Author's Note: So, I'm just going to write as many as I can of these for two days and put them up here as I finish and edit them, just to see how far I get in the series and then put this off to the side for a time. Hopefully that will be enough to tide you guys over and to show that I don't intend to drop this story. I enjoy writing this probably far too much. Also, in advance, I apologize about any failure in first aide on how to treat second degree burns. Thankfully, I've never had to treat them myself and I plan to avoid them for a long while. This takes place in episode 92 and the title is from the song Under the Rose by H.I.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. If I did, there would be more Puzzleshipping.

Drowning in Flame

He couldn't let this happen, but he couldn't go up there and stop it. Yami twitched in place with indecision. He couldn't let Joey and Mai burn, they were his friends and this was a shadow duel, which meant that everything was real. But that would mean risking Yugi's body, and he wouldn't be able to live with himself if Yugi was injured because of him. Yami sucked in a deep breath before coming to a decision, praying to any gods that were listening that his quickly cobbled together plan would work.

Yami ran to the platform, jumping up and grabbing the edge before pulling himself up. Technically, this would get Mai disqualified as he was interfering, but Yami thought it was better than being burnt to a crisp by the Winged Dragon of Ra. He glanced up at Joey and Mai, growling before he threw himself in the way of the attack. "That's enough!"

"Yugi!"

He nearly fell over by the force of the fire, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to stand up straight. He could feel Yugi in his mind, asking what was going on. Yami shifted slightly, bracing himself better against the attack, feeling the Millennium Puzzle grow hot on his stomach. Sure that the body would remain standing, he forced himself inward, finding himself staring at a frantic Yugi in the middle of the hallway. "Yami? What's going on?"

A light flickered at the end of the hallway, the first sign of the shadow magic seeking out a soul to tear apart since he had made sure that their body would be safe. Yami turned to stare at it, his eyes going wide. He had greatly underestimated the true strength of the Winged Dragon of Ra's attack. He felt hands pulling at his clothes, Yami glancing down at Yugi before coming to a quick decision. He was sure that the attack wouldn't cause any lasting damage to their body, but it would harm a soul.

Yami grabbed Yugi and dragged him across the hall to his soul room, shoving his partner in. "Stay there."

"Yami? Yami, what-" The spirit slammed the door before Yugi could finish his question, gripping the handle as he put up a series of protections around the door, probably overdoing it a bit, but he didn't want to risk Yugi. He glanced back at where the fire was tumbling down the corridor, knowing that he wouldn't have time to get to his soul room, he needed to go back to the body to make sure that it stayed upright. Even now he could feel it wavering.

He pulled away from the door, sure that it would remain locked and unharmed before he turned and forced himself back into control, feeling the flames licking at the edges of his soul. Yami gasped and was forced to brace himself again. He panted as he got into a good position again, glancing up at Joey and Mai to be sure that he was deflecting most of the attack.

"Well isn't that special?" Marik was almost laughing as he spoke, Yami carefully turning his head to look over his shoulder. "It appears that I will be able to destroy Yugi sooner that I thought I would."

"Not quite." He was holding back a scream of pain as the flames reached his unprotected soul, feeling them burn him. Yami stood his ground, trying to ignore the pain. If he gave up now, then Joey and Mai could be destroyed by the attack. At least Yugi was still safe, he could tell that much. Yami swallowed, wincing as he forced himself to keep talking. "Your dark shadow powers will never penetrate me! I will shield everyone from your evil!"

"I doubt it. Nothing can stop the unstoppable force of the greatest creature to walk the Earth; the Winged Dragon of Ra! All three of you are finished!"

Yami threw his head back, biting his lip as to keep from screaming, his eyes snapping open as the attack stopped. He swayed on his feet, staring at Joey and Mai, the two fading in and out of focus. He groaned, the pain too much to cope with. He fell forward, diving into unconsciousness, barely hearing the scream of his name. "Yugi!"

Yugi clawed at his door, huffing before backing up and running at it. He slammed into the wood, wincing and rubbing his shoulder before backing up again. Yami had locked him in here, Yugi still not sure what had happened to cause that. But he had felt the heat through his door, not knowing to make of that. All he knew was that Marik had attacked Mai and Joey and that Yami had been trying to prevent it. But the link between him at the spirit had been cut off when he had been locked in here.

He scowled at the door, wondering what Yami had been thinking. They were partners, they worked together. It wasn't fair to hide these things from each other. It was too much like what Ryou and Bakura were like for his comfort or like when Yami had first come out of the Puzzle. Yugi shivered by forced himself to calm down, shaking his head. "Alright, Yugi. Yami would have a good reason for this."

He took a deep breath and then another before walking up to his door and knocking on it. At first, he was surprised that it was cool, realizing that he had become accustomed to how hot it had gotten. Yugi frowned, trying to figure out what that could possibly mean before shaking his head and knocking again. "Yami? Yami, are you out there?"

Silence followed his call, Yugi biting his lip and looking around his soul room for something that he could use. He absently brushed his fingers over the chain around his neck as he thought. Yami had a reason for locking him in here, he was sure of that. There had been a bright light coming for them before Yami had shoved him in here, so that was probably what Yami had been trying to save him from. While he would have preferred an explanation, he understood that Yami would give it to him later.

He looked away from the door as his fingers continued to wander down the chain, pausing when he reached the Millennium Puzzle. Instead of the steady warmth that it always held, it was cold, Yugi flinching as he ran his hands over it. Instead of the usual response he got from Yami, he got painful shocks that ran through his fingers and up his arms. He pulled his hands away from the Millennium Puzzle, staring at the golden object before glancing up at the door. Something was telling him that Yami was in trouble, and he was the only one who could help him.

Yugi rolled his shoulders before gently testing the door, about to back away for another run at it when he realized that the door was creaking open. Yugi frowned and stepped out into the hall, pausing when the door caught on something and wouldn't open further. He moved the door back and forth, gaining a few inches before giving up when the solid thing didn't move, settling for a quick look around the hall.

The stone that made up the corridor was blackened, like a fire had rushed through the narrow space. Yugi's mouth dropped open in shock, carefully reaching out to brush his fingers over the scorched stone, rubbing the fingers together as the ash coated them. He wrinkled his nose at the smell before backing away, unable to fit through the small space in the door. Before he could leave his soul room, he would have to move that thing that was blocking his door.

But Yami had locked him in the room for a reason, so he would come to get him. Yugi shook his head at the thought, he refused to just depend on Yami for everything, the spirit had enough to deal with. He glanced around his soul room, shifting anxiously. He was sure that everything was alright, he couldn't sense anything else, but he wasn't as good at sensing shadow magic as Yami. He just collapsed when the shadow magic became too much for him, which wasn't the best method of detection. He would just have to be careful then, maybe risk a run across the hall to the Pharaoh's soul room.

He nodded and took a step back, backing to the far wall of his soul room. He bounced on the balls of his feet, staring at his door before breaking into a sprint, turning at the last minute to slam himself into the door. It inched open, Yugi straining against it until he had a space that he could just barely squeeze through. He leaned against the door with a happy sigh, standing up straight and carefully venturing into the hall.

Aside from the damaged stone there was nothing wrong. Yugi frowned and turned in place, carefully walking over to Yami's door, opening it and glancing around. He stepped into the dark room, surprised when it didn't brighten and Yami didn't come for him. The spirit always sensed when he was in the soul room. Yugi shivered, rubbing his arms as he backed out of the dark soul room, it was scary in there without Yami. He stepped back into the hallway, turning around to go back to his soul room, planning to take control of the body, when he noticed the shape in the shadows behind his door. He stared at the shape, his eyes widening as he recognized the familiar glint of gold.

"Yami!" He sprinted across the hallway, skidding on the floor as he reached the spirit. He reached out to touch Yami's arm, the spirit not reaching to his touch. Yugi glanced around before moving, he wasn't able to see anything in the shadows, so he would have to risk moving Yami out of them. He had to know what was wrong with his partner. He grabbed onto Yami's arms and began to drag him out into the light of the hallway, carefully pulling him around the door and into his own soul room, only then glancing down at the spirit.

The jacket and shirt had been burned away, exposing the blistered, red skin of Yami's back. Yugi clamped a hand over his mouth, feeling his stomach churn. He didn't know if he could vomit just being a soul, but it felt like he could. He turned around, waiting until he could force the nausea away before turning around again. Yugi knelt on the ground, resting his hand over one of Yami's as he stared at the spirit's burned back. Now he knew why the door hadn't opened, Yami had been protecting him when the attack had caught them, and he had fallen in front of the door.

"You idiot." Yugi's voice cracked over the words, the smile that had snuck onto his face wavering. He stroked the back of Yami's hand as he tried to think. He had taken first aide classes and learned some by watching his mother and grandfather. Of course, he had his own extensive knowledge from the days when he had been bullied, but that never included burns. He remembered that he had always held his finger under running water when he had touched the stove in his youth, but he wasn't sure that would work for this kind of burn.

"A-aibou." He glanced down as he saw Yami stirring, rest a hand on Yami's arm to prevent the spirit from moving. Yami's eyes flickered open for a moment before they closed again, the spirit slumping to the floor, Yugi breathing a sigh of relief. As much as he wanted to know that Yami was alright, he preferred the spirit to be unconscious while he worked. And he had to get started or else his friends would worry about him.

Yugi forced himself to calm down, taking a deep breath before looking around, speaking aloud just to fill the silence. "First, I need cool water and probably towels. Then, something to cover it. I can't have it getting infected."

He closed his eyes, picturing the items that he needed and gasping as he felt a tug on the Millennium Puzzle, opening his eyes to see a bucket of water and towels. Yugi smiled wearily, reaching for one of the towels and tossing it into the bucket, allowing it to soak while he turned back to Yami. Carefully, he peeled the remains of the jacket and the shirt away from the burn, trying to avoid touching it. Yami winced a couple of times, Yugi soothing him quickly, finally managing to completely take off the jacket and shirt, throwing them to one side. He reached for the towel wringing out some of the excess water before carefully laying the towel over Yami's back.

There was no way of telling how long he spent in his soul room, soaking the towel again when it dried out, not quite sure how long he was supposed to do this. If only he had paid more attention when they were discussing first aide. Then again, he had spent most of those classes trying to figure out how to solve the Millennium Puzzle, scribbling notes on the side of his paper. If he hadn't done that, he wouldn't have Yami. Yugi smiled fondly, touching Yami's cheek. "My brave pharaoh."

He took the towel from Yami's back again, reaching for the bandages, grunting as he lifted Yami up partially. Still unsure if he was doing this right, or even if this was the right way to treat a burned soul, Yugi gently wrapped Yami's back, making sure that the bandage wasn't too tight. He didn't want Yami to be in more pain than he already was. Tying off the end of the bandage, Yugi set the spirit down and rushed over to his bed, taking a few pillows off before arranging them so Yami would be comfortable.

"I'll be back, Yami, I just have to check on everyone else. You stay here." He kissed the spirit before walking out into the hall, quickly taking control of their body.

Yugi woke up in his bed on the blimp, blinking before looking around. He slowly sat up, pausing as he saw the door open. Joey walked into the room, Yugi giving him a wave before he arranged the pillows so he could sit up. The blonde rushed over to him. "Yug', are you alright?"

He nodded, stretching a wincing when he back hurt slightly. Yugi turned to look over his shoulder, surprised to see that he wasn't burned at all. Yami must have redirected the attack some how to save their body. Yugi shook his head, shivering before looking over at Joey. "I'm fine. How are you?"

"Great, thanks to the Pharaoh." Joey looked down, shaking his head slowly. "Mai isn't too hot though, Marik sent her soul to the shadows."

"Oh no." Yugi looked away, his hands gripping the sheets tightly.

"Yeah. You alright? I want to go check on Mai."

"I'm good, go away." Yugi gave a shaky smile. "I just have to check on Y-the Pharaoh and I'll join you."

"Sure. Tell him thanks for me."

"Alright." Yugi settled back down, closing his eyes and brushing his fingers over the Millennium Puzzle. He smiled at the bit of warmth that it held, taking that as a sign that Yami was alright. He willed himself back into the corridor, stepping into his soul room and noticing that the bucket and towels were gone, Yami still splayed out on the floor.

The spirit shifted slightly as he walked in. "Yugi? Is that you?"

"Hey, Yami."

Yami slumped, wincing at the move. "Thank the gods."

"I'm sorry." Yugi sat down beside Yami, reaching out to hold his hand. "I had to go check on the others. We were kind of out of it for a while apparently. I've got to leave again, Mai's soul has been taken. But Joey says thanks for saving them."

"And you?"

"Yami, I'm fine." Yugi shook his head. "You should be more worried about yourself."

He reached to hold Yami down as the spirit tried to sit up, shaking his head and pushing Yami back down. "Rest. I'm alright."

"No. Marik is still out there…still possessed. And he's taking souls. Yugi, I-"

"You're hurt. You've done enough protecting for today." Yugi sighed and shook his head, shifting so he could lay down next to Yami, the spirit watching him. He smile and reached out to touch Yami's check, brushing his fingers over the skin. "You didn't have to do that."

"Aibou, I'd do anything for you." Yami gave him a little smile that made him smile in return, his heart melting bit with the expression. It was that rare gentle smile that Yami would give him, Yugi leaning forward to kiss the corner of Yami's mouth.

"I know, but I hate seeing you hurt. It kind of scared me." Yami hummed in confusion, Yugi playing with the spirit's fingers as he thought. "You're supposed to be this great powerful pharaoh…I sometimes think that you can never be hurt. But that's stupid."

"Aibou?"

"I like you better like this, a person instead of an almighty pharaoh." Yugi snuggled close, careful to avoid the burn on Yami's back. "Although I prefer when you're healthy."

"I do too." Yugi chuckled and closed his eyes, switching his hold on Yami's hand so their fingers were intertwined. He heard Yami shift, flinching as the hiss of pain from the spirit, wishing he could do more for Yami. "Don't you have to go back to them, aibou?"

"I want to make sure that you're alright, Yami. I was so worried…"

"I'm still here." And that was all that really mattered in the end.

Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome.