Chapter title: Heart
Word count: 3.840
Chapter: 4/4
Chapter summary: During English class Yami makes a shocking discovery.
Chapter warnings: Mentioned character death
Pairings: Puzzleshipping
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!
This is where it gets completely fictional. You will see no more underlined parts.
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Chapter 4: Heart
A year had passed already...
Yami was not completely over Atem's passing but he had picked up most of his life. He went back to school and talked to his friends again. They had been incredibly awesome and accepted him with open arms after he had neglected them for such a long time.
The subject of Atem was not talked about again. Only Yami was the one who could start about him.
Yami was kind of bummed that he was not in the same class as his friends anymore. They were all a grade ahead of him now. He was the oldest of his class, albeit not the tallest. He paid little attention to his fellow classmates. It was not like he saw himself above the others, he just felt out of place. The other's all knew each other from past years and he knew none of them. He felt a little left out.
Halfway throughout the year, they had received a new classmate. Yami only knew that his name was Yuugi and that he had similar hair like himself. He had zoned out when Yuugi told why he transferred to Domino high just now. Frankly, he didn't care.
It was November and Yami was listening to his classmates tell them what they were thankful for. The teacher had told them that in November, Americans celebrated a holiday called Thanksgiving. There they would do something something and be thankful to whatever. He had not listened. After getting scolded a couple times for staring out the window and threatened to be send to the principal, he started paying attention.
The students were to give a short presentation in English and say what they were thankful for. A female classmate whose name he had already forgotten bowed slightly and sat back down.
"Yuugi, you're next." His teacher had said.
The boy timidly walked to the front of the class, obviously not in his comfort zone. Now that Yami had a good look at him, he was thin. Really thin and pale-ish. He was definitely shorter than average.
Never did Yami know, that his world would be turned upside down again once the boy opened his mouth.
"I am thankful to a person I never met personally." He said, hand slowly moving to his chest. "He gave me his heart." Gasps were heard from his classmates. "The hospital couldn't give me too much information…." He continued. "All I know is his first name. Atem."
Clattering was heard suddenly. Yuugi gasped softly as he watched Yami run out of the room. His eyes darted around the classroom for any kind of hint of what he did wrong and what made Yami run away. Murmurs washed over the previous silence as the students already started their gossiping.
"You may sit down Yuugi, well done. You're pronunciation was a little off but grammar was good." She said, noting Yuugi's grade down.
"B-but what about–" He was cut off by the teacher.
"It's nothing." She said, ushering him back to his desk. She was aware about Atem, like every other teacher in the school. Yuugi sat down and watched the door, he couldn't quite concentrate on the rest of the presentations. Yami hadn't returned for the rest of the class.
Yuugi had always been a bully magnet because of his small and weak body. He never expected to be cornered during lunch though. Usually they would grab him after school, where there were no witnesses.
"You stole Atem's heart." The one with dirty blond hair had said.
"We're here to take it back." The one with brown hair said.
Yuugi's face contorted into horror. He was expecting knives to cut his heart out like they said but all they did was punch and kick him. What they accomplished by doing this, was beyond Yuugi. He did what he always did when this happened, curl up and let them have their fill before moving on and try to cover up his bruises.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
The boys stopped their abuse and gasped. "Yami!" The blond had called. "I heard about this squirt having Atem's heart."
"And that is a reason to beat the living daylight out of him?!" Yami screamed. Yuugi looked up from the floor to the fierce crimson eyes above. Yami was glaring at the two boys. Yuugi looked away when Yami looked down and caught his eyes.
Yami kneeled down and looked Yuugi over, pulling him up to a sitting position.
"Look what you've done!" Yami sneered at the two boys. "You've made Atem cry!"
Yuugi blinked confused at first. Then he followed Yami's finger to his chest. A little blood had seeped through his white uniform shirt, on his left chest area.
"Come." Yami said with a more gentle voice than he used for the two boys. "Let me take you to the school nurse." He held out his hand. Yuugi took it and was helped to his feet. He dared not look back at the two boys as they walked away, but he figured he would be safe while he was with Yami for now.
It's not like Yuugi didn't know where the nurse's office was, he knew it very well. He would often go there when he got too tired and had to take a small nap or when his medicine's side effects were too heavy.
The nurse quickly took him to a bed and peeled off his shirt. The stitches hadn't opened fortunately, just some of the skin tissue had been damaged.
"I'm sorry for those two." Yami said after the nurse had patched Yuugi back up. "They weren't really thinking."
Yuugi nodded, his eyes cast down.
"Atem is my brother." Yami explained. Yuugi gasped and looked up at Yami, eyes wide. The older teenager was looking incredibly sad. "He died last year."
"Last year I had the transplant…."
"I never even knew Atem was a donor… that kind of explains the scars." Yami said, looking a little distant. "Weird though… I thought people with cancer couldn't be donors…." He trailed off. Yuugi's hand unconsciously moved to his chest.
"Where… did he?" Yuugi asked.
Yami answered by pointing to the spot where Atem's tumor had been.
"If it had been primary, then it usually doesn't spread. If it started somewhere else and spread to the brains afterwards, then he wouldn't have been eligible for donation." The nurse had answered, overhearing their conversation.
"I'm so sorry…." Yuugi whispered, eyes cast down again.
"Don't be, you couldn't have done anything against it." Yami said with a shrug. Yuugi still did not look up. Yami assumed it was because of his shy nature. "Wait here." Yami said, leaving the nurses office for a little while. He came back with his wallet.
"This is Atem." Yami said, showing a picture inside his wallet. Yuugi gasped for the umpteenth time that day.
"He… I… we shared a room for a short while." He said flustered. Yami dropped his wallet.
"W-what?"
"It was around two years ago… back when I was getting my pacemaker." Yuugi told, starting to hug his sides. The nurse's room was a little chilly since his shirt had been taken off. Yuugi saw Yami leave again and thought he had upset the older teen.
However, Yami came back with Yami's spare gym sweatshirt. He handed it to younger boy. Yuugi took it gratefully and pulled it over his head with a little of Yami's assistance. The stitches had started hurting from the bleeding. As expected, the sweatshirt was a little too big for Yuugi.
"Tell me about your meeting with Atem."
Yuugi nodded, fiddling slightly with the overly large sweatshirt. Hey, it was better than nothing.
"At first we didn't talk at al. Then he suddenly asked why I was there. He said that he had a brain tumor and that we were in the same boat because we both had a chance not to come alive out of our surgeries." Yuugi sighed. "Just when I wanted to ask his name, the nurse took him away. I was taken to surgery not long after he went." He finished.
Yami nodded, indicating he was listening. "When we went to Atem's room, it was completely empty and your bed was empty and clean too. Weren't you brought back to your room?" Yami asked.
Yuugi chuckled a little but shook his head. "No, I had to stay at intensive care for a couple days because they wanted to make sure that the pacemaker was going to work properly." Yuugi told.
It was silent then between the two. The nurse had left to give them a little privacy. Yami looked at Yuugi after the boy suddenly started sniffing and sobbing.
"Why are you crying Yuugi?" Yami asked, placing a hand on Yuugi's shoulder.
"I-If I… h-hadn't wished f-f-for a new h-heart… maybe Atem would've… I'm so sorry Yami!"
"No."
Yuugi looked at Yami with bloodshot and confused eyes.
"It's only natural for you to have wished for a new heart Yuugi." Yami said. "Atem… couldn't have been saved no matter what. You however, could be. I am incredibly proud of my brother to have been able to save lives with his death. It feels like… he didn't die for nothing."
Yuugi felt a new batch of tears coming up. Yami saw this so he changed the subject. Talking about Atem still hurt, but it had made him stronger.
"Why did you need a heart transplant?"
"I had cardiomyopathy." Yuugi said.
Yami chuckled. "What's it with diseases having impossible names? My brother had glio-bla-di-bla"
Yuugi let out a small giggle of his own. He found it amazing how Yami could crack a joke at this moment.
"Can you now tell me in simple Japanese? I'm not the brightest of the bunch." Yami said with a smile. Yuugi couldn't help but smile back.
"That's not true! I didn't know either until it was told to me." He assured with a grin. "Oxygen-rich blood couldn't reach my heart. This caused my hearts walls to weaken." Yuugi explained. "I was given a pacemaker with defibrillator to try and regulate my heartbeats and give me a shock might I have a heart attack."
"Did you?" Yami asked, intrigued by Yuugi. Yuugi nodded and showed three fingers.
"I can tell you, they're not pleasant."
"Still, even with a pacemaker my heart got weaker and weaker. I was already on the waiting list for a about a year then…. They had said I was a lost cause without a transplant…. They had wanted to put me to 'sleep' to spare me the pain." He said, using his fingers as quotation marks. "My mother loves me… she really does. She couldn't see me in so much pain so she eventually agreed." Yuugi swallowed the lump in his throat. "Just before they wanted to inject me… a doctor ran in to stop it. He said I had a donor."
"A-and you had agreed to this?"
Yuugi bit his lower lip, hugging his left arm with his right. "It hurt Yami… it really hurt. I couldn't think straight. I regret it every day though." He admitted.
Yami shook his head. "Seems like Atem choose the perfect time to give his last breath, didn't he?" Yuugi nodded. Yami sighed, looking at Yuugi.
"You and Atem look nothing alike, physically. Well… maybe except for hair." Yuugi looked up at Yami again. "But you two share the same heart. Figuratively and literally." Yami placed his hand on Yuugi's heart gently, feeling the rhythmic beat against his palm. "You both have an enormous heart."
"Never apologize about Atem's heart ever again Yuugi. Thanks to you… part of Atem lives on." As Yami said this, he leaned closer and closed his eyes, resting his ear on Yuugi's chest. His hands had moved to Yuugi's arms to steady himself as he listened to the heartbeat. It was so calming to him.
Yuugi blushed brightly as Yami did this. He didn't have the heart to push the older teen away. Hoping no one would walk in on this kind of embarrassing and intimate moment, Yuugi allowed Yami to listen as long as he wanted. He had placed his hands on Yami's shoulders to steady himself as well.
Yami didn't even notice. He was in such a trance by listening to Yuugi's and Atem's heart. The silence was getting a little too anxious for Yuugi. "Y-Yami, y-you can l-listen to it w-whenever you want." Yuugi stuttered.
Yami's eyes shot open and he moved back. A light pink color had dusted his cheeks. "T-thanks. Sorry about that." He said as he scratched the back of his neck. Yuugi smiled at him.
"My pleasure." He said.
"Okay you two, I think you have missed enough of your classes. You two should go back, unless you feel unwell Yuugi?" The nurse asked, having walked back into the infirmary. She looked at the shorter for his answer.
Yuugi shook his head. "I'll be fine." He answered. The nurse handed him his bloodied shirt and waved them off. Yuugi looked at it, they were just a couple splotches, nothing his mother couldn't handle. She would probably get mad at him but he would be safe from the ladle. He hoped.
"I'm sorry if I'm moving a little too fast… but I think my family would love to meet you." Yami said with a pleading smile. Yuugi didn't even have to think about it.
"I would love to meet your family."
"Okay, how about tomorrow? We'll have dinner at my house. Please bring your parents with you too. I would love to meet them."
"I'll have to ask my mom , but it sounds good."
Yami opened his wallet and took out an old receipt from something he bought a couple days ago. He scribbled some numbers on it and handed it to Yuugi. "My number." He clarified. "If you can't tomorrow, call me tonight and we'll arrange something okay?"
"Okay."
-o-o-o-o-o-
It had suited both Yami's and Yuugi's family to have dinner at the Sennen household the next day. Yuugi's mother and grandfather met Yami's father. Experiences were shared and tears were shed. Aknamkanon had immediately taken a liking to Yuugi, finding him adorable for being so shy and modest. Someone deserving of Atem's heart.
Yami and Yuugi told how they met each other. Yami reminded himself to kick Jounouchi's and Honda's butts for hurting Yuugi without a good reason. Or just hurting Yuugi at all.
The following school day, Yami was seen dragging Jounouchi and Honda by their ears. Yuugi did not run away because he knew Yami would protect him. Yami let go of the two boys and turned to them, hands on hips, like an angry mother.
"Apologize." He ordered. Jounouchi winced at the tone.
"We're sorry…." Jounouchi started.
"Yeah… we weren't really thinking." Honda added. Yuugi laughed lightly.
"It's okay…. I forgive you." Yuugi said with a smile. Yami hummed, rubbing his chin in thought.
"Maybe you don't quite share Atem's heart figuratively… Atem would've kicked their asses." Yami said with a chuckle. Jounouchi and Honda looked at each other. How could Yami talk about Atem like that without getting all depressed? They looked back at the two spiky haired teens.
"You know I couldn't do that, I'll probably break my hand trying." Jounouchi and Honda looked back at each other again. Just what had transpired between these two for them to become so familiar with the other in such a short amount of time?
"Probably." Yami said with a smirk. Before Yuugi could retort, he wrapped his arm around Yuugi's shoulder and started to move the shorter boy. "How about we get some lunch?" Yami suggested. Yuugi voiced his approval in form of a hum. The two walked a couple steps before they stopped and turned around.
"You guys coming?" Yami asked, eyebrow raised. Yuugi gave them a sweet smile. Jounouchi shook his head to get out of his stupor and ran with Honda the small distance, falling into step with Yami and possibly their new friend Yuugi. At the cafeteria Yuugi met Anzu and it was an instant friendship.
Yami didn't have much contact with Atem's friends anymore. It had hurt to talk to them since they reminded him of his brother always. It was not like he gave them the cold shoulder, he would only say 'hi' when he saw them and sometimes even make small talk.
After meeting Yuugi, Yami's moods had brightened. He started interacting with his classmates more and his grades got better too. Yami loved hanging out with Yuugi. He had gotten stronger in time but hadn't grown much taller. Because of his weak heart he had a bit of a growth disturbance. But Yami didn't mind, it made Yuugi look cute.
That was another thing Yami noticed. He started thinking Yuugi was cute. His smile when he was happy, his blush when he was embarrassed, his pout when he was angry or upset. He found them all to be adorable. Not to mention those eyes. Those violet pools were just gorgeous.
It didn't take him too long to figure out that he had fallen in love with Yuugi. He never even knew he was interested in the same gender. He looked over at Yuugi, who was lying on his stomach on the bed, glaring at their homework.
Should he confess? He mulled over this question for a while, not aware of Yuugi shaking his shoulder lightly. "Yami?" The voice of his crush brought him back to reality. He loved hearing it. It was masculine but not overly deep.
"What is it Yuugi?"
"You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn't notice the time fly by. You were just staring out in front of you. Kinda creepy." Yuugi said with a chuckle. Yami looked at the clock in Yuugi's room to see it was already after ten.
"Oh, I should probably get going then." Yami said, packing up his belongings.
"I'll see you out." Yuugi said, walking with him to the front door. "You better finish those assignments though, they're quite difficult."
"I will." Yami promised. Yuugi hadn't closed the door yet, watching him. Should he take that leap of faith? Ugh, how did one confess? He really needed Atem's help here.
"Yuugi…." He started. "You know that we have been good friends for a while now…." Yuugi nodded in confirmation. "I think that… Yuugi, I…." He took a deep breath. "I like you Yuugi. As in, like like."
Uh oh… Yuugi was averting his eyes and biting his lower lip. That could not be good.
"Yami…." He said, almost sounding like a groan. Had Yuugi expected this? "You're really a nice guy… but… I don't see us working out…." He said uncertainly, hiding more and more behind the door. Before Yuugi could close it, Yami pushed it back slightly.
"Why?" He asked, hurt lacing his voice.
"I think you only like me because of Atem's heart!" Yuugi blurted out and slammed the door shut. Yami had been so surprised by Yuugi's reasoning that he hadn't been able to find his voice to respond. He faintly heard Yuugi's footsteps as the boy ran back to his room.
Yami leaned against the wall of Yuugi's house. Yuugi… was right.
It was not like he started liking Yuugi because of the heart, he only started talking to Yuugi because of the heart. If Yuugi hadn't said that he had received Atem's heart, he probably wouldn't even give him a second glance.
Yami sighed, running his hand through his hair. He hoped that he hadn't ruined their friendship with this. He knew for sure that Yuugi was going to try and avoid him but he had to talk to Yuugi. He had to try and convince him that he didn't like Yuugi because of Atem's heart. If that didn't work out, try and fix their friendship.
The next day at school, Yuugi turned on his heel and walked away the moment he saw Yami. Fortunately, Yami had longer legs and caught up to him quite quickly.
"We have to talk." Yami said.
"I'd rather not." Yuugi replied.
Against his will, Yami dragged him off to the boy's bathroom and turned the lock of the door.
"Let me go!" Yuugi screamed, wrenching his arm out of Yami's grip.
"Look, Yuugi. I know that you may think like that…. I'll admit it is true that I only hung out with you at the beginning because of Atem. But I came to realize… that the new memories I have made are with you and not with Atem. It doesn't matter if you have Atem's heart or not. Yuugi is and stays Yuugi and there is nothing that can change that." Yami looked to see Yuugi playing with the sleeve of his jacket. A nervous habit he had observed.
"As much as I miss him, and I hate to say this… but Atem isn't ever coming back and I have accepted that. Besides… if I wanted to date you for that, it would be weird. It'd be like I was dating my older brother." He finished with a bit of a chuckle.
"I… don't know."
"Won't you even give me a chance?" Yami pleaded. Yuugi didn't answer. Yami took the silence as rejection so he sighed. "Can we at least stay friends?"
"Okay. I'll give it a shot."
Yami slumped in relief. "Thank you so much Yuugi. I would be devastated if our friendship suffered over this. I–"
"No, Yami. I mean I would like to give it a shot. Us."
Yami blinked a couple of times before the information sunk in. His smile went from ear to ear as he saw the honesty in Yuugi's eyes.
"Yuugi, thank you so much. I promise you won't regret it!" Yami embraced Yuugi, so lovingly, so tender, so relieved. Yuugi wrapped his arms around Yami as well. The two stood there like that for a moment before harsh knocks came from the bathroom door.
A couple curses slipped past Yami's lips as he turned the lock. The teacher in front of him looked not so happy. "You know that locking the door to the toilets is not allowed. Both of you, detention."
Yami slowly turned to look at Yuugi, a sheepish smile on his face. Yuugi laughed and shook his head.
-o-o-o-o-o-
It took a couple of dates before Yuugi started developing feelings for Yami as well. Their families had been surprisingly accepting of their relationship after they told them. Perhaps it was because all they wanted for their family was to be happy after the hardships they had gone through.
Yami had kept his promise. Yuugi never regretted anything. He never regretted giving his first kiss and innocence to Yami. Years later, they were still happily together. Over these years, Yami and Yuugi never forgot about Atem.
How could they? When his heart was pumping life giving fluids through Yuugi?
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Author Notes: And this concludes the end of this fanfic. The very first idea was Atem dying in a car accident and Yuugi receiving his heart like that. After researching a little more in depth about glioblastoma I found out that since it's a primary tumor, the person can donate their organs. I am happy that I left the Puzzleshipping in.
It kind of felt really good getting all of this off of my chest. I hate having to bottle everything up inside. The same night my aunt passed away, I started pouring out all of my feelings to a reviewer. I have a great new friend though~ You know who you are, you~~ Yes YOU. Her username is xfallenangel13x and she is going to write her experiences too. You should read them once she does.
She had gone through a similar situation and what she said was very true. It does make you stronger.
Also, the first ending that I had planned was actually Yami and Yuugi having a child and naming him Atem… but then I started thinking. This story is pretty realistic and mpreg would kinda ruin it. Also, I have conflicting feelings about mpreg. Adopting wouldn't be the same either…. It would not be from their blood so I left the kid out completely and kept it realistic.
Last note, I am stalling Deadly Touch for a little while because I am STUCK. I have started a new fluffy fanfic called 'Sharing is Caring'. What it's about, wait and find out.
Once again, thank you so much for reading. The reviews really touched me to the point I almost cried on the train. Thank you all for the support. I love you all.
R&R
