Yami stepped out of the bathroom, feeling refreshed, but the pit of dread was still swirling low in his chest. Time to go back out onto the streets.
I guess that's where I really belong, Yami thought sadly, thinking it was all the same anyway. He had been trafficked to a foreign country but somehow the streets were where he was the safest.
Okawa was standing in front of the door with his arms tightly crossed, looking deeply troubled.
Yami reached for his shoes and looped the strap of his bag over his shoulder, indifferent to the professor's distress.
"Does anyone know you're here?" the man spoke after a while, and Yami shook his head.
"I'm not stupid enough to tell anyone where I am. I'm a ghost," Yami said darkly, shoving his feet into his shoes, wishing the professor would step aside.
"Then…you can leave tomorrow morning when I go to work," Okawa said uncertainly, wavering where he stood. "No one works into the night looking for someone who might not exist. A ghost could be sleeping in my upstairs futon for all I know."
Yami blinked, feeling his heart skip beats in his chest as he realized that this man was being kind. Offering a roof over his head for one last night.
"The ghost accepts your offer," Yami said firmly, bowing forward deeply, and on second thought, he hastily apologized for his earlier deception. "I'm sorry that had to lie…to secure my safety. Please understand."
"I might be going crazy because I hear a ghost apologizing," the man responded with wry smile. "I think I'll avoid sleeping upstairs tonight because I'm superstitious."
Yami smiled gratefully and shrugged the bag strap off his shoulder, racing back through the apartment and up the stairs. He would force himself to sleep, because this was his last night resting under something soft and safe.
"Master Kaiba…" Isono began hesitantly, seeing Kaiba on his knees beside the large velvet lounge, his shoulders shaking as he kept his head lowered, clearly no longer looking for Yami.
"Tell me where he is," Seto said quietly, and Mokuba ran back into the living room panting, sounding close to tears. "He's not anywhere! I can't find him! Can't he hear us looking for him?!"
Seto sat back on his heels, feeling tears building behind his eyes.
"Perhaps, we should check the camera feeds," Isono suggested gently, knowing that Kaiba could view Yami's send-off in private, and then choose to show Mokuba later at his own discretion. "Mokuba, let's get you to bed. Running around this time of night isn't good for your body."
Mokuba glared ferociously at him, stamping his foot angrily. "No! I'm staying awake until Yami comes out!"
"Master Kaiba, this is ridiculous," Isono said testily, rounding on the older Kaiba, hoping he had enough sense not to drag his younger brother into his madness.
Seto slowly rose to his feet and grabbed Mokuba by the hand, pulling him up the stairs, feeling Mokuba struggle and resist lightly. "Seto...w-wait…!"
"If you go to bed quietly, I'll find Yami," Seto chanted, feeling numb all over. "Okay?"
He would find Yami no matter what.
"Fine," Mokuba said glumly, twisting his arm out of his grasp and walking into his room of his own accord. "I don't need you to tuck me in again."
Seto watched his brother slam the door, and he sighed tightly, feeling Isono follow him into his room.
He had a sinking feeling that Isono was somehow involved.
Isono knew where Yami was, and wasn't telling him.
He sat down angrily behind his desk and flipped his laptop open, accessing the feeds around the house.
Seto easily found footage from three days ago and watched Yami stand in the living room, talking with Isono, bowing deeply, looking ashamed.
"What did he say to you?" Seto asked roughly, seeing Isono shake his head silently and stare at the ground.
Irritated, Seto continued watching as Isono pulled Yami's suit out of the bag, and after a moment, Yami raced up the steps. He switched to the hallway cameras, watching Yami hesitate in the hallway before knocking on Mokuba's door. He disappeared into Mokuba's room for a few minutes before rushing out to enter the guest room.
Seto frowned, watching Yami exit the room and wipe tears away from his cheeks, and he felt his stomach twist terribly. Oh shit. Yami had left his room crying…because he had refused his advances?
He watched as a guard escorted Yami out the front door and across the driveway to the front gates where Isono was waiting, holding the duffel bag.
"What is happening?" Seto whispered, watching Yami bow deeply to Isono and grab the bag, turning to walk right out the front gates.
What the…fuck?!
What the hell was this?!
Yami had said…goodbye?! Why the hell was he leaving? Why did Isono just help him out the front door?
"You still don't understand?" Isono asked sadly, shaking his head worriedly. Master Kaiba was usually sharp. Maybe something was blocking him from mentally connecting the dots.
Did he need to show Master Kaiba the lab results from the suit? They had been completed a few hours after the officers had left their property. He hadn't even gotten a chance to check them himself.
"What the hell is this?!" Seto hissed, rising to his feet, shaking with rage. Isono had betrayed him. Why did he just let Yami walk out the front doors?!
"H-Here…" Isono said quietly. Sensing an imminent breakdown, he held out his phone and tapped on the voice messages.
He held his breath, hearing a soft rustling coming from the speakerphone, and Kaiba stiffened furiously, crossing his arms across his chest, glaring at him.
"Item: one bespoke men's suit. Color: Black…"
There was soft breathing and more rustling.
"The entire fabric has been doused in chlorine, but after several swabs, the organic materials we found were as followed: saliva, digested food, bile, and blood. Two types of blood…" the male voice continued heavily, and Seto felt his heart drop to his feet so suddenly, his chest hurt.
"…and we got one solid swab from the edge of one of the shoes…Type O…and another lightly contaminated sample from the sleeve, AB negative…a very rare type."
Isono trembled visibly, thinking he had been right to send Yami away. Even if he was innocent, this evidence was very damning indeed.
Seto gripped the edge of the desk, his mind spinning so fast, he felt nauseous as the male lab technician's voice continued to warble out from the speakerphone.
"In conclusion, before we throw this into the incinerator, Mr. Kaiba, we believe that this suit has been through the wrecker. The wearer of this suit was...at a…crazy party or something.
Vomited, got bled on by several people after getting into a fight, and was probably thrown into the swimming pool at some point. Not in that order. Is that all?"
There was more soft rustling as the man consulted his partner, and a female voice echoed from Isono's phone. "That is all."
Seto pressed his palms into his eyes so tightly, he saw green.
So, that just confirmed that Yami was in the room with some dead bodies. That didn't make Yami a murderer. He didn't have to run away for that…because lawyers were invented for this purpose exactly.
"I'll leave you alone now," Isono said quietly, backing away and stepping out of the room, eager to escape before Kaiba's real meltdown happened.
Yami was affiliated with a murder-suicide.
Yami was also an illegal citizen.
Combining both of those factors, it was unlikely that once he was caught, he would be allowed to stay in Japan.
Deportation was imminent, and when that happened, it was better that Kaiba's name wasn't attached to any of it.
"He's innocent!" Kaiba shouted after Isono. "They're not looking at me anymore! He can come back!"
Shaking furiously, Seto set his jaw and accessed the cruise ship's feed, typing in a string of code that would reverse the virus he had originally inputted, and he leaned back into his seat, waiting for everything to recover, wondering why he was acting so calm when he was panicking so much on the inside.
On one hand, they had been saved by Isono's intuition, but that meant Yami was somewhere outside, fending for himself!
Where would Yami have gone?! It was dark outside…which meant, he was either out on the street or….
Seto pinched the brow of his nose, taking deep breaths, willing himself to keep it together. Yami wouldn't whore himself out for room and board.
Yami was smart. He would find a way.
Yami loved him.
Yami loved him, right?
Lowering his hands onto the desk, Seto blinked, feeling heated tears curling down his cheeks.
Wow, fuck. Fuck this.
"I love you, Seto," Yami's face flashed across his consciousness, and Seto flinched when he remembered pulling away roughly and ignoring him.
"You love me, right?" Yami's tearful face floated to the front of his mind again, this time, he was being embraced tightly in the bathroom, and he had pulled away, feeling angry.
"Seto…I love you," Yami sighed while sitting heavily on his lap, and Seto tensed, gripping his hair in frustration as he felt a painful pressure building in his temples.
I've never said it back! Seto thought deliriously, his hands tightening through his hair so hard, he could feel them ripping out from the roots.
His eyes watered heavily again and tears dripped down the end of his nose, landing on the touchpad of his laptop, and he stared at the small rounded drops, wondering if this was what he deserved.
Yami didn't leave me because he doesn't love me, Seto thought shakily, slowly rising to his feet and punching his fist down against his desk, his knuckles stinging so painfully they grew numb. Yami left me because he thinks I don't love him back!
A wave of searing rage consumed him and Seto swept his laptop violently off his desk, seeing it crash into the wall somewhere to his left, and it shattered to pieces.
Unable to stop himself, Seto strode over to the bed and tore the sheets off, frantically gathering the fabric in his arms as if Yami was somehow hiding beneath them, waiting for him.
His body burned with a terrible fire as he realized there was probably no way he could find Yami now that he had discarded his bracelets.
He could be halfway across Japan by now…!
Seto let out a furious yell and pried open the doors of his closet, ripping the clothes off their hangers and tossing them to the ground, spying the duffel bag from their trip and he grabbed that too, heaving it across the room, seeing it hit the headboard with a heavy thunk and land on his pillows.
He stared at the picture frame and dictionary sliding off the edge of the bed and fall to the floor with a loud clatter and thunk.
Breathing heavily, Seto grabbed the dictionary and began ripping the pages out of it hysterically, hating himself, hating everything.
Maybe he deserved to die.
He treated everyone like garbage, so it was only fair that this was his punishment.
He sat on the floor with the tattered pages scattered around him, his cheeks burning with tears as he held the empty cover in his hands.
Glancing down at the backing, he caught a line of Yami's neat, rounded handwriting in Arabic, and through the blur of his tears, Seto could barely read the text in his delirium.
"Please think of me. I'll think of you often."
Seto blinked, licking his lips dryly as his breathing grew ragged.
Okay.
What the hell did this mean?
It didn't say "I hate you," so that was a start.
Did Yami keep his ring?!
Holding onto that sliver of hope, Seto rose to his feet and stumbled through the connecting door, and began pulling out the drawers of the desk again, throwing them down to the ground by his feet with a loud crash.
He knew it was empty, but he had to check anyway.
This drawer was empty, but he would check the others just in case.
This drawer was empty, but there were still all the other drawers in the house.
Where would Yami leave the ring?
Seto knew he was acting crazy, but he had to make sure…that Yami didn't leave the ring behind.
Because if he did….
Because if he did…that would mean…
"S-Seto?"
Mokuba gripped the doorframe fearfully, seeing his brother kneeling on the floor in front of Yami's desk, with the empty drawers strewn around him, looking slightly mad. His hair was disheveled, and his shirt had lost two buttons.
Seto ignored him and strode back into his room, and Mokuba hurried in after him, swallowing fearfully as he spied the tremendous mess all around the room.
Clothes were laying everywhere. Shreds of paper littered the carpet, mixed in with bits of glass from the broken picture frame.
The sheets had been ripped off the bed and they were lying in a crumpled heap on the far side of the room. The TV had a large crack in the corner, and now, Seto was upending his desk, pulling out all of the silver drawers and emptying them upside-down onto the floor and sifting through the papers like a madman.
"Seto…!" Mokuba bit back a frantic sob as he rushed across the room to confront his brother. His feet stung as a stray shard of glass caught under his heel, but Mokuba ignored it, leaping over another mess of clothes. "Please stop! I'll sleep now! You don't have to find him anymore! He'll come back!"
Seto didn't seem to hear him. He was still digging through the drawers frantically, his eyes wild, his cheeks wet, and his brown bangs were matted messily against his forehead.
Mokuba slowly sank down to the floor in a sitting position, stunned.
Yami had left.
Yami had left!
Why?!
Why would Yami do this to Seto?! Yami clearly loved Seto!
He saw Seto raise his head to look right through him, his shoulders shaking with emotion. "I'll find him."
"I know you will, Seto," Mokuba said worriedly, curling his fingers into his palms tightly, feeling himself sweat. "You'll find him and bring him back."
Where could Yami have gone? Would the Immigration Police find him and throw him in jail? Could Seto get Yami out of jail? Where was Yami?!
Seto took deep ragged breaths, willing himself to stop crying. Could he fucking stop crying?!
He brushed the back of his hand roughly across his cheeks, spying blood on the floor beside Mokuba's foot.
He froze, his vision sharpening instantly as he saw that Mokuba had cut his foot while running across broken glass.
Deeply mortified, Seto stood on shaking legs and swept his brother up from the floor, taking long strides over the piles of destruction to plop him onto the bed.
"You're bleeding…don't…" Seto said quietly, unable to speak in coherent sentences.
"It already stopped bleeding," Mokuba shrugged, grabbing his foot and looking at it halfheartedly. "Are you gonna marry him, Seto?"
Seto blinked, taken aback by the sudden question.
And he felt like laughing for years and never stopping.
Marry Yami? Sure! Fucking sure!
"Yeah, definitely," Seto said, trying not to let the sarcasm slip into his voice, but he caught the disappointed look flitting across Mokuba's face and he hastily composed himself.
He grabbed a stray shirt from the floor and sat down beside Mokuba, pressing the fabric into the shallow cut at the edge of Mokuba's heel, realizing that Mokuba had indeed stopped bleeding.
He spied the bottle of antiseptic lying on its side on the ground a few feet away, and he stood up to grab it, striding over the piles of shit he had caused before sitting back down on the bed to soak the hem of his shirt in the chemical and rubbing it gently onto Mokuba's skin.
This action brought back a rush of memories from when he had dressed Yami's wound, and his vision blurred terribly again. Gritting his teeth, Seto willed himself not to feel anything.
"Get off me, Seto, I said I'm not bleeding," Mokuba said angrily, kicking his brother's hand away from his foot. "How are you gonna marry him if he's not a citizen?"
"He would become a citizen," Seto said plainly, suddenly realizing that that was the answer to all of his damn problems.
Oh.
Well, he was being fucking stupid by throwing a messy tantrum.
All he had to do was rope Yami back in and marry the fuck out of him.
That demon and her father could send Immigrations to his doorstep all day and all night. It would change nothing.
He threw a frantic glance over at his laptop, seeing it lying sadly on its side with the screen hanging off its hinge, while the keyboard was missing several keys. Well shit, he needed to make the hinges out of something sturdier.
"Seto…can I sleep with you tonight?" Mokuba asked timidly, gazing around the room and wondering if it was safe to leave Seto alone with his thoughts tonight.
"I'll stay here until you fall asleep," Seto answered vaguely, his mind churning with ways he could find Yami.
Hack the cameras in all of Domino and run a facial recognition scan.
If Yami had left Domino City, he would immediately know.
But…shit, he needed a photo of Yami to do that, and he had…the beach photos from a while ago! Would those work?
"Where are you gonna go after I fall asleep?" Mokuba asked irritably, knowing that Seto wasn't listening to him. He was staring at his broken laptop, spacing out weirdly.
"Seto!"
"The office!" Seto hissed, pointing at the pillows on the bed. "Sleep."
"You'll use your other laptop to find Yami, right?" Mokuba said encouragingly, climbing further up on the bed and lying down on the pillow, patting the space beside him. "And then you'll marry him and then the special police won't take him away. The end."
"Yeah, I'll fucking do that," Seto responded darkly, thinking that he was going do a lot more than "marry" Yami when he found him.
He was losing ground.
The longer he was sitting here doing jack shit, the farther away Yami was getting.
Mokuba shut his eyes and opened them as he sat up, smiling warmly at his brother, and Seto gave him a strange look. "What?"
"I'm doing what he told me to do," Mokuba said proudly, grinning at his older brother. "He hugged me and said, 'make sure your brother sleeps and eats well.' See Seto? I'm doing what he said. I can't wait to tell him that."
Seto blinked and nodded, suddenly feeling extremely weak all over. Yami…was so thoughtful towards Mokuba…!
"Right. You can tell him that when I drag his ass back here," Seto said quietly, feeling a strange calm settle over him. This wasn't the end of their relationship. Just because Yami had physically walked away, it didn't mean that Yami wasn't thinking about him.
He would find Yami...even if it killed him.
Yami strode brusquely down the street, gripping the straps of his bag tightly, feeling oddly determined.
Okawa had been kind enough to show him a map of the train stations on his phone, and had told him when rush hour was.
Afterwards, Yami had made a hearty breakfast before the professor asked for his keycard back while blushing slightly.
Then, he had taken the train, mingling nicely with morning rush hour, and was now quite far away from the apartment tower.
Yami shifted the bag onto his other shoulder, wishing he had asked Okawa for a spare backpack.
Wait. He had money. He could just purchase one himself!
Where was the nearest shopping mall?
Yami recalled the giant complex Seto had taken him to the first time he had gone outside, and his mind spun as he tried to remember what it was called.
He kept walking down the street, seeing crowds of people passing him by, ignoring him. It eased his worries only slightly. He needed to find somewhere to stay for tonight…somewhere safe.
I'm tired, Yami thought miserably, hitching his bag higher up on his shoulder, wishing he was anywhere but here. He wanted to be back inside his room at the mansion. What wouldn't he give to go back there now?!
He found himself at a crowded crossing and he shifted his bag in front of him again, following the crowd across the street.
He would just wander aimlessly until his feet ached.
After all, he had nowhere to go.
Seto felt his phone buzzing in his pocket and his head swam groggily as he patted his thigh, feeling it vibrating against his fingertips.
He pried his eyes open and bolted upright, realizing he had fallen asleep beside Mokuba. He glanced around, surveying the destruction he had made last night before hastily digging his phone out of his pocket.
It was an unknown number, and Seto's heart leapt into his throat as he wondered if it could be Yami contacting him from a payphone, or from a borrowed cellphone.
"Kaiba," Seto said quietly, listening to the silence on the other end.
Yami?
He waited a few heartbeats before losing his patience. "Speak, or I hang up," and a soft giggle echoed through the receiver.
"You're hiding him, but I'll find him," the soft female voice sang playfully, causing the hairs on the back of Seto's neck to stand on end. Annabelle….
He was about to hang up before she spoke again, sounding angry. "My men are on the streets looking for him. Just because I'm sitting in a holding cell doesn't mean I'm powerless."
Seto grit his teeth, feeling himself break out into a cold sweat. Don't respond. Don't reciprocate.
"The race is on Seto!" she cackled maniacally. "You better hide him well! Do you know how much money he cos-"
Seto dropped the phone in his lap and smashed the red button furiously with his thumb, burning with rage. Now he had another reason to hack the city's cameras.
He leapt off the bed and stepped over the messy piles of clothes and broken glass, feeling a terrible sense of dread churning in his stomach as he raced down the stairs and into the garage.
He grabbed a random set of keys and threw himself into the driver's seat, revving the engine ferociously, trying not to think about what would happen if Annabelle's men got to Yami before he did.
A fate worse than death...would become Yami's reality.
Yami was quite satisfied with himself. He had managed to navigate his way through the train station successfully.
He stepped out of the tunnel, glancing excitedly around him, taking in the tall sparkling buildings blasting the colorful ads. He was back here again! But this time, he could understand everything.
The photos of pretty women were shampoo and beer ads. The tiny shops tucked into the sides of the buildings were actually toy stores!
Deeply pleased, Yami entered a shop and glanced around appreciatively, sweeping his gaze over tiny figurines, plush toys of all sizes, and various sets of interesting costumes.
He saw a bright pink dress with a spear-like wand and stared at it for a long moment before remembering that it was from the cartoon with the bloody angels.
So interesting, Yami mused, catching a few stares his way and he looked away quickly, his ears burning. Could people stare less? It was so anxiety-inducing. He ducked behind a shelf and heard a small squeaky voice behind him.
"Um…a-are you a cosplayer? M-May I have your photo?" Yami froze and wondered if he ought to ignore the stranger.
Ignore.
He continued walking and headed straight for the exit, hearing the voice whisper to their friend. "Not a cosplayer…just a strange foreigner."
Yami cursed to himself and tried not to let it bother him. He wandered into another shop with tall shelves, and this time, everything was encased in glass.
He stared into the display, wondering what was so valuable about playing cards.
Shrugging, he turned away before he caught a familiar word written on the sign beside the display.
"Exclusive! Tournament release DUEL MONSTER CARDS!"
Duel Monsters! Yami thought excitedly, remembering that Seto had something to do with duel monsters. Had Seto created this playing card game too?
Yami bent over to stare into the display again, seeing something odd reflected in the glass behind him. He stayed very still, holding his breath, watching the movement in the reflection again.
It was a face…wearing dark glasses.
His heart stopped in his chest so suddenly, it hurt to breathe. Seto's bodyguards! They had come to bring him back to the mansion! So…it was safe to go back?
Excited, Yami turned around and stared right out the front door, seeing two more men in suits step into the shop and stand with their feet apart, blocking the doorway.
Blinking in confusion, Yami tried to ignore the rapid pounding of his heart as Lina's voice filtered in through his consciousness again.
"Never go anywhere you've previously been with your owner!"
Damn.
He had messed up.
But…were these guards friendly or…?
Yami turned away and moved through the shop quickly, searching for a weapon.
They weren't police, that was for sure. Besides, he thought he had memorized the faces of Seto's guards to the best of his ability. They all wore suits…and had a shiny KC badge on their lapels.
Do they have a badge? Yami wondered faintly, throwing a frantic look over his shoulder, seeing that the doorway had cleared. The men were no longer standing at the front.
His skin began to crawl and Yami realized that it was probably a trap.
He spotted several customers and he stood in the aisle with them, staring so hard at the glass displays, his eyes watered. He saw one of the men in suits pass by in front of him, and Yami scanned his suit, realizing with a jolt of terror that he was not wearing a silver badge.
Lowering his head and trying not to panic, Yami held his breath, skimming faces and people through his mind.
There was probably only one other person who owned guards like this.
Lina's owner.
I'm in trouble, thought Yami, feeling deeply stricken. He followed two children through to the next aisle, glancing at the door, and back to the man in the suit who was hovering one aisle behind him. They were circling him like sharks.
He caught the store owner's eye and he smiled politely, swallowing his fear as he approached the counter, bowing deeply, raising his head to see the shop owner staring strangely at him, bobbing his head in return.
"May I borrow a piece of paper and a pen?" Yami asked in a low voice, seeing the shop owner nod tightly and frown, carelessly passing him a pen out of his pocket and slapping a pad of crinkled paper on the counter.
Yami snatched the pen up and began writing hastily.
"! There are a group of thieves attempting to steal from the display. They are very smart, and are dressed as security, but they are just cosplayers.
Please call the police!"
Yami chose to write the word 'cosplayers' in English, deciding that he was out of time. The men were closing in behind him.
He saw the shopkeeper's eyes widen as he quietly reached for the phone and tapped a button. Yami stared at the tiny red light blinking on the phone's panel, counting his heartbeats. That's it?! He didn't need to talk on the phone?!
Yami felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and he tensed, grabbing one of the man's sausage-like fingers and twisting it violently while jerking his arm towards the ground, hearing a satisfying crunch and a pop as the man's anguished howls filled the room.
Yami spun around and shoved his knee into the man's chest for good measure before giving him a rough shove into the glass display, seeing the shelves topple over slowly one by one like dominos across the store, and he didn't wait around to see if anyone had been hurt.
He sprinted out the front door, thankful that no men were waiting by the front.
It seemed they had all followed him into that store, and hopefully, were now all trapped beneath the shelves of broken glass.
As he pushed his way through the crowds on the street, he spotted two policemen walking side-by-side, laughing merrily as they made their way to the shop.
Yami dodged them by stepping out onto the street, using the crowds of people passing by as a shield before ducking through a set of red revolving doors, and his senses were assaulted by blaring music and flashing lights.
Blinking steadily, Yami adjusted quickly, staring at the giant machines filled to the brim with adorable stuffed animals as many people in matching clothes gathered around the windows.
Matching clothes?
Uniforms.
Students.
Yami moved through the aisles, figuring it was dangerous to stay here.
If he shouted or screamed, no one would hear him.
He needed to blend in.
He spied a spare blue coat on an empty chair, and he grabbed it without hesitation, draping it over his arm casually, scanning the overhead signs for the bathroom. He kneaded the fabric between his fingers, glancing down at it quickly, satisfied to see that it was one of the matching uniforms from one of the students.
Yami slipped into the hallway by the bathroom and unzipped the jacket he was already wearing before shrugging the blue blazer on, thankful to see that it fit around his shoulders quite nicely.
He stuffed his other jacket back into his bag and stood right by the hallway, seeing a pair of boys walk past him, wearing white shirts under their blue blazers, and they also had matching blue pants.
Yami glanced down at himself, relieved that he was also wearing a white shirt underneath, but hating the fact that he was wearing black pants.
Would he be able to pass as a student?
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two students also wearing mismatching uniforms.
One had blond hair, and he was even wearing an unsightly green shirt underneath his blazer. His friend was chortling happily beside him as their third friend with stark white hair was attempting to pick a stuffed animal out of the claw-machine.
Them! Yami thought nervously, wondering what he ought to say to them to gain their trust. All three of the boys looked strangely out of place together…
Were they...misfits?
Maybe not, Yami told himself as he swallowed nervously and made his way past the group, attempting to keep his face pleasant.
He had just walked past them when he felt a strong arm loop around his chest and his head was pulled downwards to the ground so quickly, Yami felt the blood rush to his head.
Panicking, Yami struggled, gripping the arm that was pressed tightly across his throat, choking the air out of him while something sharp rubbed into his temple, and he heard a voice shout above him. "Hey! Yugi! You think I'm blind? Tryna sneak past me huh?!"
Blinking in astonishment, Yami realized that he was being mistaken for this "Yugi" person again.
The arm around his neck loosened and he stood his ground, looking the blond boy right in the face and smiling widely. "You caught me!"
The two other boys turned to stare at him, blinking in astonishment, and Yami could feel the skin sliding off his face from the intensity of their stares. Oh no…did he not look enough like Yugi up close?
"I thought you weren't feeling well, Yugi," the white-haired boy said while staring at Yami's reflection in the glass and keeping his eyes steady on the machine's pink claw. "Or did you do that so you could change your clothes…and…"
"W-Well…I'll be going now!" Yami said lightly, raising his hand in a casual wave, and the brown-haired boy's hand shot out to grab his wrist so suddenly, Yami didn't have time to react.
H-Holy shit. These boys were faster than him. Was he in trouble?!
Yami felt himself being yanked forward as the boy with brown hair spat on the back of his hand and rubbed at his skin vigorously.
Yami's heart skipped a beat as he tensed and let out a startled yell, attempting to pry his hand away, but the boy was stronger than him.
"Ugh, what the hell is this? Sun tan?" the brown-haired boy said strangely, sniffing at his wrist, and Yami used all of his strength to jerk his arm away, wiping his hand on the sides of his pants, deeply disgusted.
What the hell!
Were these people Japanese or were they foreigners too?
Why did they behave like this?!
"I'm really not feeling well," Yami announced, deciding that these people were just as dangerous as the guards. "See you later."
"Wait wait!" the blond one cried, patting around in his pockets and pulling out a set of keys with an odd fluff ball hanging off it. "When you left earlier, you dropped this! S'at why you came back, Yugi?"
"Yep," Yami said viciously, snatching the keys out of the boy's hands and gripping them so hard, his palm burned.
Keys…to a locker…or a bathroom. Either way, keys led to locked doors, and he needed to be behind a door right now.
"Ey…a thank you would be nice, sheesh," the blond boy said, staring at him strangely. "What's in the bag, Yugi?"
"It's his gym bag you idiot," the brown-haired boy said, staring intently through the window of the claw machine, punching the glass roughly as the boy with white hair missed the toy again. "Holy shit, Bakura, are you blind?! It was two inches back! That was my last coin!"
Bakura, Yami repeated the name in his head, wondering if this name was worth remembering. Whatever. It was time to leave.
"I wouldn't be playing the last round if Yugi hadn't got up!" Bakura said angrily, turning in his seat to give Yugi a worried frown. "Are you feeling better now? Tristan really wants to win this for Ser-…someone!" Bakura cried frantically as the brown-haired boy tread heavily on his toe.
Tristan. The brown-haired boy's name was Tristan.
"Stuffed toys are stupid," the blond boy said, giving the machine a violent kick, and Yami watched, horrified, as all the toys in the machine rattled from the force of his kick.
These people were…violent and disrespectful! Was Yugi like this too?!
"One more try!" Tristan insisted, giving the blond boy a rough nudge. "You owe me 1500 yen for burgers last week. Pay up. Bakura, move, so Yugi can play."
Yami blinked, panicking. Oh...no…no, he didn't know how to play this game!
He glanced down at the red number three on the panel next to the joystick, his blood running cold as he realized this machine was 500 yen per try.
There was no way he could win a toy with that flimsy claw in three tries!
Would these students beat him up if he lost their money on this game?
"I'm really, really not feeling well," Yami repeated desperately, glancing around the noisy room, looking for the exit. The guards were probably still looking for him!
"See you…" And he tried to run off, but the strong arm wrapped around his neck again, dragging him forcefully to sit in the chair, and Yami swallowed tightly, feeling lightheaded.
"One last time!" The blond boy growled, turning to give Tristan a playful shove. "Cuz this is a waste of damn money."
"Shut up, Joey," Tristan said irritably, watching his friend feed the coin into the machine, and Yami tensed, watching the claw spring to life. Oh no…oh no….
The blond boy's name was Joey.
Well, now he had learned all their names, but a new problem had arisen.
A fluffy pink hamster sat precariously between two, thin, white pipes, and the timer was already counting down above his head.
He had…one minute to move this claw…to do what?!
I don't know how to make it fall! Yami thought frantically, feeling his ears ringing terribly from all the noise. He stared at the hole at the bottom of the machine.
It looked simple enough, but…the claw was weak. The claw wasn't for picking things up…right?
"Yugi! Hurry up!" Tristan shouted beside his ear, and the glass rattled with another violent punch, giving Yami a fright, causing him to accidentally squeeze the trigger of the joystick.
Terrified, Yami watched the claw lower behind the toy.
The fluffy hamster wobbled left and right as the claw retracted upwards, and Yami blinked, realizing that that was it!
It was just the right distance. As the claw went up, it would push the toy off the pipes!
There was a loud beep and the claw flexed again, and Yami grit his teeth, his heart thundering in his ears as he eyed the distance between the far end of the machine and the hamster's tail.
He squeezed the trigger to lower the claw, praying, and he could feel the three boys behind him all holding their breath too.
The claw brushed against the toy as it lowered, and there was an eternal pause before the claw retracted upwards, and Yami watched incredulously as the toy rolled easily off the pipes, falling down one of the chutes on the side.
There was a long silence before chaos erupted around him. He was being jubilantly grabbed, slapped, and pushed by the three boys around him as they yelled happily in his ear.
"That's my boy, Yugi!" Tristan crowed, squeezing his head so tightly, Yami could feel his eyeballs popping out of his head. "We get a refund for that one try!"
"Hey, win me that poster from the machine in the front, Yugi!" Joey cried, thumping him strongly on the back, and Yami felt the air leave his lungs. "I'll buy you a rice ball in return!"
"Wait! You've all had your turn!" Bakura said excitedly, grabbing Yugi by the arm and giving him a few hard tugs. "Win me the bear in the machine from aisle 2, Yugi! I'll buy you a week's worth of hamburgers!"
Yami felt lightheaded as he realized…that these were Yugi's friends!
Then maybe, they could tell him which door the keys opened! Who would he ask?
Yami scanned the eager faces gazing at him with bright eyes, and he decided he would ask Joey.
Joey had touched him the most, meaning that they were probably the closest.
Joey had also picked up the keys in the first place.
"I have a question," Yami said slowly, reaching into his pocket and fishing out the keys, holding them up in front of his face. "What do these open?"
All three boys paled and stared at him for so long, Yami felt his skin burn. Wh-What?! Was that a bad question?!
"A-Are you being serious right now Yugi?" Tristan asked, furrowing his brow with worry, and the other two mirrored his look of concern, and Yami decided that this was a good move after all.
The more worried they were about their friend Yugi, the more likely they would be to help him!
"Yeah, I'm serious," Yami said, also frowning. "I said I wasn't feeling well. Help me out, won't you?"
"That's not a funny joke at all," the white-haired teen declared, and Yami slapped himself for forgetting the boy's name.
"Who's that?" Joey asked comically, pointing at the brown fluff on the keychain. "You gonna tell me you forgot his name too?"
"This thing has a name?" Yami asked, unable to stop himself. He turned the keychain over in his hands and saw that the fluff had two eyes and a mouth. A mascot! Oh no…he had messed up.
He glanced up hastily, seeing all three boys staring at him, slack-jawed.
"M-Maybe you should go home, Yugi," Joey said uncertainly, ruffling his hair and looking guilty. "Sorry we made you stay when you said you weren't feeling good. You don't have to pretend…"
Where is home?! Yami thought furiously, seeing a shadow out of the corner of his eye, and he panicked, leaping out of his seat and gazing down the aisle, seeing two men in black suits standing at the far end, waiting for him. Oh no…oh no….!
He had stayed here too long!
All three boys turned their heads to stare in the direction of the suits, and Tristan cracked his knuckles threateningly.
"Shit," Joey said darkly, moving to stand beside Yugi, and Bakura inched closer towards Yugi's other side. "Nobody move."
"I can take them," Tristan said, sounding determined, and Yami watched incredulously as the brown-haired teen rolled his shoulders and neck, flexing expertly with his fists raised. "Rich boy is gonna have to come pick up a pile of bones. Ready when I say go, Joey…"
"One second Tristan," Joey replied angrily, grabbing Yami by the shoulder and pulling him into the center of aisle. "We're surrounded. Can't go out this way either."
Yami began panicking internally as two more men in suits blocked their path from behind.
"Oh god, oh god, why? Why?!" Bakura wailed, frantically looking between both ends of the aisle, sounding deeply frightened. "Why did you have to steal a duel disk, Joey?!"
Theft! Yami thought, resisting the urge to palm his face. These students were thieves?!
"Yugi, get behind me," Joey said resolutely, also raising his fists as the men began closing in from both sides. "Bakura, if things get bad, grab Yugi and run."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Bakura said, clutching himself tightly in fear, and Yami felt faint.
These boys were fighting his fight for him! Why?!
They were also very protective of Yugi!
"Whoever strikes first, wins!" Tristan shouted, lunging towards the three men in suits in front of him, and Joey also let out a yell, rushing headlong into the two men on their end, and Yami watched with growing amazement as Tristan easily brought two men down to their knees with a strong kick and a punch.
He whipped his head around to see that Joey had disappeared under the two men, and they had him by the arms, pressing a solid knee down onto his back, and Yami raced forward without thinking, giving the man holding Joey a solid kick across the face and backing away quickly as his partner tried to grab at him.
Yami watched the other man fall onto the ground on his elbows as Joey crashed his head into the man's jaw, and the man fell back with a tight groan.
A hot hand wrapped around Yami's wrist and he twisted around to throw a punch, but found his hand trapped in Tristan's palm. He blinked, astonished.
Tristan…had caught his punch!
"Nice one, Yugi, have you been practicing?" Tristan asked lightly, letting go of Yami and feeling his palm sting. That was a solid punch….
"Done," Joey said breathlessly, standing proudly over two lifeless bodies, and Yami blinked, astounded. He craned his neck to look past Tristan, seeing three men lying in a neat pile, one on top of the other, all with bloody faces, and Tristan looked unscathed.
Deeply moved, Yami turned back around to see Joey spitting on the face of one of the men, and grinding his shoe onto the man's cheek, yelling down at the unconscious body. "Yeah, eat shit, fucker!"
His voice carried over the loud pings of the game machines around them and Yami felt a laugh escape his throat.
He decided in that moment, that he liked Joey the best.
"We're going home! I'm going home!" Bakura insisted shrilly, reaching down to grab Yugi by the arm and pulling him out of the aisle.
"Hey! I need a black marker!" Tristan shouted after them. "Joey, go borrow one from the girls! I want to write something…!"
"We're leaving…we're leaving," Bakura mumbled, dragging Yugi into the elevator and pressing the button for the ground floor, and Yami stuck closely to Bakura, feeling an odd kinship to this white-haired stranger.
The doors slid shut and there was a stifling silence.
Yami watched Bakura lean against the railing, hugging himself tightly, breathing a deep sigh of relief. He smiled weakly at the boy, and saw Bakura smile back gently.
"Are you feeling well enough to walk home, Yugi?"
Yami hesitated before shaking his head nervously. It was safer to be with Joey and Tristan. Yugi was also probably at home. Maybe he could stay with Joey for the night!
The elevator doors slid open on another floor and Yami followed Bakura out of the elevator. Together, they walked out the front doors and stood on the sidewalk beside the red revolving doors, shuffling their feet nervously.
"Right well…I'm going home," Bakura said anxiously, glancing up and down the sidewalk. "Before Kaiba sends any more of his men. I don't want to be involved with Joey for this very reason!"
"Kaiba?" Yami echoed incredulously. So, Seto's guards wandering around the city wasn't unusual? Why were the guards after Joey? And those weren't Seto's guards!
"Y-Yeah…" Bakura replied, frowning deeply. "Actually, I'll wait here with you until they come back out. I can't leave you alone, Yugi. You really aren't well. Are you having an episode?"
An episode? Yami wondered faintly, and he lightly shook his head before nodding again. What episode? Better to act even more strangely.
The revolving doors spun quickly as Joey and Tristan walked out of the building, guffawing merrily.
"Aite Yugi, we're walking you home," Joey said happily, draping his arm heavily over Yami's shoulder, and Bakura took this chance to escape. "Okay, bye guys. See you tomorrow!"
"Bye, you fucking weirdo," Tristan said carelessly, swinging the fluffy pink hamster above his head, throwing his head back and letting out a loud whoop, causing a few people to shoot glares his way.
"Man, that felt good! I really needed to hit something today!" he exclaimed, and Yami felt himself being pulled down the sidewalk by Joey's arm, and he couldn't help but feel oddly warm inside.
"Hey Yugi," Joey said happily, giving Yami's shoulders a playful squeeze. "New deal. I buy you rice balls for a week, and you win me three posters."
"Deal," Yami said faintly, wondering if Yugi would've accepted this deal. They turned to walk down a narrow street and the warm smell of ramen floated down the alleyway.
"Man!" Tristan groaned from somewhere behind them. "I'm so hungry!"
"We need to get Yugi home," Joey said mechanically, giving Yami a firm shake. "You're not feeling well, right bud?"
"Right…" Yami said nervously, his stomach gurgling with hunger. He should ask to stay with Joey tonight…now!
"Hey…" Yami spoke up, but Tristan talked over him loudly. "Dudes, check this out…!"
Yami grit his teeth, irritated, but he watched Tristan slide out his phone to show them the screen.
It was a video of the bodyguards, all unconscious. They had been flipped on their backs and a series of insults were scrawled across their faces in thick black marker.
"Seto Kaiba is an ugly dog fucker" was written neatly across one man's forehead, and the camera panned over to show "Kaiba is a little tit" scribbled across another man's cheeks.
"My dick is small – Seto Kaiba" was written down one man's neck, while another man lay shirtless, and various insults with Kaiba's name was scribbled messily over his chest and abdomen.
"Kaiba is an ugly piece of shit."
"Seto Kaiba? More like a pile of shit."
"Kaiba is a playboy motherfucker."
Yami held his breath, his heart pounding furiously in his chest as Joey and Tristan threw their heads back in rambunctious laughter that echoed up and down the alleyway.
It was not safer to stay with Joey or Tristan. Time to leave. How could he shake them off? They were intent on "walking Yugi home".
He slowly slipped his hand into his duffle bag, his fingers brushing past a metal pin before they touched the envelope of cash.
"That was my last coin!" Tristan had yelled at Bakura…and now, they were saying they were hungry, but no one was eating.
Joey and Tristan were cackling merrily at the video, hitting replay over and over.
Yami nimbly slipped out two bank notes and crumpled them up in his fist, shoving his hand in his pocket as he continued to wrinkle the money hastily.
Isono had given him new bills.
It would be suspicious to give Yugi's friends new bills for food.
"Hey guys…" Yami said, keeping his voice soft, hoping his anger didn't come through in his tone.
Why did Yugi's friends hate his owner? He had no idea, and he didn't have time to think about that now.
He was ignored as Joey and Tristan continued to howl with laughter at the video.
"Let's post it and tag him in it, just to show him what's what," Tristan said evilly, holding the phone out in front of him, grabbing Yami by the shoulder and pulling him into the frame. "Everyone make a face that says, 'Fuck you motherfucker!'"
"HYAAAAA! Fuck you Kaiba!" Joey grinned, sticking his tongue out and pulling at his cheeks. Yami blinked uncertainly and frowned into the camera, seeing his own face reflected in the screen looking scared and worried.
"Three, two…one," Tristan chuckled, and Yami beamed brightly, showing off all his teeth, wondering if Seto would ever see this photo. The shutter clicked and Tristan's arm fell away from his shoulder.
"Hashtag…Kaiba is a harassing, grudge-holding fuck," Tristan said happily, and Joey burst out laughing beside him again.
"Hey guys, I can walk myself home," Yami said hastily, and he held his fist out downwards towards Joey, feeling the money burn inside of his palm. "This is thanks for earlier. You can eat without me. My stomach isn't feeling well."
"Aw, Yugi, no need," Joey said, grabbing Yami's fist and punching it into his palm energetically, and Yami frowned, deeply confused. "We can teach you how to fight any time!"
"No, you fucking idiot," Tristan said, grabbing Yami's arm too and holding his hand out beneath his palm. "The shrimp is trying to give you something."
The shrimp?! Yami thought frantically. Were these two Yugi's friends or not?! Why were they so uncouth? He needed to get away…now, before they found out he wasn't Yugi…because he would definitely lose in a fight against Tristan!
He opened his hand and dropped the two bills in Tristan's palm, watching the two boys back away with a startled yell.
"Oi! What the hell!" Tristan cried, unwrinkling the bill and pulling it taut between his hands, holding it up to the sky which was slowly turning bright orange.
The sun was setting. He needed to get away….
"Yo! Yugi! What's this?!" Joey said nervously, waving the crinkled bill in front of Yami's nose before pressing it to his own nose and giving a deep whiff. "Smells real enough. Where'd you get 10,000 yen bills?! Did you find them on the ground?!"
"No, you ass, they're new," Tristan said, and Yami felt his stomach drop to his feet.
Oh no….
"Look, they've just been wrinkled." Tristan continued, furrowing his brow suspiciously. "Did you take these off the guard's bodies? When did you do that?! They weren't carrying wallets!"
"In their front pocket," Yami said vaguely, his mind spinning with dread. Was this a bad move?! Tristan was very sharp. Joey was a little bit slow….
"Nice, let's feast!" Joey sniggered, rubbing the bill happily between his palms, blowing on it frantically. "Please, please gods, let this bill multiply into thousands! May this bill solve all my problems!"
Yami was slightly disturbed by this behavior and he inched away from the two boys, pointing nervously down the alleyway. "I'm going home. Thanks for your help!"
"Okay, Yugi, take care!" Joey said, waving energetically, and Yami saw Tristan's arm looping around Joey's shoulders. "Let's go drink! Bye, Yugi!"
Yami nodded stiffly and watched the two boys stagger around clutching each other with joy before disappearing into one of the nearby shops.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Yami hurried out of the alleyway and continued walking down the street, wondering where he should stay for the night.
Would there be more guards coming? Definitely.
The streets were not safe. Not with the guards roaming around.
Yami continued down the street, his mind filled with thoughts of Seto.
Seto was not looking for him.
Those were not his guards.
Did Seto know that other guards were being sent after him?
Yami gripped the strap of his bag tighter, his stomach churning with unease and hunger.
He passed by a convenience store and stepped in through the sliding doors, eyeing the shelves of food. He could eat something here and be on foot for the rest of the night.
He needed to stock up for his journey.
Yami grabbed a small basket and tipped bags of snacks, drinks, and wrapped cakes into it, catching the attendant's eye and seeing her nod and blush at him. Curious, Yami approached her slowly and saw her bob her head nervously.
"G-Good evening, Yugi-kun," she said quietly, and Yami couldn't help but stare at her breasts. They were huge, and popping at the seams.
He had never seen such huge breasts up close before! And Yami ducked his head back down in return, feeling a strange heat creeping across his cheeks.
"Mazaki" was printed neatly across her name tag, and Yami dropped his basket in amazement. Was this a coincidence or…?!
"Ah…oh no! Yugi! You're so clumsy! Don't do that!" she cried, rushing out from behind the counter to pick his basket up and setting it gently on the counter, frowning at him. "This must be the new style Akagi-chan texted me about…"
Ah, Yami thought, hastily recalling the strange string of words the girl on the ship had said about his "style" as he avoided eye contact with the busty girl. "You mean, my gyaru-casual…style?"
She was considerably taller than him…and he was nose-to-nose with the center of her chest.
This was…uncomfortable. Or very nice. Yami couldn't decide which.
Was this Yugi's girlfriend?! Yugi was a lucky man indeed!
"Are you sick?" she asked immediately, bowing down to peer into his face, and a cool hand pressed across his forehead. Yami jumped, and took a nervous step back, feeling himself sweat. Oh no….
"I'm fine," Yami answered hastily, and he saw her frown into his face again, crossing her arms across her chest. "Your voice sounds a bit strange."
Oh no…. and Yami blanched, thinking that of course he would sound nothing like Yugi, even if they bore a heavy resemblance. What did Yugi sound like?! And of course this girl would notice the change in his voice, when his barbaric friends didn't!
"Well, let's see what you've got here…" Anzu said worriedly, circling the counter and sliding each item over the scanner. "Gosh, you're always eating these sweets, Yugi. Eat some real food next time. I know it's cheap to eat this way…but…it's not healthy, okay?"
Yugi is poor! Yami realized with a jolt, as he managed to piece together all of the reactions from earlier in his day. It was either that, or Yugi was quite fat, but if he resembled Yugi that much, Yugi was more likely poor than fat.
All of Yugi's friends had offered to buy him food, and even his girlfriend was criticizing his choices of snacks.
"I won't get fat, don't worry!" Yami said lightly, giving her a bright smile, seeing her cheeks redden even more. "You'll still like me if I'm chubby, right?"
"Stop joking around, you're stupid," she replied cheerfully, shoving his purchases into a bag and handing him a bulging plastic bag with all of his food. "This is on me. Go home and get some rest. Your voice is starting to go funny like you've got a cold."
Yami accepted the bag from her and chose not to bow, not wanting to raise her suspicions any higher. "Thanks, Mazaki-san!"
The smile slid off her face and she stared at him for a very long time, and Yami felt himself melting into the floor with dread. Oh no…what had he done now…?!
"Are you wearing contacts? Make up? Your eyes are shaped differently today too," she pressed, leaning over and staring at him intently. Yami looked away hastily, a fire burning in his cheeks as he tried not to stare at her breasts pushed up on the counter.
"You're right, I'm not feeling well," Yami said shakily, walking to the door frantically, hearing her footsteps follow him quickly from behind, and he panicked, quickening his pace.
He saw stray cars parked to his left and decided that the most logical thing to do was to get out of her sight as quickly as possible.
He walked towards them and heard her call out to him from behind. "Wait! Yugi! Where are you going?!"
Yami's heart skipped a nervous beat as he turned around to wave at her, "Home!"
He saw her squint at him and her face turned dark as a look of solid irritation crossed her features. "Are you trying to be funny? That's not funny. Home is that way, you silly potato!"
She pointed a pretty, manicured finger towards a dark building down the street, with a oddly-shaped sign sticking up from it. "Are you trying to be weird, or are you having an episode? You also addressed me by my last name!"
Oh no, Yami thought fearfully as he wondered if it was possible for him to have messed up Yugi's relationship with his beautiful girlfriend. And what were these episodes his friends kept mentioning?!
"I'm sorry," Yami said, for what he felt like was the millionth apology he had said today. "You're right, I'm being stupid."
And he walked forward slowly and looked right into the girl's face, seeing her staring strangely back at him, her eyes wide.
What did she want? A hug? A kiss? What did Yugi usually do with his girlfriend when he left?!
Well, if it was Seto, I would kiss him, Yami thought mildly, adjusting his bag on his shoulder, smiling warmly up at her, seeing her blink rapidly and look slightly confused.
"What's my name?" the girl asked uncertainly, and Yami grit his teeth and smiled, praying his fear didn't show on his face. He would be truthful, because this girl was good at spotting lies.
"I honestly don't know," Yami replied merrily, "But I do remember that we kiss very often!"
He saw the color rush to her face in an instant and felt instantly relieved. Good…good. Could he walk away without kissing her? Or did he have to kiss her?
Damn it.
"Stop it…stop it," the girl mumbled, and Yami swallowed his nervousness, moving to stand very close to her, keeping the warm smile on his face as he spoke. "I'm leaving now…did you want a kiss or not?"
And Yami prayed she would refuse, but to his surprise, she nodded quickly and ducked her head down to press her lips warmly across his cheek.
He blinked and stood very still, frozen with surprise. There was a small black dome of a camera sitting ominously above them on the metal awning, and he stared at it so hard, his eyes burned.
Seto…can you see this? Are you watching this? Will you find me?
"Okay, there, you stupid idiot," she said nervously, turning away and walking back into the shop. "Don't come here and act weird while I'm work! Go home!"
Gladly, Yami thought privately as he gave her a cheerful wave and hurried down the street towards the building with a dark sign.
The keys jingled lightly in his pocket and Yami fished them out, holding them up to his face as he approached the building. He could barely make out the sign in the dark.
It said, "Game shop…"
These are shop keys! Yami thought, elated. But the street was so dark. Everything around this building was so dark…where were all the lights? If this was a shop, wouldn't the sign be lit?
He crossed the street and moved towards the building, his anxiety rising as he wondered if Yugi would be kind enough to give him a roof over his head for the night.
The chances of Yugi being hospitable to him were unlikely, given how he had just gone around today, pretending to be him to every single one of his friends...even soliciting a kiss from his sexy girlfriend.
Yami caught a whiff of something sour as he got closer to the door, and he wrinkled his nose, dreading walking into another trash-infested hole.
Would Yugi attack him if he entered the shop unannounced?
If Yugi's friend's behaviors were anything to go by, Yugi was probably also an uncouth gangster with a weird sense of style.
The sour smell grew heavier, and just as Yami was about to leave, his foot tread across something warm and soft, and Yami cursed, biting the inside of his cheek in frustration as he glanced down to stare at a dark pair of legs sprawled across the welcome mat.
Legs.
A person!
Panicking, Yami apologized and pressed a hand to his nose as he spied a puddle of vomit sitting just a few inches away, and he gagged.
What was this place?! Who was this person lying here in the dark in their own vomit?!
He heard a soft moan, and a soft voice spoke from somewhere below him.
"Grandpa?"
A drunk, clearly.
Stepping over the body in the dark, Yami felt around for the doorknob and began testing each key, holding his breath, his eyes watering from the stench.
"G-Grandpa…it's me…Yugi…"
The key slipped into the hole and Yami froze, the blood rushing loudly through his ears as he glanced down at the shadow laying on the doormat.
Th-This was Yugi?!
Shoving the door open hastily, Yami felt around the side of the wall for the lights, but found none. Cursing again under his breath, Yami patted Yugi's body and found his arms. He grabbed them and leaned Yugi against his shoulder, helping him to his feet and walking him inside, wrinkling his nose as the sour smell of vomit became overwhelming.
Yugi was definitely sick.
Who was "Grandpa" and was he coming back soon?
Gritting his teeth, Yami set his bag down on the floor as he eased Yugi down into a sitting position, and he glanced around nervously, seeing tall shadows hugging the walls. Where were the damn lights?!
"Hey, where's the light switch?" Yami asked roughly, giving Yugi a nudge, hearing the boy groan weakly in response. "You're not being funny Grandpa…it's…behind the counter…"
Yami spied a glass display at the far end of the room, and he pushed Yugi's arm off from his body.
He edged around the counter in the dark and felt along the wall, his fingertips brushing against the switch and he flicked the lights on. A warm, yellow light flooded the room, and stacks of game boards, chess sets, and small figurines gleamed on the shelves.
Yami lowered his gaze and blinked, his jaw dropping in shock as he stared at the lifeless body of himself lying on the floor of the shop.
Th-This was Yugi?!
Author's note:
What's up now? heuheuhe :D i'll be posting an update this wednesday. (5/2/18)
thank you ylje for your edits on this chapter. you are my life and my soul.
2 more chapters until the end!
Liked it? Hated it? let me know! hungry for comments! (and food LOL)
hugs,
UGLI
