A/N: Yay for frequent updating! :D Don't get used to it though, since I start college on Monday. D;
Full Summary: It all started with a simple suggestion from Yami. "Hey Aibou, let's go out tonight." Little did Yuugi know that his normal Friday Evening was about to become very eventful.
Pairings: Yami Yugi/Yugi, Seto/Jou, Honda/Duke, Juudai/Shou, Atem/AEYugi, Seth/AEJou
Chapter Six: Fading
Yuugi stood in the corridor outside of the Pharaoh's chambers. They had returned to the palace just a few hours ago thanks to Nuri's black dragon. Unfortunately they did not return unscathed. Seth had contracted a fever as the dark magic attacked his own magic and Nuri hadn't left his side since. Jounouchi was caught between returning to Nuri and Seth and keeping Yuugi company outside of the Pharaoh's chambers. Yuugi had simply told his friend to stay where his heart told him to and he hadn't seen Jounouchi since.
The Pharaoh, one of the palace physicians and Akiiki had gone into the Pharaoh's quarters the moment they had gotten back and Yuugi had decided to wait for good news. He could occasionally feel Akiiki's thoughts which were a jumble of images and incoherent words before he slipped back into unconsciousness, so he at least knew that his counterpart wasn't dead yet but he was worried anyway. What if Akiiki didn't survive? Would the Pharaoh make him stay here to replace him? He shook his head at that thought then before he buried his face into his knees.
"Yuugi, what's the matter?" Came his voice then, making Yuugi look up. Only it wasn't the Pharaoh but Yami from his era.
"Why are you crying?" Yami suddenly asked in surprise, his tone turning to anger. "Who do I have to hurt?"
Yuugi blinked, laughing and wiping away his tears then before he stood and ran over to the other.
"Yami! You'll never believe the time I've been through! I missed you so much!" Yuugi said happily, hugging him and burying his face into his chest.
"Yuugi...wake up." Yami suddenly muttered, making Yuugi's eyes snap open.
"Pharaoh?" Yuugi said a bit tiredly, rubbing at his eyes and looking up at him then.
"You dozed off." The Pharaoh said with a bit of concern as he then moved forward and offered a hand to help the other up.
"It's been a long day." Yuugi said with a soft embarrassed chuckle as he took the other's hand, the Pharaoh then helping him up.
"How is Akiiki?"
The Pharaoh glanced towards his chambers.
"He is sleeping quite soundly, but I'm afraid that he's lost his voice." He responded before looking back at Yuugi.
"But, how?" Yuugi asked, frowning. He remembered Akiiki speaking to him.
"Dehydration and overuse of his voice I guess. But I'm just happy that he's alive." He then smiled, hugging the smaller teen then.
"It's thanks to you Yuugi. I believe that Ra sent you especially to help us."
Yuugi blushed deeply before he shook his head and pulled away.
"I wouldn't go that far, but I'm happy I could help none the less." Yuugi smiled, closing his eyes then.
"When will you and your friend be leaving us?" The Pharaoh asked then, beginning to walk Yuugi back to the room that he and Jounouchi shared.
"I...I don't know actually. Jounouchi supposedly came with a plan to get us back but I don't think he ever explained it to me." Yuugi said, looking down then. He hoped it would be soon because as much as he was missing Yami now, he knew that his darkness had been without him for an even longer time.
"Three months..." Yuugi muttered softly to himself.
"Well before you two go, I would like to hold a feast in your honor. I will tell everyone to prepare for it and we'll have it tomorrow evening. How does that sound?" The Pharaoh said with a smile, looking over the boy.
"Alright. I'm sure Jounouchi would like that as well." Yuugi said before they stopped outside his door.
"Get some rest Yuugi. Tomorrow we feast and then you can go home." The Pharaoh said, resting his hand on Yuugi's shoulder.
"Good night Pharaoh." Yuugi said happily before he then went into the room and saw Jounouchi passed out on his bed, sleeping soundly. Hopefully everyone could finally rest peacefully.
XXX
Nuri hadn't rested a wink the entire night as he watched Seth try to fight off the fever. It was a bit sad really. Seth was just about to teach Nuri how to free someone from the clutches of dark magic and then all this happened. If only they had gotten to that lesson sooner, then things would've been fine.
As down approached Nuri was unable to keep his eyes opened and he finally managed to doze off for a number of hours before the sound of movement woke him up. One of his silvery brown eyes opened to find Seth walking into the door with a determined look on his face.
"Seth...? How are you feeling?" Nuri asked with a bit of a yawn before he stood and rubbed at his eyes.
"I'm feeling well." Seth with a smile, making Nuri smile as well before he walked over to the high priest and hugged him.
"I'm glad...for awhile I thought that the dark magic was going to kill you."
"Nuri...you know I love you right?" Seth said as he hugged Nuri back tightly.
"Well, yea of course." Nuri said, his mind going off at how familiar this sounded.
"Then you'll forgive me won't you?"
Nuri's eyes widened as his mind flashed to the night before.
"Seth...don't do this...It's the dark magic controlling you."
"I'm sorry Nuri..."
XXX
Jounouchi suddenly jolted up, feeling a sharp pain in his back and he cried out. It felt like someone was stabbing him in the back, quite literally.
"What's...goin' on?" Jounouchi muttered, looking around the room. He was alone once again, but he knew for a fact this time that Yuugi was still there only because his friend would have to be extremely unlucky to get kidnapped two days in a row.
The pain continued to throb in his back though and he felt to see if he really was stabbed but there was nothing there. He climbed out of the bed, rubbing at his eyes before walking out into the corridor. He figured he should go check on Nuri and Seth to see how they were doing figuring that Yuugi wanted some time alone with the Pharaoh and Akiiki.
He yawned as he stretched a little, walking to the study that Nuri had been showing him the night before. Jounouchi paused however as he came to the door that was partially open, a blood trail coming out of it.
"Nuri, are ya dere buddy?" Jounouchi called as he went to the door, slowly swinging it open. The candles of the room were out which allowed the darkness to consume it. But as the outward light shown in, he could see the form of his counterpart curled up in a ball on the floor.
"N-Nuri?" Jounouchi called as he walked closer to the other's form. His body was shaking with deep sobbin breaths, struggling to hold on to whatever life the blond still had.
"Jou...Jounouchi...you have to wa-warn the pharaoh...t-the darkness...it's coming...for him." Nuri muttered as Jounouchi sat next to him.
"But what about you? I can get da doctor real fast."
Nuri shook his head then.
"It's a waste...of time...just go...if the Pharaoh loses...everyone's done for."
Jounouchi stared down at his counterpart, not sure what to do before Nuri growled and looked up at Jounouchi for the first time. The silver had drained from his eyes and they were just brown now, dark trails from tears running down his face.
"For the sake of Ra Jounouchi! Just go! I'll be fine!"
Jounouchi saw the look in his friend's eyes and he knew that he was lieing...but it was too late to save him.
"A-Alright. I'll come back fer ya buddy." Jounouchi said then before he ran out of the room and began to head to the throne room to warn the Pharaoh of the upcoming danger.
Nuri relaxed on the floor then, slowly allowing his eyes to shut.
'Goodbye Pharaoh...Akiiki...Seth...you made it all worth something...' Nuri's last thought trailed into Jounouchi's mind who continued to run down the corridor, tears falling down his face as he ran. The ring around his finger then began to pulse with light and Jounouchi sniffled as he looked down at the ring.
"No...wait. I ain't ready to go yet!" Jounouchi shouted as if it would stop the ring from doing what it was meant to. Slowly his body began to fade and Jounouchi bolted a bit faster until he got to the doors, managing to fling them open.
"Pharaoh, Seth is infected!" Jounouchi shouted, stopping the chatter in the room and drawing everyone's attention to him.
"Jounouchi, you're disappearing!" Yuugi said with shock, as almost all of his friend's body had vanished.
"I-I can't stay any longer. Nu-Nuri is dead...Seth killed him."
Silence filled the room then before a dark chuckle cut through it like a knife. Seth walked into the throne room, approaching the fading Jounouchi.
"I was thinking of the perfect dramatic opening and you managed to pull it off. Thanks muttface. Now disappear." Seth held up a palm to Jounouchi then and his brown eyes widened before suddenly he was gone.
"Jounouchi no!" Yuugi shouted, going to run to where his friend had disappeared but being stopped by the Pharaoh.
"Now Pharaoh, it's time to give in to your inner darkness." Seth said with a dark smirk, licking some blood off of a dripping dagger.
XXX
"Oh man, it's so hot today." Came the exasperation of Honda as he laid on a floating bed in the pool.
"You're always complaining about everything. Can't you just enjoy something and not complain for once?" Duke asked from the edge of the pool, his feet swaying with the cool water. Honda looked over at Duke then before he smirked.
"I don't complain when I'm with you." Honda said with a slightly suggestive tone, then rolling off of the floating bed and into the water.
"I'm pretty sure you just did, idiot." Duke replied, glancing over the pages of his book to see the brunette coming closer to him.
"Oh you wanna call me an idiot now? I see how it is!" Honda said with a mockingly hurt tone, then splashing the dice master.
"Hey! You're getting my book wet!" Duke growled at the other's smirk.
"Well put the damn book away and come do something about it!"
"Okay, but you're going to regret that!" Duke then tossed the book away and did a cannonball into the water. The two laughed for a couple of minutes, splashing each other for a few minutes before getting a bit distracted. They were only pulled out of their distraction by a large splash sounding on the other side of the pool.
"What was that?" Duke asked, releasing Honda then to wade closer to where the splash had come from. Suddenly Jounouchi emerged from the water, gasping loudly for breath and shaking his hair out of his face.
"Jounouchi? Where did you come from?" Duke asked in a bit of surprise.
"And where've you been for the past two months?" Honda added on before Jounouchi swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out.
"Eh...I don't wanna talk 'bout it. Can you just give me a ride home?" Jounouchi muttered, his hair hiding his eyes.
Not even an hour had passed before Jounouchi was walking through the Kaiba estate.
"Well if it isn't the puppy. Where have you been for the past two months?" Came Seto's voice as Jounouchi walked past his home office.
"I was stayin' with a few friends is all." Jounouchi muttered, drying his hair with a towel that one of the maids had given him.
"Well give me some warning next time." Seto responded, Jounouchi just nodding before continuing towards his room.
"What do you want for dinner?" The CEO called after him.
"I ain't hungry. I'm just gonna go tah bed." The blond commented back before walking into his room and shutting the door. He took off his damp clothes then before he fell onto his bed with a small huff. Jounouchi had gone back to ave Yuugi but in the end all he had done was get Yuugi hurt and watch himself die. He wondered if it was only a matter of time before Seto stabbed him in the back too.
A/N: And so sad chapter numero uno is done. Trust me, there will be more to come. XD