Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, All Dogs go to Heaven 2 or Your Guardian Angel; they all belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own everything in between and parts of the plot.
Chapter Seven
Yami drummed his fingers against the counter, pausing when he realized what he was doing and curling the fingers back towards his palm. He sighed and shifted on the stool he was perched on, looking around the store again.
It was his fault, in a way, that he was stuck like this. After all, he had let a thug stab him in the shoulder, which had caused Yugi to worry about him. Which had led to him being stuck here, minding the store while Solomon ran a few errands, while Ryou strolled around Domino; trying to find the book. And Ryou had pointed out that, while Yami had been dead for two years, he had only been dead for about a day, making him the less noticeable.
But none of that prevented him from becoming jumpy, caught in the limbo of expectation and boredom. Any minute Ryou could call with the message that he had found the book. And, the minutes were collecting in which Ryou didn't call for Yami.
The teen ran a hand through his hair, turning his head as he heard a pair of feet come running down the stairs that led to the living quarters above the shop. Yugi appeared from the stairwell, carrying a can of soda in one hand and waving with the other. Seeing Yami's slightly glazed expression, he laughed, walking over and leaning against the counter. "Bored yet?"
"Mm, not very." Yami shifted to lean on one elbow, wincing when the motion jarred his wound. Yugi was instantly at his side, observing the bandage that he had put on earlier in the day. Yami shook him off good naturedly. "I've had worse, aibou. I'm not dying on you."
His nonchalant attitude earned him a glare from Yugi and a carefully placed shove on his back. Yami allowed himself to fall forward, throwing his own playful glare at Yugi as he used the momentum to stand up, turning to face the teen. Yugi placed his soda on the counter and tried to look intimidating, failing as he collapsed into laughter.
Yami gave a smirk that Yugi didn't see before he grabbed the teen and held him against the small bit of wall between the shelves behind the counter and the staircase, leaning close to Yugi as the tri-colored hair teen stopped his laughter. "What's so funny, aibou?"
Yugi burst into laughter again, resting his head against Yami's chest as he fell forward. Yami smiled and settled the smaller teen upright again; pressing his body against Yugi's so he could brace his hands on either side of Yugi. He was about to repeat his question, but the idea died when Yugi suddenly looked up.
Before Yami could stop himself, he was leaning forward and stealing a kiss. He sunk into a deeper kiss as Yugi wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him even closer. A moan escaped him at the motion, allowing Yugi to slip his tongue past Yami's lips and explore his mouth.
Through the haze that was slowly descending on his thoughts, he heard the bell on the door ring, but dismissed it as unimportant. After all, Ryou could call at any moment and then they would be away to grab the book and be pulled back into heaven. Yami wanted to enjoy this little moment of his heaven before he was forced back to that place of endless clouds and avoidance.
He shifted, one leg slipping between Yugi's as the teen moaned into the kiss. He shivered as Yugi's fingers clawed against his skin trying to pull Yami closer to him and remove the taller teen's shirt at the same time.
"Yugi?!" Yami's eyes snapped open, the teen not even aware that he had closed them in the first place. Yugi was slipping away from him, ducking his head to look under Yami's arm at the group of people who had walked into the shop.
Yami barely had the chance to turn his head before one of the group had grabbed the back of his shirt, a bright red t-shirt that Yugi had shoved on him that morning since his still damp, torn and stained with blood, and pulled him away from Yugi. He saw a tall girl with brown hair and blue eyes rush past him toward Yugi before he was spun around to face his captor. Yami immediately pushed away and took a step back, leveling an even glare at the teen as he studied him.
This one was tall with an air of ill-held temper about him. Yami raised an eyebrow at the messy clothes and blonde hair before the teen grabbed his collar and hauled him up to eye level. Red eyes met brown as the two stared each other down, the teen looking away for the briefest of seconds in the end. Yami had to smirk at that, taking the slight victory before he was roughly shaken. "What are ya don' to Yug'?"
"Nothing that he hasn't already agreed to."
"I know Yugi. He wouldn't let anyone do that."
"Joey," Yami twisted his head toward the sound of Yugi's voice, watching the smaller teen carefully extract himself from the embrace that the young woman had pulled him into and walk over. "Joey, it's alright. He's a friend."
"How come we don't know about him?" Yami winced as the teen gave him a quick shake before he was let down. He stumbled away, only to be caught by his injured shoulder by the last member in the group. He hissed in pain and jerked his shoulder away, glaring at the third teen as he backed toward Yugi.
Yugi snatched his hand immediately, pulling him behind him. It would have been a laughable gesture, the small and wimpy teenager protecting another, if it had been anyone other than Yugi. The glare that Yugi leveled at his friends was enough to make them all back up a step.
Yami let the silent chastising go on for a moment more before he pulled Yugi back into a hug, watching as the two boys in the group looked on in shock. When Yugi made to pull away again, Yami squeezed his hand, drawing the attention of the smaller teen back to him. He let go of Yugi's hand to brush it down Yugi's arm, smiling at the slight shiver that the teen gave. "Just explain, aibou. They're your friends, you owe them that."
"Please," Yami looked up at the girl, who had spoken. She gave him a shaky smile before taking a step forward. "We were just shocked and worried about you. We just don't want you to get hurt. Like the reason you make sure I reach my porch safely everyday. Please, don't be mad at us."
Yami gently shoved Yugi, letting the teen fall backward into his chest when Yugi rocked back. Yugi sighed and turned his face slightly into Yami's chest. "I'm not mad at you guys. I'm just…surprised. And owe you an explanation."
He pulled away from Yami, walking over to the counter to grab the previously forgotten soda before looking at the staircase. His friends trooped up the stairs, the two boys giving Yami even glares that he returned without a problem. Yugi trailed at the end, stopping at the base of the stairs to watch Yami return to his place behind the counter.
"When Grandpa comes back, can you…" Yugi motioned up the stairs with a hopeful look on his face. Yami nodded his assent, surprised when the smaller teen quickly rushed over to give him another kiss before darting up the stairs.
Yami stared after him, managing to hold himself together for a few more moments before he dropped his head into his hands with a groan. This wasn't working…again. He was trying to keep his distance from Yugi to prevent this thing between them from getting more serious than a mutual crush. He would leave as soon as they found the book and leave for good. He would only see Yugi again when the teen died.
He froze at the thought, having a moment of panic that made him reach for the watch that hung around his neck. He closed his hand around it, spending a moment just feeling the cold metal pressing into his hand. It hurt to think like that, hurt to even think that far ahead. Because Yugi might have found someone else, or worse, spent his whole life waiting for Yami to come back.
He knew he would never have the courage to tell Yugi the truth. If it came down to it, Yami would lie again, just to keep the teen happy. Just to give him the hope that Yami might come back. Just to make sure that Yugi would always belong to him.
Ryou let out a frustrated groan as he sat down on a park bench, flopping down and tipping his head back to stare at the sky above him. It had been hours since he had left the game shop that morning after the spirited argument that Yami had put up. Hours of fruitless wandering and searching for a vague description that Isis had given to them.
He was looking for something that felt different, a difficult task when the whole city felt different to him. Isis hadn't even been able to tell them the specific feeling of the thing, just that they had needed to be alive again to find it.
Ryou sighed, letting his head fall back into its natural position before rising to continue walking. His feet were beginning to ache, but it was nothing compared to the pain of returning to life again. He shivered at the memory, walking faster as if he could outrun it. He forced himself to slow down, ambling along with the rest of the crowd and just trying to feel.
It would have been better to have Yami out here too, that way they could have divided up the city. But Ryou didn't feel right barging in on Yugi like that and demanding to be housed for an unspecified amount of time, even if Solomon seemed to have taken a liking to him, without some sort of way to repay the two. On the other side of the argument, it was also dangerous allowing Yami to spend so much time with Yugi.
Ryou shook his head. He trusted Yami; his friend wouldn't do anything that endangered the both of them. He smiled vaguely to himself and let his mind wander into calming blankness as he walked along. After all, Yami knew that everyone that was important to Ryou was now in heaven waiting for him.
He nearly stopped dead as he glimpsed his reflection out of the corner of his eye. For a moment, he thought it was Bakura staring back at him. Ryou gulped and slipped into a nearby alleyway to catch his breath after the scare, one hand pressing over his heart as it thumped.
Everything was fine. But why did it hurt so much when his heart beat?
His hand dropped from his shirt, curling into a fist as he took a sharp breath from between his teeth. Of course he hadn't forgotten about Bakura, but it was everyone that he had ever lost waiting for him. Everyone that he had yearned for all his life. And Bakura was…Bakura just was…
Bakura was just complicating things!
Ryou turned to walk down the alley with a sharp cry, stomping through the shadows as he tried to dodge the thoughts that were haunting him. He turned out of the alley, almost running down the streets until he reached the river. On the sidewalk between bridges, Ryou began to pace, his hands going up to mess with his hair before falling back to his sides in fists.
He shouldn't even be worrying about this. He was dead and there was nothing else to it. It would be necrophilia.
But he was living now. And wasn't that the only thing that mattered? Shouldn't he be running back to Bakura with some excuse?
Suddenly he understood Yami's reluctance and excitement upon coming back. There was too much of a temptation here. Life itself was luring him away from what he had earned, Bakura leading the charge against him.
Ryou slumped against the railing, wrapping his arms around himself and giving a soft sob. He had to go back; it was as simple as that. As complicated as that. He didn't belong here anymore. Against his own will, he had been thrown out of a chance to live. The dead did not belong in this world.
But he wasn't sure that he ever wanted to go back now.
He shifted from his place against the railing, swaying a bit as he took all his weight back on himself, suddenly feeling heavier than ever. Ryou was about to walk away, ready to give up the search for the day and go talk to Yami, when the feeling washed over him.
It was faint, just the barest edge of it. Ryou stopped in his tracks and turned his head, while body stiffening as he decoded the feeling in his mind. It was light and, heavenly was the only way to describe it. It didn't belong here, too pure for this life. It was exactly what he was looking for.
A smile broke across his face, the expression barely having time to settle there before it was extinguished. He didn't want it to end so soon. He wanted to have a little more time in this life before he had to go back. He didn't want to have to wait for years for Bakura to join him…
Ryou gasped, a hand flying up to muffle the sound as he paused in mid step. But that would be impossible, wouldn't it? Bakura was a thief, the last kind of person that you would expect in heaven. The white haired thief had often made it known that he didn't care for the idea of an afterlife, preferring to worry about the one apparent life right in front of him. There was very little chance that Ryou would see him again after their mission was done.
He sprinted away, ignoring the odd looks he got for his behavior. All that mattered was getting back to the game shop and talking to Yami. His friend would know what to do. And, maybe, he could convince Yami to go back to the other side of the river for a little while. Just so he could see Bakura one last time before he returned to heaven.
Caught up in the torrent of his thoughts, Ryou didn't see the surprised person who stood on the bridge, frantically adjusting his spectacles as he looked after the retreating figure. He finally leaned against the side of the bridge when he was sure that his vision had not failed him.
"That's not possible!" Weevil whispered the sentence before turning and rushing back to the other side of the river, altering his direction to head for the docks as he shoved people out of his way.
Bakura opened one eye as Marik opened the door and peered into the room. The Egyptian had done this at least three times a day in the past two days. Probably just to make sure that the remains of their sad excuse of their family had not collapsed while he was asleep or up and about.
He knew he should take offense to being treated like he was about to commit suicide at any minute, but he just didn't have the energy. It seemed like he didn't have the energy for anything but plain existence. He hadn't moved from his room for two days.
And it was not like him to sit back and let the world move merrily on. His natural state would have him running after the person who had torn his life to shreds and perform the same service for them. But this time, he really didn't have anywhere to start. Noa had already been removed from his reach and Weevil had been taken to the proper authorities. It didn't matter what he did now, Yami and Ryou were still dead.
Ryou had been the last straw, it seemed. Bakura didn't even know how he truly depended on the Pharaoh and his little shadow until Yami had been removed and left him and Ryou alone. Then, the thief had clung onto Ryou, partially to keep the feeling of family that he had come to love and partially to keep from losing the thing that had become too important to him.
Bakura sat up as Marik shuffled in, wrapped in a blanket. It made the Egyptian seem more venerable, the folds of the blanket hiding him from sight and only allowing his head and fingers to show where he gripped the edges of the blanket. Marik heaved a sigh and sat down on the edge of the bed, his eyes trained on his knees. The thief adjusted his position, waiting for Marik to speak.
"What now?"
"What makes you think that I would know?" Bakura snapped out his own question, turning away from Marik to stare at a wall. He was surprised by the harsh chuckle that came from Marik.
"I don't know. I was hoping that someone would. I just can't take the silence anymore."
"Too many ghosts." Bakura could understand that feeling. He had had to leave the house once himself while Ryou was in the hospital because it was just too quiet without anyone there. It had brought up too many memories, none that he wanted to deal with.
"How can you take it?"
"What makes you think that I'm handling it well?" Bakura ended the question with a cold laugh of his own, moving his shoulder so he could see Marik's platinum blonde hair. "I just lie here all day as wish that he could come back."
"Me too." The bed shifted as Marik moved, the Egyptian curling his legs up onto the bed. "I think we should get out of here for a while. Just run away for once."
"Did that. It didn't work. I still had to come back."
"Then go out and get them!" Marik sat up, rising to his knees to loom over Bakura. "Go out and tear apart the ones who did this to us! I don't want to live like this anymore!"
"I would but…it went too far when I wasn't looking." Bakura sighed, sliding off the bed and standing up to glare at Marik. "I don't even know where to start."
Marik glared at him and threw off his blanket before grabbing onto Bakura's arm. The thief gave a brief noise of protest as Marik dragged him from the room, heading up toward the staircase that led up into the world. He gave a token struggle before submitting to the pull of the blonde teen.
The two stumbled out into the dying sun, Marik releasing his arm, almost throwing the limb away from him. "Start walking. I don't care where, but I'll follow. I just want to…I don't know."
Bakura nodded, seeing eye to eye with the Egyptian for the first time in the years that he had known him. Randomly, he spun around for a moment before finally heading off in the direction of the docks. Marik made no protest, falling into step behind the white haired thief and tucking his hands into the pocket of his sweatshirt.
Tèa turned her gaze away from where Joey and Tristan wrestled briefly. She had voted against watching the horror movie just to avoid situations like this, but had been voted down. She had shrugged it off at the time and settled back to watch the inevitable tussle that came when Joey finally got jumpy enough to latch onto the person next to him, which she had made sure to be Tristan. But, as entertaining as those two were, there were two others that held Tèa's attention.
At one end of the sofa Yami and Yugi had curled up against each other, seeming to be blissfully unaware of anyone but each other. Tèa had noticed when Yugi had shifted from his place that afforded him easy access to the bowl of snacks, an important position when Joey was around, to a place closer to Yami.
The only move he had made after that had been a jump that had nearly landed him in Yami's lap during a really frightening part of the movie. His motion had been covered up by the girlish shriek that Joey had let out before the blonde had curled against the sofa from his position on the floor.
But this was the closest that she had seen Yugi and Yami since the early afternoon when they had walked into the game shop to see Yugi being thoroughly kissed by Yami.
Tèa blushed at the memory of this morning, ruthlessly tamping down the jealously that began to rear its head. She would withhold judgment until she knew the teenager better, or at least that what she told herself. Part of her wanted to throw away the idea and yank Yugi away from Yami. Yugi was theirs, no matter what Yami had once done for him. There would be no taking her best friend back to that horrible place on the other side of the river.
After the kiss incident, Yugi had finally told them a little of what had happened, seeming to heavily edit some events. They had all known that he had been missing for a while, eventually ending up in the bad side of Domino. But Yugi told them that he had been held captive by a casino owner and eventually freed by Yami, who kept him safe until Yugi could be returned home.
There was obviously something more to the story, but Yugi didn't seem inclined to share the rest of it with them. Tèa didn't blame him, especially if it brought up unpleasant memories, but she also wished that he could trust his new friends as much as he trusted Yami.
Tèa looked away hurriedly as Yugi looked her way, the happy smile that had appeared when Yami had climbed up from the game shop to join their group still on his face. At least Yugi was happy; happier than he had been for a long time. And Tèa would be happy with that for now.
This was a more natural Yugi than the front he presented at school; the quiet, game-obsessed teenager falling to a more talkative teen that was more inclined to huge smiles and jokes. And, despite her distrust of Yami, Tèa found that she liked the side of Yugi that he brought out.
Confusion sorted out for now, Tèa turned back to watch the movie. Although she felt sad that she had missed out on her chance with Yugi, Tèa was willing to let her friend go with the one he obviously loved.
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as screams erupted from the television as the next massacre began. She found herself riveted to the action, watching as the masked murder began to lower his bound victim into a deep pool. In the silence that fell over the group as Joey and Tristan fixed their eyes on the screen, Tèa heard the small whimper from Yugi.
Tèa turned her head, keeping half of her attention on the screen as she watched Yugi, alerted by the noise. He had curled even closer to Yami, his fingers fisted into the fabric of Yami's shirt as he buried his head in Yami's chest. On his part, Yami had gone stiff, the only movement the twitching of one hand before it darted up to grab onto the watch he wore around his neck. He seemed fixated by the events on the screen, even to the point of ignoring Yugi's obvious distress by his side.
Another round of screams from the screen jolted Yami into action, the teenager turning to scoop Yugi up onto his lap and forcing Yugi's forehead to rest against his, effectively capturing the smaller teen's attention. Tèa couldn't hear what he said, but she could see his lips moving as he calmed Yugi down, finally releasing the back of the teen's neck to allow Yugi to curl against his chest.
Tèa moved from her seat, taking Yugi's place beside Yami to glance worriedly at her friend. "Is he okay?"
Yami looked over at her, a flicker of fear passing through his red eyes before disappearing. "Yeah. Just bad memories from before."
Tèa glanced back at the screen, suddenly sickened by the image of the man writhing underwater as bubbles streamed from his open mouth. She shuddered and turned away, keeping her gaze on Yugi's back. "Did they do that to him?"
"No." There was a waver to Yami's voice now. She saw his hand reach up and grab the watch again, his thumb briefly rubbing over the engraving on the front of the watch before shaking his head.
She hesitantly placed a hand on Yugi's back, feeling him tense up before he moved his head a bit, looking at her through wide and frightened eyes. Tèa almost drew back, wanting to give her friend the space he needed, but stopped as Yugi pushed himself up a bit. "The worst that Noa did was lock me in a cage."
The rustle of clothes betrayed the shift of the two boys' attention from the screen to Yugi. Tèa scooted back a bit, turning her head to look at Joey as he edged closer. Yugi took a look at all of his friends before shivering and burying his head in Yami's chest again. When they all looked up at him, Yami gave a small shrug and gestured to Yugi with one hand before going back to stroking his back. "It's his choice to tell you."
"Yugi," the teen jumped a bit at his name as Tèa spoke, "could you tell us? We want to know why things scare you. We want to be there for you. That's what friends are for."
Yugi shook his head, earning a pained grunt from Yami as his motion jolted Yami's injured shoulder. Yami pulled Yugi back a bit, just enough so that he could look into Yugi's eyes. "It's alright, aibou. I'm here and I won't let anything happen to you. Nothing happened then and nothing will happen now."
Tèa could barely hear what Yugi said in response, but it made Yami chuckle. "They're your friends. That gives them the right to be slightly overprotective."
Yugi finally pulled away, shifting so he could see all of his friends. Tèa noticed that he had captured one of Yami's hands, the one that had previously been wrapped around the watch. A squeeze was exchanged between the two before Yugi began to speak.
"The worst Noa did was lock me in a cage. But he did that to Yami." Yugi gestured at the television, squeaking as the screen displayed the dead body of the man floating limply in the water. Yami quickly refocused Yugi's gaze and pulled the teen closer to him. Yugi took a shuddering breath. "Yami was trying to save me and Noa tied him to an anchor and lowered him into the water…and there was an alligator there."
Tèa gasped, leaning backward, remembering the alligator scare that had come after finding the mutilated body in the swamps. Yugi apparently thought that was enough for the moment and buried his head back in Yami's chest. A horrified silence fell over the group, filled only by soft murmuring as Yami calmed Yugi down.
Tèa cast a look at Tristan, who had prudently turned the movie off before sinking back to the floor. Now she knew why Yugi had insisted on telling the bare minimum to them. When the details were went into, it scared her, made her want to keep Yugi away from everything just to protect him. She couldn't bear the thought of the bright teenager being treated like that.
"Thank you." She was surprised when she spoke, breaking the silence and making Yami look up at her abruptly. Tèa blushed and forced herself to meet Yami's gaze. "For saving him."
"What else could I do?" Yami gave a little shrug before shifting Yugi into a more comfortable position. He abruptly looked up toward the stairs that led to the shop, the quick movement making everyone but Yugi look in the same direction.
Another teen was waiting at the top of the stairs, panting heavily from a long run. His brown eyes were wide as he stared at Yami, a similar watch dangling from around his neck. "I found it."
Noa glared at the man called Aknadin, irked that he had to put up with the host. He had spent the whole day searching for that book, finding nothing but blisters on his feet. He flopped down on a crate, glaring at the man. Noa half expected the voice to bellow out at him his failure, but the man remained silent; looking down at his hands.
When he finally spoke, it was not what Noa expected. "Did you know Atemu?"
The plaintive tone of voice was something that Noa was not used to from the host of his boss. The aqua haired teen shifted on his seat, wanting to voice something malicious. But the look on the man's face made him stop and think. Perhaps this man was close to Atemu, the ever elusive family of his former partner. The man deserved an honest answer at least. "I did."
That seemed to satisfy the man, because he nodded gloomily and turned back to looking back at his hands, absorbed in his own thoughts. Noa sighed and turned away, focusing his gaze on the door to the warehouse just as Weevil burst in, panting frantically as he tried to speak.
"I saw him…I swear…"
"Speak or be silent." Noa snapped out the words, tensing at the harsh laugh that came from the man behind him. He didn't have to turn around to know that Aknadin's usually blue eyes would be tinted with red at the edges. The voice had taken control again. Noa fought the urge to rub a hand over his face, regretting his split second decision to use Weevil to do his bidding. It hadn't worked out well the first time and it wasn't working this time.
"Ryou. I saw him and I swear I killed him. I hit him with my car." Weevil began pacing frantically. "I saw him hit my car and I watched him roll to the side of the road. He was dead. And I saw him. It wasn't that thief look alike."
"It doesn't matter." Noa slid off his crate, stalking over to Weevil to grab the smaller man by the collar and haul him up. "Where did you see him?"
"Across the river in Domino."
"Where did he head off to?" When Weevil didn't answer immediately, Noa gave him a rough shake. "Where did he go, Weevil?"
"I don't know. He headed off at a run for some part of the city. I just came back to you, like you ordered if I heard anything interesting."
Noa sighed and threw Weevil to the side with a disgusted sigh. "That doesn't narrow our search area much."
Aknadin let out another one of his soulless laughs. "No, but I can help there. This one wants to see his nephew and you need to deliver you ultimatum to those two, if I guess correctly. We can work together. I am strong enough in this form to feel former angels, especially one who was once in my possession. We go tomorrow."
The tone booked no arguments. Noa ground his teeth together for a moment before turning and storming off to a separate section of the warehouse, heading for the alarm clock that waited for him. He shot an angry glare over his shoulder before reaching out and cradling the clock to him. He brushed one finger down the face of the clock before shifting to a more comfortable position and just listening to the seconds of his life pass.
Weevil straightened his clothes as he walked out of the warehouse, glaring back at the door. Who was Noa to discount important news like that? He was only doing what he ordered. It wasn't like Noa had much of a choice anymore. All the others that had followed him would have attempted to kill him again, but Weevil was a bit more open minded. Except for this thing with Ryou.
He scowled as he began to walk off, reassuring himself that he had indeed killed the teenager. A moment of contemplation was all he got before he was grabbed up by the collar and hauled up to meet the angry russet eyes of Bakura. "Where did you see Ryou?!"
Just a quick note, while Tèa is not my favorite character, I try not to be too mean to her for no apparent reason (plot, however, is apparent reason). But she will never get closer than a friend to Yugi and/or Yami...if she shows up at all.
Read and review. Criticism is always welcome.
