Spirit of the puzzle (book 1)

Chapter 4: malevolent impatience

A strong bitter smell awakens me from my slumber. My eyes open slowly as I see the grand trappings around me and memories of the amethyst eyed boy swim back to the surface. Even though I can't see Yugi I can sense his movements. I sigh as I allow myself to slip out of the puzzle. I hover groggily by his side. "Good morning Yami." Yugi says with a bright smile as he grabs his bag.
"Yeah, good morning." I mumble as I rub my eyes. "If you can call waking up this early good."
"Seems like you're not a morning person." He says with a teasing grin. I glare at him halfheartedly as I fall back onto his bed. "Yami you can stay here if you'd like. I mean I'm only going to be at school for a few hours." I peer at him through half lidded eyes.
"Trying to get rid of me Yugi?"
"No." He says with a frown. "I just thought that you would like to sleep longer."
"Well," I groan as I roll over onto my stomach. "You're not wrong." Yugi chuckles as he sits on the bed beside me. I can feel his eyes on me. "It's rude to stare." I mumble into the pillow. Yugi takes a sip from a cup filled with a strange brown liquid that emits that strange bitter smell from earlier.
"It's hard not to stare." He says with a small smile. I glance up at him curiously. "You're just so adorable when you're tired." Blood rushes to my face in a sudden wave that makes my skin burn as I push him off the bed and hide my face underneath the white curtain of his pillow. Yugi just chuckles as he rises from the floor. "I suppose I deserved that." The boy says with a small grin. I pull the pillow farther down atop my head hiding my face completely from view, not even a single spike of my hair is visible from underneath the pillow.
The floor creaks beneath his feet as he walks towards the door. "I'll see you later Yami." He says before pulling the door quietly shut behind him. Silence fills the room and the only sound is my erratic heartbeat. I groan as I slowly release my grip on the pillow. Why the hell did he have to say something like that? I don't understand that boy.
Pictures cover the walls, all of them contain Yugi and the same three set of strangers. One was a tall boy ,who towers over the entire group, with dark brown hair, a tall boy with bright blonde hair and a girl with dark brown hair. The common trends I'm seeing within these pictures is that these people have a true affection for one another, and that everyone is taller than Yugi. My eyes are drawn towards a picture of Yugi and the blonde haired boy holding cards with monsters etched into them. The image of the dark magician stirs up memories from a life that has long since passed. I shut my eyes for a moment willing for the depression to abandon me.
Shadows envelop me as my depression grabs hold of my heart. Everyone I had known and cared for is dead. The only reason I'm not amongst their spirits in the afterlife is by some cruel twist of fate. Something about defeating an evil that will resurface in the future...what could be more evil than me? I was called king Yami for a reason.
The door to Yugi's room swings open revealing the cheerful face of Solomon. His eyes instantly drift towards the puzzle and his eyes widen in shock. "Good lord, he was actually able to complete it." He says in awe. "That grandson of mine is incredible."
Trust me, old man, you have no idea. His fat fingers trace over the contours of the puzzle. He was going to pick it up but he drops it just as quickly as he touched it. The puzzle is sparking with electricity, protecting itself from him. I chuckle. It seems that the puzzle only wants Yugi and I to interact with it. That's rather interesting.

The hours tick by slowly but my frustration builds with every passing second. Yugi had said he would only be gone for a short while, but he has been gone for almost the entirety of the day. I am aware that since I have spent five thousand years locked away a few hours should feel like a blink of an eye, but they don't. Each passing second feels like a knife dragging its edge down my nerve endings. How long does this boy intend to keep me waiting? I have tried anything and everything to make the time go faster.
I snooped through Yugi's belongings, traveled through the twists and turns of the millennium puzzle, skimmed through Yugi's deck of cards, inspected every picture on his wall, I even tried sleeping. None of them worked. My attempts would distract me for a few, brief minutes before they too would bore me. It is never wise to leave me alone and bored. My mind is racing a mile a minute as I sit on the center of Yugi's bed plotting his punishment. My crimson eyes never stray from the door as I await his reappearance. He will have to walk through that door eventually and I will be here when he does. A small smirk plays across my lips at the thought of punishing the small boy. I suppose I can't truly call him a small boy considering that he is almost seventeen years old, but he is still merely an infant compared to the age of my soul. Although I find it rather ironic that I met Yugi when he is only a few months younger than the age I had died at. That is completely besides the point though I think with a frown. The point is that I'm really looking forward to when Yugi comes home.
"Come on Yugi." I murmur menacingly. "Come on home." You have no idea what waits for you here.

The door to the room opens quietly and in comes a cheery Yugi. "Hi Yami!" He says cheerfully. "Sorry if you were bored today. I forgot to show you where everything was before I left."
"It's no problem Yugi." I say with a smile. Yugi's smile falters when he sees my smile. There is an obvious sense of concern and confusion in his eyes but I say nothing. I'll let him keep wondering. "How was your day?" I say with fake enthusiasm.
"Good." He says with a note of caution in his voice. "So, what have you been up to all day Yami?"
"Well, I was just thinking about showing you some of the secrets of the puzzle today." His lips are turned upward into an excited grin. "Are you interested?"
"Yes!" He says excitedly as he leaps onto the bed and sits so close that our knees are touching. "How do we do this?" I struggle to contain my smirk. He has so easily walked into my trap. This boy will soon learn to not be so naïve around me.
"Close your eyes." I say sternly. He complies without question or hesitation. "Now, imagine yourself drifting down a vortex until all that is left is a strong golden light that will soon fade into a pure darkness." There is a moment of silence as I watch the boy concentrate. His body begins to sway and his skin pales. The swaying of his body increases until his body goes rigid and he falls into my waiting arms. His breathing has slowed as has his heartbeat. Yugi's body has gone into a form of soulless hibernation while his soul resides within the millennium puzzle. This time I can't conceal my smirk. I lie Yugi's body on the bed as I pick up the puzzle. The eye of Horus shines at me as if confirming that Yugi truly is inside the puzzle. "Excellent." I say as I vanish into the puzzle with an overwhelming sense of excitement.

"Yami!" Yugi cries out as he wanders through the dark corridors of the millennium puzzle. Unbeknownst to him I am only a few steps behind him. His small form trembles as he wanders through the foreign landscape. "Yami! This isn't funny!"
Oh? It wasn't intended to make him happy. Well if he is already this distressed then he is really going to despise what I have planned for him. This moment is only me herding him in the proper direction. Yugi wanders blindly down the correct paths and corners until we finally come across a large stone door. If Yugi had ever been inside the millennium puzzle before he would know that this door would lead into a soul room, though not into mine. This soul room belongs solely to Yugi and it is the key component to his punishment.
Yugi shoulders open the door and staggers into the bright room. The room is filled with a bright white light and is covered with posters and toys. This room is just as innocent as this boy is...oh well, I don't need a lot to carry out my plan. Yugi's eyes gaze around the room in awe, never once traveling towards me. He has no idea that I am directly behind him. I smile slightly at him before I slam the palm of my hand against the conjunction of his neck and back. His innocent eyes flutter shut as his body starts to fall to the ground. I quickly capture him in my arms and carry him towards the bed covered in white linens.
"Damn," I mutter incredulously. "Is there no darkness in this boy's soul?" I place him down on the plush covers. His thin form seems to sink in the thick covers. I can't help but chuckle at the sight. I gently grab his wrist and position it by one of the bedposts. A small assortment of shadows congeal around his wrist holding him securely in place. I repeat this action until he is securely fastened down onto the bed. His innocent face looks out of place for the situation and position that he has been placed in. If I hadn't been the one to do this to him I would have thought this to be a joke. This innocent boy doesn't have it in him to put himself into this kind of situation on his own.
My lithe fingers stroke his smooth cheek. His skin is as soft as satin and it raises goosebumps on my arms. This boy is something else. He has done things to me that I had never imagined to be possible. Yugi. What kind of boy are you? Your kindness and compassion is unparalleled. Your honesty seems almost unnaturally sweet. I don't understand how such complete perfection could fit into such a small package. But then again even his slight height and frame make him perfect. The way his head has to tilt up so he can stare into my eyes with those amethyst orbs that scorch paths straight to my soul.
"Yugi." I murmur as I lean my body over him. My face just barely hovering above his own. "Even though I have to punish you. I will never let anyone, besides myself, harm you. You have my word." Yugi's unconscious face is endearing as I continue to stare at him and breathe in his sweet scent. Yugi. I let my lips gently trace the contours of his cheeks as the boy slowly began to stir. His eyes slowly flutter open and he gasps as he realizes where he is.
"Yami!"