Queer As Tachi – Chapter 18
The skylight in Yugi’s bedroom was open to let in a cooling breeze when Yami awoke in his physical body, which he noticed as he took his first breath and could smell the trees and the weird scent of sun-warmed shingles. The midnight air from outside was a little chill on his naked skin but pleasantly so. He looked down to Yugi kneeling before him, panting a little heavily at the burst of energy that had knocked him back, and immediately bent to take him into his arms. Yugi started at the pharaoh’s sudden rush, but had no reason to argue as he found himself caught up into a warm embrace and pulled into Yami’s chest. He rested his head on the pharaoh’s shoulder and closed his eyes, hugging him back just as tightly. “Oh, Yami,” he whispered. “It’s you…it’s really you…”
“It feels like forever since I last held you,” Yami whispered back, caressing his young love’s back tenderly as he held him, sitting back on his heels to pull Yugi into his lap. Though he was still naked, neither of them saw it as a purely sexual gesture – not yet. Yugi just leaned against him and let himself be cradled, resting his head comfortably on his lover’s chest. Yami nuzzled the top of his head, his eyes closed. “I’ve missed this. I don’t think the wait between months has ever felt so long.”
“Because I hardly had time to see you in the Puzzle in between,” Yugi murmured apologetically, tightening his arms around the pharaoh’s naked torso. “I’m sorry. I should have…”
“No,” Yami immediately interrupted. “You had too much to do. I understand. I’ve been with you the whole time, you haven’t neglected me. It just made me realize I was beginning to take these visits for granted, that I should remember there was a time when all we had was the Puzzle and our minds.”
“Maybe so.” Yugi smoothed his hands slowly up and down his lover’s bare back, feeling flawless skin gliding beneath his palms, as they sat together in silence for a while. He could feel a chill trembling deep in the body he was curled up against, and pried himself to a sitting position again. “Come on,” he implored, “let’s get you dressed and into bed. I don’t want you to get cold.”
They had already agreed, prior to performing the ritual, that Yugi was too tired for sex and just wanted to sleep that night. They could save the fun for later. Yami cupped his cheek and stretched to gently kiss his lips. “All right,” he consented. “I hope you don’t mind me lying awake beside you and holding you while you sleep.”
Yugi purred contentedly. “You can do anything you want,” he smiled, kissing him back and finally pushing himself to his feet. Yami came with him, and gracefully pulled on the briefs and pajamas that had been laid out for him. Yugi was already dressed for bed, so he just reached up and pulled the skylight closed before returning to the bed. Yami kindly turned back the covers for him and guided him in before crawling in beside him and tucking them both in together. Yugi had curled himself around the pharaoh before his head even hit the pillow, and let out a huge, relieved sigh to feel the warm body he could snuggle against all night. Yami’s arms came around him, nestling him into a comfortable embrace they could both handle, and before too long Yugi was out, enjoying the most restful and complete sleep he had been able to get in a month.
By this time, Grandpa Muto’s recovery was progressing very quickly, and he had already made it to the disobeying-orders phase. Though Yugi steadfastly refused to let him resume work as usual, Grandpa was at least healthy enough to be wandering around the house, lounging and generally being a nuisance on account of wanting desperately to be in the shop below. He had an appointment to see his doctor in a week, to check him over and determine whether he had an official clean bill of health, but for now, he spent his days getting in Yugi’s hair and doing a lot of crossword puzzles. This day, with Yami out of the Puzzle, Grandpa decided to be less of a pain in the ass and give them space, which mainly involved staying upstairs in a comfy chair with his feet up, a mug of hot tea, and the TV remote. Yami was more than willing to spend his day of freedom sitting in a corner of the game shop watching Yugi work, as Yugi put off any suggestion of the pharaoh actually helping, not wanting him to have to share the burden. It left Yami available to pop upstairs once in a while to make sure there was nothing he could do to assist Grandpa or keep him company. He wanted, sincerely, to be of some help, but Grandpa was doing much better and could fetch his own tea, while Yugi felt it wasn’t right for his lover to be humbling himself and doing something so base as unpacking shipment or making change for a customer. He was a pharaoh, after all! Yami tried to argue that he wasn’t much of a pharaoh anymore, but in the end he decided to let it go and just perched himself on a stool behind the counter, asking Yugi a million questions and watching with keen interest whenever someone was in the store looking at Duel Monsters cards. In the long spaces between customers, though, Yugi could sidle up to him and be wrapped in loving arms, so they could kiss and giggle and talk privately of how best to treat each other later that night when they could finally be alone.
As promised, after the game shop closed Joey and Mai arrived with a late dinner delivery for everyone, turning a quiet evening into a small party for a couple of hours. It was a chance for everyone to catch up, now that Grandpa was fine to have visitors around and Yugi was back to his old, happy self with Yami sitting beside him sweetly rubbing his back. “Eh, you’re not missing anything,” Joey assured him, sitting back against the couch with a soda. “I don’t get what’s so cool about the university experience, but then, I don’t live on campus. We both only were there long enough to go to classes and check our email.”
“If that,” Yugi agreed. “We’ve got a better connection here at the house, now, so I don’t miss the computer lab one bit.”
“Lucky,” Joey grumbled comically. “I wish I had a grandpa with a game shop I could inherit. Hey, Gramps – want another employee?”
“If that employee is you?” Grandpa snorted. “I’m too smart for that, Joey.”
Joey groaned, Mai laughed. “Sorry, Joey,” Yugi said with no sympathy whatsoever. “You’ve got a perfectly decent job, I don’t know what you’re worried about.”
“It pays the bills,” Joey admitted, “but I don’t mind the break on the rent now, let me tell you.” He glanced toward Mai beside him, and they shared a smile. “I may even take a cut in hours so I’ll have more time to study in the fall.”
“Oh, my poor heart!” Grandpa suddenly exclaimed with false alarm. “Did I just hear the words ‘more time to study’ come out of Joey’s mouth? I think I’m going to faint.”
“Scary, isn’t it?” Mai admitted. “When he told me that I just stared at him for a few minutes until he assured me he wasn’t joking.”
“What?” Joey complained. “I gotta! There’d be no point for me to stay in university if I didn’t stick to my goal. I want to be a teacher, and I gotta do this in order to get there. If that means changing my slacker ways…well, then, I guess I have to.”
“Don’t listen to them, Joey,” Yugi encouraged. “You know I’ve always stood by you. I think it’s a great idea, and I want to see you succeed.”
“Thanks, Yug.” Joey promptly turned his head and stuck his tongue out at Mai, who rolled her eyes in response.
“What about you, Mai?” Yami asked politely, ignoring their interplay. “What would you like to do, now that you’re living here?”
Mai sighed in exasperation. “Well, I had to pick up a boring desk job just to have some quick money,” she explained, “but I don’t want to be stuck there forever. Sure, all I had to do was bat my eyes and I had the job, but I’m too intelligent to be a receptionist. It sounds weird, but I’m way overqualified.”
“What are you looking for?” Yugi wondered. “I don’t think I know that much about your background, Mai, the kinds of things you’re into – besides Duel Monsters…”
“I don’t really have much of a background,” Mai said dryly. “What you see is what I am. I didn’t go to university like you guys, I’ve been making my career playing and winning Duel Monsters. But you can’t go on that for your whole life.”
“Unless you’re Kaiba,” Yami retorted.
“Well, I’m sure there’s something,” Yugi said hopefully, resting an elbow on the table and his chin on his fist. “Just because you didn’t go to school doesn’t mean you’re not good at something. I’m sure you’ll find it eventually. Just give it time.”
Mai smiled wistfully at him. “I guess,” she relented. “It’s not so bad. At least I’m here with you guys. It sure beats wandering the world alone. I’ve had plenty of that, I’m over it.”
“And we’re glad you’re here,” Yami said kindly. He glanced across to Joey, who just sat there with a warm, knowing smile on his face.
After a while, Grandpa Muto excused himself to go to bed early, still being mindful of his health, though the kids lowered their voices to keep conversing, a little more seriously now. “Anything new on the Kaiba front?” Joey asked warily.
“Not really,” Yugi answered, leaning back into Yami’s arms. “I told him off pretty good that last time, I don’t think I’ll hear from him again until he’s got some way of either sweetening the deal or making it sound like I can’t turn it down. But by that time, Grandpa will have the legal papers drawn up to put a part of the shop in my name, so Kaiba can’t have it without confronting me directly.”
“And he ain’t gonna do that,” Joey noted, “because you’d just challenge him to a duel and kick his ass.”
“I don’t want it to come to that,” Yugi sighed, resting his head against Yami’s shoulder, “but if I have to, I will.”
“Why wouldn’t you?” Mai asked incredulously. “You’d have him beat, hands down.”
“There’s no guarantee of that. Besides.” A scowl crossed Yugi’s youthful features, making him look more pouty than angry. “He made me so mad when he said I didn’t have the head or heart for business. Our disagreement over the shop shouldn’t be taken to the dueling field, I want to keep it strictly business. I’ll show him. I can do just fine.”
“It will be all right,” Yami said gently. “Your grandpa will be making the arrangements next week, the store will be safe.”
“Grandpa’s not retiring now, is he?” Joey wondered with some concern.
“Oh, no,” Yugi assured. “He’s way too bored as it is, I can’t imagine what he’d be like if he retired now with nothing to do. He wants so much to be back in the shop, and I don’t blame him. When the doctor gives him the all-clear, he’ll be right back behind that counter like usual. We’ll split duties, then, it’ll be both of us running the shop together.” He gave his lover a cute smile. “And we already agreed that the full moon days will be my regular day off, no matter what.”
“Perfect,” Mai complimented.
“See? You got all the luck,” Joey offered. “A cool job with the best hours and one day every month guaranteed to be with your boyfriend. Could you ask for anything more?”
Yugi made a show of thinking about it. “Hm, maybe, Yami being in this body permanently?” he suggested with another smile toward the pharaoh.
Mai cast Joey a look to punish him for asking such a stupid question. “If you thought they were cute now…” she warned.
Yami just laughed and hugged his arms around Yugi. He had been perfectly content the entire time sitting there with his friends, Yugi sitting between his legs and lying back against him so he could hold him. “I’m not worried,” he said kindly. “One day a month is more than we ever expected. I’m just glad to be here at all.” He glanced down at Yugi with a smile. “I wouldn’t want Yugi to become bored with me.”
“Impossible,” Yugi snorted. “I haven’t gotten bored with you being in my mind for how many years now?”
“You’d think we would have noticed them a long time ago,” Mai said to Joey. “I mean, with all those times Yugi used to get that faraway look in his eyes, like he was listening to something only he could hear? He really was. I bet Yami was sweet-talking him all that time and we never knew it.”
“He was not!” Yugi protested, though he blushed. “Most of the time we talked to each other, it was about dueling.”
“Not in the past year,” Joey remarked. “Or couple of years. I remember when you told me, last spring. It all made sense. You’d been drifting off like that for months beforehand, I guessed you were mind-melding with Yami but I didn’t know why.”
“I’m sure none of you could have guessed the reason,” Yami mused.
“True…although the more I see of you two, the more it makes sense,” Joey shrugged. “You’re perfect for each other. It doesn’t even faze me anymore that you’re both guys.”
“Speaking of which…” Mai smiled knowingly. “It’s getting late. Maybe we should head out and let you two have some time together.”
“Aw, you don’t have to leave on our account,” Yugi protested. “It’s not that late…”
Joey got up and gathered up some of the empty takeout cartons to throw away in the kitchen. “And how much time have you two spent alone together since Grandpa was in the hospital?”
Yugi looked away sheepishly, hemming and hawing in search of an answer that didn’t sound pathetic. Yami just looked up to Joey with big, serious eyes. “It isn’t important. Yugi had to take care of the house, and Grandpa…”
“It is so important,” Joey argued, pointing sternly over an empty box. “Or does all that stuff you say to me about relationships taking work and making time for the person you love not apply to you too?”
Yugi shrank down even further into Yami’s embrace, his face flushing a deeper red. Mai smiled across the table at him. “It’s okay, Yugi. You’re entitled to want to be with your boyfriend, especially when things are rough. You need him, and he needs you. It’s not wrong.”
“Thanks, Mai,” Yugi said timidly.
Joey helped him clear away what was left of dinner and then he and Mai said good night, leaving Yugi and Yami alone at last to focus solely on each other. As Yugi closed the door and turned to face his partner, Yami just reached out and brushed the backs of his fingers down Yugi’s cheek. “Hush,” he implored before Yugi could open his mouth. “There’s no need to say anything about what we haven’t done. We’ll just spend tonight together the way we want, nothing else matters.”
Yugi sighed gratefully, leaning into the touch. “You’re so good to me,” he breathed. “I really do wish you could be here all the time, even if it means we can’t read each other’s minds anymore.”
“It would be nice,” Yami admitted. “To regain my life, and have a second chance to live and grow old with you. But I don’t mind.” He put his arms over Yugi’s shoulders and drew him in, cradling him against his chest. Yugi heaved a deep breath and sank into him, slinking his arms around his waist. “I have you, that’s all I need.”
“As long as I have you,” Yugi murmured in return, “I don’t have to worry about anything. No matter what life throws my way.”
Yami smiled to himself and bent his head to kiss his partner’s forehead, and then stepped back, taking his hand and guiding him back upstairs to their bedroom. Along the way Yugi shut off lights and left the house in silence, so they could close themselves away in his room and spend the rest of the night slowly, magnificently making love, shutting out all worries and fears, all the hard days and sleepless nights of the past month. They had a lot to make up for, and Yami ensured that by the time the clock crept dangerously close to midnight, both of them were thoroughly satisfied and rather exhausted. Yugi curled up in his arms and spent the last minutes tenderly kissing his neck and chest, savoring the salty tang of sweat on his skin. The body vanished beneath his hands, the swirls of energy wreathing around his limbs and streaming back into the Eye of the Puzzle chained to his neck. All Yugi could do was sigh in regret and lay there, until his own mind broke the mood by nagging that the bathroom was calling. He removed the Puzzle and gently kissed the Eye before laying it on the pillow to wait for his return.
Yugi stood behind the counter of Kame game shop, casually discussing the new restricted-card list that had just come out from Industrial Illusions to balance tournament play for Duel Monsters with a customer, while his grandfather sat at the desk in the back room with a lawyer. It wasn’t anything scary, and since the lawyer had seen to much of the Muto family business over the years – legalities for the shop, Solomon’s will, and the like – his presence wasn’t unusual at all. They were just tweaking some final details, and then the papers to give Yugi part ownership in the game shop would be ready for them both to sign. “I think this is all in order,” the lawyer said brightly, shuffling them and straightening them neatly on the desk. “I have to say, it’s about time, Solomon. I’m sure the heart attack put a bit of a scare into you.”
“I had been feeling rather invincible up to that point,” Mr. Muto admitted. “But this is something I had always intended to do, if Yugi was interested. I knew I wouldn’t be around forever, and I needed to start making plans to turn the store over to him before my heart forces me to retire permanently, but I thought I could put it off at least until he came of age. You know how it is.”
“Most people don’t start thinking about that until it’s too late,” the lawyer agreed with a shrug. “I think you made the right decision. This is the best balance for both of you, it will allow you to gradually pull back, rather than just dump it on him all at once.”
Solomon grinned. “As long as I’m still kicking, I’m still going to be in this store. Like it or not.”
“What about the rest?” the lawyer asked concernedly. “Have you spoken with your insurance provider yet?”
“That’s next on my list of things to do.” Mr. Muto sighed heavily. “The next few months are going to be very difficult. But I don’t want to worry Yugi unnecessarily. I don’t want him lying awake at night fretting that he’s going to have to sell the shop to pay my bills. I’ll take care of it, and let him just spend his days selling card games. It’s better off if he didn’t know.”
The customer had left by the time the two men came out of the back office, and Yugi turned eagerly to them to find out what had come of the meeting. Grandpa stood back as the lawyer presented Yugi with a very official-looking document. “This transfers part ownership in Kame game shop to you, Yugi,” he explained. “It also makes you executor of your grandfather’s share in the event something happens to him and he is unable to make decisions for himself.”
“Kind of like the other papers I had to sign,” Yugi noted with a sigh, “for the living will and stuff.”
“In a way. But that pertained to Solomon’s life and health and his estate. This is purely about the shop.” The lawyer reached over his shoulder and pointed out a few things. “The shop can’t be sold without your consent, and this clause protects you in the event of an unexpected financial hardship. You won’t be held responsible for debts or bankruptcy. If anything like that happens, though, you’ll have me to guide you through it so you don’t lose everything. It’s what I’m here for.”
“Okay.” Yugi set the paper on the counter and reached for a pen from the cup next to the register. “Where do I sign?”
The lawyer showed him the blank at the bottom, where Yugi signed and dated it. Then his grandfather stepped up beside him and signed as well, so the lawyer could notarize it and stash it away safely in his briefcase. “There you are, all done. Kame game shop is now, in part, yours.”
Yugi glanced at his grandpa with a bright grin. “And you’re cleared to go back to work, so everything is back to normal. Finally!”
“It is good to be back,” Grandpa Muto admitted. He then shook the lawyer’s hand enthusiastically. “Thanks for all your help. We’ll be in touch if we need anything.”
“If you have any questions about what legal recourse you have to keep KaibaCorp from usurping your property, give me a call,” the lawyer added seriously. “You should be well protected, but a big company like that has access to resources to fight dirty, if they want to.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Grandpa said warningly. “We have a secret weapon, if it comes to fighting dirty. A last resort that Seto Kaiba won’t be able to counteract with all the lawyers in the world.”
The lawyer looked a little worried, but didn’t ask. He didn’t want to know.
As the month of May went on, growing gradually warmer and sunnier and happier day by day, Yami overheard first Grandpa Muto and then Joey make comments to Yugi about what he wanted for his birthday. The pharaoh knew his vessel’s birthday was coming up, he had observed at least two or three of them that he could remember, but circumstances were different now. Hearing family and friends talk about getting him gifts and trying to get him to divulge what he wanted made Yami realize that he should probably get a gift also, though he wasn’t sure how to go about doing so. Since he and Yugi were so closely bonded, the moment he thought of anything, Yugi would know of it. Not to mention, he had no money of his own, and until the full moon, no body of his own to go out and purchase anything. One evening, as Yugi relaxed on his bed thumbing through a manga, he sensed the pharaoh materializing beside him, sitting on the edge of the bed to watch him. “Yugi,” his voice purred softly in his lover’s mind. “May I ask you something?”
Yugi stuck his thumb in the manga to keep his place, looking up. “Of course. What is it?”
The vision of Yami gave him a kindly smile. “How am I to get you something for your birthday?”
Yugi smiled back and sat up to face his phantom vision. “You don’t have to get me anything,” he demurred. “I have you, I don’t need anything else. It would be kind of hard, wouldn’t it?” he added thoughtfully.
“I don’t even know what I would get.” A look of concern darkened Yami’s eyes. “All this time I’ve been bonded with you, and I don’t even know simple things, like your favorite band, your favorite color…”
Yugi smiled even more broadly. “Of course you do,” he encouraged. “It’s all in my mind. You just have to look for it.”
Yami stared at him curiously for a bit, as his mind bonded to Yugi’s searched through his soul to find the answers he should have known. Then, he began to smile again. “Blue,” he said simply.
“Not just any blue,” Yugi added. “Dark blue, like the sky after the sun sets.” He smiled sweetly. “You see? You haven’t missed anything. It just takes a little concentration.” He waved a hand. “My favorite band doesn’t matter. I don’t really have one right now anyway.”
Yami accepted his assessment with a nod. “And you’re sure there’s nothing you want that I could somehow provide?”
“You’re already going to give me what I want most from you,” Yugi said with a shy yet seductive smile. “What are you worrying about? You’re not even going to be out of the Puzzle on my birthday. You’re not obligated to get me a gift or anything.”
“But I love you, and I want to,” the pharaoh pouted. “But I have no money myself, and no way of keeping a secret from you.”
Yugi sat back and thought about it a moment. “Well,” he began, “what about…like we did way back in Duelist Kingdom? If you take over my mind completely, instead of bonding, you can do things without me knowing. If you’re that intent on keeping a secret from me,” he added teasingly.
“I would only do such a thing if I had your permission,” Yami said seriously. “It doesn’t matter, I don’t even know what I would get you.”
“You don’t have to get me anything, I swear,” Yugi insisted. “I’ll be happy with your visit, as long as I have you to hug and hold and…have sex with, all day long. The actual day of my birthday will be smack in between full moons anyway.” He grinned insolently. “Does that mean you’ll help me celebrate both before and after?”
Yami smiled slyly back. “You’re very naughty,” he scolded in amusement.
“I told you,” Yugi said flippantly. “All I need is you. Whether it’s your actual company on the full moon, or a visit inside the Puzzle, or just something of yours that I can keep with me when you’re a spirit like this. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. That’s worth celebrating way more than me turning nineteen.”
The pharaoh’s spirit nodded mostly to himself. “Yes, I suppose,” he relented. “But if I think of something, and I wish to keep you from reading my mind and discovering what it is?”
“Just don’t be thinking about it while I’m bonded with you,” Yugi suggested. “And you have my permission to take over if you want to spring a surprise on me. I know you wouldn’t use me for anything else beyond that.”
“Of course not,” Yami said strongly, horrified at the thought. “You and I are partners.”
Yugi settled back against his pillow and made to take up his manga again. “I trust you,” he said happily. “It’s all right. Don’t drive yourself crazy trying to think up a surprise. I’ll be happy just to visit you in the Puzzle on my birthday. Besides, we have a whole regular ritual day coming up way before that – we should think about how to spend that day, first!” He giggled to himself and nestled in to read.
Yami smiled and faded from view, but within his spirit, he began to think. It would be easy for him to listen in to Yugi’s every conversation and every thought from now until his nineteenth birthday in the middle of June, picking up hints, but forming a plan to do anything about it would be the problem. At least Yugi was right, they did have a full moon to enjoy about two weeks prior to the special day. He could go about making arrangements without Yugi’s knowledge on that day, if nothing else.
May waned and June was fast approaching, bringing with it the promise of a full moon in the first week, and still Yami had observed nothing to help him in his quest. Things had settled down considerably, now that Grandpa Muto was back at work and Kaiba had disappeared almost as abruptly as he had first arrived with his unsettling offers. Yugi appeared to be falling into his new routine rather easily, alternating early mornings and later nights so both he and his grandfather could get an equal share of sleeping in and knocking off early. At first, Yugi had enthusiastically jumped in to take extra hours just to make sure that his grandpa didn’t overexert himself on his first week back in the shop, but as time went on, they fell into a more natural and more equitable schedule. Sometimes, those later evenings in the shop proved to be Yugi’s most unguarded, as he was more likely to entertain visits or calls from friends and talk openly about the things he liked and their ideas for his birthday. He even mentioned to Joey, once, the adorably cute time Yami had tried to ask what he was supposed to get as a gift. Leaning on the counter to talk to his best buddy, Joey gave a comical snort. “Even I know the answer to that one,” he retorted.
Yugi made a face. “Not everything with us is about sex, you know.”
“Of course not,” Joey said flippantly with a nasty grin, “I know you, Yug. You’re too sweet and gentle to be that raunchy. But it’s kind of obvious. Birthday sex. It’s a good thing.”
Yugi smirked at him. “And what would you know of it?”
Joey met his teasing with an even nastier grin. “Who showed you your first porn? Huh?”
“Shut up!” Yugi looked quickly around for his grandfather. “Anyway…that’s not what I’m talking about. He wants to get me something, I know he does. But he feels silly about having me take my own money and buy myself something and just say it’s from him. I’ve tried talking him out of it, but I know he’s still thinking about it somewhere deep down.”
Joey rested his chin on his hand and made a show of pondering it. “You got me, Yug. Maybe when he’s out of the Puzzle he can just do something with you, instead of buying you something. Or hey, if he wants money, I’ll lend him some.”
Yugi gave him an odd frown. “And how is he supposed to pay you back?”
“Hm, dunno. Good point.” Joey shrugged. “Duel me for it?”
Yugi laughed. “And you’d let him win so it wouldn’t feel like you just gave him some money, I suppose.”
“No!” Joey protested with an amusing pout. “I don’t let people win. Don’t you even accuse me of such a thing!”
Yugi just kept giggling, because he loved pushing Joey’s buttons. “Of course not, Joey, I know that. But I didn’t want to imply that you’d automatically lose just because it was Yami.”
“Oh, gee, thanks, that makes me feel so much better,” his best friend grumbled. “How could he do that, anyway? Without you helping him out? Wouldn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of him trying to be all responsible for his own birthday present?”
“Maybe,” Yugi replied casually. From there conversation turned naturally to dueling and cards, and though he still listened somewhat out of curiosity, in some inner chamber of their bonded minds Yami had begun to ponder. What Joey had said made a lot of sense to him, and though their blond friend couldn’t fathom how Yami might be able to duel and not rely on Yugi, it could be done. In fact, that seemed to be a fantastic idea. But Yami knew not to ask Joey – he and Yugi were too close. While the friends hung around and chattered the rest of the night, until Yugi had to close up and Joey had to go home and write a paper, the pharaoh subtly closed his mind off so his partner would not accidentally overhear a stray thought while he made his plans. Something Joey said as he was making his goodbye brought the pharaoh’s plan into complete fruition, though he had just a few minutes in which to time it right.
As soon as Yugi had locked the main door and flipped the store’s sign to “closed,” before he could go count out the till and prepare the deposit, Yami’s voice stole through his mind. “Yugi?” he asked cautiously. “May I have your permission to take over for a minute or two?”
“Now?” Yugi exclaimed, out loud. “Yami! I have to count the money and finish up for the night!”
“It will only be a minute, I promise,” Yami begged. “I just need to make a quick phone call.”
“A phone call? Why?” Yugi suddenly caught on, perhaps from a subconscious mental hint. “Is this about my birthday?”
“Maybe,” the pharaoh cryptically answered. “May I?”
Yugi sighed hugely in exasperation. “Okay, fine. But make it quick.”
He closed his eyes, and the Puzzle around his neck glowed brightly for just a second as Yami’s mind came completely into control of his body. He went over to the phone and dialed a number he and Yugi both knew by heart. “Mai?” he said when it was answered. “Hello…”
“Yugi?” Mai wondered, recognizing the voice but confused by the deeper shade to it. “Hi, what’s up? Is Joey still there?”
“No, he just left,” Yami replied, “he should be on his way to you. Actually, Mai, it’s not quite Yugi. This is Yami.”
For a moment there was no response, as Mai couldn’t think of anything appropriate to say to that. “Never mind,” she said after a pause, “I don’t want to know how. So, what’s up? What brings a pharaoh to little old me?”
“I was hoping you could help me with a little surprise for Yugi,” Yami explained. “He doesn’t know, our minds aren’t bonded at the moment. I wanted to get him something for his birthday, but right now I lack the resources.”
“A birthday present, huh?” A smile crept into Mai’s voice. “Sure, I think I can help you out, there. What do you need?”
A couple of nights later, Yami was able to execute his plan. He needed a night on which Yugi did not have to work, and would not be inconvenienced by being forced to lose control of his self for about an hour. Yami had not taken over complete control of him like this since Duelist Kingdom, but it didn’t damage their bond at all. On the contrary, it only made Yugi immensely more curious about what his lover was planning behind his back. Knowing that it was only some kind of birthday present allowed Yugi to just be curious and annoyed rather than truly worried about the pharaoh’s need. Promising to explain everything after Yugi received his gift, Yami accepted his partner’s trust and gained control again. Slipping on his boots, he picked up his duel disk from where it sat in a position of honor on his desk and slid it onto his arm. He checked the pouch on his belt for his deck and thumbed through it, making sure all the cards he needed were there, before tucking it safely away and heading out of the bedroom, out the door, and down the street. Night had already fallen, but it was pleasantly warm with a light breeze to ruffle through his hair. Yami walked through familiar streets down to the park that lay more or less equidistant from both home and Joey’s flat, expecting that his appointment would be there waiting when he showed up at their agreed-upon rendezvous point. There were not many people walking through the park anyway, on account of the late hour, but the streetlamps lit the sidewalks brightly enough for anyone passing through to feel safe and confident. As he strode up to the fountain in the middle of the park still whispering the song of falling water in the darkness, Yami glanced to see a taller, curvaceous figure materialize on the far side of it, a sly smile curling her full lips upon sight of him. “I’m here,” Mai called out to him, “just like you wanted.”
Yami smiled back and walked up to where she stood in the pool of yellow light from a lamp overhead. “Thank you for coming, Mai,” he said in his smooth, regal voice. “I appreciate your help.”
“Just don’t expect me to go easy on you,” Mai warned him. “I like your idea and I want to help you with Yugi’s present, but I’m not going to just roll over and let you beat me. This is going to be a real bet, with real stakes.”
“I agree,” Yami nodded. “Have you thought about what you would like from me, in the event I lose to you?”
Mai tapped her fingers on her arm and made a show of thinking. “Hm, well,” she began, “there are a few cards in your deck that I’ve had my eye on. If you’re still using them, that is.”
Yami stuck his hands casually into the pockets of his jeans and smiled coolly. “Name your price,” he dared.
Mai eyed him for a moment before declaring, “Necromancy and Diffusion Wave Motion?”
Yami barely flinched. “Do you have a level six spellcaster in your deck?”
His opponent gave him a similar cool smile in response. “Of course I do.”
“Very well, then.” He took his deck from the pouch on his belt and began to shuffle it. “If you win, you may have those two cards. If I win…”
“Two thousand yen,” Mai finished for him, remembering their phone conversation. “That’s not a terrible lot. Your cards are worth way more than that.”
“Twenty-five hundred, then,” Yami offered.
“Deal.” Mai likewise shuffled her cards and handed them out for her opponent to cut. He did so, and then held out his deck. She just tapped it on the top, indicating that she liked it the way it was. They both slapped their decks into the card slot on their respective duel disks and walked away from each other, giving each other enough space for the holographic emitters to do their job as well as still be able to see the cards in their hands in the light from the streetlamp. Mai drew her hand and smirked across at him. “You’re the visitor,” she offered, “you go first.”
“Thank you.” Yami drew his first card into his hand and gazed in interest at what he had. There was Diffusion Wave Motion, one of the cards Mai desired. It was indeed a powerful card, and as long as she had a spellcaster to activate it, she could use it. He kept it in his hand for now, and ordered a simple opening move to keep her guessing. “One card face-down, and a monster in defense,” he announced as he laid out the cards.
Mai blinked at him and then drew her card, wondering. He’s going to hit me with everything he’s got, she warned herself. Winning this duel is the whole point of him even challenging me. He knew I wouldn’t back down from a bet. No matter, I’ll give him hell for it – I want those cards. “And you’re sure Yugi’s not in there helping you like usual?” she asked aloud.
Yami shook his head slowly with a wry smile. “He doesn’t even know what I’m doing. His mind is as dormant as mine usually is when I retreat to the Puzzle. You’re dueling me alone, Mai.”
“How come that doesn’t make me feel any better?” Mai tossed down two cards and then summoned her favored Harpie Lady, not wanting to disappoint the pharaoh. “No matter, I’ll take you down either way. Harpie Lady, attack his face-down monster!”
Unfortunately for the Harpie, it was Old Vindictive Magician, which took her with him into the graveyard. Yami’s cool, confident smirk never changed. “Be careful, Mai,” he said, sounding sincere and yet smug at the same time. “A less predictable move might give you an edge in this game.”
Mai frowned at him. “You’ve added a few cards to your deck, I see.”
“I’m willing to bet you have, too.” He brandished his duel disk. “Is that all for your turn?”
Mai was nowhere near beaten, not even cowed, but that was all she could do for now. At least her trap cards would keep him from attacking her this turn if he did summon a monster. She had a lot of tricks up her proverbial sleeve, and smirked delicately to herself as she thought of some of them. Of course I’ve changed out a lot of my deck, she said to herself. You have no idea, pharaoh. Harpie Lady was just a test to see what you’ve got. Now, let me show you what I’ve got.
A few people who were out walking through the park noticed that a duel was going on near the fountain and lingered to watch for a minute or two, but no one really stuck around to see the outcome. No one who would recognize two Duel Monsters champions saw them, so there were no spectators who could understand or appreciate the significance of the duel. Yami played hard and fast, but within a few turns found himself completely surprised by new monsters he didn’t realize Mai carried in her deck. They hadn’t faced each other in years, and though their decks retained the same general themes as always, the cards had changed greatly. Before too long, Mai had turned the tables and gained the upper hand, having drawn a special combo she carried expressly for the purpose of dueling Yugi and defeating his Dark Magician, since he was as predictable in that right as she with her Harpies. As the Dark Magician exploded off the field, Mai’s Dragon Lady leaped in and slashed an enormous chunk of Yami’s life points away. It dropped him to three hundred points and left him facing a high-level monster with nothing to protect himself. The one face-down trap card on his side was useless at the moment. But he didn’t seem fazed, though the smirk had long ago left his face and turned him into the serious, dark-eyed pharaoh Mai was used to seeing. He drew his card, eyed it with a straight face, and laid it on the field face-down. “First, this. Then I’ll use Monster Reborn to summon my Dark Magician back to the field. That’s all,” he said, his voice flat and solemn.
Mai shook her head. “I just destroyed him, you don’t have anything more powerful to bring back,” she noted. “Tough break, Yu…er, Yami.” She shook her head with a little smile as she drew her card. “I still have to get used to that. Man, I’m really sorry to have to do this. I was pulling for you, I really was. First, I’ll summon a Cyber Harpie in defense.” The monster appeared, wings wrapped close around her. “And now, Dragon Lady…”
“Activate Trap!” Yami declared forcefully, flinging a hand dramatically toward the hologram on the field. The trap card flipped up, and the image on its face began to glow in anticipation of the sacrifice about to be made. Yami plucked the card from his duel disk, showing it across the field to his opponent as the corresponding monster vanished from its place in front of him. “I’m removing the Dark Magician from play, in order to activate the Rite of Transference.”
Mai stared as he tucked the magician into a pocket and began digging through his deck for another card. “Rite of Transference?” she questioned. “I’ve never heard of that card before. Is it new?”
“You could say that.” Yami found the correct monster and slapped it down on the field. From the glowing gate on the face of the trap card stepped the bigger, darker, Sorcerer of Dark Magic.
Mai stepped back in awe to see him; she knew a few duelists like Yugi actually had one but had never seen one actually summoned to the field. The Sorcerer raised his staff, and the magic card giving the Dragon Lady an enhanced power boost from a magical katana vanished. “Wait a minute!” Mai cried. “Sorcerer of Dark Magic can only be summoned a certain way!”
“Not according to this card.” Yami gestured toward the trap vanishing off the field now that its work was done. “Rite of Transference allows me to summon him thanks to the Dark Magician’s supreme sacrifice. Now, do you wish to attack me?”
Mai clenched her jaw and stared across the field for a moment. “No way,” she decided. “I’ll switch my Dragon Lady to defense mode and lay this card down. Go.”
Yami drew and smiled in obvious amusement over his hand. “How ironic,” he mused. “This duel will end thanks to a card you once played on me with great success, and the one you wanted to win from me.”
“What?” Mai stared at him, her hand hovering over the buttons on her duel disk to activate face-down cards. “That can’t be…”
“First, I will activate the Sorcerer of Dark Magic’s special ability to rid the field of your trap.” Yami glanced slyly aside as the card vanished in a shower of pixels. “Then, I reveal this…” The face down card on his side raised and made Mai step back with a gasp. “You recognize it?” the pharaoh teased.
“Shadow of Eyes,” Mai grumbled. “I didn’t know you had that.”
“You showed me, once, that it could be powerful in the right circumstance.” Yami watched in satisfaction – and Mai in horror – as her two monsters switched from defense to attack, making their points vulnerable. Yami threw down one more card. “Such as this. Diffusion Wave Motion!”
“Oh no!” Mai wailed. “No way!”
“I’ve had this card since my first hand,” Yami said off-handedly. “I’ve been saving it just in case. Sorcerer of Dark Magic…attack all her monsters and eliminate her life points!”
Mai ducked her head instinctively as the magical burst from the Sorcerer’s staff cut through both of her monsters, destroying them and dropping her life points to zero. She had officially lost. Her arms dropped to her sides as the holographic emitters powered down and the mystical battlefield vanished. The handful of spectators who had come along just at the end to see what was going on applauded sparsely before turning and walking away. Mai looked up as Yami strode across the sidewalk to meet her. “That was amazing,” she complimented. “I almost had you. If not for that new card, you would have lost.”
“Yes, I know,” Yami admitted. “It was a very tough duel. It’s clear your skills haven’t gone soft in the years since we last battled, you’re as good as ever.”
“Thanks,” Mai sighed. “Hey, can I see that card?”
“Sure.” Yami took it from his graveyard and offered it between two slender fingers.
Mai examined it in interest while the pharaoh collected his cards and put them away. “Wow,” she breathed. “That’s an incredible card. But what card line is it from? I don’t recognize it at all.”
“It’s a very rare card,” Yami tried to explain. “Pegasus gave it to Yugi’s grandpa, and he in turn gave it to us. I don’t know anything more about it.”
“That’s a shame.” Mai handed it back. “I know a lot of people who’d love to have one. If it’s a special tournament prize or something, it would make sense. I’ve never actually seen anyone summon a Sorcerer of Dark Magic before.” She huffed a sigh and reached into her tightly-laced bodice for the folded bills she had promised. “Here you are. Twenty-five hundred yen.”
Yami blushed faintly at receiving the slightly sweaty wad of bills from where she had been storing them before putting them in the pouch with the cards. “Thank you, Mai,” he stammered. “I hope our duel was worth it.”
“Oh, it was definitely worth it,” Mai assured. “I haven’t had that much fun in a long time. Just seeing the panic on your face the second before you drew that card was worth it.” She combed back her bangs from her face as the cool night breeze washed over them both. “Just don’t tell Joey I took a bet with you. I don’t know what he’d say, but it probably wouldn’t lead to anything fun.”
“I won’t,” Yami promised. “Likewise, say nothing to Yugi until after I’ve given him his present. I’ll tell him, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise.”
Mai smirked. “I still don’t know how you’re going to keep it from him until then, but you’ve got it. He won’t hear it from me.” She cocked her head curiously. “What are you going to get him?”
“I don’t know yet.” Yami lowered his eyes shyly, tucking his hands back into his pockets. “I’ll have to keep listening to him, to find out if there’s anything he wants, but he said something about wanting something to keep near him while I’m in the Puzzle normally.”
“Oh, that would be sweet,” Mai gushed. “He misses you when you’re just in his mind.”
“I suppose so.” Yami smiled, keeping his eyes down. “We’ve grown rather fond of our ritual. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
“I don’t blame you. Well…” She held out an amiable hand. “Thanks for a good time. I should get going, I have to work in the morning.”
“As does Yugi. He’ll want his body back before he gets bored.” Yami clasped her offered hand and turned to leave, giving her a wave over his shoulder. “I’ll see you around, Mai.”
“Be good,” she called out, waving back. She stood there a moment longer until his lean figure disappeared into the darkness before turning and heading home. Joey probably wouldn’t understand why she had to go out in the middle of the night with her duel disk, but in the end, after Yugi received whatever special secret gift Yami was planning to buy all by himself, with money he had earned the only way he knew how, it would all be explained.
Upon returning home, Yami climbed up the stairs and went to Yugi’s bedroom, taking the money out of the deck pouch and stashing it away somewhere he expected Yugi wouldn’t look. He had about a week and a half before he could make use of it, he was sure that Yugi wouldn’t find it before then. Not inside a sock tucked behind a book on his shelf that he hadn’t read in ages. Satisfied, Yami closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting go of the supreme mental concentration required to keep his spirit in full, uncontested control of his vessel. He hadn’t remembered it being so tiring. Yugi’s mind awoke as if from a long, dark sleep, to find himself roughly exactly where he had been earlier, except that it was darker outside and the clock displayed a passage of about an hour and a half. “Yami?” he wondered of the spirit residing within him. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” came the gentle internal murmur. “But I think while you sleep tonight, I’ll be resting as well.”
Yugi smiled to himself. “And you’re not going to tell me what you did.”
“Of course not.” The presence wrapped warmly around him like a breath of wind before dissipating. “You’ll find out in due time. I only hope I do this correctly.”
Yugi could feel his partner fading into dormancy, and decided not to press him. Yami was not the sort to want to keep secrets indefinitely, this was truly only for the sake of a birthday surprise. He accepted it, but Yugi knew as he set the Puzzle on the side of his bed and stripped off his shirt to change for bed, waiting to find out what the surprise was would only intensify his curiosity until it became impossible to bear. Just for that, he thought to himself, he might have to pay Yami back.