I haven't written Yugioh in...a very, very long time. Haven't been on ff (dot)net in ages either... you guys can thank the song "Frills" by the Japanese visual kei band, Matenrou Opera, for this one. I was listening to that song on repeat when this lil bunny was born. As was another story, "Leather and Lace", that more closely matches the lyrics of M.O.'s "Frills"- its a yummy YxY PWP story that's not gonna be posted here due to rating restrictions.

SUMMARY: Yami left Yugi to chase his dream, but the memory of their love haunts him. Now a rock god, Yami is back to claim Yugi as his own once again, but will Yugi want him back?

PAIRINGS: Yami x Yugi

WARNINGS: yaoi, brief sexual innuendos

DISCLAIMER: I do not own YGO and make no money off of this. Lyrics, however, are copyrighted to me.

NOTES: AU. Song lyrics at the beginning of the story written by me- they epically suck, but just pretend they're good. XD

DESIRES OF A DARK GOD

by Neko Oni

I'm a dead man walking lost in a desert of black sand a shrivelled mummy with a bloody hole in my chest

My heart is in your pocket I don't want it back Sweet little doll I'll take yours instead

Your dainty fingers red with my blood tore open my chest pain is all I've got left

I'll hunt you for eternity You haunt my soul You have my heart Time ripped us apart

Merik's drumming rolled over the crowd like breaking thunder chased by the hell hounds of Bakura's sinisterly low death growl. The lights above the stage flashed as Malik started strumming his base, adding a sinister undercurrent to the drums. Yami stood at the front of the stage, hands clasped around the microphone with his head bowed; a leather-clad god before the worshipping throng of the packed live house. Bakura broke the gathering audial storm with a vicious, violent explosion of guitar notes as the song's introduction ended. Yami's head snapped up and his glorious voice erupted in a harsh, raw, and dark hymn.

The crowd stood trembling before the dark glory of Shadow Realm. Shibuya Hall was packed, standing room only, and sold out. There was such a demand for this last concert of their first world tour there was a live cast on the internet and on television channels around the globe. Shadow Realm rocketed from a highschool garage band to dominate the world with their music. Merik's and Malik's insane rhythms on drums and base, Bakura's violence and bloodlust pouring through his guitar, all wrapped around Yami's lethal, velvety voice like poisoned honey, dragging listeners in and drowning them in the abyss of the band's dark souls.

As the song's introduction ended and Yami's haunting lyrics began, the crowd surged forward against the railing, arms outstretched, hands grasping at the band's leather-clad, dark glory. Their fervent screaming was drowned out by the band's fury. The worshippers longed to immerse themselves in the audial dark waters of their gods.

The faces of the crowd blurred by the hot glare of the stage lights behind Yami. He turned, one arm flung out and sweeping over his fans. They swayed and bounced and jostled each other in time with the drum beats, reaching for him, for other members of the band. His crimson eyes swept over them, searching for someone in particular but unable to make out any individuals in the ocean of humanity.

This was the pinnacle of his musical dreams. He wasn't just rock royalty; he was a rock god, and on his way to claiming the throne as king of the rock gods. Yet his truimph and joy felt incomplete, almost empty, because a very important person was not here tonight. Someone who had not returned his phone calls, texts, emails, and facebook messages. Yami highly doubted his important person would come tonight, despite Yami putting his name on the guest list and sending him a ticket with a backstage pass.

Yami's heart twisted and his face flashed with pain as one of the television cameras zoomed in for a close up. He blinked, grabbing his sorrow and throwing it and himself fully into the song, into the beautifully burning hell created with instruments and his voice.

Yami lost himself in his performance, forgot the lover he had left in pursuit of his dream. He gave his all for his audience, his soul bleeding for them, for his music, his art. Fire burned in his veins, consuming him, devouring him, burning from the inside out as the audience's burning eyes hungrily devoured the band. Yami burned bright upon the stage and in their hearts. This was the last song of the last live, then the lights would go out and the fire turn to ashes.

Yami wished his love for Yugi would burn out as well, let his passion turn to cold ashes in his heart. He had not seen or talked to the smaller, petite boy in in a year. An entire year. At first they called, wrote, and emailed each other, even instant messaging when their hectic schedules would permit. As the months passed, communication dwindled then eventually trickled to a stop. Yugi had a lot of schoolwork, social, and life adjustments to make in his freshmen year at college: exams to study for that were unlike anything he'd experienced in highschool, a barrage of essays and presentations, mid-terms, finals, helping out more with the Game Shop since his grandfather was getting older, a wider variety and more challenging extra curricular activites to balance. Yami was consumed with Shadow Realm: meetings with the band's manager, producer, negotiations with record companies, rehearsals, recordings for the next album, creating new material- lyrics and musical compositions- also for said next album, touring, lives, press conferences, fan signings- the list went on and on.

Life had pulled them in different directions after highschool, and their love got lost somewhere along the way. Yami never forgot Yugi, and had not wanted to leave him. But Yami also loved creating music, being on stage made him feel so alive. It was a rush he could not explain but was utterly addicted to. It was his passion. He could live without the paparazzi hounding him, going through his trash, but having hundereds upon thousands of fans screaming his name made him feel like a pharaoh of Ancient Egypt being worshipped by his adoring subjects, a god-king bound in flesh. Yami loved Yugi, but he never would have been happy with a quiet, ordinary life in Domino City. He had to leave, chase his dreams, and in this new world of rock, there was no room for quiet, sweet, gentle little Yugi whose own fervent dream and desire was to become an archaeologist like his grandfather had been.

All along, a piece of Yami's heart felt missing, and that piece had stayed with Yugi, would not let Yami move on and forget him. Yami wanted, needed, Yugi in his life. There had to be some way to make it work.

Unless Yugi had moved on, had found someone else. Yami shied away from such thoughts; it was too painful to think about and made him want to kill, to tear and maim whoever would lay fingers on his soul mate. Yet dreams of Yugi haunted him: Yugi's soft, sweet lips pressed to someone else's, Yugi naked, panting and sweating in another's arms, screaming someone else's name. That raw pain and blind, posessive rage tormented Yami, fueling his lyrics, his singing, his love for Yugi pouring out of him like blood from a punctured heart.

The song ended with a soft roll of Merik's drums. The lights winked out once, the crowd screamed themselves hoarse, gorged upon the music and wanting more, cajoling the band into an encore as the lights flashed back on. After that song, still they screamed, wanting and begging and pleading for more, but the band had nothing left, like a pornstar that had been pumped too many times. They were sweat soaked and trembling with truimphant exhaustion. They only had to get through the thank-yous and farewell MCs, hustle to the meet-and-greet, the after-live, then sweet, sweet bed.

Yami wished Yugi would be backstage waiting for him. He longed to fall asleep with Yugi's soft, slender body wrapped in his arms. He had been craving it all year and had learned the hard, painful way that no matter how much alcohol he consumed nor how hard he pretended, no once could take Yugi's place in his heart or his bed. By leaving to pursue one dream, Yami was painfully, bitterly sure he had sacrificed a life with Yugi.

Yami's deeply bitter disapointment came across to the crowd, television and internet viewers as exhaustion, which was expected after a long tour and all the work the band had been doing, always pushing and pushing themsleves ahead. The other band members looked just as sweaty and haggard as Yami felt.

Yami scanned the crowld one last time, desperately searching in vain hope, jumping from blurry, unfamiliar face to blurry, unfamiliar face. He couldn't make anything out, couldn't be sure, but in his heart he knew Yugi was not there. Finding Yugi- even if he was, by some miracle, there- would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Yami's heart squeezed once, painfully, then deadened to another round of whistles, screams, and applause from the crowd. He felt like a heavy curtain drew over his heart; deep down, he had known his time with Yugi was over, and saying good bye to his old dream, the dream he had achieved, could put on a shelf and surge forward onto a new dream, a new goal, felt like he was saying a final good bye to Yugi, his high school sweetheart. Like the final good bye of a funeral, tossing a handful of dirt down into the casket of their relationship.

tbc...