Yu-Gi-Oh! and all its characters, are the legal and intellectual property of Kazuki Takahashi and any entities he has granted legal rights to. I claim no rights at all with my story. I greatly admire Mr. Takahashi for the amazing story and characters of Yu-Gi-Oh!

Twined - Destiny Diverted

It's quiet.

It's almost never quiet anymore. He's so bright and full of power, vitality -- life -- that there is always some level of activity swirling around me. Most of the time I don't mind it, this chaos all around, for once I existed in a life full of solitude and the certainty of boring days of isolation. I don't want to go back to that time, when I had no friends, and more often than not I was seen as the perfect target for a mean-spirited joke, but...

Who would I have become, if not for him? Who would I be now if my destiny were solely my own? That "might-have-been" Yugi -- would people like him? Would the others have befriended him, and know he was trustworthy and rely on him as they rely on me now?

I share my heart and mind, my destiny and future with my "other self", and, I admit I've been blessed with all he has brought me, but still...

What did I sacrifice for these blessings? His destiny, so vast and far-reaching, has it eaten up my destiny along the way? Who I am now, is that really me, or just a pale echo of him? Am I just a vessel wherein he can dwell? Where does he end and I begin? Does the person I am, does "Yugi" matter to anyone, anymore? Or is it just for him that my future seems a prize to strive for rather than an inevitability to be endured?

Do I bless him? Do I resent him? Do I love him? Do I hate him? Can I even know my own mind anymore?

Do I...?

Do I -- even have my own mind anymore?

It's quiet here.

Too quiet.

I can hear my thoughts clearly.

They are driving me mad.

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Author's notes -

Something a little different, two bits of prose that don't really stand alone, but together, perhaps, make a single piece of writing.

Reviews, comments and constructive criticisms are always welcome! Please feel free to email me also if you see something awkward that needs to be clarified or fixed. I need all the help I can get.