Author's note: OKAY. Y'all hate me, I know. I'm very sorry I left it at that half-cliffhanger. And sorry it took so long, I had midterms. ;~; And the next semester has started already. Adiosjfa College.
None of you guessed right what I was hinting at (I am so good at subtle hints it's not even real). Welp. It's in this chapter. Hopefully I didn't fail this time. xD
ANYWAYZ. Enjoy the new chapter. I hope it was worth the wait~.
This chapter is so looooooooong. Aaaand I REACHED 100 REVIEWS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWIIIINGG~! *squeals and rolls away*
"Wow."
"Yep."
A huge poster with the words "HEAVENLY HELL BRINGS IN NEW BANDMEMBER" written above it was hanging on the wall behind the counter.
All band members were standing in the middle, in front of a huge blue wall. Yami was standing in the middle, looking down at the camera with a smug grin. The last buttons of his dark blue shirt were undone so a small part of his abdomen was exposed. His hands were hidden in his pockets of the black leather pants he was wearing, which made him look even more nonchalant.
Jounouchi was standing on his left side, running a hand through his blond bangs. He had closed his eyes under his hand and had tipped his head upwards. His simple red sleeveless shirt showed his muscles underneath it, obviously indicating that he worked out a lot. He, too, was wearing leather pants to bring out his slim legs.
Right in the corner, leaning against the wall, was Yugi, who looked simply happy. He was looking up at nothing in particular with a distant smile on his small lips. Over his sleeveless black leather shirt, he wore a dark blue jacket, which had one of its sleeves torn off. His leather pants was accompanied by two belts, which hung loosely around his waist.
"You look um…"
Yami raised an eyebrow, staring at Mana who was staring at the poster as if it was some kind of mutated alien.
"Just so you know, they told me to look like that and I didn't get to pick my clothes—"
"You look hot," Mana interrupted him, grinning like mad. "Wow, you are so photogenic, I can barely believe it's you! How come you've never looked like that in pictures before?"
"I dunno," Yami said, putting his hands in his pockets. "Maybe because I'm wearing at least three layers of make-up and had someone taking at least ten pictures every five seconds? I felt like such an idiot, posing like that in front of all these people I've never even met."
"You should do that more often, the outcome is absolutely great!" Mana wrapped an arm around his neck and pressed their cheeks together. "Now the fans won't be able to resist you anymore. They're going to regret all the nasty words they've said about you when they see this picture."
"It's good they'll like my face. At least I don't have to worry about the fact that I also sing and play the guitar, or anything," Yami said dryly. Mana huffed and shoved him out of the way before she put their rented DVDs in the small gap that was built in the counter they were standing in front of.
"Jounouchi and Yugi look very appealing as well. This was indeed a very smart move of Kaiba," she said, dragging him towards the exit. "And you were so lucky to get to share a room with Yugi. I still have the feeling you haven't told me everything about what happened that day."
Which was actually true. Yami hadn't told her about the scars he had seen on Yugi's legs because it was probably one of the things Yugi didn't want anyone to know about. He had felt so guilty afterwards, merely pretending to be stupid to make Yugi feel better. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought Yugi wanted him to see those scars.
"Mana," Yami said, rolling his eyes. "We didn't do anything. We just changed. Can't two guys share a room together without everyone thinking they're going to have sex? Besides, sex in that tiny room would've been really uncomfortable. There was barely enough room for two people."
Suddenly, Mana turned around and pointed accusingly. "Aha! So you were thinking about it, weren't you?"
"Oh, for fuck's sake—"
"Yami. Come on, be honest with me." Mana's playful expression disappeared immediately and made way for a more serious look. "You have feelings for him, don't you?"
Raising an eyebrow, Yami stared right back at her, masking his confusion. "No, I don't. I have no idea why you keep asking me that."
"Because you talk about him like he's a god."
Yami wanted to burst out laughing at her silly comment. He placed one hand on his hip and gave her a lopsided grin. "What? No, I don't."
"Yes, you do. You get this adorable sparkle in your eyes whenever you think about him."
"What are you—?"
"It's obvious you're into him."
"How can I even be into him? He's a guy. I had a crush on Anzu, remember? She's a girl. Put two and two together and you'll find out that I'm straight."
"It didn't work out with Anzu."
"I guess it wasn't meant to be."
"Oh, my god, Yami! You've turned down all the other girls who wanted to be with you. You never stare at a girl's boobs, you're perfectly fine with me walking around in my underwear, hell, I even walked around in a towel and you didn't do anything. It's right in front of you and you can't even see it!"
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Yami could hear a small ting! People had started to look at them and were whispering. He could feel that his face had grown really hot at Mana's last words. Mana was staring at him wide-eyed, with her hand covering up her mouth as if she had just noticed what she had said.
He quickly pulled her towards the car, unlocked the doors and practically threw her in her seat. At least twenty pairs of eyes were following his actions and he casually walked towards the other side of the car, trying to ignore all the stares. After he got in as well, he put his hands on the steering wheel so he could squeeze something.
"Well, that's one way to get all the attention," he said dryly, pulling out his keys and inserting them into the small hole. "Next time you think that I'm gay and want to make it public, at least warn me about it. I'll bring the rainbows and flowers to make it more interesting."
"I'm sorry, Yami," Mana said quietly, hugging her arms. "I-I didn't mean to. You've just been so stubborn about it lately and it just slipped."
"Look," Yami sighed, letting go of the steering wheel and looking at her with a softened expression. "I don't mind talking about these things with you. If there were something going on, I would have told you. You're my best friend and I always tell you everything. But now I want you to leave it alone for a while."
"Does this mean I was right, though?"
"No, it means that I get to shove pie in your face and then wash it off with a hose."
Mana was about to protest, but Yami simply lifted his hand and gave her look. She folded her arms over her chest and looked away. "Okay, fine. I deserve it."
"And you don't get to change till I say so."
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
It was one of those days again. She was running out of food, so Mai put a pair of simple shoes and ran out the door. It was only a few miles away and she hadn't exercised in a while, anyway. When she was about halfway there, her phone started ringing.
She stopped walking for a moment because she couldn't find the stupid thing. Just when she was about to empty her entire bag, she finally found it and flipped it open. Jounouchi's name appeared on the screen and she rolled her eyes, putting it back in her bag. After having visited Yami and calling him several more times she had given up.
Mai continued to walk and stopped when her phone rang again.
"Oh, now you want to talk?" she reached for her bag again and turned her phone off. But when she was about to put her phone back in her bag, she was suddenly pushed into an alley. She wanted to scream, but her voice died in her throat when she saw a familiar person dragging her to the very end of the alley.
"Jounouchi?" she whispered, her own violet eyes widening. She huffed when he pinned her against the brick wall. It was so dark and narrow that she was practically being squished between the wall and the other's body. And it was probably impossible to spot them.
"Okay, I know I'm not supposed to do this and that Kaiba will probably kill me as soon as he finds out, but I have to know," Jounouchi said. It was too dark to see his entire face, yet Mai could see he was clenching his jaw and that he had narrowed his eyes to slits.
"You get to ask the questions? I'm not the one who's been acting like a total ass for the last couple of weeks," she remarked, trying to wiggle out of his grip.
Jounouchi tightened his grip on her small shoulders and gritted his teeth. "How much money did they offer you to give that valuable information?"
She was about to throw another remark at his head, but instead tipped her head to one side, confused. "What…?" she mumbled, shaking her head. "What are you talking about?"
"I saved your ass back there and you thanked me by telling the press all that personal information. Do you know how upset Yugi was? And do you know how you almost ruined us?"
"I…" Then it hit her. Jounouchi thought that she told everyone. Suddenly everything made sense. A rush of anger waved over her, giving her enough strength to escape from his grip. She raised her hand threateningly, but Jounouchi quickly pinned both of her hands by her side.
"Don't you dare hit me," he growled in a very low voice. It sent a shiver down her spine. She had no idea Jounouchi could get this angry, let alone at her.
"You think I told them?" she breathed, trying not to moan in pain; the grip on her wrists was even worse than the grip on her shoulders. "You really think that low of me?"
"It was probably hard to resist. They offer a lot of money for that kind of information."
"I didn't tell them."
"How did they find out, then? You're the only one who knows this shit."
"I don't know— Ow! Let-go!" He had tightened his grip even more, causing her to yelp in pain. "You're hurting me!"
"I trusted you," Jounouchi said, finally letting go of her. He pulled back and leaned against the wall behind him. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark and now she could see he was dressed in very simple clothing so he wouldn't draw any unnecessary attention. "I usually pick the right people. Guess I was too distracted by your pretty face."
"You can trust me. I swear I didn't tell anyone. Why would I ruin my chances with a guy that I really like?"
Both of them stayed silent at that. Mai was gently rubbing her wrists where had squeezed her to soothe the pain while Jounouchi stared at her as if she had grown a second head. She had not expected her confession to go like this. She had expected it to be a little more romantic. Instead, they were standing in a dark, dirty alley where there was barely enough room to breathe.
Their eyes met and Mai practically melted under his gaze. Hurt shone in his dark eyes, along with confusion and… something else.
"Okay, I..." Jounouchi closed his eyes and raised his hands to indicate he wasn't going to hurt her again. "Look me in the eye and tell me one more time you didn't do it."
He took a step closer to her, and this time, Mai didn't feel threatened. For the first time she noticed that he was just a slightly bit taller than her. Maybe an inch or two.
She shook her head and looked up at him and said, "I promise that I didn't tell anyone. You told me that no one else knew this stuff and it looked like you wanted to keep it that way so I kept my mouth shut. You have my word." Hesitating for a few seconds, she placed a hand on his chest while giving him a look.
Jounouchi looked down, nibbling on his lower lip for a moment. He placed his larger hand over her and squeezed. "Yugi was..."
"I know and I'm sorry," she said quietly, looking at their hands. "Is he okay?"
"He's fine. He's stronger than you think," Jounouchi drawled, his lips curling into his trademark smirk. "And of course he's got me."
"Yeah, he'd be totally lost without an airhead like you."
Jounouchi laughed softly, pulling his hand away from hers. Then, he gently cupped her cheeks, lifting her face up so their noses almost brushed against each other.
"Turns out I made the right choice after all," he whispered.
"It's always good to make sure, though," Mai said, a smile tugging at her lips. She felt one of his arms wrapping itself around her waist, his hand crawling under her shirt so it could rest on her bare lower back. Before she could say anything else, he pulled her into a bear hug, pressing her against his chest.
"Do you want to start over?"
His breath ghosted over her ear, making her skin tingle. "As long as you pick up when I call you."
When they got back at the apartment, Mana slowly walked into the living room because she was dripping from head to toe. For some reason, a lot of gunk had ended up in her hair and it took Yami forever to get it all out. She plopped down on the couch, followed by Amaya who jumped in her lap right away. Though, the small cat shrieked at Mana's cold skirt and ran towards Yami's bedroom. Mana pouted and looked over her shoulder at her best friend.
Yami smiled at the sight and walked towards the kitchen so he could start working on their lunch. Mana was mumbling to herself, going on and on about Yami being too mean with the hose while he cut the vegetables.
It went on for a while until someone knocked softly on the front door.
"Open the door for me? I have to keep an eye on the stove," Yami called out from the kitchen. He heard Mana getting up and walking over to the door. It stayed silent for a while and Yami was about to look around the corner to check if everything was okay when Mana suddenly squeaked really loudly.
"Please don't freak out!" said a hasty voice. Yami's head shot up when he heard that voice. "Are you Mana?"
"Y-yeah. I'm M-Mana. Um, Yami? Yugi's h-here."
Almost dropping the knife he was using to cut the cucumber onto the ground, Yami straightened up and reached for his face. He was wearing his glasses because he didn't feel like wearing his contact lenses today. Since he stopped paying attention to his hands, he accidentally cut himself.
"Ow! Shit…"
From the corner of his eyes, he saw Yugi walking into the room and he quickly turned around so his face was out of sight. He looked down at his hand and saw the blood dripping down his finger rapidly.
"Everything okay, Yami?" Yugi said worriedly.
"Yeah, 'm fine. Just cut myself," he said in one breath. "…I'll be right back."
Awkwardly shuffling out of the kitchen, he quickly walked over to his room; while cautiously hiding his face, and closed the door. He looked around for a plaster so he could fix his finger first. Reaching for his nightstand, he pulled out a few plasters and his contact case. Blood trickled down his hand, right onto the wooden nightstand.
"Damn, that's a deep cut." He quickly walked over to the bathroom to wash away all the blood and wrap a plaster around it to stop the bleeding. Afterwards, he quickly applied his contacts, got rid of the contact case and casually walked back to the living room.
This time he could see that Yugi was wearing a rather large blue jacket, one that was way too big for him, and that he was holding a simple blue cap, which he had probably used to cover up his hair. Mana seemed to be the one who was keeping up the small talk while Yugi had a very particular distant look in his eyes, which Yami noticed right away. He hadn't even heard him ask why Mana's clothes were soaked.
"Mana?"
Said person looked up and smiled real big. "Hey, there you are. Everything okay with your hand?"
"Yeah, it's fine, just a scratch," Yami said, raising his wounded finger lamely. "Mind giving us a minute?"
"Fine. I'll go sit on a bench in the park so my clothes can at least dry a bit." Mana pouted for the briefest moment before she obeyed and left the apartment.
Yami smiled faintly and beckoned to Yugi, walking over to the couch.
"Do you want anything to eat? I don't have anything fancy, but simple food can be nice as well," he said meekly to lighten up the mood while walking over to the kitchen. Yugi shook his head with a small smile and sat down on the couch, clutching the jacket between his fingers. "Anything to drink? I'm going to make myself a cup of—"
"Yami."
Said person stopped talking right away and felt like his feet were nailed to the ground. Slowly looking over his shoulder, he saw Yugi looking at his hands in his lap. Yugi was giving him a gentle look, one that made Yami's eyes soften.
"I think we both know that you saw my scars and you want to know where I got them."
Completely taken by surprise, Yami turned around and tried to swallow away the huge lump that had formed in his throat. His mouth had gone dry, he had the feeling his heart had dropped down on his navel and he could feel his heartbeat in his ears.
"You never mentioned it, which I appreciated. I actually sort of expected you to bring it up right away, freak out, or start yelling at me for hiding stuff from you. But," Yugi took a deep breath and his smile widened slightly. "you didn't do any of those things."
"Well, I did freak out to be honest," Yami said dryly, making Yugi laugh softly. "But I figured you'd tell me when you were ready. I remember you said you had your reasons for not telling anyone about your past and I respect that. I wouldn't want everyone to know everything about me, either."
Yugi patted the seat next to him, a bit hesitantly, and Yami slowly sat down next to him. With a deep and shaky breath, Yugi dropped the jacket so he was merely dressed in a simple white shirt and pair of jeans. He reached down and started rolling up the leg, exposing the bare skin that was under it.
"They're not as bad as they look." Yami's jaw dropped as Yugi pulled up his leg with a small grunt and ran his hand over the scars. Now that he got the chance to look at them more closely, he could see that the skin was overall tight looking and uneven. Red blotches crawled all the way down from his thighs to his lower legs and stopped at his feet. The bruises looked quite fresh, as if he had gotten them yesterday.
"Burns," Yami stated quietly, studying the skin carefully.
Yugi nodded and smiled faintly. "Yeah, and the bruises are there because I'm simply an idiot who can't walk straight without bumping into things. They make it look worse, but it only means I'm a klutz. The burns are there because um…" he trailed off and placed his forehead against his knee. A non-amused chuckle came out of his mouth before he continued,
"I'm pushing myself so hard here. When I left the hotel, I told myself I would just blurt it out right away, but this is harder than I thought."
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Yugi," Yami said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's obvious that you're struggling with this."
"You did tickle me the other day because I wouldn't tell you what was on my mind," Yugi joked, looking up with a lopsided grin. There was a playful sparkle in his eyes, as if he had just forgotten what they were talking about.
Yami snorted and ran a hand through his hair, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, but this is different; this is far more serious. If you don't want to tell me, then I respect that. I only tickled you because you had mentioned it twice and kept being so secretive about it. It's like you wanted me to find out, but now I have the feeling you're sitting here because you feel obligated to tell me. Which you shouldn't."
Sighing, Yugi laid his head on his knee, the smile disappearing. "That's not true. I want to tell you because you're my friend and I think you deserve the truth."
His eyes lit up when Yugi said he said they were friends. He quickly shook his head to push the thought away because what Yugi was going to say next was far more important. Yami quickly scooted a bit closer, squeezing his shoulder gently. After he took a deep breath, he started talking again.
Summer was getting closer and closer and because of that, some students refused to wear their jackets anymore. Luckily, the school allowed its students to take off their jackets if it got too hot. Boys were allowed to wear shorts and girls were allowed to wear shorter skirts. Students were walking around in the school halls, chatting happily about their plans for summer break. Just a few more weeks and school would finally be over.
Yugi couldn't be happier since he had had enough of the endless studying for those tests. He took off his shoes, put them in his small locker and grabbed his special indoor shoes. One other girl came up next to him and did the exact same thing before she turned to him.
"Good morning, Yugi," she greeted with a kind smile. Her red hair fell over her shoulder as she turned her head to look at him. Brown eyes twinkled excitedly at him.
"Hey, Shizuka-chan," Yugi said, closing his locker.
"I think we'll be getting our test results today. It's been a week, after all and I can't wait to see my grade! I studied so incredibly hard for that test. Katsuya said he'd buy me a new dress if I get at least an 85."
Right. It had been a week since the last exam so they would probably get the results today. Yugi felt his heart drop down because he knew he had barely passed it. Science was one of his weaknesses and he hadn't given himself enough time to study. His parents wouldn't be too happy with a 60, or worse, below that.
The bell rang and both of them looked up when another classmate walked up to them. It was Shizuka's older brother, Katsuya Jounouchi.
"Oi, Shizuka. We're going to be late for class," he said playfully, grabbing her shoulder and giving her a small push towards the classrooms wing of their school. Shizuka giggled and waved at Yugi before she disappeared around the corner.
Yugi was still half-lost in his thoughts when he shyly looked up at Jounouchi. Said blond guy looked down at him with a smug grin. His sister looked so much like him that Yugi sometimes wondered if they were not twins. They had the exact same brown eyes, same nose, and thin eyebrows. Their facial expressions were practically identical, especially their smiles.
Jounouchi placed one of his hands on Yugi's shoulder and said, "Yo, Yugi. I know you could stare at me all day long, but we gotta get to class. You comin'?"
Yugi nodded and followed him to their classroom. It still confused him sometimes that those two always acted normal around him. They were not exactly friends, but these two were the only ones who greeted him in the morning and sometimes even talked to him during breaks. Everyone else usually ignored him or simply told him to piss off.
When they entered the classroom, Yugi went to sit by the window and put down his bag. Their teacher, Miss Ishtar was leaning against her desk, waiting for her students to arrive. Every other student was getting their stuff ready while talking to the other students.
Jounouchi and his sister were not sitting too far away from Yugi; they sat near the front row, laughing at some other guy's joke. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Yugi did miss having true friends. Back in Junior High, he had had lots of friends, but everything changed after he turned sixteen and went to high school.
Since no one really liked him for his personality, he stopped trying to make friends after a while. He'd pick being bullied over this any day; it was a lot better than the silent treatment. And not having enough courage to walk up to Jounouchi to ask if he wanted to hang out sucked. He was way too shy to even start a decent conversation with him.
"Okay, that was the last one. Close the door for me, Honda-kun? Thank you. Now, you can all stop worrying because I've got the test results right here," Miss Ishtar said. She reached for her suitcase and grabbed a small pile of paper, holding them up in the air. "Jounouchi-kun?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Jounouchi jumped out of his seat and took the pile of paper, looking down at them for the names. It was quite normal to let students give everyone their test back, but it had never been Jounouchi.
Yugi's mouth went dry at the thought that Jounouchi would see his embarrassing grade. He watched him walked around the classroom like a hawk, folding his hands together to keep them from shaking. Students laughed at Jounouchi's jokes about the grades he saw; whether they were good or bad, he'd come up with a joke to let the other feel better.
When he finally got to Yugi's desk, he gave him the piece of paper with a small wink and said, "Good job, bud."
With a small gasp, Yugi looked down, but his upcoming smile dropped right away. There was a small "63" written at the top. Apparently Jounouchi didn't notice his disappointment because he continued to walk around.
After everyone got their test back, Miss Ishtar asked everyone if they had any questions before class started.
The rest of the day was a complete blur. All Yugi could think about was the 63 he got for his test. He'd have to face his parents with that grade and he was not looking forward to that, at all. He absolutely hated himself for thinking about his parents like that because they were always so nice and gentle, listened to him when he needed them to, always knew how to cheer him up, but these things were too small in his eyes.
The disappointment on their faces whenever he came home with an 80, or lower, it felt like a punch in the face. They would either not talk to him for a while, or say it wasn't good enough.
Yugi knew he wasn't one of the brightest students around. If he truly wanted a good grade, he would have to lock himself up in his room, study for hours straight and pray for the desired result. Because he was not having a very good time in high school, his grades started dropping. A few years ago, he enjoyed going to Junior High because he had friends who motivated him to get good grades. Now it merely felt like an obligation.
The last bell of the day rang after what felt like a few minutes and Yugi tried to buy some time by putting on his shoes very slowly. He knew he had to face his parents sooner or later with that grade. He had tried to hide it before, but they would find out anyway so it was useless.
For the second time that day, Jounouchi walked up to him and bent down. Yugi gave him a questioning look and his eyes widened when he saw a small square-shaped package.
"Thought you might enjoy this one. It's one of my favorite bands and they have this awesome bonus track! You can borrow it for a while."
It had been a few months since Jounouchi introduced him to some of his favorite bands. It had started out with Jounouchi walking up to him and asking him about his favorite singers. Since Yugi never really listened to any music, he quietly confessed he didn't have any. Jounouchi pretended to be very shocked and told him he'd let him borrow some of his music.
At the very beginning, Yugi wasn't sure what to think of it. And a few days later, he was quite addicted to listening to music, especially to songs Jounouchi had recommended.
Sooner or later, he wanted to be able to sing along with the songs without sounding like a dying cat (he had called himself that after he had heard himself singing for the first time). So he asked his parents if they would be willing to pay for singing lessons. His mother would gladly pay for classical vocal training because she wanted the absolute best for him.
Classical music was definitely different and nothing like the music Jounouchi had introduced him to. His mother insisted he would continue and master it, so he could become a professional singer. His singing teacher had complimented him on his singing many times and said he should go to a music academy.
"Yugi?"
"Hm? Oh, right. Yeah, thanks, I'll listen to it when I get home!" Yugi said with a smile, taking the album and putting it in his bag. Jounouchi put his hands in his pockets and watched him getting ready to leave.
"You're pretty cool. How come you're so shy?"
Yugi was pretty taken aback by the sudden change of subject. His cheeks felt hot because of the small compliment and he smiled sheepishly.
"I dunno. Old habits never die, I guess?"
"You've always been this shy?"
"… Yeah."
Which was actually a lie, but since him and Jounouchi would never become close, he didn't have to know. They barely even knew each other, anyway.
"Want to walk home together?"
Now Yugi was beyond confused. "Huh?"
Jounouchi snickered and ran a hand through his blond bangs. "It's a thing friends do, you dork. Ever heard of it before?"
"I…" Yugi felt himself smiling goofily before he nodded. "Yeah, I'd love to!"
The smile on Jounouchi's face turned into a gentle one and he put an arm around Yugi's shoulder to walk him home.
The walk turned out to be rather short because Jounouchi had to go the other way at some point. But Yugi enjoyed every second of it. Jounouchi was such a fun guy to talk to that he wished he had the guts to ask if he wanted to hang out. He got a quick pat on the shoulder before they said their goodbyes.
Yugi got out his keys and unlocked the door of his small house. He hesitated for a second before he called out, "I'm home!" After some rumbling in the kitchen, his mother, Masami, walked into the hall and smiled at him. Her light brown hair was pulled into a messy bun and she was wearing an apron.
"Hey, honey. How was your day?"
"'Twas okay," he said with a fake smile, taking off his shoes so he could avoid her eyes.
"Come on, dad's in the living room. I just have to finish cutting the vegetables and I'll be right out." She helped him with his jacket and gently guided him to the living room where his father was. Koji was sitting in of the chairs, reading the newspaper. His inhaler was on the table next to him and Yugi felt a huge amount of guilt suddenly washing over him.
"Yugi!" Koji got up from his chair and reached for Yugi's face with his large hand. He held his jaw for a while before he smiled real big. Yugi's expression softened; his father loved him so much, but it only made it worse. "How're you, son?"
"Good," Yugi managed to bring out. He bent down to reach for his bag and took a deep breath. "Dad, I… We got our test results today."
"Oh!" he looked excited and smiled eagerly. Masami walked up to them as well, holding a cloth to wipe the dirt off her hands. Yugi wanted to run up to his room and hide from the world for a while. The good time he had had with Jounouchi seemed like days ago.
"…" Yugi got out his test and handed it over to his father. Masami looked over her husband's shoulder and their smiles disappeared.
"Oh," both of them said at the same time.
"I'm sorry," Yugi said quietly, shutting his eyes. "I should've studied harder."
"No, it's fine," Koji said with a forced smile and gave the test back to him. Masami looked at her feet for a moment before she went back to the kitchen. Yugi watched his father go back to his chair to read the newspaper and felt tears pricking in the back of his eyes. He wanted to scream because their pained expression hurt more than anything else.
He had disappointed them once again.
With a defeated sigh, Yugi walked over the green couch, which was a couple of feet away from the chair his father was sitting in, and let himself fall onto the soft cushions. Deciding that it was best to stay quiet, he pulled out his schoolbooks and forced himself to read them. Not that another test was coming up, but maybe it would satisfy his parents more.
"Yugi."
Said person looked up and looked at his father with pursed lips. "Hm?"
"I want to go to that music academy your teacher mentioned a few times."
Yugi blinked and tipped his head to one side. "Why?"
"Well," Koji chuckled, but he didn't seem amused at all. "we need to register you of course. You are going to continue singing, right?"
Just when he thought this day couldn't get any worse… Yugi slumped and started rubbing his forehead. For the past few months, he thought he wanted to go to the music academy. But it turned out that it what everyone else wanted for him. Ever since his music teacher told him he should go there, his parents insisted on it.
"I'm not sure if I want to go there anymore."
That was definitely a big mistake. Koji had been holding his inhaler and he dropped it to the ground with a shocked expression.
"W-what?" he whispered. Yugi pressed his lips together until they appeared to be a thin straight line.
"I want to sing pop and rock, not opera."
"You're wasting your talent," Koji said, rising to his feet and walking over to him. "Don't make that mistake. You heard your singing teacher; he says that you are one of the most talented people he's ever met and that you shouldn't let this chance slip through your fingers. You'll be making the biggest mistake of your life."
"No, I won't because it's not what I want," Yugi said in a shaky voice.
"Please don't abuse your talent like that." His father knelt down and placed his hands on Yugi's shoulders. "You will regret that choice. Trust me. You are going to that music academy and you will thank me later." Before he could say anything else, Koji went back to his chair and told him to go back to studying.
One single tear rolled down Yugi's cheek. Time passed and he was so lost in his own world that he almost jumped out of his skin when his mother put a hand on his shoulder.
"Would you mind watching the food cook for a while? I want to take a shower." He quickly got up and went to the kitchen.
Masami had this distant look in her eyes. One of those looks that made Yugi want to punch a hole in the wall. He didn't want to be a disappointment any longer. He watched the water boil in the pan and folded his arms over his chest. Watching the food cook was one of the most boring things he could think of, so he hoped his mother would come back soon.
All of a sudden the water stopped boiling and Yugi looked back at the pan with a small frown. The fire was out. Rolling his eyes, he looked for a box of matches and removed the pan from the stove so he could light the stove again. The stove was pretty old and close to dying, but they didn't have a lot of money to afford a new one.
Every time the fire went out, Yugi would have to turn the gas back on and hold the lit match close to the stove. He turned to gas off so he could carefully light his match. Turning the gas back on, he carefully held the burning match to the stove.
BOOM.
"Ow!" There was a huge explosion and Yugi ended up on the floor, yelping in pain. His hand had been caught in the fire and he moaned in pain, clutching it to his chest.
"What the hell is— Oh god…" Yugi looked up and wanted to scream in fear. The entire stove was on fire, along with one of the cupboards above it. Koji watched it for a moment before he turned back to Yugi.
"I'm sorry, it-it was an accident!"
"Where's Masami?"
"Upstairs, I—"
Koji ran out of the kitchen right away and yelled, "Get out of there now!"
The fire continued to spread like crazy and before Yugi could even move, the hot flames had surrounded him. He was trapped in a huge circle of fire and pressed himself against the fridge, watching the fire creeping closer to him. He could hear his parents running downstairs and opening the front door.
Yugi was about to scream for help, but a small voice in his head stopped him. He was a disappointment; it didn't matter if he stayed and died. His parents would be better off without him. If he would come out of here alive, he would continue to disappoint them and he would probably break their hearts if he didn't go to that music academy.
Tears started to trickle down his face. He nodded to himself and stayed there, nailed to the ground.
The flames had reached the ceiling, first creating dark holes before parts of the ceiling fell down, right in front of him. Yugi stayed where he was, forcing himself to stay calm and not scream. Sweat was dripping down his forehead and he could feel the heat of the fire creeping closer to his body.
"Yugi! Where are you?!" Yugi shook his head and continued to stare at the flames. The fire was now touching his legs. The shorts he was wearing, left his lower legs wide open for the heat and before he could stop himself, he screamed in pain. Fire wrapped itself around his legs, burning down the many layers of skin and creating immense pain.
He clamped his hand over his mouth, biting it to keep himself from screaming.
"It will be over soon, very soon, it will be over soon," he croaked out, shutting his eyes.
"Yugi!" One of the windows in the kitchen broke and his father climbed through it. He looked completely unharmed. He looked around for a while before he spotted his son. "Come on! Let's get out of here!"
More tears streamed down Yugi's face as he shook his head. "I can't."
"Yugi!" Masami's distant scream only made it worse. "Did you find him, Koji?"
His chin quivered. The fire had now reached his thighs, burning right through the shorts. He kept shaking his head and begging his father to get out. He didn't want him to die.
"I am not leaving without you, Yugi."
At that point, it was as if Yugi's entire world collapsed. There was fear in his father's eyes. He had never seen that before. He didn't want Yugi to die. For a moment, Yugi continued to stare at his father, watching the fear intensifying. Koji had extended out his hand, hissing in pain as the flames teasingly brushed against his bare skin.
"Please, Yugi?" Koji begged. Yugi looked back at him, seeing the tears in the other's violet eyes. The tips of the flames were brushing against his shirt, threateningly stroking his crotch and stomach. "Please?"
That was all it took. The pleading and begging of his father was enough for him. Yugi ran over to his father right away, crying out in pain as his burning legs were forced to move. Koji didn't think twice before he lifted Yugi up and ran back to the window. Yugi could hear the faint sound of sirens in the distance before he fainted.
"My dad died a few days later in the hospital. With his asthma and the amount of smoke he had inhaled because of me… I never meant to start that fire, it was an accident and those scars on my legs keep reminding me that it was my fault that he died. Please don't tell anyone, because I…"
That is when he completely crashed. Yugi bent over, his lips moving ever so slightly before a loud sob escaped from them. He had kept his cool the entire time, but now he couldn't take it anymore. Yami felt his own tears burning in his eyes. He had never seen anyone so broken in his entire life and it hurt. Yugi was gritting his teeth as he cried more and more, choking on his sobs and saliva.
Before he could even give it a second thought, Yami slid off from the couch and sat on his knees in front of Yugi. Said person looked up at him, his eyes begging for an answer on his request. Yami blinked before he nodded and moved a bit closer so he could embrace him.
He didn't know how long they sat there. All he knew was that he was rubbing soothing circles on Yugi's back while letting him cry. The loud, yet muffled sobs were like daggers in his chest, but he forced himself to stay calm. Yugi was clutching his shirt for dear life as he continued to weep.
They ended up sitting on the floor because Yami's knees had started to grow too weak. Yugi was curled up on his chest, soft sobs coming out every now and then as the crying slowed to a stop.
"The scars symbolize how emotionally strong you are," Yami mumbled softly after the sobs had completely died down. Yugi's head moved slightly, indicating that he was listening. "It means that you were able to face your fears and that you were stronger than your emotions. You got out of that fire alive and that's what counts. Your dad died because he was willing to wait for you."
Yugi got up and sat on his knees. The area around his eyes was red and irritated from the amount of tears.
"I guess so," he said, wiping at his nose with a faint smile. He let out a loud sigh and shook his head, covering up his face. "I'm so sorry that I just came in here and dumped this all on you. You should be celebrating that you're in the band and I'm sitting here, telling you my crappy life story—"
"Yugi, it's okay." Yami sat on his knees in front of him and wiped away the tears with his thumbs. "You needed to get it off your chest. You listened to my story as well, remember? We're taking turns."
The other laughed at the lame joke and nodded. "Apparently so. Though, I'd love to hear about the good things that happened in your life."
"My life's pretty boring," Yami chuckled.
"Prob'ly not."
"Wanna bet?"
"Sure. I have to back to the hotel now, but you won't get rid of me that easily. Meet me at the park tomorrow evening. I want to hear all about your boring life."
Author's note: I am so glad I finished this chapter, you don't even know. I had planned this from the beginning and NEEDED IT OUT OF MY SYSTEM. PHEW.
Now y'all know what really happened to Yugi and hopefully it wasn't that cliché. And hopefully I managed to get rid of all the spelling/grammar mistakes. If not, feel free to shoot me.
NEXT TIME: Wait, what did Yugi mean by that? ZOMG, was it meant to be a date? Yami's getting rather suspicious about it and goes all Sherlock on him. Mana's words are driving him nuts. Sexuality crisis, oh noes. It's also time to record tha single! Also Mai and Jounouchi are getting closer, ooh la la~.
Please review on your way out~?