So I finally get around to posting this. This is set between Where the Darkness began and In love with the Darkness. I hope you'll enjoy it! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

A day of Brightness

I sighed and stepped onto the bus. I would be very happy when I could go and live on my own. Jono had promised me I could move into my apartment soon. I would be living close to him and Shizuka. And Yugi too. Yugi and I had transferred schools so that I could go to school with Zuka-chan. I had been a bit lonely since she had moved to live with her brother on the other side of town. My aunt hadn't wanted me to move out so soon as well, so I had promised her to stay a little longer. Until I could move into my own apartment I had to travel to the other side of town for at least an hour every day.

It pissed me off. What made me even grumpier was that I had had that dream again. I scowled. I shouldn't be dreaming of my best friend's brother. Especially not since the first and last time I had seen him was five years ago… what was his name again? He had a funny name, something with darkness… Yami! That was it. Yeah…

My boyfriend would have a fit if he found out.

I shifted in my seat and stared out of the window. I couldn't help it, really. I don't think it is possible to stop dreaming. I mean, it's not like I was thinking about Yugi's brother during the day. Only when I had had the dream. I thought about him so I could get angry with him for being so good looking and for disturbing my sleep. Which happened… at least once a week.

An hour later I arrived at my destination. I rang the door bell. The door opened, revealing a sixteen year old Zuka-chan. "Hi Meca-chan!"

I smiled at her. "Hi!"

I stepped into the apartment and hung up my jacket. "Where's the birthday boy?"

"In the living room."

Zuka-chan looked pale, I noticed. Her eyes were kinda dim. "Is there something wrong?"

"No," she said. She was lying through her teeth but I decided not to push it.

I walked into the living room and found my other cousin talking to a guy with long white hair. "Hi Jono!"

"Meca!" Jono left his friend and embraced me in a tight hug.

"Happy Birthday!" I said with a smile while handing over his present.

Jono loved getting presents so he was eager to unwrap it. He stared at me in surprise.

"I knew you wanted to have it," I said with a grin.

"Yeah, but…" He stared at the book in his hands. It was of these music books, containing at least a hundred different songs. "This was really expensive."

"Shut up, Jou." A guy called from the couch. "You shouldn't complain when a pretty lady gives you a present."

The guy who had spoken had long black hair that he wore in a pony tail. With the eyeliner and the dark clothes he looked very rock-and-roll. He got up from the couch and whistled through his teeth when he saw what I have given to my cousin.

"Is that the book with all the songs for the guitar?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Thank you, Meca-chan." Jono kissed my cheek and brought the book to the table where he had stalled out all his presents.

"So… You're Jou's cousin?" The black haired guy asked, "I'm Otogi, by the way."

I shook his hand. "I am. Name's Meca."

Jono came back and handed me a drink. I looked around the living room and nearly dropped my drink. They were sitting in an arm chair together. She sat in his lap, her mouth pressed against his. His arms were around her, caressing her back. And he… Damn it! That was Yugi's brother!

The guy with the white hair pulled them apart. "You know," he said in an annoyed tone, "If I wanted to watch porn I'd turn on the TV."

The girl glared at him but Yami smirked. He'd become even more good looking over the years. He radiated some kind of sexuality that made my legs quiver. His eyes met mine and recognition flickered in the crimson depts... Of course he did recognize me. I hadn't changed that much, except for the fact that I had grown taller, got boobs and started wearing make-up. And I was staring at him…

I quickly turned back towards Otogi to hide my blush. "Ahem… yeah."

Otogi chuckled. "They're not always like that."

"I'm glad. Poor Yugi."

"You know Yugi?" Otogi asked.

"Yeah," I said with a grin. "He's my friend."

"Why didn't you bring Jason?" Jono asked.

I shrugged. "He had to work."

Otogi blinked. "Who's Jason?"

"My boyfriend," I said. I grinned at his disappointed face. "What?"

"So I was doing my best for nothing?"

"Sorry, Pal… I'm taken." I giggled.

Otogi wasn't one of those guys that ran off when they discovered they wouldn't stand a chance. He stayed next to me and we had a very nice conversation. Jono was running around, welcoming guests, bringing around drinks and unwrapping presents. Yami kept giving me looks, in between kissing his girlfriend that is. They guy with the white hair who Otogi introduced to me as Bakura kept making comments about their behavior. He made me laugh a good deal. I knew that Otogi and Bakura were part of Jono's band. Yami was the singer.

Otogi pointed to a guy with sand colored hair. "That's Marik. He's also part of the band and Seto is the drummer."

I followed his gaze to a tall guy with a lip ring who was leaning against the wall. I recognized him immediately. "Are you kidding me? The Seto Kaiba is the drummer in your band?"

"Yeah, couldn't believe it myself at first," Jono said with a grin as he passed me with a tray of drinks.

"It's not so surprising Mutt," Seto said, "Considering you're slow most of the times."

Jono, who had put the tray down, gave him the finger. "Whatever Moneybags."

Seto smirked but said nothing.

"Can I ask you something?" Otogi asked.

"Sure."

"Why is it that you call Jou 'Jono'?"

"Er…" I blushed as I realized that a lot of people were looking at me curiously. "Well… When I was little 'Jonouchi' was too difficult to say for me, so my mom and my taught me to call him 'Jono'. I never called him anything else since."

"I tried to get her to call me 'Jou'," Jono said, "She was stubborn and refused."

I shrugged and blushed.

"Aw… So Jou let his cousin have a cut pet name for him?" Marik teased.

Jono shot him a glare. "Don't start Ishtar."

"Or what?" Marik smirked.

Jono glared harder but the way he held himself was relaxed. I smiled. I knew Jono still had his temper that had caused him to get into a lot of trouble as a kid but he wouldn't take it out on his friends.

Zuka-chan stood up from her place on the couch. She seemed a little more cheerful now with some color on her cheeks. Otogi smiled at her. "Shizuka-chan, my love. Come here and give me a hug."

To my surprise she did. Innocent Shizuka was hugging a flirt like Otogi? And Jono wasn't saying anything about it! He just gave Otogi a grateful look that told me there was definitely something going on that I didn't knew about. Otogi was whispering something to her. Zuka-chan giggled and nodded. Otogi grinned at her and let her go.

A couple of hours later I was sitting on the balcony with a slice of pizza. Most of the people had already left. Only me, the band and Yami's girlfriend remained. She was talking to Bakura while Yami stood not far behind me, leaning back against the door frame. I could feel his eyes on me but I pretended I didn't notice.

"You're the girl from back then, right?" he suddenly asked.

His voice was low, like he wanted to keep our conversation a secret. I turned my head to look at him. There was something dark in his eyes. He probably didn't like remembering.

I nodded. "Yeah."

There was something else in his eyes too… like he was considering me…. Was he… interested? Iewl! His girlfriend was close by and he was checking me out! I glared at him and looked ahead again. I could hear him move and then he sat down next to me in an unoccupied chair.

"I want to thank you for taking care of Yugi back then."

I looked at him again. He was smiling at me.

I shrugged. "Yugi is my friend. Friends look out for each other."

His smile was infectious. I found myself smiling back. Fuck it, he was hot! I scolded myself for thinking like that. I had a boyfriend and he had a girlfriend and he just wanted to thank me for being nice to his brother when he had been playing hobo. Jason sure as hell would get angry.

'Yami is hotter than Jason.' I blushed at my own thoughts and looked away.

"You're welcome anyway," I mumbled.

He chuckled and looked ahead of him. A relaxed silence fell between us. I finished my slice of pizza.

"Meca? Do you want me to call mom to come and pick you up?" Jono asked from the doorway.

"You want to get rid of me already?" I teased him.

He rolled his eyes. "No but I thought I'd be nice."

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah… the bust takes so long."

"Besides that you shouldn't be walking around on your own at night." Jono disappeared inside again.

"Stop babying me," I grumbled.

"He's right, you know," Yami said, "The street's aren't so safe at night."

"Yeah… You lived there. You should know, right?" I said.

Yami nodded, a somber look on his face.

I sighed, enjoying the warm evening air. The peace was broken by Yami's girlfriend who came walking onto the balcony and sat down in Yami's lap. She tried to kiss him but he stopped her. "Not now."

She stared at him dumfounded. I watched them from the corner of my eyes and I could barely hide a smirk.

"But…"

He interrupted her. "Anzu, I said not now."

She sighed and stood up. "Fine."

She left us. Yami sighed deeply and muttered something.

Jono came back. "Mom's gonna be here in twenty minutes."

"Wow… she's fast!" I said.

"Yeah, she said something about having diner in this part of town," Jono said while patting my hand.

"Alright…" I said, "When can I move into my apartment?"

"Two weeks from now," Jono grinned.

"Really?" I couldn't stop the excited grin that spread on my face.

Finally! I could go and live on my own! I could practice playing the guitar without having to worry about disturbing my aunt, I could be alone with Jason…

I stood up and hugged Jono with a giggle. "Thanks Jono!"

"You're welcome," he said.

Twenty minutes later I was seated in my aunt's car. I had had a great time at Jono's. I babbled about the party and about how excited I was about moving out. My aunt listened with a smile as she drove us back to our house.

My thoughts went back to Yami and I fell silent. I shivered as I remembered how he had checked me out on the balcony. His eyes were really intense, I thought. They seemed to reflect anything that he was thinking… maybe even what he was feeling.

I shrugged and forced myself to forget about him. He had a girlfriend. I had a boyfriend. It was a simple as that.

- End -

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