Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or the song Evil Angel; they both belong to their respective owners.

Chapter Eleven

Yami sat up, not aware of how much time had passed since Ryou had come into the room. He sat up, pulling Yugi against him and hugging his lover close, hoping that Yugi would have come back while he was asleep. Yami sighed when there was no response. Out of tears to cry as he kissed Yugi's forehead before laying him down on the bed.

He moved to the edge of the bed, sitting on the edge and looking over to where Ryou had moved, the British teen no longer sitting on the ground. Ryou was leaning against the closet that was across from the foot of the bed, looking up as Yami moved. Yami was sure that his eyes carried the same dead look that Ryou's had, two people pushed beyond their limit and discovering that there was nothing on the other side.

Yami rubbed his hands over his face, getting glimpses of the locked door that they had hidden themselves behind through his fingers. He sighed again, not wanting to face the world again. But Yugi's friends would probably be worried and want to see him. He ran a hand through his hair, automatically fixing the disarray it had fallen into.

Almost as one, Yami and Ryou slumped again, giving into the urge to just refuse any inclination towards life. They exchanged another glance, Yami looking back at Yugi before standing up. As Ryou's big brother, he would have to encourage the British teen to at least eat something; which meant that he would at least have to make an effort.

Reluctantly, Yami gave Yugi a fleeting kiss on the forehead, wanting to take some more time with his aibou, even if Yugi wasn't there. He rested their foreheads against each other for a moment before brushing a stray bang out of Yugi's face. "I'll be back, aibou. Don't worry."

He turned around, catching the scent of lotus and honey before Dartz pushed through the wall of the house looking murderous. Yami sighed, not wanting to explain how Tomoya got hurt under his watch. He would work his way through apologies later, right now he just wanted to keep Ryou healthy and get something for Yugi so he didn't waste away. Without thinking, he turned to speak to Yugi, the habit too ingrained to break. "We'll bring you something to eat, aibou."

"Why do you pretend to care?"

Yami was taken aback by Dartz's question, staring at the man for a long while before finally finding his voice to speak. "What?"

"Why do you pretend to care about him?" Dartz moved from his place just in front of the wall, walking over until he was standing right in front of Yami. "I figured out why you are still alive. You stole that watch and started over again, didn't you? Where is it?"

"The…watch…" Yami stared at him, a bit flustered by the fact that Dartz knew all of this. Where had he gotten the information from, because Isis would not have explained it without his knowledge?

"Yes. The watch keeping you alive." Yami took a step back and Dartz moved forward, catching himself before he could fall over Yugi. "You don't deserve this life. Not after what you did to him?"

"What I…" Yami's brain was refusing to function, too dulled down by what had happened to Yugi.

"You used him as a shield. You let his soul be taken instead of yours."

Yami's eyes widened at the accusation, staring at Dartz with his mouth falling open.

"I can't let you."

"You've done so much already Yami. It doesn't need you, so I'll let it take me instead."

"I love you."

Before he knew what he was doing, Yami had grabbed Dartz and shoved him against the wall, the angel suddenly solid enough for him to do that. Yami didn't really care about the why at the moment; he just wanted to kill the man who had accused him of not caring about Yugi. "You know nothing."

"I know enough, Atemu." Yami flinched at the use of his real name, his mind going back to Noa. "You are only doing this to stay down here."

"No." He slammed Dartz back against the wall, enjoying the sound of the angel's head hitting it. "I've given up my life for him twice before and I would have again. Now, stop talking about things you know nothing about."

Yami let him drop, striding over to Ryou and pulling him up. "Come on, Ryou, we've got to feed you and make sure that Yugi is taken care of."

"Why?" Yami glared at Dartz as the man stood up. "I'm sure that they'll be another angel assigned to him in no time. And then you can go back to hell."

Yami froze at the mention of hell, one hand rising to clutch at the watch that wasn't there as his mind pushing the memories of his short time there to the forefront of his mind. He closed his eyes at the memory of burning red eyes, flickering flames and the taunting laugh. You can never go back. You can never go back.

He opened his eyes and turned around, walking between Yugi and Dartz. "I won't let you take him away from me. The last person who tried is dead."

"You killed him, I'm guessing."

Yami didn't say anything, tensing in his spot and narrowing his eyes. Dartz could assume whatever he wanted; Yami had ceased to care about what other people thought. "Leave now."

Dartz crossed his arms. "No."

"I told you to-"

"Atemu!" Yami turned his head at Isis' voice, watching as Ryou picked himself up from the floor. The three stared at the angel, Isis looking exhausted as she stood on the floor of the room. The woman tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before walking towards them. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"What?" The word was snapped out, Yami not caring that Isis had nothing to do with the prior argument.

"I know how to get their souls back. But I need someone I can trust." Yami perked up at this, his arms crossing over his chest. Isis took this as a signal to go ahead, nodding slowly. "I will send you three to the realm where the souls are, which is sealed by a sword. Open the realm and the souls will return but the demon will be released, weak but still out there. I think you can handle this one."

Yami gave a sharp nod. He had fought the devil and won, a lesser demon wouldn't be that hard at all. And it would get him Yugi back, anything to get his aibou back. He didn't even have to look over to Ryou to see the British teen's nod. They would both do it for the ones they loved.

"Dartz will-"

"No."

"Atemu."

"No." Yami glared at Dartz. "For all I know, he'll throw me into the realm after we are done. Not with him. Ryou and I can do this on our own."

"You have no choice, he is going too."

Yami rolled his eyes, his fingers fiddling with the bracelet he wore around his wrist. If Isis wouldn't let just the two of them go alone, he would accept Dartz. It got him Yugi back and that was the only important thing here. The world could go to hell for all he cared. "How are we doing this?"

"Your souls will be sent, and your bodies will remain behind. Just open the realm and I will worry about closing it. Defeat the demon and it will return to recover. Simple."

Yami nodded and strode over to the door, unlocking it quickly and glaring out into the hall. The opening of the door startled the four out in the hall, the teens getting to their feet and staring at him. Yami saw Tomoya get ready to speak, silencing him with a glare. "Watch over us, I'm going to get Yugi."

He saw three of the four faces brighten, not expecting Tomoya to look pleased and he wasn't disappointed. Yami shrugged and turned back to the room, crossing his arms and looking at Isis, aware that the others couldn't see her. "Ready."

There was a nod from Ryou, Yami watching as Dartz looked over at Tomoya before giving a nod himself. Isis closed her eyes and brushed her fingers over each of their foreheads.

Yami twitched as she touched him, feeling his body suddenly go cold and then he was flooded with the scent of lotus and honey. Yami fought the urge to throw up, managing to black out before he lost control of his gag reflex.

Tomoya stared as Atemu collapsed to the floor, glaring at the body before striding into the room and looking at Yugi. He had resisted the urge to kick Atemu's body as he had stepped over it, knowing that the others were still friends with the teenager. He still couldn't bring himself to trust Atemu entirely. He looked at his oldest friend, frowning as he realized almost how easily it would be to convince himself that Yugi was asleep. And it was all Atemu's fault. Tomoya scowled over his shoulder at the body of the teenager before storming out of the room, feeling Joey catch his arm as he went to leave.

"Where ya goin'?"

"To get something for Yugi and Ryou to eat. We need to keep their bodies in good condition for them to come back."

"Don't forget to grab somethin' for Yami. We'll get 'em set up."

Tomoya shook his head. "I'm not helping him."

"He's our friend!"

Tomoya was well aware of the stares on him as he shook his head. "Not mine. I'm sure that Yugi never told you who the original charges of his kidnapping were on and, for that reason, I can't trust Yami." Tomoya scowled at the body. "I don't even like him; Yugi could do so much better."

He turned around, heading for the kitchen to provide something easy to feed to Ryou and Yugi. Soup would be his best option. A hand on his shoulder stopped him, finding himself looking at Tèa.

The brunette smiled and followed him downstairs and into the kitchen, even reaching for the saucepan that was beyond his reach. Tomoya paused with a can of soup in his hand, thinking something over.

As much as Atemu made Yugi happy, he just couldn't stand to see the two together if this was the result. Yugi had already been through enough already and there would be no rest for his friend if he kept hanging out with people from that side of the city.

Tomoya set down the can and cleared his throat, getting Tèa's attention. The brunette girl looked over at him and sighed, leaning against the counter. "I'm not going to say anything."

"But, Tèa, Yami is bad for him."

"Not at all."

"I have known him longer than you have and-"

"That may be." Tèa interrupted him in a calm voice, something he had never expected her to do. "But Yugi has changed and this is who he is now."

"But it's not right for him!"

"He thinks it is." Tomoya caught the small sigh that Tèa gave. "And that is all that matters."

"Do you like him?"

Tèa stopped what she was doing, glancing at Tomoya out of the corner of her eye before nodding. The blonde teenager sighed, glad that she had not danced around the subject. She remained frozen in place for a moment before turning around to look at him. "But I'm not going to do anything."

"Why not?!"

"Because he's happy where he is." Tèa shot him a look over her shoulder. "I'm not going to interfere with that. I'll be his friend for as long as he wants me to, but I've never going to tell him that Yami is bad for him…because he isn't."

Tèa gave an unhelpful shrug before leaving the kitchen, Tomoya left to toy with the can of soup.

The ultimatum was there beneath the nice words. He had to get used to Atemu or leave the group, because the others couldn't see anything wrong with him. And there was a time where Tomoya had liked Atemu and he still did, but not with Yugi.

He stood up straighter with a sigh, beginning to go through the automatic motions of making soup. He still didn't know how to deal with the ultimatum, but he would deal with that later. If there even was a later in this.

Tomoya growled to himself, looking up towards Yugi's bedroom before cursing under his breath. "Damn it, Atemu."

Ryou opened his eyes; the first thing coming to his mind was the word grey. He pushed away from the ground, yelping at the heavy weight that was on his back. He glanced back, eyes widening at the white wings that came from his shoulders. Ryou looked for Yami, reaching out to shake his big brother awake.

Yami responded with a moan, getting up more smoothly than Ryou. He stared at his wrists for a moment before turning his head to look at his back, shaking his head before standing up, wings flaring for balance. He offered a hand to Ryou, both of them standing up and looking around.

The realm they were in was featureless, stretching out all around them. He turned on the spot, squinting into the distance. "How are we supposed to find anything here?"

Yami gave a shrug, walking forward a few steps before coming to a stop and tipping his head to the side. Ryou was about to ask what was going on when Yami began to move again, sometimes sliding around certain spots like he was avoiding things. "Watch out for the souls."

Ryou jumped at the warning, staring at the area around him and noticing that the souls were almost transparent. He shivered and began making his way through the crowd, jumping to the side at time to avoid walking through a soul. The light from Yami's halo was his guide.

"What about Dartz?"

"What about him?" The response was yelled back.

"We can't leave him!"

"Says who?"

"YAMI!" His big brother finally stopped, walking through the souls to get back to him. Yami crossed his arms, staring at where they had left Dartz before giving Ryou a nod, the impatient way he tapped his foot telling him that he didn't have much time.

The British teen knelt by Dartz, giving the angel a firm shake to wake up before stepping back. Dartz sat up, starting at the landscape around them. When he looked over at Ryou, the white haired teen just shrugged and walked back to Yami. He stopped long enough to be sure that Dartz was following him before being nudged back into motion by Yami. "Plan?"

"Find the sword, yank it out, and get home." Yami nearly shoved another soul out of his way, continuing to walk in one direction.

"Good." Both of them turned slightly at the sound of Dartz's voice. "Now, where would the sword be?"

Ryou shrugged as Yami closed his eyes, knowing what his big brother was trying to do. Back in Domino, they could sense these things easily, hyperaware because of their time in heaven. But now, he wasn't too sure. They were angels again.

Yami suddenly started, his eyes focusing on one place and squinting. Ryou turned his attention there too, blinking before turning to look behind them again. There was a definite change in the color of the grey, getting lighter in the direction that Yami was staring in. He gave Yami a smile before walking off, Yami following a second behind him.

"Wait." They both turned to look at Dartz again, Ryou noticing that Yami was close to lashing out at the man. "You are just going to trust that he is right."

"It's the best shot we've got."

"And you're just willing to trust him?" Ryou stared at Dartz, his mouth working as he tried to figure out a way to convey his surprise. He had never doubted Yami since the book incident, a time where he shouldn't have doubted Yami in the first place. He never had before and, after the pain of that time, he wasn't going to again.

"Yes." He scurried after Yami, getting a smile from his big brother before they both focused on the lighter bit off grey ahead. Dartz could follow if he wanted; he was getting tired of the other angel anyway. Even in the times that he hadn't been sure if he trusted Yami, he had still tried to work with him; because that's the way it was where they lived.

You were loyal to a group and, if the group sank, then you went down with them.

Ryou focused his gaze on the ground, automatically avoiding the souls that were floating around them. He saw Yami shift out of the corner of his eye, raising an eyebrow as Yami purposefully caught his eye. "Thanks."

And that single word was enough for Ryou. He smiled back at his big brother and focused on the route ahead of them. They were off to save Bakura.

Yugi opened his eyes, staring at the grey world around him, surprised that he had gotten so used to it in the…There was no way to measure time down here, so he didn't know how long he'd been here in the first place. Yugi flung an arm over his eyes and sighed, turning his head so he could see where Bakura was.

The thief had been leading him through his place for however long they had been here, keeping them both away from the frequent fights that broke out. And they were getting closer to them every time. Bakura had to even fight his way out of a group of people. Yugi was no match for the people who were trapped here.

He sat up, stretching out his back and giving the place another look around. Some part of his brain hoped that something would turn up, while most of his knew that nothing would. He had trapped himself here of his own volition, so he would have to get used to it. Yugi sighed and ran a hand through his hair, stopping to stare at it.

How long had it been for Yami?

Hours?

Weeks?

Months?

Years?

He really hoped that it hadn't been years because he had seen the look on Yami's face. His lover had been completely destroyed but his decision, but it was better than the alternative where nothing could have been done. Yugi gave a soft whimper, wrapping his arms around himself and ducking his head. He had hated to do that to Yami, knowing exactly how it would affect him. And it was killing him now, tears threatening to spill over because he missed Yami. He wanted to hold his guardian angel close and never let him go again. They hadn't had enough time together, the world seeming intent on ripping them apart.

Yugi looked over at Bakura one more time before wiping his eyes, not surprised to feel the start of tears there. He shook his head and looked back at the way they had come, or at least what he assumed the way they had come was.

He blinked as he saw something moving on the horizon, the three figures covering the distance quickly. Yugi blinked again, hoping that his eyes were not tricking him, a smile breaking out on his face when he was sure.

Yugi leaned down to shake Bakura, the thief glaring at him before sitting up himself. Yugi didn't trust his voice, so he just pointed, Bakura's jaw going slack as he stared at them. It couldn't be anyone else, because there was no one else that would be able to come for them.

Yugi stepped away from Bakura, watching as the figure in the lead picked up the pace, bursting nearly into a run as he came closer. Yugi broke into a run himself, his mouth forming a smile as he recognized the leader.

Yami. Yami had come to save him. Of course he would, they were partners. But Yami was here.

Some part of his mind nagged him that this was wrong, but Yugi wouldn't pay attention to it long enough. That Yami was here was the best thing, too good to be easily shot down by depressing thoughts.

Yami came to a stop, spreading his arms as Yugi rushed at him. Yugi reached out for Yami, his hand hovering just above the fabric of Yami's shirt. He was too ready to hold Yami again, too ready to feel his lover's arms around him. There he was safe.

He wrapped his arms around Yami's neck and took a step forward to press himself against Yami…

Evil cliffhanger. *hides*

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