Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy!
Chapter 26- Relocation and Reconnection
It had been a week since the gods had announced their judgment to Yami.
During that week, Yugi and Yami had been spending a great deal of time together. The fact that the gods had considered separating them had made the two realize how lucky they were to have each other, and they made sure to spend a lot of time together just to reassure themselves that they were still together.
Atemu, Heba, Bakura, Ryou, Marik, and Malik were glad that things had worked out for Yugi and Yami. They were hoping that the two would remain strong in their newfound relationship.
However, Yugi still had not made a definite decision on when he would start trying to reestablish relationships with Joey, Seto, Serenity, Mokuba, Tea, and Tristan.
Yugi was sitting in his room in Ryou's house. He had been doing a lot of thinking, and he had finally came to a decision. He got up and headed downstairs, finding Bakura, Ryou, Marik, and Malik in the living room.
"Hey, Yugi." Ryou said.
"Hey. Do you guys have a minute? I need to talk to you." Yugi said.
Bakura looked up from the game of chess he was playing with Malik. "Do I need to kill someone?" Bakura asked.
Yugi sighed. "No, Bakura. You're not going to need to kill someone." Yugi said.
"Damn!" Bakura said.
Ryou whacked Bakura in the back of his head with his book.
"OW!" Bakura exclaimed.
"I've already told you about having that sort of mindset, Bakura!" Ryou scolded.
Bakura cringed and shrank away.
Yugi bit his lip to stop from laughing. He always found it funny that Ryou could make the infamous Thief King tremble in fear.
Marik and Malik didn't stop the laughter.
"Shut up!" Bakura snapped, glaring at them.
"Why? It's funny." Marik said.
Ryou groaned before he set his book aside. "What's on your mind, Yugi?" Ryou asked.
"Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I've come to a decision." Yugi said.
"What's that?" Bakura asked.
"I'm going to move back into the Game Shop." Yugi said.
All four looked up, their full attention on Yugi.
"Why, Yugi?" Marik asked.
"It's not that I don't like living here. I do. It's just that I think I need to go home now. I really do miss living there." Yugi said.
"You sure?" Bakura asked.
"Bakura, I know that you're worried about me moving back because of Yami, but he's not a threat to me, and he's not going to do what he did before. I know that." Yugi said.
"I just worry." Bakura said.
"I know. I really do want to go back home, though. I miss it, and I think that now is the right time." Yugi said.
"As long as no one has pressure you into this." Malik said.
Yugi smiled as he sat down on the couch. "No one has, Malik. I did tell Atemu I had been thinking about it, but he kept his word to me about not telling anyone. Yami and Heba don't even know that I have considered moving back, and Atemu hasn't mentioned it again to me." Yugi said.
"Well, I guess you had better tell them." Ryou said.
"I will." Yugi said. He looked at all four. "Look. I really want to thank you. You guys were there for me in my worst time, and I don't know if you'll ever know how grateful I am." Yugi said.
"You don't have to thank us, shrimp." Bakura said.
"Yeah. We're friends, and we'd do it again in a heartbeat." Marik said.
"In any case, I am grateful to you. When I needed someone, you guys were there for me, before and after the rape. And I can't thank you enough for letting me live here as long as you have." Yugi said.
"Yugi, you're always welcome here, and just because you're moving out doesn't mean that you can't come by." Ryou said.
"I know, and I appreciate that. I really don't know that I would have made it through all this without you guys." Yugi said.
"And we were glad to help." Bakura said.
"I really do appreciate it, and I'll always be grateful to you for all that you did for me. I won't forget it." Yugi said.
All four smiled at Yugi.
"Like we said, glad to do it." Bakura said.
"When will you move back?" Malik asked.
"As soon as I tell Yami, Atemu, and Heba that I'm moving back." Yugi said.
"Why so soon?" Marik asked.
"Well, Grandpa is due back from that excavation in three weeks, and I really want to be back by then." Yugi said.
"Are you telling him anything?" Ryou asked softly.
Yugi gave him a sad smile. "Yeah. I'll tell him everything; start to finish. I'm not going to hide anything from Grandpa. He needs to know." Yugi said.
"Well, if you need us when you tell him, just let us know." Bakura said.
"I will." Yugi said.
Yami, Atemu, and Heba hadn't expected Yugi to show up that day.
"Hey, Yugi. What are you doing here?" Heba asked.
"What? I can't come back to my home?" Yugi asked.
"Of course you can! I'm just kind of surprised." Heba said.
Yugi smiled. "Well, I came over to tell you something." Yugi said.
"What's that?" Yami asked. He was worried that he might have done something to upset Yugi. It was something that always worried him. He didn't want to upset Yugi for any reason. He also worried that he would find out something else bad that had happened to Yugi during the time that he hadn't paid any attention to his Hikari.
"Well, I was thinking of moving back." Yugi said.
"You are?" all three said.
Yugi nodded. "I really hope you don't mind." Yugi said.
"Of course not!" Heba said, hugging his brother tightly. "I can't believe that you're going to be moving back! That's great!" Heba said.
Yugi winced. "Heba! Air!" Yugi gasped. He couldn't breathe from how tightly Heba was hugging him.
"Sorry." Heba said, letting go.
"So, you finally decided to come back." Atemu said.
"Yeah. I figure that I need to come back. Besides, I miss home." Yugi said.
Yami smiled. "Well, you know that you can come back. It is your home, and we would all love for you to be back." Yami said.
"Yeah. You can have your room back." Heba said.
"What about you?" Yugi asked. He had known that Heba had been staying in his room since Heba had decided to stay there.
Heba blushed.
Yami rolled his eyes. "Two weeks ago, Heba moved into Atemu's room, so they're sleeping in the same room." Yami said.
"It's not like we're having sex." Heba muttered.
Yami shrugged. "I was just explaining what you meant to Yugi." Yami said.
Yugi smiled. "Well, I wouldn't have minded sharing my room with you." Yugi said.
"It doesn't matter." Heba said.
"When are you moving back?" Atemu asked.
"As soon as possible. I want to be moved back in and settled before Grandpa gets home." Yugi said.
"Well, we'll be glad to help you move." Atemu said.
"Thanks. I don't have too, too much stuff there, but I could use the help." Yugi said.
"Um, Yugi. Are you going to tell Grandpa what's been going on?" Heba asked.
"Yeah. I am. I'm going to tell him everything." Yugi said. He looked over at Yami. "Sorry, but I can't leave anything out." Yugi said.
Yami shook his head. "You don't have to apologize to me, Yugi. Whatever Grandpa does to me is nothing more than what I deserve." Yami said.
"Well, it'll be good for him to know what's been happening." Atemu said.
"Yeah. I know." Yugi said.
"So, should we get you moved back in?" Heba asked.
Yugi looked over at his brother. "You want me back here, don't you?" Yugi asked.
"Yes." Heba said.
"Come on. We can go ahead and start moving stuff." Yugi said.
In a few days, they had all of Yugi's stuff back at the Game Shop.
Yugi stood in his room, looking around. 'I had more stuff than I thought.' Yugi thought.
"You okay?" Yami asked.
Yugi turned to look at his Yami. "Yeah. I just didn't realize that I did have this much stuff there." Yugi said.
Yami chuckled. "Well, you were there for a few months, so you were bound to accumulate more stuff." Yami said.
"Yeah. I guess so." Yugi agreed.
"I can help out." Yami said.
"Thanks. I'll need it." Yugi said.
"Atemu and Heba ducked out. Said they were going out on a date." Yami said.
"Meaning that they didn't want to have to help with this." Yugi said.
"Probably." Yami said.
"Well, we might as well get started." Yugi said.
The two started to unpack the boxes. Most of it was clothes.
"Did you go on a shopping spree?" Yami asked, a little surprised.
"Ryou took me on a few of them. He tried to get my mind off of things with them." Yugi said.
"Did it work?" Yami asked.
"Sometimes." Yugi admitted.
"Well, that's good." Yami said.
The only other things that Yugi had were the photo albums that he had been collecting, a few other trinkets, and the journal he had been writing in.
"I didn't know you kept a journal." Yami said.
Yugi rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. It was Dr. Grey's idea." Yugi said.
"It was?" Yami asked, handing the journal to Yugi.
"Yeah. When I first starting seeing her, she suggested that I start keeping a journal. When I got angry upset, scared, or anything, she told me to write in the journal. It could be because of the rape or anything else. It was just an easier way to let out my emotions. It helped me a lot." Yugi said.
"Really?" Yami asked.
Yugi nodded. "It's probably one of the reasons that I am starting to recover from everything that happened." Yugi said.
"That's a good thing." Yami said.
"I know." Yugi replied.
The two soon had Yugi's room straightened up.
Yugi had been living back in the Game Shop for a week, and it was good for him. He was happy to be home.
Currently, it was Thursday night, and there was no school the next day.
Yugi sat at his desk in his room. He had been given homework, and he was trying to do it, but he was having trouble concentrating.
Yugi starred at the picture that was sitting on his desk before he finally picked it up and looked at it.
The picture was of the entire group minus Heba since he hasn't been there at the time.
'I know that I'm starting to forgive Yami, and that I do have trust in him, but it's not enough. I need to start talking to the others.' Yugi thought.
Yugi finally picked up his cell phone and went through his contact list until he found the name that he had been looking for.
Joey's.
Yugi really did miss having Joey around, and he wanted to have his best friend, next to Yami, back in his life. He already knew that Seto would come with Joey, and he figured that he would be able to handle Seto then, too.
Yugi just stared at the name on his contacts list before he finally made the decision and pressed the send button.
Joey had been laying on his Seto's bed. He had homework that he needed to do, but he would wait and do it later.
Seto was in his office doing some work for the company, and he wouldn't be coming to bed for a while.
'I hate when Seto has to work at night. He never comes to bed before midnight.' Joey thought dejectedly.
Joey's cell phone rang then.
Joey reached over and picked up the cell phone before answering it without looking at who it was. "Hello?" Joey said, glad to be able to talk to someone.
"Joey?" Yugi said.
Joey was shocked. He had spoken to Yugi in a long time, and he was shocked at hearing his best friend's voice.
"Um, Joey? Are you there?" Yugi asked.
Joey snapped out of it. "Yeah! I'm here, Yugi!" Joey said.
"Joey, you don't have to shout. I can hear you just fine." Yugi said.
"Oh. Sorry." Joey said. He smiled. "I was just surprised that you called me is all." Joey said.
"Yeah. I guess I haven't exactly kept in touch with you in recent days. Sorry about that." Yugi said.
"You don't have to apologize, Yugi. I understand." Joey said.
"Look, Joey. I was calling because I wanted to ask you something." Yugi said.
"Sure. What is it?" Joey asked.
"Well, do you think that you and Seto could come over to the Game Shop tomorrow?" Yugi asked.
"If you want us to, we will." Joey said.
"Thanks. I really want to talk to you." Yugi said.
"Sure, Yugi. What time do you want us to come over?" Joey asked.
"Is ten too early?" Yugi asked.
"Nah. We'll be there." Joey said.
"Okay, Joey. Thanks." Yugi said.
"No problem." Joey said.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Joey." Yugi said.
"Okay. Bye." Joey said before he hung up. He then jumped up, dashed out of the bedroom, and ran down the hall to Seto's office.
Seto was startled when Joey suddenly came barging into his office. "Joey! What are you doing?" Seto demanded. He then noticed the way Joey's eyes were sparkling and wondered what had gotten him so excited.
"Seto, I just got a call from Yugi. He wants you and I to come over to the Game Shop tomorrow. He wants to talk to us." Joey said.
"Are you sure?" Seto asked. He was shocked. He hadn't thought that Yugi would want to talk to them ever again.
"Yeah. He just called me. Seto, I can't believe this." Joey said, obviously happy.
Seto smiled. "Neither can I, but I'm glad that he did call." Seto said.
"So am I." Joey admitted.
"What time do we need to be there?" Seto asked.
"He said ten. I can't wait to talk to him, Seto." Joey said.
"Neither can I." Seto said. And he meant it.
The following morning, Yugi ate breakfast with Atemu and Heba.
"So, any plans today?" Yami asked.
"Yeah. We're going to go out today." Heba said.
"Where?" Yugi asked.
"We haven't figured that out yet. We'll decide what we're going to do while we're out." Atemu answered.
"Well, have fun." Yami said.
"We always do when we're together." Atemu said.
"What about you two? Do you plan on doing anything, or are you spending the whole day indoors?" Heba asked.
"I don't have a clue. I guess we'll figure that out later." Yami said.
"Un, actually, I do have plans." Yugi said.
All three looked at Yugi in shock.
"What do you have planned?" Yami asked.
"Well, I called Joey last night, and I asked him and Seto to come over this morning so that I could talk to them." Yugi said.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Heba asked.
"Well, the truth is that it was a last-minute decision. I called Joey and asked them to come over before I lost my nerve. I need to start rebuilding my other friendships, so I decided to start with Joey and Seto." Yugi said.
"Do you need us to stay? I know that Seto can be kind of intimidating at times." Atemu said.
Yugi laughed. "You don't need to worry, Atemu. I've gotten over me fear of Seto. He doesn't intimidate me anymore." Yugi said.
Heba started to say something.
"Heba, you and Atemu already made plans to go out today. I don't want you to change them because of me. You two need to get out and just be together. You are dating, so you need to spend time alone. Besides, Yami is going to be here." Yugi said.
"Yeah. I am." Yami agreed.
"Well, okay." Heba said.
It wasn't long before Atemu and Heba left.
Yugi and Yami washed up the dishes that they had used.
"Yugi, are you sure that you're ready for this?" Yami asked.
"Yes, I am. I need to start reconnecting with the others. I just decided to start with Joey and Seto. I know that I need to do this, Yami." Yugi said.
Yami smiled. "All right, Yugi. If that's what you want to do, I'm going to support you in this." Yami said.
"Thanks, Yami. That means a lot to me." Yugi said.
The two finished the dishes and put them away.
"So, when are Seto and Joey coming over?" Yami asked.
The doorbell rang.
Yugi looked at the clock. "They're a little early." Yugi said. He went and opened the door to find that Joey and Seto were on the doorstep.
"Hi, Yugi." Joey said, not wanting to be too forward.
"Hey. Come on in." Yugi said.
Seto and Joey walked into the house, and Yugi shut the door behind them.
"Hey, Joey. Seto." Yami said.
"Hey, Yams." Joey said.
"Sorry that we're early, Yugi. The puppy wouldn't shut up until we finally came on." Seto said.
Joey shot Seto a glare.
"It's the truth." Seto insisted.
Yugi smiled. "It's okay. I don't mind you being early." Yugi said.
Joey couldn't stand it anymore. "Yugi, listen. I'm really sorry about everything that I did. What I did was low, wrong, and uncalled for. I never meant to hurt you the way I did, but I know that I did that anyway. I'm not going to make any excuses. I don't have any. I just don't know what else to say other than I'm sorry." Joey said.
"Joey, I'm not going to lie and say that what happened didn't bother me. It really did. I didn't understand why it happened. I always thought it was something that I did." Yugi said.
"No! You never did anything to deserve it, Yugi. I was an idiot. That's all. I was an idiot, and I wasn't a very good friend to you when you needed it the most." Joey said.
"In any case, I've spent a lot of time trying to get my life back on track with what happened. As I'm sure you already know, Yami and I have become great friends again, and the truth is that I want all my friends back. It's just a process, so I'm going slowly. I decided I'd start with you guys." Yugi said.
Joey smiled widely. "Thanks, Yugi. You have no idea what this means to me." Joey said.
"Just what does that mean?" Seto asked.
"Well, I'm not going to automatically trust you again. I just can't do that. You'll have to earn it back." Yugi said.
"I understand, Yugi." Joey said.
Seto sighed. "Well, I'm not good at this, but I'm sorry, too. It wasn't right what happened, and I'm truly sorry for what happened." Seto said.
"I know, Seto. And I really did miss having you around as well." Yugi said.
"So, are you doing better?" Joey asked.
"Joey!" Yami and Seto said, thinking that he was going too fast.
Yugi smiled. "It's okay. It's an honest question." Yugi said. He then looked at Joey. "Yeah. I'm doing better than what I was. I've been seeing a psychiatrist to help me deal with what happened, and it's done wonders for me. I've gotten a lot of help from Dr. Grey. I'm starting to deal with it." Yugi said.
"That's good." Joey said.
Yugi sighed. "Listen. I do need to apologize to you two." Yugi said.
"For what?" Seto asked, surprised. He didn't know of anything that Yugi had to apologize for.
"For everything that I did when I had Yami's Shadow magic. I wasn't right in attacking you like I did and saying a lot of things that I said." Yugi said.
Joey walked over and placed a hand on Yugi's shoulder.
Yugi didn't flinch. He has gotten to where he wouldn't flinch away from a person if he knew who it was and he knew that they were going to touch him.
"Yugi, you don't have to apologize. The truth is that if that didn't happen, we might not have realized everything that we did or everything that you had been going through. At first, yeah, I was pissed, but once I knew the truth, I realized that I hadn't been a good friend to you at all. We were all fault with everything that you went through. So don't blame yourself." Joey said.
"Yes. You can't help what happened to you, Yugi. You can stop being angry with yourself for that. If anything, it opened our eyes to the truth. It was probably the only truth that we heard in a long time." Seto said.
"Okay." Yugi said.
"So, what now?" Joey asked.
"Well, as long as you're here, do you want to play a game?" Yugi asked.
Joey's eyes lit up again. "Sure! How about a racing game?" Joey asked.
"Okay. Playstation 3 or Xbox?" Yugi asked.
"Playstation 3." Joey said.
The two headed into the living room.
"So, he's getting better?" Seto asked.
"Yeah. He's getting a lot better." Yami said.
"At least you have that friendship back." Seto said, knowing that it had killed Yami that he had lost it.
"Not yet. I'm still earning back Yugi's trust." Yami said.
"You are?" Seto asked, surprised.
Yami nodded. "A lot of damage was done, but I'm slowly rebuilding that trust." Yami said.
"Then it'll take us a while." Seto said.
"Probably." Yami said.
"Well, given what we did, we need to earn it back. We can't just be given it automatically. That would be foolish." Seto said.
"I know. Right now, I'm taking what I can get. I'm not losing him again." Yami said.
Seto nodded. He somewhat understood where Yami was coming from.
"Hey! You two coming?" Joey asked.
"Sure thing, Joey." Yami said.
"Yami, he trusts you more than you might think." Seto said. He had seen Yugi, and he knew that Yugi trusted Yami a lot.
"I know, but he doesn't trust me completely yet." Yami said.
"He will." Seto said.
"I hope you're right." Yami said.
The two headed into the living room to play the game. The four hung out all day.
Hope you liked it. I don't own Playstation 3 or XBox. They belong to whoever created them.
Next: Yugi talks with the rest of his friends, and a little moment of Yugi and Yami.
R&R.