AN:Okay, I've been working on this fic's plot for MONTHS. It's weird though. It's based on Yugi's mother and her yami, but his mother dies and her yami doesn't appear till a lot later in the fic. Most of the chapters will be on the regular characters. The title probably won't make sense until the last few chapters, too. Oh well, I'm weird. Annyyyywaaaay! There is YAOI and YURI in this fic, but mostly YAOI. If you don't like it, then don't complain. I did warn you!
[][][][][][][]Hana Motou was dead. Ayumi knew it, could hear the words echoeing through her mind as she held six-year-old Yugi's hand. The funeral had been small. Only a few family and friends had attended the ceremony, and even fewer stayed to watch the burning. A solitary tear slid down her cheek as she recalled her hikari's last few days with the living . . .[][][][][][][][][][][][][][]"Ay-chan! Where are you?" Ayumi looked around groggily, pulling her weary body off the couch."I'm here, Hana," she felt a small smilecreep onto her face as her hikari poked her head into the room, her arms weighed down by her six-year- old son.
"Oh! Where'd Dad get to? I need to talk to you guys!"
"Why?" Hana leaned down and planted a kiss on her yami's forehead while dropping Yugi into her lap.
"It's a surprise!"
"You know I hate surprises," Ayumi said, attempting to look serious. Hana sighed.
"Put Yugi to bed and come into the kitchen; I picked up a pizza for dinner." Nodding, Ayumi gathered the sleeping boy into her arms and headed up the stairs. After putting Yugi in his room, she rushed downstairs and into the kitchen. She was greeted by her "father's" surprised yelp.
"Ayumi! Please be careful; you might hurt someone running around like that!" Sugoroku said, shaking his head as the spirit sat down on the counter, ignoring him entirely.
"Well, now that we're all here, I need to make an announcement." Ayumi shared an anxious look with Sugoroku before smiling encouragingly at her hikari, urging her to continue. "I got a job!"
"That's wonderful, Dear!" Her father smiled, "Where is it?" Hana looked at the floor.
"It's in the red light district . . . I'm a waitress at a resturant."
"WHAT?!" Ayumi shouted, jumping off the counter. "You can't work there! Last time you were there you got raped! And now you have a son!"
"Ay-chan, please! You'll wake Yugi up!"
"No! Promise me you won't work there! Promise me!" Hana's eyes flared, anger coursing through her.
"I helped to defeat a demi-god bent on Earth's destruction, and you think I can't handle a job at a restuarant? I was only twelve when I was raped! I'm a lot stronger-"
"No, Hana. I won't let you work there. You must promise me."
Hana hung her head in defeat. "Ay-chan . . ."
"She's right, Hana. It's not safe," Sugoroku put in, "You shouldn't do it."
"Ayumi," Hana said, looking her yami in the eyes, "I love you! And I love Dad and Yugi, but Daddy can't support all four of us forever! He needs help!"
"I know that, but he wouldn't want help if it put you in a dangerous situation." "Fine," Hana sighed, allowing Ayumi to pull her into her arms.
"Now, let's eat!"[][][][][][][]But Hana took the job anyway, just as Ayumi had expected her to.[][][][][][][]Six days had passed since Hana had made the promise to not take the waitressing job, and four had passed since she had broken the promise. Every night, Hana would leave at 6:00pm and return at 3:00am. She always said that she was with friends or jub hunting, but Aymui knew the truth. Hana's friends wouldn't keep her from their warm bed, but her new job would. To say the least, Ayumi was furious.
"How could she do this to me? She promised!" The angry spirit shouted to herself.
"Papa-Aymui?" Ayumi immediately ceased her ranting and turned to see little Yugi standing at the door.
"Yugi-chan? What are you doing up? It's . . ." she trailed off, glancing at her watch," 11:00! You should be in bed!"
"I can't sleep." Ayumi sighed.
"Would you like to sleep with me tonight?"
"Yes!" Ayumi smiled and reached down to pick the small boy up. He was so adorable, just like his mother. They both seemed to be able to brighten even the darkest room.
"Papa-Ayumi?"
"Yeah?"
"Why isn't Mommy here?" So, the boy had noticed too? Ayumi knew then that she would talk to Hana as soon as she got home and convince her not to work. "Papa?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry Kiddo! I zoned out on you, didn't I? Well, don't worry about your mother, she's just . . . Shopping?" Yugi, not catching the lie, smiled widely.
"Will she bring me a present?"
"Absolutely, Squirt! Now, let's get some sleep, okay?"
"Okay!"
Yugi fell asleep rather quickly, but Ayumi stayed awake. Ever since Yugi had come into the room, she's felt uneasy. She had the feeling that Yugi'd felt it too. He usually never came into their room! Sighing, Ayumi stared down at the boy. After his birth, Hana had declared them an official couple, telling Ayumi that a secret relationship wouldn't do them any good now. She'd told Yugi over and over that Ayumi was also his mother, but Yugi would just shake his head and say, "No! Papa-Ayumi!" Hana had had a good laugh at her son's pet name for her yami. An hour passed, then two, and Ayumi couldn't stay awake any longer. She shut her eyes slowly and fell asleep.
The next morning, Ayumi was awakened by Sugoroku.
"Ayumi, wake up. There are some men here to see us." Ayumi opened her crimson eyes, seeing the weary man's face.
"Uh . . . Sure, you okay?" Sugoroku shrugged the question off and walked toward the door.
"Don't wake Yugi up, alright?" Then he was gone. Slipping quietly out of bed, Ayumi pulled on her robes then headed downstairs. She was greeted by two policemen standing in the kitchen, talking quietly to Sugoroku.
"Are you Ayumi Motou?"
"Yes, I am. Is something wrong?" She asked, eyes darting to the sad expression on her "father's" face.
"Actually," the man replied, an apologetic look on his face, "there is." A sudden, uneasy, painful twinge gripped Ayumi's heart. "Do you know a Hana Motou?"
"Yes." The grip tightened.
"I'm afraid that earlier this morning, at 4:08am, she was found dead in an alley in the red light district. The cause of death was-" The policeman was cut off as a strangled sob escaped Ayumi's throat, and she fell to the ground.
"No . . . "[][][][][][][]Although it had happened nearly two weeks ago, it still felt like yesterday. Gripping her son's hand tighter, she led Yugi away from the burning funeral pyre and to his grandfather.
"Sugoroku, we're done. Let's go." Nodding, he led them to the car.
The days after passed slowly, and Ayumi and Sugoroku didn't speak. Ayumi felt guilty, knowing that had she confronted her hikari earlier, none of this would have happened. She finally got the courage to tell him this nearly two weeks after the funeral, late at night.
"Sugoroku? May we speak?"
"Of course, Ayumi. What's on your mind?"
"It's my fault."
"What is?"
"Hana's death. I knew that Hana had taken the job, but I never said anything about it to her. I knew . . . I could have prevented her death, but I didn't! I'm sorry!" She blurted out, swallowing thickly.
"You . . . You knew?! And you did nothing?!" Sugoroku's voice rose with his anger.
"Yes."
"You need to leave, Ayumi."
"What?" She asked, surprised. She hadn't expected that.
"It's your fault my daughter is dead and that Yugi will never know his mother. You . . . You don't deserve to be near him." Sugoroku's voice had become very quiet, and Ayumi knew that he wouldn't be swayed.
"V-very well. I'll be gone by morning." Heading upstairs, she went into Yugi's room and gently pressed her lips to the sleeping boy's forehead. "See you around, Kiddo." It wasn't until years later that they met again.[][][][][][][]
AN:Well, I wonder if anyone caught who the villian will be in this fic? It was a really small mention, but it's still there! Sugoroku may have seemed a bit mean, but he was just upset! He'll come around . . . Eventually . . . ahem Yeah. If you want to know what Hana and Ayumi looked like, think of this:
Hana: Has the tricolored hair, but it's styled like Mai's, only shorter. She has Yugi's eyes, and she's short. Her and Yugi look a bitch-load alike!!
Ayumi: Same hair as Hana, but a tad bit longer. She has the same eyes as Yami. She's taller than Hana, too.
Whelp, that's all. If I should dump the idea, tell me. I'll get over it. Maybe. REVIEW!!