Ahh, time for something a little different from what I normally do – the intensity, the horror, the angst, the… you get what I mean. And the puzzleshipping, of course. ;) Can't forget that. Enjoy!

He couldn't explain the madness that had occurred in just the last hour. One moment his aibou had mysteriously disappeared with Yami going out to search for him, the next he was sleeping in the comfort of his lap on the bed with tear stains along his cheeks and blood seeping through the bed sheets and Yami's clothing. He would never ever be able to explain it. It was something… beyond human understanding, beyond this physical human realm and life itself as we knew it. It went far beyond anything he'd ever experienced, and the ex-Pharaoh had experienced a lot of things in all his years of reincarnation and wandering in a body named Yami now in modern times. It was beyond the strangeness even that brought. This… was heartbreaking, gut-wrenchingly, excruciatingly, painfully beautiful and real. So, so beautiful… and yet it made Yami want to send his entire being to the shadow realm for all eternity, to see his aibou in such a state, and the person who caused it.

It was in the late hours of the day, transitioning to early morning—a little past midnight, to be precise. Yugi had accomplished his usual routine a while ago: getting up, showering, popping his breakfast in his mouth and hurrying out the door while hopping on one foot and trying to slide on his other shoe in the process. His heavy backpack wasn't helping him in the slightest. He bid a quick adieu to Solomon and Yami and rushed off to school before he would be late for the second time that week. It all seemed normal; a typical day.

Oh, how wrong he was.

Yami helped Solomon clean the Game Shop for a while, then went out on his own to a café and read his favorite newfound book about the history of Egypt in his time as the pharaoh. Yami was like that—he enjoyed reading books about himself. He returned to the shop a couple hours later and lounged in front of the TV for an hour more. Then out of complete boredom, he rummaged through Yugi's room and made some interesting discoveries in the process, such as locating the diary Yugi kept hidden away under stacks of clothes in his closet. He chuckled at the entries as he flipped through the pages and briefly scanned it's contents—most of them being about Anzu. There was a quick entry about how he finally solved the Millennium Puzzle and met the spirit Yami… then the rest was blank. Yami assumed he hadn't updated it in months.

Then, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. There was tiny text written in the bottom left-hand corner that read: "I still can't trust anyone with my secret… even the spirit." This interested Yami greatly—should he bring it up to Yugi later? And why wouldn't Yugi trust Yami? They had told each other everything about themselves up to this point. Well, in Yugi's case, almost everything, apparently.

Yami put the diary back where he found it in the closet and piled the clothes on top again to avoid suspicion. He went to the desk and seated himself in the chair, resting his head in his hand as he gazed out the window, thoughts and questions spinning in an endless cycle through his mind. What could Yugi be keeping from him? He felt the worry rise within when he considered the possibilities.

"Aibou…" He whispered mournfully, shutting his eyes. Yugi would be back any moment now. The teen kept his eyes closed as he waited to hear the front door open downstairs, and Yugi's cheerful voice breaking the silence of the building to announce his safe arrival back home, and Yami's worries and fears would dissipate. He waited, and waited.

An hour had passed, and he was still waiting…

Then another hour passed.

Then another.

Yami felt he should worry, but tried to reassure himself (but with extreme suspicion at the same time) that Yugi was probably just with the others. Maybe he went to Jounouchi's house, and forgot to tell him? Considering their newly separate bodies, the mind-link was no longer existent, not to mention Yami's lack of a cell phone. There was no way of knowing. All Yami could do was wait, and hope.

o o o o o

Two hours passed since closing time of the shop, nearing ten-'O-clock, and still no sign of Yugi. Yami was chewing his nails with utmost concern for the smaller teen. Has he fallen unconscious somewhere? Was he kidnapped? How would he know?

Oh God.

Oh God, oh Ra.

Yami's mind taunted him with violent images, unspeakable possibilities behind the reason for Yugi's disappearance. And the ex-Pharaoh could not; would not sit around and wait for a miracle. So with that, he glided downstairs. Solomon agreed to stay at the shop in case his grandson would return. Alone and frightened, Yami set off on his own for his missing little light.

Aibou, please be okay…

o o o o o

Yami was sprinting, farther and farther into his own dark element. He was in the area where crimes and gang violence were most frequent, but that was the absolute least of his worries. He had to find his aibou, and gangs were not going to stop him from accomplishing his task. He searched every dark alley, every nook and cranny.

Then, finally after nearing midnight, there was a glimmer of hope: far in the distance, a small voice was weeping behind yet another dark alley that Yami had yet to investigate. As he slowly neared, the weeping suddenly turned to full-on, loud crying. It was one that was weak, desperate and pained. Yami's heart pounded in his ears as he took one cautious step after another to the source. It sounded like his aibou… but he couldn't be completely certain, as crying was not easy to distinguish. Yami pressed a hand on the wall of the building next to him, and turned the corner.

His heart stopped, his muscles tensed, and his very soul felt as though it had evaporated into thin air.

Feathers scattered. Blood. So much blood…

At the end of the corridor, was Yugi. But he wasn't himself—no, not entirely. The boy's face was the same, his voice and everything, but at the same time… everything was off. The strong, odorous scent of blood wavered in the air, suffocating, causing Yami's eyes to water and plugging his nose with no other scent but the one. Yami's eyes shot open and wide. The one thing that took all his breath away was the sight of the feathers, and he realized the source was on Yugi's back. Little tiny, feathery wings were clearly visible, planted there as if they had been there all his life. Each little white feather was dry and stained with blood, the ends shriveled and dirty. Yami choked, tears falling freely down as he watched the boy curled in a fetal position, pressed up in the corner of the alley, as if shadow spirits were closing him in, sobbing gently and completely oblivious to Yami's presence. Yugi was a fallen angel. It all instantly clicked in his brain—this was the secret his aibou was keeping from him.

Yami took a single step forward, the heel of his boot clicking audibly on the ground, and then all hell broke loose. Knowing he wasn't alone—but mistaking Yami for someone or something else—Yugi screamed, and Yami was too petrified to reach up and shield his ears. It was unlike any scream he had heard before, let alone from Yugi… it was ear-piercing, blood-curdling, shrilling—Yami thought it incapable for a human to let out a sound like this, and he was sure as hell being proven wrong. Yami watched as Yugi buried his face in his bloody hands, and more red liquid gushed from the roots of the wings deeply ingrained in his back the more his cries continued. The boy's body suddenly flung itself to press up against the wall as his fingers clawed violently at it, as if seeking a way out of a hole that was impossible to escape from, and his cries started to grow loud again, sparkling tears leaking uncontrollably down his cheeks and mixing with the blood splattered across his face.

Yami followed his very first instinct, and ran to the boy, skidding on his knees next to him and wrapping his arms around Yugi's torso while trying to be careful of the wings. Yugi continued to thrash his arms, but when he felt Yami hold him from behind, he whirled around and took his shoulders in a death grip, screaming in his face:

"I'm on fire, Yami, I'M ON FIRE!"

Yami bit his lip, trying with all his might to concentrate on what to do next, but the only thing he could see and think about was all the blood on his aibou. It had become a pool underneath him at this point. He broke out in sobs almost as hysterical as Yugi's. "Oh shit, Yugi…"

"I'M ON FIRE, YAMI, SAVE ME!" Yugi screamed, his grip trailing down to his shirt and clutching it tight. "SAVE ME! YAMI!" This exclamation was just as loud and petrifying as the first time, Yami screaming Yugi's name in unison. The ruffled feathers upon Yugi's back flared up suddenly, and Yugi's screaming stopped. Yami stopped—the whole world fell silent. Both their heartbeats sounded fast in their ears.

And in another moment, it was all over.

Yugi's eyelids slowly drifted downward and a soft sigh escaped his lips before his whole body came crashing forward into Yami's waiting arms. He lie there, limp, breathless. Yami reached up a shaky hand and searched for a pulse—and sure enough, there was one, steady—normal again. But the boy had fallen unconscious with exhaustion. Yami sobbed softly, his body weight dropping and his head fell to Yugi's shoulder. He cried there, for his aibou, wrapping his arms around his light and not caring in the slightest whether or not blood leaked through his clothing. He didn't understand what happened, he didn't know what or who caused Yugi's terror, and he wasn't about to stop and ask—not now. He did the only thing he felt capable of doing—holding his angel close to him, just like this, kissing him—putting out the fire for him… just like he wanted.

-End-

Hm. That was… very different from what I normally do. I was on the brink of crying just typing this… ehehehe… anyways, do tell what you thought of it anyway, I'd be interested to hear your opinions!