Chapter 10: - Shocking
Tomoyo was a little bored.
School had kicked out at midday and it hadn't been long after that that they'd gotten changed, grabbed the food they'd prepared and headed to the Tournament.
It had been organised into four groups of five Duellists, and everyone got to play everyone else in the group once. The winners from each group would be put through to the semi-finals and the winners of those matches would play the finals.
It was a no-brainer as to the identity of the winner of C Group; Yugi was just finishing up his fourth match and hadn't lost one yet, pretty much making him group winner by default since the guy he was facing now had already lost two and the others had gone home already. It had been close for a while, but Tomoyo had already worked out that Yugi was just waiting on something and the match would be over.
Coming as a group had seemed like a good idea when it had first been suggested, though she was sure Yugi had originally suggested it because he would have been too nervous to come on his own, but she didn't have much to do.
She'd already recorded as much Duelling as she could, she'd do a bit more for the finals of course, not really wanting too many hours of putting cards down on a table, as it was no where near as interesting as recording Sakura and Yami practising magic and the only real action had been when the thunder and lightening storm had started up earlier and a couple of the lights had blown out.
She had been given a pre-release structure deck for coming which she had given to Joey, so he had two, bought everyone a whole bunch of the booster packs they were selling here and was now, sitting with Tea, talking about the homework that was due in on Monday, while listening to Sakura and Joey talk about cards and watching modify their decks with the new cards they had gotten.
"Hey." Yugi grinned sheepishly as he joined the group.
"Another victory, Yuge?" Joey asked with a grin.
"Yeap, it was a good game." Yugi nodded, "Sorry, I didn't realise it would take this long." He apologised, noting the look on Tomoyo's face.
"It's ok." Tomoyo shrugged, appeased a little by Yugi's apology.
"Take a look?" Joey asked, passing his deck to Yugi and leaning back. He was kind of enjoying this, just hanging around with his friends, being part of some big secret, and not having to go to school, although he had to wonder how much longer that last one would last, considering that Mrs Muto was trying to find his mother and if she couldn't, she was talking about getting him into the same school as Yugi.
Yugi nodded, looking through the deck quickly, pausing to examine the new cards that they'd gotten today from the pre-release boosters, and nodding as he handed it back, "Looks good. You wanna play?"
Joey shook his head, "Sakura said she'd play me when your next match started." Joey indicated Sakura, who looked a little tired and was watching someone two tables over finish up. One Duellist stalked out of the room and the other shrugged and checked in the man in charge of his group. "Sore loser." Joey muttered.
The room was slowly emptying as people decided that they'd lost too many matches and went home. That Duellist hadn't been the first to get annoyed and storm off today.
Yugi stretched and looked around, sitting down and opening the cool box with sandwiches in, offering them around, "A lot of people have gone home already." He commented.
"Too scared they're gunna get their butt kicked by the new guy!" Joey sniggered.
Yugi just smiled and nibble on his food.
"I doubt that's the reason, Joey." Tea scolded.
Joey just waved her off as Sakura giggled, pulling a tin out of her bag.
"Cake?"
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Of all the places to finally locate the one he'd been searching for, it was poetic that he would finally find him at a Tournament involving the modern day version of the game that had caused so much trouble in Egypt so long ago.
He walked, unseen, around the Tournament, hiding his presence from prying eyes and magical auras, having had many years of practise and watched as the one he'd been seeking defeated opponent after opponent, his magic spiking wildly as he played, though the boy seemed completely unaware of it, lost in the game as he was.
He watched as the boy joined his friends and started eating. He seemed innocent enough, certainly not what he had expected from a Shadow Wielder of such power that he had sensed it from a city that was two hours away, where he had been a week and a half ago, punishing those who had stolen from the Valley of the Kings for profit.
He had missed the boy both times that he had sensed his power since, once exactly a week ago, and once two days ago, the power had vanished before he'd been able to find where it was. He'd only been able to find him today because the boy's magic had been active since lunch.
The boy was young, certainly too young for the power he held, the child couldn't be older then eight or nine.
He'd found quite an interesting group of children to hang around with too.
One of the girls, the brunette with jade green eyes, had a powerful magic that was blunt, obvious and twinkled like starlight, her star magic dancing with darkness, the two intermingled, the darkness supporting the stars rather then trying to overpower it.
The blonde boy was a Chaos Mage that much was obvious, though the magic that was weaving around him was completely untamed, even for chaos magic, so much so that compared to the boy he'd been hunting and the girl with the star magic, it was obvious that he'd had no training and he probably wasn't even aware of it. He wondered how the boy and girl hadn't picked up on it yet.
Perhaps there hadn't been a situation that had forced his magic to come to the fore yet…
The other girls didn't seem to be mages, but considering the strength of their friends, it would be easy for a weaker mage to be lost in the background.
It wasn't just the fact there was such a concentration of power in such a small group that made them important though and it was this last thing that had him worried.
The child he had been hunting was wearing a Millennium Item. He had suspected that he had one after sensing the boy's Shadow Magic the first time. He had believed that it was the Ring since that item had been missing for many years now, but no, this child had done the impossible and completed the Millennium Puzzle.
He needed to enter the boy's mind, test his heart, challenge his powers and find out exactly what he planned to do with the power, find out how he'd gotten hold of and completed a puzzle that hadn't been completed in over five thousand years.
Only the Pharaoh could wear that item.
This child couldn't possibly be the one that they'd been waiting for all this time and if he was not, then yes, it was regrettable, but the child would have to be… removed… and the Puzzle returned to Egypt.
He would wait.
Once the boy was alone, he would challenge him to a Shadow Game.
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Sakura sighed and sat back, finishing off her cake, taking a deep breath and enjoying the gap between battles.
She was uncomfortable here.
Not because she didn't enjoy Magic and Wizards, and not because she wasn't actually competing, but because Yugi's magic kept spiking and overwhelming hers, making her feel a bit like she was being squashed.
He wasn't meaning to do it, but this was the first time that he had come up against others that weren't his friends in the game that his magic were based on, she should have guessed that this would happen.
Yugi took a deep, calming breath, calming himself and his magic and for the first time in hours Sakura could sense everything around her.
Sakura's head turned towards the ceiling, hand grasping her necklace before she hesitated and took it away. "Yugi!"
Several lights exploded.
"What?" Joey asked, turning to them.
Yugi poked Yami, looking around and thinking. "SLEEP?" He asked Sakura.
She nodded, darting out of the door and hiding around a corner to activate her staff and use The SLEEP.
By the time she came back, SLEEP had done its job, all around the room people had fallen asleep where they were stood or sat, this, unfortunately, included Tea, Tomoyo and Joey.
Another chain of lights exploded.
Yami locked the room down, creating shadow barriers at the doors as she re-entered. "I thought I sensed…" He scanned the room, but he couldn't see anyone.
Another light exploded.
"Which one is it?"
"LIGHTENING?" Sakura hesitated. If she didn't know the card's identity, she couldn't seal it. Of all the times for Kero not to be around…
"Call Kero, I'll keep it distracted." Yami told her, still convinced he'd sensed magic of his own verity when he'd been casting to protect himself from The SLEEP, and trying to work out where it had come from at the same time as avoiding being hit by the bolts of lightening the card was now throwing.
He cast a spell, trying to keep the ball of pure energy in place with a shield, but it was too fast for him and he narrowly avoided being singed.
He drew a card from Yugi's deck, hesitating as he looked around. He knew everyone was asleep, but this was dangerous enough as it was… he glanced at Sakura, who was on the phone to Kero, keeping track of where the ball of energy was going.
Why was it playing up now if it had been hiding all day? What had driven the card out of hiding?
"THUNDER!" Sakura shouted. "It's THUNDER."
Well they had a name for it now. That would make their life easier. Sakura had to know the true name of a card to be able to seal it, but they had to get this insane ball of energy to take its true form without getting anyone else hurt.
He summoned, calling the monster he thought had the greatest chance against the ball of lightening, his Rock-Gun, which had 1500 attack and 2000 defence points, which knocked over three empty tables in the process, but certainly distracted the lightening creature long enough for Yami to trap it in an unoccupied corner of the room.
"WINDY, WATERY…" Sakura sent out her strongest Clow Cards.
"Not WATERY!" Yami yelped, wheeling around, but it was too late, WINDY and WATERY had moved across the hall, going to attack THUNDER. Yami used a piece of unsavoury language that he'd heard Joey use, and threw up a barrier, in an attempt to stop the feed back when water hit electricity.
It mostly worked, it diffused the shock enough for it not to be too dangerous, and WINDY and WATERY did manage to force it into it's true form, but neither of them escaped unharmed, Sakura only just flew out of the way, ending up with frazzled hair but little else, while Yami's barrier fell the moment that the canine of lightening had escaped from the pair of Clow Cards and attacked the barrier directly, before shooting across the floor and attacking Yami, who just about threw up a shield in time, protecting himself from the worst of the attack, the shock still managing to send him flying, causing him to crash into a table where two people had fallen asleep, and sending all three of them sprawling.
His monster vanished.
For a minute or so, his body was completely unresponsive, he couldn't move and couldn't think of anything other then 'ow', then he pushed himself to his feet shaking badly from the electricity, rather glad THUNDER hadn't actually been trying to kill him, just scare him off, as Sakura darted around the tables and THUNDER approached slowly, growling low and fierce.
A bubble of pure shadows surrounded THUNDER, stopping it just before it reached a couple of unconscious Duellists.
"Yes, nice one Yugi!" Sakura cheered, slipping up, as Yugi's friends were prone to doing, not that Yami minded, and sealing the Clow Card away.
The storm outside faded away.
Yami frowned, looking around. "Come out, whoever you are!" He demanded.
"Yami?"
"That wasn't my bubble." Yami scowled, glowering at their surroundings.
One of the boys he'd knocked over groaned.
Yami quickly dismissed his barriers, moving away from the tables as people started to come around, sitting down heavily on one of the chairs over by their little group.
"What do you mean that wasn't your bubble? It felt like your magic!" Sakura hissed, noting that there were people close who were waking up.
"It wasn't mine. Same type of magic, but I didn't cast it."
"Are you alright?" Sakura asked, as the organisers started evacuating people, worried that the sudden bout of mass unconsciousness had been because of a gas leak or some other concern, becoming concerned when she realised how badly Yami had been affected.
"I'm ok." Yami replied, waving her concern off, taking a seat on the steps with the others, and relinquishing control to his hikari.
Yugi winced as he moved to a slightly more comfortable position, wondering what would happen now and thinking about how lucky an escape they'd had with THUNDER. Someone here had helped them.
Hopefully they were friend, rather then foe.
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"I can't see or smell anything."
"We didn't before either. I don't think it's safe to let them back in."
"What should we do? Cancel the finals?"
"We don't have a choice."
He wasn't interested in this talk, the tournament itself held no interest for him, but he slipped out the open doors to where the Duellists were waiting on news.
The boy was still here. He looked pale, unsurprising considering everything, but he was still here, still conscious, still overflowing with magic.
"I'm sorry, we're sending everyone home." One of the organisers said to all the Duellists, to a collection of groans. "You may re-enter to collect your things, and we'll send information out when we have a new time and date to finish up."
"I've just got to go grab my bag." The boy looked at his friends.
"I picked it up for you." The normal seeming brunette girl smiled as the blonde helped him to his feet.
The other two girls showed the boy, 'Yugi', and the Star Mage that they'd quickly packed up their bags when they'd started evacuating people and brought them out with them.
"Guess we'll head home then." The boy nodded.
"We can give you a lift." The black haired girl offered, pulling out her phone, assumedly to call as car.
"Maybe you should get checked over." The Star Mage worried at the boy.
"I will do, if I still feel like this later on. I don't know if I should walk home though." Yugi nodded, "You don't mind, do you, Tomoyo?" He asked the black haired girl.
"I offered didn't I?"
Young or not, the boy couldn't escape again, he couldn't let him.
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"Yugi?"
Yugi frowned and turned around, confused to find that one of the organisers had come to find him. "Yes?"
"I think we have something of yours inside," The organiser said, gesturing for Yugi to precede him inside.
Yugi frowned and he wasn't the only one, Joey spoke up. "I thought we grabbed everything…"
"A tin of sandwiches, with your name on?"
"I'll come and get it." Yugi nodded, "Give me a minute?" He asked the others, who nodded.
'Yugi…' Yugi was startled to hear Yami's voice as he entered the building and headed for the main hall, where the Tournament had been held, wincing in anticipation of the headache that was sure to follow, but none came. 'I think it's a trick.'
"W…what do you mean?" Yugi asked, hesitantly, not used to speaking mind to mind and worried. "The person from earlier?"
'May I take over?' Yami asked, having only risked talking over the link because of how urgent it was.
Yugi didn't have time to reply; the organiser grabbed Yugi and shoved him into a side room, shutting the door behind him.
Yugi would have wheeled around and tried to open the door, except for the fact that there was a rather tall man in a turban watching him.
"Who are you?" Yami was out in a heartbeat, demanding an answer in two. Sensing the magic that the man was no longer trying to hide, "And what do you want with me?"
"You hold something that is five thousand years old. I have come to test whether you are worthy of its power."
"The Puzzle is mine. I completed it." Yami said, speaking for Yugi, knowing exactly what this man was after, "You never gave me your name."
"My name is Shadi. I am the Guardian of the Millennium Items, including your Puzzle."
"And this test? What does it involve?" Yami asked, backing away slightly as Shadi stepped forward.
Before Yami could back away too far, Shadi had raised his Millennium Item and the Key like object had touched Yami's forehead.
Before Yami could react, he found himself in the place he considered the room of his soul.
He didn't like this.
He didn't like this at all.
He tried to hide Yugi's soul room, or at least close the door, but it wouldn't budge and Shadi's magic pierced through any spell he tried to cast.
He couldn't protect Yugi from the magic of another Millennium Item wielder…
There was something he could do though, as he pushed against the intrusion, unable to stop it, but delaying it long enough to do what was needed.
He grabbed Yugi, convincing him to stay hidden in one of the rooms in his labyrinth like mind and attempted to mask Yugi's magical and spiritual signature by allowing his own dark signature to flow freely. It wasn't enough, his darkness wasn't enough to hide Yugi's light, but it would be enough to confuse the intruder… or so he hoped.
If 'Shadi' took one step inside Yugi's room, if he dared do anything that would harm the boy that he shared a body with, Yami wouldn't show him any mercy. He'd sworn to protect Yugi, at least in his own mind he had, and no one, not even some 'guardian of the Millennium Items', would make him break his vow.
However, he was certain that Shadi would be far more interested in his mind, which was bound to the complexities of the Millennium Puzzle and had so many hidden secrets that Yami himself didn't even know a small portion of them.
He felt the arrival of the intruder, sensed him hesitate outside Yugi's door.
He sent out a wave of magic, not much, just enough to catch the intruder's attention.
Just as he had suspected, Shadi turned away from Yugi's room and entered his room uninvited.
Game Start…
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Sakura froze when she sensed Yugi's magic flare up.
Something was wrong…
He had been right? Had there been someone else there?
"Sakura?" Tomoyo had looked up from the footage that she had recorded and was watching her intently.
"Yugi." Sakura explained.
Of course this explanation had Joey and Tea giving her a worried look too. "What's…?" Tea hesitated. There were too many people around to ask outright, but if Sakura could sense Yugi's magic, something was wrong.
Tomoyo watched the entrance, then moved over to the car and spoke with the head of her security detail. They didn't catch what she said, but the detail had gone up to the men who, since there was supposedly no one left in the building, were guarding the door.
There was a heated discussion for a moment, and then the men moved away, going around the corner and not coming back, giving them a chance to dive inside.
"Where?" Joey asked, watching Sakura, who considered for a moment, then headed towards the hall, turning away at the last minute and trying to open a door.
It opened inwards slightly, then a wave of purple energy something pushed it shut and knocked them backwards.
Sakura considered the door as they picked themselves up.
"Why would Yugi shut us out?" Tea asked nervously.
"I don't know if he is." Sakura replied slowly, "Yugi said that someone helped us earlier
"Key that hides the power of darkness, show your true form before me." Tomoyo wheeled around at Sakura's voice, "I, Sakura, command you under our contract, RELEASE!"
The key transformed, becoming her staff, which she used to call out The FIGHT.
"Sakura…what're you planning?" Tea asked nervously.
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He'd never tested a mind like this before.
Two doors indicated two minds in one body.
The first room had been bright and plain with no shadows or alcoves to hide secrets. It would have indicated a simple mind, except that the toys that had made up the containers for the memories of that individual had ranged from rather simple toys to half finished chess games, puzzles that were being completed from the outside in and couple of card games that looked almost finished.
The mind that room belonged to was obviously sharp, but Shadi was unsurprised that such a young mind would have such a simple soul room. It was yet another sign of how young and unformed the child's mind was. In a few years the boy's soul room would change as the child made decisions that would affect the rest of his life, but for now it was just games and toys, surrounded by the blank soul room of an impressionable child.
He would have entered but what he'd sensed from the second room had distracted him.
Powerful dark magic radiated from the second room, though the door was closed.
Shadi opened the door to what appeared to be a tomb. The energies from this room were odd, both dark and light intermingled, but the mind this room belonged to had been waiting for him, had the audacity to test him, challenging him to his game…
This second mind had been as complex as the first had been plain.
He'd never seen a maze this complex, with every door leading to a trap or a new set of corridors. It was quite possible to enter a door right way up and leave it walking on the ceiling or along the wall.
And yet he wasn't certain that this was all fault of the second mind.
When he had challenged it, it had claimed that it had nothing to hide, even though Shadi had been able to tell that the second mind belonged to a spirit who had possessed the innocent child the first room belonged to and it had freely opened the rest of the room to him.
Either there was some level of the spirit's subconscious that didn't want him here, or there were things in the ghost's past that even he wasn't allowed to know. Both options were viable and neither were resolvable by talking to the spirit. If it was a subconscious thing, he wouldn't be able to control it.
The trick was to use his Millennium Items to hone in on the real secret of this room, and he was sure, as he was getting higher and further towards the centre, that he would soon find it.
He opened a door, taking a step in; convinced it was the right one.
Only to have to leap backwards to avoid being crushed by a falling pillar.
He had to wonder if the child the spirit was possessing would have such trouble getting around. Perhaps he would have been better off confronting the child in the real world before testing the boy's mind, but he was too far in to turn back now, and he wasn't convinced it had been the boy he had been dealing with in the outside world anyway.
There was only one door left on this corridor.
He opened it and entered, surprised to find that nothing happened.
Cautiously he looked around the room. It was dark and didn't have much in, but he could sense great power here.
He took a couple more steps forward.
The floor gave way underneath him.
With a yelp he grabbed onto the solid floor, trying to avoid falling into the darkness below him. If he fell, he would never escape. He would be trapped in this spirit's mind forever.
"Let me help."
Startled by the voice, Shadi looked up.
It was the child…
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"Let me help."
Yugi had been hiding nervously behind a pillar on the other side of the room, following Yami's instructions to stay hidden and try to hide his magic, but he hadn't been able to stay hidden when he'd heard the man's yell, coming out from behind the pillar in time to see him fall. "Take my hand."
Shadi took the offered hand, unsure how this eight year old could possibly have the strength to help him, and was pleasantly surprised when the child managed to provide enough lift to let him pull himself up.
"That wasn't Yami's fault." Yugi defended his friend. "The floor groaned when I walked across it earlier."
"Who are you?" Shadi asked, trying to get things straight in his head. Was that what the child referred to the spirit as? It meant darkness, so it fit, considering that, now he was near the child, he could sense that the light had been coming from him, leaving the spirit's power firmly based in shadows and darkness.
"I'm Muto Yugi." Yugi replied, "Why are you here? This is Yami's mind."
'I was speaking with the spirit earlier.' Shadi confirmed to himself, even as he replied, "I am the Guardian of the Millennium Items."
"Like my Puzzle?" The boy asked innocently. Shadi couldn't detect any malice or hate in this boy, just wariness, confusion and a touch of protectiveness towards the spirit.
"That is correct." Shadi nodded. "It is my duty to test those who wield them in order to determine whether they are worthy of their power."
"Test?" The boy took a couple of steps back, realising almost instantly what Shadi meant.
"Yugi!" Yami entered, pulling Yugi behind him, glancing at him protectively before glowering at Shadi.
"It's okay; he hasn't done anything to me, Yami." Yugi's hand on Yami's reassured the Pharaoh slightly, and Shadi watched the interaction with interest.
"You're certain?" The powerful spirit asked the boy, confusing Shadi. How was it that this spirit, which was easily powerful enough to overwhelm this child and keep him a prisoner in his own mind, allowed the child free reign over where he roamed and acted as the child's guardian?
"Child, I owe you my thanks, but this test is not over." Shadi warned the boy, making the spirit irritated.
"You won't harm him, or I will make you regret it." Yami growled at him.
"My name's Yugi, not child." Yugi told Shadi with a small smile, "What is it you need to test, in order to decide if I am worthy of the Puzzle?" He asked, stepping out from behind his guardian, causing the spirit to give him a concerned look, but impressing Shadi. He had no fear of an unknown enemy, this was promising, even as it was a little worrying.
The child had already passed one test. If his mind had already been filled with darkness or the spirit had been controlling him, then Shadi would have taken the Puzzle from the child, freed the boy from it's influence, but instead Shadi now needed to find out the intentions of both the child and the spirit and test the child's strength against that of another Millennium Item.
"It is my duty to see that the Millennium Items go to the place they are destined to reach and test each wielder to see if they are worthy." He explained to the young child, still convinced that he was too young for the power that he carried, but knowing that now the Millennium Puzzle had chosen this boy, he would have to defeat him in order to take it. "You," He indicated the child, not convinced that the spirit had yet, but there was something tugging at the back of his mind on regards to that, "Have passed the trial of the mind, but I still need to test your heart and soul."
"And what will these tests entail?" Yugi asked, feeling a small amount of relief in knowing that he had somehow passed one test without knowing it.
"Two simple games. If you win, you will be free to go about your business, the Puzzle will stay with you, and I will not interfere again unless the balance changes."
"And if we should lose?" Yami interrupted.
"If the child should lose," And Shadi made an effort to point out that it was Yugi he was testing, "I will have to take the Puzzle."
"But Yugi would be unharmed?"
Shadi's hesitation caused Yami to growl, he would like to say yes, but the tests weren't proper tests unless he was pushing the child to destruction point, even now he could double back and use the Millennium Key to shape the child's soul into whatever he wanted, though he was reluctant to wipe such a young mind completely clean, as he would had to have done, would have to do, should the boy fail the tests.
Yugi held up a hand, though Shadi could see the nervousness in his eyes. He was surprised when the spirit responded to the child's tactic command. "Kero warned us that things would get dangerous when other Mages of our type appeared, remember?" He asked his Guardian.
The spirit nodded, but didn't take his eyes from Shadi, his look promising that if Yugi came to any harm, he would cause as much pain as he could before Shadi took the Puzzle.
"I'll play the other two games." Yugi told Shadi, "Do we play them here?" He asked, looking around quickly, before deciding that it wasn't really safe and turning back to the Guardian of the Millennium Items.
Shadi shook his head, the ankh shaped key that hung around his neck glowing brightly, and, when Yami finally blinked away the flash blindness, he realised that he was stood, facing Shadi, in the same room that Yugi had been shoved into before…
The door cracked with a loud thud, and with a second, Yami had to duck as it broke in two and shards flew into the room at around his head height. Shadi merely threw up a shield, which the shards bounced off of and looked unimpressed as The FIGHT darted into the room, followed by Sakura and Joey, Tomoyo and Tea hanging back in the doorway.
FIGHT moved between Yami and Shadi, glowering at the unknown and shielding Yami.
"You alright, Yuge?" Joey asked, glaring at Shadi.
"I'm ok." Yami nodded, wondering how this would affect the tests Shadi still intended on putting Yugi through.
Shadi was watching everything intently. "Yugi, you swore you'd play the other two games."
"And I will. I keep my word." Yami replied, "But you're to keep my friends out of it."
"Yugi, what's going on?" Sakura asked, noting Yami's defensive posture and his worried glance in her direction.
"I need you to stay back and trust me." Yami replied, "Please."
"He's like you, isn't he?" She asked, looking at Joey, who was giving them a confused look, before glancing from Yugi's Puzzle to Shadi's Key, "Your magic, it's the same type…"
"If you mean does he hold a Millennium Item, then yes, he's like me." Yami nodded.
'I hold two actually.' Shadi couldn't help thinking but he said nothing as the spirit currently possessing the child tried to get the others to back off, and the children who were the child's friends refused to do so, in case he was in danger, which, in their defence, he was, but it made the spirit hesitant to start the next game.
He decided on his next move. He wanted to test Yugi here and now, but he needed time to prepare for the next stage of the trials so, temporarily at least, he would retreat. "Yugi."
The spirit possessing Yugi turned to him with a questioning look.
"The games are on hold, for now. I will face you again tomorrow evening, on the school roof. Ten o'clock. If you are not there or you try to run, I will come looking and your friends may get hurt." That was threat enough to get them to come to him.
"We won't run." Yami told him, with a low growl. "Ten o'clock, the roof of the school, we'll be there."
With a small nod, Shadi vanished.
Sakura squeaked as the barriers fell and Yami wheeled around, "Are you alright?" He asked both Joey and herself as she picked up The FIGHT.
"I'm okay." She nodded, watching Yami carefully. He seemed angry with her and she wasn't sure why.
He was all too aware that because of their interference, it was possible that he'd be walking into a trap tonight, but they had just been worried for Yugi…
"I don't want you coming with me tomorrow." He said, looking at all of them.
"Yami…" Tomoyo complained and half scolded. The spirit wasn't having any of it though.
"No, no 'Yami…' I don't want you there." He growled, "You saw how he turned FIGHT back into a card like that, it's too dangerous. We'll go, alone. Got it?"
"You can't be serious…" Joey protested.
"Quite serious." Yami replied, none of the usual warmth in his tone.
Yugi took over, "Please guys? I'll be fine, but we need to do this alone."
Tea tried to resist the urge to point out that he wouldn't be going alone, considering he had Yami, but nodded, promising Yugi that she wouldn't interfere.
"It's a bad idea, Yuge, but I'll stay back." Joey nodded.
Sakura frowned, disliking it, "I won't interfere with your games, Yugi."
"Me either." Tomoyo swore.
"Thanks guys." Yugi nodded, smiling slightly.
"Miss Daidoji?" The head of Tomoyo's security detail stuck her head in the doorway, "Are you finished?"
"Quite. Thank you." Tomoyo nodded to the woman, then turned to her friends, "Shall we?"
They nodded and followed her out.
Yugi hesitated in the doorway a little longer then was necessary, wondering if it had been a good idea to come after all, then followed his friends out, reassured by their promises not to come, and hoping that whatever Shadi had planned for tomorrow night, they could handle it.
School had kicked out at midday and it hadn't been long after that that they'd gotten changed, grabbed the food they'd prepared and headed to the Tournament.
It had been organised into four groups of five Duellists, and everyone got to play everyone else in the group once. The winners from each group would be put through to the semi-finals and the winners of those matches would play the finals.
It was a no-brainer as to the identity of the winner of C Group; Yugi was just finishing up his fourth match and hadn't lost one yet, pretty much making him group winner by default since the guy he was facing now had already lost two and the others had gone home already. It had been close for a while, but Tomoyo had already worked out that Yugi was just waiting on something and the match would be over.
Coming as a group had seemed like a good idea when it had first been suggested, though she was sure Yugi had originally suggested it because he would have been too nervous to come on his own, but she didn't have much to do.
She'd already recorded as much Duelling as she could, she'd do a bit more for the finals of course, not really wanting too many hours of putting cards down on a table, as it was no where near as interesting as recording Sakura and Yami practising magic and the only real action had been when the thunder and lightening storm had started up earlier and a couple of the lights had blown out.
She had been given a pre-release structure deck for coming which she had given to Joey, so he had two, bought everyone a whole bunch of the booster packs they were selling here and was now, sitting with Tea, talking about the homework that was due in on Monday, while listening to Sakura and Joey talk about cards and watching modify their decks with the new cards they had gotten.
"Hey." Yugi grinned sheepishly as he joined the group.
"Another victory, Yuge?" Joey asked with a grin.
"Yeap, it was a good game." Yugi nodded, "Sorry, I didn't realise it would take this long." He apologised, noting the look on Tomoyo's face.
"It's ok." Tomoyo shrugged, appeased a little by Yugi's apology.
"Take a look?" Joey asked, passing his deck to Yugi and leaning back. He was kind of enjoying this, just hanging around with his friends, being part of some big secret, and not having to go to school, although he had to wonder how much longer that last one would last, considering that Mrs Muto was trying to find his mother and if she couldn't, she was talking about getting him into the same school as Yugi.
Yugi nodded, looking through the deck quickly, pausing to examine the new cards that they'd gotten today from the pre-release boosters, and nodding as he handed it back, "Looks good. You wanna play?"
Joey shook his head, "Sakura said she'd play me when your next match started." Joey indicated Sakura, who looked a little tired and was watching someone two tables over finish up. One Duellist stalked out of the room and the other shrugged and checked in the man in charge of his group. "Sore loser." Joey muttered.
The room was slowly emptying as people decided that they'd lost too many matches and went home. That Duellist hadn't been the first to get annoyed and storm off today.
Yugi stretched and looked around, sitting down and opening the cool box with sandwiches in, offering them around, "A lot of people have gone home already." He commented.
"Too scared they're gunna get their butt kicked by the new guy!" Joey sniggered.
Yugi just smiled and nibble on his food.
"I doubt that's the reason, Joey." Tea scolded.
Joey just waved her off as Sakura giggled, pulling a tin out of her bag.
"Cake?"
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Of all the places to finally locate the one he'd been searching for, it was poetic that he would finally find him at a Tournament involving the modern day version of the game that had caused so much trouble in Egypt so long ago.
He walked, unseen, around the Tournament, hiding his presence from prying eyes and magical auras, having had many years of practise and watched as the one he'd been seeking defeated opponent after opponent, his magic spiking wildly as he played, though the boy seemed completely unaware of it, lost in the game as he was.
He watched as the boy joined his friends and started eating. He seemed innocent enough, certainly not what he had expected from a Shadow Wielder of such power that he had sensed it from a city that was two hours away, where he had been a week and a half ago, punishing those who had stolen from the Valley of the Kings for profit.
He had missed the boy both times that he had sensed his power since, once exactly a week ago, and once two days ago, the power had vanished before he'd been able to find where it was. He'd only been able to find him today because the boy's magic had been active since lunch.
The boy was young, certainly too young for the power he held, the child couldn't be older then eight or nine.
He'd found quite an interesting group of children to hang around with too.
One of the girls, the brunette with jade green eyes, had a powerful magic that was blunt, obvious and twinkled like starlight, her star magic dancing with darkness, the two intermingled, the darkness supporting the stars rather then trying to overpower it.
The blonde boy was a Chaos Mage that much was obvious, though the magic that was weaving around him was completely untamed, even for chaos magic, so much so that compared to the boy he'd been hunting and the girl with the star magic, it was obvious that he'd had no training and he probably wasn't even aware of it. He wondered how the boy and girl hadn't picked up on it yet.
Perhaps there hadn't been a situation that had forced his magic to come to the fore yet…
The other girls didn't seem to be mages, but considering the strength of their friends, it would be easy for a weaker mage to be lost in the background.
It wasn't just the fact there was such a concentration of power in such a small group that made them important though and it was this last thing that had him worried.
The child he had been hunting was wearing a Millennium Item. He had suspected that he had one after sensing the boy's Shadow Magic the first time. He had believed that it was the Ring since that item had been missing for many years now, but no, this child had done the impossible and completed the Millennium Puzzle.
He needed to enter the boy's mind, test his heart, challenge his powers and find out exactly what he planned to do with the power, find out how he'd gotten hold of and completed a puzzle that hadn't been completed in over five thousand years.
Only the Pharaoh could wear that item.
This child couldn't possibly be the one that they'd been waiting for all this time and if he was not, then yes, it was regrettable, but the child would have to be… removed… and the Puzzle returned to Egypt.
He would wait.
Once the boy was alone, he would challenge him to a Shadow Game.
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Sakura sighed and sat back, finishing off her cake, taking a deep breath and enjoying the gap between battles.
She was uncomfortable here.
Not because she didn't enjoy Magic and Wizards, and not because she wasn't actually competing, but because Yugi's magic kept spiking and overwhelming hers, making her feel a bit like she was being squashed.
He wasn't meaning to do it, but this was the first time that he had come up against others that weren't his friends in the game that his magic were based on, she should have guessed that this would happen.
Yugi took a deep, calming breath, calming himself and his magic and for the first time in hours Sakura could sense everything around her.
Sakura's head turned towards the ceiling, hand grasping her necklace before she hesitated and took it away. "Yugi!"
Several lights exploded.
"What?" Joey asked, turning to them.
Yugi poked Yami, looking around and thinking. "SLEEP?" He asked Sakura.
She nodded, darting out of the door and hiding around a corner to activate her staff and use The SLEEP.
By the time she came back, SLEEP had done its job, all around the room people had fallen asleep where they were stood or sat, this, unfortunately, included Tea, Tomoyo and Joey.
Another chain of lights exploded.
Yami locked the room down, creating shadow barriers at the doors as she re-entered. "I thought I sensed…" He scanned the room, but he couldn't see anyone.
Another light exploded.
"Which one is it?"
"LIGHTENING?" Sakura hesitated. If she didn't know the card's identity, she couldn't seal it. Of all the times for Kero not to be around…
"Call Kero, I'll keep it distracted." Yami told her, still convinced he'd sensed magic of his own verity when he'd been casting to protect himself from The SLEEP, and trying to work out where it had come from at the same time as avoiding being hit by the bolts of lightening the card was now throwing.
He cast a spell, trying to keep the ball of pure energy in place with a shield, but it was too fast for him and he narrowly avoided being singed.
He drew a card from Yugi's deck, hesitating as he looked around. He knew everyone was asleep, but this was dangerous enough as it was… he glanced at Sakura, who was on the phone to Kero, keeping track of where the ball of energy was going.
Why was it playing up now if it had been hiding all day? What had driven the card out of hiding?
"THUNDER!" Sakura shouted. "It's THUNDER."
Well they had a name for it now. That would make their life easier. Sakura had to know the true name of a card to be able to seal it, but they had to get this insane ball of energy to take its true form without getting anyone else hurt.
He summoned, calling the monster he thought had the greatest chance against the ball of lightening, his Rock-Gun, which had 1500 attack and 2000 defence points, which knocked over three empty tables in the process, but certainly distracted the lightening creature long enough for Yami to trap it in an unoccupied corner of the room.
"WINDY, WATERY…" Sakura sent out her strongest Clow Cards.
"Not WATERY!" Yami yelped, wheeling around, but it was too late, WINDY and WATERY had moved across the hall, going to attack THUNDER. Yami used a piece of unsavoury language that he'd heard Joey use, and threw up a barrier, in an attempt to stop the feed back when water hit electricity.
It mostly worked, it diffused the shock enough for it not to be too dangerous, and WINDY and WATERY did manage to force it into it's true form, but neither of them escaped unharmed, Sakura only just flew out of the way, ending up with frazzled hair but little else, while Yami's barrier fell the moment that the canine of lightening had escaped from the pair of Clow Cards and attacked the barrier directly, before shooting across the floor and attacking Yami, who just about threw up a shield in time, protecting himself from the worst of the attack, the shock still managing to send him flying, causing him to crash into a table where two people had fallen asleep, and sending all three of them sprawling.
His monster vanished.
For a minute or so, his body was completely unresponsive, he couldn't move and couldn't think of anything other then 'ow', then he pushed himself to his feet shaking badly from the electricity, rather glad THUNDER hadn't actually been trying to kill him, just scare him off, as Sakura darted around the tables and THUNDER approached slowly, growling low and fierce.
A bubble of pure shadows surrounded THUNDER, stopping it just before it reached a couple of unconscious Duellists.
"Yes, nice one Yugi!" Sakura cheered, slipping up, as Yugi's friends were prone to doing, not that Yami minded, and sealing the Clow Card away.
The storm outside faded away.
Yami frowned, looking around. "Come out, whoever you are!" He demanded.
"Yami?"
"That wasn't my bubble." Yami scowled, glowering at their surroundings.
One of the boys he'd knocked over groaned.
Yami quickly dismissed his barriers, moving away from the tables as people started to come around, sitting down heavily on one of the chairs over by their little group.
"What do you mean that wasn't your bubble? It felt like your magic!" Sakura hissed, noting that there were people close who were waking up.
"It wasn't mine. Same type of magic, but I didn't cast it."
"Are you alright?" Sakura asked, as the organisers started evacuating people, worried that the sudden bout of mass unconsciousness had been because of a gas leak or some other concern, becoming concerned when she realised how badly Yami had been affected.
"I'm ok." Yami replied, waving her concern off, taking a seat on the steps with the others, and relinquishing control to his hikari.
Yugi winced as he moved to a slightly more comfortable position, wondering what would happen now and thinking about how lucky an escape they'd had with THUNDER. Someone here had helped them.
Hopefully they were friend, rather then foe.
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"I can't see or smell anything."
"We didn't before either. I don't think it's safe to let them back in."
"What should we do? Cancel the finals?"
"We don't have a choice."
He wasn't interested in this talk, the tournament itself held no interest for him, but he slipped out the open doors to where the Duellists were waiting on news.
The boy was still here. He looked pale, unsurprising considering everything, but he was still here, still conscious, still overflowing with magic.
"I'm sorry, we're sending everyone home." One of the organisers said to all the Duellists, to a collection of groans. "You may re-enter to collect your things, and we'll send information out when we have a new time and date to finish up."
"I've just got to go grab my bag." The boy looked at his friends.
"I picked it up for you." The normal seeming brunette girl smiled as the blonde helped him to his feet.
The other two girls showed the boy, 'Yugi', and the Star Mage that they'd quickly packed up their bags when they'd started evacuating people and brought them out with them.
"Guess we'll head home then." The boy nodded.
"We can give you a lift." The black haired girl offered, pulling out her phone, assumedly to call as car.
"Maybe you should get checked over." The Star Mage worried at the boy.
"I will do, if I still feel like this later on. I don't know if I should walk home though." Yugi nodded, "You don't mind, do you, Tomoyo?" He asked the black haired girl.
"I offered didn't I?"
Young or not, the boy couldn't escape again, he couldn't let him.
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"Yugi?"
Yugi frowned and turned around, confused to find that one of the organisers had come to find him. "Yes?"
"I think we have something of yours inside," The organiser said, gesturing for Yugi to precede him inside.
Yugi frowned and he wasn't the only one, Joey spoke up. "I thought we grabbed everything…"
"A tin of sandwiches, with your name on?"
"I'll come and get it." Yugi nodded, "Give me a minute?" He asked the others, who nodded.
'Yugi…' Yugi was startled to hear Yami's voice as he entered the building and headed for the main hall, where the Tournament had been held, wincing in anticipation of the headache that was sure to follow, but none came. 'I think it's a trick.'
"W…what do you mean?" Yugi asked, hesitantly, not used to speaking mind to mind and worried. "The person from earlier?"
'May I take over?' Yami asked, having only risked talking over the link because of how urgent it was.
Yugi didn't have time to reply; the organiser grabbed Yugi and shoved him into a side room, shutting the door behind him.
Yugi would have wheeled around and tried to open the door, except for the fact that there was a rather tall man in a turban watching him.
"Who are you?" Yami was out in a heartbeat, demanding an answer in two. Sensing the magic that the man was no longer trying to hide, "And what do you want with me?"
"You hold something that is five thousand years old. I have come to test whether you are worthy of its power."
"The Puzzle is mine. I completed it." Yami said, speaking for Yugi, knowing exactly what this man was after, "You never gave me your name."
"My name is Shadi. I am the Guardian of the Millennium Items, including your Puzzle."
"And this test? What does it involve?" Yami asked, backing away slightly as Shadi stepped forward.
Before Yami could back away too far, Shadi had raised his Millennium Item and the Key like object had touched Yami's forehead.
Before Yami could react, he found himself in the place he considered the room of his soul.
He didn't like this.
He didn't like this at all.
He tried to hide Yugi's soul room, or at least close the door, but it wouldn't budge and Shadi's magic pierced through any spell he tried to cast.
He couldn't protect Yugi from the magic of another Millennium Item wielder…
There was something he could do though, as he pushed against the intrusion, unable to stop it, but delaying it long enough to do what was needed.
He grabbed Yugi, convincing him to stay hidden in one of the rooms in his labyrinth like mind and attempted to mask Yugi's magical and spiritual signature by allowing his own dark signature to flow freely. It wasn't enough, his darkness wasn't enough to hide Yugi's light, but it would be enough to confuse the intruder… or so he hoped.
If 'Shadi' took one step inside Yugi's room, if he dared do anything that would harm the boy that he shared a body with, Yami wouldn't show him any mercy. He'd sworn to protect Yugi, at least in his own mind he had, and no one, not even some 'guardian of the Millennium Items', would make him break his vow.
However, he was certain that Shadi would be far more interested in his mind, which was bound to the complexities of the Millennium Puzzle and had so many hidden secrets that Yami himself didn't even know a small portion of them.
He felt the arrival of the intruder, sensed him hesitate outside Yugi's door.
He sent out a wave of magic, not much, just enough to catch the intruder's attention.
Just as he had suspected, Shadi turned away from Yugi's room and entered his room uninvited.
Game Start…
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Sakura froze when she sensed Yugi's magic flare up.
Something was wrong…
He had been right? Had there been someone else there?
"Sakura?" Tomoyo had looked up from the footage that she had recorded and was watching her intently.
"Yugi." Sakura explained.
Of course this explanation had Joey and Tea giving her a worried look too. "What's…?" Tea hesitated. There were too many people around to ask outright, but if Sakura could sense Yugi's magic, something was wrong.
Tomoyo watched the entrance, then moved over to the car and spoke with the head of her security detail. They didn't catch what she said, but the detail had gone up to the men who, since there was supposedly no one left in the building, were guarding the door.
There was a heated discussion for a moment, and then the men moved away, going around the corner and not coming back, giving them a chance to dive inside.
"Where?" Joey asked, watching Sakura, who considered for a moment, then headed towards the hall, turning away at the last minute and trying to open a door.
It opened inwards slightly, then a wave of purple energy something pushed it shut and knocked them backwards.
Sakura considered the door as they picked themselves up.
"Why would Yugi shut us out?" Tea asked nervously.
"I don't know if he is." Sakura replied slowly, "Yugi said that someone helped us earlier
"Key that hides the power of darkness, show your true form before me." Tomoyo wheeled around at Sakura's voice, "I, Sakura, command you under our contract, RELEASE!"
The key transformed, becoming her staff, which she used to call out The FIGHT.
"Sakura…what're you planning?" Tea asked nervously.
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He'd never tested a mind like this before.
Two doors indicated two minds in one body.
The first room had been bright and plain with no shadows or alcoves to hide secrets. It would have indicated a simple mind, except that the toys that had made up the containers for the memories of that individual had ranged from rather simple toys to half finished chess games, puzzles that were being completed from the outside in and couple of card games that looked almost finished.
The mind that room belonged to was obviously sharp, but Shadi was unsurprised that such a young mind would have such a simple soul room. It was yet another sign of how young and unformed the child's mind was. In a few years the boy's soul room would change as the child made decisions that would affect the rest of his life, but for now it was just games and toys, surrounded by the blank soul room of an impressionable child.
He would have entered but what he'd sensed from the second room had distracted him.
Powerful dark magic radiated from the second room, though the door was closed.
Shadi opened the door to what appeared to be a tomb. The energies from this room were odd, both dark and light intermingled, but the mind this room belonged to had been waiting for him, had the audacity to test him, challenging him to his game…
This second mind had been as complex as the first had been plain.
He'd never seen a maze this complex, with every door leading to a trap or a new set of corridors. It was quite possible to enter a door right way up and leave it walking on the ceiling or along the wall.
And yet he wasn't certain that this was all fault of the second mind.
When he had challenged it, it had claimed that it had nothing to hide, even though Shadi had been able to tell that the second mind belonged to a spirit who had possessed the innocent child the first room belonged to and it had freely opened the rest of the room to him.
Either there was some level of the spirit's subconscious that didn't want him here, or there were things in the ghost's past that even he wasn't allowed to know. Both options were viable and neither were resolvable by talking to the spirit. If it was a subconscious thing, he wouldn't be able to control it.
The trick was to use his Millennium Items to hone in on the real secret of this room, and he was sure, as he was getting higher and further towards the centre, that he would soon find it.
He opened a door, taking a step in; convinced it was the right one.
Only to have to leap backwards to avoid being crushed by a falling pillar.
He had to wonder if the child the spirit was possessing would have such trouble getting around. Perhaps he would have been better off confronting the child in the real world before testing the boy's mind, but he was too far in to turn back now, and he wasn't convinced it had been the boy he had been dealing with in the outside world anyway.
There was only one door left on this corridor.
He opened it and entered, surprised to find that nothing happened.
Cautiously he looked around the room. It was dark and didn't have much in, but he could sense great power here.
He took a couple more steps forward.
The floor gave way underneath him.
With a yelp he grabbed onto the solid floor, trying to avoid falling into the darkness below him. If he fell, he would never escape. He would be trapped in this spirit's mind forever.
"Let me help."
Startled by the voice, Shadi looked up.
It was the child…
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"Let me help."
Yugi had been hiding nervously behind a pillar on the other side of the room, following Yami's instructions to stay hidden and try to hide his magic, but he hadn't been able to stay hidden when he'd heard the man's yell, coming out from behind the pillar in time to see him fall. "Take my hand."
Shadi took the offered hand, unsure how this eight year old could possibly have the strength to help him, and was pleasantly surprised when the child managed to provide enough lift to let him pull himself up.
"That wasn't Yami's fault." Yugi defended his friend. "The floor groaned when I walked across it earlier."
"Who are you?" Shadi asked, trying to get things straight in his head. Was that what the child referred to the spirit as? It meant darkness, so it fit, considering that, now he was near the child, he could sense that the light had been coming from him, leaving the spirit's power firmly based in shadows and darkness.
"I'm Muto Yugi." Yugi replied, "Why are you here? This is Yami's mind."
'I was speaking with the spirit earlier.' Shadi confirmed to himself, even as he replied, "I am the Guardian of the Millennium Items."
"Like my Puzzle?" The boy asked innocently. Shadi couldn't detect any malice or hate in this boy, just wariness, confusion and a touch of protectiveness towards the spirit.
"That is correct." Shadi nodded. "It is my duty to test those who wield them in order to determine whether they are worthy of their power."
"Test?" The boy took a couple of steps back, realising almost instantly what Shadi meant.
"Yugi!" Yami entered, pulling Yugi behind him, glancing at him protectively before glowering at Shadi.
"It's okay; he hasn't done anything to me, Yami." Yugi's hand on Yami's reassured the Pharaoh slightly, and Shadi watched the interaction with interest.
"You're certain?" The powerful spirit asked the boy, confusing Shadi. How was it that this spirit, which was easily powerful enough to overwhelm this child and keep him a prisoner in his own mind, allowed the child free reign over where he roamed and acted as the child's guardian?
"Child, I owe you my thanks, but this test is not over." Shadi warned the boy, making the spirit irritated.
"You won't harm him, or I will make you regret it." Yami growled at him.
"My name's Yugi, not child." Yugi told Shadi with a small smile, "What is it you need to test, in order to decide if I am worthy of the Puzzle?" He asked, stepping out from behind his guardian, causing the spirit to give him a concerned look, but impressing Shadi. He had no fear of an unknown enemy, this was promising, even as it was a little worrying.
The child had already passed one test. If his mind had already been filled with darkness or the spirit had been controlling him, then Shadi would have taken the Puzzle from the child, freed the boy from it's influence, but instead Shadi now needed to find out the intentions of both the child and the spirit and test the child's strength against that of another Millennium Item.
"It is my duty to see that the Millennium Items go to the place they are destined to reach and test each wielder to see if they are worthy." He explained to the young child, still convinced that he was too young for the power that he carried, but knowing that now the Millennium Puzzle had chosen this boy, he would have to defeat him in order to take it. "You," He indicated the child, not convinced that the spirit had yet, but there was something tugging at the back of his mind on regards to that, "Have passed the trial of the mind, but I still need to test your heart and soul."
"And what will these tests entail?" Yugi asked, feeling a small amount of relief in knowing that he had somehow passed one test without knowing it.
"Two simple games. If you win, you will be free to go about your business, the Puzzle will stay with you, and I will not interfere again unless the balance changes."
"And if we should lose?" Yami interrupted.
"If the child should lose," And Shadi made an effort to point out that it was Yugi he was testing, "I will have to take the Puzzle."
"But Yugi would be unharmed?"
Shadi's hesitation caused Yami to growl, he would like to say yes, but the tests weren't proper tests unless he was pushing the child to destruction point, even now he could double back and use the Millennium Key to shape the child's soul into whatever he wanted, though he was reluctant to wipe such a young mind completely clean, as he would had to have done, would have to do, should the boy fail the tests.
Yugi held up a hand, though Shadi could see the nervousness in his eyes. He was surprised when the spirit responded to the child's tactic command. "Kero warned us that things would get dangerous when other Mages of our type appeared, remember?" He asked his Guardian.
The spirit nodded, but didn't take his eyes from Shadi, his look promising that if Yugi came to any harm, he would cause as much pain as he could before Shadi took the Puzzle.
"I'll play the other two games." Yugi told Shadi, "Do we play them here?" He asked, looking around quickly, before deciding that it wasn't really safe and turning back to the Guardian of the Millennium Items.
Shadi shook his head, the ankh shaped key that hung around his neck glowing brightly, and, when Yami finally blinked away the flash blindness, he realised that he was stood, facing Shadi, in the same room that Yugi had been shoved into before…
The door cracked with a loud thud, and with a second, Yami had to duck as it broke in two and shards flew into the room at around his head height. Shadi merely threw up a shield, which the shards bounced off of and looked unimpressed as The FIGHT darted into the room, followed by Sakura and Joey, Tomoyo and Tea hanging back in the doorway.
FIGHT moved between Yami and Shadi, glowering at the unknown and shielding Yami.
"You alright, Yuge?" Joey asked, glaring at Shadi.
"I'm ok." Yami nodded, wondering how this would affect the tests Shadi still intended on putting Yugi through.
Shadi was watching everything intently. "Yugi, you swore you'd play the other two games."
"And I will. I keep my word." Yami replied, "But you're to keep my friends out of it."
"Yugi, what's going on?" Sakura asked, noting Yami's defensive posture and his worried glance in her direction.
"I need you to stay back and trust me." Yami replied, "Please."
"He's like you, isn't he?" She asked, looking at Joey, who was giving them a confused look, before glancing from Yugi's Puzzle to Shadi's Key, "Your magic, it's the same type…"
"If you mean does he hold a Millennium Item, then yes, he's like me." Yami nodded.
'I hold two actually.' Shadi couldn't help thinking but he said nothing as the spirit currently possessing the child tried to get the others to back off, and the children who were the child's friends refused to do so, in case he was in danger, which, in their defence, he was, but it made the spirit hesitant to start the next game.
He decided on his next move. He wanted to test Yugi here and now, but he needed time to prepare for the next stage of the trials so, temporarily at least, he would retreat. "Yugi."
The spirit possessing Yugi turned to him with a questioning look.
"The games are on hold, for now. I will face you again tomorrow evening, on the school roof. Ten o'clock. If you are not there or you try to run, I will come looking and your friends may get hurt." That was threat enough to get them to come to him.
"We won't run." Yami told him, with a low growl. "Ten o'clock, the roof of the school, we'll be there."
With a small nod, Shadi vanished.
Sakura squeaked as the barriers fell and Yami wheeled around, "Are you alright?" He asked both Joey and herself as she picked up The FIGHT.
"I'm okay." She nodded, watching Yami carefully. He seemed angry with her and she wasn't sure why.
He was all too aware that because of their interference, it was possible that he'd be walking into a trap tonight, but they had just been worried for Yugi…
"I don't want you coming with me tomorrow." He said, looking at all of them.
"Yami…" Tomoyo complained and half scolded. The spirit wasn't having any of it though.
"No, no 'Yami…' I don't want you there." He growled, "You saw how he turned FIGHT back into a card like that, it's too dangerous. We'll go, alone. Got it?"
"You can't be serious…" Joey protested.
"Quite serious." Yami replied, none of the usual warmth in his tone.
Yugi took over, "Please guys? I'll be fine, but we need to do this alone."
Tea tried to resist the urge to point out that he wouldn't be going alone, considering he had Yami, but nodded, promising Yugi that she wouldn't interfere.
"It's a bad idea, Yuge, but I'll stay back." Joey nodded.
Sakura frowned, disliking it, "I won't interfere with your games, Yugi."
"Me either." Tomoyo swore.
"Thanks guys." Yugi nodded, smiling slightly.
"Miss Daidoji?" The head of Tomoyo's security detail stuck her head in the doorway, "Are you finished?"
"Quite. Thank you." Tomoyo nodded to the woman, then turned to her friends, "Shall we?"
They nodded and followed her out.
Yugi hesitated in the doorway a little longer then was necessary, wondering if it had been a good idea to come after all, then followed his friends out, reassured by their promises not to come, and hoping that whatever Shadi had planned for tomorrow night, they could handle it.