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
- 3
- 4
- 5
Mokuyobi, Thursday, December 13, 2001
As Sugoroku’s only living relative, the burden of chief mourner fell on Yugi’s shoulders. Heart beating numbly in his chest, Yugi knelt at the head of Grandpa’s coffin and mentally prepared himself to accept all the well-meaning condolences and gifts that were sure to be offered by those who were just now starting to trickle into the funeral hall.
So they came, friends both known and unknown to Yugi, an endless stream of faces and soft voices, all offering platitudes that would do nothing to take the sting out of his heart. Yugi received them all with the same blank face and droned response.
Soon, Jou, Honda, Bakura and Otogi came by. Each young man passed by Yugi, giving him a discreet pat on the shoulder as they did so.
Professor Yoshimori also came by and shared a sorrowful glance with Yugi before moving on. If only the new book had come out a few days sooner…
The rest of the day’s events were a blur. Soon, Yugi found himself in Jou’s car as everyone made their way for the last part of the funeral services, the part that made Yugi’s blood run cold just thinking about it…
The bone picking was the worst: Jou, Honda and Bakura all picked and passed the burnt fragments of Grandpa’s bones from one set of chopsticks to the next, to the urn, held in a pair of long chopsticks by a pale-faced Yugi. From toe bones to Adam’s apple, this was repeated over and over again.
When the urn was filled, it was sealed with an ofuda, on which was written the kanji for Sugoroku’s death name. The urn was then taken to be interred in a small grave.
With no further business there, Yugi and his friends turned and silently walked away and piled into Jou’s car. All through the ride home, Yugi stared absently out the window, unable to bring himself to respond to Honda’s well-meant attempts to talk to him.
When they arrived home, Yugi went to clean up the shop for the night, but was stopped by Jou, who firmly gripped his shoulder.
“Yugi, you just go on up, take a bath and go to bed. We got ever’thin’ down here,” he said.
“A-are you sure?” Yugi asked in a small voice.
“If I ain’t sure a somethin’, I dun say it,” was Jou’s firm response. “Git outta here!”
“Thanks, guys,” Yugi managed in a very small, very sad voice before disappearing upstairs for the night.
Kinyobi, Friday, December 14, 2001
Surrounded by evening silence, Yugi sat at his desk, thumbing through his old Duel Monsters deck. As he went through the cards, he vaguely realized that his Black Magician was missing.
‘Oh, it must still be in Grandpa’s deck,’ he thought absently.
The problem was, since the theft of his beloved Blue Eyes, Grandpa had always kept his dueling deck hidden away and had told no one, not even Yugi, where he kept it. In order to regain his Black Magician, Yugi would have to clean and clear out Grandpa’s room to find the deck, something that would have to be done eventually anyway. But right now, he just didn’t have the heart to do so.
With a broken sigh, Yugi laid his deck back into the golden box, replaced the lid and put it up on the windowsill before collapsing into bed.
Doyobi, Saturday, December 15, 2001
Moving like an automaton, Yugi carried the wooden butsudan to Grandpa’s room, in which all sorts of old games, books and other curiosities Sugoroku had collected during his years as a wandering archeologist reposed. Finding an empty space, he set the small shrine up and put in the memorial tablet with Grandpa’s name in kanji on it and a black framed picture of Grandpa. After setting in the singing bowl, Yugi tapped it, making the sweet ringing sound and knelt down in silent prayer.
‘Grandpa, I don’t know what to say. I miss you so much. Your being gone doesn’t even feel real. It seems like you should just open the door and come in and yell at me for messing up your room like you did when I was a kid,’ Yugi thought. ‘I’ll run the game shop for you, so don’t even worry about that. Just move on to the afterlife knowing that everything will be alright here.’
Broken and exhausted, Yugi curled up on Grandpa’s bed, closing his eyes and breathing in the scent of musty antiquities. The teen breathed out and let his body go limp. While he knew in his mind that Grandpa was gone, in this room, he could surround himself with Grandpa and allow his heart to forget the awful truth, if even just for a while.
/
Yugi was curled up fast asleep in his bed, when the delicious aroma hit him: one of Grandpa’s international recipes! Yugi’s eyes flew open and he raised his head, sniffing the air. There it was again! This meant only one thing:
‘Grandpa!’ Yugi thought joyfully as he tore out of bed.
Moving too quickly for his body to keep up, Yugi hit the floor as he jumped from the bed, but merely rolled to his feet, jumped to the door, opened it and went tearing down the steps.
There in the kitchen with the stove going, clad in his green overalls and yellow hat, violet eyes twinkling merrily, was Sugoroku, just putting the finishing touches on some sausages.
“Grandpa!” Yugi cried happily as he launched himself at Sugoroku, mindless of the hot stove.
Then warm, safe arms were around his shoulders as grandfather and grandson embraced each other warmly, both holding on as if afraid to let go.
“It was all a dream! You’re alive!” Yugi cried happily as he snuggled against his grandfather’s warm body.
“No, Yugi. This is the dream,” Sugoroku corrected gently. “When you open your eyes, you won’t be able to see me anymore.”
Yugi felt his heart sink at these words. For now though, he could see, hear and touch his grandfather, so would make the most of it.
“I miss you so much,” Yugi murmured brokenly, burying his face in his grandpa’s overalls.
“Everything’ll be alright,” said Sugoroku as he stroked Yugi’s wild hair. “You’ll see.”
“Why’d you have to go?” Yugi sighed.
“That’s the way of things, my boy,” Sugoroku’s voice explained gently. “Change is part of life. If you can face it with an open heart, you’ll find yourself on a new path. It may not be exactly what you knew before, but it can be just as wonderful in its own way."
"But I feel so alone,” murmured Yugi.
“As long as you remember me, I’ll live in your heart, Yugi,” said Sugoroku as he laid his hand on his only grandchild’s heart. “I’m here.”
As Yugi clung desperately to his grandfather, the old man’s last words echoed warmly in his head. Even after the dream went black, Yugi still heard them, clear as day.
“I’m here…”
/
Yugi continued to burrow into Grandpa’s bed, cheek pressed against its warm, soft surface, as tears streamed down his face from closed eyes.
“I’m here…”
As the voice echoed, it seemed to shift imperceptibly from his grandfather’s gravelly voice to a deeper, richer tone as it faded away to silence.
“I’m here…”
Tucked under the blankets, surrounded by the scent and feeling of memories of Grandpa, Yugi’s entire body was engulfed in warmth, irrespective of the coldness of the unheated room. Even as the tears continued to stream from his eyes, Yugi’s lips lifted in a smile as he was comforted from beyond.
Getsuyobi, Monday, December 24, 2001
Christmas Eve
Before anyone realized it, two weeks had passed and Christmas Eve had descended upon Japan in a whirl of festive lights and seasonal songs being played in many of the shops.
At one shop, there was absolutely no seasonal cheer. Instead of looking forward to a night of roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and old American Christmas movies with his grandfather, a dejected figure with large, sad violet eyes and spiky, tricolor hair sat mutely behind the counter in the game shop, doing business with all who entered to buy something, in a polite, but detached manner.
Yugi was grateful for the distraction from the heartbreaking grief that working the shop gave him and it was with regret that he turned the sign around in the glass door. Tonight, he would simply take a shower and go straight to bed.
At least that was to have been the plan. The familiar loud squeal of tires set that plan to pause. Yugi quickly opened up the side door to welcome his old friend in from the biting cold outside.
“Merry Christmas, Yuge!” Jou greeted casually.
“Merry Christmas, Jou,” Yugi returned in a small voice.
Jou whipped out the familiar red and white striped bucket from behind his back.
“Fresh from da Colonel!” he announced jubilantly.
Blinking back tears of gratitude, Yugi led Jou into the house. Grandpa might no longer be in the world, but at least their old tradition would survive another year.
Yugi and Jou spent the evening together, feasting on roasted chicken, crunching on salad, and gulping down mashed potatoes while they watched the old movies. After dinner came the sweet, moist chocolate Christmas cake.
As they watched, Jou kept a surreptitious eye on Yugi, still worried about his friend. However, for the time being, Yugi seemed content, eyes lighting up whenever something funny happened on TV or when Jou cracked one of his raunchy jokes.
‘Yer gonna be OK, buddy. Things ’r gonna git bettah,’ Jou thought hopefully as they continued to watch TV far into the night.
Nichiyobi, Sunday, December 30, 2001
At the feeling of his phone vibrating in his pocket, Yugi opened it up and checked the message.
W4rDoG: wr all gn 2 c lotr b thr n 15 min b rdy
Yugi snorted. Just the thought of going out into the wider world, which moved on with its day to day life, knowing and caring nothing for his grandfather, made him feel heartsick. If Jou had phrased the invitation as a question, Yugi would have undoubtedly emailed a polite declination back.
‘But then you knew that, didn’t you, Jou?’ Yugi thought ruefully.
Well, there was no getting out of it now, since Jou was already on his way. With a sigh, Yugi went up to his room to get ready. As he changed clothes, Yugi considered things. Maybe Jou and the others were right. Maybe he was being too reclusive. Logically, he knew he would have to rejoin the world some time. And The Fellowship of the Ring did look great in the TV ads he had seen.
‘On second thought, taking in a movie with my friends will do me good,’ Yugi thought determinedly as he checked himself in the mirror.
All too soon, Yugi heard the familiar screech of tires and “honk honk” of Jou’s car. Pausing only to lock the side door, Yugi jumped into the open passenger door of the waiting car. At the wheel was Jou and in the back were Honda, Otogi and Bakura, all smiling, clearly anticipating the movie spectacle to come.
“Hi, guys,” Yugi greeted softly.
“Hey, Yuge. Let’s go see some Hobbits!” cheered Jou as he threw the car into gear and peeled on out.
After they arrived at the theater, the five teens filed out of the car and quickly made their way through the brisk evening air, breath coming out in vapor streams as they moved. As soon as they were inside, the warm scent of popcorn, hotdogs and other stomach rotting treats struck all their noses and made their mouths water. After purchasing their tickets, the young men went and raided the snack counter. Even Yugi couldn’t resist getting a large tub of popcorn with extra butter and a Coke.
Soon, they were all inside the theater and the lights went down. First they had to sit through the previews and ads, at which Jou and Honda booed and hissed and threw some of their popcorn. Finally, the movie itself started, and, to his surprise, Yugi found himself enthralled as soon as Galadriel’s unique voice began narrating the backstory.
Throughout the first half of the film, Yugi enjoyed himself thoroughly, enchanted by the epic scenery and beautiful music, wowed by the sword fights and special effects, even laughing at Pippin and Merry’s string of mishaps.
The entire audience, even Jou and Honda, who usually hooted, hollered and made asses of themselves in the theater, were spellbound and quiet.
Things were going well until about halfway through the movie, when Gandalf fought the Balrog and ended up plunging into the abyss with it. As Frodo screamed his name on the big screen while being carried out and the sad music began to play, Yugi’s entire body started to tremble, tears welling in his eyes.
When the closeups of the hobbits crying showed on the screen, something broke inside Yugi. Suddenly, he was out of his seat, tearing up the aisle, mindless of his friends’ voices calling after him, and out of the theater. Into the chilly night air Yugi ran, heading for home.
“I can’t even see him. Who knew he could run so fast?!” exclaimed Otogi as he peered in vain out the lobby window.
Jou was reaching into his pocket to grab his car keys, when he felt a light grip on his shoulder and turned to look into the limpid brown eyes of Bakura.
“Let’s let him be tonight. I think this was too much, too soon,” the doe-eyed teen said softly.
“Are you crazy?! We gotta go afta him!” cried Jou.
Bakura shook his head.
“Yugi knows the way home. He needs time and space to clear his head,” the white hair explained. “Just send him an email and ask him to write back should he need anything.”
“Let’s listen to Bakura, Jou. He knows more about this kinda shit than we do,” advised Honda.
“Fine! We’ll do things yer way, fer now!” glowered Jou, whipping out his phone to email Yugi.
With nothing else to do, the four remaining young men marched grimly back into the theater and watched the rest of the movie, all the enjoyment gone from the experience.
Yugi made it back to the game shop in one piece, stopping only to lock the door behind him, before stepping out of his boots and tearing into the house, up the stairs and into his room, where he collapsed at his desk and began to cry stormily, face buried in his arms.
‘Grandpa! Please come back! I need you!’ he thought.
Only much later, after the tears and pent up emotions had spent themselves, did Yugi think of what he had actually done. Sniffling quietly, he reached into his pocket for his phone.
‘My friends must be so mad at me,’ he thought dismally as he opened the phone, prepared for the flood of angry messages he was sure to receive.
W4rDoG: hey yuge wer all rl sry u had a shitty tym 2nyt we dint no nething lyk tht ws gnna hpn 2 gandalf hope u made it baq home ok eml me wn u gt ths
Finding a small smile, Yugi tapped out his reply.
blackmage: It’s OK, Jou. I know you guys would never hurt me on purpose. I’m sorry for running out like that. Maybe, after little while, I’ll be able to watch the movie again. It was good, up till that point.
W4rDoG: u jst lemme no wen ur ready
blackmage: I will. Thanks.
Yugi couldn’t help but smile, just a bit, as he shut his phone and stood up to get ready for his bath. He wouldn’t eat, as he had no appetite, but he felt just a tiny bit better than earlier. At the very least, he knew his friends would be there for him until he got through this.
‘And I will… eventually,’ he thought as he grabbed his PJs and headed for the shower room.
Nichiyobi, Sunday, January 20, 2002
Yugi sat in front of the TV, watching an anime while eating his “dinner” of Shrimp Doritos and Mountain Dew. When the show ended, Yugi shut off the TV, closed up the chip bag and took the empty pop bottle to recycle in the kitchen.
When Yugi came into the kitchen, he stopped dead in his tracks. Reposing on the counter was Grandpa’s book of international recipes, open to a page showing a recipe for Coq Au Vin, a beef and vegetable dish that he and Grandpa had really liked.
‘Hm. I wonder what this is doing out,’ Yugi thought as he closed the book and put it back in its place in the cupboard.
Kayobi, Tuesday, February 12, 2002
Yugi was playing against Jou in UT. As usual, they were neck in neck, with Yugi leading by just two points. As Yugi moved about the map, shooting and picking up ammo and equipment, a chill ran down his spine, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand at attention. If he hadn’t known for certain that he was alone in his closed up room, he would have had the feeling that someone was watching over his shoulder, memorizing his every keypress and mouse click.
Gulping, Yugi cast a wary glance over his shoulder, to see his door wide open to the dark hallway outside. Yugi always kept his door closed when he was in his room.
“I guess I could’ve forgotten,” he mumbled as he stood up and went to his door.
Yugi peaked out of his room, looking down the hallway to the edge of the staircase. Everything was still and dark as it should be. And yet, something felt amiss.
“Probably just my mind playing tricks on me,” Yugi thought as he shut his door and returned to his computer.
Suiyobi, Wednesday, March 20, 2002
That winter was a long and bleak one for Yugi. However, Jou, Honda and Bakura kept him grounded by constantly coming around and hanging out with him in the shop or taking him out to the arcade, the mall, Burger World and all the other fun hangouts. At last, the sun began to rise a bit earlier and move higher in the sky, causing the air to warm just a tiny bit and the snow to begin to melt. Though still a way off, Spring was showing its first signs of returning.
With the passing of another year came another high school graduation. Among this year’s grads was one Kawai’i Shizuka. In the bleachers sat Jounouchi Katsuya and Honda Hiroto, both watching with silent appreciation as Shizuka marched in perfect sync with her class.
The very next day, Shizuka packed her bags and the three of them climbed into Jou’s red car for the drive to Domino.
At the game shop, Yugi looked up from stocking the shelves with the latest Duel Monsters cards. It was time. Abandoning the cards, he stood up and went outside to meet his three friends for the ride to Burger World.
“Hey, guys. How was the graduation?” he asked as he climbed in the back with Honda.
“Long and borin’,” was Jou’s answer.
“Too hot,” complained Honda.
“Alright, you two, stop complaining. It’s over now, so let’s go enjoy ourselves,” said Shizuka wisely.
“Yes, ma’am,” said brother and boyfriend in sync as the group sped off for Burger World.
The evening was spent with Honda and Shizuka, Yugi, Jou, Otogi and Bakura sitting around, eating hamburgers and fries, and drinking Coke.
As they ate, Honda and Otogi exchanged dirty looks at each other, still bitterly recalling their contest for Shizuka’s affection last Obon. However, Otogi wouldn’t ruin the night for the young woman, so contented himself with casting baleful glances at Honda instead.
As the evening wore on, the young adults sat around swapping stories of all their great adventures in Duelist Kingdom and Battle City. By silent mutual consent, anything concerning Egypt was excluded from the conversation.
With the warm companionship, good food and funny stories, Yugi found himself opening up a bit, smiling and even laughing when Jou bragged about all his victories in their adventures and all the cards he had collected.
At last, the hour grew late, the sun making its way to the western horizon, pink and orange light reflecting off the clouds gathering in the sky. Jou, Honda and Shizuka still had to drive back to Jou’s apartment, where the young couple would spend the night before heading off for Hokkaido in the morning.
“You sure you’ll be OK walkin’ home on yer own? If ya ride wit’ us, I can drop dese two off, den take ya ta da shop,” offered Jou.
“It’s fine, Jou. Spend the rest of the night with your sister. It’s your last chance before she moves after all,” encouraged Yugi.
“Yeah, t' Hokkaido,” said Jou distastefully. “Of all da places to move t', why’d dey hafta pick an ar’tic wasteland?”
“It seems rather extreme, but with his engineering degree, Honda can get good work up there, repairing ski lifts and Shizuka’s talent with flowers will be wanted this spring,” pointed out Yugi.
“Yeah, yeah. Honda jus' bettah treat her right, or I’ll engineer his ass!” sneared Jou. “Well, we’re off! See ya soon, Yuge!”
“Bye, guys!” called Yugi as the car drove off and he set out for home.
‘Another friend leaves,’ Yugi thought glumly as he glanced up at the cloudy sky. ‘Everyone’s beginning to move away, toward their own lives.’
With the moon and stars obscured by thick, gray clouds, the darkness seemed especially ominous tonight. The shadows reached for him like invisible claws just beyond the small circles of light provided by the street lamps and store signs.
That was when he felt… a subtle shift in the surrounding atmosphere, a dull pressure in the back of his mind, something pressing down upon him from all around.
Yugi froze in his tracks, head swiveling as he surveyed his surroundings. The streets were utterly deserted, all the businesses locked up tight for the night. It seemed as though everyone had disappeared from the world and he had been left utterly alone, a very discomfiting feeling indeed.
An icy wind wrapped itself around Yugi’s slender frame, chilling him to the marrow of his bones. The whole atmosphere was covered in a closeness not to be described in speech.
Yugi broke into a run, grateful when the familiar sign of the Kame Game Shop came into sight. Reaching into his pocket even as he continued running, Yugi had his key ready to unlock the door as soon as he skidded to a stop.
He unlocked the door, let himself in and locked the door behind him in what had to be record time. Then he stopped and looked out the window. The dark street outside was as deserted as his entire walk home had been.
So why had he felt like he was not alone?
Later that night…
Yugi sat at his computer, checking for updates on his bookmarked sites when,
creeeeeaaaaak
ptam
The distinctive sound of the side door opening and closing, the side door that Yugi damn well knew he had locked! Then he felt it, the return of that heavy feeling from his walk home, as though whatever it was had invited itself into the building.
creak creak creak
The house settling? That’s what it had to be, as absolutely no one else save himself was in the building. Turning around to look, Yugi saw only the scattered toys, games and manga on his bedroom floor, his door closed securely against the darkness that shrouded the rest of the house.
creak creak creak
As he stared at his door, the feeling intensified, as though whatever it was now stood right outside his door, hand on the knob, ready to turn it and walk in. Yugi sat in rigid anticipation, half-waiting for the knob to begin jiggling.
“Go away!” he called as strongly as he could.
A feeling of rejection and heartbreak swept over Yugi as soon as those words had left his mouth. Tears pricked at his eyes even as he heard the phantom footfalls begin to recede.
creak creak creak creak creak
As whatever it was moved away, Yugi felt the heartbreak that wasn’t his drain from his heart, leaving him feeling spent, but also curious. The heavy feeling in the air ebbed a bit. However, there it remained, a subtle but niggling presence that would be with Yugi from this day forward in the little game shop that he was alone in, yet not.
Doyobi, Saturday, April 6, 2002
Today had been a decent day. Jou, Otogi and Bakura had swung by and taken Yugi around town, stopping at the Black Crown Game Shop, various arcades and even some dance clubs. After cruising around, the gang had stopped at Burger World and chowed down on burgers, fries and pop till they were almost sick.
Now though, evening had set in and Yugi was once again alone in his room, sitting at his desk, going over the latest utility bills that he was now responsible for. Even the accounting program he was running them through did little to help him discern the cryptic rates and numbers.
‘Damn it!’ he thought as pounded his fist onto his wooden desk. 'How did Grandpa manage all this crap?’
THUMP!
…bump…
The thump was repeated from downstairs, causing Yugi’s heart to skip a beat in his chest.
'What was that?’ he thought, the memory of those ominous footsteps from a few nights ago crashing to the forefront of his mind.
Yugi knocked on his desk three times by means of experimentation.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
…bump…bump…bump…
'What the hell?’ Yugi thought, heart now pumping like a jackhammer.
Wanting to test it further, he knocked again.
THUMP THUMP… THUMP THUMP… THUMP THUMP THUMP
…bump bump…bump bump…bump bump bump
‘That does it!’ Yugi thought to himself, leaning over and grabbing his baseball bat.
He opened his door, flicked on the hallway light and began moving toward the edge of the stairwell.
creak creak creak creak
The normal creaks the floor made when someone walked on it now rang loudly in Yugi’s ears, making him feel as though whatever else was in the house would be able to find him easily; not a comfortable feeling.
When he reached the edge of the stairwell, he flicked on the stairway light and began his descent, one creaky step at a time.
creak creak creak creak
‘OK, I’m definitely getting these tightened,’ Yugi thoughts, as the creaks continued to echo loudly in his ears.
THUMP! BUMP!
Each sound made Yugi’s heart skip a beat as beads of sweat poured down his brow.
“Whoever’s there, I’m armed!” he called to the darkness beyond the staircase.
THUMP! BUMP! THUMP!
The sound answered, as though mocking his declaration.
With one last step down, Yugi flicked on the light switch for the kitchen. The illuminated room showed absolutely no sign of intrusion, nothing out of place. Moving cautiously, Yugi made his way to the living room and turned on that light too. The couch and TV both sat quietly, nothing at all out of place here either.
With nothing else to do here, Yugi shut off the living room light, went back through the kitchen and shut off that light as well, standing again at the bottom of the staircase.
‘I guess it could’ve been the house settling,’ he thought dubiously.
THUMP! BUMP!
Yugi jumped back and stared up the staircase. Now it was coming from Grandpa’s room!
‘What the hell?’ he thought again.
With the house’s layout, there was no way an intruder would have been able to get from the ground floor to Grandpa’s room without Yugi having seen them!
Yugi pounded back up the stairs and into Grandpa’s room, only to stop dead, eyes bugging out in shock and horror at the spectacle before him: Lying on his grandfather’s dresser was Yugi’s beloved Black Magician card!
Setting the bat carelessly aside, Yugi slowly approached the dresser, eyes darting about. The room was as it had always been, all the old knickknacks and artifacts in their rightful places. Who or what could have moved the card from Grandpa’s hidden deck, onto his dresser in the few seconds Yugi had been downstairs?
Yugi stopped and listened. The house had fallen silent. He picked up his Black Magician card and slowly backed away from the dresser, a cold feeling of unease crawling up his spine. Turning on his heel, Yugi beat a hasty retreat up the hall to his own comforting room. Pausing only to close the door behind him, Yugi picked up his golden box and laid the Black Magician card back in his deck before replacing the lid and laying the box back on the windowsill.
‘Grandpa?’ he thought to himself.
Nichiyobi, Sunday, April 7, 2002
The next morning, Yugi was in his room, listlessly eating Garlic Doritos and chugging Mountain Dew, when he heard the familiar screech of tires outside and an engine being cut off. Moving mechanically, he stood up and went down to the side door to admit his blond friend. To his surprise, Bakura was with him.
“Hey, dude!” greeted Jou.
“Hello, Yugi,” said Bakura.
“Hi, Jou. Bakura, the museum let you out to play?” Yugi asked through a wide yawn.
“Yes, for good behavior,” responded Bakura, with a light smile.
Jou did a double take at Yugi’s pale face with the black bags under his eyes. The past few months had been rough on Yugi, to put it mildly, but not since the week of Sugoroku’s death had Yugi looked this out of it.
“Man, what’s gotchu so outta it?” Jou asked, looking Yugi squarely in the eyes. “And if ya say it was nothin’, I’m lockin’ ya in da stockroom till ya tell me wut’s up!”
For a moment, Yugi hesitated. He felt nauseous at the idea of telling his friends that he had been scared shitless by some disembodied sounds last night. But the card… the card he had found in Grandpa’s room.
“Guys… I think the game shop might be… haunted,” he began, bracing himself for his friends to either laugh scornfully at him, or run out of the house screaming.
Instead, he was surprised when Bakura responded quite calmly.
“What makes you think so?”
“Well, first you have to understand: Ever since that time Kaiba took Grandpa’s favorite Blue Eyes card, he started hiding his dueling deck somewhere in his room; exactly where, he wouldn’t even tell me. OK?” Yugi began.
Jou and Bakura nodded.
“Anyway, the last time Grandpa and I dueled, he had my Black Magician card because he had taken it with Brain Control. When he took his deck to his room with him, he forgot to give me my card back and I didn’t think to ask him because I was so worried about him,” Yugi continued.
Jou and Bakura nodded again.
“Well, last night, when I was in my room, I heard these weird bumping sounds from down here,” Yugi recalled.
Jou looked around, gulping nervously, while Bakura remained stoic, brown eyes fastened on Yugi, imploring him to continue his story.
“So I grabbed a baseball bat and came down and checked the kitchen and living room. Everything was normal. Just as I was about to head back upstairs, I heard the noise from Grandpa’s room,” Yugi continued. “You guys know the layout of the building. There’s no way anyone could get upstairs without me seeing them!”
“For sure,” agreed Jou.
“So I went to his room… and saw my Black Magician lying on his dresser!” Yugi finished up.
“Gods…” said Bakura.
“Dude! Dat’s crazy!” was Jou’s intelligent response.
“I know!” agreed Yugi. “I didn’t fall asleep till 2 AM. And it’s not just that. The night of Honda and Shizuka’s sendoff, I heard footsteps in the house, after I got home and locked up. Ever since then, I’ve been feeling something in the building, even when I know I’m alone.”
“Do you think it’s… your grandfather?” Bakura ventured uncomfortably.
“I dunno,” was Yugi’s honest answer.
In Jou’s mind, there was no doubt. After all, last night’s activity had centered around Grandpa’s room.
“Dat’s gotta be it! Dere’s nobody else it could be. Yer grandpa’s only been… gone… a couple a months. Maybe he ain’t crossed ovah yet,” posited the blond.
“Well, I have to help him!” cried Yugi. “But what do I do?”
Jou scratched his head and screwed up his face, trying to think of something, but had to shrug his shoulders at length.
“I got nothin’,” he admitted unhappily.
Yugi sighed and hung his head.
“I think I might have an idea,” Bakura volunteered hesitantly.
Yugi and Jou fixed expectant gazes on the doe-eyed teen.
“I saw something online a few days ago that seems relevant to this situation,” Bakura continued.
“W-what?” asked Yugi.
“Yeah, anythin’ ya got, spill,” urged Jou.
“You have to buy a radio and a digital recorder. Then you alter the radio’s tuner so it can’t stay on any one station for more than a quarter of a second. When you turn the radio on, it sweeps through the stations and the spirits are said to be able to manipulate the white noise to form words. Using the digital recorder, you ask the spirit questions and then play back the session when finished. If you hear direct replies, you may have an intelligent haunting on your hands,” explained Bakura.
“Wait! Ya mean ya want Yuge to actually to talk to da dead?” asked Jou, a shiver running down his spine.
“Yes. It’s the most direct way to find out what’s happening. Everything you’ve said indicates to me that you’re dealing with an intelligent haunting, which means that if you ask the right questions, it may give you the answers you seek,” said Bakura.
“Uh, I dunno about this,” Yugi faltered.
“What have you to lose by trying?” Bakura asked solemnly.
“Well, nothing really,” admitted Yugi with a shrug.
“Just yer immortal soul,” glowered Jou.
“Oh, stuff and nonsense, Jou. There are hundreds of paranormal research groups across the globe who conduct these ITC sessions night after night and none of them has lost their immortal soul,” said Bakura with a smile. “At the very least, it might help you to find out if it is your grandfather and if it is, what you can do to help him cross over.”
The thought of Grandpa’s spirit trapped in the world, unable to move on, for whatever reason, made a shiver run down Yugi’s spine.
“I’ll do it,” he said at last. “Grandpa needs me.”
“Let’s go to electronics store and get a radio and digital recorder,” said Bakura. “Then we can get the instructions on how to alter the radio on your computer.”
“OK,” said Yugi.
Yugi and Bakura looked over at Jou, who looked like he wanted to do nothing more than run from the house screaming and never come back. To both their surprise, Jou squared his shoulders and looked his friends straight in the eye.
“I’ll go too,” he said stiffly.
Yugi and Bakura exchanged smiles and the three were off for the electronics store.
After buying what they needed, the trio entered the house through the side door, Yugi carefully locking the door behind them, then stepping out of their footwear. As soon as they stepped up from the genkan, they were hit by an atmosphere so thick and so cold that Yugi swore he could almost see his breath on the air, as though it were a winter’s day outside, even though it was a warm, sunny spring day.
They stopped in their tracks, their skin crawling. Jou’s eyes widened with panic, as though he were debating with himself whether or not his continued presence in the shop was a good idea.
Bakura shivered and looked about them.
“Gods, Yugi. This is bad. You need to find out what this is and get it out of here as soon as possible. If it lingers, the very building will be corrupted by its presence,” he exhorted.
“Let’s jus’ git dis ova wit’,” snapped Jou, visibly shaking all over.
“Yeah,” agreed Yugi, feeling chills run up and down his spine.
“The first thing we’ll need is a toolkit. Have you one?” asked Bakura.
“Yeah. You guys head upstairs. Wake my computer and go to the site while I get the toolkit,” instructed Yugi, still feeling unease at this whole undertaking gnawing in his stomach.
Swallowing the dread that crept up his spine in this heavy atmosphere, Yugi went over to the drawer, in which reposed the desired toolkit, and began rummaging about for it. His fingers hit the smooth steel surface of the box and latched onto it. Just as he was about to drag the box out, he felt a hand settle on his shoulder.
“I said go wait in my…”
The words died on his tongue when he turned and saw empty space behind him where Bakura or Jou should have been standing. Panic coursing through his veins, Yugi yanked the box from the drawer and dashed for the staircase. He pounded upstairs to his room and shut the door more quickly than normal. Bakura and Jou looked up from the still dialing computer at him, noting his pale features.
“Ya OK, man? Ya look like ya seen a ghost,” joked Jou, by way of lightening the heavy atmosphere.
“Really, Jou?” chided Bakura, glaring askance at the blond.
“Not ‘seen’,” was all Yugi would say.
“We’re online,” declared Bakura, firing up Netscape and typing in the site address.
Soon the site with the instructions was loaded.
“This is where we’ll need you, Jou. You’ve more mechanical aptitude than Yugi and me combined, so we’ll need you to work on the radio,” said Bakura.
With a nod, Jou took the toolkit from Yugi, turned to the radio and got to work.
“OK,” said Jou as he closed the radio up. “If I did dis right, it should work.”
“Thanks, Jou,” said Bakura as he took the radio. “Let’s head back downstairs and test it.”
Yugi gulped, but forced himself to nod bravely. He opened the door and the three headed downstairs. As they made their way down, they were again hit by the cold, static-electric atmosphere. The very air they breathed in sent a chill to the marrow of their bones. Jou made as if to bolt back upstairs, but was stayed by the hand of Bakura, who glared daggers at him. Yugi steeled himself and continued on because it was his duty to help Grandpa cross over.
When they reached downstairs, Bakura handed the radio to Yugi.
“Here you are.”
“Me?!” yelped Yugi.
“Hell, yeah. It’s yer place ‘n yer ghost, so you ask da questions,” insisted Jou, cowering behind Bakura.
“Such a brave soul,” said Bakura with a roll of his eyes. “Although he is right: we’ll be more likely to get responses if you ask the questions, Yugi. I’ll record the session.”
“Oh, alright!” Yugi huffed petulantly.
With this, Bakura pressed the Record button.
“This is April 11, 2002, 11:12 AM at the Kame Game Shop. Mutou Yugi, Bakura Ryou and Jounouchi Katsuya conducting ghost box session number one. Yugi,” said Bakura gravely into the microphone.
With a nod, Yugi flicked the switch and the small radio powered to life. Almost immediately, it started scrolling through the stations, the numbers on its orange LED sweeping rapidly up and down. As garbled noise and static screeched through its speaker, Yugi cleared his throat and began.
“This is Mutou Yugi. I would like to know if my grandfather, Mutou Sugoroku has been able to cross over to the afterlife, or if he is still at the Kame Game Shop. Thank you,” he tried.
Yugi looked over to Bakura, who nodded for him to keep going.
“Grandpa, was that you last night? Did you put my Black Magician card on your dresser for me to find?” Yugi asked.
More static and garbled noise as the radio continued to sweep.
“Are you causing the coldness down here?” Yugi asked.
The radio continued to sweep with garbled fragments of human speech coming through.
“Do you need my help to cross over to the afterlife?” Yugi inquired.
The trio went through the building, asking random questions, the static-electric atmosphere permeating every room they ventured into, always causing goosebumps to rise on their bare arms. Sometimes a faint voice was heard, but mostly they were greeted by static as the radio continued to sweep.
After 15 minutes, Bakura stopped the recorder.
“Shut off the radio, Yugi,” he instructed.
After Yugi had done so, Bakura handed him the recorder.
“Now comes the fun part. You listen back to what we just recorded and hopefully there will be some responses. Write down whatever you hear,” the doe-eyed teen instructed.
“Alright, Bakura. Thanks,” said a dubious Yugi.
“Been good hangin’ witcha, Yuge. Catch ya t’morrow! Let’s go, Bakura!” said Jou, grabbing Bakura and yanking him out the side door.
Yugi watched them go with a snort of amusement.
After Bakura and Jou had left, Yugi hooked up the digital recorder to his computer and transferred the recording from the device to the computer so he could listen over better quality speakers.
Heart thundering in his chest, Yugi double clicked the sound file and waited for it to load.
“Grandpa, was that you last night? Did you put my Black Magician card on your dresser for me to find?”
“Yu-gi…”
At this reply, a stunned Yugi paused the file.
‘My name? No mistake! That was my name!’
He quickly wrote the result down before unpausing the file and listening again.
“Are you causing the coldness down here?”
“Here…”
Again, Yugi paused the file and wrote down what he had heard.
‘Here?’ Yugi thought.
Then he remembered Grandpa’s words from his dream.
“I’m here…” he said softly to himself.
THUMP BUMP THUMP
The noise came from just at the base of the stairwell.
creak creak creak creak creak
Yugi’s eyes widened and sweat broke out on his features as he heard those terrible creaking sounds getting closer and closer until they were at his very door.
knock knock knock
At this sound, Yugi’s courage failed him. He jumped out of his chair, carried it over to the door and wedged it on its back legs under the knob to prevent anyone, or anything from entering. Without even bothering to turn off his light, Yugi dove under his covers, and pulled them up over his head. Not that he was scared or anything; he would just feel better and sleep more soundly with the light on.
creak creak creak creak creak creak
Yugi breathed a slight sigh of relief as the footsteps faded down the hallway and back down the staircase. As he huddled under the blanket, he listened for any other sounds, but heard only the sound of silence.
‘Grandpa, why are you doing this?’ he thought warily.
The next day saw Bakura and Jou back at the game shop to hear the results of the session. The trio sat in Yugi’s room, listening intently as the file played back on Yugi’s computer. When the file ended, the three friends sat in profound silence for quite a while.
“Dat’s fuckin’ insane! Dis place’s fucked up!” piped up Jou, only to receive a whap on the back of his head from Bakura.
“Really, Jounouchi!” the doe-eyed teen glowered. “Yugi, those two words you captured are amazing, especially your very name. There’s no doubt that you’re dealing with an intelligent haunting.”
“The question is, what do I do about it?” asked Yugi.
“Well, the ghost hunting videos I’ve seen suggest claiming your space by firmly dismissing the spirit from your home,” replied Bakura.
“I can’t do that to my Grandpa!” protested Yugi.
“Yugi, even if it is your grandfather, you don’t want him lingering in this world,” pointed out Bakura. “Remember what Isis said.”
“I know, but…” said Yugi, hanging his head sadly.
“Kin we all jus’ git outta here fer a while?” pleaded Jou. “Dis place dun feel right.”
“It is rather oppressive. Let’s go to the mall and eat there. My treat,” suggested Bakura.
“OK,” said Yugi in a sad, small voice.
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Rending the Veil