[fic] Coming Forth by Sundown, Chapter 09 - Yugioh, drama/romance, PG-13
Title: Coming Forth by Sundown
Author: Chey (duelist_gurl163)
Chapter: 9/13
Overall rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama/romance
Parings: YamixYugi, JouxMai, and references to YugixAnzu and YamixAnzu
Archive: You're lookin' at it
Warnings: None
Spoilers: Post-series, so many spoilers, including Yami's real name.
Summary: His was a story that ended in light. At the time, nobody realized that ending one story would only cause the beginning of another.
Disclaimer: Yugioh's still not mine.
01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 - 08---
The room seemed to come to a stand-still, but that was quickly broken as in a blur of purple and blond Mai strode forward and smacked Jounouchi hard across the face.
“Mai!” Anzu gasped, having just emerged from the kitchen to see the commotion. “What’s she doing?”
“Get out of Jounouchi, you slimy, body-stealing ghost!” she shouted, cocking back her hand and smacking him again.
Jounouchi cowered, covering his head. “I’m sorry!”
“Ghost?” Anzu asked, looking around. “Guys…what’s going on?”
Yugi sprang forward and grabbed Mai’s arm. “Mai, you’re going to knock him out at this rate.”
“Good!”
“No, not good!” He argued. “This spirit doesn’t seem to be a bad one like the one you and Jounouchi met. This one might be able to help us figure out what’s going on.”
She lowered her arm, yanking it away from Yugi’s grasp. “Fine,” she muttered, retreating to a nearby chair and glaring venomously.
“Okay, so who are you?” Atemu asked, folding his arms.
“My name is Hanif. I used to live in this country, that’s how I could read the paper. What language is this, by the way?”
“Japanese.”
“Ah…interesting. I’ve never been able to speak Japanese before. Or understand it…”
“Stop using Jounouchi’s ability to speak Japanese for your amusement!” Mai snapped.
Yugi sighed. “What she means is, get back to your story. Why did you possess Jounouchi?”
“I didn’t have a choice, I told you. I just kind of…did. Without thinking about it."
“Do you know why this is going on?” Atemu asked.
“Well…evil spirits have controlled the underworld for a long time. I was told there was a God that protected it at one time, but that stopped long before I died and entered the afterlife. Then recently the evil spirits grew excited, because there were rumours that the underworld was about to open-”
“When exactly did you die?” Honda interrupted curiously.
“Around fifty years ago.”
“Hey…but you’re Islamic, aren’t you?”
Hanif nodded.
“Then how did you end up in the Egyptian afterlife?!”
“All the afterworlds are the same thing,” Atemu said impatiently. “It doesn’t matter what religion you are, you’re all going to the same place. Now, the underworld opening…?” He prompted. “What’s this about a protector?”
“Right. Apparently the protector of the underworld has been gone for a long time, but all of the evil in the underworld was still trapped down there, because there’s a barrier. However recently…only a few months ago…a rift was opened.”
Marik’s eyes widened. “A rift…the prophecy mentioned a rift, we’d forgotten all about that! And a few months ago was when Atemu returned-”
“Stop interrupting him!” Yugi snapped. “Hanif, go on.”
“A rift was opened. It closed, but it left an irregular patch on the underworld. A weak point. And everyone was excited, and saying the time was coming. There was going to be a human festival, one that would create a lot of spiritual energy as certain spirits were welcomed back. The evil spirits took advantage of that, and the moment the festival began, they were able to force their way out, using the weak place that the rift created. The rest of us were pulled along.”
“So why did you possess Jounouchi again?”
“I didn’t mean to. It just happened. I don’t think the spirits get to choose the people they possess. I think they can resist possessing someone for awhile, because I did for awhile. I didn’t want to possess anybody. But spirits need a host to live on Earth properly so there’s no choice. I sort of accidentally possessed him. I planned to un-possess him, but I’m stuck, I don’t know how to reverse the process.”
“So the entire underworld has opened?” Yugi asked.
“As far as I know.”
That means my family…Mahaado…Mana…they could all be somewhere on Earth right now, forced to possess people too, Atemu thought. He spoke up. “Why hasn’t any other God or Goddess done anything? Surely there are other powerful deities, like the Western God-”
“Gods of light, including the Western one, don’t have the power to control the underworld, just the ability to guide and protect the spirits who worshipped them. Their power weakens in the face of darkness. They can help out individual spirits, but they can’t control something like this. And dark Gods don’t mind the chaos, so they aren’t stopping anything.”
“What about the God that was supposed to guard the underworld?” Atemu asked. “What happened to him? Does this have anything to do with the end of the world?”
“The end of the world? No…I haven’t heard anything about that.” Jounouchi’s shoulders shrugged. “As for the God, I don’t know. Like I said, I only died fifty years ago, go find one of the spirits that’ve been around for three thousand years or so, they could probably tell you.”
Three thousand years?
“Are you sure it was three thousand years ago that he vanished?” Atemu demanded. “The God?”
“I don’t know, I think so.” He looked nervous and confused.
Atemu could feel someone watching him, and when he turned he saw Yugi looking quickly away.
Aibou’s realized it too.
Three thousand years was too much of a coincidence.
“Marik?” He asked, turning. “In your research, did Atum have anything to do with the underworld?”
“Yeah, I think so. It was mentioned, but I…got sort of distracted by the end of the world issue, as you know.”
“Go look it up again, find out everything you can.”
Marik shook his head. “I don’t have to. Ishizu has a book on the Heliopolis, it will be a lot more reliable and detailed. I called her and she’s flying in today via government jet, it’s faster than a commercial airline. She should be here in about an hour.”
“Alright.” Yugi nodded, and glanced at Atemu. He could see the shadows in his eyes, but decided not to say anything quite yet. Instead he looked back at Hanif in Jounouchi’s body. “Thank you for telling us what you know, Hanif.”
“You’re welcome. It’s really interesting, speaking Japanese.”
“Well whoop-ee for you,” Mai growled.
Hanif fell into a fearful silence, shrinking back.
Atemu had stepped away from the group, drifting into the kitchen to get away from the others. Yugi followed him.
“Atemu?”
“Yes Aibou?” He asked quietly.
“It’s going to be okay.”
Atemu raised his eyes, meeting Yugi’s. He could see the concern in Yugi’s expression. “Aibou…”
Across the room, Honda was now studying Jounouchi with interest. “So where do you think Jounouchi is right now?”
“Probably inside his soul room,” Anzu replied.
“I’ve always wondered what the inside of my soul room looks like.”
“Well, go and get possessed and maybe you’ll find out.”
“I’ll have to ask Jounouchi what his is like when he comes back.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me if his room was blank…” Mai grumbled. “After all, he let himself get possessed, the idiot.”
Yugi noticed Atemu watching. “They’re going to be okay too.”
Atemu lowered his eyes and sat down at the table.
I want to thank you, Aibou. But…if I am Atum…and this is my fault…I caused your best friend to become possessed. How can you not be angry?
It came as a blow to him…somehow, he’d overlooked the possibility that one of them may become possessed. Now came the hard reminder that they weren’t invincible, and not exempt from what was happening. And now finding a solution was ten times more important, yet they were no closer to one. But if they didn’t find one, they might never get Jounouchi back.
Yugi watched him quietly, waiting, then turned. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave you alone.”
Atemu’s eyes flicked up, watching him go, wishing he’d asked him not to.
- - -
An hour later Ishizu’s plane touched down. Shortly after there was a knock on the front door, and both Ishizu and Rishid entered.
“Rishid, I didn’t know you were coming too.” Marik said.
“Well, Ishizu managed to find someone to say the tomb was extremely unstable and could collapse at any moment. Excavation has been suspended indefinitely. So…I have no work at the moment. Besides, I heard Atemu was back.”
The one named slunk into the room. Rishid bowed his head. “It’s an honour to see you again.”
“And you,” Atemu returned politely, if quietly, before the others hurried in for their welcome.
Ishizu took a book from her purse. “This is the only text I had on hand about the Heliopolis, but it should have the information you wanted. I did some reading during the flight-”
“Is there anything about the underworld?” Yugi asked.
“The underworld? Marik told me to look for information about the end of the world.” She frowned.
“Yes, but there’s been a change in theory. We have some inside information,” Marik corrected.
“Inside…?”
“Jounouchi’s been possessed.” He pointed toward the blond haired young man who was currently studying Mai’s cell phone with great interest. “Luckily it’s been a helpful spirit. He said he hasn’t heard anything about the end of the world, but the underworld and the underworld’s safety are both involved.”
“Okay, the underworld it is.” She sat down and began flipping pages. When she finally raised her head, everyone sat up straighter.
“Well?” Marik asked.
“The God Atum…was a creator God, and is considered the protector of the underworld,” she said, running her finger down the page. “He protects the deceased from dangers. In legend he killed the snake Neheb-Khau and the Apep serpent.”
“A protector God, that’s just like what Hanif told us,” Honda said.
“Couldn’t any creator God do that though?” Yugi asked. “Like Ra?”
“Unlike the later sun God, Ra, he doesn’t lose his powers in the face of the underworld. He often represents the setting sun or the black sun. I would guess that Atum has powers that Ra doesn’t. Ra can’t interfere with trouble in the underworld, but Atum had the ability to.”
“What about Osiris? Osiris took care of the dead, didn’t he?”
“It’s interesting that you should ask about Osiris,” she said, flipping pages. “He was mentioned in the information about the end of the world.”
“He was?” Anzu asked. “Where?”
“His name is a Greek name. His original hieroglyph was Wesir. Supposedly, he and Atum would be the only Gods who survived the end of the world. However,” she continued, before anyone could interrupt, “in reference to your question, Yugi, Osiris is a funerary God. He was depicted as a mummy. His power lay in guiding the dead to the fields of peace, not protecting them.”
“What about Anubis? He protects the dead.”
Ishizu was beginning to look annoyed. “Yes. Anubis was a protector God of the deceased. However he was not as powerful of a God as Atum, he focused more on helping the souls of people to reach the afterlife, and later became more of a cosmic deity. And we’re not discussing other Gods at the moment.”
“Oh…okay.”
“Marik, you said that you had a suspicion that Atemu is Atum in human form,” she said slowly, half-stating and half-questioning.
Marik nodded. “The God Atum vanished three thousand years ago. Atemu was born three thousand years ago. He was an extremely gifted pharaoh, with power that other humans didn’t have. Yugi told me about what they discovered in the world of memory; Atemu had to ability to command other Gods. No normal human had that.”
“What about me?” Yugi interjected once again, still in search of a way to lessen Atemu’s stress. “I could command the God cards.”
Ishizu considered him. “The two of you really are an interesting case. Clearly you aren’t Atemu’s reincarnation, but it’s undeniable that you’re linked somehow. This is only a guess, but I suspect that some of his powers were transferred to you, either because you were his host, or even because your souls are somehow connected. Therefore, you probably have some of Atum’s powers as well.”
“Oh.” Yugi said again, falling silent.
“Atum would manifest himself in a human form,” Marik continued, glancing back and forth between them. “Which would explain why Atemu was able to create a corporeal body for himself. When he was a spirit living in the Puzzle, he had a host and had no need to manifest his true form, because his spirit was existing outside a body for a reason. This time he was abruptly forced out, and likely unconsciously created this form. That of a man…and this particular body most likely because it’s the form his human spirit remembers.”
“But there are still a lot of holes in the theory,” Anzu interjected, having seen Atemu’s darkening expression. “Like why a God would let himself be born as a human, and how the prophecy got into his tomb to begin with. And besides, back when he was just ‘the other Yugi’ you told me he had a mortal soul, doesn’t that mean he’s just a normal human?”
“Anzu…Aibou…” Atemu finally spoke. “I appreciate…you trying to disprove them, or trying to make me avoid the responsibility. But I’m beginning to think…that Marik is correct.”
“What?” they all looked at him. Atemu sighed, his head down, his face hidden.
“I think I’m Atum.”
x-x-x
Notes: Now see, I totally screwed up last chapter and only realized it now. I should have made Hanif be unable to speak Japanese. Because now there’s all these teeny plot holes. (Why does the spirit acquire the abilities of the person he or she possessed? What’s the point of that? I spy a deus ex machina to make dialogue easier!) But it’s a little too late for that. ._. He speaks Japanese, and that’s that. But hey, in the show I was always amazed that everyone the characters met spoke Japanese. Talk about coincidences…
Sorry to everyone who wanted the spirit to be Yami no Bakura or Malik...awesome plot twist idea, but fact is that canon-speaking, neither of them was possible. Yami no Bakura was in fact Zorc…and Zorc was destroyed. Malik wasn’t a spirit, but a dual personality. And unfortunately, I’m conforming to canon in this one.
I apologize to any religious people offended by the one-heaven theory. I’m a heathen, I know.
Honestly I’m not entirely happy with this chapter…as these rather lengthy notes show. I’m starting to feel like this fic as a whole had a lot more potential and I settled for the easy route and didn’t live up to that. But it might just be I’m in a mood today. *shrugs* I hope you guys enjoy the update anyway. The next chapter has more cuteness. x3
Author: Chey (duelist_gurl163)
Chapter: 9/13
Overall rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama/romance
Parings: YamixYugi, JouxMai, and references to YugixAnzu and YamixAnzu
Archive: You're lookin' at it
Warnings: None
Spoilers: Post-series, so many spoilers, including Yami's real name.
Summary: His was a story that ended in light. At the time, nobody realized that ending one story would only cause the beginning of another.
Disclaimer: Yugioh's still not mine.
01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 - 08---
The room seemed to come to a stand-still, but that was quickly broken as in a blur of purple and blond Mai strode forward and smacked Jounouchi hard across the face.
“Mai!” Anzu gasped, having just emerged from the kitchen to see the commotion. “What’s she doing?”
“Get out of Jounouchi, you slimy, body-stealing ghost!” she shouted, cocking back her hand and smacking him again.
Jounouchi cowered, covering his head. “I’m sorry!”
“Ghost?” Anzu asked, looking around. “Guys…what’s going on?”
Yugi sprang forward and grabbed Mai’s arm. “Mai, you’re going to knock him out at this rate.”
“Good!”
“No, not good!” He argued. “This spirit doesn’t seem to be a bad one like the one you and Jounouchi met. This one might be able to help us figure out what’s going on.”
She lowered her arm, yanking it away from Yugi’s grasp. “Fine,” she muttered, retreating to a nearby chair and glaring venomously.
“Okay, so who are you?” Atemu asked, folding his arms.
“My name is Hanif. I used to live in this country, that’s how I could read the paper. What language is this, by the way?”
“Japanese.”
“Ah…interesting. I’ve never been able to speak Japanese before. Or understand it…”
“Stop using Jounouchi’s ability to speak Japanese for your amusement!” Mai snapped.
Yugi sighed. “What she means is, get back to your story. Why did you possess Jounouchi?”
“I didn’t have a choice, I told you. I just kind of…did. Without thinking about it."
“Do you know why this is going on?” Atemu asked.
“Well…evil spirits have controlled the underworld for a long time. I was told there was a God that protected it at one time, but that stopped long before I died and entered the afterlife. Then recently the evil spirits grew excited, because there were rumours that the underworld was about to open-”
“When exactly did you die?” Honda interrupted curiously.
“Around fifty years ago.”
“Hey…but you’re Islamic, aren’t you?”
Hanif nodded.
“Then how did you end up in the Egyptian afterlife?!”
“All the afterworlds are the same thing,” Atemu said impatiently. “It doesn’t matter what religion you are, you’re all going to the same place. Now, the underworld opening…?” He prompted. “What’s this about a protector?”
“Right. Apparently the protector of the underworld has been gone for a long time, but all of the evil in the underworld was still trapped down there, because there’s a barrier. However recently…only a few months ago…a rift was opened.”
Marik’s eyes widened. “A rift…the prophecy mentioned a rift, we’d forgotten all about that! And a few months ago was when Atemu returned-”
“Stop interrupting him!” Yugi snapped. “Hanif, go on.”
“A rift was opened. It closed, but it left an irregular patch on the underworld. A weak point. And everyone was excited, and saying the time was coming. There was going to be a human festival, one that would create a lot of spiritual energy as certain spirits were welcomed back. The evil spirits took advantage of that, and the moment the festival began, they were able to force their way out, using the weak place that the rift created. The rest of us were pulled along.”
“So why did you possess Jounouchi again?”
“I didn’t mean to. It just happened. I don’t think the spirits get to choose the people they possess. I think they can resist possessing someone for awhile, because I did for awhile. I didn’t want to possess anybody. But spirits need a host to live on Earth properly so there’s no choice. I sort of accidentally possessed him. I planned to un-possess him, but I’m stuck, I don’t know how to reverse the process.”
“So the entire underworld has opened?” Yugi asked.
“As far as I know.”
That means my family…Mahaado…Mana…they could all be somewhere on Earth right now, forced to possess people too, Atemu thought. He spoke up. “Why hasn’t any other God or Goddess done anything? Surely there are other powerful deities, like the Western God-”
“Gods of light, including the Western one, don’t have the power to control the underworld, just the ability to guide and protect the spirits who worshipped them. Their power weakens in the face of darkness. They can help out individual spirits, but they can’t control something like this. And dark Gods don’t mind the chaos, so they aren’t stopping anything.”
“What about the God that was supposed to guard the underworld?” Atemu asked. “What happened to him? Does this have anything to do with the end of the world?”
“The end of the world? No…I haven’t heard anything about that.” Jounouchi’s shoulders shrugged. “As for the God, I don’t know. Like I said, I only died fifty years ago, go find one of the spirits that’ve been around for three thousand years or so, they could probably tell you.”
Three thousand years?
“Are you sure it was three thousand years ago that he vanished?” Atemu demanded. “The God?”
“I don’t know, I think so.” He looked nervous and confused.
Atemu could feel someone watching him, and when he turned he saw Yugi looking quickly away.
Aibou’s realized it too.
Three thousand years was too much of a coincidence.
“Marik?” He asked, turning. “In your research, did Atum have anything to do with the underworld?”
“Yeah, I think so. It was mentioned, but I…got sort of distracted by the end of the world issue, as you know.”
“Go look it up again, find out everything you can.”
Marik shook his head. “I don’t have to. Ishizu has a book on the Heliopolis, it will be a lot more reliable and detailed. I called her and she’s flying in today via government jet, it’s faster than a commercial airline. She should be here in about an hour.”
“Alright.” Yugi nodded, and glanced at Atemu. He could see the shadows in his eyes, but decided not to say anything quite yet. Instead he looked back at Hanif in Jounouchi’s body. “Thank you for telling us what you know, Hanif.”
“You’re welcome. It’s really interesting, speaking Japanese.”
“Well whoop-ee for you,” Mai growled.
Hanif fell into a fearful silence, shrinking back.
Atemu had stepped away from the group, drifting into the kitchen to get away from the others. Yugi followed him.
“Atemu?”
“Yes Aibou?” He asked quietly.
“It’s going to be okay.”
Atemu raised his eyes, meeting Yugi’s. He could see the concern in Yugi’s expression. “Aibou…”
Across the room, Honda was now studying Jounouchi with interest. “So where do you think Jounouchi is right now?”
“Probably inside his soul room,” Anzu replied.
“I’ve always wondered what the inside of my soul room looks like.”
“Well, go and get possessed and maybe you’ll find out.”
“I’ll have to ask Jounouchi what his is like when he comes back.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me if his room was blank…” Mai grumbled. “After all, he let himself get possessed, the idiot.”
Yugi noticed Atemu watching. “They’re going to be okay too.”
Atemu lowered his eyes and sat down at the table.
I want to thank you, Aibou. But…if I am Atum…and this is my fault…I caused your best friend to become possessed. How can you not be angry?
It came as a blow to him…somehow, he’d overlooked the possibility that one of them may become possessed. Now came the hard reminder that they weren’t invincible, and not exempt from what was happening. And now finding a solution was ten times more important, yet they were no closer to one. But if they didn’t find one, they might never get Jounouchi back.
Yugi watched him quietly, waiting, then turned. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave you alone.”
Atemu’s eyes flicked up, watching him go, wishing he’d asked him not to.
- - -
An hour later Ishizu’s plane touched down. Shortly after there was a knock on the front door, and both Ishizu and Rishid entered.
“Rishid, I didn’t know you were coming too.” Marik said.
“Well, Ishizu managed to find someone to say the tomb was extremely unstable and could collapse at any moment. Excavation has been suspended indefinitely. So…I have no work at the moment. Besides, I heard Atemu was back.”
The one named slunk into the room. Rishid bowed his head. “It’s an honour to see you again.”
“And you,” Atemu returned politely, if quietly, before the others hurried in for their welcome.
Ishizu took a book from her purse. “This is the only text I had on hand about the Heliopolis, but it should have the information you wanted. I did some reading during the flight-”
“Is there anything about the underworld?” Yugi asked.
“The underworld? Marik told me to look for information about the end of the world.” She frowned.
“Yes, but there’s been a change in theory. We have some inside information,” Marik corrected.
“Inside…?”
“Jounouchi’s been possessed.” He pointed toward the blond haired young man who was currently studying Mai’s cell phone with great interest. “Luckily it’s been a helpful spirit. He said he hasn’t heard anything about the end of the world, but the underworld and the underworld’s safety are both involved.”
“Okay, the underworld it is.” She sat down and began flipping pages. When she finally raised her head, everyone sat up straighter.
“Well?” Marik asked.
“The God Atum…was a creator God, and is considered the protector of the underworld,” she said, running her finger down the page. “He protects the deceased from dangers. In legend he killed the snake Neheb-Khau and the Apep serpent.”
“A protector God, that’s just like what Hanif told us,” Honda said.
“Couldn’t any creator God do that though?” Yugi asked. “Like Ra?”
“Unlike the later sun God, Ra, he doesn’t lose his powers in the face of the underworld. He often represents the setting sun or the black sun. I would guess that Atum has powers that Ra doesn’t. Ra can’t interfere with trouble in the underworld, but Atum had the ability to.”
“What about Osiris? Osiris took care of the dead, didn’t he?”
“It’s interesting that you should ask about Osiris,” she said, flipping pages. “He was mentioned in the information about the end of the world.”
“He was?” Anzu asked. “Where?”
“His name is a Greek name. His original hieroglyph was Wesir. Supposedly, he and Atum would be the only Gods who survived the end of the world. However,” she continued, before anyone could interrupt, “in reference to your question, Yugi, Osiris is a funerary God. He was depicted as a mummy. His power lay in guiding the dead to the fields of peace, not protecting them.”
“What about Anubis? He protects the dead.”
Ishizu was beginning to look annoyed. “Yes. Anubis was a protector God of the deceased. However he was not as powerful of a God as Atum, he focused more on helping the souls of people to reach the afterlife, and later became more of a cosmic deity. And we’re not discussing other Gods at the moment.”
“Oh…okay.”
“Marik, you said that you had a suspicion that Atemu is Atum in human form,” she said slowly, half-stating and half-questioning.
Marik nodded. “The God Atum vanished three thousand years ago. Atemu was born three thousand years ago. He was an extremely gifted pharaoh, with power that other humans didn’t have. Yugi told me about what they discovered in the world of memory; Atemu had to ability to command other Gods. No normal human had that.”
“What about me?” Yugi interjected once again, still in search of a way to lessen Atemu’s stress. “I could command the God cards.”
Ishizu considered him. “The two of you really are an interesting case. Clearly you aren’t Atemu’s reincarnation, but it’s undeniable that you’re linked somehow. This is only a guess, but I suspect that some of his powers were transferred to you, either because you were his host, or even because your souls are somehow connected. Therefore, you probably have some of Atum’s powers as well.”
“Oh.” Yugi said again, falling silent.
“Atum would manifest himself in a human form,” Marik continued, glancing back and forth between them. “Which would explain why Atemu was able to create a corporeal body for himself. When he was a spirit living in the Puzzle, he had a host and had no need to manifest his true form, because his spirit was existing outside a body for a reason. This time he was abruptly forced out, and likely unconsciously created this form. That of a man…and this particular body most likely because it’s the form his human spirit remembers.”
“But there are still a lot of holes in the theory,” Anzu interjected, having seen Atemu’s darkening expression. “Like why a God would let himself be born as a human, and how the prophecy got into his tomb to begin with. And besides, back when he was just ‘the other Yugi’ you told me he had a mortal soul, doesn’t that mean he’s just a normal human?”
“Anzu…Aibou…” Atemu finally spoke. “I appreciate…you trying to disprove them, or trying to make me avoid the responsibility. But I’m beginning to think…that Marik is correct.”
“What?” they all looked at him. Atemu sighed, his head down, his face hidden.
“I think I’m Atum.”
x-x-x
Notes: Now see, I totally screwed up last chapter and only realized it now. I should have made Hanif be unable to speak Japanese. Because now there’s all these teeny plot holes. (Why does the spirit acquire the abilities of the person he or she possessed? What’s the point of that? I spy a deus ex machina to make dialogue easier!) But it’s a little too late for that. ._. He speaks Japanese, and that’s that. But hey, in the show I was always amazed that everyone the characters met spoke Japanese. Talk about coincidences…
Sorry to everyone who wanted the spirit to be Yami no Bakura or Malik...awesome plot twist idea, but fact is that canon-speaking, neither of them was possible. Yami no Bakura was in fact Zorc…and Zorc was destroyed. Malik wasn’t a spirit, but a dual personality. And unfortunately, I’m conforming to canon in this one.
I apologize to any religious people offended by the one-heaven theory. I’m a heathen, I know.
Honestly I’m not entirely happy with this chapter…as these rather lengthy notes show. I’m starting to feel like this fic as a whole had a lot more potential and I settled for the easy route and didn’t live up to that. But it might just be I’m in a mood today. *shrugs* I hope you guys enjoy the update anyway. The next chapter has more cuteness. x3