warning, there is mention of rape in this piece. it is not described in heavy detail but it is referenced several times. you have been forewarned.
Mine
By: Xhibit B
.i do not own yu-gi-oh!.
From the moment that Yūgi woke up that morning, she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. She didn't know if it would happen that very day, or if there would be events that led to a catastrophe, but something bad was definitely going to happen. Nimble fingers raked through her long, tri-coloured hair as she made her way to the bathroom, yawning. She reached for her facial scrub and face rag as she turned on the warm water before washing her face. She heard a knock at the bathroom door as she was reaching for her toothbrush.
"Yūgi can you hurry up, I have to go to the bathroom," her little brother called to her as he continued to knock at the door.
"Give me a second, Heba," Yūgi called back as she slathered toothpaste on her toothbrush. "I'm just brushing my teeth then I'll be out."
"Well hurry up!" Heba demanded, she could hear him bouncing around on his feet doing the pee, pee dance outside the door.
Amethyst eyes rolled as she turned on the automatic toothbrush and quickly brushed her teeth before rinsing her mouth with mouthwash. She wiped her mouth clean before turning to leave the bathroom. The moment she opened the door, she was pushed out of the bathroom; Heba slamming the barrier behind him before she could hear him sighing with relief. Yūgi made a face as she made her way to her bedroom to get ready for the day. She slipped into a pair of snug fit skinny jeans, a purple camisole followed by a white v-neck tee shirt before she pulled on her socks and shoes. She ran her brush through her long, unruly multi-coloured hair before pulling it into a ponytail at the back of her head before grabbing her phone, house keys and backpack.
She ran down the stairs into the kitchen, kissing her mother and father good morning before snatching a piece of toast from the platter her mother had made. "Morning Mom, morning Dad."
"Good morning, Yūgi," her mother said smiling at her daughter over her shoulder. If she and Yūgi had been out in public, one might mistake them for sisters. Yūgi was the spitting image of her mother, but she'd inherited her father's amethyst eyes and tri-coloured hair, who he had gotten from her grandfather. "Did you get that homework assignment you were working on last night finished for school today, dear? I know you were up pretty late working on it."
"I did," Yūgi answered with a large grin as she glanced down at the screen of her gold iPhone 5s. "Oh, Mom, Dad, is it okay if I go with Yami to the movies tonight? There's a new movie out that we wanted to check out together."
"Of course, tell Yami we said hello," her father said smiling. "And ask when he's going to come by and have dinner with us again. He doesn't stop by as much as he used to before you two started dating."
Yūgi kissed him on the cheek in thanks before she turned to leave the kitchen. "Yami's here. I'll see you guys when I get home from the movies tonight! And I'll tell him that you all said hello"
"Let me know if you get anything to eat while you're out or not so I know whether to put a plate away for you dear," her mother called after her.
"I will Mom," Yūgi said before she was out the door and making her way over to the SUV that Yami drove. She jumped into the passenger's seat before leaning over to peck him on the cheek. "Morning Yami, did you get any sleep last night? You look tired."
"I was up working on that project until twelve this morning," Yami admitted before he put the vehicle in drive and headed off in the direction of their school. "But I managed to get it done. What did your parents say about you catching a movie with me tonight?"
"They're cool with it," Yūgi answered with a wide grin. "Are you sure you're going to be able to stay awake for the movie tonight? Especially since you're so tired?"
"I'll take a nap during my free period," Yami answered with a tired smile. "It's block day, so I'll have an hour and a half to sleep after lunch. That's plenty of time for me to catch my second wind."
"If you say so," Yūgi laughed as she glanced down at her phone. She cringed when she saw the text message that had been sent to her from her old Science teacher. The man had somehow gotten ahold of her cellphone number and was sending her disturbing text messages, proclaiming his love to her. She'd already told the school's administration about it and he'd been fired. But that didn't stop him from contacting her constantly. Yami's hand was placed on her knee to assure her that it would be fine. He knew about the situation, so did the rest of her friends. "I really, really wish that he would just leave me alone. Me reporting him was obviously not enough for him to get the picture. I don't know why he's so obsessed with me. I made it very clear that I'm not interested. He's old enough to be my Dad for goodness sake! It's creepy."
"I know, Little One," Yami said giving her a gentle squeeze, "I know. He's obviously very disturbed, especially if he is sending suggestive messages to a minor, who also happened to be their student for a brief time. I would save the messages, no matter how disturbing they are, then report it to administration at the school as well as the police. You are under age, and even if you were not, you've told him to leave you alone many times before, but he persists. That is considered harassment. Perhaps I can see if my parents' lawyers would be willing to represent you in a court of law if you plan to have this go to trial to really get him to leave you alone. I'm sure they wouldn't mind at all. They love you and your family."
Yūgi smiled, shaking her head, "No, that's okay for now. But if things keep going the way that they are, I may have to take you up on that offer. The messages are getting more and more frequent. And even if I change my number, again, I feel like he's going to manage to get ahold of it once more and continue to bother me no matter what I do unless we manage to get him locked away or something."
"Well, I'll talk to them about it and see what they say," Yami offered. "Even if you don't require their services, it never hurts to have that in your back pocket just in case you do wind up needing it later on down the road."
"Thanks, Yami, I really do appreciate it," Yūgi said with a small smile as she locked her phone and slipped it into the pocket of her jacket. "I hope it doesn't come to it, but it's good to know that I have that choice if I really need it later on."
"Of course," Yami said smiling as he continued to drive towards their high school.
…
Yūgi went through her day as usual. Now that Mr. Han no longer worked at the school, her biology teacher had been replaced with someone new. A young woman fresh out of college within the last year who took a different approach to teaching the class than Han had. Yūgi actually enjoyed going to her biology class again, it was no longer weird for her walking through the door.
She, Yami, Jounouchi and Mai had all sat together during biology, working on the class assignment that they had been assigned; dissecting a mink. She'd been the scribe for their table, writing down observations while the others took turns cutting into the dead animal. She didn't have the stomach to go through with the actual dissection.
It was definitely a peaceful day, one of the first she'd had in many weeks. But she couldn't help but still feel like something was going to go horribly wrong. Maybe once she spoke with the administration of the school, her parents and the police about Takahiro Han continuing to send her provocative text messages that he continued to send her, she'd feel a little better. She wasn't aware how wrong she had been. Things were definitely about to get a lot worse than what they had been.
…
By the time school ended, the feeling in her gut that something was wrong hadn't quelled in the least. She'd reported the issue to the administrative staff at the school, who then contacted the police and her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Mutou had come to the school to file the police report with Yūgi before returning home. She'd allowed them to take photos of the text messages she'd received from Han, to keep on file for the report before she'd been escorted back to class by Yami, who had come with her for emotional support. She'd hoped after that, her stomach would have settled, but it hadn't. It had gotten worse.
Yami turned to glance at his girlfriend from the corner of his eye as he drove towards the movie theatre. She was unusually silent, her large amethyst eyes staring out the window at the scenery as they passed by. Yami chewed his lower lip.
"Yūgi, if you're not feeling up to the movie, I can take you home," Yami suggested, drawing her attention towards him. "We can go another time. You don't look well."
"No, no, it's fine," Yūgi quipped, shaking her head. She needed something to distract her from this feeling. And spending time with Yami was definitely the best distraction she could think of at the moment. "I was just thinking about what happened today. Since this morning when I woke up, I've had this feeling that something bad is going to happen. But nothing out of the ordinary has actually occurred. I think I'm just super paranoid about this whole Mr. Han situation. The text messages I was getting from him didn't help whatsoever. But I'm fine now, besides, I really want to see this movie so you're not getting rid of me that easily, Yami dear."
There was a small smile that tugged at the corners of Yami's lips as he continued to drive after stopping at a red light. "Very well Little One, if you still want to go to the movie, I don't see why we can't. I'm sure that everything is fine. The police have probably already served the restraining order to keep him away from you. And if he comes near you or contacts you in any manner of means again, he goes to jail. It's all going to work out in the end, I promise."
Yūgi nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. "Thanks, Yami, I needed that."
"Any time, Little One," Yami said as he pulled into a parking space at the movie theatre. "Now, let's go see this movie and enjoy our evening. My treat."
Yūgi grinned, unclipping her seatbelt before both exited the SUV. Yami's arm wrapped around Yūgi's shoulders as the two made their way to the ticket stand. They stood in line, talking with one another as they awaited their turn to get their tickets. When they finally reached the ticket master, Yami got the tickets for the movie before they moved to head into the theatre. They showed their tickets, taking the stubs before moving on to the concession stand. Yami let her get anything she wanted as well as his own snacks for the movie before paying for them and heading to the auditorium the movie would be playing in. They grabbed seats in the middle of the auditorium, close enough to see the entire screen.
They talked quietly, silences their cellphones as the previews played. Yūgi pointed out several movies that she would like to see that would be coming out soon before the movie started. It was when they were about half way through the film that the feeling that something was very, very wrong hit her full force. However, she kept her worries to herself, not wanting to ruin the movie for Yami. He seemed to be enjoying himself and she didn't want to pull him away from something that he obviously was into.
After the movie ended, Yūgi had to force herself not to think about that uncomfortable feeling of something being wrong as she and Yami exited the theatre. He opened the SUV door for her, letting her hop in before he closed it and got into the driver's seat.
"Did you want to go and get something to eat," Yami asked as he started the vehicle and used the reverse camera to back out of the parking space. "The night is still young."
"No, I'm super full from all that popcorn and the nachos," Yūgi admitted. "Plus, we have a lot homework that's due by the end of the week and I want to knock some of it out. But you can stay for dinner if you want. I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind at all."
"As tempting as that offer is," Yami said as he turned out onto the street. "I have to decline. My parents told me to come straight home after I dropped you off. They have some dinner party or something like that going on tonight and they want me to show my face. Plus, my brother is home from University for a visit, so I wanted to catch up with him."
Yūgi pouted for only a moment before she perked up again. "Ah well, that's okay then. But you have to come over for dinner some time this week. Mom and Dad have been asking about you. You don't visit as much as you used to since we're dating now."
"I'll make sure to change that," Yami chuckled as he continued on his way towards her home.
Neither of them were aware of the mess that she would be walking into the moment she set foot through that front door.
…
Yami pulled to a stop outside of her house, watching as she unclipped her seatbelt and grabbed her bag. She opened the door, stepping out of the SUV before she turned to wave at him with a wide smile, shouldering her backpack. "That was fun, we should definitely do it again sometime. There's a new Marvel movie that's supposed to be coming out in a few weeks, we should ask the others if they want to join us and go as a group."
Yami chuckled, putting his SUV in park. He'd be here for a while, he figured. When Yūgi started talking, she tended to not stop for a while yet as he'd come to learn over the many years, he'd known the tri-colour haired girl. It was one of many things he loved about her. "Are you talking about the new Captain America movie?"
"That's the one," Yūgi answered with glee. "I really liked the first one so the second one should be good too. Marvel has a tendency to put out extraordinary movies. Look at Ironman."
"Point taken," Yami chuckled, his hand resting on the gearshift. "We can ask the others if they want to join us tomorrow at lunch. I'll be here in the morning to take you to school."
Yūgi nodded enthusiastically before blowing him a kiss as she turned on her heel and making her way to the door of the Mutou Family home, "I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early! Call me when you make it home."
"Of course," Yami said as he watched her reach the front door. He waited until she was inside before he pulled off, heading in the direction of home.
Yūgi had walked into her family's home, shrugging her backpack off before she removed her winter coat; her headphones in her ears. The song changed as she hung her coat in the closet before she kicked her shoes off and grabbed her backpack again.
"Mom, Dad, I'm home," Yūgi called out as she made her way into the kitchen. The TV was still on in the living room, but her father and mother were nowhere to be found. She completely missed her father's lifeless body lying on the floor in front of the couch as she passed by. "What did you make for dinner?"
When she received no answer, her brow creased. Her parents hadn't warned her that they would be going out at all. Usually they told her if they weren't going to be home if she'd been out. Blowing a sigh, the teen turned on her heel and started to make her way up the stairs where the bedrooms were. Maybe they'd turned in early for the evening.
She reached the top of the stairs, almost tripping over her little brother's baseball bat when she stepped down. A small squeak escaped her grasp as she caught her balance before glaring up at her brother's bedroom door that was slightly ajar. She could hear the TV playing the music from a movie menu loudly, grabbing the bat at the base as she stood and pushed into his room.
"Heba, you little butthole, stop leaving your baseball bat lying around," Yūgi reprimanded as she glared down at what she thought was her brother's sleeping body. She poked his side with the end of the bat. "Did you hear me? Stop leaving your…"
She stopped midsentence when his lifeless body flopped over, and she saw all of the blood. The bat clinked to the floor, her hand flying over her mouth. A crash in her parents' room made her jump and she quickly left her brother's room and ducked into her own. The small female fell to the floor before rolling beneath her bed, her hand still covering her mouth. She was thankful that her bed sat high enough off the floor that she was able to hide beneath it even though she still had her backpack on. She watched quietly as her mother ran into her bedroom, pushing the French doors closed behind her only for them to explode opened once more, knocking the woman to the floor.
Another set of feet walked into the room, the man dropping on top of her mother to pin her down with his weight. She immediately recognized him as her Science teacher, Takahiro Han, who had been fired earlier in the semester when she reported his inappropriate behaviour towards him to her parents and the administrative faculty of Domino High School the first time. She strained to listen to what he was saying to her mother.
"She belongs to me," Takahiro said through clenched teeth. "Where. Is. She?"
"I don't know," her mother cried out, trying to fight him off.
"Don't lie to me," Takahiro demanded. "You're her mother. Now, where is she?"
Her mother caught sight of Yūgi's crying face from the corner of her eye, her voice cracking as she spoke again. She really hoped that he didn't notice her lying there, watching. "She's at a sleepover."
Her mother's howl of pain as the knife pierced her skin repeatedly brought forth more tears from Yūgi's eyes. It wasn't until her mother took her last breath that he finally stopped before the knife was discarded at his side. She watched in horror as he unbuttoned her lifeless mother's pants, pulling them and her underwear away before his own zipper followed. Yūgi squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she couldn't hear the grunts that emitted from his being as he molested her dead mother's body.
She made sure to keep as quiet as she possibly could until he finished, zipping himself up before grabbing his knife and leaving the room. She waited until she heard the front door open and slam shut before she rolled from beneath the bed, snatching her quilt from the top. She placed it over her mother's body, covering her before she shakily made her way to the window.
He was in the yard, looking to see if he could find any trace of her. She figured he hadn't believed her mother. He remained there for another five minutes before he disappeared down the street. Seeing this as her chance, Yūgi patted her jeans to make sure that her cellphone was still in her pocket before making a break for it. She had to get somewhere, where there were people. The shopping district wasn't too far away and there would be plenty of people there to help her. And so, she ran as fast as her legs would carry her.
She was almost to the shopping district when she heard someone behind her. Risking a glance over her shoulder, she shrieked in horror when she saw that it was Takahiro Han that was following her. She ran faster, willing herself to not give out. Her legs felt like jelly, like they would give out from beneath her at any given moment. She couldn't let that happen.
She continued to run until she came upon the supermarket, just as Yami walked out of the store, bags in hand. She ran straight for him, launching herself into his arms, her face a crying mess. She felt Yami's arms wrap around her shoulders; the groceries he was holding dropped to the ground just as Takahiro grabbed hold of her arm.
"She's mine," Takahiro hissed, pulling the crying girl as hard as he was able to get her away from Yami. "Let her go and I won't have to kill you too."
"Not on your life," Yami said, pulling her out of his grasp. He pushed Yūgi behind him, shielding her from his view. "You sick bastard, leave her the hell alone. What is wrong with you?"
"Yūgi belongs to me," Takahiro seethed, reaching for her again. Yūgi backed out of his reach, making sure that he couldn't get to her. "Come here, Yūgi. Don't make this harder than it needs to be. I've already killed your parents and your brother. I would hate to have to kill your little friend and yourself too."
"Why won't you just leave me alone," Yūgi cried, her hand clutching Yami's shirt sleeve. "Why won't you get it that this would never happen?"
"Why do you deny our love, Yūgi," Takahiro asked as he tried to reach for her once again, only to have a fist connect to his face.
Takahiro stumbled, stunned by the power behind that strike from Yami. He glared at the teen, holding his jaw. He hadn't been expecting that whatsoever. Even Yūgi had been surprised by Yami's reaction to him. The tri-colour haired girl gaped, she'd never seen him react that way to anything before.
"You stay away from her," Yami warned, "Don't you ever touch her again."
"I guess I do have to kill you, Kid," Takahiro said as he brandished the hunting knife Yūgi had seen him use on her mother.
Fear clutched at her chest as she watched her boyfriend go head to head with the elder man. He'd managed to get the knife out of his hand and kicked it away when it clinked to the ground after it fell. She'd heard someone on the phone, most likely talking to the police if she wasn't mistaken. She was glad that someone had, had the mind to call them. Had she not been so frightened for not only Yami's life, but her life as well, she'd have called them herself.
She continued to watch as Yami landed punch after punch, driving Takahiro back. She could hear the sirens of police cars in the background, headed in their direction. Takahiro must have heard them too, because he backed as far away from Yami as possible before he paused. Flashes of blue and red lights were seen in the distance before he turned on his heel and ran away.
Yami's first instinct was to run after Han, but he had to make sure that Yūgi was okay. He turned to look at her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as he held her close. They stayed that way until the police arrived, Yami being forced to withdraw from her as she told the police what happened. His stomach churned uncomfortably as he listened to the story that Yūgi told the police about what happened to her family. The fact that Han could be so disgusting, boiled his blood. He wanted to go after the bastard and kill him himself for what he'd done. But he couldn't, he had to make sure that Yūgi would be okay. Besides, the cops were aware of the situation now, and if he did something reckless, he would be in just as much trouble as Han was. He couldn't afford that.
"Do you have anyone that you can go to," the police officer asked, irking a brow.
"My Grandfather lives in town but he's not home right now," Yūgi answered. "He's away on a dig in Egypt. He's an archeologist."
"You don't have any other family," the officer questioned.
"Not in Domino," Yūgi answered.
"Well, I could ask my parents if you could stay with us," Yami offered. "At least until your grandfather gets home. I'm sure that they won't mind."
"That would be fine," the officer said, "Do you think you could get your parents on the phone so that we can speak with them, young man?"
"Of course," Yami said as he pulled his phone from his pocket. He unlocked it before dialing his mother's number. She picked up after the third ring. "Mom, no I'm fine I just need a favour. Can you and Dad make it to the supermarket in the next few minutes?" There was a pause and Yūgi could hear his mother asking what was going on. Her stomach twisted in knots, knowing that Izumi would know what happened soon. "Yūgi's family was murdered and her Grandfather is out of the country for a few days. She needs somewhere to go. The police officer said that if you and Dad were okay with it, she could come with us. We just need you guys to come here."
Yūgi heard his mother say that they would leave immediately and be there soon before the call was ended. He then turned back to the officer who nodded.
"Do the two of you have somewhere to wait while we wait for your parents to arrive," the officer asked.
"My car is parked right there," Yami answered, pointing to the black Mercedes Benz GLK that was parked a few feet away. "We can wait in there until my parents get here. Have officers already been sent to Yūgi's home to investigate?"
"We've already alerted the FBI and the crime lab of what happened when Yūgi here told us the story," the officer said with a nod. "They are already on their way over to the scene of the crime to investigate. The precinct is also going to pull this man's record and we'll put out a search for him. Do either of you know what type of vehicle he drives?"
Yami shook his head, Yūgi nodded before she answered. "He has an older model Toyota Camry, red with cream interior. I saw his car once because he was parked next to one of my friends' car one day."
"Thank you for that," the officer said before he gestured to the SUV. "Go have a seat, I know this had to be quite the ordeal for you and you need to be off your feet. We'll come and get you once his parents arrive and we work something out as far as where you'll stay until your grandfather returns home."
"Thank you," Yami said as he guided her to his SUV, the groceries he'd been sent to get long forgotten.
He helped her into the passenger's seat before stepping into the driver's seat and closing the door. Yami turned to look at his girlfriend who had broken into tears. He couldn't imagine what she was going through. He'd never had a teacher become so obsessed with him that they would go and murder his entire family. And he didn't know how to comfort her, no matter how much he really wanted to. For the first time in his life, Yami Sennen was clueless one what to say to try and ease the pain she was feeling. And so, he did the only thing he could think to do. He pulled her into a hug and let her cry on his shoulder.
…
Yami's parents arrived at the supermarket twenty minutes after he'd called and quickly rushed over to where the officers were waiting, speaking with anyone who had witnessed what happened between Yami, Yūgi and Takahiro that evening. Izumi was looking around for Yami and Yūgi while her husband went to speak with the officer to get the story. She spotted them in Yami's car a moment later and rushed straight over, ripping the passenger's side door opened; assessing Yūgi for any injuries.
"Oh my goodness, dear, are you okay," Izumi asked as she took in the full sight of the young girl. There was blood on the sleeve of her jacket and the end of her shirt. But other than that, there seemed to not be a scratch on her. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
Yūgi shook her head as she sat up and glanced at the elder woman. She knew Izumi saw the blood and had been concerned that it was her own, "No, he didn't hurt me. My mother's blood must have gotten on me when I covered her up before I left the house to go get help. Yami actually saved me from Mr. Han. He fought him off to protect me."
Izumi smiled, glancing over at her son, "You did well son. Come, you two. We need to speak to the police. After that, Yami you take her to the mansion, we'll go to her house and speak with anyone we need to speak with there and get you some clothing for the next few days, okay?"
Yūgi smiled slightly, "Thank you Mrs. Sennen."
"Of course, sweetheart," Izumi said before she helped the girl out of the SUV.
Yami joined them a moment later, wrapping his arm around Yūgi's waist as he and his mother led her back to where his father was speaking with the officers. Yami could tell that Yūgi was tired, and hoped that this would go by quickly. His parents made it quick, promising the officers that they would provide a home for Yūgi for the next few days until her Grandfather returned; especially since she didn't have any other family close by before Izumi instructed Yami to take her back to the mansion. Yami nodded, guiding her back to the SUV and helping her into the passenger's seat. He got into the driver's seat before starting the vehicle and making his way to his family home.
They arrived fifteen minutes later, Yami helping Yūgi out of the SUV before leading her into the house. The guests that his parents had over for the evening were already gone. They had probably cleared them out before they'd left. He was glad they thought to do so, he didn't want anyone prying into what happened to Yūgi.
He brought her to his bedroom, directing her to sit down on the bed before he disappeared into his closet. She could hear him rummaging around in there for something for a few minutes before he returned to the bedroom, holding out a tee shirt that looked to be two sizes too large for her and his old gym shorts from middle school that she would be able to fit plus a pair of his boxers that were much too small for him now.
"Here, I'm sure you want to take a shower and get that blood off you," Yami offered as he placed the clothes in her hands. "Mom and Dad should be back with your things soon. I'm going to see if Atem and Mana are still here. Let them know what's going on so that they're not bombarding you with questions when they do see you. I'll be back, alright? There are fresh towels in the closet in the bathroom, soap and shampoo in the tiers in the left corner of the shower. Let me know if you need anything else, alright?"
"Thank you," Yūgi said quietly before she made her way to the bathroom as he left the bedroom.
She closed the door then turned on the shower, stripping out of her clothes before she stepped into the hot water. She took a seat on the marble floor, her knees drawn up to her chest as she began to cry once again. It hurt to know that she would never see her parents' smiling faces again. Even Heba had been taken away from her and that hurt more than anything else. Her parents wouldn't get to see her graduate high school first then college before going on to get married and start a family of her own. She hated that she would have to burden her Grandfather with her presence. He was getting older and not equipped to take care of a teenager. But she had no choice unless she wanted to leave Domino and that was the last thing she wanted to do. All of her friends were here, and she couldn't bear to leave them; especially Yami.
Her hand reached up, wiping the tears that mixed in with the water that pelted her on the head away.
"I can't believe this happened," Yūgi murmured to herself as her arms came to circle around her legs again. "And I felt it. I felt like something bad was going to happen and it did. I didn't know if it would happen today or sometime in the future. If I'd just gone home… if I'd just gone home and warned them, they might still be here now. This is all my fault."
Her sobs were drowned out by the sound of the running water. She was thankful for that, she didn't want Yami to worry. She knew how he was whenever she cried. He'd stress himself out trying to make her feel better when he really didn't have to.
Blowing a breath, she finally stood and washed up before washing her hair and stepping out of the large shower. She made her way over to the linen closet and pulled out a towel that she used to dry off with. She pulled on the boxers, the gym shorts following soon after. Uncomfortable with being braless, she'd put the one that she'd been wearing on again before slipping into the large tee shirt. She wrapped the towel around her still wet hair before gathering her clothes and leaving the bathroom. Yami had returned to the room by the time she'd gotten out of the shower.
"Here, put them in this basket and I'll take them down to be washed," he said pointing to a basket of his dirty clothes. "It was time to do laundry anyway."
Yūgi nodded, dumping the clothes and her coat into the basket before he picked it up. He then pointed to a duffle bag that was sitting on the foot of his bed. "Mom and Dad are back, they brought you a few things they figured you'd need in that bag. You can sleep in my room with me, especially if you don't want to be alone. That's completely fine with my parents and myself. But for now, we need you to come downstairs for a few minutes."
Yūgi's brow furrowed as she towel dried her hair, "How come?"
"There's an FBI agent here that needs to speak with you about the case," Yami admitted. "She needs you to tell her, in detail, what you witnessed. We'll all be there with you for support. Atem and Mana included. If it gets too hard for you, Dad will step in."
The tri-colour haired teen nodded, her arms hugging herself after she'd thrown the towel into the basket as well. She followed Yami out of his bedroom and down the stairs where the FBI agent, his parents, his brother and his brother's girlfriend were waiting. Yami directed her to the living room before he disappeared to take the laundry to the laundry room. He returned a moment later, the agent had waited until he returned before she introduced herself.
"Hello Yūgi, my name is Special Agent Hamura Tran," the woman, Hamura, introduced herself, shaking Yūgi's hand. "I am the agent assigned to your case. I just need to ask you a few questions for the investigation in your family's deaths. If it ever gets too hard for you, please let me know, alright?"
Yūgi nodded, "Okay."
"Now, can you tell me a little history on this Takahiro Han," Hamura asked, tilting her head to the side. "Why would he have targeted your family?"
She took a breath before she began to explain. "At the beginning of school, back in August, he was my biology teacher. Over time, he began to get really obsessive with me. If I missed school for any reason, he would call home and "checkup" on me to make sure that I was okay. He would spend lots of time around my desk and offer his help. And at first, I really didn't pay it any attention. I know there are times when teachers become really attached to their students and they just want to see them do their best. But this wasn't the case. I figured that out when he made a pass at me, right around the time that Yami and I started dating, a few weeks after Christmas break. I reported it to the administrative staff at the school and he was fired."
"I see," Hamura said writing that down in a notepad she held. "And now, it was reported recently that he sent provocative text messages to you, describing sexual encounters you would have in the near future?"
Yūgi swallowed before she nodded. "Yes, that was just reported today. I still have the messages if you would like to see them."
"If you don't mind," Hamura said holding her hand out to take the phone.
Yūgi passed it over to the other woman after opening the text messages. Hamura used her cellphone to take photos of all the messages so that she could later print them out and use them as evidence in the case that they were building against the man. The very last message made Hamura stop in her tracks.
"Yūgi, did you see this last message," Hamura asked, irking a brow.
"Message," Aknamkanon asked irking a brow.
Hamura handed the phone over to him for him to see what she'd been talking about. The message had come in at 7:34pm, a few minutes after he'd disappeared when he got away from Yami. The sinister words had a chill going up and down the Sennen man's spine.
I already took care of your family. And you're next.
"What do we have to do to keep Yūgi safe," the elder man asked. "Especially if he is sending messages like this to a fifteen-year-old girl?"
"We already have an APV out on his car, Yūgi's description of it to the officer who arrived at the scene of the assault on herself and your son helped," Hamura answered. "We were able to get a license plate number from the DMV. Once he's found, he will be placed in a maximum-security prison where we will be able to keep a very close eye on him." She turned to Yūgi, sighing. "I know this is going to be hard for you to talk about and I understand if you're not able to tell me everything. I should be able to fill in the blanks from the report the crime lab sends us after the investigation. But Yūgi, I need you to tell me, in your own words, what you saw when you came home, please."
Six sets of eyes turned to the tri-colour haired girl who swallowed thickly. It'd been bad enough that she had to bear witness to what happened, but to have to retell what happened, again, made her sick to her stomach. However, she knew that she needed to tell them if she hoped to have the man caught and tried for the heinous crimes he committed.
"Yami had just dropped me off at home after we'd gone to the movies," Yūgi started after taking a breath. "I had been expecting my parents to be downstairs to greet me as they usually were whenever I got home, but they were nowhere to be found. So, I went upstairs to check their room and see if maybe they'd just been upstairs or something and didn't hear me come in. However, I got distracted from that when I almost slipped on my brother's baseball bat. So, I picked up and went into his room to confront him about leaving it around because we've all told him so many times not to just leave it wherever for fear of someone breaking their neck on the thing. When I went into his room and poked him with the baseball bat, that's when I saw all the blood and realized that he was dead. I ran into my room after that and hid under the bed because I heard a crash from my parents' room."
"What happened after that," Hamura asked gently.
"I stayed under the bed, my headphones were in and The Wind by Mariah Carey was playing at the time when my Mom ran into my room to try and get away from Mr. Han," Yūgi answered. "However, he forced the door opened and made her fall to the ground." She paused for a moment, swallowing thickly before she continued the tale. "He… he asked where I was and when my Mom told him that she didn't know, he got really angry and asked her again. I think she saw me from the corner of her eye because I was right there. I was right there, and I could see everything. So, she lied and said that I was staying over at a friend's house for a sleepover. That's when he stabbed her, repeatedly. I don't know how many times he did it, I couldn't keep count because I couldn't believe what was going on."
She stopped again and Yami wrapped an arm around her shoulder to comfort her. He knew what was coming next. He'd been there when she told the story to the police officer earlier and he felt his stomach churn uncomfortably at the thought that she had to bear witness to that. She continued a moment later.
"When she was dead, he… he took off her pants and underwear and raped her," Yūgi said quietly, unable to look anyone in the eye. She knew everyone but Yami were looking at her with surprise and sorrow to hear that she had to be present for something like that. Yami felt his hand balling into a fist involuntarily. "I didn't watch, I'd closed my eyes, but I could still hear him. I waited until he was gone to come from under the bed. And when I did, I put my quilt over my Mom. I couldn't take seeing that. I made sure that he was gone before I ran to get help and that's when he followed me to the supermarket where Yami thankfully was. He saved me from having to go through the same thing my mother and the rest of my family did."
"I'm so sorry," Hamura said, wiping away a tear that had rolled down her cheek.
She felt bad for the girl. No one should have to go through something like that. Especially not a fifteen-year-old girl. This was one case where she wouldn't give up until that man got exactly what he deserved. She was going to make sure that the girl was safe and would stop at nothing to do so.
Hamura stood a moment later after writing something else down, "Thank you, Yūgi, for that information. As well as the text messages, that's definitely going to come in handy while we're building this case against the man. I'll be back to check on you once you've settled into your Grandfather's home. I'll also be in contact when we find this man and have him in custody. We'll need you to identify him."
Yūgi nodded as Aknamkanon stood and shook the agent's hand. "Thank you, Special Agent Tran. We'll make sure Yūgi is safe for the time being and should there be any issue, we will definitely alert you as soon as possible."
Hamura nodded, pulling a card from the breast pocket of her blazer. "This is my direct line. Getting ahold of me through the Bureau is a pain in the ass, so that's the best way to reach me immediately. Please do not hesitate to call at any time should anything happen or if you spot Takahiro Han anywhere. I will come as fast as I possibly can."
Aknamkanon nodded, taking the card from her. "Thank you again, have a good evening."
"You folks as well," Hamura said as she turned to leave. "Again, I will let you know when we have found him and have him in custody. Be safe, all of you."
Everyone nodded as the woman left. Yami helped Yūgi back to his bedroom so that she could lie down and everyone else retired for the evening after making sure that all of the doors and windows were locked up. Aknamkanon alerted the security detail that watched over his home of what was happening and who to be on the lookout for as a precaution to keep his son's girlfriend safe.
Over three weeks had passed and Yūgi had moved in with her grandfather after cleaning up her old home and selling it along with everything else that was inside save for her things. Hamura had kept her word and check in on the girl when she settled into life with her grandfather. She hadn't received anymore messages from Takahiro and had assumed that they had caught him. It wasn't until the day that Hamura had come to them and told them that he'd completely disappeared, and they were unable to find him that she realized she might still be in danger. Hamura assured her that she would continue to work on the case and make sure that he was caught no matter how long it took. And for two years, Yūgi had lived her life, always looking over her shoulder but completely happy, nonetheless.
It wasn't until the spring of 2016 during her senior year, that her life had been turned upside down once again with Han's reappearance. A simple Facebook message had led to his arrest and she'd thought that the threat was over… until he appeared at her senior prom and almost killed herself and one of her closest friends. Not to mention a few members of the hotel staff before Hamura had put him down for good, insuring that he would never be able to bother Yūgi or her family and friends again.
i've finally completed the prom!verse... for now. i'm getting a lot of requests for that sequel, and honestly, i think i'll actually do it. we'll see though. but for all intensive purposes at this present time, the prom!verse is complete. this is the final piece. hopefully y'all enjoy. i do apologize for the length but there was a lot that needed to be added to clarify everything that was talked about in prom night. let me know what y'all thought. until next time.