Adult-FanFiction.org : Yu-Gi-OH

Rending the Veil	By : SangoHuntress1977 Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 3154 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: YuGiOh and all characters thereof are the sole property of Kazuki Takahashi and all media rightsholders. I am merely a fan borrowing for fun and entertainment and derive no profit therefrom.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Kayobi, Tuesday, March 20, 2002
Graduation Day
Clad in their graduation suits, but holding their jackets over their left arms, Yugi and his friends marched into the gym among the other graduates. As the principal called out instructions on where to turn, Yugi and the others followed, not missing a beat. Even Jou and Honda acted with surprising decorum as they marched.
The principal called out for the groups to freeze, and they froze on a dime, nobody moving a muscle. He then called out another instruction and everyone started walking backwards, the two groups intersecting as they walked, causing the audience to clap in amazement. The principal then called out the next instruction and the two groups recombined, then walked to the middle of the gym, where the principal instructed everyone to sit down, row after row, from front to back.
The principal then began reading off the names of the graduates with the special honors and highest grades. Yugi watched as each student stood up, bowed, then sat back down again. Neither he, nor his friends had received any such honors, so they had the chance to rest for the time being.
Yugi looked and saw Jou sitting just to his right. The blond subtly turned his gaze to Yugi and the two exchanged a secret smile before looking forward again.
After the principal had called out a few more names, the instruction was given to stand up again. All the students stood, broke up into smaller groups and began marching around the gym according to the principal’s instructions once again. The groups marched in formations, froze perfectly upon command, then sat down in rows, standing and sitting quickly upon command.
The principal called out another instruction and the students were marching two by two. As they walked, Yugi found himself next to Anzu, who winked at him before they turned their gazes ahead so they could move perfectly within the group formation. After several more amazing drill formations, the principal called out the final instruction and the entire group marched out of the gym to receive their diplomas backstage.
That evening…
“Man, all dat marchin’ around ‘n shit. Was we in school or da army?” groused Jou as the friends walked toward Burger World for their grad party.
“Ah, quitcher bitchin’. At least we’re finally outta that hellhole,” replied Honda indifferently. “I dunno about you guys, but I’m gonna get smashed tonight.”
“Sounds good to me,” agreed Jou. “What about you three?”
This directed toward Yugi, Bakura and Anzu.
“Ah, sorry, but I have to start packing and make arrangements for my flight to New York,” said Anzu, holding her hands up in apology.
Yugi’s heart sank in his chest at these words. So soon? He had hoped that Anzu would at least stay the summer and here she was, already making plans to leave!
“What about you, Bakura? Wanna tie one on with us?” offered Honda.
“I’m really tired from all that marching about,” Bakura declined with a scrunched up smile and holding up his hands.
“Party pooper,” said Honda with a half-smirk.
“So Yugi, you wanna come git wasted wit’ us?” asked Jou over his shoulder.
“Um, Grandpa’s expecting me home by 10,” explained Yugi, also holding his hands up.
“Man, you three ain’t no fun,” groused Jou. “OK, me 'n Honda’ll drink in your places.”
“Thanks, guys,” smiled Yugi.
With that, the five friends entered Burger World, put in their orders and spent the evening stuffing themselves with burgers, fries, and Cokes.
Kayobi, Tuesday, April 3, 2001
“Yugi, Anzu’s here!” called Grandpa’s voice from downstairs.
Yugi looked up from the wood and rice paper spread out on his desk, immediately jumped up from his chair and charged down the staircase. When he saw his childhood friend, a huge smile cracked his face.
“Anzu!”
“Hi, Yugi! I was wondering if we could walk around town together, for old time’s sake,” spoke Anzu.
Yugi looked to his Grandpa.
“Go on, you two. *cough* Enjoy the day,” said Sugoroku with an indulgent smile.
“Thanks, Grandpa!” said Yugi as he went for his boots.
Yugi and Anzu made a day of it. First, they went to the Spider, where Yugi watched Anzu beat anyone who dared to challenge her at DDR. Her movements were graceful and on point and Yugi could see that one day, she would be a great professional dancer.
After the club, Anzu and Yugi went down to the old arcade. Yugi noted sadly that not as many kids were coming in anymore. With the rise of home PC gaming and high speed Internet, more and more people were turning to that medium for their gaming fix.
Yugi went and bought tokens for both of them and he and Anzu had a fine time trying out all the different video games there, boxing and martial arts games, car racing, etc. Yugi won top score in everything, happily putting his name YGO at the top of all the score boards.
Yugi and Anzu went to the movie theater and took in Legally Blonde, which made Yugi laugh so hard that he fell out of his seat. After the movie, they stopped at Burger World for a healthy dinner of hamburgers, fries and Cokes.
“After all, once I start training, I’ll be limited to eating salad, fish and chicken,” Anzu remarked, wrinkling her nose.
Yugi and Anzu made their way to Domino Pier. The sun’s light had mostly died out now, casting a calm afterglow on the gently lapping water as gulls lazily swooped up and down, squawking as they hunted for tidbits. This was a place that held lots of memories for them.
“Remember when we sailed for Duelist Kingdom? It seems like just yesterday we were sneaking onboard that ship,” mused Anzu.
“Yeah. I’m so glad all you guys came with me. I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I did without you,” said Yugi.
“It was our unity that got us through all those tough times,” Anzu remarked gravely. “That won’t change, Yugi. Even if all of us end up moving far away, remembering will keep us friends.”
Yugi nodded vigorously, rapidly blinking his eyes to keep the threatening tears from falling. The two fell silent for a bit after that, watching the gently lapping waters and the gulls that swooped up and down above the waves, squawking as the wind bore them aloft.
Anzu reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, which she proffered to Yugi, who took it and opened it. On it was written an email address: dancingqueen@______.com.
“If you ever get the chance to go online, email me and we can keep in touch that way,” she offered.
“Thanks, Anzu. I can probably get online on Grandpa’s computer,” said Yugi as he folded up the paper and put it away. ‘Even if I do, it won’t be the same.’
“I can’t believe I’m this close to realizing my dream. I’m so nervous and excited,” said Anzu as she looked out at the horizon over the ocean again.
“I know you can do it, Anzu. You’ll become a world famous dancer and I’ll be so proud of you,” said Yugi as he idly tossed some bread to the flying gulls, which swooped down and carried it off.
“Yugi, I promise when I do my debut, I’ll fly you and all our friends to New York to see me personally!” Anzu piped up suddenly.
“I’d love to go!” Yugi cried happily. “It would be so awesome to visit the Big…”
“Apple,” Anzu supplied.
“Yeah. I can see it now. We’ll walk around all day, taking in all the sights, then in the evening, we can all watch you dance on stage,” exclaimed Yugi, rapt light illuminating his large eyes.
“Then I’ll work hard so that day will come sooner rather than later,” said Anzu, eyes shining with determination and reflecting the blue of the ocean before them.
“Yeah!” Yugi agreed happily.
Nothing more to be said, the two old friends turned and walked away from the pier, leaving the gulls to their forage.
Nichiyobi, Sunday, April 15, 2001
Yugi was up at the crack of dawn. Today was the day he had been dreading: Anzu’s departure for New York. After dressing for the day, a downhearted Yugi headed downstairs to eat breakfast with Grandpa.
“Good morning, Yugi *cough*,” exclaimed Sugoroku as he brought out the breakfast of miso, fish and tamago kake gohan.
“Morning, Grandpa,” Yugi replied absently as Grandpa set his breakfast before him.
Sugoroku’s heart felt like lead at the sight of Yugi’s pale, sad face. Any loss of a friend weighed heavily on Yugi’s sensitive soul and Anzu’s departure felt like a cruel blow, as she was his oldest friend.
Haneda International Airport, Tokyo
Yugi, Anzu and the others made their way through the throngs of people milling about the huge airport. The air rang with the continuous announcements of the arrivals and departures of flights. It would be so easy to get lost in that huge place, but thankfully, Anzu had worked everything out ahead of time and knew right where to go.
After Anzu had taken care of her ticket and sent her checked bags on ahead, the group made their way to the boarding area. Outside the huge windows, jets could be seen on the tarmac, some parked, some slowly taxiing to begin their takeoff. In a matter of minutes, Anzu would be on one of those jets, flying across the Pacific Ocean to a distant land.
“Thank you all for everything. I’ll look forward to seeing all of you at my professional debut,” Anzu said with a bow to her dear friends.
“Break a leg, Anzu!” Jou cheered.
“Give ‘em hell!” encouraged Honda.
“May you dance divinely,” wished Bakura.
“You’ll have to beat all the fanboys off with a stick,” teased Otogi.
“We’ll see you soon, Anzu,” was all Yugi could trust himself to say.
“It’s a promise!” said Anzu with a wink as she held up her fingers in the V for victory sign.
With that, she turned and headed for the entrance to the jet, pulling her small suitcase along behind her. With one last glance over her shoulder and wave goodbye, Mazaki Anzu disappeared from their lives, seemingly forever.
Yugi swallowed the tears that were threatening to break forth as he forced himself to remember the promise between them.
‘I’ll see you at your debut, Anzu,’ he thought as the group left the airport.
That night
Kame Game Shop
Yugi and Grandpa sat at the table, eating. At least, Grandpa was eating, while Yugi was gazing forlornly at a small scrap of paper while his layered pork, cabbage and potatoes were rapidly cooling.
“What’s on that paper that’s so important that *cough* you’re staring at it and letting your dinner get cold?” inquired Grandpa.
“Huh? Oh, sorry. Anzu gave me her email address. She wants to email while she’s in school,” explained Yugi.
“Oh ho!” said Grandpa. “You don’t seem very enthusiastic.”
“Emailing isn’t the same as seeing the person every day,” mourned Yugi, absently fingering the paper.
“No, it isn’t. But it’s better than not being able to talk to them at all,” pointed out Grandpa wisely.
“I guess…” agreed Yugi listlessly as he shoved the paper in his pocket, picked up his chopsticks and unenthusiastically attacked the cooling pork before it turned to rubber.
“Cough cough! Hack hack!” Grandpa was suddenly seized by a coughing fit, having to grab his napkin and cough into it.
“Grandpa, won’t you please go to the doctor?” Yugi asked, staring worriedly at the old man.
“Ha ha! It’s just a little cough, my boy. I’ll be fine once the air warms up,” said Sugoroku dismissively.
Yugi blinked and went back to his dinner, hoping that Grandpa’s words were the truth.
Next morning…
The day dawned clear and bright with warm winds chasing away the last chill of winter.
Yugi cleared away his breakfast tray, then went to run for his boots to go tearing out into the wider world. Just as he was about to step down into the genkan, Sugoroku approached.
“Yugi, I’ve a special surprise for you today,” he announced with a twinkle in his violet eyes.
“What is it, Grandpa?” Yugi asked.
“Tut tut! Don’t be impatient, my boy. *cough* Let’s take a ride into town today,” said Sugoroku, donning his mask and stepping down into his shoes.
“OK,” said Yugi, finding a small smile.
Maybe spending the day with Grandpa would be a welcome distraction, Yugi thought as they got in the car and Sugoroku started the engine. Yugi was also glad to see that Grandpa seemed a bit peppier today than he had been of late, though that worrisome cough remained.
‘I guess the warmer weather really is helping him,’ Yugi thought with a small smile as he buckled his seatbelt.
Soon they were on the road into Downtown Domino, where they parked in front of a little cell phone shop that had recently opened.
“Here we are,” Sugoroku announced, climbing out of the car.
“You’re getting a phone?” Yugi asked, rather shocked to say the least, as Grandpa was hopelessly old school when it came to technology, keeping an old computer in the back room of the shop with a dialup connection solely for stock purchases.
“Yes, but not for myself,” Sugoroku answered with a wink.
“For me? Grandpa…” Yugi began.
“Yes, Yugi. Think of this as a slightly belated graduation present. The phones they’re selling nowadays will allow you to email with distant friends as well,” said Grandpa.
“Thanks, Grandpa!” cried Yugi, pulling Sugoroku into his arms in complete oblivion of the stares such a forward display of affection garnered.
Once in the store, Yugi picked out a smart little navy blue flip phone with a camera. The store clerk was very kind and helped Yugi to set up his phone number and email address, which he had no trouble thinking of: blackmage@_____.com.
After everything was set up and paid for, Sugoroku took Yugi to eat at Burger World. While absently eating a hamburger, Yugi pulled out his new phone, started the email program, entered dancingqueen@_______.com and fired off his first email to her.
blackmage: Dear Anzu,
Grandpa must be a mind reader. He just bought me a phone with email! He’s the best grandpa anyone could hope for!
Anyway, I hope you had a good trip to the USA and do good in your dancing school. Looking forward to the day we can all see you dance on the big stage in person. Please write back soon.
Your friend,
Yugi
On the way home, Yugi’s phone vibrated in his pocket.
dancingqueen: Hi yugi! So good to hear from you. I’m glad we’ll be able to email and talk a lot. The flight over was good, but jet lag is hell. Write back soon!
Anzu
Nichiyobi, Sunday, May 6, 2001
With the end of Golden Week, businesses would reopen and everyone would return to school and work. Yugi and Jou sat on a bench in the mall, drinking fruit flavored slushies and just generally enjoying their last day of freedom before Yugi would have to run the shop again.
“So you wanna hang out again after I close the shop tomorrow?” Yugi asked.
To Yugi’s surprise, Jou frowned and shook his head.
“Sorry, pal. No kin do. I gotta work t’morrow,” the blond explained.
Yugi almost spat out his slushie.
“Work?! You?! Since when?! Where?!” he yelped.
Jou threw his head back and laughed openly at his friend’s flabbergasted state.
“Haw haw haw! Yeah. Since last week. At Kaiba Corp,” he answered gleefully.
This time, Yugi really did spit out some of his slushie, getting his t-shirt wet in the process.
“Kaiba Corp?!” he yelped.
“Yep,” Jou grinned. “Kinda shockin’, eh?”
“A bit…” Yugi agreed as he wiped his chin with his arm. “How in the seven hells did you end up working for Kaiba?”
“Dis is a good story,” Jou began.
“I’ll bet,” glowered Yugi.
“Yeah, so shaddap and lemme tell it,” said Jou. “Anyway, last week, when ya had to run da shop all da time, I just went t’da arcade to kill time. Well, Rich Boy was actually dere! He said it was his first time hangin’ out dere in ovah a year ‘n to git da hell outta his way. Jus' as he started walkin’ away, some dude jus’ come up outta nowhere ‘n grabbed his wallet outta his back pocket. Well, I jumped da fucka ‘n punched’m out cold. When Kaiba saw dat, he said maybe even mongrels could be useful ‘n offered me a security gig at his office 'n at his amusement pahk when it opens in June.”
Jou smirked proudly before taking a big gulp of his slushie.
It took poor Yugi a full five minutes to actually wrap his brain around everything. Finally, his mind and mouth began to function again.
“Wow! That’s quite a story. I’m glad everything worked out. Maybe now that he’s seen what you can do, Kaiba will actually be civil to you,” he said hopefully.
“Somehow, I doubt dat. He said if I was even five minutes late on my first day, he’d dock me five hours pay,” pointed out Jou.
“Now that sounds more like the Kaiba we know! Well, good luck, Jou. You’ll need it!” Yugi laughed as he took a sip of his slushie.
“We’ll hang out real soon, Yuge. I swear,” Jou said more solemnly.
“Yeah, I know,” said Yugi with a sad smile.
“Kinda crazy how everythin’ changed. Dis time last year, we was dukin’ it out in Battle City ‘n now here we are, done wit’ high school ‘n workin’,” Jou continued.
“Yeah. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later,” Yugi agreed, finding his slushie interesting.
“I kinda wish it’d been latah rathah 'n soonah,” said Jou.
At this, Yugi could only nod as he and Jou had both realized that graduating from high school signaled the end of their carefree youth loud and clear. Now the greater burdens of adulthood were starting to loom up on them and their friends little by little.
Doyobi, Monday, June 4, 2001
“Happy birthday, Yugi!” Grandpa, Jou, Honda, Bakura and Otogi all said in unison as Grandpa carried out a huge birthday cake with 18 candles on it.
Huge eyes shining with happiness, Yugi leaned forward and blew out all the candles in a single breath. This formality completed, Grandpa handed Yugi the knife and the birthday boy divided the cake into six even pieces and passed them out.
After cake, it was gift time. From Jou, Yugi got the newest Duel Monsters booster pack and a CD-ROM containing the video game Unreal Tournament on it. Taped to its case was a folded up paper, which Yugi took and pocketed.
From Bakura, a book on ancient games and Riven, from Honda a couple of puzzles based on movies they had seen and Doom and from Otogi, the latest home edition of DDM and Wolfenstein.
“Thanks, guys. These are all great,” Yugi answered as he looked over his gifts appreciatively.
Honestly, he wasn’t sure about what to do with the CD-ROMs though.
“Yugi! Package!” said Grandpa, coming in with a box with international shipping labels on it.
“It’s from Anzu!” Yugi cried happily as he read the labels.
“Well don’t just sit dere starin’ at it! Open it up!” Jou encouraged.
Yugi tore the box open and found within several American comic books and video game titles for home PC.
“These are all great, but I don’t have a PC,” said a slightly crestfallen Yugi as he eyed all the new game titles longingly.
Unseen by the young gamer, a mutual glance passed between Grandpa and the others. Sugoroku disappeared into the storage room. A moment later, the squeak of the dolly’s wheels was heard as Grandpa emerged, pushing something on it, which made Yugi turn and look.
“In all the excitement, I forgot to bring out *cough* your present. Happy birthday, Yugi,” said Grandpa.
At the size of the wrapped package, Yugi jumped up from his place and ran over to it. Stopping only to look to Grandpa for approval, which the elder readily gave, Yugi tore the paper off… to reveal a brand new tower gaming PC reposing in its box.
“A computer? Grandpa!” Yugi cried, pulling his grandfather into a warm hug.
“Not just a computah; a custom-built gamin’ rig,” said Jou. “Ya kin play all da latest games on dis!”
“Jou, you knew about this?” asked Yugi, laughter bubbling up in his voice as he turned to the blond.
“We all did, actually,” smiled Honda.
“Happy birthday, short stuff,” smirked Otogi.
“Many happy returns, Yugi,” said Bakura.
“Guys, I don’t know what to say…” said Yugi.
“Dun say nothin’. Let’s get dis baby setup and runnin’!” said Jou.
“Yeah!” cried everyone.
In a stampede of footsteps, Jou, Honda and Otogi took everything up to Yugi’s room, where Yugi quickly cleared his desk off to allow the three young men to set everything up for him, not being that tech inclined himself. Jou, Honda and Otogi squabbled and shouted, tangling up wires, etc., but were eventually able to get everything hooked up.
“Ready fer da moment a truth?” asked Jou.
Yugi nodded vigorously.
“Honda, you turn on da monitor. I’ll get da box,” instructed Jou.
“3… 2… 1…”
Honda flipped on the monitor, whose LED glowed, indicating life. Jou flipped the power switch on the back of the box.
Yugi blinked, but as yet, nothing had happened. He was pretty sure a working computer was supposed to make some kind of noise and display something on its monitor.
“Yuge, press da button on da front!” Jou instructed, seeing his friend’s perplexity.
Yugi gave a sharp press of the front power button and the machine roared to life, fans spinning up, case LEDs powering on, casting a blue glow on the machine’s internals. The POST screen came on and then the machine booted into Windows XP.
“Dere ya go, Yug. Welcome t' da 21st century,” grinned Jou.
That evening…
Yugi had a fine time surfing the Web on his new computer. The connection was dialup, so was slow. However, he found plenty of gaming websites with all kinds of tips and tricks for many different games, and bookmarked the best ones. He also downloaded KaZaa, with which he could search for and download songs from around the world.
Tired of surfing, Yugi turned to all the video games he had been given. The first one he pulled out was the Unreal Tournament CD-ROM. This reminded Yugi of the paper that had been stuck to it. He pulled it from his pocket and opened it up. In it was a note in Jou’s scraggly handwriting.
“If you play this online, add Dog of War to your friend list and we’ll frag.”
‘Frag?’ Yugi thought to himself as he popped the CD-ROM into the tray.
Soon, Yugi had the game installed and ready to run. He clicked through the menus until he found the option to set up an online profile. With no thought to it, Yugi typed black_mage as his user name and saved it.
Once the game was connected, Yugi went into the friend list and typed Dog of War. Instantly, the name popped up, showing that the player was online. Yugi double clicked the name so he could jump to the server Dog of War was currently playing on.
As soon as the map loaded with Yugi in observer mode, he saw a chat message from Dog of War pop up in the lower left corner of the screen.
Dog of War: hey yuge hppy bday gld u cd gt on!
Smiling, Yugi typed out his own message to Dog of War.
black_mage: Hey, Jou. Be patient with me. I’ve never played a game like this before.
Dog of War: no worries ill go ez on u :D
Just then, Yugi was spawned into the game. He had hardly had time to get his bearings when someone was charging at him and instantly blowing him away with rockets.
Yugi clicked his mouse button to respawn and ran for a nearby weapon, the minigun. He heard the roaring sound of the rockets again, turned and fired. He heard the other player yelling as the bullets hit him, however was still vaporized again by the rockets.
“Damn!” said Yugi as he typed out a quick message.
black_mage: THIS is your idea of going easy on me? XD
Dog of War: n ths game, ya
Yugi spawned near a tan weapon and picked it up. Dog of War sent more rockets his way. Yugi dodged to the right and fired, succeeding in hitting Dog of War, but not in fragging him, even as rockets exploding before him sent him into oblivion.
“Shit!” Yugi yelped as he clicked his mouse rapidly again.
He heard the roar of the rockets again, from the right! This time, Yugi jumped forward with the spacebar, turned and bounced the flak from the floor up into the face of Dog of War, who yelped and stumbled back, firing blindly. Seizing the opportunity, Yugi hit alt fire and fragged Dog of War.
Yugi and Jou spent the next few hours running about the maps. As time went on, Yugi was able to land a few frags on Jou with the flak cannon, but Jou definitely had Yugi’s number with his rocket launcher.
Finally, Yugi was too tired to play anymore and still had to run the shop tomorrow.
black_mage: Gotta call it a night. I have to open the shop tomorrow.
Dog of War: gr8 gms 2nyt yuge dnt giv ^ alwys lyk tht 4 n00bs lts do it agn 2mrw nite
black_mage: Thanks for the game Jou. I’ll put you to sleep tomorrow.
Dog of War: cute yuge cya 2mrw
Yugi let out a sigh of contentment. Even if Jou and he couldn’t hang out every day anymore because of work, they could frag each other every night on all kinds of exotic maps.
Now that he was finished with high school, Yugi could begin working full time at the game shop. Grandpa would pay Yugi for the hours he worked, giving Yugi the money to pay his phone bill.
Having grown up helping Grandpa in the game shop, Yugi fell into his new role easily, stocking shelves, answering the phone, working the register, cleaning up at the end of the day and allowing Grandpa to rest more.
Each evening after closing, Yugi worked a bit on his new project, folding, cutting, gluing and carefully writing, fashioning something out of wood and rice paper for an upcoming festival.
Later still into the evening, Yugi would make long voyages into the online world, eagerly exploring and bookmarking different gaming sites, as well as emailing with Anzu. Most nights, there would be an email from her, though on some, she was too busy. Either way, this new world was very interesting for Yugi, who was always open to new experiences.
Even later than that, he would venture into UT and spend a few hours each night exchanging frags with Dog of War. With each map he played, the movements and techniques became easier for him and by the end of his first week playing, Yugi was beginning to beat Jou in their online contests.
Suiyobi, Wednesday, July 13, 2001
Obon
Yugi, Jou, Honda, Bakura, Otogi and Shizuka, who was visiting for the week, gathered for Obon, the festival inviting the dead to return and commune with the living. With dancing, fireworks and lanterns, the dead would be welcomed among the living for three nights.
The six teens made their way into Downtown Domino. The entire place was gayly bedecked with chochin strung overhead, firelight flickering behind the rice paper with kanji printed on it. Glowing on people’s front porches were pine bows, burning with bright flame and sweet odor to welcome the dead into people’s homes.
As they walked, Yugi clutched the bag he carried with him, containing the project he had been working on for months. He sighed and sadly looked at all the lights and displays, wishing that he could have shared this tradition with his Other even once before they had been parted.
They came to Domino Park, which had been turned into a carnival with booths, rides and games. Honda fished some change out of his pocket and went to a shooting gallery.
“Shizuka, I’m gonna win a prize for you. Which one do you want?” Honda offered.
“Oh, how kind of you, Honda-san,” giggled Shizuka. “How about the pink teddy bear in the upper right corner?”
“Consider it yours,” said Honda as he paid the carnie for the use of the rifle.
Honda raised the rifle, squinted and aimed. Just as he fired, he was bumped bodily from behind, causing the shot to miss by a mile.
“What the…” yelped Honda, whirling about to face whomever had bumped him.
The sharp green eyes and smug smirk of Otogi Ryuuji were what greeted him.
“Oops! Sorry about that!” Otogi mockingly apologized. “How about if I win the teddy bear for you, Shizu-chan?”
“Bastard!” snarled Honda, lunging at Otogi and having to be held back by Yugi and Bakura.
“Otogi-san, that was a dirty trick!” Shizuka reprimanded the game shop owner. “I’m sorry, but I can’t accept anything from you if that’s how you’re going to be.”
“You tell him, Shizu-chan!” laughed Honda from between Yugi and Bakura.
“Quit fanning the flames, Honda!” Yugi hissed at the pointy haired man.
“Honda-san, I see a stuffed white horse I’d love to have at the ring toss booth,” said Shizuka, pointing toward another booth.
“Anything for you, my sweet,” said Honda, extricating himself from Yugi and Bakura’s grip.
“Watch yerself, Honda!” growled Jou, fists balling at his sides.
“Calm down, Jou. Honda just wants to win a prize for her. Surely, there’s no ha…” Bakura began.
“Butt out, Bakura!” snapped Jou, stalking off to keep a sharp eye on Honda and Shizuka.
Poor Bakura recoiled as if someone had dashed boiling water on him.
“Don’t worry about that, Bakura. Jou’s really protective of Shizuka,” Yugi explained.
“I guess so!” said the nonplussed Bakura.
After the sun set and the lanterns were lit, everyone gathered in the giant circle around the tall red and white striped music stand for the Tankobushi Bon Odori dance, which would welcome the spirits of departed loved ones back from the other side. The music began, slow, swaying and rhythmic. Everyone began to move their bodies and arms gracefully, clapping their hands in rhythm to the swaying music. Without realizing it, Yugi felt himself slipping into the groove, moving automatically along with everyone around him and, to his surprise, enjoying himself.
‘Other Me, can you see me? Will you come here tonight?’
As they danced, Honda and Otogi took turns dancing beside Shizuka, who graced each of them with a smile. This lasted until Jou saw what was happening, grabbed the two competing males by the hair and banged their pert heads together. Honda and Otogi sank to the ground for a nice little nap, the people in the group dancing around and over their twitching bodies.
Doyobi, Saturday, July 16, 2001
The three day festival passed quickly in a whirlwind of carnival rides, fireworks, sparklers and food and before anyone knew it, the last night had arrived. Yugi and the others went to Domino Park to partake of the carnival one last time.
At the snack stand, everyone dug into their pockets for some cash. However, three days of splurging on snacks and rides had left everyone a bit tight in the pocket.
“I would have loved to have a hot dog,” said Shizuka regretfully.
“Never fear, Shizu-chan. Honda’s here. I’ll get you a hot dog right now,” said Honda, who had just enough for one hot dog.
“But you won’t be able to get one for yourself,” pointed out Shizuka.
“What need have I for food? Your smile is food for my heart,” Honda declared romantically as he approached the stand. “You sit with Yugi and wait.”
“OK,” smiled Shizuka as she went over to where Yugi and Bakura were to talk with them and await her hot dog.
“Outta the way, pointy bangs! I’ll get a hot dog and a Ramune!” declared Otogi, flashing his large wad of cash around. “Unlike you paupers, a shop owner always has some extra money on hand. Two hot dogs and two Ramune! Thank you!”
“Grrrrrrr!!!!!!” Honda stood gnashing his teeth, fists clenched as Otogi graced Shizuka with a hot dog and bottle of Ramune. ‘The night isn’t over yet, you cat eyed bastard!’
After filling up on hot dogs and burgers, the teens blundered over to the carousel, which had horses, birds, dinosaurs, dragons and even cows to sit on. The line for the carousel wasn’t terribly long, so they stood in wait for it, then spent a bit more of their dwindling cash on tickets. As soon as everyone was seated and clinging to their animal, the carousel started moving while the calliope blared its loud music. Up and down they bobbed as they went around.
Feeling a bit nauseous, Yugi closed his eyes.
‘I don’t think having that chili dog before getting on this was such a good idea,’ he lamented to himself.
“Yugi, open your eyes and watch up ahead,” came Bakura’s voice next to him. “Things are about to get amusing.”
“Huh?” asked Yugi as he opened his eyes.
What Bakura saw and Yugi quickly discerned was nothing other than Honda and Otogi abandoning their animals and moving clumsily toward the horse Shizuka was sitting on, clutching onto other animals and even people to keep from being thrown from the spinning carousel. There was an empty dragon next to Shizuka’s horse and both Honda and Otogi had an eye on that prize.
Otogi coiled up his legs and jumped onto the dragon, flashing Shizuka a rakish grin as he did so.
“Evening, Shizu-chan. Nice night for a carousel ride, hm?” he said cordially.
“Otogi-san, you startled me!” yelped Shizuka.
“Forgive me, my sweet. I just couldn’t stand seeing you sitting here all alone,” Otogi spoke in a smooth tone.
“Oh, I don’t mind being alone,” said Shizuka with a smile. “But you’re more than welcome to join me.”
“Say, after the ride’s over, how about you and me…” Otogi began. “Ah!”
This last yelp as he was grabbed from behind by his ponytail and yanked bodily off the dragon. Next thing Otogi knew, he had been shoved to the side and sent hurdling through time and space, sprawling onto the soft grass a good ten feet away from the carousel.
“Hi, Shizu-chan. Lovely night for a carousel ride, huh?” said Honda, who was now sitting in Otogi’s place on the dragon.
“Oh, hi, Honda-san. Um, what happened to Otogi-san?” asked a confused Shizuka.
“He went to the can,” said Honda indifferently. “Anyway, after the ride, how about we… AH!”
This as Honda was grabbed by the shoulders, yanked off the dragon and also sent hurdling through space and time, to land by Otogi in the soft grass ten feet away from the carousel.
“Katsuya?! Where did Honda-san go?” Shizuka asked of Jou, who was now sitting on the dragon.
“He’s takin’ a nap,” was all Jou would volunteer.
With a shrug, Shizuka resumed just enjoying the ride.
Meanwhile, back on their mounts, Yugi and Bakura were fighting, and failing miserably, to stifle their laughter.
Legs still wobbly from the carousel, the teens went down to Domino Pier to watch the burning of the shoryobune. After the fires were kindled, the wooden boat containing people’s written wishes caught fire instantly, sending the wishes blazing high into the night sky.
As he watched the burning boat, a sudden impulse seized Yugi, who broke away from the group.
“Hey, Yuge!” Jou called after him.
“Where’s he off to?” wondered Bakura.
“I’ll be back, guys. I have to get something!” Yugi called over his shoulder.
Yugi found a nearby stand and, with his last change, purchased a small slip of paper, called a tanzaku. On it, he hastily wrote his wish out, then opened up the bag containing the lantern he had worked on for weeks and carefully slipped the tanzaku into the lantern.
While the others stood back and watched, Yugi, with trembling hands, lit the candle inside the rice paper and set the small lantern into the water to be carried away by the ocean’s tide, the last thing he could do for Atem. With a heavy heart, Yugi watched his lantern float slowly away, a small, beautiful point of light, carrying his one wish into the darkness.
He kept watching until it joined the many other floating lanterns and its light was lost in a sea of souls, all floating back to the afterlife. When the lantern could be seen no more, Yugi slogged out of the water and rejoined his friends to partake of a few more festivities before returning home.
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Rending the Veil