A/N- OK, here's the newest chapter! I've been very busy the past few days, and will be for the days to come as well, but I'l try and find some more time to write! I've just worked out how to send review replies, so from now on, if you send a review (and you're signed in etc.) you should get a reply (if I manage to remember. Sometimes it takes a while before the coffee takes effect...).
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and added this fic to their alerts so far, it really means a lot to me! This chapter is dedicated to you people. Thank you.
Oh, and I don't really write mushy stuff, but sometimes it slips in a bit (especially if I have happened to be reading that sort of thing, not that I normally do though). Just to tell you, there are no specifically intended pairings in this fic. But I do like the occasional hint at that sort of thing. Oh, and this is the chapter when you'll see why this fic is rated T. Just to let you know.
OK, massive author's note over! Enjoy the chapter! (Oh, and it's Children in Need tonight, so I hope if you're in the UK you support it. I donated and bought a glow stick. I like glowing stuff. :D )
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Chapter 4
Yami's hair whipped around his head in a frenzy as he sped through the abyss, clinging to Yusei and the Duel Runner. All there seemed to be was endless white for miles around; a bleak and barren nowhere, lifeless and empty.
Every now and again, Jack would look around from his Runner up ahead and give him a strange look. His expression was reminiscent of one often used by Kaiba, and it made the Pharaoh's blood not only boil, but seethe and writhe and froth too. If he had been a cat, his hackles would be raised and Jack's face would have been clawed into non-existence by now.
In front of Yami and Yusei, Jack turned around and looked again. The Pharaoh growled audibly through clenched and bared teeth.
"Cool it. That's just Jack's way of judging someone," Yusei told him, glancing back over his shoulder. He had clearly heard the sound of his annoyance.
"And why exactly am I on trial?" Yami muttered.
Yusei ignored this remark. "He does this to everyone. Ignore it."
The Pharaoh murmured something unintelligible and unrepeatable. With a noise of 'Hmph...' he turned his head to the right and stared out into the blankness.
And saw a colour.
Several colours.
A feral roar shook through his bones as he recognised the unmistakable outline of the Red Eyes Black Dragon. And, perched upon its back, the blob-like shapes of three people.
'My friends!' The thought heralded a burst of joy which swept through him like a fresh summer breeze. Subconsciously, he thought that the rush of wind flowing through his hair from the Runner complemented it rather well.
"Yusei! Over there!" he cried out over the roar of the Runner, hope, joy and passion thick in his voice. Shifting his grip to predominantly his left hand, he reached out and pointed over towards the dragon.
He felt Yusei turn his head in the indicated direction, the smooth surface of his helmet brushing across his face and bashing him in the nose. With a grunt he raised his hand and rubbed his face, then clenched his hand unnecessarily tightly around the man's waist. He felt a small hint of satisfaction when he heard Yusei wince. It was petty, but gratifying.
"Hey Jack!" he heard Yusei call out to the vehicle in front. "We should check out that dragon!"
"What drago- holy crap! What the hell is that thing doing there?!"
Yusei swerved his Runner towards the dragon and accelerated towards it. As they pulled closer, the Pharaoh could make out the figures sat upon the monster. There was a boy he didn't recognise with almost normal hair, his friend Joey, and most beloved of all...
Yugi.
The Pharaoh's heart swelled with joy when he saw his closest and dearest friend, safe and sound. A grin larger than any he'd ever worn before spread wide across his face, and he couldn't resist the bubbling urge to call out to him.
"YUGI!"
He saw the small figure atop the dragon do a double-take at his cry, and he chuckled quietly to himself. Then he heard the most wonderful noise in the world. The sound of Yugi's voice was like joyous bells to his ears.
"PHARAOH!"
Despite being upon a speeding Duel Runner, Yami felt the earth shake below him, ricocheting through his body, as the dragon landed on the 'ground' of the abyss, and his friends alighted. As Yusei, closely followed by Jack, swerved to a stop before it, he could hardly leap off fast enough. When he did, he was like greased lightning, and raced across the ground to sweep Yugi up in a tight embrace. Tears trickled down his cheeks as he pressed his face into Yugi's hair and nuzzled his hikari. Yugi clenched him tightly, and he was filled with so much joy that he didn't even hear Joey's muttered plea.
"Please no yaoi, please no yaoi, please no yaoi, please no yaoi..."
"Don't ever leave me again..." Yugi begged him, though it was muffled by the fact that he had his face embedded in the other's jacket.
Yusei lifted his helmet off his head, shook out his hair, and tucked it under his arm. His eyes alighted upon the sight and a soft smile lightened his features. "Aww, isn't that sweet...?" The words were soft and understanding.
"Isn't that illegal?" was Jack's reply, his expression similar to one he might wear should he ever see Kuriboh making-out with Sonic Chick. "They look like brothers."
"Actually they just share the same body, normally," Yusei informed him.
"What?! But then isn't that-"
"They're just glad to see each other." Yusei cut him off before he said something that would warrant another box of brain bleach to be ordered.
Yugi and his Yami finally released their embrace. He smiled up at the Pharaoh. "I was worried about you."
"I was worried about you too." Yami's eyes shone with happiness for the safe return of Yugi. Not that part of him hadn't known that he would be safe. He knew that, and when pressured always deeply hoped that, Yugi could fend for himself. They trusted each other, and that meant that he could trust Yugi to care for their friends and everyone else. Sometimes he did it better than the Pharaoh did himself.
"Great!" Joey grinned and stepped forwards, draping his arms over the shoulders of the pair. "We can get out of here, now the gang's all together..."
"Oh I don't think so," a strong, masculine voice interrupted from close by. Heads turned, and the mouths of Yugi, Yami, Joey and Jaden opened wide in a startled gasp.
