Kurisuten: Mkay, so I'm glad to know that some people didn't hate my last chapter. I'm glad!
Kishichi: See? You worry too much!
Kurisuten: Yeah, yeah, I know. Well, This chapter is.... late. Again. XD
Kishichi: And what did you do this week?
Kurisuten: ......Nothing.
Kishichi: Exactly.
Kurisuten: Well, my fingers didn't want to type all week! They wanted to draw Malik!
Kishichi: But you couldn't find a screenshot of him that was "drawable".
Kurisuten: S-shut up!
Kishichi: -sigh- Kurisuten doesn't own YuGiOh. This is said every chapter, why keep saying it?
Kurisuten: I have no freaking clue.
Kishichi: Chapter starts now.
(Side note: If anyone has seen the movie Paranornal Activity, can you tell me if it's a good movie to watch? I know it's really scary, but I want to know from you guys if I should see it....)
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
The crisp cool air soon became a bitter coldness thickening the air. Trees became bare wooden limbs standing from the ground. At least three days a week, there was a grey blanket in the sky that darkened the day hours. Nights grew longer as days shortened. Breaths of air became light clouds that floated to the others at a higher altitude. Every now and again, a thin layer of white snow replaced the ground. Ice stuck to patches of the road and sidewalk, making it slicker than before. There wasn't a breath of wind that made the dead tree branches crack against each other. Everyday seemed pretty miserable, right? Wrong.
Despite the harsh weather conditions, the atmosphere of the crowns of people on the sidewalks and busier areas of the city was brighter and happier than it had been before. Something about the time setting made spirits lighten. Oh, right. It was finally December. It was only the first few days of December, though, but December nonetheless. There's only one day a year people are this cheerful, and that was the twenty-fifth; that day was Christmas. It was at least three weeks away, but each day was a day closer to that date. This is the month that moods are lighter. Suddenly, everybody is everybody's friend. Even teachers and work bosses are more lenient on things. All in all, December had to be the best month of the year.
Unfortunately, the only bad thing about it being so close to winter is that the sun rises later than it normally would. Therefore, do you know how many times I've woken up late because I thought it was still about four a.m.? A lot of times. One time, I woke up with three minutes to get to school, and that same day, Yami didn't get to school until an hour after it started. That's only happened once, so all of the other times, we barely made it to school on time. My poor first hour teacher must be really annoyed with me getting to class as soon at the bell rings. I guess that's the only downside to it being so close to winter. It'll probably be worse when it actually is the winter months. I'm going to have to get really used to the later-rising sun, or I'm going to have major problems in January.
You know those days where you don't want to get up, but you realize what day it is or what was going to happen that day? This is one of those mornings. The annoying tintinnabulation-like sound of the alarm clock ripped me from my light sleep, and I rolled onto my stomach, folding my arms under my chin. I wanted to ignore the clock, and I forgot it was even going off. Thankfully, it automatically shut itself of two minutes later. I pressed my ear to my arms and closed my eyes once more, drifting off into a sleep once again. Too bad it didn't last for too long, because the acursed clock rang through the air a second time. Groaning, I pulled an arm from under my head and hit the "off" button on the clock with brutal force. I yawned loudly. I thought to myself, why even get up? Why do I have to go to school today? What's wrong with staying home for a day? Then, I remembered that it was finally Friday, the last day before a well-deserved weekend. I pressed my palms on the pillow and stretched my back out, pushing my upper body from the bed. If I get up now, I can guarantee I'd be on time to school, plus I plan to come home straight after school so I can sleep a little more. Three hours of trying to sleep in a freezing cold room and I'm expected not to be tired?
I was very sleepy, yes, but somehow I pulled myself from out of bed and planted my feet to the floor unsteadily. After regaining my lost balence, I dragged my feet along the floor, bottoms of the pajama pants covering the tops and heels of both feet. I rubbed one eye as I walked toward the window. Lifting a hand, I pulled back enough of the blinds blocking the view to see my miniscule-sized portion of the small city. The sun hadn't risen yet, but I wouldn't even have been able to tell if it had or not anyway. Dark grey clouds blanketed the sky, which would be a lighter shade of grey but still have a dark tint to it within a few hours. The street, sidewalks, and numerous driveways were soaked with melted water that used to take the form of pure white snow. The front lawn, and a few others as well, had small patches of ice, and the sidewalk and street most likely had invisible spots of ice as well. I concluded the tempurature wasn't enough for it to start snowing (though that might change later in the day.), but it was enough to freeze me from the inside-out. I put my free hand up to the glass, and I shivered upon contact with it. It was, indeed, undeniably cold. If I could, I'd stay home from school and stay under the covers of the bed all day until spring crept on the city. Unfortunatly, that was impossible.
Sighing to myself, I dragged myself back to the bed I had been asleep (sort of) in and glanced at the clock. 5:57 a.m., it flashed. I hadn't known how early it really was. I shook my head to myself and crossed the room to the lightswitch, flicking it to "on". I flinched as the artificial light flooded the once dark room. I squinted my eyes, trying to get used to the brightness. It must have been at least two minutes before I yawned again and fully opened both eyes. I considered the weather outside and tried to decide what I should wear to not be cold. Okay, scratch that. I considered the weather and tried to decide what I should wear so at least I won't be trying to thaw out my body from the ice forming on my extremidies, arms, and legs. That sounds about right. After much thought, I settled on wearing one pair of jeans and a pair of sweatpants over those. It'll most likely be... somewhat successful. For the clothing from the waist up, I picked a plain black long-sleeved shirt (like I really need to impress anyone), then a thin black jacket over the shirt, then a thicker black and grey striped jacket over that. Going over my image and clothing choises in the mirror hung on the wall next to the closet doors, I concluded that I looked good enough. It was Friday, and it was also just school. I wasn't going to a funeral. Next problem was deciding what to do about my feet. Regular socks and the same untied, loose shoes were going to do nothing. Two pairs of regular socks and the same untied, loose shoes were going to at least somewhat help and I was just going to settle for that. My shoes were still at the bottom of the stairs, and I wasn't going to put them on now anyway; at the moment, there was no point. I pulled both pairs of socks over my feet and sighed in optimism. I was very confident today that I was not going to look like a human popsicle. A human popsicle with the craziest hair in existance.
I took one more quick glance at the clock, and it read 6:13. I pushed my mouth into a sideways pout. I took a little bit more time than I'd had hoped, but I could mind less. Mentally shrugging, I exited my room and shuffled my feet to the bathroom. I pushed the lightswitch upward and let the light illuminate the room and through the doorway on the hallway floor. I picked up a hairbrush off of the counter and quickly ran it through my hair until it looked like I hadn't just woken up. It didn't look that bad to begin with, but better to be safe than sorry. I set the brush back onto the counter and took a step back, pressing my hands onto my small hips, studying my apperance. I didn't look like a dead person, so I guess I looked good enough. I wasn't one of those vain people that took at least half an hour just to put eye make-up on alone (considering I don't wear make-up.), but I didn't care much about apperance. At least I don't look like a hobo who hasn't showered in three years, I'd be pretty happy with how I look. I nodded to myself and left the room, shutting the light off as I left.
I ran down the stairs, taking two steps down at a time and skipping a stair on the way down. I had almost tripped on the last stair, but I had thankfully caught myself before falling face first to the floor. I walked around to the kitchen and looked through the refridgerator and the cabitnets to find something edible for breakfast. In the end, I settled on just a small cup of orange juice. After pouring the drink and putting the carton back in the refridgerator, I hopped onto the counter and swung my dangling legs back and forth. I took a small sip of juice every now and again, but I was mostly staring at the same place on the floor through the darkness. I was staring at nothing in particular, and I wasn't thinking of much either. Mostly, I was just staring blankly with a empty mind while absentmindedly drinking the cup of orange juice I was holding. I brought the drink to my lips and realized I had already drinken it all. I tossed the empty cup in the sink next to me and hopped off of the counter. My socks slid across the floor, and I fell backward, though grabbing the counter to regain my balance before I hit the ground. I blinked, then stood upright again and walked back up to the direction of my room acting as if nothing had happened.
Upon entrance, I looked at the clock again. Six twenty-five. I expect Yami would be here shortly. I sighed and walked over to my bed and fell back first onto the matress. I stuck my arms out perpendicular to the rest of my body on the bed and the bottom half of my lower legs, including my feet, were hung loosely over the side of the bed, though my toes were barely tracing outlines on the floor. I stared at the now illuminated ceiling. Like I was in the kitchen, I was not thinking anything. I wasn't falling asleep, however. I was thinking of blank slates of nothingness while laying on my bed and staring just as blankly as my thoughts at the ceiling. I appeared to be dead in another's perspective. That is, if you don't count the steady rising and falling of my cheat as it followed by breaths. Somewhere in my brain, I was asleep. I didn't seem asleep, but some part of my brain was shut down and was not concious. Slowly, after a while, my eye lids slowly slid shut...
My whole self awoke quickly as I heard a door opening downstairs, right under my room. I suspected Yami, and I knew I was right anyway. I had told him a while back that if I was here he could unlock the front door and walk in like it was his own home. I mean, he knew where the hidden key was since the first day I knew him. I jolted up and quickly ran down the stairs, not counting how many stairs I skipped or how many times I almost fell down the stairs. I clumsily appeared infront of the doorway and I straighted out my shirt and smoothed the legs of my pants. I stood straight and sighed. I met eyes with Yami, who was staring at me with a look that wondered how I could be so nervous and clumsy all of the time. I smiled sheepishly, and he chuckled to himself quietly. A breath of cold air hit me, and I quickly grabbed Yami by the arm and pulled him inside the house and shut the door quickly, shivering. Yami laughed, and I had to laugh with him.
"Well, good morning," he said, a small hint of laughter in his voice. I smiled and nodded at him.
Not even two minutes later, Yami and I were walking toward school in the freezing cold. The thermometer on the front porch had read thirty-nine degrees. The sun had only barely peeked over the horizon, but an abundance of clouds still covered the visible sky. People that were also walking along the sidewalks were huddling close to each other (Yes, even the tough guys that looked like they had five girls played into their hands.) trying to keep themselves warm, and Yami and I were no different. I had my hands jammed into my jacket pockets tightly and I had my left arm pressed against Yami's warm jacket, but Yami was still shivering. Everyone was, though. The scene had been the same for a week and a half now; this was nothing new to anyone.
Yami sighed, his breath visible in the air. "It's gotten too cold lately. I don't like it when it's this cold," he said to me. As he spoke, puffs of air formed from the breath he was exhaling. I nodded, trying to get myself closer to Yami to keep myself warm.
I agreed with him. "Yeah. I like the cold, though. Just... I don't like being cold." I watched the breath become visible before my face. Yami hummed in agreement with me.
"Let's not talk about how cold it is for the rest of the way to school. It's just a little..." Yami searched for the right word. "Depressing."
"You're right," I said. "How about the fact that Christmas is a few weeks away?"
Yami's face lit up quickly. "That reminds me, after school, there's something that I have to give to you." I tilted my head to the side, looking up at Yami. Give something to me? What does he need to give to me? And what does that have anything to do with Christmas? I thought of my options as I continued on with the conversation.
"Really? That's cool! What is it?" I asked in anticipation. Yami shook his head while smiling.
"Sorry, Yuugi. I can't tell you yet."
I pouted. "Why not?" I whined pathetically.
Yami chuckled. "If I do, it won't be a surprise."
Gasping, I held onto Yami's arm, jumping up and down in excitement. "Oh, oh! You didn't mention it was a surprise!"
He looked over at me with a large smile. "Yup. It's a surprise. You'll like it. I promise."
I smiled back. "I hope so!"
Then, before I knew or realized it, Yami and I had already arrived on school grounds. Yami turned to walk in the direction his class was and waved at me. "Well, see you at lunch, Yuugi!" he called. I stood and waved back at him, smiling.
"See you, Yami!" I called back. I turned to walk away, then I heard Yami turn back around and run back over to me. He placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me. I turned to look at him. "Yami?"
"I forgot to say," he said, "I like how you look today. It's different than from what you usually wear." Yami grinned at me, and I couldn't help but let my cheeks flush pink while nodding happily.
o-o-o
In the end, school dismissed early. It started to snow heavily, so the principal made an announcement that we could just leave. This happened at the end of third hour, and I have to say that this wasn't a bad way to end a Friday. Though, I didn't think it would snow this early. And I also didn't expect the school to just let us go so simply. I would think they would wait until the weather got worse. I'm not complaining or anything, but it just makes me wonder. Then again, nothing really makes much sense anymore, anyway.
Taking one step outside, I regretted it. It was colder than it was earlier this morning. Again, this didn't make sense. Isn't it supposed to be warmer in the day than at night? Isn't it supposed to warm up as the day went on? I sighed to myself and my mind told me that there was no point in even asking. I tried to keep myself walking forward instead of randomly latching onto a random bypasser to stay warm. Overall, I was doing a good job of not doing so. I stood at the edge of the sidewalk, waiting for an oppertunity to cross the street. I spaced out, even after I had plenty of chances to cross and not get hit by a car. I wasn't cold nor warm anymore, or at least I didn't notice if I was one or the other. I was staring at the same place on the ground for a while. One question flashed in my head repeatedly the entire time, just that one question. What was the 'surprise' Yami was talking about?
Suddenly, I felt myself fall forward, but there was another person falling with me. Their arms were around my shoulders like they were trying to give me a hug, and their body weight was pushing me forward. I made a quick attempt to scream, but it turned into a short gasp. I caught myself halfway to the ground, and I took a moment to regain my balance. I turned my head around to see who had attacked me. I saw Ryou, still holding me, and he looked as if he had fallen in a lake of ice. I half glared at him.
"Ryou, what are you doing," I asked dully, not even bothering to even make my statement sound like a question.
He tightened his grip. "I-i-it's f-freezing out h-here!" Ryou studdered. I nodded.
"Yes. It is cold. That has been established." I was trying to sound as blunt as I could without giving in to the cold.
"Help me, Yuugi! It's way too cold out here!" he said. I sighed. This wasn't the first time this has happened. So, I could easily predict what would happen next. A voice appeared behind us.
"Hey, Yuugi," it said. "First Yami, now Ryou. Make up your mind with who you want already."
Ryou and I looked to see who had said that. Unsurprisingly, it was Bakura. I had already knew that because one, either him or Marik would say something like that, and two, this whole scenario has happened many times before. Ryou let me go and ran over to the other, latching himself to Bakura instead.
"Kura, it's cold!" he said to Bakura. Bakura sighed.
"Yes, Ryou. It's cold. This is nothing new," he said. Ryou didn't reply. I sighed and crossed my arms, hiding my hands under my arms trying to keep them warm. I tapped my foot and occasionaly rocked back and forth on my heels to try to keep the blood in my body flowing. Sometimes, I lifted a hand to brush the white snow that was piling on my shoulders. I wondered where Yami and Marik could be. Maybe Bakura knew, so I asked him.
"Bakura, where's Yami and Marik?" I didn't cease attempting to not shiver as I spoke.
Bakura scoffed. "That bastard Marik went to school, then left after first hour. Don't know where the hell Yami is, though." Ah, okay, so Marik decided to ditch. I'm starting to think he dragged Yami along with him. Then again, I doubt Yami would even let him, so I deleted that last thought from my mind. I nodded, clenching my teeth to try to keep them from chattering against each other.
"Ah. That makes sense," I agreed. Bakura just hummed and went back to glaring angrily at nothing in particular. Ryou occasionally pulled himself closer to Bakura, complaining about how cold it was today. I scanned the area to look for Yami. I didn't see him, and I was starting to think that Marik did drag him off school grounds. I pushed my mouth into a sideways pout and crossed my arms tighter across my chest. I was growing very impatient, and I tried to hide that fact the best I could. Every now and again, Ryou would ask me something, and I would just answer that question with an appathetic one-word answer. I continued to look for Yami desperately. Finally, I had to give up and get off the school campus and head home where there was warmth. I uncrossed my arms.
"Okay, there's no point in standing around. Let's go," I said, sighing loudly. Bakura threw a hand in the air.
"Finally! I was starting to think you were going to stand around waiting for nothing!" he shouted at me. I shrugged and turned around to walk back home. I took a step forward and almost collided with someone else. I looked up, and I saw who I had been looking for the past five minutes.
Yami said semi-akwardly, "So, this is where you were. I thought you weren't going to show up."
I tilted my head sideways. "What? Where were you?" I asked, taking a step backward.
"Where I always am after school..." he answered, bringing a hand to the back of his head. I mentally slapped myself for not thinking of that. Bakura laughed in the background, saying something about how I was stupid for not thinking of obvious conclusions. I only ignored him. Yami then asked, "Are... we going to leave or what?" I nodded quickly before dragging him with me across the street. Bakura and Ryou followed, Ryou still holding Bakura as if he were glued to him. I stood myself close to Yami, though not how Ryou was with Bakura. My arm was just barely touching his own arm, and that was good enough for me. I then remembered this morning.
"So, Yami," I said, looking up at him. "What's that surprise you were talking about?"
Without looking at me, he replied, "You're just going to have to find out, aren't you?" Yami smiled and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. I pouted.
"Aw, you can't tell me?" I whined jokingly. Yami shook his head. "That's no fun!" I said, crossing my arms cutely. Yami laughed.
"It's not even going to be fifteen minutes when we get to my house! I'm sure you can wait that long, right?" Yami turned his head to look at me, and I uncrossed my arms, letting them fall to my sides loosely. I smiled widely.
"Fifteen minutes of not knowing what you were talking about," I said. Yami smiled just as wide as I was.
"You can wait that long, can't you?" he asked. I shook my head. Yami sighed and laughed. "Maybe if you walk a little faster, we'd get to my house faster."
I crossed my arms again. "But it's cold. It's difficult to walk as fast as I usually do," I said. I heard Bakura, who was behind us, say something else, but I didn't catch what he had said. Yami sighed.
"You're saying that you can't walk because of the tempurature?" he asked. I nodded. Yami chuckled to himself. "So you're blaming the weather now?"
"I'm blaming the weather now," I agreed.
Yami was now laughing loudly. "Yuugi, you do know how rediculous that sounds, right?"
I smiled as wide as I could and nodded quickly. "Yup!"
Yami ceased his laughter and look at me with a soft smile. "Yuugi, you're a really funny person. I like being around you."
My face switched from smiling-happiness to shock. My face warmed as a crimson blush formed across it. I brought a hand to my face and put it into a loose fist, pressing my knuckles against my mouth. I looked to the ground, my heart beating rapidly. I shouldn't be freaking out over small comments like these, but I can't help myself. Comments like these made my heart skip a beat. Comments like these mean everything to me. Comments like these slowly helped me solve the puzzle of all of the reasons why I'm so in love with Yami. I shifted my eyes sideways to glance at Yami, and he was looking down at me with a slightly puzzled expression.
He hesitated, "Yuugi, are you okay...?"
Bakura laughed loudly. "Oh course he's not! You don't notice that Yuugi always blushes when you say things like that? You don't notice that Yuugi always blushes when you barely touch his hand or something?"
I suddenly became nervous. What if Bakura decides to be the asshole he is and tells Yami everything? Thankfully, Bakura didn't say anything after that, so I was safe for now.
Yami glanced over his shoulder at Bakura. "Yes, I do notice, Bakura."
Bakura clicked his tounge. "Good to know you aren't oblivious to everything."
Scratch that. Bakura was definately going to tell Yami within this conversation. I stayed quiet and listened, despite this realization.
Yami quit walking and turned around to stare at Bakura, hands placed on his hips. "What do you mean by that?"
Bakura stopped walking infront of Yami and nudged Ryou off of him. Ryou let go of his hold on Bakura and backed himself away until he was standing next to me. Bakura said, "What I mean is that you must have a thick skull to not realize."
Yami glared darkly. "What are you talking about?"
I looked at Ryou, and he gave me a questioning look. I whispered lowly, "Bakura's going to tell Yami."
Ryou whispered back, "We don't know that yet, Yuugi."
I bit on one of my fingernails nervously, watching the conversation between Yami and Bakura.
Bakura smirked. "Well, we were talking about Yuugi, right? So me calling you an oblivious bastard must have something to do with Yuugi, right?" Yami held the glare on his face, not once changing expressions. Bakura started to walk, going around Yami. "You put the pieces together." He started walking down the street again, Ryou following him immediately. I looked up at Yami, and I noticed his face expression changed from angry to thoughtful. I tugged at his jacket sleeve, trying to gain his attention.
"Yami, c'mon," I said quietly. Yami looked back down at me, and I smiled hopefully. He softly smiled back.
"Okay, Yuugi, let's go then."
And so, life goes on as usual. Nothing has changed, right? Wrong. Yami was thinking about what Bakura had said, I was sure of it. I knew he would figure it out eventually. Maybe he already has figured it out and is keeping quiet about it. I knew something was different between us now, either for the better or worse. That, I didn't know. I didn't know if things are suddenly going to be sunshiny-happy between us (forget that, please), or if we were slowly going to drift farther and farther apart. I decided to test which it would be.
If Yami had figured it out already and we weren't going to be able to stay close, then if I try to get myself physically closer to him Yami would probably try to push me away from him. I took a deep breath and stepped sideways, reaching my arms around the arm that was closest to me. I layed my head on the arm I was holding and looked up at Yami. He was staring down at me with the same soft smile as before.
"You cold?" he asked me, his voice still as smooth and caring as before. I nodded, holding Yami's arm tighter. He chuckled quietly. "Am I warm enough?" I nodded again. "That's good," he sighed. Based on what had just happened, I concluded things were still okay between us. Either that, or he hasn't found out yet.
I closed my eyes. I could recognize this feeling of holding Yami close to me. It was, to me, the best feeling. I couldn't say kissing Yami was the best feeling, because one time it was an accident and the other time he was asleep. Until the day I can say kissing Yami makes my heart pound the most, I can settle with having Yami in such close contact with me. His body was warm, and it made me feel like I was finally okay. I smiled to myself. I felt like the luckiest person in the world right now, just by being able to hold Yami so close to me. Moments like this were the ones that made me cherish my life.
Suddenly, Yami said, "Oh, wait here, Yuugi." I snapped out of my trance and gazed at Yami.
"What? Why? Where are you going?" I asked, unaware of where we were.
"To get what I told you about this morning! Don't tell me you forgot!" Yami said. I looked around and saw we were infront of Yami's house. I shivered as I realized how cold it really was. I nodded, folding my arms and burying my hands within my arms.
"Wait," I said. "I don't realize why I can't go inside with you."
"Because! I don't want you to see what I want to give you!" Yami replied.
I pouted. "I won't look."
Yami gave me a look. "It won't even take me twenty seconds." With that, he had already ran to the front door and quickly unlocked the door and ran inside. I stared at the empty doorway from my place on the sidewalk, then looked at the ground. The ground at my feet had a layer of snow, and falling snow piled on the tops of my shoes. My arms fell to my sides loosely. My cheeks and nose were numb from the cold, but there was nothing I wanted to do about it myself. The cold hit my hands hard. My mind told me to refold my arms and keep my hands warm, but I ignored it. I spaced out again, not remembering my surroundings. I was standing still, completely unmoving.
I suddenly jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Yami, holding one hand behind his back. I blinked, then smiled. Yami repeated my action.
"Eighteen seconds," Yami said. "I counted."
I put on a teasing look. "So you can count to eighteen. Good to know that much," I said, a playful tone occupying my voice.
Yami laughed. "Hey, let's see you count that high."
"I can count to nineteen," I bragged. Yami smiled widely. Yami and I had the silliest converastions and arguments. They brightened the darkness in my day. He made me laugh, even if I didn't feel like smiling. Happiness was a good feeling to have, and Yami knew how to create a lighter mood even in the darkest times.
Yami then took one of my hands and placed it in his own hand. I looked up at him, puzzled. He said, "Okay, now close your eyes."
"Close my eyes? What is it you're giving me?" I asked.
"You won't find out if you don't close your eyes," Yami responded. I sighed and pressed my eyes shut.
"Alright, Yami, I'm closing my eyes," I said. Not even three seconds later, I felt something being placed in my hand. It was light in weight, though I couldn't tell what it was. Yami removed his hand from mine.
He said, "Alright, Yuugi, you can open your eyes." I followed what he said and reopened my eyes. I looked at what was put into my open hand, and I saw a small paper box made of a shiny gold and silver paper. I glanced back up at Yami.
"So, this was what you wanted to give me?" I asked, taking a step toward Yami. He sighed disappointingly, and I gasped, thinking he thought that I didn't think it wasn't good enough. "I like it and everything! But I mean, why an origami box?"
Yami held a finger to my lips, silencing me. "Yuugi, open the box. There is something inside of it."
Something inside of the box? Hesitantly, I brought my other hand to the thin paper lid of the origami box made with golden paper and pulled it open. I then reached inside of it and my fingers twitched when they came in contact with something metal. I wrapped my fingers around it and pulled out the object carefully. It was thin silver chain, but something was attached to it. I pulled the object out of the box even further and, at the end of the chain, was a small charm. It was an upside down square pyramid made of a sort of solid, baked clay. There was a strange eye symbol carved on one of the sides of the charm. I held it in my hand and studied it, taking in every detail of it. I glanced back up at Yami.
"Yami, this is really..." I struggled to find a good word to use, but there were no words to describe what I felt like. There were many different descriptive words running through my head, though none of them could possibly accurately tell the tale of what I was thinking. Instead, I said, "Why?"
Yami smiled. "When I got bored over the weekend, I found some old clay and made this. And I thought I'd give the end result to you." Upon hearing this, I leaned closer toward Yami in surprise.
"You made this?" I asked in amazement. Yami nodded. I drew away from him and looked back at the gift. It was so shockingly amazing, I don't know how I could possibly put my feelings into words. "Yami, this is really beautiful," I said quietly, finishing my earlier incomplete though.
"I'm glad you think so," he replied. I looked back at him, and I gazed into his deep crimson eyes. They held a soft emotion that seemed to calm the storm of confusion inside of my head. My breath became short. Yami stepped closer to me, reaching for the chain in my hand. I watched his movements. There was a small hook on part of the silver chain, and he detached it, holding an end of the chain in each hand. He reached to my neck and wrapped the chain around it, rehooking it in the back. I lifted a hand to touch the metal placed loosely around me. I looked back at Yami. Simply, he said, "It's a necklace. You're supposed to wear it."
I parted my lips to say something, but no words could possibly be said. Finally, I uttered a small, meaningful sentence. "Thank you."
Yami reached out to me with both hands, taking my hands in his. The origami box that held the necklace fluttered into the snow. I looked him directly into his eyes, able to study even more of those eyes of his even closer than before. With a soft, gentle smile, Yami replied to me in a smooth, caring voice.
"You're welcome, Yuugi."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Kurisuten: KYAAAAA! This chapter is the fluffiest chapter yet! I love it so much! Love it, love it, love it!
Kishichi: Okay, calm yourself down a bit. It was a really good chapter, though!
Kurisuten: Thank you so much! I was able to type the last of this with shaky hands...
Kishichi: What happened?
Kurisuten: ...The hair dryer almost blew up.
Kishichi: It didn't blow up.
Kurisuten: ...There were sparks. Almost caught on fire. Scary...
Kishichi: I thought you liked fire.
Kurisuten: What I like is explosives thrown off into the middle of the street and exploding in rainbow colors. What I like is pits of fire and sitting around it throwing stuff into it while holding a stick with a marshmellow on it inside of the fire. What I don't like is almost being burnt alive by a freaking hair dryer.
Kishichi: ...Akward.
Kurisuten: Really. Anyway, guess what chapter is next! It's the epic awesome chapter with the epic awesome party! And, here's a fair warning! The next chapter WILL HAVE THE LIME SCENE IN IT.
Kishichi: Finally you're putting it in!
Kurisuten: Yes, yes! There is no question for this chapter, however. Instead of a question about the chapter, here's one about the next chapter. What in the hell is going to happen that results in a lime? Think about that one and tell me in your reviews! I thank you all very much for sticking with me for this long!
Kishichi: We really appreciate it!
Kurisuten: Ja ne, minna-san!