The Square Circle was a bar like any other on Wremmoor- ugly, cheap, dirty, and with the good 'fortune' to be the first bar in sight when entering or leaving the spaceport area; providing the very first opportunity to get a drink after arrival. Usually it was pretty packed, but at this hour, it were only traders, officials, pilots and hookers occupying the chairs and tables. Most of them were about to return to their ship our their house for the night- passengers in transit, hitchhiking on spaceships, traders, women for sale, people with a LVS number and some money to their name, living to see yet another day.
This was not the right hour...not yet. Patience... patience. Within only a few hours, the 'others' would come out of the woodwork: the hardcore drunks, the ones doing business that couldn't stand the light of day, the ones without a name and without a future. Those would be his target... not the businessman with his fancy suit, but the ragged toothless drifter- the businessman would be living on hollow credit anyway, while the drifter would have bundled up his possessions, taking it wherever he went... an easy prey for a thief.
His long black trench coat reached his ankles, flaring behind him, blending in with the shadows cast by the large buildings. He slipped his hand into the pocket of his dark gray pants, pulling out a small, flat device with a tiny screen; with a flick of his thumb, the holoscrambler was on. It allowed him to scramble every alterfactor, or any other appearance changing device present in a range of fifty meters, virtually showing him the true nature of people- showing him if his designated target was worth spending time on or not. A good thief didn't waste his time... even though he had lots to spare, he never did have the feeling that he had enough time for everything he had to do. In all his years, he had dismantled steel and iron traps, encountered and parried knives, swords and katanas, and met a wide array of guns, including this new world's laser packed ones- all in his search for the ultimate theft, the... a small red dot started to flicker on the holoscrambler. The thief looked at the small screen, recognizing the displayed data instantly, and his eyes went wide. Gold! Old fashioned, plain gold! Someone was wearing gold, and pretty much of it- and had an alterfactor that was extremely hard to scramble to boot. Long time no see, precious gold! And you're very, very close...
The thief looked up when he saw someone leaving the Square Circle, looking pretty miffed. A tanned, blond haired kid stalked out of the bar, stuffing his hands in his pockets and muttering under his breath. Probably wouldn't serve him booze, he grinned. The holoscrambler indicated the kid as the bearer of the gold; curious, he quickly checked him over. Thick leather jacket, bracers, cargo pants. He vaguely reminded the thief of someone, and he narrowed his dark eyes before finally making his move. The someone he was reminded of wouldn't hesitate in his place either. He didn't survive by handing out mercy and compassion. He quickly checked if his black bandana was still covering up his unusual white hair, except for a few spiked locks peeking out from under it; something he didn't care about and added more to his own outlaw look- he was a thief, and the best one of them all.
He followed the kid, who was heading towards the spaceport, still muttering under his breath, apparently talking to himself. His trained eye told him where he could be hiding possible weapons, his instincts working at top speed. According to the holoscrambler, the gold was worn on the arms and neck, excluding the large earrings- the kid had probably such a strong alterfactor to hide how valuable his bracers were. The fashion of how the gold was worn reminded the thief of someone else again... of an One... that couldn't be... he shook his head. Memories were only ballast and not becoming of a thief. Melting with the shadows, using the darkness to his advantage as usual, he tailed him, the strange familiar looking kid with lots of gold, unaware of his surroundings.
Malik sauntered over the street, still feeling miffed, anger brewing inside. Temper temper Malik Ishtar, keep it in check. Keep your anger under control. He couldn't help getting mad- it was like something or someone set him off constantly. Malik couldn't recall a situation wherein he was perfectly relaxed or feeling at ease- ever since he had left home six... or was it already seven... years ago, leaving everything behind to protect his family, his sister and his adoptive brother, he had thought he was doing the right thing. This... One certainly had changed his life, and not exactly for the better. Malik loved to travel, but not to wander, and not to be left in the dark, as darkness was something this One preferred- not talking, not divulging, only darkness. Sighing, he zipped up his jacket and went back to the spaceport. He had his own cabin at the ship, the October. Strange name for a spaceship- when he asked about the name, he was told that it had been the name of a month in an Earth year. It had surprised Malik- nobody used the Earth calendar anymore, let alone name his ship after it. I should be used to surprises and strange things by now and still I don't know half of what I'm getting myself into- his head was suddenly jerked backwards, strong, spider like fingers tangling in his blonde hair, and the unmistakable pressure of a knife, pushed against his back.
"Give up the gold. Now."
Malik hissed in pain, the voice sending chills down his spine, and his hands automatically went up to claw at the fingers tangled in his hair. "What the fuck? What are you talking about? What gold?"
"Don't play fucking stupid with me," the thief hissed. "Tsk tsk, don't get any ideas. Do you want to live or not?" Fear, oh beautiful fear.
"What...do you want from me?" Malik tried to remain calm, but panic was slowly overtaking him. He shuffled nervously with his feet, hands still up in the air, his head tilted backwards. "I don't have any fucking gold..."
"Shut the fuck up. The gold. Take it off, piece by piece and drop it on the floor. Any second you hesitate is a second closer to your death."
Malik couldn't help snorting. "Yeah, right..."
"Take it off, now!" The thief raised his voice, increasing his painful grip, knife slicing through the jacket and grazing the skin on his back. Malik groaned, and his right hand went to his left wrist to take off his first bracer.
The next second, it was the thief who groaned- a painful blow to his wrist made him drop the knife, and he released his grip on Malik's hair due to an equally painful blow to his arm. He was lifted up from the ground, and the thief choked and gasped for air, clawing with his fingers at the tanned hand that held him up in a forceful grip, almost crushing his windpipe.
"Motherfucker..! Son of a..." To his own aggravation, he couldn't focus- he had never been surprised before; he was a thief, the one that used the shadows to his advantage, to remain unknown and undetected... his attacker wore bracers as well and he lost grip. Black spots were dancing in front of his eyes, lungs screaming for air. In a last ditch effort, he thief tried to kick his attacker- he only got a low, amused chuckle in return. Familiar...
"Give it up, Bakura..." the thief heard his name being hissed with a deep, dark malevolence, and he knew that voice, from somewhere, someplace... and all went black.
He smiled and waved at the last customers leaving the Game Store, and hurried to put the lock on the door. It was past closing time and he didn't want to risk a fine for being open later than the allowed hours. If only customers would be as nice as to keep that into account as well- the last browsers had been terribly slow. He was already lucky that he lived in the same building as the game shop; no need to commute.
"Yuugi?"
"Yes, grandpa?"
"Can you go to the convenience store for me?"
"Sure, grandpa! What is it you need?" Yuugi's eyes went automatically to the clock- he would've to hurry if he was to make the run before the curfew. He was actually pretty tired and rather stayed at home, have dinner and get some chores done before going to bed. He stifled a yawn. Grandfather Mutou wasn't the one to blame here for not being able to keep up with the fast advancing and changing technology, and the installment of rules and the curfew; the older man just didn't seem to grasp the concept of it. Yuugi shook his head. He didn't understand it either, but nobody around here asked questions, just obeyed the rules. Things would go downhill if you didn't obey the rules. He hopped from one foot to another, waiting for his grandfather to return with a small shopping list; if he'd really hurry, he could call Anzu before going to bed. At the thought of his fiancée, he smiled- every tedious, hard day of work was completely forgotten as soon once he heard her voice.
"It's nothing much, Yuugi," his grandfather pressed a piece of paper in his hand. "I would've done it myself, but..." His voice trailed off.
"It's all right, grandpa, I'll go get it," Yuugi answered, checking over the list. Again, he had written "batteries" on it.
"Grandpa, there are no such things as "batteries"... do you want a proton cell pack or an energy support disk?"
"Ehmm... I think one of the latter," grandfather Mutou said, head averted in embarrassment. "It's only been a few decades that I still had to put new batteries in the appliances... this world has so much changed ever since."
"I've got to go grandpa, I'll be back soon!" It wasn't that he didn't want to hear his grandfather talking about 'whatever it was since a few decades', he really had to go or the store would be closed and he would be trespassing the curfew. Yuugi quickly put on his coat, checked his pockets for his LVS number, his PMA and his card. He left the Game Store through the front door, jingling the doorbell.
Yuugi quickly made his way over to the hover bus stop. It was his only way of transportation; it was swift and cheap, and he had to pinch every credit- the Game Shop didn't provide that much of a large income. Besides a handful of 'old school' gamers, nobody played board games; the shop drifted on profits on gaming consoles and the rentals of video and holo games. Most of the software was ripped and illegally traded anyway- something Yuugi and his grandfather couldn't compete against with their modest shop.
The hover bus arrived, running on autopilot again- there was nobody insane enough to drive a bus in this area. Yuugi pushed his card into the slot and he was admitted, the doors sliding open. He sat down next to a darkened window; above the window was the electronic board indicating which stop the bus was at.
The yellow tube light reflected his image; a young man, though looking very much like a teenager, with pretty weird spiked hair in black and magenta colors, framed with golden bangs. Yuugi didn't care much for his appearance, nor was hardly teased with it... more people looked a bit... freakish in this neighborhood, hard core gamers or not. Relaxing in his seat, Yuugi merely mused about today; lots of browsers, but not sellers. It had been a while since the Game Shop had been 'checked'; an irregularly visit of a team of four men, on selling of Duel Monsters. That card game was forbidden for some reason, even though Yuugi knew illegal parties were held and that cards changed from owner to owner for very high prices. He had sometimes considered dealing in Duel Monsters cards himself, to get the Game Shop out of its deplorable sales... but the risks were too high. He had never seen or heard about someone being arrested for trade in the forbidden cards return... and everybody knew about the three ultimate cards of the game, the God Cards- who apparently were responsible for destroying the Earth. A complete planet destroyed by a game- Yuugi couldn't believe it. He left the hover bus at the right stop, fumbling around his pockets for the shopping list his grandfather had given him.
He was about to walk into the convenience store, shopping list in hand, when he noticed someone standing next to the automatic doors, almost completely covered by the shadows of the large building- a strange thing in itself, as the store always was surrounded in ugly, bright yellow tube light. Yuugi's attention was immediately focused on the visible spiked hair of the stranger, resembling his own; and something shiny, glittering.
Yuugi showed a weak smile, not entirely sure if the stranger saw him, and he went into the store- he had to be home before the curfew, and he didn't want to risk a fine when gaping at some stranger. Besides, his mother had him warned for strangers and that he was too trustful from his early years on... Yuugi did his shopping, finding every article available, paying for his purchases without any problem and when he left the store, he felt something tugging, though nobody was near him... Looking to the left, his eyes immediately went to stare at the stranger.
"C-can I help you?"
He stepped out of the shadows- no, he detached himself from the shadows. Yuugi's mouth fell open. The stranger looked exactly like him- he could pass easily for an elder brother, with only the minor of differences- a darker skin tone, a slight advantage in height, a few more golden bangs and the eyes. Where Yuugi's eyes were purplish, large and round, this man's eyes were narrow, harsher, and a remarkable crimson red.
"I-is there something I can do for you?" Yuugi clutched the bag with his purchases close to his chest, as if he wanted to pull up a wall, a shield between him and the stranger. The man was a perfect mirror image of himself and he didn't feel all that uncomfortable, while he should be screaming and scared... somehow, there was something very strong coming from this man- a strong sense of protection, possessiveness, determination.
"What's your name?" Yuugi asked, voice steady, to his relief.
"Name?" Even his voice was almost the same- but lower, way lower.
"Yes, your name," Yugi repeated, eyeing the man who had taken another step towards him.
"Name." The stranger nodded, bringing up his hand and fondled under his tight leather shirt with numerous buckles, and held something in front of Yuugi, dangling for his eyes. It was a silver nametag with an inscription.
"I'm sorry... what?" Yuugi looked bewildered at the nametag.
"My name."
"I can't read that... it's some bird... and a funny eye..."
"My name." The man repeated.
"Why can't you say it? I can't read it," Yuugi said, backing away just a little.
"Read my name." The stranger repeated, insistent, taking a step forward. Yuugi's eyes darted from the left to the right- would someone come to help him if he screamed? Where were people anyway? It almost looked like the convenient store was drowned out from his surroundings, a fog like substance covering it. Was his vision blurred or was he just seeing things? His comfortable feeling from just a moment ago hadn't diminished, but wasn't very strong either. He cleared his throat.
"I know- my grandpa can read it."
"Grandpa?"
"Yes... he's an elderly man... he knows a lot about ancient history, he has done Earth Studies," Yuugi answered, smiling. "I've seen those bird and eyes drawings in one of his books! He can certainly help you."
"Show me that grandpa of yours." It wasn't a question, but not completely a command- Yuugi wasn't sure if he nodded because he wanted to help this stranger, or that the regal and confident attitude of the man made him wanting to help him...he threw a look over his shoulder.
"The hover bus stop is that way. Do you have a card to pay for the ride?"
"I do."
"Let's go, then."
The doorbell of the Game Shop chimed, announcing Yuugi's return.
"Grandpa! I'm home!"
"In the kitchen!" The elderly man hollered back, turning the stove off. He didn't like the nowadays food as it was prepared; nothing beat a dish cooked the old fashion way. "I made some..."
Solomon Mutou had turned around to greet his grandson, only to see an exact double standing next to him; slightly taller, and with a look in his eyes that told him not to ask any questions.
"You... you brought a guest...?" He said, sounding weakly. "Yuugi, you should've called..."
"Grandpa, can you read this?" Yuugi answered, giving his grandfather a "don't-worry-we'll-talk-about-it-later"-look, and tapping on a silver nametag his look-alike was wearing.
"Yuugi..." Solomon had hardly denied his grandson anything, supporting him in every decision he made, giving advice whenever he needed it... and his heart turned cold with the knowledge that for some reason, Yuugi wouldn't listen to him whatsoever concerning this... his double.
Putting the oven mittens down, Solomon approached the stranger, who wore an amused look on his face- he felt his fear.
"How did you get..." The elderly man didn't even finish his sentence. Silver was a rare metal, and the inscriptions were even rarer, but decipherable... he squinted his eyes, as for the first time in decades he saw ancient, ancient hieroglyphs again.
"It says "A-tem-u," Solomon said, after a few minutes of silence.
"At...Atemu," the stranger repeated. There was no smile on his face, nor a thank you on his lips... only a smirk. He knew his name again.
"Atemu!" Yuugi tried the name out for himself. "Atemu, what were you doing there, at the store? Do you have someplace to go to?"
"I have just arrived here," Atemu answered, looking at Yuugi. "This is all very... new to me."
"New? Where do you come from? Do you have a place to stay?"
"Yuugi, where are your manners? Atemu is your guest... you should offer him a drink and something to eat, not bombard him with questions." Though I really wish you would get rid of him... something is not right and you seem to be... smitten with him...Solomon turned his attention back to the stove, hoping that Atemu would decline and leave.
"My apologies," Yuugi was quick to offer. "Would you like something to drink? And maybe you can have dinner with us, if that's okay with you, grandfather?"
"I would love to," Atemu answered, just before Solomon agreed as well. Yuugi was feeling excited- there was something that made him trust Atemu, no matter how much he was warned for strangers and no matter how coincidental their meeting had been... it was like he had found a long lost friend, as if they had known each other for years!
Yuugi was about to comment when the door of the Game Shop opened. His eyes immediately brightened- it was only a few seconds for curfew, and there was only one other person holding the key to the shop... it could be no one else but...
"Anzu! You almost hit curfew!"
The brunette girl smiled radiantly, immediately hugging her fiance. "I was running so late! Madame Korishnova kept me for extra dance practice and..." She spotted the extra presence in the small kitchen within a few seconds, and her eyes went wide as well.
"Who's this, Yugi?"
"Anzu, meet Atemu- Atemu, this is Anzu, my fiancee," Yuugi introduced them. "Let's sit down and have dinner together!"
"Anzu, a pleasure meeting you," Atemu took her hand and brought it to his lips, placing a chaste kiss on her fingers. Anzu blushed faintly and suppressed a childish giggle.
"Eh... it's a pleasure meeting you too, Atemu... I guess everybody here has told you already... but you look exactly like Yuugi."
"Yes I do." Once again, he didn't leave anyone an opening to answer to; it was a statement, not a question or a simple remark. His eyes swept over the kitchen, to the set table with the dish. There wasn't really enough for all of them; two extra eaters were a lot for this household. "Please enjoy your dinner," Atemu said. "I will be in the living room." He was out of the kitchen before anyone else could comment.