Limping Again

The soft pitter-patter of rain on the window massaged Yugi's ears, annoying him. Normally, the sound would have been soothing to his small frame, but not when final exams were a week away.

Trying to ignore the comforting sound of falling water, Yugi focused on what his teacher was telling to the class, before quickly scribbling down his notes into his half full notebook. Earlier during the period, he had marveled at how much he had used the large notebook, considering he had only bought it yesterday.

His pen flying across the paper with inhuman speed, Yugi could feel his hand cramping up. But there was no rest for the weary, as the saying goes, for if anything, the teacher took one look at the clock and only sped up her lecturing. Yugi began to write faster, if that was even possible, now completely oblivious to everything else around him except for the words gushing out of his teacher's mouth.

Indeed, he was writing so furiously that the Millennium Puzzle banged into his desk loudly, causing heads to turn up from their notes and glare at him in annoyance.

Yugi smiled sheepishly, before putting a gentle hand on the upside down pyramid, keeping it away from the desk as it settled above his lap. Yugi had hardened to glares like these, those quick flashes of disgust and hate that gleamed in his peers' eyes. He didn't mind though. He had friends more important than some petty sense of vanity, and he would gladly take those hostile stares if they were aimed at the puzzle that he wore around his neck.

That was something he would never allow.

Yugi wouldn't let something dumb like that get into the way of his best friend. Yes, he would take those glimmering eyes of hatred…

But right now he had to study.

Continuing to write down every syllable that the teacher pronounced, Yugi forced himself once more into complete concentration. However, as his hand struggled to perform its impossible task of recording the sentences of knowledge heaped upon him, his hand slipped. The puzzle once more slammed into the desk with a loud bang.

This time, the teacher paused.

"Mr. Motou, could you please put that away for a moment? Thank you."

Yugi muttered an apology to his teacher. As Yugi quickly unzipped his backpack and carefully placed the puzzle inside, he mumbled a sorry through the mind link to Yami. Gingerly making sure the puzzle was safe and in position, Yugi sensed a mental nod come through the link. The ex-pharaoh understood.

Yugi swiftly returned to writing his poor hand out. The teacher now only spook faster, and Yugi faintly wondered how spit wasn't flying from her mouth. His anxiety piled high as thoughts of his next class pressured his stress mind.

When the bell shrilly rang, Yugi finished scrawling the last of his notes before leaping up and out the door. Pushing his way through the crowd, he used his small stature as a way to weave and contort through the mass of teenagers to his next class.

Yugi sat down in his seat, notebook open, pencil in hand. It was only than that it finally sunk in that something was missing.

His backpack.

The puzzle.

Yami!

But it was too late. The bell rang sharply, and Yugi was forced to sit through class.

Chewing on the end of his pencil, his already stressed mind went into overdrive. He barely even heard what his teacher was telling him. The rambling now annoyed him more than the rain on the window had. His thoughts loomed like bullies inside his head, pummeling his heart with heart wrenching truths.

You're so stupid, you forgot your backpack! You left your best friend! You forgot your secret love! YOU DON'T DESERVE HIM!

Because that was Yugi's little secret. He loved his dark, although fear ate at him whenever he thought of confessing his feelings. Rejection burned like a haunting ghost staring into the pits of his soul: he didn't know if it was real, or if he was imagining it, but it hurt like hell to think about.

Guilt seared through him once again as he thought about what he had done.

He had forgotten his best friend.

The class only lasted an hour, but to Yugi it felt as if each second someone was yanking his fingernails out.

He had forgotten his best friend.

The more he waited, the more the realization wrapped around him and squeezed like a snake around its prey. His heart pounded, beating loudly in his ears.

When the bell finally rang, Yugi was the first one out the door, sprinting to his previous class. Sweat rolled down his forehead. He breathed in pants.

The mob of students that clogged the hallway didn't stop him. There he was, crawling with dignity through a seniors legs. There he was, nearly plastered to the wall from the sea of people. There he was, bending his legs and arms like a pretzel as he simultaneously stepped over a backpack and did the limbo underneath a kissing couple.

But despite his efforts, as he finally squeezed through the last bunch of cliques, he was met with a locked door, lights dark, the room empty.

Yugi stared in utter shock.

No.

No.

He could just barely sense the puzzle through the thick walls, like a fingernail caressing the bottom of his foot, causing him to twitch in annoyance. Reaching out to it, Yugi tried to feel more of the puzzle, to at least communicate with his friend, and tell him of the predicament they were in.

Silence.

Yugi was too far away.

So he stood there.

And stared.

And stared.

And stared.

People were shooting him looks that practically screamed, "Look at that weird kid. What is he doing just standing there like an idiot?", but Yugi couldn't have cared less as he stared in utter dismay at the locked door.

The school enforced a strict policy of 'if you left it and the door's locked, come back tomorrow.' No amount of begging could unlock that door now. Even Yugi's famous puppy dog eyes wouldn't make it past the secretary.

So all Yugi did was stare.

The corridor that had once been a mass of students was now diminished to a trickle of stragglers. Soon, the hallway was completely empty.

And still Yugi stared, forcing his mind past his endurance to try and break the bonds of distance and contact his friend.

Erect, he stood in front of the unyielding door. He couldn't bring himself to leave Yami there, all alone. He couldn't bring himself to even turn around. That way, his back would be to his friend. He couldn't even blink.

Yugi just stood and choked on his own dread.

His mind a swirling mess, he tried to move, to even just twitch. But devastation froze him. Desperate, he continued to try and connect the mind link, but all he got for his trouble was an splitting headache that felt like someone was banging bent screws into his forehead.

Slowly, oh so slowly, he finally came to the conclusion that if he didn't leave soon he would be kicked out. Grandpa would be worrying as well.

Soon, too soon, Yugi was on the sidewalk, walking home.

Alone.

His head hung low, Yugi breathed in deeply. He had forgotten his love, his friend. He had abandoned him. Even now, he was leaving him.

He was so enwrapped with his thoughts that he failed to notice when someone bumped into him. However, he didn't miss when that someone whirled around, grabbed him by the collar and than threw him up against an alley wall.

Yugi blinked.

It was Ushio, of all bullies, who had run into him today. His menacing, scowling face hovered only a few inches away from the amethyst eyed teen. Yugi stared back, a blank expression plastered on his face, depressing thoughts still running through him,

"You bumped into me shrimp. What are you going to say?" Ushio hissed.

Yugi stared, thoughts of Yami flashing through him. Guilt practically stopped his beating heart.

Ushio slammed him against the brick alley wall again. Yugi whimpered as pain shot up his back.

"Huh? Say something shrimp!"

"Sorry…" Yugi mumbled as pain continued to arch up his spine like lightening. Ushio punched him on the chin and let him go as if he was diseased and spat at him in disgust. Yugi crumpled to the ground in a painful heap.

"You worthless piece of shit." Ushio smirked before giving him a good kick to the ribs. He than sauntered away, a poisonous snigger cutting across his face.

Yugi waited until he was gone before he unsteadily struggled up. Limping home, Yugi was reminded of the days before he had solved the puzzle. At the thought of the puzzle, Yugi winced to himself, and his thoughts returned to haunt him.

He had left Yami.

He had forgotten Yami.

By the time he was standing in front of the game shop, Yugi felt tears threaten to spill. But defiant as he was, Yugi pushed through the door and brushed past his grandfather before retreating up to his room. Slamming his door, Yugi launched himself at his bed.

And finally he couldn't take it anymore as the loneliness finally sunk in.

Tears shamelessly poured down his face. Sobs wracked his body as pain erupted from his back at the motion. Every movement provoked electric shocks of pain to spike up from his backside.

Panting and crying from pain and despair, he lay there. He didn't hear the creaking of floorboards outside of his door which normally would have signaled him to the fact that his grandfather was standing there. All Yugi could do was sink further and further into his guilt and his pain.

What sort of friend was he anyway? Yami would surely hate him now. If there had been any chance that Yami had feelings for him, they were now banished.

Yugi lay there, holed up in his room, and watched the alarm clock tick away the hours. His dark room seemed to echo the hollow loneliness he felt.

Yami.

Another tear slid past Yugi's guard, because at some point he had decided that he wasn't going to cry. Yami never liked it when he cried.

But that only made it worse.

Yugi kept whispering his name over and over, as if that was the only word he knew. As if saying his name would replace the cold loneliness that left him feeling empty.

YY

Yami wondered where Yugi was.

He couldn't help but chuckle when Yugi rushed out of the classroom in a complete rush to get his next class, but when he didn't return, Yami started to get worried.

Was Yugi alright?

The fierce desire to protect the small boy kicked in. Yami knew that he had feelings for Yugi, but if he had one weakness, it would be the small boy. He didn't want to hurt his aibou, and that's all he would do if he didn't return his feelings.

That didn't make it any easier though.

Shaking his head, the spirit chased away thoughts of his feelings and returned to the matter at hand. Yugi would come and get him, he was sure. There was nothing to worry about.

After a little over an hour, Yami really started get concerned. Yugi hadn't come back, and as time ticked by, Yami felt loneliness swallow him.

Every second dragged past in pure torture. No. No. No.

Yugi hadn't left him. He was going to come and get him.

But as the hours added up, Yami felt darkness envelope his heart. Yugi had abandoned him. Yugi hated him.

No, he reminded himself. His little one would be here any minute now. But as the minutes limped past, Yami started to shrink inside of himself.

Yugi never wanted to see him again.

And that was more painful than anything else. All he wanted to do right then was see his little one. To see him smile up at him. To laugh that pure laugh that rang like a clear bell. To just be with him.

But now Yugi hated him.

The forlornness ate him. Fear gnawed at his being.

And Yami felt a way that he hadn't felt a way in a long time.

He felt dark.

YY

When the clock glared 3:30 AM, Yugi rose from his bed like a zombie coming back from the dead. He hadn't changed clothes or taken a shower, and his hair stuck up at odd angles he didn't quite know was possible. He staggered into the bathroom, his back stiff from his encounter with Ushio.

Staring at himself in the mirror, Yugi realized the reason why he had made the painful journey to his bathroom.

He still wore his wrinkled school uniform, and he looked like a ghost his skin was so pale with the exception of the purple bruises that were forming on his face.

Yugi wanted to see this person who could be so disgusting.

He scowled at his reflection, pure hatred gleaming in his eyes.

With that he stumbled out of the bathroom and down the stairs. He waved off the breakfast that was accompanied by his grandpa's worried looks, and proceeded to run as fast as his wobbly feet would carry him.

Pain shot up from his back. It felt as if someone was slowing clawing his muscles from his spine from inside of his stomach. Despite this, he was the first one at the door to his school, glancing at his watch every now and than and hopping from foot to foot like a child. When a teacher with a raised eyebrow opened the door for him, he didn't even mutter a thank you. He simply sprinted past to the classroom that he had left his backpack.

Luckily it was open, otherwise he was sure he would have screamed bloody murder. Tumbling around desks in a furious attempt to reach his backpack at the back of class, Yugi never thought that chairs were so annoyingly in the way. Yugi tripped on a desk leg and fell hard…

…right in front of his backpack.

Scrambling, completely ignoring the shrieking pain from his back that nearly obliterated his desperate train of thought, Yugi fumbled with the zipper. Nearly tearing the material in his hurry, he finally opened up the annoying backpack.

And there, nestled above his binders and books, gleamed the Millennium Puzzle.

The eye of Wedjat glared up at him as Yugi dove his hand in. Seizing the chain and than gently lifted his precious puzzle up so that it hung around his neck once more.

/Yami? Yami are you okay? Yami?/ Yugi frantically used the mind link, worry make his voice almost slur together.

/…/

/Yami! Can you hear me? I'm so sorry I left you Yami! I didn't mean to! Please tell me you're alright!/

/…/

/Yami! Please, I'm so sorry! Please talk to me! I'm so sorry! I'm…so…sorry…/

/…/

Tears pooled in Yugi's eyes and spilled over in a stream of sorrow, completely forgetting that he had said he wasn't going to cry. The silence was awful, and even after Yugi sat there on the cold floor for an eternity, begging and begging, the silence still enveloped him.

Yugi ran. He forgot his backpack again- he didn't care- he just ran.

He ran out of school, exams forgotten.

He ran into the street, past honking cars.

He ran by his grandfather, who was already calling Yugi in for being sick.

Yugi burst into his room, slamming the door. He collapsed onto the floor, clutching the puzzle. He sobbed, oh how he sobbed, as the silence folded in around him. His small form wracked, pain complaining from his spine.

/Yami! Please talk to me! I don't care if you forgive me or not, just tell me if your alright! I didn't mean to! I didn't want to! IT WAS THE LAST THING I WANTED!/

Yugi curled up into a small ball, tears freely running down his face like messengers of hell. He hated them, these tears. Hated the fact that he was weak.

How could Yami think that he left him there on purpose?

Yugi deserved this though. He deserved to be shunned. He had forgotten Yami.

But he needed to know if Yami was alright.

Yugi thought frantically. Maybe he could go to Yami's soul room? Yes! A shred of hope was still left, and Yugi clung to it like a life line.

Closing his amethyst eyes, Yugi relaxed and swallowed his sobs. Focusing, he felt weightless for a moment before he hesitantly opened his eyes. Blinking, he found himself in his soul room, toys strewn across the floor. Yugi didn't care about them now though.

He sprinted to the door, wincing as his back jolted. Apparently pain still applied when inside one's soul.

Throwing the door open, Yugi limped across the hallway and stood in front of his other half's door. It was tightly shut, and the handle seemed to shrink away from his hand as Yugi reached for it. Taking a deep breath, Yugi grasped the handle and pushed open the door.

The dank air of the tomb like room hit Yugi like a hammer to the stomach. It may have been just him, but it seemed as if their where even more staircases winding up at odd angles, and more doorways that beckoned for him to enter so he could fall into the traps they guarded. Shadows lurked across the stone as if they concealed even more mystery and hatred than Yugi could have ever thought possible.

Yugi's gaze finally landed on the figure in front of him.

Yami was facing away from him, so he didn't see Yugi, trembling with joy and pain all in one.

"What do you want?"

Yugi froze. His dark's cold voice caught him like a slap to the face. Yugi nearly fell to his knees.

"Y-Yami?" he breathed out, utter despair oozing from his voice. The temperature in the soul room was rapidly falling. Yugi clutched his shivering form with both hands. He felt naked.

"Why are you here? I want you to leave."

Yami still hadn't turned around, so he never saw the effect his words had on the young teenager. Yugi had silent tears drenching his cheeks, and if Yami had seen Yugi's eyes at that moment, he would have seen that last thread of hope snap. Yugi's knees quaked, threatening to give out. He was shaking his head, his heart breaking, splitting, tearing, ripping, shredding…

"I'm s-s-sorry. I d-d-didn't m-mean to l-leave y-y-you. Pl-please…y-you o-okay?"

Yugi's voice was a whisper as his eyes where glued to his feet. He peeked up at the pharaoh.

At Yugi's words, Yami had stiffened, before he slowly turned to face him. His eyes dripped with rage, while venom seemed to spit with his words.

"What did I say! I told you to leave! You left me! Now could you please do it again! I don't want to see you! I don't want to talk to you! I don't want to even know that you exist! Leave!"

Yugi was trembling so badly now. He looked up into the pharaoh's eyes and read the anger that clouded them. The pharaoh didn't even see him.

But Yugi couldn't bring himself to leave his friend. Not like this. The pharaoh hated him, but he had to make sure that he was alright.

The eye of Wedjat began to glow on pharoah's forehead, his power gathering around him in billowing clouds of shadow and rage. Shaking with pure fear, Yugi involuntarily took a step back in horror.

No. No. NO!

He wouldn't abandon Yami, not again, especially when he was like this. Yugi took a step forward, unaware of the tears falling from his eyes. Extending a quivering hand, Yugi reached out to Yami.

"LEAVE!" Yami roared, his magic slamming Yugi through the door, through the hallway, and into a crumpled and agonizing heap inside his room.

"And stay out!" Yami yelled, before slamming the door to his soul room with an echoing boom.

Yugi lay there, weeping, his soul completely shattered.

He had lost his closest friend.

He had lost his love.

He had lost Yami.

Yugi cried as oblivion called out his name.

He was pain. Pain from his body from both Ushio's – and now Yami's- harsh actions blinded him.

But the pain from his heart was in itself a torture from hell.

Yugi didn't know when he had returned to his body, but when he realized that he had, he immediately stood. Striding out of his room, he took big steps down the stairs. Brushing past his grandfather, who only stared at him in shock, he whispered that he was going for a walk before shouldering his way through the door.

The rain from the previous day had left small puddles on the street and the air cool. Yugi wondered how he had missed the fact that it had stopped raining- or even that it had been raining at all. It seemed as if that fact had completely vanished when he realized that he had left Yami.

The mention of his name in Yugi's thoughts made him freeze, before he began to limp again. Staring down at his reflection in a puddle, Yugi didn't see the emptiness that had splintered his amethyst eyes. All he saw was hate.

Kicking the puddle, Yugi continued to wander aimlessly as all sense of purpose had left him. People kept shooting him worried looks. Even a stranger on the street could see just how broken the boy was.

There was no "walking off" his sorrow. Indeed, Yugi didn't know where he was going. He didn't care. He had lost the will to care. There was no getting rid of this worthless feeling that left him empty and cracked.

Not even the powerful punch to his already bruised face brought him out of his stupor.

Yugi fell into the cold, wet alleyway. Anguish clawed at him. Pure pain seized his back and his face…and his heart.

Yugi faintly registered that it was Ushio again, but this time he had two cronies. Yami…

The two bullies pinned him to the wall, as Ushio cracked his knuckles, smirking.

"Hello there shrimp. Look at how worthless you are. Pathetic."

And than the beating began.

At first all Yugi registered was the pain. The pain from his back, the pain from his head, the pain from his chest, his ribs, his arms, his legs, his feet, his hands, his nose…

And than he was screaming. He didn't know when he started, all he knew before had been the pain. The pain. That clawing agony that tore at his nerves like a fiery eyed demon that heralded death.

Yugi shrieked until he couldn't anymore. And that's when he snapped.

At first, all he could whimper was a "Please" or a "Stop." But suddenly he found himself asking, pleading, begging for them to stop. To stop hurting him. To stop calling him worthless. To stop torturing him in their all to real version of hell.

For a flickering moment, Yugi considered asking Yami for help. He almost immediately banished the thought. Yugi didn't want to bother him.

No, he barely registered when Ushio was all out laughing at him, and the glint of a knife approaching him. He was going to die, wasn't he?

Yugi smiled. He was going to die.

But as far as he was concerned, he was already dead.

Everything went black, and Yugi chuckled manically. For the one person who heard it, the noise was so lost and utterly sad that it redefined the meaning of torture for him.

YY

Yami curled up inside of his soul room, cold and waiting.

Waiting for what, he kept denying.

He was waiting to hear from Yugi again.

His power bubbled around him, darkness enveloping darkness, shadows devouring shadows. He almost laughed at the thought of hearing from Yugi again. Yugi hated him, remember? Yugi left him.

But Yugi had come back, hadn't he? His little aibou had come back. He had stood there in such an amazing act of bravery that Yami's breath caught at how strong he had been.

And what had he done?

He had let the shadows have there way. He threw Yugi out.

And now he would never see him again.

Yami had shut off their link, but on a spur of the moment feeling, he opened it once more so that he could tell how his little one was feeling.

If Yami hadn't been sitting down already, he was sure he would have fallen over. Even now he quivered, eyes wide.

The pain that flooded him made him pant. It was as if Yugi was made of pure pain. He felt around as if he was blind, trying to find that warm throbbing that he knew was Yugi's heart, his soul.

All Yami found were broken, cold, limp pieces of shadow. Only a small speck of light remained, and even that was shrinking to the size of a small star in the blackness of a dark night.

Gasping, Yami took in Yugi's pain, unable to believe it's tremendous force. Scrambling up from his position on the cold floor, Yami ran.

Fear ate him once more, but this time it was for his partner.

He couldn't believe he had been so stupid. It was only now that Yugi's words from before finally sunk in. Of course Yugi hadn't meant to leave him. Oh, he was dumb, He was such an idiot.

Because now Yugi was dying.

He could tell from the pain that nearly swept him off his feet. Yugi was about to die.

Leaping through the door to his soul room, Yami took control of his little one's body, eyes glowing in rage as they landed on his aibou's tormentors.

But not before he heard Yugi chuckle, if you could call it that. Yami's heart froze.

/Yugi…/

After taking Yugi's body home, Yami laid him down on the bed. It was than that he looked at Yugi, really looked at him.

Dark circles hung underneath his eyes, making him wonder if he had slept at all the previous night. Knowing Yugi, he probably hadn't, which only made Yami even more guilty.

Bruises and cuts covered his body in almost every place where skin was visible. Blood glistened on the puzzle that hung around his neck from his wounds. As Yami proceeded to examine him, his attention was caught by a curious pair of cuts on both of his hands. To Yami's horror and dismay, he realized that Yugi had cut himself but clutching the puzzle so tightly.

Yugi's eyes fluttered open, but he didn't seem to see anything at first. Yami stared deep into his amethyst eyes, feeling a tug of guilt and sorrow at how empty and smashed they were.

Turning around, Yami waited for Yugi to realize he was there.

YY

Yugi's eyes fluttered open. At first all he saw was bright white, and for a fleeting moment he thought that he had gone to heaven.

But than the pain came, softer than before, but still there.

Yugi sighed, almost in disappointment. There was nothing left for him to live for, except maybe his grandpa. He couldn't leave his grandpa all by himself.

And Yami would have died too, wouldn't he? If he had died. Yugi sighed again, this time in relief. Yami was okay if he didn't die. He didn't want Yami to die.

Slowly, his vision was returning to him. He was staring up at a ceiling-his ceiling- he realized.

Mustering enough strength to sit up, Yugi wondered what he was doing here. Ushio wouldn't have dropped him off at his house. How was he even alive anyway? Ushio had been about to use a knife on him.

Yugi blinked again as he realized someone was standing at the end of his bed, facing away from him.

It was Yami.

Yugi stiffened, pain shooting through his body at the action.

Why was Yami here?

And than it struck him.

Yami had helped him.

Yugi unconsciously shook his head, rejecting the idea. Yami hated him. Yami wouldn't help him, not after Yugi had left him. But that was the only reason why Yami would be here, so Yugi gulped.

"Y-Yami?" he whimpered, his voice hoarse from screaming.

Immediately his dark turned to face him, and Yugi gasped.

Everything about his dark practically yelled regret. The sorrow that hung solemn in his eyes, to the dejected way he slumped and the worry that pulled at his normally handsome features. Yugi felt tears pool up in his eyes.

Upon seeing this, Yami's eyes widened in dismay. Striding around the bed, he pulled Yugi into a loose hug as he did not want to aggravate his wounds and let him cry into his shoulder.

Yugi didn't respond to the hug at first, he simply cried. But when he felt his darker half begin to sob as well, he wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him closer.

Yami muttered something, but Yugi couldn't quite hear him. Yugi pulled back, confusion glistening in his eyes. Yami smiled for a moment, for confusion was so much better than that awful nothingness that had been there before.

"Yami, I'm sorry you hate me. But before you leave me, I wanted to tell you…I want to tell you that…that I love you. I've loved you forever. You're the most amazing person and I could never hate you, even if I wanted to. Thanks for saving me…if you did... Thanks for being there for me... I love you so much." Yugi whispered, staring down into his lap for a moment.

Silence.

Yugi choked back a sob as he stared into his hands. He hadn't notice the cuts there before. The realization about how he got them only made him sob again.

Yami didn't love him back.

Another tear fell down his cheek like the ghost of an angel.

"Y-Yugi. Did you j-just say that y-you love me?"

Yugi looked up, surprise fluttering across his face. Yami never stuttered.

"I love you Yami."

Suddenly arms where pulling him close once again and soft lips where touching his. Yugi closed his eyes as he sunk into the kiss, completely oblivious to the pain that seared through him from the movement.

Once they broke a part, Yugi smiled. His heart was mending, he could feel it, each piece fitting back together like a forgotten puzzle.

"I love you too Yugi."

And than the tears were back, but Yami was kissing them away. The pain was back, but Yami was kissing that away too.

"Yugi…please forgive me…"

"Of course I do Yami…please forgive me?"

"Of course aibou."

Yugi drifted off into sleep, resting against Yami's chest. Yami stared down at him, smiling, and brushed a lock of blond hair out of his face. Soon he too fell asleep, snuggling closer to his lover.

Meanwhile, Yugi's grandpa was standing outside of Yugi's door. Shaking his head, he gave out a sigh of relief. Chuckling slightly, he walked away to go to bed.

"Well it was about time…" he muttered before chuckling once more and turning off the lights in the game shop.

FIN

Hope you liked it people! Please review, I take everything into consideration! If you want a YYxY story written, pm me about it and we can talk. Thanks!