A/N: Errr. Yeah. More people die. Sorry. Possible lemon? Maybe? We'll see. Hmm. Guess not.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plots and OC's.

Chapter 6: Newly Tormented Souls

"Here they lie through all eternity..."
Canto VI, from Dante's Inferno

It takes a lot to admit to Yami that I had done him wrong. And I'm not sure if I can say it to him with words. Or cards. Or a cake or something like that. After that night, the night Mokuba and I found Weevil, he walks around me carefully, like treading on eggshells and glass, trying to avoid speaking to me or angering me, something that happed quickly if people, or I, weren't careful.

"You're not exactly the easiest person to be around these days," he says to me one morning at the breakfast table.

"Sorry," I snap. "Guess I should try and be a bit easier while I'm a murder suspect."

"Aibou, Detective Thorne-"

"I'm going for a walk." I stand and go outside, careful not to venture too far from the house. I rack my brain for words to say to him that aren't laced with hatred and bitterness. Because I don't hate him. I'm not angry at him. He's done nothing but care for and love me and all I've done is push him away. I hate myself, in truth. I have all of this. My phone rings.

"Hello?"

"Yugi? It's Detective Thorne."

"Wh-wh-h-how did- I mean-"

"I'm a police officer Yugi. I can get whatever number I want. But that's not the problem. We've got something bigger. Do you know a guy by the name of Rex Raptor? Is that his real name? I mean, it's a little silly, but, he is dead. I- Yugi? You there?"

"Y-yeah. I'm here. I know him."

"Well he's dead. Someone found him this morning clear on the other side of town around 3 AM. Where were you?"

"Asleep."

"I figured. Alright, well it looks like we may have a trend here..."

"Duelists," I breathe.

"Yeah. It seems that whoever is doing this is targeting duelists. Jesus, they fucked this kid up. Alright-"

"What did they do?"

"Well...I'm not supposed to say...but it is you...They, uh...ahem. Well. It's kind of-"

"Detective."

"They castrated the poor kid and then hung him, okay? And they beat the living shit out of him too. Jesus. This is getting to be too much for me. You need to be careful. If whoever is doing this is targeting high-profile duelists, then you're number one on the list, you know what I mean? You're the-"

"Game King. Right. I know."

"Alright, well, you take care of yourself Yugi. Call me if you remember anything, okay? Or if you, you know, just want to talk." We hang up and I sit down on a bench near the sidewalk. I can see home from here still. Another duelist is dead. First Rebecca, then Weevil, now Rex. I think briefly about Joey. I should warn him to look out. Should warn every duelist I know. Maybe even Pegasus. I groan and slump over. This is getting to be too much. First I can't even tell Yami I'm sorry, now duelists are dropping like flies. I stand and head back home. When I get there, Yami is where I left him in the kitchen.

"That was fast."

"It got cut short."

"What happened?"

"Detective Thorne called me. Rex Raptor is dead." He stares at me, blinking.

"You're joking."

"Shut up."

"God...I mean...you realize what this means of course..."

"Yeah. Someone is targeting duelists. I need to call Joey. Tell him to watch out. You should....you know, be careful too, okay?" He nods and smiles at me. I manage a small smile back, but I know it's not enough. I know I need to do more. "I'm going to go upstairs and call Joey. Then take a nap. Wake me if you need anything." He nods and goes back to reading his book. Upstairs, I call Joey. Tell him what's happening. Tell him to watch his back.

"I should be tellin' you the same thing Yug. I mean, this stuff just keeps happenin' to you, you know?"

"Yeah..."

"But you know, at least you got us. And your grandpa. And Yami. I mean...you're not alone. Okay? Just remember that."

"Thanks Joey. That...that means a lot. Thank you."

"No prob Yug. See you tomorrow, okay?" He hangs up and I fall into a fitful sleep. The memories begin sliding back in, like blocks in a puzzle.

"Who the hell is that?"

"Yugi Mutou."

"The King of Games."

"Game King, King of Games, runt, whatever. It's him."

"What the fuck is he doing here?"

"I don't know."

"God dammit, why do you have that?"

"It's a Duel Disk, not a bomb. Jesus."

"He saw it! No one's used one of those since, like, a few years after that Battle City Tournament."

"Yeah, I know. I competed in Battle City. Almost made it too."

"Who defeated you?"

"Some woman. Mai Valentine I think."

"Isn't she on the list?"

"Yeah, she's there. Come on, help me out. He's heavy for a little guy."

"He saw you wearing that and now he's here. The boss said that he wasn't supposed to get involved."

"Yeah, well, he did. So let's just take care of her and dump him."

"He'll remember us."

"We'll take care of that."

"AIBOU! Wake up!" I sit up straight. I fell asleep in the afternoon but it's now past eleven. "Aibou, it's okay. It's okay."

"Wh-what happened?"

"The dreams. Again." I nod. He brushes a piece of hair from my face. "Are you alright?" I nod again and he smiles. A warm, sweet smile that heats me to the souls of my feet. And I am rejuvinated, for a moment. Wired. Awake. And happy. For once in so many days, I feel safe and happy. I smile at him and lean my head against his shoulder.

"I'm fine. Please, don't go, okay?" He hums in agreement and holds me. I look at him. And I know that I have done wrong by pushing him away. So I pull him close. And I kiss him. He's not sure what to think, for a moment. His eyes widen and then close as he kisses me back. I push my tongue into his mouth and he does the same to me. We tumble onto the bed and fight for control. I win. Strangely enough. I push myself up and lean over him, smiling. Then I kiss him again. We just lay there for a while, kissing and pushing and fighting for control. Eventually we fall asleep. It is the best night of sleep I've had in a while. In the morning, he wakes up before me, leaning against the headboard and just staring. I wake up soon afterward.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Nothing. I'm just thinking, if they're hunting down major duelists, I wonder why Kaiba hasn't done anything? I mean, you know, said anything."

"You know Kaiba." He laughs and nods. "He doesn't care about this stuff. If someone wants to kill Seto Kaiba, they're going to have a hell of a time doing it. He's probably the safest person out there." I look at him. "Come here." I pull him down and we kiss again for a long time. That's it. Just kiss. It seems so right. All these things we have been doing to stop ourselves from becomming what we are now seem so wrong. I sigh and lean against him. "What's going to happen?"

"I don't know, aibou. I really don't. We'll be fine though, okay?" I nod and fall back asleep. No dreams. No memories. Just sleep.