Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or the song Evil Angel; they belong to their respective owners.
Chapter Eight
Dartz remained sitting on Tomoya's bed for a minute longer before pushing away and flying up onto the roof, sitting on the edge as the rain continued to fall. He glanced over at the game shop before shaking his head.
He knew these beatings happened, he had seen the evidence when he was in school but, like all the others, had ignored it. He knew that there was little to no reason why they would happen. He had been shot randomly, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And it looked like that had happened here as well. Tomoya had just been with the wrong people at the wrong time.
Dartz felt his hands clench into fists, his anger at Atemu disappearing in the next moment. He couldn't blame the other angel. If Atemu had been knocked out that means he had fought, he had kept his promise the best that he could. If there was anyone to blame, it was the people who had beaten them.
But, then again, it was this whole city's fault for even thinking like that. For separating themselves from those who were struggling. It was that mentality that had led to this act.
Dartz tensed at the realization. As long as there were people willing to listen to what nonsense was spewed out by others, no one would be safe. There would still be beatings and killings. Guardian angels could only interact with the ones they protected, leaving so many others without that protection. Leaving others to possibly die.
He was a prime example of that.
With a growl, he turned his head to look at the game shop, surprised to see a teenager standing at the door talking with Solomon, the teenager pressed as far under the overhang as he could get. Curious, Dartz jumped from the roof and glided down to the ground.
"Are you sure?"
The teenager nodded, his platinum blonde hair catching the light that came from inside the shop. "They're both fine. Ryou sent me out after he was sure."
Solomon leaned heavily against the doorframe, looking out into the rain. "Keep them there for the rest of the weekend. Hopefully those boys will stop looking for them."
The teenager gave a nod, pulling his hood up further on his head. He was about to leave when Solomon called him back. "Thank you."
The teenager nodded again and jogged out into the rain, leaving Solomon alone. The elderly man turned and walked back into the shop, shutting the door. Dartz stood outside for a while longer, the rain pattering down around him but never touching him. The angel sighed, shaking his head as he looked back toward his charge's house.
There was a light in Tomoya's room; he could just see the edge of one of the windows from here. Dartz took a step back, staring at the house and what little light he could see. Why couldn't they just leave Tomoya and his friends alone? Better yet, why were people who were like that allowed on earth. If they weren't allowed in heaven why should they exist at all? He shuddered and looked down at the ground. Something equally as horrible could happen to anyone at any time. Like Iona and Rebecca.
Dartz tensed at the thought, looking back in the direction of where his family lived. He was barely aware that he was shivering. There had to be a way to stop it, because he couldn't. Not even Atemu could on his own. And the thought frightened him because it was only the two of them in this city.
He rubbed the back of his neck before looking up at the sky. He had been going to visit heaven to see if there was a reason for Atemu to be able to live while others could not. But that had to wait now, this was more pressing.
Dartz pushed off from the ground, flapping his wings quickly. He wanted to get up to heaven as fast as possible. It wasn't possible for him to feel tired, but he was impatient. Dartz pushed himself faster, not slowing until he had reached the gates and had been let in.
Once in, Dartz managed to calm himself, joining the other angels in the air. He dodged around some, heading for where the book was kept. He landed close to it, walking the few steps to the book.
It was amazing that this book wasn't guarded at all, especially after the incident. Dartz was sure that the gossip was highly exaggerated, but the fact that the book was taken still stood. And it still wasn't being guarded. He shook his head in disappointment, laying his hand on the cover before closing his eyes. "I want something that can keep those on earth safe from evil."
He flipped open the book, staring at the page that was in front of him. At first, it was blank but then, very slowly, bright green ink began to ooze out of the pages. It moved across the page, painting in words in an elegant hand. Some of it moved to the outer edges of the pages, writing in symbols. Dartz took a step back, waiting until it had finished before he read it over.
The words took a while to sink in, his eyes widening as he realized that he had found his answer, a way to keep his charge and Yugi safe from harm. A way that could protect Iona and Rebecca in the end as well. It was perfect. And there were no flaws.
Dartz looked around quickly before resting his hand on one page while reading what he would have to do. A simple chant, easily accomplished above Domino. He read it through a couple of more times, committing it to memory before turning away from the book, thinking vaguely that he would warn Atemu what was happening if this worked.
As he walked away, his hand turned the page for the book, Dartz not noticing that Atemu's whole life was laying open for him to read; the man too focused on what he was about to do. He spread his wings and took off, the pages of the book flapping with the wind, the cover slamming shut in the next minute, hiding the secrets the pages contained in the next moment.
Dartz quickly made his way back to the entrance, waving a few angels before diving back through the clouds, squinting against the wind that brushed against him from his flight. He barely had time to register the blinking lights of Domino, pulling up before he hit one of the taller skyscrapers. Dartz shook his head and beat his wings a few times to gain altitude.
He paused for a moment to look down on the city, admiring the lights before shaking his head. Light cast shadows, which hid the people who would harm anyone. And he was preventing the injury or death of so many innocents by this.
Dartz folded his hands almost in prayer, staring at the city below him before he began to chant, the words rolling easily off his tongue like they wanted to be said. He wanted to close his eyes, but found that he could not, keeping them open as the rain slowed, stopping for a moment only for something else to fall from the sky.
He stared in awe at the green crystals that were now mixing in with the rain, holding out his hand to catch one as the rest continued to fall down. He examined the small rock that he held, the green color reminding him of the ink from the book. He rolled it around in his palm for a while before letting it drop down with the rest.
The book had said that the fall of the crystals wouldn't last long, just long enough for them to roll into nooks and crannies. They would activate on their own during certain times, meaning that an optimum number of tainted souls would be taken. Where was not specified. But Dartz didn't care about the where; he just wanted the people taken out of this world so no more harm could be done. The crystals wouldn't harm people within their own houses, so their charges and their families could be kept inside. And it would only happen in Domino. The rest of the world could hear and learn from this one city. Dartz gave a firm nod before concentrating on getting back.
The rain of crystals stopped as quickly as it started, Dartz hovering above the city. Soon everything would be alright. Those souls who were not bound for heaven would be taken away. And everyone would be safe.
He smiled to himself before turning around and flying for Tomoya's house. He would watch over the boy as he slept, making sure that Tomoya wouldn't be too affected by his beating. Then, he would find Atemu and explain things.
Bakura leaned against the wall in the first floor of their house, partially listening to what was going on downstairs. He had come up here with the excuse of letting Marik in, since the idiot had left his key when they had sent him out to tell Yugi's grandfather that both the boys were alright. But his real reason was to get away from Yami. He was perfectly capable of waiting on the stairs…but he didn't want to.
He had wandered back down for a sandwich a few minutes ago and had nearly run back up without it. And it was all because of that stupid Pharaoh.
As much as Bakura hated to admit it, it scared him to see Yami so weak. The teenager had been stumbling out of his old bedroom, having to hold onto Yugi for support. It was bad if Yami was allowing himself to lean on Yugi. And, while Bakura was sure that Yami would be back to normal soon enough, it was the fact that he had gotten hurt that was scaring him.
Yami was and had always been Ryou's first line of defense. Yami would be the one to hold everything back while Bakura got Ryou away. And now, that wasn't there anymore.
And, in his mind, it was just impossible for Yami to be forced into such a state. And it shook his world to pieces when it happened.
Bakura was barely aware of the still uneaten sandwich in his hand as he walked over to one of the front windows, pausing when he heard the sound of something hitting them. He tipped his head to the side, realizing that it sounded almost like ice. But that wasn't right at all.
The thief tensed and strode over to the door, flinging it open to look outside. Immediately he felt his mouth fall open, staring at the green crystals that were falling from the sky with the rain. His eyes followed one as it rolled into a nearby grate, disappearing into the sewers. But it still didn't feel right.
Bakura backed into the house, jumping as hands came to rest on his shoulder, turning his head to see Yami using him as a brace as the teenager stepped out into the open. Yami kept one hand on the house as he moved, flinching from time to time as some part of his body complained.
Then, as soon as it had started, the fall of crystals stopped, bringing with it an unnerving silence.
Bakura swallowed nervously, looking over his shoulder at Ryou and Yugi, the two teens inside the house. It was unnatural, this silence, making the hair on Bakura's neck stand up. His sixth sense as a thief was telling him that this was the time to run, time to turn around before the trap was sprung. He glanced over at where Yami stood, easily telling that the Pharaoh was just as uneasy.
He was about to turn around and go back inside the house, all his senses screaming to retreat to a safe place when he saw Marik walking down the street, holding something in his hand. It wasn't a far guess to say that it was one of the crystals that had fallen from the sky, which was a bad thing. Bakura was about to shout at the Egyptian when he saw Yami tense.
The thief growled before leaning further out of the house to shout, "Marik!"
The Egyptian looked up at him before dropping the crystal and jogging towards them, Bakura distracted from his friend as Yami began moving back as fast as he could towards the door. The teenager nearly jumped through the doorway, Yugi catching him before he could fall to the ground. Bakura turned to ask Yami what he thought he was doing when he felt something from outside.
He turned around things that looked like heat waves appeared through the rain, drifting over the street. The people already out slowed, staring at the phenomenon even as Marik dashed through them. The Egyptian was almost back to the house when it happened, columns of green light snapping up around certain people while leaving others. Marik leapt for the doorway just as a column appeared where he had just been standing.
Even with Marik scrambling over him to get to safety, Bakura couldn't help but stare at the columns, watching as people scrambled at the surface to get out. And then, they all just stopped, staring blankly out of their green cage.
Bakura gave a sigh of relief, not really knowing what it was for, using the moment to stand up. Then, his hand tightened on the door as the columns of light disappeared, the people falling to the ground.
Before he knew what he was doing, Bakura was out the door, vaguely hearing Marik and Bakura following him out. The thief rushed to the first body and knelt down, looking the man over as Marik knelt beside him. The Egyptian hesitated a moment before shaking the man. "Steve?"
"Check his pulse." Bakura glanced back at Ryou, catching the shrug that the British teen gave. It was unhelpful, but the only thing that anyone could think of doing. Ignoring Marik's continued attempts to wake the man up; Bakura rested his fingers against the man's neck, snapping briefly at Marik to shut up before closing his eyes.
There was a pulse there, but it was weak. Bakura sat back, looking at the rest of the people who were splayed out on the ground. His eyebrows rose as he recognized some of them from various thieving jobs, all of them having some kind of criminal record. Which meant that there was a chance that this was a pattern.
Which meant that this hadn't happened at random.
Bakura turned to look back at the two who still stood in the doorway, his eyes meeting Yami's. The teen's red eyes were narrowed as he looked out onto the street, Bakura knowing that Yami took this as an insult to himself.
Ever since he and Noa had risen to the top, this side of the river had calmed down, not that it had been horrible in the first place. But it had come close. And, possibly in memory of Yami, it had stayed that way. Now this would lead to panic, which could easily tip the inhabitants into that dark place of no return. The people who were here because they had no where else to go would have to flee in the face of the criminals who sought to take advantage of the fear.
It would be chaos.
Bakura stood up as some of the man's comrades who had managed to escape this came to claim their friend. He brushed off his hands before walking back to the house, Yami moving awkwardly aside to let them through. Their gazes met again, Bakura giving a shrug to answer the unasked question.
He didn't know what was happening. And that was the frightening part.
Yugi closed his eyes, breathing rapidly as the screaming abruptly stopped. The green light flared, Yugi closing his eyes, listening as Yami let the cloth that covered the windows on the first floor go back to its original position. He remained crouched on the floor, shivers running through him as the screams kept replaying themselves in his head.
"Aibou?"
"Is it over?"
He could hear Yami moving towards him, the usual pattern of the teen's footsteps off. Yugi opened his eyes as Yami knelt carefully beside him, seeing him flinch with the motion. While Yami was able to move, he was still sore, often having to lean against walls to keep from falling over. Yami rested a hand on Yugi's shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze before pulling Yugi close. "Yes."
Yugi ducked his head, curling into Yami and clung to him. Ever since the first incident, they had remained inside, mostly talking in whispers as they tried to work out what had happened. It was soon after the second incident that Ryou had asked about the souls of the people. Then the discussion had circled around only Yami and Ryou, the two of them talking quickly before agreeing that they didn't know, their best guess being that their souls had been stolen.
He felt Yami encouraging him to stand, Yugi getting up quickly to help Yami navigate down the stairs. It wasn't strictly necessary, but Yugi didn't want to stray too far from his guardian angel, and Yami felt the same.
They walked into the living room, Ryou looking up from where he sat on the sofa toying with a pillow. The British teen gave them a shaky smile as they came over, putting the pillow down. "Hey."
"Find out anything?" Ryou had gone out during one of the lulls to the neighboring houses, speaking to people before rushing back. By then Yami had been watching carefully for the next incident.
Ryou gave a shrug, running a hand through his hair. "It's the same thing. They're all barely alive, like a coma. But there's no reason for it. And…Bakura was right about the pattern."
"Pattern?"
Ryou nodded miserably. "He told me to ask about the people activities, and they were all criminals. Big things, not small. But…it might come to that."
Yugi felt Yami wince, only then realizing that he had tightened his hold on Yami with that news. He felt Yami give a curt nod to Ryou, turning to guide them back to the bedroom that they were sharing. Yugi remained silent the entire time, waiting until Yami had shut the door of the room.
The teenager slumped on the bed, shivering. He heard Yami sit down beside him, pulling him into a one armed hug. "It'll be alright, Yugi."
"But, my family…my friends…" Yugi shivered, his eyes wide. "I don't know what will happen to them!"
"Calm down, Yugi." Yami turned to give him a better hug, rocking them back and forth until Yugi's shivering had calmed. "It'll be alright. We'll go back there and make sure they all know about this. We can warn them."
"But…"
"We don't have phones here, aibou. It's the only way. And I'm not going to send anyone else out."
"No."
"It's not that bad." Yami pulled back with a smile. "We can make it in between these things."
"No!" Yugi scrambled away from Yami, shaking his head quickly. "We're not going to do that! I'm not taking that chance!"
"Yugi-"
"I said no!" Yugi took a shaky breath, forcing himself to look up at Yami's shocked face. "You heard what Ryou said about that pattern. Criminal activities. Things that you have done!"
"Nothing as bad as what the others have done, aibou." Yami sat up straighter, staring at him. "I can promise you that. Those that Ryou spoke about were thieves and a few murderers. I have done nothing like that, not even when I was partners with Noa."
"But you have." Yugi watched Yami start from underneath his bangs, flinching at the glare that the teenager gave him. He sucked in a quick breath as Yami stood up, knowing that Yami had misunderstood him. Yugi reached for him as Yami went to leave, holding onto his arms to prevent him from moving. "You were sent to hell, Yami."
His voice trembled on the words, giving Yami a shake. He watched Yami's eyes widen with the realization, going limp in Yugi's hold as the shorter teenager continued on. "You stole from heaven, Yami. Tell me that it isn't a crime! Tell me that you would be safe from those things!"
"I…aibou…"
"We're not going back. I am. You will stay here."
"I can't."
"You have to!"
"I can't, because I would be useless!" Yami shook his head before staring at the wall just above Yugi's head. "If we go back I can talk to Tomoya's guardian angel. He can go up to heaven and he can talk to Isis. Between the three of us, we can figure this thing out. I can't do that from here. We go back tomorrow."
Yugi could see that he wouldn't be able to convince Yami to not go, it was obvious in the way that the teenager looked back down at him. Yugi still shook his head, hoping that, somehow, Yami would cave. But the teenager stood firm, just pulling Yugi close as Yugi kept shivering.
He just held onto Yami as the taller teen guided them back to the bed, Yami curling around him and trying to comfort him. Yugi just allowed Yami to arrange them however he wanted, thoughts still rushing around in his mind.
No matter what Yami said he couldn't ignore the fact that was right in front of him. If all the people who were being targeted were those who had done horrible things. And Yami, in the minds of the angels, had committed the ultimate crime by stealing the watch to come back. There was nothing worse than a crime against heaven.
And he would lose Yami again.
Spurred on by that thought, Yugi turned around and pulled Yami close, kissing him desperately. He felt Yami hesitate before responding, wrapping his arms around Yugi. Feeling no reluctance from Yami, Yugi pushed his hands under Yami's shirt, running them over skin before beginning to push the shirt over Yami's head.
He felt Yami pause, whimpering before putting more into the kiss, hoping that Yami wouldn't protest. He was disappointed as Yami pulled away with a gasp, Yugi taking the moment to pull off Yami's shirt completely. His guardian angel pushed him back, Yugi scrambling to stay close. "Yugi…what-"
Yugi cut him off by kissing him again, pressing up against Yami. He could still feel Yami trying to get away, tensing before finally relaxing and wrapping his arms around Yugi. The teenager sighed into the kiss, trying to get even closer to Yami. They had to pull back for air, Yugi panting heavily as Yami tried to speak again. "Aibou…this is-"
"No. This isn't to fast." Yugi stole another kiss, sitting up to pull off his own shirt and fumble with his belt. He knew that something horrible was going to happen tomorrow, he could just feel it. "This is just perfect."
He was pulled back down into a kiss by Yami, pouting when the kiss was broken too soon for his tastes. Yami was hesitating, looking between his lips and his eyes as he came to a decision. Yugi bit his lip, hoping that Yami would choose to continue. Almost as if Yami read his mind, Yugi found himself pinned to the mattress, Yami hovering over him for a second before he dove back down for another kiss, Yugi arching up into the contact.
And all the time he was pleading that he would be allowed to have this. In case things went wrong, he would always have this.
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