Something something disclaimer something. Don't own anything blah. Yeh.
"And so class, as a result of the phenomenon of..." A teacher droned on about something most of the kids in a crowded, little classroom either didn't hear or weren't paying attention to. Just another day. Another boring lecture.
Yugi sat at his desk in a slumped position. He leaned his head in his open hand, and let out a despondent sigh. He felt like he was just going through the motions. Every day felt like a waste. Wasted time that could be better spent doing something important. Something that mattered, and here he was sitting in a classroom listening to his teacher babble on about a subject that no one would even remember by the time they walked out.
It all just seemed so... mundane. Too slow-paced.
And he blamed it all on the pharaoh, because honestly, who better to blame? It wasn't every day one person could just walk into one's life and flip it all upside down. Everything that he knew and thought he knew just flipped sunny side up. Not that Yugi didn't believe one person couldn't turn someone else's world around, but not completely flip it, shake it up like an afternoon milkshake, toss and spin it in the air a few good times like an Italian pizza, and kick it like a good game of kick the can just for good measure. No, nothing like that.
They saved the world together. They were a part of each other. Opposite sides to the same coin. His other half.
And then he left. Just like that. Gone out of his life so suddenly it left a hole in his heart and a weight in his stomach. Back to the afterlife where he belonged with all of his friends and family, because it wasn't like Yugi was one of the pharaoh's closest friends now or anything. Yugi was just a coincidence. A victim of circumstance. He was simply the one to find and finish the puzzle first. Or maybe he was just being a pouty, little brat.
"Pssssst, Yug'!" Yugi turned his head in the direction of the barely suppressed whisper. Joey had a goofy grin on his face when he got Yugi's attention. "Think I can tag Kaiba other there with one o' these here spit balls?"
Yugi's face took on a look of unease. He shook his head at his best friend. "Joey, I don't think that's a good idea."
"It's always a good idea if it involves moneybags gettin' his feathers ruffled." Joey's grin turned wolfish. The blond picked up a straw that he had most likely saved from lunch, and loaded his mini spit-gun - aimed and was ready to fire.
Yugi panicked when it seemed Joey had no intention of listening to him at all. "Wait! Joey, don't do it!"
Just as Joey took a deep breath into his lungs, Yugi leaned over in his seat to grab onto him in an attempt to get him to stop. However, it only served to redirect the bullet, and it landed smack dab in the middle of their teacher's forehead.
Both Joey and Yugi froze in place. Their teacher's monologue halted abruptly as soon as the spitball made contact. A heavy silence fell over the classroom. It was only broken when Yugi heard Joey mumble out a, "Well, shit."
It was like being in the eye of the storm before being thrown into the hurricane. So quiet and eerie that Joey and Yugi shared a worried glance. A final, "Farewell, my friend. I have known thee well."
When the teacher finally did speak, his voice was so booming it had Yugi and Joey nearly jumping three feet in the air.
"Detention!"
"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall! Ninety-nine bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall! Sing it with me, Yug'!"
Him and Joey were charged with mopping up the floors of the school for their detention. As Yugi had never had a detention in his life, he wasn't quite as enthused as his best friend.
Yugi pushed the mop forward along the floor of the hallway. He grimaced at the small spot he had wiped. This was no easy task for one with such short arms. And all the hallways for that matter? They'd be here for the rest of the day. Yugi let out a sigh. "I don't think I want to sing that."
Joey pouted at Yugi's glum behavior. "Aw, c'mon." When he got a good look at Yugi's forlorn face, he let out a sigh of his own. The blond mopped with less enthusiasm now as he turned his gaze to stare down at the floor. "This is about the pharaoh, isn't it?"
His face flushed slightly in embarrassment. Was it really so obvious? "No... What makes you say that?"
Joey raised a blond eyebrow at him. "Yug', ya look like someone up and slapped ya in the face and told ya that you would never be allowed to eat pizza for the rest of your life!"
Yugi stopped in his action of mopping the floor to stare up at his friend in surprise by the seriousness of his tone. He managed a smile despite his dampened mood. "Joey, I think that would only make you really sad."
Joey looked horrified at the implied notion. "You mean that doesn't freak you out?!" And Yugi laughed, because the look on his friend's face was truly priceless. The taller boy went back to his pouting. "This is about the pharaoh. I know it. You've been lookin' all sad and gloomy ever since he had to go."
What little amusement Yugi had been feeling felt like it was just zapped from his body. He drooped against the handle of his mop. His face fell into a saddened frown. He felt like a little, wilted flower with no sunlight.
"I guess."
Joey let out another sigh, and scratched idly at his honey-colored locks. "You wanna... I dunno, go out and watch a movie or play duel monstas after this or somethin'?"
He just felt so disheartened. Nothing really seemed as colorful or interesting as it used to be. "I don't know, Joey."
The taller boy's face held a look full of pity. "Yug'..." Yugi looked up to his friend. "You should go out and do something else. Get your mind off it. Ya can't keep sittin' here thinkin' about it all day. It's only gonna make it worse. Give ya more time to think about all the things you coulda said or coulda done."
Well now that he said that... there were things Yugi wished he had said. Maybe he should have told Atem how important he was to him. How intrinsically the pharaoh seemed to just belong within Yugi's heart, body and soul. Maybe he wouldn't have left if he had told him these things. But that thought was selfish. He knew it. There was no other alternative. The pharaoh had to leave.
"I'm sorry. I'm a little tired. I think I want to just go home."
Joey seemed disappointed by his response, but Yugi could hardly find it within himself to change his mind on the matter.
"All right. Call me if you change your mind then. You know where I'll be."
Yugi gave his friend a small smile. "Thanks Joey."
And Joey sent a saddened smile back. "No prob'."
Yugi and Joey had finally been able to leave after a good full two hours of mopping up the floors. The silence that had stretched between them afterwards had been awkward and almost unbearable. Yugi didn't want to have to see his friend so down because of him. He'd rather keep his problems to himself if he had to. There was no sense in bringing his friends down with him.
Yugi walked slowly to his house. Neighbors occasionally waved to him, and Yugi would force himself to wave back. He felt immature and selfish. Everyone was trying to be positive and happy, and all he could do was sulk about with a storm cloud practically hovering over his head.
He hoped he would be able to move past this whole sad phase. Sooner rather than later. He didn't want to keep having to turn his friends down whenever they asked to go out and do something. It wasn't fair to them.
Yugi trudged up the path to the Kame Game shop with steps that felt heavily weighed down. He sighed gloomily as he opened the door and stepped inside.
As soon as he did, however, something immediately seemed amiss. Yugi became hesitant as he lifted a hand to turn on the light to the game shop. Light illuminated the interior, and he noticed with shock that everything was trashed.
Fear seized his chest as he looked around at the mess frantically. The first thoughts that came to his mind were, "A burglary? Did someone break in? Where is my grandpa? Did he go out? What happened?"
Cards and games were strewn all over the floor. Bits of broken glass from the display cabinets were scattered among them. Yugi gingerly walked around it all on the tips of his feet as he maneuvered his way through the wreckage. He first made his way to the kitchen. It was in a similar state of disarray. It looked like someone had nearly cleaned them out of all of their food. Yugi eyed the mess warily. He looked back over his shoulder at the front of the shop. Yes, everything was all over the place, but nothing appeared stolen. The cash register looked to be in pristine condition as well, as if it hadn't even been considered when whatever came through had destroyed the place.
Yugi moved forward, and walked up the stairs as quietly as he could. He looked down the hallway and noticed a vase of flowers had been knocked over. It was shattered on the floor. Yugi continued to move forward.
It was when he heard a sound that his heart started to speed up and he froze where he stood. He took a moment to figure out where it had come from. After looking around, he deduced that the sound had come from his room. The door was slightly cracked open. Yugi swallowed a lump in his throat and crept over to his room.
As soon as he was at his door, he tried to look inside, but he couldn't see enough through the small opening. He inhaled and exhaled deeply and, using as much courage as he could muster, threw the door open in one fast, swift motion. It swung on its hinges and hit the wall with a thud at the force used to open it. Though, Yugi hardly cared about it, because there was someone burrowing underneath the blankets on his bed.
The intruder jumped up in surprise. Slowly, the blanket fell off of the hidden form, and what Yugi saw took his breath away. Ruby-colored eyes stared at him in curious wonder and shock. When they moved up his petite body, red met violet, and there was only one thing that left his mouth. He screamed.
And the other let out a deep bellow right along with him.
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