curved his mouth into a half-grin. A livid fire began to burn inside
his once-dull sapphire-blue eyes, dancing with excitement and impatience.

This was the Dark face of the boy, Yuugi. This was the face the Game had
created, the personality the Game constructed, manifesting a bit of itself into the boy.

And this newly created being, this _other_ of Yuugi, was the result.

"Game King." Seto dared his voice to mock the other. "I challenge you to a
Duel."

The other responded with a firm and confident glare, followed by a curt nod of
approval.

***********************************