As the teacher
continued about the family and the funeral process, Miho continued
crying into her handkerchief along with the other girls; Jounouchi
didn’t know what to think. His own
‘problems’ about being followed seemed absolutely
nothing compared to this, and when Nagobana suggested they should
continue the class in respectful silence, even Jounouchi was meekly
holding his tongue.
“It
just can’t be right, man,” Honda said. He had said
it twice before, and undoubtedly would say it a few times more.
Jounouchi grumbled, slouching as he walked over the pavement.
“I
hope they catch him, and kill him too,” he snarled.
“That
won’t be much of a consolation to her family.”
“No,
true…maybe it’s some kind of consolation.
Man…this is bad.”
“Did
you know Anzu was working at that restaurant? Burger World?”
Honda asked.
“No?
She was working there?” Jounouchi raised
an eyebrow. After-school jobs were against the rules, and he was one of
the few allowed to keep his work delivering newspapers because it was
his only way to pay for his tuition.
“Apparently,”
Honda answered. “She was at the wrong place at the wrong
time…”
“If
she hadn’t accepted that job, she wouldn’t
be.”
“She
was saving up for her studies,” Honda said.
“What
did she want to study then?”
“Dance
in New York.”
“Sheesh.”
Jounouchi
kicked a pebble, not knowing why he felt so miserable. It
wasn’t his sister…as long as Shizuka was all
right, everything was all right…right?
“I
hope they catch him,” he repeated, “and kill him on
sight. No one has the right to take one another’s life
and-”
His sentence
was cut short as someone yanked at his collar. Before he could react,
he was dragged over the ground, and he started kicking with his feet.
“Let
me go! Hey! Heey! Honda…!”
Jounouchi
flailed with his arms, trying to find support, something to hold onto,
regaining his balance to start fighting. He moved his feet, dragging
his heels. He didn’t hear anything from his friend, and a
thousand thoughts spun around in his mind. Was
he the victim of the escaped criminal now? Hirutani and his
gang? Robbers? Jounouchi almost choked as the grip on his collar made
the fabric of his blouse cut into his skin and he coughed out loud.
Suddenly, he was released and thrown against a wall.
Heavily
coughing, he looked up, his eyes searching out his attacker. A tall man
was standing in front of him, with eyes that drilled holes into his
very soul. Every smart-assed response Jounouchi could come up with
melted away - this man wouldn’t take kindly to that kind of
response, that was clear.
“Where’s
Honda?” he managed to growl.
“At
least you are still thinking of your friend,” the man
answered, voice low but composed.
“That
speaks to your honor, Jounouchi Katsuya.”
“What
do you want? Who are you?”
He was
ignored. Jounouchi clenched his hands into fists; he would jump up and
nail the guy, as soon as the weird feeling in his legs would disappear.
At the moment, they felt like lead; he had to shake it off of him
before he could even think of a fight.
“Where
is the Pharaoh?”
“Whu-what?”
“The
Pharaoh. Where is he? Answer me!”
“Take
it easy!” Jounouchi bellowed, confused. “I
don’t know any Pharaoh. If that’s the name of some
kind of thug, I-”
“Do
not even dare to think to talk about him like that!”
Jounouchi
gasped for breath as an invisible hand clenched itself around his
throat. Fear clawing at his mind, he briefly wondered if he had gotten
himself into something way over his head…Shizuka. I
can’t give up!
He brought up
his hands, but found quickly nothing to pry off of his throat. Instead,
that whatever that held its grip on him tightened it, and he coughed
again, fighting for the next gulp of air.
“What…what
do you want?”
“The
Pharaoh. I want to know where he is. He is not in this world! How is
that possible?”
“I
don’t know…what the hell you’re talking
about!” Jounouchi cried out. He was not
going to say ‘please’. But…Shizuka…who
was going to take care of her if he wasn’t around any more?
Otogi, who probably would exchange her for a new toy whenever his eyes
fell upon another woman?
“You
are supposed to be friends with him.” The grip around his
throat was loosened, and he took a deep gulp of breath, relieved.
“I’m
telling you, I don’t know anyone who goes by that name. Not
in the streets, not at school...”
The man took a
step closer. Jounouchi was now better able to see him: a stern man,
with chestnut, shoulder-length hair, weird markings under his blazing
eyes, something akin to gold around his neck, and clad in a dark,
purplish robe. Freak!
“Hey
man, I want to help you, but I don’t know what
you’re talking about.”
“Stand
up. Stand up!”
With the force
around his neck gone, Jounouchi found the strength to obey the
man’s order, albeit grudgingly. He worked himself back up on
his feet, coughing a few times, touching his throat. That was going to
hurt even more later, probably a spectacular bruise.
“Friends…if
you’re talking about Honda…”
“No.
You are supposed to be friends with the Pharaoh. More so, you would
give his life for him, as he would do for you. This world does not feel
right.”
Jounouchi
didn’t bother to hide the irritation in his voice.
“You could at least say ‘sorry’ for
attacking me, man…”
“Where
is the boy with the Puzzle? Do you know him?”
“A
kid with a puzzle? Yeah, I know a kid with a puzzle,”
Jounouchi said, dusting off the sleeve of his jacket. He had to pay
himself for his school uniform; fortunately, it wasn’t torn.
“Where is he?”
“Do
I look like a fucking tourist office to you?
‘Where’s the Pharaoh’,
‘Where’s the kid with the
puzzle’…fuck you!”
“Master?”
Jounouchi
snapped his head to the right, hearing a girl’s voice and his
jaw went slack when he saw Honda, face blank and eyes lifelessly,
walking next to a girl with similar thick, chestnut hair, the strands
framing her face.
“What
the hell did you do to Honda!”
“He
is fine,” the taller man answered. “He will not
remember anything of this, and you either, Jounouchi Katsuya. I only
want to have some answers.”
“Leave
me alone,” he said, though half-heartedly.
“You
are an important link in this world,” the man continued,
ignoring him. “What you can tell me is
important…think about that.”
“I
can’t help you if I don’t know what
you’re talking about,” he muttered in reply.
“Apprentice,”
the man nodded at the girl. She snapped with her fingers, and Honda
blinked a few times.
“Jounouchi?
What the hell…?”
“We’re
captured by idiots,” Jounouchi growled. Now that he was
standing upright and feeling better again, his hands were clenched into
fists. He noticed Honda doing the same - like the buddies they were,
they would face their enemies together.
“Stop
that,” the man said. “You do not stand a chance
against us. Tell me all you know about the Prince.”
“Prince,
Pharaoh, whatever,” Jounouchi said before jumping, his fist
high in the air to hit the man square on the jaw. His face already
split in a devilish grin, a fight providing him with the adrenaline and
a welcome distraction from the earlier events. He knew Honda was
lunging forward as well, both their attacks aimed at the man,
dismissing the girl as if she never existed.
It
didn’t take long for his grin to turn into a grimace,
gritting his teeth. Jounouchi felt heavy and light at the same moment -
light enough to leap through the air, fist aimed at the man, and heavy
as lead as he wasn’t moving forward, not an inch. His brain
needed a few precious moments to process the idea that he was
frozen…in mid-air. Honda was next to him, aiming low at
their supposedly victim; he too was frozen in mid-air, the only thing
moving were his eyes. They shot back and forth rather panicked,
and Jounouchi couldn’t help but feeling extremely
stupid.
“Good
work, Apprentice,” the man spoke calmly, as if he
wasn’t facing two young boys floating in mid-air with their
fists clearly aimed towards his face and stomach. The girl suddenly
giggled, shifting around and revealing some kind of wand, her slender
fingers wrapped around it.
“Thank
you, Master…!”
“It
is all right, please allow them the ability to speak.”
Jounouchi
found his mouth working again, and used his rediscovered ability
immediately to fling a colorful row of expletives at the man and the
girl, as usual followed by Honda.
“Are
you finished?” the man interrupted him after five minutes,
understanding there wouldn’t be an end to it any otherwise.
“Yes,
asshole,” Jounouchi answered.
“Fine.
Realize I can take away your beloved speech indefinitely.”
“What
is it you want?” Jounouchi repeated, growing tired.
“I don’t know any Pharaoh.”
“My
name is Mahaado,” the man introduced himself. “This
is my Apprentice, Mana. The origin and existence of our powers are not
for you to know, or any of your interest.”
With a gesture
of his hand, they were released from their frozen state and both
Jounouchi and Honda fell promptly to the ground.
“We
are looking for the Pharaoh, and it is imperative that we find him,
otherwise this world is doomed.”
“Whoa,
wait there, buddy,” Honda lifted up his hands. “I
don’t know a Pharaoh either, and what do you mean, this world
is doomed? That’s something out of a bad movie.”
“I
think he’s referring to Yuugi,” Jounouchi said.
“He asked me if I knew a boy with a puzzle.”
“Mutou
Yuugi? The kid from school?”
“Yeah!
Remember when he brought that box to class? The treasure box?”
“With
the gold inside?”
Mahaado looked
at Mana and back to the boys again. “What is that about a
golden box?”
“That
kid… Yuugi, he had a golden box with him. There were all
strange markings on it, and it was rather small.”
“What
was inside the box? Pieces of the Puzzle?”
“It
looked like puzzle pieces…” Jounouchi hesitated.
“I don’t know if it’s the
puzzle you’re talking about.”
“Do
you know if he finished it?” Mahaado’s voice
sounded urgent, yet…strangely hopeful. Jounouchi resisted
the urge to stall the answer and scratch the back of his head.
“No,
I don’t know. The kid went…away. He left school,
and I’ve barely seen him ever since. He has a Game Shop with
his grandfather, here in town.”
“If
the Prince finished the Puzzle, there is still hope, Master,”
the girl said, a smile showing on her face.
“Yes,
there is,” Mahaado said, and even on his face a very
tentative smile tugged at his lips.
“Maybe
all hope is not lost after all.”
Honda
chuckled. “I severely doubt the kid’s been able to
finish it. Jounouchi dumped a piece of it in the school’s
swimming pool.”
“Yeah,
that was the most awesome joke ever,” Jounouchi grinned at
his friend and would’ve given him a high-five if he
hadn’t caught the look on both the others’ faces.
Mana looked
heartbroken, tears already glistering in the corners of her eyes.
Mahaado drew his lips into a tight line, a cold, stony expression
settling on his face.
“You
did what?” he asked, voice low and curt.
Jounouchi
cringed. Something was telling him that his most awesome joke
wasn’t very well received.
“He was so whiny about it,” he tried to defend himself. “Strutting around like a girl and prancing with a golden box, calling it his treasure! I only wanted to help him become a man.
Men
don’t flaunt golden treasure boxes around.”
“You
idiot,” Mahaado hissed. Mana looked shocked, and Jounouchi
wasn’t so sure if it was of his confession of throwing away
the puzzle piece or hearing the other man calling him names.
“Do
you have any idea of what you have done?”
“It
was just a prank, lighten up,” Honda piped up. “The
kid was a wimpy little...”
“Honda!”
Jounouchi yelled at him.
“…girl,”
Honda finished quickly, suddenly noticing how Mahaado had narrowed his
eyes to mere slits. The girl looked aghast, her eyes saddened.
“It
can’t be possible,” she softly murmured.
“We were so sure…”
“What’s
this all about anyway?” Honda said, trying to cover up his
mistake. Mahaado didn’t answer but fixed him a glare that
made the boy shift nervously from foot to foot.
“This world is doomed. We leave now, Apprentice.” He made a brusque movement to the right, but the girl jumped in front of him.
“Master,
wait!”
“This
is in vain, Apprentice.”
“Master,
please,” she said. “The Prince is here. We can look
him up, and ask him where the Pharaoh is! If we fix the Puzzle, we can
fix the timeline!”
“Timeline?”
Jounouchi repeated, dumbfounded. Honda shook his head, muttering
something about ‘nutcases’ under his breath.
Jounouchi wasn’t so sure about that. The two strangers spoke
with such intensity, and were clearly very convinced of their goals.
Whereas Honda already seemed to have forgotten about it, Jounouchi
hadn’t - it had been the girl who had caught them with
whatever it was in mid-air, and instinctively he felt that the man was
capable of even more. Master and Apprentice. It had to do with Yuugi
somehow; well, that wasn’t difficult to figure out.
“I
can bring you to the Game Shop, where Yuugi is,” he said,
stubbornly ignoring the strange look Honda was giving him. Mana
immediately brightened, seeing a new opportunity for hope.
“Master…!”
Mahaado
scowled. “The Item should never have been broken in the first
place…”
“There’s
nothing we can do about it now,” Mana answered determinedly.
“But if we can find Prince, he can help
us…!”
“Very
well, then,” Mahaado said, but his tone of voice
didn’t hold much hope. He stared at Jounouchi, then at Honda.
“After all, it is fair that the one will bring this world to
its end, will do his best to help us stop the process.”
“Hey!”
Jounouchi protested. “What’s all this talk about a
doomed world? If that has something to do with that puzzle
piece…”
“It’s
just not some puzzle piece,” Mana said, slightly impatient.
“We better talk to Prince.”
“And
pray that he is able to help us,” Mahaado added curtly.
“Master!
It’s Prince - of course he’ll be able to help
us!”
“Enough,
Apprentice. Let us go, then.” He looked expectantly at
Jounouchi, who coughed and took the lead, starting to walk in front of
them. Honda caught up with him.
“Jounouchi,
what the hell is this all about?”
“I
don’t know, man,” Jounouchi answered.
“But this is something different, something big.”
“What
do you mean?” Honda asked, annoyed. “Look at them!
A guy and a girl in strange clothes, talking about the world being
doomed - and you believe them?”
“Yes,” Jounouchi said. He halted mid-step and turned towards his friend. “I believe them.”
“Why?”
“Because…because
it’s too unbelievable to not be true.”
Honda made a
very suggestive gesture with his fingers close to his left temple.
“You’re not serious, Jounouchi…did you
fall onto your head again or something?”
“Quit
it,” he grumbled and whacked Honda on the head, but missed by
a mile, as usual. When he looked to the left, he saw Mana and Mahaado
standing, waiting patiently for him to move on. For one moment, but
long enough, his eyes locked with the tall man – and he was
reminded of the exact reason why he believed him. This man simply
didn’t lie. Every word he spoke was true; even Jounouchi
could feel it into the core of his very soul. He just knew
this man spoke the truth, no matter how strange he looked, no matter
how brusquely he behaved. Jounouchi swallowed, suddenly wanting his
sister close by. He had an ominous feeling, and he wasn’t
really sure if it was because of Anzu’s unexpected death, or
the look in the man’s eyes.
“Hey,”
Honda spoke up. Jounouchi looked at him, faintly irritated as he was
disturbed in his thoughts.
“What?”
“Whatever
it is man, I’m coming with you,” Honda simply
answered. Jounouchi couldn’t help but grin, feeling rather
grateful.
“Don’t
get all mushy on me, you moron.”
“Excuse
me,” Mahaado cleared his throat. “We have a lot of
work to do, if this world is worthy enough of any help to begin
with.”
“All
right, all right, stop pushing,” Jounouchi said, resuming his
walking pace. The GameShop wasn’t that far from here, and he
was curious to what was going to happen. If that wimpy kid played a
part in it, it could become very interesting. He would see Mutou Yuugi
for the first time in years again. Heh, maybe the kid has
grown in time, that would be really funny.
Honda fell in pace next to him, and they both were silent.
Timeline
III, known universe: Domino City, Japan
Hunger.
Thirst.
His stomach grumbled, longing for something to eat. He pressed his
hands against it as if he could silence it; the hunger pains making him
feel weak and fragile. How long had he been…there? In that
small, dirty alley, lying with only his cloak to keep him warm?
“Mahaado?”
he said out loud, the name familiar on his tongue, but estranged in
this world, this place, this…wherever he was. His head
pounded, his stomach was eating itself, and his body ached all over.
Where were his servants? His Priests? Where was…the sun? All
he saw was cloudy, gray sky, and...it started to rain. Soft, wet drops
fell upon his face, and he blinked a few times. He wasn’t
used to rain, not like this – when the Nile flooded, it was
due to heavy rain storms, so much unlike this pitter-patter of drops.
He shivered. He had to find shelter and some food and water before he
would black out again. Why was he feeling so…vulnerable?
There
weren’t any of his guards or Priests around here, but he was
independent enough to take care of himself. The Gods would never leave
him alone, they would never abandon him in such a state
of…despair. This wasn’t his homeland anymore, that
much was certain. He took a few steps forward and hissed when pain shot
through his foot. The fabric of his sandals was much too thin and soft
for walking on streets; a particularly nasty piece of rock had cut
right through it.
Almost
bewildered, he looked around; there were lots of trees and bushes in
front of him, resembling a garden. Where there as a garden, there had
to be a house. If only he could talk to someone, ask about what was
going on… Shivering from the chilly temperatures and the
rain, he quickly moved forward, ignoring the pain in his foot, crossing
a small path to get to the other side - and promptly his way was
blocked by some kind of fence. Confusedly, he touched it. Who in his
right mind put a fence around his garden? He couldn’t
identify the material; it had a gray, smooth surface and there was a
sign attached to it, but he couldn’t read it. These kinds of
hieroglyphs were so much unlike the ones he knew, that he was unable to
make heads or tails out of it.
He saw light
in the distance, a faint, shaky light; there had to be people. The
fence wasn’t that tall; he could climb over it if he was
careful. The strange material was sturdy enough to carry his weight,
even though it rattled dangerously as he started to climb it. People
knew the use of bricks here, whatever made them use this to fence their
gardens? These new knowledge would’ve been fascinating if it
weren’t for him feeling so hungry and thirsty. He
would’ve reveled in all these discoveries, but for now he
only wanted food and shelter. Hissing again, this time in irritation as
he heard his clothing rip, the hem caught in one sharp piece of the
material - it wasn’t as smooth everywhere as he thought,
apparently - he worked his way over the fence, landing in the middle of
a few bushes.
His mind was
clouded with questions – how he had ended up here, what was
going on, where his Priests were…shivering, he continued his
path towards the faint light in the distance.
“I
would like to know what is going on.”
“Pharaoh,”
Mahaado repeated, his voice hitching. Mana looked up, her face lighting
up.
“We
finally found you…we finally found you!”
Anzu
didn’t know what to say. She could very well recall the
moment that Yuugi told her that he had, or rather felt, another
personality inside of him. It all happened after he had finished that
Millennium Puzzle he wore constantly around his neck, and when he has
experienced ‘simple’ black-outs. The moment he told
her and their mutual, best friends Jounouchi and Honda about it, she
had dismissed it as something Yuugi was imagining, or rather
fantasizing about.
She
didn’t deny that Yuugi had gone from rather reclusive and
silent to more confident and courageous, but had chalked it up to him
finally making friends and finding support and strength in their bond.
He’d been bullied and picked on for so long, and though she
tried to help him, she couldn’t be around him 24/7. After
becoming friends with Jounouchi and by default, Honda, Yuugi had been
much happier and confident. There were still things that happened
around him that she couldn’t explain very well, and that
Yuugi could go from confident to downright cocky, even arrogant, was
something that had puzzled her, until she started to believe in his
so-called Other.
Mou hitori no Yuugi.
The
differences in appearance were minimal, and it was mostly his voice and
different posture that made her aware of him. Duelist Kingdom had
changed much between them, deepening the bond between the friends.
Yuugi was Yuugi, Jounouchi had exclaimed, and Honda had agreed.
She remained
silent, staring at the Other Yuugi. His features were strained, masking
his confusion and uncertainty about the situation.
“I
would like to know what is going on,” he repeated.
“Pharaoh,”
Mahaado said. “Now we found you, everything will be all
right.”
“This
world is safe,” Mana mumbled.
“Finally…”
“Stand
up,” he said, “Explain yourselves.”
Mahaado stood
up, followed by Mana, and they exchanged a quick look at each other
before taking their seats again, silently.
“Why
do you keep referring to me as Pharaoh, and to my aibou
as Prince?”
“Because
that is what you are,” Mana simply said.
“Mana,”
Mahaado interrupted her. “We have to be careful with what we
say.”
“Why
is that?” Anzu asked. “What is it that you
can’t…don’t want to tell us?”
“It’s
not up to us,” Mana said, her voice dropping from its
previous cheerful tone to a lower, darker one. “We
can’t disturb the timelines any more than they already
are.”
“With
anything we say or tell you, the risk of disturbing or even destroying
timelines becomes greater,” Mahaado continued.
“This is the most intact timeline we have found so far, and
we intend to keep it that way - only when it is intact enough, we can
work from here to save the world…and other worlds as we know
it.”
Anzu’s
face fell. She didn’t like all this talk about
‘saving the world’ and how Yuugi was involved in
it…he and his Other, somehow. Hadn’t they been
through enough already, when they had to make their way through the
tournament at Duelist Kingdom, defeating Pegasus to free their
grandfather’s soul?
“I’m
not sure what’s going on here…” She
said. “Mou hitori no Yuugi?”
He
didn’t answer her, but not out of impoliteness; his attention
was completely focused on Mana and Mahaado.
“Timelines,
other worlds. You bear uncanny resemblance to
certain…inanimate characters from a card game, and your
names are unfamiliar to me.”
“You
do not have your memory,” Mahaado said, his tone of voice
somewhat hurt, even though he already knew. “That strengthens
our belief that this truly is the right timeline, as it was supposed to
be…” He suddenly gasped.
“Master?”
Mana asked, worriedly.
“It…”
Mahaado widened his eyes. “It is supposed to be like
this,” he covered up the sudden disturbance. “How
painful it might be, Pharaoh, at this moment you are supposed to have
lost your memory. Do not worry, you are well on your way to recovering
them.”
Chapter 5 | Chapter 7