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"Okay..." Yusei replied. He picked up the basketball. "Why?"
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"You will see soon" Atem said, "now shoot the ball"
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"Okay..." Yusei said. He shot the ball, and it went into the basket. "Now...I came here to ask you something."
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Atem raised his hand.
"Now, try it with the blindfold on" he said. |
Yusei blinked. "Um...okay..." He said, putting on the blindfold. He shot the basket, then waited. He heard until he heard the basketball hit the backboard...or in this case, the wall behind the backboard. "Does this have a point?" He asked.
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"Yes, it does. What is the difference with and without the blindfold on?" Atem asked.
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"I can't see anything for one," Yusei said, taking off the blindfold. "And I missed the basket by a mile..." He said when he saw exactly how far off he was.
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"You're close, but what was the difference between your shot and my shot?" Atem asked, "And yes, I know what your question is."
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"You could get it in the basket." Yusei replied. "Me on the other hand...." He raised his eyebrows at Atem's last statement. "How'd you know?"
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"First thing, I never shoot baskets with a blindfold on but still get a perfect shot because I was able to think clearly. Second thing, it's really important to sort yourself out before training, a huge must for mages" Atem said, "that and I know what you are going through as well since I went through the same thing."
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"What do you mean?" Yusei asked.
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"You're trying hard not to accept and move on right?" Atem asked.
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Yusei frowned. "What're you talking about?" He asked. "I am moving on." Once again his mark prickled uncomfortably.
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"You're lying. You are still feeling sorry for yourself and I can tell" Atem said and sat on the floor.
"Come, sit" he told Yusei. |
Yusei obeyed, taking a seat accross from Atem. "How can you tell?" He asked.
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"Moping, lying saying that you're alright which you're not, feeling sorry for yourself, won't stop till you fix everything and pushing everyone away when you need them the most. I went through the exact same thing Yusei, believe me" Atem said, "Let me tell you something which connects to your problem and the blindfold excersise."
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"Am I really that transparent?" Yusei replied. "How does it connect?"
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"What I'm about to tell you does still haunts me to this day" Atem said, "Back when Yugi and myself was still bonded, we had to face the Oricancous. One of the battles though, we had to face Raphael, one of the original members. We faced each other twice. The first time, I did something I really regreated."
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"What was it?" Yusei asked. It can't have been worse than what I did...was it?
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"I tuned my back on Yugi and Timeous and played the seal. My lust for power and the darkness within me grew and grew until lost. The lust for power stopped but was replaced of guilt, sorrow and anger. I was so angry at myself because Yugi put himself in my place. I had to face him to try and move on but I didn't let it to work. I nearly lost my second chance at life when I got stabbed by a stone warrior but I was lucky Melhana was there. But I still had that feeling that you have now and questions was popping into my head like for example, what happens if I hurt my friends if I go berserk. And I learnt something too, but that's the moral of the whole point which I'm going to get to in a few minutes. Anyway, I still had the feeling when I got Yugi back and at the end, I had to prove that the darkness in my heart and my rage was completely gone which I succeded. That's when I knew it was finally time to move on and look ahead" Atem finished explaining.
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"So...you're saying that...I need to just, forget about what happened?" Yusei asked. "I don't...I mean, one of the things I was taught that forgetting the past was the worst thing I could do."
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"No, not exactly, but you are close. The Shot without the blindfold shows that you're traveling in the light. The Shot with the blindfold showed that a drop of darkness can take you directly off the path, or just hanging on. What I learnt that no matter where the darkness maybe, there is still light in you. Before you can forget and move on, you have to face your fears Yusei. Yes it will hurt a lot but at the end, it will be worth it and I will activate your aura more easily. The more you lie about it however or not dealing with it, the more pain your mark will hurt you" Atem said, "I already magic proofed the room about 10 times so nothing will get damaged. Now Summon the entity and deal with it once and for all. Don't worry, I still be here, giving you support like Yugi did to me."
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Yusei's eyes went wide. "You want me to what?!" He asked. "The room is okay...but what if I end up hurting you?! Are you nuts?"
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"Don't worry about me Yusei, and I'm not crazy. If you want to be a mage and want me to train you, you do this" Atem replied cooly, "believe me, you will feel better after this."
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"All right," Yusei said, nodding. He closed his eyes and delved deep into himself, searching for that entity.
"Well, well, looks like you came looking for me for a change." The entity said. He was completely black, save for two pure white areas that were in the shape of eyes. He also looked like a sillouette of Yusei. "What prompted this?" "I came here to...reconcile, I guess." Yusei replied. "In order to become a mage I have to...accept you, or something." The entity cocked its head. "Well, we ARE two sides of the same coin." It said. "But...I can still sense your doubt. You're hesitant." "Why wouldn't I be? You hurt my friends! You sent Judai and Johan into a coma! You nearly killed Aki, whose defenses almost killed Jack, too!" Yusei retorted. "I can't let that happen again!" In the outside world, Yusei's aura was flaring, and it was rimmed in black. His fists were clenched on his knees, and his whole body was tensing. He was fighting for control, again. |
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