Chapter 5: - Burning Up
"Snap!" The little girl giggled as she collected the pile of cards from the centre of the tray, causing Yugi to give her an amused smile before she glanced at the door, "You alright, Yugi-Sempai?" The little girl asked, sounding worried as she put down the first card of the new round.
"I'm ok Eiko-Chan." Yugi replied, turning back to the game, wincing slightly when she shifted her wrist a little too quickly as she turned her card over and put it on the pile, "I'm just waiting for my friends."
Daisuki Eiko, a small eleven year old girl with long black hair and green eyes who'd come into the hospital with a broken leg during the middle of last week, nodded as she turned her card over, gaining a serious look that was belied by the amusement in her eyes, "You're off home today, aren't you?"
Yugi nodded, a little nervous about it. Her friends had been in to see her several times over the last couple of weeks but she always felt ashamed when she spoke to them, embarrassed because not only had Hirutani kissed her, the memory of which made her skin crawl, but both Jonouchi and Honda had put themselves in harm's way to help her.
She'd wanted them to be able to rely on her, not have to bail her out.
It didn't help her embarrassment that Jonouchi had been singing her praises since he'd rescued her from Hirutani and his thugs and she couldn't remember what had happened.
She'd been suffering from blackouts for a while. She'd have one whenever she was afraid, and by the time she came around whatever it was that had been scaring her was generally gone. She'd had one that night. No, she'd had a few, she didn't remember coming around after hitting her head on the table, she'd definitely had a blackout when she'd tried to escape from Hirutani and his thugs on the way to the warehouse and she'd had another when Hirutani had kissed her.
She was frightened of what her friends would say if they knew, as they would have to do soon if Jonouchi kept pushing it, her friend unconvinced that the stress of the night had caused her to forget what had happened. Playing games with Eiko had helped her forget about that until today.
The small girl, who was in here because she couldn't get around her house with a broken leg reminded Yugi uncomfortably of herself pre-Puzzle. She had only had her grandmother in to visit her and had spent almost all of her time playing games on her handheld until she'd asked Yugi about the rubix cube she'd been trying to do.
Normally she wouldn't have had any trouble with it, but with her wrists the way they had been a week ago it had been about all she could do to get it to turn four or five times in a row. The nurses had threatened to confiscate it at one point but she'd given it to Eiko, who had taken to trying to complete it when she thought Yugi was asleep or the nurses had ordered Yugi back to bed.
Yugi wasn't completely healed up by any stretch of the imagination – according to the Doctors it would be anything between three weeks (which was looking highly unlikely) and three years (and she really hoped it wasn't that long, she'd go crazy if it was) before her wrists stopped playing up, depending on if she tried to do too much with them and if she used the exercises that the physiotherapist had shown her.
However most of the bruising had gone down, though it was still a little tender, she could put weight on her injured leg again and she'd pretty much shaken off the last of the side effects from the stun guns, meaning that the only real problems she had were her wrists, which apparently weren't meant to take the weight of a person as they had when her legs had given out under her and there wasn't much more that the hospital could do for them now other then get her to come back in regularly for physiotherapy.
Shame crossed Yugi's mind again as she thought about how much they were going to tighten their belts just to pay for her hospital treatment, yet alone the continued visits...
"Yugi-Sempai?" Eiko asked, tilting her head, curious when Yugi didn't continue the game.
"Sorry, Eiko-Chan." Yugi apologised, sighing as she flipped her card and added it to the pile. She was trying to let her friend win, but even so that was no excuse for zoning out on her, "I'm just tired."
She was also a very bad liar however Eiko didn't press it, so glad to have someone who was willing to play games with her that she didn't want to risk scaring them off, especially when Yugi had promised to come and visit.
"Yugi! Daisuki-Chan!"
The pair of girls jumped a mile when their names were called and turned their heads in time to see Jonouchi being told off by the nurse as Anzu and Honda slipped into the room.
"Ready to go, Yugi?" Anzu asked, concern for her friend obvious as her eyes ran over the bed that Yugi should have been in and Honda picked up the bag that rested on it.
"Nearly." Yugi nodded, quickly grabbing a piece of paper off of the bedside table and scribbling her number onto it for Eiko. "If you want to talk, call me, ok? If I miss your call, I'll ring back as soon as possible." She said as she held it out for the girl, who nodded as she took it, looking delighted.
"How are you today, Daisuki-Chan?" Anzu asked as Yugi, reluctantly, peeled herself away from the game and stood up, adjusting her trousers before walking over to her bed.
"I'm alright, thank you Mazaki-Sempai." Eiko nodded, having been introduced to Yugi's friends a week ago but having not made friends with them as she had Yugi. The eleven year old's eyes followed Yugi across the room as Honda acted horrendously embarrassed to be looking through the drawers to make sure Yugi hadn't left anything behind. "Mazaki-Sempai? Is Yugi alright?"
Anzu frowned at her friend for a moment, before turning to Eiko, "What do you mean?"
Eiko hesitated momentarily before she turned back to Anzu. "She has these... moments," Eiko said slowly, "Where she doesn't act very Yugi like. I mean maybe it's because I don't know her very well, but... It's almost like she's someone else but never for very long and normally only when it's really late or really early and she always seems confused if I ask her about it afterwards..."
Anzu considered Eiko's words. She'd noticed Yugi withdrawing from the group over the last couple of weeks too, she'd assumed that it was because of the kidnapping, but maybe there was something more to this than she'd thought...
"I'll keep an eye on her, okay Daisuki-Chan?" Anzu half asked, half told the girl, "You focus on getting better."
Eiko nodded, looking relieved, and there was a round of goodbyes and the four of them left, Jonouchi looking rather sheepish until he was out of the hospital, at which point he regained some of his former bounce as he half shepherded them down the road.
"School's been boring without you." Jonouchi informed Yugi as he seized her bag from Honda and practically skipped down the road, much happier now that his friend was no longer in the tender care of the local nurses, "So since I just got paid, I thought we'd celebrate your freedom. How does Burger World sound?"
Anzu frowned momentarily when Jonouchi mentioned Burger World. He had a job permit, mostly because he couldn't have afforded schooling otherwise, but Anzu hadn't been able to get one and while Yugi had done her best to find Anzu a cheap but good quality dance school, the girl was under the impression that Anzu's parents were paying for it. Yugi had no clue that Anzu was working at the Burger World to raise the fees, as well as a little extra, even though she wasn't supposed to.
"I don't know I heard people who eat there get ill and Yugi..."
"Ah lighten up Anzu." Jonouchi pretty much discarded Anzu's attempt to direct them somewhere else, "I've eaten there plenty of times. Besides, Yuge's only just gotten out of hospital, she should get some fresh air."
"I'll be ok." Yugi promised Anzu with a small smile, trying not to feel like Anzu thought she was made of glass or something, "It's not my feet that are sore, after all."
Yugi missed Jonouchi's wince at that statement but Anzu didn't and she gave the teen a reassuring look. She had already given Jonouchi a piece of her mind about the way he had treated Yugi and had been surprised when the blonde had agreed with everything she'd said and called himself a few names to boot.
That, combined that with the incredibly humble apology that Jonouchi had made to Yugi in front of herself, Daisuki-Chan, a couple of other patients and several nurses, had changed Anzu's mind about the teenager, before giving Yugi a present as an apology. A copy of the new Tomb Raider game which was tucked into Yugi's bag ready to be played when they got back to the shop...
That didn't however mean that she wanted Jonouchi anywhere near her place of work. She couldn't see a reason not to go unless she told them about the job, however, and she just knew that they'd either make fun of her... or worse, Yugi would want to work there too in order to help her raise the cash. Not that she wouldn't appreciate the thought but she wanted to do it by herself.
It didn't take them long to reach the burger place and while the woman on the door nodded to her as she ushered them to a table, Anzu was able to breathe a sigh of relief when their order was taken without anyone bringing up the fact her shift wasn't starting for another couple of hours and left her friends discussing video games as she went to use the toilets.
"I wouldn't have taken you for a Tomb Raider fan," Jonouchi brought up as Anzu left the table, watching the service counter hungrily as he did so, "I dunno, it just doesn't seem your sort of game."
His voice startled Yugi out of whatever thoughts had been pulling her attention to the street outside and she blinked at him, confused as to where that conversation starter had come from, before smiling at him, "Grandpa brought me the first one as a present because my grades had started picking up. I'm not too fond of the action side of it, but the exploring and the puzzle solving's fun. I think it's a throwback to when he used to go on archaeology trips. Not that what he did and what Lara does is the same though... what?" She asked as Jonouchi burst into laughter.
"I'm sorry but Gramps? Going all Lara Croft?" Jonouchi asked as he calmed down, having spent a considerable amount of time at the shop while Yugi had been in hospital doing all the odd jobs that she normally did, "I can't imagine it."
"He wasn't always this..." Yugi started defensively and then trailed off, looking embarrassed.
"You were going to say old, weren't you Yuge?" Jonouchi teased, only to get himself shoved by Honda, the act earning Honda a grateful smile from Yugi even as she warned the pair that they might get thrown out of the joint if the pair of them started play fighting here.
Before Jonouchi could protest that the pair of them had never gotten thrown out of anywhere before, mostly by dint of behaving in the hospital, movement by the door caught his eye and he got to his feet as Anzu, who had been passing on her way back to their table was grabbed by some gun toting lunatic in a prison jumpsuit and the number 777 tattooed across his forehead.
"AWIGHT! ANYONE MAKES A SOUND AND THIS GIRL DIES!" The man, whose hand was over Anzu's mouth and whose gun was pressed to her temple, announced to the entire eatery as someone screamed.
"It's that escaped convict!"
"Shuddap!" The convict ordered, as Jonouchi and Honda moved to their feet, needing to do something to help but unsure what, while Yugi, frozen in horror, watched the scene in front of her. "As soon as my belly's filled, I'll leave, but until then you're staying with me." He informed Anzu, who tried to say something, only to have the gun pressed harder against her skin, causing her to shake with fear as he looked around and snatched the yellow ribbon off of the head of the girl who had been seating customers.
"Blindfold yourself with this." He ordered, as, with trembling hands, Anzu took it from him, "I hear humans get so terrified when they can't see that they can't make a sound. They do the same to prisoners right before they execute them." He chuckled, a low sinister sound, "I should know, I'm on Death Row."
"Bastard." Jonouchi muttered as Anzu followed the convict's instructions.
The convict looked around and smirked as he spotted the table that was empty except for Yugi and made his way down, dragging Anzu with him and parting the crowds with a look. Even Jonouchi and Honda moved aside, though Jonouchi grabbed Yugi's arm and pulled Yugi behind him before he did so, shielding her with his larger mass, unwilling to risk getting Anzu shot.
"Now I just need someone to take my order and I'm set," The convict said as he pushed Anzu into the seat that had been opposite Yugi and smirked as he looked around, enjoying the looks of anger and fear that were directed his way. He considered the crowd carefully, before gesturing towards Jonouchi, "Oi. Brat."
Jonouchi stepped forward but the convict pointed his gun at the huge blonde, "Not you, the boy you're protecting. The wimpy one."
Jonouchi scowled but let go of Yugi's arm, allowing her to step around him and face the convict, shaking slightly with fear for her friend.
"You can take my orders." The convict smirked, his gun now aimed at Yugi, "Everyone else down on the floor."
"But..." Someone spoke up, only for the convict to put a bullet in the ceiling, causing everyone to shut up and drop to the floor.
"Now, kid, I want booze and cigarettes, Lucky Sevens, the perfect brand for a guy like me!" He told Yugi, who nodded and darted off, returning with a rather heavy tray with a full bottle of vodka, a packet of Lucky Sevens and a lighter, that made Yugi hiss slightly as her wrists ached.
Before she could get back to the table Anzu shot to her feet. "Yugi? It's you isn't it?" Anzu asked, her voice trembling, "Stay back Yugi! It's too dangerous!"
"Shut your mouth!" The convict was on his feet in a heartbeat and he slapped Anzu so hard that she went crashing into the table before bouncing off and slamming into the seat.
"Anzu!" Jonouchi thought he saw the Puzzle glow briefly when Yugi cried out, though he couldn't see very well from where he was knelt and saw her posture change, but he didn't know what she had planned.
"Bring that tray over here! Now!" The convict demanded of her, pointing his gun at her friend as he did so.
Furious ruby red eyes watched him carefully as she passed her friends and walked over to where he was sat, putting the tray down and emptying the contents onto the table before sitting opposite him.
"Who said that you could sit down?" The convict growled, aiming at her instead in his fury.
She had no patience for his attitude. No one laid a hand on her friends. He would pay for what he'd done, there was no mistake about that.
"I've brought you what you asked for." She told him, her tone full of confidence and a smirk on her face, willing the criminal to fall straight into her trap, "I thought I'd help you pass the time. Let's play a game."
The criminal was stunned. Now the brat was talking, he understood that he was actually a she and that she wasn't the push over that he'd assumed she was.
Anzu on the other hand was confused. This woman sounded like Yugi, but her voice was slightly deeper and her tone and inflection was all different. Whoever this woman was, she was insane to talk to someone with a gun like she was.
"A game, eh?" The convict asked finally, his anger turning to amusement, "Could be interesting." He gestured for her to continue as he put a cigarette in his mouth and picked up the bottle of Russian vodka.
"The game has only one rule, and the loser will die." She continued in 'matter of fact' tone that was completely unconcerned as she kicked her bag across the corridor to the blonde that had been protecting her, intriguing the convict even further.
"Then let's hear it." He smirked as he started pouring, more than willing to blow this girl away the moment that they'd played her foolish game.
"As long as we're sat opposite each other we may each only move one of our ten fingers, any one we chose, but once the game starts we can't change it."
"Well that's simple." The convict chuckled, "I'll pick my index finger. It's the only one I'll need to blow you away."
"Ok." She nodded in response, "Then I pick my thumb. Once the game starts we're free to do anything we like. You could even pull the trigger if you like."
At another time, in another situation, he could like this chick, the convict decided as she picked up the lighter, it was a shame he was going to have to blow her away.
"Ready?" She asked, "Game Start."
"And in an instant it's game over!" The convict crowed, pausing when she flicked open the lid of the lighter. He'd forgotten that he needed a light. "Tch, forgot to ask for a lighter." He said with a snort, "Fine, the last thing you can do with that thumb is light my cigarette, then I'll kill you."
Calmly, casually, she reached across the table and lit the cigarette, seeming unconcerned about the danger, then, in a move that started the convict she dropped the still lit lighter onto the hand the convict was using to hold the gun.
"You can keep the lighter." She told him as she sat back, "Take it with you to hell."
It was only then that he noticed that he was still pouring the Russian vodka, which was 120 proof, 90% alcohol and that it was slowly running off of the table and into his lap. What was worse was that if he fired his gun the lighter would fall and set him on fire.
"But... my luck..."
"Come on Anzu." The girl grabbed the wrist of the blindfolded teen and the pair ran for it as the lit cigarette fell onto the vodka drenched table and the convict burst into flames, screaming in agony.
When she released Anzu's wrist, rubbing her own aching one, Anzu reached up and untied the blindfold, trying not to listen to the continuing screams of the convict, as she did so, only to be shocked to find Yugi in front of her.
It had been Yugi who had challenged the convict to such a dangerous game? That wasn't possible... was it?
"Y...Yugi?"
"Anzu!" Bright amethyst eyes practically danced as Yugi gave her a delighted smile, which died down when her eyes rested on the inferno that had been the convict, whose screams had died down to whimpers though the flames were still burning hot and bright. "I'm so glad you're safe."
"Yugi, Anzu." Jonouchi and Honda moved to their sides, "You're both ok?"
"I'm fine." Anzu nodded, still shaking slightly, "But who was it that saved me?" She asked, looking around.
"I don't know. She's gone now." Jonouchi replied, knowing full damn well that the girl that he'd seen challenge the convict wasn't the Yugi that was in front of him now. Before he could ask any questions the police had swooped on them and hauled Yugi and Anzu off to get statements.
The police took Anzu home in a car once they were done with the questioning and, no longer in the mood for video games, Honda took off the first chance he could, leaving Yugi and Jonouchi to walk back to the shop.
Jonouchi considered the girl walking with him carefully, unsure how to broach the subject of what had happened today. He knew what he'd seen and if it had been anyone else that he'd seen set someone on fire, he'd have probably been running for the hills right about now.
But this was Yugi and he wanted to know what the hell was going on, because the Yugi he knew wasn't willing to hurt anyone, yet alone set them on fire...
"Yugi?" He asked as he stopped walking, not using her nickname for once, wondering if here too she would deny knowing what had happened, just as she had claimed to have no idea what had happened on the roof with the thugs. She turned to look at him, a concerned look on her face. "What the hell happened today?"
"What do you...?" She trailed off when she saw the look Jonouchi was giving her and looked at the floor and started walking again. Jonouchi grabbed her wrist, realised his mistake when she hissed in pain, and transferred his grip to her lower arm, wheeling her around to face him.
"I'm talking about the game you played with the convict." Jonouchi growled at her.
"I didn't..." Yugi protested, shaking her head, scared, having been afraid that she'd done something during her blackout.
"I know what I saw Yugi." Jonouchi growled, "You got him to set himself on fire!"
"I couldn't... I wouldn't..." Yugi yelped, shocked, shaking her head so hard Jonouchi was half convinced it would fall off, trying to back away from him but unable to because of his grip on her arm, "I didn't..." Her denials were being to sound less like denials and more like she was trying to convince herself, "Jou?"
"Yes, Yuge?" Jonouchi asked, feeling guilty when he heard the way Yugi's voice wavered and saw how frightened she was.
"I don't remember what happened after he smacked Anzu... I didn't..." She froze at look that Jonouchi was giving her, "I don't remember playing any game, Jou, I..." She looked away, shaking for a moment, then...
"You?" She asked, tired ruby eyes considering him, confusion obvious. "You're the one scaring her?
"You're not Yugi, are you?" Jonouchi demanded, refusing to let go of her but wary. This was, after all, the...thing... who had set the convict on fire and, he assumed, taken down the six goons on the roof. "Who are you? More importantly what are you and what the hell are you doing inside my friend's body?"
"Jonouchi..." Hesitation crossed her features.
"I want answers and I want them now." Jonouchi didn't back down, "Especially considering you killed someone today and you did it while in my friend's body."
"He would have killed both of us. Me, and Anzu." There was no shame at all in her voice, in fact she looked proud of what she'd done as she tried to shake off Jonouchi's grip only for it to tighten, "I did it to save both our lives." She growled at him.
Jonouchi scowled slightly at the casual way that Not-Yugi described Yugi's life as her own. Red eyes … demon eyes. Could the thing possessing Yugi be some sort of Yokai? A Kitsune perhaps, they were rumoured to possess people... "You didn't answer my question, who and what are you?"
"If I could tell you I would, but I don't know who I am!" Not-Yugi snapped back, "I know what I was! I was human, but I've been trapped inside the Puzzle for so long I don't remember anything else! The only name I remember using belongs to the girl whose vessel I share!"
"You're not sharing it, you're taking it without her permission!" Jonouchi snarled at her. "And you're leaving her with huge gaps in her memory!"
"Do you think I like the fact I can't talk to her!" Not-Yugi erupted, the Puzzle reacting to her anger by glowing brightly, causing Jonouchi to let go and back off about a foot, "That my actions scare her when all I'm trying to do is protect her? She saved me from thousands of years of darkness and pain and I can't even thank her properly!" She realised that Jonouchi had backed off and took a deep breath, centring herself, and the glow from the Puzzle died down.
"Thousands?" Jonouchi asked slowly, wondering if he'd heard that right. Her outburst had been all too real for him to suspect that she was playing for sympathy, which made him wonder if she'd been telling the truth about not knowing her own name.
"I remember the desert sands. I remember stone buildings and I remember symbols that could be used as letters. That's all that I know about my past. When She first completed the Puzzle I dealt with that dog Ushio, and then tried to find something, anything that might help me remember and the only thing that looked even vaguely like anything I remember is something called Hieroglyphs that I found in one of Her Grandfather's books."
"Hieroglyphs?" Jonouchi asked, trying to remember what was predominantly on Mutou-Sensei's shelves and trying not to connect the dots between Ushio's insanity and her 'dealing' with him, "Egyptian Hieroglyphs?"
Not-Yugi nodded.
"You're Ancient Egyptian?" Jonouchi's question was less a question and more a thought process, "It makes sense. You were sealed in the Puzzle and Gramps said it's Egyptian..." Jonouchi paused and realised he was getting distracted, "I'm still angry at you. I don't know how it worked in your time, but in ours you can't just dish out whatever 'justice' you feel is necessary, not while in Yugi's body. If someone sees you, Yugi's the one whole will be in trouble. You can't keep risking her safety like that!"
"You would." Not-Yugi, and he needed to come with a name for her if she didn't know her own, pointed out, "You did. You can't tell me you didn't enjoy taking down Hirutani for what he did to Us." She indicated the body she was in.
"Us?" Jonouchi demanded.
"It turns out there's only so much pain we can shield from each other." She sighed, "I tried to protect her from it, but..." She shuddered slightly, the memory of Yugi's agonised screams echoing around her head.
"If you could blast them like that," Jonouchi said, referencing the blast that sent Hirutani flying, "Why didn't you do it sooner?"
"I tried when they were taking us to that warehouse, but the state of the body doesn't change when someone else takes control and She'd been strangled, beaten up and had her head slammed against a wall hard, which meant I took control of a nauseous, dizzy, bruised body." Jonouchi paled at this reminder of the injuries she'd sustained, "And once we were tied up it was better to take as much of the pain as I could, rather than prove too much of a nuance to hold prisoner and..."
Jonouchi made an understanding noise, wondering why it sounded like she spoke from experience when she had had no experience before that night, "Then why did you...?"
"You were there and I knew you'd free us." Not-Yugi said, with a small smile in his direction, then she shrugged, "That and even if the first kiss wasn't such a big thing in your culture, no one lays a hand on Us without Our permission."
Jonouchi considered the woman who was possessing his friend. She claimed not to know who she was, but she didn't act uncertain or afraid. In fact she gave orders, talked and goaded people into doing things her way and looked after those important to her. She was, by every definition that he understood, acting like a leader.
But if she was right she was Ancient Egyptian and from what very little he knew about them he knew that she couldn't have been a leader, not unless she'd pretended to be a guy. He'd have to ask Gramps about it, the question was how.
"Listen." She told him, "If I could tell Her who I am and why I'm doing what I'm doing, I would. I don't want to scare her but she needs protection and I owe her everything, so I'm going to keep defending her. You understand that right?"
Jonouchi nodded, understanding. "As long as you understand that I'll be trailing you from now on. I'm not going to let you get Yuge into trouble."
She chuckled, nodding her understanding, "I wouldn't expect anything else from Her friend and bodyguard." She paused, considering him a moment longer, then spoke again, "What are you going to tell Her?"
"I don't know." He admitted, "It's not like I can tell her she has an Ancient Egyptian body snatcher." He sighed, "I'll have to come up with something."
"Tell Her this." She said, "Her friends are in no danger from her blackouts."
"Is that a promise?" Jonouchi asked, wondering how open and honest the woman was being with him.
"If I hurt Her or any of her friends, I will smash the Puzzle myself."
Jonouchi stared at her, wondering if she meant to reveal the weakness, then he nodded and, with a flash of the Puzzle he found himself looking at Yugi, whose face went from concerned to panicked in moments.
"Jou? Are you ok?" Yugi asked, purple eyes wide, fear obvious as she took in the gap between her and her friend. "Did I...?"
"I'm ok, Yuge." Jonouchi promised her, "And I always will be. You won't hurt your friends, ever." He smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder reassuringly, "If it helps at all, I'm going to make sure that nothing like today happens again, ok?"
"But what if..."
"It won't happen again, I won't let it." 'Even if I have to smash the Puzzle and throw the pieces in the viaduct again.' He kept the latter to himself.
Yugi just nodded and went quiet. Jonouchi sighed and ushered his friend down the road towards the Game Shop.
"Hey, still interested in playing some Tomb Raider when we get back?"
Yugi blinked at him, then gave him a small, concerned smile, "I don't know if it's a..."
"Suck it up, Yuge." Jonouchi glowered at her as it started raining, "I get why you're scared, but you have to remember three things. One, that man was on Death Row. Two, he would have killed you and Anzu even if you'd followed his instructions to the letter and three, I'm not afraid of your Room Mate, so I'm not going anywhere."
"My Room Mate?" Yugi's voice wavered as she asked, causing Jonouchi to want to bang his head against the nearest wall.
"You just had a blackout, remember?" He asked her, "You and her? Completely different."
"I'm insane." Yugi looked resigned, as if she'd already considered that.
"No. No." Jonouchi shook his head, "Look, I'll tell you the full story when we get back to the shop, ok?" When Yugi hesitated, Jonouchi sighed and pushed her forward, causing her to start moving. "Trust me. You're not insane. Now let's get you home before you catch a cold."
"I'm ok Eiko-Chan." Yugi replied, turning back to the game, wincing slightly when she shifted her wrist a little too quickly as she turned her card over and put it on the pile, "I'm just waiting for my friends."
Daisuki Eiko, a small eleven year old girl with long black hair and green eyes who'd come into the hospital with a broken leg during the middle of last week, nodded as she turned her card over, gaining a serious look that was belied by the amusement in her eyes, "You're off home today, aren't you?"
Yugi nodded, a little nervous about it. Her friends had been in to see her several times over the last couple of weeks but she always felt ashamed when she spoke to them, embarrassed because not only had Hirutani kissed her, the memory of which made her skin crawl, but both Jonouchi and Honda had put themselves in harm's way to help her.
She'd wanted them to be able to rely on her, not have to bail her out.
It didn't help her embarrassment that Jonouchi had been singing her praises since he'd rescued her from Hirutani and his thugs and she couldn't remember what had happened.
She'd been suffering from blackouts for a while. She'd have one whenever she was afraid, and by the time she came around whatever it was that had been scaring her was generally gone. She'd had one that night. No, she'd had a few, she didn't remember coming around after hitting her head on the table, she'd definitely had a blackout when she'd tried to escape from Hirutani and his thugs on the way to the warehouse and she'd had another when Hirutani had kissed her.
She was frightened of what her friends would say if they knew, as they would have to do soon if Jonouchi kept pushing it, her friend unconvinced that the stress of the night had caused her to forget what had happened. Playing games with Eiko had helped her forget about that until today.
The small girl, who was in here because she couldn't get around her house with a broken leg reminded Yugi uncomfortably of herself pre-Puzzle. She had only had her grandmother in to visit her and had spent almost all of her time playing games on her handheld until she'd asked Yugi about the rubix cube she'd been trying to do.
Normally she wouldn't have had any trouble with it, but with her wrists the way they had been a week ago it had been about all she could do to get it to turn four or five times in a row. The nurses had threatened to confiscate it at one point but she'd given it to Eiko, who had taken to trying to complete it when she thought Yugi was asleep or the nurses had ordered Yugi back to bed.
Yugi wasn't completely healed up by any stretch of the imagination – according to the Doctors it would be anything between three weeks (which was looking highly unlikely) and three years (and she really hoped it wasn't that long, she'd go crazy if it was) before her wrists stopped playing up, depending on if she tried to do too much with them and if she used the exercises that the physiotherapist had shown her.
However most of the bruising had gone down, though it was still a little tender, she could put weight on her injured leg again and she'd pretty much shaken off the last of the side effects from the stun guns, meaning that the only real problems she had were her wrists, which apparently weren't meant to take the weight of a person as they had when her legs had given out under her and there wasn't much more that the hospital could do for them now other then get her to come back in regularly for physiotherapy.
Shame crossed Yugi's mind again as she thought about how much they were going to tighten their belts just to pay for her hospital treatment, yet alone the continued visits...
"Yugi-Sempai?" Eiko asked, tilting her head, curious when Yugi didn't continue the game.
"Sorry, Eiko-Chan." Yugi apologised, sighing as she flipped her card and added it to the pile. She was trying to let her friend win, but even so that was no excuse for zoning out on her, "I'm just tired."
She was also a very bad liar however Eiko didn't press it, so glad to have someone who was willing to play games with her that she didn't want to risk scaring them off, especially when Yugi had promised to come and visit.
"Yugi! Daisuki-Chan!"
The pair of girls jumped a mile when their names were called and turned their heads in time to see Jonouchi being told off by the nurse as Anzu and Honda slipped into the room.
"Ready to go, Yugi?" Anzu asked, concern for her friend obvious as her eyes ran over the bed that Yugi should have been in and Honda picked up the bag that rested on it.
"Nearly." Yugi nodded, quickly grabbing a piece of paper off of the bedside table and scribbling her number onto it for Eiko. "If you want to talk, call me, ok? If I miss your call, I'll ring back as soon as possible." She said as she held it out for the girl, who nodded as she took it, looking delighted.
"How are you today, Daisuki-Chan?" Anzu asked as Yugi, reluctantly, peeled herself away from the game and stood up, adjusting her trousers before walking over to her bed.
"I'm alright, thank you Mazaki-Sempai." Eiko nodded, having been introduced to Yugi's friends a week ago but having not made friends with them as she had Yugi. The eleven year old's eyes followed Yugi across the room as Honda acted horrendously embarrassed to be looking through the drawers to make sure Yugi hadn't left anything behind. "Mazaki-Sempai? Is Yugi alright?"
Anzu frowned at her friend for a moment, before turning to Eiko, "What do you mean?"
Eiko hesitated momentarily before she turned back to Anzu. "She has these... moments," Eiko said slowly, "Where she doesn't act very Yugi like. I mean maybe it's because I don't know her very well, but... It's almost like she's someone else but never for very long and normally only when it's really late or really early and she always seems confused if I ask her about it afterwards..."
Anzu considered Eiko's words. She'd noticed Yugi withdrawing from the group over the last couple of weeks too, she'd assumed that it was because of the kidnapping, but maybe there was something more to this than she'd thought...
"I'll keep an eye on her, okay Daisuki-Chan?" Anzu half asked, half told the girl, "You focus on getting better."
Eiko nodded, looking relieved, and there was a round of goodbyes and the four of them left, Jonouchi looking rather sheepish until he was out of the hospital, at which point he regained some of his former bounce as he half shepherded them down the road.
"School's been boring without you." Jonouchi informed Yugi as he seized her bag from Honda and practically skipped down the road, much happier now that his friend was no longer in the tender care of the local nurses, "So since I just got paid, I thought we'd celebrate your freedom. How does Burger World sound?"
Anzu frowned momentarily when Jonouchi mentioned Burger World. He had a job permit, mostly because he couldn't have afforded schooling otherwise, but Anzu hadn't been able to get one and while Yugi had done her best to find Anzu a cheap but good quality dance school, the girl was under the impression that Anzu's parents were paying for it. Yugi had no clue that Anzu was working at the Burger World to raise the fees, as well as a little extra, even though she wasn't supposed to.
"I don't know I heard people who eat there get ill and Yugi..."
"Ah lighten up Anzu." Jonouchi pretty much discarded Anzu's attempt to direct them somewhere else, "I've eaten there plenty of times. Besides, Yuge's only just gotten out of hospital, she should get some fresh air."
"I'll be ok." Yugi promised Anzu with a small smile, trying not to feel like Anzu thought she was made of glass or something, "It's not my feet that are sore, after all."
Yugi missed Jonouchi's wince at that statement but Anzu didn't and she gave the teen a reassuring look. She had already given Jonouchi a piece of her mind about the way he had treated Yugi and had been surprised when the blonde had agreed with everything she'd said and called himself a few names to boot.
That, combined that with the incredibly humble apology that Jonouchi had made to Yugi in front of herself, Daisuki-Chan, a couple of other patients and several nurses, had changed Anzu's mind about the teenager, before giving Yugi a present as an apology. A copy of the new Tomb Raider game which was tucked into Yugi's bag ready to be played when they got back to the shop...
That didn't however mean that she wanted Jonouchi anywhere near her place of work. She couldn't see a reason not to go unless she told them about the job, however, and she just knew that they'd either make fun of her... or worse, Yugi would want to work there too in order to help her raise the cash. Not that she wouldn't appreciate the thought but she wanted to do it by herself.
It didn't take them long to reach the burger place and while the woman on the door nodded to her as she ushered them to a table, Anzu was able to breathe a sigh of relief when their order was taken without anyone bringing up the fact her shift wasn't starting for another couple of hours and left her friends discussing video games as she went to use the toilets.
"I wouldn't have taken you for a Tomb Raider fan," Jonouchi brought up as Anzu left the table, watching the service counter hungrily as he did so, "I dunno, it just doesn't seem your sort of game."
His voice startled Yugi out of whatever thoughts had been pulling her attention to the street outside and she blinked at him, confused as to where that conversation starter had come from, before smiling at him, "Grandpa brought me the first one as a present because my grades had started picking up. I'm not too fond of the action side of it, but the exploring and the puzzle solving's fun. I think it's a throwback to when he used to go on archaeology trips. Not that what he did and what Lara does is the same though... what?" She asked as Jonouchi burst into laughter.
"I'm sorry but Gramps? Going all Lara Croft?" Jonouchi asked as he calmed down, having spent a considerable amount of time at the shop while Yugi had been in hospital doing all the odd jobs that she normally did, "I can't imagine it."
"He wasn't always this..." Yugi started defensively and then trailed off, looking embarrassed.
"You were going to say old, weren't you Yuge?" Jonouchi teased, only to get himself shoved by Honda, the act earning Honda a grateful smile from Yugi even as she warned the pair that they might get thrown out of the joint if the pair of them started play fighting here.
Before Jonouchi could protest that the pair of them had never gotten thrown out of anywhere before, mostly by dint of behaving in the hospital, movement by the door caught his eye and he got to his feet as Anzu, who had been passing on her way back to their table was grabbed by some gun toting lunatic in a prison jumpsuit and the number 777 tattooed across his forehead.
"AWIGHT! ANYONE MAKES A SOUND AND THIS GIRL DIES!" The man, whose hand was over Anzu's mouth and whose gun was pressed to her temple, announced to the entire eatery as someone screamed.
"It's that escaped convict!"
"Shuddap!" The convict ordered, as Jonouchi and Honda moved to their feet, needing to do something to help but unsure what, while Yugi, frozen in horror, watched the scene in front of her. "As soon as my belly's filled, I'll leave, but until then you're staying with me." He informed Anzu, who tried to say something, only to have the gun pressed harder against her skin, causing her to shake with fear as he looked around and snatched the yellow ribbon off of the head of the girl who had been seating customers.
"Blindfold yourself with this." He ordered, as, with trembling hands, Anzu took it from him, "I hear humans get so terrified when they can't see that they can't make a sound. They do the same to prisoners right before they execute them." He chuckled, a low sinister sound, "I should know, I'm on Death Row."
"Bastard." Jonouchi muttered as Anzu followed the convict's instructions.
The convict looked around and smirked as he spotted the table that was empty except for Yugi and made his way down, dragging Anzu with him and parting the crowds with a look. Even Jonouchi and Honda moved aside, though Jonouchi grabbed Yugi's arm and pulled Yugi behind him before he did so, shielding her with his larger mass, unwilling to risk getting Anzu shot.
"Now I just need someone to take my order and I'm set," The convict said as he pushed Anzu into the seat that had been opposite Yugi and smirked as he looked around, enjoying the looks of anger and fear that were directed his way. He considered the crowd carefully, before gesturing towards Jonouchi, "Oi. Brat."
Jonouchi stepped forward but the convict pointed his gun at the huge blonde, "Not you, the boy you're protecting. The wimpy one."
Jonouchi scowled but let go of Yugi's arm, allowing her to step around him and face the convict, shaking slightly with fear for her friend.
"You can take my orders." The convict smirked, his gun now aimed at Yugi, "Everyone else down on the floor."
"But..." Someone spoke up, only for the convict to put a bullet in the ceiling, causing everyone to shut up and drop to the floor.
"Now, kid, I want booze and cigarettes, Lucky Sevens, the perfect brand for a guy like me!" He told Yugi, who nodded and darted off, returning with a rather heavy tray with a full bottle of vodka, a packet of Lucky Sevens and a lighter, that made Yugi hiss slightly as her wrists ached.
Before she could get back to the table Anzu shot to her feet. "Yugi? It's you isn't it?" Anzu asked, her voice trembling, "Stay back Yugi! It's too dangerous!"
"Shut your mouth!" The convict was on his feet in a heartbeat and he slapped Anzu so hard that she went crashing into the table before bouncing off and slamming into the seat.
"Anzu!" Jonouchi thought he saw the Puzzle glow briefly when Yugi cried out, though he couldn't see very well from where he was knelt and saw her posture change, but he didn't know what she had planned.
"Bring that tray over here! Now!" The convict demanded of her, pointing his gun at her friend as he did so.
Furious ruby red eyes watched him carefully as she passed her friends and walked over to where he was sat, putting the tray down and emptying the contents onto the table before sitting opposite him.
"Who said that you could sit down?" The convict growled, aiming at her instead in his fury.
She had no patience for his attitude. No one laid a hand on her friends. He would pay for what he'd done, there was no mistake about that.
"I've brought you what you asked for." She told him, her tone full of confidence and a smirk on her face, willing the criminal to fall straight into her trap, "I thought I'd help you pass the time. Let's play a game."
The criminal was stunned. Now the brat was talking, he understood that he was actually a she and that she wasn't the push over that he'd assumed she was.
Anzu on the other hand was confused. This woman sounded like Yugi, but her voice was slightly deeper and her tone and inflection was all different. Whoever this woman was, she was insane to talk to someone with a gun like she was.
"A game, eh?" The convict asked finally, his anger turning to amusement, "Could be interesting." He gestured for her to continue as he put a cigarette in his mouth and picked up the bottle of Russian vodka.
"The game has only one rule, and the loser will die." She continued in 'matter of fact' tone that was completely unconcerned as she kicked her bag across the corridor to the blonde that had been protecting her, intriguing the convict even further.
"Then let's hear it." He smirked as he started pouring, more than willing to blow this girl away the moment that they'd played her foolish game.
"As long as we're sat opposite each other we may each only move one of our ten fingers, any one we chose, but once the game starts we can't change it."
"Well that's simple." The convict chuckled, "I'll pick my index finger. It's the only one I'll need to blow you away."
"Ok." She nodded in response, "Then I pick my thumb. Once the game starts we're free to do anything we like. You could even pull the trigger if you like."
At another time, in another situation, he could like this chick, the convict decided as she picked up the lighter, it was a shame he was going to have to blow her away.
"Ready?" She asked, "Game Start."
"And in an instant it's game over!" The convict crowed, pausing when she flicked open the lid of the lighter. He'd forgotten that he needed a light. "Tch, forgot to ask for a lighter." He said with a snort, "Fine, the last thing you can do with that thumb is light my cigarette, then I'll kill you."
Calmly, casually, she reached across the table and lit the cigarette, seeming unconcerned about the danger, then, in a move that started the convict she dropped the still lit lighter onto the hand the convict was using to hold the gun.
"You can keep the lighter." She told him as she sat back, "Take it with you to hell."
It was only then that he noticed that he was still pouring the Russian vodka, which was 120 proof, 90% alcohol and that it was slowly running off of the table and into his lap. What was worse was that if he fired his gun the lighter would fall and set him on fire.
"But... my luck..."
"Come on Anzu." The girl grabbed the wrist of the blindfolded teen and the pair ran for it as the lit cigarette fell onto the vodka drenched table and the convict burst into flames, screaming in agony.
When she released Anzu's wrist, rubbing her own aching one, Anzu reached up and untied the blindfold, trying not to listen to the continuing screams of the convict, as she did so, only to be shocked to find Yugi in front of her.
It had been Yugi who had challenged the convict to such a dangerous game? That wasn't possible... was it?
"Y...Yugi?"
"Anzu!" Bright amethyst eyes practically danced as Yugi gave her a delighted smile, which died down when her eyes rested on the inferno that had been the convict, whose screams had died down to whimpers though the flames were still burning hot and bright. "I'm so glad you're safe."
"Yugi, Anzu." Jonouchi and Honda moved to their sides, "You're both ok?"
"I'm fine." Anzu nodded, still shaking slightly, "But who was it that saved me?" She asked, looking around.
"I don't know. She's gone now." Jonouchi replied, knowing full damn well that the girl that he'd seen challenge the convict wasn't the Yugi that was in front of him now. Before he could ask any questions the police had swooped on them and hauled Yugi and Anzu off to get statements.
The police took Anzu home in a car once they were done with the questioning and, no longer in the mood for video games, Honda took off the first chance he could, leaving Yugi and Jonouchi to walk back to the shop.
Jonouchi considered the girl walking with him carefully, unsure how to broach the subject of what had happened today. He knew what he'd seen and if it had been anyone else that he'd seen set someone on fire, he'd have probably been running for the hills right about now.
But this was Yugi and he wanted to know what the hell was going on, because the Yugi he knew wasn't willing to hurt anyone, yet alone set them on fire...
"Yugi?" He asked as he stopped walking, not using her nickname for once, wondering if here too she would deny knowing what had happened, just as she had claimed to have no idea what had happened on the roof with the thugs. She turned to look at him, a concerned look on her face. "What the hell happened today?"
"What do you...?" She trailed off when she saw the look Jonouchi was giving her and looked at the floor and started walking again. Jonouchi grabbed her wrist, realised his mistake when she hissed in pain, and transferred his grip to her lower arm, wheeling her around to face him.
"I'm talking about the game you played with the convict." Jonouchi growled at her.
"I didn't..." Yugi protested, shaking her head, scared, having been afraid that she'd done something during her blackout.
"I know what I saw Yugi." Jonouchi growled, "You got him to set himself on fire!"
"I couldn't... I wouldn't..." Yugi yelped, shocked, shaking her head so hard Jonouchi was half convinced it would fall off, trying to back away from him but unable to because of his grip on her arm, "I didn't..." Her denials were being to sound less like denials and more like she was trying to convince herself, "Jou?"
"Yes, Yuge?" Jonouchi asked, feeling guilty when he heard the way Yugi's voice wavered and saw how frightened she was.
"I don't remember what happened after he smacked Anzu... I didn't..." She froze at look that Jonouchi was giving her, "I don't remember playing any game, Jou, I..." She looked away, shaking for a moment, then...
"You?" She asked, tired ruby eyes considering him, confusion obvious. "You're the one scaring her?
"You're not Yugi, are you?" Jonouchi demanded, refusing to let go of her but wary. This was, after all, the...thing... who had set the convict on fire and, he assumed, taken down the six goons on the roof. "Who are you? More importantly what are you and what the hell are you doing inside my friend's body?"
"Jonouchi..." Hesitation crossed her features.
"I want answers and I want them now." Jonouchi didn't back down, "Especially considering you killed someone today and you did it while in my friend's body."
"He would have killed both of us. Me, and Anzu." There was no shame at all in her voice, in fact she looked proud of what she'd done as she tried to shake off Jonouchi's grip only for it to tighten, "I did it to save both our lives." She growled at him.
Jonouchi scowled slightly at the casual way that Not-Yugi described Yugi's life as her own. Red eyes … demon eyes. Could the thing possessing Yugi be some sort of Yokai? A Kitsune perhaps, they were rumoured to possess people... "You didn't answer my question, who and what are you?"
"If I could tell you I would, but I don't know who I am!" Not-Yugi snapped back, "I know what I was! I was human, but I've been trapped inside the Puzzle for so long I don't remember anything else! The only name I remember using belongs to the girl whose vessel I share!"
"You're not sharing it, you're taking it without her permission!" Jonouchi snarled at her. "And you're leaving her with huge gaps in her memory!"
"Do you think I like the fact I can't talk to her!" Not-Yugi erupted, the Puzzle reacting to her anger by glowing brightly, causing Jonouchi to let go and back off about a foot, "That my actions scare her when all I'm trying to do is protect her? She saved me from thousands of years of darkness and pain and I can't even thank her properly!" She realised that Jonouchi had backed off and took a deep breath, centring herself, and the glow from the Puzzle died down.
"Thousands?" Jonouchi asked slowly, wondering if he'd heard that right. Her outburst had been all too real for him to suspect that she was playing for sympathy, which made him wonder if she'd been telling the truth about not knowing her own name.
"I remember the desert sands. I remember stone buildings and I remember symbols that could be used as letters. That's all that I know about my past. When She first completed the Puzzle I dealt with that dog Ushio, and then tried to find something, anything that might help me remember and the only thing that looked even vaguely like anything I remember is something called Hieroglyphs that I found in one of Her Grandfather's books."
"Hieroglyphs?" Jonouchi asked, trying to remember what was predominantly on Mutou-Sensei's shelves and trying not to connect the dots between Ushio's insanity and her 'dealing' with him, "Egyptian Hieroglyphs?"
Not-Yugi nodded.
"You're Ancient Egyptian?" Jonouchi's question was less a question and more a thought process, "It makes sense. You were sealed in the Puzzle and Gramps said it's Egyptian..." Jonouchi paused and realised he was getting distracted, "I'm still angry at you. I don't know how it worked in your time, but in ours you can't just dish out whatever 'justice' you feel is necessary, not while in Yugi's body. If someone sees you, Yugi's the one whole will be in trouble. You can't keep risking her safety like that!"
"You would." Not-Yugi, and he needed to come with a name for her if she didn't know her own, pointed out, "You did. You can't tell me you didn't enjoy taking down Hirutani for what he did to Us." She indicated the body she was in.
"Us?" Jonouchi demanded.
"It turns out there's only so much pain we can shield from each other." She sighed, "I tried to protect her from it, but..." She shuddered slightly, the memory of Yugi's agonised screams echoing around her head.
"If you could blast them like that," Jonouchi said, referencing the blast that sent Hirutani flying, "Why didn't you do it sooner?"
"I tried when they were taking us to that warehouse, but the state of the body doesn't change when someone else takes control and She'd been strangled, beaten up and had her head slammed against a wall hard, which meant I took control of a nauseous, dizzy, bruised body." Jonouchi paled at this reminder of the injuries she'd sustained, "And once we were tied up it was better to take as much of the pain as I could, rather than prove too much of a nuance to hold prisoner and..."
Jonouchi made an understanding noise, wondering why it sounded like she spoke from experience when she had had no experience before that night, "Then why did you...?"
"You were there and I knew you'd free us." Not-Yugi said, with a small smile in his direction, then she shrugged, "That and even if the first kiss wasn't such a big thing in your culture, no one lays a hand on Us without Our permission."
Jonouchi considered the woman who was possessing his friend. She claimed not to know who she was, but she didn't act uncertain or afraid. In fact she gave orders, talked and goaded people into doing things her way and looked after those important to her. She was, by every definition that he understood, acting like a leader.
But if she was right she was Ancient Egyptian and from what very little he knew about them he knew that she couldn't have been a leader, not unless she'd pretended to be a guy. He'd have to ask Gramps about it, the question was how.
"Listen." She told him, "If I could tell Her who I am and why I'm doing what I'm doing, I would. I don't want to scare her but she needs protection and I owe her everything, so I'm going to keep defending her. You understand that right?"
Jonouchi nodded, understanding. "As long as you understand that I'll be trailing you from now on. I'm not going to let you get Yuge into trouble."
She chuckled, nodding her understanding, "I wouldn't expect anything else from Her friend and bodyguard." She paused, considering him a moment longer, then spoke again, "What are you going to tell Her?"
"I don't know." He admitted, "It's not like I can tell her she has an Ancient Egyptian body snatcher." He sighed, "I'll have to come up with something."
"Tell Her this." She said, "Her friends are in no danger from her blackouts."
"Is that a promise?" Jonouchi asked, wondering how open and honest the woman was being with him.
"If I hurt Her or any of her friends, I will smash the Puzzle myself."
Jonouchi stared at her, wondering if she meant to reveal the weakness, then he nodded and, with a flash of the Puzzle he found himself looking at Yugi, whose face went from concerned to panicked in moments.
"Jou? Are you ok?" Yugi asked, purple eyes wide, fear obvious as she took in the gap between her and her friend. "Did I...?"
"I'm ok, Yuge." Jonouchi promised her, "And I always will be. You won't hurt your friends, ever." He smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder reassuringly, "If it helps at all, I'm going to make sure that nothing like today happens again, ok?"
"But what if..."
"It won't happen again, I won't let it." 'Even if I have to smash the Puzzle and throw the pieces in the viaduct again.' He kept the latter to himself.
Yugi just nodded and went quiet. Jonouchi sighed and ushered his friend down the road towards the Game Shop.
"Hey, still interested in playing some Tomb Raider when we get back?"
Yugi blinked at him, then gave him a small, concerned smile, "I don't know if it's a..."
"Suck it up, Yuge." Jonouchi glowered at her as it started raining, "I get why you're scared, but you have to remember three things. One, that man was on Death Row. Two, he would have killed you and Anzu even if you'd followed his instructions to the letter and three, I'm not afraid of your Room Mate, so I'm not going anywhere."
"My Room Mate?" Yugi's voice wavered as she asked, causing Jonouchi to want to bang his head against the nearest wall.
"You just had a blackout, remember?" He asked her, "You and her? Completely different."
"I'm insane." Yugi looked resigned, as if she'd already considered that.
"No. No." Jonouchi shook his head, "Look, I'll tell you the full story when we get back to the shop, ok?" When Yugi hesitated, Jonouchi sighed and pushed her forward, causing her to start moving. "Trust me. You're not insane. Now let's get you home before you catch a cold."