Atemu Fanfiction

Title: False Accusation
Author: Shadowesque13
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Mystery/Horror
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is © Kazuki Takahashi. Any books, movies, television shows, etc. mentioned belong to their respective owners.

There was nobody outside, no customers inside, either. Right after school was always the busiest on a normal weekday because of all the kids just coming out of a rough day of school.
It was currently just passing 1 in the afternoon, so it would be a few hours before business would boom. This meant it was boring, menial chores for Yugi instead of cool stuff like handling the money or dealing with customers, even giving them advice like he did with that one kid a few days ago.
He helped put up some displays and posters, set out a few more cards and other game related objects, even put up the little tags and signs declaring to the world their prices.
Wonderful, do I have the best not-job in the world, or what? muttered Yugi, bored, in his head as he put a new shipment of cards in the back storage room. I’m a lackey, an unpaid lackey.

“What, you’d rather work for who knows where for about a dollar an hour, taking up all of your precious free time after school and on weekends?” sneered Yami as Yugi rested for a moment on the box he set on the floor.
“Boy, when you make a point, you do make a point.”
“Thank you.”
His grandfather called his name.
“What now? More boxes?” He ended up cleaning the glass display cases after putting away more boxes in the back. “Yes, I just had to ask, didn’t I?”
Yami snickered in the corner. If only Yugi wasn’t the only one who could see him like this. “And just what are you so amused about, spirit boy?”
“Oh, nothing,” Yami winked. “At least the complaining is something to get your mind off everything else.”
“I’m glad you can see the silver lining on every cloud,” said Yugi sarcastically as he tried to pick a smudge of something off a window, but failed. “There’s no way he should be surprised if by the second I’m done with this stuff I’m out of here.”
“And I’m glad you can see a dark cloud in every clear sky. So unlike you.”
“You come here and spend an hour or two doing this stuff and see how optimistic you are after that!” Yugi rolled his eyes. He was glad he had someone to talk to other than his grandfather, even if Yami did get on his nerves on very rare occasions.
“I don’t think I will. You got what you deserved; you did this of your own free will.”
“Hey, weren’t you the one who wanted me to do chores because grandpa said to? Hmm?”
Yami laughed again as he watched his smaller half struggle with the stubborn spot.
Yugi sat leaning against the stairs by the time the final school bell rung.
“Get ready for the customers, Yugi,” said his grandfather rather cheerfully.
Yugi got up quickly. “Ah, sorry grandpa, but I really think I’m gonna go for a bit. And I promise to be back before midnight if I can.”
He ran outside. He planned to walk around, maybe by the docks, maybe in the park. Also probably to avoid meeting anyone from school who would realize he’s not sick. Especially the gang. But he realized he really wouldn’t mind seeing them again.

They could talk some and probably be able to find a way to cheer him up more than Yami ever could, try as he might. And he could apologize to Bakura again for being rude. Until he remembered his very short suspect list. He sighed and wished the list would grow and the names not be good friends of his.

He saw kids of all ages, of all grades, gleefully prancing home or to their favorite hangouts with their friends. He spotted Téa, soon followed by Tristan and Joey, before they saw him, so he was able to shield himself from their sight by hiding behind a tree. I definitely do not feel like talking to them right now.

“They probably know you’re ‘sick’. Go talk to them to let them know you’re all right and not ditching school because of who knows what,” suggested Yami.
Yugi snorted. That’s the point—they think I’m sick. If they see me just fine, walking and talking, they’re going to know that something’s up.
“Ah.” Yami peeked from behind the tree. “The coast is clear now, Yugi.”
Yugi’s tensed body relaxed, and he continued on his original meandering course.
“Too bad they don’t have another pair of good eyes like I do.”
“Yes, that can come in hand in tight situation, can’t it,” Yami answered with a wink. “Yet one more use for a non-corporeal being only you can see.”
“Add that to the list of, what, 2 uses?”
“Oh ho, I take offense to that!” laughed Yami as he, once again, slipped inside the confines of the Puzzle and it’s everlasting secrets.
“You do not, stop being such a drama queen.”
“King.”
“Pharaoh.”
“Whatever.”
“Indeed, that’s the spirit!” Yugi sat on one of the benches that overlooked a newly renovated fountain. The water sprayed up into the air, giving off a prismatic effect in the sunlight, before falling gently back down.

A couple walked by, giggling to themselves. The man stopped for a moment and fished for something in his pocket. When he pulled his hand back out, a penny glinted bronze from in-between his fingertips.

He looked over to his companion. “Make a wish,” he told her. She smiled in response as he tossed the penny into the water, causing numerous ripples to splash against the sides of the fountain.
“I hope it comes true,” she said as they walked off together, side by side, murmuring more things to each other.
Yugi sat there for a minute before getting up and walking over to the fountain. He leaned forward some and peered into the always moving water. There was a small convention of unlike coins of different colors and sizes. Even he, as a younger boy, amused himself by flinging a penny or two inside. The wishes probably never came true, but he was 8, so what did he care as a child? He stared into his reflection.

He looked worn and beaten. His showing emotions on his face were those of both worry and amusement, wonder joining them, too. But he looked deeper than that, deeper than the water, deeper than the coins, deeper than the fountain, deeper than what could be seen by the naked human eye. On the inside, deep inside, he was crying, drowning himself in tears. He wanted to just live a normal life where nothing was wrong, where Kaiba was still trying to beat him in a duel, where his friends could all be trusted, where he could feel like himself again.

God, if he wasn’t underage, he would probably want a drink right now. Yami appeared behind him for a moment. Yugi shook his head, signaling that he didn’t wish to talk, and Yami nodded. He was standing beside his own reflection, literally and figuratively. It was haunting and gave him a shiver down his spine, knowing the true him. He refocused on the surface reflection again. He blinked once and slipped his hand into his pants pocket, gripping a penny of is own from the bit of change clinking inside.

His eyes looked it over once and sighing, said, “Make a wish, Yugi.”
He flipped it high into the sky and watched it spin and twirl. Watching it fall into the water, he blinked again and nearly did a double take. He thought he saw Kaiba’s reflection beside his, but it was no more when the coin hit the water, causing it’s own wall of ripples and distorting his image.
“Please.”
His eyes followed the penny as it settled and then he moved on. I must be slowly going insane…

“Maybe you have to be crazy to create something powerful.”
Yugi slightly nodded in a half response, not exactly listening. The breeze felt nice, blowing some leftover water from the treetops and leaves. He didn’t mind when he stepped into puddles of still water. Hopefully he wouldn’t drag any mud inside when he came home, lest he be stuck with mopping it all up. He wandered here and there, letting his feet take him anywhere they wanted to go.

By the shop, past the mansion, walking by the school, through the park, he wasn’t really paying that much attention to his surroundings. He may have been walking for an hour, maybe an hour and a half, before coming back home. There was one kid hanging around inside browsing. He stepped inside and greeted his grandfather absent-mindedly.
He looked at what the kid was contemplating about and moved on. Once in the asylum of his room, he kicked off his shoes and buried his head under his pillows.
He had only gotten out of his room to eat supper, then it was back to his room.
He decided he would take this backpack and flashlight again and explore the mansion some more. He poked the backpack. It made a squished kind of sound and made his finger damp. Okay, so he wasn’t bringing the pack with him this time around. He supposed his pockets and arms would have to suffice for carrying anything.

He wasn’t, however, very optimistic. While he went downstairs, he hoped that his fountain wish would turn out to be true, but the odds of him finding out who did it were very low, so against him, that only someone like Spock could calculate the figures.
“Yugi, good to see you.” His grandfather waved to him. “What are you planning on doing this evening?”

“I’m going out for a bit, grandpa. Don’t worry, I’ll be back.”
“Any idea when?"
Yugi shrugged. “I honestly have no clue.” He walked out the door, leaving his grandfather to worry about him anyway. “Why does everyone act like there’s something wrong with me when they talk to me now?” he grumbled.
“Let’s see, you’re, not very talkative lately, have lied, been going off for hours at a time to someplace they don’t know…does the list really need to go on any further?”
Yugi waved a dismissive hand. “Yeah, yeah, you’ve made your point already…”
The sun was near setting, so he turned his flashlight on since he knew that it would be near dark by the time her reached the front door of the Kaiba mansion.

He thought he saw Bakura on the way, but if he did, it was only for a second, so chances of the shy teen having seen him were low thankfully for him.
The fence was no problem, as usual, except for the fact that it was a bit slippery from the rain of the previous night. He had actually slipped once, nearly falling, but regained his grip and balance and finished the climb. The mansion on the outside looked the same as ever. The windows remained darkened, the door was still unlocked, even on the inside it seemed unlike a touched and active place.

Before finding the light switch, he flashed his own light around the room trying to spot anything out of the ordinary or out of place. The rather chilly room had a paranormal, ghostly, dead feel to it. Of course, since he and the killer are supposedly the only ones who have been inside since the tragedy where someone died, that obviously added to the death-like feeling that crept into his marrow and through his body.

The light switch was flipped on so the overhead lights illuminated the room. Nothing caught his eye at first glance. Maybe one of his thorough searches would turn up something. His mind went back to the penny and his wish at the fountain. He balled a fist as he started his meticulous investigation of the carpet.
Yeah, right, he scoffed to himself. I doubt even magic will help me unravel this mystery.
“Have a little faith, Yugi,” smiled Yami as he, too, went on his hands and knees looking at the floor.
“Sorry, but my faith went out the door at the funeral.”
“Not religious faith; you knew what I meant.”
“Not that I’m very religious anyway. Nah, I know. I was just teasing you. But my faith is really starting to wane and strain. I mean,” he let out an exasperated sigh, “it’s been over a week, and I’ve decided not to count how many times we’ve come here.”

“Four or five, I do believe.”
“You’ll note that I said I stopped counting. That probably signifies that I don’t particularly care much anymore.” He went back to his topic. “And we’ve come back either empty handed, or with incriminating evidence against our own trustworthy—or so we assume—friends. What will we find next? One of Téa’s headbands? Tristan’s Cyber Commander card? Maybe you were right, maybe somebody is toying with us with fake clues that point us in the wrong direction.”
“That’s a very pessimistic outlook. It seems our personalities have reversed nowadays, eh?” Yami chuckled. He kept trying to lighten the mood so Yugi wouldn’t keep tearing himself apart on the inside.
Yami could see it clear as day. Everyday, he’d fall deeper into a pit of desperation and despair because of this thing they were trying to prove. Yami pulled him out every now and then with his lame jokes and witty comments. It worked, but then Yugi kept going back to thinking about the crime and realizing nothing was adding up.
“Yeah, I know, it’s weird. And I used to tell you to stop being serious!”
“Actually, that was just today.”
“Oh. Well, anyway, I’m sorry. It just doesn’t make sense; and I’m trying so hard to figure out just who killed my friend. And I just can’t accept that Joey or Bakura could do such a terrible act.”
“It’s hard to believe anyone could commit a crime of that magnitude.”
Yugi nodded sadly. “The world in this day of age is very cold sometimes.”
Yami grew quiet as he contemplated this. In fact, he stayed silent for so long that they had finished going over the room before any more words were spoken.
“But what if one of them did do it?” asked Yugi suddenly as they sat against the wall under the windows. “Or they were accomplices? How would I tell people? How could anyone really believe me? We’ve been so close for years, I don’t want to break up this friendship. They’ve never done anything to us. Well, beyond that deceptive and corrupt evil spirit that lives inside Bakura’s Millennium Ring, that is, and we haven’t seen heads or tails of him in ages.”

Yami nodded as he leaned his head back. “Good question. If one is the criminal, we’ll have to tell someone. The police first, of course. Maybe you shouldn’t even say anything to your friends, except maybe for Téa, since you told her about Joey.”
“Think I should tell her about Bakura?”
Shrugging, Yami replied, “That’s up to you. I don’t think it would really matter either way.”
“Unless she starts thinking I’m nuts.” Yugi sighed. “She might believe me about the book he left behind, but then again, she’ll have as hard a time as me accepting anything of the sort.”
“If the police get them, and no one knows you discovered their secret, then you can still be friends with the others, comfort them in their time of great need.”
“I suppose you’ve got a good idea there.” Yugi thought for a moment. “If I told them and Joey or Bakura were taken away, they might not believe me, thinking I’m accusing them falsely, and then hate me. Geez, everyone would hate me except those that didn’t like either guy.”
He rested his head in hand, chin sitting on his knees. Another few minutes of silence went by.
“Well, I guess there’s nothing here again.” He stood, Yami following suit.
“Check the next room?”
“Of course.”
As they walked to the back room where they had found Bakura’s science book, Yami had to ask, “How long do you plan to be here today? How many rooms?”
Yugi opened the door. “Maybe just the first floor. That would make the most sense. Maybe only the rooms around this one. I won’t spend all day long here, I know, I promise you that.”

“Good, because I don’t want to feel that hungry ever again!”
“Hey, I ate some of that turkey in the main kitchen’s fridge!”
“Yeah, that and nothing else.”
Yugi turned on the lights, lamps and all as Yami rolled his large violet eyes that shone wisdom and age beyond his or Yugi’s years, but still held a glint of humor in them, not completely lost (or perhaps it was gained while he spent time with Yugi) during his long stay as a mere spirit inside the Puzzle.
Rooms were searched high and low, but no trace of another soul could be seen by either. Yami stretched after walking out of another room and said, “Yugi, feel like heading home now? We’ve looked at half of the first floor, all of the rooms around the living room.”
Yugi looked up and down the hallway, hoping for something, anything at all, that could help. He sighed and gave an apathetic shrug.
“Sure. We’ve probably been here for a few hours anyway. I doubt we can find anything more.”
The two trudged slowly home, Yugi dragging his feet along. Yami looked down at him with a sideways glance.
“You mustn’t give up all hope yet, Yugi. Tomorrow we’ll return and give another thorough search. Who knows, the killer might come back tonight and leave another clue.”
Yugi didn’t even acknowledge his spirit’s comments, only stared glumly at the sidewalk as he returned home. The game shop had closed, even the sign on the door said so, but Yugi walked in knowing it was unlocked.
“Hey there, grandpa.” He gave a small wave to his grandfather who was polishing the Egyptian God Cards.
He finished rubbing Obelisk the Tormenter and, setting it down, smiled at his grandson.
“Hello, Yugi. Back from your walk I see. Feeling better? Got your head cleared up? A good walk always does some good, for the body, if not the soul.”

Yugi couldn’t help but grin at his grandfather. “Yeah, it was so-so. Nothing big. I hope you didn’t worry too much about me, did you? I know it’s dark.”
“Nonsense, I knew you’d be back.” He placed a hand on Yugi’s back as he led him to the kitchen. “Now come on, get a snack or something to eat. You must be tired or at least a little hungry.”
“As a matter of fact…” Yugi only now realized he was rather hungry. “I think you’d be right about that.”
“I normally am, aren’t I?” His grandfather took off the gloves he used while cleaning the special and powerful cards and tossed them into the nearest trash can.
“I’m going to assume that you’re taking up the offer to take the whole week off including tomorrow?”
“You’d be right about that, too.” Yugi fixed himself a large bowl of chocolate ice cream and poured on some chocolate syrup.
“You’re going to go into a sugar coma if you add much more to that concoction, you know.” His grandfather laughed. “Why don’t you just take the whole bag of sugar up to your room? It’ll have the same effect. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if you ended up being awake and hyper for that matter all night long.”
“It’s not that bad, grandpa.” Yugi rolled his eyes and grabbed his bowl and a spoon to go up to his room. Yami couldn’t help but laugh, too.
“Well, don’t drip any of that onto the carpet! I just cleaned that thing, your wet things did more than dampen it!”
“Sure, grandpa, I won’t.”
His grandfather added one more question before the door closed to Yugi’s room.
“Have you started that schoolwork of yours yet? That had better be done before you go back to school on Monday!”
Yugi said in an agitated but affectionate tone, “Yes, grandpa, I will, don’t worry! It’ll get done. I still have tomorrow and the whole weekend, you know.” He closed the door and set the ice cream on his desk. “If you’re not the mother hen, he certainly is,” he said to Yami.
“And you’re going to be busy enough catching up in school as it is. I don't think the teachers would let week old homework slide, do you?”
“Most likely.” He took a few bites of his delicious and possibly fat filled snack. He let the spoon hang in his mouth after the fourth bite and leaned back, crossing his arms, in thought.

“Something on your mind?” Yami asked, then added, “Of course, there’s always something going on in there. I should stop asking silly questions like that. Care to share?”
Yugi said through the spoon, “It’s just that I’m planning on what’s going to happen tomorrow.”
“I want this to be the last time, you know.”
“So do I, to tell you the truth. 2 days in a row with nothing. Maybe the criminal got bored and stopped leaving me stuff. Or he got smarter and realized he was leaving these things behind and corrected himself.”
He tilted his head. “But what would be his reason for coming back time after time? He couldn’t really know someone’s after him like us, could he? Maybe he’s looking for something and just hasn’t been able to find it yet.”
Yami looked away, staring into space. “Hmm, a fair question.” He spent a few moments contemplating. “Unfortunately, I wouldn’t know the answers you seek. I don’t know the mind-set of such people.”
Yugi shrugged and dug the spoon into the mound of frozen goodness again. He managed to get brain freeze a few times, amusing Yami to no end. Once full, Yugi laid back on his bed to ponder other things, but he always came back to the crime and the mansion. His grandfather came to check on him once during the night. At around 10, he yawned and felt like retiring early to bed wasn’t such a bad idea.

He kicked off his shoes (he managed not to get any mud inside the house) and checked to see if the ones he placed under the bed were dry enough yet. They felt okay, so he took them out and put them by where the other pair came to a rest. He slid his pants off after pulling his socks off, and the jacket soon followed. He took the shirt off, pulling it over his head. His underwear was the next to go, the briefs added to the small pile of worn articles of clothing. He grabbed his pajamas from the headboard of his bed where he always hung them until his grandfather insisted they were to be washed as well and, after slipping on a fresh pair of undergarments, put them on.

He turned his attention to the pile. These clothes went into the hamper to be washed. He made a mental note that going shopping soon might be a good idea. He strolled over to the bathroom where he noted his hair was a mess (more than normal). He gave himself a good look over, criticizing the bags starting to form under his eyes. Once he got over this and got back into a regular schedule and sleeping patter, those would soon disappear, so he didn’t particularly care about them. He nonchalantly brushed his teeth and decided to forgo flossing tonight, he just didn’t think it was worth it for his mood.

The room looking as he had come in, he finally crawled under the warm covers and protection of his bed, relaxing his whole body. It surprisingly took him a while to actually get to sleep, but he soon fell into a deep uninterrupted sleep.

He yawned and stretched as he walked downstairs to eat breakfast. He had gotten up at around 8:45 the next morning feeling refreshed and restless to get going. He had had an intriguing dream last night, but Yugi wouldn’t have been able to tell anyone what it was about.
“Don’t you hate that?” he muttered half to himself when he had awoken. “When you know you had a dream but don’t remember what it was?”
He didn’t expect an answer as he got out of bed. He figured out what he was going to do that day. A short while before the store opened to the public, Yugi would take his gear and walk down for a full day of exploring and wandering (hopefully not aimlessly) around the ever familiar mansion. Yami continuously reminded him that the two would only go back once more if ever again to look for clues if this expedition turned up no incriminating evidence against anyone or gave them a reason to come back to examine anything.

He ate his breakfast quickly and in silence. Not that his grandfather was talking much to him; he was glancing at the sports section of the paper. Plus, Yugi’s brain wasn’t fully functioning, the earlier morning making him feel more like a zombie. But that soon faded as if he had had some caffeine drink. He seemed almost hyper, being anxious to get going.

Yami seemed agitated, but only slightly, but Yugi’s oddly energetic mood. Perhaps it was the prospect of this being, to put it rather dramatically, his last shot at discovering the true identity of Seto Kaiba’s murderer.

He got dressed in a hurry and packed a few energy bars into the backpack he was bringing along with him again along with the flashlight. He was planning on giving that place as thorough a search as the first time he wandered through the many halls of the mansion. That meant another all day, energy burning, hunger inducing trip.

When his planned time rolled around, he finished tucking in a few plastic bags in a pocket and slung one of the pack’s straps over his right shoulder. He found his grandfather diligently napping at the kitchen table. He awoke to the sound of Yugi’s footsteps racing down the wooden stairs.
“Oh dear,” he said wearily, “I nearly slept through opening.”
“Yeah, good thing I came down, eh?” Yugi didn’t wait for any kind of reply. “Can I go out all day again?” he asked.
His grandfather took a moment to register it. “Oh, what, you mean like the other day?”
Yugi nodded. “I’ve got food, and even a raincoat,” he winked, pointing to the pack, “just in case.”
His grandfather looked out the front windows. “It looks like a gloomy kind of day.” He added, “And very cold, too.”
Yugi said, “I dressed warmly enough. I shouldn’t end up being too cold.”
“You’re coming back when?”
Yugi thought for a moment, looking to Yami. Yami told him that the last time they did this, it was about 12 hours. Since they knew their way around the place by now, that should cut down the time by an hour or two.
“Most of the day again. 10 or 11 hours maybe? Give or take one.”
“So I should make a supper for one tonight, I guess.”

“Probably.”
His grandfather nodded. “If you insist. I won’t mind as much this time since you asked and didn’t pull a magic trick on me out of your bedroom window.”
“I promise to be back. Thanks grandpa.” He waved and ran out the door.