Play Your Part, Yami
Chapter 3
Feeling Ill
"Yami, I've been wondering about something", Yugi spoke and Yami turned his gaze away from the window to regard the smaller male. The pair was currently in Yugi's room, having moved there after finishing watching a movie some time ago. The discussion about the movie had ended when the two had lapsed into a silence that had been broken by Yugi's words.
"What's on your mind, Yugi?" Yami queried and grew even more curious when he saw Yugi fidgeting with the hem of his shirt nervously.
"It's just that…" Yugi started, only to trail off momentarily. "Well, I know how much you like me since you're always telling me just that." The boy's pale cheeks were flushed from embarrassment. "But we haven't really talked about the future." Yugi's face turned more serious. "Tomorrow will be the last day of school and after that we're going to have to start applying for university. I know Kaiba and Jou have talked about it with each other, so why haven't we?"
Yami blinked at the other in surprise, not having realized that Yugi might think about something like that. For him it had never been something to be thought about on a regular basis. The teen might have gone as far as to say that it was against his personality to participate in such ponderings.
"I don't see why we should", Yami spoke out, trying to form his ideas and attitudes into sentences that Yugi could understand while still keeping the reasons behind those notions as his own. "You know I would do anything to stay by you as long as I can." He frowned in thought. "Or maybe you don't know. Are you feeling insecure now that our lives are changing, Yugi?" The crimson-eyed youth gave his boyfriend an encouraging smile. "Don't worry. I'm ready to fight for us, if it's ever needed."
"No, no!" Yugi hurriedly exclaimed, scandalized by the very thought that Yami would doubt his faith. "That's not it at all!" The boy scratched his cheek. "You see, I ehm, I would like it if we had a plan, that's all."
"A plan?" Yami queried with a confused frown. "Life is life, Yugi. It's not planned beforehand. Sometimes things happen that can't be prevented. I don't see why we should try."
Yugi let out a frustrated huff before starting to speak: "I'm not talking about very detailed plans, or anything. I just wish we had something figured out instead of us being completely unprepared. We can't go on living a day at a time when we could end up studying in different cities."
"I hardly think that would happen", Yami said with certainty. "I don't have any plans to apply to any other universities than the one here in Domino."
"It must be great to be that confident in your grades", Yugi murmured with distaste. "What if I end up in some backwater town because my grades weren't good enough for Domino University?"
"And you have too little confidence", Yami scolded the other gently. "I don't think you have anything to worry about." Yugi was not an outstanding student, but he was certainly at least average. Like anyone, Yugi had both strengths and weaknesses in different school subjects and his overall success was higher than Yugi's attitude implied.
"Could you at least humour me and go along with this?" Yugi asked in a strained tone of voice. "It would make me feel better."
"Certainly", Yami conceded with a smile and a nod. "You know I can't resist a reason like that." 'It's for Yugi' was enough of a reason for Yami to try something new no matter how doubtful it seemed to him.
"Good", Yugi said in a pleased manner. "We need to be ready to discuss matters like this for this relationship to last, and I know you want it to last; you've already said so several times."
"Right, right", Yami murmured in agreement. "Communication is a key factor in every relationship and so on." He certainly heard that on television a lot, as well as in those magazines Mazaki always had lying around whenever they visited.
"You talk like you agree with me", Yugi said carefully. "And yet you sound uncertain."
"I do agree with you", Yami insisted. "I simply haven't ever really needed to make any 'future plans' for a relationship before." Or anything else for that matter. "I haven even had a real relationship before this, so I'm new to this."
"Oh, that's fine!" Yugi cheered with a wide grin. "We just need to see which universities offer the subjects we want to study and then look for the options that we could both consider."
"Or we could both just apply for Domino University", Yami said, but quieted down when he saw the glare Yugi sent him. It was better that Yami kept his comments to himself from now on and just did this Yugi's way.
&
Tomorrow would be an important day for Seto. Actually, it would be important for a lot of people, but Seto was fairly certain that his reason differed from the rest of the high school students who were looking forward to the last day of school. For Seto there was nothing all that special about graduating from high school, it was simply another phase of his life passed. The one real meaning graduation had for Seto was to mark how he was growing older, closer to adulthood. The things Seto really worried about, or even thought about, were the future and the things that he could still affect, that he needed to still affect.
The future was something Seto planned for carefully. And tomorrow was going to be an important day for his future, and it was not going to have to do with graduation. No, it had to do with a small box that could fit into his palm that he had been fondling in his hands for a great deal of the day. And that box alone, even with its contents, was not going to determine the future by itself. The most important part was going to be Katsuya's reaction; there were a couple of ways to understand Seto's gift and the brunet was going to go with whatever interpretation Katsuya would choose to use.
However, the one problem with leaving something open for interpretation was that everyone would choose their own way of analysing it. This held through for even those who should be considered outsiders in the matter and therefore had no place in drawing their own conclusions.
It was dinnertime and the whole Kaiba family was sitting together at the large table in the dining room. It was very rare for Kaiba Renji to take the time to dine outside of his office on any time other than on weekends. If Renji joined the rest of the house's inhabitants for dinner it was usually a sure sign of the man having something to discuss or a declaration to make. And that day was Wednesday, so everyone was on their guard as soon as dinner was served.
Just as Seto had expected, soon after the foursome had started dining, Renji indeed cleared his throat in a meaningful manner. The other three, having grown accustomed to this opening, turned their attention the head of the family, pausing in their eating.
"There is a matter I would like to discuss with you, Seto", Renji said lowly in a tone of authority. "Concerning your lover."
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the predictability his father was displaying, Seto replied sternly: "I'm not growing bored of him, father." He gave the man a level look. "Neither am I going to give up on him no matter how much you press the matter."
"Oh, on the contrary", Renji spoke in a tone that indicated amusement over knowing something the other did not. "I would actually like to request you bring your relationship to a more…credible level."
"Excuse me?" Seto queried, not understanding his father's intentions in the slightest.
"I'm talking about that ring you purchased months ago", Renji said in an exasperated tone. "When are you planning on giving it to that boy?" The man tapped at the table. "People usually sneer at relationships of this sort, Seto. But, as soon as that boy toy of yours is seen with a ring, everyone is going to consider your relationship to be a courageous display of true love."
"Oh, Seto!" Laura cooed from across the table and beamed at Seto. "You're going to ask that lovely boy to marry you? How romantic!" She clasped her hands together in a display of wonder and awe.
"See what I mean?" Renji commented with amusement evident in his voice, accompanied by an affectionate glance towards the woman, one that Seto caught and was bewildered by.
"Is it true, 'niisama?" Mokuba asked then and Seto turned to his brother. "Are you really going to propose to Katsu-nii?" Seto had to wonder where that nickname for the blond had come from, and who had told Mokuba that it was fine to use it.
"I wouldn't go as far as that", Seto corrected. "There is a ring, yes, but it's not for marriage…" Seto paused to consider for a moment and then quickly turned back to his father with a suspicious glare. "By the way, father, how did you even know that I had bought a ring? Do you keep tabs on me?"
"I'm merely keeping an eye on how much you spend on that boy", Renji replied offhandedly. "It's not like I have anyone following you on your dates. At least let me have this much."
A sigh came from Seto but before the brunet could comment, Mokuba spoke up again: "So it's an engagement ring then?"
"That depends on whether or not Katsuya is ready for that sort of commitment", Seto said sternly, not wanting to hear any objection about that statement. "I'm simply aiming to solidify our relationship before university. I didn't consider the ring anything more than a symbol when I purchased it."
Mokuba was silent for a moment before he nodded his head in understanding.
"I got it", the raven-haired boy said. "You'd better hope that Katsu-nii doesn't think you're proposing, then."
Actually, Seto had not even considered that possibility before. The nervous knots in his stomach suddenly felt a whole lot tighter.
&
There had been a time when Yami had not cared about anything, finding his existence too minor to have any real meaning. The boy had not even cared about living, let alone about planning his future. He had not felt true motivation to do anything at all and could not remember when he had felt so last. The only reason he had even bothered to concentrate on his schoolwork was to keep his parents off his back and avoid undesired interaction with people. He had been living his life in a daze, unable to feel strongly about anything or dedicate himself to personal opinions.
Out of the different methods of escaping reality that the big city offered to a depressed student, Yami had chosen the life in a street gang. However, his new dangerous lifestyle had not worked to dispel the gloom Yami cloaked himself in for good. At first he had been excited, feeling alive for the first time in a while as he rose through the ranks of his gang. But then his nature had caught up with him, destroying the temporary idyll.
Suddenly nothing felt exciting enough for Yami again. The former exhilaration had vanished and Yami had once again been plagued by his old thoughts of meaninglessness. The truth that any day could bring forth his death in the hands of a member of a rival gang had been a small comfort at best and Yami had started to feel the need to help destiny along a bit.
That had been the birth of the Game Master who could bet his life with no fear and come out unscathed. Each victory had brought Yami more fame and the youth became able to rise to positions that had been impossible to reach for him as a mere grunt among the rest.
Yami had expected his new reputation to make him a more desirable target for killers and to make the possibility of death more likely. He had been only partially right. Skilled and well known gangsters had started seeking him out, but not to simply remove him from the picture. No, they had all wanted to challenge the invincible Game Master and try to attain the glory of being the one to finally beat him in one of his own games. Yami had accepted each and every one of those challenges and had triumphed over every single one.
It was at this point in time that Yami had started to accept his role as Fate's favorite chew toy and plaything. He had resigned to spend the rest of his living days as some cosmic puppet master's toy when his life had taken a surprising turn, the first one of its kind in Yami's life. Apparently the fame had been more than just a bad thing, because that very same fame caught the attention of her.
She was beautiful in a manner that managed to pique even Yami's interest. She was captivating, overbearing and, most of all, commanding. Her complexion was utterly dark; her hair was the color of a raven's wings and her skin was dark like chocolate milk. She even dressed in black, the supposedly slimming color doing nothing to hide the shapes and curves of the body that filled her clothes. Wide shoulders and hips, thighs and arms thick with strong muscles and breasts larger than Yami could spread his palm over all seemed to taunt him, to order him to keep his attention on her.
It had not been the first time Yami had seen an attractive body. Yami could have probably ignored the invitations and promises uttered from between thick, full lips if it had not been for one thing; the young woman was not only dark in looks but in personality as well. The woman's physical strength and scheming expression screamed danger that Yami was unable to turn away from. This woman could quite possibly destroy him if he let her, and he wanted her to do just that.
The whole occasion reminded Yami of making a deal with the devil. At the time Yami had actually felt like he was giving his soul to some malevolent supernatural being. And he had gone with the woman, allowed her to lead him into a hotel.
What happened had been dark, frightening, exhilarating, and it had left Yami feeling dirty afterwards. He had been on his back, a virgin unsure of what to do with himself, and the woman had orchestrated everything, bringing him to his first awkward release with her wet mouth before rising on top of him and riding him in a frenzy that had Yami shaking with arousal days afterwards whenever he remembered it.
For weeks Yami had imagined the woman's heat and the sick, slick sounds that had been accompanied by slaps of skin against skin. He would cup his hand, like when he had held one of her firm breasts, while his other hand worked to bring him to his release. But it had not been enough to truly satisfy him. It had been one shot of a drug and he had already been hooked.
In the end Yami had sought out the demon and was the one to propose the encounter that time around. The woman had smiled a wicked smile that had told Yami that she had know that she had him and Yami had not cared, because it was all true. Later on Yami would see that the first time with the woman had been like the meeting of eyes over a dance floor. Yami's request on the other hand had been the real invitation to the destructive, disturbing dance that Yami himself had started when he had returned that dark woman's gaze.
To be continued…
Author's Notes: I'm terribly sorry about taking so long to update. I had a chapter ready earlier, but then I realized that the events needed some build-up for them, so I ended up writing this in a somewhat short amount of time. I would like to say that from now on chapters will come faster, but I can't make such promises as the moment. I have at least half a dozen books to read for university within the next month, which is going to keep me too busy to even think about writing. But, as soon as that's over with, I'm going to have so little schoolwork that I'll be bored, which means more time for my stories. Please bear with me until I can clear my schedule and thanks for hanging on.
Also, the last scene that's a semi-flashback is not as out of place as it seems. It's meant to hint at some things and the more observant ones are probably going to guess what events and revelations are about to come to light.