Title: Shattered
Disclaimer: Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. Therefore, I own nada and make nada.
Warnings: AU. Sexual relations between males. Violence. Profanity. Angst. Drug usage. OOCness. Character death.
Pairings: Mobiumshipping (YamixAtemxHeba). Side pairings may vary.
Rating: M
Summary: My own cowardice is what brought this fate upon the people I loved. My fate, theirs, and the sadness to follow, I selfishly embedded in their hearts. It was best this way. The dirtied image, the foul liar and betrayer I'd become, I would rather that was all they remembered. Better than a shattered soul with nothing left to give.
Author's Rant: This is the prequel to Fragile. I highly suggest reading Fragile first, though this story is capable of standing on its own. I guesstimate this story to be 10-15 moderately to long chapters updated irregularly. Enjoy!
Target
I realized three things this Friday afternoon as I gripped my baby brother's hand.
The first was the steady gather of goons filing in behind us about a few yards back.
The second was the dwindling belief that help will arrive in the form of anyone in case a brawl broke out. In that case, I didn't have an iceberg's piss in hell of winning. Yugi's presence kept me locked down, my spirit tamed from ever unleashing and showing how vicious I could be.
And the third, I knew it was a matter of time before my refusals caught up to me.
How long did I think I could avoid the inevitable before they'd be on me? My sixteenth birthday passed about a month ago, a small-celebrated moment between me, my baby brother and granddad. Since my fifteenth birthday, the local street crews had my head marked for recruitment. A year later and they were still on me, trailing behind at a discreet distance like a pack of wolves stalking wounded prey.
That's how the Blue Eye Aces worked, the bastards, enlisting teenagers and young adults for the ranks. Any extra pawns they could use to ensure the higher bloods lived another few weeks or years on the beat, they'd be eager to get. Blue bloods were never this persistent though until a few months ago. The whispered word on the streets and gossip in the school halls was that the leadership had been passed down to the next G.
No doubt he's the one egging his men to gather as many people to join his clan, whether it's by force or by willful participation. This couldn't have been at the worse moment. I'd tried to keep their appearance under wraps by never looking behind myself. I managed to maintain a decent inspection on my surroundings without alerting my tiny companion.
Well, I did for a while anyway. Knowing my curious baby brother, it was only a matter of time before he eventually discovered we weren't alone as we made our way to the Galilee for that flavored sweet tea he loved so much. Yugi's grip on my hand tightened as he looked over his shoulder, his other hand fastened around his Power Ranger Book Bag strap.
He was scared. It angered me. So much so, the strength of my building anger is taken out on the frail fingers in my grasp and squeezed to the brink of running bone to bone. Yugi winched, lightly tugging at my hand to relieve the pressure. He sensed my uneasiness; he wouldn't speak on it, afraid I'd turn these rattled nerves on him. It'd happened before, me being so mad I'd taken my frustrations out on him verbally and only once, physically.
He wouldn't be the subject of my actions now though; if I had a chance to act.
I heard the increasing footsteps. Confrontation was a sure thing now. "Come on," I urged to Yugi, yanking him ahead of me. My hands cupped his shoulders as I guided him down the straight sidewalk. The deeper we sunk into this side of town, the more soldiers marched in with the rest.
I didn't have a choice. Galilee was a couple of blocks down maybe I could get him inside before something happened. Brawls inside establishments were against their code, per their own rules. I guess that came from not wanting to damage potential merchandise. Which is what I was to them.
Nothing but a valuable item to steal away until they found use for me.
I wouldn't give them the opportunity. I had people to care for. At ten-years-old, Yugi was more than light and small enough for me to swing him up in my arms and start a brisk pace to the café.
Yugi wrapped his skinny arms around my neck and quietly stared behind us at the thugs trailing behind. "Heba," he whimpered.
That about did it for me. I broke off into a sprint, pumping energy into my legs as if the short stop had the ball, ready to catch me in a quick out. Tennis shoes pounded the concrete, my own and theirs. There couldn't be just seven now. No way. I heard too many stampeding behind us. Countless.
Damn it.
Yugi's body bucked and bounced in my arms, recoiling from my speed. His grip around my neck suffocated me, crushing my windpipe so much I had to steal breathes through my mouth. Where to go, where to run? Galilee was too far. No matter how much I tried to stretch my stride, the two blocks distance didn't seem to disappear.
Old brick buildings surrounded us, veiled in streaks of Red Eye Spade logos and Blue Eye Aces overlapping their symbols with their own. I ran so fast without a thought as to where I was heading. I thought to Galilee. Somehow, I put Yugi and me in the dead center of where this territory was being fought over.
Right now, only blue bloods occupied this part and they were everywhere. I cupped Yugi's head tight and paused at the corner of a building, back braced up against the wall. The troublemakers weren't that far behind me. Any second they'll gain ground and be on us. Out here, a no was a death sentence. In the safety of my school, I could get away with it.
I wasn't the only one in danger. My baby brother, he was well into the age of being recruited as an errand boy. If they took me, he'd be in too.
"Heba, I'm scared."
"Shh, shh, I know kiddo." What more could I say? Yugi's as perceptive as me and his ears worked just fine. He could hear the approaching danger and all we could do was hide.
Yugi sniffled and pressed his face hard into my neck. "I'm sorry."
I paused from peeking around the building. Sorry? "Why?"
"It's my fault we're stuck here. I wanted some sweet tea. We'd be home if—"
"Hey, cut that out." I eased along the line of the wall and started making my way deeper into the crevice of the buildings. "Don't blame yourself. I wanted one too." I pressed a finger to his mouth to hold back any protests. I needed to listen to my surroundings.
Yugi took note and stayed quiet, blinking and hugging me tight. If only I could get him home. I wish I'd went by my first instinct and went straight home after picking Yugi up from school. I didn't have practice today and Granddad wouldn't have a shipment due in until this weekend. There'd been no reason to hurry home, but I'd wanted too.
I quietly licked my lips. Yugi started shaking pretty bad. Couldn't blame him. I kissed his temple and stroked his hair. Anything to calm his nerves. I straightened up and sighed. The time came when I heard their steps slow and the opening of the alley way align with Blue Bloods, wearing matching colors in a variety of clothes.
Son of a bitch. They grabbed maybe ten more guys. Just for little old me? I should be flattered. I took a step back, and they matched me. The one in the front I recognized; a fellow classmate of mine who propositioned me before in school. I was fair game here. There was no protection and his sharp gaze said he had every intention of using this to his advantage.
The afternoon sun sparkled off his grease shined head, lines of Egyptian tattooed permanently under his eyes and where his eyebrows would be. He crept up, hands deep in his low rider jeans, royal blue ringer tee ripped at the seams around his shoulders and a long gold chain around his neck. Diamond stud earrings winked at me like snake eyes.
"What's up, Shadi," I threw out, catching the eye of the others behind him. "All this for me?"
Shadi shrugged his shoulder. "That's how we do. All for one and one for all. You know how the game's done."
"Is that right?"
"Yeah." Shadi cut his eyes over his shoulder. Some kind of secret signal that made several of the guys back away, the ones who were in further than he was. "So, what's it gonna be, Muto?"
Shadi's never been the type to bet around the bush. To hell with casual conversation or attempting to buy time, he preferred the direct approach, which wouldn't do me much good. He wanted an answer now, something I couldn't give him.
"You wanna talk another time? Set up the time and place, I'll go."
"No, Heba," Yugi whispered. "You don't go with bad people—"
"Hush," I roughly shushed. "How's about it? Lemme get my brother home real fast and I'll roll with you."
Shadi sniffled, rubbing under his nose as he toed the ground with the tip of his Nike Elites. "We tried that already, 'member?"
"I had things to do."
"So did I. Still do." Shadi took a very slow step forward. "Like right now. You're keepin' me from handlin' business."
I took another step back. I didn't trust him. Shadi's way too shady, crafty. I know how he works. His hands were in his pockets for a reason. In case anyone ever jumped stupid, he'd be ready to slice and dice with the six razor blades tucked in his pocket; always wedged like brass knuckles between his fingers. He didn't give a shit about fighting fair.
"Don't make me ask a third time, Muto. The G doesn't appreciated your procrastinating ways." Shadi sniffled again. "In fact, he's startin' to believe you're savin' yourself for the Reds. Is that what's up?"
I scowled. "Hell no. I don't run with anybody!"
"Better change that attitude real quick, shawty. You're gonna have to pick a side sooner or later."
Pick a side to die for he meant. Not a person in town was a stranger to the bitter feud between the Red Eyes and Blue Eyes. Both had a nasty reputation for murder, violence, drug activity and drinking. They did whatever they wanted, however they wanted, no mercy for those who were caught up in the process. I couldn't afford to get involved in that kind of lifestyle. I had too much to lose.
My future as a baseball player, my family, my education, none of those were worth forfeiting. I had plans of getting my family out of this shit hole. Nevertheless . . . no matter how hard I tried every day became a harder struggle then the last. Joining the gangs was so fucking tempting.
My family's game shop managed to get by on a whim and a prayer every month, especially with the monthly payouts we owed just to keep our business from being ransacked. Protection cost an arm and leg. If I joined, we wouldn't have to pay a thing. If I joined, we'd have more than enough money to live off until I was recruited in the MLB. If I joined, I wouldn't have to fight every day to keep Yugi safe.
But there was my pride to consider and my brother. I wouldn't dare influence him into ever dreaming of being in a gang. I wanted him to earn all of his success through legit study and hard work. If I won't all take short cuts, neither will he.
"Muto."
I was ripped from my thoughts at how long drawn Shadi said my name. He was rubbing the space between his closed eyes.
"I want an answer, shawty," he said. "This isn't hard."
"I can't do this with you, Shadi. Not now. Gimme time to think about it. I'll get back with you."
"Muto, Muto, Muto," Shadi sighed. "The last thing you need is time to think up another bullshit excuse. Look," Shadi's voice hardened like he had his teeth clamped on iron. "I need to report back to the G. I don't time to waste. So, you got three options. We'll get you, we'll get the kid, or we'll get both. Otherwise, you aren't walking out of this alley today." He flicked his hand forward.
And like trained hounds, all of them started piling into the cramp alley, switchblades flipping out of pockets, guns cranking back to load bullets, and loose metal chains slapping the asphalt. Looking around, they closed in from all angles, cutting off even the tiniest escape routes. I backed further into the alleyway, clutching Yugi tight to my chest. He was crying now, a blubbering, hiccupping wreck, whining about wanting to go home and being with Granddad. Nothing I did or said eased the anticipated moment he felt coming.
I nearly tripped over a used Coke can trying to keep the distance between them and me. My nerves electrified with jolts of adrenaline. I grew nervous. They were getting too close. I wasn't going to let them touch him. Like fucking hell they were getting my brother or me.
I turned around before I was fully backed into the end of the alley. Yugi peered from under my chin, saw the full frontal barricade and cried harder, squeezing my neck. He didn't trust me to protect him anymore. We were a goner in his eyes.
"I wanna go home, Heba, pleassse," Yugi wheezed pitifully through his stuffy nose. "I wanna—I wanna go home. I wanna go home!"
I had no other choice. We were cornered. Fight or flight. . . I was going to have to fight. I needed my arms. It took a lot of power not to break Yugi's arms off my neck. He thrashed and screamed, scratching to stay glued onto my chest. Taking a hold of his arm, I slung him back against the brick wall. His mouth gapped open, breathlessly gasping and suddenly gagged. He sagged to the ground like a sack of concrete, struggling to cry and breathe at the same time.
"Gimme a minute, Shadi." To my surprise, he nodded and gestured for the others to halt.
I didn't waste the blessing and shrugged off my book bag. I fished out my MP3 and a pair of earphones and my varsity jacket. I threw the jacket over Yugi's head and held out the MP3. He was still crying.
I curled my finger under his chin, made him look up at me. Those glossy purple eyes broke my heart, big and frightened, red as pomegranates. He ducked away from my touch. "I'm sorry."
"You hurt me."
"I didn't mean too. I'm sorry for hurting you," I whispered to him. I stroked his cheek, using my right hand to search through the music selection.
We had a funny taste for old school music thanks to my granddad. Chaka Khan always made my blood run smooth. I mentally counted, knowing her song 'Through the Fire' would be listed number thirty-five in my favorite's list.
"Listen kiddo, we're gonna play a game."
"A game?" Yugi scrubbed the sleeve of my jacket under his nose. He looked over my shoulder and back at me. "We can't play a game now."
"Sure we can. All you have to do is listen to this and stay under the jacket."
"Why?"
"That's a part of the game. You can't come from under here until I say so, OK. If you can wait that long then we'll go home. Deal?"
Yugi brightened and nodded. "Deal." He gladly accepted the earphone bits fitted into his ear and threw the jacket over his head. I waited for the music to start and placed it on repeat, turning the volume as high as he could withstand.
"Yugi?"
I called his name again and again to be sure he couldn't hear. I didn't get an answer. Good. Out of sight, out of mind. That's the best way to go with him. Besides, shit was about to get real. I didn't need him seeing this side of me.
I stood up and started unbutton my school shirt. I shrugged off the blazer and the shirt went with it. I didn't need the loose restraint. The entire time, I stared Shadi down like the dick-whipped asshole he is. I stepped up to him, right in his face.
"You want me, come get me yourself," I said, close enough to kiss his crusty lips. "Don't have a bunch of boys do a man's job."
Shadi didn't blink. He didn't buck back when my fists rose and I took a crouch. I stayed on guard, my body sensitive as a hotwire. I detected everything in range, the slightest movement, a couple of the boys inching closer and one angling his gun in such a way that guaranteed a clean shot straight down my head and out my ass.
With so many of these fools around, I'd be a fool to say I wasn't scared. I'll get myself killed always trying to play hero. With Shadi, I didn't couldn't tell from his blank face how he was going to react to me daring him to fight. Either he'd take my dare and start slicing me like a turkey or have his boys handle me from all around.
I placed all bets on the latter. I got my answer in seconds, swarms of them coming from one wide sweep of Shadi's hand. No time to block left or right because fists were flying in from the front. A swift leg bumped my ankle, made me buckle and pitch forward right into a hard right hook. I tasted blood and my teeth clicked. I didn't know who I hit, but I caught someone's jaw and cracked a bone.
Parts of me screamed in agony. So much came onto me at once. I lost count of the blows plowing into my back, into my chest. I tasted nothing, but blood and spit. I spat out so much out to keep from choking. One strong hit forced my school lunch on my shoes. I held off three or maybe two. My head was spinning off its axis trying to see where I needed to swing.
A sharp punch to my jaw and I stumbled back. Stars exploded in my eyes when another punch popped across my temple and then the pain erupted across my face. I stopped breathing, eyes watery and my mind swimming. I pivoted on the heel of my foot and slipped. I heard the wind cut near my ears.
I missed barely Shadi's razors. I couldn't dodge the ground or the barrage of shoes hammering into my back and kicking my sides. Numbness flooded me. So much pain at once and I couldn't distinguish what hurt and what didn't. Everything ached. All of it.
In between pauses, they let me wallow in pain; suffer a bit before the attack came full force. I rolled over clutching my stomach, teeth bloody and sweaty sticky on my face. I was on my back, blind from the sunlight and warmed from its heat. My eyes were swollen shut.
For the longest, I didn't feel anything else. No one attacked or shouted or nada. What the hell—
It hit me faster than gravity.
Yugi.
They're going after my baby brother.
And all I'm doing is laying here letting it happen?
Nothing worked. Arms, legs, hands, my brain, nothing, my body's all over fucked up. But if they put a hand on that boy so help me, I'll find a way to get up and kill them all. I will kill them.
My visual blurred. The world squiggled and—damn it was so hard to get up. I couldn't stand it.
"Yugi-Y-Yugi— Damn it, Yugi!" I pushed up to my hands and knees, spitting up grit and blood. My face felt like ready to fall off.
I turned my head, looking through my limited eyesight. I see the opening, empty sidewalk, the street and nothing else. The hell? I coughed, wiping at my mouth. Where's my brother.
I looked to the other side, afraid for the worst.
I see a hump under my jacket, a tiny bob and tiny Reebok shoes contently clicking at the tips.
But no blue bloods. Not a one. So, Shadi just left? Why? It didn't. . . . didn't make sense. My body suddenly felt like lead and pulled me down flat. I sighed feeling so damn relieved for this break. There's no telling why Shadi didn't finish me off. He had a good opportunity to kick my ass.
I heard Yugi's impatient sigh and smiled to myself. Whatever that asshole's excuse was, I'm glad he decided to have a conscious. Yugi was safe and I got fucked up.
What a way to start the weekend.
"Jesus, kid. You look like road kill."
Trust Dr. Hakase Fudo to state the obvious at the worse time. Known around the neighborhood for being a blunt ass, he was the only person I knew with the ability to fix me up without raising suspicion with my grandfather. Keeping Yugi while on our way home took two full cups of sweet tea and a promise to read whatever story he wanted. I left the house around ten and came knocking at the good doc's house looking worse for wear.
He answered the door with a half-eaten sandwich on his plate, a beer in his other hand and a cigarette and a shark grin after inspecting the damage on my face. He welcomed me in behind his cackling laugh and a point at his kitchen isle. He left for a few minutes—probably to check on that badass boy of his—and returned wearing his lap coat, plaid blue pajama pants, a white t-shirt and carrying his brown medical bag. It kind degraded the whole looking-professional-thing when he kept grinning like a clown at my face.
"So, who do we owe the pleasure of rearranging this pretty face?" Dr. Fudo chuckled, slapping a Ziploc bag of ice on my right eye. He pulled out a nose syringe, gauze, syringes, slit lamp, and a bunch of other weird shit he had no business pulling out that bag. He popped the back of my head, ignoring my groan. "Open your eye."
I did. He shined the light there, inspecting both, and being rough on purpose, the fucking asshole. I'm in pain for God's sake and he's treating this like a walk in the park. He retrieved some alcohol wipes, pulled up my sleeve and stabbed a needle in without warning.
"Damn," I hissed. "What the hell?"
He waved me off. "Some pain killers. You're lucky that's all you'll need. I'm surprised you don't have a concussion. Guess that head's thick for a reason. It sure as hell isn't serving any other purpose."
I rolled my eyes. And here we go with a lecture. I drowned out the beginning of his how-many-times-do-I-to speech and went to thinking about getting better. I had plans of heading out to the Boom tomorrow night with my teammates. The last thing I needed was a full audience of people asking who did it and what for.
He suddenly thumped my ear and smacked my head.
"Jesus, Doc!" I snapped. "Some sympathy wouldn't hurt I just got my ass kicked!"
"Better kicked then dead right?"
His whole tone changed. I looked up through my weak vision, seeing an entirely different man from the easy calm one who opened the door. His eyes grew dark, that sharp grin was replaced by a firm line and I kept on staring because when he took that tone with me, I knew he meant business.
I grimly nodded my head and let him continue fixing me up, patching up cuts, bruises and trying not to cry like a bitch when he pushed all the swelling back into my face. It took a good two hours before he finished with me and clamped his medic bag shut. Instead of kicking me out like he normally would, I heard him sigh and run his hand through his messy black spikes.
He looked tired tonight. I hope that wasn't because of me.
"You know what's crazy?" I heard him say while he fished around his fridge for a beer. He straightened, popping the cap and took a quick swig. He wiped his mouth and continued. "I got a call from Yusei's school this morning. It was his teacher. She said she needed me to come by and pick the brat up."
I shifted in my stool. That didn't sound good.
Dr. Fudo sat down hard in the stool next to me, staring off into space. "One of the kids caught him skipping classes and ditching school."
"Geez, really?"
"Yeah," he chuckled bitterly. "But that wasn't the worse part. Zane found him and brought him to my office kicking and thrashing like an animal. I couldn't believe he told me my son was running trades for one of those damn bloods." He looked at me then, shaking his head. "My eleven-year-old was helping a thug stash drugs. Where the hell did he learn how to do that?"
I couldn't answer him.
I don't think he had a good answer for it either. Dr. Fudo, despite his crazy ass personality, was a decent man. He earned his degree, worked at the local clinic downtown in one of the lowest neighborhoods, maybe his way to give back to the community that didn't give up on him. His salary for a doctor wasn't anything compare to those who worked out in the West side of Domino. I asked him once why he didn't move out there and stack up like the other big boys.
All he said was "It just ain't home."
It'd be a huge change of scenery for him. Maybe help Yusei get away from this bad crowd.
"You're just one man, you know," I mumbled.
"I could say the same to you." He ruffled my hair and tossed back another swig. "This is the fifth time this month I've seen you and it gets no better . . . look if you need the money or a place to crash—"
"I'm good Doc." I broke in before he could make me feel any worse then I did. "The last thing I need is charity."
Dr. Fudo sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "You're too damn headstrong. I'm not gonna lecture you again. M'tired of wasting my breath with you." He lightly hit my head again, but his hand lingered, tugging pieces of my hair between his fingers. "Still kid, stop comin' back here broken up. There's only oh so many times you can fix a puzzle before the parts get too worn to squeeze in."
"I know," I sighed. "I just have to watch out for my brother. I got pissed the last time I went by his school and I saw those boys out there giving him candy. I went crazy."
"Yeah, I know. That's how you got that one." Dr. Fudo poked his finger into my arm. One of those thugs broke a bottle on the sidewalk and went to swinging like Wonder Woman. I had the luck of fools that day.
Dr. Fudo climbed up to his feet and stretched his arms over his head. I jumped off the stool, rolling my stiff shoulders and yawned.
"Guess I'll head out," I paused and smiled at him. "Unless you up for givin' me a ride?"
The doctor rolled his head from side to side. "Yeah, I'm game. Just lemme go make sure the kid's in bed before I head out."
"What if he wakes up?"
"I'll beat 'em to sleep. Lord knows he needs to be scared stupid. Mr. Belt loss his scare factor months ago."
"Try a switch." That one never fails to scare Yugi straight whenever he acted up.
Dr. Fudo threw a smirk over his shoulder before disappearing up the dark stairwell. Meanwhile, I gave myself a small tour of his cozy abode. There wasn't much to the two story home. It looked every bit like the typical single father home. A bit messy, basic furniture and some mildly expensive equipment. His kitchen had enough room to fix about ten people and his couch could easily fit twelve skinny people side by side.
Minutes later, I heard a deep grumble and keys jingling. Dr. Fudo didn't come alone. He had his arm full of a frail kid, napping on his shoulder, mouth wide open. That could only be badass Yusei who refused to let his father leave him alone.
"Amazing ain't he?" Dr. Fudo said as if he read my mind. "The kid will jump at the chance to touch a gun but he's still scared of the dark." He gathered his wallet and beckoned me to follow.
I followed behind looking at Yusei's young face. I couldn't imagine how Dr. Fudo felt knowing his son was out there trying to be an errand boy. I know how I'd feel if I discovered Yugi doing the same. Lose my mind, knock him flat on his ass and then beat down the fool who got him involved.
I learned something tonight as I watched Dr. Fudo stuff his son in the backseat. We both had someone to look out for. We just had our own ways of handling it.
I just wish I could be as calm as he was . . . maybe it'd keep me from getting killed.
TBC: There was a large miscalculation made in Fragile concerning the correct ages for the main characters after these events passed. All ages were adjusted to fit the timeline accurately. Anyone interested in seeing Heba's side of the story?
