Chapter Text
The Avengers , and all situations and characters thereof, belong strictly and solely to Marvel Comics. Yugioh belongs strictly and solely to Takahashi Kazuki, and we have no ownership of it either. This is a fan-work, meant for enjoyment only, and not for any material profit.
“Long ago, in ancient times,
A sacred game was played, of both spirit and mind.
Seven items hold the mystery,
Puzzle, Eye, Necklace, Ring, Rod, Scale, and Key.
Who will make the final stand?
Make the move,
The answer lies in your hand.
And whether you win or lose
Hangs in the balance, with
The card you choose.
( Trust ) trust in the heart,
Don't let down your guard.
The heart of the cards,
No battle's too hard.
Remember to trust in the heart of the cards. ”
-- Yu-Gi-Oh: Music to Duel By, “Heart of the Cards”
SCENE: DOMINO CITY, JAPAN
Afterward, neither of them could explain what it was that had happened. They were at the Kame Game Shop. Why were they there? Same-old/same-old.
“The God Cards…” Was it Haga, or Ryuzaki that said it first? How to remember? It could have been either of them, lord knows, they both have their reasons. What had happened to their former glory as Duel Monsters champions? Nothing but a lot of over-powered Monsters, that made their own decks worthless, but if that’s the way the game goes, shouldn’t they at least have some over-powered Monsters of their own? And, the best of all the Monsters you could get?
“If only I had those God Cards…” This was Haga talking, muttering under his breath in that super-dramatic way of his.
It was raining that night, the streets of Domino City wet and shiny, under the streetlamp on the corner. Haga was there with his raincoat on, collar turned up against the rain. Ryuzaki didn’t even see him, until he heard the mutter, and he didn’t respond to that immediately.
“You look stupid,” he said instead, and he pointed at the raincoat. “All that protection, when what you really need is a pair of windshield wipers.”
Haga, his glasses indeed, very wet, and fogged from the rain, glared at the former National Champion. “Says the guy wearing the soggy watch-cap?” He snorted one of those nasty little laughs that was always his way. “I thought you were doing pretty well for yourself, winning a few local contests now and then. Don’t they pay enough for you to get a raincoat?”
“Maybe I don’t want a raincoat?” Dinosaur Ryuzaki so obviously did want one, that the defiance rang hollow, and both the two duelists sank into silence. Soon both were doing what they had been doing, circling the Game Shop, again and again, their eyes always straying toward the window on the top floor that was Moutou Yuugi’s room. Mutters of, “If I had… If we had… It would be so easy to win any tournament with a God Card...”
Both looked at each other. “You’re here for the...” Ryuzaki, looking down.
And, “You too?” This from Haga, and, with his characteristic arrogance, “Would you even have any idea what to do with them?”
“I’d know.” The Dinosaur Master glared. “Would you? ...Bug-Boy?”
Haga, serious now: “I’d command Osiris to tear everything apart with its mighty fangs!”
“And I’d use Ra to burn them all.” Ryuzaki’s voice was serious now too. Looking up again at Yuugi’s window, “How did he get them?” he said. “What’s so special about him ?”
Haga stood next to him now, both of them staring up, like cats underneath a birdcage. Something was up there, that they both wanted… both felt that they deserved. And why not? They were only cards, just little pieces of cardboard, and why should they belong to one duelist instead of another?
Suddenly Ryuzaki’s face lighted. He’d remembered something. “You should do something, Haga. Remember the Exodia cards you threw overboard?”
Haga remembered. He also remembered achieving nothing by doing it, when Yuugi ended up winning Duelist Kingdom and Battle City by a landslide, defeating no one else but Kaiba Seto, and owning not one, but three divine beasts. “You do it,” he snarled back. “I’ve had my fill of fighting Mutou Yuugi.”
“Haga...” Ryuzaki’s whisper cut through the darkness.
“What?” Half-blinded by the rain on his glasses, the Insect Master turned toward the voice.
“Why don’t we both just do it? Right now? When we’re right by the house, let’s just do it.”
Two pairs of eyes, looking up at the top floor of the Kame Game Shop. Which one of them was it, that picked up the rock? Who threw it? Afterwards, neither of them could remember, all they remembered was the sharp crash of breaking glass, and the shards that fell all around their feet. And they remembered struggling up the tree that grew next to the window, and climbing in, first Haga, and then Ryuzaki. Yuugi kept his deck in his backpack, everyone knew that, everyone had seen him open that thing up, and take out the box with his deck. Were there other things in the bag too? Maybe? Who ever took the time to notice?
Once inside the room, Haga was the first to see the pack, slung onto the back of a chair by Yuugi’s bed. “There…” He jabbed at it with his thumb. “Get it, Ryuzaki.”
“Me get it?” It wasn’t guilt the Dinosaur Master was feeling, it was worry, as vague memories started to pop into his mind, of the horrible things that sometimes happened to people who opposed Mutou Yuugi. “You get it, Haga.”
The Insect Duelist snorted. “Fine then, I will.” A minute later, Haga had it in his hand, and he was headed for the window. “I did the work, I get the Cards.” He was halfway down the tree, before Ryuzaki could even follow him out the window.
Much harder going down the tree, than it had been coming up, the bark so slippery from the evening rain. Ryuzaki heard his pants rip, but he didn’t even care, his mind so full of the thoughts of Haga… -- Of all people! Haga ! -- ...Thoughts of him getting the cards, maybe even having taken them already, before the Dinosaur Duelist could even catch up and see the Beasts for himself. Was he going to let that happen? Never! He hit ground and took off, running faster than he even knew he could, sprinting after the Insect Master, determined to not let him get away with the Cards alone. Were there sounds coming from the Game Shop, behind him? Maybe. Or maybe not too, Ryuzaki wasn’t paying any attention.
Ahead of him, down an alley, he could make out the shadowy form of Haga, already crouched down in front of a golden box, with the backpack nowhere in sight. Ryuzaki pelted after him, catching up just as he opened the box. “Let me see…” His breath came uneven, after all the running. “Dammit, Haga, I did all the work to get the damn Cards, now will you let me see?”
Haga didn’t even look at him. “ You ?” A contemptuous snort. “You didn’t do any of the work, I did all of it,” he repeated. “The Cards are mine.”
Ryuzaki reached out to shove him. Then he stopped. His arms dropped to his sides, as he saw Haga lift the box’s lid. Suddenly, as the golden glow… Of Ra! It had to be Ra! ...Haga lifted the lid, and Ryuzaki saw that glow; suddenly it felt like his legs were rooted to the ground, and he couldn’t have moved if he’d wanted to.
“Ra’s mine.” He snatched for it, confident on his ability to out-fight the scrawny Insector. I’ll take that, you can have one of the others.”
“ One ?” Haga was making weak swats at him, with his puny little hands, but he seemed to have accepted that he wasn’t going to win, because he’d stopped claiming all three cards for himself. “You can have one, you can have… Take Obelisk, I don’t care about Obelisk. The other two are mine.”
“Just Obelisk? And you get two? No...” Ryuzaki glared at the shorter duelist. An idea came into his head: “We play for the Beasts,” he said. “You and me, with our current decks.”
A responding glare from Haga. “When I did all the work? You’re nuts.”
“We play.” Ryuzaki moved in close, looking down at the Insector. The two considered themselves friends, of sorts, but this was important. These were the God Cards. Unaware, Ryuzaki’s hands curled into fists. One way or the other, he was leaving here with at least two Beasts.
And then from behind them, a voice: “Haga-kun, Ryuzaki-kun...” A soft voice, modest-sounding. Yuugi’s voice. “Please, friends, please give me back my God Cards.”
The two older boys, against little Mutou Yuugi? Almost too easy. Ryuzaki looked at Haga, and he looked back at him, and then both of them smiled. “You’re not getting the cards, Yuugi.” Haga’s voice, his tone very condescending. “You’ve been on top long enough. Time to give somebody else a turn.”
And Ryuzaki, watching the little kid, at the entrance to the alley: Little Yuugi had come out without any shoes on, no jacket, or anything. He was going to be sick tomorrow, coming out here in the cold, in just those star-patterned pajamas. What a baby! “You want the cards?” His voice was confident. “Come here and fight us for them.”
That should have been enough to send a puny kid like Yuugi packing, but here he was, still standing his ground. With just the beginning of a smile on his face, even. Nothing here for him to be smiling about, but if he wanted to make it as easy as that?
Ryuzaki’s own grin widened. “Fight us,” he said. “Or you could duel is, I guess. But nobody uses the God Cards, not until we have a winner.”
“A game?” Was Yuugi’s voice different? It seemed like there was something, like a little bit of a faint change in the tone, but maybe that was the Dinosaur Duelist’s imagination. Weird dark night like this, imaginations run wild, right? And Yuugi’s soft murmur... -- His usual voice, surely it was. -- “I would agree to that, I like games.”
Meanwhile, Haga’s just staring. What is Ryuzaki doing? He should have just run straight home as soon as he had the God Cards in his hands. What does Ryuzaki think, getting into a game with the frikken King of Games for god’s sake? Is he a complete idiot? “We should get out of here.” He nudges the Dinosaur Duelist in the ribs, hard. “Come on, let’s go, before he calls the cops on us!”
No answer from Ryuzaki. Instead, he just stared at Yuugi, who was moving closer to them, but slowly, very slowly. A weird sound… like a chain rattling. Ryuzaki looked around for a moment, noticed the chain around Yuugi’s neck, and that weird, tacky upside-down golden pyramid-thing. He always wore that thing, didn’t he? But does it always rattle like that? Cute little Yuugi, his eyes narrower than usual… -- From anger! How much anger did this little simp have in him? ...He came toward the other two duelists in the alley, but still slowly, and very carefully.
“A game...” His voice was lower than usual too, and not soft at all, more like almost… menacing? Little Yuugi, being menacing? . He clipped his words sharp, “What do you suggest?”
Involuntarily, Ryuzaki took a step back. Meanwhile Haga huddled into himself (he told himself he was protecting the God Cards). For a long time, neither of them responded, then Haga managed, “We… I… Uhh...” Sharp sound as he cleared his throat. Was he nervous? But this was just Mutou Yuugi!
“Speak!” Yuugi’s voice was suddenly very sharp. “Speak your terms and conditions of your game, or else forfeit your soul and walk until the end of your days in the darkness of the shadows!”
The overblown threats relaxed the other two duelists. Souls walking in darkness? Shadows? Little Moutou Yuugi must be crazy. Ryuzaki nudged Haga. “He’s nuts.”
Haga, snerking, responded, “Yeah, okay, you were right, Ryuzaki. One duel, we beat this kid. -- Hey, maybe we can get all his rare cards from him, as well as the Divine Beasts.”
“A duel.” This was Ryuzaki,sounding confident again. “We play you, first me, then the Insector. Winner gets the God Cards.”
“And your other rare cards too,” Haga chimed in. “I know you have another set of Exodia somewhere.”
Watching Yuugi, Ryuzaki saw the weirdest look go across his face. Almost a pleased look, but why would he be pleased? They’re making him duel without any of his best cards, aren’t they? Then the kid gave a nod. “Your terms and conditions are accepted,” he said, still with that strange, not-quite-Yuugi tone in his voice. “Prepare to be tested, unworthy ones.”
“Unworthy ones?” Haga gave another snerk. “Unworthy of what?
“Yeah…” Deep-down, the Dinosaur Duelist was starting to have some doubts. Something was hinky about this, something that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. “We are going to take your Cards, Yuugi,” he said, but his voice was uncertain, as though he was trying to reassure himself.
Looking back afterward, Haga and Ryuzaki were never able to agree on just what happened next. It was a light, that’s what Haga said. Ryuzaki was sure it was more like a smell. First their surroundings changed… They changed in this way, that neither duelist was ever able to pinpoint, but the worst part was the emotions. As the changes happened, there was another change: A feeling of something choking and unpleasant, that filled both of them. Was it fear? Or sadness? Or both?
“You have made your choice.” Yuugi’s voice was so soft, but it echoed, like it was coming from all around them. “Now I shall have no pity.”
“Let’s get out of here.” That was Ryuzaki, nudging his partner in the ribs. But then a chill ran through him, as Haga responded.
“How?” he said. “Where is there, that we can go?”
“Why, back where we came from, out of the…” Ryuzaki paled. He looked around. This had been a normal alley, with an entrance and an exit. Now what was it? It was like it was nothing, purple clouds and weird… shadows? It was like it was everything and nothing, and Haga was... Horribly, he was right, there was no way to leave.
“You...” Haga’s voice, his tone uncertain, as Ryuzaki’s had been before. “You, Yuugi, let us out, let us go...”
“Let us go home.” Cowardly, to beg a wimpy little kid like Moutou Yuugi, but a situation like this demanded it.
“We’ll let you keep the Cards,” Haga said. “We… We don’t want them anymore.”
When another voice sounded, it was a relief to both of the duelists. “Hey!” This voice was gruff, official-sounding. “What are you kids doing here?”
A cop? What an insane situation, when a cop arriving right after you stole something, could seem like such a relief. “What are you kids doing here?” the policeman demanded. “It’s way past curfew, and it’s raining for crying out loud.”
As one, Haga and Ryuzaki both looked over toward Yuugi. For a moment, there was the weirdest look on his face, like an animal, whose food had just been taken from him. Was the look really there? It couldn’t have been, could it? But the boys were both sure they had seen it.
“Thank you for coming, officer.” Yuugi’s voice had changed. This was normal, babyish, Moutou Yuugi again. “These boys, they took something of mine.”
“Thieves?” The cop shone his flashlight into Ryuzaki and Haga’s faces. “What did they steal?”
Yuugi had moved over to where the golden box with his deck sat on the ground, next to a garbage can. He was searching through the cards. “It’s…” He seemed ashamed to even be asking for help, and again, Haga and Ryuzaki looked at each other. How could this be the same boy they’d been dealing with a few minutes before. “It’s nothing, they took some… some cards.”
The cop looked back at him. “I know you.” he said. “I’ve seen you on TV, you won Kaiba’s tournament, didn’t you? Battle City? My son loves you, he calls you the King of Games.”
“I don’t deserve that title.” This was the weak Yuugi-voice, the one that had made the other two think he would be such a pushover. “I had help, my friends and… others.”
“Hey, whatever, you’re good, my son says so.”
“We’ll give him back the cards.” Haga already had them out of his pocket. “Three cards, here you go, Yuugi.”
“Is it okay now? Can we leave?” Ryuzaki looked, and was relieved to see that the alley had an entrance again.
“Yeah,” Haga chimed in, “let us go.”
“There’s just…” Yuugi’s soft voice. “I don’t mean to be any trouble, but these were in a bag,” he said. “Where is it?”
Haga pointed. “You should have seen it, I left it on the street.”
“On the street?” The cop glared. “Why would you treat another boy’s property so carelessly? You’re no better than common thieves.”
“I forgive them, I only want my bag back.”
It was Ryuzaki who discovered the bag, but only after all of them had been searching for some time. A gym-bag of some dark-colored fabric, soaking wet. It was lying open around the corner, on somebody’s lawn.
“This is it, right?” He shoved it at Yuugi, who immediately broke into one of those goofy grins of his.
“Thank you, Ryuzaki-kun!”.
The cop looked at Haga and Ryuzaki. “You two better get on home,” he said, “before I run you in. Penalty for breaking and entering is a year in juvie, but I’m going to be nice and give you a break.” He snorted. “Not that you deserve it, but I think it’s what would make the King of Games here, happy.”
Watching the other two boys get lectured made Yuugi uncomfortable. What was wrong with Haga-kun and Ryuzaki-kun that they would have done something like this? Not stupid, Yuugi knew the boys weren’t his friends. Lots of people weren’t friends though, and that didn’t mean they would break into your house and try to rob you. For a moment, the Pharaoh flashed into his mind, his power to command the Shadows, specifically: Yuugi’s Other Self swore, after his battle with Pegasus, that he would never summon the Shadows again. But the Shadows weren’t always bad, were they? Wasn’t Kaiba-kun much more reasonable after the Pharaoh’s Mind Crush?
As soon as the thought came into his head, Yuugi pushed it away. He shivered, uncomfortable with even having conceived of such levels of violence being directed against boys no older than he. “I know mou hitori no boku struggles with the darkness inside him,” he found himself thinking. “Do I do the same? Or…” He swallowed, as a more horrible thought came to him: “Is the Pharaoh’s darkness affecting me too?” Yuugi had so hoped that the influence would go the other way, with his own innocence helping the beloved Spirit who shares his soul to walk away from his own darker impulses, and the idea that the influence might be going the other way instead, was troubling in the extreme,
A voice cut into his thoughts. “Get into the car.” Yuugi looked up, and saw the policeman, speaking to him. “You’re cold,” he said. “Get into my car, I’ll take you home.”
“Thank you.” Yuugi clutched his bag to his chest, not noticing how the object was soaking his own pajamas top even more than it was already. He got into the police car, where the heat was blasting. It felt so good!
The policeman got in and started the engine. “You won’t be bothered by those boys anymore,” he said, interrupting Yuugi’s thoughts. “What did they want from you anyway?”
“My deck.” Outside the car window, Yuugi could still see Haga and Ryuzakis’ figures. They receded quickly into the distance, soon becoming lost from view. It was a relief to see the last of them.
“Your deck? The police officer turned right, out of the alley. Yuugi could already see the Game Shop up ahead, he could have gotten out and walked the rest of the way, but the heat inside the car felt so good. “I know that’s important thing to you… umm, duelists? Is that the right word?”
“It is, sir.” Yuugi nodded. The policeman’s small talk was also a relief. He was going to have to have a talk with his Other Self when he got home. Hadn’t the Pharaoh sworn not to play any more batsu games? He’d thought he’d meant it, and it troubled him that his beloved Other would break a solemn vow like that, over the likes of Haga and Ryuzaki.
The car pulled to a stop in front of the Game Shop. “You all right to get in by yourself?” the policeman asked. “I can wait if you want. -- My boy’s going to be so jealous when he hears I gave the King of Games a ride home.”
Yuugi mumbled something, feeling awkward. It always embarrassed him when people made a fuss over things that he’d done, which were, more often, things that the Pharaoh had done, using his identity. He thanked the officer for his kind help and got out of the car, hurrying into the house, hoping against hope that his mother and grandfather would be safely asleep, and not awake, worrying about him.
Inside, to his relief, he found everything quiet. How his family could have slept through all the commotion was a good question, but the boy was happy to find that they had. He hurried upstairs to his bedroom in the attic, dumping his bag in the corner, to get hands free so he could change his soaked pajamas for a pair of dry ones. Haga and Ryuzaki had left a hole in the window, and there was a cold wind blowing in. Shivering, Yuugi crawled into bed and pulled his blankets up close.
Once in his warm bed again, it didn’t take Yuugi long to relax. His eyelids grew heavy. Soon he’d be asleep, and it was in sleep that he could visit with his Other Self. He must be worried; the Pharaoh always worried about anything to do with Yuugi. The boy closed his eyes, and within minutes, he was his Soul Room, surrounded by the toys that were a representation of his soul’s innocence. Concerned for his beloved friend, Yuugi didn’t waste a minute in leaving his own room, crossing to the creepy looking door with the Eye on it, on the other side of the hall. He entered the Soul Room, not fearing, or even noticing, the Escher-like maze inside, that was so familiar, after all his visits. He looked around. “Mou hitori no boku? Where are you?”
“I am right here, Yuugi.” The Pharaoh arrived, as if out of the darkness, popping up to Yuugi’s right, in that way that was only his. His voice was warm, concerned. “Are you alright, aibou?”
“I’m very angry with you,” Yuugi poked the taller boy in the chest, trying for severity, looking more like a sneezing kitten than someone who was actually mad. “You swore you would not play batsu game anymore, after what Pegasus-san told you.”
A flash of guilt was visible, only for a moment, in the Pharaoh’s dark-red eyes, then it was replaced with his usual fierce determination. “Those thieves took the God Cards, aibou. I could not allow them to fall into the hands of such low-lives as they.”
“You know how I feel, mou hitori no boku, no one deserves a fate like that.”
“Aibou.” The Pharaoh closed his hands around Yuugi’s and brought them to his lips. “You know I love you, and would do anything for you, but…”
“But?” In spite of everything, and as always, Yuugi found it so hard to stay angry at his Other Self.
“I will not let anyone steal what is ours,” the Pharaoh said sternly. “But aibou, please understand, I did not mean to leave you alone in that cold alley. Look at you.” He cupped Yuugi’s face in one gentle hand. “You’re still shivering.”
“You worry too much about me.” His Other Self’s touch felt so good, and Yuugi could feel himself relaxing into it.
“You are part of my soul, aibou.” The Pharaoh’s voice was warm. “Of course I worry. You should not have to think about unworthy people like those two thieves. Relax, my beloved, let me take care of you.”
His touch felt good, and his voice was so gentle. “Sometimes I think I’m the one that takes care of you.” All anger gone now, Yuugi gave a soft laugh.
The Pharaoh’s answer was completely serious. “You are my soul’s light, aibou,” he said. “I could not survive losing you.” His grip on Yuugi’s hand tightened, becoming almost painful. “You think it is only the Gods that I protect?”
“No...”
“I would protect you twice as hard, aibou. Those thieves would be in the Shadows right now, if they had touched a hair on your head.” Yuugi could hear his Other Self take a deep breath; he was trying to calm himself, he knew. “Sleep now, beloved.” The Pharaoh brushed a kiss across Yuugi’s forehead. “You need your rest.”
“I should…” Yuugi yawned. It occurred to him that he should check the bag he’d retrieved from Haga and Ryuzaki. It must be wet, and his deck might be wet too. “The bag,” he said. “I should check it.”
“Why?” The Pharaoh pulled Yuugi close, stroking his hair, brushing soft kisses across his eyelids, his forehead, his cheeks. “I saw you put the God Cards back where they belonged. I am sure anything else can wait until morning.”
He did put them back, Yuugi remembered. And he’d closed his deck box, and he knew from experience that it was watertight. There were other things in the bag too, the Sennen Rod, that he’d gotten from Malik-kun, and some of the other Items as well. Haga and Ryuzaki wouldn’t have cared about those, though, would they? Their interest was only in the Cards. Yuugi leaned close to the Pharaoh, soaking in the warmth of his body. It felt so good!
“Go to sleep now, aibou,” the Pharaoh said again, and there in his gentle arms, Yuugi slept.