Hey there! Just a heads up: the reason this chapter is in italics is because it's told from Yugi/Yami's point of view. I'm sorry that it's so short, but I've been kind of busy lately, which is a lame excuse, but there it is. I'm SO excited that you guys are starting to review a little more, and I'm getting some really excellent feedback. Keep it up, and I'll try my best to update every day!
Yami walked down the sidewalk, his hands in his pockets and his eyes to the pavement. The moon was bright overhead, the stars glimmering hopefully in the clear black sky. He shook his head. This was a night for clouds and soft rain, not the silver romance of moonlight.
(Yami? Are you okay?)
He sighed as a ghostly image of Yugi appeared next to him, invisible to everyone else but clear to him. It was impossible to keep anything from his young counterpart.
(I'll be fine, Yugi).
(You don't seem fine.) He sensed the young one pondering something. (Is it about Naomi?)
He said nothing, but his thoughts were enough to let Yugi know that it was.
(Tell me what you're thinking. Please? Maybe I can help.)
Yami sighed inwardly. (She's leaving, Yugi. There's not much you can do.)
(Yami, please, talk to me.)
He stopped, his hands clenched into fists. (I can't, Yugi. This is all new to me. I don't know how to feel about this…about her.) Yugi encouraged him wordlessly to continue, but it was hard for him to put into words just exactly how it was feeling. (She…she made me feel complete. I can't explain it. It's as if I've known her before. Like if got to know her, I'd get to know myself. And if anything happened to her…)
Yami closed his eyes, not even wanting to imagine the possibility of what might have happened if he hadn't been there to stop Bakura. When Naomi said that Bakura had told her that they'd been lovers in a previous life, Yami's body had burned with anger. Even the suggestion of Bakura being that close to her, having his hands on her skin, his lips crushed against hers…it made him feel fury like he'd never known before. His mind raged at the thought of her with another man.
(Do you think you love her?)
Yugi's timid voice intruded on his thoughts. Of course the little one could hear everything that went on within his head. Yami sank onto a bench that faced the street, holding his head in his hands. (I don't know, Yugi. I certainly like her, and I don't want anything bad to happen to her. But I feel as if it's deeper than that.)
(Like how her ring reacted to the Puzzle.)
(Exactly.) Yami thought back to that moment when he'd first appeared to her in the mall. He'd helped her to her feet after Kaiba had knocked her against the wall, and when their eyes had met in that moment, it felt as if he'd been hit by a bolt of lightning. Her eyes, such a beautiful, deep blue, like the sky but kinder. They'd captured him, swallowed him whole. It was as if he could find everything he'd been searching for within those eyes. Then, the Puzzle had grown warm to the touch, glowing slightly. The feeling that it seemed to be transmitting to him was one of recovery, the feeling of finding a treasure that had been lost long ago. As the Puzzle had warmed, so had his heart.
When she'd revealed that Pegasus was her father, his first reaction was to feel hostility and mistrust toward her. But, oddly enough, he hadn't been able to. There was no concealment in her voice, no trace of any untruths. She didn't know what her father had done. She was innocent of his crime.
That night, when he'd walked her home and Bakura had attacked them for the first time, the only thought that had crossed his mind was to get her away from Bakura, to make sure she was safe. When he'd woken from being knocked unconscious and had seen her sitting curled up, looking frightened, defeated, and alone, there had been a strange and painful ache in his chest. He wondered now to himself if that was what the sensation of having your heart broken truly felt like. It seemed like an accurate description. He wanted so badly to go back, to do something that would spare her the pain and distress she was so clearly feeling. He wanted to take all of her fear away.
Then, when he had touched her, that same feeling of an electrical shock had jolted through his veins, and by the widening comprehension in her azure eyes, he knew she'd felt it too. Within the touch was a familiarity, as if he'd cradled her face in his hands before. As if, at some point in the past, he'd wanted to soothe away her pain just as he did now. When she'd covered his hand with hers, pressing his palm to her cheek, happiness exploded in his chest with a wonderful, golden warmth. He wished that they could have stayed like that for hours; then, perhaps, the reason for the strange, shared feeling of recognition would become clear.
The next day, it happened again. When Ryou had frightened her so badly at the beach, when she'd thought her life was in danger again, he had felt duty-bound to protect her, to take away the fear. He hadn't been able to keep himself from holding her, from bringing her into his embrace with the promise that she could find shelter there, that there, she would always be safe. For a moment, it seemed as if she'd known what he was trying to give her. She'd relaxed in his arms, had laid her head over his beating heart.
But she'd pushed him away. The thought of it filled him with disappointment, as if he'd failed at a task that was of the greatest importance.
Yami groaned. Why was he feeling this way? This wasn't how normal people felt about their friends. Was he doing something wrong?
(Actually, Yami, I think you're doing something right.)
Confusion. (What do you mean?)
(Well, you're right that people don't normally feel that way about their friends. But I think that's because Naomi's not just a friend.)
(Yugi, what are you trying to tell me? That I'm in love with her?)
(I may not have much experience when it comes to relationships, but yeah, I think you are.)
(That's impossible.)
(Why?)
(Because…I can't. I can't be falling in love with someone else when I don't even know who I am. It's just not something I should be focusing on right now.)
(But what if she can help you unlock your past?)
Yami was silent for a moment. (What do you mean?)
(Think about it. It would explain why the Puzzle and the Band reacted to each other. Maybe…you loved her. Y'know, in your other life.)
(We don't know that, Yugi. We don't even know that she had another life.)
(Bakura said she did.)
(Look at what else Bakura told her!) Yami's thoughts had become a snarl, and outwardly, his upper lip curled over his clenched teeth. (If what he said was true, then Naomi didn't love me. She loved him!)
Almost against his will, his closed fist flew out and slammed against a wooden doorway. He stood still, silent except for his excited breathing. (I can't be falling in love with her, Yugi. If I do, and she belongs to Bakura…if she loves him and not me…) Yami didn't finish the thought, but he could feel that Yugi understood. He looked up at the sky that was still clear and hopeful, wanting it to be full of heavy clouds that would match his dark mood. He spoke one word out loud, and the sound of it coming from his lips, the feeling that it created when it vibrated in his throat caused tears to swim in his eyes.
"Naomi."
Yugi slept fitfully that night, mostly because of the restless wandering Yami did within their minds. Therefore, he felt completely unprepared when Tea, Tristan, and Joey showed up at the store the next morning, wondering if he'd called Naomi and if she'd be coming with them today.
"No. She left."
The three of them looked crestfallen. Joey spoke first. "What? Why? I didn't think she was ready to go home yet."
"Is she okay? She isn't sick or anything, is she?"
Yugi shook his head. "No, Tristan, she's not sick." He sighed. "I guess we didn't tell you. The other night, Bakura attacked her. I thought that she'd be okay, but he went after her again last night."
"What? Why didn't you say anything, Yugi? We coulda found that creep and beat him to a pulp!"
"Joey, if she'd wanted you to know, she would have told you. He didn't hurt her, but he came really close. She decided that she'd be safer back home with her dad. At least for now."
Tea's hand strayed to her chest, pressed over the gold chain, her finger rubbing against the friendship knot. She looked like she would cry. "But…she didn't even say goodbye."
"Yugi, you've got to do something," Tristan urged. "Talk to her, tell her that we can-"
"Tristan, I can't. She's already left. She's gone."
Yugi wasn't sure whether hearts could sob, but it felt as if Yami's heart, though he tried so desperately to hide it, had just uttered one. Yugi felt loneliness that he knew didn't belong to him flooding through his mind.
Naomi, he thought, I hope you come back soon. For Yami's sake.
Again, I'm sorry that it's short. Alright, for our first character song, I've chosen Mai Valentine. She actually has another appearance coming up in the story, but that's not really something I should be telling you :). Anyway, her song is Oh No! by Marina and the Diamonds. I think it fits her perfectly, and as a bonus, the song is really catchy and bouncy. I encourage you to look it up on YouTube, it's really worth it. Have a great day/night, depending on what time you read this! Cheers!